A Journal of the First Voyage of Vasco da Gama 1497-1499. Anonymous

to be cooked with salt water. Our daily ration of water was reduced to a quartilho.67 It thus became necessary to seek a port.

      [Terra da boa Gente and Rio do Cobre.]

      On Thursday, January 11th [1498]68 we discovered a small river and anchored near the coast. On the following day we went close in shore in our boats, and saw a crowd of negroes, both men and women. They were tall people, and a chief (“Senhor”) was among them. The captain-major ordered Martin Affonso, who had been a long time in Manicongo, and another man, to land. They were received hospitably. The captain-major in consequence sent the chief a jacket, a pair of red pantaloons, a Moorish cap and a bracelet. The chief said that we were welcome to anything in his country of which we stood in need: at least this is how Martin Affonso understood him. That night, Martin Affonso and his companion accompanied the chief to his village, whilst we returned to the ships. On the road the chief donned the garments which had been presented to him, and to those who came forth to meet him he said with much apparent satisfaction, “Look, what has been given to me!” The people upon this clapped hands as a sign of courtesy, and this they did three or four times until he arrived at the village. Having paraded the whole of the place, thus dressed up, the chief retired to his house, and ordered his two guests to be lodged in a compound, where they were given porridge of millet, which abounds in that country, and a fowl, just like those of Portugal. All the night through, numbers of men and women came to have a look at them. In the morning the chief visited them, and asked them to go back to the ships. He ordered two men to accompany them, and gave them fowls as a present for the captain-major, telling them at the same time that he would show the things that had been given him to a great chief, who appears to be the king of that country. When our men reached the landing place where our boats awaited them, they were attended by quite two hundred men, who had come to see them.

      This country seemed to us to be densely peopled. There are many chiefs,69 and the number of women seems to be greater than that of the men, for among those who came to see us there were forty women to every twenty men. The houses are built of straw. The arms of the people include long bows and arrows and spears with iron blades. Copper seems to be plentiful, for the people wore [ornaments] of it on their legs and arms and in their twisted hair. Tin, likewise, is found in the country, for it is to be seen on the hilts of their daggers, the sheaths of which are made of ivory. Linen cloth is highly prized by the people, who were always willing to give large quantities of copper in exchange for shirts. They have large calabashes in which they carry sea-water inland, where they pour it into pits, to obtain the salt [by evaporation].

      We stayed five days at this place, taking in water, which our visitors conveyed to our boats. Our stay was not, however, sufficiently prolonged to enable us to take in as much water as we really needed, for the wind favoured a prosecution of our voyage.

      We were at anchor here, near the coast, exposed to the swell of the sea. We called the country Terra da Boa Gente (land of good people), and the river Rio do Cobre (copper river).70

      

      [Rio dos Bons Signaes.]71

      On Monday [January 22] we discovered a low coast thickly wooded with tall trees. Continuing our course we perceived the broad mouth of a river. As it was necessary to find out where we were, we cast anchor. On Thursday [January 25], at night, we entered. The Berrio was already there, having entered the night before—that is eight days before the end of January [i.e., January 24.]72

      The country is low and marshy, and covered with tall trees yielding an abundance of various fruits, which the inhabitants eat.

      These people are black and well made. They go naked, merely wearing a piece of cotton stuff around their loins, that worn by the women being larger than that worn by the men. The young women are good-looking. Their lips are pierced in three places, and they wear in them bits of twisted tin. These people took much delight in us. They brought us in their almadias73 what they had, whilst we went into their village to procure water.

      When we had been two or three days at this place two gentlemen (senhores) of the country came to see us. They were very haughty, and valued nothing which we gave them. One of them wore a touca,74 with a fringe embroidered in silk, and the other a cap of green satin. A young man in their company—so we understood from their signs—had come from a distant country, and had already seen big ships like ours. These tokens (signaes) gladdened our hearts, for it appeared as if we were really approaching the bourne of our desires. These gentlemen had some huts built on the river bank, close to the ships, in which they stayed seven days, sending daily to the ships, offering to barter cloths which bore a mark of red ochre. And when they were tired of being there, they left in their almadias for the upper river.

      As to ourselves, we spent thirty-two days75 in the river taking in water, careening the ships,76 and repairing the mast of the Raphael. Many of our men fell ill here, their feet and hands swelling, and their gums growing over their teeth, so that they could not eat.77

      We erected here a pillar which we called the pillar of St. Raphael,78 because it had been brought in the ship bearing that name. The river we called Rio dos Bons Signaes (River of good signs or tokens).

      [To Moçambique.]

      On Saturday [February 24] we left this place and gained the open sea. During the night we stood N.E., so as to keep away from the land, which was very pleasing to look upon. On Sunday [February 25] we still stood N.E., and at vesper time discovered three small islands, out in the open, of which two were covered with tall trees, while the third and smallest was barren. The distance from one island to the other was four leagues.79

      On the following day we pursued our route, and did so during six days, lying to at night.80

      

      On Thursday, the 1st of March, we sighted islands and the mainland, but as it was late we again stood out to sea, and lay to till morning. We then approached the land, of which I shall speak in what follows.

      [Moçambique.]81

      On Friday morning [March 2] Nicolau Coelho, when attempting to enter the bay, mistook the channel and came upon a bank in tacking towards the other ships, which were astern, Coelho perceived some sailing boats approaching from a village on this island, in order to welcome the captain-major and his brother. As for ourselves we continued in the direction of our proposed anchorage, these boats following us all the while, and making signs for us to stop. When we had cast anchor in the roadstead of the island from which these boats had come, there approached seven or eight of them, including almadias, the people in them playing upon anafils.82 They invited us to proceed further into the bay, offering to take us into port if we desired it. Those among them who boarded our ships ate and drank what we did, and went their way when they were satisfied.83

      The captain thought that we should enter this bay in order that we might find out what sort of people we had to deal with; that Nicolau Coelho should go first in his vessel, to take soundings at the entrance, and that, if found practicable, we should follow him. As Coelho prepared to enter he struck the point of the island and broke his helm, but he immediately disengaged himself and regained deep water. I was with him at the time. When we were again in deep water we struck our sails and cast anchor at a distance of two bowshots from the village.84

      The people of this country are of a ruddy complexion85 and well made. They are Mohammedans, and their language is the same as that of the Moors.86 Their dresses are of fine linen or cotton stuffs, with variously coloured stripes, and of rich and elaborate workmanship. They all wear toucas with borders of silk embroidered in gold. They are merchants, and have transactions with white Moors, four of whose vessels were at the time in port, laden with gold, silver, cloves, pepper, ginger, and silver rings, as also with quantities of pearls, jewels,87 and rubies, all of which articles are used by the people of this country. We understood them to say that all these things, with the exception of the gold, were brought thither by these Moors; that further on, where we were going to, they abounded, and that precious stones, pearls and spices were so plentiful that there was no need to purchase them as they could be collected in baskets. All this we learned through a sailor the captain-major