CHAPTER LIX

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Of the words which Gomez Pirez spoke, and how they went to the land of Guinea.

Gomez Pirez, who was there in that caravel of the King as chief captain, being a man of valour and authority, began to speak of his purpose before them all on this wise: "Me seemeth," said he, "that the determination of the captains of these little caravels is to turn back to the kingdom, in fear of the danger that may come upon them if the winter finds them further than we are now. But as for you others, honorable sirs and friends, you know right well the will of the lord Infant: how much store he setteth on knowing somewhat of the land of the Negroes, and especially of the river of Nile,[N136] for which reason I am resolved to make my voyage to that land, toiling as much as I can to get at it; and I purpose also to gain the most perfect knowledge that I can of other matters, and on this I place all my hope of the greatest guerdon that I can gain on this voyage: a guerdon that will not be small for me, for I know how the lord Infant will show me grace and honour for it, whereby I may obtain a greater profit; and since I have a ship good enough, I should do wrong in taking any other course than this,[AL] and if any one of the rest of you desire to keep me company I will hold fast to all your ordinance so long as it be not outside this plan of mine."

[Footnote AL: Viz., pushing forward.]

"Of a truth I tell you," replied Lançarote, "that this purpose of yours was also mine above all else, before you had said anything concerning it; and it pleaseth me to fall in with your proposal, inasmuch as it was so commanded me of the Infant, my lord." "And I," said Alvaro de Freitas, "am not a man to hold aloof from such a company; but I say, let us press on by all means whither soever you desire to go, be it even to the terrestrial Paradise."[N137] With these men three others agreed, to wit, Rodrigue Annes de Travaços, a knight of the Regent's household, and Laurence Diaz of the same standing in the household of the Infant Dom Henry, and Vicente Diaz, a trader. And all these, being settled in this purpose, began at once to pursue their voyage. And after these there set out other two caravels, to wit, one of Tavilla, and another belonging to a man of Lagos called Bicanço, but concerning the voyage of these latter we will defer our account to another place, forasmuch as they did not arrive at the land of the Negroes.

And so those six caravels having set out, pursued their way along the coast, and pressed on so far that they passed the land of Sahara, belonging to those Moors which are called Azanegues, the which land is very easy to distinguish from the other[AM] by reason of the extensive sands that are there, and after it by the verdure which is not to be seen in it[AN] on account of the great dearth of water there, which causeth an exceeding dryness of the soil. And to this land resort usually all the swallows, and also all the birds that appear at certain times in this our kingdom, to wit, storks, quails, turtle-doves, wry-necks, nightingales and linnets, and other birds of various species. And many are there, by reason of the cold of the winter, that go from this land[AO] and journey to that one[AP] for the sake of its warmth. But other kinds of birds leave it in the winter, such as falcons, herons, ring-doves, thrushes, and other birds that breed in that land, and afterwards they come and take refuge in this because of the food they find here suitable to their nature. And of these birds the men of the caravels found many upon the sea, and others on land at their breeding-places. And since I have begun to speak of this matter, I will not omit to say a little more about the divers other kinds of birds and fishes that I hear are to be found in that land: among which we may speak first of all of some birds called flamingoes, which are of the same size as herons, with necks as long, but with short feathers; also their heads are small in comparison with their bodies, but their beaks are huge, though short, and so heavy that their necks are not well able to support the weight of them, in such wise that for the aid of these same necks they always have their beaks against their legs and rested upon them, or else upon their feathers for the residue of the time.[N138] And there also are other birds larger than swans, called hornbills, of which I have already spoken. And as for the fishes of these parts, there are some that have mouths three or four palms long, some smaller and others larger, in which mouths there are teeth both on the one side and on the other, so close together that a finger could not be put between one and another, and all are of fine bone, a little larger than those of a saw and farther apart; and these fish are some as large as and others greater than sharks, and the jaw-bones of these are in size not greater than those of other fish. And there is another kind of fish there, as small as mullet, that have, as it were, crowns on their heads, like gills, through which they breathe; and if they are turned over and put with these crowns below in a basin, they lay hold so firmly that on attempting to withdraw them they lift the basin with them, even as the lampreys do with their mouths while they are quite[N139] alive. And there are also many other birds and animals and fish in that land whose appearance we do not care to describe at length, as it would be an occasion of wandering too far from our history.

[Footnote AM: Which they had now come to.]

[Footnote AN: The Sahara.]

[Footnote AO: Portugal.]

[Footnote AP: The Sahara.]

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