CHAPTER LXXXVI

.

Of how Nuno Tristam was slain in the land of Guinea, and of those who died with him.

Ah, in what brief words do I find enregistered[N202a] the record of the death of such a noble knight as was this Nuno Tristam, of whose sudden end I purpose to speak in the present chapter. And of a surety I could not pass it by without tears, did I not know, almost by divine forecast, the eternal delight his soul tasteth, for it seemeth to me that I should be reckoned as covetous by all true Catholics were I to bewail the death of one whom it hath pleased God to make a sharer in His immortality. And of a surety, inasmuch as he was the first knight who by himself bestowed that honour[CL] on another in that land, and as I made a commencement of this book with an account of the booty he obtained, so did I feel almost resolved to conclude it with his death, giving to his divine soul the primary seat of celestial glory as the firstfruits of all the others who for God's sake were to meet their end in that land. Now this noble knight was perfectly informed of the great desire and purpose of our virtuous Prince, being one who from such an early youth had been brought up in his household; and seeing how the Prince was toiling to send his ships to the land of the Negroes and much further yet, if he might accomplish it; and hearing that some caravels had already passed the river of Nile, and the things that were reported from there; it seemed to him that if he were not to make himself one of that elect company and to render service to the Infant his lord in that land in any good thing that might be done or encountered there, he could not obtain the name of a good man and true. Wherefore he straightway made him ready a caravel, and having it armed, he began his voyage and stayed not in any part, but pursued his course toward the land of the Negroes. And passing by Cape Verde, he went sixty leagues further on and came unto a river, in the which it seemed to him that there ought to be some inhabited places. Wherefore he caused to be launched two small boats he was carrying, and in them there entered twenty-two men, to wit, ten in one and twelve in the other. And as they began to take their way up the river, the tide was rising with the which they entered, and they made for some habitations that they espied on the right hand. And it came to pass that before they went on shore, there appeared from the other side twelve boats, in the which there would be as many as seventy or eighty Guineas, all Negroes, with bows in their hands. And because the water was rising, one of the boats of the Guineas crossed to the other side and put on shore those it was carrying, and thence they began to shoot arrows at our men in the boats. And the others[CM] who remained in the boats bestirred themselves as much as they could to get at our men, and as soon as they perceived themselves to be within reach, they discharged that accursed ammunition of theirs all full of poison upon the bodies of our countrymen. And so they held on in pursuit of them until they had reached the caravel which was lying outside the river in the open sea; and they[CN] were all hit by those poisoned arrows, in such wise that before they came on board four of them died in the boats. And so, wounded as they were, they made fast their small boats to the ship, and commenced to make ready for their voyage, seeing their case, how perilous it was; but they were not able to lift their anchors for the multitude of arrows with which they were attacked, and they were constrained to cut the cables so that not one remained. And so they began to make sail, leaving the boats behind, for they could not hoist them up. And it came to pass that of the twenty-two men that left the ship only two escaped, to wit, one André Diaz and another Alvaro da Costa, both esquires of the Infant and natives of the City of Evora; and the remaining nineteen[CO] died, for that poison was so artfully composed that a slight wound, if it only let blood, brought men to their last end. And there died that noble Knight Nuno Tristam,[N203] very desirous as he was of this present life, in that there was no place left him to buy his death like a brave man. And there died also another Knight called John Correa and one Duarte Dollanda and Estevam Dalmeida and Diego Machado, men of noble birth and young in years, brought up by the Infant in his household; as well as other esquires and foot soldiers of the same upbringing; and seamen and others of the ship's company.

[Footnote CL: Of knighthood.]

[Footnote CM: Guineas.]

[Footnote CN: Our men.]

[Footnote CO: Not counting Tristam himself.]

Suffice it to say that they numbered in all twenty-one,[N203a] for of the seven that had remained in the caravel two were also wounded as they were trying to raise the anchors. But whom will you have to make ready this ship that she may pursue her voyage and depart from among that evil race? for the two esquires who remained, as we said, did not wholly escape from that peril, for being wounded they came near unto death, and lay ill quite twenty days, not being able to render any aid to the others who were toiling to direct the caravel. And these latter were not more than five in number, to wit, a sailor lad very little acquainted with the art of navigating, and a boy of the Infant's household called Airas Tinoco, who went as purser, and a Guinea boy who had been captured with the first prisoners taken in that land, and two other boys, both quite young, who were living with some of those esquires that died there. Of a surety, compassion is due to their great toil at that hour. They went weeping and sorrowing for the death of such a captain and of the others their comrades and friends, and were from that time in fear of the hateful enemies they knew to be near them, from whose deadly wounds so many and such brave men had died in a very brief space. And especially they sorrowed because they found so slight a remedy whereby to seek their safety; for the sailor lad, in whom they were all putting their hope, confessed openly his scant knowledge, saying that he knew not how to direct the course of a ship or to work at anything of that kind in such wise as to be serviceable; but only if directed by another he would do what he could, as he was bidden. O, Thou great and supreme succour of all the forsaken and afflicted, who dost never desert those that cry out to Thee in their most great necessity, and who now didst hear the cries of these men who made their moan to Thee, fixing their eyes on the height of the clouds and calling upon Thee to hasten to their aid; clearly didst Thou show that Thou heardest their prayers when in such a brief space Thou didst send them heavenly aid. For Thou didst give courage and understanding to a youth who had been born and brought up in Olivença, an inland town far removed from the sea; and he, enlightened by divine grace, piloted the ship, and bade the seaman steer directly to the north, declining a little to the east, namely, to the wind that is called north-east, for he thought that there lay the kingdom of Portugal, towards which they wished to make their voyage. And as they were going thus on their way, after a part of the day was over, they went to see Nuno Tristam and the other wounded men, and they found them dead, so that they were obliged to throw them into the sea; and on that day they threw in fifteen, and four remained in the boats, and two they threw in the next day. But I write not of the feelings that would be theirs when they cast those bodies upon the multitude of waters, burying their flesh in the bellies of fish. But what importeth it to us if our bodies lack sepulture? since in our own flesh we shall see our Saviour, according to the determination of Holy Scripture, for it is the same thing whether we lie in the sea or the land, and whether we be eaten of fishes or of birds. Our chief concern is in those works of ours by which after our death we shall find the truth of all these matters that here we see in figure; and since we all believe and confess that the Pope is our Chief Vicar and Supreme Pontiff, through whose power we shall be able to receive absolution or condemnation, according to the authority of the Gospel, we are as true Catholics bound to believe that those whom he shall absolve, if they fulfil the conditions of his decree, will be placed in the company of the saints. Therefore we can say with justice to these men: "Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur." And moreover, all who read this history will obtain a reward from God, if they make a memorial of the death of these men in their prayers, for inasmuch as they died in the service of God and their lord, their death is happy. Now this youth whom I have mentioned was that same Airas Tinoco of whom I spoke above, and in him God put such grace that for two months together he directed the course of that ship; but all were doubtful what their end would be, for in all those two months they never caught sight of land. And at the end of this time they sighted a pinnace which was on warlike business, and they had great fear at the sight, for they thought it belonged to Moors; but after they found it pertained to a Galician pirate whose name was Pero Falcom, a new joy came upon them, and much more so when they were told that they were off the coast of Portugal, opposite a place belonging to the Master-ship of Santiago, called Sines.[N204] And so they arrived at Lagos, and thence they went to the Infant to tell him of the tragical fortune of their voyage, and laid before him the multitude of arrows by the which their companions had died. The Infant had great displeasure at the loss of these men, for wellnigh the whole number of them had he brought up, and although he well believed that their souls had found salvation, yet could he not prevent a sorrow for that humanity which was brought up in his presence for the space of so many years. And so, like a lord who felt that their deaths had come to pass in his service, he afterward had an especial care of their wives and children.

##