ABSTRACT
During the time we remained on the island, we ministered to the wounded, some dying, others falling sick because the climate was not very healthy. The moonlight, especially that of September, is so harmful that it causes mortal illnesses in those who stay out in it. Its ill effects are such that it damages even the bronze bells and cannon, causing them to crack. For this reason they are kept covered with straw, and men walking in the streets at night wear hats and take greater care against being touched by moonlight and night air than they would against the sun's rays in the greatest heat of the day, against which they also protect themselves; for the moonlight is more harmful. Of the vessels that were in the harbour and others which had come from outside since the enemy ships had left it, the Viceroy selected three or four pinnaces and a galiot, in which he prepared for his passage to India, selecting the galiot for his own person as being lighter and less cumbersome and having the capability of using oars in case of emergency; and twenty-eight good sailors were put aboard to man them. On the day before Our Lady ofSeptember1 all four of our vessels left the harbour; and as it was already late because of the tide, night falling as we were near the entrance to the harbour, we then were caught in such currents that we were all driven off course in such a way that at dawn we had almost lost sight of one another and certainly could not distinguish one another, as one of the pinnaces disappeared, which had no choice but to let the sea take it where it would. It was carried to the island of Ceylon, where it put in and gave news of our loss. The three other vessels were able to re-enter the harbour, recover and await a better tide and wind, which we had on the next day and with which we went out to sea, bound for the coast of India with the intention of landing at the first fortress where we could put into port, even though we had planned our course for Cochin, but with some apprehension because, since it was such a well known harbour, we could
After we left Mosambique, our voyage was good with no bad weather except for a few calms which did not fail to cause us uneasiness as we passed the Equator, after which, continuing with favourable winds, already near the coast of India, we caught sight of land one morning between eight and nine o'clock, the lookout in the crow' s-nest shouting that he saw it dead ahead. Our joy was as great as our desire to be there. And as the vessel had a good wind when it was sailing southward, not only were we able to learn that it was not the mainland but rather one of the Mamalle islands, 1 but also we found ourselves meeting land head on, a beautiful mountain all covered with thick foliage. And because we wanted to reconnoitre more than we should have, we soon found ourselves between two arms of a string of shoals which extended outward from the island far into the sea, leaving in
1 • 1 11 1 • 1 1 • 1 • 1 r 1 • 1 tne mtooie a very large tmet, wmcn we were entermg ana rrom wmcn we would not have been able to extricate ourselves readily in the event of a need to escape. If we entered further, the danger was especially great because, at about two or three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun appeared surrounded by a large halo similar to that often seen surrounding the moon, which on the sun is a sign of stormy weather. In the place and circumstances in which we were, this turned out to be extremely dangerous because the halo surrounding the sun opened partially, leaving us with a contrary wind, and as the sea was all bursting in foam the pilots and sailors were very fearful and were shouting that we should immediately fall to leeward, which we did very cautiously because we had gone far inside the two arms. We got out however, passing very close to the point of the reef and setting our course once again for the coast ofindia, which we saw two days later. The Viceroy's galiot was then accompanied by only two pinnaces, for, of the two others, one had gone off course and had set its course for the island of Ceylon the first night of our departure from Mo~ambique and the other landed at Coulao,2 twenty-five leagues from Cochim toward the south and Cape Comorin; and the reason for veering from course in
this way was that we were fearful of meeting the Dutch on the coast of India and in the harbour of Cochim, according to what they had given us to understand, for which place we were heading. The Viceroy ordered this pinnace to be three or four leagues forward and, on catching sight of the enemy ships, to signal with fire at night and with cannon in the daytime, turning either to the north or to the south, whichever would be better for it, so that we would take the opposite course from the one it had taken in order thus to deceive the enemy who, on seeing it, would doubtless give chase, leaving the way clear for us. This was good reasoning if there were only one ship, but if there were more there was enough work for all. In any case, this was the procedure that was followed.
