Page:Further India; (IA furtherindia00clif).pdf/77

 CHAPTER III

THE COMING OF THE FILIBUSTERS

T was in November, 1497, that Vasco da Gama, after those two desperate beatings to seaward and tacks to the south which have made him famous, during which he faced and overcame, not only the fury of the elements, but the fears and the mutinous murmur- ings of his comrades, came at last to land on the eastern shores of southern Africa. The story of the last great tack is told to us by Gaspar Correa in a fashion which leaves a wonderful picture upon our memories, and his words may fittingly be quoted here.

"As he (da Gama) was a very choleric man, at times with angry words he made them silent, although he well saw how much reason they had at every moment to despair of their lives and they had been going for about two months on that tack, and the masters and pilots cried out to him to take another tack; but the captain major did not choose, though the ships were now letting in much water, by which their labours were doubled, be- cause the days were short and the nights long, which caused them increased fear of death; and at this time they met with such cold rains that the men could not move. All cried out to God for mercy upon their souls, for now they no longer took heed of their lives. It now seemed to Vasco da Gama that the time was come for