User:Paul Edwin Thomas/Castanhoso

CASTANHOSO.

A DISCOURSE OF THE DEEDS

of the very valorous

Captain Dom Christovao da Gama

in the

KINGDOMS OF THE PRESTE JOHN,

with

The four hundred Portuguese, his Companions.

Written by Miguel de Castanhoso, who was present through all, 1541.

While D. Estevao da Gama, Governor of India, was anchored off Massowa with all the fleet which he had brought to the Straits of Meca, there came to him a captain of the Preste, who was called the Barnaguais, with letters asking him to consider that his king-[4] doms had been for fourteen years occupied by the Moors, and that the main of his people were in captivity; that, as the King [of Portugal], his brother, was accustomed to assist the impotent, he besought him for his own sake to send some help ; for those kingdoms belonged to his highness, and he [Preste John] held them in his name. When the governor had read these letters he summoned the captains of his fleet and fidalgos to take counsel with them as to what should be done in this case; and they agreed that it would be to the service of God and his highness to send them help in their great necessity. This enterprise was much desired of all the captains, and was sought for by those who considered that it would be given to them. The Governor, moved by his great importunity, gave it to his brother, D. Christovao. He immediately prepared himself with all his men, and landed to begin his journey.

[5] CHAPTER I.

Of how Dom Christovão began his March, and of his Reception in the Country of the Barnaguais.

On Saturday, on the 9th day of July, 1541,^ late in the day, taking leave of the Governor and all his people, he marched with his camp, conveying artillery and munitions for the war. All the soldiers had double sets of arms, and started very carefully provided and very well found. They slept that night and rested by some brackish wells. The next day (Sunday), they did not march before sunset : for the country was very hot and very rugged, and they could only travel by night ; then they marched and halted at some wells, sweeter than the last, in a plain full of wild fowls.2 Here we had to set a watch for the remainder of the night, because of the many wild beasts

' R gives the date as Saturday, June 9th ; Correa and Couto as July 6th. Neither of these dates was on a Saturday in 1541. Ber- mudez and Pero Paez agree in saying that D. Christovao started inland the day the fleet sailed. D. Joao de Castro, in his Kotciro, puts this on July Qlh, which was a Saturday. It would appear that on July 6th 1). Christovao moved from Massowa to Arkiko, and the advanced force mentioned by Correa must have started about June 6th, as letters announcing their safe arrival on (he uplands were received in the fleet on June 28th.

' Alvarez constantly refers to the quantity of game and its tame- ness, thus (p. 67) : " All the game is almost tame, because it is not pursued. Without dogs we killed and carried away twenty hares

6 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

on the plain — very terrible. Thus we marched for six days, always by night ; for the country was very hot and water very scarce, which troubled the people much. D. Christovao marched with all on foot, as there were no riding animals. The artillery, munitions, and supplies were carried on camels and mules, which the Barnaguais had brought with him ; but we often unloaded them and carried the baggage, and even the artillery, on our backs, through very rugged defiles, where laden camels and mules could not pass. In this labour, which was very heavy, D. Christovao showed the great zeal and fervour that animated him in this holy enterprise : for he was the first to shoulder his burden, giving orders to bring on the rest. By this energy and zeal he doubled that of the soldiers, who did double tides without feeling it ; for the labour was such that had not this been done we could never have got through.^ As we have said, we marched in this way for six days, and on the last of these days we ascended so lofty a mountain that we spent from morning till evening in getting to the top. When we reached the summit, we found extensive plains, and a country very level and very cool, with good air and good water. Here D. ChristovSo rested for two days in a church — a very large one that had been destroyed by the Moors, and the country wasted ;' from here we could see the sea. On the following day we continued our march through this cool country, which we enjoyed more than the other,^ and over it we

with nets in an hour, and as many partridges with springes, just like piping goats to a fold or hens to the roost. So we killed the game that we wanted."

tainous a country."
 * B has : " we could not so easily have passed through so moun-

^ The Italian translator identifies this ruined church with some remains found near Asmara, which seems probable.

' B, " mure than the warm one."

CASTANHOSO. 7

marched for three days, crossing several streams of very good water, till we reached a large place with stone houses, flat-roofed like the Moors have.^ This city was in the lord- ship of that captain who marched with us ;' on one side it is bounded by a very fine river, in which there is much fish, and on whose banks on both sides there are many villages of cultivators, with numerous herds, all in sight of the city. At that time these villages were depopulated, through fear of the Moors, and the inhabitants had taken refuge with their herds on a mountain, where they lay hid, abandoning their husbandry ; but, on our arrival, they all returned to their homes. There came out of this city to receive D. Christovclo, many monks with crosses in their hands, in solemn procession, praying God for pity. When they met D. Christovao, they told him that God had brought him to that country in the time of great trouble, when for fourteen years the enemies of our holy faith had lorded over it, and destroyed the churches and monasteries ; that they saw that he was the apostle of God come to deliver them from captivity and subjection, and they called on him for vengeance against this evil people ; this they demanded with such clamour, that truly there was none who heard them but was ready to weep a thousand tears. Thence ^__

> I?, "with terraces and platforms as roofs." In Hamasen, around Asmara, the houses are all flat-roofed, being generally partially exca- vated from a hill, not round and thatched as over a large part of Abyssinia. Bruce saw the first thatched round houses near Debra Uamo.

' B calls it Baroa ; Couto and Tellez, Debarwa. Debarwa was then the capital of the Bahamagash, and the name occurs frequently in travels of the period. Bent (p. 87) speaks of it as now a place of abject squalor and misery. The Ethiopian chronicle says : " This year the Franks arrived, who came from their country Bertegual (Portugal); their captain was Dengestobou (Dom Christovao); they slew Aba Esman Nour; they passed the winter at Debaroua and Gran at Darasg^" (Basset, Etudes., p. 110). Absama Nur, who is apparently the Aba Esman Nur mentioned, was a distinguished Muhamedan leader. There is possibly a confusion, and Sharif Nur, Governor of Arkiko, is meant (see Basset, Histoire^ p. 75, ».).

8 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

we went to their monastery, which had been destroyed, to pray. What of it was still standing was built with pillars and masonry, and had an altar decorated after the manner of one in a poor hermitage, and thatched with straw, for more they dared not do for fear of the Moors. D. ChristovSo took his leave of them, consoling them much that with the help of our Lord they would quickly return to prosperity, as he had come to that land only to expel the Moors, and die for the faith of Christ : the monks were much comforted by this reply. D. Christov^o went, accompanied by his soldiers, to his tents, which the Barnaguais had had pitched for him on a plain close to the city. Here we dwelt comfortably, and by the orders of the Barnaguais the cultivators brought in what supplies they could ; but they were not plentiful, for they had been much despoiled and for long had neither ploughed nor sown.^

CHAPTER H.

Of the Counsel taken by D. ChristovHo with the Barnaguais and the People of the Country as to what should be done.

The next day, in the morning, D. Christovao sent for the Barnaguais, and the two Abyssinian captains who had

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 346) adds here : " D. Christovao proclaimed to the sound of trumpets that all who left the royal standard would be punished as traitors ; that if a slave he would be burned alive ; this the Barnegaes, by order of D. Christovao, proclaimed in the country language, ordering his followers that if any of them found a Portuguese escaped from the camp, they should bring him to the camp tied up like a wild beast, and should it be an' escaped slave thty should kill him and bring his head to the camp. Ikit, although it was thus proclaimed, still three slaves ran away, whose heads three days later were brought to the camp. This caused such terror that none else afterwards tried to escape, which was a very good thing. A Portu- guese fled, desiring to go to the Preste, to receive from him handsel {alvi^ara) of the news of the arrival of help. He was captured, and brought prisoner to the camp. D. Christovao had both his hands cut

CASTANHOSO. 9

now joined us,^ to inform himself of the country and learn what had to be done, how far distant the Preste was, and whether we could join him before fighting with the King of Zcila.^ When they had assembled and had learned what D. Christovao wanted, they replied that then was not the season proper for marching, as the winter had begun there, which in those parts is very violent and causes the rivers to swell, and that the country was very cold, with much mist ;^ that therefore for this, and because we were in that city which was under his [the Barnaguais] rule, we should spend the winter there till the end of October, for then was the season to begin marching ;* that as to what he asked them about the Preste, and if it were possible to join him before meet- ing the King of Zeila, to that they replied, that two months previously the King of Zeila and the Preste had fought a great battle, in which the Preste was defeated, and that he had retired back so far that he had taken refuge in some mountains three hundred leagues inland, which were strong, and that he was there quite safe from his enemies ;^

off, which was considered a heavier punishment than death, and told him to go where he pleased, as, if he was found in the camp he would be hanged ; after that no one else dared to leave the camp."

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 346) adds : "and the patriarch D. Joao Her- mudez, who was the Ambassador that had returned from the kingdom" (Portugal).

2 The personage called the King of Zeila is the Imam Ahmad, surnamed Gran, or the left-banded, the Emir of Harrar. His history has been traced in the Introduction.

' B has neve^ snow, for the tievoa, mist, of A, clearly a misprint ; snow is unknown, except on the highest peaks of .Semien. The term "winter" is used here by the Portuguese as it was in India, for the rainy season (see Yule's Glossary^ s.v. "Winter").

Michael, that is, November 8th (Bruce, vol. iv, p. 492).
 * Hruce puts the beginning of the marching season at Hedar St.

remembrance of the rQguriection of our Saviour Jesus Christ. He was in this country when Garad Emar marched against him. They met at Salf, and fought on the 29lh of Miyazya (April 24th, 1541) ; the enemy said we have never seen or known anyone so valiant or courageous as this young man, who fears not death though he has
 * " Reached the country of Sard, where he celebrated Easter in

10 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

that they had learned that he had very few men with him, because the majority had gone over to the Moors ; that as all the country was held by the Moors we should of necessity have to fight frequently with his captains ; and that they thought that the King of Zeila in person would await us on the road, for he had his captains with their garrisons in the greater part of the country ; that at one day's journey away was the Queen, Mother of the Preste, in a very strong mountain, to which she had retreated with her women and servants on the death of her husband, then Preste,^ and that D. Christovao should send for her, as her presence was necessary by reason of the country people, that they should bring supplies of food, and necessaries. When he heard this, and learnt how near the Queen was, he was very joyful, and at once sent to inform her that he had arrived with the Portuguese for the service of herself and her son, and that he would send one hundred soldiers to return as her guard, as it was very necessary that Her Highness should personally live among her people ; because in this way she would be better obeyed and we better received.^

but few men with him. He then returned to the province of Samen" (Basset, AVz/^/^i', p. no). Sard is probably Sahart. Conzelman (j^^ 8 and 9) speaks of this fighting, saying Galdwdewos was defeated by Abbas, and continues : " Mar Galawdcwos then crossed two rivers to pass from Tegraye " (Tig re) " to Shewa " (Shoa), " in order to see his flock who lived there in equity, and to visit his people who had stayed there in peace. He reached the country he wished to attain in the month of Haziran, which is the month of Sane, the first winter month of the Abyssinians." Haziran is the Syrian month corresponding to June, while Sane is the Ethiopian month beginning May 26th. It was the tradition in Shoa that Galawdcwos took refuge in Tegulet of Shoa (Combes et Tamisier, vol. iii, p. 217). For a description of Tegulet, see Harris (vol. ii, p. 53).

Dengel ; for her virtues see Conzclman, !^ 3. Lebna Dengel died at Debra Damo on the 5th Maskaram (September 2nd, 1 540), and was buried in the monastery of Abba Aragawi (I5asset, Etudes^ p. 109). Castanhoso does not name the mountain where the Queen was ; both Couto {Dec. y, Bk. Vll, chap, x), and Tellez (Bk. 11, chap, viii, p. 118) call it Uamo.
 * Reference is here made to Ite Sabla Wan^el, widow of Lebna

Sabani and by her other name Elizabel, chose this hill (Debra Damo),
 * Couio (Dec. t^, Bk. VII, chap, x) adds ; "The Queen, who was called

CASTA NHOSO. H

CHAPTER III.

Of h<nv D. ChristovHo mustered his People, and divided them as seemed best to him.

After D. Christovao had sent this message to the Queen, he mustered his followers, because, considering the excite- ment and the desire to join the expedition when he left Massowa, it appeared to him that more men followed than the Governor gave him ; still, it was not found that there were more than four hundred men^ very well armed, and among them over six hundred matchlocks.' He appointed five captains from among them in this way : he told off fifty soldiers to each captain, which makes two hundred and fifty, and he appointed one hundred and fifty to the royal standard.' After this, each captain had charge of his own men and catered for them, with whatever was obtainable in the country.* The Barnaguais, as lord of the country, gave daily to the camp ten very fat cows, larger than those of Portugal, and many cakes of millet and of a

with her women and family and the Barnagais, because it was strong and safe, and also in order not quite to abandon that part, where indeed there was nothing more for the Moors to conquer save it. Thus the kingdom of the Christians was in the most miserable condition in which it ever was, for there was no church standing or religious person in safety, for all wandered over the deserts homeless and in misery."

there were 130 slaves, good men to help their masters, and with trumpets, kettledrums, and bagpipes, played by slaves whom the commander took with him."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 347): "And in the count found 400, less 3 men ;

^ For the word cspingarda, translated "matchlock," the contem- porary equivalent is caliver ; but that term savours of pedantry.

delighted to accompany him on this expedition, many of whom were his relatives."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 347) : " The most honourable men and fidalgos

men were allotted by list, with these under their ancients they separated off, and the great royal banner of damask with the cross of Christ on both sides in crimson satin. This done, each captain separated with his men and lodged among them, each in his own tent, for all were supplied with tents by the Bamegaes ; each captain pro- vided a mess for his men of the best that could be procured."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 348): "To each of these" (the captains) "his

12 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

grain called Dachery.* With this, and with some rice which we had brought from the fleet, we lived through the winter, until the Lord in his pity was pleased to succour US.2 And the names of the captains were these : Manuel da Cunha, Joao da Fonscca, Inofre de Abreu, Francisco de Abreu, and Francisco Velho f all the other fidalgos, and servants of His Majesty's household, remained with the royal standard, and with them Luiz Rodriguez de Carvalho,* to whom D. Christov^o gave charge of those under the royal standard.

CHAPTER IV.

Of how D. Chris tovilo sent for the Queen ^ and of her Reception of the Portuguese who ivent to fetch her.

That day passed in completing the arrangements, and on the next, D. Christovao sent Manuel da Cunha and Francisco Velho, with their men, to fetch the Queen.^ They

Sanskrit name Natchenny. The Abyssinian name is dagousha — the Eleusine coracana. The Northern Indian proverbs (in that part it is called Manrua) are not complimentary to it— one runs ; " Manrua got up on a height, and said I am a very pimp among grains. If a strong man eat me for eight days, he will not be able to get up" (Crooke, Rural Glossary,, s. ?'.). Mansfield Parkyns says much the same; he considers daj^ousha rather a grass than a corn ; the taste of the bread made from tej/" is like that of chewing a sour sponge ; that of dagousha is even worse, with a gritty and sandy flavour. " Its virtues may be judged of from the fact that it undergoes but little change in passing through the stomach" (vol. i,p. 368). The tone of Castanhoso's remarks seems justified.
 * li, dacheni ; Correa, nachenym. These are corruptions of the

we had to take by force of arms what we required for food ; for the cows the liarnaguais gave us lasted but for a short time, as he had but few, and after they were ended we had to act as I have said."
 * B adds : " For in this winter we suffered much misery, because

' B adds : "and to me with 50 soldiers, all arquebusiers, he gave charge of the Queen, to guard her on our marches."


 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 348) calls him Luiz Fernandes de Carvalho.


 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 34S) adds : "if she would come."

CASTA NHOSO. I 3

started at once, and arrived the same day late at the foot of the hill, where they pitched their tents, and notified to the guard of the hill that the Portuguese had arrived to be the [Queen's]^ guard and attendants ; she was greatly pleased, and with much content ordered the guards to allow the two captains to ascend the hill. When they arrived at the entry to the hill, there were lowered to them very strong thongs of leather, to which was attached a contrivance like a large basket,^ and they were told that the Queen ordered them both to ascend, as she wished to see them while she was getting ready to start. They obeyed, each ascending by himself in the basket ; they were taken to the Queen's lodgings, who received them very hospitably, and talked much with them, asking them of the coming of D. ChristovSo, and of the Portuguese her children, for so she called us. She got ready immediately, with all her women and servants, leaving on the mountain

^ Some words seem to have dropped out of the manuscript here.

' B, " who arrived at the foot of the hill, and ascended by a very narrow path, until there were let down very strong thongs of leather, to which was attached a large basket that would hold one man."

Correa (vol. iv, p. 348) has : " The hill on which the Queen was, was of solid rock, so precipitous that it seemed cut with a pickaxe. It was about 80 fathoms high, up which there was a path with many turns, by which only one man at a time could ascend, who could with ditificulty climb two-thirds of the way up, where was a small level space ; from this point they could only ascend in a basket, which was let down from above through a hole made in the rock, for above the

rock turned outwards like the fighting-top of a man-of-war

she (the Queen) sent to the captains to tell them to ascend, who in full dress went up by the basket, that was worked by an engine."

The basket is connected with one of the miracles of Tecla Haima- naut, the Abyssinian saint. He was going up in the basket to the monastery, when some one, who did not share the general belief in his holiness — it is said to have been the devil in person — cut the thongs. Tecla Haimanaut would have been dashed to pieces on the rocks below, had he not immediately, while in the air, developed three pairs of wings. He '\6 frequently drawn fully-fledged. During the civil wars of 1832, Samuel Gobat lived for several months on Debra Damo for security. He stayed in the monastery, and, considering his missionary zeal, was very well treated. As already said, only males may now visit the top. The ascent, pulled up by ropes, is so severe a trial, that many reach the summit insensible,

14 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

her second son and two very beautiful daughters* with her mother, grandmother of the princesses, carefully guarded. I will tell later why she did not bring the prince with her to help us in the war, although he was of age to do so. When the Queen found herself away from the hill, she gave many thanks to God, weeping with pleasure for His great mercy in allowing her to leave that hill, where she had been imprisoned for so many years ;• since God had sent for her help the Portuguese, who were so desired of all the dwellers in that country, she trusted to His pity to have very soon vengeance on her enemies. Thus passed the day in preparations to begin the march on the morrow.

CHAPTER V.

Of how the Queen arrived at D. ChristovSo's Camp^ and of htr Rectption there.

When the morning came, the Queen, whose name was Sabele Oengel,' with all her ladies and her women, got ready for the march, and the Portuguese with her ; and


 * Lebna Dengel and Sabla Wangel had four sons and two daughters.

Sons. Daughters.

1. Fiqtor, killed 1539. I. Amata Giyorgis.

2. Galdwdewos, King 1540- 15 59. 2. Sabana Giyorgis.

3. Yackub, died in 1558.

4. Minas, King 1 559-1 563.

Yaekub, the second living son, must be the one who remained on the hill.

four years.
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 349) gives the length of the " imprisonment" as

' B, "was in the Chaldean language Sabele o Engel, that is, in Portuguese, Isabel do Evangelho." The name Sabla Wangel is said to really mean the " corn spike of the Gospel," a name of the Virgin Mary.

CASTANHOSO. 1 5

because this mountain is the strongest there is in the country, and the most precipitous that ever was seen,^ I will explain here the manner of its fortification, for it appears constructed by the hands of God to preserve this lady and her following from captivity, and to prevent the destruction of the monastery of friars on the summit, in which the service of God is constantly performed. For the King of Zeila came against it with all his power for a year, but could never capture it ; and this not out of desire for the treasures that were in it, for there were none there and he knew it well, but to get the Queen into his hands, whom he much desired, as she is very beautiful. When at the end of the year he found that he could not capture it by starvation, he struck his camp and marched away, for he discovered the manner of the fortification, which is in this wise.

The summit is a quarter of a long league in circum- ference, and on the area on the top there are two large cisterns, in which much water is collected in the winter ; so much that it suffices and is more than enough for all those who live above, that is, about five hundred persons.' On this summit itself they sow supplies of wheat, barley, millet, and other vegetables.' They take up goats and fowls ; and there are many hives, for there is much space for them ; thus this hill cannot be taken by hunger or thirst. Below the summit the hill is of this kind. It is squared and scarped for a height double that of the highest tower in Portugal, and it gets more and more pre- cipitous near the top, until at the end it makes an umbrella

do 1 think that in any other can one so steep and so strong be found."
 * B, " because this mountain is the strongest in the country ; nor

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 348) says •' 1,000 persons," and adds ducks and geese to the live stock enumerated.

' B, "millet and other seeds, such as beans, lentils and peas ; and everything sown here grows."

l6 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

all round, which looks artificial, and spreads out so far that it overhangs all the foot of the mountain, so that no one at the foot can hide himself from those above ; for all round there is no fold or corner, and there is no way up save the one narrow path, like a badly-made winding stair (caracol), by which with difficulty one person can ascend as far as a point whence he can get no further, for there the path ends. Above this is a gate where the guards are, and this gate is ten or twelve fathoms above the point where the path stops, and no one can ascend or descend the hill save by the basket I have above mentioned.^ Thus this hill cannot be captured if even only ten men guard it ; as for the fortress, it is the custom of the country^ that the princes who arc not the first in succession

^ " The spectator, standing at the foot of the Focada amba and looking to the westward, has before him, at his own level, an apparently interminable plateau, with peaks and hills, such as that of Kocada, rising out of it. 15ut the plateau is also deeply cut into by

valleys of considerable width and great depth But the

most remarkaljle feature of the landscape remains to be described. Just as peaks rise from the surface of the plateau, so hills rise up out of the valley itself, with sides exactly like those descending from the plateau, and with dat top summits corresponding exactly with the plateau level. One of these valley-hills is the amba of Uebra Damo, famous in the history of Da (iaina's expedition" (Markham, ///j/(7rv 0/ (he Abyssinian Expedition, p. 176).

'^ In Castanhoso's account which follows there are numerous errors. Uebra Damo was formerly the royal prison, but had been given up several centuries before this, after the massacre of the royal family there by Judith, one of the Falasha queens. The next choice was Amba Geshen, south of the Tacazi:c', where it was in Alvarez's time (chapters 58 to 61) ; it in its turn was abandoned after the massacre of the </t7t7/w.v by the \'izir Mujahid, in 1539. There was no further selection until the reign of .Sultan Segued (1632-65), when Wechne, near Emfras, was used; it was retained as late as Hruce's time. The Harris mission found the relations of the Shoa king imprisoned m a dungeon, and obtained their release. Johnson's idyllic pictures in " Rasselas" (Ras Sela Chrislos) had no foundation in fact. Our know- ledge is but fragmentary, but there can be no doubt but that the unfor- tunate captives were starved and ill-treated by their guards, who embezzled what was set aside for their maintenance. On the summit of Amba (ieshen, at least, the climate was very rigorous. None but the selected heir was ever allowed out of the mountain, and even he had to leave his wife and children behinil, and begin life afresh. Only

CASTANHOSO. I7

are at birth taken to this hill, and remain there and are brought up as king's sons, but never leave it or see any other country ; unless the heir who accompanies his father dies, when they take the eldest from the hill ; the others remain until the heir marries, and has sons, and sits on the throne, which he cannot do save on his father's death. Therefore, when the heir has sons, the princes leave the hill and go to their lordships, which have been already defined for them. These precautions are taken because the people are so evil that, on any dispute with the heir, if one of the princes were at large they would rebel under him ; thus this custom I describe has arisen because they meet with so little loyalty among them.

After the Queen had descended with her women and ser- vants (of the women there were about thirty, and of the men fifty) she and her ladies mounted the mules which were at the foot of the hill, which the Barnaguais had sent her, and started for D. Christovao's camp, where she was received by him and his troops very nobly, for by his order all were in full dress and in ranks, the captains with their soldiers, all match- lockmen, with their banners of blue and white damask with red crosses, and the royal standard of crimson and white damask, with the cross of Christ, heading the rest of the troops. The commander, a great gentleman {muito gentilhomem)} clothed in hose and vest of red satin and gold brocade with many plaits, and a French cape of fine black cloth all quilted with gold, and a black cap with a very rich medal, the captains and fidalgos and others with the best equipments they had, which were very fine. We saluted her twice with all the artillery and matchlocks, when we certainly made a show of being more than one thousand

kings' sons were imprisoned — not his daughters — but the sons and their descendants were retained for successive generations. The details in 15ruce are scattered over several references. ' Correa (vol. iv, p. 351) : "of the age of about 25 years.''

C

l8 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

Portuguese.^ After the review we drew up in two ranks, and the Queen with all her women remained between ; she was all covered to the ground with silk, with a large flowing cloak ipparlandas)^ and some men bore a silk canopy {esparavel) that covered her and the mule to the ground, with an opening in front for her to see through.' She was clothed in very thin white Indian cloth and a burnoose {albornoz) of black satin, with flowers and fringes of very fine gold, like a cloak {bedein), her head dressed in the Portuguese manner, and so muffled in a very fine cloth that only her eyes could be seen. The Barnaguais, lord of that country, walked on foot naked to the waist, with a lion or tiger's skin on his shoulders as a covering, with the right arm exposed,* and he led her by the bridle ; for it is the custom, whenever the Preste or his Queen makes a state entry, for the lord of the land to lead them by the bridle in the manner I describe, as a sign of submission ; and for twenty days they remain at court dressed as I have described. There came also with the Queen two lords like marquises, whom they call Azayes,^ and no one else can

» B, " Matchlocks."

' B, " She came on a very handsome black mule, all covered with silk to the ground."'

' B, " She and the mule were covered entirely by a canopy, and she journeyed so that no one could see her save when she desired- then she ordered the door to be opened in the canopy."

" Some men carried a silk canopy {docel), which covered her so that except from the front she could not be seen" (Tellez, Historia, Bk. 1 1, chap, vii, p. 1 1 8). "They covered her with a CAXiO^^ {esparaval) of white cloth, which covered her mule to the ground ; men carrying high rods bore this canopy, which was open in front for her to see out when she desired" (Correa, vol. iv, p. 350). Cf. account in Alvarez of the Preste's "canopy," p. 232.

♦ Baring the shoulders is a custom noticed by most travellers. Alvarez (pp. 53 and 59) may be consulted.

' Azaj is a judge. The preface to Bruce's History of Abyssinia^ which is not by Bruce, says there were four from whom the bench was formed in all cases (Bruce, vol. iii, p. 24). Basset {httudes, note, p. 256), however, says that this word is connected with the root to order, and means an intendant or major-domo ; this appears to be the meaning in this passage.

CASTANHOSO. IQ

wear their uniform in the way they do, and by it they are recognised ; this is a garment {sobre cavtiaa) to the ground, tunics of silk garnished with silk of its own colours, reaching to the ground, with a train of two palms behind like a woman's ; these tunics laced, and over them cloaks.^ They accompanied the Queen one on one side and the other on the other, near her, with their hands on the mule ; the Queen rode on a saddle with a low pommel, with a stirrup for the left foot, and the right leg doubled over the pommel, but so covered with her garments that no one could see the manner of her sitting, and her ladies all riding properly on mules muffled in their cloaks. When the Queen arrived among the Portuguese she stopped, astonished at what she had never seen before. D. ChristovSo, the captains and the fidalgos, went near to speak with her ; and to welcome them with honour and good grace she ordered the canopy in which she travelled to be opened, and she lowered her muffling a little, showing much pleasure while he spoke. The words which he spoke are these : —

Speech of the Commander to the Queen.

Most Christian Queen. The Governor of India was with his fleet in the Red Sea, defeating the infidels of our holy faith in the service of the most Christian King of Portugal, my lord ; after he had wasted many towns and places, he was in the port of Massowa, on his return to India, when there arrived this captain, who holds your highness's bridle, on an Embassy from the Preste your son, and bringing letters from you, begging the Governor, in the name of God and the King of Portugal, to take pity on this Christian kingdom, so wasted and tyrannized over by the enemy ; begging him to send some aid, as it was his custom to assist the helpless, because for fourteen years the enemy had occupied his country, doing much harm and injury. When the Governor learned what need this kingdom had of help, and what service he would do to God and the King in helping it at this time, he sent him (me) and these soldiers for the moment ; in the coming year he will send more men, so that with the help of our I-,ord God, that kingdom

^ In the copies of Castanhosoj both A and B, the words of this description have become displaced. In Correa (vol. iv, p. 350), how- ever, they are arranged rightly.

C2

20 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

will soon again be prosperous ; and that trust can be placed in his (my) words, for all the Portuguese who were there had come ready to die for the faith of Christ and the salvation of that kingdom.*

All these words were translated by an interpreter we had with us, a Portuguese, who knew the language well, who knelt before the Queen.^ She was very content and joyful at the words, and gave her thanks to D. Christovao as the one who desired to undertake the enterprise ; and she also thanked all the Portuguese much for their coming, saying that neither she nor any other prince could repay the King of Portugal, her brother, for the great help he had given : only the Lord of Heaven who is over all. That the help which the Governor had sent her and her son, he had sent to the King of Portugal, because those kingdoms were his, and they held them for him. The speeches finished, we conducted the Queen to her tents, for they had already been pitched on the plain near the city.^

CHAPTER VI.

Of how D. ChristovHo visited the Queen, and of how the Winter was spent till the beginning of marching.

Two days later, D. Christovao visited the Queen, to enquire her pleasure, and ask what she wished done. He went with all his troops, armed with glittering and shining weapons, with fife and drum, and all in ranks with lances and matchlocks. We went through our drill (i(?;ya)* twice

^ The form of the speech changes suddenly to the oblique at the end.

' Possibly Ayres Dias.

3 Correa (vol. iv, p. 351) adds: "there remained with her the Barnegaes and the patriarch, with whom the Queen delighted to talk, and hear the things he told her of Portugal."

drill was learnt from the Swiss companies, it came through Italy.
 * Soi^a is connected with Suissa (Switzerland), and shows that this

CASTANIIOSO. .2!

in front of the Queen's tent, both with closed and open caracal ; the Queen watched this through an opening in the circuit of her tent, astonished to see the Portuguese with this new instrument of war, especially the closing and opening of the caracol^ in which her people fail. She was very pleased, giving many thanks to God for such delight as this, for it gave her a hope of renewed prosperity. When this was concluded, D. Christovao entered with the patriarch and the captains, to speak with her of those things which touched the service of herself and of her son. When this conversation was finished, leave was taken, and we returned to our camp.^ D. Christovao determined to spend the winter in getting ready for the war by preparing carts for our artillery and munitions, and for fortifying our camp wherever we might be ; we made these with much labour, for we cut the wood and sawed it, as the natives of the country have not the wit for anything.^ D. Christovao was the master of the works ; he arranged them as if he had been a carpenter all his life, and it was his pleasure to spend all his days at it. When we had been in this camp a month, there arrived an Ambassador from the Preste, with letters for his mother and for D. Christovao, in which he wrote pleasant words : that he was not astonished at the great help his brother had sent him, as he was sure that he should receive it from so renowned a King ; that the people of his country had a prophecy, made many years before

Littrd explains the French word caracole as a term used when a squadron turned by ranks and not by files. The Italian translator seems to have mistaken the sense ; caracol is indeed a winding stair, but the word here does not denote a device for scaling fortified places— there were none in Abyssinia. Caracol seems to have been a movement by which the front rank retired after delivering their volley, to allow the rear rank to deliver theirs.

1 Correa (vol. iv, p. 352) : " After this they made many houses of wood and straw, which was in plenty, where all the people were housed."

' Apparently these were sledges and not wheeled conveyances ; old matchlocks were used to make runners.

22 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

the kingdom was overrun, that it would be recovered by white men come from far, who were true Christians ; that they would free all Ethiopia from the bondage of the enemies of our holy faith, who for fourteen years had possessed it with absolute power, and dwelt in it as if it were their own country; that the Lord God had done him the great favour that in his time had come what was desired of so many; that he begged D. Christovao to march towards him, and that he would do the same ; that in no other way could they so quickly meet, as the length of road between them was great ; finally, he sent greetings to all the Portuguese. On this letter D. Christovao agreed with all that, when the spring came they would start and endeavour to join the Preste ; with this hope we worked harder at the carts, so that twenty-four were completed before the end of winter, with much labour, as I have already said. We also made eleven racks for the carts that were to carry the hundred swivel guns,^ for our artillery consisted of these I have mentioned, six half- bases and two bases ; these eight pieces had each its own cart, and in the other five carts were powder and ball. In the middle of the winter, with the permission and by the order of the Queen, we made two attacks on certain places near our camp, which were in rebellion and refused to submit ; there we captured several mules for our riding, for, up to here, as I have said, we had marched on foot as we had nothing to ride ; we also took many bullocks and cows, which we trained and broke to the yoke {cangd) to drag the carts, which cost us great labour. All the winter we watched our camp carefully, as was necessary, and kept our quarter-guard armed, for we heard that the King of Zeila had sent his spies to discover how we were placed,

• Correa (vol. iv, p. 353) : " Mosquetes, which were long matchlocks that the patriarch had brought from the kingdom."

CASTA NFIOSO. 2$

and how many we were, and what watch we kept ; for this reason, therefore, and also to inure ourselves to labour, wc armed ourselves each night, as we expected that the labour of the next winter would be even greater than that of this. Watching in this way we took two spies of the King of Zeila, who were among us, clothed like Abyssinians ; from them we learned where the enemy was, and how numerous he was, and what else we wanted. When D. Christovao had learned this from them, he ordered them to be pulled to pieces by the carts : at which sentence the Abyssinians were terrified, so that no one would again run into this danger.

CHAPTER VII.

0/ how D. Chrisiovdo began to marchy and of the Order of his March.

On December 15th, 1541, when the winter had ended, and all preparations were completed, we began to march with the Queen and her women and attendants, and two hundred Abyssinians, who helped us to convey the baggage and transport.^ Our force marched with the most complete dis- cipline, and the order of our rout was this. Every day two captains, with their soldiers, accompanied the carts on foot to guard them, for we had no other men of the country with us to help, save the two hundred Abyssinians I have mentioned, and they looked after the droves of cattle, for there were many laden oxen with the goods of the army ; while these two captains went on foot, the remainder marched armed, guarding the whole ; in the rear followed

• " In the month of Tahsas (December) Gran went to Tigrd ; the Franks left Debaroua, having with them Ite Sahla Wangel, mother of the King, who sent them assistance with prudence and wisdom." (In Perruchon's version (p. 264) this last sentence is translated, "strengthened them by his wise advice") "and supplied them with the necessary fuod stuflTs" (Basset, Etudes, p. m).

24 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINiA.

the Queen, and I was on guard over her with fifty Portu- guese, all arquebusiers, with their arms loaded and matches lighted, for such were my orders. D. Christovao inspected all the army twice a day accompanied by four horsemen, saw how matters were progressing, and if anything were needed ; for this purpose he kept fast free-trotting mules, of which there are very good ones in that country. Each day, the two captains changed from foot to horse, and two others left their mounts to go with the carts. We marched in this order, experiencing much trouble with the carts ; for in many places where the oxen could not drag them, we lifted them by main strength and on our shoulders, and they were all shod with iron. In this labour D. Christovao showed himself very earnest ; we marched thus with two men on horseback, and three or four Abyssinians also on horseback, scouting in front, besides other spies which the Queen had sent in advance to learn news of the Moors.^ We marched in this way eight days, and everywhere we passed, the country people, who were all cultivators, put themselves under the protection of the royal standard ; some Moors, who were collecting rents in the villages, fled on hearing news of us. At the end of eight days we reached a mountain in the lordship of the Barnaguais, which submitted to us ; here we passed Christmas : they call it Cabelaa} D. Christovio had a large tent fitted up

four men always accompanied him in visiting the hne, from the van to the rear: the two captains who were in front with the carts, half a league in advance, were changed every day, for the work was hard, as in places they found the roads such that tlie cattle could not drag the carts, and our men had to carry them over their shoulders. Two Portuguese on horseback, with four Abyssinians also on horseback, scouted the route for half a league in front of the captains with the carts, while still further in front were men of the country spying ; if they saw Moors, they returned with the news."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 353) : " D. Christovao had four horses, on which

^ B has Cabeda ; Correa, Caboa. Couto's account is very confused. The Portuguese editor is unable to say whether the name refers to the place or the festival. Parkyns (vol. ii, p. 82) calls Christmas Day Liddet ; speculation is useless.

CASTANHOSO. 2$

with an altar, with a very reverential picture of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, where Mass was said by the patriarch and the Portuguese Mass- priests, who were in our company. We remained all night armed before the altar, and the matins wore very solemn for such a country, as we had bagpipes {charamellas\ kettledrums {atahales), flutes, trumpets, and the full Mass ; that night we all confessed, and at midnight Mass received the holy sacrament. The Queen looked on at all this from her tent, which was pitched in front ; she was much astonished at our customs, which appeared to her very fitting ; she was so delighted to see them and our Mass that, to get a better view, she and one of her ladies, both muffled, left the tent so secretly that her own servants did not miss her, for those who knew what had happened made the greater fuss ; thus the ladies in the tent, as well as those outside, kept moving the people from the line of sight of the tent. Thus she went about, seeing all that passed, as several other ladies did, and in this had much pleasure. They celebrated the same feast on the same day ; many friars came in from the country around, and there were several in the Queen's train, some priests and some friars, for they said Mass wherever she happened to be ; and all these joined in celebrating the birth with all joy and solemnity.* At the end of the octave of Christmas we marched for two days'^ by a very rough road, where the carts travelled with great trouble to us. At the end of these days we reached a very high hill, so extended that it borders all that country : to follow our road we had of necessity to cross itk The Queen and her people were very doubtful whether we could get more than ourselves across it, in fact, they were certain we

a saturnalia.
 * According to Harris (vol. iii, p. 198), Christmas in Shea was rather

of the hill.
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 354) says six days. He must include the ascent

26 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

could not. D. Christovao, seeing that the carts could not be dragged over it, ordered us to take every cart to pieces, and remove the artillery and munitions from them. We then carried all these things on our backs, little by little, with the very greatest labour ; D. Christovio was the first to carry on his back whatever he could. It took us three days to get to the top of this hill ; and such was our labour that, had it happened at any other time, as much could have been written of it as of the labour of Hannibal in crossing the Alps : for, few as we were, it was much more for us to get to the top in three days than for Hannibal with his army to cross in a month. After this, the Queen believed that there were no people equal to the Portu- guese, for she had considered it very difficult for us to reach the summit. On the top was a city, which from the outside looked very fine, with windows and white walls ; the houses were terraced above and inside arranged after the Moorish fashion.'

CHAPTER VHI.

Of how D. ChristovHo examined the top of this Mountain^ and of what he found there.

Above this city, on the highest point, was a hermitage, very white, and of such steep ascent that it was with great difficulty that any one could reach it, for the pathway was very narrow and twisting. Close to this hermitage was a /^ small house (casin/ia), in which were some three hundred men, more or less, all desiccated {mtrrados), sewn up in

There seems to be good ground for not accepting the line suggested by the Italian translator. The indications in this chapter are vague ; but in the next a point is reached which admits of identification.
 * This part of the march has been discussed in the Introduction.

CASTANHOSO. 2/

very dry skins, the skins much decayed^ but the bodies entire.^ The people of the country said that these men had come to that country many years before, and had conquered it in the time of the Romans ; others said they were saints ; the patriarch, Dom Joao Bermudez, said also that they were saints, who had been martyred here, and that he had heard this said when he had passed there on another occasion. Some men took some relics from them, but there were none of the country who could say how it had happened, nor had they any writing showing who they were ; but of necessity there must be something, since for so many years these three hundred white men have been here together all dried up, although the country is so cold and so dry that it is nothing for dead bodies to dry up on that hill, for the living run much risk ; I was never in such another country, for it was so cold, and the air so dry, that we thought that we should all die.' After we had rested


 * Cosidos com couros mui secos e os couros mui gastados.

" B adds : "save that they wanted the tips of their noses, and, in some cases, fingers." Correa (vol. iv, p. 355) describes the bodies as follows : "over three hundred desiccated corpses of men encksed in hides sewn up {metidos en coiros coseytos)^ much decayed, but the bodies were sound and whole."

3 Sir Clements Markham {History of the Abyssinian Expedition^ pp. 23 and 195) identifies this place with the church of St. Romanos, at Harakit, near Senafe. In a MS. note with which he has favoured me, he describes the place thus : "Church of St. Romanos, on a ledge, 500 feet above the valley, perpendicular precipice above and below. Behind the church, on an almost inaccessible ledge, there is a clump of date palms, and here a cell is hewn in the rock as a hermitage." This hermitage is Castanhoso's casinha, Wilkins (p. 279) says he saw the bodies through a hole in the side, the outlines of the figures being perceptible through the cloths in which they were enshrouded. There can be no doubt that the identification made by Sir Clements Markham, is correct. Apart from the name, the march up to Senaf^ on the west is a sharp rise, such as Castanhoso describes, and the province of Agamd is, as he says, only some 25 miles distant. As a negative argument, it may be noted that the route of Alvarez, as far as can be ascertained, took him west and south of Senaf^, nearly along the line the Italian translator suggests for D. Christovao, yet he never mentions these bodies, as he certainly would have if he had seen or heard of them. Through the kindness of Sir Clements Markham a photograph of the casinha is reproduced in this volume.

28 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

from our past labours, and were all armed and ranged in ranks, we again began our march. Beyond the hill the the ground was flat, with no descent, and thence onwards all plain, over which we marched for two days, when we reached the lordship called Agam^, of which the Captain was an Abyssinian who had sided with the Moors, and who had, from fear of our arrival, recently fled. The cultivators came out to receive us, bringing much food ; they excused themselves to the Queen, saying they could do nothing else, that they had obeyed under compulsion. Among them came a Captain, brother of the Captain of that land, whom the cultivators brought as their leader, who was always for the Preste, and who had always separated himself from his brother, seeing the great treason he had committed to his King. When he heard that the Portuguese had arrived with the Queen, he came to visit D. ChristovSo, and gave an account of himself, begging him to consent, having respect to his past when he had always remained loyal, to help him to obtain from the Queen a grant of those lands as his ancestors had held them ; all the people of the country also desired him for their Captain and lord. D. Christovao, seeing the dis- position of the people, and understanding that it was true, arranged with the Queen to give him a grant of it ; it was immediately made over to him with all the ceremonies usual in such cases. We stayed here eight days, arranging the administration of the districts, and from all of them persons came to yield obedience. We passed here the Epiphany,^ during which the Abyssinians hold a great festival ; and as it is very different from that of our country, I will explain it.

On the day of the Epiphany, before sunrise, the Queen

This must be an error ; as they recommenced their march from •' Cabelaa" after the octave of Christmas, they must have passed the Epiphany at the hermitage.

CASTANHOSO. 29

and her ladies, and all the other people, went to the bank of a stream hard by, where several tents had been pitched ; one was for the Queen to hear Mass. The patriarch and all the ecclesiastics went to the river, and the patriarch blessed the water where the Queen and the others were to bathe ;^ after the blessing, the Queen, all covered with many cloths, so that she could not be seen, went undressed into the water and bathed, and thence went to her tent, and her ladies did likewise. The patriarch and all the friars and priests went a little apart and washed themselves, and then went to say Mass with great music and festivity, in which the whole day was passed -^ on the following we marched. On the march there joined D. Christovilo the Captains who had escaped into the strong mountains, and who, hearing the news of the Portuguese who were marching through their country with their Queen, left the mountains and came to meet us ; but they brought no following to help us, only themselves and their immediate relatives. We marched in this way very slowly, not being able to advance more than two or three leagues a day.'

' The share of Bermudez was certainly easier than that of " the old priest master of the Preste," whom Alvarez saw, who had to remain " naked as when his mother bore him (and quite dead of the cold, because it was a very sharp frost), standing in the water up to his shoulders."

- The account of the celebration of the Abyssinian Epiphany varies greatly in different writers. Alvarez (p. 241) describes what he saw in South Abyssinia, which verged rather on an orgie. Hruce, who knew only North Abyssinia, attacks Alvarez as guilty of a libellous cari- cature (Bk. v, chap. xii). Krapf, however (Isenberg and Krapf, p. 184), and Harris (vol. iii, p. 200), who saw the celebration in Shoa, agree very closely with Alvarez. On the other hand, Castanhoso's account (he saw it in the north) agrees with .Bruce, as do those of Parkyns (vol. ii, p. 78), and Pearce (vol. ii, p. 18), who were both in the same part. The ceremonies, then, vary in the north and south. The most informed and informing account will be found in Bent, p. 53. As he was also in the north, his account differs little from Castanhoso's.

' A Portuguese league is said to equal 3.858 English miles,

30 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

CHAPTER IX.

Of how D. ChristoViJo^ on his March^ found a very strong Hill^ and made arrangements to attack it.

Near this, D. Christovao learned that there was a hill standing in the middle of a plain which we had to cross, that was held for the King of Zeila, and on it one of his Captains, a Moor, with fifteen hundred archers and buckler men. The hill was naturally very strong, standing alone, and very lofty. There were only three passes to it, all easily defended ; each pass lay a matchlock shot distant from the other. At the beginning of the rise, in the first pass, was a very strong stone wall with its gate. Leaving the gate, the ascent is very steep, and by a very narrow path easily commanded by those on the summit. At the top is a gate in the living rock, through which is the entry. At this point of the pass was a Captain with five hundred men. The second pass is not so strong, but any way the path is a very difficult one ; for it is also commanded from the sum- mit, as I have explained, and at the top is another door, where was another Captain with five hundred men to defend the ascent. The third pass is the strongest of all, as from all outward appearance it is impregnable ; for there is no path save over slippery rocks entirely exposed to the summit, so that any stone would do great damage. Men can only climb up with naked feet to a projection ; from this up is four fathoms,^ and the rock is scarped with only a few holes chiselled out and some chinks, and over this one must proceed, or clamber by help of spears. Above was another Captain with five hundred men, who defended the pass.*

' Brai^a translated " fathom" as a measure of length equal to 2.2 metres, or rather over seven English feet.

certain holes and breaches in the rocks, by which they entered."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 356) : " Above, on the edge of the hill, were

CASTANHOSO. 3 1

The top of the mountain is very flat, with a few hillocks. In the centre is a very high peak, visible for a long distance, and from its foot there gushes a fountain of very excellent water, so copious that it irrigates the whole hill ; thus they sow on it food grains in sufficiency, and maintain numbers of cows and all kinds of cattle. The circum- ference is about a league. They kept there nine horses, with which they used to raid the country. They captured many people from the skirts of the hill, and did such damage that the very inhabitants, who were subject to them, dared not pass that way. On the summit was a large church, which they had turned into a mosque. Before the hill was captured, it was the custom of the kingdom for all the kings of the country to be crowned here, like the Emperors in Rome ; and nowhere else could it be done save here. The Moors captured it by treachery in this way. The King of Zeila sent several of his men, disguised as merchants, to start a fair at the foot of the hill, which they did ; and when they saw the people immersed in the fair, and in the desire of buying, selected men, under colour of desiring to obtain lodgings, ascended, and when there captured the hill.^ This was the first step the King of Zeila took to conquer the country ; for when he knew that the hill was held for him, he marched with his army, and subdued all the more defenceless country between his own and the hill. As the Preste was at that time some distance away he could not easily assist ; still he would never have been defeated had his men been as loyal as the Portuguese, even although they were much weaker than they are. When D. Christovao heard that this hill lay on his road he enquired about it, and determined to take it in order not to

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 356) : "which the Moors had held for eight years, when our men reached there and camped at the foot of the hill, that is, Ffebruary ist, 1542, the eve of the Purification of Our Lady."

32 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

leave any danger behind him. When the Queen heard of D. Christovab's intention she sent for him, and told him that he should not think of daring such a great deed with so small an army ; that they should march and join the Preste, and then they could do everything — that it was less difficult to fight twelve thousand men in a plain, and destroy them, than to capture that hill. To this D. ChristovSo re- plied that she should fear nothing, as they were Portuguese, and they hoped to be able, with the help of God, to cap- ture it with very little loss ; that she should be at ease, for they would all die before any harm came to her. With these words she and hers were somewhat pacified, and agreed that D. Christovao should act in the matter as he pleased, but very doubtful that the attempt could be satis- factorily prosecuted. All this while we were approaching the hill.i

captains, who all knew it well, gave information as to the hill, and D. Christovao determined not to go further without capturing the hill. Having settled this in his heart, he discussed it with the patriarch, the Barnegaes and his captains, saying that it did not appear to him right to advance, leaving these Sloors behind, passing their very gate. That it would seem a cause for mockery {judaria)^ and that they refused to fight them through fear ; that it would greatly hearten the Moors and greatly depress the Portuguese : seeing that, although they came to aid the Preste and to drive the Moors out of the kingdom, they still passed without attacking and capturmg that hill. All considered that D. Christovao spoke well, but their judgment was opposed to what he suggested, more especially as the Queen had often said to him that she would prefer, and that it would be the best plan for D. Christovao to adopt, to undertake nothing against the Moors, unless they sought him, until he had joined and seen the Preste ; that when they were united they could do what seemed right. Further, if they did attack this hill now, and some disaster happened to D. Christovao and he died, all would be lost, and she would have to return and fly to the hill where she had been. D. Christovao weighed these reasons, and replied that in no way whatever could he forego attacking that hill, as the Moors were in his very road ; that he had great hopes in the Passion of our Lord that He would give him victory over the unbelievers in His holy faith, as He always did ; that everywhere where Portuguese fought Moors, even though they were few, they defeated many Moors. This he hoped in His holy pity would now be the case." • The position of this hill has been fully discussed in the Introduction,
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 356) : " The country people and the Abyssinian

CASTANHOSO. 33

CHAPTER X.

Of how D. Christovito pitched his Camp on the skirts of the Hilly and of how he took Order to attack it.

On the morning of the next day, February ist, 1542, the eve of the day of the Purification of Our Lady, we pitched our camp, and as D. Christovao came with full knowledge of the approaches, as soon as we were in sight he allotted them to the Captains : to Francisco Velho and Manuel da Cunha, with their people and three pieces of artillery, the first approach, with the wall at the foot, the attack to be made at a given signal ; to the second he appointed Joao da Fonseca and Francisco de Abreu, with three other pieces of artillery, and with the same instructions as to the signal ; as the last approach was the strongest and most dangerous, he selected it for himself with the remaining people. There remained on guard over the Queen sixty soldiers with matchlocks and pikes,^ who were angry and discontented that they were excluded from the attack. That day also, late, D. Christovao made a feint of attack- ing, signalling to the Captains and bringing his artillery close, drawn up in order {posse em ardent) -^ he did this to learn where it would be better to attack with matchlocks, and where the artillery would cause greater damage ; and also to induce them to expend their munitions and magazines, which would help us on the following day. It is

and Castanhoso's mistake in calling it the hill on which the Kings of Abyssinia were crowned has been pointed out. Castanhoso is correct as to the time the Muhamedans must have held the hill, as the Imam Ahmad began his advance on Tigr^ about 1533. From Basset [Histoire, p. 422), it would appear that "Amb4 Sandt" was the Muha- niedan headquarters to which the Imam returned with his booty after a raid in the direction of Aksum.

' B, " there remained with the Queen a few Portuguese and the I'arnagaes and his men to guard her."

" B omits these three words.

D

34 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

difficult to believe how thick the stones and arrows fell when we got near ; and they let fall rocks from the hill above, which caused us great fear and damage. When D. Christovao had seen all he wanted^ he retired. When the Moors saw this, it appeared to them that we could not attack them, and their delight was so excessive that all night they made great clamour with many trumpets and kettledrums. The Queen, too, became very sad and distrustful, for it seemed to her as it appeared to the Moors, that there was no more determination in us than that, for she had watched all. As D. Christovilo, from what he was told, understood her distrust, he sent to tell her why he had advanced and retreated ; and that in the morning her highness would see how the Portuguese fought, and what men they were.'^ That night we spent in careful guard.^

CHAPTER XI.

Of how the Portuguese attacked this Hill and captured it, wiih the Death of some.

At dawn, on the following day, we all commended our- selves to Our Lady, and made a general confession before a crucifix, held in his hands by a Mass priest, and received absolution from the patriarch ; when this was done* we fell into our ranks, and marched to the hill, each to his own pass, as had been before arranged. At D. ChristovSo's

» Correa (vol. iv, p. 358) adds : "he signalled with a trumpet and"

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 358) has : " D. Christovao went to see the Queen, who told him this ; but D. Christovao told her that he had not ascended then, but that he would the following day, which was a very holy one."

' li adds: "both on the camp and on the approaches, lest the Moors should attack us, as we suspected they would do."


 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 358) : " Jvhen all had breakfasted."

CASTANHOSO. 35

signal we all attacked together, and our artillery helped us greatly, for it all fired high,^ and caused the Moors great fear, so that they dared not approach close to the edge of the hill, whence they could have wrought us much damage with a vast store of rocks ; had it not been, as I say, for the artillery and matchlocks, which searched every place, they had killed many from the top, this helped us greatly.^ All the same, they treated us very badly, and killed two men of ours before we began to climb the hill. D. Christov2io, seeing the evil treatment they gave us, attacked the ascent very briskly, and \vc all followed him with our lives in our hands ; when we got under shelter of the hill the stone- throwing did us less harm, and then we began to ascend the pass. D. Christovao headed the climb by the help of his pike, and of fissures in the rocks ; here many were wounded, and all twice beaten back,* but our matchlocks kept off the Moors from approaching the pass.* With this help we forced our way in, D. Christovao being among the first, and he certainly gave this day proof of his great courage, and it was his valour that rendered the capture of the pass easy. The Moors were so hard pressed that the commander had not time to mount his horse ; when he saw the Portuguese on the summit, he prepared, with his five hundred companions, to defend themselves, animating and urging them to advance ; but with all they could not await the impetuosity of the Portuguese. At the time these Moors gave way, Manuel da Cunha and Francisco Vclho were already on the top with their following, the forcing costing them much labour. They suffered a good deal, and many Portuguese were wounded before they


 * B, " our artillery fired very quickly."


 * Correa (vol. ^iv, p. 358) : " the Moors merely throwing

stones from the mside at hazard."

' B adds : " having nearly reached the top."

who, through fear, dared not come too close."
 * B, *' Our artillery helped us, as it fired at the Moors on the top,

D 2

36 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

entered the outer gate ; between the two gates the Moors slew two Portuguese. The Moors would not close the last gate, thinking they could take better vengeance inside. When our men did get in, they found them formed up in one body, with the commander and three others on horseback. Our men, seeing them collected together, attacked with the shout of "St. James!" falling on with lance - thrusts and sword - cuts, and the battle^ raged. The commander at this pass fought like a very valiant man. He ran a Portuguese through with a javelin he carried, transfixing him through his armour ; then he drew his sword, and delivered such a blow on another's head that he dashed his helmet into his skull and felled him to the ground senseless. Seeing then the destruction that Moor wrought, three attacked him at once, threw him down, and he died the death he deserved. While this was in progress, the third pass of Joao da Fonseca and Francisco de Abreu was entered, with the same opposition as the others ; and in the forcing they slew two of their men. When the Moors saw the passes were occupied they retreated, the one body on the other, neither knowing of the other's defeat ; thus they all collected under our swords and pikes, and remained in a trap whence none escaped. Those who had fled early hid in the houses, and were all killed by the Abyssinians, who delighted in doing it. Some Moors pre- ferred to throw themselves from the summit, hoping they might escape ; but they were all dashed to pieces. After the capture of the hill, we searched the houses, where we found many captive Christian women and many other Moor women.'^ We also captured nine horses and ten

-^ ' Correa (vol. iv, p. 359) : '* Many Moor women were also captured, but D. Christov.^o ordered that all the Moor men should be slain, so that only a few fitted for service were retained. The Moor women he sent to the Queen, but she refused to see them, and ordered all to be killed."
 * A has baralha^ a shuffling as of cards. B has batalha, a battle.

CASTANHOSO. 37

very handsome mules, besides many others, perhaps seventy or eighty. When we mustered, we found a loss of eight Portuguese, who had been killed in the attack, and over forty wounded.^ D. Christovao went straight to the mosque after the victory, and directed the patriarch and the padres who had followed to consecrate it, in order that Mass might be said the next day. They gave it the name of Our Lady of Victory, and we buried there the eight Portuguese. D. ChristovSo next sent to ask the Queen if she wished to see the hill in the condition in which the Moors had held it. She was astonished at the ease with which we had carried it ; she considered that all the Moors who were on the summit could not possibly be killed. When she was told by her people that it was true, she said that indeed we were men sent of God, and she thought all things were possible to us, but that she did not wish to ascend the hill, as the road was so full of dead bodies that it would pain her. When everything had been arranged, D. Christovao came to the Queen, leaving on the summit those wounded who could not be moved, as they were weary and their wounds cold. The Queen gave the hill to one of her Captains, whose ancestors had hqld it. The name of the hill is Ba^anete. We spent the whole month here resting, in order to cure the wounded. As the news spread over the country, the inhabitants came to us with ample supplies, and with all that we needed. At the end of February, before we left here, there joined us two Portuguese with six^ Abyssinians to guide them, sent by Manuel de Vasconcellos, who was in Massowa in command of five ships, sent by D. EstevSo from India, to learn what had happened to us ; whether we needed any help or anything,' as we should be provided with all.


 * B, •• Fifty wounded." ' B, ** two Abyssinians."

• B, " whether we were dead or living."

38 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

D, Christovao, in particular, and we all were much pleased at this news ;^ and Francisco Velho was at once ordered to get ready with forty men, to go to Manuel de Vasconcellos and give him letters for the Governor, his brother ; and in the same bundle were enclosed letters for the King, our lord, in which he reported to him the country he had reduced to obedience to the Queen, that is, about forty leagues, and this merely through dread of the Portuguese name. They also went to the fleet, to bring back the powder and the munitions necessary for the war.^ When Francisco Velho had started, the Queen and D. Christovao determined to shift their camp to eight leagues away : to some plain country where supplies were very abundant, as the lord there was a Christian, and had become subject to the Moors against his will. He wrote to the Queen to invite her, as she would be better supplied there, for he was and always had been hers. He explained his obedience to the Moor as extracted from him by force, and asked her pardon. We marched there to await the Portuguese, who should not take more than fifteen days in


 * B, "to get news of India."

guese, who came from the Straits, with men of the country to guide them, sent by Manuel de Vascogoncellos, who had passed the Straits with five foists, who had been very strictly commissioned by the Governor, D. Estevao, to learn news of D. Christovao. As they brought many. letters from India for all, the arrival of these men caused great pleasure, chiefly to D. Christovao, who showed his letters to the Queen, in which his brother told him that if he required more men he would, on the arrival of his message, send him as many as he required ; which caused great joy to the Queen and all the camp. As Manuel de Vascogoncellos said that he would wait a month for the men who brought the letters to receive his answer, and that as for the many things he brought -garments and Cambay cloths— he would not land them till he had received his reply, D. Christovao told off Francisco Velho with his fifty men, to proceed to Massowa to bring all these things, and those entrusted to the men in the foists ; they were also to bring four bases, and powder and bullets as much as they could ; not to delay, but to return immediately. Francisco Velho started at once with men of the country as guides."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 360) : " Early in March there arrived two Portu-

CASTANHOSO. 39

coming and going,* as they travelled on very free-going mules, and only carried their arms, and there was no reason for longer delay.

CHAPTER XII.

Of how D. Christovilo^ in nearing the plains of /arte, met an Ambassador from the Preste, and of the Warning received that the King of Zeila was near.

We had marched for two days towards Jarte {para o farte\ which is the lordship of that Captain I mentioned, when, while we were pitching our camp, there arrived an envoy from the Preste, with a message for the Com- mander to march as quickly as might be, while he did the same, in order to join before meeting the King of Zeila, who had a large force, and with whom a fight by one alone would be perilous. Thus we marched on until we reached the plains, where came the Captain of the country, to ask pardon and pity of the Queen, who pardoned him, for she had had many communications from him, and knew that he was always a Christian. He visited D. Christovao, and presented him with four very handsome horses, and told him that he knew that the King of Zeila was coming in search of us,^ and that many days could not elapse before we met him ; that he should make what arrange- ments were necessary, and that he himself would send out spies to discover what was occurring. D. Christovao asked him to do this, and determined to march slowly,

Massowa and back at fourteen days. This estimate agrees very closely with the above, if Bacjanete be in Haramat.
 * Pearce (vol. ii, p. 284) puts the time of going from Adowa to

at once when he heard of the capture of the hill." I have already stated that Jarte, to which the Portuguese were marching, is probably Wajarat.
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 361) : *' That the King of Zeila . . . had started

46 PORTUGUESE EXrEDITION TO ABYSSI^tA.

awaiting our men, fearing lest the King of Zeila should come on us before we joined the Preste. We marched forward in this way, with many spies ahead of us, who two days later returned to us with the news that the Moors' camp was near, and that we should meet before th? next day. When D. Christovao found that he could not avoid a battle with the Moors without losing the reputation we had gained, he determined to accept it ; for he felt, concerning the country people, that if he retreated to the hill they would disobey him, and would not assist him with any supplies ; and that it was far the greater risk to chance famine, and losing our prestige, than to fight the Moors, for victory is in the hands of God. With minds made up we continued our march, and when we reached some wide plains two horsemen, who had been ahead scouting the plain, returned, saying that the King of Zeila was a league away. We at once pitched our camp, and it was the Saturday before Palm Sunday.^ D. Christovao, as the Queen came in the rear, and had heard how near the enemies were, went out to receive her with great parade and joy, for she was a woman, and came filled with fear at the news. Encouraging her greatly, he placed her in the centre of our camp, which was this same day pitched in proper order,'^ and arranged to await in it the Moors ; for the ground was very suitable, as we occupied the best site on the plain, for we were on a hillock in it. All the night

' April 1st, 1542. Castanhoso's narrative does not lead us to expect that a month had elapsed since leaving Ba(,-anete. Following the Ethiopian chronicles, Bruce (vol. iii, p. 205) dates the battle March 25th. Where he got his statement that there were 12,000 Abyssinians with the Portuguese, I cannot discover. In chap, xiv Castanhoso says there were 200 only.

' Tellez(Bk. II, chap. X, p. 122): " D. Christovao at once pitched his camp on a hillock, which was in the middle of the plain, very proper for our purpose, near a beautiful stream called Afgol." In his chap, xvii, Bermudez, in this connection, mentions the monastery of Nazareth. As already pointed out in the Introduction, this supports the identification founded on the statement of Paez.

castanhoso. 4t

vvc watched vigilantly, and the following morning, at dawn, there appeared on the summit of a hill five Moorish horse- men, who were spying the plain ; when they saw us they re- tired to give the news to the King. Then D. ChristovSo sent two Portuguese on good horses to ascend the hill, and dis- cover how large the enemy's camp was, and where pitched ; they returned directly, saying that they covered the plains and were halted close to the hill. While his camp was be- ing pitched, the King of Zeila ascended a hill with several horse and some foot to examine us ; he halted on the top with three hundred horse and three large banners, two white with red moons, and one red with a white moon, which always accompanied him, and by which he was recognised ;^ thence he examined us, while the rest of his army, with its bannerets, descended the hill and surrounded us. Such was their trumpeting, drumming, cries, and skirmishing, that they appeared more numerous and stout-hearted [than they were]. D. Christovao, thinking they meant to attack us, visited all the defences. We were ready for the fight ; but they did no more than hold us surrounded all that day and that night, lighting many fires everywhere, and with the same noise and music. We feared them greatly that night, for every moment we thought they would attack us. We stood ready and armed, with powder-pots in our hands, matches lighted for the artillery and matchlocks, firing from time to time the bases as a guard, for we feared much their horsemen. We learned afterwards, from the Abyssinians who were with them, that they dared not attack us at night because our camp appeared from the outside very formidable, both because of the shots we fired frorh time to time, and

few years earlier than this, with all the mottoes on it, will be found in Basset {Histoire^ p. 88). It is there said to have been white, with a red border.
 * A very detailed description of the Imam Ahmad's standard, some

42 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

because of the many matches they saw lighted, of which they had great fear ; they said it could not be we were so few as we appeared by day.

CHAPTER XIII.

Of the Embassy the King of Zeila sent to D. Christovdlo.

After this night, passed in trouble, as I tell, on the morning of the next day, the King of Zeila sent a king-at- arms^ to D. Christovilo with a message : that he marvelled greatly how he had the audacity to appear before him with so small a force ; that indeed he seemed to be a mere boy, as rumour said, and innocent without experience. As he had been so deceived, he did not blame him, but the people of the country, who knew the truth. That they, indeed, were of small account, for they were disloyal to their own King. That he knew in fact that that woman had beguiled him, but that he should pay no more attention to her. That he, as a pitiful King, wished to have com- passion on him, and for his boldness in facing him (a thing which had not happened in fourteen years^ in that country), he would pardon his great temerity, on con- dition that he came over to him with all his Portuguese. That if he did not care to join him, that he could return to his own country. That he assured him no evil should befall him. That he treated him with this magnanimity because of his age and inexperience, and because he was sure that the woman had deluded him, by telling him that in those countries there was some other King than himself; but, since he now knew the truth, that he should do as he

> Correa (vol. iv, p. 363) : "A Moor, who came on horseback, with his Ijoy, who carried a white flag on a lance in front of him." » Correa (vol. iv, p. 364) : «' Thirteen years."

CASTANHOSO. 43

was ordered. With this he sent him a friar's cowl and a rosary of beads, making us all out friars — for so they call us.^ After D. Christovao had heard the King's message, he gave great honour and welcome to him who brought it, and gave him a red' satin garment, and a scarlet cap with a valuable medal ; and told him to return and he would send a reply to the King. Dismissing him, he had him accompanied out of the camp, and then discussed with the Captains and fidalgos what reply he should send to the Moor, and who should take the answer. It was agreed not to send a Portuguese — as there was no trusting a Moor — but a boy of a Portuguese, his slave and white.^ He was clothed finely, and given a mule to ride. His answer was a few lines written in Arabic, that the King might read it. This said that he had come here by order of the great Lion of the Sea, who is very powerful on land ; whose custom it is to help those who are helpless and need his assistance. That as he was informed that the most Christian King, the Preste, his brother in arms, had been defeated and driven from his kingdom by the infidels and enemies of our Holy Catholic Faith, he had sent the small succour that was here, which still sufficed against such evil and bad persons ; that reason and justice, which were on his side, were enough to defeat them, as they only con- quered that country because our Lord desired to chastise the Abyssinians for their sins. That he trusted that in future they would be free, and would recover possession of what they had had. That the following day he would see what the Portuguese were worth, and that was not to go over to him ; for they obeyed no lord save the King of Portugal,

' The play is onfrades ?lx\A frangis ; the statement is repeated in chap. XV. There may have been a confusion in the Abyssinian mind between the two terms, but not, as a comnjentator suggests, in Castan- hoso's. The words were common enougntn India.

» B, •• Dark coloured."

' B adds : " from India." Correa (vol. iv, p. 364) calls him a free man.

44 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

whose vassals all the Kings of India, Arabia, Persia, and the greater part of Africa were ; and the same, by the help of our Lord, he hoped to make him. With this he sent him small tweezers for the eyebrows, and a very large looking-glass — making him out a woman. The slave carried this message, but it did not please the Moor ; still, he said that people of such stomach, who though few yet wanted to fight him, were worthy that all Kings should do them much honour and favour. With this the slave returned. The Moor determined to continue the blockade, to see if he could not reduce us by famine. That day he did no more than hold us besieged, and creep somewhat closer to us. There were fifteen thousand foot, all archers and bucklermen ; fifteen hundred horse, and two hundred Turkish arquebusiers, of whom they thought a great deal, and with whom they had conquered all that country. They were indeed men of greater determination, for they came closer to us than any of the others, and helped him a good deal. They got so close that they made some breastworks of loose stones very near us, whence they did us some hurt. D. Christovao had to send Manuel da Cunha and Inofre de Abreu with seventy men to dislodge them, which they did. The horsemen tried to support the Turks, and here some Portuguese were wounded. From the camp our artillery killed some horsemen, and wounded many Moors.^ D. Christovao, finding that this engagement increased, ordered a trumpet to sound the recall, and they obeyed ; thus the day passed. That night D. Christovao determined (as our supplies were failing, and the Captain of the country who was with us was unable to help us, as we were blockaded) to join battle next morning early, as they refused to attack. Thus we passed the night with careful watch, and before dawn we began to get ready.


 * B, " killed with the artillery, four horse and some foot."

CASTANHOSO. 45

CHAPTER XIV.

Of how D. Christovdo fought the first Battle with the King of Zeila, in which the Moor was defeated^ and wounded by a matchlock Bullet.

After the artillery had been mounted on the carriages,^ and the tents and all the baggage loaded on mules, D. Christovao arranged his forces : the Captains with their men were in advance, the Queen with her women and all the transport in the centre, and the royal standard, with the rest of the force, in the rear ; thus we made a circle as we were surrounded on all sides ; the arrangements were completed before dawn without our being discovered.- At break of day, on Tuesday, April 4, 1542, we began to march towards the enemy. D. Christovao, with eight mounted Portuguese and four or five Abyssinians, visited every part of the force, arranging the men. When the Moors saw us advancing towards them, they raised such a noise of shout- ing, trumpets, and kettledrums, that it seemed as if the world were dissolving ; they showed great joy, thinking they had us already in their net. At this we began to do our duty with rriatchlocks and artillery, which played continually on all sides, so that we cleared the plain as we advanced.

used previously in chap. vi.
 * A uses here the word carrctoens \ B has carros^ which is the word

' " They" (the Franks and Ite Sabla Wangel) " met Grafi in the country of Anasa, and fought him on 29th of Magabit" (March 25th, 1542). "They fired at him with fire-arms, but he did not die" (Basset, iltudcs, p. III).

" During this same year (the second of GaUwdewos' reign) the children of Tubal, sons of Japhet, who were strong and valiant men, eager for battle hke wolves and hungering for the fight like lions, landed from the sea. They helped the church in her wars against the Muhamedans, and began with a success ; but when they thought their victory was complete it was not granted to them" (Conzelman, § 12, p. 130).

The inhabitants of the Spanish peninsula were traditionally said to be descended from Tubal.

46 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

The Turks, who were in our front, seeing the damage we caused, advanced close to us, and the battle began to rage. When the Moor found that the Turks were those who helped him most, he came in person against us with more than five hundred horse, and with the three standards that were always with him. Here we found ourselves in great trouble ; but our artillery stood us in good stead, for those in charge behaved like valiant men without fear, and fired so rapidly that the horse could never get near us, because the horses feared the fire ; still the Moors did us much harm, especially the Turks with their matchlocks. D. Christovao, seeing this, halted the force, ordering us not to fight save with the artillery, with which we did them much hurt ; and as one hundred Turks advanced very close to us, D. Christovao sent Manuel da Cunha to attack them with his men, that is, about fifty Portuguese. He obeyed, and the engagement waxed so fierce that the Turks seized the banner and slew the ensign and three other Portuguese ; they also killed and wounded many of the Turks ; Manuel da Cunha retired, wounded in the leg with a matchlock bullet. All this while D. ChristovSo was encouraging our people, always present where danger was greatest, many of ours being wounded ; he himself was wounded by another bullet in the other leg,* which was a great disaster for all, but for him an honour, for, wounded as he was, he behaved himself and acted as we find no example of any notable Captain in ancient or modern histories. The battle going thus, as I say, and it being now midday,' it pleased the Lord God to remember His servants, as He always does in times of such dire distress, when He is merciful. It

iicnse.
 * B omits both " another" and *' other," which, indeed, make no

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 367) : " Our men were in great trouble, for the Moors wounded them from all sides, and there was a great cry in the force, so that all thought that their last day had come."

CASTANHOSO. 47

appeared to us that we had the worst of the battle, and it appeared to the King of Zcila, who saw it from the outside, the opposite. He therefore advanced to encourage his men, and came so close to us that he was wounded in the thigh by a matchlock bullet, that pierced his horse, which fell dead under him. When they saw him fall, his ensigns lowered the three banners which accompanied him : this was the signal of retreat ; they lowered them three times, and then took him up in their arms and bore him away. When D. Christovao saw this he knew that the Moor had been wounded ; then sounding the trumpets and kettle- drums, we shouted "St. James!" and charged, with the Abyssinians who were with us, in number about two hundred. We slew many and followed them a space, where the Abyssinians avenged themselves on the Moors, slaying them as if they had been sheep. D. ChristovSo, as he had no horse to pursue, and as we were all very weary, and as we feared lest the Moorish horse should turn on us, con- tented himself with the victory our Lord had given him that day, which was not a small one. While we were in pursuit, the Queen had had a tent pitched and placed the wounded in it ; she and her women went about binding up the wounded with their own head-gear, and weeping with pleasure at the great mercy our Lord God had done them that day, for truly she had found herself in great fear and tribulation. Meanwhile, D. Christovao returned to where the tent was pitched, and had all the others pitched also. The dead on the battle-field were examined, to bury the Portuguese who had fallen. There were eleven, and among them Luiz Rodriguez de Carvalho, with a musket- ball through the head, the first man killed, Lopo da Cunha fidalgo, and a foster-brother of D. Christovao ;* there were

but this must be wrong. The man of that name survived the great defeat of D. Christovao, in the following August. For his bravery see chap. XX.
 * Cornea (vol. iv, p. 367) calls the foster-brother Fernao Cardoso ;

48 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

over fifty wounded, chiefly by matchlock bullets ; but the enemy paid heavily, for the field was full of them ; among them the Abyssinians recognised four of the principal Captains of the King of Zeila ; there lay dead on the field forty horses and thirty Turks.* After we had buried the dead we wanted to rest ; but the Captain of that country said to D. Christovao that we should not stay on that spot, as water was scarce, and there was little grass for the mules ; that we should approach the skirts of a range of hills two matchlock shots away, where water was plentiful, and where we should be lords of the country, through which abundant supplies could come from his territory, and the enemy unable to interfere. This was agreed to, and, after eating, we left that spot and went there. This day D. Christovao laboured much, for he attended to all the wounded himself; for the surgeon we had with us was wounded in the right hand. After attending to all the others, he tended his own wound last of all. When night fell, he sent a man very secretly, to travel night and day until he came up with the Portuguese who were in Massowa, to tell them of the victory and of the King's wound, and to direct them to hasten, as he hoped in God to be able, on their arrival, to finish the conquest. We stayed here, curing the wounded and resting, until the first Sunday after Easter,* both because the wounded could not carry arms, and in order to sec if the Portuguese came. After Easter and its octave had passed, D. Christovao, seeing that there was delay, and that the enemy would meanwhile be enabled to recruit their army, determined to fight a second battle on the Sunday, for we were in sight of each other.' It was

of Moors killed at over three hundred.
 * B, " over forty Turks." Correa (vol. iv, p. 367) puts the number


 * B, '' Doviingo lie Quasi modo," April 1 6th, 1542.

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 368): "Their camp was pitched in sight of ours, and the Queen and the patriarch sent men in disguise to spy what the

CASTANHOSO. 49

in this battle that the patriarch and others first saw the blessed St, James help us, in the shape in which he always does / there can be no doubt but that without his help, and chiefly that of our Lord, we should never have been victorious.

CHAPTER XV.

Of the Second Battle which D. ChristovcLo fought with the King of Zeila, in tvhich the King was defeated.

Thus, when the Sunday after Easter came, the camp was struck before dawn, and all were drawn up in order, with the artillery in its place, and the Queen with her women in the centre. After the patriarch had said the general confession and absolved us,' we marched against the Moors, who when they saw us also advanced. The King, still suffering from his wound, lay on a bed carried on men's shoulders. He came to encourage his men, but this was hardly necessary, for they were so numerous that merely seeing how few we were encouraged them ; besides, there had joined him a Captain with five hundred horse and three thousand foot ; and had we delayed longer many more would have come to him ; for his Captains were scattered over the country, and, when he was wounded, he called them all in, and they joined him daily. The Captain

Moors did, which they reported to D. Christovao, who was always on Kuard. By the spies D. Christovao had among the Moors, he learned that the Moor King was getting ready, and was calling in reinforce- ments to give him battle, while his men did not return from Massowa."

' Rermudez did not see him. See his chap, xvi, where he says that 1). Christovao, some Portuguese, the Baharnagash, and an aunt of the King's, saw him. Correa, vol. iv, p. 368, says he was seen in the first battle. Bermudez refers to the second battle, as also apparently does Castanhoso.

fession, and give plenary absolution, under a bull of the Pope's which he had."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 368): "told the patriarch to make a general con-

E

50 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

who had come in was called Grada Amar,^ and it was he who was the first to attack us. He, too, urged on the others, saying, how could so few as we were endure long against such a force. In his pride he attacked us with five hundred horse, and had all his men followed his example they would indeed have done us much hurt ; but from dread of the artillery, which slew many, they could not break our ranks ; but the Captain with four or five valiant Moors threw themselves on our pikes and died like brave cavaliers. D. Christovao all this time kept everything in the best possible order, and everyone fought with great courage ; but had the horse broken our ranks then our destruction was a certainty : for when this Captain attacked with his horse, all the others who were on horseback did the like from all sides. By the will of our Lord, at this time, a little powder accidentally caught fire in the part where we were weakest. Truly we thought we should all be burned when we saw the- fire in the powder, but as it told for our victory, we did not notice the loss it caused : that is, two Portuguese killed and eight burned, who were very badly injured.'^ The horsemen could not

Amar. "Garad," among the Muhamedans south of Abyssinia, means the governor of a district. Apparently this is the man whose defeat of GalAwdewos is referred to in the extract from Basset, quoted in the note to chap, ii, p. 9, above.
 * B, Gordamar. Correa, Gradamar. The name would be GarAd

men, being at push of spear with our men, and our men at push of pike with them, the Moors broke in at one place, where the line was weak and there was none to resist them ; but God in His pity helped, and fire caught in a little powder that was there, and killed two men and burned six others, who were at the point of death. This fire was so great that it frightened the horses, who fled over the plain without the Moors being able to master them. This wac the salvation of the force, among which the Moors had already forced their way ; and above all, the firing of the guns and the matchlocks, which the horses dreaded so much, that even the Turks did not dare to fire from among them. In this battle, I). Christovao, and the eight Portuguese horse- men with him, performed wonders, especially among the Turks who approached nearest, of whom many were killed and wounded. The horsemen drove them oflf, so that they could not come close, and
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 369): " But the Moors, those who were horse-

CASTANHOSO. 5 1

break in because of the fire I mention, as the horses were so frightened that they bolted over the plain with their riders. Meanwhile, we did our duty both with the artillery and the matchlocks, and the whole field was strewn with corpses. Eight Portuguese who were mounted did such deeds, that had they been done at any other time, they would have been held in remembrance. I will not name them, because the footmen would have done the same had they had horses ; their deeds while on foot prove this, for they went out to the Turks who came near us, and fought grandly : so that they drove them back far, leaving many dead and wounded on the field. When the Turks retired, and the horse ho longer came on, D. Christovao saw that they were shaken ; and we attacked them briskly, and drove them before us till they took flight. The victory would have been complete this day had we had only one hundred horses to finish it : for the King was carried on men's shoulders on a bed, accompanied by horsemen, and they fled with no order. D. Christovao pursued them for half a league, and killed many Moors, who in their haste took no thought of their camp and tents, which spoil fell to our lot. When we could no longer pursue the Moors, as we were very weary, we returned, and when we were mustered fourteen Portuguese were found missing, who were sought out and buried. As the grass on this plain was destroyed, D. Christovao and the Queen agreed to advance to camp by a stream that was near, to rest there, where there was more refreshment for the wounded, of whom there were more than sixty, and of these four or five subsequently died. We began our march, leaving the plain strewn with dead.

retreated. When D. Christovao saw this, he ordered the trumpets to sound, and charged before all, with his companions on horseback, shouting 'St. James!' At this our men acquired fresh heart and strength, and the Abyssinians mingled with our men, attacked the enemy briskly, and dislodging them from the plain put them to flight."

E 2

52 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

There was killed in this fight an Abyssinian Captain who was with us : a very valiant man. When we arrived in sight of the stream we saw the Moors halted on its banks, because, when they had crossed it the King thought that we were not in pursuit ; and as it was late and the place suitable, he desired to rest there. They fled when they saw us ; and an Abyssinian who joined us there, and who had been with them, told us afterwards that the King said •' these /rad^s will not let me long alone" — for thus they call us.^ The Moors started on their way, travelling all that night and eight days,^ without resting, and many who were wounded died on the march. As D. Christovilo would not pursue he went no further, but we pitched our camp there, tending our wounded. Two days later, the Portuguese who had gone to Massowa returned, and with them the Barnaguais, with thirty horsemen^ and five hundred foot, whom we welcomed with much joy ; but the Portuguese returned sadder than can be believed, because they were absent from the battles, and because they had not suc- ceeded in the business on which they had gone, nor had even seen our fleet, because of the Turkish galleys who guarded the harbour, in order that our foists should learn nothing of us, nor we of them.

CHAPTER XVI.

0/ hmv, on the Arrival of the Barnaguais and of the Portuguese^ D. Chris tovHo followed in Pursuit of the King of Z^ila.

D. CllRlSTOVAO was much rejoiced at the arrival of these men, and determined to pursue the Moor. He began his preparations at once, sending fourteen very badly wounded

' See note, p. 43, chap, xiii, above.

the same. Paez (Tellez, Bk. II, chap, xi, p. 127) gives eight days. ' B, "forty horsemen."
 * 15, " that night and the next day." Correa (vol. iv, p. 370) says

CASTA NHOSO. 53

Portuguese (of whom, as I have said, four or five died) to a hill governed by a Captain who was with us, called Triguemahon,^ who is like a Viceroy ; he went with us to the hill, and we were all on beds {catres)^ which was a heavy labour to those who carried us. Truly, the hospitality and honour we received from his wife and from himself cannot be expressed : for we were all so well provided and so well tended that in the houses of our own fathers we should have had no better, and I enlarge on this, for I was present.^ When, a month later, some of us were better, we returned to D. Christovao, for, directly he sent us to recover, he started in pursuit of the Moor. It took him ten days* to reach where he was, which was in a great and strong hill, opposite the entrance to the straits, because he did not dare to retire elsewhere, for the country people after his defeat refused to obey him or give him supplies ; and hence it suited him to retire to this hill, where he could recuperate, and could get assistance from the skirts of the sea, either from his own people or from the Turks, as it happened. Here, then, D. Christovao came up with him, and that with great labour, by reason of the rains and the mire, for the winter begins here at the end of April until September, as in India.^ And because, as I have said, the winter was beginning, it appeared better to the Queen to occupy another hill, which is called Ofala,* in

' C, Tigremaho. This is Tigre makuanam, or Governor of Tigr^, the name of the office, not the man. The then holder was called Degdeasmati Robel.

"^ B, " carried on the shoulders of Abyssinians."

' B, " as I was one of the wounded."

f B, " eight days."

■' B, '* the opposite of our Spain and the rest of Europe."

the Queen, Sabla Wangel, at Afia" ( Perruchon, Ofla) " with the Franks" (Basset, Etudes, p. iii). Couto {Dec. V, Bk. viii, chap, xiii) calls it the city of Offar. Paez, in Tellez, Bk. 11, chap, xi, p. 126, calls it Ofla. It is now called Wofla.
 * ■• " He" (Gran) "passed the winter at Zabl" (Perruchon, Zobl), "and

54 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

sight of this one/ and winter there, for now all the country people obeyed her, and in that country there were ample supplies ; further, it was on the road by which the Preste would come, and it might be that he would arrive soon. This seemed good to D. Christovio, and he determined to send a man to the Preste to acquaint him with the victory in the battles, that with this encouragement he might march more quickly. And when he had written he sent a mulatto,'^ called Ayres Dias,^ who knew the language of the country well, for he had been there in the time of D. Rodrigo de Lima, the Ambassador ; he sent this man because by reason of his colour and of his tongue he might pass for a Moor.* He reached the Preste, who was very pleased to hear what had occurred. The Queen collected many cultivators to make straw huts to winter in, which they made very diligently, for there are plenty of materials for this in the country, namely wood and straw ; they also brought all the necessary supplies in great abundance, for the soil is very fertile and the produce great. The King of Zeila finding that, by reason of his defeat, those of the country refused to obey him or give supplies, had of necessity to send to take them by force ; but his people returned each time fewer than they started, thus his only resource was what came to him from the skirts of the sea/' which was very little. We could not intercept this, for the hill is very extensive, bounding all that country, so that he was the lord of the further side. He made up his mind,

name I cannot trace, nor can I Lobo's Membret (see his p. 91). The Imain Ahmad was camped atZabul.
 * B, "The hill where the King was is called Magadafo." This


 * B, " dark man."

^ This embassy is referred to in the Abyssinian chronicles (see below at the end of chap, xx, p. 73). Marcos was the Abyssinian name of Ayres Uias.


 * B softens this into " might pass through easily."


 * B, " From the other slope of the hill by the side of the sea."

CASTANHOSO. $5

finding the straits he was in, with his people dead or cowed, to send secretly to demand help from the Captain of Azebide,^ who was under the Turk, with three thousand Turks under him, sending to inform him of his defeat, and to tell him to regard him as a vassal of the Grand Turk, and not allow him to lose what he had already gained ;* with this he sent him much money, both for himself and for the Turks, of whom on this inducement there came nine hundred, all arquebusiers, very fine and good men ; he also sent him ten field bombards, knowing that what damage he had received from us was by artillery and matchlocks, for hitherto he had had no field pieces.' There also came to him many Arabs, sent by an Arabian lord, his friend ; among these were twenty Turkish horsemen, with gilt stirrups, and their horses shod with iron, for in the Prcste's country the horses go unshod.* All this help came in the course of the winter without its being known.

1 B, "A port in the straits of Mecca under the Grand Turk." Zabid is on the Arabian coast of the Red Sea. The Italian translator suggests that Jedda is meant, but that lies over 600 miles north. As to Zabid, Hasset, Hisioire^ p. 43 «., may be consulted.

Turk ; and if now he sent no help, all the country would return to the Christians ; and with this he sent him much gold, silver, and jewels."
 * H, " with much laljour and brought into subjection to the Grand

In the history of Minas, who was captured in 1539, there occurs this reference to this embassy (Estcves I'ereira, Minus, p. 37;: "In the third year of his (Minas) captivity, the Grafi heard of the coming of the Franks, whose Captain was D. Christovao ; then his hatred was devilish ; as he desired to obtain Turks, he sent an embassy to the Pasha of Zabid ; and he sent also the son of the King (Minas) with his ser\ants, to be made over to the Pasha as his present." The year 1542 is correctly given.

^ The Imam Ahmad used some field-pieces in the earlier baUles against the Christians ; they are mentioned in several places in the Fath-ul-habsha, but apparently he had not brought any against the Portuguese before this.

hundred fighting Arabs and Persian bowmen, and thirty Turkish horsemen of good standing. Their stirrups are particularly mentioned, as Abyssinians ride only with a ring for the big toe. Readers of Bruce will remember the capital he made out of his knowledge of riding in the Moorish manner with stirrups.
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 372) gives eight hundred matchlockmen, si,\

56 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

CHAPTER XVII.

Of what D. ChristovHo did that Winter^ and of how he Captured a very strong Hill which had belonged to a Jew Captain.

About this time D. Christovao learnt that there was near us a hill of the Jews,^ by which the Preste must of necessity pass as there was no other road ; that it had been captured by the Moors ; and that the Captain of it, who was a Jew, was a fugitive because he obeyed the Preste ; he put himself on the defensive when the Moors attacked the hill, and when he found they had captured it he fled. D. Christov^o desired greatly to see him, to enquire what Moors were on the hill, and to discover if it could be recaptured. While in this mind the Jew, who had heard that he was wintering there with the Queen, determined to visit him to see if he could recover his country ; because, from the information which he had of us, it seemed to him that this might be the case. Besides, our Lord chose to arrange matters thus, because the restoration of the king- dom was to be brought about by this means ; when he came, the Jew informed D. Christovao about the hill, and told him that there were but few Moors on it, and that he would guide him to an approach where he would not be discovered until he was at the top, and that it was easy to capture, if the people of the country helped ; that he would find on it many and good horses that were bred on the hill ; and that it was quite impossible for the Preste in any manner to pass save over it, and that he had with him so

» B, "by name the Hill of Gimen." Couto {Dec. V, lik. IX, chap. iv), "the Hill of the Jews, which by another name was known as Caloa." Paez (Tellez, Bk. II, chap, xii, p. 127), "a very strong hill called Oaty, in the province of Cemen hard by." The Italian translator quotes Massaia, a late Italian writer, who calls it JalakaAmba or Hoiiza, near the head-waters of the Ensca river. Bruce (Bk. v, chap, vii) identifies it with Amba (iideon. I have discussed the situation of the hill in the Introduction.

CASTANHOSO. 57

little Strength that he could not capture it ; when he had retired thence to the part whence he was now about to return, the hill had not yet been occupied by the Moors : had it been, he could not have escaped. When D. ChristovSo learnt how small a force the Preste had with him, he became very dispirited and disquieted, and went to the Queen to learn if it was true that her son had so small a force ; when it was confirmed by her he became still more downcast, without, however, letting her know it, because until then he had not heard this, but had hoped that the Preste would quickly join him, as the winter was already verging to an end. That he [the Preste] might not find that obstacle in the way, and because he himself wanted the horses, he determined to go there personally, as the Jew told him that with one hundred good followers he might with skill recover the hill ; that he required but few days for this, and that he could return to his camp with many horses without his absence being noted. D. Christovao did not wish to take all his force to capture that hill, lest the King of Zeila should think we were raising the siege and leaving. If he did this, the Moors would advance and capture the hill on which they [we] then were, and collect supplies of which they had need ; and it might be that they would pursue him, thinking he was retreating ; and, encouraged by this, they might have a confused and ill- timed battle ; it would allow them, too, to recover their bold- ness, which had been much diminished by their late fear. That events might not so fall out, he determined to carry out the expedition in another way^-to leave the camp well guarded, and to go so secretly as not to be discovered, taking with him Manuel da Cunha and JoSo da Fonseca and one hundred men at the outside. He started at midnight, and travelled very secretly, carrying with him many skins necessary for crossing a river near the hill. They marched thus until they reached it, when they found it much swollen.

58 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

They quickly cut a quantity of wood and branches, and with these, and the skins filled with air, made rafts (Janga- das), which they bound strongly together, and for this they had brought the necessaries. They crossed a few at a time, taking their matchlocks, powder, and matches inside other skins, lest they should be wetted ; thus they all got over, some by swimming. When they and the mules had all crossed, they began to climb the hill,^ not being discovered until they were at the top. When the Moors saw them they armed quickly ; there were about three thousand foot and four hundred horse.'* D. ChristovSo, who rode with the other eight Portuguese who were mounted, Manuel da Cunha on the one flank, with thirty matchlockmen, Joao da Fonscca on the other, with another thirty, and the remaining forty in the centre with the royal standard, attacked with great vigour. The Captain of the Moors, by name Cide Amede,^ advanced in front of his men and encountered D. ChristovSo, in which encounter he died ; the other horsemen with D. ChristovSo also overcame each his man. By this time the foot had all collected into one body, and did nothing save slay the Moors ; who, seeing their Captain dead, and that there was none before whom they could feel shame, nor from whom they could receive orders, took to flight, and many died, for the very Jews slew them, and few escaped. When the hill was cleared, D. Christovao collected the spoil, which was rich in goods

» Couto {Dec. V, Bk. VIM, chap, xiii) : "All that day" (day he left the camp) "he marched, yuided by the Jew, and crossed a large river on rafts, and lodged on the other side. Tney marched again in the third watch, and before dawn reached the hill."

foot ;" also twelve mounted Portuguese, not eight.
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 373) : "Three hundred horse and four thousand

' B, " Cide hamed." Basset {Etudes, p. 1 1 1) puts the death of Sid Mahaniad, or Sidi Mohammed, on 13th Hedar (November yth) of this year, at Woggara. Perruchon {Revue St'mitique, p. 265) puts it at same place on i6th Hedar (November 12th). Tlie name is not an uncommon one, and posbibly there may have Ijcen two persons with similar, if not identical, appellations.

CASTANHOSO. 59

and slaves* all very valuable. There were eighty excellent horses, with which he was more pleased than with anything else, and more than three hundred mules, with many cattle without number. When this was ended, he made over the hill to the Jew who had held it before, as he had always obeyed the Preste. When that Jew saw this great deed, and how God favoured us, he become a Christian, with twelve of his brethren, all Captains of places on that hill, which is twelve leagues long and all very fertile, with many populous places and villages and very strong ; there are only two passes to it, all the rest is scarped rock. There are about ten thousand or twelve thousand- Jews on it ; it is four leagues across ; on the summit are very pleasant valleys and streams, and by the skirts of the hill runs a river as large as the Douro,^ called Tagacem,* the one crossed by D. Christovao ; it runs all round the hill, which is almost made an island by it. It is the most fertile hill that can be, and they may boast that they still enjoy manna, since they arc in such luxury that they can get honey from the rifts in the rocks, and there is so much that there is no owner, and whoever likes collects it. This hill lies nearly due west of the Straits,* and may be forty® leagues distant. When D. Christovao had made over the hill to the Jew, he left him an order to send to the Preste to inform him of its capture. He started for the camp, and as the way after passing the river was rough, he left thirty men with the horses to come on slowly,^ while he went on very quickly with the other seventy, dreading lest some disaster


 * B, " female slaves."

» B, " Tejo."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 374) : " twenty thousand Jews."

♦ B, "Tagaze"— that is, the Tacazzd ' Bab el Mandeb.

• B, " fifty." At this point the sea is nearly double this distance.

' Couto {Dec. Vy Bk. VIII, chap, xiii) says that he left Afonso Caldeira in command of the escort.

6o PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

should have befallen us, travelling both night and day. The very night he returned, the Turks arrived to reinforce the King of Zeila, and on the following day they mustered over one thousand matchlockmen. They came at once to the foot of our hill, and pitched their camp close to ours ; thence they saluted us with their artillery and matchlocks, and pitched some balls into our camp. When D. Christovao saw this, he knew what succour had reached them, and took counsel with all as to what should be done. It was agreed to wait until the following day, when they could see the power of the Moor, but that they should not fight before the arrival of the horses, which could not be delayed more than two days : that, should the Moor attack us, we should defend ourselves the best we could, as our camp was some- what fortified by some palisades erected during the winter. D. Christovao agreed to this, for he knew that, if we struck our camp that night, the very people would rise against us, and we should have nothing to eat ; for this reason we were bound to fight and retain what we had gained. He sent an urgent message to those with the horses, to march as quickly as possible, as the Moors had been reinforced by the Turks, and a battle appeared imminent. We kept careful watch all that night, which was not good refresh- ment for those who came weary from their journey. All that night we were under arms.

CHATTER XVHI.

Of hmv there was a Battle between D. Christovilo and the King of Zeila, in which D. Christovdo was defeated.

The next day, in the morning, Wednesday, August 28th, 1542, the day of the beheadal of St. John the Baptist,* the

' In 1 542 this date fell on a Monday, not a Wednesday, and th«. beheadal of John the Baptibt is commemorated by the Latins on

CASTANHOSO. 6l

Moor came out with all his power, with one thousand Turks in advance, to give us battle : the artillery was in the van, all prepared. D. Christovao, seeing his intentions, manned the positions in the best way he could, and stood on the defensive. At daybreak the artillery began to play, for at that hour they advanced against us ; by it and the match- locks many on both sides were wounded. The Turks, as they were many and but recently arrived, advanced very proudly, doing us much hurt. When D. Christovao saw the great hurt they did us, and that the palisades of our camp were not strong enough to be defended, especially from the Turks, he decided to sally out frequently and attack them, and then retreat. It appeared to him that in this way he would secure victory, for they could not await the very first onset of any body of Portuguese. He acted accordingly : he being the very first who, with fifty soldiers, with matchlocks and pikes, attacked over one hundred Turks who were on that flank. He drove them back a considerable way, killing and wounding many. He began to retreat when he met the main body of the enemy, and in the retreat they killed four of his men ; the remainder all returned wounded, including D. Christovao himself, with a matchlock bullet in one leg. When he had returned, Manuel da Cunha, as he had been ordered, attacked on the other side, and drove the Turks back for another space : for they were those who came closest to us and pressed us hardest. He, too, killed and wounded many, but in the retreat they killed five or six of his men, and wounded several. The other

August 2gth, and by the Abyssinians on August 30th, but by neither on the 28th. Correa (vol. iv, p. 375) gives the same date as Castanhoso. Couto {Dec. y, Bk. viii, chap, xiv), says August 29th, the day of the beheadal, but does not name the day of the week. Paez gives August 28th only. The Ethiopian accounts (Basset, Etudes., p. iii ; Per- ruchon, Revue S^miiique^ '894, p. 265) give the date 3rd Maskarain, that is, Thursday, August 31st. The saint's day would be more easily remembered than the date, and therefore the probable date of the battle is Tuesday, August 29th, 1542.

62 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

captains of the positions, as one retreated another attacked, but always in the retreat they killed some of our men. The affair became so confused that they killed some of our men in the very camp. In this way we continued for a great part of the day ; the followers of the Moor were pleased enough, seeing the Turks on their side, and the hurt we received. D. Christovao, wounded as he was, went round the positions, encouraging the men : for these are the days when leaders are recognised ; I have no words wherewith even to express his courage, when look- ing at the positions and the camp, he saw his men very weary, and the greater number wounded. The Queen was in her house in the direst trouble, weeping for the hour that had come to her. The house was filled with men too wounded to fight, and she, with her women — who that day did their duty in this well — bound up their wounds. They fired many shot into her house, and wounded two of her women. When D. Christovao saw this, and the great hurt the Turks were causing, and that in each retreat men were killed, he ordered Francisco de Abreu to attack with his men on his side, and his brother, Inofre de Abreu, to follow on his flank, so that when the first retreated the other should support, that they might not have the opportunity of doing so much hurt. He attacked, killing many of them, but in the retreat his fortune willed that they killed him by a matchlock bullet. When his brother saw this, he ran to bring him in, forcibly driving them off ; lifting his brother to carry him, a shot struck him and stretched him on the other ; thus they both lay.^ Our men retreated with difficulty, for here they met the main body of the

^ B explains that the men driven off by force were the Moors, who were carrying off the brother's body. Correa (vol. iv, p. 376) says the Moors were running to cut off Inofre dc Abreu's head, and his brother, thinking him ahve, ran to liis assistance. Castanhoso's account is involved. The head is not the trophy sought in Abyssinia, but tlic word is used euphemistically.

CASTANHOSO. 63

Moors, who slew many of them. D. ChristovSo, seeing that they had slain the greater part of his people, collected whom he could — and they but few — round the royal standard : for there were not many now to fight, for mid- day was past. When they were collected, he left word with Manuel da Cunha to attack the Moors with his men during his retreat, to hinder their harming him ; and he charged them straight, driving them back over the field a great space. Truly, had we had the horses, which were on the way, the victory was ours ; but we deserved for our sins that this should befall us, to happen what did happen. While our men attacked they drove them like sheep, but they were now so weary they could not bear the fatigue. When D. Christovao turned to retreat he was so far in the field, that in the retreat they killed many of his men and wounded him with another bullet that broke his right arm ; ^ and he returned in great pain. Here Manuel da Cunha helped greatly, for he attacked the Moors, and then retreated with him ; they also slew and wounded many of his. JoSo da Fonseca, who had sallied from his position to drive off the Moors, was, at'ter two or three sallies, killed, and Francisco Velho the same. When D. Christovao found that they had killed four of his Captains, and that the rest of his people, as well as himself, were s6 badly wounded, he determined to sally out no more, but continued encouraging his men, and trying to induce them to return to the positions, which now had none to guard them, and none to fight in them, for it grew very late. At this time the Turks entered the positions, and twice they were driven out ; but, as matters stood, there was none to rally to the royal standard. When the patriarch saw affairs in this state, he mounted a mule, and retreated to a hill on our flank. The Queen wanted to do


 * B, " above the elbow."

64 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

the same, but D. Christovao ordered her to be restrained, lest the Portuguese should accompany her. By now many of the Moors were inside the palisades, and of ours there was none to fight, the greater part being wounded or dead. We were compelled to retreat up the hill, which D. Christovao refused, being determined to die. Our men, seeing that it served no purpose to delay, as there was none to fight, made him retreat, telling him that he could see that all the Portuguese were withdrawing, and that those around him were too few to resist the enemy ; that, for all this, they would all die with him, as honour bade them, but that it would be wiser to join his own men, as the Lord God was pleased to give them that punishment for the sin of all. With this they made him retreat, riding a mule ; the Queen preceding him, ready to share what- ever fate befell us. With great labour we retreated up the hill, for we were all wounded, each one going as he could. The steepness of the hill was our safeguard, as horsemen could only follow us slowly ; but the foot did us much hurt, as numbers followed us, and slew many who could not travel with arrows and stones. When night fell, some went one way, some another, without waiting the one for the other. D. Christovilo went one way with the fourteen Portuguese,^ who always accompanied him, and the Queen another, with the rest of us \^ we continued our retreat in this confusion, and in these difficulties. The Turks staying in the camp to collect the spoil, they entered the Queen's houses, where they found more than forty wounded, who

^ B, "of the least wounded men."

arquebuz shot, and I had other wounds, though none so severe as that in the arm, for it was entirelybroken. I wished to go with her, as that charge was always given me ; and in such a perilous time I would not quit her, although my help was but feeble. With us were about thirty Portuguese, and a few of the Queen's women servants, but very few of her ladies, for the greater part were left, as the press at our retreat was great."
 * B, " I with her, for I was badly wounded in the left arm by an

CASTANHOSO. 65

could not stir, and began to kill them {fazer a f^azua nelUs). A Portuguese, when he saw this, determined not to allow them to enjoy that satisfaction, but to die and revenge himself on them. He raised himself and crept on all fours, with a lighted match that lay handy, and went to where the powder was,^ and fired it. The house blew up, none escaping '? for D. Christovao had a very large store of powder, which he had made during the winter, and this was kept in the Queen's houses, as the most watertight. It is probable that this cavalier set fire to the house less because the Turks were killing those who were already dead, than in order to prevent them using the powder with which they might have done great hurt, for there was much of it.^

CHAPTER XIX.

Of how the MflorSy following D. Christovdo, found him, and seized him, and of Hoxv he Died.

D. Christovao and the fourteen Portuguese with him, marching all that night, travelled with heavy labour, for they were all wounded and very weary. They had therefore

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 378), " in skins."

sible to say one or the other.
 * Bermudez attributes the act to a woman. Clearly, it was impos-

chap, xiv, p. 45, above), " slew the majority of them, and captured their best warriors. He put to death their chief, valiant and courageous, with a heart of iron and brass in the battle. He slew him by an unworthy death, after capturing him and imprisoning him : a treatment reserved for the weak and infirm. This happened to them because they did not fight under the orders of Mar Galdwdewos, to whom alone was the victory ; who was powerful, and was entitled to open the sealed book of the future : to undo the seal and be hailed victor. It is shown by the death of the Imam Ahmad at the hands of Mar GalAwdewos. We will relate later this death, and how it happened. We will tell this in its proper place" (Conzelman, § 12).
 * "The Imam Ahmad fought them" (the sons of Tubal, see note,

" In the second year of this prince " (Galiwdewos), he (the Imam Ahmad) fought a battle on the 3rd Maskaram ; the Captain died"

F

66 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

to leave the road they followed, and enter a shady valley, with a very thick growth of trees, to take some rest. As the morning was near, and there was great fear of discovery by the enemy who were in pursuit, having, as I say, left the path, they entered the bottom of the valley in the most solitary possible place, where they found a little water that flowed from a water-fall. They got D. Christovao off his mule to dress his wounds, which up to now they had not had time to do; his companions, not having wherewith to do it, killed the mule D, Christovilo rode, and taking the fat, dressed with it his wounds, and also the wounds of those among them that needed it. When the Moors captured the camp some would not halt, but followed us relentlessly ; on the road by which D. Christovao escaped there went twelve Turks on foot and twenty Arabs on horse- back, eager to capture him ; at dawn they were beyond where he lay, and not finding him, they returned. Reach- ing the point where D. Christovao turned into the thicket, an old woman^ came out of the wood, looking as if she could hardly stand, and ran across the road ; the Moors, to learn her news, tried to catch her, and followed her into the wood, without capturing her, as she ran from one thicket to another. When she got to the valley she crossed it, funning fast, and entered among the trees where D. Christovao and the Portuguese lay. As the Moors followed with pertinacity, they would not abandon the pursuit, and thus came on D. Christovao, and taking him by surprise, with loud cries of " Mafamede," captured him. One of these [D. Christovclo's companions] who was but slight!)' wounded, hid in the thicket and escaped, and from him we heard the story of the capture. It is impossible that that

(Basset, ^tudeSy p. 1 1 1). I have adopted the punctuation of Perrucho:. {Revue S^mitique^ 1894, p. 265), as making better sense than that oi Basset.

' B, "an old negro woman."

CASTANHOSO. 67

old woman can have been any one save the devil, as she vanished from among them and was never seen again. This astonished the Moors greatly, who, from what they told us afterwards, considered that "Mafamede" had sent her to direct them ; they returned contented with their prize, as they at once recognised D. ChristovXo by the arms he bore ; thus they went with him, making him many mocks by the way, and giving him but evil treatment.* Thus they brought them before the King, who was very pleased with the victory, with more than one hundred and sixty^ Portu- guese heads before his tent : for he had offered a reward to any Moor who would cut off the head of a Portuguese, and his men, to gain it, brought him those they found on the field. When D. Christovao reached his tent, that dog ordered the heads of the Portuguese to be shown him, to grieve him ; telling him whose they were, and that here were those with whom he had designed to conquer his country, and that his madness was clear in his design ; and that for this boldness he would do him a great honour. This was to order him to be stripped, with his hands tied behind him, and then cruelly scourged, and his face buffeted with his negroes' shoes ; of his beard he made wicks, and cover- ing them with wax lighted them ; with the tweezers that he had sent him, he ordered his eyebrows and eyelashes to be pulled out : saying that he had always kept them for him, as he and his followers did not use them. After this, he sent him to all his tents and his Captains for his refresh- ment, where many insults were heaped on him, all of which he bore with much patience: giving many thanks to God for bringing him to this, after allowing him to reconquer

begins the next sentence with " Giving him evil clothes," that is, trajo in place of trato.
 * B alters this. It places the full stop after " by the way," and

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 379) says two hundred heads. As before said, " head " is used euphemistically by Castanhoso.

F 2

68 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

one hundred leagues of Christian country. After they had diverted themselves with him they returned to the King's tent,^ who with his own hand cut off his head, it not satisfying him to order it to be cut off. After it had been cut off, in that very place where his blood was spilt, there started a spring of water which gave health to the sick, who bathed in it, which they understood the wrong way.^ That very day and moment, in a monastery of friars, a very large tree which stood in the cloisters was uprooted, and remained with its roots in the air and its branches under- neath, the day being very calm and still ; and as it appeared to them that this event was not without mystery, they noted the day and the hour, and that they were all present to give witness. Afterwards, when they heard of the defeat and death of D. Christovao, they found that the tree was uprooted on the very day and hour that he was killed. After it had died, the friars cut up part for use in the monastery ; six months later, the very day we gave battle to the King of Zeila and defeated him — in which battle he was slain and the kingdom freed — that very day the tree raised itself, planted its roots in the earth whence they had been drawn, and at the same moment threw out green leaves. The friars, seeing this great mystery, with great wonder, noted the day and hour it happened, knowing nothing of what was passing in the kingdom. When the}- heard of what had taken place, they found that it was the very day, as I say, that was the signal of freedom for so many Christian people. When they told us this, as the monastery lay on the road to Massowa, whither after the

• Correa(vol. iv, p. 380) here interpolates some long speeches whicl need not be translated.

2 A has qital elles entendiAo ao reves. This I take to mean tha' the Muhamedans connected the virtues of this spring with thei: victory over the Christians. B omits these words. I have discusbt-- in the Introduction the alleged finding of D. Christovao's bones.

CASTA NHOSO. 69

freeing of the country we were travelling, we all* went to the monastery to see the tree and to bear witness. I saw it, with many of its roots exposed, all cut as the friars said, and it had only recently become green. As it was a great tree, it was wonderful that it could stand on the ground with so few roots below the earth.^ When, after the King of Zeila had cut off D. ChristovSo's head, that fact became known in the tents of the Turks, they were very enraged, and went angrily to the King, and asked him why he had thus killed the Portuguese Captain without telling them : be- cause, as the Grand Turk had heard of his bravery, they could have taken him nothing from that country which would have pleased him more, that they would have taken him as a proof of their great victory to receive a reward from the Turk. They were so offended that they quitted him, taking the Portuguese to carry with them.^ The next day, when they started, there was one Portuguese, who had escaped, the less ; he afterwards joined us, so that they went back with twelve and D. Christovao's head. They embarked for Azebide, where was the Governor of all the Straits, with three thousand Turks, of which body they formed a part. Two hundred were left with the King of Zeila, because they filled up the vacancies of those who were killed in the battle from among the others, as this number was granted by the Grand Turk in exchange for his tribute. The King stayed three days at that place, with great content at the victory, for such is their custom, making great festival ; and as it appeared to him that we were entirely destroyed, and that those who remained of us would be lost in that country, among those mountains,

• B, " forty Portuguese."

• B omits this and the previous sentence, and substitutes : " I saw it with my eyes, and the friars swore the story was true."

• The story of this quarrel seems improbable, in face of the fact that the usual force was left with the Imam Ahmad.

70 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABVSSiNtA.

where we could not find our way, he determined to visit his wife and sons, whom he had not seen for a long time, who were in his city on the shores of the lake whence the Nile flows,^ the most rich and fertile country that ever was seen. This he did, leaving in that country his Captains, with troops to retake possession of the land he had lost ; for of us he took no count, bad or good, but the Lord God chose to show His great pity.

CHAPTER XX.

Of how some one hundred and twenty Portuguese collected with the Queen, and of hoiv the Preste arrived at the Hill of the Jews^ where the Queen, his Mother, and the Portuguese were aivait- ing hitn.

It happened, in our flight, that the Queert was escaping in front with her women, very sorrowful, as it may be sup- posed she would be ; the Portuguese were in her rear, wounded and scattered, and behind all were ten or twelve who could hardly travel. Helping them, there went two Portuguese who were less wounded than they, urging them on and remaining in their company. One was called Fernao Cardoso, the other Lopo de Almansa. At nine or ten hours of the next day, they saw following them many Moors on foot and two horsemen. When the pursuers drew near, they determined to die, and try and save their com- rades, who were in front of them, wounded. These they told to travel as fast as they could, for they would defend them or perish. So they both turned back against the Moors, and they carried bucklers and pikes. When they came near the two Moorish horsemen, who were the nearest, they tried to attack them ; but the Moors drew

' The Blue Nile flows through one end of Lake Tzana.

CASTANHOSO. 7 1

back, awaiting the footmen to capture them, telling them to give up their arms and surrender, and they would not kill them, .When they saw so many opponents, they thought that the Moors could destroy them with arrows and stones only, without coming to push of pike or sword ; and, since they could not approach them to do what they wanted, that therefore they should yield. Maybe they [the opponents] would turn back with them [as captives], as the others were not in sight. That, even if the Moors tortured them, they would never confess that the other Portuguese had gone on ; that in this way they might save their comrades by dying themselves, for they could not escape that. With this determination, they went up to the horsemen ; Lopo de Almanza, who knew somewhat of the language, calling out that they would surrender, and that they should receive their arms. Advancing to surrender, it would seem that Our Lady inspired them, for they called out one to the other and simultaneously, "Holy Mary ! they will slay us with our own weapons." With these words, they attacked the horsemen, who were now near, and knocked down both at the first strokes ; one dead, the other wounded in the arm. When they fell, their horses stood still with- out moving, and the footmen, numerous as they were, began to fly : which seems a great and evident miracle. Then the two cavaliers mounted the horses of the Moors, and, after making a feint of following the footmen a short way, went in search of their comrades ; and, mounting the worst wounded double, told them what had happened. They were much astonished at this success, and very joyful to see them : for they thought they were already dead or captives. Thus all escaped, these two running the risk of death to save the others. Our Lady, seeing their intention, inspired them at such a time with this courage. In this way they saved their comrades, and also those in front ; for if these Moors had followed them they would haye slain

>i PORTUGUESK EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

all, for they had neither arms nor breath. Thus they journeyed with abundant labour until reaching the Queen ; and it was very evident in what great tribulation they fled. We did not halt until we reached a very rough hill, and as we could travel no further we rested there. The greater number of the Portuguese who escaped collected here, and the following day came the thirty Portuguese with the horses, who had not heard of our disaster. When they had joined us, and saw our condition, and heard of the loss of D, Christovao, our lamentation was so great as to cause pity, and we could not be comforted. What we all felt most was, not to have news of D. ChristovSo, beyond how badly he was wounded. The Queen sent several scouts along the roads, and to the thickets, to gather, if possible, any news, and to guide any Portuguese found concealed. We were here for several days, waiting for news to reach us. We assembled round the Queen, to the number of one hundred and twenty men,^ among whom was the man who escaped when D. Christovao was captured, who told us of what I have already related ; and also the one who escaped from the camp of the Moors, who informed us of the martyrdom of D. Christovao, and his death, as already told. Our feelings on hearing this can be believed. There returned a scout of the Queen's, who told us that Manuel da Cunha, with fifty^ Portuguese, had taken another road, not knowing whither they were going. They reached the country of the Barnaguais, where they were welcomed, and where they remained till they heard news of us and the Queen ; she with her women felt the greatest grief at the fate of D. Christovao, whom they lamented as if he had been her son. The following day she sent for us all, and made us a speech, consoling us for our great loss,


 * U, one hundred.

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 383) : '* sixty Portuguese."

CASTANHOSO. 73

and for our contrary fortune ; and this in very discreet and virtuous words. We asked the patriarch to reply for us all, encouraging her ; and she was pleased, saying that the courage of the Portuguese was very great. It was determined at our council to go to the hill of the Jews, and there await the Preste, who had already been informed that the hill was his. We started the next day, and were very well received by the Captain of the hill, and pro- vided with all necessaries. Ten days later,^ the Preste arrived, bringing very few people ; so few that, had not D. Christovao captured the hill, it would have been impossible for us to have joined him, or for the kingdom to have been restored.'

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 383) : " twenty days later."

' " The same year, in the month of Tasrin the first, the seventh month of the calendar, in the era of the creation of the world, and the second month after the entry of the sun through the central window, which is the largest of the windows, according to what is written in the lxx)k of astronomy of the Syrians, King Mar GalAwdcwos started for Tigre, where was the Imam Ahmad and all his army. He was accom- panied by Marcos the Frank, who had brought him a letter from the Franks, in which they begged him to protect their compatriots from the anger of the people" (Conzelman, i^ 15, p. 132).

There are some obscurities in the above passage. Tasrin the first is a Syrian month, and as such corresponds with our October. It is a Hebrew month, and as such has no fixed equivalent, but falls about the autumnal equinox. The era quoted appears to be the Hebrew one of the creation of the world, while the astronomy is Syrian. It seems that under the latter system there are considered to be six gates in the east and six in the west, and the sun uses each gate in turn for rising and each gate for setting during one month. Out of this it is difficult to arrive at any conclusion, save that probably the end of October or beginning of November is meant. The above facts are taken from Conzelman's note. Marcos is, of course, Ayres Dias.

" In the month of Teqemt, King Asnaf Sagad (Galawdewos) came to join his mother and the remnant of the Franks, in the country of Samen, and held council with them" (Basset, Etudes, p. 1 1 1). I have adopted Perruchon's punctuation. Teqemt is the month commencing September 28th.

74 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

CHAPTER XXI.

Of the Reception the Portuguese gave the Preste ; and of haw^ after the Meetings we determined to all go and revenge the Death of D. Christovdo.

When we heard that the Preste was at the foot of the hill we went to receive him, a Mass Priest who was with us bearing in his hands the banner of Compassion {misert- cordia). When we reached him, seeing us like this, and so few in number, and hearing of the death of D. ChristovSo and of our defeat, he showed such affliction as was to be anticipated, for he came full of desire to see D. ChristovSo from the fame that had reached him ; and the affliction he showed, surely for a son and heir he would not have shown more. He gave us all much honour and welcome, with princely words, telling us not to feel strangers in that country, but to look on it as our own, for the kingdom and he himself belonged to the King, our lord, and his brother. He at once provided us with all necessaries, gave us all mules to ride — for, after the late defeat, we had come here on foot — he gave to all, too, silken tunics and breeches, for such is the country wear, to every two men a tent, and servants in abundance to attend us, carpets and mattresses, and all we needed. We were here all December, both because the Preste wished to celebrate Christmas here, and also to collect the men who daily flocked to him : there assembled here eight thousand foot and five hundred horse. When we saw this force we went to the Preste, and begged him to help us to avenge the death of D. ChristovSo. The Preste, although he desired this, still was very fearful, as we were so few ; but he determined to attempt it, and sent to summon the Portuguese who had fled to the territory of the Barnaguais, and to fetch the arms D. Christov^o had left on the hill where we found the Queen, where as the

CASTANHOSO. 75

place was secure, he left our surplus weapons, which were a great help to us, as we had now but very few. During this time we made a good deal of powder, as the man whom D. Christovao had with him for this, escaped with us, by the favour of our Lord, to make it in the time of such need : for on this hill of the Jews there is much saltpetre and sulphur, and all that is necessary. During the whole of January the Preste was here, getting ready and awaiting the Portuguese. The latter were not then in the country of the Barnaguais ; for it appeared to them that we were all dead, and that they could not join the Preste ; they there- fore journeyed to Massowa, to embark for India, should any of our foists come there. When this information regard- ing them arrived, and the weapons which were on the hill came, the Preste determined to go and seek the Moors ; for he learned that the Turks who had come to his assistance had returned, and that he had only the two hundred, who were always with him, and his own followers.

CHAPTER XXII.

Of hoiv the Preste began to march with the Portuguese^ and found the King of Zeila encamped on the Lake of the Nile ; and of the method the King of Zeila adopted to kill the Captain of the Preste's Camp.

Forming our ranks, we began our march on Shrove Tues- day, February 6th, 1 543, with eight thousand footmen with bows and bucklers, and five hundred horse, all very fine and well-found men,^ and one hundred and twenty Portu- guese,- some maimed, with wounds still open, who refused

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 385), on the other hand, says that "the Preste had six hundred horse and ten thousand foot, archers and buckler* men, all very inferior {Muyfragua cousa)?*

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 385), "one hundred and thirty Portuguese."

y6 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

to Stay behind, as they were bent on vengeance or on death in the attempt. We bore before us the banner of Holy Compassion {Sancta Misericordid) ; the Preste had sought to appoint one of us Captain, but we desired none save the banner or himself to lead us, for it was not to be anticipated that we should follow another, having lost what we had lost. Thus we marched, leaving the Queen, his mother, on that hill, to have no incumbrance. On our way we heard that a Captain of the King of Zeila was on the road by which we must travel, in a lordship called Ogara, who had three hundred horse and two thousand foot ; the Captain of them was called Miraizmao.^ We reached the place one morning early, and the Preste fell on with fifty horse in the van. By this attack the Moors were defeated, the Captain and many of them slain, and many

^ " They (Galawdewos and the Franks) went to Cheouada in the month of Iledar, onthe 13th (Perruchon, 16th). They fought a battle at Ouagara, and slew Sid Mahamad, Esman, and Talila ; the rest of the enemy fled like smoke, some fled to Ebna (Perruchon substitutes ' there were some who surrendered with stones on their necks'). The igih (Perruchon adds Hedar), CialAwdcwos left Darasge, burned the houses of the Moors, ravaged their goods, and returned to Cheouada, where he stayed two months" (Basset, Etudes, p. m). Perruchon is quoted from Revue Seinitique, 1894, p. 265.

The month Hedar begins on October 28th ; the date of the fight at VVoggera, according to this, is either November 9th or November 12th. Cheouada is marked Sciauada on the Italian map ; it is a district in the south-west of Semien, north of Woggera. Darasgd is a village some way south on the banks of Lake Tziina. It was Gran's head- quarters, and I do not understand how Galawdewos left it on a foray. The dates are hopelessly divergent from those in the Portuguese account. In the Introduction I have given my reasons for preferring the latter.

" In the month of Tasrin, the second, which is the eighth month of the Hebrews, and the third month of the calendar of the Pentapole, Galawdewos marched to Wagara, and warred against the troops of the Imam Ahmad ; he conquered them, and slew Seid Mehmad, the commander. He destroyed all the dwellings of the Muhamedans there ; he burned some and pillaged all the towns under the rule of Islam. This was the first victory obtained by Mar Galawdewos, and was a foreshadowing of the victory of the Church" (Conrelman, § 16, p. 133).

Tasrin, the second, is roughly November. Conzelman states that the calendar of the Pentapole is the Coptic Calendar in use in Lower Egypt.

CASTANIIOSO. 'jy

prisoners captured ; from them we learned that the King of Zeila was with his wife and sons on the bank of the lake whence the Nile springs,* about five days' march, at our speed, from where we were. We continued marching until we caught sight of it ;- it is so large that we could see it from a distance of six or seven leagues. When we came in sight of the Moors we pitched our camp opposite theirs.' They were amazed to learn that the Preste and the Portu- guese had came in search of them after the great defeat ; this put them in some fear. They began at once to prepare as best they could ; they understood well that we had only come to avenge the past. And because we had news of the Portuguese who had been to Massowa, but had not found shipping, that hearing of us and the Preste, they were marching after us, with all speed, the Preste decided in council of all not to join battle until their arrival, as they were near us ; and in that country fifty Portuguese are a greater reinforcement than one thousand natives. In the days we were awaiting them we had daily skirmishes on the plain between the armies. There were

in the kingdom of Dembya, in a place called Darasgu^, near the lake the Nile passes through, with his wife and children" (Paez in Teller, Bk. 11, chap. XV, p. 134).
 * " From whom they learned that the Gran was a little distance off

' Presumably the lake.

' "Gran returned to Dembya when he left Zabl, and the King leaving Cheouada reached Wainadaga (Perruchon adds, on 5th Yakatit), and halted there. The Muhamedans (Perruchon, Gran) left Darasgd, and their troops halted not far from the King, whose army was in the same place. See the pity of the Lord, who strengthened his servants and their prince Asnaf Sagad, still a youth, and made them meet their enemy and look him in the face, whilst formerly they would not have stopped ; then they feared and trembled when they heard his name ; while he was in Shoa and the Christians in Tigr^, .they were beaten every time he (Gran) marched against them. When the pity of the Lord was cast on them, they laughed and mocked the Muhamedans " (Basset, itiudes^ p. 1 1 1 ; Perruchon, Revue Simitique^ 1894, p. 265).

Fifth Yakatit is January 30th. Paez in Teller (Bk. Ii, chap, xvi, p. 153), states that the armies met at Oinadaga. Couto {^Dec, F, Bk. IX, chap, iv) says that Galiwdfiwos marched to a hill called Oe nad qas in the province of Ambea — that is Wainadega in Dembya.

78 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.'

now sixty mounted Portuguese, as the Preste gave them all the horses he had ; they had very good fortune in the skirmishes, for there continually came out a certain Moorish Captain, who was greatly famed among them, and in whom they trusted, with two hundred horse ; he was so unfortu- nate, that in one of his skirmishes with the Portuguese, he and twelve of his companions were killed, which was a great loss to them. The Abyssinian horse also made many sallies, seeking to impress us ; the Captain-General of the camp, by name Azemache Cafilao,^ did marvels with his horse on these days, for nothing could show outside the King of Zeila's camp without being raided by this Captain ; in this the Moors always had the worst, losing both their flocks and their lives. When the Moor saw how brave our Captain was, he determined to make a great effort to kill him by treachery. He sent for one of his cavaliers, and told him to send the Captain a message bearing the air of a challenge : a message to summon him to one side of the camp where was a small stream, he remaining on one bank and the Abyssinian on the other ; in some thickets on his bank four or five Turks were to conceal themselves by night with matchlocks, that, while the message was being delivered, they might fire their matchlocks at him and kill him. And thus it was : at early dawn the Turks hid in the thickets, and at daybreak two horsemen, with a white flag, rode to the edge of the small stream, and called for the Captain of the camp by name. Our men ran up to know what it was, but the Moors would not say aught, -save to call the Captain of the camp, as they had some- thing of importance to tell him. When the Captain, who was already mounted, heard this, he came towards the stream with a large following, but when he saw there were

of the vanguard, whose duty it was to lead the advance, mark out the royal camp, etc. ; a post always given to a tried soldier.
 * This Azmach Keflo was probably the Fitauraris, or commandant

CASTANHOSO. 79

but two Moors, he ordered his men to halt, thinking the men wanted to come over to us, or else give some useful information, and that to deceive their own side they had come through the thickets ; he went forward with but two horsemen in whom he trusted. When he came within speech of them, he asked what they wanted, and while the Moors were feigning some tale, the Turks all fired their matchlocks at him ; when they saw him fall over his saddle- bow, they turned and went off at full gallop. The Turks had saddled horses hard by, and on them they escaped. When our horsemen saw that the Moors were galloping off, they came up fearing treachery ; and, when they saw the Captain dead in the arms of his two companions, they started to pursue the Moors, who were going off untouched ; but so many came out to assist them, that our men had to return with the dead Captain. At this they made great lamentation, the Preste above all, both as he had married one of his cousins, and because he was a very brave man. With him the Abyssinians began to lose their courage, so much so that many advised retreat, victory seeming im- possible. When the Preste heard of this, and found it true, he sent for them,* and determined, as the Portuguese delayed so long, to give battle the next day, as he felt that if he waited longer, all his men would disperse through fear.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Of how the Preste and the King of Zeila fought a Battle^ in which the Moors were defeated and the King slain.

By early morning we were all in our ranks, and we said a prayer before the banner of the Holy Compassion {Sancta Misertcordia), begging our Lord to have it [compassion] on


 * ? his council.

80 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

US, and give us vengeance on, and victory over, our enemies. After a general confession by a Mass priest, who absolved us, we arose and advanced against the enemy, we leading the van and that banner, or we following it {? e esta bande- yra ou nSs com elld)} With us were two hundred and fifty Abyssinian horse and three thousand five hundred foot ; in the rear came the Preste with another two hundred and fifty horse, and with all the rest of the foot. In this order we attacked the enemy, who also advanced in two battles, the King of Zeila in person in the van, with two hundred Turks, matchlockmen, six hundred horse and seven thousand foot. Those in the van attacked on both flanks ; in the rear came his Captain, called Quanta Grade,^ with six hundred horse and seven thousand foot, who like the van attacked heavily. The Portuguese, seeing that the Turks were defeating us, charged them, slaying many and driving the rest back ; for the Portuguese horse, who were sixty, worked marvels, and the Abyssinians, ashamed to see them fight thus, threw themselves in so vigorously that they left a track as they went. When the King saw that his men were losing ground, he in person led them on, encouraging them, and with him was his son, a young man, helping him ; they came so near that he was recognised by the Portuguese, who, seeing him close, fired at him with their matchlocks. As all things are ordered by the Lord God, He permitted that one ball should strike him in the breast, and he fell over his saddlebow and left the press ; when his followers knew that he was wounded to the death, they lost heart and took to flight.^ When the Captain of

' B omits these words, which I do not understand.

'^ B, " Gran^a Grade." Grade is (J^jnf^, a Governor. It is suggested that the first word is Ganz, the name of a small district near Harrar. The name would then be Governor of Ganz. A Ganza Gardda is mentioned, with other of the Imam Ahmad's generals, in Basset, Etudes ^ p. no.

' The different accounts of this battle will be found collected at the end of this chapter.

CASTANHOSO. 8 1

the Turks saw that the Moors were J^ivin^ way, he deter- mined to die ; with bared arms, and a long broadsword in his hand, he swept a great space in front of him ; he fought like a valiant cavalier, for five Abyssinian horsemen were on him, who could neither make him yield nor slay him. One of them attacked him with a javelin ; he wrenched it from his hand, he houghed another's horse, and none dared approach him. There came up a Portuguese horse- man, by name Gongalo Fernandes,^ who charged him spear in rest and wounded him sorely ; the Turk grasped it [the spear] so firmly, that before he could disengage himself the Moor gave him a great cut above the knee that severed all the sinews and crippled him ; finding himself wounded, he drew his sword and killed him. All this while our men were pursuing the Moors, chiefly the Portuguese, as they could not glut their revenge ; they mainly followed the Turks, as against them they were most enraged ; of the two hundred not more than forty escaped, who returned to the King's wife. When she heard that her husband was dead, she fled with the three hundred horse of her guard and these forty Turks, taking with her all the treasure that her husband had captured from the Preste, which was not small. She escaped, as our people followed those on the battle-field and in the camp so relentlessly that they thought of nothing else ; and they gave quarter to none, save women and children, whom they made captives. Among these were many Christian women, which caused the greatest possible pleasure and content- ment : for some found sisters, others daughters, others their wives, and it was for them no small delight to see them delivered from such captivity. So great was their pleasure, that they came to kiss our feet and worship us ; they gave lis the credit of the battle, saying that through us they saw

' B, " Joam Femandes."

82 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

that day. When the spoil, which was not small, had been collected, the Preste pitched his camp on the shore of the lake, for the country abounds in supplies. After the booty had been secured, there came to the Preste one of his Captains, by name Azemache Calite, a youth, with the head of the King of Zeila in his teeth, and he at full stretch of his horse with great pleasure ; for this youth and the Barnaguais, who knew him [the King of Zcila] best, followed him, and this youth got up to him first and finished killing him, and cut off his head ; he took his head so eagerly to the Preste on account of the promises he had made, which were great : if any Abyssinian brought the head, to marry him to his sister ; if a Portuguese, to show him great favour. When the Preste received the Moor's head he enquired into the truth, and found that the Portuguese had mortally wounded him, and that this Captain did not merit his sister for bringing the head, as he did not kill him ; thus he did not give his sister to that man, nor did he reward the I'ortugucse, as it was not known who wounded him ; had he known, he would have fulfilled his promise. He ordered that the head of the late King of Zeila should be set on a spear, and carried round and shown in all his country, in order that the people might know that he was indeed dead who had wrought them such evils. It was first taken to the Queen, to be sent thence to the other places ; and thus she was avenged by her pleasure for the sadness past. At this time the Portu- guese who had been to Massowa arrived at the place where the Queen was ; she determined in her satisfaction to join her son, and the Portuguese accompanied her; they were well received by the Preste, who supplied them with all necessaries, and made great festivities for the Queen. We remained in great pleasure, seeing each day the Abyssinians delighting in that victory, and in the liberty in which they found themselves. There died four Portu-

CASTANHOSO. 83

guese in the battle : Joao Correa, Francisco Vieyra, Fran- cisco Fialho, and a Gallician.'

' Correa (vo!. iv, p. 390) says the fatal shot was fired l)y Joao the (iallician, "of whom it was said that he puslied liis way quite among all the Moors, and discharged his matchlock into the Moor King's breast, and there he (Joan) was slain." B omits the names.

It remains to collect the different accounts of the battle. Correa (vol. iv, p. 3S7), Couto {Dec. V, Hk. IX, chap, iv), and Paez, in Tellez (Ilk. 11, chap xvi, p. 136), follow Castanhoso very closely. The follow- ing are the Abyssinian accounts : —

" The 17th (Perruchon, i6th) YakAtit, Gran stood on the foot of his pride, and trusted in his cannon, his guns, and his Turks ; but He who mcusurcs the years said, ' I will fight and will drive before me this day those who stand up against me.' Asnaf Sagad, on his side, placed his confidence in the Lord, and in the prayers of Our Lady Marie, who received it. The King's soldiers, who marched in the van, slew Gran before he could reach the prince. He fell on the slope of ZdntarA (Perruchon adds, " which they call Gran bar'), and died by the order of the Lord. He fell at the third hour on a Wednesday, his forces scattered like smoke and as the ashes of a furnace. There were those who fled as far as the Atbara, with his wife, Del Wanbara ; such was their terror. Others submitted with a rope round their necks, abandoning their swords and their horses. They slew the Muhamedans who lived

in Dara (Perruchon, Ayera) When Gran died, Asnaf Sagad

had reigned two years, five months, and twenty- two days" (Perruchon, two years and six months, less eight days) ; (Hasset, Etudes, p. 112 ; Perru( hon, Rd'uc St'iiiitiqiic, 1894, p. 2(16).

month of the Copts, the month of thq most rigorous Christian fast, in the year of the creation 7035, the twenty-eighth of the above-mentioned month, on a Wednesday, our lord Mar Gal^wdewos fought against the Imam .A.hmad, son of Ibrahim, whose soldiers were as numberless as locusts. They were more than ten thousand myriads, ready for the battle, strong as lions, and active as eagles. Among them were riders clothed in cuirasses of steel ; footmen with buckler, sword, and spear ; others who drew the bow and shot arrows like the children of Ephraim ; others fought with firearms, like the warriors of Yoan (John, King of Portugal). To those who saw, they glittered like a chaldron turned towards the north (?). Others, who cast stones from slings. None of these warriors had the least fear of battle, and there were among them those who, at the moment of combat, dashed forward with ardour, like a hunting dog that sees its first prey. On the other hand, the soldiers of Mar Galawdewos were as few as those whom Gideon selected on the water's edge ; but a mighty power was with them, like the cake of barley bread that tumbled into the camp of the Midianites. The King, Mar Galiwdcwos, was not aflfrighted at the number of the soldiers of Islam, nor at their martial bearing, nor at their strong hearts, nor at the trust they placed in their might. He cast no thought on their lives passed in victories, and the capture of towns till then uncaptured, but he longed for the battle ' as the hart panteth after the water brooks.' There was a terrible battle between him and the Imam Ahmad, and God, the Most High, whose name be blessed,
 * ' During the third year in the last month of the Hebrews, the sixth

G 2

84 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Of how the Father of the Barnagtmis, who had rebelled, returned to the PrestCy and brought with him the Prince of Zeila.

Among the many Christians, who joined the Moors, was the father of the Harnaguais, who went over to the King of Zeila, because it appeared to him that the kingdom could never be restored. The Moor esteemed him greatly : so highly, in fact, that he made him Governor of his son and

gave the crown of victory to GalAwdewos : may he be in peace ! One of his followers slew the Imam Ahmad, and his soldiers massacred a number of the warriors of the Turcomans and of Mar Sad-ed-din. Of the survivors, one half tied towards the sea with the wife of the Imam Ahmad ; the other half seized Mehmad, his son, and made him over to the hands of the glorious (jalawdcwos when they sulimitted. He was merciful and clement : he did no hurt to those who had done evil to him, but he acted like their benefactor" (Conzelman, v^ 19, p. 135).

"A Frank slew him [the Imam Ahm.id] and cut oft" his ear, before he reached the slopes of Zantara. He ilied by the will of God, at three hours, on a Wednesday. After him, an .Abyssinian cut throujjh his neck, and boasted before the King, saying, I am he that slew him. Then the King gave him all the spoils [of the (irafi]. When they could not find the ear, the King said, Where is his ear? that Frank brought the ear. He ordered that lying Abyssinian to gi\e all the spoils to the Frank, and ordered all the Abybsinians to do him honour, and to stand before him both in the camp and in the market-place, and wherever they might be" (Guidi, I)i liiic Jrammctiti^ p. 8).

The site of the battle, which was fought at W'ainadega, is discussed in the Introduction. It remains to settle the date : the Portuguese give no date, but the year is i 543. The only resource is the Ethiopian chronicles. 7035 a.m. is i 543, so that there is no doubt as to the year. The accounts agree that it was fought on a Wednesday. Perruchon and Hasset give respectively the iGih and 17th Yakatit, that is, Feb- ruary loth or iith, but in 1543 these dates fell on a Saturday and a Sunday. The verbiage of the text, translated by Conzelman, refers to the same month, Yakatit, but gives the 28lh, that is February 32nd. and a Thursday. Ksteves Pereira quotes a manuscript chronicle of Sartsa Uengel (which I have not seen), which gives the date 27th Yakatit, that is, Feljiuary 21st, and a Wednesday. There is anotlier method of calculating the exact date. When the Imam Ahmad was killed, Gaiawdcwos had been on the throne eight davs under two years and six months. As .'\l)yssinian months have each thirty days, this means two years and one hundred and seventy-two days. Gaiaw- dcwos' father, Lebna Dengel, died on September 2nd, 1 540 ; from that day to the end of 1540 there were one hundred and twenty days, which leaves two years and fifty-two days. 1541 and 1542 make the two years, and the fifty-second day of 1543 was February 21st. The

CASTA N'HOSO. ^5

Captain in his forces. He, when he saw the King was dead, retreated with the Prince and escaped : he sent word to the Prestc that if he would pardoti him he would surrender to him the Prince of Zcila, who had survived the battle and was in his power. The Preste, in spite of being greatly enraged against him and determined not to pardon him, sent him a safe-conduct : not so much because of the Prince he would surrender, as because of the services of theBarna- guais, his son, who was so favoured, as it was he who sought out the Portuguese at Massowa, and guided them to the kingdom. lie could ask for nothing, however great, that he did not grant it ; besides, then, giving a safe-conduct and pardoning his father, which was a very great favour, he made him Governor of an important lordship. When the father got the safe-conduct he came, bringing the Prince with him, whom he surrendered to the Preste ; he, like a merciful man, would not slay him, but kept him under a

battle, then, was fought on Wednesday, February 21st, 1543, as Esteves Pereira points out.

The story of the Guidi fragment agrees with that of Bermudez ; we do not know enough of the history of the manuscript to accept it unconditionally. It is opposed to the story of Castanhoso, and also to that of Corrca, which latter shows sufficient divergency from the former to prove that the writer made some independent enquiries. The reputation of Correa for accuracy in relating events which hap- pened wiiile he was in India stands deservedly high. The story is a striking one, not likely to be forgotten, if it did happen, and cer- tainly not by a Portuguese writer, who would be proud of the figure cut by his compatriot.

The term Bar Saed-ed-din, or country of Saed-ed-din, was given to all the territory south of Abyssinia up to the Indian Ocean. It was named after a notable King vSaed-ed-din, who was killed in Zeila at the very beginning^ of the fifteenth century, in war against the Abys- sinians (Basset, Etudes, p. 239 n. ; Histoire, p. 7 «.). This name is now confined to an island five miles north of Zeila, which is covered with ruins of an ancient date, and is said to have been the site of old Zeila and the burial-place of the King Saed-ed-din himself.

Combes et Tamisier, Voyage (vol. iii, p. 30), may be consulted for the Shoa traditions of Gran, then (1836) a mythical hero to the Christians. His horse was forty cubits (say 60 feet) high, and he in proportion. He penetrated to Gondar, where it took five hundred musket balls to kill him. Other traditions will be found in Harris (vol. ii, p. 255).

&6 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

Strict watch in his house.^ There came with him many Christians, who had rebelled, thinking that the Preste would pardon them if they came in ; but when they arrived he ordered that their heads should be cut off ; to many others who sent to seek his safe-conduct he granted it, for there were so many that had he ordered all to be killed, he would have remained alone. Among those to whom he gave a safe-conduct was a Captain of the Moors, who had been a Christian, who had done many evil deeds in the country ; after his arrival he was recognised as one of those who had captured D. ChristovSo. When the Prcstc heard this he was anxious to kill him ; but he did not, not to violate the safe-conduct he had granted. The Portuguese were so enraged against him, that even if they had not known of this desire of the Preste, still it appears to me that they would have anyway killed him, even at the risk of angering him. With this evil intention of theirs they went to the Preste to tell him how much the man deserved death, and that he must order his execution ; he replied that there was no reason for violating the safe-conduct he had given him ; but they understood by this that he would not be very annoyed if they did kill him ; consequently, two or three men went to his tent and poignardcd him. His death did not annoy the Preste.'^

Del Wanbara and Sabla Wangel, the two mothers, an exchange was effected between this man and Minas, brother of Galawdewos (and his two cousins thrown in), who had been captured on May 19th, 1539. The exchange was made with somu ceremony at sea, off Massowa, either side arriving in its own boat. ForMinas's capture, see Basset, £tudes, p. 107 ; for the exchange, see Conzelman, § 29, p. 142, and Esteves Pereira's Afimis, p. 41.
 * This Prince did not long remain a prisoner. At the instance of

' This story is substantiated by the Ethiopian writers.

"As to Yoram, he was slain on his return, that the) might not forget the chastisement of Israel. In that year the incarnation and the Resurrection coincided." (In 1543 Easter day fell on March 25th). — Basset, ^/«</t'j, p. 112.

"At the time mentioned many of those who had been hostile, both to his father and to his mother, and to all the churches under their

castaSihoso. 87

CHAPTER XXV.

Of the Lake ivhence the Nile flows, on the shores of which the Preste passed Easter, and of the Customs of the Abyssinians in Holy Week.

From the lake I have mentioned, which they call Abauy,* starts the river Nile ; after leaving the lake it crosses all the country of the Preste, intersects Egypt, passes the city of Grand Cairo, and falls into the sea of the Levant at

rule, made their submission and were not troubled. In his great pity and his clemency he did not treat them harshly: not even a dog licked them with his tongue. Only one of them, whose wickedness had been unlimited, was killed on the sudden by one of the Portuguese (Bcrteguan) soldiers, contrary to the desire of the King, Mar GalAw- dewos, on whom be peace'' (Conzelman, i; 20, p. 137).

If, as appears almost certain, Yoram was the man stabbed, there were special reasons for Galawdcwos's desire to be rid of him, and possibly the stor>- of his connection with D. Christovao's death was spread to incite the Portuguese to action. I give a passage referring to Yoram which occurs after the account of Lebna Dengel's defeat by Emar, on June loth, 1539: "The King fled with scanty forces and reached the country of Salamt, where he took up his ([uartcrs in the mountain called Thielemfra. He was driven from it by lyoram. Governor of the district, helped by the Muhamedans, on 14th Hamlc (July 7th). This day the Lord worked a great miracle for him : he passed the Takazze on foot after the Reunion of the Apostles" (Basset, Etudes, p. 107). The Reunion of the Apostles was a festival celebrated before Whit Sunday, which in 1539 fell on May 25th, and by that date the rains would ordinarily be well on, and the Tacazze in flood and impassable on foot. Yoram was therefore a Christian, and Governor of either Salamt or Semien, who turned traitor; and finding his King in tkcuI dc jrtf(forthe mountain mentioned is in a bend of the Tacazze, which flows east and north of it), attacked him at a moment when his only retreat was over a flooded river. Such conduct could not be forgiven. Yoram also fought against Galiwdewos in the very beginning of his reign, December 6th, 1540 (see Basset, Etudes, p. 109). Readers of Pearce will remember Coffin's very graphic account of the attack by Abyssinian troops on Chirremferrer, as he calls Thielemfra, in which he bore his share (Pearce, vol. i, p. 201).

Sir William Garstin, of June 7th, 1901, on the irrigation of Egypt, shows that in the future Lake Tzana may play a very important part as a reservoir for irrigation. The information quoted on his p. 50, that the country round the lake is uninhabited, shows what immense changes must have occurred since Bruce found it the centre of a teem- ing population.
 * Abai is the name of the river, the Blue Nile itself. The report of

88 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

Alexandria. This lake is so large that land cannot be seen from one side or from the other ; the Abyssinians say that, for a man travelling very quickly, it is ten days' journey round, that is, over one hundred leagues ; in it are certain islands where there are monasteries of friars, very pleasant.^ In this lake are bred certain creatures like sea- horses, which they must be ; they arc as large as big horses, and of the fashion and colour of elephants ; their heads are exceedingly broad, with very wide mouths ; the arrangement of the lower and upper teeth is like they paint those of serpents ; at the point of the jaws on one side and on the other two teeth jut out, like an elephant's, but not so large ; when they open their mouths it is a sight of wonder, for truly a man of ordinary stature, standing on the lower jaw, would not touch the upper with his head, and in the width of its jaws two men together would fit. These creatures go into the plain to cat grass and branches, and if they see people retreat to the water ; they are so numerous that when they go swimming in the water they cover it. They live below the water and, when they come up, they project great throatfuls upwards from their mouths, more than whales do.'- On the shores of this lake, the Preste and all his camp celebrated Easter, when the service was per- formed very solemnly ; and from the time they entombed the Lord until the resurrection, he, and the Queen his mother, and all the nobles wore mourning, and they were always before the sacrament until the resurrection, not eating or drinking, with great fasting. Their fast is very

hides, which they use as boats." These islands are places of great sanctity. The inhabitants still have bundles of reeds for crossing, which are known as tankoua.
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 391),** who have reed baskets covered with raw

they paint, which are half women from the waist upwards, and from the waist downwards fish. This is what the people of the country tell, and they tell other thing's very wonderful and difficult to credit, therefore I do not write thcni down."
 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 392) : " In this lake are the mermaids, such as

CASTANHOSO. 89

strict, for they eat nothing that has suffered death, nor milk, nor cheese, nor eggs, nor butter, nor honey, nor drink wine. Thus during the fast days they only eat bread of millet, wheat, and pulse, all mixed together, spinach, and herbs cooked with oil which they make from a seed like jinjily.^ This fast follows the old law, for they do not eat at midday ; and when the sun is setting they go to church and hear Mass, and confess,- and communicate, and then go to supper ; and they say their Mass so late on fast days, because they say they can only receive the Holy Sacrament at that time because of the fast. On saints' days and Sundays, they say Mass at midday, as in the Church of Rome, and the Mass is always chanted, with deacon and sub-deacon, and a veil before the altar. The host is of very choice wheat unmixed, and they make a cake as large as a large host icoino huma hostia grande),\\\\\z\\ is cooked in an earthen mould that has a cross in the centre, and around it some Chaldee letters, which are those of the consecration.^

' The word used is Gcri^eliin, that is Sesamum ituiiciim ; the trade name is jinjily (Yule's Glossary^ s.v.). As to this Abyssinian oil and its uni)lcasant effects see I'arkyns (vol. ii,p. 72). He calls it kh'vy uyhokc^ and attributes to it a drying property like varnish. .Some Roman Catholic missionaries had to oluain a dispensation from using it, it •.vas so injurious. The early Muhamcdan raiders always visited Abyssinia in Lent, as the people were then too weak from fasting to resist. Alvarez (p. 289) says, the Abyssinians always married when they could on the Thursday before vShrove Tuesday, as then they were allowed to eat meat for two months.

nian custom, except in very general terms such as are used in the English Church. Thus Tellez (Hk. l, chap, xxxvii) says : "The worst is that confessors do not give absolution in the Catholic form, but say certain words and touch their (the penitents') backs with twigs of the olive tree. For this reason there are always some kept at the church doors, lest absolution should have to be withheld for want of twigs. Rather with these, first iIiO '•onfessors should be well thrashed, for not knowing how to absolve, and then ^he penitents for not knowing how to confess." According to Ludolph, this touching with rods was rather a manumission from sin than a penance {Com.^ p. 375).
 * The statement as to confession is doubtful, as it is not an Abyssi-

' Further and rather different information will be found in Alvarez, p. 24 and followmg. He was an ecclesiastic, and more likely to be accurate.

90 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

With this cake or host, all the friars and those who help in the Mass, and those who have confessed for this purpose, communicate. Every Sunday the King, the Queen, the nobles, all of noble birth, and all the people, confess and communicate. They enter the church barefooted, without any kind of slipper ; they do not spit in church, and if they want to do so, they have a cloth into which they spit, as they consider it a dirty habit.' These churches are round, with a holy place in the centre, and all around outside arc verandahs. Their bells with which they summon to Mass are of stone ;- they only use little bells at our service. They always pray standing ; they bow frequently, and kiss the earth, and then stand again, and thus they take the body of the Lord. In the holy week the sacred offices are performed with great decency, beginning on the eve of Palm Sunday with gathering them [palms], and on Sunday they are consecrated with full ceremony as in Portugal ; for all the women place crosses of wild olive leaves on their heads, in their head dresses, and the men carry away palm branches in their hands, which they take to their houses. On the day of the resurrection there was a very solemn procession, with many wax candles, and very large ones, so many, that truly I say there are more wax candles collected there than there could be in all Portugal. None should be astonished at this, for there is an immense quan- tity of honey. It is found in the rocks and on the plains, and belongs to whoever gathers it ; and there is so much that they make a wine from it^ that satisfies all the people. The nobles plume themselves on having many tapers and

custom surprised the Abyssinians.
 * The Portuj(uese did spit in church, see Alvarez (p. 30), and this

at a distance. Bent, Sacred City of the Ethiopians (p. 4 1 ), may also be consulted.
 * Alvarez (p. 22) says, these stones sound like cracked bells heard

' This mead and its preparation has been described by many travellers ; for instance, Parkyns (vol. i, p. 383).

CASTANHOSO. 9I

wax candles ; there is a Captain of the King's who has five hundred tapers ; and by this it can be judged how many go in the procession, which was very solemn, as it included over five hundred friars, with much music, as is their custom ; they returned to the church with the Holy Sacrament, which they call corbam. The Prcstc and his mother, and the Portuguese, all armed, went in the pro- cession, frequently firing matchlocks, and the artillery which we captured from the Moor, letting off, too, many artifices of fire which we had made for him. With these the Preste was much delighted, and he showed great pleasure that we made such a festival of that day.^

CHAPTER XXVI.

Of the Great Mourning made, and of the Obsequies celebrated by the Preste for the Soul of D. ChristovHo, and for the Portu- guese who died in the Battle.

At that time there had elapsed two months from the victory to Easter,^ and the Preste seeing that winter, which begins in May, was at hand, and that he could not march to visit his country and free it from rebellion, determined to winter three leagues away, as the grass on the plains was exhausted, and the ground foul from the long stay there of the Moors. His headquarters were fixed in a very large city,^ which is on the shores of the same lake, where some houses were prepared for him, and others for the


 * There is a more detailed account in Alvarez, chap. ex.

' A curious mistake. Easter Day in 1543 was on March 25th, while the battle of Wainadega was on February 21st, so only a month had elapsed.

' No indication is given of what place is meant. Omitting places where there is a larf,^e admixture of the foreign element, Abyssinian cities are of mushroom growth.

92 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

Queen. He cantoned his followers in the numerous places and villages which are around that city, and all in sight of it. He sent his Captains with the horsemen to one side and the footmen to the other, in the places I have men- tioned, which were numerous. The Preste remained with his family^ in the city, and by his order the Portuguese were given a ward {bairro), two matchlock shots away from his own, and certain villages, to supply us with food ; whence they brought us wheat, barley for the horses and mules, and honey, butter, flesh, and necessary supplies in the greatest abundance. We went to the palace once daily, the Captains with the men of the camp every eight days.^ Thus passed the winter, and towards the close of it, in the month of August, on the day that D. Christovao died, the Preste celebrated a great funeral, for there came for the solemnity more than six hundred friars, and several tents were pitched on the plain. He sent round to the neighbourhood to collect all the poor there on that day, and tents were pitched for them ; there collected over six thousand persons, and for all he ordered food and raiment. When the general ceremonies were ended, he began to get ready for the march. All the month of August was passed before they were prepared to start. As on September 14th, the day of the Exaltation of the Cross, they have a great festival, he determined not to leave until that feast had been celebrated, which they did in this way. On the eve of that day the Preste came out of his palace openly, which he does not do on any other day of the year ; for none sees his face, save his council and the inmates of his


 * Com sua casa. B omits.

'^ Correa (vol. iv, p. 393) : " The Treste doing great honour to our men, always speaking openly with them, learning to ride on horse- back after our manner, adopting many of our customs, as did many of his men, chiefly in the method of fighting, teaching themselves to fire matchlocks and artillery, and make powder."

CASTANHOSO. 93

house.* He came out with a large wooden* cross in his hands, and many friars in procession with him, with numerous trumpets, kettledrums, and other instruments of their fashion, and a large banner borne by one of the chief lords of his kingdom, called Azaye Degalao,^ with many people following in procession ; they marched round the church, and returned to his house with no more ceremony. All that night they made everywhere large fires, such as we make on St. John's night ; they lighted them chiefly in front of and around the Preste's palace, who was inside watching all through a window : for it is his custom to see all and not be seen himself All the chief lords visit him on this night, with a parade of their estate and worth.* Each by himself parades around the Preste's house, they on horseback and their followers on foot, with many lighted torches ; and he who has the most show is esteemed highest in rank. After the lords come the rest of the people, in bodies of two hundred, in no special order ; all these with torches in their hands. When the men had ended, the women came in a body, singing many songs of several sorts,*^ with instruments, and all with large wax tapers and

' See Bruce, \\k. v, ch.ip xi. In Bruce's time, the custom h.id been somewhat relaxed, even then the King covered his face during audiences and on public occasions ; also, when delivering judgment in treason cases, he sat on a balcony, and spoke through a hole in it to an otTiccr called " The King's Voice." See, too, Alvarez, p. 202. In that case the mouth and beard were covered.


 * Correa (vol. iv, p. 394) says, "golden cross."

' H, Acaje Dcgulam. Degalham was uncle by marriage to Galaw- dcwos ; his wife was Amata Waten, sister of Lebna Dengel. He played a considerable part in the wars with the Imam Ahmad, not always to his credit.

description of the ceremonies of the Mascal, or Day of the Exaltation, confirms Castanhoso. Harris's account is in vol. ii, p. "]"] ; and Fcarce's, in vol. i, p. 138. The latter was nearly treacherously shot in the Mascal of 1813. The ceremony was symbolical of what took place after a victory (see Bruce's account in Bk. VII, chap, vii, of the barbarous rites he saw after the battle of Serbraxos).
 * This is the duvifater, or war boast (Parkyns, vol. ii, p. 84). His

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 394) : " Their songs not well in tune, nor pleasant to hear."

94 PORTUGUESK FXPEOTTTON TO ABYSSINIA.

candles in their hands. In this way they spent all the night. In the morning there were no more festivals, only divine service in the church at mid-day. The follow- ing day they began to start on the march, pitching the Preste's tent, and all the others, on the plain, for such is their custom. When winter is over, whether there be peace or war, he always takes the field. Thus they all got ready, both horse and foot, and set out on October 8th. ^

CHAPTER XXVII.

0/ how the Prtste on his March reached the Plains ofjartafaa, and of wJuit he found there ; and of how certain Portuguese, with the Permission of the Preste, went to Afassoiva to seek shipping for India.

There joined him and marched with us more than one hundred thousand souls ; of these the fighting men were not more than twenty thousand foot and two thousand horse, who joined the Preste after the victory, with the evil excuses of a disloyal people ; the remainder were camp- followers and women, for in the whole kingdom there are no handicraftsmen, who gain a livelihood by their handi- crafts, as in other parts.'^ Omitting cultivators, all other ranks of people, from nobles to paupers, are at Court with their women, for the people find more to (iat there than anywhere else in the kingdom, because the Preste is, as I have said, always on the march in the summer, and every- thing is free where he goes ; and, therefore, everyone follows him, for the nobles employ and make use of everyone, and feed them, as it costs very little, for supplies are so plentiful


 * B shortens this chapter to some extent.

^ The trade of a blacksmith, for instance, is disgraceful, as they are all considered sorcerers who can turn themselves into hyx-nas (Parkyns, vol. ii, p. 144).

CASTANHOSO. 95

that there is enough for as many more if they accompanied him. As all could not travel on one line, they were sent in two bodies b)' different roads, to march until they arrived at a country on the skirts of the sea called Jartafaa,^ where there were Moors whom he wished to. expel. We marched in this way for eight days, straight from the lake to the sea, without going by any other road ; every place that wc passed surrendered, and in all places the Preste left Captains to rule them, turning out the undeserving, and doing justice as seemed right to him. We continued on until we came to a hill, on whose top were twelve monas- teries of friars, or churches in which religious men lived .^ a few men to each, and each one dedicated. Each church was formed from one stone, excavated on the inside with a pick ; like ours are, with two lofty naves and pillars, and vaulted, all from a single rock, with no other piece of any kind, with a high altar and other altars, all of the same stone ; as I say, in the whole edifice of the church there was nothing brought from the outside, but all cut from the same living rock. Each church is as large as that of St. Francis, at Evora ; all exists exactly as I. in truth relate it. I measured the smallest to see how many paces

' There is no place called Jartafaa. Esteves Pereira ingeniously siii;j,fests that it is Fatagar transposed, but there are difficulties. Katagar is not on the sea-shore, and though inversions of proper names are not unusual in the east, e.^.^ Loniochter for Ochterlony, <"artmil for Mailcart, Ensincanaria for Canariensis {creeper)^ still in these cases the component parts of the word are inverted, not the centre syllable left and the first and last parts transposed. Also, Fatagar was the furthest point of Abyssinia south from Massowa, and the Portuguese could not have argued that going inland from the former was going further from the latter. My criticism is purely destructive, I have nothing to suggest.

'- B has three villages for twelve monasteries. From the lake to Lalibela is, roughly, one hundred and ten miles. If the text means that they covered this in eight days, the Preste's army marched fourteen miles a day ; this would be a sort of test for the distance covered by the Portuguese, though they, perhaps, as a smaller body, would move more quickly when unaccompanied. Castanhoso exag- gerates the size of these churches. I give an account of them at the end of the chapter.

96 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

it was, and I found it fifty paces ; the others were very much larger. Over all these friars is one whom they call the Abadele,^ who is as their provincial or warden. These edifices, according to the story of the Abyssinians, were made by white men, and the first Christian king of this country was a stranger. Whence he came is unknown ; he brought many men with him to work at this rock with pickaxes, and they cut out a cubit a day, and found three finished in the morning ; and the King died a saint after he had completed these edifices. They showed us the place of his burial,- and all took earth from his tomb, and carried it away as a relic ; they assert the truth of all this which I have told. The friars have many writings ; these they showed us, thinking we should be able to read them. They were in Chaldee, all on parchment ; and even had we known the language they could hardly have been read, so worn and old were they. I heard them say that the King of Zeila came to see these edifices, and that two Moors tried to ride in, but when they came up to the door their horses foundered ;^ which miracle they had committed to writing, and spoke of much. The Moor ordered his men to leave the place, as " Mafamede" did not wish him to destroy such noble edifices; but as the country was his, he would have them made into mosques. lUit as everything is done by the will of God, he allowed the Moors to go thence, and to have so much to occupy them, that they never remembered these again. From here we went to

^ Probably Abba dele, that is, Abbade d'elle, " its abbot." Kaflfray speaks in the highest terms of the head when he was there, called Meiner Member. In his asseverations of the truth of what he relates, Castanhoso imitates Alvarez, who alone of his party visited the churches, and who was strangely nervous that his account would be discredited.

■■* He is buried in the church called Golgotha.

' I.hes arrehentardo, literally burst. Correa (vol. iv, p. 395) says of the men that they died suddenly. See note at the end for the Muhamcdan account of this visit.

CASTANHOSO. 97

Jartafaa, where the Preste pitched his camp on certain very wide plains, and we were here until the Moors returned to their obedience, for all the territory is peopled by them. They were formerly subject to the Preste, and paid him tribute, and he allowed them to live there for the sake of the commerce that came through their hands ; because the Abyssinians are not curious in sea affairs, nor are they the men for them ; the country too, is so extensive, that were there many more inhabitants there would still be land for all. The Preste, therefore, ordered that no harm should be done to these Muhamedan merchants or to the cultivators ; only the fighting men were turned out of the country, the inhabitants remaining subject to the Preste, and paying the customary taxes. After this, as the time was passing, we spent here the Christmas of 1543. As there was nothing to be done in the country, which was quite freed, and I suffered from my wound, which would not heal, and there was none to cure me, I sought the Preste's permission to go to Massowa to wait for our vessels which were then due. I could also no longer serve, for the wound was from a matchlock bullet, and my arm useless. He was much annoyed that I wished to leave him at a time when he was so impoverished, and his affairs so unsettled, for in truth he was but King over a wide territory and over victuals ; for the Moors had captured all his treasure, and his country had been in rebellion, so that if, indeed, he had brought back anything from the interior, he had much on which to expend it. He, therefore, told me frequently not to go away until he could show me some favour, as it was derogatory to himself for me to leave, and he not to show it to me, and that he was very grieved that I should go ; still, seeing that it was necessary, because of my health, he gave it me unwillingly, as he would be much more annoyed if I lost my life await- ing his favours, as there was no medicine in the country, and none that knew how to apply it. He, therefore, very

H

98 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

reluctantly gave me his permission, and ordered me to be given for the road a horse and two very handsome mules from his stables, and a cloak {cahayd) of green velvet,^ with flowers of gold, and one of his own men to guide me, whose duty it was to provide everything in abundance, free for me wherever I went, as if I had been his brother '^ thus they received me, and welcomed me, and offered me mules to procure supplies.^ He ordered me to be given twenty ounces of gold for the journey, fearful lest his people should not supply me with all I needed ; and this with a will that certainly showed that, had the time been favour- able, and I had asked it, he would have granted me very great favours. After he had bidden me farewell, and had given me letters for the King our lord, fifty Portuguese determined to also ask his permission to go, as there was nothing to be done in the country, nor were they needed ; they also desired to leave for India, which seemed to them so distant, that should they again turn into the interior of the country, they would never return to India. They sought permission saying what I have said ; he felt it much, for he hoped to have them always with him. Seeing that he could not forcibly retain them, he told them they might have leave, but unwillingly ; he also ordered them to be supplied with all necessaries, and mules to ride : saying frequently that it caused him great pain that they wished to go at a time when he could not show, them favour.

' Velitdo verde avelutado. 13 has " a cloak {Marlota) of olive green velvet."

2 Parkyns (vol. i, p, 215) says this is the worst way of travelling ; that he got on much better by himself.

^ The meaning of this clause is obscure. B omits it.

CASTA NHOSO. 99

Note on the Rock-Churches of Lalibela, and on the

MUHAMEDAN RaID ON THEM IN 1533.

I can find no account of a visit to the rock-churches of Lahbela in the narrative of any EngHsh traveller. There are, however, four descriptions of them accessible : one in the Verdadeira Informa^am of Alvarez, who visited them in the first quarter of the sixteenth century ; a translation of his work has been published by the Hakluyt Society (vol. 64, 1881). The remaining three are in the works of modern travellers : Rohlfs, who saw them at the time of the English expedition of 1868, and whose book, Landund Volk in Africa^ was published in 1870; Raffray, whose works on this subject are a monograph on the churches, with drawings, dimensions, and plans, published in 1882 ; and an account of his Abyssinian journey in the Bulletin de la Societe de Geographic de PariSy 1882 ; and lastly, Gabriel Simon's LEthiopie, ses moeurs, etc., which appeared in 1885. These two last travellers were at Lalibela in company. There is, further, a translation of part of one of the Ethiopian manuscripts in the British Museum (Or. MSS. 718, 719), published by Perruchon in 1892, under the title "Vie de Lalibala," in the Publications de PEcole des lettres d" Alger ; in this there is a valuable compendium of the facts from the side of research. From this volume, and Raffray's monograph, which Perruchon had not seen, a complete idea of these churches can be gained. Simon's work should also be consulted for the details of the decoration. There are about two hundred rock-churches within a comparatively short distance of these particular ones, but it is allowed that these are the finest examples of the class.

Lalibela is a semi-mythical King of Abyssinia, said to belong to the Zagues, an intrusive family of whom little is known, who occupied the throne for a number of years. Lalibela himself is believed to have reigned in the early thirteenth century. He was born at Roha, in Lasta, a place situated a few miles north-east of the point where the 12° of north latitude crosses the 39° of east longitude ; it is now known after him as Lalibela. His wife was called Mescal Kebra, or the Servant of the Cross. As Lalibela has been canonized, his reputation as a saint has obscured the actual facts of his life. June 6th is his day, but Perruchon (p. xxxi) finds that his claims to saintship have been disallowed by the Bollandists, with the remark that, judging from his time and country, he was probably a schismatic. As remarked elsewhere (p. 131, below), Lalibela is one of the persons to whom the idea of diverting the Nile from Egypt is traditionally ascribed. He and his wife are said to have obtained some five hundred workmen from Egypt, under one Sidi Mescal, who excavated the churches in either twenty-three or twenty-eight years (accounts vary). As Raffray points out, Lalibela lies nearly a month's journey even

H 2

lOO PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

from Massowa, and it is very remarkable that workmen should have been obtained from so remote a country as Egypt.

The present town of Lalibela contains some three thousand people, and stands rather over 8,000 feet above the sea. On approaching it nothing particular can be seen, but on entering it the traveller finds several deep trenches cut through the living rock, which is volcanic. Through one of these trenches runs a small stream, called locally " the Jordan ;" the others lead to the quarries or excavations, of about 30 feet in depth, in which the churches are situated. There are three main quarries connected by these open tunnels, and in each quarry there are one or more church or churches. A block of the desired si^e was left in the quarry, still attached to its base ; the outside was worked to imitate masonry, and the interior e.xcavated, leaving numerous pillars, the altars, etc., while the sides were pierced for windows : each church is, therefore, a monolith. The whole work has been hewn out with a pick, and the insides have been subsequently smoothed with the chisel. There are eleven of these churches, all properly oriented. The largest, Medani A/am (the Saviour of the World), is, outside measurement, 33.5 metres by 23.5 metres (iioi feet by 77^ feet), and inside, 26 metres by 16 metres. The smaUest, Dinaghel (the Virgins) is only 5 metres scjuare, or little more than a grotto. The material does not lend itself to archi- tectural effect, and the outsides are somewhat weathered ; but the interior decorations, especially the pierced lattice-work, has con- siderable beauty. Simon finds in it traces of Arab and Greek influence. The outside of the flat roofs, being visible from above, is, of course, ornamented. There are no inscriptions, only a rough outline portrait of Lalibela in the church of Abba Libanos, which was constructed by the widow, Mescal Kebra, in memory of her husband. Simon doubts the possibility of excavating all these churches in the limited time allowed by the legend, and Rohlfs appears to be of the same opinion ; he, in fact, traces a gradual growth and evolution in the style. Lalibela is still a sacred town, and there is attached to the churches a considerable territory, which has been respected by the successive rulers of Abyssinia. Raffray informs us that a manuscript has been preserved in the town, in which the history of the churches is given. On one page the dotation of the territory is written in Ethiopic — Arabic and Greek — a noteworthy collocation, which may indicate the nation- ality of the original workers. Of this no coj)y seems to have been made.

In view of what is stated by the Portuguese as to the failure of the Muhamedan attack on these rock-churches, it is interesting to see what the Muhamedans themselves say in their narrative of the Imam's campaigns. Their own account is not that of a triumphant success. The chronicle says : —

" Ahmad afterwards made his preparations to advance into

CASTANHOSO. lOI

Tigr^ .... Then he learnt that the idolaters had assembled near the church called Laiibala ; he marched against them across mountains, and by a very difficult road, during continuous rain ; he travelled even by night, and hastened his march. Many of his men died of cold. They reached the church, where the monks were collected to die in its defence. The Imam examined the church, and found that he had never seen the like. It was cut from the rock, as were the columns that supported it. There was not a piece of wood in all the construction, save the idols and their shrines. There was also a cistern hewn out of the rock. The Imam called together the monks, and ordered them to collect and bring wood. They lighted a fire, and when the fire was hot Ahmad said to them : * Now, let one of you and one of us enter : ' wishing to see what they would do, and to test them. Then their Chief said, * Willingly ; I will go in ; ' but a woman, who had adopted a religious life, arose and said : * It is he who expounds to us the Gospel. Shall he die there before my eyes?' and threw herself into the fire. The Imam cried, ' Drag her out.' They dragged her out ; but part of her face was burnt. Then he burned their shrines, broke their stone idols, and appropriated all the gold plates and silk textures he found" (Basset, Histoire,\>. 409).

CHAPTER XXVIII.

0/ ho7V the Portuguese took Leave of the Prestefor Massowa.

The Preste ordered the collection of all the chalices and crosses, and of all the silver from the churches, and of all the ornaments and bracelets of his mother, sisters, and relatives, and gave them to them, regretting much that he could give no more. He begged them not to go, for there was much gold in his country, which he would give them ; for far inland were bestial Caffres, who came in gangs on foot, with much gold in bags at their sides, to a fair in the back of his kingdom, which marches with these Caffres, which country is called Damute. That these negroes gave the gold in exchange for inferior and coarse Indian cloths, and beads of red, blue, and green earth, which they valued highly, and the gold very little ; that if they would

102 PORTUGUESE EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA.

accompany him to that country, they could conquer the mines, where they could glut themselves with gold.* Even with this he could not alter their intention, nor would they accept the silver and gold he offered, both by reason of the form {moeda) in which it was, and because they saw that his affairs were much disordered : telling him that they looked for favours to the King, our lord, who would confer them ; that they did not come to that country for any profit, only to serve God and the King, our lord. Thus they bade him farewell, leaving one hundred and twenty* Portuguese with him. We departed, taking as our leader the banner of Holy Compassion {Sancta Misericordia\ borne by one of the two Mass-priests who were with us. These had reaped a rich harvest : they had rooted out many evil practices from that country, and made many Christians. To the Preste remained the hope that if we did not meet our fleet, on which we could all embark, and if the Governor should have sent some one in a foist to be Captain over all, that they would remain.' We travelled thus till we reached Massowa, where we found only one small foist, in which was Diogo de Reynoso,* who fired his artillery and matchlocks, in the hope that if any Portu- guese were on the plain, they, hearing it, would come, that he might have news of us, for in India they considered us all dead. Through fear of the Turkish galleys, we had not remained in sight of the port. When we heard these [the guns] the horsemen went to reconnoitre, and when they

' Both Bermudez and Alvarez have many similar tales.


 * B, One hundred.

' B omits this sentence about the Governor. The fact of the flag, combined with this sentence, seems to hint that the Portuguese in part left as a protest against Ayres Dias.

tion. He was blown up in a mine during the second siege of Diu, on August loth, 1546, when he was mentor to D. Fernandes de Castro, son of D. Joiio de Castro, the Governor. He and his pupil perished together.
 * The result of this expedition to Reynoso is given in the Introduc-

CASTANHOSO. IO3

recognised it as our foist they came to tell us, with great joy, both their own and that of those men in the foist. We at once struck our tents and went there, and met with much pleasure and many tears. All agreed that, as there was only one very small foist, which arrived with as many men as could sail in her, and that as only very few more could go, they should remain and I embark,^ both because of my necessity, and because I bore letters from the Preste to the King, our lord. They charged me strongly to tell the Governor how they had remained behind, and to beg him to send shipping for them, with importunity if he made any demur ; and should he refuse, I must seek it from the King, our lord. I promised to seek it, and to labour in it as I could. On. the morning of the following day, Sunday, February i6th, 1544, I embarked, leaving my companions very desirous to do the same. They and those in the foist took leave of each other with many good wishes ; they remained saying a prayer to the crucifix on their banner, and, it concluded, they turned with sobs, and, mounting their horses and mules, rode inland towards where the Preste was, for there were many of his men ready to accompany them if they did not embark. We sailed on to India, where it pleased the Lord God to bring us in safety. We arrived on April 19th of the said year: thanks be to Him, who was pleased to remember me, and may He bring them back in safety.^

END.

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 397) adds, referring to Castanhoso, " who gave me the memorandum book he brought of all this story."

' Correa (vol. iv, p. 397) : " I say that I remember to have seen a letter written to D. Estevao by Mirabercuz, one of the chief Moors of Ormuz, when he returned from the Straits, after leaving there his brother with these men to join the Preste. Among other things he told him that in his ancient legends was a prophecy which said that the King of Tiopia would be harassed and his kingdom be captured by the Moors, but that Christian people would come from afar to his