The Governors
Liberality Brought More Men To Inlist Under His Banners Than He Desired,
So That He Was Enabled To Select The Best.
The fleet consisted of 80
sail of different sorts and sizes, and carried 2000 soldiers besides
mariners and rowers.
On coming into the Red Sea, he found most of the
cities and islands abandoned, the inhabitants having notice of his
coming. At Suakem, the sheikh or king, who had retired a league up the
country, amused De Gama with pretences of peace, that he might not
destroy the town and island. In consequence of this delay, De Gama was
prevented from carrying his design into execution of destroying the
ships at Suez; as it afforded time for the Turks to receive intelligence
of the expedition. This is the account given by De Faria; but Bermudas
gives a different reason for the want of success in that design, as De
Gama could not get at the ships, which were all drawn up on the land,
which we have already seen to have been the case, in the journal of the
voyage of Solyman Pacha, in the immediately preceding chapter.
In revenge for the duplicity and delay of the sheikh of Suakem, De Gama
marched into the interior with 1000 men, accompanied by his brother Don
Christopher, and defeated the sheikh with great slaughter. He then
plundered the city of Suakem, where many of the private men got booty to
the value of four or five thousand ducats, and then burnt it to the
ground.
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