After This Confession, The General Gave This Man Better
Treatment, Allowing Him Both Clothes And Money.
Some time afterwards he
became a Christian, by the name of Gaspar de la Gama, taking his name of
Gaspar from one of the three kings of the Magi[69], and his surname from
the general, who stood god-father at his baptism.
The general pursued his course for Melinda, where he proposed to take on
board an ambassador from the xeque of that place. In the early part of
this voyage he endured severe storms and contrary winds, which were
succeeded by calms, during which the heat of the sun was quite
insufferable, and the voyage much delayed, insomuch, that water began to
grow scarce, and the people had to be put on short allowance. Owing to
these circumstances, the people were afflicted with the same disease in
their gums, from which they had formerly suffered such great distress in
the river of Good Signs[70], on the outward voyage. Their arms and legs
also swelled, and many tumours broke out over their bodies, proceeding
from a pestilent stinking humour, which threw them into a flux, of which
thirty persons died. From the continuance of calms and contrary winds,
and the mortality among the people, the whole company became amazed, and
believed they should never be able to get out from their present
distressing situation; insomuch, that they solicited the general to
return to Calicut, or some other part of India, and submit to what God
might appoint, rather than to die on the sea of these terrible diseases,
for which there was no remedy, especially as both provisions and water
began to fail.
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