S.
The king of this place was named _Diacomena_, and they here learnt that
there were Portuguese on the opposite coast who had been cast away, and
now herded cattle for their subsistence. They said likewise that the
Hollanders had been three times at their port, and had left them four
musketeers with whose assistance they had made war upon their enemies.
On some trees there were several inscriptions, among which were the
following. _Christophorus Neoportus Anglus Cap_. and on another _Dominus
Robertus Scherleius Comes, Legatus Regis Persarum_.
[Footnote 10: It is singular that the large circular bay of Mansitare in
lat. 19 deg. 30' S. is not named, although probably meant by the river
_Mane_ in the text. - E.]
[Footnote 11: Now called Ranoumanthe, discharging its waters into the
bay of St Vincents. - E.]
[Footnote 12: Now Port St James. - E.]
In the latitude of 25 deg. S. they entered a port which they named St
Augustine[13] in a kingdom called _Vavalinta_, of which a _Buque_ named
_Diamacrinale_ was king, who no sooner saw the Portuguese than he asked
if these were some of the men from the other coast. This confirmed the
stories they had formerly heard respecting the Portuguese, and they were
here informed that the place at which they dwelt was only six days sail
from that place. In September they got sight of Cape _Romain_ or St
_Mary_ the most southern point of Madagascar, where they spent 40 days
in stormy weather, and on St Lukes day, 18th October, they entered the
port of that name in the kingdom of Enseroe. The natives said that there
were white people who wore crosses, only at the distance of half a days
journey, who had a large town, and _Randumana_ the king came on board
the caravel, and sent one of his subjects with a Portuguese to shew him
where these white people dwelt, but the black ran away when only half
way.
[Footnote 13: In lat. 23 deg. 30' or directly under the tropic of Capricorn,
is a bay now called St Augustine. If that in the text, the latitude 1s
erroneous a degree and a half. - E.]
Among others of the natives who came to this place to trade with the
Portuguese, was a king named _Bruto Chembanga_ with above 500 fighting
men. His sons were almost white, with long hair, wearing gowns and
breeches of cotton of several colours with silver buttons and bracelets
and several ornaments of gold, set with pearls and coral. The territory
of this king was named _Matacassi_, bordering on _Enseroe_ to the west.
He said that the Portuguese were all dead, who not far from that place
had built a town of stone houses, where they worshipped the cross, on
the foot or pedestal of which were unknown characters. He drew
representations of all these things on the sand, and demanded a high
reward for his intelligence. Some of his people wore crosses, and
informed the Portuguese that there were two ships belonging to the
Hollanders in port _St Lucia_ or _Mangascafe_. In a small island at this
place there was found a _square stone fort_[14], and at the foot of it
the arms of Portugal were carved on a piece of marble, with this
inscription
REX PORTUGALENSIS O S.
[Footnote 14: This is unintelligible as it stands in the text. It may
possibly have been a square stone pedestal for one of the crosses of
discovery, that used to be set up by the Portuguese navigators as marks
of possession. - E.]
Many conjectures were formed to account for the signification of the
circle between the two last letters of this inscription, but nothing
satisfactory could be discovered. King _Chembanga_ requested that a
Portuguese might be sent along with him to his residence, to treat upon
some important affairs, and left his nephew as an hostage for his safe
return. Accordingly the master, Antonio Gonzales, and one of the priests
named Pedro Freyre, were sent; who, at twelve leagues distance, came to
his residence called _Fansaria_, a very populous and magnificent place.
At first he treated them with much kindness, after which he grew cold
towards them, but on making him a considerable present he became
friendly, and even delivered to them his eldest son to be carried to
Goa, desiring that the two Jesuits and four other Portuguese might be
left as hostages, to whom he offered the island of _Santa Cruz_ to live
in. These people are descended from the Moors, and call themselves
_Zelimas_; they have the alcoran in Arabic, and have faquirs who teach
them to read and write; they are circumcised, eat no bacon, and some of
them have several wives. The king said that in the time of his father a
ship of the Portuguese was cast away on this coast, from which about 100
men escaped on shore, some of whom had their wives along with them, and
the rest married there and left a numerous progeny. He repeated several
of their names, and even showed a book in Portuguese and Latin which had
belonged to them, and some maps; and concluded by saying that there were
more Portuguese on that coast, seven days journey to the north. On
farther inquiry, a man 90 years of age was found, who had known the
Portuguese that were cast away there, and could still remember a few
detached words of their language.
The Portuguese set all hands to work to build a house and chapel for the
two Jesuits and four Portuguese who were to remain, and when the work
was finished, mass was solemnly said on shore, many of the natives
coming to learn how to make the sign of the cross. One day while the
king was looking on, and saw several men labouring hard to carry a cross
that was meant to be set upon a rock, he went half naked and bareheaded,
and carried it without assistance to the place appointed.
