A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. 7 | Page 4

of Casame, between the
latitudes of 17° and 18° S. where they found little water and had much
trouble[7]. Here also amity was established with the king, whose name
was Sampilla, a discreet old man; but hitherto they could get no
intelligence of the Portuguese whom they were sent in search of. On
Whitsunday, which happened that year about the middle of May, mass
was said on shore and two crosses erected, at which the king appeared
so much pleased that he engaged to restore them if they happened to
fall or decay. During the holidays they discovered an island in lat. 18°
S. to which they gave the name of Espirito Santo[8], and half a degree
farther they were in some danger from a sand bank 9 leagues long. On
Trinity Sunday, still in danger from sand banks, they anchored at the
seven islands of Cuerpo de Dios or _Corpus Christi_[9] in 19° S. near
the kingdom and river of Sadia to which they came on the 19th of June,
finding scarcely enough of water to float the caravel. This kingdom is
extensive, and its principal city on the banks of the river has about
10,000 inhabitants. The people are black, simple, and good-natured,
having no trade, but have plenty of flesh, maize, tar, tortoises, sandal,
ebony, and sweet woods. The name of the king was Capilate, who was
an old man much respected and very honest. He received the
Portuguese kindly, and even sent his son to guide them along the coast.
All along this coast from Massalage to Sadia the natives speak the
same language with the Kafrs on the opposite coast of Africa; while in

all the rest of the island the native language called Buqua is spoken.
[Footnote 6: On this bay is a town called New Massah to distinguish it
from Old Massah on the bay of Massali, somewhat more than half a
degree farther north. Masialege or Meselage is a town at the bottom of
the bay of Juan Mane de Cuna, about half a degree farther south.--E.]
[Footnote 7: They were here on the bank of Pracel, which seems
alluded to in the text from the shallowness of the water; though the
district named Casame in the text is not to be found in modern
maps--E.]
[Footnote 8: Probably the island of the bay of St Andrew in 17° 30' is
here meant; at any rate it must be carefully distinguished from Spiritu
Santo, St Esprit, or Holy Ghost Island, one of the Comoros in lat. 15°
S.--E.]
[Footnote 9: Perhaps those now called barren isles on the west coast,
between lat. 18° 40' and 19° 12' S. The river Sadia of the text may be
that now called Santiano in lat. 19° S.--E.]
Continuing towards the south they came to the country of the Buques, a
poor and barbarous people feeding on the spawn of fish, who are much
oppressed by the kings of the inland tribes. Passing the river
_Mane_[10], that of _Saume_[11] in 20° 15'; Manoputa in 20° 30',
where they first heard of the Portuguese; Isango in 21°; Terrir in 21°
30'; the seven islands of Elizabeth in 22°; they came on the 11th of July
into the port of _St Felix_[12] in 22°, where they heard again of the
Portuguese of whom they were in search, from Dissamuta the king of
that part of the country. On offering a silver chain at this place for some
provisions, the natives gave it to an old woman to examine if it was
genuine, and she informed the Portuguese that at the distance of three
days journey there was an island inhabited a long while before by a
white people dressed like the Portuguese and wearing crosses hanging
from their necks, who lived by rapine and easily took whatever they
wanted, as they were armed with spears and guns, with which
information the Portuguese were much gratified. Continuing their
voyage past the bay of St Bonaventura and the mouth of the river
Massimanga, they entered the bay of Santa Clara, where Diamassuto
came to them and entered into a treaty of friendship, worshipping the
cross on his knees. They were here told that white people frequented a
neighbouring port, and concluded that they were Hollanders. Going

onwards they found banks of sand not laid down in any chart, and
entered a port in lat. 24° 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