Landers Travels | Page 8

considerable
island, uninhabited, and covered with wood, which, on that account,
they called Madeira.

By these voyages, the Portuguese became accustomed to a bolder
navigation, and at length, in 1433, Gilianez, one of prince Henry's
captains, by venturing out into the open sea, succeeded in doubling
Cape Bojador, which, until then, had been regarded as impassable. This
successful voyage, which the ignorance of the age placed on a level
with the most famous exploits recorded in history, opened a new sphere
to navigation, as it discovered the vast continent of Africa, still washed
by the Atlantic Ocean, and stretching towards the south. A rapid
progress was then made along the shores of the Sehara, and the
Portuguese navigators were not long in reaching the fertile regions
watered by the Senegal and the Gambia.
The early part of this progress was dreary in the extreme; they saw
nothing before them but a wild expanse of lifeless earth and sky, naked
rocks and burning sands, stretching immeasurably into the exterior, and
affording no encouragement to any project of settlement. After,
however, passing Cape Blanco, the coast began to improve in
appearance, and when they saw the ivory and gold brought down from
the interior, those regions began to excite the lust of conquest. This was,
however, an undertaking beyond the means of any force which had as
yet sailed from Portugal. In 1443, however, Nuno Tristan discovered
the island of Arguin, and as Gonzalo da Centra was in 1445 killed by a
party of negroes, in attempting to ascend a small river, near the Rio
Grande, the Portuguese considered an insular position to be the most
eligible for a settlement, and the island of Arguin was accordingly fixed
upon.
This establishment had been scarcely formed, when an important event
took place, which afforded a favourable opportunity and pretext for
laying the foundation of the Portuguese empire in Africa. Bemoy, a
prince of the Jaloofs, arrived at Arguin, as a suppliant for foreign aid, in
recovering his dominions from a more powerful competitor or usurper.
He was received with open arms, and conveyed to Lisbon, where he
experienced a brilliant reception, his visit being celebrated by all the
festal exhibitions peculiar to that age, bull-fights, puppet-shows, and
even feats of dogs. On that occasion, Bemoy made a display of the
agility of his native attendants, who on foot, kept pace with the swift

horses, mounting and alighting from these animals at full gallop After
being instructed in the Christian religion, he was baptized, and did
homage to the king and the pope, for the crown, which was to be placed
on his head; for this purpose a powerful armament under the command
of Pero vaz d'Acunha, was sent out with him, to the banks of the
Senegal.
The circumstance, which tended more particularly to inflame the pious
zeal of the Christian monarch, was the information, that to the east of
Timbuctoo there was a territory inhabited by a people who were neither
moors nor pagans, but who, in many of their customs resembled the
Christians. It was immediately inferred, that this could be no other than
the kingdom of the mysterious personage known in Europe, under the
uncouth appellation of Prester John. This singular name seems first to
have been introduced by travellers from eastern Asia, where it had been
applied to some Nestorian bishop, who held there a species of
sovereignty, and when rumours arrived of the Christian king of
Abyssinia, he was concluded to be the real Prester John. His dominions
being reported to stretch far inland, and the breadth of the African
continent being very imperfectly understood, the conclusion was
formed, that a mission from the western coast might easily reach his
capital. It does not fully appear, what were the precise expectations
from an intercourse with this great personage, but it seems to have been
thoroughly rooted in the minds of the Portuguese, that they would be
raised to a matchless height of glory and felicity, if they could by any
means arrive at his court. The principal instruction given to all officers
employed in the African service, was, that in every quarter, and by
every means, they should endeavour to effect this discovery. They
accordingly never failed to put the question to all the wanderers of the
desert, and to every caravan that came from the interior, but in vain, the
name had never been heard. The Portuguese then besought the natives
at all events, into whatever region they might travel, studiously to
inquire if Prester John was there, or if any one knew where he was to
be found, and on the promise of a splendid reward, in case of success,
this was readily undertaken.
The conclusion of the adventure of Bemoy, was extremely tragical. A

quarrel having arisen between