Having ended their conversation, and confirmed their mutual friendship, the king rowed through among our ships, examining them with much pleasure and admiration, and was saluted in passing by many discharges of the ordnance, at which he and his attendants seemed much delighted. On this occasion, the general attended upon him in his own boat out of respect, and the king observed, that he never was so much pleased with any men as with the Portuguese, and would most gladly have some of them to help him in his wars. To this the general answered, that if his highness were to have experience of what they were able to perform, he would like the Portuguese still better; and that they should certainly give him aid, if it should please the king of Portugal to send any of his war ships to Calicut, which he did not doubt would be the case, if it were Gods will to permit the discovery of that place. After the king had satisfied his curiosity, he requested of the general, since he would not go himself into the city, to permit two of his men to go and see the palace, offering to leave his own son, and one of his chief priests, which they named Caзis415, in pledge for their safe return. To this request the general consented, and sent two of our men along with the king: He, at his departure, requested that the general would next day, in his boat, come close to the shore, when he should be gratified with a sight of the native horsemen going through their evolutions. After this they separated.

Next day, being Thursday, the general and Nicholas Coello went in their boats well armed along the shore, according to the invitation of the king, keeping at a small distance from each other for mutual defence in case of need, where they saw many men skirmishing on the shore. As our boats approached the royal palace, certain of the kings attendants brought him in a chair down some stone stairs which led to the water; and, being then very near the generals boat, the king entered into friendly conversation with him, and once more entreated him to land and go to the palace; saying, that his father, who was lame, was exceedingly desirous to see him, and even offered, that, while the general remained on shore, he and his children would go on board the ships as hostages for his security. But our general, still dreading that some bitter treachery might lurk beneath this honied speech, continued to excuse himself from landing, as he had not permission from his own prince to do so, and must obey him, in all things. After this, taking his leave of the king, he rowed past the ships of the Indian merchants, which he saluted in passing with his ordnance; and when they saw us pass, they held up their hands, exclaiming Christe! Christe!

That night, having obtained leave from the king, our men made them a great feast, with much diversion, also of squibs, firing of guns, and loud cries. The fleet remained at anchor for two days without any message from the shore, on which account the general was much distressed, fearing the king had taken offence at his refusal to go on shore, and might break the peace and amity between them, and not send him any pilot. But on Sunday the 21st of April, a person who was in high credit with the king, came off to visit the general, who was much disappointed when this person brought no pilot, and again began to entertain suspicions of the kings intentions. When the king learnt this, and that the general remained merely for the purpose of having a pilot, he sent him one who was a Gentile, called Gosarate416 in their language, and whose name was Canaca, sending an apology at the same time for not having sent this person sooner. Thus the king and the general remained friends, and the peace continued which had been agreed between them.

"De Barros and Faria give this pilot the name of Malemo Cana, and say that he belonged to one of the Indian ships of Cambaya, then at Melinda. De Barros adds, that he shewed De Gama a very small chart of the coast of India, laid down with meridians and parallels, but without rhumbs of the winds. This pilot shewed no surprise on seeing the large wooden and metal astrolabes belonging to the Portuguese, as the pilots of the Red Sea had long used brass triangular instruments and quadrants for astronomical observations, and that he and others who sailed from Cambaya, and the ports of India, navigated by the north and south stars, and the constellations of the eastern and western hemispheres; and, though they did not use these instruments in navigation, they employed one made of three pieces of board, similar to the balhestillia, or cross-staff of the Portuguese.

"In a collection of papers published in 1790, called Documentos Arabicos, from the royal archives of Lisbon, chiefly consisting of letters between the kings of Portugal and the tributary princes of the east in the sixteenth century, the zeque, sheik, or king of Melinda, with whom De Gama afterwards made a treaty of alliance, and whose ambassador he carried into Portugal, was named Wagerage417."

Having thus procured a pilot, and provided all things necessary for the voyage, De Gama departed from Melinda for Calicut, on Friday the 26th of April 1498418, and immediately made sail directly across the gulf which separates Africa from India, which is 750 leagues419. This golf runs a long way up into the land northwards; but our course for Calicut lay to the east420. In following this voyage, our men saw the north star next Sunday, which they had not seen of a long while; and they saw the stars about the south pole at the same time. They gave thanks to God, that, whereas it had been represented to them, that in this season, which was the winter of the Indies, there were always great storms in this gulf, they now experienced fair weather. On Friday the 18th of May, twenty– three days after leaving Melinda, during all which time they had seen no land, they came in sight of India, at eight leagues distance, the land seeming very high. Canaca, the pilot, tried the lead and found forty-five fathoms, upon which he altered his course to the south-east, having fallen in with the land too far to the north. Upon the Saturday, he again drew near the land, but did not certainly know it, as the view was obscured by rain, which, always falls in India at this season, being their winter. On Sunday the 20th of May, the pilot got view of certain high hills which are directly behind the city of Calicut, and came so near the land that he was quite sure of the place; on which he came up with great joy to the general, demanding his albrycias, or reward, as this was the place at which he and his company were so desirous to arrive. The general was greatly rejoiced at this news, and immediately satisfied the pilot, after which, he summoned all the company to prayers, saying the salve, and giving hearty thanks to God, who had safely conducted them to the long wished-for place of his destination. When prayer was over, there was great festivity and joy in the ships, which came that same evening to anchor two leagues from Calicut. Immediately upon anchoring, some of the natives came off to the ships in four boats, called almadias, inquiring whence our ships came, as they had never before seen any resembling their construction upon that coast. These natives were of a brown colour, and entirely naked, excepting very small aprons. Some of them immediately came on board the general, and the Guzerat pilot informed him these were poor fishermen; yet the general received them courteously, and ordered his people to purchase the fish which they had brought for sale. On conversing with them, he understood that the town whence they came, which was in sight, was not Calicut, which lay farther off, and to which they offered to conduct our fleet. Whereupon the general requested them to do this; and, departing from this first anchorage, the fleet was conducted by these fishermen to Calicut.