me, they went in their boats in
search of water, which the Moorish pilot assured them was to be found on
the firm land, and offered to guide them to the place. Leaving Paulo de
la Gama in charge of the ships, and taking Nicholas Coello and the pilot
along with him in the boats, the general went on shore about midnight to
the place where the pilot said that water was to be had. But it could not
be found; whether that the pilot misled them in hope of escaping, or
finding he could not escape, did so out of malice. Having spent the whole
night fruitlessly in search of water, and day beginning to dawn, the
general returned to the ships for more force, lest the Moors might set
upon him and his small company at a disadvantage. Having furnished his
boats with a larger force of armed men, he returned to the shore, still
accompanied by Coello and the Moorish pilot, who, seeing no means of
escaping, now pointed out the watering-place close by the shore. At this
place they observed about twenty Moors armed with darts, who shewed as if
they meant to prevent them from taking water. The general therefore gave
orders to fire three guns, to force them from the shore, that our men
might be able to land unopposed. Amazed and frightened by the noise and
the effect of the shot, the Moors ran away and hid themselves in the
bushes; and our people landed quietly, and took in fresh water, returning
to the ships a little before sunset. On arriving, the general found his
brother much disquieted, because a Negro, belonging to John Cambrayes,
the pilot of Paulo de la Gama, had run away to the Moors, though himself
a Christian.[34]

Upon Saturday the 24th of March, being the eve of the annunciation of our
Lady, a Moor appeared early in the morning on the shore, abreast of the
ships, calling out in a loud and shrill voice, "that if our men wanted
any more water they might now come for it, when they would find such as
were ready to force their return." Irritated at this bravado, and
remembering the injury done him in withholding the promised pilot, and
the loss of the Negro, the general resolved to batter the town with his
ordnance in revenge, and the other captains readily agreed to the measure.
Wherefore they armed all their boats, and came up before the town, where
the Moors had constructed a barricade of boards for their defence on the
shore, so thick that our men could not see the Moors behind. Upon the
shore, between that defence and the sea, an