a great advantage for other necessities which they
met with later.

After they had thus repaired the ships, the captain-major sent Nicolas
Coelho with twenty men in a boat to go and discover the river; and he,
after ascending it for two leagues, found woods and verdure, and farther
on he found some canoes which were fishing, and the men in them were
dark, but not very black; they were naked, having only their middles
covered with leaves of trees and grass. These men, when they saw the
boat, came to it and entered it in a brutish manner, and were in a
state of amazement. No one knew how to speak to them, and they did not
understand the signs which were made to them. So Nicolas Coelho made them
go back to their canoes, and returned to the ships, but of the canoes
one followed after the boat, and the others returned to take the news to
their villages. These men who came with the boat, at once, without
any fear, entered the ship and sat down to rest, as if they were old
acquaintance; no one knew how to speak to them. Then they gave them
biscuit and cakes and slices of bread with marmalade; this they did not
understand until they saw our people eat, then they ate it, and, as they
liked the taste, they ate in a great hurry, and would not share with one
another. While this was going on they saw many canoes coming, and larger
ones, with many of those people also naked, with tangled hair like
Kaffirs, without any other arms than some sticks like half lances,
hardened in the fire, with sharp points greased over.

The captain-major, seeing the other canoes coming, ordered the first
come to go to their canoe, which they did unwillingly, and went out and
remained to speak with those that were arriving, and went their way. The
others arrived, and all wanted to come on board; as they were more than a
hundred, the captain-major would not allow them, only ten or twelve, who
brought some birds which were something like hens, and some yellow fruit
of the size of walnuts, a very well-tasted thing to eat, which our men
would not touch, and they, seeing that, ate them for our people to see,
who, on tasting them, were much pleased with them; they killed one of the
birds, and found it very tender and savory to eat, and all its bones were
like those of a fowl. The captain-major ordered biscuit and wine to be
given them, which they would not touch till they saw our people drink. He
also ordered a looking-glass to be given them; and when they saw