d. And so, sailing on
again, they came to a cape, where they saw 'groves of palm trees dry and
without branches, which they called the Cape of Masts.'" Here, a little
farther along the coast, a reconnoitring party of seven landed and found
four negro hunters sitting on the beach, armed with bows and arrows, who
fled on seeing the strangers. "And as they were naked and their hair cut
very short, they could not catch them," and only brought away their
arrows for a trophy.

This Cape of Masts, or some point of the coast a little to the
south-east, was the farthest now reached by Zarco's caravel. "From here
they put back and sailed direct to Madeira, and thence to the city of
Lisbon, where the Infant received them with reward enough. For this
caravel, of all those who had sailed at this time (1445), had done most
and reached farthest."

There was one contingent of the great armada yet unaccounted for, but
they were sad defaulters. Three of the ships on the outward voyage which
had separated from the main body and Lancarote's flagship, had the
cowardice or laziness to give up the purpose of the voyage altogether;
"they agreed to make a descent on the Canary Islands instead of going to
Guinea at all that year."

Here they stayed some time, raiding and slave-hunting, but also making
observations on the natives and the different natural features of the
different islands, which, as we have them in the old chronicle, are not
the least interesting part of the story of the Lagos Armada of 1445.[38]

[Footnote 38: The date of this voyage is brought down as late as 1447 by
Santarem Oliveiro Martins.]

CHAPTER XIV.

VOYAGES OF 1446-8.

And yet, but for the enterprise of Zarco's crew, this expedition of 1445
that began with so much promise, and on which so much time and trouble
had been spent, was almost fruitless of "novelties," of discoveries, of
the main end and object of all the Prince's voyages.

The next attempt, made by Nuno Tristam in 1446, ended in the most
disastrous finish that had yet befallen the Christian seamen of Spain.
Nuno, who had been brought up from boyhood at the Prince's court,
"seeing how earnest he was that his caravels should explore the land of
the Negroes, and knowing how some had already passed the River of Nile,
thought that if he should not do something of right good service to the
Infant in that land, he could in no wise gain the name of a brave
knight.

"So he armed a caravel and beg