e North Star almost touched the horizon and
that "the tides of that coast were very marvellous. For instead of flow
and ebb being six hours each, as at Venice, the flow here was but four,
and the ebb eight, the tide rising with such force that three anchors
could hardly hold the caravel."

CHAPTER XVIII.

VOYAGES OF DIEGO GOMEZ.

1458-60.

The last voyage of Henry's lifetime was that of his faithful servant,
Diego Gomez, by which the Cape Verde islands first became clearly and
fully known. It followed close upon Cadamosto's venture.

"No long time after, the Prince equipped at Lagos a caravel, called the
_Wren_, and set over it Diego Gomez, with two other caravels, of which
the same Gomez was captain-in-chief. Their orders were to go as far as
they could.

"But after passing a great river beyond the Rio Grande, we met such
strong currents in the sea that no anchor could hold. The other captains
and their men were much alarmed, thinking we were at the end of the
ocean, and begged me to put back. In the mid-current the sea was very
clear and the natives came off from the shore and brought us their
merchandise, cotton cloth, ivory, and a quart measure of malaguette
pepper, in grain and in its pods as it grows, which delighted us.

"As the current prevented our going farther, and even grew stronger, we
put back and came to a land where there were groves of palms near the
shore with their branches broken, so tall that from a distance I thought
they were the masts or spars of negroes' vessels.

"So we went there and found a great plain covered with hay and more than
five thousand animals like stags, but larger, who shewed no fear of us.
Five elephants came out of a small river that was fringed by trees,
three full grown, with two young ones, and on the shore we saw holes of
crocodiles in plenty. We went back to the ships and next day made our
way from Cape Verde and saw the broad mouth of a great river, three
leagues in width, which we entered and guessed to be the Gambia. Here
wind and tide were in our favour, so we came to a small island in
mid-stream and rested there the night. In the morning we went farther
in, and saw a crowd of canoes full of men, who fled at the sight of us,
for it was they who had killed Nuno Tristam and his men. Next day we saw
beyond the point of the river some natives on the right-hand bank, who
welcomed us. Their chief was called Frangazick and he was the nephew of
Farosangul, th