The Portuguese Expedition to Abyssinia in 1541–1543/Chapter XVI

by Miguel de Castanhoso

Of how, on the arrival of the Barnaguais and of the Portuguese, D. Christovão followed in pursuit of the King of Zeila.

D. Christovão was much rejoiced at the arrival of these men, and determined to pursue the Moor. He began his preparations at once, sending fourteen very badly wounded [53] Portuguese (of whom, as I have said, four or five died) to a hill governed by a Captain who was with us, called Triguemahon, who is like a Viceroy; he went with us to the hill, and we were all on beds, which was a heavy labour to those who carried us. Truly, the hospitality and honour we received from his wife and from himself cannot be expressed: for we were all so well provided and so well tended that in the houses of our own fathers we should have had no better, and I enlarge on this, for I was present. When, a month later, some of us were better, we returned to D. Christovão, for, directly he sent us to recover, he started in pursuit of the Moor. It took him ten days to reach where he was, which was in a great and strong hill, opposite the entrance to the straits, because he did not dare to retire elsewhere, for the country people after his defeat refused to obey him or give him supplies; and hence it suited him to retire to this hill, where he could recuperate, and could get assistance from the skirts of the sea, either from his own people or from the Turks, as it happened. Here, then, D. Christovão came up with him, and that with great labour, by reason of the rains and the mire, for the winter begins here at the end of April until September, as in India. And because, as I have said, the winter was beginning, it appeared better to the Queen to occupy another hill, which is called Ofala, in [54] sight of this one, and winter there, for now all the country people obeyed her, and in that country there were ample supplies; further, it was on the road by which the Preste would come, and it might be that he would arrive soon. This seemed good to D. Christovão, and he determined to send a man to the Preste to acquaint him with the victory in the battles, that with this encouragement he might march more quickly. And when he had written he sent a mulatto, called Ayres Dias, who knew the language of the country well, for he had been there in the time of D. Rodrigo de Lima, the Ambassador; he sent this man because by reason of his colour and of his tongue he might pass for a Moor. He reached the Preste, who was very pleased to hear what had occurred. The Queen collected many cultivators to make straw huts to winter in, which they made very diligently, for there are plenty of materials for this in the country, namely wood and straw; they also brought all the necessary supplies in great abundance, for the soil is very fertile and the produce great. The King of Zeila finding that, by reason of his defeat, those of the country refused to obey him or give supplies, had of necessity to send to take them by force; but his people returned each time fewer than they started, thus his only resource was what came to him from the skirts of the sea, which was very little. We could not intercept this, for the hill is very extensive, bounding all that country, so that he was the lord of the further side. He made up his mind, [55] finding the straits he was in, with his people dead or cowed, to send secretly to demand help from the Captain of Azebide, who was under the Turk, with three thousand Turks under him, sending to inform him of his defeat, and to tell him to regard him as a vassal of the Grand Turk, and not allow him to lose what he had already gained; with this he sent him much money, both for himself and for the Turks, of whom on this inducement there came nine hundred, all arquebusiers, very fine and good men; he also sent him ten field bombards, knowing that what damage he had received from us was by artillery and matchlocks, for hitherto he had had no field pieces. There also came to him many Arabs, sent by an Arabian lord, his friend; among these were twenty Turkish horsemen, with gilt stirrups, and their horses shod with iron, for in the Preste's country the horses go unshod. All this help came in the course of the winter without its being known.