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

by Miguel de Castanhoso

[56]

Of what D. Christovão did that Winter, and of how he Captured a very strong Hill which had belonged to a Jew Captain.

About this time D. Christovão learnt that there was near us a hill of the Jews, by which the Preste must of necessity pass as there was no other road; that it had been captured by the Moors; and that the Captain of it, who was a Jew, was a fugitive because he obeyed the Preste; he put himself on the defensive when the Moors attacked the hill, and when he found they had captured it he fled. D. Christovão desired greatly to see him, to enquire what Moors were on the hill, and to discover if it could be recaptured. While in this mind the Jew, who had heard that he was wintering there with the Queen, determined to visit him to see if he could recover his country; because, from the information which he had of us, it seemed to him that this might be the case. Besides, our Lord chose to arrange matters thus, because the restoration of the kingdom was to be brought about by this means; when he came, the Jew informed D. Christovão about the hill, and told him that there were but few Moors on it, and that he would guide him to an approach where he would not be discovered until he was at the top, and that it was easy to capture, if the people of the country helped; that he would find on it many and good horses that were bred on the hill; and that it was quite impossible for the Preste in any manner to pass save over it, and that he had with him so [57] little strength that he could not capture it; when he had retired thence to the part whence he was now about to return, the hill had not yet been occupied by the Moors: had it been, he could not have escaped. When D. Christovão learnt how small a force the Preste had with him, he became very dispirited and disquieted, and went to the Queen to learn if it was true that her son had so small a force; when it was confirmed by her he became still more downcast, without, however, letting her know it, because until then he had not heard this, but had hoped that the Preste would quickly join him, as the winter was already verging to an end. That he [the Preste] might not find that obstacle in the way, and because he himself wanted the horses, he determined to go there personally, as the Jew told him that with one hundred good followers he might with skill recover the hill; that he required but few days for this, and that he could return to his camp with many horses without his absence being noted. D. Christovão did not wish to take all his force to capture that hill, lest the King of Zeila should think we were raising the siege and leaving. If he did this, the Moors would advance and capture the hill on which they [we] then were, and collect supplies of which they had need; and it might be that they would pursue him, thinking he was retreating; and, encouraged by this, they might have a confused and ill-timed battle; it would allow them, too, to recover their boldness, which had been much diminished by their late fear. That events might not so fall out, he determined to carry out the expedition in another way to leave the camp well guarded, and to go so secretly as not to be discovered, taking with him Manuel da Cunha and João da Fonseca and one hundred men at the outside. He started at midnight, and travelled very secretly, carrying with him many skins necessary for crossing a river near the hill. They marched thus until they reached it, when they found it much swollen. [58] They quickly cut a quantity of wood and branches, and with these, and the skins filled with air, made rafts (jangadas), which they bound strongly together, and for this they had brought the necessaries. They crossed a few at a time, taking their matchlocks, powder, and matches inside other skins, lest they should be wetted; thus they all got over, some by swimming. When they and the mules had all crossed, they began to climb the hill, not being discovered until they were at the top. When the Moors saw them they armed quickly; there were about three thousand foot and four hundred horse. D. Christovão, who rode with the other eight Portuguese who were mounted, Manuel da Cunha on the one flank, with thirty matchlockmen, João da Fonseca on the other, with another thirty, and the remaining forty in the centre with the royal standard, attacked with great vigour. The Captain of the Moors, by name Cide Amede, advanced in front of his men and encountered D. Christovão, in which encounter he died; the other horsemen with D. Christovão also overcame each his man. By this time the foot had all collected into one body, and did nothing save slay the Moors; who, seeing their Captain dead, and that there was none before whom they could feel shame, nor from whom they could receive orders, took to flight, and many died, for the very Jews slew them, and few escaped. When the hill was cleared, D. Christovão collected the spoil, which was rich in goods [59] and slaves all very valuable. There were eighty excellent horses, with which he was more pleased than with anything else, and more than three hundred mules, with many cattle without number. When this was ended, he made over the hill to the Jew who had held it before, as he had always obeyed the Preste. When that Jew saw this great deed, and how God favoured us, he became a Christian, with twelve of his brethren, all Captains of places on that hill, which is twelve leagues long and all very fertile, with many populous places and villages and very strong; there are only two passes to it, all the rest is scarped rock. There are about ten thousand or twelve thousand Jews on it; it is four leagues across; on the summit are very pleasant valleys and streams, and by the skirts of the hill runs a river as large as the Douro, called Tagacem, the one crossed by D. Christovão; it runs all round the hill, which is almost made an island by it. It is the most fertile hill that can be, and they may boast that they still enjoy manna, since they are in such luxury that they can get honey from the rifts in the rocks, and there is so much that there is no owner, and whoever likes collects it. This hill lies nearly due west of the Straits, and may be forty leagues distant. When D. Christovão had made over the hill to the Jew, he left him an order to send to the Preste to inform him of its capture. He started for the camp, and as the way after passing the river was rough, he left thirty men with the horses to come on slowly, while he went on very quickly with the other seventy, dreading lest some disaster [60] should have befallen us, travelling both night and day. The very night he returned, the Turks arrived to reinforce the King of Zeila, and on the following day they mustered over one thousand matchlockmen. They came at once to the foot of our hill, and pitched their camp close to ours; thence they saluted us with their artillery and matchlocks, and pitched some balls into our camp. When D. Christovão saw this, he knew what succour had reached them, and took counsel with all as to what should be done. It was agreed to wait until the following day, when they could see the power of the Moor, but that they should not fight before the arrival of the horses, which could not be delayed more than two days: that, should the Moor attack us, we should defend ourselves the best we could, as our camp was somewhat fortified by some palisades erected during the winter. D. Christovão agreed to this, for he knew that, if we struck our camp that night, the very people would rise against us, and we should have nothing to eat; for this reason we were bound to fight and retain what we had gained. He sent an urgent message to those with the horses, to march as quickly as possible, as the Moors had been reinforced by the Turks, and a battle appeared imminent. We kept careful watch all that night, which was not good refreshment for those who came weary from their journey. All that night we were under arms.