The first place visited by de Costa on this voyage of discovery was a large bay near _Masilage_[6] in lat. 16° S. in which there is an island half a league in circumference containing a town of 8000 inhabitants, most of them weavers of an excellent kind of stuff made of the palm-tree. At this place the Moors used to purchase boys who were carried to Arabia and sold for infamous uses. The king of this place, named _Samamo_, received the Portuguese in a friendly manner, and granted leave to preach the gospel among his subjects. Coasting about 40 leagues south from this place, they came to the mouth of a large river named _Balue_ or _Baeli_ in about 17° S. and having doubled Cape St Andrew, they saw the river and kingdom of _Casame_, between the latitudes of 17° and 18° S. where they found little water and had much trouble[7]. Here also amity was established with the king, whose name was Sampilla, a discreet old man; but hitherto they could get no intelligence of the Portuguese whom they were sent in search of. On Whitsunday, which happened that year about the middle of May, mass was said on shore and two crosses erected, at which the king appeared so much pleased that he engaged to restore them if they happened to fall or decay. During the holidays they discovered an island in lat. 18° S. to which they gave the name of Espirito Santo[8], and half a degree farther they were in some danger from a sand bank 9 leagues long. On Trinity Sunday, still in danger from sand banks, they anchored at the seven islands of _Cuerpo de Dios_ or _Corpus Christi_[9] in 19° S. near the kingdom and river of _Sadia_ to which they came on the 19th of June, finding scarcely enough of water to float the caravel. This kingdom is extensive, and its principal _city_ on the banks of the river has about 10,000 inhabitants. The people are black, simple, and good-natured, having no trade, but have plenty of flesh, maize, tar, tortoises, sandal, ebony, and sweet woods. The name of the king was _Capilate_, who was an old man much respected and very honest. He received the Portuguese kindly, and even sent his son to guide them along the coast. All along this coast from _Massalage_ to _Sadia_ the natives speak the same language with the Kafrs on the opposite coast of Africa; while in all the rest of the island the native language called _Buqua_ is spoken. [Footnote 6: On this bay is a town called New Massah to distinguish it from Old Massah on the bay of Massali, somewhat more than half a degree farther north. Masialege or Meselage is a town at the bottom of the bay of Juan Mane de Cuna, about half a degree farther south.--E.] [Footnote 7: They were here on the bank of Pracel, which seems alluded to in the text from the shallowness of the water; though the district named Casame in the text is not to be found in modern maps--E.]