In this Bay of Sam-Braz Gama erected a padrao, which was thrown down as soon as he was gone. The fleet soon passed the Rio Infante, the furthest point reached by Diaz. Here the ships experienced the effects of a strong current, but of which the violence was neutralized thanks to a favourable wind. On the 25th of December, Christmas Day, the country of Natal was discovered. The ships had sustained some damage, and fresh water was needed; it was therefore urgent for them to find some harbour, which they succeeded in doing on the 10th of January, 1498. The blacks whom the Portuguese saw here upon landing were people of greater stature than those whom they had hitherto met with. Their arms were a large bow with long arrows, and a zagaye tipped with iron. They were Caffres, a race very superior to the Bushmen. Such happy relations were quickly established with them that Gama gave the country the name of the Land of Good People (_Terra da bon Gente_). [Illustration: Map of the East Coast of Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Cape del Gado.] A little further on, while still sailing up the coast, two Mussulman traders, one wearing a turban, the other a hood of green satin, came to visit the Portuguese, with a young man who, "from what could be understood from their signs, belonged to a very distant country, and who said he had already seen ships as large as ours." Vasco da Gama, took this as a proof that he was now approaching those Indian lands, which had been so long and so eagerly sought. For this reason he named the river which flowed into the sea at this place _Rio dos Bonis Signaes_ (River of good tokens). Unhappily the first symptoms of scurvy appeared at this time amongst the crews, and soon there were many sailors upon the sick list. On the 10th of March the expedition cast anchor before the Island of Mozambique, where, as Gama learnt through his Arab interpreters, there were several merchants of Mahometan extraction, who carried on trade with India. Gold and silver, cloth and spices, pearls and rubies, formed the staple of their commerce. Gama at the same time was assured that in pursuing the line of the coast, he would find numerous cities; "Whereat we were so joyful," says Velho in his naive and valuable narrative, "that we wept for pleasure, praying God to grant us health that we might see all that which we had so much desired." [Illustration: Mozambique Channel.]