The first voyage round the world, by Magellan : $b translated from the accounts of Pigafetta, and other contemporary writersPigafetta, Antonio
History
The first voyage round the world, by Magellan : $b translated from the accounts of Pigafetta, and other contemporary writers
Pigafetta, Antonio
Magalhães, Fernão de, -1521; Voyages around the world -- Early works to 1800
Besides the above-mentioned ordinances for carrying on seamanship as
is fitting, and to avoid the dangers which may come upon those who do
not keep watch, the said captain, who was expert in the things required
for navigation, ordered that three watches should be kept at night. The
first was at the beginning of the night, the second at midnight, and
the third towards break of day, which is commonly called _La diane_,
otherwise the star of the break of day. Every night these watches
were changed; that is to say, he who had kept the first watch, on the
following day kept the second, and he who had kept the second kept
the third; and so on they changed continually every night. The said
captain commanded that his regulations both for the signals and the
watches should be well observed, so that their voyage should be made
with greater security. The crews of this fleet were divided into three
companies; the first belonged to the captain, the second to the pilot
or _nochier_, and the third to the master. These regulations having
been made, the captain-general deliberated on sailing, as follows.
Monday, the day of St. Laurence, the 10th of August, in the year
above mentioned, the fleet, provided with what was necessary for it,
and carrying crews of different nations, to the number of two hundred
and thirty-seven men in all the five ships, was ready to set sail from
the mole of Seville; and firing all the artillery, we made sail only
on the foremast, and came to the end of a river named Betis, which
is now called Guadalcavir. In going along this river we passed by a
place named Gioan de Farax, where there was[148] a large population of
Moors, and there there was a bridge over the river by which one went to
Seville. This bridge was ruined, however there had remained two columns
which are at the bottom of the water, on which account it is necessary
to have people of the country of experience and knowledge to point out
the convenient spot for safely passing between these two columns, from
fear of striking against them. Besides that, it is necessary in order
to pass safely by this bridge and by other places on this river, that
the water should be rather high. After having passed the two columns we
came to another place named Coria, and passing by many little villages
lying along the said river, at last we arrived at a castle, which
belongs to the Duke of Medina Sidonia, named St. Lucar, where there is
a port from which to enter the ocean sea. It is entered by the east
wind and you go out by the west wind. Near there is the cape of St.
Vincent, which, according to cosmography, is in thirty-seven degrees
of latitude, at twenty miles distance from the said port; and from
the aforesaid town to this port by the river there are thirty-five or
forty miles. A few days afterwards the captain-general came along the
said river with his boat, and the masters of the other ships with him,
and we remained some days in this port to supply the fleet with some
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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