_ 95 _ and firewood to last us for the voyage that we hoped to make if the winds were favourable. When we landed we came across a young man who showed us a watering place some way up-river, with very fine water that sprang from between two rocks. The captain-major gave this man a cap and asked him if he was a Moor or a Christian. He replied that he was a Christian and when we told him we were Christian too, he was very pleased. The next morning, an almadia came to us with four men, who brought a lot of pumpkins and cucumbers. The captain-major then asked them if there was cinnamon or ginger or any other spice in that country. They said there was plenty of cinnamon, but there was no other spice. The captain immediately sent two men ashore with them so as to bring back a sample of it. These took them to a forest in which there were numerous cinnamon trees, and they cut two large branches from the trees together with their foliage. We set out in the ship's boats because we had to take on water, and we met the two men carrying the branches of cinnamon. About twenty men were following on behind, bringing many chickens and a lot of cow's milk and pumpkins for the captain. They asked the
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