_ 204 _ Once the fortress had been captured it was sacked, but not much wealth was found because the Arabs were only fighting men. Our men found only some provisions and weapons, among which were some swords with Latin inscriptions which read "God help me". From this it seemed to them that they had been made by Christian swordsmiths who had sold them to the Arabs. In the town where the local inhabitants lived our men found more than at the fortress, since the Arabs kept their wives and houses there. Only the latter's houses were sacked but their wives were not captured because they were natives of the island, whose population the commander-in-chief did not wish to antagonize. He wished rather to be at peace with them so that our men at the fortress would be safe. He therefore sent envoys to the local Inhabitants, asking them not to be concerned about his arrival since he had only come here on the orders of the King of Portugal to free them from the Arabs’ domination, for he knew they were Christians like himself. For this reason, he asked them to be his friends. The elders of the people received those messages joyfully and communicated them to everyone in the town. These in turn were very glad to have us as their friends.
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