_ 81 _ close to the enemy ships. The enemy were causing our men great damage, firing their artillery from the prow, specially to Dom Lourenco who was closest to Mirocem. As the latter’s ship was taller than his own, our men’s efforts to shoot arrows and fire rifles at them were not nearly as successful as theirs. Their arrows and other missiles wounded many of our men, among them Dom Lourenco who was always in front. The nobles who accompanied him then told him to withdraw, because he would not be able to board Mirocem’s ship, and in the meantime our men were being killed, Dom Lourenco didn’t want to go, but at this point another arrow pierced his face and he decided to leave. This was done by dropping an anchor further up the river, and then pulling the ship towards it (since there was no wind), with the rear guns pointing towards the enemy. Pero Barreto followed his example, for he also carried many wounded men, and they both began to fire at the enemy. In the meantime, our galleys and latine caravelles accosted the enemy galleys, in spite of all their cannon fire and all their arrows of these there were so many that they were pinned all along the masts of Payo de Sousa’s and Diogo Pires galleys, many of whose men were also wounded.
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