_ 18 _ Cunha was very angry when he saw he could not achieve anything, mainly because he lacked enough gunpowder. He then realized the great mistake he had made in not accepting the fortress and letting the enemy go in peace. He had no remedy but to send gunpowder for Ormuz and he therefore sent a brig there. It reached Ormuz in a few days on a following wind, but the return was very slow. When the Moors saw that our bombardment had stopped, they jeered at our men from the top of the wall at night. They said that as we had not wanted to let them leave, they would now all stay. It seems that they guessed what was happening, and it is presumed that they threw poison into the wells where our people would obtain drinking water or perhaps, they were already poisoned at that time. There was then much sickness in the Iand and our men were susceptible to disease after the great labour they had endured. They began to become ill and could not even stand up. Rais Barbadin sent words to Simao da Cunha to say that in view of the friendship he had for our people he advised him to go away, because if he stayed any longer when he wanted to leave, he would not be able to. Our people joked about this and told Simao da Cunha that the Moor was
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