_ 215 _ this piece placed on the summit, he stationed himself with all his men on top of a steep mound which served as a strongpoint for the fort. He surrounded this with ramparts and erected his bastions and a stockade, from which he began to bombard and make attacks. As the fort was completely exposed to his bulwarks, he fired all his shots into it. In this way he caused a great deal of damage, but he also received it from ours. When only eighteen days of this siege had passed, during which time our men defended themselves with great determination, they became so short of provisions and water, that they were obliged to ration them with great care and attention. Since they did not believe that the Turks would besiege them or that they would not stay long, they did not have as many supplies as were needed. Piri Reis, on the other hand, doubtful about breaking through our troops because of the great resistance he encountered, and seeing that he was wasting time, decided to tempt them with attractive terms. For that purpose he sent them a Portuguese deserter whom he had brought with him, called João da Barca, who came to talk with those inside and told them that Piri Reis wanted permission to send a man to talk with the captain about matters of great importance. João de Lisboa sounded out everyone’s views
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