draweth neere, then they send very good Diuers, that
goe to discouer where the greatest heapes of Oisters
bee vnder water, and right agaynst that place where
greatest store of Oisters bee, there they make or
plant a village with houses and a Bazaro, all of stone,
which standeth as long as the fishing time lasteth,
and it is furnished with all things necessarie, and
nowe and then it is neere vnto places that are inhabited,
and other times farre off, according to the place where
they fishe. The Fishermen are all Christians
of the countrey, and who so will may goe to fishing,
paying a certaine dutie to the king of Portugall, and
to the Churches of the Friers of Saint Paule, which
are in that coast. All the while that they are
fishing, there are three or foure Fustes armed to
defend the Fishermen from Rouers. It was my chance
to bee there one time in my passage, and I saw the
order that they vsed in fishing, which is this.
There are three or foure Barkes that make consort together,
which are like to our litle Pilot boates, and a litle
lesse, there goe seuen or eight men in a boate:
and I haue seene in a morning a great number of them
goe out, and anker in fifteene or eighteene fadome
of water, which is the Ordinarie depth of all that
coast. When they are at anker, they cast a rope
into the Sea, and at the ende of the rope, they make
fast a great stone, and then there is readie a man
that hath his nose and his eares well stopped, and
annointed with oyle, and a basket about his necke,
or vnder his left arme, then hee goeth downe by the
rope to the bottome of the Sea, and as fast as he
can he filleth the basket, and when it is full, he
shaketh the rope, and his fellowes that are in the
Barke hale him vp with the basket: and in such
wise they goe one by one vntill they haue laden their
barke with oysters, and at euening they come to the
village, and then euery company maketh their mountaine
or heape of oysters one distant from another, in such
wise that you shall see a great long rowe of mountaines
or heapes of oysters, and they are not touched vntill
such time as the fishing bee ended, and at the ende
of the fishing euery companie sitteth round about their
mountaine or heape of oysters, and fall to opening
of them, which they may easilie doe because they bee
dead, drie and brittle: and if euery oyster had
pearles in them, it would bee a very good purchase,
but there are very many that haue no pearles in them:
when the fishing is ended, then they see whether it
bee a great gathering or a badde: there are certaine
expert in the pearles whom they call Chitini, which
set and make the price of pearles [Marginal note:
These pearles are prised according to the caracts which
they weigh, euery caract is 4. graines, and these men
that prise hem haue an instrument of copper with holes
in it, which be made by degrees for to sort the perles
withall.] according to their carracts, beautie, and
goodnesse, making foure sortes of them. The first
sort bee the round pearles, and they be called Aia