from the mouth of the river.  In going up the river, into which several lesser rivers fall, we sailed to the eastwards, and at the place where we came to anchor, we found it much narrower than at the mouth, being not above a mile in breadth, by our estimation[5].  On coming to this place, we sent one of our interpreters and the native Negro to Battimansa, with a present of a handsome garment, called an alzimba, made of Moorish silk, in the form of a shirt; and they were desired to inform him of the reason of our coming into his country, signifying, “That the Christian king of Portugal had sent us thither, to enter into a treaty of friendship and peace with him, and that if he had any call for our commodities, our king would supply him with them every year.”

As soon as our messengers had discharged their commission, Battimansa sent some of his Negroes to the caravel, with whom we entered into friendship, and bartered several things for Negro slaves and some gold; but gold was by no means to be had in any thing like the plenty we expected, from the account given of this country by the natives of Senegal, who, being themselves extremely poor, consider that to be a large quantity which we think very trifling.  The Negroes value their gold as a very precious thing, even at a higher rate than the Portuguese, yet we got it in barter very reasonably for things of very small value.  We continued here eleven days, during which the caravels were continually resorted to by great numbers of Negroes from both sides of the river, who came to see the novelties, and to sell their goods, among which there were a few gold rings.  Part of their commodities consisted of cotton cloth and cotton yarn; some of the pieces being all white, some striped blue and white, and others again with red, blue, and white stripes, all very well wrought and coloured.  They likewise brought civet for sale, the skins of civet-cats, monkies, large and small baboons of various sorts; and these last being very plenty they sold them cheap, or for something not exceeding ten marquets in value, for each; and the ounce of civet for what was not worth more than forty or fifty marquets; not that they sold their commodities by weight, but I judged the quantity to be about an ounce.  Other Negroes brought various sorts of fruit for sale, among which were many small wild dates, which they seemed to think much of, but which our people thought not good, as the taste was different from those of Europe:  As for me, I would not venture to eat any of them, lest they might have given me the flux, or some other distemper.  Our ships were every day crowded with people of different aspects and languages[6], and the natives were continually going up and down the river from one place to another, both men and women, in their almadias.  They have no sails, and propel their almadias entirely with oars, which they use on both sides, all the rowers standing up.  One man stands at the stern, who