they joined the women who had killed our young man.  We could now see them cut his body in pieces, which they held up to our view, after which they roasted these at a large fire, and eat them.  By signs, likewise, they made us understand that they had killed and eaten our two men who went among them eight days before.  We were sore grieved at the savage brutality of these people, insomuch that forty of us resolved to go on shore and attack them in revenge of their ferocious cruelty; but our commander would on no account permit us, and we were forced to depart unrevenged and much dissatisfied.

Leaving this savage country, with the wind at E.S.E. we saw no people for a long time that would allow of any intercourse with them.  We at length doubled a head-land, which we named Cape St Vincent, which is 150 leagues from the place where our men were slain towards the east, this new land stretching out in a S.W. direction.  This cape is eight degrees beyond the equinoctial line towards the south [4].  Continuing our voyage beyond this cape, we sailed along the coast of a country hitherto unvisited, and one day saw a vast number of people who seemed greatly to admire both ourselves and the size of our vessels.  Having brought our vessels to anchor in a safe place, we landed among these natives, whom we found of much milder dispositions than those we were last among, yet it cost us much trouble and patience to make them familiar with us, but we at length succeeded in making them our friends, and remained five days among them, trafficking for such articles as their country produced:  Among these were sugar-canes, green reeds, great quantities of unripe figs, some of which we likewise found ripe on the tops of the trees.  We agreed to take away two of the natives from hence, that we might learn their language, and three of them accompanied us to Portugal of their own accord.

Leaving this harbour with the wind at S.W. we proceeded along the land, keeping it always in sight, and keeping up frequent intercourse with the inhabitants, until we at length went beyond the tropic of Capricorn, so far south that the south pole became elevated thirty-two degrees above the horizon[5].  We had already lost sight of the Ursa Minor; the Ursa Major appeared very low, almost touching the northern horizon; and we had now to guide our course by the new stars of another hemisphere, which are more numerous, larger, and brighter than those of our pole.  On this account, I delineated the figures of many of these new constellations, especially of the largest, and took their declinations on the tracks which they describe around the south pole, together with the measurement of the diameters and semidiameters of their tracks, as shall be found in the history of my four voyages which I am preparing for publication.  In this long course, beginning from Cape St Augustine[6], we had run 700 leagues along the coast; 100 of these towards the west, and 600 towards the S.W.[7].  Were I to attempt enumerating