The lookouts saw two very large islands, towards the larger
of which they sailed at once, in the hope of finding good anchorage and
friendly natives. But no one, friend or foe, seemed to live there.
So next morning, says Cadamosto, that I might satisfy my own mind, I
bade ten of my men, armed with missiles and cross-bows, to explore the
inland. They crossed the hills that cut off the interior from the coast,
but found nothing except doves, who were so tame that they could be
caught in any number by the hand.
And now from another side of the first island they caught sight of three
others towards the north, and of two more towards the west, which could
not be clearly seen because of the great distance. "But for the matter
of that, we did not care to go out of our way to find what we now
expected, that all these other islands were desolate like the first. So
we went on our way (due south) and so passed another island, and, coming
to the mouth of a river, landed in search of fresh water and found a
beautiful and fruitful country covered with trees. Some sailors who went
inland found cakes of salt, white and small, by the side of the river,
and immense numbers of great turtles, with shells of such size that they
could make very good shields for an army.
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