rait of Mecca, or of
Babelmandel, and came to anchor off the island of Macua, or Massoua; from
whence he sailed along the coast of Abyssinia, or Ethiopia, to the island
of Suachem, in lat. 20 deg. N. and to the harbour of Cossier, in 27 deg.. From
thence, he crossed over to the Arabian shore, and the city of Toro, and
sailed from that place to Suez, at the farther end of the Red Sea, and
returned from thence to India, having extended the Portuguese knowledge of
that sea farther than had ever been done before. On the way between
Cossier and Toro, Gama is said to have found an island of brimstone, which
had been dispeopled by Mahomet, wherein many crabs are bred, which
increase nature, on which account, they are much sought after by the
unchaste.

It is true that Lopez Suarez, when governor of India, had navigated the
Red Sea, as far as Judda, the haven of Mecca, in lat. 23 deg. N. 150 leagues
from the straits of Babelmandel; but Gama penetrated to the very northern
extremity of the gulph[96]. In the same year, Diego de Almagro killed the
Marquis Francis Pizarro, and his brother Francis Martinez de Alcantara, in
the city of Lima, or _de los Reyes_, and usurped the government of Peru.

In the same year, 1541, Don Antony de Mendca, viceroy of Mexico, sent an
army of Spaniards and Indians from Mexico, under the command of Francis
Vasquez de Coronado, by way of Culiacan, into the province of Sibola, or
Cinaloa, which is in lat. 30 deg. N.[97]. Coronado endeavoured to treat on
friendly terms with the natives, and requested to be furnished with
provisions; but received for answer, that they were not accustomed to give
any thing to those who came unto their country in a warlike manner. Upon
this, the Spaniards assaulted and took the town, to which they gave the
name of New Granada, because the general was a native of Granada in Old
Spain. The soldiers found themselves much deceived by the reports of the
friars who had been in those parts, as already mentioned under the year
1538, who said that the country was rich in gold, silver, and precious
stones. Not being willing, therefore, to return empty-handed to Mexico,
they went to the town of _Acuco_, where they heard of _Axa_ and _Quivira_,
the king of which was reported to worship a golden cross, and the picture
of the Queen of Heaven, or the blessed Virgin. In this journey, the
Spaniards endured many hardships, but the Indians fled every where before
them, and one morning, they f