Lord, and therefore, as He had
given the latter Paradise in this world, it ought to be possessed in the
world to come by the negroes, who had scarcely anything here, in
comparison with the others."

THE RIVER GAMBRA

From Budomel's country the voyagers, sailing southwards, came to the river
Gambra (now called Gambia), which they entered, but could not succeed in
conciliating the natives, who attacked them with signal valour, and
maintained the contest with almost unparalleled bravery, considering that
the arms used by the Europeans were totally unknown to their opponents.

FURTHER DISCOVERIES.

During their stay in this river Ca da Mosto and his companions saw the
constellation of the southern cross for the first time. Finding that the
natives would have nothing to do with them,

for they believed that the Christians were very bad people, and bought
negroes to eat them, Ca da Mosto and the other commanders wished to
proceed a hundred miles further up the river; but the common sailors would
not hear of it, and the expedition forthwith returned to Portugal.

Two years later, in 1456, Ca da Mosto made another voyage, in the course
of which he discovered the Cape de Verde Islands. Leaving them, he went
again to the Gambia River, which he ascended much further than he had done
during his previous expedition, and he also succeeded on this occasion in
conciliating the natives. Then he went down the coast, passed Cape Roxo,
and afterwards sailed up the Rio Grande, but, from want of any knowledge
of the language of the people, was unable to prosecute his explorations
among them.

Some time between 1460 and 1464, an expedition went out under Pedro de
Cintra, one of the King of Portugal's gentlemen, to make further
discoveries along the African coast. These voyagers, whose story is
briefly told by Ca da Mosto, discovered Sierra Leone (so called on account
of the roaring thunder heard there), and went a little beyond Cape
Mesurado. The precise date of this voyage is uncertain, but we may fairly
consider Sierra Leone as being the point attained at, or about, the death
of Prince Henry in 1463, of whose character, before parting with him,
something deserves to be said.

DEATH OF PRINCE HENRY.

This great leader of maritime discovery resembled Columbus strongly in one
thing, namely, his unity of purpose. He resembled him, too, in his
patience and in his unvarying confidence of success, even under
disappointment.