140 PORTUGUESE HISTORY OF MALACCA. 



which is delightful to drink. Though the country abounds in 

 animals, the natives eat very little flesh, but live chiefly on fish, 

 which their seas produce inexhaustibly. They are very 

 warlike and by no means affable, and are most expert both 

 in running and swimming. Their religion is idolatrous, 

 but we have no account whatever respecting their origin. 

 The Moors had possessed themselves of this country not long 

 before the coming of the Portuguese, as a Mahometan priest 

 who had come along with the first of the Moorish invaders 

 was still alive at the arrival of Brito. 



The following account of a struggle which, the Portuguese 

 had with the Chinese may not be uninteresting :-— 



In one of the former years, Ferdinando Perez de Andrada 

 had established a trade at Quan-tung, or Canton, on China, 

 which was so exceedingly profitable that every one was eager 

 to engage in it. In the present year, 1521, Simon de An- 

 drada was sent by Sequeira to China with five ships, and cast 

 anchor in the port of the island of Tamou opposite to Canton, 

 where his brother had been formerly. The Portuguese am- 

 bassador to the Emperor of China still remained at that place, 

 but set out soon afterwards up a large river, with three vessels 

 splendidly decorated with Portuguese colours, it being a 

 received custom that none but those of China should be seen 

 there, which are gules , a lion rampant. In this manner he 

 arrived at the foot of a mountain from which that great river 

 derives its source. This mountainous ridge, called Malexam, 

 beginning at the bay of Cochin China on the borders of Yunnan 

 province, runs through the three southern provinces of China, 

 Quang=se, Quantung, [and Fo-kien, dividing them from the 

 interior provinces, as Spain is divided from France by the 

 Pyrenees. Thomas Perez, leaving the vessels at this place, 

 travelled northwards to the city of Nankin, where the king 

 then was, having spent four months in the journey without 

 stopping at any place. The emperor, however, thought proper 

 to appoint his audience at Peking, a city far distant, to which 

 place Perez accordingly followed. "While on the journey, 

 Simon de Andrada behaved himself so improperly in the 

 island of Tamou, that an account of his proceedings was sent 

 to court, and Thomas Perez and his companions were con- 



