No. 60. — 1908.] couto : history of ceylon. 143 



Dom Jorge de Crasto made a show of being very grateful for 

 this ; and as he was prudent he well understood the malice of 

 Madune, and told the modeliar that he would do so. And as 

 soon as it was night, and he had encamped in a place at some 

 distance from the modeliar, after having made it secure, he 

 decamped, and took the road to Cota by ways far removed 

 from Ceitavaca, leaving in the camp thirty badly wounded 

 men, who could not walk. Next morning the modeliar arose, 

 and found the camp vacant, and taking the baggage that he 

 found there and the wounded men, he went to Ceitavaca. 

 Madune ordered all the Portuguese to be decapitated, telling 

 them that he intended to do the same to the captain and to 

 all of them. This was learnt afterwards from one of them, 

 who managed to escape, and hid himself, and some days later 

 arrived at Cota. Dom Jorge pursued his way in great haste, 

 and met the king of Cota with all his men, who had come to 

 seek him, as he had already been informed of the disaster 

 that had occurred, and that he had foretold. On seeing the 

 king, Dom Jorge de Crasto was relieved, and thanked him 

 heartily for that succour, and accompanied him to Cota, 

 where the king lodged all the Portuguese, and tended them 

 and gave them every necessary. Dom Jorge when he was 

 healed left for Columbo, and at the beginning of September 

 went across to Cochim, where he arrived a little before the 

 governor Jorge Cabral 1 . 



Dec. VI., Bk. ix., Chap. L 

 * * * * * * * 



The ships 2 passed the Cape of Good Hope almost at the 



same time The viceroy 3 and Dom Alvaro de Tayde 4 , 



without sighting each other, took their course outside of the 



1 The end of D. Jorge de Castro was a sad one. In 1563 be was 

 appointed captain of Cochin, and in 1571 he was captain of Chale when 

 it was besieged by the samuri of Calicut with an enormous force. After 

 bravely defending the fort with his small body of Portuguese for four 

 months, Dom Jorge was compelled by famine to capitulate. For this 

 he was, by royal command, in 1574 imprisoned and tried, and sentenced 

 to death, the sentence being carried out in spite of his past services and 

 great age (eighty years). Couto (IX. xxvi.) describes the general horror 

 felt at this event. 



2 Of the outward-bound fleet of 1550. 



3 D. Affonso de Noronha, who was proceeding to India to succeed 

 Jorge Cabral. His ship was the S. Pedro. 



4 A son of Vasco da Gama's ; he was going out as captain of Malacca. 



