206 VASCO DA GAMA AT CALICUT diary has not yet been determined. The brief extract here given is supplemented by an account of the voy- ager 's reception written by Gaspar Correa, who was not with the expedition, although he came to India fifteen years later and claims to have used the diary of Figueiro, a Portu- guese priest who ac- companied Da Ga- ma's fleet. Correa 's " Lendas da India " is not generally held in high esteem by historians, although the author's many years of life in India would particularly qualify him to de- scribe the manners at the Zamorin's court. The " Roteiro," or Journal, on the con- trary, as is empha- sized by Ravenstein in his translation for the Hakluyt Society, has the high- est value, and from it the following description of the visit at Calicut is taken. ' The city of Calicut is inhabited by Christians. They are of a tawny complexion. Some of them have big beards and long hair, whilst others clip their hair short or shave the head, merely allowing a tuft to re- DOM VASCO DA GAMA After a Ms. portrait in the British Museum.
