Dias

I am Luis Marthiman, a crewman for Mr. Bartholomew Dias. I am Portuguese, thirty-three, and going to be $RICH$. You see, Dias is a great man, an explorer, who will go anywhere with no fear, and I will go with him. Many of my friends are also crewmen for Bartholomew Dias. They doubt him though. They don't believe in him. What I don't believe in is working for someone that you have no faith in. It is August, my birth month, 1487 and we are setting sail tomorrow for eastern Asia. Mr. Dias' mission is to find an end to Africa. But I think the king is trying only to prove Dias' theory wrong. He gave Dias the ships and men so he go down to Africa and find no end to it. How awful of a thing to do! But if we do find the tip our King will be famous, Dias will be famous, and I will be famous. Either way the King wins. That's how you make a good investment.

Day Four: I'm beginning to get scared of what lies ahead of us. What if we run into enemies grounds and are killed? What if we run into pirates? What if there are storms and we get shipwrecked? What then? What if we begin to get sick like those men from the voyages a few years ago? What if we have gotten all the way down to Africa and find out that there really is no end to it? Or worse, what if we find the end of Africa and can not prove it? Or after we find the tip we run out of food or clean water and can not make it home? What if I never see my family again? Or die at sea? Maybe I should've never come on this voyage. Maybe we should turn around now and go home. No! Why am I talking like this? I know that I am a loyal man, a faithful man, and I know that God will come through for me. We will find the southern tip of Africa. We will be able to prove it. I will make it home to my family. I know it. Dias will take care of us. He will not let us down. We will find what we have come to find, and once we do, we will be rich!

Day 130:

WE"VE FOUND IT!!! "The Cape Of Good Hope". That's what they call it. That's the name. We're rich. Dias is famous. I am famous. Oh, how wondrous! Our voyage will go down in history books. My name will be there, 'Luis Marthiman: crewman for Bartholomew Dias'. We have proved that there is an end to Africa. It doesn't go on forever! My journey has proved that there is a southern route to Eastern Asia from Europe by rounding Africa. And now, we get to go home. That will be the best part. I can't wait to tell my wife!

-Afterwards-

The Dias voyage did go down in the history books just like this man said. The name "Luis Marthiman", however, did not. In fact, Marthiman died just one month after the expedition ended. He died of severe dehydration but he did get to tell his wife all about it. Thanks to Bartholomew Dias we now have the Cape of Good Hope and a southern route to Asia.

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