Wind and soon left Lindo a-stern being a little Rock at the point of the Island of Rhodes 20 Leagues from the City and on it there is a small Town with a very good Fort. The next that appeared was Scarpanto 17 Leagues distant from Lindo leaving it to the Starboard we enter'd the Gulf of Sataâ—ia where for a considerable time Sailing we had a Rowling Sea the Current there setting with Eddies and it is many times dangerous passing for Ships are often cast away there and here we were encompassed with many flashes of Lightning that glancing on the Waters made the Sea seem as on Fire looking very terrible and I plainly perceived the Master of the Ship was at a loss to stand in with the Coast so that it growing somewhat Calm we made little way that Night The Morning proving Fair the Man sent up to discover could however see no Land but the whiteishness of the Water made the Sailors conclude we must be near the Land of Aegypt which is the only Mark at a great distance that can be observed the Land lying so low that it is not made till a Ship is in a manner upon it This whiteness is occasioned by the River Nile that carries it a great way into the Sea and at this distance from the Coast we had many Flurreys accompanied with great Showers of Rain but they were in a little time over and the Wind coming about North-west we tacked and sent up again to discover but no Land appearing we kept sailing South and South-west but fearing to lose the Windward of Alexandria we stood East and by South but finding that a mistake we tacked about that we might get nearer to the Land from which we knew we could not be far distant and held on the same Course till we found our selves obliged to Tack and bear away South-west here we saw the Moon rise Ecclipsed half an hour after Sun-set which was not visible in England Holland France c. because there according to the Almanacks the Ecclips was to happen at 3 in the Afternoon Feb. 11. and the next Day we percieved the Sea very white about us and the Man that looked out cryed Land some thought it to be Damiette and others Bouquer but in the mean time that we might not Sail to Leeward we continued our Course South-west and in a few Hours we Tacked and stood North-east and about a quarter of an hour after the Wind turning North-west we bore away South and South-west and in conclusion we made the Bouquer and a little after the Farillon or Light-House of Alexandria and at 3 of the Clock in the Afternoon the same day we entered the Haven by the South One thing I found remarkable in approaching Land from Damiette to Rossetto between the two Branches of the Nile that from 40 Fathom Water it lessens every Mile till you come to Land Aegypt is bounded on the East with the Red Sea on the South with Asia on the West with Cyrene and on the North with the Mediterranean Sea CHAP. VII The Author's Arrival at Alexandria and what is observable there and his passing from thence to Caire BEING now at Land and recovered from my Sea fatigue by suitable Refreshments my curiosity lead me to take a view of this once so Renowned City Founded by Alexander the Great when after his Persian Expedition he brought Aegypt under his Subjection though it is not comparable to what it has been in its flourishing time as may appear by the Ruins about it and within its Circumference and the Venerable remains of Antiquity This Town is called by the Turks who possess all Aegypt Skenderia There are in it several Fondicks or large Houses where the English French Dutch and other Europeans have their appointed Residence paying no House Rent but on the contrary the Consuls receive Money of the Grand Signior Annually to keep them in suitable Repair they being every Evening shut up and the Keys carried to the Aga of the Castle who sends them back every Morning they are likewise shut up as is the Water-gate every Friday during Noon Prayer and this arises from an old Prophesie that the Franks for so they call all Christian Europeans shall become Masters of that place during Noon Prayer on a Friday Scarce any thing of the Ancient Town remains unruinated but the Walls and some Buildings towards the French Fondick which are almost ruined it being easie to distinguish the Ancient from the Later Buildings for the latter are low and ill-contrived This once Famous Town has three Ports one called the Old Harbour it is pretty large but the entrance difficult so that but few Vessels put in there the other two are separated by a little Island and higher up the Island was anciently called Pharos and is joyned to the main Land by a Stone Bridge and in the middle of it is a square Tower where the Powder is kept and at the end another Castle called Farillon standing where the Ancient Watch-Tower of Pharos stood which was accounted one of the Seven Wonders of the World The first of these Ports is a Harbour for the Galleys and is on one side defended by the Farillon and on the other by a slighter Castle but these Ports are encumbered with Stones and Rocks requiring a skilful Pilot to guide in Vessels of any considerable Burthen The Custom-house here is Farmed by a Turk and has a Jew for his Deputy and indeed the Receipt of Custom mostly passes through the Jew's Hands who can pleasure or displeasure many that Trade there There is also an Old Custom house but of little Note In Alexandria there is a Mount made of Ancient Ruins on which stands a square Tower and a Sentinel who puts out a Flag so soon as he descrys a Sail and every Vessel coming into the Port pays him something All Officers here depend on the Bassa of Aegypt who places and displaces them at his pleasure The Walls of this Town have Fals Brays and are flanked with great square Towers about 200 Paces distant one from another and a little Tower between every two of them in each of the great Tower there is a large square Hall the Vault of it supported by Pillars of Thebaick Stone and a great many Chambers above and over these a large Platform of 30 Foot Square and each of these anciently were able to maintain 200 Men the Walls are very thick and every where Port-holes in them these Castles have Cisterns replenished with Water but most part of those that encompassed the ancient Alexandria as it was in its Former Extent and Lustre are ruined by the length of Time and neglect of Repair but if the Turkish Officers catch an European Christian in these Towers they presently charge him as a Spy come to view the strength of the Town and then nothing but Money will release him from Punishment Near this Town is the famous Pillar of Pompey so much celebrated by Historians
THE NEW ATLAS OR Travels and Voyages IN Europe Asia Africa and America Thro' the most Renowned Parts of the WORLD VIZ. From England to the Dardanelles thence to Constantinople Aegypt Palestine or the Holy Land Syria Mesopotamia Chaldea Persia East-India China Tartary Muscovy and by Poland the German Empire Flanders and Holland to Spain and the West-Indies with a brief Account of Aethiopia and the Pilgrimages to Mecha and Medina in Arabia containing what is Rare and Worthy of Remarks in those vast Countries relating to Building Antiquities Religion Manners Customs Princes Courts or Affairs Military and Civil or whatever else of any kind is worthy of Note Performed by an English Gentleman in Nine Years Travel and Voyages more exact than Ever LONDON Printed for J. Cleave in Chanchery-Lane near Serjeant's Inn and A. Roper at the Black Boy in Fleet-street 1698. TO THE Ingenious Reader THE PREFACE THE desire of Travel and Voyaging to distant Lands is so Natural to an Active Genious that but few who have not had the opportunity of putting it in Action have been no less desirable of such an improving undertaking By what is visible in one's Native Country there is no exalted Mind but must consequently tend to a higher elevation in Knowledge to furnish it with a Completion of those wonderful things the scanty Globe Communicates to the Sight and Senses so to enable one to give a true Judgment in difference of Countries and what is Rare and Remarkable in them To this end Princes have laid aside their Regal Ornaments and the exuberant Pleasures of Thrones for a time taking on them the Fateigue of long Journeys through many dangers and difficulties that so they might inform themselves of the certainty of things and Affairs worthy to be entertained in the repositories of Royal Breasts and to be the concern of Majesty I need not enumerate Ancient Examples for this one very Modern may suffice to evidence Truth of what I Attest It is well known how the Great and Powerful Czar of Muscovy in the midst of War shrouding Majesty in a mean disguise left his Spacious Country and Armies Contesting with the mighty Nations of Turks and Tartars making a tedious Journey to inform himself in those Matters of which at Home he conceived he had but an imperfect Relation also to pollish his pregnant Genious in the refined Courts of other Princes and in all probability met with a satisfaction that made him conclude his Time and Travel well bestowed and undertaken I need not much enforce an Argument to perswade the Ingenious that Travel renders a Man very much accomplished and often raises his Fortune above the common level It has been seen in Ancient and Modern Ages whilst such as have supinely loytered away their Moments of Life under the umbrage of their own Mansion have made no figure in the World whilst they remained in it and when they dropt from the stage of Mortality were soon wrapped in Oblivion But to come somewhat nearer to my purpose In this History of my Travels through many vast Countries I have been very exact to set down nothing but what with much Care and Circumspection occurrred to me where any thing is mentioned as by Hear-say which is but scanty I had it in Conversing with those knowing and as I nearly conclude of much Integrity every thing bearing a probability and consonance to Truth The whole Work is free from Impossibilities or any thing that may carry the face of Romantick Stories or Fables you may easily perceive in Reading where I was an occular and aureal Witness and where I had only informations from others which contribute but a very little part of what I have Written I have as much as possible affected Brevity and must presume to say that none who have gone before me have in Large Volumes comprized so much material matter I Writ it indeed at first for the refreshing my own memory but my Friends who on all occasions had been Dear to me were impatient that it should rest in Silence and swayed me even against my inclinations to let it go abroad for not without some Reluctancy I submitted to their importunities and the many reasons they urged to Frame or Mould me to a temper of complying And now it is abroad I am altogether perswaded it cannot but be gratefull to my ingenious Countrymen nay even to Neighbouring Nations for something constrains me to imagin it will not altogether be confined within the narrow compass of a single Island when it contains in it self so great a share of the World and all that is worthy of Note in the Countries it mentions and those the most Famed in the Universe I have digested it into a Method suitable for the understanding of all intelligent Capacities and formed it in Chapters that any thing desired may be the sooner found out or turn'd to yet the Contents mention not the Particulars at full but only some as an Introduction to the rest for the matter being Concise and Compact should I bring every thing under the heads mentioned therein they would swell too much and perhaps be tedious to the Reader seeing such a method is a kind of doubling what is the subsequent and an Anticipateing the the Readers Expectation To Conclude I present you with Truth and Variety and so resting on the ingenious Reader 's good Nature and Impartiality for a candid Construction of this Work I take leave to subscribe my self Your Most Humble and Devoted Friend to serve you T. C. THE NEW ATLAS OR Travels and Voyages In Europe Asia Africa and America CHAP. I. Motives that induced the Author to undertake these Travels his first setting out for Constantinople and Voyage as far as the Dardanelles the description of divers places he touched at in the way and what else happened in that passage INSPIRED by the Fame of distant Lands by seeing what 's rare and Worthy of Note nearer Home I debated with my self whether the latter ought not to suffice my curiosity and laboured very much to enforce it for many Reasons but neither that nor the Charge Danger and Hardships I was like to meet with in Voyaging tempestuous Seas nor Travelling strange Countries had any such prevalent Effect upon me as to surmount the eager Inclination and restless Desire I had to be an Eye-witness of those things I had often heard though imperfectly in Relation to what they have since appear'd This great Resolve labouring in my Mind my Friends could not chuse but take notice of some great alteration in me and their pressing desires to know the cause of unusual Emotions that were too evident constrain'd me to open my self freely which at first did not a little startle them but perceiving I was fully bent on the undertaking and that all their perswasions to the contrary were fruitless they assisted me with a supply in a great measure to carry on my undertaking and so having prepared every thing I then thought necessary
makes it produce plentifully They have few Fruit-Trees and no Wine for the small quantity of Grapes found are thick rhined producing little Juyce The chief Trees are the Fig-Trees of Pharo the true Sycamore Cassa Papyrus Colocasse Orange Lemon and Myrtle Trees but these three last are mostly brought thither they have great store of Onions and other Roots also plenty of Corn and divers sorts of fine Fowls as Yellow Birds wild Turtles Pidgeons and Larks and indeed Aegypt may be rightly termed an Earthly Paradise did not the Oppression of their Governors much abate the Peoples pleasure but that is very great as in other parts of the Ottoman Empire At the cutting of the Khalis or Sluyce of the Nile there is a great Festival held and triumphant Shows by Land and Water with much rejoycing for many Days and whereas the Ancient Aegyptians used to Sacrifice a Boy and a Girl taken by lot to their fancied God of the River but the Turks abolished that ill Custom and instead thereof place on each side in the Night the resemblance of a Man and a Woman in Fire by fixing Lamps very dexterously to represent their Figures Aegypt as other Countries under the Turkish Government consists of a mixed People of divers Nations as Turks Jews Arabs Franks Armenians Greeks Moors and the Ancient Inhabitants who have liberty to exercise their Religion as they please but have Mulcts set upon them for the Turks care not what they do in that nature so they can screw Money out of them they being next to the Jews the most covetous of all People The Chief Government under the Grand Signior is in the Hands of a Bassa who has his Sub Bassa's The great Men of the Country are called Beys who often bring his Head into danger if he displeases them by their sending complaints to the Ottoman Port And thus having given you an account of the most considerable rarities of Aegypt as to what I saw there c. I shall further entertain you with my Travels to Palestine or the holy-Holy-Land CHAP. X. Travels in Palestine or the Holy Land and all the remarkable Things and Places to be seen in it more exact than ever yet described Of Mount Libanus and places Adjacent BEING desirous to visit the Holy Land so much Famed throughout the World for the many Wonders God wrought there and the many Memorable and Venerable Antiquities yet to be seen I provided my self of such Necessaries as my Reason dictated and as I was told I should stand in need of Upon Notice that a Caravan was ready to part I went and enter'd my self one of the Company so every one having Notice and being in a readiness we set forward but the Wind blowing hard we had like to have been over-whelmed with Clouds of Sand raised by it which flying about our Ears spoiled some of our Provision however the Storm being over in 3 or 4 Hours we kept on our way with Timbrels Sounding to chear the Cammels that they might pursue their Journey with more Alacrity The first place that offered it self to us was Ithanque a little Town where the Caravan of Jerusalem makes its first Stage the next was Balbeys and from thence we proceeded the next Day to Salabia where are the pleasant Woods of Tamarisk and there we lay in Tents setting Guards for fear of a surprize from Robbers lurking in those Woods Our Caravan consisting of above 100 Camels besides Mules and Horses with a considerable strength of Men but no attempt was made and the next Evening we reached Elbir Devedar and encamped near some dirty Wells of Water that our Beasts might be the better refreshed and then marched to Catice where we had a Guard of Turks Armed to conduct us to Riche for now we were come within danger of the Arabs and there I saw a long Pit of fine white Salt which the People affirmed was made only of Rain Water We parted from thence and went to Birlab and having rested there we journied to Bi r Acat a place in the Desart destitute of Water yet full of Quick-sands however we were forced to lie there but the next Day travelling on we found a Well called Sibile-El-Bar-Acat made by an Aga who passed that way in his Journey to Constantinople it is covered with a Dome supported by Pillars This Water very much refreshed us and our Cattle but going from hence we entered again into the Quick-sands which reach as far as Riche and well it was we got to that place for about a quarter of an Hour after a Storm arose which lasted about 30 Hours This Village is not far from the Sea and has a Castle built of little Rock Stones as is likewise all the Houses of the Village and here I observed they had so much Marble that their Wells were made of that Stone and their Burying-places are full of them Having refreshed our selves we departed for Cauniows with a Guard of 8 Turks and from thence we Travelled through Quick-sands though it Rained Thundered and blew hard to Zaka a place where no Houses are for that Name was only given it from three Wells of Brackish Water we found there but passing on we came to Wells of pleasant Water and now we begun to have a prospect of a fine Country where some Corn-Land appeared which much encouraged us there we found many pleasant Trees and good Meadows so that now we concluded we were on the Borders of the Land of Promise and indeed we soon reached the City of Gaza which stands about two Miles from the Sea and was anciently very Stately and Famous for Trade many of the Ancient Pillars are yet remaining there being almost every where Marble Pillars to be seen it was one of the five Lordships of the Philistins the Gates of which Sampson carried away on his Shoulders and left them on a little Hill a Mile distant Near the City there is a Castle with 4 corner Towers and the Gates are of Iron Hard by this are found lumps of ruined Walls that cannot be broke with a Hammer being the Ruins of a Castle built by the Ancient Romans near the Castle behind the Burying-place where we encamped stood the House that Sampson pulled down when he by that means destroyed so many Phililistines and many other things of Note which I had not time to observe by reason the Caravan was in haste to depart From Gaza we passed to a Village called Megdel and so to Ithansedoud all the way there are pleasant Plains full of Trees and Corn and in the Season these Plains are Embroidered with Tulips and Emonies that grow without planting so passing a Village called Yebna at the end of it we crossed over a Bridge and from thence proceeded over lovely Plains to Rama and encamped in a Plain over-against it however I went with a few others to visit some Merchants that resided there This Town depends on the Bassa of Gaza Here is the House of Nicodemus
so wicked as to act such Villany This Country gives a pleasant prospect and abounds in all things necessary for human support here grows the famous Tree so much Written of which if a man touch but one of the Branches with his Finger it presently whither 's There are great Flocks of Parrots as of Crows or Pigeons in England also Turkeys Quailes Rabbits The Spanish Cities here have a Bishop's See and Granada standing on a Lake of fresh Water about 300 miles in compass which continually Ebbs and Flows though it has no intercourse with the Ocean And thus much having thought fit to speak of the Mexicon Provinces and the Dominion of Spain wherein I mostly Travelled I now come to speak in their Order of the Peruanian parts for richness in Gold and other Mettals This principally contains 5 large Countries as I have already hinted This Southern part of India is held to be Richer than the Northern for although it wants the conveniency of Traffick by the Northern Sea which the other has and is therefore obliged to send its Commodities to Pannama and from thence have them Transported over the Streight or Isthmus by the River Chiagree to Portabel upon the North-Sea yet the great store of Gold Silver and other Mettal make richly amends for their pains and Travel and such store is found that a Prohibition or Injunction is laid by the Court of Spain not to open new Mines till the old ones are sufficiently wrought the huge Mountains of Potosi are thought to consist mostly of Gold-oar and here grow all such Fruits as are found in Spain beside many others natural to the Country the Olives are larger than those of Spaia the Oyl sweeter and clearer the Grapes yield Wine stronger than Spanish Wine and here they have more Liberty than in Mexico to make it because it cannot be so well brought from Spain they have store of Wheat and other Grain the Soil all lying under the high Mineral Mountains being very Fruitful the Water that descends fatning the Valleys for there is but little Rain and the Evening and Morning Dews give great refreshment The Vice-Roy has his Residence in the City of Lima a place much subject to Earthquakes and of late has been terribly shaken and almost destroyed by 'em there is held a Court of Chancery and it is an Arch-Bishop's See It is well fortified since the Bucaniers have made so many Depradations and Pyracies on the Coast two Miles from it is a convenient Harbour or Port called Callau where the Ships lie that convey the Treasure to Panama and other Ships that Trade to divers parts and beside Casteella Aura or Golden Casteel Chille is very Rich in Golden Mines which has caused an obstinate War between the Spaniards and Indians that Inhabit it who are very hardy and dextrous at Fire-Arms most part of them being the Sons of Spanish Women by Indians so that a great many of the best Soldiers out of the Neatherlands and Italy have been sent thither under an Experienced Captain who has the Command as a Recompence for his Service in Europe The Spaniards by their Wars have got strong footing and are possessed of 3 principal Cities beside many Towns of Note as the Conception which is a Bishop's See Santjago and Valdivia this latter took its Name from a Governor so called whose thirst of Gold through Covetousness to grow Rich on a sudden in using great Oppression made the Indians of Chille break out into a Bloody War and surprizing him in his House poured melted Gold down his Throat saying Since he had so eargerly coveted it he should have his fill of it and so much of it as should last him all his Life-time and accordingly it did for the scalding Mettal presently killed him but the War ended not with his Death but has at times continued ever since As for Guiana and Brasil the latter belonging to the Crown of Portugal and States of Holland by reason of their remoatness I had not an opportunity to Travel there and since I can speak little of them than what I have from Report viz. that they are Rich and Flourishing Provinces I shall pass them over and return again to Castella Aure in the Southern or Peruanian Track This containeth the North part of Peru and part of the Isthmus that runneth between the North and South-Sea and beside the Gold in it it is plentifully stored with Silver Pearl Spices Medicinal Herbs and Drugs it is divided into 4 Provinces the first is called Castella del oro the second Nova Andaluzia the third Nova Granada the fourth Carthagena Castella del oro is Situate in the very Isthmus and not over peopled by reason of the unhealthful Air occasioned by the noysom Vapours arising from large standing Lakes or Pools the chief places here belonging to the Spaniards are Theomimay or Nombre de Dias on the East the second which lies 6 Leagues from Nombre de Dios is Portabel chiefly Inhabited by Spaniards Mulottos and Blackamoors this latter has a very fair and goodly Haven from whence it seems to derive its Name well fortified at the Entrance with 3 Castles where the Guns reach and Command one another in these places Drake braved the Spaniards and did Exploits worthy the Fame of his Countrey Nombre de Dios so called by Didacus Niquesa who after many crosses at Sea first Landed here Founding this and Portobel is now in a manner forsaken by reason of the little Commodiousness or Security of the Harbour lying open to the insults of Pyrates and more for the unhealthfulness of the Air coming off the Sea and some Lakes near it so that it was once removed by an Order from the Court of Spain in hopes that the Air might become more healthful in placing it some little distance from the Sea but it little availed In this part of the Indies it was that our Valiant tho' Unfortunate Country-Man John Oxenham Arriving with about 60 Companions drew ashore his Ship covered it with Boughs and passing over Land cut down Timber in the Woods of which he made a Pinnace and Navigating the south-South-Sea took several Spanish Prizes richly Laden with Gold and Silver and safely recovered the main Land but there by the Mutiny of his Company about sharing the Booty all miscarried for they gave the Spaniards time to set upon and cut several of them off among whom he fell Courageously Fighting and so the Riches to the Value of a Million of Duccats which might have plentifully satisfied them all was lost by their division among themselves Nova Andeluza has for its principal City Tocoio by the Spaniards new Named St. Margrets and an other little inferiour to it called St. Espiritu both Rich in Trade and the Country throughout gives a good Prospect of Plenty and Pleasure Nova Granada is Situate on the South-side of Carthagena It contains 6 principal Cities viz. Tungua supposed to be directly under the Aequator Tochamum Popaian a
we parted with good Wishes Prayers and Tears I sent my Cargo on Board a Merchant's Ship lying over-against Eriffe in the River of Thames on the 30th of April 1684 and travelling over-land went on Board myself when she was fallen to the Downs It will be needless to tell you what Agreement I made with the Master who was my Friend and used me extream well during my Voyage or how I spent my time e'er we quitted the Lands end let it suffice we were driven back by stress of Weather and forced to put in at several places with other Ships in our Company before we had a fair Wind to carry us out to Sea but at length Providence so ordered it that the Wind came about as well as we could wish and we lost no time to embrace so favourable an opportunity but getting out of Harbour where we had lain for Ten days Wind bound in a few hours sailing England disappeared but Night coming on the Sun setting with a dusky Cloud a thwart it and darting its Beams Pale to either Pole the Mariners observed by that and some other Signs they have that a Storm threatned us nor were they deceived in their Conjecture for the Wind arose by degrees and about Midnight it was a full Storm but with some difficulty we weather'd it for about the rising of the Sun the Wind slackned and we kept on our way yet this tossing a little indisposed me so that all that day I kept my Cabin but for the most part after this the Seas and Winds contended as it were to give us a favourable passage to Constantinople whither this Ship was bound upon some particular occasions as well as that of Trade which I do not conceive pertinent to this Relation of my own Travels nor shall I describe as some superfluously do all the Coasts we made in our Sailing Let it suffice then that we touched not till we came to Messina in Sicily though in our passage I saw the Fires of the Mountain Stromboli which in the night time looked dreadful though at a great distance and was informed that the People who live near it conceive a foolish opinion that it is an entrance into Hell because when the Fire makes its Irruptions they hear howlings as of the Damned which is no more than the Winds breaking through the hollow Rockey Caverns in the Mountain wasted by the long continuance of the burning which makes a confused noise that at a distance resembles howling Passing the Fare of Messina we came before the Town and dropt Anchor without the Port where those that would had leave to go a-shore I failed not to do it and whilst the Sailers were employed in taking in some necessaries I took a slight view of the place It lies on that side the Island that looks to Rhegio in Italy from which it is 60 miles distant where the Ancient Town of Zande stood Nature has furnished it with a pleasant and safe Harbour which for its compactness may be thought to have been made by Art The Buildings that adorn the Port are Regular and Uniform so that they give a pleasant prospect at the end of the Mole that shuts in the Port There is a Tower well fortified to secure the entry and about the middle of it is another Tower on the top of it a a great Light to guide Ships in the Night The Streets of the Town are fair and large The Cathedral is very stately and over the Door in large Characters is Written Gran-Mercy a Messine When the French became Masters of the Island it was the first place that Surrendered and Sicily caused and beheld the fatal Tragedy of the Intruders for a design was secretly laid and carried on so that on a set day when the Bell rung to Evening Song which was the Sign the Inhabitants of the Island Massacred all the French Nation without sparing Women or Children which is still called the Fatal Sicilian Vesper Before the Church is a square Piazza with a Theatre in the middle where the Victory over the Turkish Naval Forces is represented in Brass and in the same Metal stands the Statue of Don John of Austria the Spanish Admiral in that Expedition The Country is very Fruitful abounds in Sulphur Mines and much subject to Earthquakes The next Town of note is Syracuse where the famous Archimedes made his Experiments and fired the Roman Navy that besieged it with Burning-Glasses There is a Castle built on the Rocks called Scyla and the Water beating on these Rocks resembles the barking of Dogs As for Charibais it is opposite to the Port of Messina and not dangerous but when two contrary Eddies meet and make a kind of a whirlpool so that sometimes Ships turn round and are sucked in which gave occasion to Fable them two Sea Monsters set there to destroy Passengers though there are Pilots always ready at the general Charge to guide Ships in and out The Viceroy has his Residence here six Months and as many at Palermo Mount Gibello anciently called Aetna much infects this fruitful Island with its firey Irruptions The Sicilians are very hauty Proud and exceeding Jealous of the Spaniards under whose Government they are From hence setting Sail we directed our Course to Maltha and having Coasted Sicily there sprung up an East North East Wind before which we drove a very swift Sailing and soon made the Isle of Maltha in the Port of which we came to an Anchor It lies in the African Sea between Sicily and Tripoly in the Latitude of 38 degrees and in Longitude 34 extending from East to West 29 Miles and is about 12 over all the Earth is exceeding White its Ancient Name was Melita In the Year 1530 the Emperor Charles gave it and the Isle of Gozo to the Knights who were driven out of Rhodes and they have ever since possessed it in spite of all the efforts the Turks have made It seems to be a Rock with very little Earth on it yet it bears Fruit and Corn but they are mostly supplied from Sicily it lying but 20 Leagues distant Here St. Paul on his landing in his passage to Rome shook off the Viper they show his Grott and the Earth is dug there and carried away for many Physical uses The Natives wear Green Spectacles to prevent their Eyes from Dazling by reason of the whiteness of the Earth The Knights of the Order are under a great Master They have many advantageous Ports well defended and are formidable at Sea with their Galleys to the Moors of Barbary and Turks for if they take them they make 'em Slaves The Towns of Maltha are well scituate and defended they have good Magazines and always keep a good Provision of Arms and Naval Stores They are very charitable to Travellers especially the Sick providing for them in their Hospitals while they stay and pay the charges of their Voyage when they depart The Wind being again fair we left Maltha passing the
never opened and that the Moors conceal them out of Avarice to take out what is precious and raise the price of such Rarities to a higher Rate Being let down in one of these Vaults I saw many parts of Bodies but little entire they being much broken and mangled by such as had out of Curiosity carried away pieces of them This place is full of Piramids but most of them very small unless one that never was finished which if compleated had been near in bigness to the largest I have mentioned proportionable to the Basis there are in it Ascending and Descending Alleys at the end of which are 3 Rooms but it not being finished as the rest as to what it might have been is but Conjecture some hold that this mighty Work ceased when Alexander the Great seized on Aegypt and the Greeks wrested the Kingdom from the Race of the Ancient Aegyptian Kings On the other side of the Nile opposite to this place are to be seen the Ruins of the Ancient Memphis where the Aegyptian Kings held their Court but Time and the spoiling Hand of War has made it as Troy a heap of Ruins It seems to have been exceeding large and extended along the River till you come over-against Old Caire so that although I spent many Hours in viewing these Ruins I could find nothing of Note but pieces of Pillars and Images the low Foundations of what seem to have been Ancient Temples and little else Remarkable Returning towards Caire I came to Maltherea 3 Miles distant from the City where are a great many curious shading Orange-Trees and a delicious Spring of Water which is said to have been the abiding place of the Blessed Virgin when she fled with our Saviour into Aegypt There are likewise Mirtle and Lemon-Trees that render the place very pleasant This Spring and Joseph's Well in Caire are all the Springs of Water I could see or hear of in Aegypt That Well is of a prodigious Depth cut in a solid Rock 106 Foot deep yet so broad and winding are the Steps that two Oxen may go down to the bottom where in a Hole is a very curious Spring and that Water is held precious near it are some remains of Pharaoh's Pallace and a Room called Joseph's Hall adorned with Gold and Azure and many Pillars also his Steward's House remarkable for 12 Columns of Thebaick Marble Near to this there is a dreadful Prison in which it is held that Patriarch was cast upon the false Accusation of his Mistress this consists of several Dungeons cut of the Rock and if Tradition be true his case in that place could not but be lamentable for it appears very Dismal and Loathsome The common received opinion that it Rains not in Aegypt is groundless the Showers fall seldomer and less violently than in other places so that a great part of the Country is dry and barren Sand the chief Fertility is occasioned by the melting of the Snow from the Mountains and the overflowing the River Nile of which famous River I come now to speak more particularly This River has its source near the Mountains of the Moon or Jews Mountains in Aethiopia where it is very small but gathers many Rivers in long running which makes it swell much it runs through the length of Aegypt having its course from South to North discharging it self into the Mediterranean Sea by two Mouths making a Triangular Isle by the Greeks called Delta because it resembles the Greek Δ these Mouths are Navigable for large Vessels for though it has others they are less and can properly be called no other than Rivulets It is broader than the Seine and for the most part glides smoothly unless where its Cataracts make it rage and foam by its falling from a great heighth when it overflows it appears like a little Sea the Water is naturally thick and muddy but they have a way to Clarifie it by running it through Vessels filled with white Earth and then it is very wholesome Most of the Cities Towns and Villages are Scituate on its Banks or very near it for the conveniency of Water which is precious in that Country for there are so many Villages that you have scarce passed one but you come at another This River abounds not much with Fish and there is but one good sort found at Caire called a Variole but there are a vast number of Crocodiles in it who no doubt devour the Fish this is an Amphibeous Creature living at pleasure in the Water or on Land the Head of it is flat above and below and the Eyes or it indifferently big and very darkish they have a long sharp Snout with long sharp Teeth but no Tongue to be perceived the Body large and all of a bigness the Back covered with high Scales like the Heads of large Nails of a greenish colour so hard that they are Proof against a Halbert their Tailes are very long covered over with Scales but the Belly is white and pretty tender it has four short Legs with five Claws on the foremost Feet and but four on the hinder It grows as long as it Lives and some are about 20 Foot from Head to Tail these great ones many times snap young Children at Land and sometimes put up their Noses and pull People out of their Boats in the River so that many go with Spikes to prevent their putting up their Noses and it is dangerous to swim where their haunts are But that they Weep when they have taken their Prey is for what I could find a Fable To take these Creatures they make a great many Pits by the River side and cover them with rotten Sticks so that passing over the Sticks give way and they fall in then Men let down a Rope with a running Nooze to muzzle their Snouts and so they draw them up and kill them for their Skins which they sell to Strangers at good Rates None but the Moors will Eat of their Flesh There is also in the River a Hyppopotamuses or Sea-Horse and is of a tawney Colour the hinder part like a Bouffler though its Legs are short yet very thick it has the muzzle of an Ox and some are about the bigness of a Camel its Head resembles that of a Horse and is very great but the Eyes are small the Ears little the Neck thick the Tail like an Elephant's in the lower Jaw it has four Teeth half a Foot long two of them are crooked and as big as the Horn of an Ox in circumference This famous River mainly fertilises Aegypt and without it it would be desolate nay if it should fail but one Year to overflow there would be a Famine in the Land which some hold it did for seven Years when the mighty Famine happen'd in Joseph's time restrained by an Almighty Power but seeing that Famine extended to others Land this may be but Conjectural when it Ebbs it leaves a fat nitreous Slime that greatly enriches the Land and
is very Harmonious especially of Nightingals who are there in great numbers At this River many paid their Devotions in remembrance of the Wonders that had been done there as the Children of Israel's passing it dry shod Elisha's dividing it with his Mantle and our Saviour's being Baptized As for the Dead Sea it is a great standing Lake of Salt and Bitter Water all the Plains that border on it are Bitter and they say there are Trees growing on the brink of it that bear Apples with a Scarlet and Golden Rhine fair to the Eye to delude Travellers but as a Curse on the Place they are within Ashes and Smoke Some hold that a living thing will not sink in this Water but the fumes arising from it were so extream it being hot Weather that I thought it convenient not to approach too near it I was informed that this Sea or rather Lake was 100 Miles in length and 25 over but that no Fish can live in it In our return I saw the Mount where our Saviour Fasted Forty Days and was Tempted on the top of it there is a Grot wherein is an Altar This Grot is said to be the place of his Residence during that time and there the Monks say Mass on publick occasions and coming down again I saw the Prophet Elisha's Well where he made the Bitter Water Sweet by casting Salt into it and now the Water is of an excellent pleasant Tast This Well is about a quarter of an Hours Travel from the Foot of the Mountain Going now to Bethlehem they shewed us by the way the House of St. Simeon and the place where Elias was Born also the House of Jacob Rachel's Sepulcher and David's Cestern Bethlehem was anciently a Town of the Tribe of Jâ—dah and has been as appears by the Ruins a very fair place but now greatly reduced There is in it a Convent of Monks and the place where St. Jerom resided and taught the People is a pretty compact Church dedicated to the Honour of St. Catherine There is also the Sepulcher of the Innocents where many of them that Herod caused to be Slain were Buried The Oratory of St. Jerom and his Tomb The place where our Saviour was laid in the Mainger is to be seen There is an Altar where the three Kings adored him and made their precious Offerings and all these places are adorned with pleasant Structures and Ornaments Lamps burning in most of them and Sculptures resembling the Histories in one of which the Virgin Mary is represented kneeling before our Saviour who has 2 Crowns of Silver on his Head which things are the only Ornament of the place near it is the Sealed Well and the 3 Fish-Ponds of Solomon the Well is a pleasant little hole but deep with 3 Springs bubling up at the end Aquaducts convey the Water to Jerusalem the Fish-Ponds seem to be cut out of a Rock being smooth Stone at bottom with Springs one at the end of another lowering by degrees so that they communicate their Water and Travelling on there is the Garden of Solomon shut in between 2 Hills which serve for a Wall on either side also the Cave where David cut off the lap of Saul's Garment and passing the Town of Sanacarib we came in with the Mountains of Judea the Town is called so because Sanacarib's Army Encamping there was cut off by the Angel The Fountain is likewise in the way where the Aethiopian Eunuch was Baptized by St. Philip and is a pleasant Spring of Sweet Water and by bad way passing the Village of Battir we came to the Desert of St. John Baptist and upon an Ascent are seen the Ruins of an Old Monastery under this is a Grot where they say he lay and in it the form of a Bed cut in the Rock There are many things to be seen in the Mountains of Judea more than here mentioned but being tedious ways Rockey and Stoney I declined to Travel further in them they being composed of many Risings and Fallings some very Craggy others Smooth with pleasant shading Trees on them as Olives Palms c. Having rested a little after this Journey and escaped some Ambushcades of the Arabs I as well as many more of my Companions being desirous to see other memorable places before we left the holy-Holy-Land our curiosity lead us to pass through the Gate of Bethlehem which we did pretty early in the Morning and the first thing of Note that saluted our Eyes was the Foot of Mount Sion on the Right Hand and the two Fish-Ponds of Bersheba in one of which David beheld her bathing from his Pallace in Mount Sion when he fell enamour'd with her and committed that grievous Sin which made not only him but all Israel Mourn Then we passed to the Field which is called Acaldema or the Field of Blood and here the Armenian Strangers find a Burying-place so going forward we saw the Grot where 8 of the Apostles hid themselves when our Lord was made a Prisoner it is now a pleasant cool place for shelter and in it are to be seen the Pictures of the Apostles Near this there is a Burying-place for the Greeks and Strangers and a Pit where t is said the Jews hid the Fire of the Altar by the Command of the Prophet Jeremiah when they were carried away Captive by Nabuchadnezzar into Babylon close by it there is a Mosque with a Reservatory of pleasant Water to refresh Travellers But going on we came to the Pool of Shilo where the Blind Man washed and had his sight restored him and passing on saw where the Prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder with a wooden Saw by the command of Manasses Then we journied by the Fountain of the Blessed Virgin to the Mount of Scandall near which Judas hanged himself after he had betrayed his Lord it is so called because the Concubins perverted his wise Heart and made him commit Folly in offering Sacrifice to Moloch and the Idol of Chamos and so we came to Bethany There we saw the Ruins of the House of Simeon the Lepar where Mary Magdalen anointed our Saviour with the precious Oynement also the Ruins of the Castle of Lazarus on a little Ascent and at the Foot of it is the Sepulchre out of which he was raised it is a little Grot and in a Table of Stone where the Priests on Solemn Days say Mass they show there the Stone that our Saviour sat on when he bewailed him and called him forth and places where the House of Martha stood as also the Fig-Tree that withered when Christ Cursed it and that where the Ass stood which he sent for and Rod in Triumph to Jerusalem Then we went to the Grot where St. Peter Wept bitterly after he had denied his Master and from hence we turned to Mount Sion where our Lord celebrated the Holy Supper with his Apostles and instituted the Blessed Sacrament Here is the Room he entred when the Doors were shut and the Holy
Ghost descended on the Day of Penticost Not far from hence we beheld the Sepulchers of David and Solomon This Mountain was formerly within the compass of the Walls of Jerusalem but Selim the Turkish Sultan rebuilding them it was excluded and the City much streightned We saw many other things hereabouts as the Iron Gate the House of Zebedec and that of the High Priest Annas the place where St. James was beheaded the Houses of St. Thomas and Mark the Prison of St. Peter whence he was delivered by the Angel c. And now returning a little again to Jerusalem I shall give somewhat more of its Description than hitherto I have done This Famous City is seated on a Barren Mountanous Ground for the most part it produces no Food but at a distance the Land is exceeding Fertile The Streets are narrow and crooked the Building but indifferent all the Ancient Magnificence being in a manner laid in Rubbish it has 6 Gates viz. That of Ephraim the Gates of Bethlehem Jaffa Damascus Zion and the Dungate and one that is walled up called the Golden-Gate because our Saviour entered in Triumph at it the Sheep-Gate is not reckoned as being much ruined The Turks keep them all shut at Noon-Prayer because they have a Prophecy that at that time the Christians shall surprize Jerusalem and particularly on a Friday on which Day they are very apprehensive it will happen not far from the Golden-Gate there is a Pillar bearing out of the Wall like a Cannon and on this the Turks have a foolish Opinion that Mahomet shall sit at the Day to see whether Christ Judges the Christians Uprightly and if he does Mahomet will give him his Sister in Marriage with a great Portion and then changing himself into a great Sheep he shall fly up in the Air a vast heighth with the Mahometans entangled in his Wool and there shake himself terribly and such as can hold fast shall go with him into Paradise but such as fall off shall drop into Hell The Walls of this City are fair and strong Again leaving Jerusalem I went with a considerable Company to visit Emans and Jaffa the first of these is but 2 Leagues and an half from Jerusalem by the way stands the Well where our Loâ—â—… appeared to the two Disciples after his Resurrection a little further is the Castle where our Lord was known to them in breaking Bread which is now very ruinous and the Village is of little account there being very few Houses and those inconsiderable which made us keep on by the way of Ramah to Jaffa which is 4 Leagues beyond it This Jaffa was Anciently called Joppa It is built on the Top of a Rock and is altogether Ruinous there remaining no more than some Towers and the Port at the Foot of the Rock and to a crag of this Rock it is Fabled Andromeda was tied when Perseus the Son of Jupiter and Danae delivered her from the Sea Monster Here the Prophet Inah embarked when he fled from the Face of God Here St. Peter raised Tabitha Acts 9. and saw the Sheet let down from Heaven Acts 10. There are Grots by the Sea-side for Pilgrims to rest in there is also a little Castle with two Towers one round the other square and a great Tower separated from it on one side but no Houses by the Sea The Port has but little Water in it and none but small Barks can come up with the Fortresses Mount Carmell being but a little distance from hence by Water I agreed with others to take small Vessels to visit it but we met with a Storm by the way that much endangered us but at length we arrived safely there and lodged in the Village of Cayplias which by the Ruins appears to have been formerly a considerable Town it is at the Foot of the Mountain and the next Morning we ascended the Mountain where we found a Convent of bare-footed Fryars called Carmelites these observe a very strict Rule neither eating Flesh nor drinking Wine totally Sequestring themselves from the World nor will they suffer others to do it in their Convent This is the place where the Prophet Elias lived and there is in this Mount as they say a Garden of Stone Mellons which happened on this wise the Prophet asking the Man to give him some of that he was gathering he to put him off told him they were Stones when immediately they proved so indeed by turning into Stone they shewed us one of these but would not shew us the place where they grew least we should covet to carry them away however they feasted us with Fruits boiled Roots and gave us Water to Drink for though the Hill is Rockey ye by their industry they have raised many Fruit-Trees and have variety of good Flowers Then we saw the Well Elias made to spring out of the Ground and another little Well by it we saw a little distant from these the Grot or Cave of Elias and Elisha it is cut very smooth in the Rock above and below near 20 Paces in length and 15 in breadth and very high The Turks have built a little Mosque by it This Mountain and the Country about it is commanded by an Emir or Prince who pays the Grand Signior a Tribute of Twelve Horses I forgot to tell you of Mount Libanus so famed for its tall Cedars but such wast has been made of them that I could number great and small but 23. There is a Church and Monastery in it there is a Patriarch belonging to it that lives at a Village beneath called Cannobin Thus much for the Holy Land whose Fame has over-spread the World CHAP. IX Travels through Syria and divers other Countries towards the Kingdom of Persia with many remarkable Things occuring in so long and hazardous a Journey by Land and Water HAving heard many Famous Things reported of Persia too many here to enumerate and being recruited with Bills of Exchange and other Advantages for Travelling it being a curiosity I was enclined too from my tender Years I found an opportunity to go in good Company for Damascus This City is still in good Reputation and has six Gates viz. the East Gate the Sphaies or Seraglio Gate the Shoo Gate the Gate of Paradise the Gate of Peace and St. Thomas's Gate This City is an Hour and a quarters walk round it but the Suburbs are as big again as the Town It has in it many stately Buildings some New others of great Antiquity having been Anciently the Capital City of Syria but being on a Journey I had not much leasure to view it or few other Towns or Cities on the way therefore I shall but lightly touch on them in my Passage From hence we parted for Aleppo which is one of the most considerable Cities of the Ottoman Empire in Asia by reason of the great Trade Merchants drive there it is as large as Damascus and has a fruitful Country lying about it The Walls are
strong and well fortified it has ten Gates and many curious Buildings in it This and the former are govern'd by Bassa's who have large dependencies There is a Court of Wells with a Canal full of good Fish but the Turks on some superstitious account or other forbid any to take them alledging for excuse that those who Eat them will fall Sick and Die There are in this City People of all curious Trades and were not the oppression of the Turks as it is indeed all over the Ottoman Empire very great Riches would flow here in abundance From this place our Road lay to Mosul by the way of Bi r and Orfa the Ancient Edessa but before we came to Bi r we passed Euphrates in great Boats This is a little Town in Mesopotamia on the side of the River and passing by small Towns and the Ruins of some great ones we came to Orfa The Walls are about two Hours Walk in Circumference and pretty entire but the Town within though it has been Fair and Stately lies now mostly in Ruins We refreshed our selves here and passed on by Codgtasar in the Country of Meredin and Nisibia we saw in our way many Villages some Towns and other things of Note as Job's Tomb Fields of Mellons Cucumbers c. Our way was sometimes over Mountains then into Valleys and now and then in Plains seeing but few except some few wandering People who move from place to place feeding Cattle and carrying their Tents with them and after a weary Journey we came to Mâ—sul and entered it by Bagdad Capisi that looks towards the South where we paid a Paistre to the Janisary that kept the Gate This City Anciently called Aasour stands on the side of the Tigris which runs to the East of it It is encompassed with strong Stone Walls plaistered over and these have little pointed Battlements on the top 2 Fingers thick and 4 or 5 broad There is a Castle in the Water of an Oval Form and pretty strong which keeps the Pass of the River Many of the Houses are fairly built with Freestone and the City is about an Hours walk in compass It has five Gates beside that I mentioned On the other side of the River is the place where once stood the Famous City of Nineveh and some of the Ruins are to be seen and not far distant a Tomb wherein Jonah is said to be Buried In Summer it is extream Hot insomuch that the People keep in Vaults in the heat of the Day and some in Stone Troughs of cold Water Having recruited our Provisions here it being July to prevent the danger of the Semiel or infectious Wind which arises about this time kills many that Travel by Land I and some of the Company passed by Water on a Keleck or a kind of a Float fastned on a great many Leather Baggs filled full of Wind but they would not suffer us to carry any Wine on Board foolishly fancying that it would fink their Boat and in this we did wisely for we afterwards heard of many that passed by Land who were not accustomed to that Wind died being stifled or Poysoned with the infectious Air. In our Passage we saw many Towns and Villages and Men Women and Cattle were swiming their Passage over the River In the Night we heard the Lions Roar on either Hand which made us keep from the Shoar least they should leap into our Kelechs though the Natives would perswade us they were afraid of a Man and that the Arabs usually pursued and killed them with a Staff but we thought fit not to lay too much stress upon this for I had heard in Mosul that many who had stragled from the Caravans had been snaped by them for they rove in great numbers and Fire-Arms are the best defence against them besides we were forced to stand on our Guard for fear of the Thieveish Arabs who often get aboard by swiming and surprise these Kelechs nor did they fail to Alarum us but when we espied them they Dived and got to Shoar and by that means escaped our Shot we made at them But to be Brief at last we came to Bagdad This is a long Town lying on the River The first thing that appears is the Castle to the side of the River on the left Hand and seems to be very well Fortified It is built of curious white Stone though the generality of the Houses in the Town are low and inconsiderable it is very strong on the Land-side and in circuit Large requiring at least two Hours to compass it at a moderate pace on Foot there are lovely Bagnios and fair Bazars in it It was Founded by the Persians but taken from them by the Turks and has a Bassa for their Governor It stands advantageous enough on the Tygris but is thinly Peopled by reason of the Licentiousness of the Soldiers who are scarcely under any Command It is extream Hot in this place in the Summer time as in all others of the same Latitude There are but few Fruit-Trees hereabouts but every where store of Licorice They generally use Oyl of Naphta in their Lamps it being plentiful in their Borders They often send their Expresses from place to place by Carrier Pidgeons fastning the Note about their Necks which they exactly perform unless they are killed by the way which rarely happens I found here a Caravan mostly consisting of Persians bound for Hamaden in Persia this opportunity I and others embraced though we found the Retinue did not exceed sixty slenderly Armed and mostly without Tents appearing resolute and hardy and passing Caranluocapi leaving on the left the Persian Tower Adgdadom Coulasu we came near Lockman Hakin and encamped there all Day where the Chakales entertained us with Musick From thence we Marched and Lodged in a Village called Aacube under the pleasant Shade of divers spreading Palm-Trees and so proceeded Eastward to Harounia where are many pleasant Gardens and passing by Adiga and Immanisker and many other Villages we were informed the Arabs lay in wait for us in the narrow Passes which caused us to get 15 Janisaries well Armed but we needed them not meeting with no opposition for we safely arrived at Mendeli the utmost bounds of the Turks on the Frontiers of Persia It is a little Town and Castle among Palm-Trees made with Mud and Clay and here we rested some time CHAP. VII Travels into Persia and a particular Account of the Places and what occured in the way to Ispahan the Metropolis of the Kingdom THE famous Kingdom of Persia so much Renowned in History is the Ancientest Monarchy now known in the World having for the most part had an interrupted Succession of Kings who have Govern'd that vast Region Valliantly in wise Conduct and much Glory It is bounded on the East with the great River Indus on the South with the main Ocean on the North with the Caspian-Sea and on the West with the Tygris and Persian-Gulf and is divided
the Abyssins hunt out and cut off divers of them which they sent to the King and received their promised Reward so that the poor Fathers were forced to pack up and be gone however in the place where the Church stood there is a place erected which contains a curious Library stored with Books of divers kinds of Learning in various Languages This Country produces very good Wheat and Barley and is pretty Fruitful in most places where the Desarts are not for there are very great ones in it of 3 or 4 Days Journey which are Wavey like the Sea when the Wind blows strong from the South or South-west insomuch that Men and Cattle are buried under Mountains of loose Sand if they be in the way where the Desarts lie most exposed to those Hurricanes The King in his Progress always lodges in Tents the Houses of their chief Nobles being very mean in respect of those in Europe and the Walls of those of the meaner sort are of Mud and Slime There are almost Men of all Trades in this Country they have no Camels here but store of Mules Horses Asses and Oxen. The People have an ill custom in eating raw Flesh except the King who has it dressed and drinks Wine of the Grape the rest drink a Liquor made of Millet or Sarasin-Wheat and they have a Spirit made of it as strong as Brandy They have Cloths Stuffs and Velvets Imported by the way of the Red Sea and are Habited like the Franks or Europeans The King has a Guard of Harquibusiers As for their Money it is pieces of Cloth cut out going by weight and little pieces of Salt they cut out on the side of the Red Sea The places where they make it is called Arho There is amongst them the Nation of the Gauls who have no Fire-Arms but use in War Sphears and Targets and often make War with the Aethiopians their Riches consisting in Cattle and as this Gentleman informed me there are a great number of different Languages spoken in this Country and discoursing him about the River Nile which has its rise there he told me he had seen the source of it and that the Spring rises in and issues out of a Well in a large Plain shadowed with many Trees and that well or Spring is called Ovembromma It rises in the Province or Little Country of Ago and is a very pleasant Water there from the Spring it runs Northward through a long tract of Land and having passed several Cataracts or falls which are very high places with a terrible roaring it passes on smoothly till it enters Aegypt and is as I have elsewhere said the main support of that Country for should the Aethiopian King turn the Current Aegypt would be little better than a Desart which the Grand Signior as many have guessed fearing is the cause he molests not the Aethiopians with War and the reason of its over-flowing in Aegypt may be supposed to proceed from the great Rains that fall in Aethiopia about that time for when it is Summer in one place it is Winter in another There are but a Mountains any thing near the Spring of Nile and those are called the Jews Mountains because they once inhabited them but growing powerful were driven out for fear they should Rebel and compelled to live in the Plains These Mountains are exceeding high for in that hot Country they have always Snow on their Tops or Spires There is a Generation of Portuguese among the Aethiopians for anciently the Moorish King of Zeila forcing a King of Aethiopia to fly into the Mountains he implored aid of the Portuguese to restore him to his Throne who with their Fire-Arms slew the Moorish King and so terrified his Army that they left the Country and for this their Traders on the Coast were put into Offices and had rich Possessions bestowed on them when setling and Marrying with the Native Women their progeny encreased The King and all his People are a kind of Christians of the Cophlish Religion and believe but one Nature in Jesus Christ at the end of 8 Days they Circumcise their Males and Baptise them 14 Days after their Patriarch depends on him of Alexandria They say Mass as the Cophites do but their Books are in their own Language When their Patriarch dies they send to Alexandria and that Patriarch sends them a fit Person CHAP. XVII The Author's Voyage from Boassra in the Persian Gulf to East-India and Things remarkable in the dangerous Passage particularly Water-Spouts rising from the Sea and remarks on them STaying at Bassora for a fair Passage to East-India in a little time it happen'd as I could wish I found an Armenian Ship there of 28 Guns and most of the Mariners were Banians of India the rest Armenians except the Master and two more who were European Christians the Master an Itallian and the two Mariners Greeks This Ship was English built and very stench but how it came into their Hands they declined to tell me though I afterward understood they had bought it for 16000 Roupies when it was in a bad condition and repairing it they put up Armenian Colours and had 3 Passports to indemfie them from the Europeans that have Factories in India Our Cargo consisted of such things as could not be vended at Bassora as Indico Cloth Dates Chests of Glass Venetian Looking-Glasses and a good quantity of Money to buy Indian Commodities I hired a Cabin and laid in Provision and Water fearing in so hot a Voyage the latter might grow scarce and it was not without precaution for so it happened Setting Sail and getting clear of the Islands we steered South-west and had Water at 5 and 8 Fathom 2 Men being continually heaving the Lead least we should fall on Shallows or Rocks that are under Water near the Shoar It will be endless to tell you the often shifting of the Wind the Calms we had and the Tackings we made therefore let me say with some difficulty we got to the Island of Carek the first place the Ship designed to Traffick at This Island reaches in length from South-east to North-west is very narrow about 3 or 4 leagues in circumference and 50 Leagues from Bossara it is partly Hills and partly Plains yielding Grapes Barley Wheat Dates and good store of fresh Water which is a precious commodity in those Countries There are Wells dug on the top of Rocks 10 or 12 Fathom deep and have Steps to go down and from the bottom of these Wells the Water passes and runs under ground into the Plains Near to the Wells there is a neat Mosque on the Hill and on the Island is 150 indifferent Houses and near it a Pearl Fishery The King of Persia is Lord of it and great numbers of Boats come to Fish for them in May June July and August Here we unladed part of our Goods but sold little by reason a Dutchman had been there before and forestalled us giving out this
Ship would not touch there by which means over and above he took in a great many Passengers and Lading for India Being thus disappointed we soon weighed Anchor and steered away South South east with a very gentle Wind but were soon becalmed for many Hours then sprung up an Easterly Wind and we stood away to the South and soon had the Isle of Rischer on our Larboard which is very near the main Land and makes a little Port called Bender-Rischer which is guarded by a Fort and standing away we came up with the Island of Coucher and left it on our Larboard this Island is large and indifferent Fruitful and so Sailing on passed Cape Verdestan at 3 or 4 Leagues distance and as we Sailed we had often a faint view of the main Land of Persia especially where it lay high and Mountainous but before we came to the Island of Lar we lost our Long-Boat which was a great disappointment to us Lar is a little Desart Island bearing nothing but a few Trees at the West North-west end of it we passed by this and the next that presented was Andravia a little low Island near the main Land and passing by we had Kies another Island to the South-West it is indifferently Inhabited the Houses lying up and down in it but Coasting Paloro and leaving Mount Sennas on the Main Land to the Larboard we made Congo a little Town in the Kingdom of Persia 27 Degrees 15 Minutes North Latitude it stands on the Sea-side near the Foot of a black Rock that shelter the Town from the North Winds and behind there is a white Rock or Hill and many such along the Coast The Town lies from West North-west to East South-east and is defended by a little Castle where 3 pieces of Cannon are mounted and has a safe Road for Shipping to Ride in though they are very much tossed in high Winds about it are 5 Gardens replenished with Fruit-Trees as Figs Lemons Quinces Oranges Pears c. Large Pomgranates Mellons and Palm-Trees there are also the Indian Mangoes they have Schiras-Wine and Brandy made of Dates there are near it Hills producing Sulphur which is dug and transported to the Indies The Custom is easie half of it belonging to the King af Portugal by Agreement beside five Horses the King of Persia presents him every Year and to this end there is a Portuguese Agent residing in the Town who has the Colours of that Nation on the Tarras of his House Leaving this place after the sale of some Goods and taking in others we set Sail for Sindy being the first Town of India where the River Indus discharges it self into the Sea but here we narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the Zinganes a sort of Indian Pirates who lie with their Boats behind the Rocks to surprize Vessels as they come near them and if they board a Ship in the first fury till they have mastered and secured the Prize they put all to the Sword and the rest they Lame by cutting the Sinew above the Heel and make them Slaves to keep their Cattle they so use them to prevent their running away Their Arms are only Swords and Arrows therefore our watchfulness and the fire of our great Guns made them retire again among the Rocks so soon as they prepared to attack us But having little to do here we set Sail for Surat having now on Board us by taking in many Passengers 116 Souls and passing many small Islands and some Promontories came to Queschimo a large low Island so that Sailing by it one may see the Mountains of the main Land over it it lies from East to West 20 Leagues in length but indifferent in breadth There is a Fort where Ships Anchor at 6 Fathom Water and this formerly belonged to the Portuguese On the South East of it lies Nabdgion or Pilombo a little low Desart Island and East of it Tonbo affording little beside Antelopes and Coneys but Ships have here the Advantage of many Wells to Water at yet the entrance is dangerous because of the Banks that lie under Water about it the Portuguese were once Masters of most of these Islands and exacted Tribute from Ships that Traded there but their Strength and Riches decaying at Home weakned it abroad so that now they have lost most of their footing on the Coast of Persia and the Indies Sailing from hence in a little time we had the Isle of Angom to the North east and on the South-east a Port of Arabia Foelix called Julfer to which many Indian Barks come to buy Dates and Pearl the latter being fished all along the Coast from Mascat to Babrem and bring European Money to purchase them The next that stood with us were the Isles of Salame these are four Rocks over-against Cape Mosandon one of them bigger than the rest rising a little into a point there is a dangerous Chanel passing between them all Rock at the bottom so that many adventuring to pass it have been cast away Having passed these we met with great storms of Hail accompanied with prodigious Thunders and Lightning insomuch that the Sea seemed to be all on Fire This made us furl our Sails and though the Air on Head of us was as dark as Night there appeared a Rainbow on our Starboard Upon the breaking of this Storm prodigious Spouts began to rise out of the Sea to our Larboard and at length encreased almost on all sides of us some being very near which put us into a considerable fright least falling on our Ship they should sink it they being extraordinary large insomuch that all affirmed they had not seen the like in their Lives so that all Hands were employed to secure the Ship as well as might be from the threatning danger for we as good as gave our selves to be lost however trusting in the Creator of all things and taking to my self more Courage than ordinary I took a view of these watery Prodigies The first that appeared was about a Musket-shot from us as we were steering North-east and before it rose the Water in that place boiled up prodigiously more than a Foot above the surface of the Sea foaming and looking whitish and over it something representing a black Smoak which the Banians foolishly said was the Devil sucking up Water to drown them This made a hurrying noise like a Torrent running in a Valley mixed with a hissing like that of Serpents or Gees A little after appeared a dark puff of steem this seemed to be a Pipe as big as ones Finger the noise continuing this tapered as it were up to the Clouds and the light put it out of our sight so that we knew that Spout was spent but then there was another to the Southward of us which began in the same manner as the former soon after another to the Westward and another to the side of the second the most remote of the three and all these appeared like so many
bundles of Straw a Foot and an half or two Foot above the surface of the Water smoaking to appearance exceedingly making the same noise as the first A little while after I perceived so many Pipes reaching down from the Clouds upon these Risings and every one of them had a large end joyning to the Cloud widening like the end of a Trumpet and the lower end resembled the Teat or Dug of a Beast stretched perpendicularly down by the force of some weight These Pipes appeared to be of a paleish White which I conjecture was the Water in them for no doubt they were formed before they drew it up and being emptied disappeared for though the Pipes descended small swelled with the Water they grew larger to the thickness of a Man's Arm or more These Spouts are dangerous things for falling on a Ship they entangle the Sails and lift her up then leting her fall again sink her if she be small but if the Ship be too heavy to be lifted they split the Sails and emptying a vast quantity of Water into her with a violent force sink her and thus I believe Ships have been lost Sailing in those and other Seas where Spouts are and so going down in a Minute or two have never been heard of Some that were on Board brought a large black handled Knife to cut the Spouts at a distance which Superstitious Fancy is thus put in practice One of the Ships company kneels down by the Main-Mast and holding in one Hand a Knife with a black handle he Reads the Gospel of St. John and when he comes to these Words viz. The Word was made Flesh and dwells in us he turns to the Spout and cuts the Air a thwart and then they hold the Spout though at a great distance is cut and le ts down all its Water with a great noise But the Master looking on this silly fruitless Fancy as a piece of Conjuration would not let it be put in practice In the Mediterranean they shoot Cross bar shot at them which hitting is more probable of the two to cut however these spent themselves without doing us any harm and at length through infinite Mercy we weathered the Storm which raged furiously all the time and kept on our Course having the main Land of Arabia on our Starboard and on our Larboard that part of Persia called Marsan which bore South-east of us and we made particularly one Hill of Land shaped like a Sugar Loaf and here in November December and January the East Winds commonly Reign and therefore to go from Persia to India in a short time the best Season is March April and the beginning of May for then the Mouson or Trading Wind blows However we held on with the help of the Current which from the end of July to January sets towards Ormus from India and from January till July from Ormus towards India In our Passage another Storm arising we saw 3 new Spouts but they were at too great a distance from us to apprehend much dangar In our way off Bembaceca we overtook 3 Ships bound to Surat as we were but proving slow Sailers the Master would not stay for them but resolved to make the best of his way so contrary to the mind of the Mate we left them to Sail at their leisure CHAP. XVIII The Arrixal at Surat a discription of that Town the manner of the People Travels into the Indian Provinces with Observations of what is Rare and Remarkable in the vast Dominion of the Great Mogul AFter many dangers in Coasting Persia and a great part of Arabia we knew by the Snakes we saw at Sea a kind of spungy Froth floating in great abundance on the Water which pricks and makes the Hands of those that touch it burn that we were not far from the main Land of India we kept Sailing by many small Islands of which those Seas are plenty till we made Daman a Town belonging to the Portugueses who have strengthened it with a considerable Fort It lies in 20 Degrees North Latitude From this Town to Cape Comorin is a range of very high Hills along the Coast yet this Town has no other Harbour but a little Chanel which remains almost dry when the Tide is out Here refreshing our selves we took the advantage of an Easterly Gale and weighing Anchor bore away Northward having no more than five Fathom and an half Water in an Hours Sailing but then coming into deeper Water we Sailed more boldly and came up with the Bar of Surat in 6 Fathom and an half Water Here the Custom-house-Officers came aboard us and narrowly search'd and viewed every thing they had an opportunity to see after that Boats came to fetch off the Passengers and their Goods and we were had to the Custom-house and again searched in a very odd manner The entrance for Vessels of Burthen is very difficult and we were a ground twice before the Tide could carry us in we passed then by the Castle of Surat on our Right Hand and dropped our Anchor before the Custom-House Thus being happily at Land after a two Months troublesome Voyage I and others rested and refreshed our selves The Bar so called by reason of Sands and is 6 French Leagues or more from Surat yet their Ships of great Burthrn must unload before they can come up the River Being impatient to see Surat of which I had heard so much discourse at home I went in a Boat on the River with divers other Passengers but by reason of the Stream being against us we were a considerable time e'er we reached the Town and the Custom-house being open upon the Signal given we came on Shoar without which we might not do it then passing a large Court we entered into a Hall where the Customer waited to have us searched The manner of their searching as I said is odd and very strict they making their search from Head to Foot feeling your Nakedness in every part looking also into your Mouth as if they would tell you your Age by your Teeth and the Waiter demands of every Passenger as his Fee an Abassy which is worth about 18 d. and the Bark has half a Roupe which is about 14 d. a Head for every Passenger If they find one smugling in the least he is fined severely if not Caved All the Baggage is brought into the Custom-house to be searched and when that is done every one is called in his turn to pay and take them away for Money they take two and an half per Cent. for Merchants Goods of Christians four and of the Banians five per Cent. India is a very large Country of which I shall say something before I enter upon particulars It is bounded on the West with the River Indus on the East with China on the North with Tartary on the South with the Ocean and is properly divided into two divisions viz. India intra Gangem and India extra Gangem the first contains nine
them but not very considerable there are also many Elephants kept in a spacious place for service and to divert the King where are Stables compleatly furnished for them and no Persons that have any considerable deformity are suffered to enter the Pallace the inner Wall that immediately incloses the Pallace is very thick and high built embellished with well contrived Battlements and extends from North to South 6 Furlongs and a Furlong and an half in breadth and the Pallace is about four Miles three quarters in circumference it has 4 Gates with large vaulted Arches those to the South and North being like to them of the first Inclosure and upon the Angles of the Walls are 8 Towers of an extraordinary bigness and good Architecture Varnished with beautiful red and adorned with Flowers of Gold covered with Tiles of a Gold Varnish and there are Guards kept in them all except Madarin's of the Tribunals within the Palace and the Officers of the King's Houshold are forbidden to come within this Wall unless they shew a little Table of Wood plated with Ivory wherein their Names and the places they serve in are set down with the Seal of the Mandarin to whom they belong It has a curious More round it full of Fish and every Gate a Draw-Bridge unless the South which lies over an Arch. In the vast space between the two Walls are many stately Palaces that might suit the entertainment of great Kings they being richly adorned with pollished Stone and curious Gilding On the East side close by the Wall runs a River over which are several Bridges of Marble with Draw-Bridges in the middle of them On the West where the space is large there is a lake full of Fish 5 Furlongs and a quarter in length made in the Form of a Bass-Viol where it is narrowest there is a very beautiful Bridge which answers the Gates of the Wall at the end of which stand Triumphant Arches of 3 Arches a piece very Majestick and of excellent Workmanship The Lake is environed with little Pallaces or Houses of Pleasure partly on the Water and partly on the Land and on the Lake are many beautiful Barges for the King's use the remainder of the East and West spaces not taken up by the Lake are beautified with Palaces and the Officers Houses all very Stately and Magnificent as also of those of Artificers that belong to the King's Pallace The inward Pallace is low built according to the fashion of the Chineses containing many Pallaces or Courts one within the other so that it seems a little City of Pallaces guarded by a great number of Turrets or Towers and particularly in the King's Apartment is to be seen nothing but gilded Cielings Pillars inlaid with Ivory and costly Stone his Throne is exceeding Rich and Magnificent valued at many Millions by reason of rich Stones and Gold that adorn it There are also some Temples erected within this enclosure and so many other things that it would require a Volume to describe them particularly Besides the Temples in the Pallace the King has 7 others in which he Sacrifices once a Year viz. 5 in the New and 2 in the Old City very large and exceedingly beautified with Gold and costly Paintings In the first of these called Tien-Tam or the Temple of Heaven he Sacrifices to Heaven at the time the Sun comes to the Winter Solstice Offering Hogs Oxen Goats and Sheep which is done with great Solemnity and Humility the King laying aside his Golden Robe yellow Vesture and precious Jewels and putting on a plain Habit of Black or Sky-coloured Damask The second Temple is called Ti-Tam or the Temple of the Earth and here the King before he is Crowned Sacrifices to the God of the Earth and then putting himself into the Habit of a Ploughman he Ploughs a little piece of Ground with a varnished Plough drawn by 2 Oxen with gilded Horns and in the mean time the Queen and her Ladies dress him a homely Dinner which they Eat together To the North of these stands another Temple called Pe Tien-Tam or the North Temple of Heaven he Sacrifices at the time of the Summer Solstice and at Vernal Equinox he Sacrifices in a Temple to the East called Ge-Tam or the Temple of the Sun and at the Autumnal Equinox at the Western Temple called Yue Tam or the Temple of the Moon and to prepare for the Sacrifices there is a Fast held in Pekim for 3 days during which time no Flesh nor Fish is to be eaten under great Penalties and this they say they do in a thankfulness for the Benefits they receive from the Earth by the Seasons of the Year and the influence of Heaven In the sixth Temple called Ti vam miao or the Temple of the past Kings is a rich Throne and the Statues of all the Kings of China from the first King named To hi to Xum Chi Father to the present Prince here the King performs an Annual Ceremony to his Predecessors The seventh Temple is called Chim-Hoam Miao or the Temple of the Spirit that guards the Walls but here the King never Sacrifices but appoints Mandarins and other Nobles to do it at his Charge so that the Ceremony is performed with much Royalty and in every City there is such a Temple Dedicated to the same end Having proceeded thus far I shall entertain you with an account of his Pomp and Magnificent Attendance when he goes out of his palace and this he rarely does but upon two occasions viz. either to Hunt and take the Air or to Sacrifice unless necessity forces him to the Wars upon these occasions he takes a Guard and all the Nobles that are near have notice and attend him in their best Equipage they most consist of between 12 and 13000 adorned with Embroideries of Gold Silver and precious Stones their Horses traped with the same and all their Servants that attend at a distance in very rich Attire First there appear 24 Men with large Drums in two Files then the like number of Trumpets in the same manner next as many with long Staves varnished with red and adorned with gilt Folinges then 200 Halberdiers the Heads of their Halberds being like a Crescent these were followed by 100 Men carrying Maces of gilt Wood with Staves as long as a Launce then 2 Royal Poles called Cassi varnished with Red and gilded with Flowers at both ends after these 400 large Lanthorns richly adorned with many curious pieces of Workmanship these were followed by 400 Flambeauxs curiously Carved and made of an odoriferous Wood that burns long and casts a curious shining light then 200 Launces fringed and adorned with the Spoiles of Wild Beasts these are followed by 24 Banners on which in Gold and Rich Imbroidery are represented the Signs of the Zodiack which the Chineses divide into 24 contrary to us after these come 56 Banners with 56 Constellations painted on them under which they comprehend the whole number of Stars
Chairs Couches c. To mention the several sorts of Fruits and Provisions would be almost endless they have allmost all we meet with in Europe and a large addition of what we have not in variety of Fruit especially of delicious tast During 3 Months of Winter they have vast store of Game and on the Rivers they pitch Nets 200 Yards long and set dead Wild fowl on their feet as if they were alive for stakes to decoy the living as Ducks Phesants Wild Geess c. of which and other Fowl so many are taken that they are sold for little or nothing They have 3 sorts of Bears which they Hunt one called the Man bear the other the Dog bear and a third the Pig bear because their Snouts and Faces a little resemble these Their Paws boiled and well ordered are a great dainty among the Chineses and the Tartars much admire their Fat which they eat These are scarce but for Deer wild Boars Ellands Hares Conies and the like they are in vast plenty in most of the Provinces After all this the Weather is piercing cold in the Winter Season and very hot in the Summer so that in the former they keep Fires in Stoves and in the latter retire the better sort into cool Vaults and Cellers Their Firing is a kind of a Stone-coal dug in the Mountains and sometimes in the Plains except in Woody Countries and they are at great charge in Carriage It gives as violent a heat as Charcoal and the heat is very lasting They sleep on Mats or Carpets and in the Day-time sit together in clusters on them the better to preserve the Heat for the Colds are sometimes very Excessive the richer sort have Beds and the Stoves are under the floors of their Rooms which sometimes by reason of the excessive Heat take Fire burning the House and surprizing in the suddain Flames all that are sleeping in it The Chineses that they may be Magnified by Strangers take a pride to be very civil to them and give them the upperhand at their Feasts seating themselves according to their Degrees yet the Eldest give place to those who come from the remotest parts When any Ambassador arrives from the Day his Embassy is allowed till his departure he is furnished with all manner of Provisions Horses Letters Barks and lodged in the Royal Palace where every two days the King sends him a sumptuous Entertainment of all sorts of Varieties They take great care and a kind of pride in their Apparel the poor among them going very Neat and Decent The learned Men affect a grave Gesture and count it a sin to appear in any thing contrary to the Rules of decent Behaviour and Urbanity The Women affect Modesty Chastity and Honesty keeping themselves covered so that when they present any thing to their nearest Relations they lay it down their Hands being covered with their Sleaves and retire with Silence They rarely stir abroad and are exceeding Submissive and Obedient towards their Husbands there being nothing they command them though never so difficult but they willingly Enterprize Upon their Festival Days they have a great number of Illuminations and Fire-works representing divers Creatures and Figures in the Air so that on a Hill at a distance one would think all the Cities were on Fire The Lanthorns in the Pallace and Royal Halls are vastly Big viz. 20 Cubits and sometimes more in Diameter holding 100 Lamps or Tapers so that they cast a glorious Light and Figers turning in them by the force of the Smoak represent in swift motions many curious Actions as Fights Dances Hunting Hawking and the like CHAP. XIX Travels through Tartary to Muscovy and what is observable on the way in those vast desert Countries the Nature of the People their manner of living with a particular Discription of Astrakan and the Sturgeon fighting in the River Volga HAving visited China and learned what I thought convenient for it is not good to be too Inquisitive for fear of being taken as a Spy I began to be weary of the Fatigue and of so long an absence from my Native Country wherefore I resolved to take the first opportunity to return home and it was not long e're Fortune befriended me to pass by Land for the way by the Caspian Sea is very dangerous for that little Sea or rather great Lake is full of Flats and Shallows very tempesteous in most Seasons and has a great number of Rocks in it with dangerous Eddies or Whirl-pools by reason about 100 large Rivers discharge themselves violently into it for there was a Caravan going from Pekim to Bokara and in it I entered my self with all Necessaries for my Journey and in 15 days the Weather being very fair and our Stages large we reached Soezi the last Town of China without the great Wall and here I stored my self with abundance of good Ruburb that grows in their Gardens which stood me in much stead when I came into the cold Countries and from hence we journeyed mostly North-west and the principal Towns in our way was Baretola Kechemire Kiboal Samark and some others which by reason of my Indisposition on the Road I shall not undertake to describe Let it suffice then that the Tartars inhabit mostly this vast Track of Land in some places very Mountainous in others vast Deserts and Forrest the ground Sandy and Stony for the most part and all along I could see Snow On the tops of the high Mountains though in the beginning of Summer the People are Rude and Simple most of them living by feeding Cattle which they drive from one place to another carrying their Wives Children and all they have along with them pitching Tents in their Encampments especially where they find pleasant Springs and stay there till the Grass is Eat up and then they remove The Tartars are a very numerous People and spread a vast track of Land in Asia and Europe and Principally they are thus divided viz. The Precopenses Asialica Antiqua and Cathur from their Principal Provinces which may be termed though there are other numerous little Divisions too many here to mention and though they are a cruel kind of People our Caravan met with no on-set by the way though we see numerous Hoards of them on either hand As we see their Houses are mean and inconsiderable and their Diet mostly raw Flesh in many places and above all they are great lovers of the Fat of Bears yet they give not their Minds so much to Robberies as the Arabs or other untractable Nations because few of them know the use of it or at least have no great esteem for Money some are Idolars and some Mahometans This Track abounds in Furs and there are some Mines of Gold and Silver found in many parts but they little regard Diging it and so barbarous are they that many of them dress their Children at great Feasts to entertain their Guess as the choicest of Dainties nor do they refrain from
on many things a strange fancy came into my Head that I had not compleated my first undertaking in visiting the several Parts of the World because I had not been in America though the fatigues and dangers I had run thro' might have been a sufficient Motive to have put a stop to my further Progress in strange Countries and give me satisfaction enough to have returned home but the report of the Golden Mountains and other things egged me on made me seek for an opportunity to pass to Cales where I doubted not but by one means or other to get a Passage into the Spanish Indies for that was it I Aimed at for the other I understood are little considerable as to Travellers and have nothing Extraordinary to be found in them and besides are mostly very well known to my Countrymen therefore in describing New-England Virginia Barbadoes Jamaica c. I should have furnished their Curiosity with nothing that is rare and new to them I had not waited a Week before an opportunity offered and I Embarked with such necessaries as I had procured Entering the Bay of Biscay we were taken with a violent Storm and sprung our Mizen it held us for 24 Hours so that every moment we thought we should become a prey to Neptune's Watery fry and this Storm was more terrible and threatned more danger than any I had seen before which made me repent my attempting so rashly as thinking God was angry with me for my presumption and then concluded if I could get safe ashoar I would rest quiet with what I had seen and felt the Storm at last blew over and then a fresh gale Providence so ordered it that we reached the desired Port. Being now on Land again at Cales or Cadiz in the Dominion of the King of Spain such is man's frailty I found my desire of Travelling not so much quenched as in the Tempest I fancied it A secret Inclination promised and urged me on that seeing I had made so many weary steps in 3 parts of the World I should now venture upon the proposed fourth held to be Larger and Richer than any of the other three and as fortune would throw it in my way to make me more resolved on it a Spanish Merchant whom I had been Intimately Acquainted withal in London I renewed my Acquaintance with him and he Entertained me very civilly but when I opened my Mind and unbosomed my Intentions he told me it would be a very difficult undertaking because the Officers of the Port had very strict Orders not to permit Strangers to Embarque for the Spanish Indies least they might be sent thither as Spies to discover the Havens and Strength of the Forts and other things that might be prejudicial to the Government I told him I had no such Intention that curiosity was only to inform my self as a Travellor of what was rare to be observed in a World which the alwise God had so Admirally framed and ordered and when I gave him a general account in what Parts I had been and showed him my Papers of Memorandums and curious Remarks he was satisfied promised to do his Endeavour for the furtherance and security of my passage and to furnish me with Money sutable to the Country upon Bills I gave him to receive by Exchange in London and then he let me know he was a Part-owner in one of the Ships that was to accompany the Galeons called the St. Johns D' Vlua and to be brief when the Fleet was ready to Sail he gave the Master private orders to conceal me in his Cabin and use me as a puculiar friend of his I had pretty well learned the Spanish in England which with little more attention I doubled not to Improve so well in my Voyage as to be taken for a Spaniard among the Native Spaniards of America who I was Informed but corruptly spoke the Language of old Spain In a little time a warning Piece was fired for the Fleet to weigh Anchor and tho' our Ship was narrowly searched I so well wraped my self up in a Ticking and lay instead of a Bolster at the Bedshead that I was not discovered tho' they turned up the Quilt and other covering to see if any had absconded under them that were not Licensed to depart Anchors weighed and the Wind being fair we set Sail with a prosperous Gale till we came to Colfo d' Yeguas a very turbulent Sea where the Ships and Galeons rowled and tottered extreamly the Waves dashing violently by reason of an Eddy occasion by a current that set into it and the Galleon who went only a Convoy having convey'd us thus left us as concluding we were out of danger especially of the Barbary Corisaries and then by the Masters advice I showed my self on the Decks as not fearing to be carried back again or hindered in my further passage and having the Wind constantly favourable we steered our course without meeting with any thing Remarkable till we made the Land of America about 6 Weeks after we set out from Cales Here I saw many Dorados or Golden Fish sporting in the Water so called because their Skins are of the Colour of Gold and the Sailers with Hooks and Lines catched a great many of them they Eat something like a Herring but more short and Sweet The first Land we stood in with was Desseada or as the Spaniards have named it The desired Land as being first found by Collumbus when he discovered the Western Indies but passing by it we stood with another Island called Margalanted Passing by that and Dominica we arrived at Guadalupe where we before designed to Refresh ourselves and casting Anchor in a safe Road before the Island as many as would had leave to go on ashoar The Indians who Inhabit it no sooner saw our Ships which they had long waited for and Expected by their Recoining the Course of the Moon which is the account of the Months they keep but they came running to the Shoar with Provisions to wellcome and refresh us which were Sugar Canes Plantons Tortois and some Fowl and for it they received Knives Beads and such like Trifles and many Rowed to the Ships in the Canoes Boats clouterly made like Troughs out of the main body of a Tree These People were naked Except a cloath to hide their Priveties and many of them like the Antient Britains had scarified on their Faces and other Parts the Figures of Flowers Suns Moons Stars Birds Beasts and the like and rings in their Nose which they looked on as their chief Ornament They are Idolaters worshipping the Host of Heaven The Commanders gave some of them Wine that came aboard which they Eagerly coveted but a little soon made them Drunk and kick up their heels on the Decks as being only used to drink Water and a Liquor that Distills out of the Plantain Tree Yet for all this kindness we could not but suspect they Murthered two of our men who went into