the other Seas but it is of all sides so encompass'd with Land that it may be more justly called the Mediterranean than that which is known only by that name Herodotus and Aristotle are much more worthy credit when they affirm that the Caspian Sea is a particular Sea by it self having no communication with any other and this is no more than what the Inhabitants of Kilan who live upon that Sea on the East-side have so strongly confirmed us in that we lay it down as a thing no longer to be disputed But what on the other side is much to be wondred at is that though so great a number of Rivers incessantly pay the tribute of their waters into it yet can it not be said what becomes thereof We at first could hardly be induc'd to believe what was told us concerning all those Rivers but when at our return out of Persia between Rescht and Schamachy which was twenty days journey we took notice that we had cross'd above fourscore great and small Rivers we made no difficulty then to acquiesce in the Relations we had before received thereof The most considerable of those we saw are the Wolga Araxis or Aras which is joyned to the Cyrus which is now called Kur the Kisilosein the Bustrow the Aksai and the Koisu Towards the North are the Rivers of Iaika and Iems and towards the South and East the Nios the Oxus and the Orxentes which Q. Curtius calls Tanais And notwithstanding this vast Contribution of waters this Sea is not perceiv'd to be any way increas'd thereby nor can it be said by what passages all these Rivers are conveyed thence Some are of opinion that they are by subterranean Chanels return'd into the Ocean The Persians told us that near Ferebath between the Provinces of Tauristan and Mesendan there is a Gulf where all those waters are lost as in a bottomless place and convey'd away under the neighbouring Mountains But in regard a man must consequently to this assertion imagine that Gulf to be as big as the whole Sea to swallow down the waters of so many Rivers I cannot be easily perswaded to side with the maintainers of that opinion On the contrary I think it may be probably held that there may be alleged for the Caspian Sea the same reasons as are urged for Ocean's not overflowing the Earth though an infinite number of Rivers fall into it To wit that besides the Mists which are very frequent there and consequently consume a great part thereof the rest is return'd by secret Chanels to the sources of the Fountains and Rivers according to the wise-mans saying that all the Rivers come out of the Sea and return thither again whether it be that the weight of the sea-Sea-water which is not all within its Centre forces that which is lowest into the clefts of the earth as far as the sources and that this is done with such violence that at its breaking out of the earth it spouts higher than the Sea it self or that there are in the earth certain veins which drawing the water to them distribute it to the Fountains and Rivers The first ratiocination is Scaliger's in his 46. Exercitation where he says that he does not believe the Argument which is deduc'd from the difference of the qualities of waters can destroy the force of his in regard we find by experience that the water passing through the earth is cleansed from its filth and leaves its Salt at the bottom from which it is divided much after the same manner as if it were distill'd through an Alembick Which is evidently seen by this that the greater distance there is between the Sea and the Fountains the sweeter their waters are It is also acknowledg'd that there is no Mountain higher than the Sea which making but one part of the roundness of the Terrestrial Globe the swellings and emmencies which are upon the earth are not higher than the Sea Which I affirm to be so much the more certain upon this accompt that being in my return from Persia between Schamachie and Derbent at the Village of Soray I had the curiosity to go up into one of the adjacent Mountains where I took the Horizon with my Astrolabe and having put my Dioptra into it I turn'd myself towards the Sea which was two Leagues distant thence and could easily discern it The Authors who have written of the Caspian Sea affirm that it is in length fifteen dayes journey and in breadth eight which may fall out somewhat right if it be in a great calm and that those who are to pass it make use only of their Arms and Oars and have no advantage of wind Whereupon I propose it as a particular observation that contrary to the common opinion of all Geographers as well antient as modern the length of the Caspian Sea reaches not from East to West as it is set down in all Maps even in those that have been publish'd since the former impression of this Relation where I condemn'd that errour but that it is to be taken from South to North and that on the contrary it is its breadth which reaches from West to East And this I know not only by the most exact observation I made thereof but also by a curious inquiry of the situation of all the Maritime Provinces according to the Catalogue or Register of Longitudes and Latitudes which I had from the Persians as also consonantly to the Astronomical fragments of the Learned M. Iohn Graves For it is certain that the true length of the Caspian Sea is from the mouth of the River Wolga below Astrachan to Ferabath in the Province of Mesenderan reaching eight degrees of the Aequator which make 120. German Leagues and that its breadth from the Province of Chuaresm named by others Karragan to the Mountains of Circassia or to Schirwan is six degrees which make but 90 German leagues According to this accompt thereof are to be corrected all the Geographical Maps though the opinion we introduce be new and directly contrary to that which hath been receiv'd for so many ages Nor are we to give any more credit to what Q. Curtius affirms when he says that the water of the Caspian Sea is fresher than that of the Ocean unless he be conceiv'd to speak only of the coast of Hyrcania which is now called Kilan where indeed the water is neither salt nor fresh but brackish as it is in several places of Holland by reason of the mixture of the waters of divers Rivers which fall into the said Sea on that side For in the Sea it self the water is as salt as any other that ever I could taste of Polybius and Arrian affirm the same thing of the Euxine Sea and Ovid confirms it by this Distick Copia tot laticum quas anget adulteret undas Nec patitur vires aequer habere suas It is besides our design to engage into any discussion of Scaliger's position who says
be on the Coasts of Denmark which our Captain took for the Isle of Bornholm and we perceived that we had directed our course streight towards the Country of Schonen so that if we had not at the break of day discover'd Land and found we were at 4. fathom water which soon oblig'd us to alter our course there had been an end of both us and our Ship About 9. of the clock we discover'd the Island of Bornholm and the wind being fair made all the fail we could But about ten at night when we thought our selves most secure and made accompt to rest our selves after the precedent night's toil even while Brugman one of the Ambassadors was charging the Master's Mate to be carefull and the other answer'd there was no danger since we had Sea-room enough the Ship being then under all the sail she could make struck against a Rock which was cover'd by the water The shock made such a horrible noise that it made all start up The amazement we were in surpris'd us so that there was not any one but might easily be perswaded that the end of both his Voyage and Life were neer at hand At first we knew not where we were and in regard the Moon was but newly chang'd the night was so dark that we could not see two paces from us We put our â—antern at the Castle and caus'd some Muskets to be discharg'd to see if there were any help to be had neer us But no body made answer and the Ship beginning to lye on one side our affliction began to turn into despair so that most cast themselves on their knees begging of God with horrid cries that he would send them that relief which they could not expect from men The Master himself wept most bitterly and would meddle no further with the conduct of the Ship The Physician and my self were sitting one close by the other with a design to embrace one another and to die together as old and faithful friends in case we should be wrack'd Others took leave one of another or made vows to God which they afterwards so Religiously kept that coming to Reuel they made up a portion for a Poor but Virtuous Maid who was married there The Ambassador Crusius's Son mov'd most compassion He was but 12. years of age and he had cast himself upon the ground importuning Heaven with incessant cries and lamentations and saying Son of David have mercy on me whereto the Minister added Lord if thou wilt not hear us be pleas'd to hear this Child and consider the innocence of his age At last God was so gracious as to preserve us though the Ship struck several times with great violence against the Rock About one in the morning we saw fire whence we inferr'd that we were not far from Land The Ambassadors commanded the Boat to be cast out with design to get into it with each of them a Servant and to go streight towards the fire to see if there were any means to save the rest but no sooner had they thrown in two Cabinets in which were the Credential Letters and some Jewels ere it was full of water which had almost occasion'd the loss of two of our people who had leapt first into it thinking to save themselves in so much that they had much ado to get into the Ship ere the Boat sunk We were forc'd to continue there the rest of that night expecting to see a period of that danger At break of day we discover'd the Isle of Oleand and saw the ruins of a Danish Ship which had been cast away thereabouts a month before The wind being somewhat abated two Fishermen of the Isle came aboard us and Landed the Ambassadors having a very considerable reward for their pains and after them some of their retinue About noon we found the two Cabinets and when the Sea was a little calm'd many people of the Isle came in to our relief to get off our Ship from among those Rocks but with this misfortune that as they would have let down the Anchor which they had carried in the Boat about a hundred paces from the Ship the Boat over-turn'd so that those in it were toss'd into the Sea Our Masters Mate went immediately with one of the Isle boats to their relief and in regard as they were over-turn'd some caught hold of the Boat others of an Oar or somewhat else as also that the Wine they had drunk a little before had somewhat heightned their Courage we had the time to send twice to them and to save all but our Carpenter who was lost for want of having fasten'd on somewhat that might have kept him above water While they were getting off our Ship the waters increas'd so as that the wind coming to the North-West made our passage thence into the Sea the easier Whither we were no sooner gotten but the wind turn'd again to South-West and brought us safely through the streight of Calmer which is so much the more dangerous in that season of the year in as much as the Sea thereabouts is full of Rocks and that even in the Summer time it is ill sailing there by reason of the banks of Sand. The Ship stay'd for the Ambassadors at Calmer whither they got by Land upon the first of November and came aboard neer an old ruin'd fort called Ferstat Being come to Calmer we sent back a Page and a Lacquey to Gottorp to get other Credentials the sea-Sea-water having spoil'd those we had at first It was there also taken into consideration whether it were not our best course to take our way by Land through Sueden or prosecute our Voyage by Sea The latter was resolv'd on and that we might do it with the less danger we laid out for a skilfull Master for the Baltick Sea but there being none to be had we took only two Pilots who conducted us half a League through the Sand banks till we were got into the main Sea The 3. we continu'd our course and pass'd by a Rock called the Suedish Lady which we left on the lar-board From Calmer thither are accounted eight Leagues About noon we spy'd the Castle of Bornholm in the Isle of Oeland At night we doubled the point of the Isle with such a Tempest from the North-East that the fore-part of the Ship was more under water than above it and ever and anon our sails were wash'd by the Waves Another misfortune was that our Pump was out of order in so much that till it could be made to do its Office all the Kettles and other Vessels were little enough to empty out the water This trouble lasted till the next day at noon with so much danger to us that if the wind had not chang'd it would have been impossible for us to escape shipwrack But the wind being somewhat better for us than it had been we kept on our course and came towards night in sight of Gotland The Isle of
President sent him back the 28. accompanied by two young Merchants of the same Nation who brought Orders to the Captain and in the Presidents name intreated me to come with the soonest to Surat where he should make good in effect those proffers which they were then come to make to me of his service Having acknowledged the Captain 's civility by a small Present and leaving him very sick and much troubled at our separation after the friendship we had contracted together I left the Ship the 29. of April Within a League of the Road we entred into the River upon which Surat is seated and which hath on both sides a very fertile soil and many fair Gardens with pleasant Country-houses which being all white a colour it seems the Indians are much in love with afford a noble prospect amidst the greeness whereby they are encompassed But this River which is the Tapte called by others Tynde is so shallow at the mouth of it that Barks of 70. or 80. Tun can hardly come into it We came ashore near the Sulthan's Palace and went immediately to the Custom-house to have our things search'd by the Officers there which is done with such exactness in this place that they think it not enough to open Chests and Portmantles but examine peoples clothes and pockets The Sulthan or Governour nay the Customers themselves oblige Merchants and Passengers to part with at the price they shall think fit to put upon them those Goods and Commodities which they had brought for their own private use Accordingly the Sulthan himself who came to the Custom-house as soon as we were got thither having found among my things a bracelet of yellow Amber and a Diamond would needs buy them both of me whereto when I made him answer that I was no Merchant and that I valued those things only for their sakes who had bestow'd them on me he was pleas'd to return me the Diamond but detain'd the Bracelet telling me I should have it again when I honour'd him with a Visit. The respect and deference which the other Merchants have for the President was very remarkable as also the order which was there observed in all things especially at Divine Service which was said twice a day in the morning at six and at eight at night and on Sundayes thrice No person in the house but had his particular Function and their certain hours assign'd them as well for work as recreation Our divertisement was thus ordered On Fridayes after Prayers there was a particular Assembly at which met with us three other Merchants who were of kin to the President and had left as well as he their Wives in England which day being that of their departure from England they had appointed it for to make a commemoration thereof and drink their Wives healths Some made their advantage of this meeting to get more then they could well carry away though every man was at liberty to drink what he pleas'd and to mix the Sack as he thought fit or to drink Palepuntz which is a kind of drink consisting of Aqua vitae Rose-water juice of Citrons and Sugar At our ordinary meetings every day we took only Thé which is commonly used all over the Indies not only among those of the Country but also among the Dutch and English who take it as a Drug that cleaness the Stomach and digests the superfluous humours by a temperate heat particular thereto The Persians instead of Thé drink their Kahwa which cools and abates the natural heat which Thé preserves The English have a fair Garden without the City whither we constantly went on Sundayes after Sermon and sometimes also on other dayes of the week where our Exercise was shooting at Butts at which I made a shift to get a hundred Mamoudis or five pound sterling every week After these divertisements we had a Collation of Fruit and Preserves and bath'd our selves in a Tanke or Cistern which had five foot water where some Dutch Gentlewomen serv'd and entertain'd us with much civility What troubled me most was that my little acquaintance with the English Tongue made me incapable of Conversation unless it were with the President who spoke Dutch But before I relate what happened to me in this Voyage and what I saw during my stay at Surat it will not be amiss to give here a general but short description of the Mogul's Country and the Provinces whereof it consists so to make the readier way for what we shall have to say of it hereafter The Country properly called India which the Persians and Arabians name Indosthan reaches on the West-side from the River Indus or Sindo and the Kingdom of the same name the Inhabitants whereof are called Abint or from the Frontiers of the Kingdom of Maecon which some call Gelsche Macquerona whereof the Inhabitants are Baloches or Baluches as far as Ganges The Ancients called this Province Carmania and it hath a Port or Haven called Guader at 25. degrees on this side the line The Persians and Arabians call the Kingdom of Sindo Diul The same Persians and the Indosthans call the River Indus Pangab that is to say five waters because so many Rivers come into it before it falls into the Sea under that famous name The first is that of Bugal or Begal which rises near Kabul The second is called Chanab and rises in the Province of Quesmir or Cassimier fifteen dayes journey above Lahor towards the North. The third is that of Ravy or Ravee which runs by Lahor and rises not far from it The two others viz. Via and Osuid or Sind come from a great distance and meet near Bakar which lies at an equal distance between Lahor and the Sea Whence it is to be inferr'd that those Geographers are in an errour who put this River at 24. degrees on this side the Line and confound it with that which runs by Diul Some say the great Mogul's Kingdom is of so vast an extent that a Caravan would have much ado to travel through it in two years but these are Fables It s certain Frontiers according to the description of Edward Terrin are on the East-side the Kingdom of Mavy on the West part of Persia and the South-Sea on the North Mount Caucasus and great Tartaria and on the South the Kingdom of Decan and the Gulf of Bengala containing thirty and seven great Provinces which were heretofore so many Kingdoms to wit Candahar which takes its name from or derives it to the chief City is the most Western Province of all the Indies and lies upon the Territories of the King of Persia who hath several times been Master of it It is indeed for this Province that the Kings of Persia are in continual war almost with the great Mogul as they are in Turkey side for Badgat and Ervan The Province of Kabul which is no doubt the richest of all the Kingdom derives its name also from the
as they had applied the foresaid Remedy the Lock-smith died and soon after the Father and Mother and all those that had been present at the said cure The child had at three years of age what those of her Sex are not wont to have till twelve or thirteen The year after she had nothing of that kind but her Belly was so swollen as if she had been with child That swelling was little abated the year following and at six years of age she was brought to bed of a Boy But this was thought a thing so extraordinary all over the Country though they marry very young as I said before that Schâ—ch Choram sent for both Mother and Child and ordered them to be brought up at the Court Besides the Benjans there is yet another sort of Pagans in the Kingdom of Guzuratta whom they call the Parsis These are the Persians of Fars and Chorasan who fled into those parts to avoid the persecution of the Mahumetans in the seventh Age. For Abubeker having undertaken to establish the Mahumetan Religion in Persia by force of Arms the King perceiving it was impossible for him to oppose it took shipping with eighteen thousand men at Ormus and landed in Indosthan The King of Cambaya who was a Hindou or Indian that is a Pagan as himself received him to dwell in his Country into which that liberty drew several other Persians who with their Religion have preserv'd and continued their ancient manner of life Their habitations are for the most part along the Sea-coast and they live very peaceably sustaining themselves by the advantage they make out of the Tobacco they plant and the Terry they get out of the Palms of those parts and whereof they make Arak in regard they are permitted to drink Wine They intermeddle also with Merchandise and the exchange of Money and keep Shops and are of all Trades except those of Farriers Black-smiths and Lock-smiths in regard it is an unpardonable sin among them to put out the fire The Parsis believe that there is but one God Preserver of the Universe That he acts alone and immediately in all things and that the seven Servants of God for whom they have also a great Veneration have only an inferiour administration whereof they are oblig'd to give an account The first of these Servants is called Hamasda and hath the Government of Men and his charge is to induce them to the exercise of good Works The second whom they call Bahman hath the oversight of Cattel and presides over all the living Creatures that are upon Earth The third named Ardybesh preserves Fire and hinders it from being put out The fourth is called Sarywar and is entrusted with the charge of Metals about which they are very curious and accuses those who neglect the making of them clean which negligence is a mortal sin among them The fifth whom they call Espander hath a care of the Earth and keeps it from being pollutâ—d and hinders it from being otherwise used then it ought Aâ—waerdath who is the sixth hath the same charge over the Water as Espander hath over the Earth and keeps it from being defiled with filth The seventh whom they call Ammadath looks to the preservation of Fruits Trees Herbs and Pulse but without any power either to advance or retard their production For these seven subalternate Spirits are appointed by God only to take cognizance of the abuses committed in this World and to make their report thereof to him Besides these seven Servants whose dignity is very great God hath twenty six other Servants who have all their particular Functions The first whom they call Saroch takes possession of the Soul immediately upon its departure out of the Body and conducts it before two Judges whom they call Meer Resus and Sâ—ros to be examined and to receive according to their Sentence either its condemnation or absolution from its sins Their manner of proceeding in judgment is to put the good and evil Works into two Scales that they may judge of them according to their weight The good and evil Angels stand about the Scales and carry away the Souls adjudged to them either into Paradise where they enjoy eternal bliss or into Hell there to be tormented to the end of the World which they believe will be renewed at the expiration of a thousand years and then they shall enter into other Bodies to lead a better life then they had done in the former The fourth of these Servants is called Beram and hath the oversight of all Military affairs upon which account it is that they address themselves to him that they may obtain of God Victory by his Intercession The fifth is Carraseda that is to say the Sun The sixth Auva that is the Water The seventh is called Ader and governs the Fire under Ardy besth The eighth is Moho or the Moon The ninth is Tiera that is Rain The tenth called Gos hath the oversight of Cattel The eleventh who is called Farwardy hath the custody of the Souls which are in Paradise The twelfth named Aram is he that gives Joy or Sadness to Mankind The thirteenth named Goada governs the Winds and makes them blow as he pleaseth Dien who is the fourteenth teaches Men the Law of God and inspires them with good motions to observe it Apirsanich who is the fifteenth is he who bestows Wealth on Men. Astaet who is the sixteenth is he that gives Men Understanding and Memory The seventeenth whom they call Assaman is Superintendent over Commerce The eighteenth called Gamigat hath the Government of the Earth Marispan who is the nineteenth is Goodness it self who is communicated to those that invocate him They call the twentieth Amiera and his Presidentship is over Money whereof he hath the disposal The one and twentieth is called Hoêm and is he without whose concurrence there happens no Generation of Men or Beasts or Production of Fruits Dimma and Berse are indifferently design'd to attend all Men and the three remaining whom they call Dephader Dephemer and Dephdin are engag'd upon the particular Service of God who imployes them about all Affairs indifferently The Parsis who call these twenty six Servants by one general name Geshoo that is to say Lords believe that they have an absolute power over the things whereof God hath entrusted them with the Administration Whence it comes that they make no difficulty to worship them and to invocate them in their extremities out of a perswasion that God will not deny them any thing they desire upon their Intercession They have a very great respect for their Doctors and Teachers and allow them a very plentiful subsistance with their Wives and Children though some among them intermeddle also with Merchandise which they are permitted to do according to their Law but these are not so highly esteemed as those others who spend all their time in teaching Children to read and write and explicating their Law to the
seet with fair water which revives and recovers him much after the same manner as if he awoke out of a sound sleep There are few Portuguez Women or Mestizes seen going about the City and when they go abroad either to Church or upon necessary Visits they are carried in close Palanquins or are attended and watch'd by so many Slaves that it is impossible to speak to them When they appear in publick they are all very richly attir'd in Velvet Flower'd-Sattin or Brocado and adorn'd with abundance of Pearls and precious Stones but at home they go in their Hair and have about them only a Smock which reaches to the Navil and thence downwards they have Petticoats of painted Clothes falling down to the Feet which are bare They eat no Bread as liking the Rice better now that they are accustomed to it nor do they fare over-deliciously as to other things their ordinary sustenance being Salt-fish Mangas or only Rice soak'd in a little Flesh or Fish-broath They make use of certain Bottles made of a kind of black Earth which they call Gorgolettes and have a Pipe coming up to the brims so as that they may suck up the Water without lifting up the Bottles to their mouths The Men there are so jealous of their Wives that they permit not their nearest Relations to see them for Chastity is so strange a Vertue in those parts that there is no Woman but contrives all the wayes imaginable to pursue her enjoyments never minding the breach of those Laws which God and Nature hath imposed upon them though the frequent misfortunes which happen upon that occasion should engage them to be more cautious and reserv'd The perpetual idle life they lead makes them so high in their desires for they do not any thing of business in the world but spend the day in chewing of Bettele which adds fuel to the flames of their lewd inclinations as do also the Cloves and Nutmegs which they eat out of an imagination that they prevent the corruptions of the Teeth and Stomack which commonly make the Breath stink The Indian Women who conceive by an European have so great an affection for their Children that they would rather dye then part with them Children are not cloath'd till they are of age to wear Breeches and till that time they are brought up by Slaves or other Indian Women The Souldiers live after another rate among them For those who go in that quality from Portugal do not list themselves under any particular Captain nor will be engaged to continue in any one certain place to keep Garrison there but when they come to the Indies they do what they please themselves Accordingly they have no pay but when they are in actual service upon the Engagements they are forc'd to at Sea against the Malabars or the Dutch But the Captains who have occasion for these people treat them with much civility and give them now and then somewhat towards their subsistence that they may be assured of their persons and services when they have any work for them so that they have what to live upon yet spend not much For commonly they live ten or twelve in the same house where they diet together having but two or three Servants among them and as many Suits of Clothes for those who go abroad either to beg or upon some design while the rest stay at home till their turns come to march out The Marriages and Christenings of the Portuguez are celebrated with very great magnificence The Friends and Relations come on horseback to the Bridegrooms door and thence march before him to Church into which he enters accompanied by two of his Friends who are instead of God-fathers to him and the Bride follows him in a Palanquin accompanied also by her two God-fathers After the benediction of the marriage they reconduct the new married couple to their house into which only the God-fathers enter with the young couple who go into a Balcony or stand at a Window to give the company thanks which in the mean time shew a thousand tricks in the Street Their Chistenings are performed in a manner with the same Ceremonies save that at these there is carried an Ewer with a clean Napkin a Salt-sellar and in the midst a Silver Basin in a heap of Roses or other Flowers a Wax-candle into which they put a piece of Gold or Silver for an Offering to the Priest The God-father and the Mid-wife are carried with the Child in Palanquins Most of the Portuguez have many Slaves of both Sexes whom they employ not only about their persons but also upon any other business they are capable of for what they get comes in to the Master Whence it comes that handsome Wenches are sought after to be imploy'd in the selling of Fruits and such Commodities as the Portuguez send to market to the end their beauty might draw in Customers and so they by a double way of trading bring in double profit to their Masters Their keeping as to diet stands them in very little and all the cloathing they give them is only as much Linnen-cloath as will cover the privy parts The Children born between Slaves belong to the Master unless the Father will redeem them within eight or ten dayes after they are born which if they let slip they are not afterwards admitted to do it and the Master disposes of them and when they are able to do any thing makes use of them himself or sells them in the Market as we do Cattle The Inhabitants of the Country are Pagans and for the most part Benjans Their Houses are all of Straw and very little having no light but what comes in at a little low door All their Houshold-stuffe consists principally in certain Mats made of Rushes which serve them both for their lodging at night and to lye down upon at meals Their Dishes Drinking-cups and Napkins are made of Fig-leaves of which they also make Pitchers and Oyl-pots and their ordinary sustenance is Rice which they boyl in Earthen pots They daub over their Houses with Cow-dung out of an imagination that it drives away Fleas They are so superstitious that they never go abroad till they have said their prayers and if they chance to meet a Crow where-ever they be they immediately return home and undertake no business of any consequence that day When they travel they do their devotions before their Pagodes and the Portuguez tollerate their Idolatry upon this account that the Inquisition hath no power but only over such as either are Christians or have been such They have also their particular ceremonies for their Marriages their birth-dayes and other dayes and seasons of the year but they differ so little from those whereof we have spoken already that we shall need say nothing of them There are among them some very able Physitians who are so highly respected at Goa that they are permitted to have their Umbrellos
they wear a Hat Great honours are done to them after their death and after their Corps hath been attended certain dayes they are burnt with Sandale-wood they cast the Ashes into the River and inteâ—r the â—ones near the place they liv'd in Pegu yields no Corn at all but in recompence they have more Rice then they can spend in so much that they can afford some to their Neighbours They have a custom to make a Drug of certain little Fishes which they pound in a Mortar and being so brought to a Paste they lay it in the Sun to putrifie till it be quite corrupted and grows moist and then they use it in their Sauces instead of Oyl or Butter making a dainty of that which it were not possible for us to endure the smell of Sodomy was heretofore so common in those parts that to extirpate this Vice which had near destroy'd the whole Species one of the Queens of Pegu ordain'd by Edict that every Man should carry in his Yard a little Bell which would make it swell in such sort that he should not be able to do Nature any violence And to the end the Women should not be frustrated of their due their Virginity was to be taken away while they were yet very young by means of a Composition of contrary operation to that used by common Women to heighten the pleasures of their Gallants These little Bells are put in betwixt the skin and the flesh and to effect the operation they cast them into a sleep with a certain Drink to make them insensible of the pain they are put to by the Incision whereof notwithstanding they are cur'd in few dayes For their greater aversion from Sodomy they paint the Boyes at seven or eight years of age with a certain blew which extending with the skin as it grows changes into another colour and makes them look most horribly The Women on the contrary do all they can to appear lovely and attract the Men covering their privy parts only with a thin piece of Linnen which sits not so close but the least wind shews all they have All of them in general make their Teeth black and Men when they ride on horseback fill their Mouths with something that puâ—fs out their Checks They who marry buy their Wives of their Parents and when they are cloy'd send them home again but the money belongs to the Wife who on her side is obliged to restitution if shâ— part with her Husband without cause The King is Heir to all that dye without Children and they who have Children can leave them but two thirds of their Estate the rest belongs to the King The best Commodities to be brought to Pegu and which may be sold to greatest profit are Stuffes and Linnen-clothes from Saint Thomas Musulipatam and Bengala Pepper Cinnamon Nutmegs Optum and Sandale-wood c. by reason they have no other Spices then Ginger At Pegu they take in no other Merchandizes then Silver and Rice which they transport to Malacca In bargaining they make no words at all they do no more but give their Hand cover'd with a Handkerchief and in grasping or moving their Fingers they make their meaning known For borrowing of money they stick not to pawn their Wives and Children but if the Creditour enjoyes them carnally during that time he is then paid and the Debtour acquitted Siam one of the most considerable Kingdoms of the Indies lying at eighteen degrees on this side the Line hath on the North the Kingdoms of Pegu and Auva on the West the Gulf of Bengala from the Haven of Martanan to the Town of Tavaga towards the East Patana whence the Coast runs first Northwards to thirteen degrees and a half comprehending in this space the Gulf of Siam And lastly Southward to twelve degrees lying more at a distance from the Sea it joyns Eastward on the Desarts of Cambodia and the Kingdoms of Iangoma Tangou and Lansiaugh to eighteen degrees towards the forementioned Kingdoms of Pegu and Auva making as it were a semi-circle containing near upon four hundred and fifty Leagues The Country in some parts is rough and mountainous in other parts covered with Woods and to the Seawards 't is low and marshy and generally flat good and fertile yielding in abundance all necessaries for livelihood and having on the Gulfes divers Isles Rivers Bayes Harbours and Roads commodious for the transportation of such things as they themselves can spare The River called Menam that is Mother of the waters is one of the greatest India hath The breadth of it is not great but its length such that hitherto no man hath discovered the head of it It sends its Current from North to South passing through the Kingdoms of Pegu and Auva and at last running through Siam by three Streams it falls into the Gulf of Siam One quality it hath common with the Nile and Ganges that it yearly overflows the adjacent Country for the space of five moneths together destroying in that time all Worms and Insects and leaving when it retires a slime or moist soil proper for the increase of Rice That Channel of this River which is most commodious for Barks or Vessels is that which lies most Eastwards at thirteen degrees and a half elevation but what makes it almost useless is that there lies a Shelf a League in length or better at the mouth of the River which at low-water holds not above five or six foot water At high-water it holds fifteen or sixteen foot and in September October and November seventeen or eighteen foot Vessels of greater burthen ordinarily stay in the Road two Leagues from the Shelf where having at no time less then five or six fathom water they ride secure They who venture to come over the Shelf with the Tide may go up along the River to the City of Banckock six Leagues from the Sea and thence may pass by boat in five or six dayes as high as the City of India twenty four Leagues within the Land except in the moneths before mentioned during which season the River is innavigable The Provinces of this vast Kingdom are all very populous though not equally for such as have the Commodity of Rivers and Havens far exceed those that lye more remote It would be very difficult to reckon all the Towns of this great Dominion wherefore we will here give only an account of the principal and most considerable either for greatness or as the most considerable of the several Provinces The chief of the Kingdom is India by some called Odya then Camboya Campaa Sincapura Picelouck Surkelouck Capheng Soucethay Kephinpet Conseywan Pytsyay Pitsedi Lidure Tenou Mormelon Martenoy Lygor Bordelong Tanasserim where the Portuguez drive a good Trade Banckock Pipry Mergy c. Besides which there are many more which rather deserve a place in a Map then in the Relation of a particular Mans Travels The City of India the ordinary Residence
Silver or Iron so polished they might be taken for Silver The King of Cambodia is nothing so powerful as the two Kings whom we last mentioned for an Army of twenty five or thirty thousand is the most he can draw into the Field so as were the Siameses more Martial they might with small trouble make Cambodia subject to their King The Nobility of the Court are divided into Ockinas Tomimas Tonimnes Nampras and Sabandars each in his degree but for the best part without any particular charge except the first who are most considerable in publick Assemblies distinguished by little Cabinets of Gold carried after them wherein are Cardamum and other Drugs to rub their Lips Cissars to cut their Bettele by them called Pynang and for the Lime Areca and Bettele which they chew continually In the presence of the King whether it be for Councel or Complement they stand in a semi-circle and behind them the Tommaes known from the others by their Bottles of Silver No address is made to the King but by mediation of these Ockinas for though the Priests are next his Person between him and the Ockinas and converse familiarly with him they esteem it notwithstanding a king of Sacriledge for an Ecclesiastick to meddle in secular Affairs so as none but the Ockinas communicate general or particular Affairs to him of which 't is their Office to take cognizance as also of the Kings Orders upon their report In the whole Town there is but one Pagode or Mosquee wherein there are three bigger and three lesser Statues It is supported with wooden Pillars varnished black with a folliage of Gold and the floor covered with Mats Their Priests have no houses near the Pagode and when the chief of their Ecclesiasticks dyes they build him a Monument of Stone which at the bottom is four-square and upwards to the top grows round like a Pear The Portuguez are so well settled here that the Hollanders cannot hope to carry on any Trade till they have first destroyed that of the Portuguez At their first Arrival in the year 1637. they committed the management of their Affairs to an adoptive Son of the Queen to whom the King had given the name of Tisnecha and the honour of Nampra and they used the credit of the Chabandar of the Iaponeses in hope by this means they might gain a small establishment But the friendship they had contracted with the King of Siam and the Artifices of the Portuguez bred them difficulties they could not master otherwise they might have laded there yearly eighty or a hundred thousand Deer-skins besides Neat and Buffles hides above a hundred Picols of black Lacque at ten Thails the Picol above three or four hundred Picols of Benjamin at seventeen or eighteen Thales the Picol and might have vented their Cotton-yarn and Cloath for above sixty or seventy in the hundred profit Provisions in these parts are so plentiful that the Inhabitants having so much more then they have use for sell them in a manner for nothing specially Venison Beef Pork Goats Hares Kids Cranes Herns and all sorts of Poultry as likewise Oranges Citrons Mangas Cocoes c. but to judge the better of the fertility of this Soyl take notice that the people of Quinam alone fetch yearly thence two thousand Coyangs of Rice five Coyangs making four Lestes or eight Tuns at seventeen or eighteen Thails the Coyang And so much by way of Account of the small Kingdom of Cambodia That Tongue of Land is called Malacca which in form of a Peninsula extends it self from the Kingdom of Siam from the South-east towards the North-west even to the Equinoctial Line betwixt the Gulfs of Bengala and Siam or Cambodia and contains besides the City of Malacca whence it derives its name the Kingdom of Iahor and Patana The Country was discovered by Alphonso d' Albuquerque in the year 1511. since when the Portuguez have kept their ground there so firmly that none yet can supplant them Malacca is scituate upon the strait that divides the Isle of Sumatra from the Continent on this side the Line two Degrees and half in a large Plain where there is but only one Mountain the foot whereof is almost wholly taken up with the Town leaving only a small space open towards the North-east About eighteen hundred paces may be the compass of it for six hundred whereof it lies on the Sea-coast enclosed with a good Wall as likewise on the River-side which bounds another third of the Town and on the Land-side 't is fortified with four regular Bastions The first which is on the River-side is called the Bastion of Saint Domingo another on the Sea-shore Saint Iago and two more betwixt these two called Madre de Dios and Vnze mil Vergenes from that of Saint Iago to that of Madre de Dios there is a good Pallisado of eighteen foot high and between those of Madre de Dios to Saint Domingo a sufficient Ditch The Colledge of the Iesuits also called Saint Pauls which serves likewise for a Parish Church stands on the top of the Hill whence it commands the Town and the Country near about it There is likewise another rising ground about a Cannon shot from the City where there is a Convent of Iacobins The River there which runs North-west is not very broad and at high-high-water it mixes with the Sea but is fresh at low-water There is a Bridge over it though one side is without comparison much higher then the other by reason the Land South-east is so low and marshy that it cannot be broken but water comes in immediately and in some places 't is absolutely drown'd No week passes but it rains two or three times unless it be in Ianuary February and March The Ebb there leaves open above two thousand paces of shore which being nothing but a deep mud affords no landing at low-water Before the City lye two Islands one the Portuguez call Ilha da Naos about a Canon-shot distant from the City the other Ilha de Pedra for the Quarries where they get Free-stone for their building and lyes something more remote The Caracks and Gallions cast Anchor betwixt these Islands at four or five fathom water but Frigots and Barks enter the River and Vessels of a middle rate shelter under the Ilha da Naos between the River and the City In the City of Malacca its Suburbs and the neighbouring Towns possessed by the Portuguez there may be about twelve thousand Inhabitants thus accounted in the Parish of Saint Thomas in the place they call Camp clein a thousand in the Suburbs towards the River eighteen hundred in the Parish of Saint Lawrence two thousand and in Senhora Nossa de Pidaede as many in Nossa Senhora da Guadalupe five Leagues thence about seven or eight hundred and within the walls of the City three thousand making at most not above three thousand fighting men Amongst them there are not above three hundred
their Mesquites they have many meetings where they eat together of what is brought thither by every one They have likewise some such Assemblies upon a Mountain which is in a Wood in the middle of the Island where the Inhabitants of Puldrim Puloway and Lantor their Allies meet them to consider of publick matters After they have treated of publick Affairs they sit down on the ground and they serve to every one upon a Banana leaf which serves them instead of a Trencher a Morsel of Sagu which is their Bread and a little Rice steep'd in broath which they eat by handfuls During the Feast the Gentlemen to entertain the Guests have a kind of Skirmish They are almost in continual war with their Neighbours and keep constant Guards upon the Coast as well to surprize others as to prevent their being surprized themselves Their Arms are the Cimetar with them called a Phahang and a Buckler of wood above four foot long They handle their Weapons with much address being train'd to it from their infancy They have likewise Fire-arms but in war they chiefly use a sort of Lance of eight or ten foot long made of an exceeding hard wood which they cast with such force that they will run a Man quite through with it Having cast their Lances for commonly they carry two they fall to their Sword which hangs at their left side under their Buckler or to another sort of Weapon which they dart and pull back with a string whereto they tye a short Truncheon having at the end a crooked iron that is exceeding sharp and dangerous Some use Corslets but these are Persons of Quality others contenting themselves with Casks of Steel and made like Cocks-combs Their Gallies are very light having on both sides in a manner even with the water two Scaffolds like wings where the Slaves are set to row They are three to every seat and every one hath an Oar which is properly but a deep wooden Shovel which they thrust as far as they can into the Sea and when they draw it back they bring it about their heads to cast out the water which they do so fast and with such sleight that a Ship must be a good Sailor that shall with a good wind take one of these Gallies In the Isle of Banda 't is no rarity to meet with people of sixscore years of age and above They believe that who fails to pray for the dead shall have no resurrection whereas otherwise with the Mahumetans they believe the resurrection of the dead Women that are present at the death of a friend cry out with all violence as if by this means they would fetch the Soul back again but seeing it comes not they interr the Corps which is born by ten or twelve persons on their Shoulders in a Biere or Coffin covered with white Linnen the Men going before the Women behind The Corps being laid in the ground they return to the house of the deceased where they dine together then they burn Incense over the Grave for four and twenty hours and at night set a burning Lamp over it in a Hut made for that purpose The Men mind nothing but their recreation and walking up and down and leave all the work to be done by their Wives whose chiefest business is to break the Nutmeg shell and dry the Nut and Mace wherein consists their greatest revenue This excellent fruit for ought I could ever learn grows only in the Isle of Banda which the Inhabitants call Bandan or rather in the six Isles 't is composed of that is Gunaxi Nera and Lantor betwixt which lies the Road for the Vessels that are bound thither Puloway Pulorim and Bassingin It is a thing to be admired that these six little Islands should furnish the whole World with Nutmegs if it were not certain that except a few Duriaons Nancan Bananas Oranges and Cocoes that grow there they produce not any thing else and the Islands are so covered with Nutmeg-trees that excluding only the fiery Mountain in the Isle of Gunapi there is not a foot of Land but is employed and the Trees at all times loaden with fruit and flowers green or ripe They chiefly gather them thrice a year that is in April August and December but that which ripens in April is the best The Tree is not unlike a Peach-tree only the leaves are more short and round The Fruit is covered with a husk as thick as that of our Wallnuts which being opened there appears a very thin leaf upon a hard shell yet does it not so cover it but that the shell is to be seen in several places and this is that they call the Nutmeg flower or Mace and the shell must be broken to come at the fruit The flower is of a lively carnation while the Nut is green but afterwards it changes and draws towards an Orange colour especially when it parts from the shell The Inhabitants preserve it in the shell with Salt or Sugar and make a very excellent Preserve The Natives call the Nutmeg Palla and Mace Bunapalla This Spice comforts the Brain helps the Memory expels Wind cleanses the Reins and stayes Looseness Mace hath almost the same vertues but 't is much more proper for Sauces Oyl of Nutmegs strengthens the Sinews procures Sleep stayes Defluxions and cures the pains in the Stomack and of powder of Nutmeg or Mace mixt with the Oyl of Roses they make an Unguent soveraign against such Griefs as proceed from Indigestion The Hollanders have built here two Forts which they call Nassau and Belgica where the Road is so good that Vessels come up within Musket-shot and ride safely at nine or ten fathom water The Island is inhabited with about ten or eleven thousand persons yet would it be hard to draw out five hundred Men fit to bear Arms. Here they drive a good round trade in Garments brought from Coromandel Rice Purcelane Velvet Damask Taffaty Scarlet Provisions and Ammunirion for the Forts The Inhabitants are obstinate and mutinous so as the Hollanders cannot assure the possession of this Isle but by force alone In their Relations of the Isle of Nera they report there are Serpents so great that one day the Author of the twentieth Relation observing his Poultry dayly to decrease and being told by the Natives there were Serpents that devoured them he had then watch'd so carefully that they took one which about midnight was crept into the Hen-roost and had made a strange havock The Servants who kill'd it found in the belly five Hens one Duck and a sucking Pig which they made no difficulty to eat of no more then they did of the Serpent it self Though some comprehend in the number of the Molucques many of the Islands that fill up this Oriental Archipelago yet properly there are called by the name of the Moluccaes but the five following Islands Ternate Tidar Motiel Machiam and Bachiam by the ancient
out They are not eaten and are hunted only for recreation or to cleanse the Sea of them The Fish which the Portuguez call Pesce puerco and whereof there is abundance in these Seas is no bigger then a Bream and is so called only because it grunts like a Pig There are also about those parts great store of Tortoises which lie on their backs and commonly sleep upon the water when the weather is calm The Sea-men when they see them in that posture get near them cast out a hook which fastning in the shells they draw them into the Boat Their meat is as delicate as Veal and it is one of the greatest refreshments the Seamen meet with in these great and dangerous Voyages February 21. We were at one degree and twenty minutes of the Line the weather being rainy and tempestuous and continuing so much longer then we expected it should at that place for it is so unconstant there and changes so of a sudden that many times they have hardly leisure to take in their Sails to avoid the violence of the Winds which the Portuguez call Travados that is Whirlewinds The 23. died one of our Seamen who having got the Pox at Surat neglected the taking of timely Remedies for the cure of it The 24. being Sunday the President treated all the Officers of the Ship and among other dishes had the Biggel dressed and some of the Country Fowl which the Viceroy of Goa had presented to him The 25. We were surprized by a Calm which kept us in the same place all that day but the night following there rose a Tempest that put us out of our course which we could not well have kept had that not happened in regard that having the Sun in the Zenith ever since the 22. we could not take the altitude but only in the night by the Stars This inconvenience continued till the fifth of March having had the twenty seventh and twenty eighth of February the wind at South-west which put us in hope we should soon have the Manson-wind whereof we stood in need to bring us to the Cape of Good Hope But the continual changes of the Wind and Tempests which obliged the Sea-men to be alwayes about the Masts lest they should be surprized by the Travados retarded our progress very much March 5. We began to make our Observations by the Sun and found we were at eight degrees six minutes Latitude Our Ship was encompassed by a great number of all sorts of Fish which seem'd to be our protection against the Whales by whom they were pursued March 10. We were at ten degrees fourteen minutes the Wind at West which turned to a Storm that lasted ten hours March 12. and 13. We had a great Storm accompanied with Lightning and Thunder But what we thought most strange was that though we were not come to the 13. degree yet we found nothing of the ordinary Wind of the season which is commonly perceived about the eight or ninth For the South-wind which blew constantly not only retarded the prosecution of our Voyage but also forced us so much back Eastward that we were in in some fear we might be constrain'd to return upon the Coast of the Indies March 15. The Wind changed and came to the South and at Night we had it South-east so that not doubting but it was the Manson we put out all the Sail we could and made two Leagues an hour taking our course South-west During the time the Wind was thus fair for us we saw a great number of Dolphins which followed our Ship and we took as many of them as found us three good Meals March 20. We were surpriz'd by a Calm which took off much of our courage in regard our store of fresh Water being somewhat low at a time when we knew not what to hope of our Voyage we were forced to assign every Man his allowance and to make it last the longer it was resolved that for some dayes there should be no salt Meat eaten but that the Swine and some other Creatures whereof having good store some had died that day upon the eating of Mustard-seed should be kill'd and consum'd Being about this time at sixteen Degrees we found that the Compass declined thirty Minutes to the West and it continued so to the four and twentieth Degree But when the Cape of Good Hope is once doubled the Loadstone draws towards the Earth The 21. While we floated up and down without so much as a breath of wind our Ship took fire which might have proved to the ruine of us all The Butler going to remove a Vat which he had filled with Aqus vitae set it on fire whereat he was so startled that he turned it out about the Cellar where the fire took in one of the great Vessels and was going to set thirty more into a flame ahd it not been timely prevented with Coverlets The Ship was so loaden with all sorts of Gums and other fat Drugs that it would have been impossible to quench it had there not been a care taken to smother it at the beginning After that day we began to made use of the invention of drawing fresh Water out of the Sea but it was fit only to dress Meat withall in regard it had so untoward a taste that the Sea-men would not take it for their ordinary drink March 22. We made a good dayes sail by the help of the Manson getting above two Leagues an hour The same Wind continued the 23. 24. and 25. This last day a Sea-man was whipt at the Main-mast for offering to debauch two young Boyes March 26. The Wind continued still fair but in regard we had some reason to fear that in case the wind should fail us as it was likely to do we should be put to great inconveinences for want of fresh water a Councel was call'd at which it was resolv'd that we should indeavour to make for Maurice Island and there take in fresh water This resolution very much rejoyced the company The same night we discovered the Island called Diego Roiz or Diego Rodriguez at twenty degrees forty five minutes in so much that we were in hopes the next day to reach Maurice Island as being but sixty Leagues further This Island which the Portuguez call Ilha do Cerno and the Dutch have named Maurice Island from the Prince of Orange who was Admiral of the Vnited Provinces at the time of their first Voyage into the Indies lies at 20. degrees 27. minutes and is abour 15. leagues in compass The Haven of it is very good as well in regard that at the entrance of it there is a hundred fathom water as that it is able to contain above fifty great Vessels sheltred from all winds It hath some Mountains which reaching up to the Clouds are seen at a great distance and are extreamly delightful to the eye in as much as Nature maintains them in a constant verdure
35. degrees Latitude We took in all our Sails and let down the Yards preparing our selves by that means against the Tempests which are very frequent and in a manner unavoidable about the Cape of Good hope and we hover'd up and down in that posture all the next day April 20. We perceiv'd that the Water was somewhat more whitish then it is in the main Sea and saw abundance of those Birds which the Portuguez call Mangas de valeudo and are a kind of Sea Mews being white all over the bodies and having black wings They have also this in particular that in their flight they beat their wings one against the other whereas the common Sea-Mews seldom do it but glide through the Air in an uninterrupted and even flight It is observed that where these Birds are seen there is ground within a hundred or hundred and fifty fathom at most Accordingly upon trial we found it at eighty fathom We saw also the same day a sort of Black-birds that had only â—â—â—ttle white upon the breast The Englishâ—ffirm â—ffirm they are Birds presaging misfortune as being the infallible fore-runners of a great Tempest The same day we had one with the West-north-west wind which on the 24. turn'd to a North-west During that time we were forc'd to go before the Wind the Water coming into the Ship with such violence that it took off our Carpenter but he was so fortunate as to lay hold on a Rope was cast him by which he was got aboard again We found ground at eighty fathom and in regard the Earth which stuck to the Plummet was â—lack we inferred thence that we were not far from the Cap d' Agulhas which is sixty Leagues from that of Good hope The 15. The Tempest increased so that we began to despair of escaping in regard the current of the Sea forced us towards the Coasts where we had inevitably been wrack'd if it had continued We were at thirty six degrees twenty minutes beyond the Line and this day we had like to have been destroyed by fire occasioned by a Lamp in the Presidents Chamber but it was soon put out The Storm continued all the next day Our Sea-men seeing about the Ship many of those Fish called Pesce Puercos would thence perswade us that it would not be long ere the weather changed and that the Wind would blow from the same quarter that those Fishes came Accordingly about two in the afternoon the Wind came to the North-west and the Tempest ceased so that we could spread our Sails The 27. We had no Wind at all but in the afternoon it came to the North-west which obliged us to take our Course to the North-north-west failing two Leagues an hour We saw that day a great number of Trombas from which we inferred we were not far from the Cape of Good hope These Yrombas are a kind of great Canes about the bigness of a mans arm and three or four foot long which flote upon the water with their roots as if the Sea had forced them away from the neighbouring Coast yet can it not be said whence they come nor that they are seen any where but about that Cape April 28. We discovered the Coast which before us reach'd from North to West Some thought at first it was Gabo-Falso or the Cape of Good hope but finding ground at forty Fathom and at thirty four degrees forty minutes they were soon convinced that it was the Cap d' Agulhas whence it came that we went all that day laveering with a North-west wind The 29. The Wind came to the South-east so that we continued our course to the North-west keeping still in sight of the Land That day we took as many Fith as found the whole company two or three good meals The night following the Wind changed and came to the North-west obliging us to laveer but being in a manner directly contrary we advanced but little Taking the Altitude of the Sun that day we found our selves at 34. degrees 27. minutes and consequently that we wanted 24. Leagues of being at the Altitude of Capâ—d ' Agulhas April 30. We continued laveering along the Coast the Wind being still contrary May 1. The wind coming to the North-east by East we kept along the Coast and perceived a very high shore which was at last known to be Cabo Falso which is within seven Leagues of that of Good hope It is called Cabo Falso because it is seen at a great distance extending it self into the Sea much after the same manner as the other though it be not so high The 2. A North-east wind brought us in sight of the Cape of Good hope but turning immediately to the North-west we could not possibly enter the Bay which obliged us to make off the Coast and get into the main Sea taking our course towards the South The next day with a North-west wind we had a great tempest which yet hindred us not from getting somewhat nearer the Coast. That day we cast one of our Sea men over-board with the ordinary Ceremonies used at funerals upon such occasions This was the third man died out of our Ship since our departure from Goa May 4. We doubled one of the points of the Cape of Good hope which is about ten Leagues distant from the Road or Bay and much about the same time we discovered the Mountain which the Dutch in the year 1601. named the Tafelherg it being flat and square at the top like a Table It was our intention to get into the Bay which is at the foot of the Mountain and at 34. Degrees four Minutes within fifteen Leagues of the Cape but the wind being contrary obliged us to keep along the Coast endeavouring to make the best advantage we could of it The 5. At Sun-rising we were out of sight of Land whereupon we changed our course taking it North-east and turning the prow of the Ship towards the Coast which we discovered about noon About two in the afternoon we passed in sight of the Island called St. Elizabeth which is inhabited and at night we got into the Bay and cast anchor at seven fathom water This Promontory of the Continent of Africk which extends it self into the Sea towards the South at 36. Degrees beyond the Line was named Cabo de bâ—n ' Speranza by Iohn II. King of Portugal under whom it was discovered by Bartholomew Dias about the year 1493. That Prince would needs call it so out of the hopes he conceived to discover afterwards the wealth of the East-Indies and other Nations have continued that name upon this account that having once doubled the Cape there is some assurance of compleating the Voyage whereof the Cape makes one half as lying in a manner at the equal distance of two thousand five hundred Leagues between Europe and the most Easterly Coast of the Indies Most Ships take in refreshments at this place and the Dutch are wont
at which they met with as great difficulties as the Portuguez had done Their design was only to refresh themselves there upon this account that in those first Voyages they had so little knowledge of the disease called the Scurvy and the remedies now used for the cure of it that most of their men being not able to perform their labour they were forced to touch there in order to some relief for their diseased but ere they could meet with any refreshment there died above 70. persons out of the four Vessels whereof their Fleet consisted whom they buried in a little Island which upon that occasion they called The Dutch-Church-yard The description they make of this Island is very short and for the most part taken out of the Relation of Mark Paulo Vâ—netâ— which is none of the most exact That of Francis Couche of Rouen Printed by the means of the late M. du Puy is so exact that that of the Dutch cannot compare with it What these last relations have in particular is that the Inhabitants of Madagascar are circumcised though there be nothing otherwise that evinces them to be Mahumetans since they have no Mosques nor any exercise of Religion nor appearance of Devotion in all their Demeanour Having passed over the Winter on the other side of the Aequinoctial Line we began to set things in order for the prosecution of our Voyage and bought the 19. of August of King Masiar and two other neighbouring Princes Tsebich Tanga and Andiam Palola twenty five fat Oxen more and about a hundred Sheep and Goats besides the hundred and fifty Oxen we had bought during our aboad in the Island all which we put aboard the 20. that we might not want fresh meat during our Voyage The same day we embarked our baggage and the next day we got out of the Bay of St. Augustine and left the Island of Madagascar with a South-west wind which continuing all the night following we soon got out of sight of the Island The 22. The Manson which we could not yet have hoped for came unexpectedly upon us and advanced our progress very much taking our course to West-south-west The 23. The wind came to the East so that having it full behind us we went on merrily taking our course the more towards the South to avoid the Cape of Good hope where we intended not to touch at all The 24. and 25. the wind was somewhat abated but the 26. it blew so fresh a gale that we made a great progress We were that day at 27. degrees 27. minutes Latitude and the 28th at 28. degrees 12. minutes The 29. We had the wind East-south-east with those storms which the Portuguez call Travados They were immediately over We saw that day being at 31. degrees 15. minutes Latitude a great number of the Fishes called Pesce puercos which leaped three or four foot above water as if it had been their design to find us sport The next day we had a Tempest yet such as hindered not our getting somewhat forward so that the last of August we were at 33. degree 34. minutes September the first the wind grew so violent that we were forc'd to take in part of our sails yet we made a shift to get 50. Leagues in 24. hours The next day we got but 30. the wind being South-west The 3. The Sea being very calm we kill'd one of the Cowes we had bought in Madagascar and found three Calves in the belly of it as also a Goat that had four young Kids within it from which a man may judge of the fruitfulness of the Country At night we saw up and down certain Lights like flames but we could not judge whether they were the Fishes which the Spaniards call Doradâ—s and the English Blubbers or those Meteors which the Spaniards call Cuerpos sanctos In ancient time when there appear'd two they were called Castor and Pollux Dioscures and Tyndarides and when but one it was called Helene Some have not shaken off the superstition of believing that their fire presages a Tempest But on the contrary we had a great calm the next day and saw infinite multitudes of little Sea-birds About two in the afternoon we had a North-east wind which continuing fair all the next day we failed above two Leagues an hour September 6. We had a great tempest It continued all night and shook the Ship so that the water coming in at several places we were forc'd to pump four times an hour The same day we came 35. degrees Latitude The 7. The weather was somewhat fair so that we made use of our Sails taking our course West-north-west The Sea was very rough and forc'd us towards the Coast from which we thought our selves fourty Leagues distant and from the Cape of Good hope 130. The 8. and 9. the wind South and it proved rainy weather The 10. We had but little wind yet got 40 Leagues in 24 hours we saw many of the Mangas de Valudo whence it was inferred we could not be far from the Cape d' Agâ—lhas The 11. We made but a small progress with an East wind Casting the plummet and finding a sandy bottome one hundred and twenty fathom water we are confirmed in the opinion we had before of our being near Cape d' Agulhas The 12. The contrary wind forc'd us to laveering to the North-north-west and Southwest going either further from or neerer to the Coast which yet they could not discover In the afternoon we resumed our course to the West-north-west with a Southwest wind and at night we found a yellowish sand at 190. fathom water The 13. Our course was to the West-north-west with a South-east wind About 10. we saw a dead Whale floating upon the water and being then at 35. degree latitude we conceiv'd we might be at the altitude of the Cape of Good hope where many of these creatures are ordinarily seen The 14. we found at Sun-rising that the Compass declin'd four degrees 50. minutes to the East whence we inferr'd that we had compass'd the Cape of Good hope The next day we had the wind so full a Stern that had it been contrary it would have forc'd us once more to think of putting into some place or at least put us to the same extremities we had been in before near the Cape We therefore found the declination of the Load-stone to be one degree fifty minutes and presently after the declination of it near the Cape of Good hope is four degrees though otherwise it doth not decline so much Assoon as the Cape is past the Compass still varies towards the East in regard the Needle draws to the Earth where no doubt there is Iron and other Load-stones that draw it but the declination on that Coast never exceeds eight degrees About 20. Leagues on this side the Cape of Good hope and at 33. degrees 15. minutes lies the Island of St. Elizabeth It is not above two Leagues distant
from the Coasts of Africk and hath a very good Haven towards the Continent at 16. fathome water The Coast of the Isle is but one continued Rock but there grows such abundance of delicate Herbs in the Island that it may be presum'd it would afford as great conveniencies and refreshments as that of St. Helene if it were planted with Citron-trees and Orange-trees and stock'd with Cattle 'T is true it hath no fresh water but what falls from the sky which in all likelihood is the reason that seldom any touch at it though there come thither such store of Sea-wolves that in a few dayes there might be as much fat gotten as would load a Vessel of 600 Tun. These creatures are called Sea-wolves though they are more like Bears both in colour and the making of their heads save that the snowt of these is somewhat sharper They have only two paws under the breast and draw the lower part of the body after them as if it were a taile yet are they so swift that it is as much as a man can do to overtake them running It is a cruel and fierce beast which fears not to set upon two or three men together and his teeth are so close and strong that he can therewith easily break the handle of a Patizan There is also in the same place a kind of Badger the flesh whereof is as delicate and wholsome as that of Lambs the birds call'd Pinguins are there better and more tender then any where else and in regard few Ships come thither these birds and some others are so tame and so little afraid of a man that he needs only put out his hand to take them The 16th The wind was contrary we being at 32. degrees Latitude The next day and the 18. with a North-north-west and South-west wind we got 64. Leagues and came to 29. degrees 16. minutes Latitude The 19. With a good South-south-west vvind vve got 40 Leagues to the North-west and were at 28 degrees Latitude The 20. With a South-east wind we got 34 Leagues continuing the same course to the North-west The 21th 28 Leagues with the same wind and keeping on the same course The 22th 20 Leagues with the same wind and in the same course The 23th 24 Leagues with the same wind taking our course West-north-west The 24th We got with the same vvind 30 Leagues continuing our course to the West-north-vvest The 25th We had so great a calm that vve advanced not any thing at all The 26th We got but 20 Leagues vvith a little East-south-east vvind continuing the same course The 27th We got 36. Leagues vvith a North-east vvind pursuing the same course and vvere come to 21 degrees Latitude The 28th With the same vvind and holding the same course vve got 46. Leagues and vvere at 20 degrees Latitude 29th With an East-north-east vvind vve got 20 Leagues continuing the same course The 30. Keeping the same course to the North-vvest vve advanced 25 Leagues October the first a South-vvest vvinde put us forvvard 25 Leagues keeping our course to North-vvest and vve got that day to 17 degrees Latitude The 2. With the same vvind vve got 25 Leagues keeping on in the same course till vve vvere come to sixteen degrees sixteen minutes Latitude The 3d. With the same vvind and in the same course 28 Leagues The 4th With the same vvind taking our course to the vvest 20 Leagues The 5th In the same course 16 Leagues The 6th We got 15 Leagues vvith a South-east vvind and came that day to the Island of St. Helene This Island lies at 16. degrees 12 minutes beyond the Aequinoctial and vvas so called by the Portuguez upon its being discovered the one and tvventieth of May on vvhich day is celebrated the memory of Saint Helene Mother to Constantine the Great It is distant from the Coast of Angola 350. Leagues from that of the Cape of Good hope 550. and from that of Bresil 510. So that it is somevvhat strange that at so great a distance from the continent the Sea should start out an Island about 7 Leagues in compass It is so fertile that there is not any Province in Europe affords such plenty of excellent fruits and breeds so many creatures as this Island Some affirm it afforded neither vvhen it vvas first discovered by the Portuguez and that the fevv Trees they planted and the little stock of Cattle they left there hath so furnished it that it is able sufficiently to refresh all the fleets that come thither At this place a man may have at any time of the year Figs Pomegranats Citrons and Oranges and there are Goats Swine Barbary-Hens Feasants Partridges Quailes Peacocks Pigeons and great store of all sorts of Birds as also salt for the keeping of them so that Ships might be sufficiently provided with all things if they would stay there any time The Sea supplies it with more Fish then can be consumed and the Earth brings forth so many excellent Herbs that the Portuguez unwilling to retard their Voyage leave at this place their sick men who recover their health within a few days and having only a little Oyl Rice Bisket and Spice make a shift to live there till the Ships come thither the next year Its Mountains are so high that they reach above the Clouds and are seen at Sea at the distance of 14 Leagues The Trees wherewith they are covered bring forth no Fruit and are fit only for firing but the Valleys are extreamly pleasant The King of Portugal would not have any establishment to be made there upon these reflections that all Ships passing that way might find refreshment there and that it would be a hard matter to keep the said Island against all the other Nations who are concerned in its being still free inasmuch as were it not for that Vessels many times would be forc'd upon the Coasts of Guiny where water is not to be had at all times and where they should be obliged to stay for Rain which would be so great an inconvenience that many of the men would in the mean time droop and die The fertility of this Island proceeds chiefly from the daily rain which falls there but they are transient showrs soon over so that the Sun shining presently after and that by intervals it must needs very much advance the maturation of all things There are three places where fresh water may be taken in to wit where the three Rivers which come out of the Mountain fall into the Sea They breed abundance of Snakes but the Dutch eat them and prefer them before Eels At 190 Leagues North-west of the Island of Saint Helene is that of the Ascension so called by the Portuguez upon its being discovered upon Ascention-day It lies at 8. degrees 30. minutes South of the Line and hath also very high mountains but it affords no fresh water nor any other refreshment nay it hath not so much as
l. 2. daies 114 The 8. to Sabackzar 8. l. 1. day 115 The 9. to Kocks-chaga 5. leagues 1. day ibid The 13. to Suiatzki and the same day opposite to Casan where they find a Caravan conducting a Tartar-Prince and a Factor of the King of Persia's ibid The description of Casan its situation buildings Castle how the Province of the same name conquer'd by the Muscovites which occasions a pleasant diversion the exemplary fidelity of a Weywode the Great Duke forc'd out of Muscovy takes the City of Casan by storm ibid. Melons of extraordinary bigness 116 The 15. they leave Casan come the 17. to the mouth of the River Kama which falls into the Wolga on the left hand 12. leagues from Casan 117 The Iland of Sokol ibid The 18. they come to the River Serdick and afterwards to that of Vtka and see as they pass by the City of Tetus 25. leag from Casan 118 The 19. they pass before the Iland Staritzo which is three leagues in length ibid The fishing of the Muscovites and Tartars ibid Botenska Iland the Cape of Polibno the River Beitma and several Cities ruin'd by Tamerlane ibid The mountain Arbeuchin ibid The River Adrobe the Salt-mountain the River Vssa the mountain Divisagora ibid Iabla-neu-quas or the Cider-valley ibid The mountain Sariol-Kurgan and that of Savobie 119 S. Nicholas's red Snakes ibid The 28. betimes in the morning they come to the City of Samara 60. l. from Casan upon the River of the same name within two wersles of the Wolga ibid The same day they come to the mountain of the Cosaques and opposite to the fall of the River Ascola 120 The River Pantzina the Iland of Zagcrinsko ibid The 30. to the River Zagra the Iland of Sosnon and the mountain Tichi ibid The 31. to the Iland Osino and that of Schismamago to that of Koltof the mountain of Smiowa and the 40. Ilands ibid The fabulous metamorphosis of a Dragon kill'd by a Heroe ibid. SEPTEMBER The 1. they come to the City of Soratof which lies upon a branch of the Wolga 70. leagues from Samara 121 The 2. pass by the Ilands Kriâ—sna and Sapunofka and come to the mountain Achmats-Kigori 10. l. from Soratof ibid 4. leagues lower to the Iland Solotoi and the mountain Solottogori or the Golden mountain that of Craye the mountain of Pillars the River Ruslana the mountain Vrakofskarul 30. l. from Soratof the mountain Kamuschinka and River of the same name ibid. At this place the Don or Tanais is within 7. leag of the Wolga Visits from the chief Persons of the Caravan 122 The River Bolloclea 18. l. from Kamuschinka The first branch of the Wolga 123 The 6. they come to Zariza 70. l. from Soratof on the right side of the River ibid Thence to Astrachan there are only barren lands and heaths The Iland Zerpinske behind which there falls a River into the Wolga whereby there might be a communication with the Don. ibid The 7. they come to the Iland and mountain Nassonofsko 124 Tziberika a Fish of a rare figure ibid The 8. to the Cape Popowizka jurka 14. l. from Zariza and the mountain Kamnagar 8 l lower the Iland and River Wesowoi and that of Wolodinarski-Vtzga Achtobenisna Vtsga a second branch of the Wolga the Iland Ossino an extraordinary kind of Liquorice ibid. The 9. to the little City Tzornogar 40. l. from Zariza its original ibid Carps weiging 30. pound Sandates c. 168 The 10. leave Tzornogar come to the mountain Polowon and the Iland Kissar 125 The 3. and 4. branches of the Wolga the Islands of Coppono and Katarniski ibid The Iland Peruski the 5. branch of the Wolga the excellent fruits of Nagaia Cormorants the 6. and 7. branches of the Wolga ibid The 15. the Ambassadors having pass'd by the Ilands Itziburki and Basan and the River Biltzick come to Astrachan ibid The 7. branch of the Wolga maketh the Iland Dolgoi in which Astrachan lies From Moscou to Astrachan there are above six hundred German leagues A description of Astrachan where they stay neer a month 126 A description of Nagaia the Iland of Dolgoi the Salt-pits 127 Astrachan 12. l. from the Caspian Sea the fruits of Nagaia ibid Its Inhabitants Nagaia when conquer'd by the Muscovites the greatness of the City its Structures Ammunition Garrisons Governours the Tartars not permitted to come into it their manner of life and cloathing wars with the Kalmukes and Tartars of Buchar 128 Their Princes Religion food 129 The Ambassadors visited by the Persians who came along with the Caravan ibid The Cuptzi's Present a visit of the Tartar-Prince and his reception ibid The Cuptzi's visit the Weywode's Present to the Ambassadors the Ambass visit to the Tartar-Prince 130 The Cuptzi's Feast 131 The Tartars much addicted to Hawking the treatment of another Persian Merchant Brugman's imprudence the visit of another Tartar-Prince 132 The Weywode's Present ibid OCTOBER The 1. the Secretary sent to the Weywode Provision made for the continuation of the Voyage ibid The 10. the Amb. leave Astrachan and embark upon the Wolga Simples of extraordinary bigness neer Astrachan 133 The 12. come to Tomanoigor or the Snaky mountain ibid Many Ilands at the mouth of the River the Sepulchre of a Tartar-Saint the Sacrifices of the Tarters dog-fishes several sorts of Birds ibid The 15. come to the mouth of the Wolga and to the entrance of the Caspian Sea where it is very troublesom sailing 134 A Muscovian Slurrâ— the civility of a Persian Pilot an ominous day 135 NOVEMBER The 1. they come before the City of Terki in Circassia having sailed but 60. l. in 16. daies the situation of Terki upon the River Timenski its fortifications Garrison ibid The Cuptzi's Present to the Ambassadors a mutiny in the ship an Eunuch belonging to the King of Persia visits the Ambassadors their Present to the Weywode 136 Their message to the Tartar-Prince his house his reception of those sent to him a collation the curiosity of the Tartar-Ladies 137 The Princess's Present to the Ambass The Tartars enclin'd to theft ibid The Weywode's Present ibid Nov. 10. the Ambassadors leave Terki An Iland in the Caspian Sea 138 A description of the Iland Tzetlan by the Persians called Tzenzeni ibid Come in the sight of the mountain Salatto which is the Caucasus of the Autients in Mengrelia or Colchis mount Ararat 139 Are forc'd by a tempest upon the Coasts of Persia. ibid The Ambass dis-embark with part of their retinue 140 The Ship run a ground 141 A description of the Caspian Sea its names It is a particular Sea having no communication with any other 142 Above a hundred Rivers fall into it yet is it not known what becomes of them ibid The length and breadth of it contrary to the common opinion of Geographers its water is salt Curtius's error the Caspian Sea not known to the Antients 143 It neither ebbs nor flows hath few Havens its fish and fishing
15. the Ambassadors leave Moscou come the 18. to Tuere the 19. to Torsock the 23. to Novogorod the 27. enter Ingermania and the last make their entrance into Narva ibid APRIL The 4. they leave Narva and come the 15. to Reuel where the Author leaves them and embarks for Lubeck 316 They continue at Reuel three months IVLY The 11. the Ambassadors leave Reuel come the 23. to Travemunde the 30. to Kiel AVGVST The 1. they put a period to their Travels into MUSCOVY TARTARY and PERSIA and came to Gottorp ibid The end of the JOURNAL of the AMBASSADORS Travels A Catalogue of all the Pieces of Sculpture contained in these TRAVELS 1. The Frontispiece containing in one Plate five Heads viz. Frederick Duke of Holstein the two Ambassadors Crusius and Brugman Olearius Author of the Travels into Muscovy Tartary and Persia and Iohn Albert de Mandelsto Author of the Travels into the East-Indies 2. A Map of LIVONIA Part 1. lib. 2. pag. 30. 3. A Map of MVSCOVY P. 1. lib. 3. pag. 45. 4. The Pourtraiture of MICHAEL FEDEROVITS Great Duke of Muscovy P. 1. lib. 3. p. 77. 5. The Characters of the Muscovian Language P. 1. lib. 3. p. 95. 6. A Map of the Great River WOLGA P. 1. lib. 4. p. 112. 7. A Map of PERSIA P. 1. lib. 5. p. 145. 8. The Pourtraiture of SCACH SEFI King of Persia P. 1. lib. 6. p. 265. 9. A Map of the Province of KILAN as it lies on the Caspian Sea P. 1. lib. 7. p. 288. 10. A Map of the EAST-INDIES P. 2. lib. 1. p. 13. By the First-Part are meant the Travels of the Ambassadors into Muscovy Tartary and Persia By the Second those of Iohn Albert de Mandelslo into the East-Indies THE TRAVELS OF THE AMBASSADORS FROM THE DUKE of HOLSTEIN INTO MUSCOVY and PERSIA The First Book THE Most High and Mighty Prince Frederick by the Grace of God Hereditary Prince of Norway Duke of Sleswick and Holstein of Stormarie and Ditmars Count of Oldenburg c. having built the City of Frederickstad in the Dutchy of Holstein would settle there the Trade of Silks the most important no doubt of any in Europe Persia is the Kingdome which of any in the World yeilds most of it upon which accompt the said Prince resolv'd to court the friendship of the Sophy But in regard there were several reasons why the Silks could not be brought home by Sea and that to transport them by Land he stood in need of the permission of the Czarr or great Duke of Muscovy he thought fit in the year 1633. to send a solemn Embassy to those two great Monarks He employ'd in this Embassy Philip Crusius a Lawyer and his privy Councellor and Otton Brugman a Marchant of Hamborough whom he honour'd with the quality 〈◊〉 Councellor On the 22. of October in the year aforesaid they departed from Gottorp the place where Duke Frederick made his residence and went to Hamborough where they took order for their Voyage There they entertain'd their retinue which consisted of 34 persons and departed thence the 6. of November The next day they came to Lubeck the 8. to Tauemund where the Ambassadors took into their service an experienc'd Sea-Captain named Michael Cordes who was to be their Pilot especially upon the Caspian Sea The 9. we took leave of our Friends who had come along with us from Hamborough and embarqu'd in a Ship called the Fortune whereof Iohn Muller was Commander We took abord along with us Wendelin Sibelist a Physician who was going to Muscovy to be principal Physician to the Great Duke We got out of the Haven about 2. in the afternoon and anchor'd in the Road at 8. fathom water About 9. at night the wind South-West we set sail and made that night 20. leagues The next day the Ambassadors thought fit to make some particular Orders to be observ'd during our Voyage so to prevent the disorders which are but too frequent among those who ordinarily leave not their own Country but out of a hope to live with greater freedom elsewhere and to see the execution of them the better performed they named several Officers giving the Secretary of the Embassy the quality of Fiscal and to Wendelin Sibelist and Hartman Gramem our Physician that of Assessors They discharg'd their places well and Justice was â—o duely administred that at the end of our Voyage which was but of five dayes the penalties came to above 22. Crowns which were put into the hands of the Captain with order they should be equally distributed between the Poor of Riga and Lubeck The same day toward evening we pass'd by the Island of Bornholm leaving it a good league on the right hand That Island is conceiv'd to be distant from Lubeck 40. German Leagues The length and breadth of it is neer the same viz. 3. leagues it hath a Royal Palace named Hammershausen belonging to the King of Denmark Towards the North-side of the Island are the Rocks called Erdholm well known by reason of the frequent wracks which make them so much the more formidable to Mariners in the Autumn in regard the darkness of the nights keeps them from being discover'd and that all about them those that sound meet with no bottom The 11. at noon we were at 56. degrees of latitude the weather continuing fair but towards night the wind still at South-West rais'd such a tempest that we were forc'd to take in all our sails and go before the wind till the next morning Those among us who were not us'd to the Sea were so sick that some vomited blood but in regard we had the wind a-stern it 's violence hindred us not from keeping on our course and making fifteen Leagues that night Some are of opinion that the stinch of the salt water corrupting in the sink is that which provokes such vomiting Others on the contrary affirm that it is caused by the violent agitation of the Ship which makes the head turn and the stomack to cast up what is in it But certain it is that both contribute thereto in as much as if the agitation trouble the brain the stinch also offends it and makes those heart-sick whose smelling is subtile provoking vomiting even without any violent motion wherever they are not only at Sea but also any where else Those who conceive that people are not subject hereto upon Rivers are deceiv'd for besides that experience hath evinc'd the contrary we have there the same motion and fresh water being corrupted stinks no less than the salt The 12. we had so great a calm that the Ship being as it were fastnen'd to the same place we had the convenience to bring our Musical Instruments upon the deck to sing a Te Deum and to give God thanks for our deliverance out of the imminent danger we had been in the night before About noon the wind came to South
take the Air they run after us having Goosberies to sell whereof we bought a hatful for a Copeck 'T was pleasant to see those Children to the number of fifty together leaping about us as we lay on the grass to eat our Goosberries so dress'd as that we could not distinguish the Boies from the Girls for both had their hair cut all off excepting only two mustaches which were suffer'd to grow at their Temples and were clad in shirts reaching to their ancles Our Physician would needs make a discovery of sexes among them and having caught one of the Children by the shirt it happened to be a Boy who told him laughing Deske niet that he was no Girl and thereupon pointed to some that were The 23. at dinner was the first time we heard any of the Country Musick which consisted of a Lute and Violin with some voices singing aires to the honour of their Czaar Michael Federouits and perceiving they were permitted they fell a-dancing after a strange manner The men and women danc'd much after the same manner every one alone making strange faces with as strange gesticulations the motions of the hands shoulders and hips being more violent than those of the feet which they do but gently stir not moving as it were from the same place The women have commonly handkerchers in their hands fring'd with silk of divers colours which they cast about their heads After dinner we embark'd upon the River Wolgda Our Musketiers or Strelits begg'd the benediction of a Monk that happen'd to be by the River side it being their custom to beg it of all Monks and in all the Churches they come to by the way which if they have not the time to go into they think it enough to do reverences to the Crosses they see upon the Churches and Chapels pronouncing these words Hospodi Buchmilo that is to say Lord be merciful to me The wind being with us it was thought fit we should make use of our sails but the Muscovites being not the most expert Mariners one of the Ropes broke and the sail falling on one of the Musketiers struck him down so as that we gave him over for dead but coming to himself again within an hour after and having taken a considerable dram of the Aquavitae bottle he was as well as ever The Wolgda is as broad as Elbe but runs much more slowly It rises neer great Novogorod out of the Lake called the Lake of Ilmen and falls into that of Ladoga Seven werstes whereof five make a German League from Ladoga there is a strange fall of Water in that River and about a league and a half thence another where the water falls with such violence that it runs like a shaft amidst the many Rocks scatter'd up and down neer those places in so much that to draw the loaden Boats up the River there needs above a hundred men We got ashore at the former and saw our Boats pass safely all save the last in which we had left Simon Frisius a Merchant's Son of Hamborough who being extremely sick was forc'd to stay in it This Boat being drawn up to the highest pitch of the water the rope broke so that the water forc'd it back with such violence that it would have split against the Rocks if by an unexpected good hap one end of the rope which was fasten'd to the mast had not twin'd it self about one of the Rocks by which means the Boat was stay'd till we had the convenience to dis-engage it There we were told that a certain Bishop coming that way in a Boat laden with Fish had been cast away some few dayes before The other fall we pass'd without any danger and came that night to a Convent called Nicolai Nepostiza where we took up our quarters and stay'd the next day expecting the Boats that were coming after us From Reuel to Moscou are nothing but Woods Fenns Lakes and Rivers which produce such abundance of Flies Gnats and Wasps that people have much ado to keep them off in so much that in the night time they are forc'd to wrap themselves up in certain linnen cloaths such as Travellers make use of in Livonia and Muscovy those among us who had not been carefull to cover themselves having their faces so sported as if they were newly recover'd from the small pox The Wagoners and Conntry people who have not convenience enough of those cloaths are forc'd to make use of fire against the importunity of those Insects insomuch that Muscovy being every where well furnish'd with wood they make good fires and lye down by them all which hinders not but that they are extremely troubled with them There were but four Monks in the Convent the most aged among them made us a Present of Turneps pickled Cowcumbers some green Pease and two wax candles We gratify'd him with a Crown piece which he took so kindly that he let us into his Church contrary to the Custom of the Country and put on his Sacerdotal Vestments that we might see them He shew'd us in the Portal the Miracles of S. Nicholas painted according to the mode of the Country very roughly and without proportion Upon the door was represented the last Judgement wherein the Monk pointed to a Man habited after the German fashion and told us That the Germans and other Nations were not uncapable of Salvation provided they had a Muscovite Soul and that they lived justly in the sight of God He shew'd us also a Bible in his own Language for no Muscovite knows any other than his own and the Sclavonian and read to us the first Chapter of S. Iohn's Gospel which we found absolutely conformable to our Text. To which he added that being once at Reuel he had there had a conference with some of our Pastors concerning the Holy Scripture but that he could give them no great satisfaction because he did not well understand the German Interpreter He would have shewn us all the Church but our Musketiers coming in grumbled at it and reproach'd him for having communicated too much to us We gave him the tother Crown for which he gave us many thanks bowing his head to the very ground and smiting it with his forehead We intended to have made our repast upon the grass but were hardly set ere the wind turning for us the Monk brings us another prefent of Turneps and Cowcumbers telling us that the kindness we had done him had obtain'd of S. Nicholas the good wind which was to carry us on in our Voyage About 2. afternoon we set off made four leagues that dayâ—punc and came at night to a Village called Cerodiza but finding it more pleasant to be by the water side than in a Village we caus'd our meat to dress'd there and supp'd while the Marriners who made accompt to goe thence that night took some hours rest We slept not but made sport with a young Bear
away our baggage The Ambassadors follow'd the next day and three days after viz. the 10. we came to Reuel vvhence we stirr'd not for the space of three weeks But considering at last that the Baltick Sea was not Navigable that time of the year and being withal unwilling to stay there the rest of the Winter vve conceiv'd it vvould be our best course to be gone thence with the soonest and to prosecute our journey by Land through Prussia Pomerania and Mecklenbourg The Ambassadors left Reuel Ian. 30. having tabled most of their retinue with Mr. Henry Kosen and vvith a retinue of ten persons took their way to Riga The two first nights vve pass'd over at Kegel a house belonging to Iohn Muller Counsellor of the City of Reuel my Father-in-law vvhere vve vvere very vvell entertain'd Feb. 2. vve came to Parnau at vvhich place God was pleased to favour me with a great deliverance vvhich vvas thus discharging their Canon at our entrance the Tampion which they had forgotten to take out of one of the pieces pass'd very near me and struck against the vvall of the City Gate where it broke the splinters of it flying about my head with such violence that being stunn'd thereby it was half an hour ere I recover'd my self The City of Parnau is but a small one but hath a good Castle built of wood and after the Muscovian fortification to which the Houses the Gates and the Churches are suitable It is seated upon the little River of Parnau of Parnou which gives it the name and which rising out of the great Forrest near the little River Beca and the Castle of Weissenstein and receiving in its passage the waters of the Rivers Fela and Pernkeia disembougues it self into the Baltick Sea near this City which is divided into two parts the Old and the New 'T is numbred among the Hanseatick Towns though it hath not in a manner any other Commerce than that of Wheat Eric K. of Sueden took it from the Poles in the year 1562. but they recovered it again by stratagem in the year 1565. The Muscovites became Masters of it Iuly 9. 1575. but it was re-united to the Crown of Poland with the rest of Livonia by the Treaty of Peace made between that Crown and the Great Duke In the year 1617. the Suedes took it and have kept it ever since We met there with the Countess Dowager La Tour named Magdalene of the house of Hardek in Austria The Ambassadors sent me with tvvo more of our retinue to complement her and to make proffers of service to her in their names She took it so kindly that not content to make us drink his Highnesse's health three times over she forc'd us to take the bovvls out of her ovvn hands and in the mean time entertain'd us vvith much excellent discourse in commendation of his Highness and that Embassy as also concerning the manners and Religion of the Muscovites vvith a svveetness and gravity vvhich cannot vvell be express'd She vvould needs have the young Counts Christian and Henry her sons go to the Inn vvhere the Ambassadors vvere Lodg'd to complement them vvhich the young Lords perform'd handsomly and to heighten their civility they also stay'd Supper vvith them The next day the Countess sent us all manner of Provisions and Letters for Count Mathew Henry de la Tour her father-in-lavv She sent also to desire the Ambassadors to recommend her sons to his Highness and to assure him of their services when they should be of an age and in a capacity to do him any As we were getting on hors-back our Host shew'd himself an honest man and refus'd to take our money telling us the Countess had sent in most of the Provisions for the Ambassadors Supper and that the rest was not worth the reckoning so that to require his sincerity we gave him twenty Crowns But we were not got a League off the City ere we were overtaken by a man he had sent to return us our money and to tell us the Present was too small in requital of the trouble we had given him We sent back our Harbinger with the Messenger who gave the Host twelve Crowns more wherewith he seem'd to be satisfy'd The 6. We enter'd Riga The next day the Governour visited the Ambassadors and the 10. he made a great Feast for them to which he invited the chiefest of the City Some days following were also spent in Feasting among some or other of our friends Febr. 13. The Ambassadors left Riga having in their Company a certain Ambassador of France who was called Charles de Tallerand and assum'd the quality of Marquess of Exidueil Prince of Chalais Count of Grignol Baron of Marueil and Boswille Lewis xiii King of France and Navarre had sent him with Iames Roussel upon an Embassy into Turky and Muscovy But Roussel his Collegue had done him such ill Offices with the Patriarch that the Great Duke sent him to Siberia where he continu'd three years a prisoner till such time as the malice and artifices of Roussel who endeavour'd nothing so much as to inflame the differences between the Princes being discover'd he was set at liberty after the Partiarch's death During his restraint his diversion had been to learn by heart the four first books of Vergil's Aeneids which he had as they say ad unguen He was a person of an excellent good humour aged about 36. years We took our way through Courland and came the 4. about noon to Mittau This little City is situated in that part of Courland which is called Semgalles six Leagues from Riga and it is the place where the Duke ordinarily resides The Dutchy of Courland was some time part of Livonia from which it is divided by the River Dune but all this Province having been miserably ruin'd by the Suedes and Muscovites and the Archbishop of Riga and the Master of the Teutonick Order having submitted to the Crown of Poland with all they were still possess'd of there Sigismond Augustus King of Poland rais'd Courland to a Dutchy and gave it to Godard Ketler of Nesselrot last Master of the Teutonick Order in Livonia to be held immediately from the Crown of Poland Godard dies May 17. 1587. leaving by Anne the Daughter of Albert Duke of Meklenbourg two sons Frederick who died without issue and William who succeeded his brother in the Dutchy of Courland This William having been dispossess'd by Sigismond III. and the States of Poland was forc'd to live in Exile till that upon the mediation of several Foreign Princes he was re-establish'd in the year 1619. During the first War between Poland and Sueden the City of Mittau was taken by the Suedes who fortifi'd it and restor'd it not to the Duke of Courland till oblig'd thereto by a Cessation agreed on between those two Crowns in the year 1629. William's son who now hath the Dutchy and assumes the quality
Gotland is opposite to the Province of Scandinavia or Schoven which hath also the same name given it at 58. degr of Latitude It is in length 18. German Leagues in breadth between three and four The Country is full of Rocks Firre-Trees 〈◊〉 Juniper-Trees having East-wards many commodious Havens as those of Ostergaar Sleidaf Sanduig Naruig and Heiligolm Ostergaar is a small Isle standing at an equal distance from the two points of the great one with a convenient Harbour for those who can avoid the Sand-banks which thereabouts reach out a good way into the Sea Sleidaf is higher towards the North than Ostergaar and hath a safe Harâ—â—â—â— against all winds the Ships lying under the shelter of four little Isles or rather Mounts 〈◊〉 which break the violence of the Waves There 's but one Town in all the Island but there are above 500. Farms and the Churches are built within a League distance one of another as they are in the Isle of Oeland so that the Steeples give a great direction to the Ships that sail that way The Inhabitants are Danes and the Island was subject to the King of Denmark till that after a tedious War it submitted to the Crown of Sueden to which it payes annually 100. lasts of Pitch All their Traffick lies in Cattel and Wood for building and fire and thence the best deal Boards come I would needs with some other Camerades go and see the Town of Wisby It is built on the descent of a Rock upon the Sea side encompass'd with a good Wall and fortify'd with some bastions The ruins of 14. Churches and several Houses Gates and Walls of Free-stone and Marble which we observ'd there argue it hath been bigger than it now is It is said that the foundations of it were laid about the end of the eighth Age and that it hath been since so populous that it had 12000. Inhabitants for the most part Merchants not accounting the Danes Suedes Vandols Saxons Muscovites Iews Greeks Prussians Poles and Livonians who traded thither There they say were made the first Orders concerning maritime affairs which Lubeck and the other Hanseatick Cities still make use of But now the Port is quite lost so as that Ships cannot get into it The 5. the wind became more boisterous than before so that the Vessel at every great Sea was all under water About 10. at night we sounded at 12. fathom whereupon we chang'd our course and got into the main Sea for fear of running against the Land which if we had we must needs have been cast away The 6. we met a Holland Vessel which directed us towards the Isle of Tageroort whither we came at night but the same night we were again forc'd into the main Sea The 7. at noon we were upon the point of Tageroort but the Masters Mate was mistaken who thinking the wind would have carried us North-ward would perswade us it was Oetgensholm and upon that presumption imprudently engag'd himself in a most dangerous passage called the Hondeshuig He was not convinc'd of his error till he saw the Church-Steeple so that we were forc'd to return into the main with greater hazard than we had run at our entrance into that passage That day we met a bark which had lost its course so that understanding we intended for Reuel she follow'd us a while but at night left us and cast Anchor before Tageroort and as we heard since came safely the next day to Reuel All the afternoon we lost not sight of the coasts of Livonia and at night were within a League of the Isle of Narga which is at the entrance of the Haven of Reuel Our Master and his Mate would ueither go into nor anchor before Tageroort choosing rather the main Sea though in a great Tempest which kept us in action all that night and took away our Main-mast which was soon follow'd by the Mizen and the fore-castle and it was no less than a miracle that our compass was left us without which it had been impossible for us to have kept on our intended course The 8. we perceiv'd that we had pass'd the Haven of Reuel and about ten the weather became to foul that it seem'd rather an Earthquake that should turn the World upside down than a storm Our danger and fears encreas'd till three in the afternoon that one of the Seamen having got up into the scuttle of the sprit-sale told us he discover'd Hogland We got thither by 7 at night and cast Anchor at 19 fathom water There we stayd the 9. and resolved that thence-forward Prayers should be said twice a day to give God thanks for our deliverance the day before from a danger we could not have avoided otherwise than by passing among the Rocks upon the Coasts of Finland as we must have resolv'd to do if we had not discover'd that Island The Ambassadors went ashore to observe the situation of the Country and refresh themselves At night it was consider'd whether we should continue our Voyage by Sea to Narva or return to Reuel but the diversity of Opinions was such that nothing was resolv'd on About 9 at night the Master came to the Ambassadors Lodgings to tell them that the wind being East and forcing the Ship towards the Shore he saw no liklier way to be safe than by making for Reuel The Ambassadors bade him do what he thought most convenient and went aboard but as they were weighing Anchor the wind riss so that there was no possibility of taking the course intended so that the Master and his Counsel chang'd their design and thought it best to ly still at Anchor for fear of running-a-ground But all to no purpose For being near the shore the Orders given could not be put in execution with diligence enough to avoid shipwrack All could be done was to let down the Boat and to set the Ambassadors ashore with some of their retinue After the Ship had struck several times against certain pieces of Rocks whereof there is abundance all along the Coast it split and sunk All the men were sav'd a good part of the goods and seven horses whereof two dy'd the 〈◊〉 day We shelter'd our selves in Fishers huts along the Sea-side where we met with some Livenians that dwelt thereabouts who could speak nothing but the jargon of the country That poor refuge sav'd their lives who had escap'd the wrack else their cloaths being all wet about them most of them would have been starv'd to death in the snow which fell the night following The 10. we thought fit to try whether any more of the goods could be gotten out of the Ship but the rough weather continuing none would venture going near it with a Boat till that in the afternoon some things were gotten out Our Cloaths Books and other things we laid out a-drying the Sea water having injur'd some and utterly spoil'd others The greatest of our losses was that of a
Clock worth four thousand crowns which the horses had broke to pieces by striving to get loose This misfortune was follow'd by another which though we saw at some distance yet distracted us no less and that was want of provisions The Sea-water had spoil'd ours and our fear was that the frost forcing us to winter in the Island we must either be starved or reduc'd to the extremities of feeding on the barks of trees as some that had been cast away there some years before were constrain'd to do We had but little bread left and the Bisket was so soak'd in Salt-water that we were forc'd to boyl it in fresh with a little Cummin or Fennel and so made a Pottage of it for our Servants One day we took in a Brook which falls from the Mountains as many small Fishes as found us two good meals Hogland hath its name from the height of its situation it being seen a great way into the Sea and is about 3 leagues in length and one in breadth You see nothing but Rocks Firr-trees and Thorns We indeed saw some few Hares which in Winter turn white as they do all over Livonia but our Dogs could not follow them through the VVoods and over the Rocks In the mean time it was reported at Reuel that we were all lost rais'd by this that there had been dead bodies found upon the coast of Livonia clad in red which was our Livery as also with this addition that the Bark spoken of before had related that she had seen us carried away with the storm beyond the bay of Reuel Besides it was eight days before they heard from us so that those of our people whom we had left there at our return from Muscovy were seeking out other services when M. Vchterits then Chamberlain to the Ambassadors and now Gentleman of the Privy-chamber to his Highness of Holstein at Gottorp brought them an accompt of us We had the convenience to send him thither in one of the two Finland barks which the tempest had forc'd to that Island on the 3 of November The 17. The Ambassadors embark'd themselves each of them with a retinue of five persons in two Fisher-boats to pass over to the continent from which this Island is distant above 12. leagues Nor were we in less danger now than before for as much as the Boats being small and old were not caulked and were ty'd above only with cords made of barks of trees The sail was a great many rags fasten'd together and so order'd that there was no use to be made of it but when the wind blew right a-stern so that the wind beginning to shift after we had come five leagues the Fisher-men would have tack'd about but we prevail'd with them to let down the sail and to make use of their Oars to get to an Island which was within half a league of us and where we arriv'd that night We found there only two ruin'd hutts we made a fire and pass'd over the night but having neither Bread nor Meat we made our supper on a piece of Milan Cheese we had left The next day we prosecuted our Voyage with a very good wind and fair weather though the Sea was a little rough Having made two leagues a sudden blast coming from the East though the wind were North turn'd the Boat in which I was with the Ambassador Brugman so much upon one side that it took in water the surges at the same time rising half an ell above the brinck of it All the Fisher-men could do was to let down the sail and to run to the other side of the boat to weigh it down The blast being over we kept on our course till a second put us to the same trouble We had three of them in less than two hours and this I think the greatest danger we had met with in our Voyage in as much as the Boat being old and having in it eight Persons all the Silver Plate and other luggage which in a manner fill'd it so as that one wave might have overwhelm'd it and cast us all away But afterwards when the Fisher-men saw the blast coming they turn'd the side of the Boat to the wind that the wave might not come with its full force upon it and by that means we avoided the danger Within three Leagues of Land we had also a violent shower of hail but what is most to be admir'd in all this was that the Boat which carried the Ambassador Crusius though within Pistol-shot of us felt nothing of all this but had fair weather all along Being gotten within half a League of Land the wind shifting to the South was just in our teeth and had oblig'd our Fisher-men to return if the hope of a three-pint-Flagon of strong water which we promis'd them had not given them the courage to let down the sail and to row us ashore This was the 18. at night in Esthonie after we had roved two and twenty dayes upon the Baltick Sea with all the danger that is to be expected by those who trust themselves to the mercy of that Element in so uncertain a season The 22. came to Hogland two other barks forc'd thither by foul weather Those we had left of ours in the Island pass'd in them to the continent whither they came the 24. with the horses and baggage We went thence to Kunda a house belonging to my late Father-in-Law Iohn Muller distant two Leagues from the Sea where we staid three weeks to refresh our selves after so much hardship at Sea Most of us fell sick yet none kept their beds above three dayes Thence we went to Reuel whether we came the second of December with an intention to sojourn there some time which we spent in ordering our Cloaths and the Presents which the salt-water and the other inconveniences ensuing upon the wrack had much prejudiced The Ambassadors having all their people about them at Reuel thought fit to publish the Order which the Duke would have observ'd through the whole Voyage They had brought it with them seal'd with his Highnesse's Great Seal but they added some things thereto the better to prevent the disorders which are but too frequent where there are so many Servants But in regard they contain'd nothing extraordinary we shall not insert them here and only say they were ill observ'd for the Ambassador Brugman having arm'd the Lacquies with Pole-axes which had Pistols in their handles and given order they should not take any affront from the Inhabitants of Reuel there hardly pass'd a day during the three Moneths we staid there in expectation of other Credentials but there was some falling out and fighting In so much that Feb. 11. Isaac Mercier a French-man that waited on the Ambassador Brugman in his Chamber a person of a good humour and not quarrellous hearing the noise of an engagement between the Ambassadors Servants and the Apprentices of the City and desirous to
skin falls from the flesh Nor are they suffer'd to have any money for as soon as it is known they have any the Gentlemen and their Officers who are paid by the Peasantry take it from them nay force them to give what they have not Which cruelty of the Masters puts these poor people many times into despair whereof there happened a sad example A Peasant press'd by his Officer to pay what he neither had nor ought and being depriv'd of the means whereby he should maintain his Family strangled his Wife and Children and when he had done hung himself up by them The Officer coming the next day to the house thinking to receive the mony struck his head against the man's feet that was hanging and so perceiv'd the miserable execution whereof he was the cause The Nobility of Livonia especially of Esthonie is free from all charges and taxes Their courage and the services they have done against the Infidels and Muscovites have acquir'd them this liberty and most of their privileges Volmar II. King of Denmark first gave them Mannors to be held by Fealty which have been since confirm'd by Eric VII who gave them Letters Patents to that purpose The Masters of the Order of the Short Sword and the Grand Masters of the Order of Prussia augmented them Conrad de Iungingen extended the succession of such Mannors in Harrie and Wirland to the daughters and their issue to the fifth degree and Gaultier de Plettenberg who was chosen Grand-Master in the year 1495. and acknowledg'd Prince of the Empire in 1513. absolutely exempted the Nobility of Esthonie from all subjection excepting only the service which Gentlemen are oblig'd to do in person upon the accompt of their Mannors Once a year there is a review made of them and that body of Nobility is look'd upon as a Nursery that hath furnish'd and still doth furnish Sueden with a great number of Officers even to Generals of Armies besides the Noble Cavalry it is able to raise for the service of that Crown The said Nobility came not under the protection of the King of Sueden till such time as being forsaken by all their Neighbours and not able to oppose their enemies any longer they were forc'd to make their applications to a forein Crown which hath promis'd to secure unto them all the Privileges they have by their courage acquired The Government of the Country both as to Policy and Justice is in the Nobility who commit the administration thereof to twelve of themselves who are the Council of the Country and have for their President him who is Governour of the Province for the Crown of Sueden In the time of our Embassy Philip Scheiding was President who hath been since succeeded by Eric Oxienstern Baron of Kimilko Counsellor of the Crown of Sueden and he by Henry Count de la Tour. They meet yearly in Ianuary and then decide all differences between parties all their proceedings consisting in a Declaration and an Answer upon which they immediately give judgement To this purpose is chosen a Gentleman who hath the quality of Captain of the Province and represents to the Governour and Council the grievances of the people if there be any and this employment is not continued in the same person above three years And whereas during the Wars with the Muscovites and Polanders private mens Inheritances in the Provinces of Harrie Wirland and Wieck have been so confounded that the sutes occasion'd thereby could not be peremptorily decided there are appointed certain Judges from three years to three years who take cognizance thereof and if any one find himself aggriev'd by their judgement he may appeal to the Governour and Council of the Country who appoint Commissioners who having been upon the places in question do either reverse or confirm the former Judgement They have also particular Judges for the High-wayes which are there very bad because of the Fenns Bridges and Causwayes which are frequent all over the Country To return to our Voyage We said before that the Ambassadors coming to Calmer in the beginning of Novembor had sent a Page and a Lacquey to Gottorp for other Credentials instead of those the Sea-water had spoil'd Iohn Arpenbeck our Interpreter had been sent to Muscoâ— to give an account there of our delay as also of the particulars of our wrack Being all return'd to Reuel we prepar'd for the prosecution of our Voyage and the 24 of Febr. the Ambassador sent away the Controller of their house with 31 sledges with part of the train and baggage We all went along with the rest March 2. the Magistrate and some of our friends brought us a league out of the City We lay that night at Kolka a house belonging to the Count de la Garde Constable of Sueden 7 leagues from Reuel March 3. we came to Kunda whereof we have spoken elsewhere and the 4. to a house belonging to M. Iohn Fock 5 leagues from that of the Count Garde's March 5. after five leagues travelling we came to Narva 'T is a small Town but strong and hath a very good Castle It is situated at 60 degrees of the Aequinoctial in the Province of Allentaken so called from the River Narva or Nerva This River rises out of the Lake Peipis and falls into the Gulf of Finland two leagues below this Town It is in a manner as broad as the Elbe but much swifter and its water is very brownish About half a league above this Town there is a fall of water which makes a dreadful noise and is so violent that breaking upon the Rocks it is reduc'd as it were to powder which filling the Air affords a strange sight by reason that the Sun shining upon it makes a kind of Rain-bow no less pleasant than that fram'd in the Clouds This fall occasions the unlading of all Merchandizes which pass that way from Plescon and Derpt for Narva to be sent into the Gulf of Finland 'T is said that Volmar II. K. of Denmark built it in the year 1213. Iohn Basilouits G. D. of Muscovy took it in the year 1558. and Pontus de la Garde General of the Suedish Army recover'd it from the Muscovites on the 6 of September 1581. and ever since the Suedes have been masters of it Nielis Asserson was Governour of it at the time of our Embassy who was succeeded since by Eric Gyllenstierna Governour and Lieutenant General for the Crown of Sueden in Ingermania It hath a long time enjoy'd the same privileges with the other Hanseatick Towns but the Wars between Muscovy and Sueden had so far destroy'd the commerce of it that it is within these few years that there are some hopes conceived of its re-establishment which cannot encrease but as that of Reuel abates The War between the English and Hollanders was so much to its advantage that the Commerce of Archangel being by that means interrupted the Ships that were wont to go to
cause their names to be enroll'd as well at their departure as at their return to the end notice may be taken that no Robbers Golops or fugitive Slaves get in among them In like manner at the return of their Voyage if they pass through Muscovy in the Winter time it shall be lawfull for them at their own charge to hire such a number of Sledges as they shall think fit so as that they be not hindred in the prosecution of their Voyage either in Cities or in the Country Enjoyning further that all respect be given to the Ambassadors of Holstein and all civillity done their people both going and coming not permitting that they should suffer any violence or be robbed obliging them also for their part not to take any provisions by force of any whatsoever but it shall be lawful for them to buy for their money of those that shall be willing to sell to them both going and coming Writ at Moscou in the year 7144. June 20. and signed The Czaar and Great Duke of all the Russes Michael Federouits and lower Deak Maxim Matuskin and sealed with the great Seal The Pristaf having given us our Pass-port we appointed Iun. 30. for our departure Mr. David Ruts gave us another entertainment that day and kept us till the last hour of the day which the Muscovites beginning it at Sun-rising and ending it at Sun-set having struck the Pristaf caus'd to be brought out the Great Dukes Horses and hasten'd our departure being accompany'd by several persons of quality who brought us as far as the Monastery of Simana three leagues from Moscou where our Boat waited for us avoiding by that means the many windings of the River from Moscou thither But it were not handsome to leave Moscou without giving some account of that great City the Metropolis of all Muscovy to which it gives the name as it takes its own from the River Moska This River which passes through and divides all the rest of the City from that quarter of it which is called Strelitza Slauoda rises out of the Province of Tuere and having joyn'd its waters with those of the Occa near Columna it falls together with the other about half a league thence into the Wolga The City is elevated 55 degr 36 min. its longitude 66 degrees in the midst of all the Country and almost at an equal distance from all the Frontiers which is above 120 German leagues It is about three leagues about and no doubt hath been heretofore bigger than it is now Mathius de Michou a Canon of Cracovid who â—ourish'd at the beginning of the last age says that in his time it was twice as big as the City of Prague The Tartars of Crim and Precop burnt it in the year 1571. and the Poles set it a-fire in the year 1611. so as that there was nothing left of it but the Castle and yet now there are numbred in it above 40000 houses and it is out of all controversie one of the greatest Cities in Europe 'T is true that the Palaces of great Lords and the Houses of some rich Merchants excepted which are of Brick or Stone all the rest are of Wood and made up of beams and cross-pieces of Firr laid one upon another They cover them with barks of trees upon which they sometimes put another covering of Turfes The carelesness of the Muscovites and the disorders of their house-keeping are such that there hardly passes a moneth nay not a week but some place or other takes fire which meeting with what is very combustible does in a moment reduce many houses nay if the wind be any thing high whole streets into ashes Some few days before our arrival the fire had consumed the third part of the City and about 5 or 6 years since the like accident had near destroy'd it all To prevent this the Strelits of the Guard and the Watch are enjoyn'd in the night time to carry Pole-axes wherewith they break down the houses adjoyning to those which are a-fire by which means they hinder the progress of it with much better success than if they attempted the quenching of it And that it may not fasten on other more solid structures the doors and windows are very narrow having shutters of Latin to prevent the sparks and flashes from getting in Those who have their houses burnt have this comfort withall that they may buy houses ready built at a market for that purpose without the white-Wall at a very easy rate and have them taken down transported and in a short time set up in the same place where the former stood The streets of Moscou are handsome and very broad but so dirty after rain hath ever so little moisten'd the ground that it were impossible to get out of the dirt were it not for the great Posts which set together make a kind of bridge much like that of the Rhin near Strasbourg which bridges in foul weather serve for a kind of pavement The City is divided into four quarters or circuits whereof the first is called Catayrogod that is the mid-City as being in the midst of the others This quarter is divided from the rest by a brick-wall which the Muscovites call crasne stenna that is red stone The Moska passes on the South-side of it and the River Neglina which joyns with the other behind the Castle on the North side The Great Duke's Palace called Cremelena and which is of greater extent than many other ordinary Cities takes up almost one half of it and is fortify'd with three strong walls and a good ditch and very well mounted with Canon In the midst of the Castle are two Steeples one very high and cover'd with Copper gilt as all the other Steeples of the Castle are This Steeple is called Iuan Welike that is the Great Iohn The other is considerable only for the Bell within it made by the Great Duke Boris Gudenou weighing 33600. pounds It is not toll'd but upon great Festivals or to honour the entrance and audience of Ambassadors but to stir it there must be 24 men who pull it by a Rope that comes down into the Court while some others are above to help it on by thrusting The Great Duke's Palace stands towards the further side of the Castle with that of the Patriarch and appartements for several Bojares who have places at Court There is also lately built a very fair Palace of stone according to the Italian Architecture for the young Prince but the Great Duke continues still in his wooden Palace as being more healthy than stone-structures The Exchequer and the Magazine of Powder and provisions are also within the Castle There are also within it two fair Monasteries one for men the other for women and above fifty Churches and Chapels all built of stone among others those of the B. Trinity St. Mary's St. Michael's wherein are the Sepulchres of the Great Dukes and St. Nicholas's At the
softer than those other people we have spoken of The third whose name was Kabelau was not so black as the two others Her eyes were also bigger and she discover'd more wit subtilty and compliance than the other two We conceived she might be descended of those antient Christians who some time lived in Groenland in that she was observ'd to have somewhat of Religion in her or rather a particular Superstition by the aversion she had for flesh which the other two did eat such as that of those Beasts which being held unclean are not eaten in Europe Their hair was blacker than Jet and having roll'd it up together they bound it up on their crowns As soon as their Maids become marriageable they make several blew strakes in their faces as the Americans do These strakes reach from the lip to the chin or they are drawn larger at the upper end and above the nose between the two eyes nay there is one divides it self and reaches over the eye-brows into the Temples where it ends with a little branch These marks they make with a very small thread steep'd in Train-oil or some other black fatness which being brought between the flesh and the skin leaves a mark which through the skin seems blewish much like the veins in a smooth and delicate complexion They shew'd me that their ears had been holed through and that they were wont to wear Pendants in them Their breasts were very unhandsome the nipple black as a coal and the Breasts flagging and falling down upon their bellies wherein the Girl had no advantage of the other two They suckle their Children whom they carry on their backs over their shoulders I have been told by those who have long observ'd them that they have no hair any where but on their heads and are not troubled with womens monthly diseases The Groenlanders speak fast and from the throat somewhat like the Tartars especially they they pronounce very roughly the words that have a G. in them They have no R. in their language and when they are oblig'd to pronounce it they turn into L. 'T is true among so many words as their language consists of there are some Danish but very few the rest have nothing common with the languages that are either spoken or learnt or known in Europe unless it might be said that the word Keiling comes from coelum ilioun from the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as signifying the same thing It may be said also that the word Igne is Latiue but among all the rest we shall hardly meet with three or four that any way relate to any other language And to the end the Reader may himself judge we will furnish him with some of those which are most common in ordinary conversation Keiling Heaven Vbleisin a Star Agakwugoo yesterday Petting a Man Kajoictuinas young Ekiken deformed Niakau the head Siuta an ear Vkang the tongue Tikagga a finger Nasekka the belly Ennowan a Wast-coat Kaksua an arrow Kalipsi a pot Vglessin a bird Kalulisen dry'd Haberdine Towak the Fish that hath the Horn called the Unicorn's horn Touwaksen the Horn it self Kapissiling a Salmon Pauting an Oar. Vgaggan a stone Kaming a Boot Pisickse a Bow Iugeling a Knife Kejuta a Spoon Emeisa a Cup. Tukto flesh Kack sluton a Drake Kalulia Haberdine Nau a Boat Iglun a house Iliout or Ilioun the Sun Aningang the Moon Vblau day Vnuwoa night Itaguptan to morrow Kona a Woman Pannien a Child Kannoctuina old Pinallu fair Vbia Father Nulia Mother Isiken an eye Keinga the Nose Kanexua the mouth Kiguting a Tooth Vimixuin the beard Akseita the hand Kablan the thumb Kuggie a nail Kana a leg Sikadin a foot Neizin a doublet Naglein breeches Karlein stockins Suwigming Iron Mingakisin fish Kajakka a little Boat Keisuin Wood. Ipsaw the Earth Ipgin grass Nidlong Ice Apon Snow Siruksua rain I me water Imak the Sea Igne fire Igga smoak Kisakaun hot Kaigenakaun cold Vanga I. Akagoo to day Ab yes Nagga no. Pissiak a Dog Amiga the skin Mekkone a Needle Mikkakaun little Angewo great Sua what wouldst Magluna two Sassema four Akbukmen six Pingenguen eight Tellimen ten Agnessui high Eipa low Kachain hungry Ibling thou Kasilakaun full Kepsiun to eat Iemektaun to drink Keigerson to weep Iglakton to laugh Aliasukton to be troubled Tabatton to be glad Ieptone bring Nikatin go thy wayes Kia mecle which signifies Suna what is 't Tansi one Pingegua three Tellima five Arleng seven Sissemen nine The Groenlanders call those of their Countrey Inguin and strangers Kablunassouin and Cloath themselves with the skins of Sea-dogs and Sea-calves and Renes much like the Samojedes They wear under their Cloaths Wastcoats of the skins of birds as Swans Geese wild Ducks and Teals turning the feathers either inward or outward according to the seasons The difference of Sex is not easily discover'd unless it be that the Women are known by a piece of skin that hangs down before and behind to the half-leg and by the capuche of their Wastcoats which is made like that of the Recollects and large enough to hide their hair whereas that of the men is narrower and cut like that of the Franciscans The mens breeches come down to their knees and sometimes lower but those of the women are shorter and hardly cover half the Thigh They live by hunting and fishing and make use in these two exercises only of Bows and Arrows which are the only Arms they have They have also a kind of hook which they call Karlusa made of the tooth of the fish Towak which some would have thought the Unicorn's horn Of this bone they make also the instrument they use in Whale-fishing at which they are very expert taking that Creature much after another manner than is done by the Biskayans and others who drive that trade To that end they have a very long thong cut out of a Whale's skin and fasten to one end of it the said instrument which they cast at the Whale and at the other the skin of a Sea-Calf or Dog blown up which floating upon the water discovers the track of the wounded Whale If she be not mortally wounded they pursue her and Dart two or three times more at her with the same kind of instrument till such time as bloud and strength failing her they come up kill her bring her ashore and divide her The Whales fat is one of their greatest dainties but especially the Oyl which is their best sawce and the drink they best love Their ordinary drink is only water the Women I have seen would never drink any Wine nor eat of our bread or sawces for having no Salt Spice Sugar nor Vinegar in their Countrey it is not to be wondred that we could not bring them to like meats dress'd after our way Yet do they not eat their meat raw as some would perswade but dress'd either by boyling or roasting 'T is true they love dry'd Haberdine or
Muscovy and the Forests breed such abundance of Swine that they must needs be very cheap but to avoid expence as also for that their year hath more fasting dayes than flesh dayes they are so accustom'd to Fish and Pulse that they care not for flesh Add to this that their continual fasts have taught them so many wayes to dress their Fish Herbs and Pulse that a man may well forbear those dishes of meat which are much esteemed elsewhere We said how that the Great Duke willing to entertain us from his own Table sent us above forty dishes most of Pulse and Herbs Among other things they make a sort of Pies which they call Piroguen about the bigness and fashion of a twopenny Loaf They fill the crust with Fish or minc'd meat with Chibols and a little Pepper and fry them in a Pan with Butter and in Lent with Oil. 'T is no ill dish and may be called the Bisque of those parts The spawn of Fish especially that of Sturgeon they order thus They take off the skin very neatly and then salt them Having been in salt some eight or ten dayes and by that means reduc'd as it were to a paste they cut it into small slices putting Onions and Pepper to them and they are eaten with Oil and Vinegar like a Salad It eats much better if instead of Vinegar you put the juice of Citron Yet to love this kind of Sallade a man must be accustomed to it though they think it excites appetite and fortifies Nature The Muscovites call it Ikary and the Italians Cavaiar There is much of it eaten in Italy in the Lent time instead of Butter The best is made upon the Wolgda and near Astrachan whence it is transported in Tunns of 7. or 800. weight by the way of England and Holland into Italy The Great Duke reserves the Trade of this Commodity to himself farms it out and makes a very great yearly advantage of it To dispel the vapours rising up to the head after excessive drinking they take cold roasted Veal mince it not too small with some pickled Cowcumbers adding thereto a sawce of Pepper Vinegar and the juice of pickled Cowcumbers and eat it with spoons It recovers appetite and tasts well enough Their ordinary drink is a sort of small Beer which they call Quas or Hydromel but they never eat without a dram of the strong-Strong-water botle before and after their meal Persons of quality are furnish'd with strong Beer Sack and all other sorts of Wine Their strong Beer is brew'd in March and kept all Summer in their Snow-houses where they make a bed of Ice and Snow mixt together and then a layer of Barrels upon them again a bed of Ice and then another row of Barrels covering them with straw and planks which are instead of a vault to them for their Cellars are not covered The Muscovites care not much for Rhenish nor French Wines thinking them not strong enough but they love Hydromel which they order with Cherries Straw-berries Mulberries or Rasp-berries That they make with Rasp-berries is the most pleasant of any To make it well they put the Rasp-berries a-soaking in fair water for two or three nights till the water hath got their taste and colour Into this water they put some of the purest Honey allowing to every pound of Hony three or four of water as they would have the Hydromel strong or small They put into it a Toast dipp'd in the dreggs of Beer which is taken out as soon as the Hydromel begins to work lest continu'd longer it should give it an ill taste If they desire it should be long a-working they put it into some warm place but if it be for present drinking they put it in a cool place where it soon gives over working and then is taken off the Lees to be spent To better the taste of it they put in a little bag of Cinnamon and grains of Paradise with some few Cloves Some instead of fair water steep the Rasp-berries 24 hours in common Aquavitae which gives the Hydromel an excellent tast Common Hydromel is made of the Honey-combs which they beat in warm-water stirring it much and after it hath rested seven or eight hours they cleanse it through a Sieve boyl it scum it and without any more ado expose it to sale Persons of Quality discover themselves by their retinue and expence which yet is not so great as might be imagin'd For though they have sometimes 50. 60. or more Slaves about them their stables well furnish'd and make great feasts well supply'd with Meat and all sorts of Beer Wine Hydromel and Strong-water yet all comes from their Country-houses and Dairies so as that they buy but very little Their entertainments are so many baits to draw in Presents which they expect of those that are not of their own quality in so much that they deerly buy the honour which the Knez and Bojares do them upon such occasions Strange Merchants know well enough what that honour is to cost them and desire it not but to gain the favour of the Great ones whose countenance they stand in need of The Weywodes are sure to make two or three of these entertainments yearly in their Governments The greatest honour a Muscovite thinks he can do his friend is to let him see his Wife to be presented with a Cup of Strong-water by her and to permit he should kiss her Count Leo Alexander de Slakou gave me to understand so much at my being in Muscovy in the year 1643. Having dined with him he made me withdraw into another Chamber where he told me that he could not make a greater expression of the respects he had for me nor a greater acknowledgment of the obligation he had to his Highness than to shew me his Wife She presently came in very richly clad in her wedding-cloaths and follow'd by a Gentlewoman with a bottle of Strong water and a Silver Cup. The Lady bid her fill out and having put it to her mouth presented it to me and oblig'd me to drink it off which I dâ—d thrice together That done the Count would have me kiss her which I the more wondred at in regard that kind of civility is not yet known in Holstein Wherefore I would have contented my self to have kiss'd only her hand but he so kindly engag'd me to kiss her lips that there was no avoiding of it She presented me a Handkercher embroider'd at the extremities with Gold Silver and Silk with a deep fringe such as are presented to the Bride on her Wedding day Afterwards I found a note fasten'd to it wherein was the name of Stresnof Uncle by the Fathers side to the Great Dutchess The Knez and Bojares have not only pensions and considerable allowances but also great real estates Merchants and Tradesmen live by Commerce and their Trades Those who may go out of the Country and are permitted to Traffick into Persia Poland Sueden and
in their accompts Sometimes the Causes of the Inhabitants of those two places are judged in this Pricas For though ordinarily there be no appealing from the Weywodes yet those who mistrust the success of their business by the partiality they observe in the Weywode may remove their Causes to Moscou The Chancellor Almas Iuanouits is the President of it The Provinces of Gallitz and Volodimer have also their particular Pricas for the same purpose it is called Galliasko-Volodimirski Pricas the President the Ocolnitza Peter Petrouits Gollowin The monies arising from all the Taverns and Kabaâ—s of Muscovy is paid in at the place called Nova Zetwert where all those who keep publick drinking houses are oblig'd to take the Wine Hydromel and strong-Strong-water they sell by retail and to give an account of the sale of it There they also punish those who sell any without Licence as also those who sell or take Tobacco if they be Muscovites the Germans and others Strangers being permitted the Traffick and use of it The Ocolnitza Bogdan Matheowits Chitrou presides in this Pricas The Bojar and Master of the Ordinance Gregori Basilouits Puskin under whose jurisdiction are Castrom Iareslou and other Cities of those quarters receives their accompts and decides their differences in the Castromskoi Pricas as the Ocolnitza Knez Demetri Basilouits Lewou does those of Vstoga and Colmogorod in the Vstogskoi Pricas The same Gregori Basilouits Puskin keeps the Jewels of the Crown and hath the over-sight of the German Gold-smiths who make Gold and Silver Plate and sell precious Stones and hath his Office for those things in the Solotoya Almasnoy Pricas He hath also a key to the Great Duke's Magazine of Arms and administers Justice to those who are employ'd about Arms for his particular use and pays them in the Rusiannoy Pricas The Physicians Apothecaries Chirurgeons and Operators and all of that function are oblig'd to smite their fore-heads in the presence of Ilia Danilouits Miloslauski who is their Overseer and whom they are to acquaint if the Great Duke wants any thing that relates to their Professions Tamosini Pricas is for the receit of all duties of entrance into the City of Moscou which is made by one of the Goses accompany'd by two or three Assessors who give in their accompt thereof to a Chamber called Bolschoi Prichod these Goses are changed every year The payment of the tenth penny towards the War is made to the Bojar Knez Michael Petrouits Pronski and the Ocolnitza Iuan Basilouits Alferiou in the Sbora dezatti dengi Pricas The Affairs that have no peculiar Pricas have a general one called Siskoi Pricas under the superintendency of Knez Iurgi Alexowits Dolgaruskoi The Patriarch hath his particular Pricas's to wit that of Roscrad where a Register is kept of all the Church-goods and where are the Charters and Archives that of Sudny where the Patriarch hath his Spiritual Jurisdiction and that of Casaunoy where the Patriarch's Revenue and Treasure is kept He hath also his Ecclesiastical Judges and Officers who give him an account of all their actions There is no Pricas but hath its Diak or Secretary and many Clerks and Coppiers who all write very well and are skill'd in Arithmetick according to their way in which they make use of Plum-stones instead of Counters Whence it comes that there is no Officer but hath about him a certain quantity of them in a little purse They are forbidden upon pain of whipping to take Poschnl or Presents yet they venture to do it nay their avarice is such that many times they will of themselves proffer Copies of dispatches and private resolutions out of a hope to get somewhat for them But these proffers are to be mistrusted for I know by experience that those people seldom have what they put others in hope of or if they have it is so dangerous to communicate it that for the most part they put off forgeries and suppositious pieces In the year 1643. the Minister of a Forein Prince being desirous to have a Copy of my Dispatches one of the Clerks of the Counsel sold it him at a very dear rate I was shewn it afterwards but when at my return to Holstein the Letters were translated there was nothing of what I had seen in the Copy They do not keep a Register of their Acts in Books but they write them in Rolls of paper pasted together till they are 25. or 30. ells in length of which their Offices are full At our coming to Moscou we were made believe that Presents could procure any thing at Court Indeed I have known some Lords who though they would not take ought themselves were not sorry to see any thing sent to their Wives but I have also known some who made it appear they were absolutely incorruptible and that their fidelity to their Prince was Presentproof to their great regret who consider that where nothing is given nothing is thence obtain'd Justice is administred in the Pricas's we have spoken of The Bojar who presides there hath his Secretary and Assessors and finally determines whatever comes before him Heretofore the Muscâ—â—ites had but few 〈◊〉 and few Customs according to which all Cases were decided They concern'd only attemptâ—â—â—ainst the Great Duke's person Treasons against the State Adulteries Thefts and Debts bâ—â—ween private persons The decision of all other Affairs depended on the breast of the Judge 〈…〉 the year 1647. the Great Duke assembled together the most Famous Men of the Kingdom and caused to be set down in writing and to be publish'd several Laws and Ordinances whereby the Judges are to regulate themselves They were printed in folio under the Title of SOBORNA ULOSIENIA that is to say Vniversal and General Right for the direction of the Bojares Heretofore their proceedings were thus In those Causes where the parties were not agreed as to the matter of fact and had no evidence of either side the Judge asked the Defendant whether he would take his Oath that the matter was as he alleged or refer it to the Plaintiff's Oath He who proffer'd to take his Oath was once a week for three weeks one after another brought before the Judge who every time press'd unto him the importance of an Oath and the sin he would burthen his Conscience withall if he swore falsly If notwithstanding these remonstrances he still persisted in his readiness to take his Oath though he swore nothing but the truth yet people look'd on him as an infamous person would spit in his face and turn him out of the Church into which he was never receiv'd afterwards much less was he admitted to the Communion unless it were at the point of death Now they do not proceed with so much rigour but only bring him who is to take his Oath before an Image of one of their Saints where he is asked whether he will take his Oath upon the salvation of his Soul If he persist they give him a little
will after the manner we have before described their whipping These Juglers put the people into continual frights and besot them with so strange a veneration for their Images that in their greatest dangers their recourse is only to them Iacob de la Gardie General of the Suedish Army having in the year 1610. taken the City of Novogorod some part of it was set a-fire and one of the Inhabitants seeing his House all of a flame presented thereto an Image of St. Nicholas entreating it to stay the progress of the furious Element which was ready to ruine him But perceiving the fire went on still he flung his Image into it saying to it that since it would not help him let it help it self and quench the fire if it would It was then also observ'd that the Suedish Souldiers not finding any thing in their Houses carried away the Images of the Muscovites and by that means oblig'd them to follow them and to redeem their Saints at a very dear rate The first thing they teach their Children is to make their reverences and inclinations to the Images At Ladoga I lodg'd at a Womans House who would not give his breakfast to a Child she had who could hardly either stand or speak till he had first made nine inclinations before the Saint and as often as well as he could pronounce it said his Gospodi Nor is it to be thought but that among so great a number of innocent persons there are some so well instructed as to see a glimpse of truth through these thick Clouds of ignorance There was at Russian Narva a rich Merchant who is still living one that came often to visit the Ambassadors and dined with them He discours'd very rationally and would say that he did not approve the opinion which the rest of the Muscovites have of their Saints nor the worship of their Images and he did not expect his Salvation from Colours which he might wipe out with his handkercher and from wood which it was in his power to cast into the fire That he found in the Holy Scripture which he had attentively read over much more solid comforts and such foundations for his happiness as could not be shaken That their Fasting signify'd nothing when instead of eating Flesh they glutted themselves with the best sorts of Fish and the most delicious Hydromel and Aquavitae That bread and water might suffice those who were desirous to fast and that prayer was the best part of that mortification The Ambassadors ask'd him why having all these good sentiments about him he had not withall the Charity to inspire them into his Country-men He answered that it was not his calling and that if he endeavour'd it he should not prevail because he was already look'd on as a Heretick among them That he suffer'd Images in his House but only for the honour of God and to honour the memory of the Saints That he had a Picture of the King of Sueden's and kept it for the Heroick actions done by that Prince and that he conceiv'd he might do the like with those of Iesus Christ and the Saints who had not only done great actions but also Miracles We found by the sequel of his discourse that he knew all the reasons alleged by the Greeks at the Council of Constantinople against those whom they called Iconomachi in the year 787. against which Council Charlemaign called in the year 797. that of Frankford in which the Doctrine of the Greeks concerning Images was condemned and anathematized Not long since a Protopope of Casanskey whose name was Iuan Neronou began to inveigh against the honour done to Images charging those with Idolatry who worshipped Colours and Wood. He said that if there were any veneration due to Images that they were rather to admire in man that of God and to honour the Painter rather than the Images made by him But the Patriarch soon took an order with this Priest degraded him and shut him up in the Monastery called Cameno Monastir upon the River Wolga When the wood of their Images comes to rot they do not cast it away but throw it into the River that the water may carry it away or they bury it in some Garden or Church-yard The Saints of Muscovy as well as those of other places have their Miracles Possevin says they are all Fables and that the stories related of them are ridiculous They have one of a very late date named Sudatworets Philip Metropolite of the House of Colitziou He lived in the reign of the Tyrant Iohn Basilouits and grew famous for the remonstrances he made to that Prince of his wicked life The Tyrant troubled thereat sent him into a Monastery far from Moscou so as that he might be no longer importun'd with his reproaches but the other made the Pen do what his tongue could not and from time to time represented the Judgement of God to the Eyes of the Great Duke so pressingly that the other not able any longer to endure his reprehensions sent one of his Servants to strangle him The Executioner found him ready enough to dy with this desire only that instead of strangling him with a Cord he would run him with a Knife into the Heart which he accordingly did The Monks of the Monastery put him into the Catalogue of their Holy Martyrs and sent his Body to be buried in the Island of Solofka in the White Sea near Archangel where they say he hath done many Miracles The present Patriarch perswaded the Great Duke that while he was Metropolitane of Rostou and Iarislau he had heard that many sick persons had been healed there and that the Body of the Saint was as whole as the day he was kill'd and prevail'd with him to have it translated from Solofka to Moscou The Miracles which are known to have been really done at the translation thereof are these viz. that Knez Michael Levontgewits who was employ'd to see it done going thither with a Diak and his two Sons and having embark'd himself with some of his retinue in a great open Boat he got safely into the Island but it could never be known what became of the three others and all those that were with them The other Miracle was that the Great Duke the Patriarch and all the Court going a league out of Moscou to meet the Saint the Metropolitane of Rostou and Iaroslau named Warlam being a corpulent fat Man and about 70. years of age wearied with so small a Journey fell down stock-dead As soon as he came to the shrine Which at least is as certain as what the Muscovites say of the great number of the blind dumb deaf lame persons troubled with agues and paraliticks whom that body hath healed since it was placed in the great Church of the Castle At first no week pass'd but it did five or six Miracles but now it doth not any at all and they say it is by reason of the incredulity of the people that that
their Retinue and some Iron and Brass Guns a great number of Granadoes and other Fire-arms And as our design was to make use of it chiefly upon the Wolga which is full of Banks and quick-sands it was so built as that if there were no wind they might use Oars and to that end it had twelve seats two Oars to every seat We had caused to be made a double Shallop for the conveniency of unlading the Ship in those places where it might want water as also to carry the Anchors Cables Sails and other things necessary for so great a Voyage and to discover those Banks and Sands in the Caspian Sea which might hinder or retard its passage We stayd almost three weeks before the City of Nisenovogorod for the finishing of the Ship which time we spent in visiting our Friends in the City where the chiefest Dutch Merchants entertain'd us at several great Feasts as also in reciprocally treating them in our Tent which we had pitch'd by the River side Our stay there gave me the convenience to observe the elevation of that place which I found at the place where the River Occa falls into the Wolga to be at 56 degrees 28 minutes and that the Needle of the Compass declined there above nine degrees towards the West The Great Duke Basili ordered it to be built at the conflux or meeting of those two Noble Rivers and gave it the name of Nisenovogorod upon occasion of the Inhabitants of the great City of Novogorod whom he caused to be translated thither This indeed is not so great as the other yet hath its Towers and Walls of stone From Moscou to Nise are accounted 500 werstes or 100 German leagues by Land but by water it is above 150. The Suburbs are much bigger than the City and are above half a league about The Inhabitants are Tartars Muscovites and Hollanders of whom there are so many as make a Protestant Church of about 100. persons Iohn Bernarts our Factor was the chiefest man among them the rest being for the most part Military Officers Merchants and Victuallers or Sutlers The City is Governed by a Weywode who at our passage that way was Basili Petrouits under the Great Duke-Provisions were so cheap there that we bought a Pullet for a penny a quartern of Eggs for as much and a Mutton for 12. 15. or at most for 18. pence Iuly 24. The Ambassadors sent Monsieur Mandelslo and my self accompany'd by our Muscovian Interpreter and the Pristaf to the Weywode to thank him for his civilities towards our people during the stay they had made in the City while the Ship was a building which was almost a year and to make him a Present of a Jewel worth a hundred Crowns His reception of us discover'd how magnificently he liv'd and what a noble house he kept For as soon as notice was brought him that we were come near the house he sent two very handsom compleat persons to meet us at the Gate They conducted us through a very long Gallery and at the entrance into the Palace it self we met with two comely old men richly clad who brought us to the Weywode's Chamber who had on a Garment of Brocadoe and was accompany'd by a great number of persons of Quality The Room was hung with Turkie Tapistry and had in it a great Cup-board of Plate He receiv'd us with much civility and having accepted the Present and answer'd our Complement he desir'd us to take our part of a Collation during which his Discourse was excellent good and such as we thought the more extraordinary in that the Muscovites for the most part contribute very little to any thing of Conversation Among other things he asked us whether we did not fear meeting with the Cosaques who in all likelyhood would set upon us ere we got off the Wolga and told us they were a barbarous and inhumane people and more cruel than Lions shewing us at the same time a Picture wherein was represented Sampson's engagement with one of those Creatures We made him answer that we look'd on that Piece as a good omen in as much as if the Cosaques were stout as Lions we should behave our selves on the other-side like Sampsons The Weywode reply'd that he had that good opinion of us nay-believ'd that the repute our Nation had gain'd by the services it had done his Czaarick Majesty would frighten the Cosaques and hinder them from attempting ought against us The River Wolga is four thousand six hundred Geometrical feet wide near Nise at the meeting of the two Rivers and whereas its waters encrease in the months of May and Iune by reason of the Sun 's having melted the Snow and thaw'd the Rivers which fall into it the Boat-men who go from Moscou to Astrachan do commonly take that time when there is water enough to pass over the Banks of Sand nay indeed the little Islands which are very frequent in that River This consideration and the example of their misfortune whose Boats we had seen cast away and half rotten upon the Sands made us resolve upon our departure thence with the soonest before the waters which visibly decreas'd were fallen too low and so we appointed it should be the 30 th of Iuly The Wolga whereof we gave a short accompt in the precedent book is in my opinion one of the noblest and greatest Rivers in the World its course being of a vast extent from its source to the place where it falls into the Caspian Sea below Astrachan Whence it came that I took a delight to observe all the particularities thereof from League to League and from Werste to Werste with all possible exactness and with the assistance of a Dutch Master's-mate named Cornelius Nicholas one of the most able I ever came acquainted with in that Science as also of some Muscovian Pilots I have drawn a very exact Map of it which I had made the World a promise of some years since but now part with it so well done that I hope the Judicious Reader will be satisfy'd therewith Having bought Provisions for our Voyage as far as Astrachan we left Nise the day before named having only a side wind Mr. Balthasar Moucheron Commissary or Agent from his Highness of Holstein about the Great Duke the Weywode of Nise's Secretary the Pastor of the Lutherans Church there and our Factor Iohn Bernarts would needs accompany us some Werstes to see the beginning of that long Voyage but we had hardly got two Werstes ere we were a ground near the Monastery of Petsora and forc'd to cast Anchor while the men were getting off the ship which took them up four hours Iuly 31. Having made about a Werste the Ship touch'd against a Sand-bank but was soon got off and we had continu'd our course if the contrary wind together with a Tempest had not oblig'd us to cast Anchor This interval we spent in our Devotions to give God thanks for
Horse an Ox or a Sheep roasting the flesh and take a cut thereof in a Dish and holding in the other hand another Dish full of Hydromel or some other liquor they cast both into a fire which they make before the skin of the Creature that is sacrificed which skin they hang upon a Pole laid a-cross between two Trees They intreat that skin to present their Prayers to God or sometimes they make their address immediately to God and pray him to augment the number of their Cattel or grant them some other conveniencies of this life which are the only object of all their Devotions They adore also the Sun and Moon as Authors of all the Noble Productions of the Earth nay they are so fondly superstitious as to have a veneration for what ever presents it self to them in the night in their Dreams and to adore it the next day as a Horse a Cow Fire Water c. I told the Tartar I spoke of before that it was madness to worship those Creatures whose lives are at our disposal He reply'd that it was better to adore things Animate than the Gods of Wood and Colours which the Muscovites have hanging on their Walls They have neither Churches nor Priests nor Books and the Language of the Ceremisses is peculiar to them having in a manner nothing common with that of the other Tartars nor yet with the Turkish though those who are subject to the Czaar and so oblig'd to converse with the Muscovites make use also of their Language They perform all Religious Ceremonies and Sacrifices near some Torrent where they meet together especially when upon the death of any of their friends who hath left any Wealth behind him they make good Cheer with the best Horse he had which they put to death with the Master Polygamy is so ordinary among them that there are few but have four or five Wives whereof they take two or three into the same house and make no great difficulty to marry two or three Sisters at the same time Their Women and young Maids are all clad in a coarse white Cloath wherein they so wrap up themselves that there is nothing to be seen but their Faces Those that are betroathed have a particular dress for their Heads which hath a point like a Horn which seems to come out of the Head about half an ell in length At the end of that Horn there is a Tassel of silk of diverse colours at which hangs a little Bell. The Men wear a long Coat or Garment of coarse Linnen Cloath under which they wear Breeches They all shave their Heads only those young Men that are not married leave on the Head a long tress of Hair which some tye up into a knot upon the Head others suffer to hang down the Back which particularity we had the opportunity to take better notice of at our return at Casan When they saw us upon the River in a Dress so different from theirs they were affrighted so as that some fled others had the confidence to stay on the Rivers side but not one would venture to come into the Ship Being come at night to the River of Welluka near the Monastery of Iunka one of these Tartars had the courage to bring us a Sturgeon to sell for which at first he asked a Crown but afterwards let it go for xv d. August 7. we came before the City of Kusmademiansky 40. werstes from Basiligorod seated at the foot of a mountain on the right hand We saw in those parts whole Forests of Elms the Bark whereof they sell all over the Country to make Sledges of The Trees are many times of such compass that the body of them being cut cylinder-wise they make great Fat 's Barrels and Coffins thereof all of one piece which they sell at the adjacent Towns We cast Anchor three werstes thence near the Island of Krius where we did our Devotions and Celebrated the Lords Supper The Peasants thereabouts brought aboard the Ship several provisions to sell. About a league thence a tempest overtook us and forc'd us to cast Anchor and to stay there all night The 8. the wind fair we got about noon near the Island of Turich but in the afternoon the same wind forc'd our Ship being under all the Sail she could make upon a Sand-bank near the Island of Maslof with such violence that it was thought the Masts would have broken and this prov'd such a check to us that it cost us four hours toil and trouble to get off We perceiv'd on the right hand a great number of Tartars some a-foot some on horse-back coming from Hay-making We came at night before the City of Sabakzar 40. werstes from Kusmademianski and upon the same side of the River The buildings of this City are of Wood as are those of all the rest but the situation of this is beyond comparison more pleasant than that of any other City of Tartary The Inhabitants perceiving our Ship at some distance knew not at first what to think of her whence it came that the Weywode sent some Musketiers in a Boat as far as the Island of Makrits three werstes from the City to discover what we were The Boat thinking it not safe to venture too near us took a compass at a great distance about our Ship and so returned to the City But they no sooner understood our quality by our Pass-port and withall the occasion of our Voyage but there came above 300. persons to the River side to see us pass by The 9. we pass'd by the Island of Cosin leaving it on the left hand 12. werstes from Sabakzar Afterwards on the same hand a Village named Sundir and thence we came to a little City called Kockschaga on the left side of the Wolga 25. werstes from Sabakzar The River is so shallow thereabouts that there was hardly water enough for our Ship which put us to much trouble both that day and the next The 11. the current having forc'd the Ship upon the shore where we were constrain'd to stay for several hours M. Mandelslo and my self went a shore to divert our selves and see what Fruits we could find in the Woods Which had like to have occasion'd us a great misfortune for the wind turning fair at our return to the River side all were gone the Ship it self not in sight though we made all the hast we could to overtake it At last we saw a Boat coming towards us which we thought at first might belong to the Cosaques but soon after we perceiv'd they were some of our own sent to bring us aboard The conrtary wind had stay'd the Ship at a turning of the River and the tempest still increasing we were forc'd to cast anchor and to lie there all night The 12. we spent in getting beyond the turning by the help of an Anchor which we order'd to be cast at some distance before us but with this misfortune that having
five werstes in length and lies opposite to the river Lisran which there falls into the Wolga on the right hand Afterwards we pass'd by many little Isles and came very late at night to the mountain of the Cosaques It is all bare and without wood The Cosaques who live upon the River Don and had their retreating places in this mountain whence they at a great distance discovered the Boats that were coming down and there appointed parties to carry on their Robberies have given it the name But ever since the Weywode of Samara surpriz'd there a great party of Cosaques whereof there were five or six hundred kill'd upon the place they have forborn assembling there in so great numbers and appear only in small parties All these mountains do sometimes reach a great way into the Country and sometimes they do but in a manner border the river to which they serve instead of a bank We lay at Anchor all night at the place where this mountain begins and the next day 29. we pass'd it and in our way the river Pantzina which falls into the Wolga on the right hand and having sail'd that day 45 werstes we cast Anchor at night near the Isle of Sagerinsko where we staid all night Some Fisher-men who came aboard gave us intelligence that they had seen thereabouts 40 Cosaques who had made their appearance on the river side Here we told our people that our Beer beginning to grow low they must content themselves for the future with water into which they might put a little Vinegar and so make Oxicrat of it Aug. 30. we came betimes in the morning to the mouth of the river Zagra which falls into the Wolga on the right hand near the Isle of Zagerinsko to which it gives the name Forty werstes thence we pass'd by the Isle of Sosnou where news was brought us that we should meet with the 500 Casaques of whom one of the Fisher-men of Samara had given us an alarm whereupon all took Arms and the Guns were made ready but we saw not any body Towards noon we came over against the mountain of Tichy which comes out so far on the right hand that at a great distance it seems to dam up the river which nevertheless is so shallow thereabouts that some affirmed the Cosaques forded it Not far off there is a Bank of Sand called Owetzabrot and several little Isles full of copses and bushes which the Cosaques know how to make their advantages of in the carrying on their enterprises There we met with two Fishermen who told us that some eight days before the Cosaques had taken a great Boat from them and had told them that within a small time they expected to come into those parts a great German ship In the evening we called to two other Fisher-men who coming aboard we asked them what they knew concerning the Cosaques The more aged was at first cautious and would say nothing but perceiving the other who was much younger had not used the same reserv'dness he confirm'd what his Camerade had said and assur'd us that he had seen 40 Cosaques retreating into the Wood which we discover'd from our Ship and that they had six Boats which they had brought ashore to be made use of against us They both intreated us to make our best advantage of that discovery which would cost them their lives if the Cosaques came to know as much and to carry them away as Prisoners and set them ashore some werstes thence Which we accordingly did but we doubled our Guards and kept them under a Guard all that night in regard we had no reason to be more confident of them than of the Cosaques themselves The next morning at the Break of day we dismiss'd them That day we sailed 60 werstes The last of August we had so good a wind that we got 120. werstes between Sun and Sun The Isle of Ossino ten werstes distant from Saratof was the first thing we saw that day The Sand-bank which near that place reaches a great way into the River put us to some difficulty to pass it The Ship struck several times against it yet at last pass'd it without any stop Twenty werstes thence there is another Isle called Schismamago and then that of Koltof which is 50 werstes from Soratof where we found sometimes 16. sometimes 20. sometimes 30. sometimes 40. foot water Between these two Isles we met with two great Boats having each of them 400. Mariners aboard it one belong'd to the Patriarch and was loaden with Provisions the other which was loaden with Cavâ—yar which is a past of the Spawn of Eggs of Sturgeon salted as we have said elsewhere belong'd to the Great Duke They gave us several Volleys of small shot and we answer'd their civility with a great Gun Near the Isle of Koltof we met with four other Boats coming from Astrachan loaden with Salt and Salt-fish upon the accompt of Gregori Mikitof one of the richest Merchants of Moscou The Boat-men told us that they had seen near Astrachan in several Boats about 200. Cosaques who had suffer'd them to pass without saying any thing to them Not far from this Iâ—â—e may be seen on the right hand the mountain of Smiowa which is above 40. westes in length The word Smiowa signifies a Serpent and they have given the Mountain that name because it sometimes winds it self a great way into the Country sometimes it only borders the River The Muscovites would have it so called from a Serpent or Dragon which having done abundance of mischief thereabouts was kill'd by some great Heroe and cut into three pieces which were immediately metamorphosed into so many stones and are shewn to this day to such as pass that way From this Mountain all along the plain may be seen many Isles which they call Sarok ostrowe that is to say the Forty Isles Sept. 1. betimes in the morning we met with three great Boats between 5. and 600. tun a piece which yet took up but 12. foot of water They tow'd after them a great many little Boats in order to the unloading of the great ones where the River is not deep enough The biggest of them carried Provisions for the Monastery of Troitza whereof we have spoken elsewhere The Salute was the same with what we had made to those we had met before About nine in the morning we pass'd in sight of the City of Soratof It is seartd at 52. deg 12. min. elevation in great plain four werstes from the River and upon a branch which the Wolga makes on that side All the Inhabitants are Muscovian Musketiers under the command of a Weywode sent thither by the Great Duke for the preservation of the Country against the Tartars called Kalmuches who are possess'd of a vast Country reaching from those parts as far as the Caspian Sea and to the River Iaika These Tartars make frequent incursions as far as the
but not without much trouble to us as being not accustomed to continue any long time in that posture He very handsomely receiv'd our complement and answer'd it with so much of obligation and kindness that we could not but be much taken with his civility He told us among other things that he was extremely desirous to see his own Country and his own House but the satisfaction it would be to him to see either of them would not be comparable to that which he had conceiv'd at the first sight of our Ship He added that as soon as we were come into Persia we should find the roughness and barbarism of the Nation among whom we then were chang'd into an obliging civility to pleasant conversation and into a manner of life absolutely inviting and that attended with a freedom which should be common to us with all the Inhabitants of the Country That he hoped at his arrival at the Court it would not be hard for him with the assistance of his Friends there to obtain the charge of Mehemander or Conductor for our Embassy since he had the happiness of our acquaintance by the way That then he would oblige us upon all occasions and in the mean time intreated us to dispose of his person and whatever was in the Ship as we pleased He treated us with a Collation which was serv'd in Plate Vermilion-gilt and consisted only in Fruits Grapes and Pistachoes dry'd and pickled The only drink we had was an excellent kind of Muscovian Aquavitae wherein he first drunk the health of the two Ambassadors together and afterwards that of each of them by himself which happened at the same time that his own was drunk in our ship which we knew to be so by the joint Volley of both the great Guns and the small shot Taking our leave of him he told us as a great Secret that he had some news to tell the Ambassadors which was that he had it from a very good hand that the King of Poland had sent an Ambassador to Schach Sefi that he had taken his way by Constantinople and Bagdet that he was then upon his return to Astrachan and that he had order in his way to see the Great Duke but that the Weywode would not permit him to pass till he had first heard from the Court That this was all he knew of it and that the Ambassadors might guess at the rest as also what may have been the occasion of his Voyage and Negotiation The other eminent Persons of the Caravan sent also to complement us and to make proffer of their services intreating us to keep them company and assuring us of their assistance if need were After a general Volley of all the Caravan we parted and kept on our course At night we had a great Tempest with two extraordinary Thunder-claps and some flashes of Lightning but the weather soon became fair again and we had a great calm Sept. 4. being Sunday just as our Minister was beginning his Sermon came aboard us several Tartars whom Mussal the Tartarian Prince of Circassia sent to tell us that his disposition would not suffer him to give the Ambassadors a personal visit but as soon as his health would permit him to take the air it should be the first thing he did The equipage of those who came along with the Person employ'd in this Message my very well deserve a little remark from us As to his Person he was somewhat of the tallest his complexion of an Olive-colour his hair long greasie and black as Jet and his beard of the same colour and fashion He had upon his upper Garment some black-Sheep-skin the woolly side out a Callot or close Cap on his head and his countenance such as a Painter might well take for an original if he were to represent the Devil His retinue were in no better order having about them only Coats or Garments of some very coarse Cloath brown or black We entertain'd them with certain Gobelets of Aquavitae and sent them sufficiently drunk to their Ship About noon we came to the River of Bolloclea in the mid-way between Kamuschinka and Zariza 90 werstes distant from either of them Having sail'd sixteen werstes further we came to a very high hill of sand called Strehlne near which we stayd all night Sept. 5. we had hardly weigh'd Anchor but the current forc'd us upon a sand-bank where we found but five foot and a half water While we were busied about getting off the Ship the Caravan got before us and made towards Zariza with a design to take in there some other Muskettiers for its convoy to Astrachan About noon we got to a place whence we might have gone in less than a days time as far as the River Don called by Ptolomey and other Antient Geographers Tanais which advances in that place as far as within seven leagues of the Wolga taking its course towards the East A little lower near Achtobska Vtska the Wolga divides it self into two branches whereof one which takes into the Country on the left hand goes a course contrary to that of the great River taking towards East-North-East but about one werste thence it re-assumes its former course and returns towards the South-East so to fall into the Caspian Sea In this place I found the Elevation to be 48 degrees 51 minutes Five werstes from the River and seven from Zariza may yet be seen the ruins of a City which they say was built by Tamberlane It was called Zaarefgorod that is to say the Royal City its Palace and Walls were of Brick which they still carry thence to build Walls Churches and Monasteries at Astrachan even at the time of our passage that way they were loading several great Boats with Brick bound for the place aforesaid In this place we saw a Fisher-man who coming close by our Ship-side took a Bieluga or white-fish which was above eight foot long and above four foot broad It was somewhat like a Sturgeon but much whiter and had a wider mouth They kill it much after the same manner as Oxen are kill'd among us by first stunning it with a knock with a mallet They sold it us for fifty pence Sept. 6. We overtook the Caravan at Zariza where most of the Passengers were landed and lodg'd in Tents upon the River-side expecting the Convoy which was to be sent from the adjacent Towns but the wind being still fair for us we kept on our course The City of Zariza is distant from Soratof 350 werstes and lies on the right side of the River at the bottom of a Hill fortify'd with five Bastions and as many wooden Towers It hath no other Inhabitants than about 400 Strelits or Muskettiers who serve against the incursions of the Tartars and Cosaques and are oblig'd to Convoy the Boats which go up and come down the River There I found the elevation to be 49 d. and 42. m. From the City of Zariza to
Astrachan and the Caspian Sea there is only wast grounds and heaths and so barren a soyl that being not able to bring forth any kind of Corn all that Country even the City of Astrachan it self is forc'd to send for Wheat to Casan whence there comes such abundance that it is cheaper at Astrachan than it is at Moscou Below Zariza lies the Isle of Zerpinske It is twelve werstes in length and the Souldiers of the Garrison of Zariza send their Cattel thither 〈◊〉 The Cosaques of those parts having observ'd that the Wives and Daughters of those Soldiers crossed over to the Island without any Guard went thither one day after them surpriz'd ravish'd and sent them back to their husbands without doing them any other mischief Behind this Isle there falls into the Wolga a little River which rises out of the Don but it hath hardly water enough for little Boats which I conceive may be the reason why Geographers represent it not in their Maps there being only Isaac Massa who hath put it into his and calls it Kamous The heats were there abou ts so great in the moneth of September as that of the Dog-dayes is not more insupportable in Germany yet the Muscovites affirm'd they were but ordinary Sept. 7. The weather chang'd and a Tempest following we could not advance much Having sayl'd ten werstes we saw on the right hand a Gibet erected upon a high reddish Hill It was the first we had seen in those parts and we were told it was set up by the Weywode of the next City for the execution of the Cosaques he should take within his Government and that he gave them no other quarter but that their Camerades suffered not the bodies to hang there above five or six dayes The same day an humour took the Ambassador Brugman to cause all the Servants belonging to the Embassy to come before him to whom he said that he had reason to believe that there were many among them who express'd little kindness and respect towards him and if occasion serv'd would do him all the ill Offices lay in their power and consequently that his desire was that the Musicians the Guards and the Lacqueyes should take their Oaths to be faithful to him Answer was made him that his distrust was ill-grounded that they saw not any reason why they should be oblig'd to a thing so extraordinary and that they were so far from having any ill design against him that on the contrary they were all ready to lay down their lives to do him any service but that they intreated him for his part to spare them as much as might be and to treat them more mildly than he had done which he promised to do but it was one of those promises that are either kept or broken The same day we met with a great Boat the Master whereof sent some Mariners aboard us to desire us to pity their sad condition and to relieve them with a little bread in the extremity they were in having not eaten ought for the space of four dayes They told us it was three weeks since they came from Astrachan and that they had been robb'd in their way by thirty Cosaques who had taken away all their Provisions VVe gave them a sack full of pieces of bread for which they gave us thanks with their ordinary Ceremonies bowing their heads down to the ground Forty Werstes from Zariza lies the Isle of Nassonofska and opposite thereto on the right hand a great flat Mountain of the same name Between the Isle and the Mountain there is a kind of a Grott where the Cosaques had some years before kill'd a great number of Muscovites who had lay'n there in ambush to surprise the others In the evening a certain Fisher-man brought us a kind of fish wâ—ich we had never seen before The Muscovites called it Tziberika and it was above five foot long with a long and broad snout like the Bill of a wild Drake and the body full of black and white spots like the Dogs of Poland but much more regular unless it were about the belly where it was all white It had an excellent good taste and was at least as pleasant as that of Salmon he sold us also another kind of fish much resembling a Sturgeon but much less and incomparably more delicate whereof there are abundance in the Wolga The 8. The Caravan which we had left at Zariza came up to us near a Cape called Popowitska Iurga upon this accompt that the son of a Muscovian Pope or Priest who had sometime headed the Cosaques and Bandits was wont to make his retreat and appoint his rendezvous at that place They count from Zariza to that place 70. werstes and thence to the Mountain of Kamnagar which lay on our right hand 40. werstes The River thereabouts is full of Isles and Sand-banks by which the Caravan was no less incommodated than we were though their Vessels were much less than ours Twenty werstes lower there is a very high Island four werstes in length called Wesowi near a River of the same name which falls into the Wolga on the right hand Thirty werstes lower the wind forc'd us into a corner where the River of Wolodinerski Vtsga falls into the Wolga But in regard we were loath to let slip the opportunity of making a great dayes journey which the fairness of that wind put us in hope we might do we with much difficulty made a shift to get out and afterwards pass'd by the Country of Stupin thirty werstes from the City of Tzornogar which was the first we were to come at the next day Ten werstes lower the Wolga puts out a second branch on the left hand called Achtobenisna Vtsga which joyns its waters to those of Achtobska whereof we spoke before Thence we sayl'd five werstes further where the whole fleet cast Anchor near the Isle of Ossina which is seven werstes from Tzornogar So that that day we got 135. werstes or 27. German Leagues that is at the least as far as it is from Paris to Saumur From this Countrey quite down to Astrachan on both sides of the River there grows abundance of Liquorice having a stalk as big as ones arm and about some four foot high The seed of it is much like a vitch and lies in cods upon the top of the stalk The Champain part of Media is cover'd therewith especially towards the River Araxes but the juyce of it is much sweeter and the root much bigger than that which grows in Europe Sept. 9. There rose a wind which soon grew into a Tempest and brought us about noon before the little City of Tzornogar where we stay'd It was but some nine years before that the Great Duke had given order for the building of this City which lies 200. werstes from Zariza some half a League lower than it is now but the great floods having wash'd away the
the Country of Nagaia The 14. We were stay'd by a contrary wind and a tempest coming from the South-East so that we could hardly advance two werstes ere we were forc'd to cast Anchor and to continue there till the next day We lay at 80 foot water The Tartarian Prince sent us a Present of Beer Hydromel and Aquavitae with notice that if we liked it we might have more Sept. 15. the wind changing we set sail by four in the morning taking our course Southward and betimes in the morning came before the Isle of Busan 25 werstes from Astrachan and afterwards to a sixth Branch of the River Wolga called Baltzick within 15 werstes of the City The plain which reaches from that place to Astrachan gave us the sight of the City by 8 in the morning Three werstes lower and 12 from the City there is a seventh Branch of the Wolga called Knilusse which makes the Island of Dilgoi within which Astrachan is seated and having compass'd the Isle it falls into the Caspian Sea by many several chanels or ostiaes We came to Astrachan about noon and whereas the City lies on the other side of the River which in that place divides Europe and Asia we may say that as we departed out of that part of the World which we may in some manner call our Country we made our first step into the other We made some stay before the City in the midst of the River and saluted it with a Volley both of all our great Guns and small shot whereat the Inhabitants who were come in great numbers to the river-side were the more surpriz'd by reason they were not accustomed to hear Thunders of that kind It will not be amiss in this place by a short digression to give an account of the situation of Astrachan of the qualities of the Country and the life of the Inhabitants The Antient Geographers as Ptolomy Strabo and others who follow them had no knowledge of these Tartars no more than their neighbours and have not made any mention of them but only under a general name of Scythians aud Sarmatians though they should indeed have been distinguish'd into so many different Nations suitable to the diversity there is in their Names their Language and manner of Life in all which they have nothing common one with the other Mathias de Michou a Physician and Canon of Cracovia who liv'd at the beginning of the last age says that those who confound the Tartars with those Nations which the Antients called Getae Scythae and Sarmatae are much mistaken in as much as the Tartars have not been known but since the thirteenth Age. For in May 1211. there appear'd a Comet which having its tail towards the West and menacing the Don and Russia presag'd the invasion which the Tartars made into those parts the year following They were certain Indian Lords who having kill'd their King David got away first towards the Euxine Sea near the Palus Meotides where lived the antient Getae whence they afterwards advanc'd towards the Don and thence to the river Wolga where they live to this day The same Author distinguishes them into four species to wit the Zavâ—lhenses whom he also calls Czahadai Precopenses Cosanenses and Nohacenses and says they are the Tartars who live along the river Wolga which he calls Volha those of Precop those of Casan and those of Nagaia who are those of whom we are to treat of at present Alexander Guagnin of Verona divides them into eight Colonies and gives them other names but it is our design to entertain the Reader only with what we have seen and to discover that part of Tartaria through which we travel'd We say then that they call Nagaia that part of Tartary which lies between the rivers of Wolga and Iaika as far as the Caspian Sea whereof Astrachan is the principal City It is reported that a Tartar-King named Astra-chan built it and gave it his own name So that the Baron of Herberstein is very much mistaken when he says in his Relation of Muscovy that it is some days journey distant from the River whereas it is seated on the river-side and in the Isle of Dolgoi made there by two branches of the said River After several very exact observations I found the Elevation of the Pole there to be 26 degrees 22. minutes and the Climat so hot that in the Months of September and October the heats were still as great as they are in Germany in the height of Summer especially when the wind blew from-wards the Wolga East or North-East 'T is true the South-wind was there somewhat colder and brought with it the inconveniences nay indeed the scent of the neighbouring Sea wherewith it infected the whole Air. At our return that way our stay there happened to be in Iune Iuly and August and yet the heats were not absolutely insupportable in regard they were moderated by the coolness which the South-wind continually brought along with it But what is to be most admir'd is that in this hot Climat the Winter which lasts but two months is so exceeding cold that the River is frozen up and bears Sledges Which is contrary to what other Authors say of it yet the Reader may take it for most certain The Island of Dolgoi is sandy and barren insomuch that some Gardens and Lands cultivated by the Inhabitants of Astrachan excepted it produces nothing at all no more than does the Continent on the right hand but on the left towards the river Iaika there are very good pastures On this side the Wolga West-ward lies a long Heath of above 70. German leagues reaching as far as the Euxin Sea and towards the South another of above 80. leagues along the Caspian Sea as we found at our return from Persia when it was our chance to measure it by eleven very tedious dayes journeys Yet are not these Deserts so barren but they produce more Salt than the marshes in France and Spain do The Inhabitants of those parts call them Mozakofski Kainkowa and Gwostofski which are ten fifteen and thirty werstes from Astrachan and have salt veins which the Sun bakes and causes to swim upon the face of the water about a finger thick much like Rock-Christal and in such abundance that paying an Impost of a half-penny upon every Poude that is forty pound weight a man may have as much as he pleases It smells like that of France and the Muscovites drive a great Trade with it bringing it to the side of the Wolga where they put it up in great heaps till they have the convenience of transporting it elsewhere Petreius in his History of Muscovy sayes that within two leagues of Astrachan there are two mountains which he calls Busin which afford such abundance of Rock-salt that if thirty thousand men were perpetually at work about it they would not be able to exhaust the pits But I could learn nothing of
those places where they find the best Pasture for their Cattel When that begins to fail they put their Huts into Carts and their Wives Children and Goods upon Camels Oxen and Horses and so they ramble up and down the Country whence it comes that the Muscovites call them Poloutski Vagabonds At the beginning of Winter they all come near and about Astrachan and lodge themselves in several crews or troops which lye not at so great a distance but that they can relieve one another against the Malmukes Tartars otherwise called the Tartars of Buchar their common and irreconcilable enemies who make their incursions up and down the Country from Astrachan and the Caspian Sea as far as Sorat of The Tartars who live near the river Iaika are their tormentors on the other side disturbing their quiet by continual Alarms when the river is frozen Whence it comes that the Muscovites to prevent their being ruin'd by the incursions of those people furnish them with Arms out of the Great Duke's Magazine whether they are oblig'd to return them as soon as the River and the ways are thaw'd for they are not permitted to have any either defensive or offensive Arms in the Summer 'T is true they do not pay the Great Duke any Taxes or impositions but are oblig'd to serve him against his Enemies which they do the more gladly and without any compulsion out of the hope of booty as do also those of Daguestan whom we shall speak of hereafter These Tartars have Princes of their own as also Commanders in time of War and particular Judges of their own Nation but lest they should do any thing contrary to their allegiance to the Great Duke there are always some of their Myrses or Princes kept as Hostages in the Castle of Astrachan The Tartars of Nagaia and Chrim are for the most part of little stature and fat having large faces and little eyes and being of an Olive-colour The men have ordinarily as many wrinkles in their faces as old Women little beard and the head all shaven All they have about them is a Casaque or Garment of a coarse grey Cloath upon which those of Nagaia wear for the most part a loose Mantle of black Sheep-kin with a Cap of the same stuff the Wool-side outward The Women who are not unhandsom are commonly clad in white linnen Cloath and have about their heads a Coif of the same stuff folded and round like those pots which some make use of in the Wars having in the middle a hole fit to put a plume of feathers in Upon this Coif and on both sides there hang a great many Copecs or Muscovian Pence They many times vow their first-born or some one of their other Children to God or some Imam or Saint And that these Nazarites may be distinguish'd from others if it be a Girl she wears a Ring with a Ruby a Turqueze stone or Coral in the Nostril If a Boy he wears it in his right ear The Persians have the same custom but of that more at large hereafter Children go stark naked and are all big-belly'd The Tartars live upon what their Cattel their hunting and fishing supplies them with Their Cattel are large and fair as that of Poland Their sheep as also those of Persia have great tayls which are all fat weighing 20. or 30. pounds the ears hanging down as our Spaniels flat-nosed Their Horses are little and mishapen but strong and hardy They have some Camels but they have most of them two bunches on their backs which they call Buggur those which have but one and by them called Towe are very scarce among them Their ordinary food is fish dry'd in the Sun which serves them instead of bread They have also certain Cakes made of Meal Rice and Millet fry'd in Oyl or Honey They eat Camels and Horse-flesh and drink water and milk Mares milk they much esteem with this they treated our Ambassadors when we gave them a Visit taking it out of a nasty Leather-bag to present it to us They are for the most part Mahumetans of the Turkish Sect hating that of the Persians Some have made profession of the Muscovian Religion and have been baptiz'd They receiv'd us civilly at least as far as that Nation is capable of civility One of their Princes would have given the Ambassadors the divertisement of Hawking but the Weywode would not permit it The time we stay'd at Astrachan was spent in providing all things necessary for the prosecution of our Voyage The Persians of the Caravanne and the Tartarian Prince sent often some of their people to complement us they also made us Presents and came in peâ—son to Visit us For we had hardly cast Anchor before Astrachan and made known our arrival by the discharging of the great Guns but the Cuptzi and the other Persian Merchants who were there but a little before us sent us a noble Present of all sorts of fruit Arpus's Melons Apples Apricocks Peaches and Grapes with this excuse that being as we were strangers in the Countrey they could make us no better Presents but when we were come to Persia they would be absolutely at our disposal The Ambassadors having answer'd this civility sent them as also to the Tartarian Prince some of all sorts of distill'd waters and sweet meatâ— The next day after our arrival we were Visited by many Persian Merchants who were desirous to see our ship Not one among them but brought some Present of fruit according to the custom of their Countrey which permits them not to come empty-handed before persons of quality They treaâ—ed us wâ—th much kindness and familiarity which the more delightfully surpriz'd us 〈◊〉 that we had but then parted from a Nation famous for its incivility and barbarism And wâ—ereas thencâ— forward we were to converse and negotiate with Persians we thought it not amiss to allow them the liberty to do what they pleas'd in our ship and were extremely pleas'd to see them get all so heartily and so kindly drunk that some as they parted fell into the water nay one of their Merchants an aged man falling fast asleep upon the Deck stay'd there all night This good man was so kind in his Wine that taking a glass of French-wine from one of the Ambassadors who had drunk to him and perceiving they made him this complement that after the excellent Wines of his own Countrey he could not taste those of ours he made answer that though it were poyson yet coming from the Ambassadors hand he would take it off The 17. The Persian Cuptzi sent us a Present of two sacks of Rice the grain whereof was very white and very â—ig and a Vessel of preserv'd Garlick which was very pleasant to the taste How the Persians preserve it shall be said hereafter Many of the Cuptzi's Domesticks came also to see us and brought along with them some Mariners who were astonish'd at the bigness of our ship and said
all that it would not be fit for the Caspian Sea whereof the high and in a manner contiguous Waves would overwhelm it and there was a necessity of taking down the Masts They all affirm'd that the Culsum so they call the Caspian Sea had never born so great a ship which yet they only said in comparison of their own which are only little Barks made like our bathing-tubs in Europe so to take up but two or three foot water having neither Hatches nor Pump insomuch that they are forc'd to cast out the Water with shovels They have but one great sayl no more than the Muscovites and know not what it is to sayl with a side-wind so that when a Tempest overtakes them they are forc'd either to go with the wind or cast Anchor but commonly they go within Pistol-shot of the shore The Persians having left us the Ambassadors sent to the Chief Weywode whose name was Foedor Vasilouits a Present which was a large drinking Cup Vermilion-gilt intreating his advice for the continuation of their Voyage and to know whether we should prosecute it by Sea or by Land The Weywode desir'd a days time or two to consider of it and to take the advice of persons skill'd in Sea-affairs but we stay'd not for his answer and resolv'd for several reasons to continue our Voyage by Sea Sept. 19. The Tartar-Prince having sent us word that he would give us a Visit aboard our Ship we sent our shallop to Land to bring him aboard he brought with him another Tartar-Prince and a retinue of about 40 persons besides those who belong'd to Alexei Sauonouits the Great Duke's Poslanick He was habited after the Muscovian fashion his Vestment embroider'd with Gold and Pearls and his person and deportment was suitable to the greatness of his birth for he had a very good countenance a very clear complexion and black hair being about 28 years of age of an excellent good humour and eloquent He was receiv'd into the ship with the noise of our Trumpets and the fiering of three great Pieces and conducted to the Ambassadors Chamber through the Guards and Soldiers in their Arms. After some two hours discourse during which he was entertain'd with Musick he desir'd to see the ship He was shew'd it all and at last brought into the Hall where he found a Collation ready but he would not sit down and took leave of the Ambassadors to return to the City At his departure he had the same honour done him as at his entrance Sept. 20. The Ambassadors sent to the Lord Naurus the King of Persia's Cuptzi to entreat him to honour them with a Visit in their ship which he promis'd to do The next day he came accompany'd by another rich Merchant named Noureddin Mahomet and the Pristaf which the Weywode had sent to conduct him His reception was like that of the Tartar-Prince After the Collation at which pass'd several good discourses our Musick playing all the time they entreated us to give theirs leave to come in which consisted of Hawboyes and Timbrels Their Timbrels were made of earth and were not much unlike our Butter-pots making a very strange noise though their playing on them was very regular and well carried on The Collation had put them into so good an humour that in their return we could hear their Musick nay a good while after they were got into the City The 22. The Weywode sent his Presents to the Ambassadors which consisted in twenty Flitches of Bacon twelve large Fishes that had been hung up in the smoak a Barrel of Cavayar a Tun of Beer and another of Hydromel About noon there came aboard us two of the Polish Ambassadors Servants whom the Cuptzi had spoken of to complement the Ambassadors in their Master's name and on the behalf of the Ambassador sent from the King of Persia to the King of Poland bringing along with them a bottle of Scherab or Persian Wine The Polish Ambassador was a Iacobin Frier named Iohn de Lucca and the Persian an Armenian Archbishop named Augustinus Basecius The persons sent to us were two Capuchins one an Italian the other a French-man They told us they had been five moneths at Astrachan and complain'd much of the ill treatment they had receiv'd there in that they were detain'd as Prisoners and not permitted to go any farther The same day the Ambassadors acquainted the Weywode with their desire to Visit the Tartar-Prince entreating him to that end to accommodate them with horses for themselves and some of their retinue which he very civilly did sending the next day by his Gentleman of the horse to the River-side the number of horses we desired Being come to a Lodging prepar'd for us without the City and having acquainted the Tartar-Prince with our arrival we walk'd towards his Lodging where he expected us The Prince having notice of it met them in the Court where he receiv'd the Ambassadors very civilly and conducted them to a Chamber richly hung There were with them the Poslanick Alexei and a Tartar Ambassador of Chrim The Collation was Magnificent and of the noblest fruits in the Countrey in great plenty Our drink was Wine Beer Hydromel and Aquavitae of all enough the Trumpets which the Weywode had lent him sounding in the mean time and other Musick playing When he drunk the Great Duke's and his Highness our Master's health he stood and presented the Cup with his own hand to all the retinue even to the Pages Alexei in the mean time told us Miracles of the birth and noble endowments of Mussal endeavouring to perswade us that he was not to be ranked among the other Myrses or Princes of Tartary but that he was to be consider'd as a very great Prince and Nephew to Knez Iuan Borissouits Circaski being his brother's son one of the greatest Lords of the great Duke's Court He told us that when he did homage the Czaar had done him very particular favours and made him considerable Presents that he had a Brother at Court a great Favorite that his Sister was to marry the King of Persia and that he might serve us in both Kingdoms â— This Entertainment took us up several hours after which the Ambassadors would have gone to see the Habitations of the Tartars without the City but the Muscovites very barbarously shut the Gates against them which oblig'd us to return to the ship The 24. The Poslanick Alexei gave the Ambassadors a Visit upon his own accompt He was kindly receiv'd and after he had been Magnificently treated at Dinner we sent him back to his Lodging attended by twelve persons of our retinue who had each of them a Sable skin This Muscovite who might be about 50. years of age was an ingenious man and had a great inclination to Learning contrary to the ordinary humour of those of his Nation He had learnt some few Latine words and was a Lover of the Mathematicks whence
their affection were but slight earnests of the friendship we were to expect from them after our arrival into Persia. The 29. we were visited by the Myrsa or Tartar-Prince whom we had met two days before returning from his sport He made us a present of some wild Geese which he had taken and invited us to go along with him a-Hawking the next day which we had accepted but the Weywode would not permit it as we said before Septemb. the last the Weywode sent us a Present of some of the Country Preserves to wit Ginger-bread and the juyce of Goosberies reduc'd to a Past whereof some was dispos'd into the form of great Cheeses some flat and some in Rolls It was in taste somewhat sharp and picquant and not unpleasant The Muscovites put of this kind of paste into most of their sawces October the first the Secretary of the Embassy with two other Officers of the retinue were ordered to go to the Weywode about some business He receiv'd me with much civility made me set down by him and gave me a very favourable audience But before he answer'd the Proposions we had made to him he made great complaint of the unhandsome treatment which Rodivon our Pristaf whom the Great Duke had order'd to conduct us as far as Astrachan had received from the Ambassador Brugman He had given him very uncivil language and had call'd him Bledinsin Sabak c. never considering that he was employ'd by the Great Duke He told us further that to his knowledge the Pristaf was a person of honour and prudent in the management of his charge but that it was a great indiscretion in the Ambassador to treat him after that rate though Rodivon had not done his duty and that he should rather have made his complaints of him to his Czaarick Majesty or at least to those who represent the Prince's Person at Astrachan of whom he might have expected satisfaction That he could not believe the Duke of Holstein would take it well no more than the Great Duke that any publick Officer of his Country should be treated in that manner That he was oblig'd by the concernment of his charge to make those remonstrances to us but that there was not on the other side any reason the whole retinue should suffer for his mis-carriage and that that should not hinder him from giving us a speedy dispatch as indeed he immediately did The dayes following were spent in carrying aboard the Provisions which we had bought for the prosecution of our Voyage Our own people had bak'd Bread and Bisket and had brew'd a certain quantity of Beer We had bought of the Tartars twenty fat Oxen at between eight and fourteen Crowns a piece as also several Barrels of Salt-fish intending to go to Sea with the first opportunity And in regard we knew not what kind of sayling it was on the Caspian Sea and that it was represented to us as very dangerous by reason of the shallowness of the Wolga thereabouts for several leagues together besides our Muscovian Pilot we hired certain Tartars of the Country who promis'd to go before us in a Boat and to bring our ship into the main Sea Accordingly Oct. 10. we left Astrachan about noon having very fair weather taking our course towards South and South-west But we had not got a league ere a contrary wind rising forc'd us to the shore and kept us there all that day and the next We there receiv'd the visit of a certain Myrsa or Tartar-Prince a very handsome graceful person and one of the most considerable in those parts who presented us with a Mutton and a Barrel of Milk We observ'd that near Astrachan and for the most part all along the River Wolga the Earth produc'd Simples in great abundance and of incredible bigness The Herb which the Latins call Esula grew there as high as a Man and the Root of Angelica was as big as a Man's arm The Tempest being over the 12. we set forward but could get but a league that day We got not much more the 13. and were forc'd to cast Anchor near a little round Mountain on our left hand 15. werstes from Astrachan The Muscovites call this mountain Tomanoi-gor We gave it the name of the Snakie Mountain by reason of the abundance of Serpents we met with there It was full of Caper-trees and had abundance of the Herb called Semper-vivum of several kinds as Sea-house-leek Prickmadame c. The Plain which is at the foot of this Hill affords one of the most delightful Prospects of the World and that for several leagues together At night we saw in a Boat the Strelits who had convoy'd the Poslanick as far as Terki They told us there was no danger in our way and that they had come it in 24. hours The 14. the wind North-north-east we continu'd our Voyage and came in the afternoon over against a Chapel called Zuantzuk 30. werstes from Astrachan Hereabouts is the best fishing in the Country The Tartars call it Vtschu and it belongs to the Convent of Troitza or of the Trinity at Astrachan The River Wolga in this place divided into several Chanels making so many Isles which are covered all over with Bushes Canes and Ozier as is also the Coast of the Caspian Sea as far as the River Koisu There is among the rest one Isle named Perul 15. werstes from Vtschu in which we saw a house built of wood of a considerable height having on the roof of it a long pole with a Sheep's skull at the top of it and we were told it was the Sepulchre of a Tartarian Saint near which the Inhabitants as also some among the Persians when they either take a Voyage or are safely return'd home sacrifice a Sheep part whereof serves for the Sacrifice the rest for a Feast after the Sacrifice Having ended their Prayers and Devotions the Sheep's head is put on the top of the pole where it is left till it be either reliev'd by another or fall off of it self The Muscovites call this place Tataski Molobitza that is to say The Sacrifice of the Tartars Behind this Isle on the left hand there were upon a high but very smooth ascent a great number of Hutts At night we came to another Fishing-place 15. werstes from the Sea where the River is shut in with a Palizadoe and kept by a hundred Muscovian Musketiers who keep a guard there against the Cosaque Pirates In this place we saw a great number of Dog-fishes or Sea-hounds as also of that kind of Fowl which Pliny calls Onocratalus whose Beaks are long round and flat at the extremity as a Spoon beaten out Putting its Beak into the water it makes a noise not much unlike that of an Ass whence it hath the name but particularly we took notice of a kind of Geese or rather Cormorants whereof we made mention before The Muscovites call them Babbes the Persians
Kuthum and the Moores of Guiny Bombu As to their feet leggs neck and colour they are like other Geese but they are bigger in body than Swans Their Bills are above a foot and a half long and two fingers broad and forked at the end Under their Bills they have a great bag of shrivell'd skin which they can dilate so as that it is able to contain near three Gallons of liquor and they make use of it as a reservatory for the fish they take till such time as they can swallow them down For their throats are so wide that people are not only oblig'd to shut them when they make use of these Birds in fishing as they often do but also if we believe Franciscus Sanctius it was discover'd that one of these Birds which was taken upon its having overcharg'd the said bag had swallow'd down a Moor-child upon the Coasts of Africk The Persians are very expert in dressing the skins of them and making Tabours thereof or covering therewith some other Musical Instruments The Ambassador Crusius kill'd one of them upon the Caspian Sea side which was above two ells and a half between the extremities of the Wings and above seven foot from the head to the feet Franciscus Fernandez in his History of the living-Creatures and Plants of Mexico sayes that in those parts there are some that have teeth within their Bills but we are not to go out of Africa into America We saw hereabouts another kind of Bird much after the form of wild Ducks save that they are somewhat bigger and black as Crows and have longer necks and the end of their bills forked The Muscovites call them Baclan and they are seen only in the night time their quills are harder and bigger than those of Crows and very fit for designers The 15. we came to the mouth of the River Wolga and the entrance into the Caspian Sea which is 12. leagues from Astrachan and full of small Islands covered â—â—th Reeds Canes till a man comes six leagues within the Sea Some attribute to the Wolga as many mouths as there are Islands thereabouts but they are mistaken for those Islands are to be accompted rather made by the Sea than the River The bottome is all muddy having but between four or four foot and a half water which put us to inexpressible trouble and took up our time so as that we hardly got four leagues in seven dayes Our worst dayes were the 18. and 19. of October The 18. we were got on a Bank at five foot water and having spent as many hours in getting off we found indeed six foot water but soon discover'd that it was only a pit which of all sides had Banks at four and four foot and a half water Having with no less trouble got again to the Bank where we had five foot water the wind being turn'd to the North-west the water fell so sensibly that we had but three foot the Ship being as it were fasten'd in the mud We unloaded part of our Provisions into the Tartarian Boat that went before us and set all our people on work to get off but though they took incredible pains so as that they had not the leasure either to eat or drink yet could they do no good so that all could be done was patiently to expect the return of the water which we could not hope for but with the change of the wind This was no small affliction to those who consider'd that we were there at the mercy of the Cosaques who might easily have taken us prisoners and forc'd us to ransome our selves With all these misfortunes there happen'd to be such a thick mist that we could not see from one end of the Ship to the other and occasion'd a great oversight in us by firing a great Gun according to the order of the Ambassador Brugman at a Muscovian Boat that pass'd somewhat near our Ship Those who were in the Boat return'd us their curses and told us that they might as freely pass that way as we who were Strangers and went by the Great Duke's permission whom we were oblig'd to acknowledge for Soveraign of that Sea and their Prince that since we were so much given to shooting we might keep our powder to be us'd against the Cosaques who not far thence expected us This reproach caus'd two other Boats to fare the better and our selves also for instead of injurious speeches they sent us some of the fruits of Circassia to wit an excellent kind of Pears Nuts and Medlars Oct. 21. at night we first perceiv'd that the water was risen to five foot which begat in us a hope that we might put off to Sea The Tempest which rose the 22. with a South-south-eastwind brought it up to nine foot but it was so violent that not daring to make use of our Sails we were forc'd to continue still at Anchor and expect fairer weather which came not till five dayes after The 23. in the morning the sky being clear I observ'd the Sun at its rising and found that in respect of the Compass it rose 22. degrees more towards the South than it should by which means we discover'd that in that place the needle declin'd 22. degrees from the North towards the West The 27. the Tempest being over we return'd all our things into the Ship and dismiss'd our Boat and having hoised Sail got into the Sea but we hardly made a league ere we were again in the mud and oblig'd to send for the Boat But perceiving we had water enough the 28. and seeing thirteen Sail behind us coming out of the Wolga whom we conceiv'd to be the Caravan we order'd the Boat to be sent back It was the Tartar-Prince two Merchants of Persia and five hundred Muscovian Musketiers with their Colonel who were going to relieve the Garrison of Terki but what put us most to a loss was that finding the Muscovian Pilot whom we had taken up at Astrachan absolutely ignorant in the business of Navigation and the Maps by which we intended to direct our course absolutely false we knew not what resolution to take We resolv'd at last to address our selves to the Officer that commanded the 500. Musketiers and to send to him in the evening while all the ships lay at Anchor to entreat his assistance and advice in that conjuncture and to desire him to give us an able man that might be our Pilot on the Caspian Sea He came aboard us and having drunk sufficiently he made us the greatest protestations of friendship in the World and told us that the trouble it was to him to see us in those difficulties had bereft him of his sleep that his joy to find us in good health was so much the more extraordinary and that he would not fail to send the Weywode notice of it by an express Messenger that all under his Command were at our service and that as soon as he were got aboard he would
send us a Pilot we might confide in But the merry Companion was no sooner got to his own ship but he set sayl and left us in the lurch I think what troubled him was that we had not made him some present according to the custom of the Countrey but he regarded so little the slur he had put upon the Ambassadors that he had the impudence to come and Visit them in their ship in the company of several other Tartarian Lords after our arrival at Terki and made no other answer to the reproaches he receiv'd upon that occasion than ja wi nouat a great business indeed to be talk'd of Finding our selves thus abus'd we sent to the Master of the Persian ship to entreat his assistance He though Masâ—â—â— of the ship and owner of all the goods in it came aboard us to proffer us his service as a Pilot with more kindness and civility than we could have expected from a Christian and having recommended his own ship to his servants stay'd with us He was a very understanding man and was not only acquainted with the Navigation of those parts but also with the Compass much beyond what the Persians ordinarily are vers'd in who do not willingly venture very far into the Sea but for the most part keep in sight of Land So that finding the wind serv'd he caus'd the Anchor to be weigh'd about eleven at night taking his course towards the South with an East wind We observ'd it was the same day that we left Travemunde the year before and accordingly we had the same success in this second Voyage We had all that night but ten foot water but towards day we had eighteen The Countrey on our right hand which is called Suchator had four Hills which made a great Promontory reaching a great way into the Sea and from that Cape to Astrachan are counted 100 werstes and to Terki 200. but on both sides they are very short ones The 29. The weather fair we kept on our course in the morning Southward and with a South-East wind and in the afternoon South-west-ward having about twenty foot water and finding the bottom gravelly and full of little shells We could discover no Land that day and the night following we cast Anchor Here the Needle declin'd twenty degrees from North to West Octob. 30. We set sayl at the break of day and soon after Sun-rising we discover'd the Countrey of Circassia which lies all along the Sea-Coast from the South-West to North-East compassing it about much after the form of a Crescent and making a spacious Bay It was our design to get beyond the point of the Gulf but the wind coming to South-East had almost forc'd us into it which oblig'd us to cast Anchor about noon at the entrance of the Gulf at three fathom and a half water finding at the bottom a kind of fat earth about six Leagues from Terki We discover'd in the Bay about 20. or twenty five Boats and upon the first sight thereof it run into our imagination that they were the Cosaques but we were soon undeceiv'd and found them to be Tartarian Fisher-men belonging to Terki and were then coming to bring us fish to sell. For those we bought of them we gave them fifteen pence a piece but they were very great ones and we found in their bellies a great number of Crabs and Lobsters among which there were some alive The remainder of the day we spent in giving Almighty God solemn thanks for all his mercifull deliverances of us particularly that which happen'd on the very same day the year before when we were in so great danger amidst the Rocks and Shelves of Ocland Our Persian Pilot went that day to his own ship which was at some distance behind us to give his men Order what they should do leaving us somewhat of an opinion that he would shew us such another trirk as the Muscovite had done before but he afterwards made it appear that those of his Nation are not only made up of Complements for he return'd very betimes the next morning having sent his Boat before us to serve us for a Guide The last day of October we had in the morning a thick Mist with a great Calm The Sun having dispell'd the one about noon and the wind being come to the North we endeavour'd to get out of the Gulf and with much ado by laveering got the point near which we stayd at Anchor till after midnight and came very betimes in the morning on the first of November before the City of Terki We cast Anchor about a quarter of a League from the City because we could not come any nearer by reason of the shallowness of the water The night before the Cosaques had a design to set upon us but happily miss'd us in the dark and met with the little Fleet which brought the Tartar-Prince but the noise of the Strelits or Muscovian Muskettiers having discover'd to them that they were mistaken and imagining they should find a vigorous resistance they drew back but made it appear they were the Germans that they look'd for Intelligence coming in the morning to the City of this attempt of the Cosaques rais'd a verry hot Alarm there in regard it was known that Mussal their Prince was coming and that he might be in some danger The Inhabitants were confirm'd in that opinion when they heard the going off of our great Guns a noise they are not accustomed to in those parts insomuch that they began to get together and look on us as Enemies but they were put out of all fear by the arrival of their Prince who having given us a Volley as he pass'd by and invited us to honour him with a Visit at his Mother's satisfy'd the Inhabitants that there was no danger either to him or them The City of Terki lies somewhat above half a League from the Sea upon the little River Timenski which issues out of the great River Bustro and facilitates the correspondence there is between the Sea and the City to which there is is no other way to come by reason of the Fens which encompass it on all sides for a quarter of a League about It is seated in a spacious plain which is of such extent that the extremities thereof cannot be discover'd by the eye whence may be corrected the errour of the Map drawn by Nicholas Iansson Piscator alias Vischer though in all other things the best and most exact of any I could ever meet with who places the City of Terki upon a Mountain but by a mistake confounding the City of Tarku in the Province of Dagesthan with that of Terki in Circassia The Elevation of the Pole is here at 43. degrees 23 minutes It is distant from Astrachan sixty Leagues by Sea and seventy by Land and is the last place under the Jurisdiction of the Great Duke of Muscovy It is in length 2000. foot and in breadth 800. all
that frontier About noon we discover'd a Bark which at first took its course so as if it would have pass'd on the right hand of us then made as if she would come up streight to us and not knowing well what resolution to take they ever and anon made more or less sayl whereby perceiving that those who were in it were afraid of us the Ambassador Brugman gave order that the Ship should make streight towards the Bark put the Soldiers in their stations and commanded a certain number of great Guns to be fir'd at randome the more to frighten them The poor people immediately struck sayl and came near us They were Persians Fruit-Merchants and the Bark was then loaden with Apples Pears Quinces Nuts and other Fruits The Master of it who was Brother to our Pilot seeing him among a sort of people such as he had never seen before and believing he was their Prisoner began with horrid Cries and Lamentations to bewail his Brother's misfortune as also his own which he expected to fall into though he cry'd several times to him Korchma duschman lardekul Fear not they are friends among whom I am with my own consent But the other would hear of no perswasion to the contrary imagining that they forc'd him to speak to that purpose and could not recover himself out of the fear he was in till his Brother had acquainted him with the occasion which had brought him to our Ship Then was it that he took the courage to come himself into our Ship with a present of all sorts of Autumn-fruits whereof he also sold good store so cheap that a quarter of a hundred of very great Apples came not to a penny He was treated with Aquavitae after which he return'd to his Bark very well satisfied Much about this time we came near an Isle which the Muscovites call Tzetland and the Persians Tzenzeni eight Leagues from Terki on the left hand There we cast Anchor at three fathom and a half water and staid there four and twenty hours according to the custom of the Pesians We had lying before us a Treatise written by George Dictander who had Travell'd into Pesia in the year 1602. with an Ambassador sent thither by the Emperour Rodolph 11. who speaking of this Isle sayes that being the only man left alive at his return and staid in that place by the cold he had been forc'd to kill the Horses which the Sophy had bestow'd on him after he had consum'd all the other Provisions Having at our coming thither four or five hours of day-light remaining the Ambassadors thought it not amiss to go into the Island to see whether what they observ'd there were consonant to what the other had written thereof But all we could meet with worth our Observation was only three great poles fasten'd together and set up at one of the points of the Island beset all about with Roots and Boughs to serve for a direction to the Mariners and two great Ditches wherein some time before fire had been made This in all probability was done by the Cosaques who make their frequent retreats into that Island It lies at forty three degrees five minutes elevation and reaches in length from North-east to South-east about three German Leagues The soil is for the most part sandy and barren and towards the extremities either cover'd with shells or fenny and it is the only Island that is to be seen as we goe to Kilan West-ward of the ordinary course From this Island there may be seen in the Continent towards the South-west such high Mountains that we took them at first for Clouds Our people called them the Mountains of Circassia but the Muscovites nay the Inhabitants of Circassia themselves call it the Mountain Salatto and it is properly that Mountain which the Antients call Caucasus in the Province of Colchis which is the same that at this day is called Mengrelia and is so famous in Antiquity for the fabulous expedition of Iason for the Golden 〈◊〉 Its height which indeed is extraordinary in as much as it seems to extend it self to the Stars hath furnish'd the Poets with that fancy that it was from this Mountain Prometheus stole fire from the Sun to communicate it to men Quintus Curtius affirms that it crosses all Asia Certain indeed it is that the Mountains of Aratat and Taurus are so near and do so as it were cloze with it that it seems to be but one continu'd Mountain extending it self all through Asia from Mengrelia as far as the Indies From the Caspian Sea towards the Euxine Sea and Asia the lesser it is near fifty Leagues in breadth But let us see what Quintus Curtius says of it in the seventh Book of his History where he gives us this accompt of it They reach saith he from thence towards Mount Caucasus which divides Asia into two parts and leaves the Cilician Sea on the one-side and on the other the Caspian Sea the River Araxes and the Deserts of Scythia Mount Taurus which is to be ranked in the second place for its height is joyned to Caucasus and beginning in Cappadocia crosses Cilicia and reathes as far as Aâ—â—nia It is as it were a continu'd concatenation of Mountains out of which arise almost aâ—l the Rivers of Asia some whereof fall into the Red-sea and others into the Hyrcanian or that of Pontus The Army pass'd the Caucasus in seventeen days and came in sight of the Rock which is ten Stadia in compasse and about four in height where Prometheus was chained if we may credit the Poets Mount Aratat upon which Noah's Ark rested after the deluge and which the Armenians call Messina the Persians Agri and the Arabians Subeilahn is without comparison much higher than the Caucasus and is indeed but a great black Rock without any Verdure and cover'd with Snow on the top as well in Summer as Winter by means whereof it is discover'd fifteen Leagues into the Caspian Sea The Armenians and the Persians themselves are of opinion that there are still upon the said Mountain some remainders of the Ark but that time hath so hardned them that they seem absolutely petrify'd At Schamachy in Media we were shewn a Cross of a black and hard Wood which the Inhabitants affirmed to have been made of the Wood of the Ark and upon that account it was look'd upon as a most precious Relick and as such was wrapp'd in Crimson Taffata The Mountain is now inaccessible by reason of the precipices whereby it is encompass'd of all sides Imaniculi Sulthan whom the Sophy sent Ambassador to the Duke of Holstein our Master and whose Territories lye in those parts in the Country of Karabah told us many very remarkable particulars of it These high Mountains are a great direction to those who have no Compass to sail by in the Caspian Sea in as much as changing their form according to the several prospects they afford the Pilots
by that means easily discover whereabouts they are The 11. we continu'd our Voyage presently after Sun-rising taking our course along the Isle Southward At the extremity of the Isle there is a kind of Streight near a Cape or Promontory which comes out of the Continent into the Sea much about the same place where on the Isle side a great Sand-bank advances it self toward the Land and so makes but a narrow passage Which oblig'd us to cast Anchor that we might have the more convenience of Sounding so to avoid the flats or shallows which make Navigation very dangerous thereabouts We found at first but two fathom water but soon after we were at six or seven fathom insomuch that the Wind becoming more favourable we took our course South-South-west directly towards Derbent along the shore and in sight of it After mid-night the Wind being not so much for us as before we were forc'd to laveer it all the remainder of the Night but we advanc'd little or nothing insomuch that a Tempest rising thereupon we at last resolv'd to cast Anchor which we did at twelve fathom water We lay at Anchor all the 12th till 9. at night and then the Wind coming to the North we set sail with a favourable Wind taking our course to the South-South-east About 11. the same night we found between 20 and thirty fathom water and an hour after no bottom so that the wind being turn'd again to an absolute Tempest we conceiv'd that it would be dangerous for us to bear much sail upon a Sea we were not acquainted with and that in the Night time Whereupon having furl'd them up we let the Ship go directly before the wind by which means we got two Leagues in less than an hour We had besides our double Shallop two other Boats one whereof which we had bought of the Muscovites was only for their convenience who sounded the depth of the Water and the other serv'd for the unloading of our Ship which drew both of them after her There were two Sea-men appointed for the guiding of the Shallop which having in it only certain small Pieces Bullets Chains Cables Pitch and other things necessary for Navigation was made so shallow that being ever and anon fill'd with water the Sea-men finding themselves no longer able to guide it came aboard the Ship and fasten'd the Shallop to the stern The other Boats were soon over-whelm'd with water and lost The Shallop held out a while but at length follow'd the others and this prov'd the beginning of our wrack upon the Caspian Sea Our Ship which was built only of Firr and had been much endammag'd by the Sand-banks of the Wolga bow'd under the high and violent waves of that Sea as if it had been a Snake and open'd in so many places that we were forc'd to be alwayes at the Pump and continually employ'd in emptying the water that came in of all sides Our Persian Pilot had not the least share of the common fear and distraction we were all in and no doubt wish'd himself in his own Ship or nearer Land in regard that had we been cast away there we had all inevitably perish'd Nov. 13. at the break of day we perceiv'd that we had still kept in sight of Land and we particularly discovered the Mountain of Derbent which as we conceived could not be above ten Leagues distant from us The Tempest abating a little of its Violence we hois'd the mizen Sail and afterwards the main Sail with a resolution to run the Ship strait a-ground But having the Night before taken our course too high and the wind continuing still from the North-west we were forc'd to comply with it and to our no small regret pass beyond the City of Derbent along the Persian Coast which in that place reaches from North to South but so as that we could not find any Road or Haven where we might save our selves for as much as there being only Rocks at the bottom for the space of six Leagues from the Land into the Sea it is impossible to make the Anchor take any hold At last about four in the afternoon we cast Anchor at four fathom water before the Village of Niasebeth which our Authors call Nisavay the bottom muddy but we thought not our selves more safe at Anchor than when we were toss'd up and down in the main Sea The waves were so violent by reason of the extraordinary roughness of the Sea that it was not long ere they broke the hindges of the Rudder which oblig'd us to take it quite off and to fasten it with a Cable behind the Ship lest beating against the Castle it should have broke it all to pieces the Water coming still into the Ship so fast that we were forc'd to spend the remainder of that day and all the night following in emptying it The Tempest abated a little of its violence the next morning being the the 14. of November and invited us to think of some course for the disembarking of our selves but we had neither Boat nor Shallop to help us to Land and though we had caus'd several Volleyes of great and small shot to be discharg'd to oblige the Inhabitants of the Countrey to come in to our relief yet could we not perceive any body but we had hardly made a shift to clap a certain number of deal Boards together like a flat-bottom'd Boat ere we saw coming towards us two Boats which the Kaucha or Judge of the Village had sent to our relief in that extremity They brought us a present of two baggs of Apples with a very obliging Complement protesting that they were no less glad at our arrival than we might be at theirs Which done they exhorted the Ambassadors to get out of the Ship as soon as they could possibly taking along with them what they accompted of greatest Value and not to be over-confident of the clam which no doubt would not last many hours The Ambassadors took their advice and having put into the Boats what they thought most considerable they ordered some part of their retinue to go in also and certain Soldiers with their Officers leaving in the ship the Sieur Vchterits their Steward and the Secretary of the Embassy with an intent to send for them as soon as they were landed themselves The Kaucha was on Horse-back at the Sea-side and perceiving that the Boats could not come near enough by reason of the shallowness of the water he alighted and sent the Ambassadors his Horse for their more convenient Landing And thus it was that the Ambassadors first set foot in Persia. But as soon as they were got a-shore the Tempest grew more violent than it had been before insomuch that it was impossible for them to send back the Boats which put us that were left aboard to the utmost hazard of Shipwrack and Life The Ship being now in a manner quite unloaden was toss'd up and down like a Ball by the Waves
the Sea raising her one while up to the Clouds another swallowing her up in its abysses There was constantly above a foot water upon the Deck so that we were not able to stay upon it and at last the Ship opening above just in the middle we began to fear the absolute dissolution of her We observ'd also by the Trees that were upon the Sea-side that the Anchor was loose and that the wind had carry'd us above a quarter of a League from the place where he had disembarked the Ambassadors whereupon we cast two others both which were lost about 11. the same night as also our Rudder The biggest Anchor held still but the Vessel drew so much water that the Pump being of no further use we were forc'd to empty her with Kettles About midnight the wind came to the East and broke off our main and mizen Masts and over-turn'd them into the Sea the Ship shaking in that interim with so much violence that the edges of her were ever and anon even with the water The Sea-men intreated the Secretary to give them leave to cut the Ropes that still held her to see if that would deliver us out of the extremity we were in which he made no difficulty to grant them We had not eaten ought in three dayes and watching with continual labour had brought us so low that having lost all courage together with the hope of ever saving our Lives all our thoughts were taken up with the disposal of our selves for Death Our Carpenter was the only person who had the courage to go under Decks and to take so large a dose of Aquavitae that being come up on the Deck he fell down dead at our feet Nor indeed could we have imagin'd him to be otherwise if the Exhaltations of the Aquavitae that ascended from his stomach had not discover'd the nature of his indisposition The Sea-men remitted nothing of their labour all this time and exhorted the rest to be of good courage putting us in hope that within some few hours either the weather would change or the Ambassadors would not fail to relieve us as indeed they were both of them earnest to do all lay in their power for our preservation Nay the Ambassador Brugman would with his Sword drawn have forc'd some of our people to come in the two Boats to look after us but he could by no means prevail with them to hazard themselves Perceiving the day slipp'd away without any hope of relief and fearing the Tempest might grow more violent the night following I took the Master's-mate aside and was desirous to know of him whether the Tempest continuing in the height it was then at it would not be our best course to run the Ship a-ground to save the men His answer was that he believ'd the Ship could not make any great resistance and that it were not amiss I took the advice of the other Officers and propose it to the Captain and the Master who both confess'd that the ship was in so ill a plight that they were confident the Ambassador Brugman himself would have commanded her to be run a-ground had he been among them and yet they were withall of opinion that continuing their labour for some hours longer it was not impossible but the Vessel might be saved But they discover'd by their discourse their main fear to be that when there were no ship they would be look'd on as useless persons and that there might be some dispute about their wages for the rest of the Voyage Hence it came that they were unwilling the ship should be run a-ground But the Sieur Vchterits and the Secretary overcome with the importunities of the rest of the company to have that course taken in so great an extremity the Captain and Masters-mate at last gave their consent provided a promise were made them in Writing that the Ambassadors should not call them to an accompt for their so doing which was accordingly done and the Secretary drew up an Act to that purpose which was signed by all But the Captain and Master beginning to make new difficulties after they had gotten a discharge as aforesaid all our people would have mutini'd and cry'd out that if they delay'd the running of the ship a-ground any longer they should answer before the Tribunal of God to give an accompt for what should happen thereupon The Captain would have excus'd himself alleging that though the ship were run a-ground as was desired yet were it impossible for him to save all our people but answer was made him that they were resolv'd to run the hazard of it and he was so earnestly press'd thereto that he consented after he had obliged the Sieur Vchterits and the Secretary of the Embassy to give the first stroak upon the Cable which when they had done the Sea-men soon made an end and having struck the only sayl we had left us we made strait to land and run the ship a-ground about thirty pearches distant from the place where the Ambassadors and all our friends expected us with no less trouble for us than we had for our selves Nay some of them to make a greater expression of their affection came a good way into the water and carry'd us ashore It prov'd no great trouble to us to justifie the resolution we had taken of running the Ship a-ground in regard that as to that particular the Ambassador Brugman himself prevented us and told us he had been long before resolv'd to send the Captain orders to do it but that he could not meet with any person that would undertake the execution thereof As concerning the Caspian Sea it hath not in all places the same name but it is changed either according to the diversity of the Inhabitants that live about it or the Provinces that border upon it It was called antiently the Sea of Chosar from the Name of the eldest Son of Thogarma who was the Son of Gomer and Grand-child of Iaphet third Son to Nubius's Geography calls it the Sea of Travisthan The Moors call this Sea as they do also the Gulf of Arabia Bohar Corsuin and the Persians call it Kulsum which name they also give the Red Sea The Greek and Latine Authors call it the Hyrcanian Sea as also Mare Caspium and Caspianum The Persians call it by another name the Sea of Baku from the City of Bakuje in the Province of Schirwan and the Muscovites name it Gualenskoi-more But a man must be very cautious how he credits what is affirmed by Dionysius Afer Pomponius Mela Pliny Solinus and those who follow them as Strabo Martianus Capella St. Basil the Great Macrobius and others that it is only a Sinus or Gulf of the great Sea of the Indies or of the Tartarian Sea or that it hath some communication which the Euxine Sea and Paulus Meotides by the River Tanais in as much as it is most certain that it hath not any communication at all with
in his 53 Exercitation that the water of all Seas is sweet or fresh at the bottom nor yet to examine the Reasons alleged by him for that opinion as falling not under the subject of our Relation But this we shall presume to affirm that the Caspian Sea was not much known to the Greeks in the time of Alexander since Arrian says in the seventh Book of his History that that great Conquerour issu'd out his commands that Timber should be fell'd in the neighbouring Mountains for the building of a Fleet which he intended to employ in the discovery of that Sea It is certain also that Q. Curtius speaks not of it otherwise than according to the knowledge which some had thereof in a time when that of the Romans had not pass'd the Euphrates no more than their Arms. For though Pliny says lib. 6. ch 17. of his Natural History that Seleuchus and Antiochus the Successors of Alexander made a discovery of that Sea by Patroclus their Admiral yet he is withall forc'd to acknowledge that there were many other things to be discovered as it was also our intention to make use to that purpose of our Ship and Shallop during the aboad we should make at the Court of Persia if our misfortune in being cast away upon this Sea had not defeated us of our expectations Certain it is that this Sea does neither Ebb nor Flow nay that indeed it is not capable of either forasmuch as it hath no communication or correspondence with the other which in that particular follows the motion of the Moon The Persians Tartars and Muscovites seldome venture upon this Sea but in the Summer-time and then dare they not hazard themselves far into it for sailing only in wretched small Barks or Boats they keep as near as they can to the shore and never are out of sight of Land It hath in a manner no safe Havens or Harbours The best it hath is the same we spoke of before near Terki between the Isle of Tzenzeni and the Continent at which place the Persians are wont to cast Anchor and stay for a night The havens of Baku Lenkeran and Ferabath are none of the worst nor are they on the other side the safest and the best Haven of all this Sea is on the side of the grand Tartary and near the City of Minkischlak which may be found in the Itinerary of Anthony Ienkinson under the name of Manguslave but misnamed But how ere it be Haven'd we may confidently affirm this that we have been long enough upon the Caspian Sea and its Coasts to undeceive those who are apt to believe what is deliver'd by Petreius in his History of Muscovy to wit that the water of it is as black as Ink and that it is full of Islands which are well stored with Inhabitants and have in them a great number of Cities and Villages both which we affirm to be absolutely false For the water of it is of the same Colour as that of all other Seas and though we discover'd but some part of the Caspian Sea yet having made particular enquiry as to this particular all the Persians Tartars and Muscovites I ever discoursed with concerning it unanimously assur'd me that in all that Sea there is but one Island wherein there is I will not say either City or Village but so much as a House unless it be in that of Ensil near Ferabath where the pastures being very good such as keep Cattel have made certain Huts not so much for their setled Habitations as to prevent the injuries of the Weather at certain times I also enquired of the Inhabitants of Kilan whether the Caspian Sea bred such an infinite number of great Serpents as Q. Curtius would make us believe but they all assur'd me they had never seen any and that it was a thing they never had heard spoken of before no more than they had of a certain great round Fish without a Head whereof Ambrosius Contarinus speaks in the relation of his Travels which Father Bizarrus hath Printed together with his History of Perisa He sayes that this Fish is an ell and a half Diameter and that there is a certain Liquor drawn out of it which the Persians use in their Lamps and to grease the Camels But the Persians told me that they stood not in need of any such Oyl to burn since that near the City of Baku under the Mountain of Barmach there are inexhaustible sources of a certain Liquor which they call Nefla and make use of in their Lamps And of this there is daily such great quantities taken up that it is transported all over the Kingdome Certain indeed it is that there may be seen in those parts a certain kind of Fish which they call Naka that is Glutton which hath a very short Nose and the Head as it were within the Belly having a round Tail and being seven or eight foot in breadth and not much less in length It fastens it self with the Tail to Fisher-mens Boats and if they be not very carefull over-turns them The Persians told us also that the white Fishes of which we have spoken heretofore do the same and that thence it comes though the weather be ever so calm the Fisher-men never venture far into the Sea This is the only Creature which may in some measure make good what Pomponius Mela sayes in his Geography to wit that the Caspian Sea breeds so great a number of monstrous Fishes which he calls Belluae wild Beasts that that is one of the main Reasons why it is not Navigable This fish delights much in the Liver and Flesh of Beef and Mutton whence it is that the Inhabitants of Kilan especially those who live towards the Mountain of Sahebelan as being the most hindred in their Fishing make baits thereof wherewith they cover strong and sharp Hooks fasten'd to Great Cords with which they draw them to Land Nor are we to credit what the same Bizarrus and Contarinus affirm when they say that there is no other fish in the Caspian Sea for on the contrary it is extremely well stor'd with fish and there are in it abundance of Salmons and Sturgeons as also a kind of Herrings nay there are in it some fish which in other places are numbred among the fresh-water-fish and are had only in ponds as for instance Breams which they call Chascham and Barbels which they call Schwit but the latter are tough and insipid if they exceed two foot in length There is also a kind of Trouts which they call Suggaht These are not eaten fresh but falted and hung up in the smoke and their way of dressing them is to lay them on the hearth with a clean linnen Cloath about them and then to cover them with hot ashes till such time as they are ready being thus ordered they make a very pleasant and delicious dish There are no Pikes nor Eels in all Persia insomuch that those Persians whom the King
forc'd to stay there ten dayes longer which made us imagine that what was done was out of design purposely to defer our departure thence till they should receive the Orders which they expected from the Sophy concerning our subsistence for till then we had been upon our own charge During our stay at Niasabath the Ambassador Brugman would needs cut some certain beams which the Sophy had wich vast charge brought to the Sea-side to be employ'd in the building of his ships and cause Carriages to be made thereof for our Artillery not regarding the Remonstrances of the Persians who told him that if he made use of those beams the â—ophy could not build his ships that year The Ambassador went on in his intended design and told those of our Retinue who would have disswaded him from it that it was the humour of that Nation not to do any thing till they are forc'd to it and that the only way was to domineer over them But the Persians had afterwards the advantage to laugh at us when they furnish'd us with so few horses that being not able to draw our Artillery we were forc'd to leave our Carriages behind and to load our Guns upon Camels Decemb. 21. there came to us two Mehemandars one from Scamachie the other from Derbent bringing along with them about forry Camels thirty Waggons drawn by wild Oxen and eighty Horses which being loaden with the Baggage went before with some of our servants But when the Ambassadors themselves were to go and that what belong'd to their Chambers and the Kitchin was to be pack'd up there were but sixty Horses left for all the rest of the Retinue which was 94. persons The Mehemandar swore by the head of his King which is the greatest Oath among the Persians that he could not possibly find any more telling us that while we were within the Government of the Sulthan of Derbent whom without any occasion we must needs disoblige we were not to hope any better treatment 〈◊〉 that as soon as we were come within the Government of Scamachie we should not want any thing requisite for the prosecution of our journey if in the mean time we could pluck up a good heart and set our selves once in the way Hence it came that upon the 22. of December we were forc'd to depart some on Hors-back some behind them and the rest to wit the Lacqueys the Guards and the Soldiers afoot Our way lay South-ward along the Caspian Sea and we cross'd that day four small Rivers The first place we Lodg'd at was the Village of Mordou within the Government of Scamachy somewhat above four Leagues from Niasabath The houses there were all round and built up of Ozier and Canes as those of the Tartars The Inhabitants call them Ottak The nights were cold enough and there was no Wood in the Village so that we spent our time there uneasily enough especially those who had wetted themselves by going through the water afoot The word Mordou signifies a Fen and the Village derives its name from the Fenny places which lye about it wherein there are many Springs which send forth their water with such violence that there is no cold so great as to congeal them Whence it comes that there are abundance of Swans there even in the Winter whose down is gather'd for the Sophy's Beds and Pillows This Village is inhabited by a certain people whom they call Padars who have their particular language though with some relation to the Turkish and Persian Their Religion is the Mahumetane inclining to the Turkish but accompany'd besides with infinite Superstitions Among others they have this that they leave their meat after it is dressed to grow almost cold before they eat it and if it happen that any one ignorant of their customs should blow or breath upon it they cast it away as impure The Ambassador Brugman sent for the Kaucha or Bayly of Niasabath and complain'd to him of the ill Offices done us by the Sulthan of Derbent in not allowing the Carriage necessary for the prosecution of our Voyage insomuch that he was oblig'd to see some part of his Retinue whom he lov'd as his own eyes go afoot and likely to miscarry by the way of which proceeding he should give the Sophy a full accompt as soon as he came to Court The Kaucha made answer that it must needs be the Sulthan knew not we had so much Baggage but said withall that he could not imagine what pleasure we took in carrying along with us Sails brass Guns and Carriages which could only put us to trouble and retard our journey and that if the Ambassador did put up his complaints the Sulthan for his part would easily find out wayes to justifie himself The next day our Mehemandar brought us twenty horses more so that having lessen'd our Baggage by certain Chests and useless Vessels which were ordered to be broken we made a shift to set all our people on Horse-back We travell'd that day three leagues and came at night to the Village of Tachousi which lies in a bottom and hath very handsome Houses The 24. we got three Leagues further and came to the high Mountain of Barmach at the foot whereof we took up our quarters in a great Court which was all open and had only the four bare Walls The Persians call those places Caravanseras and they are as the Ventas in Spain and serve for Inns upon the High-way in the deserts of Persia. They are within a dayes Journey one of another for the greater convenience of Travellers who are oblig'd to bring along with them Provisions and Forrage for Horse and Man for you find in them at the best but Chambers and Halls and those not furnish'd with any thing and have only a Roof to keep you dry The Waggoners and Mule-drivers of Derbent made a shew as if they would have return'd and have left us there to stay till other conveniences of Riding and Carriage were brought us from Schamachie but finding on the other side that the Ambassadors had ordered the Drums to be beaten to bring their people together and that command was issued out that all should march a-foot and abandon the Baggage to be made good at their perils who refus'd to supply them with necessary carriages they chang'd their resolution and staid The Caravansera was a very antient structure all built with large Free-stones being forty two paces square Over the Gate there were two Chambers where we found certain Inscriptions and Hebrew Letters and some Characters which none in the company could either read or comprehend The 25. being Christmas day we did our Devotions in the great Stable which was appointed for the Camels which done some of our retinue had the curiosity to go and take a view of the Mountain induc'd thereto by the maraculous relations which the Persians had made us thereof by the way This Mountain lies within a quarter of
Horse Having Travell'd about two Leagues we found a Scotch-man of our retinue whose name was Alexander Chambers dead in the Waggon though at the Loading of the Baggage he seem'd to be so well as that it was conceiv'd he might have gone through the Journey which occasion'd us to make a Halt to dispose of the Body into the ground We buried him at the bottom of a little Hill cover'd all over with Hyacinths on the left hand near the High-way Having got half a League further we came to the Sepulchre of another Saint named Pyr Mardechan in the Country of Fakerlu where we were forc'd to take up our Quarters in the open Air and without Tents making a shift in that manner to pass over one of the sharpest Nights we had in all our Journey by reason of the Storm which came attended by Lightning Thunder Wind Rain Snow and Frost the Ambassador Brugman being desirous to outvy the Thonder with our Artillery which he caus'd to be several times discharg'd The next day the same Ambassador having observ'd that several pieces of Canon were left behind because there were not Camels enough to bring them away and that the Horses were too weak to draw them would needs fall out with the Mehemander and was so transported with Passion that he came to Railing and Spetting when he nam'd the Chan and the Calenter and said that the Chan had not been so good as his Word and had ly'd in all he said but that he should resent it and that he would either have his Life or the other should have his Some were of opinion that he would stay there till the pieces we had left at Scamachie were brought up but upon the Remonstrances of some others that the place was too incommodious that we had nothing over our Heads that we should want both Wood and Provisions and that the sick Persons would not be able to endure the Cold it was resolv'd we should go on which we did and came after two Leagues travel to a Caravansera called Tachâ—si and having gone two Leagues further we were got to the top of the Mountain of Schamachie Upon the top of the said Mountain there is a fair Plain and an even and fertile ground though in Winter and at the beginning of the Spring Rain Snow and hard Weather are no strangers there and bring the same inconveniences along with them as they do in some parts of Europe But as soon as we were come to the brow or descent of the Mountain we saw a clear Sky a chearful Sun and discover'd a Country wholly cover'd with Verdure in a spacious Plain which reaching above ten Leagues without any excrescency so much as to the height of two foot represented to us as it were in a Map the Course and Conjunction of those two Rivers Araxes and Cyrus which the Writings of Antient Historians and Geographers have so highly celebrated This descent was above half a league but easie and not very steepy so that those who went fore-most looking behind them saw the last of our company descending as it were out of the Clouds We took up our Lodging that night in certain Ottacks or Huts which the Tartarian Shepherds had set up there near their Flocks Mar. 30. we got four leagues along the Plain as far as the Village of Kasilu We met in our way with a company of Sheep-herds and Cow-herds who march'd with their Houses and all their Houshold-stuff their Wives and Children all as it were shuffled together in Wagons or pack'd up upon Horses Cows Asses and other Creatures not ordinarily us'd in carriage after a very odd manner and such as represented a very Fantastick kind of Transmigration Ever after that day we had nothing but fair weather a Sky clear and without any cloudiness save that when we travell'd over the Mountains we might in the Morning see the Heavens a little over-cast but as soon as the Sun appear'd all was dispell'd March the last we travell'd two leagues along the River side to a Village named Tzauat upon the right side of the Kur or the River which the Antients called Cyrus all the Houses whereof were built of Reeds and Canes and cover'd with Earth About a quarter of a league above this Village is the Conflux or meeting of this River with that of Araxes which is now called Aras at thirty nine degrees fifty four minutes Elevation the Cyrus coming from West-north-west and the Aras from South-west These Rivers after they are met together are about four hundred paces in breadth Their water is black and deep and the brink on both sides pretty high All along the River side and all the Meadow grounds of the Province of Mokan were cover'd with Liquorice the stalk whereof is many times as big as a man's arm and the juyce beyond all comparison sweeter and more pleasant than that of Europe The River Kur serves for a common Frontier to the two Provinces of Schiruan and Mokan and there is a Bridge of Boats over it near Tzawat We pass'd over it the second of April and found on the other side of the River another Mehemandar whom the Chan or Governour of Ardebil had sent to meet us and to conduct us in the pursuance of our Journey as far as the chief City of his Government He had brought along with him for the carriage of us and the Baggage forty Camels and three hundred Horses in regard the way we were then to come into being very bad by reason of the continued Mountains and Valleys we could not have made any use of our Waggons He supply'd us with Provisions in abundance allowing us every day ten Sheep thirty Batmans of Wine and Rice Butter Eggs Almonds Raisins Apples and all sorts of Fruits as much as we pleas'd On Sunday after Sermon we departed taking our way along the River Aras for above a League We lodg'd that night within half a League of the River at the entrance of a great Heath in Hutts which the Mehemandar had purposely ordered to be provided for our convenience April the third we pass'd over the Heath which reaches about four Farsangs or Persian Leagues and we were lodg'd again that night in Hutts as we had been the night before We had seen all that day in great Herds a kind of Deer which the Turks call Tzeiran and the Persians Ahu which have some resemblance to our Harts save that they are rather Red than Fawn and their Horns have no Brow-anclers but are smooth and lye backward like those of wild Goats They are very swift and there are not any of that kind as we were told but what are in the Province of Mokan and about Schamachie Karrabach and Merrage April 4. we were forc'd to leave the way of the Heath though much the nearer and to take another which brought us by a great compass of above six Leagues to a Torrent called Balharu out of this
to be had in almost all the other Provinces of Persia. Apples Pears and Peaches thrive very well there Which is to be understood of the City it self and the Plain in which it is seated for the Air is incomparably more hot and more temperate at the foot of the Mountain whence it comes that thereabouts you have all sorts of Fruits and the Trees which in April do but begin to bud about Ardebil were very forward at the Village of Alaru at the foot of the Mountain Bakru This particular of fruits only excepted the soil thereabouts is very good as well for arable Lands as Pastures insomuch that the Plain which is not very great is able to maintain the Inhabitants of above sixty Villages all which may be seen from the City Besides all which the Revenue which is rais'd for the King from the Arabian and Turkish Shepherds is very considerable by reason of the Liberty allow'd them to feed their Cattel thereabouts and to Trade therewith in those parts after they have purchas'd the Schach's Protection or embrac'd the Religion of the Persians Some of the Clarks belonging to the Farmers of the Revenue assured me that within fifteen dayes before there had pass'd over the City-Bridge above a hundred thousand sheep and for every sheep they pay four Kasbeki or two pence sterl for their pasturage and as much when the owner sells them This last duty is called Tzaubanbeki and the other Abschur Eleschur or the duty of Water and Herbage which the Turks call in one word Othbasch The City is somewhat but very little bigger than that of Scamachie but hath no Walls No House but hath its Garden so that seen at a distance it seems rather a Forest than a City Yet are there no other Trees about it than Fruit-Trees inasmuch as the Country produceing no Wood fit for Building nor indeed any for Firing the Inhabitants are oblig'd to supply themselves out of the Province of Kilan which is six good dayes Journey distant from it Within a League of the City South-ward lies a Village named Scamasbu out of which rises a little River called Balachlu Before it comes into the City it divides it self into two branches one whereof divides the City and the other compasses it and is joyned again to the other and so fall together into the River Karasu It is so apt to over-flow in the moneth of April when the Snow upon the Mountains begins to dissolve that if the Inhabitants of the Plain had not the industry to divert it by Trenches which they make on that side which is towards the City it would drown them all Of such an inundation there happened an Example in the time of Schach Abas when the violence of the water having broken the Dikes over-threw in a moment a great number of Houses in regard the Walls being built only of Mortar and Bricks bak'd in the Sun there is not any able to stand out against the least inundation so that the River caried away their Housholdstuff nay many Children in their Cradles as it had also near happened at the time of our being there upon the 12. of April when there were a thousand men at work day and night in making Chanels and in turning the River by means of a Trench which was made in the plain upon the River side which over-flow'd all the adjacent fields The City besides a great number of narrow strees hath five very fair and broad ones named Derwana Tabar Niardower Kumbalan and Kasirkuste in all which they have been at the pains of planting both sides with Elms and Linden-Trees to have some shade against the excessive heats of the Climate The Market-place or Maydan is large and noble as being above three hundred paces in length and a hundred and fifty in breadth and having on all sides Shops so orderly dispos'd that no Merchandise no Profession but hath its particular quarter On the right hand as you come into it you find behind the Sepulchre of Schich-Sefi and the last Kings of Persia a Metzid or Mosquey in which lies interred Iman Sade or one of the Children of their twelve Saints Malefactors and Criminals may retire thither for a certain time and thence easily get to the Monument of Schich-Sefi which is their great Sanctuary As you come out of the Market-place you come to a place which they call Basar where the first thing you meet with is a great square arched Building called Kaiserie where are sold all the precious Commodities of the Country as Gold and Silver Brocadoes and all sorts of precious stones and silk stuffs As you come out thence you enter by three Gates into so many streets cover'd over head all beset with Shops where are sold all sorts of Commodities There are also in these streets several Caravanseras or Store-houses built for the convenience of forein Merchants as Turks Tartars Indians c. We saw there also two Chineses who had brought thither to be sold Porcelane and several things of Lacque There are also in the City a very great number of publick Baths and Metzids the chiefest whereof is that which they call Metzid Adine which is seated upon a little Hill as it were in the midst of the City and hath a very fair Steeple There the greatest Devotions are done on holy-days and particularly on Friday from which it derives the name At the entrance of the Metzid or Church there is a Fountain which the late Saru Chotze otherwise called Mahomet Risa Chancellor of Persia brought to that place by a Chanel under ground from the very source which is in a Mountain above a League distant from the City South-west-ward The Sumptuous Monuments of Schich-Sefi and the last Kings of Persia are near the Meidan The Persians call that place Mesar and Kibel-Chan Governour of the City did us the favour to let us into them upon Whitsun-Monday He sent us word before hand that since we were so desirous to see the holy Sepulchre we must be oblig'd to abstain from VVine that day and that our Supper should be brought us out of Schich-Sefi's Kitchin The Ambassadors went thither immediately after Dinner attended by all their Retinue and their Guards The Gate at which we entred to get into the first Court is a very large one and above it there was a great silver Chain reaching from one side to the other at which there hung such another perpendiculary in the middle It is a Present which Aga-Chan Governour of Merrague had out of Devotion made to the holy Sepulchre This first Court is very spacious and pav'd all over with broad stones having on both sides great Vaults where there are many Shops and backwards a very fair publick Garden open to all The Governour having receiv'd us in the Base-Court brought us to another Gate over which there was also a Silver-Chain like the former and it was an expression of the Devotion of Mahomed-Chan
oblig'd to light at the cloze of the Evening and to keep in all Night Over against the Tomb there was a little Chapel kept for the Sepulchre of several other persons of the same Family of Schich-Sefi From the sanctity of the place it proceeds that the Chan of Ardebil administers an Oath to the Religious men of the place for their fidelity thereto as well as their allegiance to the King as being oblig'd joyntly to serve that Holy-sepulchre and the King whence it may be inferr'd he hath a certain spiritual Jurisdiction as well as the temporal As a privilege whereof as also upon the accompt of the situation of his City which is no Frontier and consequently not subject to the invasion of the Turk the Governour is freed of the charge of maintaining that number of soldiers which the other Governours are oblig'd to raise and keep out of the Revenue of their Governments His Retinue was very well ordered not exceeding fifty persons to whom his own Temperate Life serv'd for an Example He treated us three several times but was guilty of no excess and seem'd to be very temperate in all things save that he took abundance of Tobacco sucking it through a Pipe of Cane which was put into a glass of Water according to the Persian mode and drunk very much Cahwa or Coffee to moderate the insurrections of the Codpiece What is most remarkable about Ardebil is the sources of Medicinal waters whereof there is a great number and of several sorts whether in order to Health or Divertisement to which the Chan or Governour proffer'd to bring us and would have done it had not the Ambassdors indisposition who was then sick prevented him What we can say of them upon the relations of the Persians is that at the foot of the Mountain Sebelan there is a source called Serdebe over which Sulfakar-Chan whom we mention'd before built a spacious Vaulted apartment It s water which is almost luke-warm and as clear as it is possible water can be makes a very pleasant Bath Three Leagues thence on the right side of the same Mountain there is another source the waters whereof are so Sulphureous and so corrupt that they infect all the circumambient air It is excellent good for the Itch upon which accompt it is called Abcotur a word which in the Persian Language signifies that disease Out of the same Mountain but from another part of it there arise three other Springs of hot or boyling water called Meul Daudan and Randau The first rises out of a little Hill between two sources of cold water Daudau hath also not far from it a cold Spring the water whereof is us'd to allay the contrary qualities by the mixture of their waters which are brought by several Conduits into the publick Baths Daudau is admirable for the several effects it produces being sometimes very wholsome sometimes of no use at all To know when it may be us'd with success they have this observation that there may be seen in the water Serpents which have on their heads other little white Serpents set round about them like a Crown When there are none of these to be seen in it the water hath no vertue so that it is to no purpose to bath in it About half a League from the City upon the right side of the High-way there is a Pond or rather a standing Pool called Schercol which is cover'd all over with great pieces of Salt-Peter and Salt as with a crust of Ice whither such as are troubled with the Itch go and bath themselves Having staid two full moneths at Ardebil the first of Iune came thither a Mehemander named Abasculi-Beg with orders from the King for our immediate departure thence he being charg'd to bring us within six weeks to the Court where he said the Ambassadors were with much impatience expected But being himself an antient man and consequently not fit to be over-earnest in travelling he left with us his son whose care it was to conduct us to Ispahan These new orders oblig'd Netzefbeg who had been our Mehemander from Scamachie to take leave of us We requited in some measure his civilities towards us with a Present of four pair of Sables five Ells of dark grey Cloath four Ells of green Satin the like quantity of blew Satin of Genua and four bottles of Aquavitae Abasculi did all that lay in his power to hasten our departure and was so earnest to find us all necessary conveniences that he caus'd the Horses and Camels to be brought to the very Doors of our Lodgings the more to oblige us to send away the Baggage But the Ambassador Brugman who was resolv'd to have the brass-pieces which he had kept till then brought away along with us would needs in defiance of all perswasion to the contrary have carriages made for them Which to satisfie him in the Mehemander was forc'd to make use of certain Trees which were an Ornament to the City after many remonstrances of the impossibility which he told us we should meet with by the way to draw Artillery after us So that we found our selves insensibly engag'd to make a longer stay there than we expected for though they us'd all possible diligence to make the said Carriages yet was our journey put off for eight dayes longer At last all things being ready there was sent to the Chan three pair of the best kind of Sables whereof the Persians make very great account a striking-Clock a Chest or Cellar containing twelve bottles of Ros Solis and two pictures done by our own Painter representing a Person of quality and a Lady dress'd after the French mode He sent back to the Ambassadors each of them an excellent Horse with their Bridles and Saddles set out with Silver-plates two pieces of Satin one red the other blew one piece of Gold and Silver Brocado one piece of Cotton-stuff with flowers of silk and a piece of Cushion Canvas with flowers of gold and silver Iune 10. the Mehemander brought a hundred and sixty Horses and twelve Camels as well for the Baggage as the six pieces of Artillery The next day we sent away both and on the 12. followed our selves The Ambassador Brugman who was yet weak though recover'd of his Feaver was carried in a Horse-Litter and went away about five in the morning attended by thirty persons of our Retinue Most of the Inhabitants who had no notice of our departure and had never seen any Litter before finding it cover'd with Cloath and compass'd by men on Horse-back imagin'd we were going to celebrate some Festival in the Country and that the Litter carried the mysteries of our Religion The Ambassador Crusius went away about eight with the rest of the Retinue Kelbele-Chan was gone before to a Garden without the City expecting the Ambassadors that he might take leave of them it being not their custom no more than it is in some other
places to conduct Strangers at their departure with the same Ceremonies as they had receiv'd them withall it being according to their perswasion an incivility to bring such as they had before kindly entertain'd out of their Lodgings Accordingly after we had travell'd about a League we met him in the fields and with him a Sulthan of Tabris who being Marshal in the Persian Army had about him a considerable number of people who were all cover'd with Tygres and Lynx's skins and by their countenances discover'd the quality of their Master The Governour carried the Ambassador Crusius into the Ottaks or Huts of the Tartarian shepherds not much out of the High-way whither he had brought abundance of cold Meat Fruits and Conserves Having taken leave of him we prosecuted our journey over a high and craggy Mountain till we came to the Village of Busum which lies in a bottom four Leagues from Ardebil There we over-took our Baggage and our Artillery but the Wheels of the Carriages were so spent that the Ambassador Brugman was with much ado perswaded that it were more convenient to leave the six greater Pieces there upon the promise made by the Mehemander that he would get an order from the King to the Governour of Ardebil to have them sent after us and to that end he took the bore and size of them We took along with us the two little brass Pieces weighing each of them 300. weight and four murchering Pieces Iune the 13. we continu'd our journey through very bad way and over Mountains with such dreadfull precipices that not thinking it safe to trust the Beasts with the Litter wherein the Ambassador Brugman lay we had it carried by men In the Vallies we found many great Villages and Huts and excellent Meadows all cover'd with fair Cattel Having travell'd five Leagues or better that day we came at night to a Village called Sengoa where we found a Melik or Receiver general of the whole Province of Chalcal which begins at that Village and reaches as far as the River Kisilosein His name was Baindur and he had succeeded his Father in that employment who had been so much in favour with Schach-Abas that with one of the VVomen of his Seraglio whom he married he gave him two or three great Lordships The 14. our way lay still over high Mountains yet in our way we pass'd through three Villages where our Mehemandar fail'd not according to his custom to take up Horses pretending they were for us that the Countrey people might be oblig'd to redeem them Having travell'd four farsangs or leagues we came into a very pleasant Valley where we lodg'd near a delightfull Spring And whereas we had some occasion to stay there till the next day at noon I had the leasure to observe the height of the Sun there and found that we were at thirty seven degrees and twenty minutes of the Line In this place we saw green Grass-Hoppers which were above three Inches in length and one and a half in compass The 15. presently after Dinner we set forward on our journey and the Ambassador Brugman finding himself a little more hearty got on Hors-back with the rest Before we got to the dreadful Mountain Taurus which the Persians call Perdelis we came to a bottom which presented it self to our view like an Abyss We were two hours in getting down to it and above three in getting out of it though between the points of the Mountains there seem'd not to be half a League distance It is a most dangerous passage for Travellers who are oblig'd to come in strong parties for fear of falling into the hands of Robbers who discover at a distance the number of passengers and accordingly judge whether they can engage them or must let them alone There runs through the bottom the River Kisilosein which falls into it through Rocks and Precipices with an inconceivable swiftness and a noise that stuns the passengers The waters of it are whitish whence it comes that in the Province of Kilan where it falls into the Caspian Sea it is in Talisman called Isperuth Schach-Tamas built a very fair Bridge over it of Brick containing nine Arches The way was planted on both sides with wild Almond-Trees Cypress and Sena-Trees Having cross'd the River we came to the Ascent which was very steepy though it went still winding till it came to the top of the Mountain and it was so hard to get up that to advance ought we were many times forc'd to step up as if we got up a pair of stairs having in the mean time on our left hand Precipices and Abysses so dreadfull to look on that the Mule of a Muscovian Ambassador falling down there was never after seen or heard of insomuch that thinking it not safe to ride it up we alighted and led our Horses By that time we were got to the top of the Mountain it was night and that so dark that we lost our way in the absence of our Mehemandar who had stay'd behind in some Villages in the bottom We were gotten into very dangerous wayes and went still a-foot though the trouble we had been at which had put us all into a sweat weariness and the cold which beat into our faces might well have prevail'd with us to make use of our Horses We were three whole hours ere we overcame the darkness of the night and all other imaginable inconveniences but at last about midnight we got to the Village of Keintze four Leagues from our last Lodging We stay'd there all the next day as well in expectation of our Mehemandar and to give our Horses a little rest as to refresh our selves after the precedent day's weariness with the Divertisement which Wine our Musick and the noise of our Artillery could afford us We intended to give our Mehemandar a sharp reprehension and reproach him with his negligence but he soon stopp'd our mouths telling us that he could not but acknowledge himself oblig'd by his charge to wait on the Ambassadors and that he should not have neglected their service but that he had not the heart to hear the injurious and blasphemous expressions which fell every foot from the Ambassador Brugman which yet should not hinder him from taking order that we should be plentifully supply'd with Provisions wherein to give him his due he failed not and contributed much to the good Cheer we made that day The 17. we left Keintze after the mid-day's great heat was a little over but our Mehemandar instead of Conducting us along the High-way made us turn on the right hand and Lodg'd us in a Village called Hatzimir seated in a bottom which was of all sides encompass'd with Rocks The Melik or Receiver of the place treated us with certain Basins of fruit Apricocks and Grapes which were not fully ripe and a sack of Wine wherewith we made a Collation which serv'd us for a Supper for our Cook
Sun's entrance into Scorpio There is also in these parts another sort of insect of a making much like a Spider about two inches in compass and mark'd with several spots This insect is commonly found lodg'd in stony places under a kind of Herb which the Persians call Tremne and the Turks Iauchschan which is like Worm-wood or Absynthium but the leaves are much larger and the smell much stronger The Persians call this insect Enkurek and it is that animal which in Latin is called Stellio and kind of insect which the Italians and Spaniards call Tarantola This Creature instead of stinging or biting le ts fall its venom like a drop of water which immediately causes insufferable pain in the part where it fastens and suddenly making its way to the Stomack sends up Vapour into the Head and these put all the Members of the sick party into such a profound sleep that it is impossible to awake him save by this only remedy which is to crush one of these Creatures upon the wound out of which all the venom is by that means drawn out But if there cannot any of the same Creature be found there is another remedy may be used The sick person is laid upon his back that he may swallow down as much Milk as may be Then he is put upon a thing made like a bier which by cords fasten'd to the four corners is hung up to a beam and having turn'd the bier about till the cords are all twisted they let it go of a sudden that the cords coming to untwist by a violent Motion may make his head turn and force out of his stomack all the Milk he had swallow'd It comes from him all Greenish as is also the cruds which come forth at his yard but with great violence and extreme pain This remedy does in some measure Cure the sick person yet so as that it hinders not but that at certain times especially at the same season of the year he must expect to feel much pain This Creature is to be found only in the Country so that those who live in Cities fear it not there being none there unless they are through negligence brought in the stubble wherewith they cover their Houses But what 's most to be admir'd in this animal is that the Sheep seek after it and feed on it The Inhabitants of Katchan relate that Omar ben Alchitabi the third Successor of Mahomet being very desirous one day to go and see his Mill at Medina the Miller whose name was Schutza Adin intreated him to bless his Labour and his Mill by putting both his hands under one of the Mill-stones which was rais'd up which Omar having done the Miller let it fall and set the Mill a going by which means having crush'd his hands to pieces he afterwards kill'd him Whereupon going to Aly who by that Death was to succeed in the Empire he desir'd a reward for the Murther he had committed Aly gave him a Letter directed to the Casi of Kaschan ordering the Casi to give him his Daughter in Marriage The Miller though well satisfy'd with the recompence yet thought it too much to take so great a Journey a-foot so that Aly to make a further acknowledgement of the service he had done him lent him his Horse Duldul which carried him in one night from Medina to Kaschan which places are above two hundred Leagues distant and immediately vansh'd The Miller Married the Casi's Daughter but died soon after and was buried without the City at a place where now there are several banks of Sand which the story sayes were brought thither by the Wind since the Millar's Death lest the Friends and Kinred of Omar should take him up to be burnt Molla Hassan Kaschi who hath left this story in Writing hath made a Proverb of it which with several other spiritual adages he hath inserted into the Kullusthan where he sayes Men besamen ohn schahemsia Kickscheb duldulesch es Medine Ascabani bekaschan aured that is I serve the King of Kings whose Horse Duldul in one night carried the Miller from Medina io Kaschan Tzurzei Elmakin or George Elmacini another Arabian Historian sayes lib. 1. ch 3. of his History that Omar was kill'd as he was saying his Prayers by Abululu the servant of Mukir who hated him for his Tyranny The heats were indeed excessive at Kaschan however that the sick persons might not be putâ— too hard to it we continued there for some dayes and departed not thence till the 26. of Iuly as soon as the Moon was up which was then at the full That Night we travell'd six Leagues and came the next morning to Caravansera called Chotza Kassim but in regard it was very narrow and withall very nasty we lodg'd our selves in a Garden not far from it in the shade of abundance of Cypress Trees and Pomegranate-Trees upon the side of a pleasant Rivulet which making a gentle murmuring noise contributed much to the repose which after the precedent night's Travel was but necessary to us In the Evening we continu'd our Journey and travell'd that night six Leagues or better through Deserts and Barren grounds and came the 28. about four in the morning to a little City called by the Inhabitants of the Country Natens and by Contarini in his Travels Nethas We took up our lodging in a Caravansera within the City which is handsome enough furnish'd with several Springs of fresh water and well stor'd with all sorts of Fruits As you come into the City you leave on the right hand two very high and picked Mountains one whereof hath on the top of it a great Tower built by Schach Abas in memory of the advantage which one of his Falcons had in that place over an Eagle which he set upon overcame and kill'd after a very sharp engagement All of our Retinue being either sick or overcome with weariness only Monsieur Mandelslo had the curiosity to get up the said Mountain with his two servants and to take a view of that structure He found it built of Brick and that towards the foundation it was in an Octogonal form being about eight paces Diameter but that as it went higher and higher it by degrees lost that form and bigness and that above near the top it had so many windows that the light came in of all sides The greatest Miracle of all is how they could carry so many materials up to so high a place to get to which that Gentleman had spent above three hours and at least as much to get down again with great pains and hazard The 29. we got four Leagues further passing over a great Mountain and lodg'd in a Caravansera called Dombi whither some of the Inhabitants of Ispahan came to visit us as they said from the Chancellor There came thither also certain Dutch Merchants cloath'd in Persian habits but they made no discovery of themselves The night
cover'd with all sorts of Fruits in dishes of Porcelane and the Cloath was all strew'd with Flowers Every one had his dish of Meat by himself plenty of all things and all very well dress'd yet not without some respect to frugality After Dinner which lasted not so long as we had been at the entertainments of the Persians or those we were invited to by some forein Merchants we return'd into the Garden where we pass'd away the remainder of the day under the shade of the same Tree VVith the beginning of September we began to be sensible of a change of the weather The great heats were so much abated that the Nights began to be tedious and troublesome especially to those who had not been carefull to provide themselves good Coverlets About this time Seferas-beg Governour of Armenia accompany'd by his two Brothers came to see the Ambassadors with a design to make acquaintance and contract Friendship with them They were all three persons of an excellent good disposition free in their Conversation and Civil which gain'd so much upon the nature of the Ambassador Brugman who lov'd people of that Kidney and was himself of a free Humour that he presented the two Elder each of them with a handsome Fowling-piece and the younger with a Case of Pistols They took those Presents so kindly that to express their gratitude they resolv'd to make an Entertainment for the Ambassadors for which they appointed the 18 of September and entreated them to bring all their Retinue along with them They sent us Horses to bring us and some of the Armenian Merchants to accompany us We brought along with us two Portuguez Monks the Prior of the Augustines and our ordinary Interpreter Seferas-beg receiv'd the Ambassadors at the entrance of the Church in the Suburbs called Tzulfa where he had the service said by the Patriarch of the place who had about him a Cope of Cloath of Silver with flowers of Gold beset with great Pearls and a Mitre of the same Stuff cover'd all over with round Pearls The Body of the Church was adorn'd with several large Pictures the floor was cover'd with the Tapistry of the Country and they had placed benches all along the walls for our more convenient sitting They had also a kind of wretched Musick Having done our Devotions we got on horse-back again to goe to the place where the entertainment was prepared for us Seferas-beg having receiv'd the Ambassadors with much respect and done his civilities to the chiefest of the Retinue conducted them through a spacious arched Gallery into a great Garden at the end whereof we found an open hall according to the fashion of the Country where we were intreated to sit down on the ground The Cloath which was of Gold and Silver Brocado was cover'd with all sorts of Fruits and Conserves and we drank of a certain prepar'd water much like Ros Solis but incomparably more delicate and more precious Having taken away the Fruits they laid an Indian Cotton cloath and the Meat was brought up in silver Dishes It was excellently well dress'd according to the Persian way of dressing with this difference only that at this entertainment there was brought in Pork and some other sorts of flesh for which the Persians have an aversion We had hardly eaten so much as allay'd our first hunger ere we were forc'd to rise from the Table to be conducted through a very noble apartment into another hall which look'd into the Garden It was arched all about and there were on the Walls certain Pictures representing the Women of most Nations in the World dress'd according to the mode of their several Countries The floor was cover'd with rich Tapistry on which were laid Cushions of flower'd Satin the ground-work thereof Gold and Silver In the midst of the hall there was a Fountain the Basin whereof was of white Marble the water was cover'd with Flowers and it was beset all about with Flaggons and Bottles of Wine We were invited to sit down and to eat of the Fruit and Conserves which were brought in during which we had the Divertisement of Musick and Dancing And as a further honour to us the Patriarch was sent for who came in immediately having about him a Cassock of water'd Chamlet of a Violet Colour and attended by two Priests clad in black with Caps on their Heads He was no ill Company but the second of the two Brethren whose name was Elias-beg made the best sport of any in the company For to heighten the Divertisement of the Ambassadors he would needs play on the Tamera which is an Instrument used by the Persians instead of the Late and then he call'd for seven Porcelane Cups full of water and striking them with two little sticks he accorded them with the Lute While we were hearkning to this Musick Seferas-beg told us that he would give us a kind of Musick which should be as delightful as the other and thereupon rising up he ordered to be brought him by two Pages in two great wooden Dishes several Chrystal Glasses which he distributed among the Company to whom he began the King of Persia's health The whole day was spent in these divertisements till that the Ambassadors perceiving night approach took leave of their Hosts but these pretending to conduct us out of the house brought us to the other side of the Garden into a Gallery where we found the Cloath laid and cover'd with all sorts of Meat Flesh Fish Pies Fruits and Conserves for the Collation We sat down again but it was only out of compliance for it is not to be imagin'd we could have eaten ought Nor indeed can I believe that he by whom we were entertain'd had any other design therein than to shew his Magnificence and the Gallantry and Freedome of his Nature especially in his Conversion of the darkest Night to bright Day The Hall was all full of Lamps which hung by a string fasten'd to the Roof there being so great a number of them and those so near one the other that their Lights were so confounded as that they made but one There was also in the Garden a great number of Torches and Candles which wrought the same effect there Having with much ado and many Complements taken our leave we could not by any means put off the second Brother out of a humour had taken him to accompany us to our Lodgings where he made a shift to get perfectly drunk with Aquavitae and Ros Solis And thus we concluded that day which I confess was one of the most pleasant we had had in all our Travels having been better treated than we had been by the King himself The 19. The Ambassadors had their second private audience which the King gave them in another apartment at the end of a Garden and which lasted not above half an hour in regard the Council took time to consider of the Memorials they receiv'd in writing from them
would not suffer him to take his rest in the night there was a necessity either he or they should leave the City The same Ambassador engag'd himself in another unhandsom business which was of so much the more dangerous consequence that all the Christians of the Suburbs were concern'd in it The King commands every year a search to be made among the Armenians for all the handsom Maids and makes choice of those whom he likes best Our Interpreter for the Armenian Language whose name was Seran a person of a leud life addressing himself to the Ambassador Brugman told him that in that search he was like to lose a Daughter a beautiful Lass whom he tenderly lov'd and desir'd his advice and protection in that case Brugman advis'd him to oppose the Searchers and to call to his assistance the Domesticks of the Embassy and assur'd him they should be ready to relieve him This proceedure of his and several other imprudent actions had at last forc'd the King to a more severe resolution against the said Ambassador nay haply against the whole Company if the Chancellor had not moderated his passion THE TRAVELS OF THE AMBASSADORS FROM THE DUKE of HOLSTEIN INTO MUSCOVY TARTARY and PERSIA The Sixth Book ERE we leave the City of Ispahan which is now the Metropolis of the whole Kingdom of Persia it will not be amiss I gave the Reader an account of what I found therein worthy my Observation during our aboad there for the space of five moneths and to give here such a Description thereof as he must expect to be so much the more full and particular inasmuch as there is not any Author who hath hitherto written of it hath done it with exactness enough to satisfie even a mean Curiosity They say that the City of Ispahan is the same which was heretofore called Hecatonopolis and that before Tamberlane's time it was known by the name of Sipahan as well by reason of the number of its inhabitants which was so great as that out of it a considerable Army might be rais'd as in regard that in that place the Armies had their Rendezvous from the antient Persian and Vsbeque word Sipe whereof Sipahan is the plural and signifies the same thing as Lâ—sker that is to say an Army from which is derived the word Sipes-alar a term the Persians do yet sometimes make use of to signifie a chief Commander or General of an Army Tamberlane was the first who by transporting the two first Letters of that name call'd it Ispahan Ahmed ben Arebscha who hath written the Life and Actions of Tamberlane calls this City in all places Isbahan writing the word with a b and the Modern Persians always write it Isfahan with an f from an Arabian word which signifies Rank or Batallion though they pronounce it indifferently sometimes Isfahan sometimes Ispahan Ios. Barvaro alwayes calls it Spaham and Ambr. Contarini who was sent Ambassador from the Republick of Venice to Vssum Cassan King of Persia in the year 1473. calls it Spaa Spaam and Aspacham But as we said before its right name is Ispahan This City lies in the Province of Erak or Hierack which is the antient Parthia in a spacious Plain having on all sides at about three or four Leagues distance a high Mountain which compasses it like an Amphitheatre at thirty two degrees twenty six minutes Latitude and eighty six degrees forty minutes Longitude and I have observ'd that the Needle declined there seventeen degrees from the North towards the West It hath toward the South and South-west side the Mountain of Demawend and on the North-east side towards the Province of Mesanderan the Mountain of Ieilak-Perjan The Author of the French Book intituled Les Estats Empires puts it in the Province of Chuaressen but he is mistaken for Chuaressen is a Province of the Vsbeques Tartars at 43. degrees Latitude and lies at a great distance from that of Erak If you take in all its Suburbs it will be found that it is above eight German Leagues in compass in so much that it is as much as a man can do to go about it in one day The City hath twelve Gates whereof there are but nine open above eighteen thousand Houses and about five hundred thousand Inhabitants The Walls of it are of Earth low and weak being below two fathoms and above but a foot thick and its Bastions are of Brick but so poorly flanked that they do not any way fortifie the City no more than does the Ditch which is so ruin'd that both Summer and Winter a man may pass over it dry-foot F. Bizarro and some others affirm that the walls are of Chalk but I could find no such thing unless it were that in the Castle which hath its walls distinct from those of the City there are some places which look as if they were whitened or done over with Chalk or Lime The River Senderut which rises out of the adjacent Mountain of Demawend runs by its walls on the South and South-west side on which side is the Suburbs of Tzulfa Before it comes into the City it is divided into two branches one whereof falls into the Park called Hasartzerib where the King keeps all sorts of Deer and from the other there is drawn a current of water which passes by Chanels under ground into the Garden of Tzarbagh This River supplies the whole City with water there being hardly a house into which it comes not by Pipes or so near as that it is no great trouble to them to fill their Cisterns of it which they call Haws and Burke though besides this convenience of the River they have Wells the water whereof is as good as that of the River Allawerdi-Chan sometime Governour of Schiras built at his own charge the fair Stone-Bridge which is between the Garden of Tzarbagh and the City upon this River which is as broad in that place as the Thames is at London Schach-Abas had a design to bring into the River of Senderut that of Abkuren which rises on the other side of the same Mountain of Demawend and whereas to bring these two Rivers into the same Chanel there was a necessity of cutting the Mountain he employ'd for the space of fourteen years together above a thousand Pioners at that work And though they met with extraordinary difficulties not only in that they had to do with pure Rock which in some places was above two hundred foot deep but also in regard the Mountain being cover'd with Snow for near nine Months of the year they had but three to work in yet had he the work constantly carried on with such earnestness that all the Chans and Great Lords sending their Work-men thereto upon their own charges there was in a manner to doubt made of the successe of that great enterprize since there remain'd to do but the space of two hundred paces when Schach-Abas died leaving the Consummation of that imperfect work
greatest conveniences that Travellers meet with in Persia as well for the carrying of their own persons as the conveyance of their Baggage and Commodities which they may by this means transport from one place to another at a very easie rate and with little trouble One man guides a Team or as many as are fasten'd together and if a man thinks it not safe to travel alone he may joyn with the Caravans which go perpetually up and down the Countrey and with these is the safest way of travelling The travelling of the Camels is at a certain rate and therefore their Stages being set they find it no great trouble to make them reach their ordinary lodgings which are either in Villages upon the High-way or at Caravanseras expressely built for the entertainment of the Caravans Some of these Caravanseras have persons in them who are as it were Hosts and sell Provender but in others you have onely the bare Walls It is no great charge to keep the Camels Their sustenance is Thistles and Nettles and sometimes they thrust down their throats a hard Paste made of the chaff of Barley about three pound in weight much after the fashion of the Loaves which the French Soldiers who serve in the Low-Countreys corruptly call Brindestocq Sometimes they put into this Paste Cotton-seed which is very sweet and as big as a great Pease They can endure thirst for two or three dayes together wherein nature seems to have made some Provision against the extremity men are put to for want of water when they travel over the Desarts and Heaths of those hot and dry Countreys They onely touch the knees of their fore-legs to make them bow to receive their burthens and being so laid with their bellies on the ground they suffer a man to order them as he pleases The harmonious sound of a man's voyce or an instrument enlivens them whence it comes that the Persians tie little bells about their knees and a pretty big one about their necks not onely by reason of the long trains of them that go together it being necessary they should be heard at a great distance to give those notice who might unadvisedly come between them but also to divert these Creatures in their travel The Arabians to the same purpose make use of Timbrels when they travel through the Desarts of their Countrey in as much as whipping or beating does not make them advance but Musick especially a man's voyce animates and inspires them with a certain courage What most troubles the Camels is a kind of Snail called Mohere which sometimes lies within the Thistles if these sting them in the Nostrils it proves mortal The Camels are very revengefull and remember a long time any injury they have receiv'd in so much that in Persia a Camels anger is come into a Proverb when they would speak of an irreconcilable enmity As to this particular there is a very memorable example of a Camel which being hot and having not the Muzzle on bit a servant who went along by him in the Arm. The servant gave him a many blows about the neck with a Cudgel which part is the tendrest about these Creatures But the Camel had a cruel revenge of him ere they came to their journey's end For some time after being got loose in the night he went among the servants who by reason of the cold lay near the Camels that they might thrust their feet under their bellies and having pitch'd upon the person that had beaten him he trod on him so as that all his bones were crush'd and broken The servant's Father demanded satisfaction and had the Camel adjudg'd him to be dispos'd of as he pleasid If anger proceed from Choler as its principle a man may justly wonder whence it comes that Pliny sayes that Camels Horses and Asses have no Gall. Nor could I ever find any reason why the same Pliny should affirm after Xenophon that Camels have an aversion for Horses When I told the Persians of it they laugh'd at me and said that it was not without reason Camels hated Horses when many times the Horses may get into the stables and have a house over their heads whereas the Camels which cannot get in by reason of the lowness of the Doors are forc'd to lie abroad and to suffer the Horses to take up their quarters And indeed there hardly goes any Caravan but a man may see Camels Horses and Asses put up together in the same stable yet express not any aversion or animosity one against another True indeed it is that the Females go twelve moneths but those are extremely mis-inform'd who believe that the Male when he covers her turns his hinder part to her This mistake took its rise hence that the Camels when they make water put their yards backwards between their hinder legs but in the work of Generation they use them otherwise The Female lies down upon her belly and the Male covers her after the same manner as Horses do And though this Creature be of a great bulk yet is not its generative member which is at least three foot in length any thicker than a man's little finger This animal is seldome eaten as being more serviceable in point of work but when they fall under their Burthens or in case they be stung by one of the Moheres they kill them with two thrusts into the Throat one at the place where it joyns to the Head the other towards the Breast and then they eat them There are abundance of Horses in Persia most of them well made They are very handsome about the Head Neck Ears Crupper and Leggs Media bred heretofore such excellent Horses that they were all kept for the King The Horses of those parts are at this time very good ones and there are of an excellent breed in the Province of Erscheck near Ardebil but it is withall certain that the Arabian Horses are incomparably better and accordingly more esteem'd by the King who makes them the chiefest Ornament of his Stables Next those they most value those of Turkey though the King hath good breeding places in several Provinces of his Kingdome especially in Erscheck Schirwan Karabag and Mokan where is the best Meadow-grounds in Persia. They make use of them fot the most part for men's Riding very seldome for the carriage of Commodities and never almost in the Cart which all over Persia hath but two Wheels And whereas the main forces of the Kingdome consist in their Cavallry it thence comes that they are great lovers of Horses and very tender in the keeping of them Yet with all this care do they not make use of straw for Litter but of Horse-Dung which they dry in the Sun and make beds of it a foot deep for the Horses which could not lye more at their ease upon quilts This Litter serves them a long time and when it is moisten'd with stale they put it into the Sun dry it again and so continue
their favour she invited them to Dinner and press'd them to drink of her Wine which was the best the Country could afford The Angels at first would have excus'd themselves alleging the Prohibitions which God had made them to that purpose but at last she prevail'd with them and they drunk so liberally of her Wine that they began to be very familiar with their fair Hostess and to desire of her the greatest kindnesse it is in a Woman's power to do a Man The Woman was content they should have their desires but made this condition before hand that one of them should shew her the way by which people come down from Heaven and the other that by which they go up into it but as soon as the Angels had shown her the way the Woman slunk away from them and went stright to Heaven God finding her Cloath'd as she was ask'd her how she could get up to Heaven without Dying She made answer that it was by the information of the Angels and for the preservation of her Honour Which oblig'd God to Crown her Chastity with an extraordinary Glory and whereas she was one the most Beautifull Women in the World it was accordingly his Pleasure that she should have more light than any of the other Stars and so he made her that Star or Planet which is called Venus Afterwards having called the Angels before him he told them that in requital of the good they had done he was content they should condemn themselves to some punishment which they thought proportionable to their Sin whereupon they went into the Cave of Bebil between Babylon and Betreh where thy were hung up by the Feet to a great Iron Chain in which posture they were to continue till the day of Judgment The Persians in obedience to Mahomet's command make no Wine but in regard they are great lovers of it they do not only permit the Christians to make thereof but indeed the chief reason why they permit the Armenians to live among them is that they may buy thereof of them They do not make it so well as it is done in Europe and have not the Ingenuity to put it into Buts but keep it in great Earthen Pitchars each of which contains near half a Barrel as we said elsewhere The Seder that is the chief of the Religion of the Persians to expresse his zeal did sometimes order the Pitchars of the Armenians to be broken The Persians are permitted to make a siâ—rrup of sweet Wine which they boyl till it be reduc'd to a sixth part and be grown as thick as Oyl They call this Drugg Duschab and when they would take of it they dissolve it with water and add thereto a little Vineger all which together make a very pleasant Drink The Minatzim or Astrologer of Scamachie gave me of it at a treatment he made for me at his own House In the more Northerly Provinces of Persia where the Wine is not very good the Inhabitants dissolve the Duschab in the Country Wine whereto they by that means give both the Colour and Tast of Sack Sometimes they boyl the Duschab so long that they reduce it into a Paste for the convenience of Travellers who cut it with a Knife and dissolve it in water At Tabris they make a certain Conserve of it which they call Helwa mixing therewith beaten Almonds Flower and peel'd Filbeards or small Nuts They put this mixture into a long and narrow Bag and having set in under the press they make of it a Paste which grows so hard that a man must have a Hatchet to cut it They make also a kind of Conserve of it much like a Pudding which they call Zutzuch thrusting through the middle of it a small Cotton thread to keep the Paste together There are some Chymists who maintain that by the same reason to prevent the charges arising upon the transportation of Wine it were possible to reduce five Tuns to one by causing sweet Wine to be boyl'd away to the fifth part For as they say there is no likelyhood the Wine should lose ought of its Spirits before it hath wrought and is dispos'd into Vessels and that afterwards adding thereto as much fair water out of which the superfluous humour hath been evaporated it might be restor'd to the same quantity and reduc'd to the same degree of goodness it had been of before But I am of opinion that if this were feasible the experiment had been long since try'd especially in France instead of turning Wine into Aquavitae There are two sorts of Grapes in Persia but the best and sweetest are at Schiras and Tabris whence they bestow on the most delicate of them the name of Tabersch This Grape is long and hath no stone and it may be kept all Winter Those which they call Keseki are yellowish and sweet and grow in Tarum at Tabris and at Ordebath but of these a man must eat sparingly for fear of a Bloody-Flux The small Grapes which we call Currens are there yellowish and bigger than those which grow in the Isle of Zanthe They call them Kischmisch and the best of them grow at Bawanat near Herat. Besides these there are yet several other sorts of Grapes not known in Europe among the rest those which they call Hallague The Grape it self is above an inch and a half thick but the meat of it is hard juyce-less and without stones and they are kept all the year long as also the Enkuri Alideresi the bunch whereof is above a foot long and the Grapes are about the bigness of a Damasin of a dark red Colour full of juyce and very sweet but they will not keep There does not grow any of these save at one place in the Province of Iran between Ordabath and Choddaserin They derive their name from their great Prophet Aly who being one day in Winter at that place desired a Vinedresser whom he met to give him some Grapes whereto the other making answer that it were impossible to satisfie his desire in that season Aly bid him go into the next Vineyard and he should find some He went and according as he had said found the fairest Grapes he had ever seen upon which occasion they are called Enkuri Aly deresi that is the Grapes of the little Valley of Aly. There is no Fruit-Tree in Europe but is to be found in Persia but besides those they have many not known to us as a sort of Pears which they call Melletze which grow near the City of Ordebath about the bigness and much of the colour of Citrons The scent of them is very sweet and pleasant and they are very juicy but not delighfull to the tast Pomegranate-Trees Almond-Trees and Fig-Trees grow there without any ordering or cultivation especially in the Province of Kilan where you have whole Forests of them The wild Pomegranates which you find almost every where especially at Karabag are sharp or sowrish They take
out of them the Seed which they call Nardan wherewith they drive a great Trade and the Persians make use of it in their sawces whereto it gives a colour and a picquant tast having been steep'd in water and strain'd through a cloath Sometimes they boyl the juyce of these Pomegranates and keep it to give a colour co the Rice which they serve up at their entertainments and it gives it withall a tast which is not unpleasant The Persians use sharp sawces with most of their meat and thence it comes that among them you very seldome find any person troubled with the Scurvy which is a Disease too well known and mortal in several Provinces of Europe I shall say nothing of those other Fruits which we have also in Europe as of their Narintz or Orenges Limec Citrons Meschmeschi Apricocks Scafralu Peaches c. only thus much that they are not equally good every where The best Pomegranates grow in Iescht and at Caswin but the biggest in Karabag Ispahan is famous for its good Melons Caswin for its Peaches Tabris for its Apricocks and the Provinces of Kilan and Lahetzan for Silks The Trees out of which they get this rich Commodity may no doubt be very well numbred among the Fruit-Trees not only in regard that it is true they bear Fruit but also upon this score that the Persians every where fill their Gardens with these plants They are white and black Mulbery-Trees which they plant so close one by another that a man can hardly pass between the Trees but they order them as Bushes and suffer them not to grow above five foot and a half high that they may easily reach to all the Branches In the Spring as soon as these Trees begin to shoot forth their leaves the Persians begin to hatch their Silk-worms To do this they carry the Seed in a little bag under the arm pit where the heat of seven or eight daies hatches them Then they put them into a wooden dish upon the Mulbery-leaves which they change at least once a day having a great care that they be not wet At the end of five dayes they sleep three and then they dispose them into Rooms or Barns kept very clean and prepar'd for that purpose and in the Province of Kilan they have particular Buildings for that end Along the beams of these Buildings they nail laths or cleft pieces such as Hoops are made of upon which they lay the Mulbery-branches with the leaves on and put the Worms upon them every day changing these branches and at last when they are grown pretty big twice or thrice a day and they so shut all ouvertures of the Barns which are cover'd with Nets that the very Birds cannot get in to eat them In the mean time and before they begin to spin they sleep eight dayes more but there must be a great care taken that Women troubled with their Monethly infirmity come not near them inasmuch as it would kill them and as it were smother them in their own moisture After seven weeks life they begin to spin which is known as well by their satiety in regard they then give over eating as by the Silk which comes out at their Mouths They suffer them to work twelve dayes at their God and in the mean time they very carefully watch the place where they spin That time expir'd they find as many Cods as there had been Worms and they make choice of the biggest for the Seed All the rest is cast into a Kettle of boyling water into which they ever and anon put a Besom made for that purpose whereto the Silk sticks and they immediately wind it up and what remains they cast away That which is kept for Seed they set upon a Table out of which about fifteen dayes after there are hatched Butter-flies and these produce the Seed which is kept in a temperate place till the year following In this Commodity of Silk consists the greatest Trade of all Persia nay in a manner af all the East as it is in effect the Richest and most Noble of any that is driven in Europe We may put into the number of the Fruits of this Country the Nefte which is gotten out of several sources near Baku as also the Salt which is drawn out of the Salt-pits of Nachtsuan but this is fairer and as clear as Chrystal in Kulb Vrum Kemre Hemedan Bisethun Suldus and Kilissim There are no other Pits or Mines where they work There are indeed certain Forges at Masula and Keintze but the best Iron comes from Masula where it is so soft and tractable that it is malleable and yields to the Hammer without heating There are Gold and Silver Mines between Serab and Miane but they cannot be wrought for want of Wood which is so scarce thereabouts that the advantage might be made of them would not defray the charges Between Pirmaras and Schamachie we saw a Mountain of Lapis Specularis which when the Sun shone upon it look'd like a heap of Diamonds The Persians are of mean stature Xenophon saies that they were most of them bulky and fat and Marcellinus on the contrary affirms that in his time they were spare-bodied and dry They are so now but strong and have great limbs their faces inclining to an Olive-colour Black-hair'd and Hawk-nos'd The men are shav'd once in eight dayes contrary to the custom of the antient Persians who suffered their Hair to grow as do at present the Seid that is the kinred of Mahomet who as they say went so They also shave their Beards leaving only Mustachoes They are only a sort of Religious men called Pyhr who suffer their Beards to grow upon their Chins and about their Cheeks These people are in great Veneration among them upon the accompt of their apparent sanctity which principally consists in abstinence There are also those who never cut their Mustachoes which by that means cover their Mouths and this they do in remembrance of their Prophet Haly who wore them in that manner These last are called Suffi and they say Haly wore his Mustachoes so for the following reason That when Mahomet took that Voyage to Paradise which the Alchoran speaks of Azoara 27. Haly follow'd him At first they made some difficulty at the Gate to let him in till such time as he told the Poâ—ter that he was Schir Chodda that is God's Lion Being got in he saw that the Angels made Mahomet drink of a certain excellent Wine whereof he was so happy as to have one Goblet presented to him which he took off but some drops of the Divine draught sticking on his Mustachoes he would never afterwards suffer them to be cut The Persians have a great fancy to black hair and they bear with the flaxen-hair'd but not without some trouble but for red-hair'd people they have a strong aversion They have so great an esteem for black hair that when it is not fully black they colour
it so To do that they make use of the herb and seed of Wesme which is brought from Bagdat and is somewhat like that which the Herbarists call Securidaca which they beat very small with the rinds of Pomegranates and mix therewith Soap and Arsenick they boyl this composition in spring-Spring-water and rub their Hair therewith which they afterwards wash with a strong lye made with unslak'd Lime They make use also of the water which issues out of the Vines in the Spring-time the Men rub their Mustachoes therewith and Maids their Hair which fall down over their shoulders ty'd up in several tresses out of an opinion they all are of that this makes them grow They have also a custom of Painting their Hands and above all their Nails with a Red Colour inclining to Yellowish or Orenge much near the colour that our Tanners nails are of There are those who also Paint their Feet This is so necessary an ornament in their Married Women that this kind of Paint is brought up and distributed among those that are invited to their Wedding Dinners They therewith Paint also the Bodies of such as dye Maids that when they appear before the Angels Examinants they may be found more neat and handsome This Colour is made of the herb which they call Chinne which hath leaves like those of Liquorice or rather those of Myrele It grows in the Province of Erak and it is dry'd and beaten small as Flower and there is put thereto a little of the juyce of sowr Pomegranate or Citron or sometimes only fair Water and therewith they Colour their hands And if they would have them to be of a darker Colour they rub them afterwards with Wall-nut leaves This colour will not be got off in fifteen dayes though they wash their hands several times a day Their Cloaths have no proportion to their Limbs Their Coats and upper Garments are large and hang loose not unlike the Garments of Women They express a certain Effeminacy in their gate They go as it were Jetting and Wadling and with very little Gravity I am of opinion that this scurvy Habit is deriv'd from their manner of sitting which is as our Taylors do whereto being accustomed from their infancy they are not so strong in the Hamms as they would otherwise be Diodorus Siculus ascribes the invention of this kind of Garments to Semiramis and tells the occasion of it as do also most of the other antient Authors The Coeffure of the men which they call Mendils and the Turks Tulbans or Turbants is made of Cotton cloath or some Silk stuff that is very fine and of several Coloâ—rs and being about eight or nine Ells in length comes many times about their Heads having the folds slightly sow'd or drawn with a Gold thread Those of their Priests and particularly of the Hasis is white as are also all their Garments There are some put to their Mendils a tassel of Silk which hangs down their backs or over their shoulders a quarter of an Ell or better in length The Seid that is those who pretend to be of the Posterity of Mahomet and assume the title of his Successors have their Mendils of green silk Some Persians even of the greatest of the Kingdome wear furr'd Caps the inside and outside being of Buchar Sheep skin so as that the Wool hangs down from the edges the length of a man's finger and is as soft as Silk These Caps are esteem'd in Persia as the Castors are in Europe and are sold at ten or twelve Crowns a piece They wear these about their Heads in Summer as well as VVinter though a man might think that by reason of the extreme sultriness of the weather they should be very troublesome and incommodious This custom of keeping their Heads alwayes very hot brings them to that tenderness that they dare not expose them to the Cold no not in calm weather To this purpose I conceive I may allege what Herodotus sayes to wit that after a fight between the Persians and the Egyptians where there fell a great number of men on both sides care was taken that the Bodies of both parties were dispos'd into several places and it was found some time after that the Skuls of the Persians were so thin and delicate that a man might thrust his finger into them and that on the contrary those of the Egyptians were so hard that they could not be broken with stones The reason he gives for it is that he sayes the Egyptians who were accustomed from their infancy to go bare-headed in the Sun were by that means grown hard whereas the Persians having their Heads alwayes wrapp'd about were very tender in their Skuls And indeed they never uncover them neither at their Devotions nor when they Salute other men no not when they speak to their King but when they salute any they do it by a low inclination of the Head and putting of their hand to their Breast Many of the Persians wear Red Caps whence the Turks take occasion to call them by way of derision Kisilbaschs that is to say Red-Heads Most Authors who treat of the affairs of Persia write this word Cuselbas Queselbach or Querselbach but the right name is Kisilbasch as being compounded of the word Kisil which hath two different significations to wit that of Red and of Gold and Basch which signifies a Head Paulus Iovius in the 13. Book of his Histories and after him F. Bizarro in the 10. Book of his History of Persia affirm that Tefellis Disciple of Harduellis otherwise named Eider who as they say liv'd about the beginning of the sixteenth age was the first who brought the Persians to wear Red Caps to distinguish them from the Turks at their separation from them in the business of Religion But they are both mistaken for the truth is that the Persians when they broke Communion with the Turks and made a particular Sect of the Mahumetane Religion by the advice of Schich-Sefi the Author of their new Opinions immediately held that the first Successors of Mahomet Omar Osman and Ababeker had usurp'd the Succession to the prejudice of Aaly's right and would have this last to be accounted the Propher and that his twelve Successors whom we shall name hereafter when we come to speak of the Religion of the Persians were Canoniz'd and put into the number of their Imans or Saints that they were look'd upon as having that quality and that their Ecclesiasticks or Religious men wore Red Caps made with twelve foldings in form much like the Bottles used in Languedoc and Provence which have great and flat Bellies and very long and narrow Necks This difference in matter of Religion occasion'd a great War between the two Nations wherein the Turks making advantage of their Arms were very cruel towards the Persians but especially the Ecclesiasticks by reason of the aversion which they had for that new Religion And in regard their Coiffure or
to the King The Women do not uncover their faces as they go about the City but have over them a white Veil which reaches down below their knees which they open a little to see their way The Persians make an embleme of it to signifie that many times in a handsome Body a wicked Soul may be log'd and that under a fair appearance of good Life a great number of enormous Vices may find shelter as that Veil does often times under very rich Cloaths hide a very Ugly Woman The Persians are very neat as well in their Rooms and Furniture of them as in their Habit wherein they would not have so much as a spot to be seen insomuch that those who are of ability to do it change them as soon as they are ever so little stain'd and others who are not much before hand with the World have them wash'd once a week VVhich is very much contrary to the humour of the Muscovites among whom a man seldome sees any Cloaths but what are full of Nastiness and shine with Grease Nay it is certain that the Stables and other such Houses of the Persians are kept much neater than the Stoves and Lodging Chambers of the Muscovites The Persians are of a ready VVit and sound Judgement They apply themselves to Studies and are very excellent in Poesy Their Inventions are tich and their Fancies subtil and strong They are so far from being any way Vain-glorious that they slight no man but on the contrary they are complaisant and of a Taking Conversation very civil and obliging among themselves but especially to Strangers The Submissions wherewith they express themselves in their Complements exceed any thing they do in that kind in France A Persian to invite his Friend to come into his House and profer him his service delivers himself in these terms Let me intreat you to make my House noble by your presence I sacrifize my self to your Commands I lye prostrate at your Feet to serve you I wish the apple of my Eye might help to pave your way c. but for the most part these are indeed but Complements This puts me in mind of a Persian who coming to our Physician to acquaint him with a pain he had in his side told him that if he could Cure him he would give him his Head whereupon it being represented to him that he should not be so much troubled at the want of Health who was so prodigal of his Life he made answer that he meant otherwise but that it was their manner of speaking The Persians have ever had the reputation of not being over-carefull to speak the truth and even to this day those who would speak it at all times must pass in their accompt for people a little troubled with simplicity Whence it comes that no man thinks himself injur'd when they say to him Drugh Mikui or in the Turkish Language Galan Diersen that is thou hast told an untruth and the word Galantsi which signifies a Lyar is accounted a drollish expression though Herodotus sayes it was a Vice the antient Persians hated most of any and that they made it their main business to bring up their young men to Ride and Shoot well and to speak the Truth They are very faithfull in observing the particular friendships they contract together and they enter into Fraternities among themselves which last as long as they live nay they are so exact in the improving of these that they preferr them before all Obligations of either Blood or Birth In Germany there is no reckoning paid but those Drunken persons who clubb to it make some fraternity yet is not the friendship contracted thereby ever the greater in regard there cannot really be any between such as are incapable of it but in Persia it is far otherwise It is their custom to make every year a great Feast whereat all the men between whom there is any thing of Kinred and some other friends meet together and if at that assembly there be any persons who out of a reciprocal and particular affection are desirous to enter into a more close and constant friendship they address themselves to some one of the Company whom they take by the border of his Garment and having told him that they make choice of him for their Babba Father or God-father which the other cannot deny they go all three together to their Calif there being no Family but hath its own kiss his Hand and crave his Benediction To receive which they lye down upon their Bellies first the God-father and afterwards the Brethren at the Calif's feet who gives each of them three strokes with a wand upon the Back pronouncing at the first stroke the word Alla at the second that of Mahomet and at the third that of Haly. That done they kiss the wand and with this Ceremony the Fraternity is establish'd And this kind of alliance is so sacred according to their opinion of it that they affirm there is no other sin but may be pardoned that Sacrilege and Idolatry are not irremissible and that a man may hope for pardon if he hath drunk Wine nay in case he hath abus'd an Abdalla but that the privileges of this kind of Fraternity cannot be Violated and the offence not be Punish'd And if it happen that two of these Brethren fall out they are to be reconcil'd at the next assembly which is done thus He who hath been injur'd comes to his Door who did him the injury bowing down his Head and with his Arms carelessly hanging down continues in that posture till the other hath intreated him thrice to come into his House and thence they go together to the assembly where the reconciliation is perfected The Persians are of a good nature and very sensible of any kindness done them but where they hate they are irreconcilable They are Couragious and good Soldiers going chearfully upon any design or engagement though never so dangerous They are also modest and very reserv'd whence it comes they never make water standing but squat down as Women do and when they have done wash themselves It is upon this accompt that at Weddings and other great assemblies they have in some by-places several earthen pots full of water If they be near a Brook or River they will be sure to make water in it whence the Turks by derision call them Cher Scahei that is the King 's or Aly's Asses in regard Asses never go through water but they piss on the contrary the Persians call the Turks Seksumi because they piss like Dogs against a Wall Certain it is that Persons of Quality in Turky observe in this particular the custom of the Persians and both Nations take a great care when they either make water or ease Nature otherwise not to turn their Faces or their Backs towards the South in regard that when they say their Prayers they look that way But it is also true that this
modesty is only as to the external part and that otherwise they are more Luxurious than any other Nation in the World For not thinking it enough to marry several VVives and besides them to have a great number of Concubines they have a kindness left for common VVhores Accordingly there is no City Ardebil only excepted where there are not publick places appointed for that sport under the protection of the Magistrate During our aboad at Scamachie one of our Souldiers having had his pleasure of a VVoman got away without paying her She made her complaints to the Chan who sent to the Ambassadors to entreat them to take same course that she might be satisfy'd sending them word that it was but reasonable that the Kahbe who pay the King a great Tribute should be also paid the Salary due to them VVe have given an accompt elsewhere what use the Persians make of them at their great Feasts and this custom is so antient that Herodotus speaks of it when he sayes that the Ambassadors of the Persians told Amintas King of Macedon that it was their custom when they entertain'd their Friends to give them also the Divertisement of VVomen He brought into the place where they were men in womens Cloaths who kill'd the Ambassadors The King himself maintains a great number of these VVomen at his own charge and makes it his Divertisement at Meals to see them Dancing and shewing all manner of postures before him so that those who are desirous to take up that Profession must not only be handsome but also pleasant and active The King takes them along with him into the Country nay into the Army after the example of the antient Kings of Persia and particularly that of Darius who as Q. Curtius affirms had in his Retinue three hundred and sixty Concubines all very sumptuously Cloath'd Sodomy is no extraordinary sin among them nor is it punish'd as a Crime Saru Taggi who was Chancellor of Persia at the time of our Travels was not punish'd for his Sodomy but for the Violence he had done in the Commission of it The King himself was given to this Vice and so far from punishing it in another that as we were told in the year 1634. Schach-Sefi being at the siege of Eruan one of the Colonels who was got drunk at the King's quarters would at his return to his own in the heat of his VVine having forc'd a young Lad that serv'd him and had often before refus'd to hearken to his lewd addresses The Boy to prevent the violence which he now saw was unavoidable layes hold on the Ponyard which his Master wore at his Girdle and therewith run him into the Heart The next day the King missing the Colonel ask'd what was become of him Some body told him he had been kill'd by one of his Domesticks and gave him an account how it had been done The Boy was brought before him who very ingenuously confess'd what had pass'd between his Master and him and avow'd that the horror he conceiv'd at that sin had made him take that resolution The King was so incens'd that he Commanded him to be cast to the Dogs to be torn to pieces by them The two first that were brought would not meddle with him but afterwards they got two English Mastives which upon the first setting on tore him to pieces The Mahumetan Law allows them to be Luxurious not only by permitting Polygamy but also those other carnal enjoyments wherein the chiefest part of their Beatitude consists even that which the Mussulmans of that Religion expect after this Life it being their perswasion that in their celestial Paradise they shall not only have the same lawfull Wives they had in this World but that they shall also have as many Concubines and Servants as they please and enjoy all other Women as often as they have a mind to it They use all imaginable inventions to stir themselves up to lust and to this end have they at all meetings whether at common Tipling Houses or elsewhere men and women Dancers who provoke them to brutality by their obscene postures They use also the seed and leaves of Hemp to revive languishing Nature though our Naturalists assign it a cold quality which weakens and corrupts Nature I cannot imagine how this can add any fewel to their lustfull inclinations unless it be that the windy humour of it be also expulsive or that in these hot Countries it hath other qualities than it hath in Europe To prepare this Drugg they gather the leaves before they come to Seed dry them in the shade beat them to powder which they mix with Honey and make pills thereof about the bigness of a Pidgeons Egg. They take two or three of them at a time to fortifie Nature As to the Seed they sry it put a little Salt thereto and eat it by way of Desert Imanculi who was sent Ambassador from the King of Persia to the Duke of Holstein took of it at every meal after he had married a young Woman at Astrachan he himself being seventy years of age Persons of good repute in Persia will not eat of it for they say that he who makes use of this remedy commits a greater sin than he that had ravish'd his own Mother upon Mahomet's Sepulchre They call those who use it Bengi kidi bengi But when all is done the Persians think they have sufficiently expiated the sin of Fornication when immediately after they have had their pleasure of a Woman they either bath themselves or wash their Bodies all over with cold water The charges the Persians are at in House-keeping as to the Kitchin and the Cellar amounts to very little unless it be in those Famalies where there are many Women who inflame the Bill very much The Cotton-Cloath which makes most of their Cloathing is very cheap there Their Houses are but poorly furnish'd and they think they have to spare when the floor of their Lodging Room is cover'd with Tapistry and all the provision they make for the whole year is only Rice Flesh is not dear save only at those places where the great number of Inhabitants makes all Provisions scarce in regard they are for the most part brought out of remote Provinces The Garden supplies them with a Desert and the next Brook serves them for a Cellar They are very neat about their Rooms and they suffer not Dogs which out of some other respects they hold to be unclean Creatures or any other Animals to come into them And whereas they have this inconvenience at meals that they use no Trenchers they use a sort of Pots which they call Tustahn about the bigness of our Chamber-pots setting one of them between every two Persons and into these they spet and cast the bones and parings of Fruits We have said elsewhere that they have their Tennrs or Stoves to keep them warm and to spare Wood as much as may be nay some
to discover him and invited him to Dine with her But instead of Meat there were brought up only great Basins full of Gold Silver and Precious Stones which she desir'd him to fall to and to make the best Cheer he could whereupon Alexander telling her that there was not any thing could satisfie his hunger she represented to him that it was for those useless trifles that he ruin'd so many Provinces and fruitfull Countries such as were able to produce what could maintain many Millions of People and shew'd him how that when he had Conquer'd all the World he must at last dye for want of Bread if he still continu'd the courses he then took and intreated him not to deprive her of her Kingdom Alexander did as she desired and they talk to this day of the great Wisdom of that Queen of whom they relate among other things that being very Rich she did not impose pecuniary Mulcts upon offenders but oblig'd them to make Graves for the Burial of the Dead and they say there are yet many of those made by her Command to be seen near Nechtzuan That thence Alexander went to Schiruam and built the City of Derbend causing it to be fortify'd on the side towards Persia and drawing a wall all along the Mountain as far as the black Sea and building Towers at a League distance one from another for Guards against the Invasion of the Tartars That afterwards he went into Persia became Master of almost all the Provinces thereof and engag'd against Darius who was then with an Army of two hundred thousand men in the Province of Kirman That Darius had the advantage in the three first Battels but was defeated in the fourth Alexander having drawn the Enemie's Army to a place where he had caus'd several pits to be made which he had covered with straw and that Darius was taken in one of them Afterwards he went into Chorasan and thence into the Indies where upon the intreaty of the Indians he caus'd to be made a Palizado of Iron against the Pigmèes which is to stand till the day of Judgment Afterwards he defeated the Vsbeques and after that he turn'd his Arms against the Hebbes who rebell'd against him That having so many Kings in his power he would needs be advis'd by Aristotle whether it were not the safest way to put them to Death But Aristotle having represented to him that some of their Children might come to revenge that cruelty he set them all at Liberty except Darius whom he poyson'd After this Alexander coming to understand that in the Mountain of Kef there was a great Cave very black and dark wherein ran the water of Immortality would needs take a Journey thither But being afraid to lose his way in the Cave and considering with himself that he had committed a great over-sight in leaving the more aged in Cities and fortify'd places and keeping about his Person only young people such as were not able to advise him he ordered to be brought to him some old Man whose counsell he might follow in the adventure he was then upon There were in the whole Army but two Brothers named Chidder and Elias who had brought their Father along with them and this good old Man bid his sons go and tell Alexander that to go through with the design he had undertaken his only way were to take a Mare that had a Colt at her heels and to Ride upon her into the Cave and leave the Colt at the entrance of it and the Mare would infalliby bring him back again to the same place without any trouble Alexander thought the advice so good that he would not take any other person with him in that Journey but those two Brothers leaving the rest of his Retinue at the entrance of the Cave He advanc'd so far that he came to a Gate so well polish'd that notwithstanding the great darkness it gave light enough to let him see there was a Bird fasten'd thereto The Bird ask'd Alexander what he would have He made answer that he look'd for the water of Immortality The Bird ask'd him what was done in the World Mischief enough replies Alexander since there is no Vice or Sin but Reigns there Whereupon the Bird getting loose and flying away the Gate opened and Alexander saw an Angel sitting with a Trumpet in his hand holding it as if he were going to put it to his Mouth Alexander ask'd him his name The Angel made answer his name was Raphael and that he only staid for a command from God to blow the Trumpet and to call the Dead to Judgment Which having said he ask'd Alexander who he was I am Alexander repli'd he and I seek the water of Immortality The Angel gave him a Stone and said to him go thy wayes and look for another stone of the same weight with this and then thou shalt find Immortality Whereupon Alexander asked how long he had to live The Angel said to him till such time as the Heavens and the Earth which encompass thee be turn'd to Iron or as others say into Gold and Silver Alexander being come out of the Cave sought a long time and not meeting with any stone just of the same weight with the other he put one into the Balance which he thought came very near it and finging but very litrle difference he added thereto a little Earth which made the Scales even it being God's Intention to shew Alexander thereby that he was not to expect Immortality till he himself were put into the Earth At last Alexander having one day a fall off his Horse in the barren ground of Kur or Ghur they laid him upon the Coat he wore over his Armour and cover'd him with his Buckler to keep off the heat of the Sun Others affirm that this Coat was Embroider'd with Gold and Silver and that his Buckler was cover'd with Plates of the same Mettal and that then he began to comprehend the Prophecy of the Angel and was satisfy'd the hour of his Death was at hand that accordingly he dyed and that his Body was carried into Greece They add to this Fable that these two Brothers Chidder and Elias drunk of the water of Immortality and that they are still living but invisible Elias upon the earth and Chidder in the Water wherein this latter hath so great power that those who are in danger of being destroy'd by water if they earnestly pray saying Ia Chidder Nebbs vowing a Sacrifice or Offering to him and firmly believing that he can relieve them shall escape the danger and save their Lives Whence it comes that if any one perish it is attributed to his Incredulity but if he escape they are of a certain perswasion that it is by the assistance of Chidder to whom those who escape Shipwrack or any other danger upon the Sea do every year upon the same day give solemn thanks and acknowledge the protection of this Saint These Ceremonies are performed in February
only the smell but also the eye We came at night to a Village where we saw the Sepulchre of Iman Sade in a little Chapel built at the foot of a hill which lay on our right hand All the houses of the Village were cover'd with â—lats and tiles as they are in Europe by reason of the rains which it seems are more frequent in those parts than any where else The 25. we got five leagues and came at night to Rescht The way at first was somewhat uneven and wooddy but after a while we found it planted with those trees which bear silk and at last we came to a plain and smooth way having on both sides Corn-grounds interwoven with several deep trenches such as those which in Flanders they call Water-gangs into which they let in the water by Sluces and there keep it for the watering of their grounds when the heat hath dry'd up the sources of the Rivers nay indeed for the overflowing of them when need requires They had indeed been at the pains to make Bridges over those moats or trenches but they were so ill kept in repair that many of our people fell into the water The Inhabitants of the Country mind only the husbandry of Rice and they have each of them his house at the end of his piece of ground about two or three hundred paces distant one from the other The City of Rescht is the Metropolis of all Kilan and of a considerable bigness but open of all sides like a Village and the houses of it are so hid within the trees that a man at his entrance into it may think he is rather going into a Forest than a City since there is no seeing of it till a man be within it It lies two leagues distant from the Caspain Sea and the Arabians in the Catalogue of their Cities name it Husum and place it at 85. degrees 10. minutes latitude The houses of it are not so well built nor so fair as those of the other Cities of Persia but they were all cover'd with tiles as ours and not any but had adjoyning thereto a great number of Citron-trees and Orenge-trees which had then on them their second fruit ripe of that years growth The Maidan or Market-place is very spacious and full of shops where are sold all sorts of Commodities especially Provisions which are very cheap there upon which accompt it was that our Mehemander treated us very magnificently during the aboad we made there which was five daies The City of Rescht though the greatest af all the Province hath no Chan or chief Governour but only a Daruga whose name at that time was Alyculi-Beg Ian. 26. the Inhabitants of Rescht celebrated a Festival in Honour of Aly with the same Ceremonies in a manner as we had seen at Scamachie on the 7. of February the year before and this Feast happen'd then in Ianuary in regard the Persians regulate their Feasts according to the Moon They borrow'd of us a Drum wherewith they made a mad kind of noise in their Procession The Preacher who made a long relation of the Miracles of Aly concluded his Sermon with these blasphemous words That if Aly were not really God he at least came very neer the Divinity Aly Chodda nist amma ne dures Choddai We were here shewn the Sanctuary which Schach-Abas had ordered to be built at the place where Sefi Myrza his Son had by his command been kill'd by Bebut-beg as we have related in the precedent Book of these Travels Ian. 30. we left Rescht the weather rainy We saw nothing at all that day but a Plain which brought us not only to our lodging that night but also to the Frontiers of the Province of Kilan which is very even on that side All the way was planted on both sides with Box and those trees which bear silk and cross'd by many small Rivers whereof such as were considerable enough to have a name are the Pesi-chan half a league from the City of Rescht then that of Chettiban and somewhat less than a league thence those of Pischeru and Lissar all which have Bridges rais'd very high by reason of the frequent inundations of the Rivers and so untoward to pass over that they put a man into a fright and notwithstanding all our care yet could we not prevent the Horse which carried the Physicians baggage from falling into the River whence we had much ado to get him out by reason of the Fens on both sides it The last River we cross'd that day is called Tzomus and they are all well stor'd with fish in so much that the King farms out the fishing of them which brings him in yearly very considerable sums Having travell'd four leagues that day we came at night to Kisma neet the Town of Fumen or Pumen where Karib-schach was defeated and taken as we related before Ianuary the last we got four leagues further our way being planted all along with those Trees which bear silk and whereof there was so great a number that they made a Forest. We saw also that day great Vineyards according to the Persian way Having travell'd about four leagues we met with the Calenter or King's Lieutenant in the Government of Kesker who came to meet us accompany'd by thirty Horse He had led after him a Mule loaden with Wine Conserves and other refreshments wherewith he treated the Ambassadors and oblig'd them to make a Collation in the field The Chan who was coming after him accompany'd by a hundred persons of quality on Hors-back receiv'd the Ambassadors with great civility and conducted us to the little Citie of Kurab where he invited us to his own house and treated us with Fruit and Conserves making it his excuse that their Fast permitted him not to keep us company and entertain us with flesh The Collation ended he had us all conducted to the Lodgings he had taken up for us ordered certain Gentlemen to wait on the Ambassadors and sent them a Present of four wild Boars The Chan's name was Emir and he was son to a Georgian Christian born at a Village neer Eruan He had been Circumcis'd in his youth and had some time been Cup-bearer to Schach-Abas who had bestow'd that Government on him in recompence of the service he had done him at the siege of Eruan and had given the reversion of his place of Cup-bearer to his Son He was an eloquent person and obliging and took much delight in talking of the Affairs and Wars of Germany and our manner of life He told us he could not forbear loving the Christians but we were told one very extraordinary thing of him and horrid to relate to wit that having some time been in a teadious Disease which having caus'd an universal contraction in all his Members the Physicians had order'd him one of the most extravagant remedies that ever were heard of which was ut rem haberet cum cane foemina This
little Citie of Kurab lies within two leagues of the Caspian Sea as that of Rescht do's and is hid within its Trees They who call it Kesker give it the name of the Province wherein it lies In this place was born Schach-Sefi who reign'd at the time of our Embassy For his Mother was brought to bed in this Citie upon occasion of a journey which Schach-Abas took into Kilan wherein she follow'd him along with Sesi Mersa her Husband The house wherein he was born belong'd to a rich Merchant named Chotza Mahmud but in regard a Prince Heir to the Crown had his birth there it was converted into a Sanctuary February the first we left Kurab about ten in the morning having very fair weather save that the heat was greater than we could have wish'd Emir-Chan conducted us a league or better out of the Citie where he took leave intreating us to be carefull of his Calenter who had order to accompany us through his Government This Calenter was a young man of an excellent good nature and diverted us in our way by shooting with the Bow and shewing tricks with a half-pike at which exercise he had an admirable sleight Having travell'd two leagues we were got to the Caspian Sea-side whence we saw the Countrey which is all cover'd with Trees and Forests towards the North and South spreading it self like a Crescent a great way into the Sea on the right hand from about Mesanderan and Ferahath and on the left from about Astâ—ra We travell'd about a league along the the Caspian Sea-side and lodg'd at night upon the Torrent Nasseru in a house calld Ruasseru-kura which had but two Chambers in all so that being streightned for room most of our people were forc'd to ly abroad at the sign of the Seven-Stars The 2. we travell'd six leagues or better along the Sea coast going North-westward We cross'd over that day fourteen little Rivers or rather so many great brooks and among others those of Sehibern Dinatsar Chalessera Alarus and Nabarrus The River of Dinatsar which is about the mid-way serves for a common Frontier to the Goverments of Kesker and Astara which oblig'd the Calenter of Kesker who had accompany'd us so far to take leave and recommend us to the conduct of the Calenter of Astara who waited for us on the River side The Canton is called Kargaru The Calenter carried us out of the highway and conducted us through Corn-ground to a Village named Sengar-hasara where we lodg'd that night and found brought thither before us five wild boars which they had hunted purely upon our accompt and for our entertainment All the Forests of those parts are well stor'd with them in regard the Persians not daring to eat them are not much inclin'd to the hunting of them The 3. we departed betimes in the morning in snowy and rainy weather and continu'd our way along the Caspian Sea drawing towards East-north-east Our way lay so neer the Sea that the Horses many times went into the water up to the Girts nay some of our people fell horse and man into the water so that this prov'd one of the worst dayes journey we had especially for this that after we had travell'd seven large leagues we were forc'd to lodge that night in a wretched Village named Hove-lemur where all we could get was only a house over our heads The 4. we were upon our way again very betimes in the morning having receiv'd fresh horses We travell'd four leagues along the Sea-coast going towards the North. Then we pass'd through a Forestâ— of two leagues and in that space of ground met with two and twenty Rivers whereof the chiefest are called Lome Konab and Beskeschan The Bridges we were to pass over were so bad that many of our company fell into the water nay there were three Peasants and four horses drown'd and six more died by the way The Chan of Astara with a troop of 200. horse met us within half a league of the Village where we were to take up our quarters and accompany'd the Ambassadors to their lodgings which he had taken up for them in houses scatter'd up and down among the trees The name of the Village as also of the River which runs through it is Choskedehene The word Choskedehene signifies dry-mouth and they have given it that name for this reason that the Sea is so shallow there that the Fish cannot get into the River The Chan lives at Astara which place hath its name from the Province and is an open place without any walls as Rescht is within a quarter of a league of the Caspian Sea His name was Saru-Chan a person furnish'd with all the qualities requisite in a Governour of a Province Feb. 6. which was the last day of their Lent he made a great entertainment for the Ambassadors whereat he discover'd not only the magnificence of his disposition but also the excellency of his wit by the noble discourses that pass'd between him and the Ambassadours Among other things he gave them all the particulars of the War occasion'd by Karib-Sehach's revolt wherein he had been in person and had brought away his table-cloath which being of green Satin with Gold-flowers was laid at this entertainment That service with other he had done upon several other occasions had rais'd him so much into the King's favour that he had appointed him for the Embassy into the Indies whither he was to go the following Spring to which end he had already received his dispatches He confirm'd to us what we had been told before of the danger we might fear from the Cosaques adding thereto that it was not two years since they had plunder'd the City of Rescht and that it were not amiss we stood on our guard and had our Arms fixt The Vines in these parts are so big that they exceed a man's bulk I have said as much before though I believe some will hardly believe it but besides that all who travell'd with us are eye-witnesses of this truth I may allege to make good what I affirm the Authority of Strabo who saies the same thing of the Vines of Margiana which is part of the Province of Chorasan and adds thereto that no stock almost but yields an ordinary pail-full of Wine which is very certain and yet I have some reason to doubt of what he further affirms that the bunches there are above four foot long We saw neer Astara at the foot of the mountain of Schindan the Village of Schich-Sahadan which enjoyes an absolute exemption granted it upon the accompt of the Sepulchre of Aly's Master Febr. 7. we got seven leagues further along the Sea-side and came by a very steight passage into the Province of Lengerkunan The only way to come into it is by a Bank rais'd between the mountains and the fenns besides which there is no other passage At the end of the said bank we came to the River Serdane and
afterwards to the Town of Lenkeran upon the River Warsasaruth This Town as also all the adjacent Country derives its name from the easy anchorage of shipping thereabouts though to speak rigorously there is no haven in those parts but only a kind of Bay between two Capes or Promontories which reach a great way into the Sea one on Lenkeran-side which is cover'd with trees on the other on Kisilagats-side on which there is nothing but canes But the Sea thereabout is so shallow that little Vessels can hardly get in there and when they are in they ly exposs'd to the violence of the East-wind Georâ—e Dictander saies in the Relation of his Travels that in the year 1603. there came to that place by Sea an Ambassador from Rudolph II. Emperour of Germany and that he died there with most of his retinue but the Inhabitants thereabouts from whom I would have inform'd my self of that particular knew nothing of it The Kurtzibaschi hath the revenue of the Countrey allow'd him as part of his pay though our Mehemandar and the Persians for what reasons I know not would have perswaded us that it belong'd to the Chan of Ardebil and depended on his Government We were receiv'd there by a Visir or Secretary who had the over-sight of the Demesn in those parts We continu'd there the 8. 9. and 10. as well to refresh the Camels which the ill and slippery waies had almost wearied off their legs as in expectation of the rest of our retinue who were not yet come up with the baggage and with them fresh horses for the better prosecution of our Journey The 11. we left Lenkeran and travell'd five leagues on to Kisilagats crossing that day four great Rivers to wit those of Kasiende Noabine Tzili and Buladi the three former over Bridges and the last which was very broad in little Boats swimming over the horses At our coming out of the River we were forc'd to travel with much inconvenience for half a league or better through the water which the adjacent Sea had forc'd up there and to send the Baggage by Sea in six great Fisher-boats The Sea-side in those parts is cover'd all over with Canes as are also the Islands along the Coast where the Cosaques some times lye in ambush to surprize and set upon the ships which pass that way as also in expectation of an opportunity to cross over to the Continent At our coming out of the said water we found the Lord of that place who was come to meet us accompany'd by a hundred persons on hors-back The little City of Kisilagats that is red or gilt wood hath no walls no more than any of the other Cities of those parts and lies in a plain half a league or better from the Sea towards the North-west upon a little River called Willeschi Sulfahar-Chan sold it heretofore to the Chan of Ardebil by whom it was left to his Son Hossein Sultan who still enjoyes it The mountain of Kilan presented it self to our sight towards the West-north-west sinking by degrees into little hills towards the Countrey of Mokan At the foot of the mountain there were â—eral Villages among others those of Buladi Matzula Buster and Thaliskeran and abundance of trees planted in a streight line along a vast piece of Meadow-ground where there was excellent Pasture for Cattel I conceive this to be the place which Strabo speaks of when he says that towards the Portae Caspiae there is a fertile plain very fit for the breeding of Horses He adds that it is able to keep fifty thousand breeding Mares which number the Kings of Persia were wont to have kept there But this is not true at least there is no such thing now though a Military Officer of the Duke of Holstein's who made it his bragg that he had travell'd into Tartary though he had not been beyond Astrachan being question'd concerning the truth of this breeding-place had the confidence to affirm that what Strabo had said of it was very certain About these parts and in the neighbouring Mountains are the Countries of Kuawer Maranku and Deschiewend and the Village of Dubil otherwise called Chatifekeka the Inhabitants whereof were extirpated by the express command of Schach Abas for the abominable lives they led They had their meeting in the night time at some private houses where after they had made good cheer they blew out the Candles put off their Cloaths and went promiscuously to the work of Generation without any respect of age or kindred the Father many time having to do with his own Daughter the Son with the Mother and the Brother with the Sister Schach Abas coming to hear of it ordered all the Inhabitants of the Village to be cut to pieces without any regard or distinction of age or sex and peopled it with others I conceive it is of the Inhabitants of these parts that we are to understand what Herodotus affirms of their going together without any shame and publickly after the manner of Beasts Over against Kisilagats and about three leagues from the Continent there are two Islands named Kelechol and Aalybaluck The latter which is three leagues or Farsangs in length hath its name upon this accompt that Aly being there one day extremely put to it for fresh water to quench his thirst God immediately caus'd to break forth out of the ground a Spring of fresh water which is to be seen there to this day Febr. 12. we travell'd on through a plain Country but cross'd by several small Rivers the chiefest whereof were the Vskeru and the Butaru and we lodg'd at night at Elliesdu a Village seated at the entrance of the Heath of Mokan at the foot of a hill which is very fruitful as is also the rest of the Country on the mountain-side It belong'd to a Military Officer named Beter Sulthan who had his ordinary residence at a place six leagues thence The houses of this Village were very wretched ones as being built only with laths nail'd across and plaister'd over with clay They were inhabited by Souldiers on whom the King bestows the revenue of his Demesin in these parts with certain Lands which they are oblig'd to cultivate In this Village the Ambassador Brugman caus'd a Persian to be kill'd with cudgelling His Groom would have gone into the first house he came to with one of the led-horses the Kisilbach or soldier who was the Master of it told him that his house was free from quartering and that besides he had no convenience for the entertainment of horses whereupon having a stick in his hand he therewith struck the horse over the head but very slightly The Ambassador Brugman who saw this contestation was so enrag'd at the resistance of the Kisilbach that he immediately alighted and ran in to him The Kisilbach who said afterwards that he knew him not and was far from imagining that an Ambassador would engage himself in such a business and as a
we should do but hearing that Sulthan Mahmud liv'd otherwise than his Father had done who having dishonour'd his Country by continual robberies had reform'd his life and to expiate his sins went on pilgrimage to Meca and to Mahomet's Sepulchre we accepted of his proffers and that the more willingly in that the 6. following we receiv'd Letters from Derbent wherein the Persian Ambassador sent us word that being oblig'd to continue there till he had receiv'd his dispatches and the Interpreter he expected from the Court and thinking it would be a moneth longer ere he came to Tarku he left it to our choice whether we would expect him or prosecute our journey Upon this we press'd Surchou-Chan to give order for our departure which he did after the receipt of another Present which he had the boldness to beg himself and security given for the return of the Horses and Oxen which carried our Baggage by two of the Schemkal's hostages whom we left with him taking the third along with us May 12. we left Tarku upon the dangerous word of Sulthan Mahmud We had agreed 15. dayes before with the Waggoners of Tarku but when the Baggage came to be loaden they fell from the former agreement and made us pay much more than we had promis'd them They would have done the same for the Saddle-Naggs but the Ambassadors would not condescend which occasion'd some of our people nay of the chiefest to foot it the two first dayes not without abuses and jeers from their enemies We travell'd that day two leagues through a plain and even Country but desert to a Rivulet which serves for a common Frontier between Sulthan Mahmud and the Prince of Tarku We met by the way certain Tartar Lords who intreated the Ambassadors to lend them our Physician to visit one of their friends who was sick not far thence The Physician seeming unwilling to go out of a fear he should never return they left two of their Company as hostages with us and brought him back after mid-night All our Supper that night was only Bread and troubled Water May 13. being Whitsunday we travell'd four leagues through a very woody Country We thought that day we should have been left by the way for the Muscovian Ambassador having cudgell'd one of the Waggoners all the rest would unteam and return homewards but with much intreaty and fair words we got them to stay We pass'd over the night in the Wood and those who were desirous to sleep lay down supperless The 14. we got but one league to the River Koisu which in my opinion must be that which Ptolomy calls Albanus It rises out of mount Caucasus It s Water is thick and troubled and its course very swift It is at least as broad as the Elbe in that place it was above twenty foot deep The Town or Village of Andre where Sulthan Mahmud liv'd stands upon a hill on this side of the River Near the Village there is a Spring of seething Water which falls into a Pool and makes the water thereof very fit for bathing The Inhabitants of it are for the most part Fisher-men and we saw them in great numbers upon the River-side about their employment They thrust a sharp hook baited which is fasten'd to a long pole to the bottom of the River and by that means take abundance of Sturgeons and such like fish I heard they had an odd custom at their Weddings which is that all the men bidden thereto shoot each of them an Arrow into the floor and leavâ— them there till they either rot or fall of themselves whereof I could never learn any reason As soon as they perceiv'd us they came to the River-side and proffer'd to help us over and to facilitate the getting over of the Baggage they joyn'd two Boats together over which they laid a hurdle strong enough to bear a Wagon They demanded two Crowns for the passage of every Wagon and we had about seventy and perceiving we made some difficulty to give it them and that we chose rather to make a bargain with them for all together they pass'd over to the other side where they fell a jeering and laughing at us We saw there also the Schemkal standing at the entrance of the Wood accompany'd by a great number of persons on hors-back so that we knew not what case we were in We made hurts of boughs of Trees upon the River side and had several private Assemblies in regard there was not any publick in relation to the holy time of Whitsuntide Such as profess'd Letters met at the Ambassador Crusius's where we dined having no other drink than Oxicrat that is a beveridge of Vinegar and Water which was increas'd by the tears we shed reflecting on the difference there was between our present condition and that we should be in at our return into our dear Country The 15. we intreated the Muscovian Ambassador to cross the River which he did and spoke to the Schemkal according to the instructions we had given him and prevail'd so far that the Tartars were content to take two Tumains which amount not to above forty Crowns for the passage of all the Company and the Baggage VVe cross'd the River the same day and the Ambassadors immediately caus'd their Tents to be pitch'd and fortify'd the Quarter with the Baggage which was defended by the Artillery Soon after the Schemkal accompany'd by two of his Brethren and a retinue of 50. persons on horse-back gave them the first visit He was about 36. years of age strong bulky and of a good countenance He had on a Garment of green Satin over a Coat of mail and over that a Cloak of extreme coarse cloath His Arms as also those of the rest of the Company were the Cymitar Bows and Arrows Besides a Present of certain Sheep and Lambs he caus'd some of his people to bring thither a great Chauldron full of Sturgeon cut into little pieces and boil'd in water and Salt whereto there was a sawce of fresh Butter and Sorrel I may truly say I never made a better meal and that all the delicates of Persia were not comparable to that dish The Ambassadors treated him with Aquavitae and Musick during which our brass Guns were several times discharg'd He diverted himself in that manner for the space of two hours till that being got half drunk he withdrew but return'd again within a white after We presented him with a pair of gold Bracelets a silver Goblet a Scarlet Cloak lin'd with Furr a case of Pistols a Sword a barrel of Powder certain Persia silk stuffs and some Goats-skins dress'd into leather He immediately put on the Cloak and gave his own to the Ambassador Brugman who had the prudence to humour him and assure himself of his kindness and friendship by putting him in hopes of extraordinary advantages likely to accrue to him by settlement of the Commerce for which he had travell'd so far He told him that
the Persian Ambassador was to follow them to conclude with the Duke of Holstein what they had but begun in Persia that the said Ambassador would give him further satisfaction as to that particular and that they should be oblig'd to pass through his Country once a year with Commodities of great value That that Country was not known at all in Germany and that their Prince knew not they were in those parts to meet with so great a Lord otherwise he had sent him very considerable Presents but that it should not be omitted hereafter and that it was their intention to make a perpetual friendship with him This discourse so pleas'd the Schemkal that he would have hasten'd our departure thence that we might the sooner return that way So that we had horses for the sadle and for carriage at a very easie rate to carry us as far as Terki May 16. we departed He himself accompany'd by fifty horse convoy'd us through a thick Wood half a league from Andre where he took leave of us with much civility We travell'd that day two leagues over a great Plain to the River Aksai It runs very slowly in those parts and is not above fifty paces broad The Tartars told us that it is an arm of the River Koisu into which it falls near the Sea There we were forc'd to stay for the Boats and the Hurdles which the Inhabitants of Andre brought in Waggons and in the mean time we cut Reeds and Canes to lay over the mudd which hindred our coming dry to the River side We cross'd it by Moon-light and paid there also two Tumains for our passage Such as were not in favour with the Ambassador Brugman were forc'd to lye down supperless The 17. we travell'd seven leagues over a great Heath where we began to be out of sight of mount Caucasus We came at night to the River Bustro and pitch'd our Tents in the adjoyning Forest. This River is very muddy and near as big but not so swift as that of Koisu Running Northward about five leagues from the Caspian Sea it is divided into two branches whereof one heretofore named Terk and now Timenki hath â—erived its name to the City of Terki by which it passes and is about fifty foot broad The other branch of the said River is called Kisilar by reason of certain Grains like Gold which come down with its gravel and the Chanel of it is as broad as that of the other but hath so little water that many times in the Summer a man may cross it dry-foot The mouth of this arm is eight leagues above the City of Terki It is to be observ'd here that all these Rivers come from the West-north-west and that between Kisilar and the River Wolga which are sixty five leagues distant one from the other there is no other River So that we are to conclude that the Aksai is the Coesius of Ptolomy that Bustro is the Gerrus that Timenki or Terk is the Alonta and that Kisilar is the Adonta in as much as there are only these Rivers between the Albanus or Koisu and the Rha or Wolga The River Bustro is a common Frontier between the Tartars of Dagesthan and those of Circassia upon which accompt it was that the Waggoners of Tarku would not go beyond it May 18. we cross'd the River and got over the Baggage to our greater satisfaction in this particular that we left on the other side of the River the Mahumetans and Pagans and were entred into Christendom For though the Tartars of these parts are also Pagans or Maâ—umetans as well as those of Dagesthan and the rest yet are they under the Jurisdiction of a Christian Prince who is the Great Duke of Muscovy and hath at all places his Governours Magistrates and Priests for the exercise of Christian Religion Provisions were so dear in these parts that we were forc'd to pay above thirty shillings for a Sheep Nay they would not spare us many so that to get flesh we went into the Woods and shot at Crows whereof there were abundance thereabouts The 19. we travell'd five leagues through a plain Country full of Reeds having also some few trees which were for the most part planted round about a great Plain At night we encamped upon the Heath neer a Well or rather a Sink in regard the water of it was so corrupt that the very Beasts would not drink of it The ground thereabouts was all full of holes which the Serpents and Snakes had made there and yet though we were forc'd to lodge on the ground not one of us receiv'd any harm The 20. we got four leagues further over heathy and barren Lands to the City of Terki We saw that day a great many Serpents many whereof where as big as a man's arm and above six foot in length They lay round and sported themselves in the heat of the Sun which gave a delightful lustre to the liveliness of the colours wherewith their skins were spotted all over We saw also neer Terki a kind of Field-mice which in the Arabian Language are called Ierbuah They are about the bigness of a Squirrel and somewhat like the Creature of that kind which is so common in Europe save that their hair is blacker their heads like those of Rats they have long ears the fore-feet short and the hinder feet long whence it comes that they cannot run but when they get up some place and in the plain they only creep unless it be when thy leap for then they spring five or six foot high from the ground having their tails layd over their backs And whereas their tails are long and without any hair like those of ordinary Mice but not so big they are somewhat like the Lions Rampant in Coats of Arms and they made a pretty kind of sport especially when many of them leap'd at the same time as we said before They say there are abundance of them about Babylon and in Arabia where the Inhabitants eat them Some will leave the field and go into peoples houses which if they do the master of the house had need have a care of his money left they light upon it The Persian whom I brought out of the Country and who still waits on me named Achwordi told me a story how that his Father having observ'd that his mony was from time time taken out of his Chamber at first suspected his Wife and Children till one day finding there one of these Ierbuah he presently imagin'd who playd the Thief but to be assur'd of it he set an Abas upon the Table and going out of the room lock'd the door so that no other could get in and coming thither a while after the Abas was gone whereupon searching the nest of that Creature he found in it more mony than he had lost Within a quarter of a league of the City of Terki came up to us a Brother of Prince Mussal's of whom
find whether it be fit to sacrifize they cut off the privy members which they cast against the wall if they do not stick thereto they are oblig'd to kill another but if they do they proceed with the Ceremonies fleaing it and stretching the skin upon the top of a long pole before which they offer their sacrifice and boil and roast the Flesh which they afterwards eat The Feast ended the men rise and go and adore the skin and the prayers concluded the women withdraw The men stay and grow so bestially drunk with their Bragga or Aquavitae that they seldom part without fighting This skin is left upon the pole till another person of quality dies and then the former is taken away and another set up instead of it We saw neer Terki both going and coming not far from the Princess Bika's house one of these stretch'd skins with the head and the horns on upon the black cross The pole was planted in a quick-set hedge only to keep the Dogs from coming neer it and by their pissing against it profaning the Mystery They interr their dead very honourably adorn their Sepulchres with pillars and build houses over those of persons of quality We saw one over the Sepulchre of Mussal's Brother the boards whereof were of diverse colours plac'd checquerwise having upon the roof several wooden Statues poorly done which represented the hunting of some wild Beast To express their sorrow for the departure of their friends they tear their forehead arms and breasts with their nails after a barbarous manner so that the blood comes out in abundance Their mourning continues till the wounds are healed and if they would have it last longer they renew them by opening the scratches in the same manner May. 21. we began to set things in order for the prosecution of our journey We had a Desert of seventy leagues to travel over and to find horses for all the Company to ride would have been too great an expence Wherefore we agreed with the Waggoners of Terki at nine Crowns a Wagon drawn by two horses which might carry each of them three or four persons to Astrachan There joyned with us a Caravan of Merchants of several Nations as Persians Turks Greeks Armenians and Muscovites so that then we had above two hundred Wagons in our Company But the Provisions allow'd us were but small for so great a journey to wit to every man with the Suchari and a loaf of mouldy brown bread half a dry'd Salmon that stunk without any drink For the Tartars pretending they had bargain'd only for the cariadge of men would not receive any barrels or other vessels into the Wagons and the Ambassador Brugman would not be at the charge of a Wagon purposely to carry beer or water for us though he made good provision of all for himself and his Favourites And indeed we stood not much upon it out of an imagination it was impossible we should want water but we had time enough to repent us of that presumption We left Terki the fourth of Iune in the afternoon and soon entred into that dreadful Heath taking our way on the left hand and turning from the Caspian Sea 'T is a thing strange yet very certain that in eleven daies journey we saw neither City nor Village nor tree nor hill nor any River but that of Kisilar contrary to what all Maps represent thereof Nay during all that time we saw not so much as one Bird but only a vast Plain desert sandy and cover'd in some places with a little grass and pits or standing pooles of salt or corrupt and stinking water We got the first day but two leagues and lodg'd at night neer one of those standing pools The 5. we encamped neer the River Kisilar The 6. we travell'd six leagues and lodg'd neer one of those pools These three first daies we took our way towards the West-north-west and East-north-east to the River Wolga The 7. we got six leagues further through a great Fenn which we had much ado to pass Heat and thirst troubled us extremely but not so much as the Flies Wasps Gnats and other infects which both men and horses found it no small difficulty to keep off The Camels which have no tails to keep away those infects as the horses have were all bloody and full of swellings The 8. we were going before day and having travell'd 4. leagues we gave our horses a little rest and provender at the entrance of a very sandy road In the afternoon we got four leagues further and lodg'd at night neer a standing pool The Tartars perceiving that one of their horses was like to miscarry by the way prevented him cut his throat and shar'd him among themselves At night they roasted him making a fire of little bushes of thorns and reeds and were very merry The 9. we travell'd seven leagues and lodg'd neer a pool which the overflowing of the Sea made thereabouts The water was so bad as was also that of all the rest that we were forc'd to stop our noses while we drunk it The 10. we got seven leagues further to a place cover'd with Reeds where we found a little fresh water deriv'd thither from the Wolga The 11. we got seven leagues further to a standing pool made there by the inundation of the Wolga The water is not salt but so dead and stinking that there was no drinking of it That day twelve great wild Boars cross'd out way Some Tartars on horse-back came riding after them and as ill fortune would have it there came two of them close by our Waggon The horses were frightned and fell a-running so that the Physician and Steward fell out of the Waggon with the Baggage The Siâ—ur Vchterits and my self who sate in the fore-part of the Waggon considering there was no getting out without danger kept our places till the horses being not able to go any further stopp'd at the entrance of a Fenn The 12. we travell'd eight leagues and found in our way upon the ground a Neast wherein there were two Birds not quite fledg'd Some were of opinion they were young Eagles VVe pass'd by two salt marshes the scent whereof was somewhat like that of a Violet and very delightful The 13. we travell'd eight leagues further lodg'd at night in a place whence we could discover the City of Astrachan The 14. we got three leagues and lodg'd on the side of the Wolga over against Astrachan All our people who had not drunk any fresh water since their coming from Terki ran up to their knees in the River to drink with greater ease Assoon as they had notice at Astrachan of our arrival they presently came to visit us and he who had the keeping of the Provisions sent thither for us brought us a sack full of bread Neats-tongues hung-Beef a tun of Beer and a barrel of Aquavitae We continu'd that day on the River-side to give the Weywode time to assign
put it at 25. degr yet is the observation which the Hollanders have made of it and which we here follow very just and exact it being certain that most of the Maps that have been yet made and particularly that of Persia are very defective Their errour proceeds hence that they put the Caspian Sea too high and consequently allow Persia a greater breadth from North to South then it really hath For they put the City of Resht at 41. degrees whereas it is at 37. and so the breadth of all Persia can be but 10. degrees taking it from Gamron to Rescht or 12. at most if we should grant Ormus to be at 25. degrees so that Boterus is extreamly mistaken when he allows Persia the extent of 18. degrees It is not long since that this place was but a little Village consisting of some few Huts which the Fishermen had set up for their conveniencies and it is since the reduction of Ormus that the goodness of the Port hath rais'd it to a City of great Trade The Dutch and English Ships and the Moor Bottoms which come there daily by reason of the convenience of the Road and the Merchants of Ispahan Schiras and Laar who bring their stuffes thither as Velvet Taffaâ—a raw-Silk c. and exchange them for others will in time make this City one of the most considerable of all the East It is seated upon the Persian Gulf between two good Castles which defend it against the descent of Pirates and keep the entrance of the Haven where there is a square Redoubt with four pieces of Canon upon it The Fortifications of the Castle are antick with round Bastions but very well furnished with great Guns The Haven is so commodious that Ships may anchor very safely at five or six fathom water The houses at Gamron built of a certain stone which they make of stiff Clay Sand shredded-Straw and Horse-dung mixt together whereof having set a Layer they cover it with a Layer of Straw or Fagots and then another Layer of Clay and Straw and so alternately till they have brought it six or seven foot high then they set fire to it and so bake the Stone and to fasten and cement them together they make a composition of the same Paste with salt-Salt-water and some Lime and by that means make a kind of Mortar which is almost as hard as the Stone it self The best Houses are those of the Sulthan or Governour of the City and the Lodgings or Ware houses of the Dutch and English which lie so near the Sea that at High-water the Tide comes up to the walls of them which is a great convenience for the loading and unloading of their Merchandizes The lower rooms serve for Kitchins and Ware-houses and the upper for Lodgings which are the more commodious in this respect that being high they are the more fit to receive the wind of all sides so in some measure to moderate the excessive heat of the Sun The meaner sort of people have no other covering over them then what they make with the branches and leaves of Date-trees which they call Adap and are the only trees that find them fruit and timber for building The Streets are narrow irregular and not kept clean The Air is very unwholsom thereabouts by reason of the excessive heat as also of the continual change of the Winds which râ—ign there and which in the space of twenty four hours go through all the points of the Compass For in the morning they have an East-wind which is extreamly cold about noon a South-wind which brings insupportable heats along with it in the evening a West-wind which coming fromwards Arabia brings sufficient heats with it and at midnight a North-wind which comes out of the Mountains of the Country and is cold enough It rains so seldom that it was observed in the year 1632. that with the rising of the Wind there falling a great shower after a continual drought of three years the Inhabitants kept a day of publick thanksgiving for it Whence it comes that in the Country all about this City there is not so much as a Grass to be seen unless it be in some Gardens where they are forc'd twice or thrice every day to water the Pot-herbs and Pulse which they sow in them and among the rest particularly Garlick Onions Chibols Radishes and Cucumbers But the Isle of Kismisch which is but three Leagues distant from Gamron and which is 15. Leagues in length and three in breadth supplies the City with all sorts of Fruits For in the moneth of Iune and during the greatest heats of Summer they have Grapes Damsens Peaches Mangas Quinces Oranges Lemons and Pomegranates red and white In October they have Melons Citruls Cucumbers Radishes Onions Turneps Almonds Pistachoes Apples Pears and several other Fruits which are very excellent and in such abundance that they are cheaper there then in any other place of Persia. The Inhabitants live for the most part upon Fruits and Pulse and the Fish which they take in the neighbouring Sea and find more wholsom and delicious then Flesh which meeting with but little good sustenance by reason of the extraordinary heats must thereabouts be of ill nourishment and in a manner without any taste Among other sorts of Fish they take there abundance of Pilchards and Smelts as also Oysters and Crabs They have good store of Cattle as Oxen Cows Sheep Goats and several other Creatures but they have such abundance of Goats that they are sold for six or eight pence a piece There are also a sort of Rams that have four horns but no wild Fowl at all Their ordinary drink is only Water unless it be that some have a little Aqua vitae made of Dates or Rice Schiras Wine which is brought thither only in Bottles is very scarce and very dear there nay the fair Water which they get two Leagues from the City is sold at such a rate that what I and my servants spent cost me about two pence every day Persons of quality and Merchants are clad after the Persian mode but all the rest go naked and cover only the privy parts The Women wear about their arms and legs a great many Rings or Plates of Silver Brass or Iron according to their conditions and abilities They fasten to their hair a Bodkin or a long flat piece of Silver gilt or Brass which hangs down over the middle of their foreheads to the end of the nose and they thrust through the left nostril a Gold Ring having in the middle a Turquese a Granat or haply a little Gold Knob or Button enamell'd or simple and the Pendants they wear in their ears are so heavy that if those were not well fastned to their heads they would go near to force them thence The great heats begin to abate in October and so from that time till the beginning of May is the season of greatest trading Then it
is that all Nations come thither with their Commodities as Persians Arabians Indians Banians Armenians Turks Tartars English and Dutch These last come thither by Sea but all the others by Land with the Caravans which they call Caffilas and which go at a certain day from Aleppo Bagdat Ispahan Sciras Lahor Herat and Bassara coming all together in Troops and having a Convoy of certain Ianizaries for the Security of their travel against the incursions of the Arabians The Hollanders and the English bring thither ready money and some certain Commodities which they either take up in Europe or go to the Indies for and sell them there to very good profit The Dutch are the better settled there of the two and do furnish in a manner all Persia with Pepper Nutmegs Cloves and other Spicery though they also expend very much ready money in their trading as we said before and especially Spanish Ryals and Rixdollars which the Persians prefer before all other money because they melt them and make them into their own Coins with great advantage The English do either sell or truck their English Cloaths Tin Steel Indico Silk Stuffes and Cottons out of the Indies forthough there are excellent good ones made in Persia yet are those of the Indies more esteemed because they are finer and closer woven They buy of the Persians Satins purfled with Gold or Silver Silk-Stuffes and the Cottons of the Country Persian Tapistry which those of the Country call Kâ—lichey and the Portuguez Alcatifer raw Silk Cotton Rhubarb Saffron and rose-Rose-water This Water is made at Schiras and in the Province of Kerman either by infusion and then they call it Gul-ab whence no doubt the word Iulip comes or by extraction in a Still and then they call it Areka-gul that is to say the sweâ— of Roses They esteem the former incomparably beyond the other and it is one of the best Commodities that a man can carry to the Indies where they sprinkle it about their Chambers and use it in the preparations of perfumes There is made also in those parts great quantities of Linnen-cloath but the Weavers instead of doing their work in Looms at their houses as they do elsewhere fasten the woof of the cloath to some Tree without the City and having made a pit in the ground they put their feet into it so that when they come home at night it is no great trouble for them to bring their work and things belonging thereto along with them in as much as they consist only of certain Canes fastned to the woof They have a certain Copper Coin which they call Besorg whereof six make a Peys and ten Peys make a Chay which is worth about five pence English Two Chays make a Mamondy two whereof make an Abas and three Abas's make a French Crown A hundred Mamoudis make a Tumain which is worth five Pistols As to their weights a Man weighs six pounds a Mancha twelve and a Mansurats thirty There is also a great commerce of Pearls which are fisht for near the Isle of Bahram six Leagues from Gamron They put about the Fisher-mans head a Cap or Case of boyled Leather so close as that it hath no hole but by a pipe which comes up above the water In that posture he is let down to the bottom where he gets together all the Shells he can meet withall and having fill'd a bag therewith which hangs about his neck upon a sign made to his Camerades who wait on him in a Boat he is drawn up The Governour of the City hath the quality of Sulthan and hath under him not a Calenter but a Visir or Secretary and a Couteval who is as it were the Captain of his Guard The King of Persia hath there also a Sabandar or Receiver who does not only receive the duties at the coming in and going out of Commodities but sets such an Imposition upon them as he thinks fit and strictly searches the Ships to see what Merchandises are brought in The Hollanders pay no duties according to a priviledge they obtainâ—d of Scach-Abas and whereof they endeavour all they can to preserve the enjoyment by the Presents they ever and anon make to the Officers of the Court of Persia But the English are so far from paying any thing that on the contrary they enjoy many other priviledges and exemptions and should by right receive one half of the Customs upon what account we shall declare anon but they have hardly the tenth part allowed them nay are obliged to take that little which they have in Commodities And this the Persians do with so much confidence and so openly that they stick not to affirm when they are surpriz'd in their frauds that it is not ill done of them to endeavour the advantage of their own Prince though ever so much to the prejudice of Strangers especially if they be Christians Among others the English have this further priviledge to send away yearly out of Persia twelve Horses without paying any thing whereas the Dutch are obliged to pay for the Licence of Transportation fifty Crowns at least for every Horse as the English are also if they send away above twelve The Persians who have a great advantage over the Indians in this respect that they are better hors'd then the others are very unwilling that Horses should be sent over to the Indians who are their enemies among whom they are so highly esteem'd that an ordinary Horse there will bring four hundred Crowns The Inhabitants of Gamron are for the most part Persians Arabians or Indians but all in a manner speak the Portuguez Language which they learnt by the Commerce they have had with that Nation who were a long time possest of the City of Ormus But now that is the only Nation which is not permitted to come to Gamron though all others are suffered to trade there Christians and Iews are welcome thither as also Mahumetans and Pagans but ever since the reduction of Ormus the Portuguez and the King of Spain's Subjects are not admitted thither yet these last are suffered to come to a little Island within three Leagues of it and there to traffick where the King of Persia hath a Sulthan who commands the Castle receives the Duties at coming in and going out and hinders the Portuguez from approaching with their great Vessels so that these Nations being as it were in open Hostility the Portuguez come sometimes with their Frigots and take Prizes even in sight of Gamron and often Land parties in the neighbouring Islands The City of Ormus is seated in an Island which is distant from the Continent two Leagues and is thought to be about six about It is as barren as the Country about Gamron for it is a continued Rock which produces nothing but Salt insomuch that it doth not yield even fresh Water And yet its Haven is so good and its scituation so advantageous that the City
arrival at Suratta I found my health perfectly recover'd though I must also acknowledge as much contributing thereto my using of Thé to which I had so accustomed my self that I ordinarily took it twice or thrice a day The contrary wind prevented our departure the day that we came aboard so that we lay at Anchor all the night following and the next day being the seventh we set sail taking our course towards the Isle of Ormus but towards night there rose so great a tempest together with a West-wind that to avoid running upon the shore we were forced to cast Anchor in sight of the Isle Sunday being the eighth we laveer'd it with a West-wind endeavouring to pass between the Isles of Ormus and Kismich which are four Leagues distant one from the other About two in the afternoon we cast over-board the body of a young Sea-man who died of the Bloudy-flux two dayes before This Ceremony which I had not seen before put me into so much the greater fright in that being still troubled with the same disease I imagined they would shortly do as much by me The night following we pass'd in sight of the two Islands we spoke of last to wit Ormus and Kismich and the next day being the ninth we discovered the Continent of Arabia taking our course along the Coast which is thereabouts without any danger Tuesday 10. A calm staid us at the same place and the 11. we put off from the Coasts of Arabia to make towards those of Persia which we still kept in sight of till Thursday night April 12. Then a good West-north-west wind rising we took our course towards the East-south-east at 25. degrees 50. minutes elevation Friday morning we could perceive no Land but had sight of a Pirate who by his making ever and anon more or less sail discover'd he had somewhat to say to us One while he came somewhat near us another he kept at a great distance but at last perceiving we made it our business to get the wind of him he made towards the Isle of Zocotora This Island is seated at 21. degrees 40. minutes at the entrance of the Red-sea having towards the South-west and North-east the Country of Melinda or Aethiopia and towards the South Arabia from which it is distant about sixteen Leagues It is about 25. Leagues in length but not above ten in breadth having on all sides very good riding for Ships and safe Harbours It is indifferently well peopled and is subject to the King of Arabia under whom it is governed by a Sulthan The Inhabitants are of low stature and rather lean then fat of a duskish complexion and very laborious Their only sustenance is Fish and Fruits living very temperately They treat their Wives whom they buy in Arabia with much civility and have a certain respect for them but will not permit Strangers to see them They are very crafty in their trading and delight much in it though they have but few things to sell. And whereas they adulterate almost all their Commodities they are accordingly distrustful of those which are brought to them They reduce Dates into a paste and it serves them instead of Bread The Island affords very few Oranges and those not very good Tobacco and Citruls There are also some Cocos-trees but not many the fruit not coming to ripeness there by reason the ground is very full of stones Their main wealth consists in Aloes the juyce whereof they gather in bladders or Goats-skins and dry it in the Sun They have also the gummy juyce called Dragons-bloud and Civet which may be bought there at about three or four Crowns an Ounce but those who are not very well skill'd in that Drug are many times cheated for the Inhabitants of the Island put Grease and other nasty stuff into it They keep abundance of Civet-cats about their houses but they have very little tame Fowl wild none at all They have Camels Asses Oxen Cows Sheep and Goats whose hair about the thighs is curl'd much after the manner that Satyrs are painted The Town where the Sulthan hath his residence is called Tamary and hath in it a Fort which is distant from the Sea about a Canon-shot with four Guns Their Arms are a kind of broad Swords whereof the hilt is very large but without any guard In their Girdles they wear also Poniards the blades whereof are above three fingers broad towards the handle but very sharp towards the point They are so curious as to have something of Silver or Copper about the handles but their Fire-arms are not well kept and yet they are very expert at the handling of them as they are also in mannaging those little Bucklers wherewith they defend themselves in fight Ships may take in fresh water there without any trouble for the waters which come from the Mountains fall into the Sea like a River They have no other Boats then such as are absolutely flat-bottom'd which they make use of in their fishing which is very good thereabouts They have this common with the Arabians and other Mahumetans that they eat no Swines flesh but even in Tamary it self there is no Mosquey nor any other place for them to meet at to do their Devotions These they do morning and evening at the rising and setting of the Sun to which they make very low reverences and mutter certain words between their teeth this they do also three or four times a day besides The 14. of April we were at 23. degrees 24. minutes The 15. at 22. degrees 40. minutes The 16. at 22. degrees 40. min. The 17. at 21. degrees 55. minutes This day the Captain of our Ship fell sick of a burning Feayer The 18. at 21. degrees 8. minutes The 19. at 20. deg 42. min. The 20. at 20. deg 50. min. The 22. at 29. deg 50. min. The 23. at 20. degrees 18. minutes latitude The 25. of April we came before the City of Surat and cast Anchor two Leagues from Land by reason it being the Captains intention not to stay there above three or four dayes he would be sure of the convenience of parting thence when he pleas'd Besides there is no Road along that Coast where Ships can lye with any safety from May to September by reason of the continual Tempests and furious winds which reign there during that time whereas on the Eastern Coast of the Indies in the Gulf of Bengala it is fair and calm at that time The year is divided into three very different seasons for in the moneths of February March April and May it is extreamly hot weather in Iune Iuly August and September there is nothing but continual Rains with Thunder and Lighting and the moneths of October November December and Ianuary are cold at least as far as is consistent with the Climate April 26. The Captin sent one to the President of the English at Surat to give him notice of his Arrival The
Capital City and hath for Frontier on the North-side great Tartary In this Province rises the River Nibal which changes its name into that of Begal and falls into the Indus as we said before It is conceived by some that this is the Coa or the Suastus of Ptolomy The Province of Multan owes its name also to the principal City and is seated along the River Indus having on the West-side the Kingdom of Persia and the Province of Candahar The Province of Haca-chan or Hangi-chan lies towards the East and hath on the West the River Indus It is called also the Kingdom of Balochy as we shall express elsewhere but it hath no considerable City Bachar or Buckar the chief City whereof is called Bacherhukon lies also along the River Indus which divides it in the middle and makes it one of the most fertile Provinces in the Kingdom It hath on the South-south-west-side the Province of Tatta and towards the West the people called the Bolaches a cruel and warlike Nation The Province of Tatta which hath also its name from the chief City is divided into several Isles by the River Indus This Province hath the reputation of having the most industrious Tradesmen of all the Kingdom Soret is a small Province but very well peopled It s chief City is Iangar and it reaches Eastward to the Province of Guzarata and Westward to the Sea The Province of Iselmere hath but one City in it of the same name and hath for Frontiers Westward the Provinces of Soret Bachar and Tatta That of Attach and its capital City from which it is so called are seated upon the River Nibal which coming from the West falls into the Indus which divides it from the Province of Haca-chan The Province of Pang-ab is one of the greatest most fertile and most considerable of all the Kingdom The five Rivers we spoke of which pass through it give it that name Lahor is the chief City thereof The Province of Chismer or Quexmer the chief City whereof is called Syranakar is seated upon the River Bezat or Badt which makes a great number of Isles in this Province and after a great compass falls into the Ganges It touches some part of the Province of Kabul and is cold enough by reason of its Mountains though it may be affirm'd that in comparison of the Kingdom of Tliebet which is as it were its Frontiers on the East-side it is very temperate About eight Cos which make four Leagues from the chief City in the midst of a Lake which is three miles about there is a little Isle where the Mogul hath built a very fair House for the convenience of hunting the wild Goose. All along the River which runs through the middle of this Lake there is a kind of tree whose leaves are like that of a Chesnut but the wood which is somewhat of a brownish colour is checquer'd with small streaks of several colours which makes it much sought after by persons of Quality The Province of Chismer hath on the East-side that of Bankisch the chief City whereof is Beibar or Beithus The Province of Iengapar or Iemipar so called from its chief City lies between the Cities of Lahor and Agra The Province of Ienba or Iamba which hath also its name from the Metropolis thereof hath on the West-side the Province of Pang-ab and is very hilly all over The Province of Delly and its chief City of the same name lies between Ienba and Agra towards the source of the River Gemini by some called Semana which passing by the City of Agra falls into the Ganges The chief City of Delly is very ancient and was sometime the Metropolis of all Indosthan as may be seen by the ruines of its palace and other magnificent Structures The Province of Bando and its Metropolis of the same name hath on the West-side the City of Agra The Province of Malway or Malwa is very fertile its chief City Ratipore though Thomas Row an English Gentleman calls it Vgen The River Cepra upon which is seated the City of Calleada the ordinary residence of the ancient Kings of Mandoa passes within half a League of it and disembogues it self into the Sea by the Gulf of Cambaia The Province of Chitor was heretofore a very considerable Kingdom but the Metropolis from which it derives its name and whereof the walls were heretofore six Leagues about is now so ruin'd that there is to be seen but the Relicks of what it hath been with the sad remainders of its sumptuous Mosquies and magnificent Palaces The great Mogul Achabar great Grand-father of Schach Chiram reduc'd it to that condition and conquer'd it from one of the Successours of Rana who forc'd to make his escape came to a capitulation with him and acknowledg'd the Soveraignty of the Mogul in the year 1614. This Province hath on the East-side that of Candisch and on the South that of Gusuratta The Province of Gusuratta which the Portuguez call the Kingdom of Cambaya upon the account of its chief City where they have their main trading is without all question the noblest and most powerful of all the Mogul's Country It s Metropolis seated in the midst of the Province is called Hamed-ewad that is to say the City of King Hamed who built it It is now corruptly called Amadavat or Amadabat whereof we shall have occasion to speak more at large hereafter The Province of Candisch the Metropolis whereof Bursampour or Brampour was heretofore the ordinary residence of the Kings of Decan before the Great Mogul united it to his Crown is very large and well peopled The River Tabet or Tapte which falls into the Sea by the Gulf of Cambaya divides it from the Country of the Prince of Partapha who is also a Vassal of the Great Moguls The Province of Berar whereof the Metropolis is Shapore or Shaspour reaches Southward and touches that of Gusuratta and the Mountain of Rana In the Province of Gualor or Gualier which hath its name from the chief City there is a Cittadel wherein the Mogul confines such as are Prisoners of State and those Lords of whose carriage he conceives any jealousie and keeps there also some part of his Treasure and abundance of Gold and Silver The Province of Agra which derives its name to the Metropolis thereof which is not very ancient is at present the chiefest of all the Mogul's Country according to the account we shall give of it hereafter The Province of Sambel or Sambel so called from its Metropolis is divided from that of Narvar by the River Gemini which falls into Ganges near the City of Halebasse where these two Rivers meeting make a kind of an Isle Whence some have taken occasion to call this Province Doab that is to say between two waters as if one should say Mesopotamia or Interaquas The
the Christian Religion but he had no sooner made his first acquaintances at Surat ere he understood that an Uncle of his by the Mother-side could raise him to great fortunes at the Mogul's Court where he was Master of the Horse Upon this intelligence he soon took a resolution to leave me and to desire the protection of the Sulthan who kept him a while at his own house and afterwards sent him to Agra I was the more startled at this departure of the young fellow the more it run in my thoughts that knowing all the particulars of our engagement with the Indian Embassadour at Ispahan his design might be to betray me into the hands of my enemies And certainly had I known of his going to Agra I should not have had the confidence to take that place in my way though it might appear by what happened afterwards that God sent him to that place expresly to save my life since had it not been for him I might have lost it there In May there came news to Surat that the Chan who commanded at Candahar for the King of Persia had revolted and had rendred the place to the Mogul upon this account that the Scach had threatned to put him to death The Mogul sent immediately 500000. Crowns to the place as a requital for the Governours service and to pay the Garrison which had revolted along with him Alymerdan-Chan Governour of the same place had done such another trick at the beginning of Schach-Sefiâ—s â—s Reign who would needs oblige him to bring his head to Court which if he had done he had never carried it away again upon his shoulders Soon after Scach recover'd Candahar again and it was partly upon this account that the Mogul had sent to him the Embassadour I spoke of before though among his other Instructions he had order to demand the Myrsa Polagi his Nephew Iune 16. I went out a hunting with a young Dutch Merchant and another English Merchant with whom having cross'd the River they brought me to an old ruin'd City called Reniel where the Dutch have a Ware-house The Inhabitants of this City are called Naites and are for the most part either Mariners or Trades-men and of the Mahumetan Religion The streets of it are narrow and the houses so rais'd from the foundation that there is not any but hath one step to get up to it There we staid all night and were nobly treated by the Merchants who had the management of the Trade there The next day we went to a Village called Bodick and in our way let fly at a wild Duck and a Heron there we saw about twenty Deers Their skins which were somewhat greyish were checkquer'd all over with white spots and they had fair Horns with several Brow-ancklers There was among them a sort of creatures about the bigness of our Ro-Bucks the Skins whereof were inclining to a dark brown checkquer'd also with white spots having very graceful Horns Some are of opinion that these are the same that Aldrovandus calls Cervi-capras and that it is from this kind of Beast that we have Bezoar We went thence to another Village called Damre where we saw abundance of wild Ducks in the Rice whereof there grows great store in those parts All the fields have a little ascent raised about them to keep in the water the Rice requiring much moisture In this Village we found some Terry which is a Liquor drawn out of the Palm-trees and drunk of it in Cups made of the leaves of the same Tree To get out the Juyce they go up to the top of the Tree where they make an incision in the bark and fasten under it an earthen pot which they leave there all night in which time it is fill'd with a certain sweet Liquor very pleasant to the taste They get out some also in the day time but that corrupts immediately and is good only for Vinegar which is all the use they make of it The City of Surat or Suratta lies at 21. degrees 42. minutes upon the River Tapta which rises near Barampour and falls into the Sea four Leagues below the City It lies all along the River side and is built four-square It hath no wall to the River side but on the Land side it hath a good Rampier of Stone and a Castle all of Free-stone The City hath three Gates whereof one goes towards the Village of Brion where those who go to Cambaya and Amadabat cross the River another goes to Barampour and the third to Nassary All the Houses are flat as those of Persia and most have very fair Gardens The Castle which they say was built by the Turks upon an Invasion which they made into this Country hath but one Gate which looks into a spacious Plain which serves for a Meidan to the City Not far thence and at the entrance of the City stands the Governours Palace and the Custom-house and near them the Bazar as well for forreign Merchants as those of the City The Governour of the Castle hath no dependance on him of the City whose business it is to look after the administration of Justice and the payment of the Customs at the Exportation and Importation of all Merchandises which pay three and a half in the hundred except it be Gold and Silver whether coined or in wedges or made into bars which pay but two in the hundred The Dutch and English have their Houses there which they call Lodges and are spacious and well built consisting of many fair Appartments Lodgings Chambers fair Halls Galleries and Chappels The Haven of Suratta is two Leagues from the City at the Village of Suhaly whence the Dutch and English call it the Kom of Suhaly There Ships are unladen of their Commodities which are brought thence to Suratta by Land This Road lies at 21. degrees 50. minutes upon the course of North-east and South-west The entrance into it is not very broad since that at high-water there is but seven fathom water and at low but five The Haven it self is not above 500. paces broad before the Village sandy at the bottom and most of the banks are bare and dry at low-water and so sharp and steepy that sounding there is to no purpose at all 'T is very safe riding there being no danger of any wind but that of the South-west But from May to September there is no staying on those Coasts by reason of the winds and tempests accompany'd by extraordinary thunder and lightning which reign there during all that time The Inhabitants of Surat are either Benjans Bramans or Moguls These last are Mahumetans and much better look'd on then the others as well upon the account of their Religion which they have common with the Great Mogul and the chiefest Lords of the Country as upon that of the profession they make to bear Arms. They have an aversion for Trades and Merchandise and had rather serve
Couteval or Kings Lieutenant hath given him by way of Present about 15. pence for every Wagoâ— and it is lawful for all Forreigners to buy and sell and trade in all sorts of Merchandises those only excepted which are prohibited as Gun-powder Lead and Salt-Peter which may not be transported without the Governours permission but that it is no hard matter to obtain making but a slender acknowledgment of his favour therein The City of Amadabat comprehends within its territory twenty five great Towns and two thousand nine hundred ninety and eight Villages so as that the revenue thereof amounts to above six millions of Crowns whereof the Governour hath the disposal and therewith maintains the Souldiers whom he is oblig'd to keep for the Kings service especially against Robbers upon the high-wayes though many times he protects them and divides the booty with them The Couteval who is as it were the King Lieutenant commands under the Sulthan and mannages the political Government nay meddles also with the administration of Justice joyntly with the Kasi or ordinary Judge The Mogul hath there also several other Officers who are as it were Controllers and Supervisors of those we last named The dayes following I spent in seeing the Sepulchres which are about the City and among others particularly that which is in the Village of Zirkees about a League and a half from Amadabat 'T is the work of a King of Guzuratta built by him to the memory of a Kasi who had been his Praeceptor and is grown very famous upon the account of many pretended Miracles done by him after his death The whole Structure wherein there are four hundred and forty great pillars thirty foot high is of Marble as also the floor of it and serves for a Sepulchre to three other Kings who would needs be buried there with their Families At the entrance of this sumptuous Monument there is a large Tanke or Cistern full of water and enclos'd with a wall which hath several windows all about it The Mahumetans of those parts go on Pilgrimage thither and in this Village of Zirkees is made the best Indico in all the Country About a League thence there is a spacious Garden with a fair House within it which the Mogul Chon Chimauw built in memory of a Victory gained by him in that place over Sulthan Mahomed Begeran last King of Guzuratta upon which he united that Kingdom to his Crown as we shall express hereafter About a League and a half from the City we were shewn a Sepulchre which they call Betti-Chuit that is to say thy daughters shame discovered There lies interr'd in it a rich Merchant a Moor named Hajam Majom who falling in love with his own Daughter and desirous to shew some pretence for his incest went to an Ecclesiastical Judge and told him in general terms That he had in his youth taken the pleasure to plant a Garden and to dress and order it with great care so that now it brought forth such excellent fruits that his neighbours were extreamly desirous thereof that he was every day importuned to communicate unto them but that he could not yet be perswaded to part therewith and that it was his design to make use of them himself if the Judge would grant him in writing a Licence to do it The Kasi who was not able to dive into the wicked intentions of this unfortunate man made answer That there was no difficulty in all this and so immediately declar'd as much in writing Hajom shewed it his Daughter and finding nevertheless that neither his own authority nor the general permission of the Judge would make her consent to his brutal enjoyments he ravished her She complain'd to her Mother who made so much noise about it that the King Mahomet Begeran coming to hear thereof ordered him to lose his head Not far from Amadabat begin to appear the dreadful Mountains of Marva which reach above 70. Leagues towards Agra and above a hundred towards Ouyen and are so inaccessible that the Castle of Gurchitto where lives Rana one of the principal Radias of those parts is accounted impregnable in so much that the Kings of Pettan and the Mogul himself found much ado to reduce it The Indians who are Pagans have still a great Veneration for that Prince who they say was so powerful as that he could in a short time bring 120000. Horse into the Field In the Mountain which lies between Amadabat and Trappe there lives another Radia who is not subject to the Mogul by reason the Woods and Deserts secure him against that Prince who with all his power is not able to force him out of the places he is possess'd of no more then he is the Radia of Ider who is his Vassal but many times refuses to obey his Orders One of the noblest Gardens about the City is that of Schach-bag in that part of the Suburbs which is called Begampour It is the King Garden very spacious encompass'd with a high Wall and hath within it a very fair House the Ditches whereof are full of water and the appartments richly furnish'd I went thence along a Stone-bridge which is four hundred paces in length to another Garden called Niccinabag that is to say the Jewel and they say it was planted by a beautiful and rich young Lady The Garden is not very great no more then the House within it but both very advantageously seated in a place high enough to discover all the adjacent Champion and upon the avenues of the Bridge to make the noblest prospect that ever I saw The Rain which falls in the Winter time supplyes a great Fish-poud or Pool in the middle of the Garden but in Summer they make use of certain Engines wherewith many Oxen put together draw up the water out of Wells which are so deep that they are never dry A man can seldom go to this Garden but he shall find some young Women bathing themselves they will not persuit the Indians should see them but suffered us to come in and speak to them There are so many other Gardens about Amadabat and the whole City is so full of Trees that a man may say it makes all but one Garden for as he comes to the City he sees such abundance of them that he may well think he is going into a Forrest Among other things I took particular notice of the High-way which they call Bascaban and leads to a Village six Leagues distant from the City It is so straight that it should seem they took a great pleasure in planting the Trees about it whereof there is a double row on both sides upon a straight line They are Cocos-Trees which at all times refresh Travellers with their shade but this road comes nothing near that which goes from Agra to Barampour which makes but one continued Ally for a hundred and fifty Germans Leagues together All these Teees lodge and feed an incredible
number of Apes among which there are some as big as Greyhounds and strong enough to set upon a Man but they never do it unless they be angred They are most of them of a greenish brown colour and their beards and eye-brows long and white They multiply extreamly by reason the Benjans who are much more numerous in those parts then the Mahumetans believe the Metempsychosis or transmigration of souls and permit not the killing of beasts and these much less then any other because they have some resemblance of Man and are perswaded that the merriest and best humour'd souls after their departure out of the body retire into these Creatures whence it comes that the City is full of them They come into people houses at any time with all the freedom imaginable and in so great numbers that those who sell Fruits and Preserves have much ado to keep them from their houses and to secure their Ware I remember one day I counted above fifty at the English house at the same time which fell a playing and putting themselves into several postures as if they had been sent thither purposely to make me sport I one day chanc'd do cast some Dates and Almonds among two or three Apes that came in which they liked so well that they waited every morning at my Chamber door for their Breakfast and became at last so familiar that they would take Fruit or Bread or any thing else out of my hand I would sometimes catch one of them by the Foot so to oblige the others to snarle at me and as it were to demand their Companion which I did till such time as I saw them make ready to set upon me so to force him out of my hands The same Trees maintain all sorts of wild Fowl but especially an infinite number of Parrots whereof there are several kinds The biggest are called Indian Crows Some are all white or of a Pearl colour having on their Crowns a tuft of Feathers of a Carnation red and they are called Kahatou from that word which in their chattering they pronounce very distinctly These Birds are common all over the Indies where they make their Nests in Cities under the Eaves of Houses as Swallows do in Europe The lesser sort of them which are the more valued for the beauty and diversity of their colours their Feathers being checquer'd between a lively Carnation and a bright Green build their Nests in the Woods and fasten them to the tops of the branches so as that they hang in the Air by which means they preserve their young ones from the Serpents that would devour them They build their Nests with Hay or Stubble and many times they fasten two together with a covering above and another beneath These Birds are a great annoyance to the Fruits and do much mischief in the Rice because none kill them nay the Benjans are so supertitious as not to hinder them from eating which freedom they also give the wild Ducks Herons and Cormorants whereof there are abundance abut the River In the precedent Travels of the Embassadours into Muscovy and Persia there is some mention of these Birds upon occasion of those which we saw upon the River Wolga We shall only add here that it is the same kind of Fowl that the Natural Histories call Onocratalus from the noise it makes in the Water when it puts its Beak into it imitating in some sort the braying of an Ass. It hath the subtilty to swallow down Muscles and keep them in the Stomach till the heat thereof hath opened the shell and then cast them up again to take out the Fish There is no kind of wild Fowl nor Venison which may not be had in these Forrests but especially Fallow-Deer Roebucks Ahus or wild Asses wild Boars and Hares They have also store of tame Creatures as Buffles Oxen Cows and Sheep And the Rivers is so well furnished with all sorts of Fish that it may be confidently affirmed there is no place in the world where a man might live more deliciously They want nothing but Wine but to supply their want of that they have Terri taken out of the Cocos-trees which drinks as deliciously as Wine They have the most excellent Water in the World and out of Rice Sugar and Dates they extract their Arak which is a kind of Aqua vitae much stronger and more pleasant then that which is made in Europe But as the Kingdom of Guzuratta is furnish'd with Creatures beneficial to man as to carriage or otherwise so are there also some which he must have a care of There is no River but is pester'd with abundance of Crocodiles called by the Inhabitants Cayman which do much mischief as well in the Water as upon the Land among the Cattle nay sometimes among Men whom they surprise when they go a swimming or when they go in Boats near the shore this Creature being so nimble that a Man hath much ado to escape by running though it were no hard matter for him by frequent turnings and windings to avoid his pursuit for the Crocodile having no Vertebrae or joynts either in his neck or back he cannot turn himself and thence it comes that most commonly he rather surprises Men then pursues them He commonly lurks in the high Grass on the River side to catch at those who come for Water and the Benjans who believe that the Souls of those who are thus devour'd by these Creatures are immediately admitted into Paradise take no course to destroy them It is very certain that in the Ditches of the City of Pegu there were Crocodiles above thirty foot in length and fed so much upon Mans flesh that no day pass'd but they devour'd some or other and yet the Benjans took no course in the world to prevent it and destroy them But the King having caused one to be more particularly observed which did more mischief aloâ—e then all the rest had it taken and kill'd There was one had swallow'd down a Woman with all her cloaths about her They cover their Eggs having laid to the number of 28 or 30. with Sand about the change of the Moon and so leave them till the wane by which time they are hatch'd when they uncover them they kill a great many of the young ones which hinders them from multiplying as they would do otherwise to infinity Iohnston in his Natural History saith that near Panama in the West Indies there were found Crocodiles above a hundred foot long But we shall not here make a digression into Natural History and ingenuosly acknowledge that those we saw were about twelve or fifteen foot long The skin or rather scales of their backs is harder then Armour musket-proof so that to destroy them a man must go on one side of them and run them into the belly The Inhabitants of the Country affirm that this Creature is of its own
and the Corps was set upon an Elephant to be carried through the City to serve for an example to others He who upon this Tragedy came next into play went with an undaunted courage towards a Tiger which he was to engage with in so much that his deportment was such as raised in the minds of the Spectators a certain confidence of his obtaining the Victory But the Tigre who it seems was too cunning for his Adversary fastened on his throat killed him and tore his body in pieces The third Champion that came upon the Stage instead of being any way frightned at the misfortune of his two Camrades came very chearfully and couragiously into the Garden and went straight towards the Tiger who flesh'd with the precedent success run at his Adversary with a design to make quick work with him but the Indosthan though a man of low stature and a wretched countenance struck off at one blow the two fore-paws of the Beast and having by that means got him down he soon dispatch'd him The King immediately ask'd him his name whereto he made answer that it was Geily whereupon there came in a Gentleman who presenting him from the Mogul with a Garment of Brocadoe said to him Geily receive this Garment from my hands as an assurance of the Kings favour who sends it thee as a pledge thereof Geily having made several low reverences putting the Garment to his eyes and breast and afterwards holding it in the Air and having made a short Prayer to himself he at last pronounc'd aloud to this effect My Prayers to God are that the Mogul 's glory may be equal to that of Tamerlan from whom he is descended may his Arms prosper may his Wealth be increased may he live seven hundred years and may his House be established for ever Upon this there came to him two Eunuchs who conducted him to the Kings Chamber at the entrance whereof two Chans took him between them and so brought him to the Kings feet After he had kiss'd them and was rising up the Mogul said to him It must be confessed Geily-Chan that thou hast done a very great and glorious Action I bestow on thee that name and quality which thou shalt enjoy for ever I will be thy Friend and thou shalt be my servant Thus was the doing of a single Action the Foundation of a mans Fortune who was not so much as known before but grew famous afterwards by the Charges he had in the Mogul's Armies It was my design to make a little longer stay at Agra but there happened an accident which oblig'd me to change my Resolution nay forc'd me to leave a place where I thought my life in danger For being one day fallen into discourse with the Persian servant who ran away from me at Surat I perceiv'd coming towards me an Indosthan a person of a goodly presence and as far as I could judge of quality who immediately asked me whence I came and what business I had in those parts I made him answer that I was an Europaean that I came from Germany and that the desire I had to see the Court of the most powerful Monarch in all the East had brought me thither He told me that if he were not much mistaken he had seen me at Ispaban and that questionless I was the person that had kill'd a Kinsman of his at the Engagement which had happened between the Indians and the Germans This discourse had almost put me out of countenance but upon a little recollection I told him that I had never been in Persia and that I came from England by Sea to Surat which the two English Merchants who were then in my company affirmed to be true But he who did me the greatest kindness in this extremity was my old Persian servant who swore by his Mahomed and by his Hossein that what I had told him was nothing but the truth Whereupon the Indosthan went away but discover'd by his deportment that he gave not over-much credit to what we had said and for my part I conceiv'd it but prudence to be distrustful of a man who had expressed his good will had there been occasion to do me a mischief and would no doubt have revenged his Kinsmans death of which my conscience told me I was guilty Upon these reflections I left Agra with a Caffila or Caravan that was going to the City of Lahor which lies sixty Leagues further into the Country I had the company of two Dutch Merchants and our travelling was so much the more pleasant in that our way was but one continued Alley drawn in a streight line and planted on both sides with Date-trees Palm-trees Cocos-trees and other kind of Fruit-trees which gave us a continual refreshing shade against the heat of the Sun The sumptuous Houses which were to be seen up and down the Country the Apes Peacocks Parrats and other Birds found us very much sport One day with a Pistol-shot I kill'd a great Serpent which I met with in the way and afterwards a Leopard and a Roe-buck but the Benjans of whom there were many in our company took it very ill at my hands and reproach'd me with my cruelty in that I deprived those Creatures of a life which it was not in my power to give them and which God had not bestow'd on them but that he might be thereby glorified in so much that when ever I handled my Pistol they either express'd their trouble to see me take a pleasure in violating in their presence the Laws of their Religion or they intreated me for their sakes not to kill them and when I had made them understand that I would in any thing comply with their desires they on the other side had all the kindness imaginable for me The Country about Lahor is very fertile and brings forth all sorts of Fruits as also Wheat and Rice in abundance much beyond any other Province of that great Kingdom The City is scituated at 32. degrees 30. minutes elevation upon the little River Ravy or Ravée which with four other Rivers falls into the Indus which upon that occasion is called Pangab or five-five-waters as we have said elsewhere It is very delightfully seated especially towards the River on which side it hath many fair Gardens The Kings Palace is within the City from which it is divided by a high Wall and hath many spacious Appartments There are also many other Palaces and great Houses for the reception of those Lords who ordinarily follow the Court And in regard most of the Inhabitants are Mahumetans there is in this City also a great number of Metzids or Mosqueys and bathing places for their ordinary Purifications I had the curiosity to go into one of their Baths to observe their way of bathing I took along with me my Interpreter who was by Profession a Broker and went into one of their Baths which was built according to the Persian
manner with a flat Roof and had several Partitions which were made all half round very narrow at the entrance and broad at the bottom having each of them a door by it self and two Receptacles or Tankes of Free-stone into which the Water was let in by brazen Cocks to such height as those who came to bathe themselves desired it After bathing I was ordered to sit down a while and then I was laid down upon a Stone seven or eight foot in length and four in breadth in which posture the Master of the Bath rubb'd me all over with a Hair-cloth He would also have rubb'd the soles of my feet with a handful of Sand but perceiving I was not able to endure it he ask'd me whether I were a Christian and having understood that I was he gave me the Hair-cloath that I might rub my feet my self though he had made no difficulty to rub all the rest of my body This done there came into the Bath a little short Fellow who laid me all along on the belly upon the same stone and rubb'd my back with his hands from the back-bone down to the sides telling me that bathing would do me but little good if I suffered not the bloud which might haply lye corrupted in that place to be by that rubbing dispersed through all the other members I found not any thing remarkable about Lahor but one of the Kings Gardens which lies two dayes journey distant from it I had as a further diversion in this short piece of my Travels this that in two dayes I rode on four several Creatures For at first I had a Mule then a Camel then an Elephant and at last an Oxe whose troting was the hardest of any beast that ever I bestrid lifting up his hoofs as high as the stirrop and carrying me between six and seven Leagues in less then four hours I should have made some longer stay at Lahor but receiving Letters from Agra I was forc'd to come away upon this account that the English President intended very suddenly to embark in order to his return for England whereupon I put my self into the company of certain Indian Merchants who were then upon their return to Amadabath At my coming to Amadabath the Director of the English Commerce told me that he had received Orders from the President to make as strong a Caffila as he could possibly and to come with all expedition to Surat I there met also with Letters from the President whereby I understood that he only expected the Caffila's of Agra and Amadabath and that he would depart as soon as they were come He writ to me further that being within a few dayes after to resign his Presidentship to another whom his Superiour had appointed to receive it and there being to be a great entertainment and feasting at that Ceremony he should be glad I were present thereat During my stay at Amadabath the Mahumetans celebrated a Feast which was concluded at night with very noble Fire-works The Windows of all the Houses that stand in the Meidan were beset with Lamps before which were placed Vessels of Glass fill'd with Waters of several colours which made a very delightful prospect Upon the same Meidan before the Kings Palace there are two low Houses of which there is little use made but at this Feast it being the place whither the Sulthan and the Lords of the Court retire themselves while fire is set to the Works which consisted of Squibs Crackers and other ingenious inventions Some had fasten'd Lamps to certain Wheels which hung on though the Wheels turn'd about perpetually with great violence As soon as the Caffila of Agra was come to Amadabath I took leave of my friends and went along with a Caravan of a hundred Waggons The first day we travell'd twelve Cos or six Leagues to the City of Mamadabath The next day I went before with the Director of the Commerce at Amadabath who with his Second was desirous to be present at the Resignation which the President was to make of his place We were four in company and we took along with us four Waggons two Horses and twenty foot Souldiers for our Guard leaving Order that the Caffila should follow us with all expedition The foot Souldiers who carried our Arms and Banners made a shift nevertheless to keep pace with us What I say concerning the Banners relates to the custom of the Indies where there are no persons of any quality but have a Banner or a kind of Colours such as Cornets use carried before them That day we cross'd the River Wasser and took up our Quarters at night in the Fort of Saselpour There we met with the Factor of Brodra whose name was Mr. Pansfield who treated us very magnificently the next day at the place of his residence We went thence in the evening and lodg'd the night following in a great Garden and the next day we prosecuted our journey In the evening we encamped hard by a Tanque called Sambord and in regard we had not met with any fair Water all that day we endeavour'd to get some out of the Tanque But the Country people fearing we might consume all the Water there coming in at the same time a Dutch Caffila of two hundred Waggons would not suffer us to come near it Whereupon we commanded out fifteen of our foot Souldiers with express order to bring some Water if not by fair means by force But coming to the Tanque they found it guarded by thirty armed Men and such as were resolv'd to maintain it and to hinder any from taking of the Water However our Men went very resolutely towards them with their Swords drawn upon which without any dispute at all the Country people ran away but while ours were drawing Water the Indians shot a certain number of Arrows and discharg'd three Muskets among them and wounded five persons Ours exasperated at that kill'd three of the Country people whom we saw afterwards carried to the Village While we were at Supper there came in to us one of the Dutch Merchants who told us that there had been seen two hundred Rasboutes upon our way who had committed several robberies for some dayes before and that the very day before they had kill'd six men within a League of the Village near which we were then lodg'd The Dutch Caffila went away about midnight and we follow'd it immediately after But we had not gone far beyond it ere we discover'd one of those Holacueurs who are wont to march in the head of the Caffilas and before Troops of Horse and serve instead of Trumpeters by sounding a certain Instrument of Brass much longer then our ordinary Trumpets As soon as he perceiv'd us he slipp'd into the Wood where he fell a sounding as loud as ever he could which we took for an assured Alarm that it would not be long ere they set upon us Accordingly almost ere we could
Statues of Gold Silver Ivory Ebony Marble Wood and ordinary Stone The Figure under which they represent him is dreadful to look on The Head out of which grows four Horns is adorn'd with a triple Crown after the fashion of a Tiara The countenance is horridly deformed having coming out of the Mouth two great Teeth like the Tusks of a Boar and the Chin set out with a great ugly Beard The Breasts beat against the Belly at which the Hands are not absolutely joyned together but seem negligently to hang down Under the Navil between the two Thighs there comes out of the Belly another Head much more ghastly then the former having two Horns upon it and thrusting out of the Mouth a filthy Tongue of extraordinary bigness Instead of Feet it hath Paws and behind a Cows-tail This Figure is placed on a Table of Stone which serves for an Altar and receives the Offerings which are made to the Pagode On the right side of the Altar there stands a Trough in which those who intend to do their Devotions wash and purifie themselves and on the other side there is a Box or Chest for reception or the Offerings which are made in Money and near the Trough there is placed within the wall of a Vessel out of which the Bramans take the yellow stuffe wherewith they mark the foreheads of those who have said their Prayers The Braman or Priest belonging to the place sits at the foot of the Altar whence he rises at certain times to say his Prayers and when he goes away he concludes his Devotions with that kind of purifying which is performed by rubbing his hands in the flame of the Lamps which stand before and above the Altar as we have described it elsewhere Nor is it only in great Cities that the Benjans have their many Mâ—squeys but they have them also up and down the Country upon the High-wayes and in the Mountains and Woods They have no other light then what they have from the Lamps which are kept perpetually burning in them having no other Ornament then that the Walls are bedaâ—bed with the Figures of Beasts and Devils and look more like Caves and the Recesses of unclean Spirits which they are in effect then places design'd for the exercise of Religion Yet it is certain nevertheless that these poor ignorant people express as much Devotion for these Monsters as the most regenerate Christians can do for their God and the most sacred Mysteries of their Religion though they at the same time acknowledge that it is not a Divinity they adore but a Creature which hath some power derived from God and is able to do good and ill to Men. They have this common with the Mahumetans that they make the principal part of Religion to consist in corporeal Purifications Whence it comes that there pâ—sses not a day but they wash themselves and many of them do it very betimes in the morning before Sun-rising going into the Water up to the waste and holding in their hand a Straw which the Braman gives them to chase away the evil Spirit while the Braman blesses and makes exhortations to those who purifie themselves in that manner These Bramans or Bramanes make it their boast that they came out of the Head of their God Brama of whom they say there were many other Productions which came but out of his Arms Thighs Feet and other more ignoble parts of his Body but they have this advantage that they have their being from the Brains of that great God Abraham Rogers who lived ten years upon the Coasts of Coromandel upon the service of the Hollanders in an Employment by means whereof he might make more certain Discoveries of the Religion of these people relates in the Treatise he hath written of Paganisme that the Bramanes affirm that their great God whom they sometimes call Wistul sometimes Etwara and who they say is the greatest and the God of all the Gods bethinking himself before the Creation of the World when there was in the Universe but one God and Water meerly for his Diversion sake to make a World had assumed the Figure of a little Child and having cast himself upon a Leaf which he had found swimming upon the Water and playing Childishly with his great Toe in his mouth there came out of his Navel a Flower which they call Tamara of which Flower was produced the first of all Men whom they call Brama That the first thing which Brama did was to give God thanks that he had bestow'd on him a rational Soul and that God was so well pleased with that acknowledgment of his that he gave him power not only to create the World and whatsoever is contained therein but also to take upon him the Government thereof which God was willing not to be troubled withall himself So that Brama being as it were Gods Vicegerent and Deputy in this vast and infinite Administration there happens not any good or evil to men but by his means since it is he who hath limited the life of Man to a hundred years and hath decreed and appointed the prosperity and adversity that shall befal him To this they add that Brama had five Heads and that one day rebelling against the God Wistu He commanded one of his Servants named Bierewa to cut off the Head which stood in the midst with his Nail But that Brama having humbled himself before God and having made Verses in praise of him Wistu was so highly pleas'd to hear them sung that he told Brama it troubled him much that he had ordered one of his five Heads to be cut off but however bid him be of good comfort forasmuch as he should have the same power with the other four as he had before And yet they have this belief withall that this imprudence of Brama will hinder him from enjoying in the other World that measure of Glory which he might have hoped had he continu'd in his original Integrity They affirm that Brama governs the World by many Lieutenants the chiefest of whom is he whom they call Derwendre who commands all those who govern the eight Worlds which are like this we inhabit and go to the Composition of the Universe whereof according to them there are seven other parts like ours all which swim upon the water like so many Eggs. They believe also that the World which is now extant and in being is not any effect of the first Creation but that there have been many before it and that there will be others after it That that wherein we now live is to continue yet a Million of Ages longer since that in the year MDCXXXIX there were but four thousand seven hundred thirty nine years of the fourth Age of the World expired and that the first bad lasted a hundred and seven thousand two hundred and ninety Ages That in the said first Age of the World all Men were good and just so as
carried with them which is a Priviledge allowed only persons of quality nay the Portuguez even to the Vice-Roy himself and the Arch-Bishop make use of them rather then of those of their own Nation They never eat but with those of their own Sect though they were ready to starve Nay in this particular they are so scrupulous that if in their journey to Cochim their provision should fall short they would rather starve then be oblig'd to eat what another had sown or made ready Most of the Porters about Goa are Christians as are also their Money-changes whom they call Xaraffes who make an external profession of Christianity but in their dealing are Iews apt to over-reach and deceive all that have to do with them There are in Goa many Decanins and Canarins who have Shops there and buy of the Portuguez Porcelane Velvet Damask and other Stuffes of Silk and Cotton as also some China Commodities all by whole sale and afterwards sell them again by retail These also bring Provisions from the Continent and trade therein having to that end their Brokers and Factors who mannage their business while they go to Cambaya and along the Coast to improve their Traffick There are amongst them Goldsmiths Jewellers Gravers and other Artizans who do things incomparably better then any of ours These also farm the Kings Demesne in the Islands of Bardes and Salsette upon which account having sometimes occasion to go to Law they are so well vers'd in the Laws and Customs of Portugal that they need no Advocates to plead their Causes Most of the Canarins are either Husband-men or Fisher-men There are some of them have no other employment then dressing the Cocos-trees to get the Wine and Fruit they produce Others only wash Linnen or whiten Cloath The Peasants bring in every day to the City wild Fowl Milk Fruit Eggs and other provisions to be sold. Their Wives are deliver'd with the greatest easiness imaginable They make no use of Midwives but are deliver'd alone wash their Children themselves as soon as they are born put them under a few Fig leaves and return to their work as if they had not been about any such thing The Children brought up after this rate grow so hardy and strong that it is an ordinary thing to see Men among them of a hundred years of age yet have not a Tooth missing but all the time in perfect health They are all excellent Swimmers whence it comes that they venture over to the Continent in their little Boats called Almadiâ—s which indeed are so little that they can hardly carry one person in so much that they are frequently overturn'd but they recover them again by swimming cast out the Water and prosecute their Voyage Though in these parts they burn the dead bodies instead of burying of them yet are not the Women oblig'd to burn themselves with their Husbands Corps but only to cut off their Hair and make a Vow of perpetual Widowhood The Iews who live at Goa have there their Temples and Synagogues and enjoy an absolute liberty of Conscience They are either Indians born of Father and Mother Iews or they come out of Palastine these last for the most part speak the Spanish tongue The Mahumetans who live there trade for the most part to Meca and other places upon the Red-sea whither they carry Spices The Portuguez and the Mestizes have their greatest Trade in Bengala Pegu Malacca China and in Guzuratta at the City of Cambaya No Person of Quality at Goa but goes once a day to the Market whither the Merchants nay most Gentlemen come as well to hear what news there is as to see what there is to be sold for from seven in the morning to nine after which the heat is such as that a Man is not able to stay there the publick Criers whom they call Laylon sell there by outcry all sorts of Commodities but especially Slaves of both Sexes and Jewels There you shall see the Crier loaden with Chains Gold Rings and precious Stones and followed by a great number of Slaves all to be sold. There are also to be sold there Persian and Arabian Horses Spices all sorts of Aromatick Gums Alcatifs Porcelane Vessels of Agat several things made of Lacque and whatever is thought precious or rare in any other part of the Indies Merchants and Tradesmen are distinguished by Streets so that Silk-men are not shuffled in among Linnen-Drapers nor the Druggists among those who sell Porcelane The greatest profit they make is in the exchange of Money For when the Spanish Fleet comes in they buy Ryals at ten or twelve in the hundred loss and in April when the Ships go away for the Molucca's and China where the Ryals are much esteem'd they fell them again at twenty five or thirty in the hundred profit notwithstanding the Order there is to sell them at four hundred Reis They make the same advantage by the change of the Laris which they also sell at ten or twelve in the hundred profit They have several sorts of money The least is that which hey call Basarucques which on the one side have a Globe on the other two Arrows cross'd They are made of Tin and Lattin mixt together and eight of these Basarucques make a Ventin whereof five make a Tanghe Five Tanghes make a Serafin of Silver which according to the King Command is set at three hundred Reis and six Tanghes make a Pardai The Serafin hath on the one side Saint Sebastian on the other a sheaf of Arrows There are also Serafins of Gold coined heretofore at Ormus of a more refin'd metal then any other Moneys of the Indies whence it comes that the Gold-smiths melt down all that fall into their hands of them They have also Santemes of 16. Tanghes and Pagodes of 14 15. and 16. Tanghes Forreign Merchants pay at their coming in eight in the hundred for all Merchandises and as much at their going out but the Farmers of the Customs are so reasonable in their valuing of them that the Merchants have no cause to complain They have also this favour that if a Merchant hath paid the Customs at his coming in and hath not put off his Commodities he may carry them to some other place without paying ought at the Exportation In like manner a forreign Merchant that hath bought of a Portuguez or other Citizen of Goa Spices or any other Commodities of Malacca or China may enter them under the Sellers name and so avoid paying the Customes due at exportation The Viceroy at the time of our being there was D. Pedro de Silva His person was not answerable to his quality but he had about him above fifty Gentlemen who gave him the same respect as they could have done the King himself This charge is continued in the same person but for three years as well in regard it were dangerous a Subject should longer be possess'd of a Dignity
the Moguls there are not amongst the Indians any that go more neatly apparrell'd then they As concerning Coromandel the Eastern part of the Indies on this side Ganges is so called a Coast divided from the Malabares by the Mountain Balagatta extending from South to North from the Cape of Comorin or rather the point of Negapatam to the River Nagund and the Town of Masulepatam containing all along the Coast about a hundred Leagues 'T is the more commodious for that it serves for a retreat to all Vessels which are constrain'd to quit the Coast of Gusuratta during the Winter season and it hath many good Havens and the best Roads of any in all the Indies The Portuguez there possess the Town of Saint Thomas at thirteen degrees thirty two minutes on this side the Line and they say that at the time when Vasco de Gama discovered the Indies and seiz'd on Cochim and Cranganor the Inhabitants on this Coast who called themselves Christians crav'd protection of the King of Portugal and that arriving at Saint Thomas they found Christians who made profession of the Greek Religion For this purpose they tell a Story grounded on a Tradition which nevertheless is not to be proved out of the Ecclesiastical History Thus then they say that Saint Thomas one of our Saviours twelve Apostles having long preach'd the Gospel in the Kingdom of Norsingia notwithstanding the opposition of the Bramans resolv'd to petition the King that he might build a Chappel for the doing of his Devotions and that the Bramans engag'd the King to deny him the favour But it happened that a huge piece of Timber was so lodg'd in the mouth of the Haven belonging to the Town of Meliapour then the Metropolis of the Kingdom that not only great Vessels but the smaller Barks being not able to get in the Trade of the Town was in a short time quite lost There was a trial made with a company of Elephants to remove the Tree but in vain then the Magicians of those parts were imploy'd to try if their Art could do what strength could not effect but to as little purpose wherefore the King proclaim'd a considerable reward to him that could clear the Haven which invited the Saint to offer his service and this for no other reward then the mere Timber it self His proffer to draw it out himself made him at first appear ridiculous and specially when they saw him tye his Girdle to it to draw out a weight that many Elephants had not the strength to stir but he pulling the Beam followed as easily as if it had been a little Boat which when he had laid upon the Land the King was amaz'd with admiration and in honour of the Miracle permitted him to build the Chappel as he had requested The Bramans seeing their Doctrine disparag'd by this Miracle and that if Christian Religion began to spread in those parts there was little hope to support the Pagan they resolve to free themselves of the Apostle and cause certain Panyms to murther him while he was at his Devotions in his Chappel Some there are who will have the Church dedicated to this Saint in that place to be built by a King of Narsinga and that the door was made of that miraculous beam but the Portuguez say they built it of which indeed there is most probability Lentscholen saith that in these parts there are certain people with one leg bigger then the other and that they are held to be the Progeny of those that martyred the Apostle Maffeus in the eighth Book of his Indian History relates how Iohn the second King of Portugal made search for the bones of this Saint upon the Coasts of Coromandel which he transported to Goa where he built a fair Church in honour of him but if credit may be given to Ruffinus and Socrates in their Ecclesiastical History the Apostle Saint Thomas suffered his Martyrdom at Edessa in Mesopotamia whither heretofore they made Pilgrimages to his Sepulchre yet Marco Paulo Veneto sayes otherwise though with some contradiction to himself Gasper Balbi a Venetian Jeweller who hath made a very handsome relation of his Travels in the Indies sayes That being at the Town of Saint Thomas in the year 1582. there was a Church then building in the honour of Saint Iohn Baptist and that the building almost finished they found they wanted Timber to perfect it when at the same time the Sea cast a Tree ashore of such a bulk that looking on it as a thing extraordinary they would needs measure it and finding it to be a just proportion for the Edifice the people cryed out a Miracle wherein they were confirm'd when sawing it it yielded just so many Beams as serv'd to finish the Church Headds further that the Tree came from some far distant place because in cutting it sent forth such a stinking smell that it infected the whole Country The Town of Saint Thomas is not very great but the greatest part of the Houses are of Stone and well built The Church there hath no Steeple yet may be seen at a good distance There live here about six hundred Portuguez or Mestizes besides some Armenian Merchants The Indians Pagans and Mahumetans live in the Town of Meliapour which is seated on a small River two Leagues from Saint Thomas Northward but it is faln from the pristine glory it had when it was the Capital Town of the Kingdom of Narsinga The King of Portugal hath no Governour at Saint Thomas nor so much as a Magistrate nor any political Order by reason whereof divers disorders are daily committed without punishment The South and South-west Winds reign here from April to September during which time the Road is very good but all the rest of the year small Barks are constrain'd to get into the River Palacatte and greater Vessels into the Haven of Negupatam You have five fathom water even within Cannon-shot of the Town but the Sea is so rough at all times there is no Landing without danger Upon this Coast the Hollanders have divers Plantations where they drive a great Trade but principally at Potlapouli otherwise call'd Nisapatam where they have had their Ware-houses ever since the year 1606. and at Paleacatte where they have built the Fort of Geldria This Country was heretofore divided into three Kingdoms that is Coromandel Narsinga and Bisnagar but at present 't is all subject to one Prince who resides sometimes at Bisnagar sometimes at Narsinga Above the Town of Masulipatam lyes the Country or Kingdom rather of Orixa reaching from the River of Masulipatam to the River of Guenga but the Hollanders would have it comprehended under the name of the Coast of Coromandel The chief Towns of the Kingdom are Masulipatam and Golcanda the one considerable for Commerce the other for being the Kings Ordinary Residence The Country yields plenty of Salt and Diamonds are likewise there found but all above five
he causes the Army to advance to the very Frontiers of Auva where he accepts a Challenge sent him by his Uncle that they two might decide the difference by a single Combat and was so fortunate as to kill his Adversary in view of both Armies This single Victory was of greater advantage then a defeat of the Enemies whole Army could have brought him for the whole Kingdom of Auva delivered it self up at mercy The Queen who was his Sister fell likewise into his hands and was prisoner during life though kept in a Princely Palace and honoured and attended as a Queen The King of Pegu in acknowledgment of the service his Elephant had done him in the Combate where he fell dead under his Master caused certain Pagodes to be made of his Tooth and had them placed amongst the other Idols kept in a Varella or Mosquee which is within the Castle Amongst these Idols there is the Figure of a Man done to the life in massy Gold having on the Head a Crown enchas'd with precious Stones of divers kinds on the Forehead a Ruby as big as a Plum and on each side the Head Pendants as rich as can be imagined about the Waste a Scarf and over the right Shoulder and under the left Arm a Chain of Diamonds and other Stones inestimable In the same Chappel are likewise three Statues of Silver higher by two foot then the first with Crowns set with Gems and a fourth more massive and rich then all the rest and besides these a Figure made of Ganza which is a mixt metal of Copper and Brass valued at as high a rate as the other four The Kings Father who lived in the year 1578. caused these Statues to be made in memory of that famous Victory he obtain'd over the King of Siam in the War he made against him for the white Elephant we spoke of The Forrests of Pegu have greater store of Elephants then all the Indies besides and they are tam'd with very little trouble in ten or twelve dayes after they are taken by the means of Females who intice them out of the Woods and make them follow into the very Stables where there are Dens that hold but one of these Beasts only where they shut them close in as soon as they are entred The Peguans have Fire-arms but ordinarily they use half Pikes made of Canes short and broad Swords and long and narrow Bucklers made of boyl'd Leather doubled and laid over with a certain black Gum call'd Achiran their Salades or Helmets are made of the same stuff and like ours in fashion They are generally Pagans except some who contracting alliance with the Portuguez have embrac'd their Religion These Pagans believe that God who hath under him many other Gods is the Author of all good which arrives to Mankind but the disposing of all evil he leaves to the Devil to whom these wretches bear more veneration then they do to God because the one will do them no hurt and they must please the other that he may not They do they Devotions ordinarily on the Munday and have besides five principal Feasts which they call Sapan The first which they call Sapan Giacchi is chiefly celebrated by a Pilgrimage made by the King and Queen twelve Leagues out of Town where they appear in triumphal Chariots so set with precious Stones that without Hyperbole it may be said they carry the worth of a Kingdom about them They call the second Sapan Carena observ'd in honour of the Statue kept in the grand Varelle of the Castle in honour of which the Noblemen of the Court erect Pyramides of Canes which they cover with several Stuffs artificially wrought of divers fashions then have them put into Chariots drawn by above three hundred persons to the Kings view that he may judge of their inventions All the people come likewise and bring their Offerings to him The Sapan Giaimo Segienon they celebrate also in honour of some of these Statues where the King and Queen are both present in person and the fourth Feast which they call Sapan Daiche is particularly celebrated in the old Town at which the King and Queen cast rose-Rose-water at one another All the Grandees have likewise a pot of Rose-water in their hands wherewith they so water themselves that their bodies are as 't were bath'd all over nor can any one pass the Streets that day without hazard of being wash'd with water thrown from the windows At the fifth Feast called Sapan Donon the King and Queen go by water to the Town of Meccao attended by above a hundred Boats all which row for the fastest to gain a Prize allow'd by the King The King dying they prepare two Boats which they cover with one gilt Covering and in the middle of these Boats they place a Table whereon they lay the dead Corps and underneath the Table they make a fire of the Wood of Sandale Beniouin Storax and other sweet-scented Woods and Drugs then turn the Barks down the Stream certain Talapoi or Priests mean while singing and rejoycing till the flesh be intirely consum'd These Ashes they temper with Milk so making a Paste which they carry to the mouth of the River where they cast it into the Sea But the Bones they bear to another place and bury them near a Chappel where they build another in honour of the deceased Their Talapoi carry a Bottle made of an empty Gourd at their girdle and live by Alms as our Mendicant Friars They are in great esteem amongst them and they very well preserve their credit by their exemplary life On Munday morning they go about with their Tin-basins to awake the people and invite them to a Sermon They treat not at all of points of Doctrine but chiefly insist upon Morality exhorting the Congregation to abstain from Murther Thefe Fornication and Adultery and to do to others as they would be done by For this reason they are of opinion that Men are sooner saved by good Works and innocency of Life then by Faith They have no Aversion for those that forsake their Religion to become Christans so their Life be correspondent to the Profession they make They exclaim lowdly against the Offerings the Peguans make to the Devil particularly when they perform any Vow they made in their sickness or in any other unfortunate Accident and endeavour to abolish this wicked custom which is grown so inveterate that hitherto they have lost their labour These people ordinarily live in Woods and to prevent the danger of wild Beasts whereof these parts are full they have their Couches hanging in the Air betwixt boughs of Trees They eat but once a day and are habited in red Vestures that reach to their heels bare-footed and over their Shoulders a short Coat or Mantle that comes to their hams They shave their heads nay cannot endure hair upon any part of their body and to guard them from the Sun-beams
together so as being not able to withstand any longer they yield to be driven away and are tam'd by hunger in a short time The Portuguez heretofore bought there fifteen or sixteen horned Beasts in a year and carried them to Malacca paying a Campan a head for the export But the Hollanders pay nothing neither for those they slaughter in the Country nor for those they ship for Sumatra or Iava for doubtless they win more on their affections then the Portuguez or any other Strangers The King of Patana is Subject or rather Vassal to the King of Siam but payes him annually a very inconsiderable Tribute Not many years since there reign'd a Queen that sent him no more then once a year a Flower of Gold and some Silk-Stuffes and Scarlet she was about that time fifty years of age whereof she had been a Widow fifteen when she appear'd abroad which was seldom to take the Air she was attended by four thousand Persons of Quality with the Armes and Equipage of her deceased Husband born before her The King of Iohor possesses all the utmost parts of the Penninsula the Ancients called Aurea Chersonesus to the Streight of Sincopura the chief Towns are Linga Bintam Caryman c. but the chief City of all the Country is Batusabar scituate six Leagues from the Sea upon the River Iohor divided into two Towns one keeping the name of Batusabar the other called Cottasabrang one being thirteen hundred paces about the other about five hundred They are both built with Free-stone and all the Houses stand along the River-side raised on piles eight or ten foot from the ground which lies so low that at high-high-water 't is covered twice a day In it are near four thousand Inhabitants able to bear Armes and could they bring themselves to take pains in Fortification with little labour might this River be brought about the Town which might thus be made one of the strongest places in the Indies The Hollanders have used all their Endeavour to bring them to it and to secure themselves from the Portuguez their irreconcileable Enemy but their Houses in Cotta Zabrang and thereabouts being nothing but Straw they care not much for burning so they have but time to save themselves in Batusabar where the building is of Timber and they can defend themselves against flying parties The Country belongs intirely to the King who gives Land to manure to any that desire it but the Malayans are so slothful that the Ground is all as it were overgrown with Moss though by the Herbage and Trees it produces it is easie to perceive great profit might be raised if the Soyl were cultivated For further testimony of this the Hollanders in their Relations amongst other things observe that at a time the King of Iohor presented their Admiral with Sugar Canes eighteen foot long and seven inches about The Malacca or Malayan Language is held the most elegant of all the Indies where it is at least as general as French in Europe and is the easier to learn because there are no inflections neither in Nounes nor Verbs For the Readers curiosity I shall here insert some of their words that he may spend his judgment and begin with the numbers which they thus count Satu one dwa two tyga three eupat four lyma five nam six tousion seven de lapan eight sambalan nine sapalo ten sabalas eleven duabulas twelve tyga balas thirteen capat balas fourteen lyma balas fifteen nam balas sixteen tousion balas seventeen delaban balas eighteen sambalan balas nineteen duo pola twenty saratus a hundred c. Arys the day Malam night Zouson the stomack leheer the neck dangudo the mustachoes Bat the tongue Iargary the fingers Toulang the leg Goumo the foot Tangam the arm Capalla the head Rambot the hair Pourot the belly Ianget the beard Tangan the hand Molot the mouth Martye the eyes Yrotdon the nose Conet the skin Babpa Father Maa Mother Ibou Grandfather and Grandmother bewangdarnet to bleed mackol to beat mollay to begin billy to buy chiuy to pay diem to be silent ambel to take toulong to assist Manyte I Pakanera you andrior to melt boday to deceive dengaer to hear battou to content mansuiry to prick Mus Gold Salacha Silver ada I have Palla a Nutmeg toy quitabo we Lacky a Man bilby to traffick tidor to sleep tavar to promise britacot to menace terran to clear pang to cut Negle Steel Lada Pepper minnon to drink tackana to enchaunt chium to kiss bretoun to make dousta to lye banga to rise suitsidana to wipe the Nose tieda tau I understand it not Sicke Cloves Leaving the firm Land and the Peninsula by the Ancients called Aurea Chersonesus on the Coast of Malacca we find the Isle of Sumatra not above ten Leagues distant Some have said 't was rent from the Continent by the Sea Currents as Ceylon from that part of the Indies heretofore called India intra Gangem but for this conjecture there is little ground in History it being not to be affirmed more of this place then it can of Sicily or England or any other Island in the World except we shall presuppose that at the Creation the Sea compassed the whole Earth and that then there was no Islands but that they were made by the Sea which afterwards by degrees form'd them out of the firm Land To enter into this dispute is not our design no more then to decide whether Sumatra were the ancient Taprobane as Ios. de l' Escale Mercator and divers others think or Ophir where King Solomon's Ships fetch'd the Gold and other precious things as the Scripture sayes but we shall recite only what we could gather out of these last Relations All conclude that Sumatra extends from the fifth degree on this side to the sixth degree beyond the Line by which Rule it should contain a hundred and sixty or a hundred sixty five Leagues in length with a breadth of sixty and so they who inhabit the middle of the Island to have the Equinoctial Line perpendicularly over them By the scituation we may judge the heats to be there extream and herewithall there is so much Wood and such a multitude of Lakes that the Air especially for Strangers is exceeding unhealthful Nevertheless it is abundantly fertile and besides Gold Silver and divers other Metals as Copper Iron Brass whereof they have the Art to make as good Artillery as they do in Europe it produces Rice and Millet particularly Fruit in such quantity as the Forrests are loaden with it and sufficiently furnish all the Inhabitants In the middle of the Isle there is a burning Mountain flaming by intermissions as Vesuvius in the Kingdom of Naples and they report there is a Balsom Fountain running incessantly 'T is wealthy in Diamonds and other precious Stones Silks Spices Wax Honey Camphire Cassia and divers other Drugs used in Medicine There are whole Woods of white Sandale
quickness as an Ape there is no Stranger will venture to do it 'T is as common in the Indies as the Olive in Spain or Willows in Holland and though the wood be sappy yet it serves for such variety of things that there is no Tree of so general an use In the Maldives Isles they make Ships that cross the Sea without any thing but what the Cocoe affords Of the outer rind they make a kind of Hemp which they call Cayro whereof they make Cordage and Cables for their Ships Of the leaves they make Sails and cover Houses with them they make of them likewise Umbrelloes Fans Tents Mats and Hats which for their lightness are very commodious in Summer These Trees are planted either for the Fruit or the Terry which is got out of them The Fruit is of the bigness of an Estridge egg and the Husk that is green as of our ordinary Nuts being dried is converted into the Thread called Cayro which I spoke of before Sometimes they gather the Fruit before it comes to perfect maturity and then it is called Lanbo whence may be drawn two pints of refreshing Liquor pleasant to drink This Juyce by degrees turns to a little Nut in taste not much unlike our Hasel-nut but something sweeter The shell of this Nut while 't is green is good to eat but being dry they make Cups Spoons and other Utensils of it or make Coal for Goldsmiths The Indians peel this Nut and extract a Milk out of it as useful to all purposes as our Cows milk None but the poor eat the Fruit because ordinarily they dry it to extract the Oyl which is good to eat useful in medicine and to burn in Lamps The fruit being kept in the shell by degrees turns to a kind of Apple which in time grows yellow and is excellent to eat They extract Wine out of it thus pulling off the Flower they fasten to it a pot of Earth they call Collao well stop'd and luted with Potters earth that it may not dye nor sharpen They know in what time the pot will be filled with a certain Liquor which they call Sura that hath the taste and quality of Whey This Liquor boyl'd makes Terry which serves them for Wine and being set in the Sun makes excellent Vinegar and stilling it in a Limbeck makes good strong-Strong-water They make likewise Sugar of it which they call Iagra but esteem it not for that 't is brown having such plenty of white The Portuguez steeping Raisins of the Sun and some other Ingredients in Sura make a Drink that hath the taste and quality of Sack The Indians esteem most the inside of this Tree for the Pith is white and as fine as any Paper we have will hold in fifty or sixty folds or as many leaves They term it Olla and use it in stead of Paper so as Persons of Quality seek much after it only for this use of the Bark they make courser paper to make up Merchandizes in The second Species of Cocoes is the Tree that the Portuguez call Arrequeiro for the Areca that comes of it whereof we spoke in the precedent Book and of which we shall have further occasion to speak more hereafter as well as of the other two kinds called Tamor and Lantor in the description of the Isle of Iava to which we shall come immediately Bananas is not any where so common as in Sumatra 't is a kind of Indian Fig-tree which grows to a mans height and produces Leaves six foot long and a foot and half broad We call it with the Portuguez the Fig-tree in regard that though the Fruit be not altogether like other Figs yet hath it the shape and colour It may be called rather a Bush then a Tree because it hath no body The Leaves begin to break forth when the Sprout is but four foot high and as some come forth others wither and fall till the Plant be at full growth and the Fruit come to maturity The bole of it is not above ten or twelve inches think and so soft that it may with ease be cut with a Knife In the middle of the Leaf there comes out a Flower as big as an Estridge Egg inclining to a violet colour out of which comes a branch which is not wood but tender as a Cabbage-stalk loaden with Figs. At first they are no bigger then a Bean but in time they grow seven or eight inches long and as big as a Cowcumber not a sprig but shall have near a hundred Figs which joyn together like a bunch of Grapes They gather them before they are full ripe which they know by their colour which is of a yellowish green then they hang them on a Nail till they ripen which will be in four or five days No stalk hath more then one bunch they cut it close to the ground whence it springs again with such vigout that in a moneth it recovers its former condition and at that rate fructifies the year throughout which is a great Maâ—na to this Country where a little sufficeth and thus they live in a manner for nothing The Cods or Husks wherein the Figs are inclosed are no less delicious and useful then the Fruit it self and as nourishing as our finest Bread and in taste much like a Cake so as this Tree alone is sufficient to feed the whole Country The Pepper of Sumatra is without doubt the best in the Indies except that of Cochim Commonly they plant it at the root of another Tree underset it with Canes or Poles as Hop or French-beans The Leaves resemble Orange-leaves only they are a little less and more sharp it grows in little branches as red Goosberries or Juniper While it hangs on the tree it is green and turns not black till it be gathered and dry which they do in December and Ianuary The places which produce most of it are Malabar Onar Barselor Mangalor Calicut Cranganor Cochim Conhon Quida Dampin Dedir Campir and Andragir the Isles of Sumatra and Bantam and certain places in the Isle of Iava They bring forth likewise white Pepper but not in so great abundance The Malayans call Pepper Lauda the Inhabitants of Iava Sahargh and the Malabars Molanga Long Pepper is not gotten but in Bengala which is another sort of Fruit like the tag of a point but something thicker and gray containing a small white grain of the same taste and use as common Pepper In Malabar and Goa there grows another sort of Pepper which they call Canarius but used only by poor people 'T is something strange but very certain that they spend more Pepper in the Indies then is brought into Europe though in the Haven of Bantam only 't is known they have laded fourty eight thousand Bags in a year for the Indians dress not any meat without handfuls of it but they never beat it nor grind it Iava an Island commonly called Iava Major to distinguish it
better then that which is brought out of the Isle of Iava where they call it Lanquus This Herb is neither sowed nor set but grows naturally and is about two foot high above the ground the flower is white and the leaves pointed and as hard as the point of a Knife The Iavians use it for a Sallad as also in Physick as they do the root which is thick and long and full of knots like a Cane as biting in taste as Ginger and of a very sweet scent Benjamin is a Gum distilling from Trees not unlike Lemmon-trees While they are young the Benjamin is black which is the best but as they grow old the Benjamin grows white and loses strength so as to put it off they mingle it with black The Moors call it Lovan Iavy that is Incense of Iava In the Forrest of Iava there grow Trees of red Sandale but the white and yellow Sandale which is without comparison the better comes from the Isles of Timor and Solor This Tree is of the bigness of a Walnut-tree and bears a fruit not unlike our Cherries but is black and insipid The Indians beat white and yellow Sandale and make a Concoction wherewith they rub their Bodies not only for the scent but for that they believe 't is restroative They value not red Sandale but sell it at cheap rates to other parts They have likewise abundance of Ginger by the Malayans called Aliaa and by the Iavians Gaâ—ti but they either eat it green in Sauces or preserve it for they never dry it Anacardium by the Portuguez called Fava de Malacca by reason of its likeness to â— Bean is very common here and the Iavians take it in Milk against the Asthma and against the Worms some pickle them as they do Olives and they are altogether as pleasant as the Olives That Wood the Portuguez call Pala de cuebra grows there in great abundance It is white inclining to yellow hard and bitter The Indians bruise it and take it in Wine or Water against burning Feavers and the stinging of Serpents 'T is said that for this cure they are beholding to a Creature in size and shape like our Ferrets by them called Quil or Quirpela which they breed for recreation and to catch Rats and Mice this little Beast being a mortal enemy to Serpents never meets with any of them but it sets upon them and being bitten runs immediately to this root which is his present cure Palo d' Aguila by Druggists called Lignum Aloes by the Portuguez Palo d' Aguila and by the Indians Calamba grows in Iava but not in such quantity as in Malacca Sumatra Cambaya and other places The Tree is like the Olive-tree only a little bigger The Wood while green hath no scent but as it dries its odour increases The weightiest and brownest is the best the perfection is known by the Oyl that issues out of it when 't is held to the fire They make Beads of it and the Indians use it to imbellish their Cabinets but the chiefest use of it is for Physick For this Wood beaten to powder and taken in broath or wine fortifies the Stomack stayes vomiting and cures the Pleurisie and bloudy Flux That the Portuguez call Aguila brava or wild Calamba is not so good as the other and the Indians chiefly use it at the Funerals of their Bramans making the fire of it that burns the Corps At Bantam likewise they sell store of Lacque whereof they make Spanish wax and the Varnish they lay over so many excellent works in China Iapan and other places Iava produces of it but the best comes from Pegu where 't is called Tieck and where great and winged Ants get up the trees and suck the Gum which afterwards they lay upon the boughs as Bees do Honey and Wax when the boughs are full the owners cut them setting them to dry in the Sun till the Lacque falls from the boughs then they beat it to powder and give it what colour and form they please The other Drugs gotten in Iava are Pody a mealy kind of substance which they use against Rhume and Wind Carumba or Flors a Root whereof they make Sauces and wherewith they dye their Cotton-clothes Conjuapi is a Wood wherewith they rub their bodies Samparentam is a Root found near Sunda stronger then Ginger and very bitter Pontiou they hold good against Feavers but 't is exceeding dear Gatogamber is a Fruit like an Olive good against the tooth-ach Ganti a Root so like Ginger that the Iavians have given it the same name but 't is dearer and with it they rub their bodies Sasam is Mustard-seed Doringi is a Drug they give Children as soon as they come into the world Galam a Root growing in the water and is very refreshing Tianco a Fruit they beat and take in water as soon as they find themselves ill Maidian Maya and Corossani are intoxicating Drugs they mix in their drinks Spodium is the ashes of a Tree growing near Sunda wherewith they rub their bodies as they do with Sary which is a Flower The Targary Surahan and Sedowaya are Roots for the same use Sambaya is the Fruit the Chineses call Geiduar as big as an Acorn of high price by reason 't is not ordinary and is a sovereign Remedy against Poyson and the biting of Venomous beasts Ialave is like Sambaya and of the same use in Medicine Paravas is a very cooling Hearb but very scarce and very dear Tomonpute is a Root like Galigan used against Inflammations of the Spleen The Conduri which the Iavans call Saga are red Berries spotted with black wherewith they weigh Gold and Silver but are not to be eaten they are so bitter and as some say poysonous There is likewise Azebar the Sycomore the Nux Indica and divers other Trees Plants and Drugs to Europeans some known some unknown but 't would require a peculiar Treatise to name them all and would fill a large Volumn to describe their good and bad qualities The Iavians making their benefit of the Portuguez ingratitude to the Indian Princes who entertain'd them do constantly oppose the establishment of any Strangers in the Isle But the profit â—he Kings of Bantam and Iacatra received by venting their Spices to the English and Duch was so considerable that at last they consented that the people of those two Nations should build a House for such Factors as they should have occasion to leave there and for stowing up the Commodities they traffick'd in The Dutch by treaty with those Kings regulated the Customs of Importation and Exportation but those Articles were so ill kept by the Indian Kings who raised their rates according as they discovered the Strangers necessity of Commerce that the Dutch to avoid this injustice and secure themselves from the violences of the Barbarians by degrees secretly fortified their Quarters at Iacatra and in a short time made it
attracts all the moisture of the Earth lying about it nay its Fruit is so hot that if a Pitcher of Water be set in a Chamber within ten foot of a bag of Cloves they will so suck up the Water that within two or three dayes there shall not be a drop left which that they have done shall not be perceivable any way but by the weight The Inhabitants know this well enough and make their advantages thereof The Chineses have the same experiment in their raw Silks which do attract moysture in the same manner It is commonly affirmed that the Cloves grow only in the Moluccaes but this is said either in regard some comprehend under that name many other Islands near them or that the five we have named yield more then all the rest It is generally granted that they yield every year near six thousand barrels of Cloves allowing five hundred weight and a half to every barrel and it is certain withall that the Islands of Ires Meytarana Cavaly Sabugo Marigoran Gamoconora and Amboyna yield also very considerable quantities especially that of Veranula though they are not so fair as those of the neighbouring Islands In the middest of the Island of Ternate there is one of the highest Mountains in those parts covered all over with Palms and other Trees having at the top a hole so deep that it seems to reach the Center of the Earth Some have had the curiosity to make trial of the depth of it and have found that a Rope of five hundred fathom touched not the bottom but reach'd a fair Spring the water whereof was very clear yet hath there not yet been any that durst venture to taste of it Out of this Mountain there issues a sulphureous smell and by certain intervals a thick smoak and sometimes especially at the two Equinoxes it casts up flames and red Stones with such violence that some are carried not only as far as the City but even into the Islands of Meao and Cafures twenty Leagues distant from Ternate The smoak infects all the circum-ambient Air and the excrements which the Mountain casts forth do so corrupt the Springs and waters of those parts that no use can be made thereof The Mountain is green two third parts of its height but from thence upward it is insupportably cold and there is on the top of it a Spring of fair water but so cold that a man can drink but very little of it without taking breath From the top of it may be seen the Sea and all the Moluccas upon it a man hath a clear and serene Air which is never troubled with Mists or Clouds and there is a Lake of sweet water set about with Trees in which there is a great number of blew and yellow Lizards bigger then a mans arm which sink under the water as soon as any body comes near them There is no difference of Seasons in these Islands nor any certain time for Rain though it rains oftner with the North-west wind then it does with the South There are Serpents there thirty foot long and of a proportionable bigness but they are neither dangerous nor venemous no more then are those of Banda Some affirm that these Creatures not finding any thing to feed upon eat Grass and going to the Sea-side vomit up what they had eaten and by that means draw together a great many Fish which being intoxicated with the chew'd Grass flote upon the Water and so become the prey and food of these Serpents There is in this Island a kind of Beasts they call Cusos that keeps constantly in Trees living on nothing but Fruit. They resemble our Rabbets and have a thick curling and smooth hair between gray and red eyes round and fiery little feet and such strength in the tail that they will hang by it the better to reach the fruits The Forrests are full of wild Birds and except the Parrot there are few domestick at least of those known to us There are Crevisses that come ashore and creep under certain Trees the very shadow whereof is so virulent that no Grass grows near them I know not whether it be from that Tree they contract that venomous quality which lies in one part of them which is so dangerous that it kills in four and twenty hours those that eat it Others there are that resemble Grashoppers and lye in Rocks where they take them by night with fire-light near the tail in a bag they have a lump that is exceeding delicate for which they take them In the Moluccaes there is a certain Wood which laid in the fire burns sparkles and flames yet consumes not and yet a man may rub it to powder betwixt his fingers Near the Fort of Ternate grows a Plant by the Inhabitants call'd Catopa from which there falls a small Leaf the Stalk whereof turns to the Head of a Worm or Butterfly the Strings to the body and feet and the wings are made out of the finer part of the Leaf so as at last there is a compleat Butterfly Tidor is an Island as fruitful as that of Ternate but larger In a Signet of the Kings of this Island in Persian or Arabick Characters it appears this Island was called Tudura not Tidor and they say the word signifies Beauty and Fertility These people have the industry to prune and water the Clove-tree which by this means bears a fruit much fairer and stronger then that which owes its production only to nature The white Sandal-wood that grows here is doubtless the best of all the Indies Here they have Birds by the Inhabitants called Manu codiatas by the Spaniards Paxaros de l' Cielo those we call Birds of Paradise Many take them to have no feet but they are deceived for they that catch them cut off their feet so near the body that the flesh beginning to dry the skin and feathers joyn together so that there scarce remains any scar. The Dutch in Ternate possess the Town of Malaya regularly fortified and not far off the Fort of Taluco In Tidor they have the Fort Marieco In Motir again they have a Fort with Bastions of Stone In Machiam they have made three Forts At Taffaso Tabillola and Guoffiquia and in Bachiam the Fort Barâ—eveldt The King of Bachiam owns neither the King of Ternate nor Tidor for Superiour but is himself Soveraign and independent as to any Forreign Power His Territory is great where there grows great store of Sagou so as the Inhabitants subsist with little labour which makes them so idle and lazy that the Kingdom which heretofore was one of the most considerable of the Molucques is so sunk from that grandeur that at present it can hardly raise five hundred fighting men The Isle of Machiam was brought under the jurisdiction of the Dutch by Admiral Paul van Carden in the year 1601. The chiefest of the three Forts they are possessed
is not of any certain weight save only in gross or when it amounts to such a sum from the value of seven pence to six shillings or better There is also a great difference in the value of the Caxias for of some of them a thousand are worth but Crown whereas of others the same number may amount to three Crowns and a half Much about the time of our Travels the Emperour had ordered them to be caried down intending to have a new Money made of Brass and that the poorer sort might not be ruined thereby he caused the bad Money to be called in and made good the value of it to such as brought it in This Country wants not any kind of Cattel but is so much the more abundant therein out of this respect that they do not geld any Creature Thence it comes they are well stor'd with Houses Bulls Kine Swine Deer wild Boars Bears Dogs c. as also with all sorts of Fowl as Swans Geese Ducks Herns Cranes Eagles Falcons Pheasants Pidgeons Woodcoocks Quails and all the other sorts of small Birds that we have in these parts There are also in this Country several sorts of Mineral Waters very good against divers Diseases Some have the taste and qualities of Copper others that of Saltpeter Iron Tin Salt and there is among others a Source of hot water which hath the taste of Tin and issues out of a Caye which is about ten foot diameter at the mouth and hath both above and below several picked Stones like Elephants teeth so that it somewhat resembles that figure by which some would represent the Jaws of Hell The Water which comes out of it in great bubbles day and night constantly is not so hot but that it may be endured as soon as it is out of the Source so that there is no need of mixing any other water therewith There is in this Country in a spacious Plain at the foot of a Mountain not far from the Sea-side another Source which gives Water but twice in four and twenty hours and that during the space of an hour at each time unless it be when the East-wind blows for then it gives water four times a day This water comes out of a hole which Nature hath made in the ground and which they have cover'd with several great Stones but when the time of its floud as I may call it is come the water is forced out with such violence amidst the Stones that it shakes them all and makes a cast twenty or twenty four foot high with such noise as would drown that of a great Gun It is so hot that it is impossible fire should raise ordinary water to so high a degree of heat as the earth gives this for it immediately burns the stuffes on which it falls and keeps its heat much longer then the water that hath been boil'd over the fire The Well is inclosed with a high Wall having at the bottom thereof several holes through which the water runs into certain Channels and so is brought into the houses where they bath themselves reducing it to such a degree of warmth as may be endured Some affirm that their Physicians are so able that there is no Disease which they cannot discover by the Pulse They are perfectly well skill'd in the vertues of Simples and Drugs especially those of the Radix Chinat and Rhubarbe whereof they make use in their Recipe's which for the most part consist in Pills with very good success They are also very fortunate in the curing of ordinary Diseases but Chirurgery is not as yet known among them The Mineral Waters we spoke of before are a sufficient demonstration that there are in Iapan Mines of all sorts of Metals Accordingly there is found Gold Silver Copper Tin Iron and Lead The Country brings forth also Cotton Flax and Hemp wherewith they make very fine Cloaths It produces also Silk and affords abundance of Goat and Deer skins the richest Works of Wood and Lacque of any in the World all sorts of Provisions and medicinal Drugs They have among others a particular Invention for the melting of Iron without the using of any fire casting it into a Tun done about on the inside with about half a foot of Earth where they keep it with continual blowing and take it out by Ladles full to give it what form they please much better and more artificially then the Inhabitants of Liege are able to do So that it may be said Iapan may live without its Neighbours as being well furnish'd with all things requisite to life The Portuguez came to the knowledge of Iapan by means of the Trade they drove in the Kingdom of Siam and Cambodia They found it no hard matter to settle themselves there in as much as the Iaponneses had not at first any aversion for their Ecclesiastical Ceremonies so that in a short time the Roman Catholick Religion got such footing there that they were permitted to build Churches in several places of the Kingdom and particularly at Nangasacky But the Spaniards too soon discover'd the Design they had to establish themselves there and had not the reservedness to smother that haughty homour which would reign all over the World which occasion'd the Iaponneses first to set upon and afterwards to burn their Ships in so much that in the year 1636. they banish'd them the Country with Prohibitions upon pain of Death not to return into it The Dutch have traded thither ever since the year 1611. and still continue it so much to their advantage that their Commerce to Iapan is worth what they carry on all over the rest of the Indies They affirm in the Relation of the Voyage they made thither in the year 1598. that the City of Meaco is one and twenty Leagues about but that it had been much ruined by the precedent Civil Wars That Ossacks and Boungo are Cities which for Wealth may be compared to any other in the Indies That the Emperours of Iapan were ordinarily interr'd in the City of Coyo of if they made choice of any other place for their Sepulture yet were some of their Bones carried thither though it were but a Tooth That the City of Piongo eighteen Leagues from Meaco was in some part ruined during the Civil Wars of Nobananga who was defeated by Faxiba the Predecessour of Taicko and that what remained of it was partly destroy'd by an Earthquake that happened in the year 1596. and partly by the fire which consumed the wretched remainders of it some time after The Cities of Sacay Voluquin Founay Tosam and several others are also very considerable ones The Air is good and healthy though more inclin'd to cold then heat and yet the Iaponneses sow their Corn at the beginning of May but cut not the Rice till September They have neither Butter nor Oyl and have an aversion against Milk out of an imagination that the Souls of Beasts
to think of the body not in order to burial as we do nor yet to burn it as some of the fore-mentioned Nations are wont to do but to dry it To do that they make in some part of the house a Scaffold of Canes raised five or six foot from the ground whereto they fasten the body by the hands and feet and they make a great fire about it to dry it killing in the mean time a great many Swine and feasting it for nine days together During which time they wash the body every day yet does not that hinder but that it infects the whole house nay indeed the Neighbourhood After nine days it is taken thence to be wrapt up in a Mat being in which they place it on another Scaffold higher then the former and compassed with several garments like a Pavilion and then they reiterate their dancing and feasting The body remains in the posture till the third year and then they take the bones out of it and bury them in some part of the house with the same Ceremonies of feasting and dancing At the Village of Theosang they have a custom which would hardly be observ'd elsewhere They fasten a Rope about their necks who suffer much pain in their sickness raise them up by force to a great height and let them fall down with as much violence as if they intended to give them the strapado by which means they are indeed put out of all further pain As to Religion it may be said they have not any at all Of all the Inhabitants not one can write or read and yet they have certain Traditions upon which they have framed a certain shadow of Religion For they believe the World hath been from all Eternity and shall last Eternally They believe the immortality of the Soul and thence it comes that when any one dies they build before his door a little Hut of bows of trees set Banners at the four corners and within the Hut a wooden Vessel full of water with a Cane-spoon out of a perswasion that the souls of the deceased return every day to the Hut to purifie themselves 'T is true most of them do it purely out of compliance with custome and know not the reason thereof but aged persons are not ignorant of it They believe also that Souls shall find good or evil in the other life according to what they have done in this and affirm that to go out of this World into the other they pass over a very narrow Bridge of Canes under which runs a Channel full of all kind of filth and nastiness into which the wicked being fallen do there languish eternally but that the good Souls pass into a pleasant and delightful Countrey of which they speak much after the same rate the Poets speak of the Elysian fields But there are very few comprehend these mysteries or think of any other life then the present Their sins are much different from ours Murther Theft Adultery and other Crimes are not so much as slight offences among them and they make so little account of simple Fornication that they only laugh at it reprove it not 〈◊〉 their Children They are forbidden marrying before Twenty or twenty one years of age yet it is lawful for them to cajol and debauch a neighbours Wife so he know nothing of it But it is a great Sin among them to have cover'd the privy parts at a certain season of the year to wear several Garments or one only of Silk at a time when they should have worn them of Cotton not to have destroyed Children in the Mothers womb and to have born any before thirty five or thirty six years of Age. These are the sins which in their judgment deserve eternal pains all the rest is only foolery They adore several pretended Divinities but among others two one whereof is called Tamagisanhach and the other Sariahsingh The former hath his abode in the South and contributes to the generation of man who receives from this God only what is excellent and acceptable either in his body or mind They affirm that his Wife whom they call Taxankpanda lives in the East whence she is heard when it thunders towards that quarter speaking to her Husband Tamasgisanhach and chiding him for suffering the Earth to be too long without Rain and that thereupon her Husband causes it immediately to Rain The other God hath his retreat in the North and destroys all the excellency which Tamagisanhach hath bestowed on man by disfiguring his face with the Small Pox and sending him several other Inconveniencies Whence it comes they invoke them both one that they may not be injured by him and the other that he may prevent Sariasingh from doing them any mischief Besides these they have two other Gods who have the oversight of War named Talafula and Tapaliape but they are invocated only by men There is not any Nation that falls within my knowledge at least but makes use of Men in the Religious Service of their Divinity only this we now speak of employs only Women They call them Inibs and all their Worship consists of Prayers and Sacrifices The Sacrifices and Offerings which they make their Gods are Swine Rice Areca some of their kind of Drink and Deer and wild Boars heads Having fed heartily upon them the Priestesses rise and make a long Prayer during which a man shall see their Eyes turning in their Heads they fall to the ground and make dreadful cries and shrieks After these efforts they lie down all along upon the ground immoveable as Statues and become so heavy that five or six persons can hardly raise them 'T is while they are in this posture as they affirm that their Gods communicate themselves to them for an hour or better Then they get up on the top of the Pagode go from one end of it to the other and there say their Prayers again which being ended they strip themselves stark naked shew their privy parts to their Gods smiting them with their hands and call for water to wash themselves in the presence of a great number of persons 'T is true the men are not guilty of so much devotion as to come often to these Assemblies and the women who most frequent them make a shift to get so drunk that they hardly perceive what is done before their faces Every house hath a particular place appointed for the devotions of the Family where they invocate the Gods and where the women make their offerings of what is spent every day in the house but in case of sickness and some other misfortune they call the Inibs to do that Service which is performed with many extravigant Ceremonies They also foretel good and ill fortune rain and fair weather and they have the power to drive away the Devil after a very ridiculous manner They pursue him with a great noise having a Iaponnese Knife in their hand and affirm that by
above three thousand Vessels His design was to get himself proclaim'd Emperour of China but knowing he should find too much opposition in the inclinations of the people as long as there were Princes to be chosen out of the Family of Tayming he was not sorry to see it extirpated by the Tartars with whom he held correspondence as we said before Upon the reduction of the Province of Fokien they gave him the Title of King under the name of Pingnam that is Pacifier of the South treating him highly and putting him in hopes that they would leave him the command of the two Provinces of Fokien and Quantung But the Prince who commanded the Tartarian Army in the Province being upon his departure towards the Court Chincilung who had left his Fleet in the Haven of Focheu desirous to accompany him to the place where he was to take leave of all the Officers the Tartar took his advantage of the opportunity pressed him to go along to Peking and finding him unwilling to do it secured him and brought him away by force and had it not been for his Brothers who were Masters of the Fleet the Tartars would have put him to death The other Army which was got into the Province of Quangsi met with so much resistance there that it was forced to dislodge thence and retreat into that of Quantung into which the Viceroy and Governour of the Province pursued them and to give the greater reputation to their designs they created an Emperour of the Royal Progeny who assum'd the name of Iunglie After their example several other Provinces revolted but all their attempts only confirmed the settlement of the Tartars who after the death of Kiang Governour of the City of Taitung in the Province of Xansi who took up Arms against them in the year 1649. and their reduction of the City of Quangcheu in the Province of Quangsi which was taken on the 24. of November 1650. have been possess'd of that vast Country without any disturbance rather through the cowardice of the Chineses then by the number of their own Souldiery in as much as it is impossible for any Army how numerous soever to conquer so powerful a State as that of China if the Inhabitants had ever so little courage to defend themselves Xunchi the Tartarian Emperour of China married the daughter of the King of Taayu in the Western Tartary in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred forty and nine MANDELSLO'S TRAVELS INTO THE INDIES The Third Book WE gave the Reader an account in the precedent Book how that the calm which staid our Ship in a manner in fight of the Island of Ceylon occasioned the digression we have made wherein we have represented the State of the Indies even to the utmost extremities of Asia We continued at the Altitude of Ceylon till the 20. of February at which time the North-west-wind oblig'd us to take our course towards South-east Taking the Latitude about noon we found we were two minutes beyond the Aequinoctial Line I asked the Master of the Ship what he thought of their opinion who affirm that being under the Line a man may discover both the Poles but he made it appear to me that it was an errour and shewed me clearly that the Artick Pole is not to be seen within six Degrees of the Line and that the Artartick cannot be perceiv'd till a man comes to the eighth degree He shew'd me farther that at eight or ten degrees of the Line the wind seems to be as changeable as it is in our Seas on this side of it inasmuch as that of the North-west reigns there six months together and that of the South-east blows there as constantly for the other six moneths So that such as go into the Indies or come thence may regulate their Voyages accordingly In these parts we saw several sorts of Birds whereof some were white and not unlike our Pidgeons save that their Tails are longer and narrower Others were of sundry colours and somewhat like wild Ducks But among others we saw abundance of those Birds which the Portuguez call Garayos or Rabos foreados which are black and white as Mag-pies but somewhat bigger and have their Tails divided like a Taylors pair of Shears All these Birds live only by the Sea and feed on a certain flying Fish which to avoid the pursuit of the Albocores Bonitos and Dorados that continually prey upon them fly into the Air where they can abide no longer then while their wings are moist and where they are caught by these Birds or if for want of moisture they fall back into the Sea they are devour'd by those Fishes The Albocores are white all over and have no Scales no more then the Bonitos The former are much bigger then the latter and have but one bone in them which comes from the Head to the Tail Some of them are so large that if we may credit report one between five and six foot long hath dined sixty Seamen but the meat of it being not very good I conceive they were rather glutted then satisfied The Dorado which the English confound with the Dolphin is much like a Salmon but incomparably more delicate and hath smaller Scales We also took a certain Fish which had a mouth like the snout of a Hog the Portuguez call it Tonina and the French Marsouin a name which no doubt is deriv'd from the German word which signifies a Sea-hog The Hollanders in the Relation of their first Voyage affirm that out of curiosity they opened one of them and that they found within it not only flesh and fat and the intrails after the same manner as those of a Hog but also a young Pig in the belly of it which they cast into the Sea They are seen alwayes many of them together and when the Sea is rough they come near the Vessel and grunt as if they desired shelter against the Storm they perceive coming and whereof the Sea-men look upon them as an infallible sign The Sea hath not a more dangerous Fish then those which the Portuguez call Tuberones the Dutch Hayes and the English Shark It is a great Fish and hath much ado to swim whence it comes that many times when the Sea is clam it is seen floating above water It is never seen but there are fastened to the head of it seven or eight other Fish about the bigness of a Herring expecting to participate of what he takes Above all things they love mans flesh and there are many sad examples of it in Sea-men who have either lost arms or other limbs or have been devoured by them for their teeth are as sharp and close as those of a Saw Their mouth is below the head so that to take their prey they lie upon their backs and so catch it upwards That we took had the heart in the head and lived a good while after it was taken
new Company of 500. Tun burthen and came out of England some four moneths before under the command of Captain Hall who being sick and not able to stir sent to the President to desire him he would honour him so far as to come aboard his Vessel which he did taking along with him the Physitian and my self He not only treated us kindly but also proffer'd to supply us with Cordage and Sails in case we met not with any Vessels of the old Company at Madagascar whither it was resolved they should make all the haste they could Captain Hall's Ship being less and not so loaden as ours going before with a South-east wind The first of Iuly he was got out of sight and in the evening we discovered the Coast. VVe doubted not but it was Madagascar and so had a watch set in the night to see we came not too near it as also that we put not off too â—ar from it It being on the one side hard to approach it having once lost the Altitude and on the other dangerous to approach it in the night time by reason of the Rocks that are at the point of the Island and especially by reason of the little Island at the entrance of the Bay The 2. We arrived at Madagascar and got into the Bay of Saint Augustinâ— finding no bottom till within a quarter of a League of Land where we cast Anchor at 25. fathom water glad we were got into a Harbour after so many dangers escaped Our joy was hightâ—ed by our finding in the Bay two English ships belonging to the same Company one whereof was upon her return for England the other bound for the Indies It was but three months since the latter came from England commanded by Captain Willis being 1400. Tun burthen Her name was the London and she was one of the noblest Vessels I ever saw The Captain came immediately aboard us accompanied by a young Merchant and proffer'd the President to supply him with all things necessary for the prosecution of his Voyage The 3. The Officers of all the three ships had a meeting aboard ours to consider what course they should take with the Inhabitants that they might not hold their provisions at too dear a rate and it was resolved that what ever were bought should be bought upon a common account and to that end every one should bring out the commodities they were willing to truck which should be put off by the Secretaries of the three Ships The Glass-bracelets beads and Agats we had brought from the Indies were incomparably beyond what they were laden with out of Europe so that it was resolved ours should not be produced till the others were sold. By this means we bought every day four Oxen for forty pair of Glass-bracelets which the Inhabitants call Rangus a Sheep for two and a Calf for three Rangus and for a brass ring ten or twelve inches about a man might have an Oxe worth here six or seven pound The 4. The President Captain Willis and Captain Hall went up the River to discover the Countrey and to see what Cattle was brought down to the Bay We found neer Captain Willis's Tent about thirty men and some women who had brought milk to sell. They had brought also about twenty Oxen Sheep and Goats but hearing there was a greater number coming after them we provided our selves only for three dayes The 6. The President invited the two Captains and all the Officers of both the other Ships to dinner and some dayes after Captain Willis treated the whole Company In the afternoon he entertain'd us with a Comedy which lasted above three hours The 14. Captain Hall went on his Voyage towards the Indies and the 16. Captain Willis went away also having supplied us with all things necessary for the prosecution of ours He intended to touch at the Maldives and stay there till the 20. of August that he might arrive at Surat in the Winter We accompanied him to the Island at the entrance of the Bay and having taken leave of him went into the Island where we found abundance of odd Shells of divers forms several sorts of Fish cast up there by the Sea and rotted Cocos which the Wind had forced thither from the Eastern Coast of Madagascar where some grows but not from the Coast of the Saint Augustines Bay which is opposite to the West The 21. The President took up his Lodging in the Tent pitched for him on the Sea-side intending to continue there till he imbark'd in order to our return They made there also certain Huts for the Souldiers that were about him as also for such as were repairing some things belonging to the Ship and for the Butchers who kill'd and salted the Beef for the Provision of the Ship but on Sundayes all came aboard where there was a Sermon About four Leagues from the Haven there lives a Lord who had three Sons the eldest of whom was named Massar They came all three to see us with a retinue of about a hundred men arm'd with a kind of Pikes They brought along with them about three hundred Oxen some Sheep Goats Poultry Citrons and Oranges to truck for our Commodities Being come near the President they made a little halt to observe what posture we were in and at last the eldest of the three Brothers came up and bestowed on the President twelve Goats and his two Wives gave him each of them a fat Capon The President presented him with three Strings of Glass Coral each of his Brothers with two and each of the Wives with a Bracelet This signified but very little to us but they highly valued them They planted a great Pole in the ground as a mark of the Alliance they made with us promising severely to punish such as should injure us and desiring us to take such a course as no disorder might happen on our side They desired to hear our Musick and seem'd to be much pleased with it They sold us ten fat Oxen some Sheep Goats and Poultry They sold us a fat Sheep the Tail whereof weighed twenty or twenty four pound for seven or eight grains of Coral or Agat and a Capon for three or four grains of counterfeit Coral They would not meddle with our money as being so happy as not to know the value of a thing which occasions the misery of other parts of the World During the six weeks we staid in the Island most of our diversion was shooting at Buts or fishing with the Angle-rod We took good store of Fish and some Oysters which the Inhabitants call Oring These stick to the Trees and Bushes that are upon the Sea-side being at high-high-water cover'd with the Tide They are large and as delicate as any England affords From the fifth to the eighth of August there were such abundance of Grashoppers that they deprived us of the fight of the Sun The Inhabitants eat them but they
any verdure only what may be particularly said of it is that upon the Coasts of it there are more Fish then upon those of Saint Helenes which occasions the coming thither of abundance of Birds that live only upon the said Fish These Birds are somewhat like Geese at least as the Relations describe them Assoon as a Vessel comes near there flie such numbers thereof into it that they are easily kill'd with sticks but the meat of them is not good The Earth of its Mountains is of a reddish colour much like that which the Spaniards call Almagro from the name of a City where there is much of it found October 9. The South-east wind continued but so weakly that we got that day but 15. Leagues holding our course to the South-west and we were at 16. degrees 11. minutes Latitude The 10. We had a great calm with insupportable heats so that we got that day buâ— 8. Leagues keeping the same course The 11. With an Easterly wind and keeping on the same course we got 15. Leagues The 12. We got 21. Leagues with the same wind taking our course to the North-north-west The 13. The wind came to North-east and helped us forward 25. Leagues to North-north-west to 14. Degrees 25. minutes Latitude The 14. With the same wind keeping on the same course we advanced 22. Leagues The 15. The wind came to South-east and keeping on the same course we advanced 44. Leagues The 16. The wind continued South-east and we got 46. Leagues we had that day the Sun in the Zenith so that we could not observe the Elevation The heats were very great The 17. We got 40. Leagues with the same wind The 18. With the same wind we got 42. Leagues to the fifth degree of Latitude That day we saw Millions of flying fishes and abundance of those birds the Portuguez call Mangas de Veludo The heats were excessive The 19. With a South-east wind we got 40. Leagues and got to 3. Degrees 19 minutes Latitude The 20. With the same wind we got 40. Leagues further and at one degree 18. minutes Latitude The 21. VVith the same wind we got 35. Leagues and passed under the Aequinoctial Line At one degree beyond the Line lies the Cape de Lope Gonsales upon the Coasts of Guiny the Road whereof is very good There Vessels take in refreshments in case they had not done it at Saint Helene's Island The Island of Saint Thomas so called by the Portuguez from its being discovered on 21th of December lies under the Line Though there be no talk of any Plague at that place yet is the air thereof very unwholsome and prejudicial to strangers who cannot well bear the excessive heats predominant there Whence it comes there are few gray-beards seen there and few Christians reach 50. years of Age though the Inhabitants of the Country live to above a hundred Day and Night are of an equal length there all the year long and it rains only in March and September but all the remainder of the year the Earth is moistened by a certain Dew which brings forth all sorts of fruits They who discovered the Island found it overgrown with a kind of trees the branches whereof were all streight Heretofore there grew Sugar there in such quantities as that there was enough to load thence yearly above forty Ships but it is now sometime since that there bred there a kind of Worms which so gnaw the Canes that the Island can hardly furnish six Ships therewith It affords much Wheat and Wine Millet Rye Barley Melons Cowcumbers Figs Ginger red-Parsnips Cabbages Navews Lettice Parsly all sorts of Roots Pulse and Pot-herbs and among others a certain Root named Ignaman accounted a very delicate dish by the Inhabitants It is a kind of Toad-stool the rinde whereof is black and the meat white about the bigness and not unlike the French Navew save that it casts forth several branches below It is baked in the Embers and tastes somewhat like but much better then a great Chesnut The Spaniards have planted Olive-trees there as also Peach-trees and Almond-trees which grow well enough but bear no Fruit. Among the living Creatures particularly to this Island there is a kind of Crevisses which live within the ground and work like Moles There is also abundance of Partridges Quails Black-birds Parrats and other Birds but particularly great store of excellent fish especially VVhales which are of a monstrous bulk upon the Coasts of this Island In the midst of the Island there is a Mountain covered with Trees and over-spread with a Cloud which supplies it with fresh water and that abundantly enough to water the Sugar Canes but what is most remarkable is that the higher the Sun comes over the Horizon the more water falls from the said Cloud The natural Inhabitants of it are Negroes but Forreigners continue white to the third and fourth Generation and it is reported that the lice and fleas wherewith the Negroes are extreamly troubled meddle not with the white people inasmuch as the skins of the former are much more delicate then those of the latter VVithin 35. Leagues of St. Thomas Island South-ward there is another Island which the Portuguez call Rolles Island wherein there are Oranges Citrons Bananas Ananas Ginger Poultry Swine and other refreshments in such plenty that having besides a very good Haven at ten Fathorn water it is a more commodious place then the Cape de Lope Gonsales The Island of Carisco which lies 30. minutes on this side the Line hath no other refreshment but fresh-water and is so neer the Continent that seldome any Ships Anchor there but in great extremity October 22. VVith a South-west wind we got 33. Leagues and about noon were at one degree 35. minutes Latitude North from the Line having very fair weather The 23. The same wind brought excessive heats and advanced us 26. Leagues and 3. degrees one minute Latitude The 24. VVe got but 22. Leagues having continual thunder and lightning which lasted till night The 25. The same South-east wind carried us 32. Leagues taking our course North-North-west The weather was rainy with storms and those winds which the Portuguez call Travados which are very ordinary towards the Coasts of Guiny from which we conceived our selves to be then distant about 150. Leagues The 26. The wind continuing South-east we got 25. Leagues and were at seven degrees Latitude The heat was much greater here then it had been on the other side of the Aequinoctial though the Sun were ten degrees further from our Hemisphere in as much as the Sun which had so lately warmed the Septentrional Hemisphere had not yet had time to warm the Meridional The 27. The wind changed and came to North and by East which obliged us to change our course We got that day but 13. Leagues and about noon were at seven degrees 50. minutes Latitude And as we came further off from the Coasts of
prudence and secrecy about publick Affairs which concern the greatness and safety of the State and that they impartially dispose punishments and rewards The Prince when he makes choice of any for his Council regards principally their Age and he bestows the place of Judicature on such among them as have most experience and are best acquainted with Affairs These fit every day to hear Causes and decide Differences They know nothing of our Military discipline but their way of making war hath something particular in it which is this All that are able to bear Arms are disposed into several Regiments and lodged in Quarters appointed for that purpose under their Colonels whom they call Iugarases so that as soon as there is any occasion the Orders are dispatched from Quarter to Quarter and by that means a powerful Army is raised in a few dayes without any need of making new Levies in as much as the places are kept for the Sons of the Souldiers who succeed their Fathers and put the Prince to no charge but what he allows them by way of salary since they bring their provisions and baggage along with them The names of buying and selling are not yet known among them for having neither Gold nor Silver coined they truck and exchange all as well among themselves as with Forreigners Their greatest Commerce consists in trucking of Hides and Slaves Of these they have only such as they take in war which being many times civil among themselves they make the best advantage they can of them They have among them some distinction of Nobility and Peasantry and call the former Sahibibos who are a kind of Knights for whom they have a great respect but not so much as they bear the Grandees whom they call Thubalas out of which rank they chuse their King provided he be full thirty years of age When the Portuguez discovered the Country of the Ialofes there reign'd a very powerful Prince named Brabiran who dying left three Sons by two several Wives By the former he had Cibitam and Camba and by the second who was the Widow of another Prince Father of Beomi Biran who was chosen King after the Fathers death His two elder Brethren envying the greatness of that Prince declared themselves so openly against him that Biran who had great assurances of the affection and fidelity of Beomi his Brother by the same Mother took him so much into favour that he seem'd to have reserved to himself only the name of King But that extraordinary favour prov'd fatal to both for Biran was kill'd by his Brethren and Beomi who thought to make his advantage of that Fratricide to get himself chosen took up Arms against the two Brethren He got together a considerable Army but being afterwards forsaken by his Friends he was forc'd to apply himself to Portugal for relief King Iohn II. having got him instructed in the Christian Religion had him baptized with all his Family and sent him back with a considerable Fleet under the conduct of Pedro Vaz de Cogna whom he ordered to build a Fort at the mouth of the River Zanaga it being his design to get further into Africk as far as the Country of Prester Iohn whereof he had but a confused knowledge But that great design proved abortive and miscarried at the beginning through the cowardice of Pedro Vaz who minding his convenience more then his honour demolished the Fort he had newly built and not able to endure the just reproaches which Beomi made him upon that occasion he kill'd him with his own hands the King of Portugal not expressing the least resentment of so base an action The Islands which the Portuguez call As Ilhas Verdes and the Dutch the Salt-Islands lye over against Cabo Verde and were not discovered by the Portuguez till the year 1472. Some are of opinion they are the Gorgonides of Ptolomy but I dare not affirm that that great Person who hath left us so confused an account of that Coast of Africk knew any thing of these Islands whereof the nearest is 70. and the most remote 160. Leagues distant from the Continent They reach from the 15. to the 19. degree and are in number ten to wit St. Iago St. Antonio Santa Lucia Sant Vincenle St. Nicholas Ilha blanca Ilha de sal Ilha de Mayo Ilha de Eogo and Ilha de Boa Vista It is probable the Portuguez gave them the general name of Ilhas Verdes or the Green-Islands either from the Cape we spoke of before or from the verdure which floats upon the water in those parts and which the Portuguez call Sargasso from its resemblance to Water-cresses The Sea is so covered there with from the twentieth to the twenty fourth degree that they seem to be floating Islands intended to block up the passage of Ships Nay this Herb is so thick thereabouts that without a pretty strong Gale of wind it would be no easie matter to pass that way Yet can it not be faiâ—â— whence the said verdure comes to that place where the Sea hath no bottom there being not any but in those parts at above a hundred and fifty Leagues from the Coasts of Africk They were desert and not inhabited when the Portuguez discovered them but now they are cultivated and bring forth plenty of Rice Millet Abruin or Turkish wheat Oranges Citrons Bananas Annanas Ignaues Potatoes Melons Citruls Cowcumbers Figs and Raisins twice a year The Islands of Mayo de Sal and de Boa Vista are so stored with Cattle that they load whole Ships thence for Brasil The same Islands yield also such abundance of Salt that the Dutch have taken occasion thence to name them the Salt-Islands The same Portuguez brought thither Barbary and common Hens Peacocks and Pidgeons which are so increased there that with the Partridges Quails and other smaller Birds whereof there is plenty people may fare very well at an easie rate There are also among others a kind of Birds which the Portuguez call Flamencos that are white all over the body and have wings of a lively red near the colour of fire and are as big as Swans They have above all abundance of Conies and the Sea supplies them with so much Fish that at all times a man may find there many Portugal Vessels fishing for the provision of Bresil Whence it may be inferred they lie very conveniently for the refreshing of such Ships as are bound for the Indies in as much as going thither they may easily put in at the Island of Mayo and coming thence at that of St. Anthony so as the Portuguez who live there cannot hinder them The Island of St. Iago is the chiefest of them as being the residence of the Governour and Archbishop whose spiritual jurisdiction extends not only over these Islands but also over all the Portuguez are possessed of upon the Coasts of Africk as far as the Câ—pe of Good hope November 4. With a North-east
being in danger of sinking two of the four desisted from an enterprise wherein they thought to meet with more danger then in staying a while longer among the Turks so that only two one English man the other a Dutch-man ventured themselves in it All the tackling they had was only two oars and a little Sail all the provisions a little bread and fresh water and so they put to Sea without either Compass or Astrolabe insomuch that being the first day overtaken by Tempest which at every wave fill'd their boat they were forc'd to go as the wind drove them without keeping any course They were continually imploy'd in casting out the water the Sea had spoiled their bread and they were almost quite spent inasmuch as they could not take any rest when they were cast upon the Coasts of Barbary There they found a little wood wherewith they somewhat enlarg'd their boat but they narrowly escap'd being taken and kill'd by the Moors and had much ado to get to Sea again What troubled them most was thirst but they made some shift for that with the blood of some Tortoises they took and at last after ten days floating up and down they arrived upon the Coasts of Spain at the Cape of St. Martin between Alicant and Valentia Those of the Country seeing them at a distance sent a boat to meet them carried them bread and wine treated them very civilly and found them passage for England The sixth of Ianuary being Twelfth-day the King of England touched many that were troubled with the Evil. The Ceremony ended my Lord of Strafford brought me to his Majesty who was pleased to honour me with the kissing of his hand The next day the same Lord procured me the like Honour from the Queen besides which he did me several other extraordinary favours upon all occasions Afterwards I went often to Court where their Majesties were pleased I should entertain them with some particulars of my Travels especially as to what I had observed in Muscovy and Persia I continued at London near three months partly to refresh my self after so long a Voyage and partly in expectation of some mony from my own Prince that I night make some acknowledgments of my Obligations to those who had treated me so kindly from the day of my arrival at Surat to that time and set my self in a posture of returning into my own Country Of the time of my abode in England I spent some at Court where I had made several acquaintances and some in viewing the publick and private Structures of the famous City of London as also several places near it as among others Enfield Tibulls White-Hall Saint Iame's Hampton-Court Windsor Westminster-Hall and the Abbey the Tower Greenwich c. Of the places above mentioned here in England as also some of those he passed through in the Low-Countries the Author gives a short description But in regard what he says of the former is known to most English-men who are in any measure acquainted with the things remarkable in their own Country and what he delivers of the latter affords no extraordinary satisfaction to the curious for whose diversion works of this nature are intended we thought fit to forbear the insertion thereof that we might make the more haste to bring him to the end of his Travels which shall be done according to his ordinary method March the 20. taking water at Graves-end whence I went to Rochester and so came the twenty fourth to Dover The next day I embarked thence for Dunkirk whither I got the same day The next I embarked thence for Newport where I stayed only one night and got the next day to Bruges The 29th I came to Gaunt which I left the first of April and got that night to Brussels the chief city of the Dutchy of Brabant At Brussels I staid two dayes and came the fourth to Louvain which I left the fifth and got the same day to Macchlin about four Leagues distant from Louvain The 6th I left Macchlin and came to Aâ—werp where having staid two dayes and leaving it the ninth I got the next day to Breda where I stayed only the remainder of it and went the next day to Bois-le-due or Boldâ—e five Leagues from Bredâ— April the twelfth I went to Saint Gertrudenberg with an intention there to take boat for Rotterdam as I did the same day The thirteenth I came to Rotterdam whence I went the same day to Delf thence to the Hague thence to Leiden and thence to Haerlem The City is the biggest of any in Holland next Amsterdam and pretends to the invention of PRINTING and would have the Glory of it due to one of its Citizens named Laurence Câ—ster who in the year M. CCCC.XX framed the first Characters of Beech-wood and afterwards found out the Ink now used by Printers nay changed the Wooden Characters into Leaden ones and afterwards those into Tinâ—e in so much that in the year 1440. the Mystery was almost in its perfection They are so fully perswaded as to this in the City of Haerlem that the Senate would Eternize the Memory of LAVRENCE COSTER by the Inscription set upon the House he lived in Which is this MEMORIAE SACRUM TYPOGRAPHIA ARS ARTIUM OMNIUM CONSERVATRIX NUNC PRIMUM INVENTA CIRCA ANNUM M. CCCC.XL I left Haerlem about six in the Evening and came at nine the same night to Amsterdam Of this place I had heard so much even in the Indies that I had framed to my self a certain Idaea of its greatness but what the more surprised me was That going out of my Lodging the next morning I had much ado to get through the throâ—g of people walking up and down the Streets in such numbers as if there had been some Faire All the other parts of the World seem'd to have sent their Factours thither and that the East and North had brought thither all their Commodities whereof there were in the â—â—ops 〈◊〉 the Patterns whereas the main Stock was disposed into Store-houses publick Weighing-places upon sledges in the streets upon the Kayes in the flat-bottomed boats which unload the great Ships and others which serve for Store-houses for the Wheat It was at some losâ— which I should rather admire in that great City whether the Commerce of it which is greater then that of all the other Cities of the Low-Countries put together the neatness of its Streets especially that of the New City the sweetness and cleanlines of its house the Magnificence of its publick and private Structures the abundance of Ships and Barks which come thither and go thenec every day the largeness of its Port wherein there are at all times seven or eight hundred Ships or the Order and Policy observed by the Magistrate in all things relating to the 〈◊〉 of the City the well fâ—â—e of its Inhabitants and the improvement of Trade by which only the City subsists and causes to subsist that powerful State whereof it
consideration that if we had travell'd along the Heath we should have wanted water both for our selves and our Horses We found in that place abundance of Tortoises which had made their Nests along the side of the Torrent and in the Sand of the little Hills thereabouts but all expos'd to the Mid-day Sun so to give the greater heat to their Eggs which cannot be hatch'd but in the Hot or rather burning Sand. Perceiving some men on the other side of the Torrent some of our people had the curiosity to cross it to observe their manner of Life Their Children were stark Naked and Aged persons had nothing about them but a shirt or smock of Cotton The poor people entertain'd us very kindly and brought us some Milk They thought that the King of Persia had sent for us to serve him in his Wars against the Turk out of which perswasion they pray'd for our good success that God would make their and our Enemy fly before us as far as Stampâ—l that is Constantiâ—ople April the 5. we overcame the Heath of Mokan and came to the Mountain and Country of Betzirwan after we had twelve several times cross'd one little River which lay so many times in our way We got that day five leagues and lodg'd at night in a Village called Schechmâ—r at Most of the Houses were built at the foot of the Mountain and some within the Mountain and were cover'd with Reeds but we found not any Body in the Village for those who went along with the Chan of Schamachie's Present for Ispahan had made the Country people believe us they pass'd that way that we were a sort of Barbarous people who thought it not enough to take and ransack all but did also abuse and beat such as entertain'd us upon which accompt of us they were all gone to hide themselves in the Rocks of the neighbouring Mountain There were some of our company who got up a very high Mountain to see what Simples they could find there and to take a view of the adjacent Country but they found not any there and the other nearer Mountains which were higher than that we were upon absolutely deprived us of the sight of the Champain They met not with any thing remarkable there save that upon the very top of the Mountain there was a pleasant Spring near which we saw coming out of the clefts of the Rock a kind of Crabb which some among us who had never seen any before took for some venemous Creature The Author is of opinion that it is a Sea-fish but he is mistaken for it is properly no other animal than that which in Latin is called Cancer is found in Rivers and is of a different species from the common Sea-crabb which is called Acastus We sate down by the Spring-side and in what Liquor nature had furnish'd the place with drunk to our Friends in Germany April 6. We could not possibly get above two Leagues over Mountains and Rocks where we saw a great number of Fig-trees which the Earth produc'd there without any Cultivation We came at night to a ruin'd Village called Tisle but ere we had quite taken up our Quarters and unloaded the Baggage word was brought us that it was the Plague which the Autumn before had consumed 〈◊〉 the Inhabitants of that place whereupon we immediately left it The Ambassadors caus'd a Tent to be pitch'd in the fields but all the rest of the retinue had at first no other covering over their Heads than the Sky till the Mehemandar had sent for some Tartarian Huts which were brought late in the night loaded upon Oxen. These kind of Huts are made of several pieces of Wood which are fasten'd together at the ends so as they may be taken a-sunder or set together in a short time The Sieur Vchterits who had stay'd a while in the Village to see the Baggage loaden and convey'd thence coming to the Ambassadors Tent was so rail'd at by the Ambassador Brugman who reproach'd him that he came from an Infected House to bring the Plague among them that he fell into a Feaver There were some in the Company who finding the weather somewhat close and cold went and lock'd themselves up in a house where they made a good fire and spent the time merrily with the Wine they had kept the day before diverting themselves and singing to drive away Melancholy and to forget the froward humour of the Ambassador Brugman which they were as much afraid of as the unwholsome air The Indians had begun the building of a Caravansera in that place for the convenience of Commerce which was grown to a considerable height but the Plague had hindred them from finishing it The 7. we had a very sad dayes journey of it being forc'd in a continual trot to travel above ten leagues without ever baiting in the cold the wind and the snow which not onely disheartned our people many whereof fell sick but lay so heavy upon the Camels that divers of them fell down under their burthens There is in these parts abundance of Absynthium or Wormwood and we were told that the Herb of it is so venemous that if Horses or any other Creature eat thereof they die immediately upon which accompt it was that we durst not unbit that day About noon we came in sight of a Caravansera called Aggis the structure whereof is of the noblest kind we had seen Not far from it we met a Persian who was excellently well mounted and attended by two servants who told us that the King had sent him to be our Mehemandar to take order for our subsistence and to Conduct us with the soonest to the Court We lodg'd that night in a Village called Tzanlu at the foot of a Mountain where we found excellent Gardens and abundance of fruit-trees but no Wood for firing insomuch that we were forc'd to make use of Cow-dung Hors-dung and Camels-dung We sent away that day our Forrager to take up Quarters for us at Ardebil The 8. having broke our fast we got on Hors-back and after we had travell'd three leagues along the Mountain of Tzizetlu we came to the River Karasu which rises out of the Mountain of Bakru in the Countrey of Kilan VVe cross'd it near the Village of Samajan over a very fair stone bridge containing six noble Arches which were in all thirty eight fathom in length About half a league thence we came to the end of that day's journey to a Village called Thabedar two little leagues from Ardebil where we stay'd that night The next day being Easter-day we saw how the Inhabitants dawb the VValls of their Houses with Dung that the Sun may the sooner dry it and make it combustible but we were also in this place terribly persecuted with Fleas and Lice and other nasty Vermine wherewith we were in a manner cover'd The 9. we Celebrated our Easter beginning the Festival with the firing of our