presented them with defiance But ours vnderstanding now that they were not comparable vnto them auoyded the Tryall as much as they could knowing well by experience they were growne more certaine to hit where they would with their Artillary then others are with the Harquebusse which also they are ready and well practised in going out daily by troopes into the Field to exercise it Moreouer that which further encouraged him much to that resolution of reuoulting and banding himselfe against his Prince was the sight of a hundred Gallies and more of his owne by which meanes being become to be powerfull at Sea as well as he was by his Artillary at Land it was easie for him to accomplish his designe against the King of Tunchim his Lord. Seeing also that his continuall commerce with Iapan had brought into his Countrey great store of Swords and Cemiters of that Countrey which are of an excellent temper Hee was also prouided with a great number of Horses which though they be but little are very seruiceable and generous on which they fight with darts and exercise themselues daily therein The power of this King is such that hee is able to bring threescore thousand men into the field Which notwithstanding hee is not without feare of the King of Tunchim whose forces are foure times more Therefore to keepe him in good termes and to maintaine good Intelligence with him he payeth him a Tribute of all his Kingdome doth yeeld that may be acceptable to him particularly of Gold and Siluer of Rice and further furnishing him with Boardes and other wood wherewith to build his Galleries Now the only occasion that made him resolue to make League with the Son of the late King who at this day hath the Gonernment of the last Prouince of Tunchim bordering vpon China was that hee remaining Vanquisher and making himselfe Master of all Tunchim Cochin-China might be discharged of the Tribute To vnderstand the same the better it must bee knowne that whiles I was in Cochin-China it was not the Son of the late King of Tunchim that tooke possession of the Kingdome but his Vnckle out of whose hands the Young Prince escaped to saue his life into the last Prouince of that Kingdome confining vpon China where being acknowledged to bee the Sonne of the King disceased the people chose him to be their Prince and by his good Gouernement he wan their hearts in such sort that the King of Tunchim his Vncle entred into great apprehension lest he should ioyne in League with the King of Cochin-China who possessed the other end of his Countrey and inclosing him betweene them dispossesse him of the Kingdome vsurped For preuenting whereof hee sent yeere by yeere a great and puissant Army against this Prince to defeate him But all in vaine for the Army being of necessity to passe fiue or sixe dayes Iourney through wayes where there was no other water to drinke but of certaine Riuers which descended out of the enemies Countrey they found those waters poysoned by the Prince his people with a certaine Hearbe in such sort that as well men as Horses that dranke thereof dyed Whereby the Armie was enforced to retire after much expence and great paines taken to little purpose Their Millitary discipline and manner of gouerning themselues in the Warres is much like that of Europe They obserue the same order in making their Sâ—uadrons in going to Skirmishes in Assaults and in Retreatings And this King hath Warre ordinarily in two places of his Kingdome For first it standeth him vpon to stand alwayes on his guard on that side next to the King of Tunchim who doth menace him vncessantly and alwayes maketh some onsets on his Confines Therefore the King of Cochin-China keepeth his residence in Sinuua being the furthest and last prouince of his Kingdome that he may be euer in readinesse with his Forces on the frontiers of Tunchim which is the entry to a very puissant Prouince that is ordinarily prouided of Gouernours of great experience and knowledge in the Warres Secondly he is kept in continuall Alarmes on the West-side in the last Prouince of his Kingdome called Renram by the king of Chiampa whose assaults he doth easily repell in regard he is not so mighty as himselfe and needeth no other forces thereunto but those of the same Prouince the Gouernour whereof with his Souldiers is sufficient to defend it Moreouer he is continually leuying and raising of armies to succour the King of Cambogia who hath married a naturall daughter of his furnishing him with Gallies and with men against the King of Siam In such sort that on all sides as well by sea as by land he maketh the glorious name and reputation of the Armes of the Cochin-Chinois to be renowned On the Sea he maketh warre with his Gallies each of which hath sixe pieces of Cannon and is also well furnished with Musket-shot And it will not be found strange that the King of Cochin-China hath alwayes more then an hundred Gallies well furnished in good readinesse if one know in what manner he prouideth for it For the Cochin-Chinois vse not to make Galli-slaues of their delinquents or others but when they are to put themselues to fight at Sea they furnish their Gallies with as many men as are requisite in this manner They send out secretly and suddenly many Seriants and Commissioners who going throughout all the Kingdome ere men are aware with the Kings authority doe seise and presse all such as they find fit to handle an Oare and bestow them in the Gallies vnlesse by reason of their birth and extraction or for some other consideration they be exempted and priuilidged And that course must not be thought so hard and difficult as at first it may seeme because they are as well intreated in the Gallies as any where else And yet better payd and besides their Wiues their Children and all their Familie is maintained at the Kings charge with whatsoeuer is needfull according to their rancke and condition during all the time that their Husbands are thus absent And they serue not onely to tug at the Oare but also to fight vpon occasion To which purpose they haue euery one his Harquebusse and Musket giuen him with Darts Coutelasse and Cemeters and as the Cochin-Chinois are hardie and valiant in their approaches with their Oares and with their Muskets and Iauelins they are no lesse in the encounter and close medly where they make rare proofes of their valour Their Gallies are not so great nor so large as ours but they are so brauely bedecked with Gold and Siluer that they are a glorious spectacle to behold The Fore-castle namely which they account the most honourable place is all of Gold This is the Captaines place and the chiefe of his company The reason they giue for it is that the Captaine being to be the formost vpon all occasions ought therefore to be in the most hazardous place of all the Gallie Amongst other
find sundry Relations of Portugals that haue penetrated into it And diuers Iesuits forty or fifty yeeres resident in it Besides that yeerely there is a Faire held at Canton where there is free accesse to Strangers of all Nations for certaine moneths But by this present Relation it appeareth to be cleane contrary in Cochin-China where they admit all Strangers of what Nation soeuer to haue Trade and Traffique which being so I finde not our owne Nation excluded Yet admit that there were no likelihood of accesse How sweete and pleasant how ingenious and ingenuous is the curious Inquisition and speculation of this admirable workmanship of the World and the nobler parts thereof I will take a Testimony or two both of Ancient and Moderne Authors Seneca enquiring after Happinesse affirmeth Curiosum nobis Natura Ingenium dedit Artis sibi pulchritudinis suae conscia spectatores nos tantis rerum spectaculis genuit fructum sui perditura si tam magna tam clara tam subtiliter ducta tam nitida et non vno genere formosa Solitudini oftenderet Vt scias illam spectari voluisse non tantum aspici And againe Ego terras omnes tanquam meas videbo meas tanquam omnium Ego sic viuam tanquam sciam alijs me natum Naturae rerum hoc nomine gratias agam Quo enim melius genere negotium meum agere potuit vnum me donauit omnibus vni mihi omnes Amongst other Moderne Authors Postellus himselfe a great Traueller saith Homo Natura praeter proprium loquendi munus quo differt a caeteris animantibus id etiam habet quod peregrina omnia admiratur ad insolita obstupescit atque externis potius quam domesticis capitur And another industrious Author of latter time Ingenium humanum est curiosum nouitatis atque varietatis auidum semper desiderat aliud genus remotum And a little after Quae noua quae rara vndeas Ingenium humanum afficiunt vt stolidus videri debeat qui de his talibus non aueat disserere neque secum ipse meditetur ea solicitet cum cura pernoscendi I haue therefore thought that happely there may be many others which finding the like affections in themselues may make vse of what is heere presented The Contents of the Booke CHAP. I. OF the Name Situation and Greatnesse of this Kingdome CHAP. II. Of the Climate and quality of the Countrey of Cochin-China CHAP. III. Of the Fertillity of the Land CHAP. IIII. Of the Elephants and Rhinoceros CHAP. V. Of the Temperament Manners and Customes of the Cochin-Chinois Of their manner of Liuing Clothing and Medicines CHAP. VI. Of the Ciuill and Politicke Gouernement of Cochin-China CHAP. VII Of the Forces of the King of Cochin-China and of the Warres he hath within his Kingdome CHAP. VIII Of the Commerce Ports and Hauens of Cochin-China A Relation of the Kingdome of COCHIN-CHINA CHAP. I. Of the Name Situation and Greatnesse of this Kingdome COchin-China being so named by the Portugals is called in the language of the Originarie inhabitants Anam which is the West in regard it is situate on the West of China in respect whereof the Iapaneses called it by the name of Coci which in their tongue hath the same signification that Anam hath with the Cochin-Chineses But the Portugals which trafique in Anam are they which of the Iaponian word Coci and of China haue made and compounded this word Cochin-China being as much to say as Cochin of China to distinguish it from Cochin a City of India frequented by them And whereas in many Mapps Cochin-China is commonly called or designed by the name of Cauchin-China or Cauchine or some other It proceedeth either of their 〈…〉 apting the proper name or else because the makers of the Mapps would signifie that this Kingdome is the entrance and beginning of China Cochin-China on the South confines with the kingdome of Chiampa about the 11. degree of Northerly Latitude on the North side yet somewhat Eastward it bordereth on Tunchim on the East side it hath the Sea of China and on the West Northwest the kingdome of Lays In length Cochin-China is held to extend aboue an hundred Leagues on the Sea coast from the kingdome of Chiampa in 11. degrees of Northerly Latitude reaching to the gulfe of Anam in the eleuation of about 17. degrees of the same where the estate of the King of Tunchim beginneth In breadth it is of no great extent being straitned within the space of twenty Italian miles all a plaine countrey bounded on the one side with the Sea and hemmed in on the other with a great ranke of mountaines inhabited by the Kemois which signifieth Saluages for although they bee Cochin-Chineses they will not acknowledge the King nor obey him in any thing cantoning and fortifying themselues in those mountaines almost inaccessible Cochin-China is diuided into fiue Prouinces The first where the King maketh his abode ioyneth vpon Tunchim and is called Sinuua The second is named Cacciam in which the Prince the Kings sonne doth reside as gouernour The name of the third is Quamguia The fourth Quignim to which the Portugals haue giuen the name of Pulucambis The fifth which bordereth on the Kingdome of Champa is called Renram CHAP. II. Of the Climate and quality of the Countrey of Cochin-China THis Kingdome being as hath beene said betweene the 11. and 17. degree of Northerly latitude it followeth consequently that the Countrey is rather hot then cold Yet it is not so hot as India though it haue the same eleuation of the Pole and bee likewise vnder the Torrid Zone The reason of which difference is because that in India there is no distinction of the foure Seasons of the Yeere In regard that there their Summer continueth for the space of nine Moneths together during which no cloud appeareth in the skie neither by day nor night in such sort that the Aire is alwayes scorched by reuerberation of the Sun-beames The other three Moneths they call Winter not because they are without heate but by reason of the continuall raines which are ordinary there both night and day at that season And notwithstanding it naturally seemes that such continuall raine should somewhat refresh the Aire Yet the same falling in the Moneths of May Iune and Iuly when the Sun is at his highest in the Zenith of India no windes then stirring but those that are very hot the Aire is thereby so stuffed and thickned that the heat is then sometimes lesse tollerable then in the midst of Summer it selfe during which there commonly come from the sea some gentle cooling windes to refresh the Land without which gracious particular Prouidence of God those Countreyes would be inhabitable This is not so in Cochin-China which enioying the foure seasons of the Yeere howsoeuer not so exactly distinguished as in Europe is much better tempered thereby For notwithstanding that in their Summer which comprehendeth the three
Moneths Iune Iuly and August it be there very hot as in a Countrey seated vnder the Torrid Zone and hauing the Sun in those moneths in the highest point of eleuation ouer their heads Yet in September October and Nouember being their Autumne the heat ceaseth and the Aire is very temperate by reason of the continuall raines which doe ordinarily fall at those times on the Mountaines of the Kemois from whence there come waters in such abundance that they ouerflow all the Countrey and ioyning themselues with the sea they seeme to be one selfe thing therewith Moreouer these Inundations of waters come commonly once in a fortnight continuing about three dayes together The benefit that commeth thereby is not only the refreshing of the Aire but also the fatning of the earth making it more fruitfull and abundant in all things and especially in Rice which is the best Manna and the commonest nourishment of all the Kingdome In the other three moneths of Winter which are December Ianuary and February the Northerly windes bring such cold raines that thereby they sufficiently distinguish Winter from their other seasons of the yeere Finally in the Moneths of March Aprill and May there are seene the effects of a pleasant spring-time all being greene and flourishing amongst them Hauing thus declared these Inundations I must also acquaint you with some particular curiosities and remarkable obseruations thereof before I conclude this Chapter The first shall be that they are generally desired of all men nor onely because the Aire is refreshed by them becoÌ„ming more â—â—deâ— and pleasant but much more in regard of the fruitfulnesse which they cause in the Earth Whereupon as soone as they see them the pleasure and contentment they haue is such and so great that they make it sufficiently appeare by their visiting feasting and presenting one the other crying oft for ioy and all repeating and reiterating Daden Lut Daden Lut which signifieth the Water is come the Water is already come Insomuch that there is none amongst them of what degree or qualitie soeuer but Feasteth and reioyceth Yea euen the King himselfe Yet in as much as these inundations come so suddenly and sometime so vnexpected that when in the Euening they thought not of them they find themselues in the Morning inuested on all sides and shut vp in their houses and that throughout all the Countrey it falls out now and then that they loose their Cattell that haue not had the leisure to retire and withdraw them for refuge into the hills and higher places In regard whereof there is a constitution in the Kingdome that those Beeues Goats Hoggs and other beasts which are drownd in these deluges shall no longer belong to the proprietarie and owner of them but shal be his that first seifeth on them which custome occasioneth good sport amongst them in regard that when the water commeth they betake themselues to their Boates in quest of such drowned cattell with which they afterwards make merry and feast their friends The young Children haue also their playes and pastimes according to their age by reason that these great plaines couered ouer with Rice abounding likewise with Rats and Mice they are forced by the water which hath filled their holes to saue themselues by swimming and to climbe vpon the tres for refuge by meanes whereof the trees are loden with Rats and Mice in lieu of leaues and fruits Therupon the boyes get themselues into boates by bands betaking themselues to the shaking of the trees dismounting those Rats and Mice drowning them in the water of which their childish disport there commeth a great good to the Land which by such meanes remaineth the more cleered and freed of this vermine which otherwise by little and little would much waste and spoile their fields The last commodity yet not the least which the Lut bringeth is that euery one thereby furnisheth and prouideth his house the better of all necessaries for in three dayes it maketh all the countrey nauigable euery where with such ease and facilitie that there is nothing but may easily bee conueyed from one Towne to another in regard whereof they keepe all their Faires and great Markets at these times when the concourse is alwayes greater then at any other time of the yeere In those dayes also they make their prouision of wood for their firing and for Building which they bring from the Mountaines in their Boates that passe easily through the streetes euen into their Houses which for the purpose are mounted on ranckes of pillars raised very high to giue the water a free entrance and issue euery one retiring meane time into the vppermost story of his House Vnto which the water which cannot bee sufficiently admired the Lut or Inundation neuer mounteth for they take their measure so well through long experience of the height of the waters that they haue no feare thereof being well assured that the waters will alwayes remaine below their Buildings CHAP. III. Of the Fertility of the Land ALbeit one may easily iudge of the fruitfulnes of Cochin-China by the profit which the Lut bringeth as hath beene said yet somewhat may bee said in particular The Land becommeth so fat and so fruitfull by this Lut or ouerflowing that thrice euery yeere they gather their Rice and that in such great quantity and aboundance that there is none will labour for his liuing euery one hauing plentiously whereon to liue The plenty and the variety of fruits is great all the yeere long of as many seuerall sorts as there are in India for Cochin-China lieth in the same Climate Yet in particular it hath fairer and greater Oranges then we haue in Europe and those very succulent the rinde of them being so soft so tender and so sauoury that it is as vsually eaten as the inside which is of as pleasing a relish and taste as the Limons of Italy There are also certaine fruits which the Portugals call Bananes and others terme them Indian Figgs but with no great reason in my opinion seeing neither the tree which in India is called the figtree nor yet that of Cochin-China hath any resemblance of our figtree either in the wood or in the fruit The tree is like that plant which wee call Turkie-wheat though much higher and the leaues so long and broad that two of them will serue to couer a man from the top to the toe and so compasse him round about which haply made some to be of opinion that this was the tree of the terrestriall Paradise with the leaues whereof Adam sought to couer his nakednesse This tree beareth a grape at the top of twenty thirty or fourty together in a cluster euery of which in his shape as also in his length and greatnesse resembleth the common Citrons of Italy When the fruit is not ripe the rinde is greene of colour and groweth yellow afterward as the Citrons doe One shall not neede a knife to open and to pill this fruit for the
rinde thereof commeth away as easily as the huske of yong Beanes It hath a pleasing smell and the yellow flesh or marrow within is as firme as that of a ripe peare which will melt in the mouth Whence it appeareth that this tree hath nothing common to the Fig-tree but the taste and sweetnesse There is also another sort of these Fruits which is not eaten but rosted and put in Wine This plant is dried vp euery yeere when it hath yeelded his fruit hauing at his foot a tender sprout for the next yeere Moreouer that which in Italy they call the fig-tree of India hath no resemblance either with the plant or with the fruit of this Bananes This fruit is also common to all the Prouinces of India But in Cochin-China there is another sort which is neither found in China nor in all India It is equall in greatnes to the greatest Citrons of Italy and is so substantiall that one of them will satisfie a man the flesh within is very white they are of a pleasing taste and exceeding good against the loosenes of the belly There is also in Cochin-China another fruit which I haue not seene elsewhere in India it is called Can and resembleth in shape and fashion the outside of the Pomegranate But the Marrow within is more liquid to be taken and eaten with a Spoone hauing an aromaticke taste and is for colour not vnlike to a ripe Medlar They haue also a fruit like vnto our Cherries but their taste is more like that of the Raisin In their language they call them Gnoo Neither are they without Melons yet not so good as those of Italy nor are they vsually eaten but with Sugar or Hony But their Cucumbers or Water-Melons as others terme them are exceeding great and most excellent There groweth also a fruit called Gyaque which is common also elsewhere in India but not so faire by much as in Cochin-China growing on a tree as high as the Wall-nut or Chess-nut tree with much longer prickels This fruit is as great as the greatest Cabbage for one of them is as much as one man can carry at one time It is like a Pine-apple in the outside but the inside is tender and soft full of yellow eares or cloues whose graynes are flat and round as a Iulio of Italy or a Teston and in the midst of each graine is found a bone which they cast away when they eate the fruit There are two sorts those which the Portugals call Giaca-barca whose meat is firme when the kernell is cast away The other is not so firme but rather soft as glue the taste of either of them is much resembling that of the delicious fruit called Durion which wee are now to describe The Durion is one of the most excellent fruits in the World which groweth not elsewhere but at Malacca Borneo or some Iles thereabouts There is no great difference betweene the tree that beareth it and the Gyaque the fruit thereof as well as that of the Gyaque resembling the Pine-apple outwardly both in the shape and hardnesse of his rinde The meate is close to the bone as in the other being maruellous white and in taste and sweetnesse like the Mangiar-bianco a delicate dish of the Italians This meat and this liquor within the Apple is in ten or twelue little cells euery of which hath his white meate about the bone as big as a Chess-nut When you breake or open it there commeth out a very vnpleasing smell like that of a rotten Onion yet that which is within hath no taste thereof at all but is sweete and most delitious Whereupon I will relate a History of what happened where I was present One being desirous to giue a taste of this fruit to a Prelate that was newly come to Malacca opened it before him not thinking thereof whence there came so strong and so vnpleasing a sauour that the Prelate became so distasted therewith that hee could not possibly be perswaded to taste thereof But being set at the Table to his Dinner amongst other seruices there was presented to him a dish containing nothing but the inside of this fruit which in sauour and taste is so like to the Mangiar-bianco that it was easie to make the Prelate or any other to mistake it that had not seene it dressed or prepared He had no sooner put his hand to it but at the very first morsell which he tooke he found the taste so exquisite that with astonishment hee enquired who was the Cooke that had prepared such a delicious white meate whereunto hee that feasted him in his House made answere smiling that no other Cooke had medled therewith but the great GOD who had furnished this Countrey with so rare a fruit which was no other but the Durion which he had in so great horror at the first Wherewith the Prelate was much astonished eating thereof with so good an appetite as if he could not haue too much of it This fruit is held so excellent that euen at Malacca where it groweth the same is sometimes sold for a Crowne a piece In Cochin-China also there is great plenty of another fruit which the Portugals call Ananes And albeit there be nothing more common throughout India and in Brazil yet because I doe not find them so well discribed to my mind by such as haue made mention of them I will adde a word or two concerning the same This fruit groweth not on any tree neither commeth it of any seed but of a roote as our Artichockes doe The stalke and leafe is very like those of the Carduus-thistles and Artichoks It is round like a colomne or pillar of 9. inches in length and of such a greatnesse that one can scarcely clip it with both his hands The meate thereof is closed within like as in the Radish But it hath a harder rinde which is fashioned in resemblance like to the scales of Fishes It is yellow within when it is ripe and then the outside being pared away with a Knife it is vsually eaten raw being of a sharpe and sweete relish when it commeth to his naturity not vnlike to a delicate Peare There is also found in Cochin-China another fruit peculiar to that Countrey It is called of the Portugals Areca which groweth on a tree of as straight a body as the Palme-tree hollow within and hath no leaues but at the top onely as the Palme-tree leaues are In the midst of which there are little boughs on which the fruit hangeth in bignes and shape like the wall-nut hauing also a greene huske like vnto it and the meat within as white and hard as a Chess-nut yet hath no taste nor sauour at all Therefore it is not eaten alone but couered with leaues of Betle being a plant well knowne in all India whose leaues are like Iuie leaues and the plant it selfe climbing on trees as our Iuie in Europe They cut their leaues into small pieces and in euery piece they put a morsell
of Areca so that of one fruit they make foure or fiue morsells They vse also to put Lime to their Areca such as they make in that countrey of Oyster-shells and not of Lime-stones as they doe in Europe And as with vs there are commonly some appointed to dresse the Meat to prouide Cates and to performe other offices So in Cochin-China there is in euery house some or other appointed to no other office but onely to infold these morsels of Areca in the Betle and the officers that are so imployed who most commonly are women be called the Betleres These morsels thus prepared are put into boxes and they vsually goe chewing on them all day long not onely within doores but euen when they goe vp and downe the streetes or speake with any in all places and at all times But after they haue long chewed it and kept it in their mouthes without swallowing of it they spit it out contenting themselues with the odour and quality which doth maruellously comfort the stomach This fruit thus prepared is in such request among them that when any goeth to the house of another to visit him hee carrieth with him a boxe thereof presenting it vnto him which he presently putteth in his mouth and before he take his leaue he that is so visited commandeth the Betlere of the house to bring him a boxe thereof which hee offereth to him that came to him that came to see him in requitall of his courtesie In such sort that they must alwayes haue it prepared in a readinesse and so great is the profit thereof that the greatest reuenue of the Countrey consisteth in possessing fields well planted with Areca as in Europe with Vines and Oliues Tobacco is also vsed there though not so frequently as their Betle There are also Cabbages of all sorts in great abundance as well as Sugar-Canes Our fruits of Europe are not yet come to Cochin-China howbeit I am of opinion that the Vine and Figg-tree would prosper well there Our herbes as Lettice Succory Coleworts and such other are growing in Cochin-China and all ouer India yet they beare leaues onely without any seed so that when they would haue any new they are faine to haue the seed out of Europe Flesh is also there in great plenty by reason of the abundance of foure footed beasts which they nourish there in their houses as Kine Goats Swine Buffles and such other Of wild beasts as Harts they haue many greater then those of Europe Wild Bores and diuers others They haue great store of Fowles tame Hens and wild with which their fields are couered Turtle-Doues Pigeons Duckes Geese and Cranes which are very sauoury meat besides many others which we haue not here in Europe There is also great store of Fish and that of so exquisite relish and taste that hauing crossed so many Seas and trauelled through so many Countreys as I haue done methinkes I haue not found the Fish of any other place comparable to that of Cochin-China And by reason that the whole length of the countrey lieth on the Sea as I haue said there is such a multitude of Fisher-boates and Fish-takers and Fish-carriers throughout the Kingdome that it is a pritty spectacle to behold so many rankes of men carrying Fish from the Sea side euen vp to the Mountaines in which exercise they imploy twenty of the foure and twenty houres of the day And although it bee true that they like better of Fish then of Flesh yet the chiefe cause why they are so much giuen to Fishing is the desire they haue to prouide themselues a Sauce which they call Balaciam that is made of a salted Fish mollified and dissolued in water whereof they make a biting liquor not vnlike vnto Mustard with which they furnish their Houses in so great a quantity that they fill Tunnes and Hogsheads therewith as in many places of Europe men doe with wines yet they vse it not for meat by it selfe but for sauce onely to quicken their appetite in eating of their Rice which they suppose would otherwise bee vnsauoury They abound also with Shel-fish with Oysters and other fruits of the Sea especially with one kind which they call Cameron But beyond all that hath beene said Gods Prouidence hath priuiledged them with a rare and exquisite kind of food which in my opinion cannot bee better likened or compared then to that Manna with which the chosen people of God were fed in the Desart This kind of food is so peculiar to Cochin-China that it is not any where else That which I will say thereof shall not be by hearesay or by report of any other but by mine owne experience who haue seene and eaten of it often There is a little Bird in this Countrey like vnto a Swallow which fasteneth his nest to the rocks on which the waues of the Sea doe beate and are broken This little creature taketh with her bill some of the froth of the Sea and with a certaine humour which shee draweth out of her stomacke mingling the one with the other maketh I know not what clay-like bituminous matter wherewith shee after buildeth her nest which when it is growne to be dry and hard becommeth transparent and of a mingled colour betwixt yellow and greene These nests are gathered by those of the Countrey and being softened and dissolued in water serue to season all their Meates either Flesh or Fish Hearbes or any thing else giuing such a diuersity of relish and so proper to euery of them that one would thinke they were prepared with Pepper Cinamom Cloues and all manner of Spices in such sort that this little nest is sufficient to season all sorts of Viands without Salt Oyle or Lard or any other thing Which made me say that indeede it resembled the Manna which had in it selfe the taste of all the most fauourie kinds of foode but that this is only the worke of a little Bird whereas the other was prepared by the Angels of God And of this there is such store that I haue seene ten little boats loaden with these nests gathered along the Rocks within the space of halfe a League But because it is such an exquisite thing none but the King doth traffique therewith they are all reserued for him and the greatest vtterance he maketh of them is for the King of China who hath them in great esteeme They eate not any Milke nor ought made thereof holding it for a great offence to draw milke from Kine or any other creatures and their reason for such their scrupulosity is that they say the milke was ordained by Nature for the nourishment of the young ones As if hee to whom the little ones appertaine could not dispose of the nutriment due vnto them They eate certaine things which wee lothe and abhorre as venimous namely the Camelions which are greater there then those which being dried are brought out of strange Countreyes oftentimes into Italy I haue seene some brought
by a friend of mine bound and packed vp which he cast vpon the burning coales and assoone as their bands were burnt they marched faire and softly after their manner on the liue coales till such time as they felt the force of the fire which they indured for a while being of a very cold constitution but in the end they were rosted and broiled whereupon this friend of mine drew them to him and scraping away the burnt skin with a Knife found their flesh to be exceeding white which hee brayed and sod with a little sawce like vnto Butter and eate them as a most excellent meat inuiting me thereunto But I was contented with the sight of it Of all other things requisite for the intertainement of a mans life Cochin-China is also very sufficiently prouided As first for apparell there is such abundance of Silke that the handy-craft men and the baser sort of people weare it dayly By occasion whereof I haue diuers times taken pleasure to see the men and women trauell in carrying Stones Earth Lime and other like things without any regard taken of the tearing or fouling their faire and rich apparell which they weare Yet this will not seeme strange to any that shall know how these high Mulberry trees by whose leaues the Silke-wormes are nourished are as plentifull here in these large plaines as Hempe is with vs and no longer time in growing In such sort that in a few Moneths the Wormes come forth of them and nourish themselues in the Aire spinne out their Silke in due time and make their Codds Bladders and Bottomes in so great a quantity and abundance that not only the Inhabitants haue enough fot their owne necessary vses and occasions but they furnish Iapan also and send Silke to the Kingdome of Lais wherehence it is also carried into the Kingdome of Thibet For albeit the Silke be not so fine and delicate yet it is stronger and more substantiall then that of China Their Buildings and Houses are all of wood yet in regard thereof they need not enuy any other Prouince because that without any exaggeration the Wood and Timber of this countrey is the best of all the world by the iudgement of those that haue beene in many places Amongst that great number and exceeding great diuersitie of trees which they haue there are two sorts most commonly imployed in their Buildings which are so incorruptible that they are not endammaged by being in the water or vnder the earth They be so sollid also and so weighty that they will not swim on the water but serue for Anchors One of these kinds of wood is blacke yet not so blacke as the Ebeny The other is red being both of them so smooth and euen that when the Barke is taken away they need no plaining or smoothing These trees are called Tin and haply he should not much be deceiued that should be of opinion that the trees which Salomon vsed in the building of the Temple were of the same incorruptible Timber seeing wee know already by the Scripture that those which he imployed were called Ligna Thyine 2. Chro. 9. 10. 11. which approacheth very neere their name The mountaines of Cochin-China are couered all ouer with these trees which are exceeding straight and of such vnmeasurable height that they seeme to touch the clouds with their tops and therewith so thicke that two men cannot circle them about With these trees doe the inhabitants of Cochin-China build their houses of which it is lawfull for euery one to take on the mountaines as many as he will Their houses are built vpon pillars that are very high and sound and well vnderlaid vnto which they ioyne boards and plankes which they can take off and lay on againe as they list to change them with Grates or Lattices of Canes and Reeds which they interlace curiously to let in the Aire in times of heat partly also to giue the water free passage in and out and that their boats may haue egresse and regresse in the time of inundations They vse also a thousand deuises and inuentions to beautifie and adorne their houses caruing their boards and planks with curious workemanship and making their habitations delightfull with variety of garnishment Now whiles we are discoursing of Trees I will adde somewhat as concerning another kind of wood which is their most precious merchandise This is that renowned wood called Aquila and Calamba which are the same in regard of the wood yet much different in the reckoning made of them as also in their vertue and efficacie There is good store of these trees especially on the mountaines of the Kemois which are very great and very high If this wood be cut from a young trunke or stocke then they call it Aquila whereof there is such plenty that euery one may take as much as he will But when this wood is taken from an old tree this is the Calamba which were exceeding hard to be gotten if Nature had not holpen in that behalfe placing these trees at the top of the highest steepe and craggie mountaines where they may quietly grow without any wrong or violence done them There are falling from them from time to time some branches which breake of themselues from the body of the tree either by becomming blasted and withered or by extremity of old age which are found to be rotten and worme-eaten This is the high-prised and renowned Calamba which farre surpasseth the common Aquila in efficacie and sweetnes of scent Euery one may sell of the Aquila at his pleasure but the traffique of the Calamba is reserued to the King alone for the excellent odour and soueraigne vertue thereof And certainely in those places where it is gathered it is so sweet and so odoriferous that prouing certaine pieces of it which had beene giuen me I buried them more then fiue foot vnder ground yet notwithstanding they betrayed themselues by their sweet smell This Calamba where it is gathered is valued at fiue Ducats the pound yet at the Port of Cochin-China it yeeldeth more and scarcely to be had vnder sixteene Ducats the pound And being transported to Iapan it is valued at two hundred Ducats the pound But if one meet with a piece of such greatnes that a man may lay his head on it as on a pillow the Iaponeses will giue three or foure hundred Ducats the pound for it because they find by experiment as they say that it is better for health to haue some hard thing vnder ones head when he sleepeth then a soft pillow of feathers which because they hold to be vnwholsome they vse ordinarily a piece of wood for a Boulster to rest their head on which euery one according to his ability will haue as costly as he can get And if it be made of Calamba they account it a pillow for a Prince Now the Aquila howsoeuer it be of lesse estimation and value then the Calamba yet it is of such account and worth that
one Ships lading of Aquila is sufficient to inrich a Merchant all his life And the best recompense that the King can giue to a Captaine of Malacca is to trade and traffique with this Aquila by reason that the Brachmans and Banians of India being accustomed to burne the bodies of the dead with this odoriferous wood will quickly dispatch and rid him of an infinite quantity thereof In conclusion there are also in Cochin-China many Mines of the preciousest Metalls and of Gold especially So to comprehend in few words the fertility of this country which meriteth a more larger discourse I will conclude this Chapter with that which the Merchants of Europe that trade thither commonly say That the riches of Cochin-China are greater then those of China it selfe which is knowne to be so exceeding rich and plentifull in all good things CHAP. IIII. Of the Eelphants and Rhinoceros THere are many Elephants in the woods of Cochin-China of which they make no vse because they haue not the skill to catch them and to make them tame but they haue some brought vnto them from a neighbouring countrey called Cambogia which are instructed and disciplined before These are as great againe as the Indian Elephants the print of their foot which they leaue behind them is a foot and halfe in the Diameter The teeth which come out of their mouthes of which Iuorie is made are oft times thirteene sometimes fourteene foot in length but those of the female Elephants are much shorter Whence may easily be coniectured how much greater the Elephants of Cochin-China are then those which are brought into Europe whose teeth are not aboue two foot and a halfe in length They are long liued and thereupon when I once demanded how old one of them was his Conductor answered me that he was threescore yeeres old when he was brought out of Cambogia and had liued fourty yeeres in Cochin-China And because I haue trauelled many times on Elephants in this Kingdome I can report many things of them which will seeme very strange but are neuerthelesse true The Elephant doth ordinarily carry thirteene or foureteene persons who are thus in this manner accommodated Euen as we put Saddles on our Horses so doe they put vpon their Elephants a kind of Engine fashioned like vnto a great Hors-Litter within the which there are foure seates and it is fastned and tied with chaines vnder the belly of the Elephant in like manner as the Saddle is with the Girthes to the Horse This Litter hath two entries or open places on each side in which are bestowed sixe persons being ranked by three and three and another behind wherein two persons are placed and then the Nayre who is as the Coach-man or Conductor placing himselfe on the Head of the Elephant that he may guide and gouerne him It hath not onely happened vnto me to trauell by Land in this manner but many times also by Water passing in this sort ouer some arme of the Sea sometimes more then halfe a league from the Land And to speake trueth it is a maruellous thing to him that neuer saw it to see such a great and huge masse of flesh loaden with so heauy a burden to goe swimming and crossing the waters like a Boate with Oares True it is that he made it sufficiently appeare that he suffered much as well in the paines he tooke to carry the great masse of his body as for his difficulty of breathing Insomuch that to ease and refresh himselfe in this great trauell he tooke vp the water in his trunke and cast it vp so high in the aire that one might haue thought it had beene some Whale of the Sea By reason of his great corpulency it is an extreame difficulty for him to bow downe and although he must needs doe it for the commoditie of those that are to goe out or enter into the Litter yet he neuer doth it but when the Nayre commandeth him and if whiles he is so bowed downe any make too long stay either in complying with friends or otherwise he raiseth himselfe on his feet with impatience to remaine so long in such a violent posture It is no lesse wonder to see how at the commandment of the Nayre he maketh his body in manner of a Ladder for the greater commodity of those that are to enter into the Litter For the first step he offereth his Foot which is distant enough from ground for the second he presenteth his Pasterne at a conuenient distance from the first and for the third he boweth his Knee the fourth step is on the bone of his Flanke which is cast somewhat outward for the purpose and from thence he receiueth you on his trunke and carrieth you to a chaine fastned to his Litter Hereby euidently appeareth how much they haue bin deceiued who haue written that the Elefant could neither bow himselfe nor lie downe and that the only way to take him was to cut the tree against which he was to leane when he went to sleepe because that by the fall of that tree which was to sustaine and support him he must of force fall downe without any ability to raise himselfe againe by which meanes he should be an assured prey to the Hunter that pursued him All this is but a fable although it be out of doubt that he neuer lieth downe to sleepe that Situation being so incommodious and violent for him as hath beene expressed and therefore hee sleepeth alwayes standing with a continuall agitation of his head In occasion of Warre and Battaile they take off the couering of the Litter wherehence as out of a Tower the Souldiers fight with Arrowes and Muskets and sometimes also with Field-pieces the Elephant hauing strength enough to cary them For this beast is exceeding strong and hath not his like I haue seene one my selfe cary excessiue burdens on his trunk Another that lifted vp a great piece of Artillery Another alone to draw ten small Boats one after another taking them betweene his Teeth with great dexterity and casting them into the Sea I haue seene others pull vp great Trees by the rootes as easily as a man would pull vp a Colewort or a Lettice With as much facilitie they will throw downe and ouerturne Houses beat downe whole Streetes when they are commanded in the Warres to endammage the enemie and in Peace when a House is on fire that it take not hold of the rest The trunke of the Elephant is long proportionally to the rest of his body so that without stooping or bowing downe he can easily reach from the ground what hee list It is composed of many little nerues bound and linked one vnto the other in such sort that on the one side it is so flexible and maniable that he extendeth and turneth it as he list to receiue any the least things and on the other side it is therewithall as hard and strong as we haue said His whole body is couered with a hard and
Earledome or Marquisate in acknowledgment of their deserts they reward them by subiecting so many persons vnto them as a certaine number of the Kings subiects and vassalls who in what part of the Kingdome soeuer they be are bound to acknowledge him for their Lord to whom the King hath giuen them to serue him with their Armes when he shall be occasioned to vse them as also to pay him all such duties as they payed before to the King And so as we say such a one is Lord of such a place Earledome or Marquisate they say such a one hath the command of fiue hundred men this other of a thousand the King hath increased this mans command to a thousand more and of the other to two thousand so augmenting their greatnesse their dignities riches and commodities by giuing of them more vassalls Of their Warres wee shall speake in the next Chapter There remaineth yet somewhat to be said concerning their Ciuill Gouernement First they dispatch all their affaires more readily rather according to the Martiall Law More belli then by pleadings at the Barre with Iudges Notaries and Procttors with their dilatory proceedings The Vice-Royes and Gouernours of Prouinces supplying all those offices and giuing publike audience foure houres euery day in a faire large Court within their Pallace two houres in the forenoone and two houres in the afternoone Thither goe all that haue controuersie to represent their pretensions and their plaints and the Vice-Roy or Gouernour leaning on a window vnderstandeth the grieuances of each one after the other And because the Gouernours are ordinarily men of good iudgement and experience in affaires questioning the parties to good purpose and obseruing also the apprehension of the assistants which they coniecture by their countenance and the approbation which they haue of the demandant or defendant they discouer easily the trueth of the businesse forthwith and pronounce their sentence aloud without delay which is presently executed without appeale or any other formality whether it bee death or banishment or whipping or pecuniary amends chastising euery offence as the Law requireth The crimes whereof they are most commonly accused which are seuerely chastised among them are many But aboue all they punish rigorously the false accusers Theeues and Adulterers When the first are conuicted to haue charged any falsly with a crime whereof he was not guilty hee is condemned without mercy to endure the same punishment which the other should haue suffered if he had committed that whereof he was accused And indeed experience hath made it appeare to be the best course of sifting out the trueth Their theeues are punished according to the proportion of the theft If they haue stollen any thing of great value they cut of their heads If of lesse consequence as a Hen they lose only a finger and for the second offence they cut off another If they be taken with a third they must loose an eare and for the fourth offence they cut off the necke The adulterers be they men or women are exposed to the Elephants who kill them in the manner ensuing The offender is conducted out of the Towne into a Plaine where in the presence of an infinite number of people he is brought into the midst of the place with his hands and feet tied neere vnto the Elephant vnto whom the sentence of the party that is to be put to death is read that he may execute it from point to point The order being this That first he shall seize on him take him and straine him with his trunke and hold him so suspended in the aire shewing him to all the world then that he cast him vp with violence and receiue him againe on the point of his teeth that by the heauy fall of his weight he may gage himselfe thereon and that then he dash him against the ground and that in the end hee tread him vnder his feet All which the Elephant doth without failing in any one point to the great astonishment and terrour of all that are present who by the punishment which they see inflicted on another doe learne that fidelity is to be kept betweene those that are married It will not be amisse being now discoursing of married folkes to relate some particularities concerning the marriages of that Countrey It hath not beene seene that the Cochin-Chinois though they be Gentiles haue contracted marriages within the degrees forbidden by Gods Law or the Law of Nature neither within the first degree of the collaterall Line of Brothers and sisters But in the other degrees marriage is permitted so that he haue but one wife It is true that the richer sort vnder the title of their greatnesse and liberality are accustomed to haue many Concubines taxing them with auarice and miserablenesse that doe not keepe as many as their reuenues will maintaine These are called their second third and fourth wiues which they tooke after the first which is accounted and is truly and really their wife and to her it appertaineth to choose the rest according to her liking and to giue them to her husband Yet their marriages are not indissoluble their Lawes permitting a diuorce though not altogether at the will of either party for they must first prooue the suggestion for which they would leaue one the other which being auerred it is lawfull for them to withdraw themselues from the first and to marry againe The husbands bring the Dowries and relinquish their owne houses to dwell with their wiues by whose meanes they are maintained and by whom all the houshold affaires are managed for there they beare the charge and gouernement of the Family whiles the husband keepeth himselfe within doores not putting himselfe to any paine contenting himselfe to be prouided of what is needfull for his food and raiment CHAP. VII Of the Forces of the King of Cochin-China and of the Warres he hath within his Kingdome IT hath beene touched already in the beginning of this History how that Cochin-China being a Prouince dismembered from the great Kingdome of Tunchim was vsurped vniustly by the Grandfather of the King that now reigneth who hauing the Gouernment rebelled against the King of Tunchim Whereunto he was not a little emboldened when hee saw himselfe suddenly furnished with diuers Pieces of Artillery recouered and gotten out of the Ship-wracke of sundry Ships of the Portugals and Hollanders against the Rockes which men afterwards gathered vp by those of the Countrey Whereof there are to be seene at this day threescore of the greatest in the Kings pallace alone yet remaining The Cochin-Chinois being now become so expert in the managing of them that they surpasse our Europeans For indeed they did little else euery day but exercise themselues in Shooting at a Marke Whereupon they became so fierce and so glorious and to haue so great an opinion of their owne valour that as soone as they perceiued any of our Ships of Europe to come towards their Ports the Kings Cannoniers presently
defensiue Armes they vse little Bucklers or Targets of an Ouall forme of such a length that they will commonly couer the whole Man being so light also that they are nothing cumbersome In their Townes in this Kingdome their Houses being built but of boards as I haue said and supported with Pillars of Wood they haue this aduantage that if the Enemie come with such Forces as they find themselues vnable to resist euery one taketh his houshold-stuffe and flieth to the Mountaines setting their Houses on fire and leauing nothing of value therein In such sort that the Enemy finding no place wherein hee may sortifie and maintaine himselfe is forced to retire out of the Countrey and they returning againe doe soone build themselues other Houses as good and restore their Townes in as good plight as they were before CHAP. VIII Of the Commerce Ports and Hauens of Cochin-China THe Realme of Cochin-China being so abundant in all sorts of Commodities as we haue said for the life of man the people are the lesse addicted to trauell abroad and to traffique elsewhere They doe neuer therefore make further Voyages by Sea then within the view of the Coasts and bankes of their welbeloued Countrey Yet are they neuerthelesse willing to giue all Strangers free accesse into their Ports and take a singular pleasure to see others come to Trade and traffique in their Countrey not onely out of their Neighbour Prouinces and Kingdomes but also from remote Countreyes To which end they neede not vse much Art seeing that Strangers are allured thither fast enough by the fruitfulnesse of the Countrey and the riches ouerflowing therein And therefore not onely those of Tunchim of Cambogia of Cinceos and others their Neighbours doe traffique there but euery day there arriue Merchants of Countreyes further distant and from China Macao Iapan Manilla and Malacca which bring Siluer into Cochin-China for the merchandize of the Countrey Which are not bought but exchanged with the same Siluer which is sold there as Merchandize the price thereof being raised or diminished according to the great or little plenty thereof euen like Silke and other Wares The Money with which all things are bought is of Letton of the like Value as a French Double or a Stiuer of the Netherlands This Money is exactly round Printed and marked with the Kings Armes euery Peece hauing a hole in the midst through which they are filed by thousands euery file or string of them worth about two crownes The Chinois and the Iaponois are they that make the chiefe negotiation of Cochin-China in a Faire which is yeerely held in one of their Ports for some foure moneths together the one bring on their Ionks the value of foure or fiue millions in siluer and the other vpon certaine vessells which they call Somes an infinite quantity of fine silke with other of their countrey merchandise The King receiueth a great reuenue out of this Faire by his duties and imposts and the Countrey an vnspeakeable gaine And as on the one side the Cochin-Chinois haue no wrought Stuffes nor Manufactures because they doe not apply themselues to Manuary trades by reason of that idlenesse into which their plenty hath plunged them and that on the other side they are easily inueigled with the curiosities comming from other places which they higly esteeme they will buy them at what price soeuer they be set and doe not spare for money to haue such things which of themselues are of little worth such as Combes Needles Bracelets Beades of glasse to hang in their eares and such other trifles and womanish curiosities And I remember that a Portugal hauing brought from Macao into Cochin-China a boxe full of Needles which could not cost him aboue thirty Ducats got aboue a thousand selling them for a Riall a piece in Cochin-China which had not cost him aboue pence a piece in Macao In conclusion they vie one with the other in buying whatsoeuer they see so it be new and brought from farre for which they disburse their siluer without difficulty They are very desirous of our Hatts our Caps Girdles Shirts and all our other garments because they differ from theirs But aboue all they make most esteeme of Corall Concerning their Ports It is certainely a thing worthy admiration that within the space of little more then an hundred leagues there are reckoned aboue threescore places fit and apt to land in which commeth of this that there are in that Coast many great Armes of the Sea The goodliest Port where all the strangers ariue and where that famous Faire is kept which we haue mentioned is that of the Prouince Cacciam Men doe enter thereinto by two mouthes of the Sea the one is called Puluciambello and the other Turon These mouthes are distant three or foure leagues asunder by which after that the Sea thus diuided in two Armes hath extended it selfe seuen or eight Leagues within the Land as two Riuers that are disioyned It reioyneth in the end and casteth it selfe into a great Riuer where the Vessels also meete that come in on either side The King of Cochin-China permitted the Iaponians and Chinois to make choyce of a commodious place to build them a Citie in for the more Commoditie of the Faire whereof wee haue spoken This Citie is called Faiso which is so great that one may well say that there are two Townes the one of the Chinois and the other of the Iaponois Each of them hauing his Quarter apart and their seuerall Gouernours and liuing after their owne manner That is the Chinois according to their owne particular Lawes and Customes of China and the Iaponians according to theirs And because as wee haue said the King of Cochin-China doth refuse no Nation to enter but leaueth it free for all sorts of Strangers the Hollanders came thither also as well as the rest with their Ships laden with diuers kindes of Merchandise Whereupon the Portugals of Macao designed to send an Ambassadour to the King to intreat him that the Hollanders as their sworne enemies might be excluded out of Cochin-China Wherein they imployed a braue Captaine called Ferdinand de Costa who effected it with good successe yet not without much difficulty preuailing so farre that the King by his Edict or Proclamation forbad the Hollanders to approach the Countreyes vnder his obedience or paine of their liues But those of Macao apprehending afterwards that the said Edict was not well obserued thought good to send a new Embassage into Cochin-China to obtaine a Confirmation thereof and charged their Deputies to make the King vnderstand that the affaire concerned his owne Interest and that if hee did not preuent it he might haue cause to feare that the Hollanders in time being so crafty and cunning as they are would assay to inuade some part of his Kingdome of Cochin-China as they had already some other places of the Indies But certaine Persons of good vnderstanding in that Countrey aduised them not to speake in that sort to the King because that would be the very way to make the Hollanders haue permission to come to Traffique in that Countrey and to inuite all Holland thither The Maxime of the Cochin-Chinois being not to acknowledge euer any the least apprehension of any Nation in the World Cleane contrary to the King of China who fearing all shutteth the Gate against Strangers permitting no traffique in his Kingdome This is that little which I haue thought good to relate concerning the Temporall estate of Cochin-China according to that knowledge I could get during the space of some yeeres whiles I remained there the Aire being so benigne that they neuer haue any Pestilence neither doe the people know what kind of thing it is or what it meaneth FINIS De beata vita De orbis conc lib. 3. cap. 25. Kekerm phys lib. 2. cap. 3.