no Water but what is drawn out of three deep Wells for which reason the place is call'd Euche-derin-giu The eighteenth we travel'd not above five hours through desert Countries and took up our Stage in a kind of a Bog near a pitiful Village The nineteenth after we had travel'd eight hours through spacious desert Plains we pass'd through a large Village the Inhabitants whereof were gone with their Cattel into the Mountains for the cool Air during the Summer time according to custom There is an indifferent handsom Mosquee of Free-stone and indeed the Village the Name whereof the People told me was Tshaciclou has been much bigger than now it is as may appear by the Ruines In two hours after we came to lodge beyond it in a Meadow near a Rivulet The twentieth we cross'd over desert Plains but which seem'd to have been formerly well manur'd and after ten hours travel we stop'd in a Bottom near a bad Water The twenty-first for ten hours the Country was all barren and desert and we came to lodge at the end of a long Plain near two Wells the Water whereof was good for nothing The twenty-second we travel'd through the fore-mention'd Plain and met with little Valleys where there was very good Pasturage The Caravan stop'd near to a pitiful Village and a nasty Well The twenty-third we travel'd not above five hours because it was the time of the Turks Beiram or Easter which our Caravan consisting of Turks would needs solemnize That day we travel'd through an indifferent good Country and well till'd where we discover'd several fair Villages and we lodg'd upon a rising Ground from whence we had a very fair and far distant Prospect The twenty-fourth we travel'd six hours and came to lodge in a Meadow where the Water was bad Near to that place we discover'd a Plain that extends it self eight or ten Leagues in length though it be not above one or two in bredth it seem'd like a Lake and indeed it is only a salt Water congeal'd and thickn'd into Salt which you can hardly dissolve but in fair Water This Lake furnishes almost all Natolia with Salt where you may buy a Wagon-load drawn by two Bufalo's for 45 Sous It is call'd Deuslag or The Place for Salt and the Basha of Coushahar about two days journey from it gets by it 24000 Crowns a Year Sultan Amurath caus'd a Dike to be cut quite thorough it when his Army march'd to the Siege of Bagdat which he took from the Persian The twenty-fifth we travel'd nine or ten hours and met not with one Village the Country being all desert We lodg'd upon a rising Ground near a good Fountain call'd Cara-dache-cesmé or The Fountain of the Black Stone The twenty-sixth we pass'd through a great Village call'd Tshekenagar in a pleasant situation but very ill built and after we had travel'd eight hours we came to lodge in a delightful Meadow near another Village call'd Romcouché The twenty-seventh we travel'd nine hours through Countries full of Licorice and having pass'd a great Town call'd Beserguenlou we lodg'd in a Meadow The twenty-eighth we cross'd a great River call'd Jechil-irma over a long well built stone Bridge At the end of the Bridge call'd Kessré-kupri stands a great Village wherein the greatest part of the Houses are built under Ground like Foxes Holes We put on farther and after seven hours travel we lodg'd below another great Village call'd Mouchiour where there are abundance of Greeks which they constrain ever and anon to turn Turks The Country being inhabited by Christians and fit for the Plantation of Vines there is Wine good store and very good but it has the scent of the Wines of Anjou The Village is well situated but ill built most of the Houses being under Ground in so much that one of the Company riding carelesly had like to have faln into a House The twenty-ninth we rode for seven hours through a pleasant Country where we saw several Villages near to one of which the Caravan lodg'd in a Meadow close by a Fountain The thirtieth we rode through a flat Country well manur'd and stop'd near a River wherein there was but very little Water it is call'd Cara-sou or The Black River For two or three days together at every two Leagues distance we observ'd little Hillocks of Earth artificially rear'd which they told us were rais'd during the the Wars of the Greeks to build Forts upon for Watch-Towers The thirty-first we travel'd a very uneven Country but abounding in Wheat and after we had travel'd nine hours we lodg'd in a Meadow near a River which we cross'd next Morning before day over a stone Bridge The thirty-second after we had travel'd eight hours we lodg'd by a River where we saw a great number of Turcomans They are a People that live in Tents like the Arabians and they were then leaving that Country to go to another having their luggage in Wagons drawn by Bufalo's The thirty-second we met again with Mountains and Woods which we had not seen in 18 days before which had constrain'd us to carry Wood upon our Camels to dress our Provision We were very sparing of it and sometimes made use of dry'd Cows dung or Camels dung when we came near the Waters where they were wont to drink We travel'd eight hours that day and lodg'd in a Meadow where the Grass was very high yet where there had been Houses formerly standing The thirty-fourth we forded a deep and rapid River call'd Jangou from the Name of the Town next to it A little above the place where we forded it we saw a ruin'd Bridge which had been built over it The thirty-fifth we travel'd eight hours through a fair Valley well manur'd and upon the left hand we left a Castle rais'd upon a Rock The Caravan lay that night upon a rising Ground near a Village The thirty-sixth we travel'd through the same Valley for eight or nine hours longer in this Valley were several pleasant Villages but we lay by a small River The thirty-seventh we travel'd six hours among the Mountains where there are some very narrow Passages but store of Water and we lay in a Vale abounding in Pasturage The thirty-eighth we rode for four or five hours over a rugged Mountain in craggy way at the foot whereof we met with a Village call'd Taquibac from whence it is but five Leagues to Tocat And these are all the Roads from Paris to Ispahan through the Northern Territories of Turkie CHAP. VIII How the Author was robb'd near Tocat and of a certain sort of rare and fine Wool which he first brought into France TAquibac is the place where the Persian Caravan uses to meet when it departs from Tocat to Smyrna and this is the only place in all the Road where a Traveller ought to stand upon his guard by reason of Thieves who haunt these Quarters and are great Masters in their Trade Once as I came out of Persia they
Cirkassians Tartars and Muscovites live altogether by rapine and continual In-roads into one anothers Countries There are another sort of people which are call'd Kalmouchs that inhabit upon the Coast of the Caspian Sea between the Muscovites and the Tartars The men are strong but the most deformed under Heaven Their faces are so flat and broad that there is the bredth of five fingers between each Eye Their Eyes are very small and that little Nose they have is so flat that there is nothing to be seen but two little holes instead of Nostrils Their Knees also and their Feet turn inward When they go to the Wars they carry their Wives and their Daughters if they be twelve years of age along with them who fight as couragiously as the men themselves Their Arms are Bows Arrows and Skains with a great wooden Mace at the Pummel of their Saddles their Horses being the best in all Asia Their Captain is of some ancient Family but they more particularly choose him for his valour The Duke of Muscovia sends them presents every year to preserve their friendship which presents consist in Cloth And he grants them free passage through his Territories when ever they have a mind to invade the Mengrelians Georgians or Cirkassians at which sport they are much more dexterous than the lesser Tartars Sometimes they advance into Persia as far as the Province of the Usbekes which is a part of Great Tartary ranging up as far as Caboul and Candahar Their Religion is particular to themselves but they are great Enemies to the Mahumetans As for the Comouchs or people of Comania they are Mahumetans and very precise ones too They are under the protection of the King of Persia who makes great account of them in regard they defend the Passes into his Country on that side against the Kalmouchs They are habited both men and women like the Lesser Tartars fetching all the Silk and Calicut which they use out of Persia for as for Cloth they are contented with what they make in their own Country which is very course Circassia is a pleasant good Country and full of variety There are Plains Forrests Hills and Mountains abounding in Springs some of which are so large that some of them will serve seven or eight of the neighbouring Villages But on the other side in all the Rivers that proceed from these Springs there is not a fish to be seen Flowers they have in abundance especially fair Tulips There is a sort of Strawberry also with a short stalk of which five or six grow in a bunch the least are as big as a small Nut of a pale yellow Colour The Soil is so fertile that it brings forth without any great trouble a vast plenty of all sorts of Fruits Nor do the people need any other Gardens than their Fields which are cover'd with Cherry-trees Apple-trees Pear-trees Walnut-trees and all other useful Trees of the same nature but their chiefest Wealth consists in Cattel but especially in well-shap'd Horses not much unlike the Spanish Gennets They have also an abundance of Goats and Sheep whose Wool is as good as that of Spain which the Muscovites fetch away to make Felts They neither sow Wheat nor Oats but only Barley for their Horses and Millet to make Bread nor do they ever sow twice in the same place not but that the Land is good enough to bear Wheat but because they love Bread made of Millet better They have very good Fowl and Venison and Wild-Fowl more than they know what to do withal which they never hunt with Dogs nor fly their Hawks at for their Horses are so swist and so good that they will tire the Beast and force him to lye down and yield Ev'ry Horse-man has a Rope with a sliding-knot ready at the Pummel of his Saddle which they are so dextrous to throw about the neck of the Beast that begins to be weary that 't is twenty to one if they miss him When they have kill'd a Dear they cut off the legs and breaking the Bones eat the Marrow which they say is the best thing in the World to strengthen the Body When they go to steal Cattel they carry along with them great Cows-horns stuft with boyl'd Tripes cut in small pieces then watching their times when the Herdsmen are asleep when the Dogs begin to bark they throw to ev'ry one a Horn with which the Dog presently runs away and so while the Shepherds are asleep and the Dog is busie to get the Meat out of the Horn which is there ramm'd in on purpose the Thieves drive away what they please The Drink of the Sherkes is Water and Bosa Bosa is a Drink made of Millet as intoxicating as Wine which they want in the Country The Men and the Women Boys and Girls go habited all alike and their Habit is a colour'd Robe of Fustian with a kind of large Petticoat underneath with this they wear a little pink'd Wastcoat that reaches down to their Thighs and over that a Cassock of course Cloth that reaches down to their Knees girt about their Wasts with a Cord. The Sleeves of the Cassock are op'n below and above and sometimes they pin them behind their Backs They wear no Beards 'till they are sixty years of age And as for their Hair neither Men nor Women Boys nor Girls ever wear it longer than the tips of their Ears The Men both young and old shave the middle of their Heads about the bredth of two Fingers from the Forehead down to the Nape of the Neck and then instead of Hats or Head-clothes both Men and Women wear only a little Bonnet of the same Cloth as the Cassock made like a Night-cap 'T is true when the Maids come to be marry'd there is some distinction upon their Heads for then they fast'n to the hinder part of their Heads a round piece of Felt which they cover with a white Veil very artificially pleated Their Breeches are ty'd below their Knees and reach to their Ancles their Shooes which are of Cordovan both upper and under Leather have but one seam upon the upper part of the Foot being light and cut like a pair of Pumps As for their Beds they take several Sheep-skins and sow them together and then stuffing them full of Millet-leaves make a kind of Quilt Now when they beat the Millet the Leaf comes to be as small as the Chaff of Oats so that when the person rises off from the Quilt the Quilt rises and swells again of it self Their Cushions are of the same Make only sometimes they are stuft with Wool The People are neither Christians nor Mahometans all their Religion consisting in some Ceremonies which they perform with the greatest Solemnities which they can imagin for at that time old and young of all Ages and Sexes and all the whole Town must be there at the place appointed unless impotency or sickness excuses them I call them Villages for in all these Countries
hour the water becomes so bitter that nothing can be more bitter There is also a Stone sometimes found in the belly of that creature of the same nature and as good as that which comes from the head nevertheless with this difference that being steep'd in water it loses nothing of its weight nor bulk as the other does I have bought in my time three of those Stones One of them cost me 500 Crowns and I exchang'd it to advantage I paid four-hunder'd Crowns for the other which I keep the other was sold me for 200 Crowns which I presented to a friend There is the Serpent-Stone not to be forgot about the bigness of a double and some are almost oval thick in the middle and thin about the sides The Indians report that it is bred in the head of certain Serpents But I rather take it to be a Story of the Idolater's Priests and that the Stone is rather a composition of certain drugs Whatever it be it is of excellent vertue to drive any venom out of those that are bit by venomous creatures If the person bit be not much wounded the place must be incis'd and the Stone being appli'd thereto will not fall off till it has drawn all the poison to it To cleanse it you must steep it in Womans-milk or for want of that in Cows-milk after the Stone has lain ten or twelve hours the milk will turn to the colour of an Apostemated matter The Arch-Bishop of Goa carrying me to his Cabinet of Rarities shew'd me one of these Stones and after he had assur'd me of the rare qualities it had he gave it me Once as he cross'd a Mersh in the Island of Salseté where Goa stands one of the men that carri'd his Pallequis béing half naked was bit by a Serpent and heal'd at the same time I bought several but there are none but the Bramines that sell them which makes me believe that they compound them There are two ways to try whether the Serpent-Stone be true or false The first is by putting the Stone in your mouth for then it will give a leap and fix to the palate The other is by putting it in a glass full of water for if the Stone be true the water will fall a boyling and rise in little bubbles up to the top of the Glass There is another Stone which is call'd the Serpent's-Stone with the hood This is a kind of Serpent that has a kind of a hood hanging down behind the head as it is represented in the Figure And it is behind this hood that the Stone is found many times as big as a Pullet's-egg There are some Serpents both in Asia and America of a monstrous bigness 25 foot long as was that the skin whereof is kept in Batavia which had swallow'd a Maid of 18 years of age These Stones are not found in any of those Serpents that are not at least two foot long This Stone being rubb'd against another Stone yields a certain slime which being drank in water by the person that has the poison in his body powerfully drives it out These Serpents are no-where to be found but upon the Coasts of Mclinde but for the Stones you may buy them of the Portugueze Mariners and Souldiers that come from Mozambique CHAP. XXIII Of the Places where they find their Gold both in Asia and America JApon which consists of several Islands Eastward of China bending to the North some people believing that Niphon which is the biggest is in a manner join'd to the firm Land is that Region of all Asia that yields the greatest quantity of Gold Though others believe it is found in the Island of Formosa and carri'd thence to Japon For as long as the Hollanders have had the Island they could never yet tell what is the Trade of that Coast whence they believe the Gold comes There comes also Gold from China which the Chineses exchange for the Silver which is brought them For price for price they love Silver better than Gold because they have no Silver-Mines Yet it is the coarsest metal of all the Asiatsck Gold The Island of Celebes or Macassar produces Gold also which is drawn out of the Rivers where it rowls among the Sand. In the Island of Achen or Sumatra after the rainy season when the Torrents are wasted they find veins of Gold in the Flints which the waters wash down from the Mountains that lye toward the North-east Upon the West-side of the Island when the Hollanders come to lade their Pepper the Natives bring them great store of Gold but very coarse metal if not worse than that of China Toward the Thibet which is the ancient Caucasus in the Territories of a Raja beyond the Kingdom of Cachemir there are three Mountains close one by another one of which produces excellent Gold the other Granats and the third Lapis-Lazuli There is Gold also comes from the Kingdom of Tipra but it is coarse almost as bad as that of China and these are all the places in Asia that produce Gold I shall now say something of the Gold of Africa and the places where it is found in greatest quantities Observe by the way that the Vice-Roy of Mozambique has under his Command the Governors of Sofala and Chepon-Goura The first of these two Governments lies upon the River Sene sixty leagues from the Mouth of the River and the other ten leagues higher From the Mouth of the River to those very places on each side of the River great numbers of Negro's inhabit which are all commanded by one Portugueze The Portuguezes have been Masters of this Countrey for many years where they take upon them like Lords and make War one upon another for the slightest occasions in the World some of them having under them five-thousand Cafres which are their Slaves The Governor of Mozambique furnishes them with Calicuts and all other necessary Commodities which they want which he sells them at his own rates When he enters upon his Government he carries with him great quantities of all sorts of Commodities especially Calicuts dy'd black His Correspondents also in Goa send him every year two Vessels which he sends to Sofala Chepon-Goura and even as far as the City of Monomotopa the chief City of a Kingdom of the same name otherwise call'd Vouvebaran distant from Chepon-Goura fifty leagues or there-abouts He that commands all that Countrey assumes the name of Emperor of Monomotopa extending his Dominions as far as the Confines of Prestor John's Countrey From this Countrey of Monomotopa it is that the most pure and finest Gold of all Africa comes where they dig it with ease out of the earth not being put to labour above two or three foot deep In some places of that Countrey which are not inhabited by reason of the scarcity of water the people find great pieces of Gold of several forms and weights upon the surface of the earth some of which weigh an ounce One I
of his Countrey by his General Chan Timur Myrsa retired unto the Cossacks upon the Nepper and having contracted a Friendship with them and the bordering Russes by their assistance he gathered an Army of 40000 Men and marched towards Crim leaving behind him a revolted Ottoman with a Brigade of 3 or 4000 Men who immediately after the departure of Sultan Shaugary marched directly towards Aslamgorod and early in a Morning surprized the Castle then in the possession of the Turks put every Man in Garrison to the Sword slighted the Walls and other Fortifications retired with the Spoyl and marched to joyn Sultan Shaugary who in the interim arrived near Precop where he was met by Chan Timur and totally defeated but by good fortune escaped and by the way of Astracan got to Persia. From the Nepper we will pass unto Crim with which Countrey I am well acquainted having against my will resided there some years Crim is a small Land so near as I can conjecture 200 miles long and 50 miles broad but is wonderfully populous and exceedingly fruitful abounding with Corn and Grass the only scarcity they have is Wood which grows no where but upon the Sea-Coast from Bakessey Seray unto the Town of Crim which in former times was the chief City All the rest of the Land is a Plain where they have no Wood to burn nor any sort of Fewel but Fissheke Fusshane Curay and Stroa The Land is inclosed with the Sea excepting at two places Precop and Arbotka By Precop there is a narrow passage through which you may go to the Nepper Lithuania or Muscovy through the Desarts of Ingul and Ungul and there is a Water comes from the Teine Sea called the shallow Water and goeth along the Desart until it comes to Precop upon West-side of Crim and by North where it turns back on the North-side of Crim is almost surrounded with Water for the Black Sea is on the one side and the Ratten Sea on the other which latter produces nothing but Salt for it is so salt that no Fish can live therein I have reason to know it because I lived in a Village which was called Seekely Otta Mamutachy The Towns round about Crim on the Sea-side are these Precop Cuslowa Crim Caffa Kerse and Arbotka and within the Land Carasu Ackenesh Messheite and Bakessy Seray The Town of Arbotka lieth on the North-East side of Crim between the Black and Ratten Seas which there come so near together that there is no more Land between them than that whereon the Town of Arbotka stands and without Arbotka is a great Field 50 miles long inclosed with Water where the Tartars in Winter do keep their Hergels or Horses which Field goeth to the shallow Waters where I ran away from the Tartars I shall here take my leave of Crim and pass unto the Little Nagoy to Asshowa on the River Don which runs down from Bealla Ossharra through the Country of Russia between Russia and Lithuania until it comes to Peilesboy not far from the Wolga for from Peilesboy to the River Camusshanka is not above 20 miles all level which is called Perewolog where the Cossacks do draw their Strukes or Boats upon Wheels to the River of Camusshanka by which they pass into the Volga whereupon this Place is called Perewolog The Don runs down between the Little Nagoy and the Desarts of Ingel and Ungule so to Asshowa right under the Town and there falls into the Tein Sea This River is full of Fish especially Sturgeons well inhabited by Cossacks for there are seldom less than 10000 upon it besides those that go on Freebooting There are also 16 Gorodkees or strong Skonces well manned and with store of great Guns they being in continual fear of the Turks and Tartars and sometimes also of the Muscovites The Little Nagoy lies between the Tein and Caspian Seas the former on the West the latter on the East Shercassen to South and the Volga on the North and there is never a Town in all this Countrey excepting Asshowa It is inhabited by Tartars who go altogether in Hords their Prince in my Time was Cassay Myrsa whom the Tartars call also Sultan Ulugh or the Great Prince They sowe no Corn but Pross which they sowe upon the Sea-side up unto Asshowa and after sowing they depart with their Hords and graze up and down the Desarts to the Don to Capbane Shurpoha Yedecul Comma and Curray to Masshargorodoke and to Shercassen Land under the Rivers Terigke and Balke and almost to Pettigor and by the River of Cupba and back again unto the Black Sea Thus they ramble all the Summer until their Harvest be ripe and their Pross gathered and put into Yams under ground after which they settle from Asshowa all along the Sea-side amongst the Reeds and leave their Horses to winter in the Desarts So I shall leave the Little Nagoy and pass unto Temerassa in Shercassen Land which is 500 miles from Asshowa Now in all Circassia are but two Towns Temerossa on the Black Sea upon the Gulf that goeth from the Black Sea into the Tein Sea right over against Arbotka The other is Tumein upon the Caspian Sea the distance between them being 1100 miles and all the rest of the inhabited Places are only Cubbacks made in the Woods piled round with Timber Their Houses are very high in the midst whereof they make the Fire Their Men are proper Men very like the Irish both for person and garb for they go in Trowses with short Mantles wear long Hair on both sides of their Heads with a shorn Crown between Their Women are very beautiful and loving to Strangers for if a Stranger come unto their Houses their young Women and Maidens will look Lice in their Shirts and all about them the most private parts not excepted and will allow them the liberty to examine and handle all parts of their Bodies besides their Breasts The Circassians are excellent Horsemen and very couragious but withal exceedingly ignorant and superstitious for when they kill a Goat or Kid they cut off the privy parts and cast it against a Wall if it stick they pray to it if otherwise they cast it away and spread the Skin upon Stakes place it in their Corn-fields and worship it They have no Writing among them yet pretend to be good Christians Do strangely bewail the Dead making great Cryes scratch their Hands and Faces until they draw much Blood knock their Foreheads against the ground until Knobs arise bigger than Plums The Men are notorious Thieves stealing from each other and he that steals most is accounted the bravest Fellow Their Countrey is very fruitful abounding with most sorts of Grain and they have store of excellent Grass They have also much Fruit growing wild many sorts of Beasts as Harts Hinds Kine Eissubrass Hogs and great Adders The considerable Rivers which I know are Cubba which runs from Pettigor between Shercassen Land and the Little Nagoy betwixt
more Excessive than one would expect from the Climate And besides their Children go stark naked during the great heats in Summer It is also remarkable That the Cold in Winter in the same Country is exceeding severe and one would think to them who have such mean accommodation intollerable These Nagoy Tartars have great store of Cattle as Kine Sheep Horses and Camels and yet notwithstanding they are very ill clad most of their Clothing being Sheep-Skins and those but scurvily dressed They have no sort of Corn or Grain mightily scorning the Europeans and Persians whose chief Diet they say is the top of a pitiful weed Polygamy is not only allowed but altogether in fashion among them most having divers Wives more or fewer according unto their Quality and Ability who unless they are Captivated by War are such as they buy of their Parents or Kindred for Cattle If one Brother dye the other takes all his Wives who are usually 5. or 6. But if all the Brothers die either in War or by Diseases then they are devolved like other Goods and Chattels unto the Elder Brother's Son they never suffering any married Woman during life to go out of the Kindred Here our Author hath inserted a Discourse concerning divers odd and some barbarous Customes which have long prevailed among the Nagoy Tartars and wherewith they will not easily Dispence But they giving little light unto History or Geography I have not thought them worthy the trouble of transcribing ner do I apprehend they would afford any considerable instruction or divertisement unto the Reader These Tartars of the Great Nagoy when they remove their habitation transport their Houses from place to place in Waggons with 4 Wheels which are drawn usually by Camels thoy pass up and down the Country in great Hordes their ordinary march is from the Volga unto Buskowshake thence to Voroslane Samara Eirgeesse Eishene Ougogura Reimpeska and all along under the Calmukes Country untill they arrive at the Jaick or Yeike Sometimes they pass by Cassoone Aurrow Camoyes Samar and so to Saraichika This is ordinarily their Summer Progress Against Winter they return unto those parts of the Country which border upon the Caspian Sea As Baksake upon the Caspian Sea Beallnssa Kitgach Sheennamara Coudake Caradowan Actabon and higher upon the Volga scattering themselves upon the Sea-shore and Banks of the Rivers among the Reeds and VVoods or wheresoever they find the Climate most mild and best Defence against the Cold which in the VVinter is in those Parts extremely severe so that 't is hard to determine whether they suffer more from the Heat in Summer or Cold in Winter During which latter Season they leave their Hergels or Horses and most of their greater Cattle to shift for themselves in the Deserts Having had often occasion to mention the River Jaicke or Yeike I shall here give a short account of what I have observed and learnt concerning its Rise and Course It comes from the Calmukes Land where it is thought to spring though some of the Russes affirm it Fountains are more Remote in Siberia the Southern parts of which is also inhabited if not possessed by the Kalmukes some of whose Ulusses or Hords are subject unto the Muscovites others in League with them but they have sometimes cruel Wars and did formerly destroy Tumen with some other Towns and Castles of the Russes who they apprehended did incroach too fast upon them But to return unto the Course of the Yeik after it hath passed through the Calmukes Country it divides the Great Nagoy from Cassachy Horda and after it hath passed in all a Thousand miles throwes it self into the Caspian Sea a little below Seraichika This is a very large River and the Land on each side well cloathed with Wood Grass divers sorts of Herbs and wild Fruits and the VVater full of good Fish which Conveniences do oft-times invite the Cossacks to make their abode there and from thence they make Incursions on divers parts bordering on the Caspian Sea This River among divers other Fish doth so wonderfully abound with Sturgeon that a man may stand upon the Pank side with a Pole in hand arm'd at the end with an Iron Crook make choice of what Sturgeon best pleaseth him which he shall rarely fail of taking though never so inexpert in Fishing if he have but strength or help to draw it on Land Not far from the Mouth of the Jaick in the Caspian Sea near the Shore are many Coves and Corners which they call Lapateens and Cultukes which are alwayes full of Swans usually swimming on the Sea which are so numerous that it is impossible to make any reasonable Computation thereof These Swans after Midsummer every Year cast their Feathers a little before which time there parts from Astracan many Boats which are manned by Russes and most of them are their Youth after a passage of 500 miles they arrive at these places which the Swans mostly haunt and having filled their Boats with Swans Skins and Feathers they return unto Astracan where a great Trade is driven with the Persians who give ordinarily a Dollar apiece for these Skins The next Country unto the Great Nagoy towards the East is Cassachy Horda which hath as I said on the West the Jaick by which it is divided from the Great Nagoy On the North the Kalmukes North East the Yurgeach or Jurgench Tartars and to the South the Caspian Sea and Caragans who inhabit on the North East side of the Caspian Sea These Cassachy Tartars march up and down the Country much after the manner of the Nagoys They have frequent Wars with the Kalmukes and Yurgeachians but seldome with either Nagoys or Caragans Only after the manner of most other Tartars they will clandestinely steal even from those Neighbours with whom they have the most uninterrupted and profound Peace Cassachy Horda is altogether Desart excepting some Woods Northward bordering upon the Kalmucks where there are divers small Rivers which empty themselves into the Jaick which River is also in most places bordered with Woods unto its Entrance into the Caspian Sea And therefore the Inhabitants may well be named Cassachy Horda or Wild people as the name imports They sowe no sort of Corn their chief Food being Horse-flesh and Mares milk which is also common to divers other Nations of the Tartars On the North of Cassachy Horda dwell the Kalmuke Tartars if such a life as they lead may be called dwelling The Country they inhabit deserves a better People the Land abounding with all things necessary for a Comfortable subsistence This Country hath store of Sables Marterns Black Foxes Squerrils and several other sorts of Furs which they Exchange with the Russes for Aqua-vitae Mead Tobacco and other Commodities This Country hath some Towns as Siberia the Head of a Province of the same name and Tumen both which the Russes have gained from them Ouffha Wadle Sellona Lucomoria which latter place they say is
almost encompass it You may embark at Venice and saying along the Gulf which is free from Pirates you must double the Cape of Matapan the most Southern Point of all Europe to enter into the Archipelago The other way is from Marseilles or Ligorn from whence several Vessels are bound for the East The safest way is to go along with the English or Holland Fleets that usually arrive at Ligorn either in the Spring or in Autumn and part just against the Morea to the several parts whither they are bound As the Wind serves those Fleets sometimes make Sail between the Iland of Elba and Italy and by the Tower of Messina sometimes below Sicily and Sardigna within sight of Malta Thus you must come within sight of Candy whether you are bound for Constantinople Smyrna or Alexandretta from whence it is but three days journey to Aleppo from one of which three Cities you must necessarily begin your journey if you intend for Persia. Some take Egypt in their way using through Alexandria Cairo and Damiata whence several Vessels are bound for Joppa or St. John's of Acra which is not far off from thence to Jerusalem or Damascus and from thence to Bagdat or Babylon If you will venture in a single Vessel not staying for the Fleets you may hire a Vessel from Ligorn to Naples from Naples to Messina keeping along by the Shore and lying a-shore every night I took this way and went from Messina to Syracuse where are to be seen the most remarkable footsteps of Antiquity 'T is like a City under ground and near to it is a great Rock which has been made hollow at the bottom whereof if a man whisper they that are at the top may hear him They call this Rock Dionysius the Tyrant's Ear for being at the top he easily understood what the People said of him below and discovered the Counsels of the chief Men of Syracuse whom lie kept prisoners there Syracuse has nothing of that splendour which renown'd it when it was the Mistress of all Sicily and when Greece jealous of her power made War upon her But the Soil is very plentiful and the Gallies of Malta very often take in their Provisions there Near the City is a fair Convent of Capuchin Friers going out of which you may walk for half an hour between two very high Rocks where there are several little Cells with every one a Garden where the Friers sometimes retire and it is certainly one of the most pleasing Solitudes in the World From Syracuse I went to Malta where you must wait for some Ship that is bound for the East CHAP. II. Of the Road from Constantinople to Ispahan which the Author kept in his first Travels into Persia. IT is seldom that any Caravans go from Constantinople into Persia but from Bursa they go every two Months Bursa is the Capital City of Bithynia not above three days journey from Constantinople or a little more These two Roads meet at Chabangi where you may be from Bursa in two Days and so I will only speak of the Roads from Constantinople to Ispahan This Journey is to be undertaken either with the Caravan of Camels or else ten or twelve Men in a Company well mounted and well arm'd From Constantinople you cross over to Scutari upon the Coast of Asia Setting out from Scutari the first days journey is very pleasant over Fields gayly painted with Flowers in their season At first for some time together on both sides the way you see nothing but fair Sepulchers with their Pyramids and you may easily discern the Womens Monuments from the Mens For there is a Turbant upon the Pyramid of the Mens Sepulcher but the Pyramids of the Womens Monuments are trimm'd with the Head-Attire which is worn by the Women of the Country That Evening you must lye at Cartali a Village of Bithynia the next Day at Gebisa anciently Lybissa famous for the Tomb of Hannibal In that place there are two good Inns and two fair Fountains The third Day you come to Isnich which is thought to be the ancient Niceae one part of the City is built upon the descent of a Hill the other part upon a Plain that reaches to the Sea and makes the Golf of Isnich The Haven consists of two Moles made of Free-stone and three great Enclosures encompass'd with Walls which serve instead of so many Arsenals wherein there are Store-houses full of large Timber for building Houses and Galleys The Country round about being an excellent place for Hunting and the Soil bearing rare Fruits and rich in Wine caus'd Sultan Amuratt to build a Seraglio in the highest part of the Town from whence there is a prospect at the same time both over the Sea and the Country The Jews inhabit the greatest part of the Town dealing chiefly in Timber and Corn. When the Wind serves you may go from Constantinople to Isnich in seven or eight Hours there being no danger in the passage The fourth Day you stay at Chabangi a small Town built upon the side of a Lake call'd Chaban-Gigul where there are two Inns. From the beginning of the Lake for two Leagues together you travel partly over Mountains partly by the Lake-side where in some places the Horse will be up to the Belly This Lake is not above ten Leagues in compass but it yields great store of large Fish infomuch that I have bought a Pike two Foot and a half long for three Sous Many Emperours have had a design to make a Cutt out of this Lake into the Sea for the more easie transporting to Constantinople the Timber which grows upon the Mountains near the Lake And if the Grand Visier who by a Miracle dy'd in his Bed and left his Son successor to his Employment had liv'd some few Years longer he had no question added this to the rest of those famous Works that eterniz'd his Memory Departing from Chabandi you come to lye at Night upon the Bank of a River call'd Zacarat which runs Northward and falls into the Black Sea It is a River plentiful in Fish and you cross over it with a wooden Bridge There is neither Town nor Inn in that place but a League from the River is a great Town call'd Ada the chiefest part of the Inhabitants whereof are Armenians Thither we sent for excellent good Wine and other necessary refreshments From that River to Cancoly where you lye the next Night and have your choice of four Inns you travel all the day in the Mershes over wooden Bridges and Causeys Tuskebasar is the next place a small Village with two Inns. From thence to Cargueslar a great Town with one Inn built upon a River where there is great store of Fish taken which the Inhabitants call Bourma-balouky that is to say the Fish with the long Nose It is speckl'd like a Trout but of a better tast and more esteem'd Polia or Polis is a City seated at the foot of several Mountains the
Inhabitants whereof are for the most part Greeks These Mountains are very high and extend themselves along the Road for two days journey They are full of several sorts of Trees which are streight and tall like Firr-trees and divided by so many Torrents which it would be hard to pass over were it not for the Bridges that the Grand Visier Kuprigli caus'd to be built In regard the soil of these Mountains is very fat there would be no drawing for the Horses after great Rains or the melting of the Snow had not the same Visier caus'd all the Ways to be Pav'd and Pitch'd even as far as Constantinople A Work of great Charge in regard there is not a Flint in any part of the Mountain and for that the Stone is to be fetch'd a great way off There are abundance of Pigeons as big as Hens and of an excellent tast which not only pleas'd our Appetites but afforded us very good Pastime to shoot them Between the City and the Mountain there is a Plain about two Leagues in length near to which there glides a River that waters it and very much contributes to its fertility It is an excellent Soil and produces all things necessary for Humane Life Upon each side of the way I counted above twenty Churchyards For it is the custom of the Turks to bury near the Highway believing that the Travellers pray for the Souls of the deceas'd Upon every Tomb there is to be seen a Marble Pillar half fix'd in the Earth of which Pillars there are so great a number of various Colours that it is from thence conjectur'd that there were a very great number of Christian Churches in Polia and the parts thereabouts They assur'd me likewise that there were a vast quantity of these Pillars in the Villages up and down in the Mountains which the Turks every day pull down to set upon their Tombs Bendourlour is a Village in the Mountains where there is one Inn. Gerradar is beyond the Mountains where there are two Inns. Cargâ—slar has two Inns and lyes in a good Country Caragalan is a Town where there are two Inns. Cosizar is a Village with one Inn. Tocia is a great City situated upon rising Hills that joyn to very high Mountains Upon the Winter West there appears a fair Champain Country water'd by a Stream that falls into a River of a greater bigness call'd Guselarmac Upon the highest of the smaller Hills toward the East there is a Fortress where a Basha resides and in the Town is one of the fairest Inns upon the Road. The greatest part of the Inhabitants are Christian Greeks who have the advantage to drink excellent Wine with which the Country furnishes them in abundance Agisensalou stands upon a River and there is an Inn and a fair Mosquee in it Ozeman is a little City seated at the foot of a Hill upon which there stands a strong Castle and below two very commodious Inns. The River Guselarmac broad and deep washes the South side of the City which you cross over one of the fairest Bridges that ever was seen It consists of fifteen Arches all of Free-stone and is a Work that shews the Grandeur of the Undertaker Somewhat at a distance from the Bridge stand six Corn-Mills all together with little wooden Bridges to go from one to another This River falls into the Euxin Sea about eight days journey from Ozeman Azilar is a great Town where there are two Inns. Delekiras is a great Village with one Inn. These Four Days Journeys are very dangerous by reason that the Ways are narrow and commodious for Robbers They are very numerous in this Country and therefore understanding that we were way-laid we sent and desir'd a Convoy of the Basha who lent us fifty Horsemen Amasia is a great City built upon an ascent in the hollow of a Mountain It has no prospect but only from the South over a fair Plain The River that runs by it comes from Tocat and throws it self into the Black Sea four days journey from Amasia You cross it over a wooden Bridge so narrow that not above three persons can go a-brest To bring fresh Water to the City they have cut a League into Rocks as hard as Marble which was a prodigious Labour On the West-side upon a high Mountain stands a Fortress where they can come by no other Water than what they preserve in Cisterns when it rains In the middle of the Mountain is a fair Spring and round about it are several Chambers cut out of the Rock where the Dervichs make their abode There are but two Inns and those very bad ones in Amasia But the Soil is good and bears the best Wine and Fruits in all Natolia Ainabachar is the name of an Inn distant a quarter of a League from a great Town where they fetch their Provisions Turcall is a great Town near to a Mountain upon which there stands a Castle The River that comes from Tocatt washes the Houses and we caught excellent Fish in it In that place is another of the fairest Inns upon the Road. From Turcall you may travel in one day to Tocatt where the Road from Smyrna to Ispahan meets Tocat is a good fair City built at the foot of a very high Mountain spreading it self round about a great Rock that stands almost in the midst of the Town upon the top whereof a high Castle commands the neighbouring parts with a good Garrison in it It is very ancient and the remainder of three others that stood there in former times The City is very well inhabited with Turks who are the Lord Controllers Armenians Greeks and Jews The Streets are very narrow but the Houses are indifferent well built and among several Mosquees there is one very magnificent which seems to be newly rear'd There was also a very fair Inn going up which when I last travell'd that way was not quite finish'd There is one thing more particular and more commodious at Tocat which is not to be found in any Inns upon the Road That round about all the Caravansera's in the Town there are Lodgings which they let out to Merchants that desire to be by themselves out of the noise and hurry of the Caravans whiles they stay at Tocat Besides that in those private Lodgings you have your liberty to drink Wine and provide for the rest of your Journey which is not so easily done in the publick Inns where the Turks will have an eye upon the Merchants to draw Money out of their pockets The Christians have twelve Churches at Tocat and there resides an Archbishop that has under him seven Suffragans There are also two Monasteries for Men and two for Women and for fourteen or fifteen Leagues round Tocat the Country is all inhabited by Armenian Christians but very few Greeks being intermix'd among them The greatest part of these Christians are Tradesmen and for the most part Smiths A fair River runs about half a quarter
Churches and of the ancient Buildings of the Armenians by which you may conjecture that it never was very beautiful The Fortress stands upon a high ground with a double Wall square Towers close one to another and a pitiful Moat The Basha resides there but in a very ill House all the Buildings about the Fortress being in a bad condition In the same Enclosure there is a little rising Ground upon which they have rais'd a small Fort wherein the Janisary-Aga lives and where the Basha has no Power When the Grand Signor has a mind to the Head of this Basha or any other considerable person in the Province he sends a Capigi with order to the Janisary to send for the Person to the little Fort where the Execution is presently done One Example hereof I saw in my last Travels into Persia For the Basha of Erzerom not having sent Twelve thousand Men so soon as the Grand Signor requir'd them for his Wars in Candy the same Capigi that brought the Sentence of his Death had the same Order for the Execution of the Basha of Kars and meeting this Capigi upon the Road in a Village upon his return for Constantinople he would needs shew me whether I would or no the Heads of the two Basha's which he was carrying to the Grand Signor in a Bag. Between the first and second Gate of the Fortress are to be seen four and twenty Pieces of Cannon most excellent Guns but lying one upon another without Carriages They lye at Erzerom to be ready upon all occasions when the Grand Signor makes War against the Persians There are in Erzerom several great Inns this City like Tocat being one of the greatest Thoroughfares in Turkie The Country about it bears Wine but not very good and in regard the People are strictly forbid to drink Wine the Merchants are forc'd to buy it very privately for fear it should come to the knowledge of the Cadi Though it be very cold at Erzerom Barley grows there in fourty days and Wheat in sixty which is very remarkable The Customs paid there for the carrying out of the Gold and Silver and upon all other Commodities is very severe Silk that comes out of Persia pays four and twenty Crowns for a Camel's Load which is eight hundred Pounds For in the mountainous Countries a Camel's Load is no more but in the plain and even Countries they make 'em carry above ten hundred weight A Load of Indian Calicutts pays a hundred Crowns but the Loads of Linnen are much heavier than those of Silk As for other Commodities they pay Six per Cent. according to their value From this Stage the Caravan sets forward to a Fortress call'd Hassan Kala where you must pay half a Piaster for every Camel's or Horses Load going from Erzerom to Erivan but returning you pay but half as much Leaving this Fortress you must go and lodge at a Bridge near to a Village which is call'd Choban-Cupri Over this Bridge which is the fairest in the whole Journey you cross two Rivers which there meet one is the Kars and the other is a Stream that falls from a Mountain call'd Binguiel both which disburthen themselves into the Aras The Caravan usually stays a day or two at this Bridge because the Caravan divides it self at this place some continuing on the High-road others taking the Road of Kars as well to avoid fording the Aras several times as the paying a great Duty upon the great Road where they exact four Piasters upon every Camel's Load and two upon every Horse-Load whereas at Kars you are dismiss'd for half so much I went Kars Road twice but it is longer and more troublesom than the other As soon as you leave the Bridge for the first four days you travel over woody Mountains and very desert Countries where you meet but with one Village but coming near Kars the Country is more pleasant and well manur'd bearing all sorts of Grain Kars is in 78 Deg. 40 Min. of Longitude and 42 Deg. 40 Min. of Latitude in a very good Soil The City is very large but thinly peopl'd though Provision be very plentiful and very cheap But the Grand Signor always choosing that place to rendezvouz his Army whenever he intended to recruit it and to lodge his People there which he sent to build Villages the King of Persia has ruin'd all the Country as he did at Sulfa and in many other Frontier places for nine or ten days journey together From Kars to Erivan the Caravan makes it nine days journey and lyes where it can find most convenience there being no certain Stages The first days journey ends at a Monastery and a Village the one no less deserted than the other The next day you come to the Ruines of a great City call'd Anikagaë in the Armenian Language the City of Ani which was the name of an Armenian King that was the Founder of it By the Wall on the East-side runs a rapid Stream that falls from the Mountains of Mingrelia and empties it self into the River of Kars This City was very strongly situated being plac'd in a Mersh where are to be seen the Remains of two Causeys that only led to the Town There are the Ruines of several Monasteries among the rest two that are entire suppos'd to be Royal Foundations From thence to Erivan for two days journey you meet with only two Villages near the last of which you ride by the side of a Hill whither when the Caravan passes by the People bring Horses from several Parts to be sold. The Great Road from the Bridge where the Caravan parts lyes thus Two Leagues from the Bridge on the right hand toward the South lyes a great Mountain which the People of the Country call Mingol In this Mountain there are abundance of Springs and from one side of it falls Euphrates from the other side the River of Kars which empties it self into the Aras fourteen or fifteen Leagues on this side Erivan The Aras which the Ancients call'd Araxes falls from other Mountains Eastward of Mingol which after many windings through the Upper Armenia where it receives many other Rivers that swell its Streams it discharges it self into the Caspian Sea two days journey from Shamaki upon the Frontiers of the ancient Medes The whole Country is inter-cut by the Rivers Aras and Kars and several other Streams that fall into them inhabited by very few but what are Christians those few Mahumetans that live among them being so superstitious that they will not drink the Water of any of those Rivers nor wash in them believing them impure and defil'd by the use which the Christians make of them They have their particular Wells and Cisterns by themselves which they will not suffer a Christian to come near Comasour is the first Village where you lodge after you leave the Bridge of Choban-Kupri going to Erivan Halicarcara is the next Stage to Comasour this is a great Town also
of Christ was pierc'd the Figure whereof I caus'd to be drawn upon the Place The Armenians have this Lance in great Veneration saying that it was brought thither by St. Matthew Five Leagues from Erivan towards the South-East begins the Mountain Ararat which will be always famous for being the resting-place of Noah's Ark. Half a League from that Mountain where the Plain begins to grow level stands a Church upon a little Hillock close by which are several Pits like Wells They report that it was into one of these Wells that Cerda an Armenian King caus'd St. Gregory to be thrown because he would not Worship his false Gods Between this Church and Erivan are to be seen the Ruines of the Ancient Artaxate the Seat of the Kings of Armenia which demonstrate that it has been a great City besides there appear the Ruines of a fair Palace Erivan lyes in 64 Degrees 20 Minutes of Longitude 41 Degrees 15 Minutes of Latitude in a most plentiful Country of all things necessary for Humane Life but especially abounding in good Wine It is one of the best Provinces of all Persia and yields the King a very large Revenue as well by reason of the goodness of the Soil as for being the great Thoroughfare of the Caravans The yearly Revenue of the Governour only otherwise call'd the Kan of Erivan amounts to above 20000 Tomans which make 840000 Livres This City lying upon the Frontiers of both Empires has been taken and retaken by the Turks and Persians several times By which means the old City being ruin'd they have built a new one 800 Paces on this side upon a Rock at the foot whereof upon the West-side runs a rapid Stream it is call'd by the Name of Sangui-Cija and in many places it is deep and full of Rocks You cross it over a fair Bridge of three Arches in which are built little Chambers where the Kan retires in the heat of the day It is full of Fish especially Trouts which nevertheless are dear enough This River comes from a Lake called Gigaguni about 25 Leagues from Erivan toward the North and falls into the Aras that runs not above three Leagues off to the South Though this City be fortified to the West by the River yet it is never the stronger by reason of the Hills on the other side which command it and in regard it is built upon a Rock the Moats of the Fort are not above three or four Foot deep In some places the City is secur'd with a double Wall with several Towers but the Walls being only of Earth as are most of the Houses the Rain does more mischief than the Cannon would do That part of Erivan to the North-West is a kind of Suburb but far better inhabited than the City for there live all the Merchants and Artificers together with the Christian Armenians who have four Churches there with a Monastery And of late years they have built also a very fair Inn in the same Quarter In the City there only lives the Kan with the Military Officers and Souldiers the Kan's Lodgings lying upon the River The Governour is a Person of great Power and has always sufficient Forces about him to guard the Frontiers The Summer being very hot at Erivan he lyes in Tents upon the Mountains during the Heat When a Caravan arrives he is forc'd to give the King advice thereof and if any Ambassador come thither he is bound to maintain him at his own Expence and to cause him to be conducted to the Territories of the next Governour who is oblig'd to do the same So that Ambassadors are not bound to be at any Expences in the Territories of the King of Persia. Four Leagues from the City are high Mountains where the Natives that inhabit the hot and Sun-burnt Countries toward Chaldea come twenty thousand together to seek out good Pasturage for their Cattel and about the end of Autumn return again into their own Country I cannot compare this Mountainous Tract whether for its Valleys and Rivers or for the nature of the Soil to any Part that I have seen better than to that portion of Switzerland which is call'd the Country of Vaux and there is a Tradition among the Natives That certain People that inhabited between the Alpes and Mount Jura and which compos'd a Squadron of Alexander's Army having serv'd him in his Conquests seated themselves in this part of Armenia which they found so like their own Country From Tocat to Tauris the Inhabitants are for the most part Christians Which large Tract of Ground being that which the Ancients call'd the Province of Armenia 't is no wonder to meet with fifty Armenians for one Mahometan There are many ancient Armenian Families in Erivan which is their native Country but they are ill us'd by the Governours who being far distant from the Court do what they please This City not being far remote from the Province from whence the Silks come is the place where all the Buyers and Sellers resort But neither in Erivan nor in any other part of Persia are the Merchants put to open their Bales at the Custom-Houses as in Turkie They only pay certain Duties toward securing the Highways which Duties they call Raderies and those that gather them Raders The Kans or Governours of Provinces in Persia are civil to Strangers especially to those that they like or that shew them any thing of Curiosity The first time that I went into Persia I took a young Watch-maker with me and coming to Erivan I carried him to the Kan who was then Governour It was at a time when Watches were very rare in Persia and the Kan understanding what Trade the Young Man was of told us he was the first Watch-maker that ever had been in Persia Thereupon he brought the Young Man a Watch to mend and that he might have the pleasure of seeing him work he lodg'd us in a Chamber next his own and made us drink with him every day for he was a true Toper and compell'd us to drink with him from four in the Afternoon 'till near Midnight in a place which he had made on purpose in his Garden to take off his Glasses This was he that having deliver'd Erivan to Sultan Amurat went along with him to Constantinople and became his Favourite for teaching him to Drink Amurat left a Garrison of 22000 Men in the City but Sha-Sefi the Persian King begirt it presently with a strong Army and planting himself securely under one of the Hills that command the City he batter'd it incessantly with eight Pieces of Cannon the fourth day he made a Breach and though he had the repute of a Coward he was the first at the Assault and took the City and because they would not yield at his Summons he put all the Garrison to the Sword For which Amurat was quit with Sha-Sefi afterwards though not in so noble a way for entring a Victor into Bagdat he put all the Persians
you will beleive the Armenians they will tell you that there were in Sultanie near eight hundred Churches and Chappels Three Leagues from Sultanie stands an Inn and a League farther a great Town call'd Ija where there is another very commodious Inn and most excellent Wine From thence you go to Habar an ancient City and of a large extent but very much ruin'd inhabited by Armenians for the most part Here for the good Wines sake the Travellers stay to recruit their Bottles From Habar after seven hours travel you come to a Village call'd Partin From Zangan to Partin you reach in two days It stands in a fertil Plain where there are several other Villages It is not above three Leagues broad being enclos'd on each side to the East and West with a row of high Mountains Having pass'd this Plain you come to a barren Country and ill inhabited which lasts all the day till you come to Sexava You pass by the Ruines of a Village where there are but two Houses standing with the Tower of a Mosquee which is very high and slender Then you come to a Mud-wall'd-Inn built some few years since and near to that a Castle call'd Khiara upon the peek of a Hill but very ill built Sexava is a little City in a Soil that bears excellent Nuts The Inns that are there being built of Earth and being but little are very handsom and convenient their number supplying the defect of their smalness From Sexava after seven hours travel you come to a great Inn call'd Idgioup which was formerly a nobler place than now it is standing alone in a Field Three Leagues from thence you meet with another spacious Inn call'd Cochkeria and four hours farther you come to the Inn Denghé where the two Roads meet which I spake of in the foregoing Chapter From Denghé to Kom are three days journey over a barren dry and desert Country where there is no Water but Cistem-water except in some very few places where it is very good Four Leagues from Denghé is a fair Inn and three Leagues farther stands another about a Mile from a Village to the South where there grows excellent good Wine white and red From this last Inn to Sava is not above three hours travel with the Caravan Sava is a good City in a fertil Plain where there are several Villages The greatest Trade of the Town is in little grey Lamb-skins the curl whereof is very neat of which they make Furrs Two or three Leagues beyond Sava the Country is very well manur'd and after you have forded a River half a League from the City after two hours travel you come to one of the fairest Inns in all Persia which was finish'd when I went last to Ispahan From thence to Kom it is about seven or eight hours journey through a dry and sandy Road but half a League on this side Kom the Land is very good and fruitful Kom is one of the great Cities of Persia in a fat Country abounding in Rice There grow also excellent Fruits particularly large and excellent Granates The Walls are only of Earth with little Towers close one to another and the Houses being only of Earth are never the handsomer within-side At the entry into the Town you must cross a River over a stone Bridge and then turning to the right hand over a fair Key you come to an Inn very well built and very convenient That which is most remarkable in Kom is a large Mosquee no less in veneration among the Persians than the Mosquee of Ardeüil There it is that you may see the Sepulchers of Sha-Sefi and Sha-Abas the Second as also the Tomb of Sidi-Fatima the Daughter of Iman-Hoven who was the Son of Haly and Fatima-Zuhra the Daughter of Mahomet The great Gate of the Mosquee answers to a Piazza more long than broad where stands an Inn and certain Shops which without-side are somewhat beautiful One of the sides of the Piazza is clos'd up with a low Wall over which appears the Shore and a River which you cross at the end of the Piazza Over the great Portal of the Mosquee stands an Inscription in Letters of Gold in the Praise of Sha-Abas the Second The first place that you enter into is a Court of more length than breadth which may be term'd a Garden in regard that on each side of the Alley in the middle which is pav'd there are several square Beds of Flowers yellow Jasmin and other Plants which are rail'd in by a Rail that runs all the length of the Alley on each side It is not an easie thing for the Christians to get in to this Court especially such whose Habits and Aspect they do not like But as I cloth'd and carry'd my self I never was deny'd entrance into any place either in Persia or India In this first Court on the left hand as you enter are little Chambers where they that receive the Alms which by the Foundation of the Mosquee are to be distributed every day come and eat their proportion and then go their ways Those Chambers serve as an Asylum to those that cannot pay their Debts as at the Mosquee of Ardeüil Neither are these Priviledg'd places like ours where they that retire must live at their own Charge For in Persia they are fed at the Expence of the Mosquee and being in that manner freed from Care their Friends more easily bring their Creditors to Composition Out of the first Court you pass into a second which is larger and all pav'd and from that into a third which is square and rais'd like a Terrass You enter into it through a large Gate at the end of an open Passage where stand the Lodgings of the Moullah's Out of that Court by an ascent of Brickwork of ten or twelve Steps you enter into a fair Court which is also rais'd like a Terrass in the midst whereof is a fair Fountain It is continually fill'd by little Pipes of Water which run into it and is empty'd by others that carry the Water into several parts of the whole Enclosure There are some Buildings in this Court but one of the sides of it is taken up with the Front of the Mosquee which is no displeasing Structure There are three large Gates belong to it very well expanded according to the mode of the Country with a Brick-wall before about the height of a Man with Holes in it for Light made like a Lozange The Threshold of the middle Gate is cover'd with a plate of Silver and between these three Gates and that of the Duomo are several Doctors that hold Books in their hands and read perpetually This Mosquee is Octagonal and at every angle is a small wooden Door of Walnut-tree varnish'd with grey and yellow The Tomb of Sidi-Fatima is at the farther part of the Mosquee there being only room for one Man to pass between the Wall and the Tomb. It is encompass'd with a large Silver Grate sixteen
abuse his Office Constantinople is at hand where you may complain to the Mufti and have relief who for some good Present may be easily perswaded to depose the Cady as being glad of the opportunity to displace him and to put another in his room The Customs of Smyrna yield a great Revenue to the Grand Signor being paid there very exactly But were there a certain Rate put upon Commodities the Merchants who would otherwise be losers would not study so many ways as they do to deceive the Customers For those Customers lay what Price they please upon Commodities valuing that at a thousand Crowns which perhaps is not worth three hundred being absolute Masters of the Rate In my last Voyage to Smyrna four Dutch Women that went thither in our Ship from their own Country carry'd a-shoar under their Coats whatever I had of rich Merchandize for the Turks have such a respect for that Sex that they will not so much as offer to search them If a man be tak'n in stealing Customs there is no other punishment than to pay double The Trade of Smyrna is very great and the principal Merchandizes which the Franks transport from thence are raw Silk which the Armenians bring out of Persia Chamlet-yarn and Chamlet or Goats-hair which come from a little City call'd Angouri fifteen or sixteen days journey from Smyrna Cotton twisted Skins and Cordovans of several colours Calicuts white and blew great quantities of Wool for Mattresses Tap'stries quilted Coverlets Soap Rhubarb Galls Valanede Scammony and Opium which four last Commodities are to be had in the Countries near to Smyrna but not in great quantities The Caravans come generally to this Town in the Months of February June and October and depart again to the Countries from whence they came the same Months Ephesus not being above a day and a halfs journey from Smyrna on Horse-back I took an opportunity to go thither There were twelve of us that joyn'd together Franks and Hollanders who took three Janisaries along with us and three Horses to carry our Provision We travel'd this little Journey in the Summer and setting out of Smyrna about three of the Clock in the Afternoon we rode through a Country part Plains and part Hills till we came to a great Viliage where we sup'd After we had staid there three hours we took Horse and travel'd till Midnight to avoid the Heats By the way we met with nine or ten Arches very narrow which we could not conjecture to be any thing else than the Ruines of some Aqueduct From thence to Ephesus the way is very pleasant through little Thickets watred with Rivulets A quarter of a League from Ephesus you meet with another Mosquee which was formerly a Christian Church built out of the Ruines of the Temple of Ephesus This Mosquee stands enclos'd with Walls and you must ascend up to it by two Ascents of twelve Steps a-piece which bring you to a large Passage From thence you enter into a large Cloyster the Arches whereof are sustain'd with Marble Pillars of several colours delicately wrought and the lower part of the Gallery which runs along three of the sides that consists of great Squares of Stone The Mosquee takes up the fourth side upon the left hand the Gate being in the middle The Mosquee it self is a wide Arch supported by five Columns all of most exquisite Work There are four of Marble and every one of a different Colour but the fifth is a most rare piece being of Porphyry and the bigness of it makes it so much the more to be admir'd Ephesus does not look like a City being so absolutely ruin'd that there is not a House standing It was built upon the descent of a Hill in a situation not much unlike that of Smyrna at the foot whereof runs a Rivulet after it has made a thousand Maeanders in the Meadows The City seems to have been very large for you may discern upon the top of the Gates the compass of the Walls with several square Towers some of which are still standing and there is one very remarkable having two Chambers in it one of which is a very fair one the Walls and Pavement whereof are Marble The famous Temple of Diana stood at the bottom of the Hill near one of the Gates of the City There remains nothing of it at present but the great Portal which is entire The Vaults of the Arches under ground stand to this day and are very large but all full of nastiness We went in with Lanthorns and though you must creep to get in by reason that the Wind has almost stopt up the Hole by gathering the Dust about it yet when you are in you may go upright for the Arches are high and fair and little the worse Near the Gate lye four or five Columns upon the Ground and near to that a Fountain ten Foot in Diameter and two deep The People of the Country report that it was the Fountain wherein St. John Baptiz'd the Christians For my part as I have seen in the Indies several Pagods and Edifices much more beautiful than ever the Temple of Ephesus could be I believe it rather to have been a Basin wherein the People put their Offerings of which there are several such that belong to the Indian Pagods The Greeks and Armemenians but above all the Franks when they go to Ephesus always endeavour to break off some piece of that Basin to carry it away with 'em as a Relick but the Stone is so hard that they can break off but very little at a time Not far from the Temple appears another Gate of the City over which there lyes a great Stone seven or eight Foot square with an emboss'd Figure of Q. Curtius that Famous Roman who threw himself Horse and Arms into the gaping Earth for the good of his Country Many Merchants have offer'd Money for liberty to carry it away but cannot obtain leave About five hundred Paces from Ephesus is the Grotto which they call the Seven Sleepers at the bottom of the same Hill where the City was built From Ephesus we went to Scalanova which is not above two Leagues off By that time you come half the way the little River that runs by Ephesus falls into the Sea in the mouth whereof there are always a great number of Greek Barks fishing for Sturgeon Of the Spawn of this Fish they make Gaveare and drive a great Trade in it in those Parts then they take the most delicate and smallest Entrails of that Fish which they fill with the same Spawn of which they make a kind of a flat Pudding as long as a Bisket which they call Botargo This they dry in the Smoak and cut it afterwards in slices to eat Upon this and the Cuttle-fish the Greeks generally feed during their Lent which is very austere Scalanova is a Port of which I have already spoken and thither we came by seven a Clock in the Evening where the
pay a Roupy at the Salt-Pits and no more afterwards through the whole Kingdom Had this Raja of Parta Salt of his own he would never be Tributary to the Great Mogul Fig. 5 and 6. is the Money of the Raja of Ogen The Raja of Ogen is also a Tributary to the Great Mogul his Country lies between Brampour Seronge and Amadabat and it is one of the best Soils in the Indies His Silver Money passes no-where but in his own Country not being suffer'd in the Mogul's His Silver Money goes for a quarter of a Roupy at 7 Sous 6 Deneer's but the Silver is base His Copper Money goes for 6 Deneers and is currant in the Mogul's Dominions as far as Agra For his smaller Money he makes use of those Shells whereof we have already spoken Pieces of Gold called Pagods which are currant in the Territories of the King of Golconda the King of Visapour the Great Raja of Carnatica the Raja of Velouche and at the Diamond Mines ALL the Pieces of Gold represented in the Plate of Golconda-Money pass through all these Countries at the same value and are about the weight of our half Pistol but the Gold is of a baser Mettal so that an Ounce is not worth above 42 or 43 Livres not going for more than four Roupies Peices of Gold call'd Pagods English Holland Money Fig. 1. The old Pagod Fig. 2. The King of Golconda's Pagod Fig. 3 and 4. The King of Visapour's Pagod Fig. 5 and 6. The Raja of Carnatica's Pagod Fig. 7 and 8. The Raja of Velouche's Pagod Fig. 9 10 11 and 12. are the Half-Pagods of those Kings and Raja's Fig. 13 14 15 16 and 17. are little Pieces of Gold call'd Fanos which are of different value There are some whereof six go to a Crown others from ten to fifteen and some are very base mettal This is the Money that passes all along the Coast of Coromandel from Cape Comorin as far as Bengala And they have very little other than that besides the Pecha of Copper and the Shells which pass for small Money The Money which the English and Hollanders Coin in the Indies FIgure 1 and 2. is the Money which the English coin in their Fort St. George or else at Madrespatan upon the Coast of Coromandel They call them Pagods as those of the Kings and Raja's of the Country are call'd They are of the same weight the same goodness and pass for the same value Formerly the English never coin'd any Silver or Copper Money for in some parts that border upon the Indians where they have Factories as at Surat Maslipatan or at Bantam they find it more profitable to carry Gold from England than Silver Gold lying in less room and not being so troublesome besides that by carrying Gold they more easily escape the paying those Customs which the Kings impose upon Gold and Silver But since the present King of England married the Princess of Portugal who had in part of her Portion the famous Port of Bombeye where the English are very hard at work to build a strong Fort they coin both Silver Copper and Tinn But that Money will not go at Surat nor in any part of the Great Mogul's Dominions or in any of the Territories of the Indian Kings only it passes among the English in their Fort and some two or three Leagues up in the Country and in the Villages along the Coast the Country people that bring them their Wares being glad to take that Money otherwise they would see but very little stirring in regard the Country is very poor and the people have nothing to sell but Aqua vitae made of Coco-Wine and Rice Fig. 3. and 4. is the Gold Money which the Hollanders coin at Palicate which is a Fort that they possess upon the Coast of Coromandel Those pieces are also call'd Pagods and are of the same weight with the others but for the goodness I think they are better by two or three in the hundred than those of the Kings and Raja's of the Country or which the English make I made this observation being at the Diamond-Mines and in other parts of the Indies where there is any great Trade For the first thing they ask you is whether you have any Pagods of Pelicate and if you have you speed much better in your business Fig. 5. and 6. is a Roupv of Silver which the Hollanders coin at Pelicate being of the same weight with those which the Great Mogul or the Kings of Golconda and Visapour make It has in the middle upon one side the mark of the Holland Company to distinguish it from others The Hollanders Roupies of Silver are quite contrary to their Pagods of Gold which are more esteemed by the Indians than those of the Princes of the Country For they make far less account of these Roupies of Silver and if you pay any great sum in these pieces though the Silver be as good as the others you must lose one half per Cent. Fig. 7. and 8. is the Hollanders small Copper-Money wherewith they ordinarily pay their Soldiers It has upon one side the mark of the Company And indeed the Hollanders who mind nothing but their profit had great reason to obtain leave to coin Money for bringing only Gold from Japan from Macassar only Gold in Powder and from China Gold in Ingots and selling all these to the Bankers they found that they lost five or six per Cent. which proceeded from the mistrust of the Changers and the chief of the Factories belonging to the Company Now they shun that loss and make the same profit which the Bankers did coining all these mettals into money Though in every Voyage which they make to Japan they generally lose one Vessel by storm yet some years they make five or six Millions of Livres profit all freights discharged and hazards escaped But that profit is quite lost since their loss of the Island of Formosa The Money of the King of Cheda and Pera. THis Money is of Tin and is coin'd by the King of Cheda and Pera. He coins no other Money than Tin Some years he found out several Mines which was a great prejudice to the English For the Hollanders and other Merchants buy it and vend it over all Asia Formerly the English brought it out of England and furnished great part of Asia where they consum'd a vast quantity they carried it also into all the Territories of the Great Mogul as also into Persia and Arabia for all their Dishes are of Copper which they cause to be Tinned over every month Among the meaner sort of people there is little to be seen but this Tin-money and the Shels call'd Cori which I have spoken of already The Money of the King of Beda and Pera. Money of the King of Achen Money of the King of Siam Fig. 3 and 4. is a piece that goes at the value of four Deneers Fig. 5 and 6. are their Shells
heard and to appease them by representing to them that they ought to have some respect to the Nephew of the King by that means obliging them to retire That night the Body of the Governour was sent to Agra with his Haram and Cha-jehan who then reign'd being inform'd of the accident was not much troubl'd because he is Heir to all the goods of his Subjects and at the same time he bestow'd upon the Page a small Government in the Province of Bengala From Brampour to Piombi-sera costes 5 Before we go any farther you must take notice that where-ever you meet with the word Sera it signifies a great Enclosure of Walls and Hedges within which are about fifty or sixty Huts cover'd over with Straw There are some men and women that there put to sale Flower Rice Butter and Herbs and make it their business to bake Bread and boil Rice If there be any Mahumetan in that place he will go to the City and buy a little piece of Mutton or a Fowl and those that sell Victuals to the Travellers always cleanse the Hut which they take up and put into it a little Bed with girths to lay a Mattress or Quilt upon which the Travellers carry along with them From Piombi-sera to Pander costes 3 From Pander to Balki-sera costes 6 From Balki-sera to Nevilki-sera costes 5 From Nevilki-sera to Consemba costes 5 From Consemba to Chenipore costes 3 From Chenipore to Charava costes 8 From Charava to Bich-ola costes 8 From Bich-ola to Andy costes 4 At Andy you must pass a River that falls into Ganges between Banarou and Patna From Andi to Onquenas costes 4 From Onquenas to Tiquery costes 5 From Tiquery to Tool-meden costes 4 From Tool-meden to Nova-sera costes 4 From Nova-sera to Ichavour costes 4 From Ichavour to Signor costes 5 From Signor to Chekaipour costes 3 From Chekaipour to Dour-ay costes 3 From Dour-ay to Aser-kaira costes 3 From Aser-kaira to Telor costes 3 From Telor to San-kaira costes 3 From San-kaira to Seronge costes 12 Seronge is a great City the most part of the Inhabitants whereof are Banian Merchants and Handicraft-trades-men from Father to Son which is the reason that there are in this City several Houses of Stone and Brick There is also a great Trade for all sorts of painted Calicuts which are called Chites which is the cloathing of all the meaner sort of people both in Persia and Turkey Of which in other Countreys also they make use for Coverlets for Beds and Table-napkins They make the same sort of Calicuts in other Countreys as well as at Seronge but the colours are not so lively besides that they wear out with often washing Whereas those that are made at Seronge the more you wash them the fairer the colours shew There runs a River by the City the water whereof has that vertue that it gives that beauty and liveliness to the colours And all the while the rains fall the Workmen will make these prints upon their Cottons according to the Patterns which the Forreign Merchants give them for when the waters are ceas'd the water is the thicker and the oftener they dip their Calicuts the better the colours hold There is also made at Seronge another sort of Calicut which is so fine that when a man puts it on his skin shall appear through it as if he were naked The Merchants are not permitted to transport it For the Governour sends it all to the Seraglio of the Great Mogul and to the principal Lords of the Court. Of this the Sultanesses and great Noblemen's Wives make them Shifts and Garments in hot-weather And the King and the Lords take great pleasure to behold them in those Shifts and to see them Dance with nothing else upon their Bodies From Brampore to Seronge is an hundred and one costes which are longer than those from Surat to Brampore for the Coach is a full hour and sometimes five quarters going one of these costes In these hundred leagues of the Countrey you travel whole days journeys along by most fertil Fields of Corn and Rice being lovely Champaign where you meet with very little Wood and from Seronge to Agra the Countrey is much of the same nature And because the Villages lye thick together your journey is the more pleasant besides that you may rest when you please From Seronge to Madalki-sera costes 6 From Madalki-sera to Poulki-sera costes 2 From Poulki-sera to Kasariki-sera costes 3 From Kasariki-sera to Chadolki-sera costes 6 From Chadolki-sera to Callabas costes 6 Callabas is a great Town which was formerly the Residence of a Raja who paid Tribute to the Great Mogul But when Orang-zeb came to the Crown he not only cut off his but a great number of the heads of his Subjects There are two Towers near the Town upon the high-way and round about the Towers are several holes like windows and in every hole two foot distant one from another there is fix'd a man's head In my last Travels in the year 1665 it had not been long since that Execution had been done for then all the Heads were whole and caus'd a very ill smell From Callabas to Akmate costes 2 From Akmate to Collasar costes 9 Collasar is a little Town all the Inhabitants whereof are Idolaters As I past through it upon my last Travels there were brought to it eight Pieces of Artillery the one carrying 48 pound-Bullet the rest 36. Every Piece was drawn by 24 Yoke of Oxen. A very strong Elephant follow'd the Artillery and when they came to any bad-way where the Oxen were at a stand they brought up the Elephant who heav'd the Cannon forward with his Trunk Without the Town all along the high-way there grows a vast number of great Trees which they call Mangues and in many places neer the Trees are to be seen little Pagods with every one an Idol at the door The Elephant passing by one of the Pagods before which I was lodg'd at the door whereof there stood three Idols about five foot high so soon as he came near one he took it up in his trunk and broke it in two pieces the next he took he threw it up so high and so far that he broke it in four pieces and carried away the head of the third along with him Some thought that the Governour of the Elephant had taught him what to do and made signs to him which however I did not observe nevertheless the Banians were very much offended though they durst not say any thing for there was a Guard of above two thousand men that convoy'd the Artillery all Souldiers of the King and Mahometans besides Franguis or Franks English and Hollanders that were Cannoneers The King sent this Artillery to his Army in Decan being at Wars with the Raja Sova-gi who the year before had plunder'd Surat of whom I shall have occasion to speak in another place From Collasar to Sansele costes 6 From Sansele to Dongry costes 4 From Dongry
where while the King is sitting upon the Seat of Justice they that have business are to stand Further it is not lawful for them to go till they are call'd and Embassadors themselves are not exempted from this custom When an Embassador comes as far as this Channel the Master of the Ceremonies calls out toward the Divan where the King is sitting that such an Embassador craves Audience of his Majesty Then one of the Secretaries of State declares it to the King who oftentimes makes as if he did not hear But some time after lifting up his eyes he casts them upon the Embassador making him a sign by the same Secretary that he may approach From the Hall of the Divan turning to the left you walk upon a Terrass where you discover the River Over this Terrass the King passes into a little Chamber from whence he goes into his Haram In this little Chamber it was that I had my first Audience of his Majesty as I shall relate in another place Upon the left-hand of the Court where the Divan is built stands a little Mosquee neatly built the Cupola whereof is cover'd with Lead perfectly guilded Here the King goes to hear Prayers every day except it be Fridays when he is to go to the great Mosquee which is a very fair one and plac'd upon an high Platform rais'd higher than the Houses of the City and there is a noble ascent to it That day that the King goes to the Mosquee they place huge rails of wood round about the steps as well to keep off the Elephants as out of respect to the Mosquee The right-side of the Court is taken up with Portico's that make a long Gallery rais'd from the ground about half a foot and these are the King's Stables into which you have many doors to enter They are also full of stately Horses the worst whereof stands the King in three-thousand Crowns and there are some that cost him ten-thousand At the door of every one of these Stables hangs a kind of Mat made of Bambouc that cleaves like our Osiers But whereas we bind our Osier-twigs with the same Osier they bind their Bambouc's with wreath'd-Silk which is delicate work but very tedious These Mats are to hinder the Flies from tormenting the Horses there being two Grooms to an Horse one of which is still employ'd in sanning the Beast There are also Mats spread before the Portico's and before the Stable-door which they spread or take away as occasion requires And the Floor of the Gallery is cover'd with fair Carpets which is taken away in the evening and the Horses Litter strow'd in the same place Which Litter is nothing but the Horse-dung dri'd in the Sun and then squeez'd a little flat The Horses that are brought into India either out of Persia Arabia or the Countrey of Vsbech change their food For in India they never give them Hay nor Oats Every Horse in the morning having for his proportion three loaves made of Meal Wheat and Butter as big as one of our six-penny-loaves 'T is an hard matter to bring them to this diet at first it being sometimes three or four Months before they can do it The Groom is forc'd to hold their tongue in one hand and to thrust down the bread with the other When Sugar-Canes or Millet are in season they give them that diet about noon and in the evening two hours before Sun-set they give them a measure of Garden-Chiches which the Groom squeezes between two stones and mixes with water This is instead of Barley and Oats As for the King 's other Stables where he has also very fine Horses they are scurvy places ill-built which deserve not to be mention'd The Gemene is a fair River that bears good big Boats which running to Agra loses its name falling into Ganges at Hallabas The King has several small Brigantines at Gehanabad upon the River to take his pleasure in and they are very curiously trimm'd after the manner of the Countrey CHAP. VII The continuance of the same Road from Dehly to Agra FRom Dehly to Badelpoura costes 8 From Radelpoura to Pelvel-ki-sera costes 18 From Pelvel-ki-sera to Cotki-sera costes 15 From Cotki-sera to Cheki-sera costes 16 At Cheki-sera is one of the greatest Pagods of the Indians together with an Hospital for Apes as well for those that breed there-abouts as for those that come from the neighbouring-parts which the Banians are very careful to feed This Pagod is call'd Matura and it was formerly in far greater veneration than it is at this day The reason is because the Gemene ran then just at the very foot of the Pagod wherein the Banians as well those of the Countrey as those that came from remote parts in Pilgrimage had the convenience to wash themselves before they went to their Devotions and when they had perform'd them to wash again before they eat which they are not to do ere they have wash'd believing also that if they wash in running-water their sins will be the more easily defac'd But some years since the River changing its course more to the Northward comes not within a good league of the Pagod which is the reason that the Pilgrims have deserted it From Cheki-sera to Goodki-sera costes 5 From Goodki-sera to Agra costes 6 Agra lies in 27 deg 31 min. of Lat. and in a Sandy-soil which causes extremity of heat It is the biggest City in India and formerly the Residence of their Kings The Houses of great Persons are fair and well-built but the Houses of the meaner-sort are as plain as in all the other Cities of India They are built a good distance one from another and hid by the height of their Walls to keep their Women from being seen So that it may be easily conjectur'd that their Cities are nothing so pleasant as ours in Europe Add to this that Agra being encompast round with the Sands the heats are there very excessive which constrain'd Cha-jehan to remove from thence and to keep his Court at Gehanabad All that is remarkable in Agra is the King's Palace and some Monuments as well near the City as in the parts about it The Palace of the King is a vast piece of ground encompast with a double-wall which is terrass'd in some parts and in those parts are built certain Lodgings for some of the Officers of the Court The Gemene runs before the Palace but between the Wall and the River there is a large space of ground where the King causes his Elephants to fight This Field is on purpose near the water because that the Elephant which gets the victory being in a fury they could not bring him to himself did they not drive him into the River to which end they are forc'd to have recourse to Policy by tying Squibs and Crackers to the end of an Half-Pike and then giving fire to them to fright him into the water for when he is in but two or three-foot-deep he is presently
Bank of Ganges toward the West not being less than two Leagues in length But the Houses are no fairer than in the greatest part of the other Cities of India being cover'd with Bambouck or Straw The Holland Company have a House there by reason of their Trade in Saltpeter which they refine at a great Town call'd Choupar which is also scituated upon Ganges ten Leagues above Patna Coming to Patna we met the Hollanders in the Street returning from Choupar who stop'd our Coaches to salute us We did not part till we had emptied two Bottles of Sohiras Wine in the open Street which is not taken notice of in that Country where people meet with an entire freedom without any Ceremony I stay'd eight days at Patna during which time there fell out an accident which will let the Reader understand that Sodomy does not go altogether unpunish'd among the Mahumetans A Mimbachi who commanded a thousand Foot went about to abuse a young Boy in his service and who had several times resisted his attempts complaining also to the Governour and telling him withall that if his Master persisted to urge him any more he would certainly kill him At length the Captain took his opportunity at a House which he had in the Country and forc'd the Boy The Boy o'rewhelm'd with grief and rage took his opportunity also to revenge himself and being one day hunting with his Master about a quarter of a League from any of his other Servants he got behind him and cleft his head with his Hanger After he had done he rode full speed to the City crying out all the way that he had kill'd his Master for such a reason and went immediately to the Governours Lodging who sent him to prison but he let him out at the end of six months and notwithstanding all the endeavours which the Captains Kindred us'd to have had him put to death the Governour durst not condemn him for fear of the people who affirm'd that the Boy had done well I parted from Patna in a Boat for Daca the nine and twentieth of January between eleven and twelve at noon and had the River been deep as it uses to be after the Rains I had taken Boat at Hallabas or at least at Banarou The same day I came to lye at sera-Beconcour costes 15 Five Leagues on this side Beconcour you meet with a River call'd Pomponsou which comes from the South and falls into Ganges The thirtieth to Sera-d ' Erija costes 17 The one and thirtieth after we had travel'd four Leagues or thereabout we met with the River Kaoa which comes from the South Three Leagues lower you meet with another River call'd Chanon which comes from the North. Four Leagues farther you discover the River Erguga which runs from the South and at length six Leagues beyond the River Aquera falling from the same part of the World all which four Rivers lose their Names in the Ganges All that day I saw great Mountains toward the South distant from Ganges sometimes ten and sometimes fifteen Leagues till at length I came to lodg in Monger-City costes 18 The first day of January 1666 after I had gone by Water two hours I saw the Gandet fall into the Ganges flowing from the North. This is a great River that carries Boats That eveining I lay at Zangira costes 8 But in regard of the winding of Ganges all that days journey I might well reckon them by Water two and twenty Leagues The second day from between six in the morning till eleven I saw three Rivers that threw themselves into Ganges all three descending from the North. The first is call'd Ronova the second Then the third Ghanan I came to lye at Baquelpour costes 18 The third after four hours upon the Ganges I met the River Katare which comes from the North and lay at a Village call'd Pongangel at the foot of certain Mountains that descend to Ganges it self costes 13 The fourth an hours rowing beyond Pongangel I met a great River call'd Mart-Nadi coming from the South and I lay at Rage-Mehale costes 6 Rage-Mehale is a City upon the right hand of Ganges and if you go by Land you shall find the high-way for a League or two pav'd with Brick to the Town Formerly the Governours of Bengala resided here it being an excellent Country for hunting besides that it was a place of great Trade But now the River having taken another course above a good half League from the City as well for that reason as to keep in awe the King of Aracan and several Portuguese Banditi who are retir'd to the mouths of Ganges and made excursions even as far as Daca it self both the Governour and the Merchants have remov'd themselves to Daca which is at present a large City and a Town of great Trade The sixth being arriv'd at a considerable Town call'd Donapour six Leagues from Rage-Mehale I parted with Monsieur Bernier who was going to Casenbasar and thence to Ogouli by Land for when the River is low there is no going by Water by reason of a great Bank of Sand that lies before a City call'd Santiqui I lay that night at Toutipour distant from Rage-mehale costes 12 I saw there at Sun-rising a great number of Crocodiles lying upon the Sand. The seventh I came to Acerat costes 25 From Acerat to Daca it is counted by Land forty-five Leagues All that day I saw such a vast number of Crocodiles that I had a great desire to shoot at one to try whether the vulgar report were true that a Musket-shot would not pierce their skin The bullet hit him in the jaw and made the blood gush out however he would not stay in the place but plung'd into the River The eighth I saw again a great number lying upon the bank of the River and made two shot at two with three bullets at a time As soon as they were wounded they turn'd themselves upon their backs opening their throats and di'd upon the spot That day I came to lie at Douloudia costes 17 The Crows were here the cause that we found a very fair Fish which the Fisher-men had hid among the Osiers by the side of the River for when our Water-men saw the Crows in great numbers hovering and making an hideous noise about the Osiers they presently conjectur'd that there was something more than ordinary and they made so diligent a search that at length they found an excellent dish of meat The ninth two hours after noon we met with a River call'd Chativor that runs from the North and we lay at Dampour costes 16 The tenth we lay by the River-side in a place remote from Houses and we travell'd that day costes 15 The eleventh toward evening being come to that part where Ganges divides it self into three Arms whereof one runs to Daca we lay at a large Town upon the entry of the great Channel which Town is call'd Jatrapour costes 20 They that have no
flaw the first Carat were worth 160 Livres but for that reason I reckon it not at above 150 and so by the rule it comes to 11723278 Livres 14 Sous and 3 Liards Did the Diamond weigh no more than 279 Carats it would not be worth above 11676150 Livres so that the nine 16 ths comes to 47128 Livres 14 Sous and 3 Liards The Great Duke of Tuscany's Diamond weighs 139 Carats clean and well-shap'd cut in facets every way but in regard the water enclines somewhat toward the colour of Citron I do not value the first Carat above 135 Livres so that by the rule the Diamond ought to be worth 2608335 Livres A Diamond by the Miners is call'd Iri which the Turks Persians and Arabians call Almas CHAP. XVI Of Colour'd Stones and the Places where they are found THere are but two places in all the East where Colour'd-Stones are found within the Kingdom of Pegu and the Island of Ceylan The first is a Mountain twelve days journey or there-abouts from Siren toward the North-east the name whereof is Capelan In this Mine are found great quantities of Rubies and Espinels or Mothers of Rubies yellow Topazes blew and white Saphirs Jacinths Amethysts and other Stones of different colours Among these Stones which are hard they find other Stones of various colours that are very soft which they call Bacan in the language of the Countrey but are of little or no esteem Siren is the name of the City where the King of Pegu resides and Ava is the Port of his Kingdom From Ava to Siren you go by water in great flat-bottom'd-Barks which is a voyage of sixty days There is no going by land by reason the Woods are full of Lions Tigers and Elephants It is one of the poorest Countreys in the World where there is no Commodity but Rubies the whole Revenue whereof amounts not to above a hunder'd-thousand Crowns Among all the Stones that are there found you shall hardly see one of three or four Carats that is absolutely clean by reason that the King strictly enjoyns his Subjects not to export them out of his Dominions besides that he keeps to himself all the clean Stones that are found So that I have got very considerably in my Travels by carrying Rubies out of Europe into Asia Which makes me very much suspect the relation of Vincent le Blanc who reports that he saw in the King's Palace Rubies as big as eggs All Rubies are sold by weights which are call'd Ratis that is three grains and a half or seven 8 ths of a Carat and the payments are made in old Pagods A Ruby weighing one Ratis has been sold for Pagods 20 A Ruby of 2 Ratis and one 8 th Pagods 85 A Ruby of 3 Ratis and one 4 th Pagods 185 A Ruby of 4 Ratis and five 8 ths Pagods 450 A Ruby of 5 Ratis Pagods 525 A Ruby of 6 Ratis and a half Pagods 920 If a Ruby exceed six Ratis and be a perfect Stone there is no value to be set upon it The Natives of the Countrey call all Colour'd-Stones Rubies distinguishing them only by the colour Saphirs they call Blue-Rubies Amethysts they call Violet-Rubies Topazes Yellow-Rubies and so of other Stones The other place where Rubies are found is a River in the Island of Ceylan which descends from certain high Mountains in the middle of the Island which swells very high when the rains fall but when the waters are low the people make it their business to search among the Sands for Rubies Saphirs and Topazes All the Stones that are found in this River are generally fairer and clearer than those of Pegu. I forgot to tell you that there are some Rubies but more Balleis-Rubies and an abundance of Bastard-Rubies Saphirs and Topazes found in the Mountains that run along from Pegu to the Kingdom of Camboya Colour'd-Stones are also found in some parts of Europe as in Bohemia and Hungary In Hungary there is a Mine where they find certain Flints of different bigness some as big as eggs some as big as a man's fist which being broken contain a Ruby within as hard and as clean as those of Pegu. In Hungary there is a Mine of Opals which Stone is no-where else to be found in the World but there The Turquoise is no-where to be found but in Persia. Where there are two Mines The one is called the Old-Rock three days journey from Meched toward the North-west near a great Town which goes by the name of Michabourg The other which is call'd the New-Rock is five days journey off Those of the New-Rock are of a paler blue enclining to white and less esteem'd so that you may have a great many for a little Money Some years since the King of Persia commanded that no Turquoises should be digg'd out of the Old-Rock but only for himself making use of those Turquoises instead of enamelling to adorn Hilts of Swords Knives and Daggers of which the Persians are altogether ignorant As for Emraulds it is a vulgar error to say they come originally from the East And therefore when Jewellers and Gold-smiths to prefer a deep-colour'd Emrauld enclining to black tell ye it is an Oriental Emrauld they speak that which is not true I confess I could never discover in what part of our Continent those Stones are found But sure I am that the Eastern-part of the World never produc'd any of those Stones neither in the Continent nor in the Islands True it is that since the discovery of America some of those Stones have been often brought rough from Peru to the Philippine-Islands whence they have been transported into Europe but this is not enough to make them Oriental Besides that at this time they send them into Spain through the North-Sea CHAP. XVII Of Pearls and the Places where they Fish for them IN the first place there is a Fishery for Pearls in the Persian Gulf round about the Island of Bakren It belongs to the King of Persia and there is a strong Fort in it Garrison'd with three hundred men The Water which the people drink in that Island and all along the Coast of Persia is brackish and ill-tasted so that only the Natives of the Country can drink it Fresh water costs Strangers very dear for the people fetch it sometimes one League sometimes two Leagues from the Island from the bottom of the Sea being let down by a Rope with a Bottle or two ty'd about their wastes which they fill and stop it well and then giving the Rope a twitch are hall'd up again by their Companions Every one that fishes pays to the King of Persia five Abassi's whether he get any thing or no. The Merchant also pays the King some small matter for every thousand Oysters The second Fishery for Pearls is right against Bakren upon the Coast of Arabia the happy near the City of Catifa which together with all the Country about it is under the Jurisdiction of an
have by me that weighs an ounce and a half or thereabouts Being at Surat I went to visit the Embassador of the King of the Abyssins He shew'd us the Present which his Master had sent to the Great Mogul consisting of fourteen stately Horses the remainder of 30 the rest dying by the way and a great number of Slaves of both Sexes But what was most remarkable was a natural Tree all of Gold two foot and four inches high and six inches about in the stock It had ten or twelve branches some whereof shot out half a foot in length and an inch about others much smaller In some parts of the great branches appear'd certain bunches that resembl'd buds The roots of the Tree which were also natural were thick and short the longest not exceeding four or five inches The Natives of Monomotopa knowing the time of the year that the Commodities arrive come to Sofala and Chepon-Goura to furnish themselves Thither also come the Cafres of other Provinces and Kingdoms for the same purpose Whereupon the Governors of those places sell them what they want trusting them till the next year when they oblige themselves to bring their Gold which they are very punctual to do for else there could be no Trade between them The Natives of Monomotopa never live long by reason of the badness of the waters in the Countrey For at the age of five and twenty years they begin to be dropsical so that it is a great wonder if any among them live above forty years The Province where the River Sene has its head is call'd Monkaran and is under the Jurisdiction of a certain King beginning a hunder'd leagues or there-abouts above Chepon-Goura The people of that Countrey find great store of dust-Gold in the Rivers that fall into the Sene but it is much coarser than the other though they bring it to Chepon-Goura and Sofala The Countrey is very healthy and the people live as long as they do in Europe Some years there are Cafres that come from beyond the Province of Monkaran even as far as the Cape of good Hope The Portuguez have enquir'd after their Countrey and the name but they can tell no more only that it is call'd Sabia commanded by a King and that they are four months generally travelling to Sofala The Gold which they bring is very fine and in pieces like that of Monomotopa which they say they find in the high Mountains digging only ten or twelve foot in the ground They also bring great quantities of Elephants-teeth wherewith by their report the Countrey does so abound that you may see them in herds in the fields and that all the Palisado's of their Fortresses and the Pales of their Parks are made of Elephants-teeth Their usual Diet is Elephants-flesh which four Cafres will kill with their Ageagayes or a sort of Half-pikes The water of their Countrey is very bad which is the reason that their thighes are swell'd and it is a wonder to see any one of them free Beyond Sofala there is a Countrey commanded by a King who is call'd the King of Beroé In some parts of his Countrey there grows a Root about an inch-thick and of a yellow colour It heals all sorts of Fevers causing the Patient to vomit But because it grows very scarce the King strictly forbids his Subjects to export it The tast of it is very bitter upon the tongue As for Silver-Mines there are none in all Asia but only in Japon but some years since at Delegora Sangora Bordelon and Bata have been discover'd plentiful Mines of Tin to the great damage of the English there being now enough in Asia of their own besides CHAP. XXIV The Relation of a Notable piece of Treachery whereby the Author was abus'd when he Embark'd at Gomrom for Surat IN the Month of April 1665 being ready to depart from Gomrom for Surat in a Vessel that belong'd to a Holland-Broaker commanded by a Holland-Captain the English Agent gave me a Packet of Letters to deliver to the President at Surat The Packet was large containing not only the Companies-Letters but several private Letters to particular persons at Surat and other parts of India This Packet I receiv'd in the presence of one Casembrot a Hollander who inform'd another Dutch-man whose name was Wauwuck of it Thereupon they presently contriv'd a design to seize this Packet upon the report that ran of the rupture between England and Holland Casembrot having seen the bigness of the Packet gives Wauwuck a description of it and so both together they contrive another of the same form and bigness as neer as they could When I came a-board I took the English Packet and lock'd it up in my Bouccha which is the sort of Cloak-bag that is us'd in that Countrey and laid it behind my Bolster There were two Shallops sent a-board us wherein there were sixty bags of Silver containing some fifty some a hunder'd Tomans a piece These bags they unladed very leisurely to gain time watching when I would be gone to bed But when they saw that I did not go to rest the Dutch consulted together and agreed to let fall a bag of Tomans into the Sea and so came all a-board sending away a Shallop to Gomron for a Diver When I found that the Vessel would not set Sail till two or three hours after day-light I went to rest my Bouccha lying in the same place half out and half with in-side of my Bolster But when my Servants were gone and I alone and a-sleep in the Cabin they cunningly stole my Bouccha took out the English Packet and left the other which they had counterfeited in the place being only so many Letters of blank-paper Coming to Surat the sixt of May following I gave the Packet as I thought which I had receiv'd from the English Agent at Gomron to two Capuchin-Erlers to deliver to the President at Surat But when the President came to open the Packet before several of the Company there was nothing but white-paper made up in the form of Letters which when I heard too much to my sorrow I understood the villanous trick that Van-Wuck had put upon me I wrote a smart Letter of complaint to the Dutch-General in Batavia but finding no redress I was forc'd to undergo the hard censure of the English who would not permit me to justify my self However as it is rare to see treachery go unpunish'd the Complotters all dy'd miserably Van-Wuck fell into a violent Fevor and being charg'd with the theft thinking to defend himself with an equivocation that if he took the Cloak-bag he wish'd he might dye without speaking a word in three days ended his life just in the same manner and at the same time that he had imprecated upon himself Bozan his Lieutenant after a great debauch going to sleep upon the Terrass of the Cabin where he lay for coolness there being no Balisters rolling and tumbling in his sleep fell down and
the Treasury of the Ottoman Monarchs and there are yet some very Remarkable passages to be The Ancient Custome practis'd when the Grand Seignor drinks between Meals communicated relating to the other Quarters of the inner part of the Seraglio Between the Treasury and an obscure Vaulted Gallery in length between Fifteen and Twenty paces which conducts you to an Iron-Door by which there is a passage into the Gardens you find on the left hand the Appartment of the Pages of the Kilar or the Cup-Bearer's Office That is the place where they prepare the Sherbets and other Liquors for the Grand Seignor's own drinking and where they keep the Wine if it happens that he drinks any as Sultan Amurath did of whom I have often had occasion to speak 'T is an ancient Custome That when the Grand Seignor calls for Water to drink between meals every time he so calls costs him ten Sequins or Chequins The Ceremony observ'd therein is this In the Chamber call'd the Haz-Oda which is the Appartment of the Forty-Pages who are alwayes near the Grand Selgnor's Person there is perpetually one of them standing Sentinel at the Entrance which leads to the Cup-Bearer's Office where two Pages of the same Quarter are in like manner upon the Sentry When the Grand Seignor is thirsty and calls for water the Page of the Haz-Oda immediately makes a sign to the two Pages of the Kilar of whom one advances up to the Kilar-bachi or Cup-Bearer himself crying out Sou which signifies Water to advertise him that the Prince would drink and the other runs to the door of the Haz-Oda where the most ancient of the Forty Pages gives him Ten Sequins That Page is the Treasurer of the said Chamber and he payes the small Sums which the Grand Seignor gives order for an Office which might be call'd in English The Treasurer of the petty Enjoyments The Water is sometimes brought in a Cup of Gold sometimes in a Vessel of Pourcelain placed upon a large Server of Gold about two foot diameter and enrich'd with Precious Stones within and without That is look'd on as one of the richest pieces of Plate belonging to the Seraglio The principal Cup-Bearer who is a white Eunuch carries it with great Ceremony attended by a hundred Pages of the Kilar whom he ordinarily has under his Charge and upheld under the Arms by two of them who walk on both sides of him For it is requir'd That he should carry it lifted up above his head and so he cannot see his way but by looking under it When he is come to the Door of the Haz-Oda the Pages of the Kilar who have accompany'd him so far pass no further save only the two who uphold his Arms and the Pages of the Chamber go along with him quite into the Grand Seignor's Presence But when they come to the door of the Chamber two of the more ancient among them take the places of the two Pages of the Kilar and compleat the conducting of the Kilargi-Bachi under the Arms to offer the Cup to the Prince When he has not any thing to say to him he carries it back again into the Kilar but if he will take his opportunity to entertain him with some Affair he delivers the Cup and the Server into the hands of one of the Pages who led him under the Arms and he delivers it to those who belonging to the Cup-Bearer's Office waited there in expectation of his return 'T is in the same place to wit that under the over-sight of the Cup-bearer they keep A way to quench thirst at meals wholly particular to the Levantines all sorts of refreshing and cooling Waters as that of Peaches Cherries Raspices and such other fruits The Turks do not drink during their refection that is not till they have given over eating and because it is possible they may be dry whilst they eat take here the manner how they quench that thirst They are serv'd at Table with these Waters in great Cups of Pourcelaine which hold about two Quarts and the better to distinguish them they put into every one of those Cups some of the same fruit from which the Water that is therein had been extracted and which they had preserv'd for that purpose Every one has lying by him a Wooden spoon which holds three or four times as much as any of our ordinary ones and whereof the handle is of a length proportionable for as to Gold or Silver spoons it is not their custome to use any With those spoons they can take out what is in the Cups according to the Water which they most fancy and so they suspend thirst taking ever and anon some spoonfuls of it It is also in the Cup-bearers Appartment that the Treacle is made which the Turks The Composition of Treacle call Tiriak-Farik and there is a great quantity of it made because they use it as an Universal remedy and charitably bestow it on all sorts of people as well in City as Country who are desirous of it The Vipers which are us'd in this composition are brought out of Aegypt and they make no account of those which other Countries afford or they are of opinion at least that the former are much the better for that purpose Before the Appartment of the Kilar there is a Gallery whereof the floor is pav'd A stately service of Gold Plate with square pieces of Black and White Marble and sustain'd by eight fair Pillars of White Marble and at the end of it is a little Quarter where the principal Cup-bearer has his residence There also are the Lodgings of his Substitute the Kilarquet-houdasi who is not an Eunuch as the Kilargi-bachi is and who at his removal out of the Seraglio is ordinarily advanc'd to the charge of a Bassa The Kilargi-bachi has in his custody all the Gold and Silver-plate the Basins the Ewers the Bowls the Cups the Servers and the Candlesticks the greatest part of that service being garnish'd with Diamonds Rubies and Emeralds and other pretious Stones of value As for golden Dishes and Candlesticks without any additional embellishments of precious Stone there are some so large and so massy that there must be two men to carry one of them These Candlesticks are made after a fashion quite different from ours They are ordinarily two or three Foot high upon a Base of above twelve inches Diameter and the upper part thereof is as t were a Box or kind of Lamp with its beak and it may contain above a pound of suet 'T is to prevent the fall of any thing upon the Carpet that they make the foot of the Candlestick so large as I told you and besides it is requisite that it should bear some proportion to the height The match or wieke which they put into the Suet beaten into small bits is about the bigness of a Man's thumb and consequently must needs make a great light in the Room As to the Kilarquet-houdast he
the first it dismisses which empties it self into the Caspian-Sea having run a course of near 400 miles and received several other Branches from the foresaid River about 7 Leagues East off the main River He had newly began this City at the return of Rubriquis from his Embassage unto Mangu Chan in the year 1246 and called it Serai Which City was enlarged and beautified by all his Successors unto the time of its destruction by Tamerlane which was almost 150 years Bathy was succeeded by Barcah who was the first professed Mahumetan Emperour he by Hocola or Hoctay Contemporary with Hayton the Armenian who hath in his History largely discoursed concerning him I should here mention all the other Emperours interceeding between Hocota and Tucktamisch who was dispossessed by Tamerlane together with their Acts but that I hasten unto that which most immediately concerns our present Design and give some account of this City which as I said was first named Serai which interpreted signifies only a Dwelling or Habitation the beginning of it being a Palace built for Bathy You may see what our Traveller says concerning it Page 112. Besides him I find two Authors who make particular mention thereof the first is in the History of Arabshiade published by Golius This Author represents it as one of the greatest and most populous Cities in the Universe agrees with our Traveller in the situation only he calls that Branch which runs out of the Volga and passes to the South-East Sencle The other is Michovius who wrote his History of the Tartars in the year 1515. He afaffirms That in his time there remained the ruines of 300 Temples besides the Walls of the City and several other Magnificent Structures The Tartars have several times attempted to re-edifie ' it but divisions amongst themselves Wars with the Muscovites and attempts of the Cossacks caused them to retire unto places of greater security But because little mention is made of this great Revolution by any European Writer I shall here present the Reader with an account thereof out of the most Authentick Turkish Arabian and Persian Writers For Calcondilas is greatly mistaken who seems to have received by his confident way of writing most particular information when as nothing can be more remote from the truth than what he affirms viz That Tamerlane after several attempts and two or three Battels was forced to retire and glad to secure his Retreat by a Peace he first made with Tuckthamisch which was by both afterwards kept inviolably which is contrary to the Reports of much more Authentick Historians The Origin Progress and Event of this War was after the ensuing manner Tamerlane being in effect Prince but in name only Courachan the Greeks call it Kurgan that is Viceroy or General over all those Countries which are comprehended between the Oxus and Juxartes wherein Bochara Samarchand and several other famous Cities were contained extended his Conquests towards Balch and Chorasan the Aria of the Antients which progress of his filled Thuetamisch Emperour of Serai the City we have before mentioned with jealousies of his growing Greatness whereupon gathering a numerous Army he resolved to invade him using no formality or so much as pretence he thought to have surprized his Enemy but Tamerlane one of whose Master-pieces was to gain early Intelligence of whatsoever was designed or transacted by neighbouring Princes having timely notice of his intention gathering all his own Forces together with considerable assistance from his Confederates marched directly towards his Enemy and passing the Jaxartes met him to his no small astonishment on the Borders of his own Countrey for the Jaxartes only divided their Territories After a most obstinate bloody fight Tamerlane gained the Victory yet neither absolute nor without great loss but it was sufficient that he had secured his own Dominion After this Success he did for divers years attend other Conquests and having subdued a great part of India all Persia Media Armenia Assyria Mesopotamia Babylonia and Syria he resolved to requite the Invasion of Thuctamish whereupon having drawn together an Army of 500000 men he marched through Media Atropatia then and still called Shervan passed the Portae Caucasiae which the Persians name Derbent thence through Dabestan and the great Desart between that and Astracan then named Gitturchan and having wasted all that spacious Countrey on the West-side of the Volga depopulated and dismantled divers fair Cities the ruines of several being yet visible to those who Navigate the Volga as we are informed by Olearius he passed the Volga and on the East-side encountred Thuctamisch who had collected a mighty Force having besides his own Hords the assistance of the Tartars of Cassan Tumen Kalmuke and Dabestan and his Army by this accession was more numerous than that of his Enemy The Battel was long doubtful and exceeding all that happened in that Age for carnage and cruelty both Parties being full of hatred unto their Adversaries and knowing that this Fight would lose or gain them a mighty Empire They fought three days with little intermission and it could not be discerned which had the advantage But that which is thought chiefly to have occasioned Tamerlane's Victory was the departure of a great Tribe from Thuctamisch whose Prince Ectave pretended he had received some great injury or affront but 't was indeed thought he was corrupted For retreating unto Amurath the Turkish Emperour he after the same manner betrayed Bajazet who soon after succeeded revolting at the beginning of the fight unto Tamerlane Thuctamisch being defeated with great difficulty made his escape leaving his Countrey exposed unto the sury of the Zagataians whom so great a slaughter of their own Friends had highly exasperated They spared nothing that was capable of being spoiled demolished Serai together with Seraichick upon the Jaick and Gitturchan which were the only considerable Cities on the East-side of the Volga and leaving the Countrey a meer Desart killing or captivating the Inhabitants driving away the Cattle they returned into Persia with great Booty This happened in the 791 year of the Hegira A. C. 1388. Serai and Saraichick never regained their former splendour but Giturcan now Astracan did by degrees recover but never arrived to that heighth it attained unto during the Empire of the Chazari and Zavolgensian Tartars For Josaphat Barbaro and Ambrosio Contarini who were both Ambassadors from the Venetians unto Usun Cassan Emperour of Persia and well acquainted with those Parts Barbaro living sixteen years at the City Tana on the mouth of the River Tanais and Contarini being forced in his return from Persia to reside there some months They I say both tell us That this City before its destruction by Tamerlane was a very famous Emporium all the Silks most of the Spices and other Commodities which were afterwards brought down to Syria were then carried by Shipping to Astracan which they both name Citrachan and thence by Land in a few days to Tana whether the Venetians sent
Sea which he makes less than in truth it is as I could largely demonstrate though he hath pretty well salved the mistake by his allowance of a thousand Miles for Bays broken Ground and Promontories Lastly Our Author is greatly mistaken when he affirms There is no Nation of Tartars between those of Bochara and China whereas indeed several very Potent Kingdoms intervene And yet he hath luckily Andabatorum more hit upon the Truth where he assures us there are no Catayans between the Usbeg Tartars and China For indeed there is at present no Catayne besides China which is so called by all Tartars Persians Arabians and other Mahumetans as also by the Muscovites and other Nations who travel thither by Land either in the Quality of Ambassadors or Merchants Though formerly there was a mighty People either Turks or Tartars they being both Originally the same as to Extract Language Manners Religion and Government who lay directly in the way between Persia and China and were certainly the Chatae of Ptolomy but almost extirpated by Jingiz Chan whom they vigorously resisted And the remainder have ever since gone under the more general Names of Mogulls and Tartars as I shall hereafter more clearly and fully demonstrate in a Discourse which I have long ago written and may speedily publish concerning the Beginnings and Progress of the Turkish and Tartarian Nations and Empires Right Honourable and my most Worthy Lord BEing given to understand That I have been represented unto your Lordship by several who bear me no good will as a Person possessed with that Vanity which ordinarily prevails among Travellers of affirming I was well acquainted with divers Countreys and Languages whereunto I am utterly a stranger And perceiving that none of my Discourses have more exposed me unto this Censure than a pretended monstrous rash Assertion but indeed a real Truth That I knew and had visited all the Countreys surrounding the Black and Caspian Seas I thought my self necessarily obliged in order unto my Vindication to draw up a short Account of all those Countreys which do incompass the forementioned Seas most of which Places I have personally surveyed and fear not any Reprehension or Confutation being resolved to declare nothing but what I saw or received from such who were best able to give me full and faithful Information And I am well assured That the more strict and judicious Enquiry is made into this my Report the more favour and credit I shall gain with your Lordship and all other considering impartial Persons I shall first begin with the Black Sea as being that wherewith I was first acquainted and near unto this most famous City of Constantinople where your Lordship may easily learn whether I am guilty of either falshood or mistake and if I am found upon due Enquiry to declare any manifest Untruth I deserve not only unparalleld Reproaches but the most severe and exemplary Punishments which I should justly merit when owing Life and Liberty unto your Lordships Bounty and Compassion I should instead of a grateful Acknowledgment present your Honour with a heap of impudent Falsities I will begin my Relation or Peregrination from that side of the Black Sea on which Constantinople is situated and round the said Sea until I return to Scodra which is in Asia opposite thereunto The first Province is Romella the second Wallakie the third Ackremen the fourth Crim the fifth the great Desart of Ingul and Ungule which is between Crim and Asshowa the sixth is the Little Nagoy the seventh Circassia the eighth Abassa the ninth is Mingrellia then Georgia and lastly Anatolia All which Countreys are subjected unto the Turk besides the great Desart the Little Nagoy and Circassia I shall now mention the most noted Places which I know from Fennara which is about the entrance into the Black Sea unto the River of the Danaw so to the Neistre from thence unto the Nepper so round about Crim unto the Gulf that goeth from the Black Sea into the Teine Sea and thence unto Asshowa As I said near the Entrance into the Black Sea is Fennara then Innatada Missewra Warna Balshick Mangalley Constancha Karaharman Keelley Ackremen Osshackowa upon the mouth of the River of the Neppre Now I shall declare the Distances of these Places from each other the number of miles being the space betwixt what forgoes and immediately ensues From Finnara to Inatada 80 miles to Missewra 90 to Warna 100 to Balshick 16 to Mangalley 40 to Constancha 40 to Caraharman 40 to Kelley 80 to Ackremen or Beallohorda 100 to Osshakowa 80 in all 666 miles and from Osshakowa which is in the mouth of the Nepper unto the River Don or Tanais is 500 miles the Voyage by Sea and journeying by Land being much at one viz. 1186 miles unless you go by Land unto Precop about Crim and so unto Asshowa where the Don falls into the Teine Sea Palus Maeotis and then it amounts unto at the least 1500 miles Were it not for the forementioned great Rivers of the Danaw Danubius and the Nepper Boristhenes there would be almost continual Wars between the Turks and Tartars and the Poles Lithuanians and Muscovites for the Danaw is one of the greatest Rivers in the World arising in Dutchland whence it passes through Hungary Wallachy and at the Town of Kelley falls into the Black Sea It hath four Mouths or Entrances into the said Sea which the Turks call Bohasses Boctegen Bohasse Edreleisse Bohasse Sullena Bohasse and Kelley Bohasse It abounds with Fish as Sturgeon Morone and Sheveroke besides divers sorts of smaller Fish The Neistre is a River that comes from Lithuania and runs into the Black Sea under Bealohorda The Nepper comes from Lithuania and Russland runs by Smolensko and Kiovia to the Porrocks or Falls thence to Aslamgorode and falls into the Black Sea at Osshakowa It abounds with many sorts of good Fish and all along its Banks feed innumerable wild Beasts of divers kinds The Town of Aslamgorod stands upon the Nepper and in former times there dwelt in it two Brothers Ingul and Ungul who fell first at variance which ended in cruel Wars by reason whereof the adjacent Countrey became though otherwise pleasant and fruitful a very Wilderness And besides the Cossacks increasing on both sides the Nepper and upon the Don would never since suffer that Countrey to be quietly possessed by these or any other Hords of Tartars so that now it lieth waste being a vast Desart 500 miles over and 1000 miles long from the shallow Waters near Precop unto the Countrey of Muscovy About 1625 the Grand Seignior sent an Army from Constantinople to rebuild Aslamgorod with Orders to inhabit the Countrey and invite such thereunto as would become subject unto the Turkish Government But they who arrived finding the Town of great Compass built only a Castle on the Bank of the Nepper and left 300 Men in Garrison At the same time Shaugary Prince of Crim being beat out
situated upon a Cold Sea But Ouffha is a midland Town 500 miles from Cassan which is near the Volga The Kalmukes are accounted good Souldiers being kept in continual Exercise by the Muscovites on the one side the Nagoyans and Cassachy-Horda on the other Their unmarried Women do not only accompany the Men unto the Wars but are said to be little inferiour unto the Men in Skill and Valour shooting almost as strongly and dexterously as the men from whom they cannot be distinguished by their Garb being apparelled and riding much after the same manner Both Men and Women in all their Expeditions seldom carry along with them fewer than 5 or 6 Horses apiece I cannot precisely determine what their Religion is but I do perceive by Converse with them that they have a more favourable opinion of the Christians than of the Mahumetans or of some of their fellow Ethnicks for if I mistake not they are Heathens I not being able to discern among them any Religious Worship excepting some kind of Adoration which they pay unto the Sun and Moon They have a very peculiar kind of Diet for besides Horse-flesh which is a great Dainty they scruple not to eat Snakes Adders Foxes and indeed even Carrion of divers sorts of Creatures such Food as to Europeans would be intollerable even in the greatest Famine They wear a kind of Caps or Hatts which are called by the Muscovites Coulpackes open before and behind with broad Brims on each side And thereupon they are called by the other Tartars Calmukes Eastward from these Calmukes inclining unto the South towards China live the Yurgeachians so named from their chief Town which some call Yurgeach others Jurgench Of which Countrey I cannot say so much as concerning the former having never been therein but once for in the Year 1620. there being great Wars in Jurgeach between the Chan or King and the Myrsa his Son some of the Nagoy Tartars hearing thereof invaded the Countrey who whilst they were united durst not peep out of their own Borders the Jurgeachians being a numerous and warlike People These Nagoys were all Volunteers who went without any Command from their own Prince or Allowance from the Muscovites without whose consent by mutual Agreement they are not permitted to war The news of their Expedition being brought unto Astracan the Voyvod who had not long before made a League with the Jurgeachians sent out Allye I suppose his true Name was Ali or Hali Myrsa a Tartarian Prince with a 1000 of his own Subjects and 500 Russes all Horse We were 20 days marching before we came unto the Borders of Jurgeach from Astracan whence we proceeded 10 days journey the Countrey through which we passed being miserably ravaged by the aforesaid Nagoys At the end of which 30 days by a reasonable Computation 't was judged we were distant from Astracan at least a 1000 miles about which time we overtook them in the Valley of Ougogura having got from the Jurgeachians an innumerable company of Cattle of divers sorts as Horse Kine Camels and Sheep We took all their Booty from them and as a further punishment for their Riot took away their own supernumerary Horses leaving them only a Horse a Man for to convey them home Then Ally Myrsa divided the Spoil half he bestowed upon those who did accompany him and sent the remainder for a Present unto the Voyvod returning nothing unto the Jurgeachians because they were taken from Thieves In the mean while the Prince of Jurgeach in a pitcht Battel overthrew his Father took him Prisoner put out both his Eyes and caused himself to be Crowned King He had a younger Brother whom fearing that in time he might occasion some insurrection he gave Command unto some of his Creatures that they should strangle him and bring his Head But divers of the Nobles by whose means he obtained the Soveraignty gaining intelligence thereof would not permit his Order to be put in execution but seizing on the Child sent him unto the Emperour of Muscovy with whom he re-mained when I was last at Astracan But I must return from the Jurgeachians unto the Caragans whom I have left behind and they do more immediately refer unto my promise which was to give an Account of all the Nations and Countreys incompassing the Caspian Sea The Countrey of the Caragans occupies most of that vast space which intercedes between the River Yeike and the Dominions of the Ousbegs or Tartars of Bouchara and their Territory surrounds the North-East corner of the Caspian Sea proceeding Southwards unto the River Jaxartes and some Hords of the said People do inhabit between the said River and the Oxus which divides the Tartars of Bochara and the Caragans from the Persians and the Tartars of Balk This Countrey of the Caragans is very desart and barren the People miserably poor their Houses are wretched Huts the greatest part under ground they are very tawny and ill-favour'd their Habitations are scatt'red scarcely deserving the Name of Villages And they have no Town as I have been informed besides Preesslannes which is situated on the South-side of the Jaxartes near the Caspian Sea which whilst I dwelt in Astracan was by surprize taken by the Cossacks but they had little cause to brag of their Victory finding little booty therein and the Caragans gath'ring together beat them out with great loss of Men forcing them to retire into an Island 2 or 3 leagues from the Land which they possess unto this day no Nation being able or else not caring to un-nest them although Tartars Persians and Muscovites do continually suffer by their Depredations Towards the East and by South of the Caragans dwell the Tartars of Bochara who are by divers called Yusbegs The Countrey which they possess is better watred and more fertile than most of the preceeding and there is great resort of Merchants from divers Parts unto them especially Persians Muscovites and several Nations of Indians as Moguls Boutans with many others whose Names I cannot recollect I have been also told That the Chineses do sometimes trade with them I am perswaded that this is the famed Kingdom of Cataye for the Catayans are a sort of Tartars and I know no other Tartars between this Countrey and China Caragan lieth from them to the North-West Urgenshe due North China to the East the Tartars of Balk to the South and the Persians South and by West and the Caspian Sea duely West They are almost continually in Wars with the Persians The next Countrey I am to describe is Persia in which Land I was never excepting once in that part thereof which borders upon the Comukes but I have conversed with several Persian Merchants at Astracan who came by Shipping from Gilan which when the Wind is very fair and good they sail in 2 or 3 days and nights They wear Turbants like the Turks and so do the Bouchars Therefore not having seen much of Persia nor having sufficiently informed my self
concerning it I shall pass through it unto the Comukes Land of which I have obtained more perfect knowledge both by War and Traffick This Countrey is bounded on the South by Persia on the East by the Caspian Sea Westward by Circassia and on the North by the River of Tumeine on which stands a Town of the same Name from which unto Chahamate the most Northerly Habitation of Persia is 600 miles A great part of this Countrey especially Westward is very mountainous I could never learn where it doth exactly terminate I have been in four of their Towns The first is Tarkee where Gildar whom they own for their Prince doth ordinarily reside The second is Derbeine in the Mountains The third Derevena in the same mountainous Tract The fourth Kossa upon a River of the same Name not far from the place where it empties it self into the Caspian Sea These Comukes are proper Men and very couragious and that which makes them more daring and adventurous than most Tartars is the goodness of their Horses and the advantage of their Arms both offensive and defensive for they seldom engage in Wars without Helmets Jacks of Steel Shirts of Mail and Targets which excepting those times wherein they fight hang behind their backs being very light and not very large and therefore not cumbersome They have as other Tartars both Bows and Cymetars and withal never go without Lances which they use with great strength and dexterity In their Apparel they differ little from the Circassians but as for Religion they are generally Mahumetans and their Language is in substance the same with other Tartars their vicinity unto the Persians Muscovites and Sheercasses having somewhat disguised it The Countrey they inhabit abounds with Wood part of it is hilly with small pleasant Valleys between the Hillocks and in some places especially towards Persia and thence into the Land it hath many great and almost inaccessible Mountains by reason of their heighth and steepness This Land was reduced under the Government of the Russes many years ago after the ensuing manner Evan Vassillywich being Czar or Emperour of Russia after he had taken Cassan and Astracan sent part of his Army into Circassia where they took in Tumeine Another Body entred the Comukes Countrey and possessed themselves of Derevena Derbeine Tarkee and Kossa The Russe Emperour constituted a Voyvod whom he ordred to reside in Tarkee and left with him 10000 Men he ordered also at the same time another considerable Brigade to stay at Coisa where he left a great number of Boats and other Vessels who had brought supplies of Men and Provisions from Mosco and other Parts of his Dominions And having as he apprehended secured his new Conquests he returned unto Mosco Immediately after his retreat the Comukes gath'red their whole Force and set down before the Town of Tarkee which after a vigorous resistance they took and in it with the Voyvod several Officers of divers Nations whom with the common Souldiers they sold unto the Circassians Tartars and other neighb'ring Nations so that few were ever afterwards recovered From Tarkee they marched unto Koisa which by the instruction of Captives they did pretty regularly besiege and assault and after some repulses took it by storm killing all the Russes excepting such as escaped in the Ships and Boats which lay before the Town The Russe Emperour being speedily informed of these Successes immediately raised a great Army with which he ordred all the Cossacks between the Don and Volga unto the River of Tumeine to joyn his Forces and assist them in order unto the recovery of what he had lost and utter extirpation of the Comukes Who hearing how highly the Czar was exasperated and how great a Force was ready to invade them they began to be solicitous about the Event and having consulted together agreed to make some kind of submission and sue for pardon and peace Whereupon they sent Ambassadors unto Tumeine where the Russe Army was encamped and after a Treaty with the Czar's Plenipotentiaries they agreed upon these Articles That the Comukes should restore the Towns they had taken and aid the Emperour with such a number of Souldiers as he should require against any Enemy whatsoever whereunto their Heads being sworn they have inviolably observed the Agreement unto this day But it 's time we take our leave of Gildar Prince of Terki and his Comukes and proceed into Shercassen Land part of which as I hinted before lyes upon the Black Sea and extends it self unto the Caspian This side of Circassia which borders upon the Caspian Sea is a very plentiful Countrey and as for Fish it is so wonderfully plentiful that in Tumeine you may ordinarily purchase a good Sturgeon for two pence and sometimes for a penny a most prodigious quantity of Fish being taken in the River of the Weestra and about the Island of Chekeine which is off at Sea not far from Tumeine On the main Land over against this Fishery 4 miles above the River of Terike there is a great Well made by a Spring which falls from a Rock on the side of a great Hill and immediately fills this little Lake which whether it is Natural or Artificial I know not The Water of this Lake is so scalding hot that the Fishers flinging in their Sturgeon or other Fish it is in a short time boyled as if over a fire the heat being so intense that no Man can detain his Hand in it for a moment from which strange Quality it derives its Name being called by the Russes Goracha Colloda or the Scalding Well I shall conclude my Discourse with a short Account of the Little Nagoy or of that part thereof which confines upon the Caspian for all that space between Tumeine and Astracan is by many ascribed unto the Nagoy Tartars I did before declare That the Little Nagoy is for the most part a wide waste Desart the worst of which is all that Tract which lyeth between Tumeine and Astracan These Tartars have no Town but only Asshowa which is not properly theirs though lying in their Countrey being possessed by the Turks There is a sort of People in this Countrey whom the Tartars call Sigakes I could never learn what their Language is or from what Place or Nation they proceed nor could I understand after what manner they live whether they have any Religion or Civil Government Their chief Subsistence is what they gain from the Tartars for they gather sometimes 2 or 3000 and rob the smaller Hords of the Tartars and those which are most remote from help But sometimes the Tartars discovering the place of their Retreat or Rendevous surround them with their Carts and then fall in cut them all off never giving Quarter unto any no Crime being so severely punished amongst the Tartars as Thievery which makes me apprehend that these Sigakes are some of their own People who formerly deserted them upon some extraordinary occasion But whatsoever is the reason
of a League from the City which rises near to Erzerom and is cross'd at Tocat over a very beautiful stone Bridge Upon the North-side of the City it waters a Plain three or four days Journey in extent and two or three Leagues broad It is very fertil and replenish'd with fair Villages very well peopl'd A man may live very cheap at Tocat the Wine is most excellent and all sort of rare Fruit very plentiful It is the only place in all Asia where plenty of Saffron grows which is the best Commodity you can carry to the Indies where a Pound as the Years fall out is worth thirteen or fourteen * Every Frank being 2 s. sterling Franks though the Wax that preserves it be as much in weight as the Saffron This City with the Lands belonging to it usually is the Dowager Sultanesses Joynture There is only an Aga and a Cady that command there in the behalf of the Grand Signor for the Basha from whom they receive their Orders lives at Sivas which is the ancient Sebastia and a very great City some three days journey from Tocat In short Tocat is one of the most remarkable Thoroughfares in the East where are continually lodg'd the Caravans from Persio Diarbequer Bagdat Constantinople Smyrna Synopus and other places and here the Caravans turn off as they are variously bound They that are for Constantinople take to the Winter West upon the right hand they that are for Smyrna incline to the Summer West upon the left hand When you set out either way out of Tocat there is a Toll gatherer that counts all the Camels and Horses that pass by and exacts for every Camel a quarter of a Rixdollar and for every Horse half as much As for the Horses or Camel that carry the Passengers or their Provisions they pay nothing This continual concourse of the Caravans trolls the Money about at Tocat and makes it one of the most considerable Cities of Turkie Setting out of Tocat to go to Erzerom you discover a little Village so situated under a Hill as if the Mountain lay a top of it and between that Mountain and the River the Road is very narrow where the Caravan is to pass In this Road it was that we met the Grand Visier returning from Hunting with a Train of four hundred men so soon as he perceiv'd us he fil'd off all his men to give us liberty to pass by But among all the Company there was not above four Franks upon which he particularly cast his Eye which made him send for the Caravan Bachi to know who we were The Caravan Bachi to avoid the ill Consequences of jealousie which the Visier might have of the Franks at a time when the Grand Visier made War in Persia told him we were Jews at which the Visier shaking his Head reply'd only that we did not look like such and happy it was for us that he took no farther notice For it was twenty to one but that upon better consideration he might have sent after us to have stopt us But when he came home to his Lodging he found a Capigi staying for him with Orders from the Grand Signor to take off his Head which were presently executed For Amurath being troubl'd for the loss of his Army had no way but to revenge himself upon the person that had the command of it Notwithstanding that the Caravans rest at Tocat yet they stay likewise two or three days at Charkliqueu which is not above two Leagues distant from it for Charkliqueu is a great Town in a lovely Country between two fertil Hills where there grows excellent Wine It is for the most part inhabited by Christians who are generally Tanners The fine blew Goat-leather Skins being drest in Tocat and the Parts thereabout It is thought the Water contributes very much to their Art For Tocat is as famous for the blew Goats-leather Skins as Diarbequir and Bagdat are for the red Moussul or the ancient Niniveh for the yellow and Ourfa for the black About two thousand Paces from this Town in the midst of a Plain rises a vast Rock upon the North-side whereof you ascend about nine or ten steps into a Chamber with a Bed a Table and a Cupboard in it all hewn out of the Rock Upon the West-side you ascend other five or six steps that lead to a little Gallery about five or six Foot long and three broad all hewn out of the Rock though it be of an extraordinary hardness The Christians affirm that St. Chrysostom made this Rock his retiring-place during his Exilement and that he had no other Bed or Bolster than the Rock it self in a place where they shew you the print of a Man's Body Hence it is that the Caravans consisting for the most part of Christian Merchants stay at Charkliqueu to pay their Devotions to this Rock where the Bishop of the place attended by some Priests with every one a Taper in their Hands goes and says Mass. But the main Reason is because there grows excellent Wine in this place which being cheaper by half here than it is at Tocat obliges the Armenians to stop here to provide themselves for the rest of their Journey Two Leagues from Charkliqueu you cross over very high Mountains with Precipices on both sides It is the custom of the Armenians when they hear of the approach of a Caravan to ride out two or three days journey to meet their Country-men and carry them fresh Provisions Those of Charkliqueu coming to meet our Caravan three of the Armenians took a large Mornings-draught which made them so Pot-valiant that they would needs ride before to the Town alone by themselves but by the way they were set upon by six Horse-men that came from the North where there are higher Mountains than those which we were to cross Immediately the Thieves darted their Half-Pikes at the Armenians in so much that two of them fell down mortally wounded and the other sav'd himself among the Rocks but the Thieves got their Horses and Goods which were valu'd at ten thousand Crowns The Caravan at the top of the Hill beheld the misfortune of those poor men which their own folly had brought upon them but could not help them by reason of the narrowness of the ways besides that the Thieves knowing all the by-turnings were presently out of sight And therefore it is a dangerous thing to leave the Body of the Caravan either by staying too far behind or running too fast before and some have suffer'd for distancing themselves not above five hundred Paces from it The Caravans do not make their Journeys all alike but come to their Stages sometimes sooner sometimes later according as they meet with Water and Inns or places fit to pitch their Tents in to which places the Natives bring Provision and Provender from the Mountains There are some places where there is a necessity to provide Straw and Barley for two or three days
If you travel in May when the Grass is high it costs nothing to seed the Horses and Camels For as soon as the Caravan is lodg'd the Servants go and cut the Grass from off the Hillocks where it is much better then upon the Plains But while the Beasts feed only upon Grass they are much weaker and cannot travel so far as at other times From the Mountain where the Armenians were set upon you come to Almous a little Village upon a River which you cross over a Bridge of Wood. Going out of Almous you cross a large Plain at the end whereof you lodge upon the Bank of a fair River call'd Toufanlou-sou which falls into the River of Tocat Having pass'd this River you ascend a high Mountain which the People of the Country call Kara-bchir-boguiendren or the Mountain that stops the Grand Signors for it is very rugged and you must of necessity alight to ascend it In that bad Way two Horses that carry'd each of them two Bales of English Cloth burst under their Burthen which prov'd excellent Food for several Tartars that were before us and were pitch'd in the place where we intended to have lodg'd our selves so that we were forc'd to go a quarter of a League farther These Tartars when they heard of our two dead Horses made immediately to the Mountain fifteen or sixteen of them with all joy imaginable to devour it They flea'd the Horses and when they came back for I stay'd to see them they brought every one a great piece of Flesh between the Saddle and their Horses backs For by that means the Flesh mortifies and bakes as it were through the motion and heat of the Horse and so they eat it without any more a-do I saw one of them that took a piece of those Horses Flesh and after he had beaten it soundly between two nasty Linnen Clothes with a piece of a Stick set his Teeth in it and devour'd it with a very greedy appetite Upon the top of the Mountain which I have mention'd there is a Plain and in the mid'st of the Plain a Fountain call'd Chesmé-beler or A Fountain of Crystal near to which on the South-side there stands a Village From the place where we lodg'd we came to a little Town called Adras the Inhabitants whereof are all Armenians Aspidar is but two Leagues from Adras and is but a Village Isbeder is another Village in the Mountains where the Caravan generally stays one or two days as well to pay the Custom which is the fourth part of a Rixdollar upon every Camel and half as much for every Horse as for the excellency and cheapness of the Wine where every Man provides for himself Twice we pass'd by and paid nothing in regard that the Caravan was too strong for the Toll-gatherers and were it not that they stay for the Wine they might go directly forward without paying any thing Leaving Isbeder we came to another great Town in the Mountains all the Houses are hewn out of the Rock upon which it is seated as are also all the Stair-Cases From this Village having pass'd a River over a wooden Bridge at the end whereof there stands an Inn you come to Zacapa another Village from whence through very narrow passages where you are forc'd to unload the Camels and carry your Goods upon Mens shoulders for thirty Paces together you come to encamp in a little Plain It lyes at the foot of a high Mountain which they call Dikmebell beyond which lies the Town Kourd-Aga after which you cross three Rivers one fordable the other over two Bridges and then you come to a Village call'd Garmeru From Garmeru you go to Seukmen another Village from Seukmen to Louri from Louri to Chaouqueu which are two very handsom Towns I saw an Old Man at Chaouqueu who was above a Hundred and Thirty Years old who when Sultan Amurath besieged Bagdat gave his whole Army as much Oats as serv'd them one whole day In recompence whereof the Sultan exempted him and his Children from all Taxes and Tolls for their Lives Leaving Chaouqueu you come to a high craggy Mountain which is call'd Aaggidogii or The Bitter Mountain The Ways being narrow the Caravan is forc'd to travel single and then it is that they count all the Horses and all the Camels every Horse and every Camel paying to the Caravan-Master a certain Duty which amounts to a good Sum if the Caravan be numerous One part of that Money is to pay seven or eight Armenians that guard the Caravan all the way another part defrays the Expences upon the Road and the remainder is the Captain of the Caravan's Profit Having pass'd this Mountain you come to lodge in a Plain which they call Gioganderesi and from thence to Erzerom you meet only with three Villages by the way Achikala Ginnis and Higia which are the Caravan's Stages During these three last days journeys you keep all along the Banks of Euphrates for the most part which is yet but narrow taking its source Northward of Erzerom 'T is a wonderful thing to see the vast quantities of large Asparagus that grow all along the River with which you may load several Camels A League on this side Erzerom the Caravan is constrain'd to stop for the Officer of the Custom-House accompani'd with the Basha's Lieutenant comes here and tyes all the Bales and Chests with a cross Cord upon which he puts a Seal to the end that when the Merchants come to the Town they may not be able to take out any Bags of Money or any pieces of Stuff on purpose to hide them till they go away The particular Business of the Basha's Lieutenant in meeting the Caravan is to see whether the Merchants be well provided with Wines And if he desire any Bottles whether it be then or in the City where they are not asham'd to visit every Merchant there is no refusing them For there grows no Wine at Erzerom all that is drank there being a small Wine of Mingrelia which is always green which forces the Merchants to furnish themselves with Wine at Tocat which they may do sufficiently to last them into Persia. The Officer of the Custom-House generally allows the Caravan three days to rest during which time he sends to the principal Merchants some Fruit and other small Refreshments by which he is no loser After the three days are over he comes and opens all the Bales and Chests and takes a particular account of all the Merchandizes This Search and the changing of Beasts causes the Caravan to stay generally twenty or five and twenty days at Erzerom Erzerom is a frontier Town of Turkie toward Persia. It is situated at the end of a large Plain environ'd with Mountains the Plain being beautifi'd with many fair Villages If you take in the Castle and the Suburbs it may pass for a City but the Houses are ill built of Wood without any neatness or proportion There are some Remains of
for the great Road. The Caravan having cross'd the Stream where we left it lodges the next Night upon the Banks of Aras over which it ferries the next Morning It does not go thorough Zulfa though it be so near it because that on the other side of the City there are three Leagues of Way very bad and unfrequented For which reason you must leave Zulfa on the right hand which is not much out of the way After two hours travel you go by a Bridge which is call'd Sugiac after which you come upon Heaths encompass'd with high Rocks All this days journey you meet with no Water but only one little Fountain and the Water is so bad that the Beasts will hardly drink it The day following you travel through an even Country but very barren where you meet with nothing but a forlorn Inn though it be a place where Cost has been bestow'd and built all of Free-stone that was fetch'd a great way off The next Stage is Marante famous for the Burying-place of Noah's Wife The Town is not very big resembling rather a Thicket than a City but the situation is very pleasant in the middle of a fertil Plain adorn'd with several well peopl'd Villages This Plain does not extend above a League round about Marante the Country beyond it being all barren However it is not altogether unprofitable for being a continual Heath it affords feeding for the Camels which are there bred for the Caravans Which is the reason that there are so many Camel-Masters at Sugiac and Marante who furnish great part of the Road. At Marante you must pay thirteen Abassi's or four Crowns for every Camel's Load for the security of the Road. Leaving Marante you lodge the next night a League from Sophiana in a bushy Plain where the Water is worth nothing after you have travell'd a mix'd Country barren enough where you meet with but one Inn in a Valley but it is a very fair one Sophiana is an indifferent large City which you cannot see till you come within it by reason of the great number of Trees planted in the Streets and round about it which makes it look rather like a Forest than a City The next day which is usually the tenth days journey from Erivan the Caravan having cross'd fair large and fertil Plains arrives at Tauris Those Plains are water'd with several Streams that fall from the Median Mountains but the Water is not all of the same goodness for there is some which cannot be drunk In the mid-way between Sophiana and Tauris lyes a Hill from whence you have a prospect over those Plains upon which the Army of Sultan Amurath Encamp'd when he besieg'd Tauris The news coming to Sha-Sefi King of Persia that he had burnt it and was marching further into the Country with a hundred thousand Men Let him come said he without any disturbance I know how to make the Turks pay for their Invasion without any great trouble They were then not above fifteen days march from Ispahan when Sha-Sefi turn'd the course of all the Streams both before and behind which only run from certain Springs and are brought in Cutts or Chanels into the Inland-parts of Persia where there are no Rivers By which means the whole Army of the Turks perish'd for want of Water in those vast unwater'd Countries where they had engag'd themselves too far Tauris lyes in 83 Degrees 30 Minutes of Longitude and 40 Degrees 15 Minutes of Latitude in an open place where there is not a Tree to be seen and environ'd with Mountains on every side but only upon the West The furthest Mountain is not above a League from the City but there is one which almost touches it being only separated from it by the River 'T is a good Country and fruitful in Corn there is good Pasturage and great store of Pulse Some think that Tauris was the ancient Ecbatane the Metropolis of the Empire of the Medes It is at this day a great City and well peopl'd as being the Mart for Turkie Muscovy the Indies and Persia. There are an infinite number of Merchants and vast quantities of all sorts of Merchandize particularly of Silk which is brought out of the Province of Guilan and other places There is also a great Trade for Horses which are handsom and cheap Wine Aqua-vitae and indeed all sorts of Provisions are cheap enough and Money trolls about in that place more than in any other part of Asia Many Armenian Families have got great Estates there by Trade and understand it better than the Persians A little River the Water whereof is very good runs through the middle of Tauris it 's call'd Scheinkaie over which there are three Bridges to cross from one part of the City to the other The most part of the Buildings in Tauris are of Bricks bak'd in the Sun the Houses not being above one or two Stories high at most The tops of the Houses are terrass'd the Roofs within are vaulted and plaister'd with Earth mix'd with chopt Straw which they whiten afterwards with Lime In the year 1638 the City was almost ruin'd by Sultan Amurath but it is almost all rebuilt again There are in it Bazars or Market-houses which are well built and many Inns very commodious two Stories high The fairest is that of Mirza-Sadé Governour of the Province who caus'd it to be built with a Market-house adjoyning to which he has added a Mosquee and a Colledge with good Revenues The great Trade of Tauris renders it renown'd over all Asia for it has a continual Traffick with Turks Arabians Georgians Mengrelians Persians Indians Muscovites and Tartars The Bazars or Market-houses which are cover'd are always full of Goods for there are some which are peculiar to the Handicraft-Trades the most part whereof are Smiths such as make Saws Axes Files and Steels to strike Fire with Tobacco-stoppers belonging to them Some there are that make Pad-locks for the Eastern People fasten their Doors only with wooden Bolts There are also Turners that furnish the neighbouring Parts with Spinning-Wheels and Cradles and some Goldsmiths that make trifles of Silver But there is abundance of Silk-weavers that are Artists and work very neatly and indeed there are more of those than of any other Trade Here it is that they dress the greatest part of the Shagrin-Skins that are vended so plentifully all over Persia for there are none unless it be the Country-people but wear Boots or Shooes of Shagrin-Leather This Leather is made either of the Hides of Horses Asses or Mules and only of the hinder part of the Hide but the Asses Hide has the best grain There are to be seen at Tauris Ruines of the stately Edifices round about the great Piazza and the neighbouring Parts they have also let run to ruine four or five Mosquees of a prodigious height and bigness The most magnificent and the biggest stands as you go out of the Town in the Road to Ispahan The Persians will
in Gardens There are three Inns with Market-places round about one of the three being large and commodious It is inhabited altogether by Mahometans or if there be any Christians they are very few The Soil about Casbin produces Pistaches The Tree that bears them is never bigger than a Walnut-tree of ten or twelve years old The great quantity of Pistaches that are exported out of Persia come from Malavert a little City twelve Leagues from Ispahan toward the East These are the best Pistaches in the World and the Country being of a large extent produces them in such abundance that it furnishes all Persia and the Indies Leaving Casbin you come to a little Village where there is but one Inn and you travel that day six Leagues through Countries fertil enough and well water'd The next day you travel through a good Country and in nine or ten hours you come to Denghé This is a great Village at the foot of a Hill through which there runs a fair River It abounds with excellent both White and Claret Wine where the Travellers take care to replenish their Bottles But generally they never lye here being desirous to go a League farther for a good Inn's sake which makes it a handsom Stage At this Town of Denghé it is where the two Roads from Tauris to Ispahan meet the first through Ardeüil and Casbin I have already describ'd Hither also come the Caravans that go for the Indies through Meshéhed and Candahar and where they leave Ispahan Road to take the left-hand Way which carries them Eastward CHAP. VI. The ordinary Road from Tauris to Ispahan through Zangan Sultanie and other places WE must now return again to the Lake six Leagues beyond Tauris where they that will take the ordinary short way through Zangan and Sultanie leave the left hand way of Ardeüil and Casbin This Lake is usually full of large red Ducks which are very good Meat From thence after twelve or thirteen hours travel in which time you meet with three Inns you come to Karashima a large Town in a deep Valley that seems to be well manur'd There is in it only a small Inn built of Earth the Doors whereof are so low that the People are forc'd to creep upon their knees to get in The next day you come to another large Village call'd Turcoma where the Soil is fertil though it be very cold There are several Caravansera's built like a long Alley cover'd which are only of Earth the Men lying at one end and the Horses at another The next day you travel over an uneven and desert Country and in eight hours time you come to Miana a little City situated in a Marsh where you pay a Toll for Guarding the Highways In this City is one of the fairest Inns in all Persia. Two hours after you leave Miana you must cross a River over a fair Bridge which runs to decay the Arches whereof are hollow within it is built of Brick and Free-stone being near as long as Pont neuf in Paris This Bridge stands almost at the foot of a Mountain call'd Kaplenton Sha-Abas caus'd all the way to be Pav'd because the Land is so fat and sloughy that when it thaws or that the least Rain falls it is impossible for the Caravan to pass Besides there are a sort of Camels in Persia that when it comes to rain in a deep Soil are not able to keep their Legs nay through the weight of the Burthens which they carry their very Quarters will rive from their Shoulders and their Bellies will burst So that before the way was pav'd they were forc'd to spread Carpets in the most slippery ways where those Camels were to pass which must be still done in some places where the Pavement is worn away At the lower part of the descent toward Ispahan upon the knap of a Hill which stands by it self appears an old forsak'n Fortress it is near the Highway and a River which falls into the Caspian Sea after it has cross'd the Province of Guilan where it is cut into several Channels But generally the Corn and Fruits which grow in Persia by the help of Water forc'd into Channels are of little esteem and much cheaper than those that grow in the Provinces whose Fertility is not Artificial Moreover that sort of forc'd Grain will not keep above a Year and if you keep it longer it breeds a Vermin that eats it 'T is the same thing if the Corn be grownd and more than that there breeds a Worm in the Flowr that makes it so bitter that t is impossible to eat it On this side the Mountain Kaplenton appear at a distance two others very high one toward the North call'd Saveland another toward the South call'd Seharâ—â—â— there is a third which cannot be seen in Ispahan-Road being too far out of the way near the City of Hamadan These three Mountains are full of Springs from whence most of the Streams do fall that water Persia And the Persians do say that formerly there were many more of these Springs but that about a hundred Years ago several of them have been dry'd up or otherwise no body can tell what is become of them There are several Villages near the Mountain that pay nothing to the King but are oblig'd to send him a certain quantity of Rice and Butter for the use of the Mosquee at Ardeüil They have also one great Priviledge That if a Man commits a Murther and flyes to any of these Villages he cannot be apprehended nor can the King himself punish him Leaving the River that runs at the foot of the Mountain Kaplenton you come to a fair Inn call'd Tshamalava built some years ago and for thirteen hours after travelling over a very barren Country you meet with another Inn which is call'd Sartcham standing in a very desert place which makes the Raders that lye there to secure the Highways very insolent finding themselves so far from any Towns or Villages From Sartcham you come to a River by the Banks whereof you travel a good while till you come to an Inn which is call'd Digbé near a large Village The Structure is very handsom the lower part being of Free-stone undulated with red and white and very hard The next day you travel a very uneven Country till you fall into a deep Valley at the end whereof you meet with Zangan a great Town and ill built However it has a very fair Inn which when I went last to Ispahan was so full that I had like to have lain abroad in the Rain but for the Courtesie of two Armenians From Zangan you go to an Inn where you must pay the Duties due to the Kan of Sultanie Sultanie is a very large City which you leave half a Mile from the Road near to a Mountain Formerly it had in it very beautiful Mosquees as may be easily conjectur'd by the Ruines that remain Many Christian Churches also were converted into Mosquees and if
Foot square the Bars whereof are round and knob'd in those places where they cross each other it is lighted by several Lamps of Gold and Silver which altogether is very pleasing to the Eye The inside of the Mosquee to the elevation of the Angles that support the Duomo is compos'd of square Tiles varnish'd over with divers Colours and the Cupola of the Duomo as also the Vault of the Portico of the Mosquee is a Moresco piece of Painting in Or and Azure Upon each side of the Mosquee and near the side where the Tomb of Sidi-Fatima stands appears a great Hall where the Royal Alms are distributed to the Poor which consist of Pilaw and other diet very well drest From this Tomb you turn to the left hand toward an Ascent distant five and twenty or thirty Paces and at the top of this Ascent is a Door over which there an is Inscription in Honour of Sha-Abas the Second The Door being open'd shews you the place where the Body of that King reposes and through another Door with a Grate in it you may discover under a small Duomo the Tomb of Sha-Sefi his Father which is cover'd with a Carpet of Cloth of Gold They were continually at work upon the Tomb of Sha-Abas which they said they would make very famous I had not been two hours in Kom but a multitude of People ran by the Inn Gate all in extraordinary hast Asking what the matter was they answer'd me that it had been a day long design'd for the two Prophets to fight Thereupon I went to the Piazza which was so crowded that I had much ado to get to see In the first place a sufficient number of Tumblers and Puppet-players divided into two Bands kept the middle of the Piazza and made a sufficient Ring for the Combat Each Band held a Bull by the Horns one of which they call'd Mahomet and the other Haly and whether it were by accident or by the cunning of the Bull-Masters after an obstinate Combat wherein the Beasts foam'd again with heat and rage Mahomet at length quit the Field and yielded Haly the Victory Then all the People shouted for joy and all the Piazza was fill'd with the noise of Flutes and Hautboys and every one coming as if it were to adore Haly cry'd out Behold the Works of God that Haly has made At length they bring the Bull Haly under a Gate with his Head turn'd toward the People where after they have rub'd him to refresh him after a Combat so courageously maintain'd every one sends him Presents which are all the Tumblers profit The Kan or Governour of Kom who was present with a hundred Horses richly trap'd to behold the Sight sent the Bull a Present of 50 Tomans or 750 Crowns They who accompany'd him and the chief Inhabitants of Kom gave him some a Garment others a Girdle Neither did the meanest of the People spare to send or carry him Fruits or other things according to their abilities The Kan was a Lord who was very civil and there was no Stranger that did not commend his behaviour in regard he was so obliging So soon as I came to the place whether it was that he perceiv'd me with a Dutchman that I had brought along from Constantinople or whether any one had inform'd him that there were Strangers near him he sent for us and after he had ask'd us some Questions concerning the occasion of our Travelling he sent for a Seat and caus'd us to sit down Then he ask'd us whence we came and what we did at Ispahan to which when we had answer'd him that we went to wait upon the King he approv'd our Intention complaining that we had not given him advice of our Arrival In the Evening he sent us several Delicacies among the rest six fair Melons and four Bottles of excellent Wine He appear'd to me so brave and generous a Person that I was very much troubled afterwards for his being in dis-favour with the King and his death which ensu'd For this Kan finding the Walls of the City which were only of Earth and the Bridge over the River to be out of repair without writing to the King of his own head laid a slight Imposition upon every Basket of Fruit that was brought into the City Now there are in all the Cities of Persia persons who are hir'd to take an account every Week what the Commodities may be worth and to take care that no more than such a Toll be laid upon any thing which they tax among themselves and when they have set the Rate they cause it to be cry'd at the beginning of every Week Sha-Sefi then reign'd it being the year 1632. The King being inform'd by these people of the Impost which the Kan had set upon Fruit without his knowledge was so enrag'd against him that he caus'd him to be brought in Chains to Ispahan where he us'd him with a strange severity For at that time the Son of the Kan stood at the King's Elbow it being his Office to give him his Pipe and his Tobacco which is a very honourable Employment in Persia. When the Kan came the King caus'd him to be carry'd to the Gate of the Palace in the presence of all the People and then commanded his Son to pull the Hair of his Father's Mustaches by the roots from his Skin After that he commanded him to cut off his Nose and his Ears after that to put out his Eyes and lastly to cut off his Head When he had done the Execution according to the King's pleasure he commanded him to go and take possession of his Father's Government and allowing him an experienc'd Old Man for his Lieutenant he sent him to Kom with these words If thou govern'st no better than this dead Dog has done I will put thee to a more cruel death than this Leaving Kom for four hours you travel over a fair Champain Country after which you come to a fair Village with five or six Inns in it Beyond that is nothing but Sand till you come to a place call'd Abschirim or Fresh-water where there are three Inns at a distance from any Villages From Abschirim to Cachan is six hours journey through a Corn Country and stor'd with great Villages Cachan is a large City well peopl'd and furnish'd with all things necessary for humane subsistance There is an old Wall about it which is faln down in many places so that there is no need of seeking for Gates to get into the City On that side which looks toward Ispahan the Soil is good and produces great store of Fruit and Wine which the Jews take care to make It is reckon'd that there are in Cachan a thousand Families of Jews in Ispahan about six hundred but in Kom there are not above nine or ten Not but that there are many Jews in Persia but those that live in Ispahan Cachan and Kom boast themselves particularly of the Tribe of Judah
There are an abundance of Silk-Weavers in Cachan that are very good Workmen which make all the best purfl'd Sattins mix'd with Gold and Silver that come out of Persia. There they also coyn Money and make Copper-vessels which they vend in great quantities at a good distance off The Market-houses are very fair ones and well vaulted the Inns large and convenient but there was one among the rest which was very magnificent near the King's Gardens at the entry of the City As well the Inn as the Gardens were made by the order of Sha-Abas the first of that Name who was at a vast charge The Inn is above a hundred Paces square built of Brick two Stories high containing twenty-six vaulted Chambers of a reasonable bigness It was a Structure too fair to be so little regarded as now it is being much faln to decay In the middle of the Court was a Fountain to receive Water which is spoil'd The Persians and Turks are of that bad humor rather to build new Houses than to repair old Buildings For which reason they have since built at Cachan four or five Inns as fair and commodious as that of Sha-Abas This Custom is grown to that height that the Children are so far from taking care to repair the old Houses where their Parents liv'd that they will not so much as live in them after their decease covetous of the honour of building Houses for themselves Before we leave Cachan you must take notice that as you travel from that City to Guilan you cannot avoid travelling thorough Plains for twelve hours together which are all pure Salt and there is nothing to be met with by the way but one Cistern nor can the Water which is in it be otherwise than very bad Leaving Cachan you cross a Plain of three Leagues after which you enter in among the Mountains where you come to a very fair Inn of Brick From thence you descend a pleasant Vale where you travel a long time by the side of a River over a very narrow way At the end of the Valley you meet a great Wall which crosses it and joyns the two Mountains together This Wall is above a hundred Paces long above thirty Foot thick and fifty high It was the Work of the Great Sha-Abas whose design it was to stop the Waters that fall from the Mountain and to make a Receptacle for Water in that place to serve his occasions At the foot of the Wall there is a Sluce which being let down keeps in the Water but is pull'd up to let out the Water over all the neighbouring Lands to the Plain of Cachan From this Receptacle to Corou is about two hours travel Corou is a very large Village and well peopl'd in a Soil environ'd with high Mountains and planted with great store of Walnut-trees The Houses consist but of one low Story being built of Flint-stones but the Inn therein is very fair and commodious This Village consists but of one Street but it is almost half a League long and very troublesom in the Winter by reason of a great River that runs through it and the great quantity of Stones that lye in the way All about this Village as in several other places of Persia there are a great number of Shacales which are a kind of Foxes that in the night time make an ugly noise for if but one cry all the rest will make answer and set up a howling From Corou you must travel three Leagues between Mountains after which you have but twelve Leagues to Ispahan It is a continued Plain that extends it self beyond the City and in many places the Soil is very good At every three Leagues end you meet with Inns. The first is call'd Achaha-Agakamala the second which is the half-way between Corou and Ispahan is call'd Michiacour This place consists not only of one Inn for there are many others so that it resembles a large Village From Michiacour you come to Aganura another Inn but ill built and from Aganura after you have travel'd three Leagues through a fat and fertil Country you come to Ispahan CHAP. VII Of the Road from Smyrna to Ispahan through Natolia SMyrna is at this day for Trade whether it be by Sea or Land one of the most celebrated Cities of all the Levant and the greatest Market for all sorts of Commodities which are transported out of Asia into Europe or out of Europe into Asia Hither all the Western Fleets are most regularly bound that came formerly no farther than Ligorn and from whence at times most regularly appointed the fairest Caravans set out This City lyes in 50 Degrees of Longitude and 38 Degrees 45 Minutes of Latitude at the bottom of a Gulf in the Archipelago which is seven Leagues in length upon the right side of the Isthmus which begins to form the Peninsula of Clazomene right against the Iland of Schio It lyes in that part of the Lesser Asia which the Greeks possess'd under the Name of Iconium at a distance almost equal between Ephesus and Sardis and was one of the seven Churches mention'd in the Revelation of St. John It is at this day a great City built like an Amphitheater upon the descent of a Hill that looks toward the Summer-West But it is neither so great nor so beautiful as formerly it was as may be easily conjectur'd by the Ruines of certain Edifices that remain upon that Hill which from the middle to the top where the ancient City stood are altogether uninhabited There are also to be seen the Walls of a fair Castle and above that the Ruines of an Amphitheater where they say St. Polycarp was expos'd to fight with Lions This Amphitheater was not in the form of those other which are usually round for it contain'd but half a Circle being left open to the Sea-side The Turks have almost quite destroy'd it making use of the Stones to build a Fort two Leagues from the City upon the Gulf where the passage is very narrow which the Ships are forc'd to salute as they enter in and to speak with when they sail out Moreover that they might not be put to send for Stones a-far off they consulted whether they might not make use of the Stones of the Christians Monuments as also of those of the Jews which are near the Shore But they took very few whether out of kindness to the Tombs or whether they did not think them so proper for use as the Stones of the Amphitheater This Castle had not been long built but upon an occasion very remarkable In the last Wars of the Turks with the Venetians the Ottoman Fleet having been beaten in the Archipelago the Grand Signor resolv'd to re-fit another to Sea and thereupon sent to all the parts of his Empire where he knew any English or Holland Vessels usually were wont to ride to solicit them to serve him for his Pay More particularly he aim'd at those Vessels which were in Smyrna where there
Governour of the Place more civil than usually the Turks are accustom'd to be made us very welcom In the Evening one of our Janizaries had quarrel'd with one of our Servants who thereupon had beaten him and therefore he complain'd to the Fellow's Master who not giving him that satisfaction which he desir'd thereupon the Turk study'd to be reveng'd upon the whole Company For this reason upon some pretence or other he went before the better to bring about his design We staid till the Morning and then departed early from Scalanova and by Noon we came with good Stomachs to the Mosquee near Ephesus where we had been the day before And some of the Company thought it a very convenient place to dine in i' the shade thereupon we sent for our Provisions with a Boracho of Wine and another of Water and fell to eating in the Passage into the Mosquee not dreaming any harm We had not been long at it when we perceiv'd two or three Turks about two hundred Paces off who came from a Village very near to the Mosquee I knowing the custom of the Country better than they told them that they were certainly coming to pick a quarrel with us and therefore caus'd them to hide the Bottle of Wine immediately for it was then the Turks Ramezan or Lent during which time Wine is strictly forbidden These two ill-contriv'd and ill-clad Fellows were the Janizaries of the place whom the Cadi had sent upon the information of our Janizary who knowing we had eaten in the same place before as indeed we had done made no question but we would do so again thinking to surprize us as we were drinking Wine in a place which they esteem Sacred and by consequence was among them accounted an act of Sacriledge Christian Dogs cry'd they when they came near us to eat and drink in a Mosquee and profane a holy place as you do at a time that renders the offence more criminal No cry'd I answering for the rest we drink no Wine we drink nothing but Water and you may tast it said I to him that was the most busie with that I caus'd a Glass to be pour'd out and giv'n him and I gave one of the Turks a private wink who understanding it was a promise of gratuity turn'd about to his Comrades and cry'd 'T is very true they drink no Wine However in regard they had Orders to bring us before the Cady there was no contending Thereupon I and three others undertook to and answer for all the rest The Cady revil'd us as bad as the Janizary at first but he was not only surpriz'd but very much troubl'd when they all unanimously affirm'd that we drank no Wine believing they were confederates with us But I had cunningly slipt eight Ducats into the Hand of the Turk to whom I had made a sign with my Eye who over-joy'd at so plentiful a gratuity had over-perswaded his Comrades not to say any thing against us The Cady though he did not like their Testimony yet call'd for Coffee for us according to the custom of the Country and sent us to his Lieutenant who having been often greas'd in the Fist by the Smyrna-Merchants receiv'd us very kindly and told us that the Cady was but newly come to his Place and was needy however a small matter would content him Thereupon we gave the Lieutenant twenty-five Ducats who most certainly went snips with the Cady and so return'd us to our Company who were much afraid we would not have come off so We were resolv'd to return to Smyrna not the same way we came and so we took another Road which was a very pleasant way partly over firm Sands and partly thorough Meadows where we met with several narrow Dikes very well Pav'd Then we cross a rugged high Mountain and lay in a Mahumetan Barn The next day we return'd to Smyrna having finish'd our small Journey to Ephesus in five days When we told the Consuls how the Janizary had betray'd us they made their Complaint to the Janizary Aga and the Cady who for his punishment put him out of the Consul's service which is an advantageous Employment For besides that the Consul's Janizaries are exempt from the Duties of War they are well plac'd for there is never a Merchant that is not beneficial to them some way or other especially at good times as New-years-day and other Festivals Nor could the Janizary have been more severely punish'd for the Turks love Money above all things in the World But to return to our matter The Rendezvouz of all the Caravans is generally two Leagues from the City near a Town call'd Pongarbachi The day of their setting out being fix'd every one provides himself for his Journey and meets the Evening before at the place appointed to be ready at the hour From Smyrna to Tocat is thirty-five days journey with the Caravan and the last time I went we made it thirty-eight from Pongarbachi The first day we travel'd eight hours through a Country whose prospect was not unpleasing leaving some Villages more than a League from the Road and we lodg'd in a Park near the River Pactolus which is a small River the Sand whereof shines and is of several colours Which caus'd Antiquity to call Pactolus Golden-Sanded It falls from the Mountain Tinolus and after it has water'd the Territory of Sardis mixes with the River Hermus that throws itself into the Archipelago through the Gulf of Smyrna The Mouth of it is not above two or three Leagues from the City toward the North. The next day in six hours we came to Durgout a little City in a Plain All Christians that live not in the Territories of the Grand Signor and pass that way once a Year pay Carrage or a Tribute of four or five Crowns but the Franks are exempt both at Durgout and over all Turkie There resides a Basha in this City and we were constrain'd to stop there a whole day because the Caravan that comes from Persia arriv'd at that time so that they were forc'd to change their Camels The third day after five hours travel in extremity of Heat we came to lodge near a paltry Village The fourth day we travel'd six hours and stop'd near to a small River In the Morning we pass'd over the Ruines of the ancient Sardis the Capital City of Lydia and Seat of King Croesus There were still to be seen the Ruines of a large Palace and two fair Churches with a great number of Pillars and Corniches of Marble This City having held out six Years against the Army of Temur-leng who besieg'd it so soon as he had taken it in revenge he utterly destroy'd it There is a Village near Sardis of the same Name where stood the City which was one of the Seven Churches mention'd in the Revelation The fifth day we rode for seven hours through a Country but ill manur'd and took up our Stage in a Plain upon the side of a
River The sixth day we pass'd by the Walls of the ancient Philadelphia call'd at present Allachars which was also one of the Seven Churches of Asia There is something of Beauty still remaining in those Walls and the City is very large but ill peopl'd It is situated upon four little Hills at the foot of a high Mountain over-looking a fair Plain to the North that produces excellent Fruit. To witness its Antiquity there is yet the Ruines of an Amphitheater with certain Sepulchers from whence the Inhabitants report that the European Christians took out the Bodies that were buried there and transported them into Europe believing them to be the Bodies of Saints It is now all destroy'd but re-built of Earth by the Turks after their mode It was formerly one of the principal Cities of Mysia and in regard it was alway very subject to Earthquakes the most part of her Inhabitants liv'd in the Country The last time I travel'd that way in the year 1664 the seventeenth of June the Turks were feasting and rejoycing upon the News as they said which they had receiv'd of the defeat of the Christians in Candy But the News was false and only contriv'd to encourage the People for the Grand Signor was then making Levies in those Parts We lodg'd that day after seven hours travel upon the Bank of a small River a League and a half from Philadelphia The seventh day we travel'd eleven hours over a Mountain where those Trees plentifully grow that bear Galls and Valanede which is the shell or rind of an Acorn that Curriers make use of to dress their Leather We lodg'd in a Meadow on the top of a Mountain which is call'd Ijagli-bogase or The Mountain of Robbers The eighth day we continu'd our Journey over the same Mountain which is a very barren Country where there is no Provision to be had We travel'd but six hours and lodg'd near a River in a Plain call'd Sarrouc abaqui The ninth day the Caravan travel'd thorough dry Lands where there is not one Village to be seen and lodg'd near a Bridge built over a River call'd Copli-sou in the Plain of Inahi The tenth day after we had travel'd eight hours over an uneven and barren Country we stopt in a Valley near a River call'd Bana-sou the Water whereof is not good In the Night there arose a Tempest that put us all in a disorder and the Rain that fell was as cold as is it had been in the depth of Winter We were wet to the Skins and were forc'd to throw Coverlets over the Bales to keep the Goods from being spoyl'd The eleventh day we travel'd through a pleasant Country between Vales adorn'd with a most delightful Verdure and we were in view as we pass'd along of certain hot Baths though very little regarded We lodg'd upon the Banks of a small River by the side whereof we had travel'd for some hours The twelfth day we continu'd our Road for six hours between the same Vallies and lodg'd by a River The thirteenth day we travel'd eight hours and stop'd near to a Village in a Country call'd Doüagasse The fourteenth after a Journey of seven hours we pass'd by the Walls of Aphiom-Carassar that is The Black City of Aphiom or Opium because it has a Prospect over a fair and large Country well cultivated where they sow great store of Poppies whence they draw their Opium or Aphiom as the Turks call it Aphiom-Carassar is a great City dirty and ill built the ancient Name whereof I could never learn for the Greeks and Armenians are very ignorant But according to all probability and the situation of the place it ought to be the ancient Hierapolis situated upon the Maeander a famous River of the Lesser Asia that winds and turns the most of any River in the World And indeed we are the more to seek in regard the Turks change the ancient Names according to their own custom and pleasure and give no other Names to Rivers than that of the principal City through which they pass or else deriving their Names from the Colour of their Sands There is to be seen in that City an ancient Castle of Free-stone upon the Point of a high Rock separated from the Mountains that are next it toward the South which make a Semicircle All the Armenian Christians Subjects to the King of Persia passing thorough Aphiom-Carassar must there pay Carage from which they are not exempted though they have paid it before at Erzerom or elsewhere The Caravan does not stop at Aphiom-Carassar as well for that there are no Inns but what are ruin'd as for that about a League farther there is a place where you have excellent Fish and very cheap and they of the City bring Barley Straw and other things which the Caravan wants The Caravan therefore that day lodges upon the Banks of Maeander which is to be cross'd over a Bridge not far distant from a small Village In this River are great store of Crawfish and Carps and the Fishermen will be sure to attend upon the Caravan I have seen some Carps there above three Foot long The fifteenth our Caravan began to part it self some for Tocat some for the Road to Aleppo the one part taking the right-hand Road toward the Winter-East for Syria the other the left-hand Road North-East for Armenia After we were parted we travel'd two or three hours in sight of one another They that go to Aleppo fall into Tarsus where St. Paul was born and from Tarsus to Alexandretta But we continu'd our Road to Tocat and after we had cross'd a great Plain having travel'd six hours we lodg'd in a Mershy place near a small Village There is one thing remarkable in this Road as in many others which manifests the Charity of the Turks For in most of the high Roads that are far from Rivers they have set up Cisterns whither when the Rains fail the neighbouring Villages bring Water for the Travellers who would else be very much distress'd The sixteenth we travel'd eight hours through a very even Country but ill manur'd where we saw a little City call'd Boulavandi There are some Mosquees which the Turks have built out of the Ruines of the ancient Greek Churches from which they have taken Pillars of Marble and other pieces of Architecture to adorn their Sepulchers without any order at all which you meet with very often upon the high Roads the number is the greater because they never lay two Bodies in one Grave There is also in this City an Inn cover'd with Lead which is all the Beauty of it nor do Travellers make any use of it but only in foul weather We lodg'd a League and a half from the City and staid there all the next day The seventeenth we travel'd eleven hours through a mix'd and uneven Country and came to lodge in a Village where there are not above three or four Houses though there be excellent Pasturage about it There is
Mattresses From Larneca 'till we came in view of the Coast of Syria we had the Wind very favourable but at length coming to prove a little contrary instead of carrying us to Alexandretta it cast us to the Northward two or three Leagues higher upon the Coast of Cilicia toward a Town call'd Païasses Half a League from that City lyes a vast Rock and between that Rock and the Land runs a very high Sea And here it was that the people of the Country believe that the Whale cast up Jonas again though the common Opinion reports it to have been done near Joppa in Palestine All along that Coast from Alexandretta to Païasses and farther the way is so narrow and straiten'd by the Mountain that in some parts the Camels and Horses must dip their Feet in the Sea and yet you must pass that way of necessity travelling from Syria to Constantinople Between Alexandretta and Païasses it was that the Chevalier Paul in a Vessel that carry'd only three hundred Men miss'd but little of surprizing the Caravan that every Year carries the Tribute of Egypt to Constantinople which since hath never been sent by Sea for fear of the Maltesi This Knight had landed his Men and laid them in Ambuscade but unfortunately his Design was discover'd so that the Caravan that might have been easily surpriz'd stood upon their Guard We were near the Coast when we discover'd a Skiff with fifteen or sixteen Turks that were sent by him that commanded four Galleys of Rhodes to demand the Customary Present from our Captain Those Galleys then anchor'd at Païasses and had there discharg'd themselves of their Provisions of War for Bagdat which the Grand Signor was going to besiege And it is the custom that when the Great Turk's Galleys are out at Sea that whatever strange Vessel passes by them must send them a Present either willingly or by force When the Basha of the Sea who is the Admiral of the Turks is in Person at Sea the Vessel which he meets is not excus'd for 2000 Crowns so that when he sets out from Constantinople to cruise the Vessels of the Franks do all they can to avoid him There are some that will seek to escape in sight of the Galleys but it has cost them dear And it happen'd that one day the Wind slackning they boarded a Vessel of Marseilles the Captain and Notary whereof were both seiz'd and drub'd 'till their Bodies were almost bruis'd to a Gelly and they had like to have dy'd upon it without being the better in their Purses for the rudeness of the Chastisement did not excuse them from paying the Money which was demanded Whether our Captain knew any thing of this Example or whether it were out of his natural heat of Valour he laugh'd at the Skiff-men bidding them be gone and telling them he had no Presents for them but Cannon-Bullets Thereupon the Men return'd to their Galleys who soon deliver'd us from the true fear we were in that the gallantry of the Captain had drawn us into an inconvenience For while we kept the Sea close by the Coast to observe the Countenances of the Turks they weigh'd Anchor and turn'd their Prows toward Rhodes However before they left us they sent us a Broad-side and our Captain whatever we could say sent them another which render'd us more guilty For the Turks pretend that when their Navy is at Sea or only one Squadron and that a strange Vessel is in fight she is bound to come as near as the Wind will permit her without being hal'd for which they will otherwise make the Commander pay very severely The Consuls and Merchants of Aleppo understanding what had pass'd very much blam'd the Captain fearing a worse consequence of the business But by good fortune the miscarriage was stifl'd and never went farther The same day the Wind veering to the West-North-West we sail'd into the Road of Alexandretta where we came to an Anchor about a quarter of a League from the Land Upon the advice which they have out of Christendom so soon as they of Alexandretta discover a Vessel and know what Colours she carries the Vice-Consul of the Nation to which the Vessel belongs fails not to advertise the Consul of Aleppo by a Note which is carr'yd in four or five hours though it be more than two or three days journey on Horse-back For they tye a Note under the Wing of a Pigeon who is taught what to do and she flies directly to the place whence she was brought For more surety they usually send two that if the one should miscarry i' the dark which has many times happen'd the other may supply the defect Alexandretta is nothing else but a confus'd heap of paltry Houses inhabited by the Greeks who keep little Fudling-schools for the Mariners and others the meaner sort of the people for the Merchants lye at the Vice-Consuls of the Nation There were but two then the English Vice-Consul and the French who had each of them a very convenient dwelling However they must be Men who love Money at a strange rate that accept of those Employments For the Air like that of Ormus is generally so bad especially in the Summer in so much that they who do not dye cannot avoid very dangerous Distempers If there be any so strong that they can hold out for three or four Years and can accustom themselves to bad Air they do well to stay there for for them to betake themselves to a good Air is to hazard their Lives Mr. Philips the English Consul has been the only Person that ever liv'd two and twenty Years at Alexandretta but you must know he was a brisk merry Man and of an excellent temper of Body and yet for all that he had been forc'd to be cauteriz'd That which renders the Air so bad is the great quantity of standing Pools and Plashes in the neighbouring Plains extending to the East and South but when the great Heats begin to approach the most part of the Inhabitants retire to a Village call'd Belan upon the next Mountain to the City where there are very good Waters and excellent Fruits They come also thither from Aleppo when there is any appearance of a Pestilence and yet there are few people in this Village who are not troubl'd with a sort of Fever that makes their Eyes look yellow and hollow which they never can remedy as long as they live About half a League from Alexandretta on the right band of the High-way just against the Mersh on the other side is a Tower whereon are to be seen the Arms of Godfrey of Bulloign In all likelihood it was built for the defence of the High-way which is enclos'd between these two Mershes whose Exhalations are very noxious It is but three little days journey from Alexandretta to Aleppo and some well mounted have rid it in two The Franks are not permitted to go thither on Foot For before that Prohibition in regard the
which time has not defac'd From Shaquemin you come to dine at a Village call'd Angare where every Traveller isentertain'd for his Piaster as at the other Stages Between the other Villages it is ten hours journey but between Angare and Aleppo but three We alighted at the French Consul's House at what time the Customers came presently to search our Cloak-bags after which we went to the Quaissery which is a place where all Strangers are at the expence of half a Crown a day for themselves and a quarter so much for every Servant and are well entertain'd CHAP. II. The Description of Aleppo now the Capital City of Syria A Leppo is one of the most famous Cities in all Turkie as well for the bigness and beauty of it as for the goodness of the Air and plenty of all things together with the great Trade which is driv'n there by all the Nations of the World It lyes in 71 Deg. 41 Min. of Longitude and 36 Deg. 15 Min. of Latitude in an excellent Soil With all the search that I could make I could never learn how it was anciently call'd Some would have it to be Hierapolis others Beroea and the Christians of the Country agree with the latter The Arabian Historians that record the taking of it call it only Aleb not mentioning any other name Whence this Observation is to be made That if the Arabians call it Aleb others Alep the reason is because the Arabians never use the Letter P in their Language This City was tak'n by the Arabians in the fifteenth Year of the Hegyra of Mahomet which was about the Year of CHRIST 637 in the Reign of Heraclius Emperour of Constantinople The City is built upon four Hills and the Castle upon the highest that stands in the middle of Aleppo being supported by Arches in some places for fear the Earth should tumble and moulder away from it The Castle is large and may be about five or six hundred Paces in compass The Walls and Towers though built of Free-stone are of little defence There is but one Gate to enter into it from the South over a Draw-bridge laid over certain Arches cross a Moat about six or seven Fathom deep There is but one half of it full of Water and that a standing Puddle to boot the rest is a meer dry Ditch so that it cannot be accounted a wholsom place However there is Water brought into the Castle through a large Pipe from the Fountains in the City and there is a strong Garrison kept in it The City is above three Miles in circuit and the best half of it is unmoated that Moat there is not above three Fathom deep The Walls are very good and all of Free-stone with several square Towers distant one from the other about fourscore Paces between which there are others also that are less But these Walls are not all of them of an equal height for in some places they are not above four Fathoms from the Ground There are ten Gates to enter into the City without either Moat or Draw-Bridge under one of which there is a place that the Turks have in great veneration where they keep Lamps continually burning and report that Elisha the Prophet liv'd for some time There is no River that runs through Aleppo and but only a small one without the City which the Arabians call Coïc. However though indeed it be but properly a Rivulet yet it is very useful to water the Gardens where grows an abundance of Fruit particularly Pistaches much bigger and better tasted than those that comes from the parts near Casbin But though there be no River yet there are store of Fountains and Receptacles of Water which they bring from two places distant from the City The Edifices neither publick nor private are very handsom but only withinside the Walls are of Marble of several colours and the Cieling of Foliage Fret-work with Inscriptions in Gold'n Letters Without and within the City there are six and twenty Mosquees six or seven whereof are very magnificent with stately Duomo's three being cover'd with Lead The chiefest and largest of all was a Christian Church which they call'd Alhha or Listen'd unto which is thought to have been built by St. Helen In one part of the Suburbs also stands another Mosquee which was formerly a Christian Church In that there is one thing worthy observation In the Wall upon the right side of the Gate there is a Stone to be seen two or three Foot square wherein there is the figure of a handsom Chalice and a Sacrifice over the hollow of it with a Crescent that covers the Sacrifice the two Horns whereof descend just upon the brims of the mouth of the Chalice One would think at first that those Figures were in Mosaïc-Work but it is all Natural as I have found with several other Franks having scrap'd the Stone with an Iron Instrument when the Turks were out of the way Several Consuls would have bought it and there has been offer'd for it 2000 Crowns but the Basha's of Aleppo would never suffer it to be sold. Half a League from the City lyes a pleasant Hill where the Franks are wont to take the Air. On the side of that Hill is to be seen a Cave or Grotto where the Turks report that Haly liv'd for some few days and for that there is an ill-shap'd figure of a Hand imprinted in the Rock they farther believe it to be the Hand of Haly. There are three Colledges in Aleppo but very few Scholars though there be Men of Learning that belong to them who have Salaries to teach Grammar and their odd kind of Philosophy with the Grounds of their Religion which are the Principal Sciences to which the Turks apply themselves The Streets of the City are all pav'd except the Bazar's where the Merchants and Handicraft-Tradesmen keep their Shops The chiefest Artists and the most numerous are Silk and Chamlet-Weavers In the City and Suburbs there are about forty Inns and fifty publick Baths as well for Women as for Men keeping their turns 'T is the chiefest Pastime the Women have to go to the Baths and they will spare all the Week long to carry a Collation when they go at the Weeks end to make merry among themselves in those places of privacy The Suburbs of the City are large and well peopl'd for almost all the Christians have their Houses and Churches there Of which Christians there are four sorts in Aleppo I mean of Eastern Christians that is to say Greeks Armenians Jacobites or Syrians and Maronites The Greeks have an Archbishop there and are about fifteen or sixteen thousand in number their Church is dedicated to St. George The Armenians have a Bishop whom they call Vertabet and are about twelve thousand in number their Church is dedicated to the Virgin The Jacobites being about ten thousand have a Bishop also and their Church is likewise dedicated to the Virgin as is that of the Armenians
last day of our being in the Desert we met after some time with the ruines of some houses on both sides the way which made us conjecture that some great City had stood formerly in that place At length we came to Balsara which I shall describe in another place While I stay'd at Balsara which was about three weeks an Ambassador from the Great Mogul arriv'd there who from Constantinople went to Bagdat to congratulate the Grand Signor for the Conquest of that City which he had taken in so short a time The Emperour presented him with three stately Horses and a little Watch the Case whereof was set with Diamonds and Rubies But the Ambassador not knowing what belong'd to that little Engin winding it up the wrong way broke the string Coming to Balsara he sent to the Carmelites to desire them to mend his Watch for he fear'd the loss of his head should he return to his Master and not shew him the Watch entire It wat at their House that I then lay and therefore not knowing what to do with it they desir'd me to shew my skill Thereupon I put on a new string But the Ambassador when he understood to whom he was beholding though it were but a trifle profer'd me all the service and kindness imaginable Thereupon the Carmelites and Augustin Fryars desir'd me to request of the Ambassador in their behalf that he would obtain the Great Turks protection for them in case he took Balsara that their Houses and Churches might be preserv'd which I did and obtain'd by his means full protection from the Grand Visier But they had no need of it for the Turks did not make any attempt upon Balsara hearing that the Persians were advancing besides that the rainy season was at hand which will not permit an Army to keep the Field So that had Bagdat held out eight days longer the Grand Signor would have been constrain'd to have rais'd the Siege Having spoken of the Arabian Horses I must needs say that there are some that are valu'd at a very high rate The Mogul's Ambassador gave for some three four and six thousand Crowns and for another he offer'd eight thousand Crowns but the Horse would not be sold under ten and so he left it When he was got home into the Indies and had presented the Mogul those Horses which he had carry'd along with him being very lovely Creatures he told his Master how he had offer'd eight thousand Crowns for a Horse more beautiful than any of them but because the Owner would not let him go under ten he left him The King incens'd that his Ambassador had stood for so small a Sum when it was for one of the greatest Monarchs in the World upbraided the poorness of his Spirit and banish'd him for ever from his presence into a Province far distant from the Court Thereupon the King wrote to the English to buy him the Horse who accordingly did so and brought him to Surat where the Governour re-paid them their Money But the Horse dy'd at Brampour Nor must I forget that while I was at Balsara twice there flew by such a prodigious number of Locusts that a-far-off they appear'd like a Cloud and darkn'd the Air. They pass by Balsara four or five times in the year the Wind carrying them into the Desert where they alight and most certainly dye Should they not be thus wind-driv'n there could nothing live upon the Earth in some parts of Chaldea They swarm all along the Persian Gulf and when the Vessels come to Ormus at the time of the year there are little Shops where people sell Locusts fry'd in Butter to those that love that sort of Diet. Once I had the curiosity to open the Belly of a Locust six Inches long and found therein seventeen little ones that stirr'd whence it is easie to guess how those Insects come to be so numerous especially in hot Countries There are several Barks that go from Ormus to furnish both sides of the Persian Gulf where the people eat neither Bread nor Rice I agreed with the Master of one of these Barks and made my agreement that the Bark should not be above half laden for generally they lade them too deep and in foul weather they are forc'd to throw half the Freight over-board to save the rest From Balsara to the mouth of the River Euphrates it is reck'nd to be twenty Leagues of Fresh-water We staid seven whole days for a Wind which proving favourable we came to Brander-ric in forty-eight hours This is the place where you must land if you intend for Persia unless you are bound for Ormus Brander-ric consists only of five or six little Fishers Hutts which Hutts are only Hurdles set one against another and cover'd over where they and their Families live To the same place come Asses lad'n with Dates which I was forc'd to hire for want of Horses We were six days upon the Road from thence to Cazerom This is a Mountainous Country where there is Wood enough but you must lodge in the Fields for there are no Inns upon the Road. The way is pleasant in some places along the Banks of several Rivulets and through verdant Groves stor'd with great quantities of Turtles We kill'd a good many which we eat part with Pilaw instead of Henns some we rosted making Sticks to serve for Spits Cazerom is a little City ill built where there is but one Inn and that none of the most inviting to Strangers neither From Cazerom to Schiras it is five days journey The Road lyes over very craggy Mountains which had been impassable but for the Liberality of Ali-Couli-Kan Governour of Schiras He made Ways where there were none before and joyn'd Mountains together by Bridges in Countries which otherwise had been inaccessible In the midst of the Mountains is a wide gap or discontinuance from whence a Plain extends it self of about twenty Leagues in circuit It is inhabited by Jews only who are Silk-Weavers In these Mountains you meet with Tents where the Chaldeans sojourn that come for cool Air and Pasturage in the Summer Coming to Schiras I took Horse there for Ispahan where I arriv'd in nine days The Country over which you travel between these two Cities is part Plains part Mountains part wild and part manur'd Three days journey from Schiras you pass the Mountain of Mayen a little City where there is nothing worthy observation Two days journey from thence you enter upon the Plains of the Province of Cuscuzar where the King of Persia keeps his Race-Horses The next day I arriv'd at Yesdecas where the best Bread in Persia is made This is a little City upon a Rock wherein there is a very fair Inn at the foot whereof runs a little River that glides into the Valley wherein grows that excellent Corn which is utter'd in Bread from that City In three days I went from Yesdecas to Ispahan This was the first Road from Aleppo to Ispahan
Merchants that were to go along with the Caravan The way which we took was not the usual Road to Persia but it was a way wherein there were less Duties to be paid and besides it was a short cut the Caravan making but fifty-eight days Journey between Aleppo and Ispahan From the very banks of the River to the place where we Lodg'd that Evening we saw nothing but continu'd Ruines which makes me believe it was the place where the ancient Nineveh stood We stay'd two days near the Mosquée where according to the tradition of the Turks Jonas was bury'd and made choice of a Curd or Assyrian for our Caravan-Basbi though the people are generally Thieves and must be carefully look'd after But it was a piece of Policy because we were to cross the ancient Assyria now call'd Curdistan the Language of which Country is a particular Speech In the two first days Journey we cross'd two small Rivers that fall from the Mountains and empty themselves into Tigris Our first Journey was through a plain Country all along by the side of a little River and the second Evening we lodg'd by the side of a great River that falls from the Mountains toward the North and running to the South discharges it self into Tigris It is call'd Bohrus being a very rapid Stream full of Fish but more especially excellent Trouts The Caravan was two days passing that River by reason there were no Boats For the people are forc'd to tye long Perches four or five together one upon another which the Natives call a Kilet They make it four-square and put underneath it about a hundred Goat-Skins full of wind to the end the Kilet may not touch the water Besides the Merchant must be careful to spread good store of thick Felts over the Kilet of which he must be provided to keep off the Water least the Bales that sink the Kilet should take wet At the four corners are four Perches that serve for Oars though they avail but little against the force of the Tide so that you must be forc'd to hale the Kilet four or five hundred Paces a' this side up the River and then row down the Stream to the place where you intend to Land the Goods When the Goods are Landed the men are forc'd again to draw the Kilet by main strength out of the water to take away the Goat-Skins which are then to be lad'n upon the Mules appointed to carry them As for the Horses Mules and Asses as well those that carri'd the Goods as those upon which the Men ride so soon as the Herds-men thereabout see a Caravan coming they stock to the River-side Those people that wear nothing but a course piece of Linnen or a Goat-skin to cover their nakedness take off their Cloaths and wind them about their Heads like a Turbant Then every one tyes a Goat-skin blow'd up under his Stomach and then two or three of the most expert mounting the same number of the best Horses which are bridl'd put themselves first into the Water while others follow them swimming and drive the Horses before them holding the Beast by the Tayl with one Hand and switching him with the other If they find any Horse or Ass that is too weak they tye a Goat-skin under his Belly to help him Considering which difficulties it cannot take up less time than I have mention'd to get over a Caravan of five or six hundred Horses The Caravan being thus got over for two or three days has but a very bad Road. The first days journey the Horses were continually in the Water up to the mid-leg and the second and part of the third we travel'd through a very desert Country where we met with very little food for our Horses and only a few Brakes to boyl our Rice Having got over this bad way we came to a River call'd the great Zarbe over which we pass'd upon a Stone-Bridge of nine Arches They report that this Bridge was built by Alexander the Great in his March against Darius A quarter of a League to the South-East two Rivers meet which empty themselves into Tigris Leaving the Bridge we came to a Town call'd Sherazoul built upon a rising Ground upon three Redoubts There resides a Basha who must be brib'd with a small Present to let the Caravan pass we lay by the Banks of a River and staid there two days From thence we travel'd one days journey over dry Mountains not finding any Water But the next day we came into a pleasant Plain stor'd with Fruit-trees This was the Plain of Arbele where Alexander defeated Darius containing about fifteen Leagues in all It is water'd with several Rivulets and in the middle of the Mountain rises a little Hill about half a League in circuit It is all over cover'd with the fairest Oaks that ever were seen and on the top are the Ruines of a Castle that seems to have been a sumptuous Structure The Country-people say that Darius staid there while his Captains gave Battel to Alexander Three Leagues from thence near a great Mountain toward the North are to be seen the Ruines of another Castle and several Houses where they add that Darius secur'd some of his Wives when he lost the Battel This Castle is seated in a most lovely Prospect At the foot of the Mountain rises a Spring which a quarter of a League off swells into a River that bears good big Boats It runs winding about the Mountains to the Southward so that two days journey from the Hill you cross it near a Town call'd Sherazoul over a fair Stone-Bridge of nine Arches whereof the Great Sha-Abas caus'd three to be brok'n down after he had tak'n Bagdat This City of Sherazoul is built after another manner than any other of the Cities in those parts being all cut out of a steep Rock for a quarter of a League together so that you must go up to the Houses by Stairs of fifteen or twenty steps sometimes more sometimes less according to the situation of the place The people have no other Doors to their Houses than only a thin round Stone like a Mill-stone which they will roll away when they go in or out the sides of the Wall being so cut as to receive the Stone like a Case being level with the Rock The tops of their Houses are like Niches in the Mountain where the Inhabitants have contriv'd Caves to keep their Cattel in So that we judg'd it to be built for a place of safety to secure the Inhabitants from the Incursions of the Arabians and Bedouins of Mesopotamia We came to Sherazoul upon Easter-Eve and staid there three days to refresh our selves after a Lent which we had kept very sparingly Here I found certain Springs that rose up in large Bubbles which after I had mix'd with two Glasses of Wine and drank up I found to have a Purgative quality having a kind of Mineral tast These Springs boyl up near the side of
the Venetians to make it stronger reduc'd it to the circuit of three The Work of the Fortification was so neat and such a proportion observ'd in all things that the most famous Engineers esteem'd it one of the most stately Fortresses in the World when Sclim the Second sent an Army against it under the Command of Mustapha his Grand Vizier Famagosta is a Sea-Town upon the East-side of the Iland and the chief Bulwark of it It is kept in good repair the Castle within being in form of a Cittadel The Turks have converted into Mosquees the Churches of the Christians who are not suffer'd to dwell in the City They have only the liberty to come thither in the day and to open Shops which they shut up again at night and then go home to their Houses in the neighbouring Villages The City is govern'd by a Bey who has no dependance upon the Governour of the Iland who is oblig'd to maintain a Galley for the guard of the Coast. Cerines is another little City but without any defence the Walls thereof being all tumbl'd to ruine Only there is a Fortress toward the Sea well built with a Garrison in it There is also a handsom Monastery of Religious Greeks built somewhat after the French manner wherein there are some of the Cells which stand so upon the Sea that they can fish out of the Windows The Fields about it bear Cotton which is the chief Revenue of the Monastery There is only the Fort of Cerines upon the North where the Iland does not lye so open as toward the South and East which besides by that of Famagosta are guarded by the Forts of Salines Limisso and Paphos The Inhabitants of the Iland are for the most part Greeks especially in the Villages They are clad after the Italian manner both Men and Women the Men wearing Hats like the Franks and retaining their ancient Customs as much as is possible for them to do The Trade of the Iland lyes in Cotton-wool which is the best in all the East and some Silk which is neither good nor very plentiful However the Iland is fertil enough did it not want Inhabitants enow to till it As for Bread Wine Cheese and Milk they are all very cheap and there is Oyl enough to serve the Iland But for the Wine it is transported out of the Iland to all the places of Trade not far distant The best grows at the foot of Olympus and is a delicious sort of Drink The Country between Nicosia and Famagosta produces Cotton of which there grows also some between Paphos and Limisso The chief place where the Silk is made is call'd Cytherea a large Town water'd with a fair River that runs from the Mountain of Venus This River turns several Mills which are the chief Revenue of the Iland There is Silk also made between Paphos and Limisso upon the Road between which two places you meet with a Town call'd Piscopi where are to be seen several Aquaeducts that carry'd the Water into the Rooms and Magazines where the people formerly made Sugar But since the Iland was tak'n from the Venetians one of the Basha's that was sent as Governour burnt up all the Sugar Canes in the Country Toward the Sea-shoar near Limisso is to be seen one of the fairest Gardens of Cyprus which they call Shiti to which there belongs a magnificent House and a Grove of Orange-Trees It was built by a rich Venetian who had a good Estate in Lands thereabouts In Cyprus the people take a vast number of Birds as big as a Lark especially near the Mountain of the Holy Cross. In the Months of September and October the Country-people of the adjacent Villages make themselves little Hutts in the Fields where usually those Birds are wont to light and feed upon the Seed of an Herb that grows there which when it is dry the people daub over with Lime-twigs But this they never do but when the North-West Wind blows and that the weather be very cold for with a Southerly Wind they never take any These Birds are accounted great Dainties by the Venetians who make no great Feasts in Carnival-time wherein they do not set these Birds upon the Table pil'd up in Dishes like a Pyramid They buy them up every year being first prepar'd fit for exportation by the people who having pull'd off their Feathers parboyl them and pickle them up in Barrels with Vinegar and Salt When they are to be eat'n they are set upon a Chafing-dish between two Dishes Sometimes there are above a thousand Barrels exported out of the Iland and indeed were it not for this Trade the poor people would see but very little Money Upon the Mountain of the Holy Cross stands a Church of the same name upon which the report of the Country goes that St. Helena returning from Jerusalem left a piece of our Saviour's Cross with the Christians of Cyprus who built a Church there by means of the Liberality of the same Princess Afterwards those of the Town of Leucara took it from hence and carry'd it to their Church where I saw it The piece is as big as the Palm of a Man's Hand set in a great Cross of Latten emboss'd with several Figures In the Kingdom of Cyprus there is an Archbishop and three Suffragans The Arch-bishop takes upon him the Title of Nicosia to which Famagosta belongs with all the Country between Nicosia and Famagosta with the Territories of Nicosia and all the Villages round He has a House about a League from Nicosia where the chiefest of his Revenue lies Some years since he caus'd the high Altar of the Church to be painted and guilded being a neat piece of Workmanship Thus the Arch-bishop has under his Jurisdiction all the middle part of the Island and some part toward the East The Bishops are the Bishops of Paphos Larneca and Cerines The Greeks are very much addicted to the observation of their ancient Customs and Ceremonies and generally their Masses are very long Upon Sundays and Holy-days they rise between one and two of the Clock in the Morning to Sing Mattins To which purpose there is a Clerk that goes from door to door and knocks with a Hammer to wake the people and then cries out with a loud voice Christians go the Church The men and old women fail not to go as being more zealous but the maids and young women never go out of doors in the night for fear of the Turks There are seven or eight Villages the Inhabitants whereof are Maronites who came from Mount Libanus and speak Arabic at home but Greek among the Islanders They follow the Romish Religion and have their Churches peculiar to themselves The Island of Cyprus is no wholesom Air being subject to the spoyl of a sort of Locusts that some Summers destroy all their Fruit aud Corn. During the heats they hover in the Air which they will dark'n with their number like a thick Cloud but
under the Jurisdiction of a Bey Having past the Tigris all the Country between that and Tauris is almost equally divided between Hills and Plains the Hills are cover'd with Oaks that bear Galls and some Acoms withal The Plains are planted with Tobacco which is transported into Turkie for which they have a very great Trade One would think the Country were poor seeing nothing but Galls and Tobacco but there is no Country in the World where there is more Gold or Silver laid out and where they are more nice in taking Money that is in the least defective either in weight or goodness of Metal For Galls being a general Commodity for Dying and no where to be found so good as there bring a vast Trade to the Country wherein there are no Villages yet it is over-spread with Houses a Musquet-shot one from another and every Inhabitant has his quarter of his Vineyard by himself where they dry their Grapes for they make no Wine From Geziré to Amadié days 2 Amadié is a good City to which the Natives of a great part of Assyria bring their Tobacco and Gall-nuts It is seated upon a high Mountain to the top whereof you cannot get in less than an hour Toward the middle of the Rock three or four large Springs fall down from the Cliffs where the Inhabitants are forc'd to water their Cattel and fill their Borachio's every morning there being no Water in the City It is of an indifferent bigness and in the middle is a large Piazza where all sorts of Merchants keep their Shops It is under the Command of a Bey that is able to raise eight or ten thousand Horse and more Foot than any other of the Beys by reason his Country is so populous From Amadié to Giousmark days 4 From Giousmark to Alback days 3 From Alback to Salmastre days 3 Salmastre is a pleasant City upon the Frontiers of the Assyrians and Medes and the first on that side in the Territories of the Persian King The Caravan never lyes there because it would be above a League out of the way but when the Caravan is lodg'd two or three of the principal Merchants with the Caravan-Bashi according to custom go to wait upon the Kan The Kan is so glad that the Caravan takes that Road that he presents the Caravan-Bashi and those that go with him with the Garment of Honour or the Calaat the Bonnet and Girdle which is the greatest Honour that the King or his Governour can do to Strangers From Salamastre to Tauris days 4 In all thirty-two days journey this way from Aleppo to Tauris But though this be the shortest cut and where they pay least Customs yet the Merchants dare hardly venture for fear of being ill us'd by the Beys Teren whose Capital City the Persians call Cherijar is a Province between Mazandran and the ancient Region of the Persians known at this day by the name of Hierac to the South-East of Ispahan 'T is one of the most temperate Countries that has nothing in it of the contagious Air of Guilan where the King goes for the purity of the Air and for his sport of Hunting besides that it produceth excellent Fruits in many places The Capital City whereof which some call by the name of the Province is of a moderate compass but there is nothing worthy observation in it only a League from it are to be seen the Ruines of a great City which had been two Leagues in Circuit There were abundance of Towers all of burnt Brick and Pieces of the Wall standing There were also several Letters in the Stones which were cemented into the Walls but neither Turks Persians nor Arabians could understand them The City is round seated upon a high Hill at the top whereof stood the Ruines of a Castle which the Natives say was the Residence of the Kings of Persia. CHAP. V. The Road from Aleppo to Ispahan through the small Desert and through Kengavar I Will describe this Road as if I were to return from Ispahan to Aleppo This Road lies through Kengavar Bagdat and Anna where you enter into the Desert which I call The little Desert because you get over it in far less time than the great Desert that extends Southwards to Arabia the Happy and where you may often find Water all the whole Journey being not far distant from the River Euphrates A man that is well mounted may ride this way from Ispahan to Aleppo in three and thirty days as I have done and perhaps in less if the Arabian whom you take for your guide at Bagdat knows the shortest cut through the Wilderness The Horse Caravans travelling from Ispahan to Kengavar are fourteen or fifteen days upon the Road but being well mounted ten or twelve in a Company you may Ride it in five or six days The Country through which you travel is very fertile in Corn and Rice it produces also excellent Fruits and good Wine especially about Kengavar which is a large Town and well peopl'd From Kengavar to Bagdat I was ten days upon the Road. The Country is not so fertile but very stony in some parts And it consists in Plains and small Hills there being not a Mountain in all the Road. Now for a man that travels quick the Road lies thus From Ispahan to Consar From Consar to Comba From Comba to Oranguié From Oranguié to Nahoüand From Nahoüand to Kengavar Fron Kengavar to Sahana From Sahana to Polisha or the Bridge-Royal being a great Stone Bridge From Polisha to Maidacht From Maidacht to Erounabad From Erounabad to Conaguy From Conaguy to Caslisciren From Caslisciren to Iengui-Conaguy From Iengui-Conaguy to Casered From Casered to Charaban From Charaban to Bourous From Bourous to Bagdat There are some who instead of passing through Kengavar take Amadan one of the most considerable Cities of Persia in their way and so from thence to Toucheré but the way is longer and according to the Road which I have set down you are to leave Amadan to the North upon the right hand Between Sahana and Polisha you leave the only high Mountain in all the Road to the North. It is as steep and as straight as a Wall and as high as you can see you may observe the Figures of men clad like Priests with Surplices and Censors in their hands and yet neither can the Natives tell you nor any person imagin the meaning of those Sculptures At the foot of the Rock runs a River over which there is a Bridge of Stone About a days journey beyond the Mountain you meet with a little City whose situation the Streams that water it the good Fruits that grow there and particularly the excellent Wine which it affords render a most pleasant Mansion The Persians believe that Alexander when he return'd from Babylon dy'd in this place what-ever others have writt'n that he dy'd at Babylon All the rest of the Country from this City to Bagdat is a Country of Dates
where the people live in little Hutts made of the Branches of Palm-trees From Bagdat to Anna you ride in four days through a desert Country though it lye between two Rivers Anna is a City of an indifferent bigness that belongs to an Arabian Emir For about half a League round about the Town the Lands are very well manur'd being full of Gardens and Country-houses The City for its situation resembles Paris for it is built upon both sides of the River Euphrates and in the midst of the River is an Island where stands a fair Mosquee From Anna to Mached-raba is five days riding and from Mached-raba to Taïba five days more Mached-raba is a kind of a Fortress upon the point of a Hill at the Foot whereof springs a Fountain like a large Vase which is very rare in the Deserts The place is encompass'd with high Walls defended by certain Towers and in which are little Hutts where the Inhabitants keep their Cattel of which there is great store but more Mares and Horses than Cows Taïba is also a fortifi'd place in a level Country or a high Bank of Earth and Brick bak'd in the Sun Near to the Gate a Fountain springs out of the Earth and makes a kind of a Pond This Road is most frequented by those that travel through the Desert from Aleppo or Damas to Babylon or from Damas to Diarbequir by reason of this Fountain From Taïba to Aleppo is but three days journey but these three days are the most dangerous of all the Road for Robbers in regard that all the Country is inhabited only by the Bedouïns or Arabian Shepherds who make it their business only to plunder and steal Now to take the same Road from Aleppo to Ispahan it lyes thus From Aleppo to Taïba days 3 From Taïba to Mached-raba days 5 From Mached-raba to Anna days 5 From Anna to Bagdat days 4 From Bagdat to Bourous days 1 From Bourous to Charaban days 1 From Charaban to Casered days 1 From Casered to Conaguy days 1 From Conaguy to Cassiscerin days 1 From Cassiscerin to another Conaguy days 1 From Conaguy to Erounabad days 1 From Erounabad to Maidacht days 1 From Maidacht to Sahana days 1 From Sahana to Kengavar days 1 From Kengavar to Nahoüand days 1 From Nahoüand to Oranguie days 1 From Oranguie to Comba days 1 From Comba to Consar days 1 From Consar to Ispahan days 1 So that whether you travel from Aleppo to Ispahan or from Ispahan to Aleppo you may easily ride it in thirty days From whence I make this Observation That a man making it but two days more from Alexandretta and finding a Ship ready there to set Sail for Marseilles with a fair Wind he may travel from Ispahan to Paris in two months Another time having an occasion to go from Aleppo to Kengavar and so to Bagdat and from thence so through the Desert at Bagdat I met with a Spaniard that was travelling the same way with whom I luckily met to bear half the Charges of the Guide which as soon as we had hir'd for sixty Crowns we set forward from Bagdat the Spaniard and I and our Arabian who was afoot walk'd about Pistol Shot before our Horses From thence to Anna we met with nothing remarkable but only that we saw a Lyon and a Lyoness in the Act of Generation Whereupon our Guide believing we had been afraid told us that he had met them oft'n but that he never found them do any harm The Spaniard according to the humour of his Nation was very reserv'd and contenting himself with an Onion or some such small matter at meals never made much of his guide whereas I was mightily in his favour in regard there was never a day pass'd wherein he did not receive of me some good business or other We were not above a Musquet Shot from Anna when we met with a comely old man who came up to me and taking my Horse by the Bridle Friend said he come and wash thy feet and eat Bread at my House Thou art a Stranger and since I have met thee upon the Road never refuse me the favour which I desire of thee The Invitation of the old man was so like the custom of the people in ancient times of which we read so many Examples in Scripture that we could not choose but go along with him to his House where he Feasted us in the best manner he could giving us over and above Barly for our Horses and for us he kill'd a Lamb and some Hens He was an Inhabitant of Anna and liv'd by the River which we were oblig'd to cross to wait upon the Governour for our Passports for which we paid two Piasters apiece We staid at a House near the Gate of the City to buy Provisions for our selves and our Horses where the woman of the House having a lovely sprightly Child of nine years of age I was so taken with her humour that I gave her two Handkerchiefs of Painted Calicut which the Child shewing her Mother all we could do could not make her take any Money for the Provisions we had agreed for Five hundred paces from the Gate of the City we met a young man of a good Family for he was attended by two Servants and rode upon an Ass the hinder part of which was Painted red He accosted me in particular and after some Compliments that pass'd Is it possible said he that I should meet a Stranger and have nothing to present him withall He would fain have carry'd us to a House in the Country whether he was going but seeing we were resolv'd to keep our way he would needs give me his Pipe notwithstanding all the excuses I could make and though I told him that I never took any Tobacco so that I was constrain'd to accept of it About three Leagues from Anna we were going to eat among the Ruines of certain Houses and had thought to have lain there 'till midnight when we perciv'd two Arabians sent by the Emir to tell us that he had some Letters which he would put into our own hands to the Basha of Aleppo to which purpose he had order to bring us back There was no refusing so that at our coming into the City the next day we saw the Emir going to the Mosquée mounted upon a stately Horse and attended by a great number of people afoot with every one a great Poniard stuck in their Girdles As soon as we saw him we alighted and standing up by the Houses we saluted him as he pass'd by Seeing our Guide and threatning to rip up his Belly Ye Dog said he I will give ye your reward and teach ye to carry Strangers away before I see them Carry them said he to the Governours House 'till I return from the Mosquée Returning from the Mosquée and being seated in a spacious Hall he sent for us and our Guide whom he threatn'd again for carrying us out of the Town without giving him
of all these Places A Particular Relation of the Gallies belonging to the Grand Signor as well at Constantinople as in the Isles and other Parts of the Empire FOrmerly there lay in the Road of Constantinople above a hundred and fifty Galleys But the Grand Visier perceiving that so great a number did but cause confusion and that the Captain Basha could not conveniently take so great a burden as to look after such a number he gave order that no more than twenty-four should lie in the Port of Constantinople sending the rest to other Ports as well of the Continent as the Islands At present the Number of the Grand Signor's Gallies is fourscore thus distributed under the Command of their several Beys or Captains At Constantinople twenty-four under the Command of the Captain Basha or Admiral of the Sea who when he goes out upon any Expedition sends to the rest to meet him according to Orders When he goes in person to Sea he gives to every one of his Slaves besides their ordinary Habit a kind of Cassock of Red Cloth and a Bonnet of the same colour But this is only in the Admiral 's Gally and at his own Cost His Gally carries usually 366 Slaves and to every Seat of the Rowers a Bonne Vole These Bonne Voles are certain Volunteers that freely offer themselves to the Service of the Admiral and there is great care taken for their being well paid Their Pay is 3500 Aspers for their Voyage which generally continues seven or eight Months They feed as the other Slaves but if they Row negligently or lazily they are beaten worse than the Slaves for the Volunteers have nothing to do except it be to Row But the Slaves are put to several other Duties Take notice also that the Volunteers that serve in the General 's Gally have 500 Aspers more than those in the other Gallies that is to say 4000 Aspers for their Voyage which comes to 40 Crowns The Reer-Admiral carries Two hundred and fifty men as well Slaves as Volunteers That Galley and the great Tefterdar's or Treasurers are the best provided of any in the whole Fleet For the Reer-Admiral Basha has his choice to take four of the best men out of every Galley for his own or else to receive 3500 Aspers for every man which is paid by the Captain of the Galley which makes him the richest of all the Beys The great Tefterdar's Galley is one of the Twenty four Galleys of Constantinople and he sends a particular Treasurer in the quality of a Lientenant to command her That Command is very much contested for in regard that Galley is very well provided with all things and for that all the Captains Court the Tefterdar who when the Galleys return to Port rewards them according to their Merit The Janizary-Aga's Galley is of the same number but he never goes to Sea always sending one in his room The Bey of Rhodes that takes upon him the Title of Basha has eight Galleys The Bey of Stancho an Island about an hundred Miles from Rhodes Lieutenant to the Bey of Rhodes has one Galley The Bey of Sussam a small Island near Scio has one Galley and his Lieutenant another These Galleys are generally appointed to watch the Maltesi and Ligorn The Bey of Scio formerly had but three but since the War with Candy he has had six The Lieutenant of the Bey of Soio has two Gallies There be also three other Beys in the Island of Scio who have no dependance upon the Basha of Scio but buy their Provisions where they can find it best cheap The Bey of Smyrna and his Lieutenant have two Gallies but they can do nothing without the Orders of the Bey of Scio. The Bey of Metelin has two Gallies The Bey Cavale a small Bay twelve Miles on this side the Dardanells upon the Coast of Europe has one The Bey of Nestrepont seven The Bey of Napoli in Romania five The Bey of Coron one The Bey of Modon one The Bey of Famagosta six The Bey of Alexandria in Egypt five The Bey of Canée two Gallies The Bey of Candia one The Bey of Castel-Tourneze or Navarin two Gallies All these Gallies make up the number of Fourscore The light Gallies carry not above 196 men the four men that are wanting of two hundred being the Bey's profit Every Captain is allow'd thirteen thousand Piasters for his Provision and every Christmas he gives to every Slave a pair of Breeches and a Cassock of course Cloth with a scantie kind of a Cloak Every Slave has every day a pound and a half of good Bread and nothing else But upon Friday which is the Mahumetans Snnday they have hot Pease or Beans or Lentils boyl'd in Butter They receive also sometimes the Alms of the Greeks when they lie in any Port. But at Constantinople they fare somewhat better for twice a week as well the Turks as the Greeks and others come to the Bains and be stow their Charity of Rice and other good Victuals The Bains is the name of the place where the Sea-men are kept when they are not at Sea Sometimes when they are to go to Sea they will counterfeit themselves sick or lame but they are so narrowly observ'd that it serves them to no other purpose than to procure to themselves the more Blows CHAP. IX a Relation of the present State of Georgia GEORGIA which others call Gurgïe or Gurgistan extends Eastward to the Caspian Sea and upon the West is bounded by Mountains that part it from Mengrelia Formerly it was a Kingdom all the Inhabitants whereof were Christians of the Armenian and of the Greek Church but of late the Mahometans have got footing among them And the King of Persia having fill'd them full of Divisions has made two Kingdoms of it which he calls Provinces over which he has plac'd two Governors They are generally Princes of the Countrey who must turn Mahometans before they can be admitted to that Dignity When they are advanc'd they take upon them the title of Kings and while they have any Issue the King of Persia cannot dispossess their Children The most Potent of these two Kings is he that resides at Testis who in the Language of the Country is call'd the King of Cartele The present King is the last that has continu'd a Christian with his four Sons the Eldest of which the King of Persia having entic'd to Court partly by Promises and partly by Presents has won to Mahumetism Immediately thereupon he caus'd him to be declar'd King of the other Province These two Kings have each of them a Guard of Mahumetan-Horsemen under their own pay and at present I believe there are in both Kingdoms near upon 12000 Mahumetan Families The King of Testis coyns Mony in the King of Persia's Name and the Silver which he coyns is in Spanish Reals French Crowns and such other Money which the Armenians bring out of Europe for their Goods As to
Stone a League and a half from the City toward the Mountains running in that time six and thirty of our common Leagues or a hundred and eight Miles While he runs there is Kourouk in the Meydan and upon all the Road where he runs and three or four Horse-men that continually ride to and fro to see that there be no deceit in the Chater's Race who when he approaches near the City ride before to give notice of his coming Every time he starts and returns the Drums and Trumpets sound at the end of the Race there stand several persons with Arrows in their Hands and ev'ry time he comes to the Stone they give him an Arrow which he carries back every course to Ali-Capri Every time he returns the Curtisans rub him and make much of him All the time he runs he eats nothing but drinks Sherbet now and then If he acquit himself well which appears by the number of Arrows brought back he is admitted a Master by the approbation of the King's Foot-men who are superior to all the rest The Kans or Governours of Provinces run their own Chaters with the same Ceremonies and in the same manner The Fortress of Ispahan is nothing at all considerable It joyns to the Wall upon the South side of the City and is twice as long as broad but without any defence in the world unless it be of some pitiful Towers made of Earth Here it is that the King keeps all the Rarities which he has purchas'd or that has been presented to him For as to his main Treasure I believe it consists chiefly in Gold-Plate Within the Fortress there is a large Field sow'd every year with Rice and Corn hard by which stands the House of the Capuchin-Friars Ispahan in general unless it be the Meydan and some few arch'd Streets where the Merchants live is more like a great Village than a City the Houses standing at a distance one from the other with every one a Garden but ill look'd after not having any thing in it perchance but only one pitiful Tree true it is that they begin to build better of late days but it is without the City As for the Women 't is not a pin matter whether they live out of the City or within in regard they never stir out of doors and as seldom go a-foot The Meydan or great Piazza of Ispahan was the contrivance of the great Sha-Abas who had never done it if a great Prince of the ancient Race of the Kings of Persia had not refus'd him the old Meydan with several Priviledges and the House that stood by it Thereupon he design'd this new Piazza to draw off the Merchants and to spoil the old Market-place by their departure from that quarter of the City which is less inhabited at this day It is not far from this old Meydan that the Austin-Friars on the one side and the Carmelites on the other have their Habitations There are also two sides of that Meydan entire under the Portico's where sit only such people as sell Herbs Fruit and Victuals the other two sides are almost faln to decay but when it was all standing it was as handsom as the new one and it is to be wonder'd that the Prince who built it did not choose the place where Sha-Abas has built his as being near the Water and consequently far more convenient The great Meydan then is a place about seven hundred Paces long and between two and three hundred broad It has Buildings upon all the four sides it lyes in length directly North and South the Fronts are every one Portico'd and Terrass'd at the top and on the City-side are little Chambers nine or ten Foot high which fall very much to decay being only built of Brick bak'd in the Sun They are inhabited the greatest part of them by the most infamous Curtisans of the City At some Paces distance from the Portico's is a Channel which is pav'd with stone and runs round about the Piazza Sha-Abas caus'd several Trees to be planted by the side of it but both the Channel and the Trees being altogether neglected are faln to decay besides that the smell of the Water in the Summer time is very noysom In the midst of the Piazza stands a kind of a May-Pole or Mast of a Ship where the people exercise shooting at Birds When the King comes to shoot they set a Cup of Gold upon the top of the Mast which he is to strike down with an Arrow To which purpose he must ride full speed nor is he permitted to shoot 'till after he has past the May-Pole turning himself upon the crupper of his Horse a remain of the ancient custom of the Parthians that kill'd their Enemies flying The Cup belongs to him that strikes it down and I have seen Sha-Sefi Grandfather of the present King in five Courses strike down three Cups From this Mast or May-Pole down to the great Mosquee they sell nothing but Wood and Charcoal from the same Pole to the Sun-Dial upon the North-side are none but such as sell old Iron-Tools old Harness for Horses old Coverlets and other old Brokery-ware as in our Long-Lane From the Pole to another Mosquee to the South just against the Sun-Dial is the place for all the Poulterers The rest of the Piazza toward the Palace is always kept clean without any Shops because the King comes often abroad in the Evening to see Lions Bears Bulls Rams Cocks and all other sort of Creatures fight which are brought thither The people of Ispahan as in many other Cities are divided into two parts the one call'd Hedari the other Nametlai and upon all the Combats of Beasts before-mention'd there are always very considerable Wagers laid between these two Tribes The King who is a neuter gives to the Master of the Beast that gets the upper hand sometimes five sometimes ten sometimes twenty Tomans according to the value of the Wager laid and he that wins the Wager presents the Master of the the Beast likewise They have also a Sport at breaking of Eggs by knocking the ends one against another some of which Eggs come to three or four Crowns The Hens that lay them are bred in a Country which they call Sausevare about a hundred leagues from Ispahan toward the Province of Karason the Cocks of which Country are bigger and stronger than other Cocks and cost some of them a hundred Crowns There are a sort of Tumblers also that after Dinner set up their Stages in the Meydan and toward the Evening they that play the Maid-Marians come and encompass a square place with a course piece of Calicut and then through another very fine Cloth the Wenches shew a thousand tumbling Tricks and antick Postures When they have done they come and ask the Spectators for Money who give them every one what they think fit Every Friday which is as it were Market-day the Country-folks bring to Town what they have made in the
are Officers pay'd by the King and never work unless they please themselves commanding all that are under their Jurisdiction As for Carpenters and Joyners work the Persians know little what belongs to it which proceeds from the scarcity of Wood that does not allow them materials to work upon So that for Chairs Tables and Bedsteads there are no such things to be seen in Persia the Joyners business being only to make Doors and Frames for Windows which they make very neatly of several pieces of wood join'd together so that a man can hardly put a Tennis Ball through the holes where they put the glass Nor can it be expected that the Persians should work like other Europeans having no other Tools then a Hatchet a Saw and a Chizzel and one sort of Plainer which a Frenchman brought among them Their nobler Arts are Writing for Printers they know none All their Books are writt'n which is the reason they so much esteem that Art There was an Armenian who had set up a Printing-Press at Ispahan and had Printed the Epistles of St. Paul the seven Penitential Psalms and was going about to Print the whole Bible but not having the way of making good Ink and to avoid the ill consequences of the Invention he was forc'd to break his Press For on the one side the Children refus'd to learn to write pretending they wrote the Bible themselves only to get it the sooner by heart on the other side many persons were undone by it that got their living by writing The Persians use three sorts of hands the first is call'd Nestalick or the Set-hand the second Shakeste or Divanni which is their Court-hand the third Neskre or the Running-hand very like the Arabic They write with small Indian Reeds and say that to write well a man ought to lean so slightly upon his Pen that should a fly stand upon the other end it would fall out of his hand When they write they hold their Paper in one hand to turn it according to the motion of the Pen otherwise they could not make their dashes large and free as the Character requires They make their Paper of Cotton Fustian very course brown and of no strength for the least folding tears it They sleek it with a sleek stone and then rub it over to make it more sleek Their Ink is made of Galls and Charcoal pounded together with Soot The Persians reck'n four Languages among ' em The Persian call'd Belick that is sweet and pleasing The Turkish call'd Sciascet or the Rodomontado Language The Arabian to which they give the Epithite of Feschish or Eloquent and the fourth call'd Cobahet or the Speech of the Country people The Persian in use among the Gentry is compos'd almost of all Arabic words by reason that the Persian is very barren But the Gibbrish of the Country people is so corrupt that they in the City can hardly understand ' em The Arabian is the Language of the Learned in which tongue their Books are written The Language of the Court is Turkish but much more soft and elegant then at Constantinople As for the Persian Language it is spoken in the Courts of the Great Mogul and the Kings of Golconda and Visapour in all which Courts a Noble man would take it for an affront to be spok'n to in the Indian Language As for their Painters they only paint in miniature and for Birds and Flowers they will draw them indifferently well But for figures and stories they know not what belongs to any such thing The Persians are most excellent Artists for manufactures of Gold Silk and Silver of which their rich Carpets and Tissues are made nor do their Gold and Silver Manufactures ever grow black or loose their luster by long wearing or lying by There are abundance that work in Silk stuffs of all sorts and others that make Bonnets and Girdles of Gold and Silk Others there are whose business it is to fast'n flowers of Gold and Silver to their Taffata's with gum water of which the women make Shifts and Drawers And now they begin to make such large quantities of Taffata's that they care not for the stuffs which are brought out of India though they be much finer They also make great quantities of Linnen Cloth of all sorts of colours upon which they fast'n several flowers with gum water and some figures though the Law forbid it Which they learnt to do upon the Armenians carrying out of Europe some ill-favour'd cuts and pieces in distemper which they bought here without judgment these pieces they hang before their doors and those hollow places in the walls where they put their Quilts and Carpets when they rise The Persians are excellent Artists at Damasquing with Vitriol or engraving Damask-wise upon Swords Knives and the like But the nature of the Steel which they make use of very much contributes to their Art in regard they cannot perform the same work neither upon their own nor ours This steel is brought from Golconda and is the only sort of steel which can be damasqu'd For when the workman puts it in the fire he needs no more then to give it the redness of a Cherry and instead of quenching it in the water as we do to wrap it in a moist Linnen cloth for should he give it the same heat as to ours it would grow so hard that when it came to be wrought it would break like glass I speak this to undeceive those people who think our Scimitars and Cut-lasses are made of steel of Damascus which is a vulgar error there being no steel but that of Golconda that can be Damask'd The Persians are also excellent Artists at making Bows and Arrows and such other weapons as are us'd in that Country As for Bridles and Saddles their Artists far exceed ours especially in their sowing which they do so neatly and with so much art with a kind of back-stitch that it looks almost like an embroidery There are an infinite number that live by dressing Seal-skins and Goat-skins the first to make boots for the Gentry and better sort of Merchants the latter for the poor people There is also a sort of earthen ware made at Kerman which is very fine and being brok'n looks as white within as without It does not endure hear so well as Porcellane which has this quality that if you powre never so hot liquor into a Porcellane cup neither the foot nor the brims a-top will be any thing the warmer There are abundance of poor people that get their living by mending glass Tobacco-pipes for when they are brok'n they join them together again with a certain mastic made of lime and the white of an egg then with a Diamond-pointed piercer they make holes in the glass and bind the pieces together with a thin Latten-wire The most considerable commodities of Persia are the Silks which come out of the Province of Guilan But there is not so much transported out of Persia as
condition Others more refin'd and not believing material enjoyments affirm that Beatitude consists in the perfect knowledge of the Sciences and for the sences they shall have their satisfaction according to their quality CHAP. XX. The Author departs from Ispahan to Ormus and describes the Road to Schiras I Set forth out of Ispahan the 24. of Feb. 1665. in the afternoon and stai'd a League from the City in a field whither some of my friends would needs accompany me About ten a clock at night I set forward again and travell'd till break of day and then I came to a place where the Radars kept guard half a league from a great Town call'd Ispshaneck which you are to cross About ten a clock in the forenoon I came to Mahiar where there is a very good Inn. But the Land between this and Ispahan is all very barren and without wood The 26 th three hours after midnight I set forward through a dry Plain which begins to grow more fruitful about a League from Comshe a great City where I arriv'd by eleven a Clock in the morning In it are several Inns and indifferent handsome ones considering that they are built only of Earth This City is compos'd of a row of Villages that extend about half a League in length About three quarters of a League on this side the City stands a neat Mosquee with a pond full of fish But the Moullahs will not permit you to catch any saying that they belong to the Prophet to whom the Mosquee is dedicated However because it is a shady place in the Summer Travellers rather choose to lye by this pond then to shut themselves up in the City The 27 th I travell'd from four in the morning till ten in the forenoon through a plain sow'd with store of grain and lodg'd in an Inn call'd Maksoubegui The 28 th I departed two hours after midnight and after eight hours travel through a barren plain I arriv'd at Yesdecas a little City built upon a rock in the midst of a great Valley and lodg'd in an Inn at the foot of the Rock The same day in the morning I pass'd on to a neat house with sine Gardens call'd Amnebad built by Iman-Kouli-Kan Governor of Schiras The first of March I departed an hour after midnight and a little after I cross'd a short mountain but so rugged and so craggie that they have given it the name of Kotel-Innel-tebekeni that is the Mountain that breaks the Horses shoes The next day we pass'd by a scurvy Castle call'd Gombessala then travelling through a flat Country I came by ten in the morning to Dehigherdou or the Village of Wall-nuts I endur'd very sharp weather all the morning for all that Country and that which I travell'd the next day is very cold at some times of the year The second day I travell'd from midnight till ten a clock in the morning through the Snow over a barren Plain to come to Cuzkuzar where there is a new Inn well built The third I was a horseback from five in the morning till noon first over the same Plain by a Lake side in a very bad way cover'd with snow that hid the holes then passing a tedious long and rugged mountain I descended to a Village call'd Asepas where there is to be seen an old ruin'd Castle upon the point of a Hill The Inhabitants were all Georgians by descent but now turn'd all Mahumetans I met with wine and fish in regard of the many Rivolets but the Caravahsira is old and ill provided The fourth setting out by day-break I rode over a Plain which Sha Abbas the first gave the Georgians to till and in eleven hours I came to Ondgiom a large Village upon a River over which there is a fair stone bridge The fifth I got a horseback by two a clock in the morning and had two leagues in the first place of deep miery way afterwards I pass'd a steep Mountain craggy and durty I pass'd through a Village call'd Iman Shade from the name of one of their Prophets that lyes buried there and gave the Mountain its name being all cover'd with bitter Almond-trees I travell'd sometime between rude and craggy rocks after which I met with a small River which runs to Mayn a little City where I lodg'd in a fair Inn. The sixth I departed three hours after midnight and travell'd through a large Plain encompass'd with high and rugged Mountains upon one of which that is divided from the other stood a Castle which they say was ruin'd by Alexander the Great of which at present there does not remain the least sign or footstep I cross'd the river of Mayne over two stone Bridges and then came to Abgherme a place that stands in a Plain where there is an Inn half built so call'd by reason of a Spring of hot waters that rises not far from it In the morning I pass'd over a fair and long Causey call'd Pouligor being above 500 paces long and 15 broad divided also by certain Bridges to give the water free passage by reason the Country is very full of mershes At the end of this Causey stands an Inn very well built but the gants that haunt it will not suffer it to be frequented I pass'd along by the foot of a Mountain and after three hours travel I stopp'd a while at an Inn that stands at the foot of another steep and craggie mountain I arriv'd at Schiras about six a clock at night But here give me leave before I enter the City to make two observations the one touching the Road from Ispahan to Schiras the other concerning the ruins of Tche-elminar As to the Road from Ispahan to Schiras observe that in winter time when the Snow is fallen when you come to Yesdecas you must of necessity leave the direct road because it is impossible to pass the streights of those Mountains which I have mention'd Therefore you must keep the left hand road eastward through the Plains taking a guide along with you This way which is the longer by two days journey was formerly unknown because of a River that in one place beats upon a steep rock and closes up the passage But Iman-Kouli-Kan with a vast expence of time and money caus'd a way to be levell'd out of the Rock about 15 or 20 foot above the River which he secur'd to the water-side with a Wall three or four foot high This way continues for half a league and then you come to lye at a great Village in a Plain where you take Guides to shew you the Fords of the River Having past the River you cross over several fertil Plains water'd with great store of Rivers Then you ascend a Mountain from whence you have but a league and a half to Tche-clminar At the point of the Mountain upon the right-hand of the great Road are to be seen twelve Pillars still standing that form a kind of a square In the spaces of the Mountain
the year 1381 and he purchas'd that great esteem among the Persians for having compos'd a great Book of Morality and for that he was also one of the best Poets of his time He has left one great Poem behind him in the praise of good Wine which has caus'd many to aver that Hougia-Hafiz was no good Mussul-man in regard he has so highly prais'd a thing which is so strictly forbidd'n by the Law of Mahomet Neer to the Church-yard is a fair Garden which men go to see for the beauty of the Cypress-trees which are its chief ornament They are to be admir'd for their height and bigness among which there is one that was planted by the hand of Sha-Abbas the Great himself in the year 1607 and it may well deserve to have been planted by the hand of a Monarch for it was bigger then the rest that had been planted above a hunder'd years before Without the City upon the North-side at the foot of the Mountain is a Garden belonging to the ancient Kings of Persia call'd Bag-Firdous It is full of Fruit-trees and Rose-trees in abundance At the end of the Garden upon the descent of a Hill stands a great piece of Building and below a large Pond affords it water The rich Inhabitants of Schiras have been formerly very curious to have fair Gardens and have been at great expences to that purpose But neither at Schiras nor at Ispahan is there any thing that may compare with those lovely Paradises of France and Italy There are many Inns in Schiras but the Franks generally lodg at the Convent of the Carmelite Friars and they that would be more private lodg at another House that belongs also to the same Friars which they would fain sell as being a charge to 'em at this time CHAP. XXII A continuation of the Road from Ispahan to Ormus from Schiras to Bander-Abassi THE sixth of March by eight of the Clock in the morning I departed from Schiras and after six hours travel through the plain that continues fertil for a league together beyond the City I came to an Inn call'd Badaadgi The water is bad being as it were luke-warm Here cold weather begins to cease The next day I set out by break of day and came to a large and well-built Inn only it stood remote from any Town It is call'd Mouzaffert and is the only place in Persia where I met with black Saligots or Water-nuts as big and as good as ours in Dauphine The Countrey breeds nothing but Goats and Sheep and about two leagues off runs a River along by the Mountain to the West The 18 th I departed by day-break and travell'd eleven hours through a stone-Countrey cover'd with bitter Almond and Turpentine-Trees I lodg'd in a fair Inn call'd Paira neer to a River that comes from the West and makes the Countrey fertil There is some Wood in the Valleys and some Villages appear on the other side of the River toward the South The 19 th I set out by four of the Clock in the morning and travell'd along a Valley wherein were many Villages receiving the benefit of the River last mention'd About eight in the morning I stopt at an Inn built in an Octogonal form a good league from the River with several Villages between The name of the Inn is Kaffer The 20 th I set out two hours after midnight and travell'd till ten in the morning through a dry Valley By the way I met several Shepherds and Herdsmen who were forsaking the hot Countreys and driving toward Schiras for coolness They that travel upon their own Horses and would see one of the richest parts of Persia and some Antiquities setting out from Kaffer instead of following the Caravan-road take the right-hand way by the side of the River that runs a league and a half from the same Inn. When you have past the River the way is very streight and lies for two leagues together through a steep Rock the Mountain upon the right and the River upon the left where there is not room in some places for two Horses to ride a-brest All along this way toward the top of the Mountain are little paths that lead to Caverns some of which are so large that they will contain two or three thousand men Having past this way you come into a Plain call'd Dadivan four or five leagues in circuit the greatest part of which is planted with Orange-trees Citrons and Granats Some of these Orange-trees two men can hardly fathom being as high as our Walnut-trees and this is one of the most delicious situations in all Persia. I have travell'd through it several times and sometimes only to divertise my self The rest of the Plain is sow'd with Rice and Wheat You set up your Tents under these Trees and then the Countrey people bring Provision of several sorts especially Partridges Hares and wild Goats The River that crosses the Plain is full of Carps Barbels Pikes and Crey-Fish I remember one time a Countrey-man carri'd me down to the water and before my face took up a Fish with his hand He was so nimble at it that having caught one which he did not think big enough he threw it back again and took up another Now in regard that Travellers generally stay about ten or twelve days in that place the Tumblers that live there-abouts fail not to come and give you a Visit to shew ye some of their tricks and to tast your Schiras Wine The English and Hollanders usually spend the end of the Summer in this Plain for the benefit of the River and the Trees which become so large and fair by means of the River which the Countrey-men bring in by Canals and shut it up in Ponds among the Trees to water their Grounds which is all the good this River does in Persia for all the rest of its course is through cragged Rocks and salt Marshes The 20 th of March by ten in the morning I came to an Inn which was call'd Moushek which is a-lone-House at the foot of a Rock There is a Spring about five hunder'd paces from it but the water is hot and has a sulphury tast so that the Cattel will hardly drink it Therefore you must go to a Cistern about two Musquet-shot from the Inn where there is one newly set up instead of another that was there before into which a Jew once chanc'd to fall in and was therefore broken by the superstitious Mahometans Three quarters of a league from Moushetz are two roads that lead to Lar the one for the Camels the other for the Horses and Mules The first is the longest by three days journey and is call'd the Road of the Desert for after you have past a great Town inhabited only by Camel-Masters where you lye the first night between that and Lar you shall meet with nothing of Houses but only Herdsmens Tents that feed sometimes in one place sometimes in another Upon the Camels Road there are
another sort of Fowl like the great Partridges in their bodies but their legs and feet resemble those of wild Ducks The Camels take this Road because it is impossible for them to pass the Mountain Jarron over which the Horses and Mules are hardly able to travel I set out from Moushek the 21 th of March at two in the morning and having travell'd till eight through a plain but stony Countrey I came to the little City of Jarron which is rather to be call d a Forrest of Palm-trees that bear excellent Dates I lodg'd in an Inn five hunder'd paces from the City and staid there two days The 24 th setting out presently after midnight I travell'd a good hour and then I began to mount the steep Mountain of Jarron which is very high and very long but the descent is the most dangerous that ever I saw in all my Travels and besides that the Moon did not shine Being at the top after you have descended three or four hunder'd paces you meet with a Bridg of one Arch that reaches from one Mountain to another a bold piece of Architecture not enough to be admir'd being rais'd at the charges of Iman-Kouli-Kan for the benefit of Travellers Being come to the bottom of this you must pass two others as steep in their ascent as in the descent upon the top of one of which stands a Cistern which though it be very large is generally emptied by the end of the Summer Upon these Mountains there is such an infinite quantity of Partridg that a man cannot miss that will but shoot By eight in the Morning I came to an Inn which is call'd Shakal which is a-lone House in a Desert Countrey but stor'd with bitter Almond-trees and Turpentine-trees Approaching neer to the Inn you meet with two or three Cisterns which are a great comfort to Travellers water being very scarce upon this Road. There are at Shakal nine or ten Radar's for the Guard of the Road who are also Masters of the Inn So soon as you are alighted they ask you if you will eat any Kid being sure of their blow and having no more to do but to go to the Mountain and fetch one where they swarm There are store of Partridges which are almost as big as Pullets of which you may easily kill as many as you please The 25 th I travell'd five hours from morning till noon An hour after I took Horse I met with a Mountain the descent whereof was very steep They call it the Mountain of Hâ—shen at the foot whereof is a Fountain of excellent water A good league farther you meet with a fair Inn call'd Mouezeré in the midst of a pleasant Grove where there is an excellent Spring of water but because there is no food to be had you must go as far as Detadombé a Village seated in a plain A quarter of a league on this side upon the top of a Mountain appears the ruins of an old Castle the Village it self being surrounded with Palm-trees The Inn is a good one provided with a very good Cistern The 25 th I travell'd through a plain for three hours and stopt at Banarou a little City well built at the foot of a high Mountain upon which appears the remains of a large Castle Bonarou is the Frontier Town of the Province of Fars bordering upon the Province of Lar. The 26 th I departed an hour after midnight and travell'd till nine in the morning partly through the Plain and partly through the Mountains where I saw an old Tower for the guard of the Road. I staid at Bihry a little City seated upon a plain that borders upon a high Mountain The Inn is new and very magnificently built by the Mother of Aimas Kan of Lar when the great Sha-Abbas took this Countrey from the Gaures whom he constrain'd to turn Mahumetans The 27 th I set out at four of the Clock in the morning and about seven I past through a Village seated in a small plain A league from thence I lodg'd in an Inn call'd Pai-Cotali that is to say the foot of the Mountain as being built at the foot of the Mountain From thence to Lar is not above four or five hours travelling but the way is very bad and several swift Torrents are to be past over You may take another Road from Bihry upon the right-hand toward the West it is the shorter way by two or three leagues but so bad and so narrow that in many places two Horsemen cannot ride a-brest being for the most part all Rocks and Precipices Lar is the Capital City of the Province of the same name which formerly bore the title of a Kingdom It is but of an ordinary bigness enclos'd on both sides with high Mountains being built round about a Rock upon which there stands a Castle of Free-stone wherein the King keeps a Garrison The whole Country is very hot nor have they any water but Rain water which they preserve in Cisterns and which sometimes causes a wide Torrent that runs by one side of the City and falls from a Cascade two stories high made of Free-stone In the City and parts adjacent grow a great number of trees especially Date trees and Tamarisk The Gardens also and Mountains are full of Orange trees There are but two Inns in Lar the one within the City which is not a very good one the other at the end of the City toward Ormus which would be convenient but that it is always afloat when the Rains fall for which reason the Franks generally lye at the Hollanders House at the end of the City And there is a necessity for staying at Lar to change the Camels for the Camels that come from Ispahan can go no further every City having their particular priviledges Which sometimes proves prejudicial to the Merchant in regard the Governour will delay the change of the Camels till he is presented The Fortress of Lar takes up the whole surface of the top of the Rock and there is but one way to climb it up with great difficolty It is more long than broad and the four corners are fortifi'd with four Bastions or Bulwarks between which are rais'd several Towers for the Souldiers Lodgings That Fortress is the Royal Prison whither the King sends such Prisoners as he takes in war or surprizes by stratagem I met with two there one a Prince of Georgia the other of Mengrelia The two Princes had each of them a Toman a day allow'd them and ten or twelve Servants to wait upon them Upon one of the corners of the Castle toward the West was built a Banquetting House with three or four Chambers In the middle of the Court stands the Magazine full of Bows and Arrows Bucklers and Muskets enough to arm fifteen hundred men For the Inhabitants of the Province but more especially of the City of Lar are accounted the best Musqueteers in Persia and the best at making the Barrels of Muskets
left-hand way is a dangerous passage and a kind of a continu'd Labyrinth among Rocks and Precipices The right-hand way which is the best is all upon the sand to Bander-Abassi and is usually a days journey You meet with two Inns by the way the last of which is call'd Bend-Ali built by the Sea-side From Ben-Ali to Bander-Abassi is but a little more then two leagues through a Countrey abounding in Palm-trees CHAP. XXIII Of the Island of Ormus and of Bander-Abassi ORmus is an Island in 92. d. 42. m. of Longitude and in 25. d. 30. m. of Latitude It lies at the mouth of the Persian Gulph two good Leagues from the firm Land There is neither tree nor herb that grows in it for it is all over cover'd with Salt which is very good and as white as snow And as for the black shining Sand-dust of Ormus it is very much us'd for standishes Before the Portugueses came to Ormus there was a City where the Kings of Ormus who were also Kings of Larr resided When the Portugals took it there were in it two young Princes Sons of the deceased King whom they carri'd into Spain Where in regard they were handsomely proportion'd though somewhat swarthy the King entertain'd them very kindly and gave them an honourable allowance One day that he had shew'd them the Escurial and all the chief pieces of Architecture in Madrid the King ask'd them what they thought of living in Spain To whom they answer'd that they had seen nothing but what was worthy admiration but then fetching a deep sigh and perceiving the King desirous to know the meaning of it they gave him to understand that it was for grief that they must never more sit under their own Tree For near to the City of Ormus was a Bannians tree being the only tree that grew in the Island The Portugals being masters of the Island from an ill-built City rear'd it to that hight of Magnificence which that Nation admires so that the very barrs of their doors and windows were all guilt The Fortress was a noble thing and in good repair and they had also a stately Church dedicated to the Virgin where they were also wont to walk For other place of promenading they had none Since the Persians took it the Castle indeed stands in good repair with a Garrison in it but the City is gone to ruine for the Dutch carried most of the stones away to build Battavia Between the Island of Ormus and the Continent the Sea is not very deep for the great ships that sail in and out of the Gulf pass by the other side of the Island As for the Fortress which stands upon a poynt of the Island it is almost encompass'd with the Sea and lyes right over against Persia. Bander Abassi so call'd because the great Sha-Abbas the first brought it into reputation is at present a City reasonably well built and stor'd with large warehouses over which are the lodgings of the Merchants While the Portugueses kept Ormus though they liv'd in the City all the trade was at Bandar-Abassi as being the most secure Landing-place upon all the Coast. About 15 years ago it was an op'n town but because it was an easie thing then to get into the Town and rob the Custome-house in the night it has bin since enclos'd with walls To this place come all the ships that bring Commodities from India for Persia Turkie or any part of Asia or Europe And indeed it would be much more frequented by the Merchants from all Regions and Countries But the Air of Bander is so unwholesome and so hot that no strangers can live there in probability of health unless it be in the months of December January February and March though the Natives of the Country may perhaps stay without prejudice to the end of April After that they retire to the cooler Mountains two or three days journey off for five or six months where they eat what they gain'd before They that venture to stay at Gomron during the hot weather get a malignant Fever which if they scape death is hardly ever cur'd However it bequeaths the yellow Jaundies during life to the party March being pass'd the wind changes and blowing at west south west in a short time it grows so hot and so stifling that it almost takes away a mans breath This wind is by the Arabians call'd El-Samiel or the poysonous wind by the Persians Bade-Sambour because it suffocates and kills presently The flesh of them that are thus stifl'd feels like a glewie fat and as if they had been dead a month before In the year 1632. riding from Ispahan to Bagdat I and four more Persian Merchants had bin stifl'd but for some Arabians that were in our Company For when they perceiv'd the wind they caus'd us to light lye down upon our bellies and cover our selves with our Cloaks We lay so for half an hour and then rising we saw our horses were in such a sweat that they were hardly able to carry us This happen'd to us two days journey from Bagdat But this is observable that if a man be in a Boat upon the water when the same wind blows it does no harm though he were naked at the same time Sometimes the wind is so hot that it burns like Lightning And as the Air of Gomron is so bad and dangerous the soil is worth nothing For it is nothing but Sand nor is the water in the Cisterns very good They that will be at the charge fetch their water from a fountain three leagues from Bander call'd the water of Issin Formerly there was not an herb to be seen but by often watering the ground Lettice Radish and Onions have begun to grow The People are swarthy and wear nothing about them but only a single shirt Their usual dyet is dates and fish Which is almost the dyet of their Cattel for when they come home from browsing the barren bushes they give them the heads and guts of their fish boyl'd with the kernels of the Dates which they eat The Sea of Bander produces good Soles good Smelts and Pilchards They that will have oysters must have 'em caught on purpose for the people eat none Upon Land they want neither for wine of Schiras nor Yesd nor for Mutton Pigeons and Partridge which are their ordinary dyet There are two Fortresses one upon the East the other toward the West The Town increases in trade and building and fills with inhabitants who build their houses with the remaining ruins of Ormus The reason why the Trade is settl'd rather at Bander Abassi then at Bander Congo where the Air is good and the Water excellent is because that between Ormus and Congo lie several Islands which make the passage for ships dangerous besides that the often change and veering of the wind is requir'd neither indeed is there water enough for a Vessel of 20 or 25 guns Then the way from Congo to Lar is very
whereof they give fifty for the little piece of Tin The Money of Gold and Tin of the King of Achen With the Money in Gold Coin'd by the King of Macassar and the Celebes And the Silver and Copper Money of the King of Camboya FIg. 1 and 2. is the Money in Gold coin'd by the King of Achen in the Iland of Sumatra In goodness it is better than our Louis an Ounce being well worth fifty Franks This piece weighs 10 Grains and would be worth sixteen Sous and eight Deneers of our Money Fig. 3 and 4. is the small Money made by the same King being of Tin and weighs eight Grains The Tin being good I value it at 16 Sous a pound and then 75 of these pieces is worth one Sous of ours Fig. 5 and 6. is the Money in Gold of the King of Macassar or the Celebes This piece weighs twelve Grains and the Hollanders take it for a Florin of our Money which comes to 23 Sous and eight Deneers Fig. 7 and 8. is the Silver Money of the King of Camboya being good Silver and weighs thirty two Grains The piece comes to 24 Sous of our Money nor does the King coin it at any higher rate He has a great quantity of Gold in his Country but he never coins it into Money for he trades with it by weight as he does with his Silver according to the custom of China Fig. 9 and 10. is the Copper Money of the King of Camboya The King of Java the King of Bantam and the Kings of the Molucca Islands coin no other Money but pieces of Copper after the same form and manner As for their Silver Money they let it pass as it comes out of other Countries without melting it down In Bantam in all Java in Batavia and the Molucca's there is little other Money stirring but Spanish Reals Rixdollars of Germany and Crowns of France the greatest part being Half-Reals Quarters and Eighth parts But in Batavia they use besides for small Money Shillings double Sous and Sous as in Holland The Money in Gold Silver and Copper of the King of Siam Fig. 1 and 2. is the Money in Gold coin'd by the King of Siam and weighs 18 Grains more than our Half-Pistol The Gold is of the same Goodness and may be worth 7 Livres and one Sous of our Money When the Merchants that trade in that Country bring thence either Gold or Silver 't is for want of other Commodities as Silk Musk Sandal Wood Gum Lake Elephants teeth and other things For by carrying out Gold or Silver they reap but two in the hundred profit Fig. 3 4 5 and 6. is a piece about the bigness of a large Hazle-Nut flatted on the four sides like a semicircle three sides whereof are open like a Horse-shoe and upon two sides are certain of their own Letters There is no Money in the East so strangely coin'd as this It weighs three Drams and a half and 25 Grains and is as good as our Silver at three Livres and 10 Sous the Ounce It amounts to 32 Sous and 4 Deneers of our Money Fig. 6 7 and 8. is the Copper Money of the King of Siam and they give two hundred of these pieces for one piece of Silver For their small Money they make use of certain Shells that are gather'd upon the Sea-shore which they bring from Maldives The Gold and Silver Money of the Kings of Asem Tipoura Arakan and Pegu. ALL the Silver Money coin'd by the Kings whom I have nam'd is in goodness equal to our Crown rating it at three Livres ten Sous the Ounce as we rate our Crowns here Fig. 1 and 2. is the Silver Money of the King of Asem it weighs three Drams and four Grains and comes to 23 Sous of our Money Fig. 3 4. is the Silver Money made by the King of Tipoura Chatermani In the language of the Country he is call'd Dieu-Ara-gari which is stampt upon one side of the Money and upon the other Chatermani Roy de Tipoura His Country begins about twelve days journey from Daca toward the North-West This Money weighs two Drams and a half and twenty-two Grains and is in value twenty-two Sous Fig. 5 6. is the King of Arakan's Money It weighs two Drams and a half and 15 Grains which makes 21 Sous of our Money This King coins no Gold but he trafficks in Gold uncoin'd The Mettal is very base and not worth above 14 Carats a Carat being the third part of an Ounce The King however holds it at a high rate to keep it from being carry'd out of his Country In all Bengala this King is known by no other Name but the King of Mogue Fig. 7 and 8. is the King of Pegu's Silver Money and weighs two Drams and a half and twelve Grains which may come to about 20 Sous and six Deneers of our Money Fig. 9 and 10. are the King of Pegu's Fano's or little pieces of Gold and weigh not above 7 Grains to boot Fifteen of these little pieces pass for the value of a Real or one of our Crowns the Gold being course Fig. 11 12. are the Kings of Asem's Fano's they weigh also 7 Grains but they are a much baser Mettal than those of Pegu for twenty-two of them amount but to the value of our Crown Lumps or Pieces of Gold and Silver which go for Money in the Kingdom of China and the Kingdom of Tunquin YOu are first to take notice that in all the Kingdom of China and the Kingdom of Tunquin there is no Money coin'd either Gold or Silver that their small Money is Copper and that they make use in payments only of Lumps or Pieces of Gold and Silver which have every one their particular weight as is here'represented The Pieces of Gold mark'd Fig. 1 and 2. are by the Hollanders call'd Goltschut that is to say a Boat of Gold because they are in the form of a Boat Other Nations call them Loaves of Gold and there are but two different sizes of them The Gold is of such a goodness that an Ounce in France would not be worth less than 42 Franks The great Pieces come to twelve hundred Gelders of Holland Money and thirteen hundred and fifty Livres of our Money The other Piece which weighs but half as much is in value according to its proportion Money of the King of Asem The Iaponners Call these peices as well Silver as Gold Coupent In great payments they make use of Ingots that come to a hundred Franks in value and they have little Pieces of Silver that are not worth above a Sous When they buy any Commodity if they have not whole Pieces enough to make up the sum they have always instruments ready to cut off so much from a great piece as will perfect the payment When the Chineses transport their Golden Loaves or their Boats into other Countries the Merchants cut them in the middle not
General and his Wife could keep so private a Daughter that was so incomparably fair that it should not come to the Kings knowledg At length he lov'd her so tenderly that not being able to deny her the liberty of Reigning one whole day in his place he gave her leave to share with him afterwards in the Government And she it was that gave motion to all the most important Affairs of State the King excusing himself to the Grandee's of his Court who wonder'd why he let the Queen bear so great a sway by telling them that she was fit for the Government and that it was time for him to take his ease Fig. 1 and 2. is as all the rest are the backside of the Twelve Signs Fig. 1. is the backside of the Ram. and Fig. 2. of Cancer Both of them signifie the same thing it being the Name of the King Queen and City where they were stamp'd These two were coln'd at Amadabat The Gold Silver and Copper Money which the Portugals coin in the East Indies THe Gold which the Portugals Coin in Goa is better than our Louisse's of Gold and weighs one grain more than our half Pistol At the time when I was in Goa this piece was worth four Roupies or six Franks They hold it up at so Portugall Money Muscovie Money high a rate to the end the Merchants who come from all the Coasts of India thither with their Wares may not transport it out of the Countrey This piece is called St. Thomas Formerly when the Portuguez had the Trade of Japon Macassar Sumatra China and Mosambique which they still preserve and is the place whither the Indians bring the Gold of the Abassins and Saba it was a wonderful thing to see the quantity of Gold which the Portuguez Coin'd and the several pieces of workmanship which they fram'd in Gold and sent into Forreign Countreys even to the West-Indies by the way of the Philippine Islands But now they have no other places but only Mosambique to furnish them with Gold they keep up those Pieces called St. Thomass's at a very high rate lest they should be carried out of the Countrey as I said before They have also Silver Pieces which they call Pardos which go for the value of 27 Sous of our Money As also a great quantity of small Copper and Tin-Money not much unlike that of the Kings already mentioned which they thread upon strings in particular numbers The Gold and Silver Money of Muscovy I Have observed in my Relations that in all parts of our Europe where they Coin Money there are great Sums transported all over Asia where they go currantly But for the Money of Muscovy there is great loss in transporting it any where else because the Prince enhances it to so high a value The pieces as well of Gold as Silver are very good Metal for the Gold in worth is somewhat higher than our Lewis Fig. 1 and 2. This piece of Gold weighs 14 Grains and to take the Gold at 48 Grains the Ounce would amount to 20 Sous one Deneer and one half-peny of our Money But going in Muscovy for 24 Sous there would be nineteen and an half loss to transport it any where else Fig. 3 and 4. Is a piece of Silver that weighs eight Grains and to take an Ounce of Silver at three Livres ten Sous it comes to a Sous of our Money But in the Countrey you have but fifty of these pieces or at most sometimes fifty two for one of our Crowns or a Real of Spain or an High-German Rixdollar Fig. 5 and 6. Is a piece of Silver also which only goes in Muscovy But I cannot tell in what Province it is Coin'd in regard there are no Arms upon it and that the most knowing persons to whom I shewed them could not tell me what the Characters meant which makes me think it is very ancient The piece weighs 25 Grains which comes to three of our Sous one Deneer and one half-peny This is all that I could collect of most certainty concerning the Money and Coins of the East during the long course of my Travels Nor do I believe that any person has undertaken before me to write upon the same Subject If any one of my Readers desires to see the real Pieces themselves as well in Gold and Silver as in Tin Copper Shells and Almonds he may without question obtain the Favour from Monsieur the first President to whose Study I devoted them all together with certain Medals of which that Supreme Senator most skilful in Antiquity has great store being still curious in searching after what is rare The end of the Coins TRAVELS IN INDIA The First Book What Roads to take in Travelling from Ispahan to Agra from Agra to Dehly and Gehanabatt where the Great Mogul Resides at present And how to Travel also to the Court of the King of Golconda to the King of Visapour and to many other Places in the Indies CHAP. I. The Road from Ispahan to Agra through Gomron Where is particularly describ'd the manner of Sailing from Ormus to Suratt IN this Relation of my Indian I will observe the same Method as in the Recital of my Persian Travels and begin with the description of the Roads which lead you from Ispahan to Dehly and Gehanadatt where the Great Mogul Resides at present Though the Indies stretch themselves front Persia for the space of above 400 Leagues together from the Ocean to that long Chain of Mountains that runs through the middle of Asia from the East to the West and which was known to Antiquity by the Name of Mount Caucasus or Mount Taurus yet there are not so many ways to travel out of Persia into the Indies as there are to travel out of Turky into Persia by reason that between Persia and the Indies there are nothing but vast Sands and Desarts where there is no water to be found So that you have but two Roads to choose in going from Ispahan to Agra The one is partly by Land and partly by Sea taking Ship at Ormus The other altogether by Land through Candahar The first of these two Roads is amply describ'd as far as Ormus at the end of my first Book of my Persian Travels So that I am now only to speak of the manner of Sailing from Ormus to Suratt There is no Sailing at all times upon the Indian as upon the European Seas You must observe the proper seasons which being elaps'd there is no more venturing The Months of November December January February and March are the only Months in the year to Embark from Ormus to Suratt and from Suratt to Ormus But with this difference that there is no stirring from Suratt after the end of February but you may Sail from Ormus till the end of March or the fifteenth of April For then the Western-winds that bring rain along with them into India begin to blow During the first four Months there blows
be Ducats or other Pieces they put the whole quantity into a Charcoal-fire till they be red-hot and then quench the fire with water and take them out again This they do to find out them which are false and to melt off the Wax and Gum which is cunningly dropt upon them to make them weigh the more But because there are some Pieces so artfully hollow'd and stopt up again that you cannot perceive it though they have been in the fire the Changers take the Pieces and bend them by which they know whether they are good or no and those which they suspect they cut in pieces After they have viewed them all they refine those which they do not take to be good and pay for so much as proves to be good as for good Ducats All this Gold they coin into that sort of Money which they call Roupies of Gold except those Ducats which are stamp'd only upon one side which they sell to the Merchants that come from Tartary and other Northern Parts as from the Kingdoms of Boutan Ason and other remote parts With these Ducats the Women of those Countries chiefly adorn themselves hanging them upon their Head-attire and fixing them upon their forheads As for the other Ducats that have no figures they are not so much as enquir'd after by the Northern Merchants As for all the other Pieces of Gold there are great quantities of them fold to the Goldsmiths to the Gold-wyar-drawers and in general to all that work in Gold For if they could put their Metal unmade into Roupies they would never coin which they can only do at the Coronation of their Kings to throw Silver Roupies among the people or to sell them to the Governours of the Provinces and other Grandees of the Court who then want great quantities of them to present to the new King at his first coming to his Throne For they have not always Jewels or other things rich enough to present him as well as that time as at another Festival of which I shall speak in due place when they weigh the King every year At such times I say they are very glad of Gold Roupies as also to present to such Favourites at the Court by whose interest they hope to gain higher Commands and more considerable Governments In one of my Travels I found by experience the vertue of these Roupies of Gold Cha-jehan Father of Orang-zeb who now reigns had given to one of the Lords of his Court the Government of the Province of Tata whereof Symdi is the Metropolis Now though the very first year of his Government there were very great complaints made against him by reason of the Tyranny which he exercised over his people and his great extortions the King suffer'd him to continue four years and then recall'd him All the people of Tata were overjoy'd believing the King had call'd him away only to put him to death but it fell out quite otherwise for the King caress'd him and gave him the Government of Halabas more considerable than that which he had quitted This kind reception which he had at the Kings hands proceeded from this that before he came to Agra he had sent before him a present of 50000 Roupies of Gold and about 20000 Roupies of Gold more to Begum-Saheb who had then the whole power in her hands as also to other Ladies and Lords at the Court to support his Reputation All the Courtiers are very desirous to have a great quantity of Gold because it lies in a little room and then because they covet as a great Honour to leave vast Sums behind them to their Wives and Children of which the King must not know For as I shall tell you in another place when any great Lord dies the King is Heir to all his Estate his Wife having no more than his Jewels But to return to our Roupies of Gold you must take notice that they are not so currant among the Merchants For in regard one of them is not worth above fourteen Roupies which make one and twenty Livres of our Money at thirty Sous the Roupie and that there are sew of these Roupies of Gold to be had but in the Houses of Great Men when it falls out that they make any payment they will put them at a Roupie of Silver or at least at a sourth part of a Roupie more than it is worth which will never turn to the Merchants profit Cha-Est-Kan the King's Unckle to whom I had sold a parcel of Goods at 96000 Roupies when he came to pay me ask'd me what Money I would be content to take whether Gold or Silver Before I could return him an answer he added that if I would leave it to him I should take Gold Roupies Nor did he give me this advice but because he believ'd it would turn to his advantage I told him I would be rul'd by him thereupon he caus'd his Servants to tell me out so many Roupies in Gold as made up the just Sum which was due But he would force me to take the Roupie in Gold for fourteen Roupies and an half in Silver though among the Merchants they went but for fourteen I was not ignorant of it but I thought it best to receive my Money according to the Prince's humour in hopes he might make me amends another time either for the whole or part of what I might lose I let him alone two days after which I went to him again and told him I had tried to put off his Roupies at the price I had received them so that in the payment of 96000 Roupies I had lost 3428 and one 16 th the Roupie of Gold which he forc'd me to take at fourteen Roupies and an half of Silver being worth but fourteen Thereupon he fell into a passion and told me he would see as many Lashes bestow'd upon the Changer or Holland-Broker whose fault soever it were that he would teach them to understand Money that they were old Roupies and were worth more by a sixteenth part of a Silver Roupie than the Roupies which were coin'd at that time In regard I knew the humour of the Asiatic Princes with whom there is no contesting I let him say what he pleas'd but when he came to himself and began to put on a smiling look I desir'd him that he would be pleas'd to let me return the Summ which I had received the next day or else that he would be pleas'd to pay me what was wanting and that I would take a Roupie at 14 and one 16 th since he assur'd me they were worth so much The Prince for a while gave me a scurvy look not so much as speaking one word At length he ask'd me whether I had still the Pearl which he had resus'd to buy I told him I had and immediately pull'd it out of my Bosome and gave it him The Pearl was large and of a good water but ill-shap'd which was the reason he refus'd it
a wonderful thing to see ten or twelve thousand Oxen at a time all laden with Rice Corn and Salt in such places where they exchange these Commodities Carrying Corn where only Rice grows Rice where only Corn grows and Salt where there is none at all They make use of Camels sometimes but very rarely they being particularly appointed to carry the luggage of great Personages When the season requires hast and that they would speedily conveigh their Merchandize to Suratt to ship them off they load them upon Oxen and not in Wains And in regard that the Territories of the Great Mogul are very well manur'd the Fields are senc'd with very good Ditches and to every Field there belongs a Pond to preserve the water There is this great inconvenience for Travellers that when they meet with these numerous Caravans in streight places they are forc'd to stay two or three days till they are all past by They that drive these Oxen follow no other Calling as long as they live nor do they dwell in houses yet they carry their Wives and Children along with them There are some among them that have an hundred Oxen of their own others more or less and they have always one who is their Chief that takes as much state as a Prince and has his Chain of Pearl hanging about his neck When the Caravan that carries the Corn and that which carries the Salt happen to meet rather than yield the road they frequently enter into very bloody Disputes The Great Mogull considering one day that these quarrels were very prejudicial to Trade and the transportation of necessary Provisions from place to place sent for the two Chiefs of the Caravan and after he had exhorted them for the common good and their own interest to live quietly together and not to quarrel and fight when they met gave to each of them a Leck or an hundred thousand Roupies and a Chain of Pearl That the Reader may the better understand the manner of travelling in the Indies he is to take notice that among the Idolaters of that Countrey there are four Tribes which are called Manari's each of which may consist of an hundred thousand Souls These people live always in Tents and live only upon the transporting of Merchandize from Countrey to Countrey The first of these Tribes carry nothing but Corn the second Rice the third Pulse and the fourth Salt which they setch from Suratt and all along from as far as Cape-Camorin These Tribes are also distinguished in this manner Their Priests of whom I shall speak in another place mark the forheads of the first with a red-Gum about the bredth of a Crown and then they draw a streak all the length of his nose sticking grains of Wheat upon it sometimes ten and sometimes twelve Those of the second Tribe are mark'd with yellow-Gum in the same place with grains of Rice Those of the third are mark'd with a grey-Gum down to the shoulders and grains of Millet Those of the fourth Tribe carry tied about their necks a Bagg with a great lump of Salt in it weighing sometimes eight or ten pounds for the heavier it is the more they glory in carrying it and with this Bagg they thump their stomacks as a sign of repentance every morning before they say their Prayers They have all in general a little line or twist like a Scarf about their necks at the end whereof hangs a little Silver-box like a Relique-box wherein they enclose a little superstitious writing which their Priests give them they tie them also about their Oxen and other Cattel which are bred in their Herds for which they have a particular affection and love them as tenderly as children especially if they have no children of their own Their Women wear only a piece of Calicut white or painted some six or five times doubled from their wasts downward From their wasts upward they cut their flesh into several forms of Flowers as they do that apply Cupping-glasses which they paint in various colours with the juice of Grapes that their skin seems to be all made of Flowers Every morning while the men load the Beasts and that the Women fold up the Tents the Priests that follow them set up in the most convenient place of the Plain where they lodg'd a certain Idol in the form of a Serpent in wreaths upon a Perch six or seven foot high to which they come all in files to worship their Women going three times about After the Ceremony is over the Priests take care of the Idol and load it upon an Ox particularly appointed for that purpose The Caravan of Waggons seldom exceeds the number of an hundred or two hundred at most Every Waggon is drawn by ten or twelve Oxen and attended by four Souldiers which the person that owes the Merchandize is oblig'd to pay Two of them march upon each side of the Waggon over which there are two Ropes thrown a-cross the ends whereof they hold in their hands to the end that if the Waggon come to lean on one-side in ill-way the two Souldiers on the other side may keep it from over-turning by pulling the Ropes with all their strength All the Waggons that come to Suratt either from Agra or any other parts of the Empire and which return through Agra or Jánabatt are bound to carry back the Lime that comes from Barocha which after it is temper'd and laid on becomes as hard as Marble I come now to the manner of travelling in India to which purpose they make use of Oxen instead of Horses and there are some whose pace is as easy as the amble of our Hackneys But you must take a care when you either buy or hire an Ox to ride upon that the horns be not above a foot in length For if they be longer when the flies begin to sting he will chafe and toss back his horns and strike them into the stomack of the Rider as oftentimes it has hapned These Oxen are rid like our Horses and instead of Snaffles or Bitts they have only a Rope drawn through the muscly part of the muzzle or nostrils In firm ground where there are no stones they never shooe their Oxen but only in rough places where not only the stones but the heat will wast and chop the hoof Whereas in Europe we tie our Oxen by the horns the Indians only put a thick truss upon their necks that keeps fast a Coller of Leather four fingers broad which they have nothing to do but to put about their necks when they fasten them to the Waggon They use also for Travel little Coaches but very light that will hold two persons but generally they ride alone for more ease carrying only their necessary Cloak-Bags along with them with a small Vessel of Wine and a small quantity of Provisions for which there is a proper place under the Coach where they tye the two Oxen. These Coaches have their Curtains and Seats like
comes they set up a Candle or a lighted Lamp for a Signal Then it is also that they open all the Shops where they sell Tari which is a certain drink made of the juice of a Tree and is as sweet as our new Wines They fetch it some five or six leagues off upon Horses that carry two earthen-Bottles of each side and trot at a great rate of which there come every day to the City above five or six-hunder'd The King has a considerable Revenue by the Impost which he lays upon this Tari And for that reason he permits so many common Women in regard it is for their sake that so much Tari is consum'd those that sell it for that cause keeping their Shops by those Houses These sort of Women are so nimble and active that when the present King went to see Maslipatan nine of them undertook to represent the figure of an Elephant four making the four feet four the body and one the trunk upon which the King sitting in a kind of Throne made his entry into the City All the Men and Women of Golconda are well proportion'd and of comely statures and fair enough in their councenances only the Countrey-people are a little more swart The present King of Golconda bears the Name of Abdoul-Coutou-Sha and I will tell the Reader in a few words from whence he drew his Original In the Reign of Axbar King of India the Father of Jehan-Guir the Territories of the Great Moguls did not extend farther Southward then Narbider to that the River which runs by it and which coming from the South empties it self into Ganges separated their Dominions from the Territories of the Raja of Narsingue that stretch'd as far as Cape-Comorin the other Raja's being only his Subjects and depending upon him This Raja and his Successors have been always at Wars with them that succeeded to Tamerlane or Temur-leng in India and their Power was so great that the last Raja who was at War with Akbar brought into the Field four Armies under as many Generals The most considerable of his Armies lay in those Provinces which at this day are call'd the Kingdom of Golconda the second was quarter'd in the Provinces of Visapour the third in the Province of Dultabat and the fourth in the Territories of Brampour The Raja of Narsingue dying without Children the four Generals divided among themselves the Countreys which they possess'd with their Army and took upon them the title of Kings the one of Golconda the other of Visapour the other of Brampour and the fourth of Dultabat Though the Raja were an Idolater nevertheless his four Generals were Mahumetans and he of Golconda was of the Sect of Haly descended from an Ancient Family of the Turcomans which inhabit the Country of Hamadan in Persia. This General as I have said was more considerable than any of the rest and some few days after the death of the Raja they won a famous Victory from the Mogul so that he could not hinder them from assuming their several Sovereignties But after that Jehan-Guir the Son of Akbar conquer'd again the Kingdom of Brampour Cha-jehan the Son of Jehan-Guir recover'd the Kingdom of Dultabat and Aureng-zeb the Son of Cha-jehan recover'd some part of the Kingdom of Visapour As for the King of Golconda neither Cha-jehan nor Aureng-zeb disturb'd him but let him rest in peace upon condition that he should pay to the Mogul an annual tribute of 200000 Pagods At present the greatest Raja on this side Ganges is the Raja of Velou whose Territories extend to Cape-Comorin and who succeeded to some part of the Territories of the Raja of Narsingue But in regard there is no Trade in his Countrey and by consequence no concourse of strangers there is little notice taken of him The present King of Golconda has no Sons but three Daughters who are all married The Eldest Espous'd one of the Kinsmen of the Grand Chek of Mecca Nor must we forget some passages that fell out before this Marriage The Chek coming to Golconda in the habit of a Faquir for some Months lodg'd without the Gate of the Palace disdaining to give any answer to several Courtiers that demanded what his business was At length the thing being made known to the King he sent his chief Physitian who spoke good Arabick to know of the Chek what he had to request and the reason of his coming The Physitian and some other Lords of the Court that discours'd him also finding him to be a person of great Wit and Learning brought him to the King who was very well satisfi'd with his aspect and his presence But at length the Chek declaring to him that he came to Espouse the Princess that proposal very much surpriz'd the Prince and was look'd upon by the greatest part of the Court as made by a person not well in his wits At first the King only laugh'd at him But when he found him obstinately persevering in his demand in-so-much that he threaten'd the Countrey with some strange Calamity if the Princess were not given to him in Marriage he was committed to Prison where he lay a long time At length the King thinking it more to the purpose to send him back into his own Countrey caus'd him to be ship'd away at Mastipatan in a Vessel that carri'd Goods and Pilgrims to Mocca whence they travell by land to Mecca About two years after the same Chek return'd again to Golconda and order'd his affairs so well that he Espous'd the Princess and won an high reputation in the Kingdom which he governs at this day and is very Potent He it was that kept the King from surrendring the Fortress of Golconda whither he was retir'd when Aureng-zeb and his Son took Bagnabar as I shall tell you by and by threatning to kill him if he would not resolve to hold it out and not deliver the keys to the enemy This bold action wss the reason which made the King love him ever afterwards and that he takes his counsel in all weigty affairs not as he is the King's Son-in-Law but as he is a great Minister of State and the chiefest person next the King in all the Court He it was that has put a stop to the finishing the great Pagod in Bagnagar having threaten'd the whole Kingdom with some great Calamity if they went forward with the work This Prince is a passionate Lover of all those that profess the Mathematicks and understands them as well For which reason though he be a Mahumetan he is a great Favourer of all the Christians who are vers'd in that Science as he has particularly testifi'd to Father Ephrahim a Capuchin passing through Golconda for Pegu whither he was sent by his Superiors He did all he could to oblige him to stay in the Country and offer'd to build him a House and a Church at his own expences telling him he should neither want employment nor Hearers in regard there were several
When they were brought to Goa they could never be brought to learn any thing of the Portugal Language So that they could gettout of them nothing of that further discovery at which they aim'd of a Country from whence they only brought away two pound of Gold three pound of Ambergreese and thirty-five or forty Elephants teeth One of the Cafres liv'd but six months the other fifteen but both languish'd and pin'd to death for grief to be so trapann'd From Goa I pass'd to Mingrela where there fell out an accident not to be forgotten An Idolater dying and the Fire being ready prepar'd for the burning of the Body his Wife who had no Children by the permission of the Governour came to the Fire and stood among the Priests and her Kindred to be burnt with the Body of her deceas'd Husband As they were taking three turns according to custom about the place where the Fire was kindl'd there fell of a sudden so violent a Shower that the Priests willing to get out of the rain thrust the Woman all along into the Fire But the Shower was so vehement and endur'd so long a while that the Fire was quench'd and the Woman was not burn'd About midnight she rose and went and knock'd at the door of one of her Kinsmens Houses where Father Zenon and many Hollanders saw her looking so ghastly and grimly that it was enough to have scar'd them however the pain that she endur'd did not so far terrifie her but that three days after accompany'd by her Kindred she went and was burn'd according to her first intention CHAP. XV. The Story of Father Ephraim and how he was put into the Inquisition at Goa by a surprisal THE Chek who had marri'd the Eldest of the Princesses of Golconda not being able to perswade Father Ephraim to stay at Bagnabar where he promis'd to build him an House and a Church gave him an Ox and two Men to carry him to Maslipatan where he staid to embark for Pegu according to the order of his Superiors But finding no Vessel ready to set sail the English drew him to Madrespatan where they have a Fort call'd St. George and a general Factory for every thing that concerns the Countreys of Golconda Pegu and Bengala They over-perswaded him that he might reap a fairer Harvest in this place than in any other part of the Indies to which end they presently built him a very neat House and a Church But in the conclusion the English sought not so much the interest of Father Ephraim as their own For Madrespatan is but half a league from St. Thomas a Sea-Town upon the Coast of Cormandel indifferently well-built as formerly belonging to the Portugals In that place there was a very great Trade especially for Calicuts and a very great number of Merchants and Workmen liv'd there the greatest part whereof desir'd to inhabit at Madrespatan with the English but that there was no place for them to exercise their Religion in that place But when the English had built a Church and perswaded Father Ephraim to stay many of the Portuguezes quitted St. Thomas by reason of the frequent Preaching of Father Ephraim and his great care as well of the Natives as of the Portugals Father Ephraim was born at Auxerre the Brother of Monsieur Chateau de Boys Counsellor of the Parliament of Paris who was very happy in learning Languages so that in a little time he spoke English and Portuguez perfectly well But now the Clergy of St. Thomas-Church seeing Father Ephraim in so high a reputation and that he drew the greatest part of their Congregation to Madrespatan were so enrag'd against him that they resolv'd to ruine him And thus they laid their plot The English and Portuguezes being neer-neighbours could not choose but have several quarrels one among another and still Father Ephraim was appli'd to for the composing their differences Now one day it happen'd that the Portuguezes quarrell'd on purpose with some English Mariners that were in St. Thomas-Road and the English came by the worst The English President resolving to have satisfaction for the injury a War broke out between the two Nations which had ruin'd all the Trade of that Countrey had not the Merchants on both sides been very diligent to bring things to an accommodation not knowing any thing of the wicked contrivance of particular persons against Father Ephraim But all the interposition of the Merchants avail'd nothing the Friar must be concern'd in the affair he must be the Mediator to act between party and party which he readily accepted But he was no sooner enter'd into St. Thomas but he was seiz'd by ten or twelve Officers of the Inquisition who shipp'd him away in a Frigat that was bound at the same time for Goa They fetter'd and manacl'd him and kept him two and twenty days at Sea before they would let him once put his foot a-shoar though the best part of the Mariners lay a-shoar every night When they came to Goa they staid till night before they would land Father Ephraim to carry him to the Inquisition-House For they were afraid left if they should land him in the day the people should know of it and rise in the rescue of a person who was in an high veneration over all India The news was presently spread abroad in all parts that Father Ephraim was in the Inquisition which very much amaz'd all the French-men But he that was most surpriz'd and most troubl'd at it was Friar Zenon the Capuchin who had been formerly Father Ephraim's Companion who after he had consulted his friends resolv'd to go to Goa though he were put into the Inquisition himself For when a man is once shut up there if any one have the boldness to speak to the Inquisitor or to any of his Councel in his behalf he is presently put into the Inquisition also and accounted a greater Offender than the other Neither the Arch Bishop nor the Vice-Roy themselves dare interpose though they are the only two persons over whom the Inquisition has no power For if they do any thing to offend them they presently write to the Inquisitor and his Council in Portugal and as the King and the Inquisitor-General commands they either proceed against or send those two great persons into Portugal Notwithstanding all these considerations Father Zenon taking along with him the Sieur de la Boulay a decaid Gentleman goes to Goa where when he arriv'd he was visited by some friends who advise him to have a care not to open his mouth in the behalf of Father Ephraim unless he intended to bear him company in the Inquisition Father Zenon seeing he could do nothing at Goa advis'd the Sieur de Boulay to return to Surat and goes himself directly to Madrespatan more particularly to inform himself concerning the reason of Father Ephraim's being sent away But when he understood how he had been betraid at St. Thomas he resolv'd to have satisfaction and
serves for the Priests Kitchin On the South-side there is a large Platform cut in the Mountain where there is a pleasing shade of many fair Trees and several Wells digg'd in the ground Pilgrims come far and near to this Pagod and if they be poor the Priests relieve them with what they receive from the rich that come there out of devotion The great Feast of this Pagod is in the month of October at which time there is a great concourse of people from all parts While we were there there was a Woman that had not stirr'd out of the Pagod for three days together and her prayer to the Idol was since she had lost her Husband to know what she should do to bring up her Children Thereupon asking one of the Priests wherefore she had no answer or whether she was to have any answer or no he told me that she must wait the pleasure of their God and that then he would give her an answer to what she expected Upon this I mistrusted some cheat and to discover it I resolv'd to go into the Pagod when all the Priests were absent at Dinner there being only one that stood at the Gate whom I sent to fetch me some water at a Fountain two or three Musket-shot from the place During that time I went in and the Woman hearing me redoubl'd her cries for there being no light in the Pagod but what comes in at the door it is very dark I felt my way to the Idol and by the glimmering light observ'd an hole behind the Idol I could not do this so quickly but that the Priest return'd before I had done He curst me for prophaning his Temple as he call'd it But we became suddenly very good friends by the mediation of two Roupies which I put into his hands whereupon he presently presented me with some of his Betlé The one and thirtieth we departed from Bezouart and past the River which runs to the Mine of Gani or Coulour It was then neer half a league broad by reason of the great rains which had fall'n continually for eight or nine days together After we had travell'd three leagues on the other side of the River we came to a great Pagod built upon a large Platform with an ascent of 15 or 20 steps Within it stood the Figure of a Cow all of very black-Marble and a number of deformed Idols four or five-foot-high some having many heads others many hands and legs and the most ugly are most ador'd and receive most Offerings A quarter of a league from this Pagod is a large Town but we travell'd three leagues farther and came to lie at another Town call'd Kab-Kali neer to which there is a small Pagod wherein there stand five or six Idols of Marble very well-made The first of August we came to a great City call'd Condevir with a double-Moat pav'd at the bottom with Free-stone The way to this Town is clos'd on each side with strong Walls and at such and such distances are built certain round Towers of little or no defence This City toward the East stretches out to a Mountain about a league in compass and surrounded with Walls At the distance of every 150 paces there is as it were an half-Moon and within the Walls are three Fortresses The second we travell'd six leagues and lay at a Village call'd Copenour The third day after we had travell'd eight leagues we came to Adanquige a very fair Town where there is a very large Pagod with abundance of Chambers which were built for the Priests but are now gone to ruine There are also in the Pagod certain Idols but very much maim'd which the people however very superstitiously adore The fourth we travell'd eight leagues and came to lie at the Town of Nosdrepar Half a league on this side there is a great River but at that time it had but little water in it by reason of the drowth The fifth after eight leagues journey we lay at Condecour The sixth we travell'd seven hours and lay at a Village call'd Dakije The seventh after three leagues journey we came to Nelour where there are many Pagods and having cross'd a great River a quarter of a league farther we travell'd six leagues and came to Gandaron The eighth after a journey of eight hours we lay at Serepelé a small Village The ninth we travell'd nine leagues and lay at a good Town call'd Ponter The tenth we travell'd eleven hours and lay at Senepgond another good Town The eleventh we went no farther than Palicat which is but four leagues from Senepgond and of those four leagues we travell'd above one in the Sea up to the Saddles of our Horses in water There is another way but it is the farther about by two or three leagues Palicat is a Fort that belongs to the Hollanders that live upon the Coast of Coromandel and where they have their chief Factory where lives also the chief Intendent over all the rest that are in the Territories of the King of Golconda There are usually within the Fort 200 Souldiers or thereabouts besides several Merchants that live there upon the account of Trade and several others who having serv'd the Company according to their agreement retire to that place There also dwell some of the Natives of the Countrey so that Palicat is now as it were a little Town Between the Town and the Castle there is a large distance of ground lest the Fort should be annoid by shot from the Town The Bastions are well-stor'd with good Guns And the Sea comes up to the very Wall of it but there is no Haven only a Road. We staid in the Town till the next day in the evening where we observ'd that when the Inhabitants fetch their water to drink they stay till the Sea is quite out and then digging holes in the Sand as neer the Sea as they can they meet with fresh-water The twelth we departed from Calicat and the next morning about ten of the clock we came to Madrespatan otherwise call'd Fort St. George which belongs to the English having travell'd not above seven or eight leagues that day We lay at the Covent of Capuchins at what time Father Ephraim and Father Zenon were both there The fifteenth we went to St. Thomas's Town to see the Austin-Friars and the Jesuits Church in the first whereof is an Iron-lance wherewith they say that St. Thomas was martyr'd The two and twentieth in the morning we departed from Madrespatan and after a journey of five leagues we arriv'd at a large Town call'd Serravaron The three and twentieth after 7 leagues travel we came to Oudecot the whole days journey being over a flat sandy Countrey On each side there are only Copses of Bambou's that grow very high Some of these Copses are so thick that it is impossible for a man to get into them but they are pester'd with prodigious numbers of Apes Those that breed in the Copses upon one side
of Gold threads to see whether the Silk have its due number And this also you must observe in your Silks wov'n with Silver As for Taffata's you are only to mind whether the pieces be all of a fineness and to see by unfolding some of them that there be nothing within to augment the weight and then weighing all the pieces by themselves to see that they all agree The colours of those Carpetts which are made in India do not last so long as the colour of those which are made in Persia but for the workmanship it is very lovely The eye of the Broaker is to judg of the largeness beauty and fineness of those Carpetts which are wrought with Gold and Silver and whether they be fine and rich But whether they be Carpetts or other Stuffs mix'd with Gold and Silver it behoves the Buyer to pull out some of the Gold and Silver Threads to see whether they be of the right value or no. Deceits in the White Calicuts The deceits usually put upon Calicuts are in fineness length and breadth Every Bale may contain two hundred pieces among which they will juggle in five or six or ten less fine or less white shorter or narrower than according to the scantling of the Bale which cannot be found out but by examining them piece by piece The fineness is discern'd by the eye the length and breadth by the measure But the Indians practise a more cunning way which is to count the number of threads which ought to be in the breadth according to the fineness of the scantling When the number fails it is either more transparent more narrow or more course The difference is sometimes so difficult to be perceiv'd that there is no way to find it out but by counting the threads And yet this difference in a great quantity comes to a great deal For it is nothing to cousen a Crown or two Crowns in a piece that comes but to fifteen or twenty Crowns Those that whiten these Calicuts to save charges of a few Limons will knock the Calicuts excessively upon a Stone which does fine Calicuts a great injury and loars the price As for their Calicuts dy'd blew or black you must take care that the Workmen do not knock them after they are folded to make them look sleek for many times when they come to be unfolded you shall find holes in the creases As for your painted and printed Calicuts which are painted and printed as they come out of the Loom the Merchant must take care that what he bespeaks be finish'd before the end of the Rains for the thicker the Water is where they are wash'd the more lively will the printed and painted colours appear It is easy to distinguish between the printed and the painted Calicuts and between the neatness of the work but for the fineness and other qualities they are not so easily discern'd and therefore the Broaker must be more careful Cheats in Cotton THE cheat in the weight is twofold The first by laying them in a moist place and thrusting in the middle of every Skain something to add to the weight The second in not giving good weight when the Broaker receives it from the Workman or Merchant that delivers it There is but one cheat in the quality that is by putting three or four Skains of a coarser Commodity than that which is uppermost into one Mein Which in a great quantity mounts high for there are some Cottons that are worth an hunder'd Crowns the Mein These two cheats being often us'd by the Holland-Company there is no way but to weigh your Commodity in the presence of the Dutch-Commander and his Councel and to examine every Mein Skain by Skain When this is done they who are order'd to be at this examination are oblig'd to fix to every Bale a ticket of the weight and quality for if there be a faileur they who fix the ticket are engag'd to make good what is wanting Deceits in Indigo I Have told you that when the Work-men have made up the Indigo-Paste into lumps with their fingers dipt in Oil they lay them in the Sun a drying Now those that have a design to cheat the Merchants dry them in the sand to the end that the sand sticking to the Indigo should encrease the weight Sometimes they lay up their Paste in moist places which makes it give and consequently renders it more heavy But if the Governour of the place discovers the cheat he makes them severely pay for it and the best way of discovery is to burn some pieces of Indigo for the sand will remain Indian Broakers THE Broakers are as it were the Masters of the Indian Families for they have all Goods at their disposal The Work-men choose the most aged and most experienc'd who are to endeavor equal advantages for the whole Tribe they undertake for Every evening that they return from their business and that according to the custom of the Indians who make no Suppers they have eaten some little piece of sweet-meat and drank a glass of water the eldest of the Tribe meet at the Broaker's House who gives them an account of what he has done that day and then they consult what he is to do next Above all things they caution him to look to his hits and to cheat rather than be cheated CHAP. XI Of Diamonds and the Mines and Rivers where they are found and first of the Author's journey to the Mine of Raolconda THE Diamond is the most precious of all Stones and it was in that sort of Commodity wherein I most dealt And therefore to acquire a perfect experience I went to all the Mines and to one of the Rivers where they are found To which purpose I travell'd to four Mines of which I will give you a description and of one of the Rivers where I have also been The first of these Mines where I was is in the Territories of the King of Visapour in the Province of Carnatica and the place is call'd Raolconda five days journey from Golconda and eight or nine from Visapour This Mine was discover'd not above two-hunder'd years ago as I was inform'd by those of the Countrey Round about the place where the Diamonds are found the ground is sandy full of Rocks much resembling the parts near Fountain-Bleau There are in the Rocks several veins some half a finger some a whole finger-wide And the Miners make use of Irons with hooks at the end with which thep pick out the earth or sand which they put into tubs and among that earth they find the Diamonds But because these veins do not run always streight but sometimes down sometimes upward the Miners are constrain'd to break the Rock following always the trace of the veins When they have open'd all the veins and taken out all the sand then they wash it two or three times over to look for the Diamonds In this Mine it is that they find the cleanest Stones
little Bag hanging at one side on the other his Purse with five or six-hunder'd Pagods in Gold in it There they sit expecting when any person will come to sell them some Diamonds If any person brings them a Stone they put it into the hands of the eldest Boy among them who is as it were their chief who looks upon it and after that gives it to him that is next him by which means it goes from hand to hand till it return to him again none of the rest speaking one word After that he demands the price to buy it if possible but if he buy it too dear 't is upon his own account In the evening the children compute what they have laid out then they look upon their Stones and separate them according to their water their weight and clearness Then they bring them to the great Merchants who have generally great parcels to match and the profit is divided among the children equally only the chief among them has a fourth in the hunder'd more than the rest As young as they are they so well understand the price of Stones that if one of them have bought any purchase and is willing to lose one half in the hunder'd the other shall give him his Money They shall hardly bring you a parcel of Stones above a dozen wherein there is not some flaw or other defect When I came to the Mine I went to wait upon the Governour who told me I was welcome and because he made no question but that I had brought Gold with me for they talk of nothing under Gold at the Mines he bid me only lay it in my Chamber and he would undertake it should be safe Thereupon he presented me with four servants to watch my Gold day and night and to follow my orders bidding me withal fear nothing but eat drink and sleep and take care of my health but withal he told me I must be careful of not cheating the King Thereupon I fell to buying and found profit enough above twenty in the hunder'd cheaper than at Golconda I have one thing to observe which is more than ordinarily curious concerning the manner how the Indians as well Mahumetans as Idolaters drive their bargains Every thing is done with great silence and without any talking on either side The buyer and the seller sit one before another like two Taylors and the one of the two opening his Girdle the seller takes the right-hand of the purchaser and covers his own hand and that with his Girdle under which in the presence of many Merchants that meet together in the same Hall the bargain is secretly driven without the knowledg of any person For then the purchaser nor seller speak neither with their mouths nor eyes but only with the hand as thus When the seller takes the purchaser by the whole hand that signifies a thousand and as often as he squeezes it he means so many thousand Pagods or Roupies according to the Money in question If he takes but half to the knuckle of the middle-finger that 's as much as to say fifty The small end of the finger to the first knuckle signifies ten When he grasps five fingers it signifies five-hunder'd if but one finger one-hunder'd This is the mystery which the Indians use in driving their bargains And many times it happens that in the same place where there are several people one and the same parcel shall be sold seven or eight times over and no person know that it was sold in that manner every time As for the weight of the Stones no person can be deceiv'd in them unless he purchase them in hugger-mugger For if they are publickly bought there is a person on purpose paid by the King without any benefit from particular persons whose place it is to weigh the Diamonds and when he has spoken the weight the buyer and seller are satisfi'd in his words as not being a person any way oblig'd to favour any person Having dispatch'd all my business at the Mine the Governour appointed me six Horse-men to convoy me through the Territories under his Government which extends to a River that separates the Kingdom of Visapour from that of Golconda 'T is a very difficult thing to cross that River it being deep broad and rapid besides that there are no Boats But they ferry over Men Carriages Oxen and Coaches upon a round Vessel ten or twelve foot in Diameter made of Osier-twigs like our Flaskets and cover'd without with Ox-hides as I have already related They might easily use Boats or make a Bridg but the King of Golconda will not suffer either because the River parts the two Kingdoms Every evening the Ferry-men on both sides are bound to carry to two Governours on each side the River an exact account of the Persons Carriages and Merchandizes which they ferri'd over that day Coming to Golconda I found that the person whom I had left in trust with my Chamber was dead but that which I observ'd most remarkable was that I found the door sealed with two Seals one being the Cadi's or chief Justice's the other the Sha-Bander's or Provost of the Merchants An Officer of Justice together with the Servants I had left behind watch'd the Chamber night and day This Officer hearing of my arrival went and gave notice to the Cadi and Sha-Bander who sent for me The Cadi presently ask'd me if the Money I had left in the Chamber where the person dy'd were mine and how I could prove it I told him I had no better proofs than the Letters of Exchange which I had brought to the Banker that paid it by my order to the person deceas'd to whom I had also giv'n farther order that if the Banker paid me in Silver he should change the sum into Gold Thereupon the Bankers were sent for who affirming the payments accordingly the Cadi sent his Deputy to op'n the Chamber door nor would he leave me till I had counted over my Money and had assur'd him it was right After that I return'd to the Cadi and the Sha-Bander and signifi'd as much to them and having paid them some Fees which they demanded to the value of four Crowns and a half of our Money I return'd them my thanks for their care This I relate to shew the justice of the Country CHAP. XII The Authors Journey to the other Mines and how they find the Diamonds there SEven days journey from Golconda Eastward there is another Diamond Mine call'd in the language of the Country Gani in the Persian tongue Coulour It is near a great Town by which the same River runs which I cross'd coming from the other Mine and a League and a half from the Town is a high Mountain in the form of a Half-Moon the space between the Town and the Mountain is a Plain where they dig and find Diamonds The nearer they dig to the Mountain the larger Stones they find but at the top they find nothing at all
Servants knows his business whether it be to carry the pot of Water to drink by the way or to give his Master his Pipe of Tobacco when he calls for it so that if the Master should bid one to do that which the other was appointed to do that Servant would stand like a Statue and never make him any answer But for the Slaves they are oblig'd to do what ever the Master commands them These Alacors having no other business but only to make clean the Houses eat the scraps of all the other Castes and so without scruple feed upon any thing There are none but those of this Tribe make use of Asses to carry away the filth of the Houses into the Feilds for which reason none of the rest of the Indians will so much as touch that Animal which is quite otherwise in Persia as well for carriage as to ride upon Moreover there are none of the other Indians except the Alacors that will eat Pig CHAP. IV. Of the Kings and Idolatrous Princes of Asia THE chiefest of the Idolatrous Kings of Asia are the King of Aracan the King of Pegu the King of Siam the King of Cochinchina and the King of Tunquin As for the King of China we know that he was an Idolater before the Tartars invaded his Dominions But since that we know not what to report of certainty in regard that the Tartars who are now Masters of the Country are neither Idolaters nor Mahometans but rather both together In the Islands the King of Japon the King of Ceylan and some petty Kings of the Molucoa Islands are Idolaters as are all the Raja's as well in the Empire of the Great Mogul as in the neighbouring Kingdoms of Visapour and Golconda In a word all the meaner sort of people as well in the Territories of the Great Mogul Kings of Golconda and Visapour as in the Isles of Achan Java and Macassar though their Kings are Mahumetans are all themselves Idolaters Some fifty years ago one of the Kings of Ceylan became a Christian and was baptiz'd by the name of John being call'd before the Emperor Priapender But as soon as he had embrac'd the Christian Faith the Princes and Priests of the Country set up another King in his room He endeavour'd all he could to bring his people to follow his example to which purpose he assign'd to the Father Jesuits twelve large Villages about Colombo for the bringing up the youth of the Country in their Colledges to the end that they being well instructed might instruct others For the King made it plain to the Jesuits that it was impossible for them so well to understand the Language of the Country as to be able to preach to the Natives Besides that they found the ingenuities of the Youth of Ceylan so quick and apprehensive that they learnt more Latin Philosophy and other Sciences in six months than the Europeans learnt in a year and that they put such subtle Questions to their Masters as were beyond imagination Some years after the King had profess'd Christianity a witty man of the Island of Ceylan and a good natural Philosopher whose name was Alegamma Motiar or the Master of the Philosophers after he had convers'd with the Jesuits and other Religious persons was inspir'd to turn Christian. Thereupon he went to the Jesuits and told them that he desir'd to be a Christian but withall he was very earnest to know what Jesus Christ had done and lest in writing They gave him the New Testament which he set himself to read with that heed and study that in less than six months there was hardly a passage which he could not repeat After that he again testifi'd to the Jesuits and other Religious persons that he had a great desire to turn Christian in regard he found their Religion to be such as Jesus Christ had taught but only he wonder'd that they themselves did not follow his example For that he could never find by his reading that Jesus Christ ever took any money of any body but that they took all they could get and never baptiz'd nor buri'd unless they were well paid But though he started the Question he was baptiz'd and afterwards became a sedulous converter of others CHAP. V. What the Idolaters believe touching a Divinity THough the Idolatrous Indians attribute to the Creature as to Cows Apes and several Monsters those Divine Honours which are only due to the true Deity yet they acknowledg one only Infinite God Almighty and only Wise the Creator of Heaven and Earth who fills all places with his presence They call him in some places Permesser in others Peremael and Westnon among the Bramins that inhabit the Coast of Cormandel It may be because they have heard that the Circle is the most perfect of all Figures therefore it is that they say God is of an Oval Figure for they have in all their Pagods an Oval Flintstone which they fetch from Ganges and worship as a God They are so obstinately wedded to this foolish imagination that the wisest among the Bramins will not so much as hear any argument to the contrary So that it is no wonder that a people led by such blind Guides should fall into such Abysses of Idolatry There is one Tribe so superstitious in reference to that Article that they carry those Oval Flints about their Necks and thump them against their Breasts when they are at their devotions In this dark and lamentable mist of Ignorance these Idolaters make their Gods to be born like men and assign them Wives imagining that theirs are the pleasures of men Thus they take their Ram for a great Deity in regard of the Miracles which they believe he wrought while he liv'd upon Earth Ram was the Son of a potent Raja who was call'd by the name of Deseret and the most vertuous of all his Children which he had by two lawful Wives He was particularly belov'd by his Father who design'd him to be his Successor But the Mother of Ram being dead the Raja's other Wife who had her Husband entirely at her beck prevail'd with him to exterminate Ram and his Brother Lokeman from his House and all his Territories upon whose exclusion the Son of that Wife was declar'd the Raja's Successor As the two Brothers were about to be gone Ram's Wife Sita of whom he went to take his leave and whom the Idolaters worship as a Goddess beg'd of him that she might not leave him having made a resolution never to forsake him whereupon they all three went together to seek their fortunes They were not very successful at first for as they pass'd through a Wood Ram being in pursuit of a Bird stray'd from the Company and was missing a long time insomuch that Sita fearing that some disaster was befall'n him besought Lokeman to look after him He excus'd himself at first by reason that Ram had oblig'd him never to leave Sita alone foreseeing by a Prophetick Spirit what would
Empire As also with his mention of a place on the West-side of the Volga where he sayes Astracan was formerly situated Concerning both which Cities I shall declare divers things I have Collected out of several European and Arabian Writers which either are not commonly known or little regarded But I must necessarily premise somewhat concerning the Antient Inhabitants of the Country wherein these Cities are situated The first Nation of whom I find any mention who made any fix'd habitation in these Quarters were the Chazari so named by the Latines and Greeks but by the Mahumetans Alchozar and Gorjani This Nation during the Reign of the Emperour Justine like a Torrent Overflowed all that Vast Continent which lies between China and the Boristhenes Conquered part of India All Bactria Sogdiana and made the Persians Tributary by whom they are always called Turks and their Prince Chacan a Title formerly common unto all great Turkish Emperours This Mighty Monarch having conquered the Igors or Jugurs Avares Chuni or Huns Abtelites or White Huns and all other Tribes of Turks and Tartars together with the Alani whose Dominion then extended as appears by Marcellinus from the Boristhenes far beyond the most North-East part of the Caspian Sea entred into a League with Justine and styles himself in his Letters Lord of the Seven Climates of the World His Acts may be read at large in Theophilactus Simocatta Excerptis de Legationibus and divers others of the Bizantine Historians This Nation Assisted the Emperour Heraclius in his Wars against the great Cosroes whom by their Assistance he overcame These Chazari were also possessed of all that part of Taurica Chersonesus which is plain and fit for feeding Cattle they being addicted after the manner of all other Scythian Nomades unto a Pastoral life which Peninsula from them was untill the Famous Irruption of the Tartars in the Thirteenth Century called Cassaria or Cazaria and afterwards more corruptly by the Genoeses Venetians and other Latines Gazaria I find mention of these Chazari or Chozars in divers Persian and Arabian Historians and Geographers Abulpharagius acquaints us with an Expedition they made into Persia the 183. Year of the Hegira which was after our Account in 799 from whence they returned with great Spoile and above 100000 Captives and afterwards in the 514 th Year of the Mahumetan Epocha being A. C. 1120. they made another Inroad accompanied by the Comanians whom the Arabians call Kaphjaks Frequent mention is made of them by that Deservedly Celebrated Arabian Geographer Al Edrisi who flourished in the 548 th year of the Hegira of Christ 1153. He always calls the Caspian Sea Mare Chozar And all that Country on the North and to the West of the Caspian Sea Terra Chozar He acquaints us that the Residence of the Prince of Chozar was not far above the Mouth of the Volga which the Tartars call Athel which name I suppose it derived from Attila that Renowned King of the Hunns being so called in the Relation of the Ambassadors who were sent by the Emperour Justine unto the Great Chacan of the Turks residing in the East Al Edrisi and his Epitomizer commonly known by the Name of Geographus Nubiensis intimate That these Chozars inhabited divers other Cities but that this was the Metropolis he suppresses the Name styling it only from the River the City of Athel and declares it was divided by the River the chief and greatest part being on the West-side and that the other less considerable on the East-side was inhabited only by the meaner sort of People and Merchants it being a place of great Trade that which made it more considerable was the liberty allowed unto all of the Publike Profession and Exercise of their respective Religious Perswasions Jews Christians Mahumetans and Idolaters being there equally countenanced which I suppose might occasion that Dialogue published out of an Ancient Hebrew Manuscript by L'Empereur between the Author a Jewish Rabbi and the King of Chozar This City is said to have been extended along the River three miles in length and it's breadth proportionable the Western part well fortified adorned with the Emperours Palace and several other eminent Structures Nassir Eddin who wrote at the latter end of the 13th Century calls this City in his Geographical Tables Balanjar and from him Abulfeda they place it in 46 degrees 30 minutes of Northern Latitude where within six or eight minutes our best Geographers seat Astracan And questionless this was that City which our Author and Olearius call Old Astracan These Chazari did I suppose conserve their vast Dominion without any great Interruption at least until A. C. 900. For Alferganus who lived about that Time places no other Nation in his Table of Climes between China and the Boristhenes And Eutichius who wrote about 30 or 40 years after makes mention of them as a mighty Nation and many amongst them converted unto the Christian Belief About the middle of the 10th Century these Chazari gave place unto the Cumanians or Comanians who were also a Turkish Nation known unto the Turks Persians and Arabians under the Name of Kaphjack whether they expelled the Chazari or that the former becoming the more Eminent Tribe gave Law and Name unto these latter as hath since frequently happened among the Tartars I will not here undertake to determine but this is certain that suddenly the Name of Chazari was extinct and all that Tract of Land from the Nepper unto Turkestan 1500 miles beyond the Volga was inhabited by these Cumanians who were often troublesome unto the Russes Lithuanians Hungarians and other Neighbour-Nations But this People was almost totally destroyed by the Tartars in that great Inundation which happened at the beginning of the 12th Century soon after the death of Jingiz Chan whose Son Hocota being chosen Emperour sent his Nephew Batu or Bathy the Son of Tussy Jingiz Chan his Eldest Son with 400000 Men to invade the Northem Parts of Asia The Cumani for divers years valiantly resisted and made the greatest opposition the Tartars met with in all their Conquests repuls'd them in two pitch'd Battels but then growing secure and dispersing upon the Tartars retreat they were unexpectedly surprized the whole Countrey over-run above 200000 killed their King Kuthen hardly escaping with 40000 into Hungary where he met with a kind reception had land allotted him and his Company which Region is called Campus Cumanus unto this day This Countrey was so miserably wasted by the Tartars that in the Years 1253 and 1254 when Rubriquis passed through it going unto and returning from his Ambassage to Mangu Chan there was no fixed habitation excepting a few Cottages in the Island where Astracan is now situated But Bathy having destroyed the Comanians ruinated their Cities and established his own Dominion began to think of a fix'd abode which after long observation he chose near the River Volga on the East-side and immediately beneath the River Actabon a great Arm of the Volga and
Ruslowa upon the main Wolga Cokelou Beerullee Ewansuke Mansor Argeessan Keessan Camusshuke Naowara Tussockly Collobery Malla Collobery Yamansuke Eirichsha Surka Libessha Bussan Carabussan Bealla Wolloskee In all which Oughsukes or Wears they take no Fish besides Sturgeon They are made of Shigenas or long Poles made sharp at one end and beaten into the ground under Water and a pleiting made of Rods somewhat resembling Osier after the manner of our Matts which are fastned to the Poles and hinder the Fish from passing up the River And Houses are built near the Wears for the Convenience of the Fishers 40 50 more or less according unto the greatness of the Water or resort of Fish and twice every day usually in the morning and evening they set about their Fishery They imploy only long slender Poles with an iron Hook or Cruke in the end baited and do ordinarily take 400 every day in the smaller and 600 in the larger Streams The Sturgeon they take is all salted excepting that wherewith they serve the Town of Astracan where a whole fair Sturgeon may be bought for ten pence English and when the great Caravan comes from Russia it takes off most of their Fish which is conveyed into divers parts of Muscovy but chiefly unto the great City of Mosco They return also with great quantities of Caviar and Salt there being not far from the Volga on the Little Nagoy side great Salt-pits which yield an immense quantity of Salt prepared yearly by the heat of the Sun without any further trouble than taking it off the superficies of the Water where it daily kerns The Volga a little above Seraichena 500 miles from Astrachan dismisses a great Branch named Actabon which passing through the Desarts of the Great Nagoy through Bussane enters the Caspian Sea The remainder of the Volga after having parted with several smaller Branches most of which joyn with the forementioned River divides the Little and Great Nagoy passes under the Town of Astrachan whence it proceeds unto Ruslowa on the South-west side of Crosna Boggar then falls into the Caspian And the distance between the East-side of the Volga near Astrachan and the River Actabon is about 20 miles which is mostly Water and Islands And that the Course of the Volga from its first Source until it doth dis-embogue it self into the Caspian Sea can be no less than what we have asserted is hence confirmed That the Snow which falls abundantly in Russia and begins to be dissolved about the latter end of April and do mightily increase the Waters of the Volga come not unto Astrachan until Midsummer when it so raises the Volga that overflowing the Banks it covers with his Waters all the Islands near Astrachan so that from the Little Nagoy unto Actabon in the Great Nagoy all the Countrey seems excepting a Hillock or two one continued Lake or a great Gulf of the Sea Wherefore they who go in the Spring from Astrachan to fetch Wood having cut it make great Floats which are lifted up when the River overflows and guided each by a few Men until they are brought unto Astrachan or those other places for which they are designed The most remarkable Towns and Habitations upon the Volga between Seraichena and Astrachan which are 500 miles distant from each other are Camena Rokegowa Osshenofka Chornoyar Borisse Offatalka Poollowoy Collmakof Satone Cossoyar Crosnoyar Nassonoyar Satone Yanatavy Daneelofka Perre Ousshake Eillansuke Eiskyborro Crukla Bussan Balsheeke Tollotonygorod Dolgoa Goradocha which was old Astrachan Sharina Bogor which is near Astrachan besides many other Places with whose Names I have not charged my memory We will now pass over the Volga through Astrachan into the Great Nagoy The Great Nagoy may be properly enough divided into Islands and Continent the former are made by the Volga and several Rivers which fall out of it variously mix'd with each other and are all at length emptied into the Caspian Sea Those Rivers or Branches have their several Names those which I remember are Cuttoma Boulda Malla Guellusa Creewantya Busane Actabon and Bereket The Kingdom of the Great Nagoy is all plain and desart 1200 miles in length between Astrachan and Samara 500 miles in breadth from the said Astrachan unto the River of the Yeike or Jaick There is no Wood in all this Countrey except what grows near the Rivers It hath no Towns or fix'd Habitations though it had formerly divers and some among them very considerable as Czarofsgorod or Czarofs Pollate in English the Emperor's Town which formerly must needs have been as its Name imports an Imperial or Capital City I have often viewed it with admiration and cannot compute it to have been less than 20 miles in Circuit I have told fourscore great eminent Buildings which must have been either Moschees Pallaces or Caravanseraies and some of them 6 miles distant from the other The Muscovites are of divers Opinions concerning its Destruction Some say it was ruined by the Cossacks but the Cossacks who are ready enough to brag of their Atchievements know nothing thereof only that they have often dispossessed the Russes when they endeavoured to rebuild part of it For indeed the Situation is very excellent having the Volga on one side the Actabon on the other The Countrey very beautiful healthful and fertile and yet notwithstanding all these encouragements it is not yet inhabited not by the Russes because it standing on the main Land they would be continually exposed unto the Inroads of the Tartars nor by the Tartars because its nearness unto the Rivers would render them obnoxious to the Russes every time the great Caravan passes that way which is at least twice each year Yet the Muscovites do frequently fetch Brick and Stones from this ruined City wherewith they have built a great part of Astrachan and the neighbouring Forts or Towns where such solid Materials are imployed But besides this Serai for so the Tartars call any fix'd Habitation there were in ancient times five or six more down along the Rivers side in each of which formerly dwelt a Chan but Time and Wars have almost entirely ruined them There is also another Serai upon the River Jaick named Seraichika where is said formerly to have been the Residence of a great Myrsa or Chan but 't is now quite ruinated The Tartars who inhabit the Great Nagoy both Men and Women are very proper at least of much taller Stature than many other Tartars but have ill-favoured Countenances broad Faces flat little Noses small Eyes sunk in their Heads all which are common to most of the Eastern Tartars But the Tartars of Crim are more comely which I suppose may partly proceed from their Wives who are many of them Captive Circassians Russes Poles Hungars and of divers other Nations The Nagoy Tartars are also Black or rather Tawny which I Conjecture is not so much natural as proceeding from the heat of the Sun which is in these Parts some Months of the Year much