was advised to it by other Portuguese for he answered haughtily that he would not be taught by any man what he was to do Nevertheless his bravery not succeeding according to his expectation Unseasonable bravery and finding himself hard put to it he became calmer and gave consent but too late to follow that Counsel for the Enemies were under the Walls and at length he was forced to Surrender the place So soon as the Persians became Masters of it they opened the Canal as well knowing the importance of it Oisters at Ormus They catch excellent Oisters about the Isle of Ormus they are as small as English Oisters but so hard that it is not possible to open them with a Knife nay it is not very easie neither to break them with a Hammer The Sand of Oâ—â—…s The Sand of Ormus is also much talked of for the dusting of writing and for that end a great deal of it is Transported into Christendom Lareca A League to the south-South-West of Ormus is the Isle of Lareca which is longer than Ormus but the Ground as bad and Sandy It reaches in length from North north-North-West to South South-East and there is nothing remarkable in it unless it be the Fort and that is no great matter neither The Dutch began it under colour of settling a Factory there but the Persians smelling out their design drove them off and finished it it is at present kept by a very few men A little farther off to the West Error in Geography Quesomo South-West about a League and a half from Lareca though it be marked five in the Map is the Isle of Quesomo which is twenty Leagues in length it is Fruitful and well Inhabited and stretches from East to West The Land about Gomron or Bender-Abassi is no better than that of Ormus The Land about Bender-Abassi or Gomron is good for nothing for it is all Sand the water they drink there is brought from a Cistern without the Town they drink also of another which is esteemed better water and that out of a Well three Parasanges distant from the Town in a place called Isin both are very dear because of the trouble in bringing them so far nevertheless the water is very unwholesome because of little Worms that are in it which if they be drank down with the water slide betwixt the Flesh and the Skin Worms between the Skin and the Flesh and fall down into the Legs where they grow to the full length of the Leg and are never bigger than a Lute-string as I have been told for I never saw any of them this causes a great deal of pain they make a little hole in the Skin through which they shew their Head and for a Cure they must be drawn by little and little out of that hole drawing only a little every day and twisting it about a stick according as they draw it out until it be wholely out but this requires a great deal of patience for if they draw too much out at one time or draw too hard it breaks and what remains in the Leg causes racking pains for which there is no other remedy but to lay open the Leg and make the Incision as long as that which remains to be taken out This water has another bad quality in that it swells the Testicles The meat is also very unwholesome at Bender-Abassi and they scarcely eat any but Kids Flesh which is the best of the bad and Pullets In fine the best way to preserve ones Health at Bender-Abassi is to keep a very regular Diet Remedies for keeping ones Health at Bender eating so moderately that one hath always an Appetite to quench a red hot Iron in the water to strain it afterwards through a Linnen Cloath and to be always chearful There is no Pasture-Ground in all that Territory and therefore the Cows Hogs and other Beasts live hardly upon any thing else but Fish-Heads Shell-Fish stones of Dates and a little Hay which is brought some Parasanges off and indeed the Milk tasts altogether Fishy for I speak by experience their Horses they feed with Hay and Barley After all there cannot be a more dangerous Air than that of Comoron especially in Summer when it is so excessively hot Cruel and dangerous heat at Bender-Abassi that the Inhabitants are forced to leave it and remove three or four Parasanges off where most of them live in Tents nay the very Garison of the Fort removes leaving only a few men who are weary of their lives Nevertheless that place so abandoned is in no danger of being surprised because that time is the Winter of the Indies wherein there is such terrible Rain Great Thunderings at Bender Wind and Thunder that it would seem the World were to be reduced to its first Chaos so that during that Season no Ship can keep the Sea where Shipwrack is inevitable And indeed there is but one Season for crossing over to the Indies which the Portuguese have named Mouson Mouson and which they have certainly borrowed from the Arabick word Mouson which signifies Season but in short that word is used in all Languages to signifie the time of Sailing which lasts one half of the Year to wit from the end of October to the end of April Bender has a pretty safe Road for to the North it hath the main Land of Persia The Road of Bender-Abassi to the South the Isle of Ormus and to the south-South-West Lareca which is to the Westward of Ormus from which it is but a League distant Vessels come to an Anchor in it near to the Isle of Ormus on the West side and to go to the Indies they Sail betwixt the Isle of Ormus which is to the South of Bender-Abassi and the Coast of Arabia Foelix A Parasange to the East of Comoron there is one of those Trees called the Banians Trees because the Banians make commonly Pagods under them Banians Trees the Portuguese call it the Tree of Roots because Roots come out of every Branch that fasten in the Ground and grow as other Trees do in so much that one of these Trees may make a whole Forest I shall not describe it because I never saw it since there was no going thither by reason of the excessive heat The Author saw it since in his Travels in the Indies where he has given a description of it and therefore I refer the Reader to Linschot and Jonston who have given a description of it Under this there is a Pagod or Temple of the Banians I stayed but a week at Bender-Abassi and then was obliged to turn back again there being no probability that I could embark there for the Indies seeing I must have run too great a danger if I had stayed longer for a favourable occasion There were but six Vessels there which were bound for the Indies four Dutch Ships one Armenian and a Moor as for the
no Bark to come to Bassora laid an Embargo also upon all Vessels that were at Bassora loaded with Goods for Bagdad They had other false News at that time at Bassora to wit that the King of Persia was coming to Besiege it False News from Persia and some people of Fashion asked me the News at the Custom House but I put them out of trouble as to that assuring them that in Persia there was no appearance that the King had any thoughts of making War which was true enough They then told me how much they were troubled at the News they had of twenty French Corsairs being at Sea False News of the French raised by the Dutch. which very much terrified all the Merchants This report was raised by the Dutch who purposely broached it that all the Merchants might put their mony on board of Dutch Ships and not in Mahometan and this News was the more easily believed that it was known every where now that the French were coming to settle a Trade in the Indies and they were persuaded that all our Vessels were Pirats French Corsairs because three Years before two French Corsairs came to Moca just about the time that the Vessels put out from the Port of Moca carrying nothing but mony to Surrat from whence they bring Goods which is at the end of August The French took all these Vessels and went off If they had had a little more skill in those Seas they might have done more for they might have come into the Gulf of Persia about the end of October and there waited for the Ships of Bassora at which time they carry a great deal of mony for Trafficking in the Indies and they might easily have made themselves Masters of them and therein of several millions in ready mony there being none but Indians on Board of all these Vessels who make no resistance and that being done they might as easily have got away but they did not do it in short they left such a terrible consternation on all these Seas Fear of the French. that to name but the French to them is enough to make them all shake for fear CHAP. X. Of Bassora The situation of Bassora BAssora the Capital Town of the Kingdom or Bashaship of that name lies at the farther end of Arabia the Desart which is to the West of it and near Arabia the Happy that lies to the South two days Journy below the place where the two Rivers Euphrates and Tygris joyn upon the Banks of Schat-El-Aarab which is no other than Euphrates and Tygris joyned into one it is eighteen Leagues from the Sea The Latitude of Bassora The variation of the Loadstone The distance of Bagdad from Bassora and in the thirtieth or one and thirtieth Degree ten Minutes North Latitude The Needle declines there about thirteen Degrees and a half from North to West and from thence to the Indies it always declines about eleven Degrees and a third some say a half from North to West It is two days Journy by Land from Bagdad and by water they come from Bagdad to Bassora in great Barks in fifteen or sixteen days time and most commonly in eighteen but the Barks that go from Bassora to Bagdad are commonly fifty sixty and sometimes fourscore days in the Voyage The Circuit of Bassora because they are only drawn by men This is a great Town encompassed with Walls of Earth that are about six hours march in Circuit but they contain a great many void spaces where there are neither Houses nor Gardens It hath two Gates The Gates of Bassora the one called the East Gate and the other the West and the Gate of Bagdad because by it they go out of the Town when they are bound for Bagdad The situation of Bassora advantageous This Town in my Opinion is so advantageously seated that it might be made one of the richest and most lovely Cities in the World It would certainly be very pleasant if it were a little better built and Gardens made all along the sides of the Canal that comes from Schat-El-Aarab and runs through the whole Town For the Land about if they would Manure it and Plant Trees therein I believe it would bear any thing for the Climate is hot and the Soil of a greyish colour which seems to me to be very fertile being twice a day moistened by the River-water which the Tide carries up four days Journy and a half from Bassora the water rising at the Town a Fathom and a half but yet not salt some have told me that the Ground is too salt to bear any thing but Palm-Trees which thrive much in salt Ground Abundance of Palm-Trees and grow in greater numbers in the Country about Bassora than in any other Country in the World and to shew that it is really salt they say that if one dig two Fathom deep in the Earth they will find salt-water but perhaps it is not so in all places However it be it is certain that from November forwards that Country produces a great many Herbs as Succory Spinage Herbs and Fruits at Bassora and other Pot-Herbs and in several Gardens there are very good Apricots which last all June and July and in July and August also many Grapes as in October Melons water-Melons Pomegranats and Limons the truth is none of these Fruits will keep because of the South-East Wind that reigns during that time and is hot and moist There are pretty enough publick places in Bassora and amongst others the Meidan which is before the Bashas Palace and is very large The Meidan of Bassora there are in it twelve pieces of Cannon or Culverines mounted on their Carriages near that Palace and there are also several very fair Bazars in the Town I said that this might be made one of the richest Cities in the World The Port. of Bassora commodious for all Countries because of the Commerce that might be settled there with all parts almost of the Habitable World. Its Port is good and very safe being twelve Leagues from the Sea in the fresh water of Schat-El-Aarab and it is so broad and deep that the greatest Vessels may come to it without danger all the Goods of Europe might be brought thither by the Mediteranean because being once come to Aleppo it would not be difficult to Transport them to Bi r which is but four days Journy from Aleppo and there they might be embarked on the Euphrates on which they might in ten days time come to Rousvania from whence there is but a days Journy to Bagdad where they might embark them on the Tygris and in fifteen or sixteen days time they would come to Bassora nay and with a very little pains and industry the River Euphrates might be made Navigable for great Vessels only by clearing the Channel in some places where it is choaked up with great stones and that is the reason
will kill a Man for a penny and indeed they are very Poor therefore when one goes by Water upon the Nile he had need keep a good Guard against the Corsairs During our Voyage in the night-time we lighted several Matches which we fastened round about our Bark on the out-side and the Arabs seeing these Matches easily take them for so many Musquets which they are deadly afraid of as not knowing the use of them besides that we had Fire-Arms which we now and then Discharged as well by night as by day that they might hear them but notwithstanding all that a Bark of Robbers came one night up with our Caiques which one having discovered he allarmed the rest then all cried to them to keep off thereupon they made answer in Turkish that we need not be afraid for they were Friends and would go in company with us but when we called to them again that if they did not stand off we would Fire at them they went their way At Boulac we took Asses to carry us to Caire half a League distant from thence My Lord Honorie de Bermond the French Consul did me the favour to lodge me at his House The French Consul as those of other Nations resides at Caire because the Basha lives there so the Affairs of the Nation are the more conveniently managed he hath two Vice-Consuls under him whom he appoints as he thinks good one at Rossetto another at Alexandria and sometimes one at Damiette who depend upon none but him CHAP. IV. Of Caire THere are so many things to be seen at Caire that a very large Book might be fill'd with the Relation of them and seeing I made a considerable stay there and saw a good many of them I shall here describe them in order according to the several times I saw them in Caire the Capital and Metropolitan City of Aegypt Caire before it fell under the Turkish Dominion was in the later times Governed by Sultans or Kings who were taken from among the Mamalukes Mamalukes These Mamalukes were all Circassian Slaves bought of Merchants who came and sold them to the Sultan of Aegypt who presently made them renounce the Christian Religion then committed them to the care of Masters of Exercise by whom they were taught to bend the Bow shoot exact give a true thrust with a Launce make use of Sword and Buckler sit a Horse well for they were all Horse-men and skilfully manage him After that they were advanced according to their merit and the Cowards and Unhandy were left behind so that all who were brave might rise to be Sultans for by them the Sultan was chosen and none who were not Mamalukes could be Sultans nor was any received to be a Mamaluke that was not of Christian Extraction those being excluded who had either Mahometans or Jews to their Fathers These Men were exterminated in the Year 1517. that Sultan Selim the First Conquered all Aegypt and at the taking of Caire Thomambey their Sultan called Tbomambey who was the last Sultan of Aegypt falling into his hands he put him to an ignominious death the Thirteenth of April 1517. causing him to be Hang'd at one of the Gates of Caire called Babzuaila Babzuaila and for ever rooting out the Mamalukes who were cut off to the last man. Since that time the Turks have always been Masters of it This City stands ill Caire stands ill for it is at the foot of a Hill on which the Castle is built so that the Hill covers it and intercepts all the Wind and Air which causes such a stifling heat there as engenders many Diseases whereas if it stood in the place where Old Caire is in the first place they would have the benefit of the River which is of great importance were it only for water to drink for the water must be brought into all parts of Caire in Borachios upon Camels backs which feth it from Boulac above half a league from the City and yet that is the nearest place Hence it is that so much bad water is drank at Caire because those who go to bring it on their Camels that they make the more returns take it out of the Birques or stinking Pooles Birques that are nearer than the River and for all that sell it very dear They would besides have the advantage of the Wind which blows on all hands along the River so that the heat would not be so prejudicial nay more it would be a great help to Trade in that it would ease them of the labour and charges of loading their Goods on Camels to carry them from the City to the Port or from the Port to the City And indeed Memphis the Antients chose a very good Situation for Memphis on the other side of the River and Old Caire hath since been built opposite to Memphis also upon the River But the Later who ought to correct the faults of the more Ancient if they were guilty of any have committed the greatest errours for I can see no reason why they have pitched upon that incommodious Situation unless it was perhaps to joyn the City to the Castle that so it might be under the protection thereof Caire is a very great City full of Rabble it lies in form of a Crescent but is narrow and they are in the wrong who perswade themselves that Caire is bigger than Paris I once went round the City and Castle with two or three other French-men we were mounted on Asses not daring to go on foot for fear of some bad usage The circumference of Caire how many leagues but we went at a foot pace and as near as we could no faster than a man might walk and we were two hours and a quarter in making that round which is somewhat more than three but not four French Leagues I walked once on foot also the whole length of the Khalis from end to end which is exactly the length of the City of Caire for it is a Street that goes through the middle of it from one end to another I set out early in the morning with a Janizary that I might not be by any hindred in my design or abused and being come to the end about St. Michael's I alighted and having set two Watches which I had in my pocket at the same hour I began to walk pretty fast when I came to the other end of Khalis I found that we had been almost three quarters of an hour in going the length of it and I could undertake to perform it very well in half an hour if I had not on Turkish Shoes as I had at that time which was a great hindrance to me for at every turn my Paboutches slipt off my feet and besides I was in my Vest that likewise retarded my going I reckoned also all the steps I made putting at each hundred paces a bean in my pocket and at the end I found one and fifty beans in
When these Stones are removed you go down into a Vault by a little hole opposite to the mouth of the Well and there another great Stone is to be removed before you come at the Well which is sixteen fathom deep Cimented narrow at the top and wide at the bottom Over the aforesaid Vault there are some ruines of the Buildings of a Village two little Pillars are to be seen still standing and many Olive-Trees all round Near to that is the portion of Land which Jacob gave to his Son Joseph it is a very pleasant place and his Sepulchre is in it Mount Gerezim Mount Gerezim mentioned in holy Scripture is on the right hand as you go to that Well There is a Chappel at the foot of this Mountain where the Samaritans heretofore worshipped an Idol On the South side of the Town there is another Mount called in Arabick Elmaida that is to say Table Elmaida where they say our Lord rested himself being weary upon the Road There is a Cushion of the same Stone raised upon the Rock still to be seen and some prints of Hands and Feet and they say that in times past the figure of our Lords whole Body was to be discerned upon it This is a pleasant place having a full prospect of the Town To the West of it there is a Mosque heretofore a Church built upon the same ground where the House of Jacob stood on the other side there is a ruinated Church The House of Jacob. built in honour of St. John Baptist In this Town Travellers pay a Caffare Next day after an hour and an halfs travel you strike off the high Road to the right if you would see the Town of Sebaste standing upon a little Hill Sebaste about half a League wide of the Road where you still see great ruins of Walls and several Pillars both standing and lying upon the Ground with a fair large Church some of it still standing upon lovely Marble-Pillars The high Altar on the East end must have been very fine by what may be judged from the Dome which covers it and is still in order faced with Marble-Pillars whose Capitals are most Artfully fashioned and adorned with Mosaick Painting which was built by St. Helen as the People of the Country say This Church at present is divided into two parts of which the Mahometans hold the one and the Christians the other That which belongs to the Mahometans is paved with Marble The Sepulchre of St. John Baptist Elisha and Abdias and has a Chappel under Ground with three and twenty steps down to it In this Chappel St. John Baptist was Buried betwixt the Prophets Elisha and Abdias The three Tombs are raised four Spans high and enclosed with Walls so that they cannot be seen but through three openings a span big by Lamp-light which commonly burns there In the same place as they say St. John was put in Prison and Beheaded at the desire of Herodias Others say Macherus Samaria that it was at Macherus which is a Town and Fort where King Herod kept Malefactors in Prison This Town of Sebaste was also called Samaria from the name of Simri to whom the Ground whereon it is built belonged or from the name of the Hill on which it stands which is called Chomron Having pass'd Sebaste you are out of Samaria Genny which terminates there and pursuing your Journey you come to lodge at Genny They say that in this place our Saviour cured the ten Lepers There is a Mosque there still which was formerly a Church of the Christians the Han where you lodge is great and serves for a Fort having close by it a Fountain and a Bazar where Provisions are sold The Soil is fertile enough and produces plenty of Palm-Trees and Fig-Trees There is a very great Caffare to be payed there Next day after about two Hours march Ezdrellon you enter into a great Plain called Ezdrellon about four Leagues in length at the west end whereof you see the top of Mount Carmel where the Prophet Elias lived of which we shall speak hereafter At the foot of this Hill are the ruines of the City of Jezreel founded by Achab King of Israel where the Dogs licked the Blood of his Wife Jezebel Jezreel Brook Gison as the Prophet Elias had foretold In the middle of this Plain is the Brook of Gison where Jabin King of Canaan and Sisera his Lieutenant were slain by Deborah the Prophetess and Judge of Israel and by Barak chief of the Host of Gods People Many Battels have been fought in this Plain as may be seen in holy Scripture After you have passed this Plain and travelled an hour over Hills you come to Nazareth of which and the places that are to be seen about it I have already said enough Now I 'll set down the way from Nazareth to Damascus CHAP. LVII The Road from Nazareth to Damascus SUCH as would go to Damascus may lye at Aain Ettudgiar which is a Castle about three Leagues from Nazareth mentioned by me before in the fifty fifth Chapter and there is a Caffare to be paid there The next day you lye at Menia Menia Sephet by the Sea-side of Tiberias The day following you see from several places on the Road the Town of Sephet where Queen Esther was Born standing on a Hill. Josephs Pit. About four hours Journey from Menia you see the the Pit or Well of Joseph into which he was let down by his Brothers there is no water in it the mouth of it being very narrow but the bottom indifferent wide and may be six fathom deep It is covered by a Dome standing on four Arches to three of which so many little Marble-Pillars are joined as Butteresses for the Dome the place of the fourth Pillar is still to be seen and it appears to have been not long agoe removed Close by this Pit there is a little Mosque adjoining to an old Han. Two hours journey from that Pit you cross over Jacob's Bridge Jacobs Bridge Dgeseer Jacoub which the Arabs call Dgeser Jacoub this is the place where this Patriarch was met by his Brother Esau as he was returning with his Wives and Goods from Laban his Father in law The Bridge consists of three Arches under which runs the River of Jordan and falls afterwards into the Sea of Tiberias about three hours going from thence On that side the River runs there is a great Pond to be seen When you have passed this Bridge you are out of Galilee and there you pay a great Caffare Then you come to Lodge at Coneitra which is a little Village Coneitra wherein there is a very old large Han built in form of a Fort with three Culverines within the precinct of it there is a Mosque a Bazar and a Coffee-House Saxa and there also you pay a Caffare Next day you lye at Saxa and have bad way to it
in the House of Judas They say that the Turks have several times attempted to build a Mosque over that Grott but that all that they had built in the day-time was in the Evening thrown down in an instant You may also go to a little Hermitage two miles from the City where Dervishes live it stands upon a little Hill above a great Village called Salahia Salahia The Cave of the seven Sleepers There you may see the Cave where the seven Sleepers hid themselves when they were Persecuted by Decius who would have made them renounce the Christian Faith and where they slept till the time of Theodosius the Younger This is a very pleasant place and the more that from thence one may see all the Countrey about Damascus Three Leagues from thence towards the way of Baal bel The place where Cain slew his Brother Abel Jobar Elias's Grott is the place where they say Cain slew his Brother Abel and where also they Sacrificed You must also go to a Village called Jobar half a League from the City inhabited only by Jews who have a Synagogue there at the end of which on the right side there is a Grott four paces square with a hole and seven steps cut in the Rock to go down to it They say that this is the place where the Prophet Elias hid himself when he fled from the Persecution of Queen Jezabel The hole by which the Ravens brought him Victuals for the space of forty days The place where Abraham Fought is still to be seen there There are three little Presses in this Grott serving to set three Lamps in A League and a half from thence is the place where as they say the Patriarch Abraham gave Battel to the five Kings who carried away his Nephew Lot Cham. and overcame them Damascus which the Turks call Cham is very well situated seven Rivers run by it and it is encompassed all round almost with two Walls and little Ditches The Houses are not handsome on the out-side being built of Brick and Earth but within they are most Beautiful and have all generally Fountains The Mosques Bagnio's and Coffee-Houses are very fair and well Built But let us return to Nazareth which I passed not hoping to see Damascus by another way as I shall relate hereafter The Reader may find a more ample description of Damascus in the Second Part Of these TRAVELS CHAP. LIX Our return to Acre A Description of Mount Carmel AFter we had seen Nazareth and all that is to be seen about it we took leave of the Father Guardian of Nazareth and parted on Sunday the twelfth of May about two a Clock in the Afternoon Monday the thirteenth of May we parted from Acre about four a Clock in the Evening in a small Bark to go to Mount Carmel ten miles from Acre we had a fair Wind but so high that our Rudder broke which being quickly mended again with some Nails we sailed only with a fore Sail and about six a Clock at night arrived at the Village of Cayphas The Village of Cayphas before which we were taken by the Corsair mentioned before This Village which was formerly a Town stands at the foot of Mount Carmel we went up the Mount and about seven a Clock came to the Convent which is held by barefooted Carmelites The Convent on Mount Carmel There we found two French Fathers and an Italian Brother who had been twenty years there They observe a very severe Rule for beside that they are removed from all Worldly Conversation they neither eat Flesh nor drink Wine and if they need it they must go to another place as the Superiour at that time did for being asthmatick and pining away daily he was forced to go to Acre there to recruit himself for some days Nor do they suffer Pilgrims to eat Flesh in their Convent only they allow them to drink Wine This Convent is not on the top of the Mount where they had a lovely one before the Christians lost the Holy Land the ruines whereof are still to be seen but is a very little one somewhat lower and needs no more but three Monks to fill it who would have much adoe to subsist if they had not some Alms given them by the French Merchants of Acre that go often thither to their Devotions They have possessed this place thirty years since the time they were driven out of it after that the Christians lost the Holy Land it is the place where the Prophet Elias lived and their Church is the very Grott where sometimes he abode which is very neatly cut out of the Rock From this Convent they have an excellent Prospect especially upon the Sea where there is no bounds to their sight About their Convent they have a pretty Hermitage very well Cultivated by the Italian Brother who hath brought all the Earth that is in it thither and indeed it is very pleasant to see Flowers and Fruits growing upon a Hill that is nothing but Rock These good Monks gave us a very neat Collation of nine or ten Dishes of Fruit and then we went to rest in the apartment of the Pilgrims for though it be a very little place yet they have made a small commodious and very neat Lodging for Pilgrims but they must not exceed the number of six Next day the fourteenth of May we performed our Devotions in that holy place and then left the Convent about eight a Clock in the morning that we might go visit the places of Devotion about it Our guide was one of the French Fathers who fearing we might be Robbed by the Arabs made us carry upon our shoulders sticks in the manner of Musquets At a good Leagues distance from the Convent we saw a Well that the Prophet Elias made to spring out of the Ground and a little over it another no less miraculous the waters of both are very pleasant and good The Arabs say that all the while the Monks were absent after they had been Banished from thence they yielded no Water Close by this last Fountain are stately ruines of the Convent of St. Brocard who was sent thither by St. Albert Patriarch of Jerusalem to Reform the Hermites that lived there without rule or community Stone-Melons it hath been a lovely Convent Not far from thence is the Garden of the Stone-Melons and they say that Elias passing that way demanded in Charity a Melon from a man that was gathering some who in contempt answered Elias that they were Stones and not Melons whereupon all the Melons were immediately turned into Stones when I prayed them to conduct me to that Garden They made me answer that they knew not the way but after that they told me privately that they were unwilling to carry me thither because we were too many in company and that there being but few of these Melons there at present if every one took what he listed no more would remain
but they made me a present of one After we had seen these places we returned to the Convent about eleven of the Clock and having Dined on good fresh Fish Another Grott of Elias we went to see the Grotts of the holy Prophets Elias and Elisha that are near to the Convent there is also a third but it is full of Earth and the door walled up Lower down towards the foot of the Mountain is the Cave where the Prophet Elias taught the People it is all cut very smooth in the Rock both above and below it is about twenty paces in length fifteen in Breadth and very high and I think it is one of the lovliest Grotts that can be seen The Turks have made a little Mosque there Mount Carmel and all the Country about Emir Tharabe is commanded by a Prince named the Emir Tharabee who pays yearly to the Grand Signior a Tribute of twelve Horses Having thanked the Fathers for their Civility which we acknowledged by a charitable Gratuity we embarked again about four a clock in the Afternoon in the same Bark that had brought us and arrived at Acre about seven at Night CHAP. LX. The way from Acre to Soursayde Baruth Tripoly and Mount Libanus and from Tripoly to Aleppo with what is to be seen in these places I shall here make a little digression from my Travels and observe what is to be seen in those quarters The first night you leave Acre you Lodge at Sour about half way there is a Tower near the Sea where a Caffare must be paid About an hour and a half before you come to Sour a few steps from the Sea-side you find a Well of an octogone figure about fifteen foot in diameter which is so full of Water that one may reach it with the Hand and as they say they have often attempted to sound the depth of it with several Camels load of Rope but could never find the bottom It is taken to be the Well of Living Waters mentioned in the Canticles The Town of Sour is upon the Sea-side and was anciently called Tyre there it was that our Lord Cured the Canaanitish Womans Daughter There are lovely Antiquities to be seen in this place From Sour you have a days Journey to Sayde and there is a Tower upon this Road also where there is a Caffare to be paid Sayde is a pretty Town upon the Sea-side and the Ancient name of it was Sydon Before the Town there is a little Fort Built in the Sea. The Countrey about Sayde is lovely and full of Gardens among others there are two about two Musquet Shot from the Town The Sepulchre of Zebulon Baruth Gie. that are full of excellent Orange-Trees wherein they shew the Sepulchre of Zebulon one of the twelve Sons of Israel Next day you may go and lye at Baruth About an hours travelling from Sayde to Baruth there is to the right hand a Village called Gie with a great deal of Sand about it and they say that that is the place where the Whale cast out Jonas after he had been three days in the Belly of it There are two Caffares to be paid on that Road. The Soil about Baruth is pleasant and good bearing abundance of White Mulberry-Trees for the Silk-Worms Having next day travelled half a League from Baruth you see a Cave on the right hand which was heretofore the Den of a huge Dragon Two hundred paces further there is a Greek Church upon the same Ground as they say where St. George Killed that Dragon when it was about to have Devoured the Daughter of the King of Baruth Half an hours travelling from thence there is a Bridge called Baruth's Bridge of six Arches and there is a Caffare to be paid there About two hours Journey from that Bridge you find another under which runs a River called in Arabick Naor el Kelb that is to say the Dogs River without doubt because there is a Ring cut in the Rock to which is fastened a great Dog cut on the same Rock that is still to be seen in the Sea. They say that in times past that Dog Barked by Enchantment when any Fleet came and that his Bark was heard four Leagues off A little above the descent where the Dog is this Inscription is cut in great Characters upon the Rock IMP. CAES. M. AURELIUS ANTONINUS PIUS FELIX AUGUSTUS PART MARI BRITANNIUS At the end of this Bridge there is a Marble-Stone eleven Span long and five broad on which is an Inscription of six lines in Arabick Characters From thence you go and lodge at Abrahim The day following you lye at Tripoly by the way on the Sea-side Tripoly Gibel Patron Amphe you see the Towns of Gibel Patron and Amphe Tripoly is a very pretty Town with a neat Castle at the foot of which a little River runs several Gardens full of Orange-Trees and White-Mulberries encompass the Town which is a mile from the Sea where there are several Towers planted with Cannon to defend the Coast Here it was that St. Marina being accused of Incontinence did Penance in Mans Apparrel Next day you go to Mount Libanus Mount Libanus Cannobin about five Hours and a halfs travelling from Tripoly you come to Lodge at Cannobin which is a Village where the Patriarch of Mount Libanus Lives there is a Church and Monastery in it The day following you go to the Cedars which are an hour and a halfs going from Cannobin and you pass through a pretty Village called Eden which is about an hour from Cannobin Eden .. Twenty three Cedars in Mount Libanus It is a Foppery to say that if one reckon the Cedars of Mount Libanus twice he shall have a different number for in all great and small there is neither more nor less than twenty three of them All that Inhabit this Mountain are Maronite Christians Having seen Mount Libanus you come back to Tripoly from whence if you have a mind to go to Aleppo you must take the following Road from Tripoly French Castle Ama. you come to lodge at a Castle called the French Castle standing upon a high Hill which was Built in the time of Godfrey of Boulloin From thence you have a days Journey to Ama which was heretofore a fair large Town but at present is half ruined tho' it still contains some lovely Mosques and Houses Built of black and white Stones intermingled At the end of the Town there is a great Castle upon a Hill almost all ruined and uninhabited the Walls of it are very thick and high built of pretty black and white Stones disposed in several Figures and the little of them that remains shews their ancient Beauty The Gate of the Castle is adorned with Inscriptions in Arabick Letters and the entry into it is made like a Court of Guard. There is an Oratory on the South side of it like to those wherein the Turks say their Prayers There are several Grotts well
long during which the Wind was very high and stormy which exceedingly tossed us Sunday about break of day we tacked about and stood North East that we might make Candie after two hours sailing the Seamen made something dark on head which they believed to be the Land of Candie we steered our course that way all day long but could not make it plain because of Clouds We continued the same course still till eleven of the clock at night and then began to tack and beat to and again that we might bear in with the Land of Candie It blew very hard all that night and we had a violent storm Munday by break of day we had the Wind at North which being quite contrary for Candie made us resolve to quit our design of standing towards that Island which we had made but very obscurely and to bear away towards Alexandria in Egypt The distance of Candie from Alexandria four hundred miles distant from Candie and therefore we steered our course South-East Towards Evening the Wind abated and we were becalmed until Tuesday Morning when there blew a gentle breeze from South-East which made us turn the ship's head towards the North we were obliged to keep so upon tacks that we might not over shoot Alexandria from which we were not above two hundred fourscore and ten miles Then did every one blame and curse the Sea-man whose errour was the cause that we were not in the Port of Alexandria About six a Clock at Night we tacked about and stood away South-South-West it blew so hard that our Vessel shipped the Sea on both sides one after another Wednesday Morning February the sixth the Wind was so violent that we were afraid we should sail our Masts because the Stays were very slack being loosened by the force of the Wind the day before the Stay is a great Cable that holds the Mastraunt each Mast has one the main Stay which is the biggest is made fast one end to the ship's head and the other to the round top of the main Mast To prevent that disaster all the Sails were furled the ship's head turned North-East and a quarter of an hour after the Stayes being well bent we bore away west-south-West-South-West with the missen and foresail the Wind being a little fallen after dinner we spread the main Sail and about six a Clock at Night having tacked about we stood East-North-East the Wind then slackening more and more Thursday Morning we were almost becalmed but about ten of the Clock a South-East Wind blowing again we tacked and bore away South-South-West about six a Clock at Night we tacked again and stood East-North-East Friday about two or three of the Clock in the Morning immediately after the Moon was set the South-East Wind ceased and the so much desired West and North Wind came in place of it which made us turn the ship's head South-East and make all the sail we could but we made but little way for all that the Wind being so easie that it was almost a calm It continued so till about five of the Clock at Night and then the Wind changed to North-West but was so easie that the Sea was very smooth about ten a Clock at Night the Wind chopping about to the North-West in five or six hours time we made a great deal of way there being very little or no Sea going but the Wind freshened afterwards and then we spared sail that we might not run to the Lee-ward of Alexandria the ship's head in the mean time lying still South-East Saturday Morning the Weather was very hazy and a little after we were almost in a calm About eleven a Clock he that looked out made a sail and shortly after another which were known to be Saicks coming from Egypt About two a Clock after Noon the Wind turned South-East and we stood away North-East an hour after it shifted about to the North-East again but was so easie that the Sea was smooth and we steered our course South a few minutes after it turned South-East again but so gentle that the Sea was as smooth as a Looking-glass We sailed South-South-West till six at Night when having tacked we stood away East-North-East About midnight the Wind turned West-South-West and we steered our course South-South-East after an hours sailing we found the Water to be whitish which made us think we were not far from Egypt The Land of Egypt that being the onely mark that can be had for the Land is so low that one cannot make it till he be just upon it especially when it is dark as it was then and that whiteness is occasioned by the Nile which carries it a great way into the Sea. Sunday the tenth of February about break of day it was thought we had seen the Light of Alexandria but it proved onely to be a Saick and because we were apprehensive that we were to the Lee-ward of Alexandria about nine in the morning we tacked about and stood North-West and about three a Clock after Noon tacked again and bore away South-West we had afterwards several Flurries that brought great showers of rain with them which were soon over About five in the Evening the Wind turned West-North-West and we tacked about that we might get to the windward of Alexandria from which we were still about an hundred and ten Miles distant and therefore we bore away North. In this manner we plied to and again against our will and it was our misfortune that we knew not where we were onely because we had not made the Island of Candie An errour of calculation in the sailing from whence with that Wind we might easily have come to Alexandria in two Days and one Nights time and the reason why we made it not plainly was that the Ship had run two hundred Miles more than we had reckoned and that when we thought our selves to be at the beginning of Candie we were almost quite past it as we since observed The Wind blew hard and we had several gusts in the Night time We held on the same course still untill Munday when about eleven a Clock in the Fore-noon we tacked and bore away South-West In the Evening the Moon three hours after the full was eclipsed I cannot tell at what hour that Eclipse began of how many parts it was nor how long it continued because she rose overcast with Clouds so that we could not see her but when she was coming out of the Eclipse as near as I could guess she had then been up near an hour and the Sun had not been set half an hour at which time she was almost half eclipsed The Eclipse decreased from the time we perceived it and ended half an hour after The Almanacks of Marseilles foretold it to be very great about two or three a Clock after Noon and by consequence affirmed that it could not be seen In the Night the Wind abated much and so did the Sea which in the
several Works and before these Gates within the Court there is a Portico divided into two Alleys by eight great Pillars of which four are in length and four in breadth and these Pillars support Arches over which there are two other little Arches made in form of Windows separated by a little Pillar That Portico leads into the Court which is very spacious and large and all paved with great shining Marble-stones as the Mosque and Portico's are Towards the end of the Court there is a kind of a little Chappel with a Dome covered with lead which is supported by several Marble-Pillars and they say it was the Font. From that Entry on the West one may see the East Gate at the farther End of the Court and on the right hand the Body of the Mosque On the South-side Pick a measure at the Bazar of the Pick so called because Cloath is sold there by the Pick which is a measure much about two thirds of a French Aune there is an Entry into the Mosque and two lovely Gates overlaid with Brass with Chalices cut in the middle of each of them On the East-side there are three Brass-Gates and a Portico like to that I have been speaking of and then a Court towards the end of which near the West-Gate there is another kind of Chappel much higher than that on the East-side which is supported and covered in the same manner and from that Gate one sees the West-Gate and then the Mosque is on the left hand On the North-side there is also a Brazen gate by which they enter into the Court and then have the side of the Mosque opposite unto them In the Wall of this side there are several Windows after the fashion of the Windows of our Churches but they begin three or four foot from the ground and they are glazed and letticed with wire on the outside There is in that Court also a reservatory of water under a Cupulo supported by several Pillars and besides that a Lanthorn supported onely by two This is all that I could observe of this Mosque Bab-Thoma One day I went out of the Town by the gate called Bab-Thoma and close by it I saw the Church dedicated to St. Thomas The door of it was shut because it is all ruinous in the inside and looks more like a Garden than a Church being uncovered and full of Herbs Nevertheless there still remains a kind of a portall which is a Ceinture supported by two Pillars but besides that these Pillars shew not above a Foot beneath the Capital they are sunk into the Wall Underneath there are three other Ceintures supported by three Pillars on each side and the lintel of the door is also supported by a Pillar on each side all these Pillars are of Marble and Chamfered Over-against that Gate there is a little round Tower made like a Chess-board for it is built of small Stones about half a foot square but placed in such a manner that next to each stone there is a square hole of the same bigness and so alternately all over That Tower is called the Tower of heads because a few years ago several Druses Robbers on the High-way who were briskly pursued being taken were put to death and their heads placed in these holes The Temple of Serapis a Mosque The Sepulchre of St. Simeon Stilites so that they were all filled with them From thence we turned to the left and keeping a long the Walls we came to a Mosque which they say was a Temple of Serapis Nevertheless it is pretended that the Body of St. Simeon Stilites rests there having been brought thither from Antioch However it be the Turks say that the Muesem cannot call to prayers there as at other Mosques and that when he offers to cry his Voice fails him they have a great Veneration fot it and I was told that one day a Venetian having corrupted the Servants of the Scheik who has the charge of that place with money would have taken away the Body of St. Simeon to carry it to Venice but that the Scheik having had some suspicion of it made that Venetian pay a great mulct of several thousand Crowns and since that time they have caused a Grate to be made over the Sepulchre of that Body besides there are always Scherifs there reading the Alcoran Spittle for Lepers From that Temple we went to a place where three Rivers that run through Damascus meet at the end of the Town and turn Water-mills We went next to the Spittle of Lepers which is betwixt the Gates Bab-Thoma and Bab-Charki but nearer and almost close by this last it is but a few paces distant from the City-Walls The People of the Countrey say that it is the same Hospital which Naaman Lieutenant of the King of Damascus built for Gehazi the Servant of the Prophet Elisha Naaman's Hospiral whose History is recorded in the fifth Chapter of the second Book of Kings This Hospital hath great Revenues Being come back again into the Town in the Taylers street I saw through an Iron-grate a Room where there are two Bodies which the Mahometans say are the Bodies of two Saints of their Law. A little farther there is another where there is also a Body to which they render the same honours I could not learn the Names of these false Saints There are a great many lovely Fountains in Damascus and among others that which is opposite to the gate of the great Mosque that looks to the East and covered with a Dome almost flat It is a round Bason of about two fathom in Diametre in the middle whereof there is a Pipe that throws up a great deal of Water at a time and with so much force that it spouts up almost as high as the Dome and if they pleased they might easily make it play higher because the source lies far above it in level CHAP. V. A Continuation of Observations at Damascus HAving taken a resolution whilst I was at Damascus to see what was most curious and worth the seeing in the Countrey about it I made an appointment with some Friends to go to the place which is called the Forty Martyrs We went out of the City by the Serraglio gate The forty Martyrs and crossing the horse-Market kept our way along a fair broad and long paved Street which does not a little resemble the Avenue of the Porta di Popolo at Rome It led us almost to the Village called Salain Crache Having passed this we went up a very rough and barren Hill being nothing but a natural Rock It behoved us to alight from our Asses and march on foot ascending by ways so steep that they were almost perpendicular With much trouble at length we came to the place of the forty Martyrs distant from the City a good half-League I never in my life-time mounted a steeper Hill. There is a little house on it where a Scheik liveth who led
when the King sends a red Kalaat to a Governour it is a sign he has a mind to put him to death yet that is not infallible for sometime before I came to Schiras the King sent the Visier of Schiras a compleat Kalaat of which all the parts were red and this made all men think that he had sent for him to cut off his head and nevertheless it proved otherwise in the Sequel Schaters or Foot-men Amongst the lowest Officers of the King are the Schaters who are as the King's Foot-men To be admitted into this Office besides credit one must be an extraordinary good Foot-man and give proofs of it and therefore when a man desires to be received into the King's Service in quality of a Schater The master-piece of a Schater and hath made interest enough to be admitted to his tryal he must run a race which is to be his Essay He starts at Hali Capi and twelve times in one day runs to a certain place towards the Hills a long French League and a half distant from Hali Capi. At the end of this Carrere there are men who have several Arrows ready with little penons hanging at them and every time the Schater comes they give him one of these Arrows which he carries to Hali Capi so that coming and going twelve times he brings with him twelve Arrows and runs about six and thirty French Leagues from Morning to Night In the mean time there is Kourouk in the Meidan and all along the way he goes The Elephants and a great many horse-men are ranked in the Meidan where there is a noise of trumpets and timbrels all day long All the great men make presents to the Schater some ten or twenty and some thirty Tomans and all this to ingratiate themselves at Court They who have nothing to give The People are forced to come to the Kourouk of the Schater A Tax of the Armenians for the Schater are nevertheless present nay the People are forced to come in so much that at Giulfa they drive all out of doors with Cudgels and oblige them to come to this spectacle none but old men women and children are excused The Armenians are also taxed in a certain Summ which they are to present to the Schater When I was at Ispahan there was one of those races and the Armenians were taxed in thirty Tomans All bring their presents to Hali Capi whilst the Race is running Some of the Countrey would needs have perswaded me that the presents which are made to the Schater who runs might amount in all sometimes to two thousand Tomans but others who were more moderate told me two or three hundred Tomans This permission to run is earnestly sollicited for and he must have favour that can obtain it He that ran whilst I was at Ispahan had been six Months in suing out the permission Monsieur Diegre Master of the Dutch Factory at Ispahan a very knowing man so curious and exact that he omits not the smallest Circumstance as much as possibly he can in describing all things punctually measuring even publick places Mosques and Gardens almost to half a foot and more exactly too if he can set out one day from Hali Capi which is the place where the Schaters start who are to perform their tryal and went to that place where they take their Arrows keeping pace on horse-back with his Foot-man that went before He told me that he was an hour and a half on the way and that having obliged his Foot-men to reckon all their steps and to mark them by hundreds he found that they had made four thousand Geometrical paces which make a German mile and is a French League and a half So that the tryal of the Schaters is in travelling thirty six French Leagues from Morning to Night The Schaters make thirty six French Leagues The Chans make their Schaters run also The Chans in their Governments make their Schaters also run and all make them presents there being no difference but in more and less When a Schater would be received into the Service of any Lord he performs his tryal which is to goe an Agatsch from the Town where he finds a man that gives him an Arrow marked with a certain mark that he may not play the cheat he puts it through a hole in his coat on the shoulder and so brings it to the Town where he leaves it and returns back for another and in one day betwixt Sun and Sun he must go and bring twelve and so run four and twenty Agatsch At Night they count the Arrows which he hath brought and if there be twelve of them he is received He rests not all day long neither eats for that would hinder his going but is continually in motion save sometimes when he drinks Sorbet I have been assured that there are some of these Lords Schaters who in a frolick sometimes will carry on their shoulders four and twenty Man 's of Tauris which make a hundred and forty pound Weight or thereabouts and with that load travel thirty Agatsch a day that 's to say thirty French Leagues The King has a great many hunting Dogs of all kinds besides which Hunting dogs Panthers Ounces or Dgious Antelopes he makes use also of the Ounce or Panther in hunting of Antelopes That is a very tame Beast and does no hurt to men in Persian it is called Dgious and is brought from Arabia They carry it commonly on Horse-back behind a Man who holds it by a Chain about the Neck When they are to hunt him they keep a Cloath before his Eyes untill they have discovered an Antelope and when they come within five or six hundred paces of it they take off the Cloath and Chain and shewing him the Antelope let him go He creeps softly on his Belly towards the Antelope hiding himself behind the Hedges when he can and when he is got within about sixty paces of it he runs at it with skis and great leaps and fails not with three or four bounds to catch it and if he catch it not then he pursues no farther and is so ashamed that they have much adoe to make him hunt any more that day But to comfort him the Huntsmen tell one another aloud that he hath not seen it and that if he had seen it he would not have missed believing that he understands their Compliment very well They keep all the Dogs and wild Beasts too in a House by the River-side near the Bridge on the right hand as you go to Giolfa And on the left hand before a Garden on the River-side there is a Volary full of rare Fowl as Estradges Peacocks and others Volary Hawks The King has also many Hawks and I was assured that he had above nine hundred which they feed generally with Fowl giving them Mutton but once a Week The Persians are very expert in making of Hawks and commonly they use Falcons to flie at
men attempted to hall her out of the water by one side that she might be emptied by the other but the weight of the water bulged one of her sides and then she overset so that despairing to recover her unless with much labour and the loss of a great deal of time and fearing besides that she might dash against the Hold of the Ship because it was then a very rough Sea they cut the Ropes and let her go though it was near a hundred Piastres loss to the Owner of the Ship This made us lose a whole hours time and in the mean while one of the Ships which the day before was to our Starboard got a Head of us About half an hour after seven in the morning we made Sail with a North Wind. About half an hour after nine we were off of an Island to our Larboard which we took to be Audarvia but we were mistaken About ten a Clock the violence of the Wind began to abate and we Steered away East South-East About two a Clock after-noon we made a little Island to the Larboard very near the main Land and knew it be Audarvia and that the other which we past about half an hour after nine in the morning and took for Audarvia was Lara This Isle of Lara is a little Desart very low place Lara close by the main Land which is the reason that it is not easily discovered it bears nothing unless it be some wild Trees and that too only at one end of it which lyes to the West North-West and was to us the beginning of the Isle as our Course lay it may be known by these Trees It lyes in length from West North-West to East South-East and is threescore and ten Leagues from Carek Audarvia The Isle of Audarvia is in like manner little low and very near the main Land and lyes in length as Lara does from West North-West to East South-East there is good water in this Island and in the middle of it some wild Trees and the Cottages of some Fishermen who come from the main Land to Fish there it being seven or eight Leagues from Lara It is worth the observing that though these two Isles be very near the Land as I have been saying yet they leave a passage betwixt them and the main Land which may admit of Ships because it is very deep water and Ships sometimes shoot that passage The Wind freshning in the afternoon at three quarters of an hour after two a Clock we were got to the farther end of the Island and an hour after made the Isle of Keis to the South-East About half an hour after four we got on Head of the Ship that was before us in the morning and at the same time we were off and on with the hithermost end of the Isle of Keis Keis which was to our Starboard side This Island is about two Leagues and a half from the main Land or three at most and about five Leagues from Audarvia though they reckon it fifteen Leagues from Lara to Keis it reaches in length from West South-West to East North-East and is about five Leagues in Circuit it is very low and flat like the two former but it is inhabited by several people who have Houses dispersed here and there upon it I was told that heretofore the Inhabitants of that Island having killed a Portuguese who had gone a shoar there for some insolence which he had committed sometime after other Portuguese Ships coming thither the Admiral called Roui-Fereyra-Andrada went a shoar upon the Island and taking a Sucking-Child put it into a Mortar and by an unparalelled piece of cruelty A horrid piece of cruelty of a Portuguese made the Father and Mother of the innocent Babe pound it themselves in the Mortar This General was a Devil incarnate and it was his usual way so to revenge himself on the Inhabitants of those Coasts when they had done him any displeasure his name is to this day so terrible unto them that they use it to still their little Children when they cry threatning them with Lowis de Fereyra In the mean time that inhumanity made many forsake the Island that they might not be exposed to such cruel usage nevertheless some abode still and have Cattel there I was told that heretofore there were all sorts of Fruits on this Island but that since the Portuguese have left off to go thither there are no more to be found I was likewise assured that there is excellent water in the North-West and East ends of the Isle About five a Clock in the evening we furled our Mizan Mizan-Top Main-Top and Fore-Top-Sails that we might not make so much way because on this Coast there are places where the water is very shallow About seven a Clock at night we were got off of the other end of the Isle of Keis and then the Wind slackened much half an hour after we came off and on a place of the main Land where the shoar opens towards the East and forms a Gulf in shape of a half Circle and the outmost point of that half Circle is called Gherd All that day we had kept very near the main Land which to that Gulf bears West North-West and East South-East When we were just off the beginning of this Gulf a gentle Gale blowing from East North-East made us to Steer our Course South-East and we made the Land called Gherd to the East South East About ten a Clock at night we stood away South South-East and heaving out the Lead found seventeen Fathom water within a quarter of an hour after the Wind turning North-West we bore away South but because it instantly blew too hard we furled the Main-Sail and Steered South South-East About three quarters after ten we Steered South-East and casting the Lead found fifteen Fathom water Sunday the two and twentieth of November at two a Clock after midnight we were got off of the Isle of Paloro to our Starboard Paloro our Course was then East South-East and having sounded we found thirteen Fathom water whereupon we turned the Ships Head South South-East A quarter after two we heaved the Lead several times and found betwixt six and seven Fathom water Three quarters after two we bore away East South-East and casting the Lead found first fifteen then ten and a little farther only eight Fathom water we had then to the Larboard a Mountain on the main Land Mount Sannas called Sannas Half an hour after five in the morning we had but five Fathom water At six a Clock we found twelve and then we Steered East North-East and at eight a Clock in the morning came before Congo distant from Keis fifteen Leagues by Land and thirty by Sea an hundred from Carek and an hundred and fifty from Bassora from Congo to Comoron it is twenty Leagues by Land and thirty by Sea. We came to an Anchor in the Road a long half League
hour after eight we had seven Fathom water About ten a Clock seven Fathom a Foot less About half an hour after eleven seven Fathom and then we set the Ships Head East South East but at midnight held our Course South Next morning half an hour after five we had thirteen Fathom water and were almost at an equal distance from the Isle of Queschimo which was to the North-East of us the Isle of Nabdgion or Pitombo South South-West of us and the Isle of Tonbo South East from us and we bore away East Queschimo is a great Isle but low Land though it hath several Hillocks Queschimo yet they are all so low that Sailing along this Island on any side you may see the Mountains of the main Land over it It lyes in length East and West is not very broad but twenty Leagues long it is to the East of Congo and West South-West from Comoron it is a fruitful and well inhabited Island the West end of it not being above a good League and a half from Congo and the East end about a League from Bender-Abassi On the East part of this Island there is a Fort before which Ships may come to an Anchor in six Fathom water to take in fresh water which is very good in this place The Portuguese formerly held this Fort and it may be worth the observing that though the Island be very near the main Land yet Barks and Galliots pass betwixt the two Nabdgion or Pitombo is a little low Desart Island lying South Nabgion or Pitombo Tonbo South-East from Queschimo Tonbo is another little low flat Island and Desart affoarding only a great many Antelopes and Conys It lyes to the East of Nabdgion or Pitombo and South from Congo from which it is but four Leagues distant Manuel Mendez who had much experience in those Seas being very young when he came into that Country where he hath during the space of many years made several Voyages made me observe that if any one should build a Fort on that Island and keep some Men of War there he might easily raise a Toll upon all the Ships that Trade in those Seas for they must of necessity Sail near to that Island on the one side or other Towards the South-East it has fifteen or twenty Wells of good water but especially one that is excellent and a good Road before it When the Portuguese were possessed of Mascate they came every year with some Galliots to the Isle of Tonbo to receive the Tribute that was paid them in all the Ports of those Seas and brought thither by those who were obliged to pay it The yearly Tribute they had from the Isle of Queschimo consisted of five Persian Horses and two Falcons Congo payed four hundred Tomans Bahrem sixteen thousand Abassis and Catif the half of the yearly profits of its Customs as for Bassora there was a Portuguese Agent that resided there who received a Chequin a day of the Basha and as often as the General came to that Town the Basha made him a Present This Island is encompassed all round with Banks under water nevertheless there is almost every where four six eight nay in some places nine Fathom water About half an hour after seven the Wind slackened much and we Steered South South East about eleven a Clock we found nine Fathom water and seeing we were almost becalmed and the Tide cast us to the Westward we were obliged to drop an Anchor half an hour after one a Clock at noon We were some three Leagues off of Sannas which was to the West North-West of us to the North-West and by West it makes a Peak but the Hill is higher than the Peak we went thither to take in water for the water is very good there though it be about two Leagues from the West point of Queschimo which was to the North-West of us About four a Clock we had a Breeze from South South-West which made us Steer our Course South-East About six a Clock we had twenty Fathom water Half an hour after seven the Wind turned North-West and we bore away East at eight a Clock we found eighteen Fathom water half an hour after that eighteen and a half and we stood away East and by North. About nine a Clock the Wind freshened a little and we had twenty Fathom water at ten a Clock we had one and twenty and about half an hour after ten we Steered our Course East Wednesday the ninth of December about day break the Wind ceased and we Steered still East the Isle of Angom was to the North-East of us and not far off and on the other side to the South-East we had a Port of Arabia Foelix called Julfar which is a good Harbour where many Indian Barks carrying mony come to buy Dates Julfar Pearl-Fishing and Pearls which are Fished all along that Coast from Mascat to Bahrem there is a good Castle at Julfar From that Port to the Cape of Mosandon the Coast of Arabia the Happy is all Mountanous bearing South-West and North-East and runs so near the Persian shoar that there is but five Leagues betwixt the main Land of Mosandon and the Isle of Lareca which is close by Comoron Betwixt Julfar and Mosandon Good Ports in the Gulf which are not set down in the Maps there are a great many good Ports that are not set down in the Maps where notwithstanding several Ships may safely Winter secure from all Winds and there is every where very good water About half an hour after seven in the morning the Wind turned North-East and we Steered our Course East South-East We were then off and on with the Point of Angom which bears West North-West Angom Angom is a little low Island to the South of Queschimo and reaches along Queschimo from West North-West to East South-East no body lives in it but two or three Fishermen who keep some Goats which they sell to Ships that come there to take in fresh water where it is very good Though this Island be very near to Queschimo yet Ships may pass betwixt them and all that take in water there shoot the Streight About noon we bore away South-East and at one a Clock having cast the Lead we had eight and thirty Fathom water we were then becalmed and made no way but by the Tide of Ebb which cast us upon Arabia so that we were obliged to stand off of it as far as we could to turn the Ships Head East North-East nevertheless towards the evening we were got very near the Mountains of Arabia wherefore to keep off of that shoar as much we could we Steered away North-East and by East and the Tide of floud did us some service About seven a Clock the Wind seemed as if it would get in to North but it blew so gentlely that it hardly curled the water Thursday the tenth of December about half an hour after four in the morning we
chief Dome is pretty enough and being accompanied with several little ones and two Minarets the whole together looks very pleasant all that pile is supported by forty four Pillars placed two and two and the Pavement is of Marble The Chair of the Imam is there as in other Mosques but besides that in a corner to the Right hand there is a large Jube resting upon two and fourty Pillars eight Foot high apiece which must only have been built to hide the Women that go to the Mosque for that Jube is closed up as high as the Sealing with a kind of Pannels of Plaster with holes through and there I saw above two hundred Faquirs who held their Arms cross ways behind their Head without the least stirring Amedabad being inhabited also by a great number of Heathens there are Pagods Santidas Pagod The Ceremonie of King Auranzeb for converting a Pagod into a Mosque or Idol-Temples in it That which was called the Pagod of Santidas was the chief before Auranzeb converted it into a Mosque When he performed that Ceremonie he caused a Cow to be killed in the place knowing very well that after such an Action the Gentiles according to their Law could worship no more therein All round the Temple there is a Cloyster furnished with lovely Cells beautified with Figures of Marble in relief representing naked Women sitting after the Oriental fashion The inside Roof of the Mosque is pretty enough and the Walls are full of the Figures of Men and Beasts but Auranzeb who hath always made a shew of an affected Devotion which at length raised him to the Throne caused the Noses of all these Figures which added a great deal of Magnificence to that Mosque to be beat off Chaalem a Burying place The Chaalem is still to be seen in Amedabad it is the Sepulchre of a vastly rich Man whom the Indians report to have been a Magician and the Mahometans believe to be a great Saint so that it is daily visited by a great many out of Devotion It is a square pile of Building having on each side seven little Domes which set off a great one in the middle and the entry into that place is by seven Ports which take up the whole front Within this Building there is another in form of a Chappel which is also square when one is within the first which is paved with Marble one may walk round the Chappel that hath two Doors of Marble adorned with Mother of Pearl and little pieces of Chrystal The Windows are shut with Copper Lattices cut into various Figures The Tomb of the Mock-Saint which is in the middle of the Chappel is a kind of a Bed covered with Cloath of Gold the Posts whereof are of the same materials as the Doors of the Chappel are and have the same Ornament of Mother of Pearls and over all there are six or seven Silken Canopy's one over another and all of different colours The place is very much frequented and is continually full of white Flowers brought thither by the Devout Mahometans when they come to say their Prayers A great many Estrige-Eggs and hanging Lamps are always to be seen there also On the other side of the Court there is a like Building where some other Saints of theirs are Interred and not many steps farther a Mosque with a large Porch supported by Pillars with many Chambers and other Lodgings for the Poor and to compleat all there is a spacious Garden at the backside of the Mosque There are many Gardens in Amedabad and are so full of Trees that when one looks upon that Town from a high place it seems to be a Forrest of green Trees most of the Houses being hid by them and the Kings Garden which is without the Town and by the River-side contains all the kinds that grow in the Indies There are long Walks of Trees planted in a streight line which resemble the Cours de la Reine at Paris It is very spacious A spacious Garden or rather it is made up of a great many Gardens raised Amphitheatre-wise and in the uppermost there is a Terrass-Walk from whence one may see Villages at several Leagues distance This Garden being of a very great extent its long Walks yielded a very agreeable Prospect They have in the middle Beds of Flowers which are not above a Fathom and a half in breadth but which reaches from one end of the Garden to the other In the Centre of four Walks which makes a Cross there is a Pavillion covered with green Tiles Thither go all the young People of the Town to take the fresh Air upon the Banks of a Bason full of Water underneath The Sepulchre of a King of Guzerat at Amedabad Going thither we saw a pile of Building where a King of Guzerat lies Interred It is a square Fabrick and in the Opinion of the Indians the Magicians and Sorcerers entertain the Devil there It is covered with a great Dome having five smaller ones on each side and on each front of the Building there are Pillars which support these Domes Some Streets from thence there is to be seen a Sepulchre The Sepulchre of a Cow. where a Cow is interred under a Dome standing upon six Pillars They would have me go next to Serquech Serquech which is a small Town about a League and a half from the City The Indians say that in ancient times that place was the Capital of Guzerat because of the vast number of Tombs of Kings and Princes that are there but it is far more probable that that place was only destin'd for their Burying and that Amedabad hath always been the Capital I observ'd there a Building much of the same structure as that of Chaalem It hath the same Ornaments and is dedicated also to one of their Saints and all the difference is that this has thirteen Domes on each side and the Dome which covers the Chappel is painted and guilt in the inside Opposite to this Fabrick there is another like to it and dedicated also to a Saint Near to these Sepulchres I saw a Mosque like to that which I viewed at Amedabad and the only difference is that it is less It hath adjoyning to it a great Tanquies or Reservatory in the Chappels on the sides whereof are the Tombs of the Kings Queens Princes and Princesses of Guzerat to which they descend by several Steps of very lovely Stones Sepulchres of the Kings and Princes of Guzerat They are all of good solid work whereby it sufficiently appears that they have been made for Kings and Princes but they are framed according to the same Model They consist commonly of a large square Building that hath three great Arches on each Front and over them a great many little ones There is a large Dome in the middle and a great many little ones in the sides and in every corner a Tower with a little pair of Stairs in the thickness
of Marble The Sepulchre of the Governour of the King of Guzerat which a King of Guzerat raised in Honour of his Governour whom he loved exceedingly but it is kept in bad repair It contains three Courts in one of which are several Pillars of Porphyrie that still remain of a greater number There are many Sepulchres of Princes there also An Hospital for sick Beasts Heretofore there was in Combaye an Hospital for Sick Beasts but it hath been neglected and is now fallen to ruin The Suburbs are almost as big as the Town and they make Indigo there Indigo at Cambaye The Sea is half a League distant from it though heretofore it came up to the Town and that has lessened the trade of the place because great Ships can come no nearer than three or four Leagues The Tides are so swift to the North of the Gulph that a Man on Horse-back at full speed cannot keep pace with the first Waves and this violence of the Sea is one reason also why great Ships go but seldom thither The Dutch come not there but about the end of September because along the Coast of India that looks to Arabia and especially in this Gulf of Cambaye it is so bad for Ships in the beginning of this Month by reason of a violent West-wind that blows then and which is always accompanied with thick Clouds which they call Elephants because of their shape that it is almost impossible to avoid being cast away Having satisfied my curiosity as to what is remarkable in Cambaye Ways to return to Surrat I took leave of my Friends and there being several ways to go from thence to Surrat I advised which I had best to take One may go by Sea in four and twenty hours Almedie in an Almadie which is a kind of Brigantine used by the Portuguese for Trading along that Coast But these Vessels go not commonly but in the night-time that they might not be discovered by the Malabars The Gulf of Cambaye dangerous In the day-time they keep in Harbours and in the evening the Master goes up to some height to discover if there be any Malabar Barks at Sea. The Almadies Sail so fast that the Malabars cannot come up with them but they endeavour to surprise them and when they discover any one in a Harbour Malabar Gorsars they skulk behind some Rock and fall upon it in its passage Many of these Almadies are lost in the Gulf of Cambaye where the Tides are troublesome and the Banks numerous and that 's one reason why Men venture not to go to Surrat this way by Sea unless extraordinary business press them There is another way still by Sea which is to pass through the bottom of the Gulf in a Chariot over against Cambaye at low Water and one must go three Leagues and a half in Water which then is betwixt two and three foot deep But I was told that the Waves beat so rudely sometimes against the Chariot that it required a great many hands to keep it from falling and that some mischance always happened which hindred me from undertaking that course though I knew very well that when I was past it I had no more but eight and twenty Leagues to Surrat And therefore I chose rather to go by Land what danger soever there might be of Robbers as I was assured there was When my Friends found I was resolved to go that way they advised me for my security to take a Tcheron with a Woman of his Caste or tribe Tcheron to wait upon me till I were out of danger but I refused to do it and found by the success that I had reason to do as I did These Tcherons are a Caste of Gentiles who are highly esteemed amongst the Idolaters They live for most part at Baroche Cambaye and Amedabad If one have any of these with him he thinks himself safe because the Man acquaints the Robbers they meet that the Traveller is under his guard and that if they come near him he will cut his own Throat and the Woman threatens them that she 'l cut off one of her Breasts with a Razor which she shews them and all the Heathen of those places look upon it to be a great misfortune to be the cause of the death of a Tcheran because ever after the guilty person is an eye-sore to the whole tribe he is turned out of it and for his whole life-time after upbraided with the death of that Gentil Heretofore some Tcherons both Men and Women have killed themselves upon such occasions but that has not been seen of a long time and at present they say they compound with the Robbers for a certain Sum which the Traveller gives them and that many times they divide it with them The Banians make use of these People and I was told that if I would employ them I might be served for two Roupies a day Nevertheless I would not do it as looking upon it to be too low a kind of Protection So then I ordered my Coach-man to drive me the same way I came and to return to Souzentra that I might go to Surrat by the ordinary way though the compass he fetched made my Journey longer by seven Leagues and a half For all the caution I could use my men lost their way beyond Petnad and we found our selves at the Village of Bilpar the inhabitants wherof who are called Gratiates Gratiates are for the most part all Robbers I met with one of them towards a little Town named Selly he was a fellow in very bad cloaths carrying a Sword upon his Shoulder he called to the Coach-man to stop and a Boy about Nine or Ten years old that was with him ran before the Oxen My Men presently offered them a Pecha which is worth about ten French Deniers and prayed the little Boy to be gone but he would not till the Coach-man growing more obstinate obliged the Man to accept of the Pecha These Blades go sometimes in whole troops and one of them being satisfied others come after upon the same Road who must also be contented though they seldom use violence for fear of offending their Raja I wondered how that Gratiate being alone durst venture to set upon so many but the Coach-man told me that if the least injury had been offered to him he would have given the alarm by knocking with his Fingers upon his Mouth and that presently he would have been assisted by his Neighbours In the mean time this small rancounter convinced me that there was not so great danger upon the Roads as some would have made me believe We found our way again shortly after We then crossed the River of Mahy Mahy a River The Raja of the Gratiates makes good Robberies and coming out of it I gave half a Roupie to the same Gratiates whom I payed as I went to Amedabad The role belongs to the Raja of the Country who
supported only by a row of Pillars cut in the Rock and distant from the floor of the Gallery about the length of a Fathom so that it appears as if there were two Galleries Every thing there is extreamly well cut and it is really a wonder to see so great a Mass in the Air which seems so slenderly underpropped A Mass of Rock in the Air. that one can hardly forbear to shiver at first entering into it In the middle of the Court there is a Chappel whose Walls inside and outside are covered with figures in relief Diverse Antick Figures in a Chappel Lovely Pyramides They represent several sorts of Beasts as Griffons and others cut in the Rock On each side of the Chappel there is a Pyramide or Obelisk larger at the Basis than those of Rome but they are not sharp pointed and are cut out of the very Rock having some Characters upon them which I know not An Obelisk with an Elephant The Obelisk on the left hand has by it an Elephant as big as the Life cut out in the Rock as all the rest is but his Trunck has been broken At the farther end of the Court I found two Stair-cases cut in the Rock and I went up with a little Bramen who appeared to have a great deal of Wit Being at the top I perceived a kind of Platform if the space of a League and a half or two Leagues may be called a Platform full of stately Tombs The Pagods of Elora Chappels and Temples which they call Pagods cut in the Rock The little Bramen led me to all the Pagods which the small time I had allowed me to see With a Cane he shew'd me all the Figures of these Pagods told me their Names and by some Indian words which I understood I perceived very well that he gave me a short account of the Histories of them but seeing he understood not the Persian Tongue nor I the Indian I could make nothing at all of it I entered into a great Temple built in the Rock it has a flat Roof and adorned with Figures in the infide as the Walls of it are A great Temple built in the very Rock In that Temple there are eight rows of Pillars in length and six in breadth which are about a Fathom distant from one another The Temple is divided into three parts The Body of it which takes up two thirds and a half of the length is the first part and is of an equal breadth all over The Quire which is narrower makes the second part And the third which is the end of the Temple is the least and looks only like a Chappel in the middle whereof upon a very high Basis there is a Gigantick Idol with a Head as big as a Drum and the rest proportionable A Gigantick Idol All the Walls of the Chappel are covered with Gigantick Figures in relief and on the outside all round the Temple there are a great many little Chappels adorned with Figures of an ordinary bigness in relief Figures of Men and Women representing Men and Women embracing one another Leaving this place I went into several other Temples of different structure built also in the Rock and full of Figures Pilasters and Pillars I saw three Temples one over another which have but one Front all three but it is divided into three Stories supported with as many rows of Pillars and in every Story there is a great door for the Temple the Stair-cases are cut out of the Rock I saw but one Temple that was Arched and therein I found a Room whereof the chief Ornament is a square Well cut in the Rock and full of Spring-water that rises within two or three foot of the brim of the Well There are vast numbers of Pagods all along the Rock For above two Leagues there is nothing to be seen but Pagods and there is nothing else to be seen for above two Leagues They are all Dedicated to some Heathen Saints and the Statue of the false Saint to which every one of them is Dedicated stands upon a Basis at the farther end of the Pagod In these Pagods I saw several Santo's or Sogues without Cloaths except on the parts of the Body which ought to be hid They were all covered with Ashes and I was told that they let their Hair grow as long as it could If I could have stayed longer in those quarters I should have seen the rest of the Pagods and used so much diligence as to have found out some body that might have exactly informed me of every thing but it behoved me to rest satisfied as to that with the information I had from the Gentiles of Aurangeabad who upon my return told me that the constant Tradition was The time when these Pagods were made that all these Pagods great and small with their Works and Ornaments were made by Giants but that in what time it was not known However it be if one consider that number of spacious Temples full of Pillars and Pilasters and so many thousands of Figures all cut out of a natural Rock Multitudes of Figures it may be truly said that they are Works surpassing humane force and that at least in the Age wherein they have been made the Men have not been altogether Barbarous though the Architecture and Sculpture be not so delicate as with us I spent only two hours in seeing what now I have described and it may easily be judged that I needed several days to have examined all the rarities of that place but seeing I wanted time and that it behoved me to make haste if I intended to find my company still at Aurangeabad I broke off my curiosity and I must confess it was with regret I therefore got up into my Waggon again which I found at a Village called Rougequi Rougequi Sultanpoura from whence I went to Sultanpoura a little Town the Mosques and Houses whereof are built of a blackish Free-stone and the Streets paved with the same Not far from thence I found that so difficult descent which I mentioned and at length after three hours march from the time we left Elora we rested an hour under Trees near the Walls of Doltabad which I considered as much as I could CHAP. XLV Of the Province of Doltabad and of the Feats of Agility of Body Doltabad THis Town was the Capital of Balagate before it was conquered by the Moguls It belonged then to Decan and was a place of great Trade but at present the Trade is at Aurangeabad whither King Auran-Zeb used his utmost endeavours to transport it Trade transported from Doltabad to Aurangeabad when he was Governour thereof The Town is indifferently big it reaches from East to West and is much longer than broad it is Walled round with Free-stone and has Battlements and Towers mounted with Cannon But though the Walls and Towers be good yet that is not the thing that
badness of the Ways and the frequent over-flowings of the Rivers and Brooks I hired a Horse for my self and two Oxen for my Servant and Baggage and I parted with some Merchants We came to a Bourg called Elmas-Kepentch eight Leagues from Bagnagar Diamond-mines Tenara a stately Palace They who have a mind to go to the Diamond-mines of Gany take their way by Tenara where the King has a stately Palace consisting of four large Piles of Stone-Building two Stories high and adorned with Portico's Halls and Galleries and before the Palace there is a large regular Square besides these Royal Appartments there are Habitations for Travellers and unalienable Rents for entertaining the poor and all Passengers that please to stop there Having no business at these Diamond-mines which are six or seven days Journey from Golconda we went the other way In all our Journey we found but three small Towns which are Panguel Sarchel and Penguetchepoul but we met with several Rivers the most considerable of which are Kachkna and Money we went through sixteen or seventeen Villages about which the Fields are always green and pleasant to the eye though the way be very bad There I saw Trees of all kinds that are in the Indies and even Cassia-Trees though they be scarce in other Countries of the Indies at length in ten days time we arrived at Masulipatan the whole Journey makes about fifty three French Leagues and in fair weather they perform it in a weeks time The Road from Bagnagar to Masulipatan Elmas-Quipentchâ— eight Leagues from Bagnagar Tchellapeli 6 Leag from Elmas-Panguel a Town Amanguel 6 Leag and a half from Tchellapeli Surchel-Quipentche a Town half a Leag from Amen Mousi a River Gougelou 3 Leag from Sarchel Anendeguir 4 Leag from Gougelou Penguetchpoul a Town 5 Leag from Auendeguir Pantela 5 Leag and a half from Penguetch Matcher 4 Leag from Pantela Quachgna 2 River Ovir 4 Leag from Matcher Milmol 4 Leag from Ovir Goroupet 2 Leag from Milmol Masulipatan half a Leag from Goroupet Masulipatan lies on the coast of Coromandel in sixteen degrees and a half North-Latitude This Town is Situated upon the Gulf of Bengala East South-East from Bagnagar though the Town be but small yet it is well Peopled the Streets are narrow and it is intollerably hot there from March till July The Houses are all separated one from another and the Water is brackish because of the Tides that come up to it there is great Trading there in Chites because besides those that are made there a great many are brought from St. Thomas which are much finer and of better Colours than those of the other parts of the Indies The Coast is excellent and therefore Ships come thither from all Nations and go from thence into all Countries I saw there Cochinchinese Men of Siam Pegu and of many other Kingdoms of the East The Countrey of Masulipatan as all the rest of the Coast is so full of Idolaters and the Pagods so full of the lascivious Figures of Monsters Idolaters Figures of Monsters that one cannot enter them without horrour it is exceeding fruitful and Provisions are very cheap there The people of our Caravan had a Sheep for Twelve pence a Partridge for a Half penny and a Fowl for less than Two pence it is the same almost all over the coast of Coromandel The extent of the Coast of Coromandel wherein there is no more commonly comprehended but what reaches from the Cape of Negapatan to the Cape of Masulipatan But some Authors carry it further and will have it to reach from Cape Comory to the Western mouth of the Ganges though others make it to end at the Cape The Cape Das Palmas which the Portuguese call Das Palmas There are several Towns on this Coast some of which are good and amongst others Negapatan which lyes in the Latitude of twelve degrees Negapatan Trangabar Meliapour or St. Thomas Trangabar which is almost in the same Latitude Meliapour or St. Thomas which lyes in the heighth of thirteen degrees and a half and which the Moors with the assistance of the Dutch took back from the Portuguese in the year One thousand six hundred sixty two The Kingdom of Golconda reaches not above two Leagues beyond St. Thomas They say that St. Thomas suffered Martyrdom in that Town which bears his name at St. Thomas they make Lime of such Shells as are brought from St. Michael in Normandy and for that end they burn them with Hogsdung The Small-pox is very frequent in that Countrey but there is another more violent Distemper that commonly commits greater ravage there It is called Akeron and only seizes Children Akeron a distemper it is an inflammation of the Tongue and Mouth proceeding from too great heat their Parents are careful to cool them from time to time with Herbs that are good against that Disease for otherwise it seizes the Guts reaches to the Fundament and kills the Child There are many Naiques to the South of St. Thomas Naiques that are Sovereigns who are Sovereigns The Naique of Madura is one he of Tangiour is at present a Vassal to the King of Viziapour Naique properly signifies a Captain heretofore they were Governours of Places and Officers of the King but having Revelled they made themselves Sovereigns Poliacate is to the North of St. Thomas Poliacate and the Factory which the Dutch have established there is one of the best they have in the Indies by reason of the Cotton-cloaths of which they have great Ware-houses full there At Poliacate they refine the Salt-Petre which they bring from Bengala Salt-Petre and make the Gun-powder with which they furnish their other Factories they refine the Salt-Petre that they send to Europe in Batavia The Governour of Gueldria which is the Fort of Poliacate Gueldria has of the Dutch fifty Crowns a month Pay with fifty Crowns more for his Table Provisions of Wine and Oyl and his Cloaths which he can take when he pleases out of the Companies Ware-houses The current Money at Poliacate are Roupies and Pagods which are there worth four Roupies that is almost six French Livres they have Fanons also which are small pieces Fanons Money half Gold and half Silver they have the same Stamp as the Pagods have six and a half of them with half a Quarter-piece make a Roupie and six and twenty and a half a Pagod They have also Gazers which are small Copper-pieces Gazer Money as big as a Fanon forty of which go to a Fanon and the Dutch at present Coin all these pieces of Money Palicole Dacheron Their Company has a Factory also at Palicole two days Journey Northward from Masulipatan and another at Dacheron on the same Coast Bimilipatan is four days Journey Northwards of Masulipatan The Traffick of those parts consists in Rice fine Cloaths Iron Wax and Lacre which is as good as at Pegu and from