there is little or no Rain there are few or no Fountains and that where there is much they abound He tells us that Nilus which for the length of its Course the abundance of its Waters its sweetness wholsomness and fertility exceeds all the Rivers of the World owes its rise to the Kingdom of Gojam in Habâ—ssinia found out by the Travels of the Portugals and by the sedulity of the Fathers which was so long and unsuccessfully sought for by the Antients and Kircher hath described them from the relation of P ter Pays who saw them himself which differs not much from what Gregory an Ethiopian hath written of it viz. That it hath five Heads that it encircles Gojam and passing by several Kingdoms of Habassia reviews the Kingdom of Senna and travels to the Country of Dengala Thence it turns to the right hand and comes to a Country called Abaim before it arives in Nubia where by reason of Clifts and Rocks its Stream is divided into two Branches one running South to drench the thirsty Fields of Egypt the other West to quench the drowth of those Sands in the Country of the Negrites It is called in the Scripture Shibber from its darkness because it carries Waters troubled with Mud from the Fields of Ethiopia and by the Greeks for the same reason 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by the Habessines Abawi in their vulgar Language but in the Ethiopick Gejon or Gewon from a mistake of the Greek Gâ—on and Hebrew Gebon He says the antient Geographers tâ—ought it to take its rise beyond the Equinoctial in I know not what Mountains of the Moon thinking it might receive its increase by the Winter Rains of those Regions For they could not persuade themselves that the Sun being in the Northern Signs there could be Winter and Rain enough so near to raise so great a River from them After it has past about forty Leagues from its source which is in an elevated but trembling and moorish Ground it enters a vast Lake in Dembeâ— and passes it without mixing its Waters as the Rhâ—â—e does the Lake Lemanus and the Rhine Aeronius The cause of the Inundation of Nile is from the great Rains falling in many Regions of the torrid-Torrid-Zone upon the Suns retiring back into the Winter Signs It has been the opinion of some that it has been formerly in the power of the King of the Habessines to divert Nilus from its course into Egypt and to drive it into the Red-Sea there being at a certain place an absolute fall of Land to convey it thither only one Mountain being cut through though now that place where it could be diverted is possest by others He mentions another River in Ethiopia called Hawas which passing a great way from its Source sinks at length into the Sands never going to the Sea as other Rivers do Also that the Rivers Melegi and Tacazae abounding with Crocodiles fall into the Nilus That the River Mareb rising in Tygrâ— encompassing great part of the Kingdom hides its self under ground and then rises and after a continued course it disperses and leaves its divided Waters in the Sands of Dequin The Soyl is so fertile that in some places they sow and have Crops twice and in others thrice a Summer They make Bread of a sort of Corn called Tâ—f thought to be the same with our Rye though they have Wheat Barley c. They make no Winter Provisions for Cattle the Soyl yielding always Herbage enough nor lay up any stores for other years for themselves confiding in the fertility of their Soyl for their Fields are always pleasant and always smiling with a Flowry Grace He says they have an Herb called Assazoe which by its touch or even shadow so stupifies all Serpents and venemous Creatures that you may handle them without offence and that he who has eaten the Root of it is secured from them for many years And he is of opinion that the Psylli of Africa had the Virtue of curing the bitings of Serpents by the touch through the use of this Herb. The Amadmagda that cures broken and disjoynted Bones as the Ossifraga of Norway snâ—ps the Bones of Cattle that tread upon it They have a Tree called â—uâ—ets resembling the Indian Fig tree which is four yards thick if shrowded it sprouts forth with a world of young Shoots which are all good Food so that this Tree need not bear any Fruit being indeed all Fruit if sliced and boiled it assuages thirst He tells us that by reason of the plenty of Herbage and the heat of the Climate Quadrupedes and 〈◊〉 are much bigger in Ethiopia and India than with us They have strong and excellent Horses but never shoe them nor use them but in War employing Mules in all their drudgâ—ry They have the known sort of Sheep with great Tails of which some weigh above forty pounds They have multitudes of Elephants but never use them To say they have Lyons Tygers Panthers Wolves Hyaena's Camel Panthers higher than Elephants c. it 's no more than other Countries yield But he says they have a Beast called Zecora or Zembra exceeding in beauty all Quadrupeds it is about the bigness of a Mule and naturally gentle his Body is all encompast with interchangeable Circles of Black and of a lively Ash colour and this with such an Elegancy and Order that they surpass the Art of the best Painter to imitate them His Ears only are a little disproportionate being too long One of them was sold by the Basha of Bâ—â—quena for two thousand Venetian pieces for a present to the Great Mogul They have thousands of Apes feeding chiefly on Worms which they find under Stones Hence in the Mountains where they use you will scarce find a Stone unturned be it never so grâ—at for if two or three cannot move it they call more aiâ— They eat also Ants and sometimes devour whole Fields of Fruit. They have also an innocent and very pleasant Animal being a sort of little Monkey of which there is an elegant Ethiopick Rhime in Latin thus Hominem non laedo frumentum non edo oderunt me frustra It is of a various colour full of greyish specks They are extreme tender so that unless they are cloathed and kept warm they cannot be brought to us He tells us also of some that have seen the fam'd Unicorn there an Animal of the form and size of a midling Horse of a bright Bay Colour with a black Mane and Tail and with a fair Horn in his Forehead five Palms in length being somewhat whitish For Water and Amphibious Animals he says they have the Hippopotamus thought to be the Behemoth in Job and the Sea-Horse of the Greeks the Crocodile the Water-Lizard and amongst others the Torpedo with which they cure Tertian and Quarian Agues The way is thus They bind the Patient fast on a Table and then apply the Torpedo to his Joints which causes a very cruel torture in all his
Monte Grogo formerly Vesuvius no less famous now for its Grogo Wines than of old for its casting forth smoke and flames of fire Upon the very top is a great Pit or Hollow in form of an Amphitheater of about a mile round Near to which is the Grotta di Cane where the venomous vapour ascends not above a foot from the Ground Other places of Note are important Cajeta on a Capacious Bay. Delicious Capua the Pleasures whereof enervated the Victorious Arms of Hannibal Nola was witness of Hannibal's overthrow by Marcellus Near Cuma was the Lake Avernus with its unwholsome and Sulphureous stink so infecting the Air that the Birds flying over lose their Lives At Puteoli now Pozzuolo was the Bridg of Ships to Baiae three miles over made by Caligula in a Bravado to awe Neptune and to exceed the like Acts of Xerxes and Darius Misenum was one of the Stations of Angustus's Armada as Ravenna was the other that awed the whole Roman Empire and the Burial-place of Misenus the Companion of Aeneas teste Virg. Baiae famous for Antiquities viz. the Sweating Vault or Bagne de Tritoli and Monte de Cenere raised by an Earthquake And here was Aeneas's Descent into Hell Fabled by the Poets and the Cave or Grot of one of the Sybills The Grot or Hole through Mount Pausilypus about a mile in length and 12 Foot high and broad enough for two Carts to pass one another Amalfi where was invented the Mariners Compass Anno 1300. by Flavio The Physick School Salerno Nero's 100 Churches under Ground in the Rocks and his admirable Fish-pond within the Earth within a mile of the Sea in the Cathedral is the Monument of Hildebrand or Pope Gregory the 7th and the Sea-shore Polecastro once Buxentum The well-traded Mart Lanciano four miles from the Adriatick Theate now Viti di Chieti seven miles from the Sea. Sulmo Ovid's Birth-place The Lakes Lesina and Varanus memorable for Eels and for that draining cannot diminish them nor floods encrease them Locris is famous for the Law-maker Zaleucus and for the Victory of Cunomus an Excellent Musitian upon Aristonus of Rhegium of the same Profession Gallipoli affording abundance of Oyl Manfredonia an Arch-Bishops See with its Capacious Harbour and Impregnable Castle Populous St. Severine the Rich Soiled Barri The high steep and full of cragged Rocks Angelo ol Garganus Mons a place Defensible by Nature and strong by Art. The Important Haven-Town Berrulum now Berletta The poor Village Cannae near the Banks of Aufidus now Lafanto once memorable for the great Defeat that Hannibal gave to the Romans of whose Army he slew 42700 in one place Rich Lecca The Choaked Haven Brindisi The Capacious Port Otronto Hidruntum of old taken by Mahomet the Great Anno 1481. The once well Fortified Rossanum now Rosano Old Tarentum where lived Archytas so famous for his Flying-Dove The Ancient Cosentia now Cozenza on seven Hills seated between two Rivers of which the one turneth Hair red and Silk white the other Hair and Silk black St. Euphemie where Roses grow thrice a Year And Desolate Rhegio To conclude here are in this Kingdom Twenty Arch-Bishops One hundred twenty seven Bishops Thirteen Princes Twenty seven Dukes Twenty four Marquesses and Ninety Earls The Fourth General part of Italy we said might comprehend the Islands of Sicily Sardinia Corsica c. Of Sicily SICILIA OF all the Islands in the Mediterranean-Sea Sicily is the most Eminent both for its Repute and Bigness It was once if we may credit the Ancients joyned to the Continent parted by an Inundation of the Sicilian Sea from Italy now divided by a small Channel a mile and half broad between Messina and Regio called the Far or Phare of Messina once terrible from the frightful Names of Scylla and Charybdis the first a Rock towards the North in Italy the other a Gulf or Whirlepool on Sicily-side which gave the Occasions of the Proverb Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdim now not so dangerous or affrightful to the skilful Pilot. It had its Name from the Siculii a People of Italy before that it was called Sicania from King Sicanus who came thither before the Trojan War with a great Number of Iberians By the Greeks called Trinacria by the Latins Triquetra from its three Promontories It is placed under so favourable an Aspect of the Heavens and so rich a Soil that the Mountains themselves even to the tops thereof are found fruitful The People that now Inhabit it are Ingenious Eloquent and full of Talk prone to Revenge Subtle Envious and Flatterers Valiant and greedy of Honour not much addicted to Traffique or Labour This Island was famous for Aeschylus the first Tragedian of Fame Diodorus Siculus the Historian Empedocles the first inventer of Rhetorick Euclid the famous Geometrician Archimedes the Mathematician who made a Sphere of that Art and Bigness that one standing within might see the several Motions of every Orb. The chief Places are 1. Messina of great Strength as well by Nature as Art strongly Walled fortified with Bulwarks a strong Cittadel and a commodious Haven beautified with fair and stately Buildings the chiefest Place of Traffick in the whole Island well frequented with Gentry Citizens and Strangers who live in great Delight and Pleasure It lately in a Rebellion was under the Command of the French but they abandoning it 't is now returned to the Spanish Government who have four Castles and the City as many in their Command The City Gates stand open all Night for any to go in or out The Government is by six Jurats four of the Gentry and two of the Citizens It s other Places of Note are Syracusa once the Metropolis of the whole Island the greatest and goodliest City of the Greeks of a strong Situation and excellent Prospect The Ruins and Foundations of it do still demonstrate its pristine Grandeur Noto a City which heretofore contended with Syracuse for greatness situate on a very high Rock unaccessable on all Sides but by one narrow Passage The fair and capacious Harbor Passari the never fortified Haven Augusta The Navel of the Island Castro Giovanni with its Mines of Salt. Leontini with its Lake the Fishing whereof is yearly worth 18000 some say 500000 Crowns The Midland-town Enna where Pluto is said to have Ravish'd Proserpine Paraymus now Palermo Situate on the West Cape of the Island beautified with large Streets delicate Buildings strong Walls and Magnificent Temples with its Artificial Haven forced out by a mighty Pierre a Work of vast Expence an Arch-Bishops See an University and Competitor for Trade with Messina The Port Trapani was the Drepanum of old affords the best Seamen The Ruined Erex near Mont St. Julian the Seat of King Acestes who so kindly entertained Aeneas and his wandring Trojans The Ancient Catania the strong Taormina Tauromenium near where the Cyclops dwelt near Milazzo was Sextus Pompeius Defeated by Augustus Gerganti the Agrigentum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
without stout Men good Horses Wines and Convenient Rivers Once well stored with Mines of Gold and Silver but those now decayed or lost and the People gross and Rude addicted to Wine and false in their Promises It s chief places are Belgrade once the Bulwark of Christendom bravely resisting the Power of Amurath the Second and Mahomet the Great repulsed by the Valour of Hunniades at which time Mahomet himself was wounded in the Breast lost his Ordnance and 200 of his Ships destroyed by a Fleet which came from Buda but taken by Solyman 1520. Seated she is upon the confluence of the Danube and the Savus having the great Rivers Tibiscus the Dravus and Morava running into the Danube not far from it as brave a Situation for Trade as any Inland place in Europe It is now adorned with two large Bezesteâ—ns or places where the Richest Commodities are Sold with a Noble Caravansara and Moschea with a Metreseck or Colledg for Students Zenderin Singâ—dunum Ant. Semendera Lat. Simedro Graec. taken by Amurath the Second 1438. Soph. Scupi Ptol. by the Turks called Vrchupia a City of great Trade Seated in the Reinotest part of Servia or Moesia Superior or rather on the Confines of Macedonia It is a fair and large Town having a great Number of Moscheas once a Bishop's after an Arch-Bishop's See now noted for a great many Tanners that make Excellent Leather Great Actions have been hereabouts performed in the times of the Romans especially by Regillianus Hereabouts also stood Paroecopolis and Vlpianum of old Jagodna is pleasantly seated in a fair Country half way from Vienna to Constantinople Halli Jahisar is a considerable place where there is a Church with two fair Towers Lescoa or Lescovia seated upon the remarkable River Lyperitza the Maeaneder of Moesia The Hills between Servia and Mercedonia are a part of Mount Haemus of which the M. Clissura one of the Spurs or Excursions shines like Silver consisting of Muscovia Glass Vrania is a strong Pass which the Castle commandeth and locks up the passage into Macedâ—â—ia The chief Rivers of Servia are 1. Morava Moschius of old is divided into two Streams the one named Morava di Bulgaria the other Morava di Serâ—i which uniting run into the Danaube at Zenderin so that by this River the Commodities of Servia and Bulgaria are carried into the Danube and so dispersed in Hungaria Austria c. Not far from which was that great Slaughter of the Turks by Hunniades who with 10000 Horse set upon the Turkish Camp by Moon-light slew 30000 and took 4000 Prisoners and Remarkable Lyperitza the Maeander of Maesia which Dr. Brown saith that in less than twelve hours they passed it 90 times Of Bulgaria BVLGARIA is a Country generally full of Woods and Desarts the most unpleasant and unpeopled of all the Dacian Provinces but the lower parts not without some Plains and Valleys The Inhabitants of a Natural fierceness yet patient of Toyl and Labour It s chief places are Sophia Procop. Sofia Italis Sophie Gallis the Tibisca of Ptol. teste Nig. Mol. the Seat of a Beglerbeg under whom are 21 Sangiats Seated in a long and fruitful Valley three miles distant from a high Mountain covered with Snow all the year It is Beautified with many fair Hanes and Baths a stately Colledg and fair Mosques Axiopolis Galacz teste Laz. Flotz Merc. Colanamik Baud. on the Banks of the Danaw which from this Town begins to take the Name of Ister Mesembria Situate on the Euxine Mercianopolis much mentioned in the Stories of the Goths for the Fights and Battels they had there with the Emperor Claudius Nicopolis by the Turks Sciltaro teste Leunc Nigeboli memorable for the Founder of it the Emperor Trajan more for the many great Battels fought near unto it whereof one was by Sigismund the Emperor and King of Hungary who with an Army of 130000 Christians Besieged it and Bajazet came to the Relief of it got the Victory with the loss of above sixty thousand Turks killed 20000 Christians and most of the rest took Prisoners The Second between Michael Vaivod of Valachia and Mahomet the Third over whom Michael got a Remarkable Victory Varna the Dionysiopolis of the Ancients on the Euxine Sea Remarkable for the first flight of Hunniades and the Death of Vladislaus King of Hungary 1444. Silistria the Ordinary Abode of a Turkish Bassa Ternova the usual Residence of the Princes of Bulgaria Budina once of great Importance but burnt to the Ground by Hunniades not far from the Old City Oescus Triballorum Acridus the Birth-place of Justinian by the Turks called Giustandil Tomi or Tomos to which Ovid was Banished some say 't is at this day called Tomiswar others would have it to be Kiovia Dinogetia Ptol. Dinâ—gutia Diniguttia Ant. Denigu ex Tab. recens Drimago Nigro Callatia Callacis Ant. Calatis Strab. Plin. Kilia Laz. vulgo Bialogrod Calliacra Laonico Pandalla Nig. Istropolis Plin. Ptol. Istros Strab. Istria Arriano Stravico Castal Grossea Nig. Prostaviza Baud. much subject to the irruptions of the Dobrusian Tartars Of Greece GRECIA Novae Descriptio Per Robt. Morden London GREECE once the most Celebrated part of the World in the present Latitude and Extent thereof hath for its Eastern Bounds the Aegean Sea the Hellespont Propontis and the Thracian Bosphorus For its Southern the Cretian and the Ionian Sea on the West the Adriatick Sea and on the North only United to the rest of Europe by the Mountain Haemus Confined at first to Attica and the parts adjoyning only then called Hellas from King Hellen the Son of Ducalion the Inhabitants Hellenes in Sacred Writ and Greece from King Graecus the Son of Cecrops the first King of Athens communicated afterwards to Thessaly to Peloponnesus then to Epirus and lastly to the Macedonian Empire The first Inhabitants of Greece did live each under their proper Magistrates in several Cities until Philip King of Macedonia clearing his own Country of the Iberians Subdued Achaia Thracia and a great part of Peloponnesus And succeeded by Alexander his Son who retained his Father's Conquests and Vanquishing Darius the great King of Persia and other Kings of India Founded the Grecian Monarchy but in the height of his Successes died being Poysoned at Babylon Afterwards the Romans became Masters of it and after that the Goths and Huns did rather Harrass than Inhabit Lastly the Saracens now the Turks and the Victorious Venetian share it under their Obedience Hence it is that Greece hath lost its former Division of Countries and their Names and received new that which was particularly called Greece is now called Livadia Peloponnesus Morca Thessaly Janna Epirus Canina Macedonia is divided into four parts that next Janna is called Camenolitari that which Borders upon Dalmatia is called Albania that next to Thrace is named Jamboly and the midst of the Country retains its Old Name Macedonia Lastly Thracia is now called Romania The Grecians once a
this Tree is so broad and large that it will cover 15 or 20 Men and keep them dry when it rains and the Pitch within the Tree is good to eat and tastes much like to white Bread. There is also the Kettale-Tree which yields a delicious Juice rarely sweet and pleasant to the Palat which they take from the Tree two or three times a day which Liquor they boil and make a kind of Sugar The Cinnamon-Tree grows wild in the Woods as other Trees and by them no more esteemed being as plenty as Hazel in England The Cinnamon is the Bark or Rind which when on the Tree looks whitish when they pull it off they scrape it and dry it in the Sun. The Wood hath no smell 't is of a white colour and soft like Fir. The Leaf much resembles Laurel both in colour and thickness The young Leaves look red like Scarlet if bruised they will smell more like Cloves than Cinnamon It bears a Fruit which is ripe in September much like an Acorn but smaller it neither tastes nor smells like as the Bark but being boiled in Water it will yield an Oil which when cold is hard as Tallow and white and of an excellent smell and 't is used for Ointment for Aches and Pains and to burn in Lamps There is also the Ovula the Fruit whereof they make use of for Physick in Purges and being beat in pieces in a Mortar and soak'd in Water it will Dye a very good Black and rusty Iron lying one Night in the Water will become bright and the Water black like Ink. The Betel-Tree whose Leaf is so much loved and eaten grows like Ivy twining about Trees or Poles which they stick into the ground for it to run up by and as the Betel grows the Poles grow also Of Roots they have Aloes or Inyames of divers sorts some they plant and others grow wild in the Woods These serve for Food and for Sause or a Relish to their Rice some of them in a year or two will grow as big as a Man's Waste others as big as a Man's Arm. They have Herbs of several sorts some in six months growing to maturity the Stalk as high as a Man can reach and being boiled almost as good as Asparagus They have Coleworts Carrots Radishes Fennel Balsam Spearmint Mustard There is also Fern Indian Corn several sorts of Beans Cucumbers Calabassa's and Pumkins And the Dutch have Lettice Rosemary Sage and other European Herbs and Plants which grow well there The Woods are their Apothecaries Shops where with Herbs Leaves and the Rinds of Trees they make all their Physick and Plaisters with which they will make notable Cures Of Flowers they have great variety growing wild as Roses red and white and several other sorts of sweet smelling Flowers one called the Sendric-mal of a murry colour and white which opens at 4 of the Clock in the Evening and shuts at 4 in the Morning which serves them somtimes instead of a Clock The Pichamauls are a white Flower like our Jasmine well scented the King hath a parcel of them every Morning brought to him wrapt in a white Cloth but the Hon-mauls are the chief Flowers the young People use and are of greatest value among them They have Cows Buffaloes Hogs Goats Deer in great abundance Hares Dogs Jacols Apes Tygers Bears Elephants There are Ants of divers sorts some worthy our Remark viz. the Coura-atch which is a great and black Ant living in the ground making great hollow Holes in the earth and have no sting The Vaco's are the most numerous whose hinder part is white and the head red They eat and devour all they come at except Iron and Stone They creep up the Walls of Houses and build an Arch of Dirt over themselves all the way as they climb be it never so high and in places where there are no Houses they will raise great Hills or Humbosses some 5 or 6 Foot high so hard and strong as not easily digged down with Pickaxes within full of hollow Vaults and Arches where they dwell Their Nests are much like Honey-Combs full of Eggs and young Ones As they encrease in multitude so they also dye in multitude for when they come to maturity they have Wings and in the Evening after Sun-set they issue forth in vast Numbers that they almost darken the Sky flying to such a height as they go out of sight and so keep flying till they fall down dead upon the Earth Of the ISLES of SONDE The Isles of SONDA By Rob t Morden The ISLES of SONDE THE Streight of Sonde gives its Name to the Isles of Sumatra Java and Borneo that lie not far from it It is the ordinary passage for Vessels that are bound for China and the more Eastern Seas the Air of these three Islands is very unwholsom nor do they afford those Provisions which the Continent doth The Inhabitants of the Uplands are Pagans of the Sea-Coasts Mahumetans They have several Kings potent as well by Sea as by Land. They afford rich Commodities especially Spices which the Portugals the Hollanders and the most part of the other Nations of the World fetch from thence Sumatra is the most famous Island in all the East for Largeness and Riches For it is 300 French Leagues long and 70 broad having several Mines of Gold. It lies 10 Leagues from the Continent and the Ancients believ'd it to be a Peninsula by reason of the several little Islands that seem to join it to the Land. Six Kings command it the King of Achem best known to us of Camper Iambi Menancabo and Palimban They have so well defended their Island that the Europeans could never get footing on it There is a Mountain that casts forth Flames like Mount Gibel The Pepper of this Island is better than that of Malabar because the Land is more moist They find Gâ—ld in grains and in little pieces after the great Flouds of water The Inland part is inhabited by Barbarians that will eat the Raw Flesh of their Enemies with Pepper and Salt. The City of Achem is the best in the Island it has been better than it is it lies half a League from the Sea upon a Plain by the side of a River as large as the Seine in France but very shallow There is also a Fortress upon the Bank of the River Java governed by several petty Kings every City having one Among the rest the Kings of Japara Tuban Jottan Panarvan Panarucan and Palambuam Many are Pagans some are Mahumetans and the most part acknowledge the great Materan or the Emperor of Materan who formerly claimed the Sovereignty over the whole Island Upon the Coast grow Oysters that weigh 300 pound The Isle produces such large Canes that one alone suffices to make a Boat. It affords excellent Lignum Aloes Salt from Jottan and Gold and Pepper in abundance The Southern Coast is last known It is one of the largest Islands in Asia and for its
2. Cyrene once of such Power that it contended with Carthage about their Territories The Birth-place of Eratosthenes Callimachus and Symon of Cyreen who carried our Saviours Cross Now called Carvanna Corene Villano and Cairoan Baud. 3. Berenice on the great Syrtes now Bernicho 4. Herculis Turris erected in honour of Hercules for killing the Dragon and robbing the Orchards of the Hesperides of their golden Apples this Orchard being placed here by Ptolomy by Pomponius in the Atlantick Islands by Virgil and Pliny in Mauritania 5. Alberton of old Paraetonium the Sea-port to the Temple of Jupiter Hammon seated in the midst of a vast sandy Desert as they tell us encircled with a delightful and pleasant Grove watered with wholesome Springs refreshed with a temperate Air shaded with Fruit-bearing Trees whose Leaves were always green This Country is now the thirteenth Calsiliff or Government under the Turkish Bashaw in Egypt called Bonhera or Barca the Southern part whereof is called the Desert of Barca famous for the Temple beforementioned for its Oracle for the Fountain of the Sun for the destruction of Cambyses Army and for the visit of Alexander Rivers I find few but one of same enough for all the rest by Ptolomy called Lathon by Pliny Lethon by the Poets Lethe and feigned to come from Hell and to cause forgetfulness in those that drink it Now Milel teste Marmol Of EGYPT AEGYPT by R. Morden EGypt is bounded on the North with the Mediterranean Sea on the East with the Red-Sea and the Isthmus between the Red-Sea and the Mediterranean on the South with Ethiopia and Nubia on the West with the Lybian Mountains or Deserts of Barca This flourishing Kingdom possest by Mizraim changed her antient Name and became Egypt at such time as Aegyptus or Ramasis the son of Belus having expelled his Brother Danâ—us or Armeus into that part of Greece now called Morea by whom the Argives were made Danai which happen'd 877. years after the Flood in the time of Joshua as St. Augustine conjectureth out of Eusebius This Country by the Jews was called Misraim the Caldeans Misrai the Assyrians Misri the Arabians Mesra the Moors Missir and Babara by the Antient Inhabitants Chemia and Hamia by the Romans Augustanica by Berosus Oceania by Xenophon Ogygia by Herodotus Potamia by Lucian Melambolos alias Milampodus by Homer Hefestia by others Nilea Aeria an Osiria by the Modern Turks El-kebit It is the only Region of Africa that borders upon Asia and though the Air be bad it is the best peopl'd in the World. Nor was it less peopl'd formerly if it be true that in the Reign of Amasis one of their Kings it contain'd above twenty thousand Cities The extraordinary quantities of Corn which it yielded caus'd the Antients to call it the publick Granary of the World. And the plenty or scarcity of the whole Roman Empire was still according to the Harvest of Egypt Nile by the Inundation of his Stream which is full of Nitre gives the Ground this fertility The Plants grow in such abundance that they would choke one another did they not strow the Fields with Sand. The Western part of Nile is more fruitful than the Eastern Besides Corn this Country affords Rice Sugar Dates Senna Cassia Balsom Hides Flax and Linen They know little who say that it rains not there For the ordinary time of Rains and Winds begins in the Month of December or Kijahak and continues till January and February at the Eve of Pentecost in the year 1672. there was Rain at Ros tte and on the 24 of November the Rains fell at Cairo teste F. Vansleb So that it is a great Error to say it never Rains in Egypt besides there are often wet Mists and in all seasons of the year when the Nights are serene there is much Dew that falls but when the Nights are cloudy there is no Dew To this day also Egypt shews us Pyramids Obelisques Labyrinths and other Works of the Antient Kings raised at an incredible expence to testifie their Puissance and to employ their people The Statue of Memnon was there formerly most remarkable as also the Pharos near Alexandria In the Lake Meris is said to be seen the place where the Labyrinth stood wherein they say There were above thirty three hundred Rooms Mommies which are frequent in this Country are nothing but the Bodies of dead Men embalmed and buried in Vaults carefully provided for that purpose where they keep entire two or three thousand years About five Miles from Cairo as one Stephen Dublies reports being an eye witness there is a place in which on every Good-friday there appears a great many Heads and Legs of Men rising out of Ground By late Relations 't is said to be only a Trick of the Water-men to get Money The Palm-trees may be reckoned among the Rarities of Egypt they grow in couples Male and Female and do not fructifie but by coiture the Fruit it bears is known by the name of Dates in taste much like Figs and all its parts are of several uses as the Pith for a Sallet the Husk of the Cod for Cordage the Leaves for Fans Feathers c. Egypt at the beginning had Native Kings who governed their Subjects with a free and unlimited Authority and till the Government of Psammenitus Son of Amasis who rul'd in the year of the World 3454 were all called by one general Sirname or Title of Pharaoh being a Name of Dignity as with us the Name of Emperor or King. But tho' Egypt hath been always of old governed by Kings yet the Royal Seats have been changed The first Royal Seat we read of was Tanis where was Pharaoh's Court and where God performed great Wonders Thebes also was the Royal Seat. Then Memphis which was the Seat of the Kings of the Race of Coptus till Nebuchadonozer sacked it Alexandria where the Greek Kings resided for nine hundred years till the Arabians took Egypt and made Fostat near old Cairo the Metropolis After Giauher had built Cairo about the year of the Hegira 362 he made that the Royal Seat which continues to this time The Egyptians were antiently Heathens almost every City had a God to adore Abusir or the old Busiris worshipped a Calf Alexandria the antient Racotis adored a Serapis of Stone Achmin the old Panos acknowledged Apollo Bana worshipped a Dog Bassa or the old Bubastis had for a God a Lion of Stone Eida adored a Serapis Ischemunein or the antient Hermepolis worshipped a Man of Stone Isvan called by the Copties Sâ—van reverenced the Tree Lebaca Cous worshipped the Moon and Stars Mindadi the Fig tree of Pharaoh Memphis a Calf Atrib or the old Atribis adored a Calf of Stone Semenant which is the antient Sebennis worshipped a Calf of Brâ—ss Sa a Hog of Stone Tuba had respect for the Water according to an old Manuscript in Arabick Cambyses the Son of Darius in the year of the World 3454 was the first that made
discover the admirable Secrets of this Science and to unfold the Aenigmas under which it lies hid Egypt is generally divided into four parts Thebais now Sahid or upper Egypt Bechria or Demesor otherwise middle Egypt Errif or the lower Egppt and the Coast of the Red-Sea Some make only two Divisions the Upper and the Lower following the course of Nile But at present Egypt is also divided into Twelve Caciefs Sangiacutes or Governments Jaques Albert reckons thirteen Kossuffs or Provincial Jurisdictions viz. Girgio or Sahid Manselout Benesuef Fiam Gize Bouhera or Baera Garbia Menousia Mansoura Kallioubich Minio Cherkeffi and Kattia But the Divan or Council of Gran Cairo will not allow Kattia to be numbred with the rest F. Vansleb tells us There are thirty six Caciefs or petty Governors Strabo of old divided it into thirty seven Parts by the Greeks called Monoi Ptolomy enlarged it to forty and Herodotus reduced it to twenty eight But thirty seven seems most agreeing to the mysterious Temple or Labyrinth on the South side of the City of Alexandria near the Lake Mereotis and adjoyning to the Sepurchers of King Meris and his Wife in the midst whereof were thirty seven Palaces belonging to the thirty seven Jurisdictions of Egypt whereof ten in Thebaes ten in Delta and seventeen in the middle Region unto which resorted the several Presidents who had there their particular Temples to celebrate the Festivals of their Gods. There were also fifteen Chapels containing each a Nemesis to advise of Matters of Importance concerning the General Welfare Among the Cities Caire is call'd the Great in respect of the advantages which it has above all the Cities of Africa It is three Leagues Lower and upon the opposite side to that place where stood the antient Memphis The Castle which is built upon the rising ground has the noblest prospect and enjoys the best Air in the World. It is one of the largest and most Magnificent and counted the strongest that ever was contrived But the last relation of 1627 says it hath lost much of its antient Splendor and it is not now of any strength It is not of Marble as some relate but beautifi'd with several pieces of Mosaic work In the Castle Gun-powder is made in two Rooms in each of which are twelve Pewter Morters with Iron Pestles to pound the Ingredients which receive their motion from a long Pole that answers to a Bâ—am that stands in the middle of a Chamber which a Horse turns round The Water of Nile is convey'd thither by an Aqueduct of a hundred and fifty Arches The Inhabitants of Caire must needs be very numerous it being averr'd that in the year 1618 there dy d above six hundred thousand People of the Pestilence and yet there was no miss of the Inhabitants And our Author tells us That the Archbishop of Mount Sinai told him That the Plague of 1671 or 1672 had swept away 680000 poor Persons but of the richer sort scarce four hundred were dead In short they say it contains two hundred thousand Houses eighteen thousand considerable Streets and is in Compass about twenty five or thirty Leagues But then you must take in the Old as well the New Caire Festat Babylon Charaffat and the Boulac that joyns to it For the New Caire it self is not so big as Paris The People ride in the Streets upon Asses as we make use of Sedans not but there are Horses in Egypt but the Turks have introduc'd this Custom to preserve the Horses for themselves The Inhabitants of Caire make those fair Carpets which we call Turkie Carpets Five Miles South East of the Pyramids and two from the Nilus West stood the Regal City of Memphis the Strength and Glory of old Egypt where was the Temple of Apis and the sumptuous Temple of Vulcan Here stood the Fane of Venus and that of Serapis A City once adorned with a World of Antiquities but now the Ruins are almost ruinated Besides the Pyramids and the Mummies which are about six Leagues from Caire all Travellers are curious to see Josephs Well and his Granaries About two Leagues also from Caire is to be seen the Matarea Ma-Tarca or retiring place of the Virgin with a Fountain which together with that at Caire is the only Spring Water of Egypt But the Plant or Balm trees which bears the true Balsom and which was brought from the Holy Land by the care of Cleopatra and the permission of Antony is quite lost As also the Sycamore Tree which split in two to hide our Lord Jesus Christ and his most Holy Mother when the Soldiers of Herod persued them Sahid formerly Thebes Diospolis Heliopolis D. Siculo Solis Oppidum Plin. which had a hundred Gates was the Residence of the Egyptian Kings who afterwards remov'd to Alexandria thence to Memphis and lastly to Caire The Modern Relations call this City Gergio and make it the Residence of a Basha affirming that only the Province bears the Name of Sahid called Hecatompylos and in the Coptâ—es Dictionaries Antinoe and Thebes now Insine teste Vansleb Its Mountains and Islands are as great Curiosities as any in Egypt As also the Pillar of Marcus Aurelius and the Arch of Triumph and the Hieroglyphick Cave where the Colours of the Figures are very beautiful and lively during so many Ages passed Now Minio teste Sanson Alexandria Scanderic Turcis Arahibus Hebraeis No built by Alexander the Great was formerly one of the best Cities in all Africa next to Carthage where the Ptolomies and Cleopatra kept their Courts It was adorned with many stately Edifices the most famous whereof were the Serapian which for the curious Workmanship and stateliness of Building was not inferior to the Roman Capitol The Library of Ptolomy Philadelphus founded the year after the Creation of the World 3704 or by others 3â—80 is said to contain 400000 or as others write 700000 Volumes The Obelisks full of Egyptian Hieroglyphicks of a vast bigness and of an intire Stone When this City was subject to the Romans it contributed to them more in one Month than Jerusalem in a whole year Formerly the Tower of Pharos stood not far from it one of the seven Wonders of the World. The Pillar of Pompey leans on one side occasioned by the Arabians digging and under-mining of it in searching for a great Treasury hid under it as they believe The City enjoys a small Trade to this day by reason of its two Ports or Havens and is the Seat of a Patriarch St. Mark and St. Catherine have render'd it famous in Ecclesiastical History and in the Deserts of St. Macarius where were reckon'd to be above three hundred Monasteries which lie to the West of it But now of all those Monasteries there are but two remarkable that of the Syrians and Amba Biscioâ— Damietta by the Arabians Damiat Tamiatis or Tamiathis teste Guilandino about eight Miles from the mouth of Nilus Next to Cairo it is the greatest most beautiful
Limbs but the fit of the Ague returns not after The Author conceives it may also do good in the Gout and the Ethiopians firmly believe it will drive the Devil himself from a Man. For Birds they have Ostrich or Struthiocamel and Cassowars swifter than Horses The flesh of this either fresh or dried is accounted a Medicine against the Poyson of Serpents this Bird devour them without prejudice to himself The Bird Pipe that discovers prey to the Hunters of Wild Beasts conducting them where they be hid He tells us of Dragons that will swallow whole Children little Pigs Lambs and Kids and that they are scaly and look like the Bark of an old Tree but not Venemous That there are Water-Snakes and Adders which upon drying of the Moorish grounds in Summer are very hurtful being inraged with the drought and heat and that they kill by their Breath unless a quick remedy be used none being better than to drink human Excrements in Water which Remedy the Panther useth That the Habessines are sometimes strangely infested with Locusts devouring their Fruits and Herbs they appear in prodigious Multitudes like a thick Cloud that obscures the Sun nor â—lants nor Shrubs nor Trees remain untouched And wheresoever they feed their leavings seem as it were parched with the Fire and a general Mortality ensues And that those People sometimes feed on the Locusts being a pleasant and wholesome meat and thereby satisfie their hunger and revenge That there are great store of Bees amongst others a very small black Bee without a Sting making their Combs under ground which yield an extreme white Wax and most delicious Hony which they use in their Medicines He says the Habessines are generally of a good Disposition Strong vivacious and Long-Livers Ingenious and very desirous of Learning easily remit Injuries and commonly determine their Quarrels and Differences at Cuffs or by an Arbitrator or two From this their towardly disposition he thinks their King has been called Prester Jan by some the words Prester Chan in the Persian Language signifying a Prince of excellent Servants and the Servants of this Nation are more priz'd and sell for more than others In the shape of their Body and comeliness of their Countenance they far excel other Ethiâ—pians having no swoln Lips nor broad bottle Noses Their Colour for the most part is Black or Brown though they are not born black but very Red soon after turning Black. The Women are Strong Fruitful and easily bring forth Children as generally all Women in the hotter Countries They have no Midwives but fall on their Knees at the time of Childbirth and disburden themselves Several other Nations inhabite this Kingdom viz. the Jews who formerly dwelt in Denbea Wegara and Samen till driven thence by Sâ—sneus and now dispersed into several parts Mahumetans are also intermingled up and down the Country and drive the greatest Trade with the Turks and Arabians There are also Wild Men living in the Deserts without God King or Law The most sordid and vâ—â—est of Human Creatures The Noblest and Antientest Tongue of the Habessines is that Ethiopiâ—â— whereof our Author set forth a Lexicon and Grammar in Londâ—â— Anno 1â—61 This was formerly the Tongue generally spoken by the Tâ—â—renses when the King of Habessinia lived in Tigra but now 〈◊〉 is only used in Writing and has its Dignity continued in the publick Sacred Worship and in the Kings Charters c. It is very much 〈◊〉 to the Arabick and serves often to illustrate the Oriental Tongues especially the Hebrew For instance he says the Latins have called that most elegant and delightful Work of God which comprehends all things in it self Mundus in imitation of the Greeks who called it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Appellation not being invented by themselves but by the Phoenicians with whom the World and especially the Earth was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adamah Formosa He says he knows it is commonly derived from Redness because the Hebrew Root 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Adam signifies to be Red whereas it is certain that our First Father took his name Adam not from the redness of the Earth but from his perfect and absolute Beauty as being the most consummate Work of the Creator And that signification which has been unknown to other Oriental Lexicon-writers is plain to the Ethiopians with whom Adama signifies Delightful Elegant and Lovely nor do the Ethiopians take Adams name otherwise than from Formosus The present King of Habessinia the Seat of Government being removed to the midst of the Empire uses the Amarick Dialect which all the Nobility and Learned speak being as general in Habessinia as the Latin in Europe They say that on the Coast of Africa every fifteen or twenty German Miles produce a diversity of Language He says that though the Kings of Habessinia cannot well make out their Descent from the times of Solomon as some think they may but begin it only from the two Brothers Atzbeha and Abreha under whom the Christian Religion began amongst the Axumites being about three hundred after Christ from whose time the History of the Habessines is more clear and their Kings Names more certain They may nevertheless contend with the most famous Kings of the World for Antiquity of Progeny Their King Lalibala sent for Workmen from Egypt and set them on a strange and unheard of Enterprise viz. to work Temples out of Solid Rocks by hewing them in a regular form leaving where need required Pillars Arches and Walls Fr. Alvarez affirms upon Oath to have seen ten Temples built there after this wonderful manner and brought Draughts of them with him No private Ethiopian he says only a very few of the Nobles excepted has any thing of his own All Lands and Possessions are the Kings and are enjoy'd precariously by the Subjects so that all take it patiently if the King gives or takes away all whensoever or wheresoever to and from whom he pleases The Kings Revenues are not in ready Money but consist of the natural Products of Countries by an even way of Tribute Some pay Gold others Horses Cows Oxen Sheep Bread-corn Ox-hides Garments c. Enarea pays fifteen hundred ounces of Gold formerly much more to Susneus it paid one thousand and sometimes but five hundred when they are at Wars with the Gallans Gojam pays yearly eleven hundred Ounces and some Garments to the value of three thousand German Dollars together with two hundred Fustian Tapestries Out of Tygra twenty five thousand Patacks out of Dembea five thousand and as much out of other Kingdoms Gojam and Bagendra find him Corn and Flesh But his chief Tribute is from the Grasiers who are bound to pay him every three years the tenth Ox or Cow. Besides every Christian Weaver pays him a Fustian Garment Every Mahumetan a Drim or Patach which amounts to one thousand Imperials yearly The Toll of Lamalmona Mountain over which all the Merchandise must pass from the Red Sea into
Ethiopia the King reserves for himself The King and chief Nobility think it an office beneath them to lift their Hands to their Mouths to feed themselves and keep Boys to cut their Meat and put it into their Mouths which they do in great gobbets as those that cram Poultry Axuma or Ascum erroneously Chaxumo was formerly the Metropolis of Habessinia from whence they were called Axumites And then adorned with beautiful Structures a fair Palace and a Cathedral proudly vaunting her Obelisks Sculptures and sumptuous Edifices but now demolished by the Wars or defaced with Age and the City now totally ruined seated it was in the 14d 30 m North Latitude and distant from the North Sea forty five Portugal Leagues or six or seven tiresome days Journeys by reason of the Mountains Besides Axuma there are no Cities in Habessinia and but few Towns Dobarowa in Tygra is the Seat of the Vice-Roys Fremona was the first Residence of the Fathers enlarged by the Portugals Gubay a Town in Dembea where the Queen resides Nanina in Gojam was long inhabited by the Portugals The Celebrated Mountains of Amhara are their only Citidels where the Kings Children were formerly committed to custody The Kings he says always live in Tents and seldom long in a place In the year 607 the Camp pitched in Coga In 1612 it was at Duncaza and after at Guendra which Bernier called the Metropolis of Ethiopia Their Tent is of a white colour and very large standing in the midst of the Camp a large space being left round it for the conveniency of Persons to approach it Next this two Temples are plac'd and Tents for the Queen and her Attendents Next these the Nobles the Kings Friends Servants and other Courtiers pitch their Tents then all the common Soldiery with the necessary Attendents of the Camp and those that come to Negotiate When they remove as they often do and come to set down anew in a few hours space all things are seen plac'd in the same order they were before for every man knows his place and the measure of his ground the order of the Camp being always the same But Peter Pays built the King a Palace after the European manner in Gorgora by the Tzaneo Lake not much inferiour to the Country Palaces of our European Princes Murtherers are given to the nearest Relations of the Person murthered it being in their power to pardon them or take a sum of Money or to sell them as Slaves or put them to what death they please If the Murtherer be not found the Inhabitants of the Place and all the Neighbourhood are fin'd In the third Book which treats of the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Habessines our Author tells us That some hold they have had the knowledge of God ever since the time of Solomon That they use Circumcision though not on any Religious Account in Obedience to the Law of Moses but only as a Custom of their Country being done by a Woman privately the Jews slit the Skin with their Nails till the Preputium falls down and leaves the Nut bare The Habessines only round the Skin with a Knife That they do not Circumcise Women as some idly affirm though it 's a Custom not only with the Habessines but likewise with other People of Africa as the Egyptians and Arabians to cut off from Girls something which they think to be an undecency and superfluity of Nature That they abstain from Swines Flesh Blood and suffocated things not as commanded by Moses but by Apostolick Constitution this having been always observed in the Oriental Church and in the Western Church for many Ages and having been ratified by some Councils And they condemn us for leaving the practice Nor do they allow the Jews Sabboth out of respect to Judaism but because it was the antient Custom of the Primitive Church for which they have some written Antient Constitutions Yet they prefer the Lords Day before the Jewish Sabbath for upon that Day say they our Lord Jesus Christ rose And upon that Day the holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles in the Oratory of Sion And upon that Day Christ shall come again to reward the Just and punish the Evil. He says If an Habessine marries his Brothers Wife or commits Polygamy the Civil Magistrate takes no notice of it For they are of opinion that whatsoever does not offend the Commonwealth nor the security of Private Persons ought not to be chastised with Secular Punishments Nevertheless the Church is severe in the case and will not permit Persons so married to receive the Sacrament He also tells us That Habessinia is full of Monks that their Institutions and Habits are different from the Greek and Latin. He speaks of the portentous Miracles of their Saints their Austerities and Spontaneous Torments It 's a common fame in Europe that the Conversion of the Habessines to the Christian Faith was effected by the Eunuch of Queen Candaces But our Author says this is certain that in the time of St. Athanasius Patriarch of Alexandria in the Reign of Constantine the Great about the year of Christ 330 or not long after it the Conversion of Ethiopia hapned after this manner Meropius a Tyrian Merchant going into India came to the Coast of Ethiopia in the Red-Sea dying there he left two Sons Frumentius and Aedesius who being taken and carried to the King were kindly received by him and he finding them ingenious employ'd them in keeping his Books of Account During the time of their Employ they did all good Offices to Christian Merchants that came to those Parts and shewed so fair a specimen of their Virtue and Integrity that they wrought in the Habessines a great esteem for the Christian Religion Which ground being laid Frumentius went to St. Athanasius who considering the excellency of his parts and the constancy of his Faith created him the first Bishop of Ethiopia and returning thither he baptized the Inhabitants created Deacons built Churches and so first planted the Christian Religion The Habâ—ssines received the Scripture with Christian Religion and it is translated into the Ethiopick Language from the version of the Septuagint and that according to a Copy used in the Church of Alexandria They have the New Testament translated from the authentick Greek Text. They enjoy the holy Scriptures intire and reckon as many Pooks as we do tho' they divide them after another manner They acknowledge the holy Scripture to be the sole and only Rule of what they are to believe and do They use the Nicene Creed they admit of the antient Greek Councils they acknowledge the Trinity and the sufficient Merits of Christ one Person in Christ his Divinity and Humanity they use Baptism and the holy Communion they Administer it to the Laiety and Clergy as it is the Custom of all the Eastern Churches and acknowledge the Real Presence but not Transubstantiation pray for the Dead deny a Purgatory He gives an Account of their Errors as
Comely Affable People faithful in their Dealings addicted to Learning having three Universities such as they are But their Law allows of no Physitians but admit of some Chyrurgeons to cure their Wounds The Air is healthy but the changes of Weather are very uncertain for sometimes it Snows and Hails in the midst of Summer and the Winds are often in that season most furious Their Commodities are Sheep Cows and Horses Great plenty of most sort of Sea-fish all the year round their Coast There are Lakes upon the high Mountains well stored with Fresh-Water-Fish and their Rivers with Salmon In Summer time they have plenty of of Wild Fowl as Mallard Duck Teal Partridge Wild Geese Plowers In Winter time Ravens Eagles Wild Ducks Swans c. Their Drink is Milk mingled with Water Their Bread is Cod caught in the Winter time and dried in the Frost commonly called Stock-Fish as also Hokettle or the Nurse-Fish with the Livers they make Oil to burn in their Caves under Ground the other parts they cut into pieces and bury them four or five Weeks under Ground then wash them and dry them in their Stoves and this serves instead of Bread if broiled on the Coals it serves for Meat and of the Skins of the Fish they make their Shooes The general Employment of the People is either Fishery or the making of Wad-moll or a course sort of Woollen Cloth of which they make Gowns Coats Caps Mittins for Seamen and Fishermen There is also little Shock Dogs said to be the Whelps of ordinary Bitches lined by Foxes that come on over the Ice There is only one Fort which is upon one of the chief of the West Mâ—â—ny Isles ten Leagues from Merchants Foreland with twelve Iron Guns in it and there their Courts are held and the Bishop has his Residence As for their Government and Laws see Dithmar Belfkins and Arugreine Jonas or Purchas in his Pilgrimage Sometimes Danes Hamburgers and Lubekers put into the Island and furnish the Islanders with such Provisions as they want The chiefest places where the Ships stay are the Havens of Haneford and Keplawick and the Governor resides at Belested the Danes bring from thence dried Fish Train-Oil Butter Tallow Sulphur Raw Hides and particularly a sort of Whales Teeth which some esteem as much as Ivory Betwixt Cape Farewel and Cape Sumay lieth a great Sea dilating it self both towards the North South and West giving great hopes of a North West passage to China and the East Indies much searched into by many English Worthies Frobisher Weymouth Hudson Button Baffin Smith James and others who have sailed therein some one way some another and given names to many places as may be seen in the Map and in the year 1667 an Honourable and Worthy Design was renewed and undertaken by several of the Nobility of England and divers Merchants of London for the discovery of this North West passage and to settle a Trade with the Indians there Captain Zachariah Gillam being Commander who in the Nonsuch Ketch passed through Hudsons Straights then into Baffins Bay from thence Southerly into the Latitude of fifty one Degrees or thereabouts in a River now called Prince Ruperts River he there found a friendly correspondence with the Natives Built a Fort called Charles Fort returned with good success and laid the Foundation of an advantageous Trade in those parts But in the year 1687 seised upon by the French. The North West Part of AMERICA by R. Morden Atâ—â— Atlas in Cornhill Of GREENLAND GReenland is a Country of vast extent an unknown Tract and not yet fully discovered for notwithstanding several Voyages and many Ships have touched upon its Coasts yet it still lies obscured in a Northern Mist unless the names of certain Bays Capes c. viz. Cape Farewel Cape Comfort Cape Desolation Warwicks Foreland and Bearsford where 't is said the King of Denmark hath a Governor Of GREENLAND TOwards the North East lies a Tract of Land called Greenland by the English Spitsburg by the Dutch seated between seventy six Degrees and eighty two of Northern Latitude but whether an Island or Continent is not yet known The whole Land is so compassed with Ice that it is difficult to be approached sometimes in the middle of June tho' ordinarily the Ice breaks in May. The Soil is in most places nothing but Rocks or heaps of vast Stones many of them so high that the upper half seems to be above the Clouds The little Vallies between them are nothing else but broken Stones and Ice heaped up from many Generations About Roefield and Maple Haven is the greatest quantity of low Land which also is full of Rocks Stony and for the most part covered with Snow and Ice which when melted as in Summer discovers nothing but a barren Ground producing Heath Moss and some few Plants as a kind of Cabbage Lettice Scurvy-Grass Sorrel Snakeweed Hartsease a kind of Strawberry divers sorts of Ranunculus and of semper Vives in the Mountains that are exposed to a warm Air and Sun-beams in the Holes and Rocks infinite quantity of Fowls Nest whose Dung with the Moss washed down by the melted Snow makes a Mould in the Vallies or Clefts which produceth those Plants aforesaid For tho' it hath the Sun for half a year yet never about thirty three Degrees and forty Minutes above the Horizon the power of its Beams are insufficient to dispel the Cold or dissolve the Ice so that the Vapors from the Earth are not hot enough to warm the Air nor thin enough to rise to any considerable height but hang continually in thick dark Mists about the Land that sometimes you cannot see the length of your Ship. 'T is also remarkable that at Cherry in June 1608 it was so hot that melted Pitch ran down the sides of the Ships and that the Ice is raised above the Water many Fathoms and many times above thirty Fathom under Water and sometimes 't is frozen to the bottom of the Sea. The freezing and breaking of the Ice makes a great and terrible noise sometimes it breaks into great pieces and sometimes it shatters at once into small pieces with more noise but less danger The Beasts of the Country are Foxes of divers Colours Raindeer Bears six Foot high and fourteen Foot long Of Water Fowl there is great variety and in so great abundance that with their flight they darken the Sun viz. Ducks Willocks Stints Sea-pidgeons Sea-Parrots Gulls Noddees There are also great quantities of Fishes as Seals Dog Fishes Lobsters Gernels Star-Fish Macarel Dolfins Unicorns Whales c. Our Men that wintered in Greenland Anno 163â— lost the Light of the Sun October the fourteenth and saw it not again till February the third Those that staid there 1633 say that October the fifth was the last day they saw the Sun tho' they had Twilight till the seventeenth and on the twenty second the Stars were plainly to be seen and so continued for all
May 28 they arrived at Greenland and met with eleven Sail of Dutch fishing in Hornfound whom they forced away and took from them all they caught and also the English that were in their Ships and made 1900 Tuns of Oyl and discovered Wyâ—hes Island in seventy nine Degrees There are some Discoveries of Land which cannot be said to belong to any of the four grand Divisions being separate 〈◊〉 Seas of vast extent viz. New Guinea towards the Equator so called because thought to be opposite to the African Guiny New Zelanâ— the Antipodes almost to â—ngland discovered first by Fernando de Quier but both of the East India Companies in Holland now pretend to it tho' they were but ill used when they attempted to settle themselves there About three hundred Leagues from it lies another Tract of Land called Antony Van Diemens Land discovered by the Dutch. The Land of Parrats if any such was part of Terra Australis incognita In the year 150â— one Gonneuille a Frenchman sailed thither and was well entertained by a petty King called Arosea Who also brought away with him some of the Natives amongst the rest the Kings Son Essomeric of whose Race there are some yet in Normandy saith Du Val. New Holland is so highly esteemed by the Dutch that they have caused the Map thereof to be cut in the Stones of their Magnificent State-house though I could not afford one Map for it here It is a Tract of Land containing about 1600 Leagues Not far from Greenland lieth Cherry Island thirty Degrees to the North Eastwards whereof saith our Sea Waggoner is the Island of Nova Zembla and twenty Leagues to a Degree is the Scale made in the Chart so that thirty multiplied by twenty makes six hundred Leagues which is three hundred more than the true distance This also is certain that in all the Land Maps that I have seen it is laid down above one hundred and twenty and 50 Leagues Eastwards farther than it ought to be And I have the rather instanced in this particular for that I have reason to think that this was the chief cause of the misfortune of that venturous and worthy design of Captain Wood in his Attempt for a N. E. passage to China I cannot also but mention the Opinion of some who tell us that Nova Zembla is the Isle Carambice of the Antients from whence Men may go upon the Ice as far as Greenland and further so that its thought that the people that first inhabited America went over this way The Land of Jesso lies between Asia and America where they are separated by great and wide Arms of the Sea tho' others think they excur and meet almost together and by this way was America first peopled but utrum horum mavis accipe The Inhabitants of Jesso exchange their Fish their Tongues their Whales Oyl in the Cities of Japan which are next to them The Planks of their Barks are not nailed but sowed together with Ropes made of the Rinds of Cocos The Relations of the Dutch in the year 1643 tells us that part of the Country acknowledges the King of Japan and that the Governor who resides at Mâ—zimay carries him every year Silver Feathers of sundry Colours and fine Furs Thus briefly have I described all the most known parts of the Earth but must leave that of the unknown to the discovery of future Ages only give me leave to say a word or two to our English Planters c. And I have done To advance an happy Plantation the Undertakers Planters and Place it self must contribute their Endeavors Let the Undertakers be Men of no shallow Heads nor narrow Fortunes such as will be contented with their present loss to be Benefactors to Posterity Let the Planters be Honest Skilful and Painful People for what hope is there that they who were Drones at home will be Bees abroad Let the Place be naturally strong or at leastwise capable of Fortification for though at first Planters are sufficiently fenced with their own Poverty yet when once they have got Wealth they must get Strength to defend it Islands are easily shut whereas Continents have their Doors ever open not to be bolted without great charges Let not the Towns where there is choice of Ground be built in places of a servil nature as being over-awed or commanded by some Hills about them Let it have some Staple Commodity to ballance Traffick with other Countries few Countries can stand alone the Luxury of our Age hath made superfluities necessary Let the Planters endeavor to be loved and feared of the Natives using Justice and Honesty being as naked in their dealings with the Natives as they are naked in their attire imbracing all occasions to convert them each Convert is a Conquest and it is more honour to overcome Paganism in one than to destroy a thousand Pagans for an extirpation of the Natives is rather a supplanting than planting a New Colony I am confident said Dr. Fuller long since that America is now grown Marriagable and hopes to get Christ for a Husband by the preaching of the Gospel I shall only add that no Nation hath spread her Sails for Traffick further than the English And that our Foreign Plantations upon the Asian African and American Continents are so many and so conveniently seated that no Christian Nation hath opportunity of piercing deeper into those vast Heathenish Islands than the English And yet can we say we have improved the Advantages God hath put into our hands to his glory and the propagation of his Gospel have we made so much as one solemn Mission of Pious and Learned Men to preach the glad Tidings of Salvation in Jesus Christ so much as to those ignorant Heathens and Idolaters that confine upon the English Pale yea or the poor Negros that are detained in cruel slavery in our own Plantations I cannot say what Glory and Advantage this would be to the English Nation Pardon me therefore Great Sirs the Proposal of his to your pious considerations whom it doth most concern For your faithful management of the opportunities intrusted to you for the Service of God and the enlargement of his Kingdom at home and abroad you may be assured will not only make an Accession of Renown and Honor to your selves and generous Families but bring in also eternal prosperity and Happiness from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ As I pray God it may Amen FINIS