The 15th May, The King Of Rahayta, A Petty Prince On The African Coast
Of The Red Sea, Came To Assab To Visit Sir Henry And Me, Riding Upon A
Cow.
He had a turban on his head, from which a piece of periwinkle shell
hung down on his forehead instead of a jewel.
He was entirely naked,
except a piece of painted cloth about his loins, and was attended by 150
men, armed with darts, bows and arrows, swords and targets. Sir Henry
and I went ashore, taking with us a guard of 100 men, shot and pikes, to
prevent treachery, lest the Turks might have planned any trick through
his means, under cover of courtesy, and we were loth to let him go back
without an interview, lest we might lose his friendship, and the
refreshments we procured at the port of Assab, which is in his
dominions. We gave him several presents, and, at his particular
entreaty, gave him his fill of aquavitae, so that he could hardly stand.
These people are Mahometans, being black and hard-favoured, with crisp
hair. The king presented us with five bullocks, and promised every
assistance in his power.
This day I got a note of the prices of commodities, as lately bought and
sold at Surat, of the following tenor: - Broad-cloth of twenty pounds
each piece, of several colours, twenty mahmudies the conido, of
thirty-five inches; five mahmudies being equal to one rial of eight,
or Spanish dollar. Kersies, eighty-four mahmudies the piece, being less
than ours cost in England. Lead; the great maund, of thirty-three
pounds, seven one-third mahmudies. Tin, the small maund, of
twenty-five pounds, five and a half dollars. At Dabul, iron sold for
twenty-one dollars the bahar, of 360 pounds. Damasked pieces,[418]
from twelve to eighteen dollars each. Elephants teeth, sixty-five
mahmudies the great maund, of thirty-three pounds. Indigo
cirkesa,[419] three sorts, the best at fourteen rupees, each worth
half a dollar; the second sort, twelve rupees, and the third, eight
rupees for the great maund, of thirty-three pounds. Three sorts of
Lahore indigo, being the best of all, the best, thirty-six, the second,
thirty, and the third, twenty-four rupees for a maund weighing
fifty-five pounds. Charges of bringing it to the water-side, ten in the
100 for the cirkesa, and twenty in the 100 custom for the lahore
indigo.
[Footnote 418: Perhaps these were damasked gun-barrels. - E.]
[Footnote 419: Cirkesa, by others named Serkes and Sherkes, is a village
near Ahmedabab, the capital of Cambaya, or Guzerat, where indigo is
made. - Astl. 466. d.]
The 23d May, the Thomas, having forty-nine men all in health, set sail
for Socotora for aloes, and to go thence for Priaman and Tekoo in
Sumatra, for pepper. The 8th August the Hector sailed for Priaman and
Tekoo, having eighty-eight Englishmen aboard in perfect health, the
monsoon being now favourable. The 10th and 11th all reckonings were
cleared between us and the junks Hassani, Caderi, Mahmudi, Rehemi, and
Salameti.
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