He Gave Me An Account Of
His Whole Journey, Having Been Respectfully Treated Every Where; Always
Before Entering Any Town, Being Met Both By Horse And Foot To Conduct
Him To The Different Governors, By Whom He Was Kindly Received.
All his
provisions were provided by their officers, but at his own expence; and
the servant of the governor of Mokha caused him every where to be well
used.
He was met a mile from Sinan by forty or fifty Turks, well
mounted, sent by the Pacha to escort him to a well-furnished house
prepared for his reception. He was there kindly received and entertained
by the xeriffe and the pacha's chief treasurer, who were both deputed to
give him welcome in the name of the pacha. Two days afterwards, he had
audience of the pacha, from whom he received courteous entertainment,
receiving two phirmauns of the same tenor, one of which was much more
ornamentally written than the other, and intended for being shown to the
Grand Signior, if necessary.
According to his report, the city of Sinan and its neighbourhood will
give vent yearly for a good quantity of English cloth, as the weather
there is cold for three quarters of the year; and even while he was
there, though the height of summer, a person might well endure a furred
gown. Besides, there is a court at that place to which belongs forty
or fifty thousand gallant Turks,[294] most of whom wore garments of
high-priced Venetian cloth. Not far from thence there is a leskar, or
camp, of 30,000 soldiers,[295] continually in the field against an Arab
king in the adjoining mountains, not yet conquered; all of which
soldiers are said to wear coats of quilted India chintzes, which are
dear, and of little service to defend them from the cold of that region,
which is there excessive. To this I may add the city or Teyes, near
which there is a leskar of thirty or forty thousand soldiers,
commanded by a German renegado under the pacha of Sinan. That place,
though only about five days journey from Mokha, is very cold, and much
cloth is worn by the people about that place.
[Footnote 294: This is probably a vast exaggeration, though in words at
length in the Pilgrims; and we ought more likely to read four or
five thousand Turks. - E.]
[Footnote 295: A similar reduction to 3000 is probably needful for this
army. - E.]
On the 2d of August the governor sent a rich vest to our captain by the
chief shabander, attended by drums and trumpets, his boat being decked
out with flags and streamers. This was delivered with great ceremony,
and reverently received. The Dabul nokhada, Melic Marvet, and Roswan,
the nokhada of the Chaul ship, sent us letters of recommendation to
their kings, on the 11th August, according to our desire, certifying the
friendly usage they had experienced from us at Mokha, and our kind
offer to protect them on the homeward voyage, from pirates, and
entreating therefore for us freedom of trade and friendly usage in their
dominions. The 14th, as we had formerly done to others, we gave our
passes to two Malabar captains, Amet ben Mahomet of Cananore, under
Sultan Ala Rajah, and Aba Beker of Calicut, under the Zamorin.
This day there came a galley into the road from Cairo, having many Turks
and Jews as passengers, bringing great store of dollars, chekins, coral,
damask, sattin, camblet, opium, velvets, and taffetas. She had come down
the whole length of the Red Sea in thirty days. I had a conference with
the Jews, one of whom I had formerly known in Barbary. They reported
that the brother of the former Grand Signior, on being made emperor, had
imprisoned his two nephews, and put to death several of the grandees,
and had otherwise given great offence to the great men at
Constantinople, whereupon he was deposed and imprisoned, and his eldest
nephew made emperor in his stead. They said likewise that an army of
200,000 men was sent against the Persians, for the conquest of
Gurgistan, adding various other particulars, some of which turned out
true, and others false, like merchants news in general. Some Turks and
Jews desired to have passage for themselves and goods in our ship to
Surat; and it is likely, when they know us better, much profit may be
made in this way, as their junks are usually pestered with rude people.
Having sold and bartered our goods as well as we could have expected,
considering our cargo, and dispatched all our business, we visited the
governor, and desired to have his testimonials to the lord ambassador,
which he gave us. We took leave of him on the 19th of August, and of the
scrivano and other chief men of the town, from whom we received
protestations of continued kindness on all future occasions. We went
aboard that same day, proposing to sail the next day for India, taking
the Surat junk under our convoy, according to our instructions.
SECTION XII.
JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE TO SURAT AND JASQUES, IN 1620.[296]
"According to the title of this journal in the Pilgrims, the fleet which
sailed on this voyage consisted of the London, of 800 tons, William
Baffin master, on board of which was Captain Andrew Shilling, chief in
command, or general; the Hart, of 500 tons, Richard Blithe master; the
Roebuck, of 300 tons, Richard Swan master; and the Eagle, of 280 tons,
Christopher Brown master. The account of the voyage in Purchas is said
to consist of extracts from the journal written by Richard Swan, the
master or captain of the Roebuck." - E.
[Footnote 296: Purch. Pilgr. 1. 723.]
Sec.1. Voyage from England to Surat.
We sailed from Tilbury-hope on the 26th of February, 1620, and anchored
in Saldanha road [Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope] on 24th of June,
where we found the Lion homewards-bound, and nine Dutch ships bound for
Bantam, commanded by a gentleman named Nicolas van Baccum, who Was said
to have studied seven years at Oxford.
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