And This Is The Greatest Curse That They Haue.

And East Northeast of Russia lieth Lampas, which is a place where the Russes, Tartars, and Samoeds meete twise a yeere, and make the faire to barter wares for wares.

And Northeast from Lampas lieth the countrey of the Samoeds, which be about the riuer of Pechere, and these Samoeds bee in subiection to the Emperour of Russia, and they lie in tentes made of Deere skinnes, and they vse much witchcraft, and shoot well in bowes. And Northeast from the river Pechere [Footnote: Or, Pechora.] lieth Vaygatz, and there are the wilde Samoeds which will not suffer the Russes to land out of the Sea, but they will kill them and eate them, as wee are tolde by the Russes: and they liue in heards, and haue all their carriages with deere, for they haue no horses. Beyond Vaygatz lyeth a lande called Noua Zembla, which is a great lande, but wee sawe no people, and there we had Foule inough, and there wee sawe white Foxes and white Beares And the sayde Samoeds which are about the bankes of Pechere, which are in subiection to the Emperour of Russia, when they will remoue from one place to another, then they will make sacrifices in manner following. Euerie kinred doeth sacrifice in their owne tent, and hee that is most auncient is their Priest. And first the Priest doth beginne to play vpon a thing like to a great sieue, with a skinne on the one ende like a drumme: and the sticke that he playeth with is about a spannne long, and one ende is round like a ball, couered with the skinne of an Harte. Also the Priest hath vpon his head a thing of white like a garlande, and his face is couered with a piece of a shirt of maile, with manie small ribbes, and teeth of fishes, and wilde beastes hanging on the same maile. Then he singeth as wee vse heere in Englande to hallow, whope, or showte at houndes, and the rest of the company answere him with this Owtis, Igha, Igha, Igha, and then the Priest replieth againe, with his voyces. And they answere him with the selfsame wordes so manie times, that in the ende he becommeth as it were madde, and falling downe as hee were dead, hauing nothing on him but a shirt, lying vpon his backe I might perceiue him to breathe. I asked them why hee lay so, and they answered mee, Now doeth our God tell him what wee shall doe, and whither we shall goe. And when he had lyen still a little while, they cried thus three times together, Oghao, Oghao, Oghao, and as they vse these three calles, hee riseth with his head and lieth downe againe, and then hee rose vp and sang with like voyces as hee did before: and his audience answered him, Igha, Igha, Igha. Then hee commaunded them to kill fiue Olens or great Deere, and continued singing still both hee and they as before. Then hee tooke a sworde of a cubite and a spanne long, (I did not mete it my selfe) and put it into his bellie halfeway and sometime lesse, but no wounde was to bee seene, (they continuing in their sweete song still). Then he put the sworde into the fire till it was warme, and so thrust it into the slitte of his shirte and thrust it through his bodie, as I thought, in at his nauill and out at his fundament: the poynt beeing out of his shirt behind, I layde my finger vpon it, then hee pulled out the sworde and sate downe. This beeing done, they set a kettle of water ouer the fire to heate, and when the water doeth seethe, the Priest beginneth to sing againe they answering him, for so long as the water was in heating, they sate and sang not. Then they made a thing being foure square, and in height and squarenesse of a chaire, and couered with a gown very close the forepart thereof, for the hinder part stood to the tents side. Their tents are rounde and are called Chome in their language. The water still seething on the fire, and this square seate being ready, the Priest put off his shirt, and the thing like a garland which was on his head, with those things which couered his face, and he had on yet all this while a paire of hosen of deeres skins with the haire on, which came vp to his buttocks. So he went into the square seate, and sate down like a tailour and sang with a strong voyce or hallowing. Then they tooke a small line made of deeres skinnes of four fathoms long, and with a smal knotte the Priest made it fast about his necke, and vnder his left arme, and gaue it vnto two men standing on both sides of him, which held the ends together. Then the kettle of hote water was set before him in the square seat, al this time the square seat was not couered, and then it was couered with a gown of broad cloth without lining, such as the Russes do weare. Then the 2. men which did hold the ends of the line stil standing there, began to draw, and drew til they had drawn the ends of the line stiffe and together, and then I hearde a thing fall into the kettle of water which was before him in the tent. Thereupon I asked them that sate by me what it was that fell into the water that stoode before him. And they answered me, that it was his head, his shoulder and left arme, which the line had cut off, I meane the knot which I sawe afterwarde drawen hard together. Then I rose vp and would haue looked whether it were so or not, but they laid hold on me, and said, that if they should see him with their bodily eyes, they shoulde liue no longer. And the most part of them can speake the Russe tongue to be vnderstood:

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