Europe - The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques And Discoveries Of The English Nation - Volume 4 - Collected By Richard Hakluyt
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Of The Clock At Night, And Continued Burning Til
Midnight, Whereby One Halfe Of It Was Burnt, And Much Cattell Destroyed.
The Nagayes That Inhabite That Towne, Are The Emperour Of Russia His
Vassals:
It is supposed there are of them inhabiting that place of men,
women, and children, the number of seuen thousand.
That night the Allarum
was made in the castle and towne of Astracan. The captaine thereof had all
his souldiers in very good order and readinesse, being of them in number
two thousand gunners and cassaks, that is to say, a thousand gunners which
are accounted meere souldiers, and are not put to any other seruice then
the vse of their pieces, watch, &c. as souldiers which alwaies keepe the
castle, and the cassaks also vsing their pieces, do keepe the towne, and
are commonly set to all kind of labours.
The 7. of March 1580. the Nagayes and Crims came before Astracan to the
number of one thousand foure hundred horsemen, which incamped round about,
but the nearest of them were two Russe versts and a halfe off from the
castle and town: some of them lay on the Crims side of Volga, and some on
the Nagay side, but none of them came vpon the Island that Astracan
standeth on. [Sidenote: Astracan situate vpon an Island.] It was said that
two of the prince of the Crims his sonnes were amongst them. They sent a
messenger on the eight day to the captain of Astracan, to signifie that
they would come and visit him: who answered, he was ready to receiue them:
and taking a great shot or bullet in his hand, willed the messenger to tel
them that they should not want of that geare, so long as it would last. The
ninth day newes was brought that the Crims determined to assault the towne
or castle, and were making of fagots of reede, to bring with them for that
purpose. The tenth day two Russes that were captiues, and two of the
Tartars bondmen ranne away from the Nagayes, and came into Astracan. The
same day word was brought to the Duke of two Nagayes which were seene at
Gostine house, supposed to be spies, but were gone againe from thence
before they were suspected. This Gostine house is a place a little without
the towne where the Tisiks (or Persian merchants) do vsually remaine with
their merchandize. The 11. day the said Nagayes, and one more with them,
came againe to that house earely in the morning, where they were taken by
the Russes, and brought to the captaine of the castle, and being examined,
confessed that their coming was onely to seeke two of their bondmen that
were runne from them: whereupon their bondmen were deliuered to them: which
fauour the said captaine comonly sheweth if they be not Russies, and they
were set at libertie. The 13. day they brake vp their camps, and marched to
the Northwards into the countrey of Nagay.
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