He Gives Also An Account Of A Sea Of Sand And
Gravel, Entirely Destitute Of Water, The Mare Arenosum Of Oderic; To Which
He Adds That It Moves In Waves Like The Ocean.
Though he makes Prester John
sovereign of India, he assigns Susa in Persia for his residence; constructs
the gates
Of his palace of sardonyx, its bars of ivory, its windows of rock
crystal, and its tables of emeralds; while numerous carbuncles, each one
foot in length, served infinitely better than lamps to illuminate the
palace by night. To many absurdities, apparitions, and miracles, copied and
disguised from Oderic, he adds two islands in the middle of the continent,
one inhabited by giants thirty feet high, while their elder brethren in the
other are from forty-five to fifty feet.
He borrows many fabulous stories from Pliny, and from the romances of the
middle, ages, yet so ignorantly as to reverse the very circumstances of his
authors. Andromeda is not the lady who was rescued by Perseus, but the
monster by which she was to have been devoured. Two islands in India, one
called Brahmin, and the other Gymnosophist. And a thousand other fictions
and absurdities, too ridiculous even for the credulity of children. Of this
worse than useless performance, the foregoing analysis is perhaps more than
sufficient for the present work. - E.
[1] Forst. Voy. and Disc. in the Nerth, p. 148. Pinkert. Mod. Geogr. II.
xxxvi. Hakluyt, II. 76.
CHAP. XIV.
Itinerary of Pegoletti, between Asof and China, in 1355[1].
In the year 1355, Francisco Balducci Pegoletti, an Italian, wrote a system
of commercial geography, of great importance, considering the period in
which it was written. Its title translated into English, is, "Of the
Divisions of Countries, and of their Measures, Merchandize, and other
things useful to be known by the Merchants of various parts of the World."
All of this curious work which has any reference to our present
undertaking, is the chapter which is entitled, "Guide or the Route from
Tana to Kathay, with Merchandize, and back again." This is published entire
by J. R. Forster, with several learned notes and illustrations, and is here
reprinted.
* * * * *
From Tana or Asof to Gintarchan or Astracan[2], is twenty-five days
journey with waggons drawn by oxen; but may be accomplished in ten or
twelve days, if the waggons are drawn by horses. On the road one meets with
a great number of armed Moccols, Moguls or Mongals. From Gintarchan to
Sara[3] by the river, it is only one days sail; but from Sara to
Saracanco[4], it takes eight days by water; one may, however, travel
either by land or water, whichever is most agreeable; but it costs much
less expence to go with merchandize by water. From Saracanco to Organci[5]
is a journey of twenty days with loaded camels; and whoever travels with
merchandize, will do well to go to Organci, as it is a very convenient
place for the expeditious sale of goods. From Organci to Oltrarra[6], it is
thirty-five or forty days journey, with camels: But in going direct from
Saracanco to Oltrarra, it takes fifty days journey; and if one has no
merchandize, it is a better way than to go by Organci. From Oltrarra to
Armalecco[7], it is forty-five days journey with loaded asses, and in this
road, one meets every day with Moguls. From Armalecco to Camexu[8], it is
seventy days journey on asses; and from Camexu to a river called the Kara
Morin[9], it is fifty days journey on horses. From this river, the
traveller may go to Cassai[10] to dispose of his silver there, as it is an
excellent station for the expeditious sale of merchandize; and from Cassai,
he may go through the whole land of Gattay or Kathay, with the money he has
received at Cassai for his silver[11]. This money is of paper, and called
balischi, four of which balischies are equal to one silver somno[12].
From Cassai to Galmalecco[l3], which is the capital of the empire of
Kathay, it is thirty days journey.
* * * * *
If the reader has any idea of the difficulty attendant on making out so
many places, disguised by a vicious orthography, a difficulty, which is
still more increased by the necessity there is for determining, with
accuracy, the situation of these places, and their probable distances from
each other, he will be ready to allow that the task is certainly not very
trifling, nor to be accomplished without much labour. In the foregoing
itinerary, Pegoletti certifies the existence of the paper money which had
been previously mentioned by Rubraquis, Haitho, Marco Polo, and Oderic:
Some of these authors describe it as having been fabricated of cotton
paper; while others remark very justly, that it was made of the bark of the
paper mulberry tree. Oderic calls it Balis, Pegoletti gives it the name of
Balis-chi. A Jesuit named Gabriel de Magaillans, pretends that Marco Polo
was mistaken in regard to this paper money; but the concurrent testimony of
five other credible witnesses of the fact, is perfectly conclusive that
this paper money did actually exist during the first Mogul dynasty, the
descendants of Zinghis, called the legal tribe of Yu by the Chinese. On
the downfall of that race it was abolished.
Supposing the station on the Kara-morin and Cassai to be the same, which is
highly probable, the whole journey in this itinerary, from Asof to Pekin,
extends to 276 days, besides nine days more by water, or 285 in all; so
that allowing for delays, rests, accidents, and occasional trafficking, a
whole year may fairly be allowed, and as much for the return.
[1] Forster, Voy. and Disc, in the North, p. 150.
[2] Gintarchan, or Zintarchan, is, by Josaphat Barbaro, called also
Gitarchau; and Witsan, in his account of Northern and Eastern Tartary,
says Astracan was called of old Citracan. By the Calmuks, it is
called Hadschi-Aidar-Khan-Balgassun, or the city of Hadschi Aidar
Khan, whence all these names are derived by an obvious corruption,
like [Greek:
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