This Man, Who, In Like
Manner, Had Been Cast By Accident On The Same Island, Asked Them, By Order
Of
The king, from what country they had come; and being made acquainted
with their case, the king ordered that the
Should stay in the country.
These orders they obeyed, as indeed they could not do otherwise, and they
remained five years on the island, during which time they learned the
language of the people. One of them was in various parts of the island, and
affirms that it is a very rich country, abounding in every commodity and
convenience in life, being little less than Iceland, but much more fertile,
having a very high mountain in the centre, from whence four great rivers
take their source, and traverse the whole country.
The inhabitants are a very ingenious and sensible people, and have arts and
handicrafts of every kind as we have; and it is highly probable that they
formerly carried on some traffic with Europe, as this man says he saw Latin
books in the kings library, but which at present they do not understand;
for they have a language of their own, and peculiar letters or characters
in which it is written. They trade with Engroveland or Greenland, and get
from thence furs, brimstone, and pitch. To the south of Estoitland there
is a very large and populous country, which abounds with gold. The people
sow corn, and make the liquor called beer, which is drank by the people of
the north as wine is among us in Italy. They have large and extensive
woods; make their buildings with walls; and have a great number of towns
and castles. They build ships and navigate the sea; but they have not the
loadstone, and know nothing about the use of the compass; on which account
these fishermen were held in high estimation, insomuch that the king sent
them with twelve ships to the southward to a country called Drogio. In
their voyage thither, they had such contrary winds and stormy weather that
they thought to have foundered at sea; but escaping that death, they met
with a fate still more dreadful, as they were made prisoners by the
savages, who are cannibals, and most of them were devoured. But the
Frisland fisherman and his companions, by teaching these barbarians the way
to catch fish with nets, saved their lives. This man used to go every day
to the sea or the rivers, in which he caught vast quantities of fish, which
he gave away among the principal people of the country; by which means he
got into such high favour that he was beloved and respected by every body.
The fame of this man spread abroad through the whole country; and one of
the lords, being very desirous to have him, that he might see and learn
this new and wonderful art of catching fish, made war against the lord with
whom he lived, and prevailing in consequence of his superior power and
greater skill in war, the fisherman and his companions were given up to him
as the price of peace. During thirteen years that he resided in these
parts, he says that he was transferred in this manner to twenty-five
different lords, as they were continually at war with each other to procure
possession of him; so that by wandering about the country in this manner he
became perfectly well acquainted with every part of it, He says that it is
a very extensive country, and as it were a new world; but that the
inhabitants are a rude unpolished people, without the enjoyment of any
convenience of life; for, although they take or kill many wild animals in
hunting, they have not the sense to make their skins into garments, but all
go naked, and are miserably pinched with cold. They are besides extremely
uncivilized and savage, continually engaged in wars against each other, in
which they commit horrible ravages, and devour their prisoners. They know
not the use of any metal, and live by the chase, being armed with spears of
wood made sharp at the point, and use bows, the strings of which are made
of slips of hide. They are divided into small tribes, each of which has its
lord or governor, and the laws or customs of the several tribes differ much
from each other. Farther to the southwest, however, the manners are more
civilized in proportion to the increasing mildness of the climate; and
there the people are not without some degree of knowledge, making use of
gold and silver, and having cities and temples dedicated to idols, in which
they offer up human sacrifices.
After residing many years among this savage people, the principal fisherman
became desirous of returning into his own country, but his companions being
without hope of ever seeing it again, wished him prosperity in his attempt,
and resolved to remain where they were. Bidding them farewell, he fled
through the woods, in the direction which led towards Drogio, and was
received with great kindness by one of the lords of that country who knew,
him, and who was a determined enemy to the lord from whence he had escaped.
Thus passing from one lord to another, with all of whom he was well
acquainted, as he had formerly resided with them all, he at length, and
with great difficulty, arrived in Drogio, where he stayed three years. Then
fortunately hearing that some small vessel had arrived on the coast, he
went thither, and learned, to his unspeakable satisfaction, that they were
from Estoitland. Upon this, he earnestly requested to be taken on board,
which they did very willingly; and as he understood the language of the
country, which the others did not, he became their interpreter. He
afterwards made repeated voyages from Estoitland to Drogio and acquired
great riches. After which, he equipped a bark of his own, in which he
returned to Frisland where he made a report to his lord of all that had
befallen him, and of the discovery he had made of an extensive and wealthy
country.
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