But Many Of His People
Began To Murmur, Being Quite Wearied With So Tedious A Voyage, Alleging,
That As The Winter Was Fast Approaching, They Should Not Be Able To Return
Home Before The Ensuing Summer, If They Made Any Longer Delay.
On this
account, retaining only the row-boats, and as many men as were willing to
stay with him.
Zichmni sent away all the rest of the people with the ships,
giving the command to me, Antonio Zeno, much against my will. Taking
therefore our departure, we sailed twenty days to the eastwards, without
seeing any land; on which we shifted our course to the south-east, and
after five days, we came in sight of the island of Neome[3], so that we
passed Iceland without seeing it. We here procured refreshments from the
inhabitants, who were subject to Zichmni, and sailed thence in three days
to Frisland, where we were received with great joy, as the people
thought, in consequence of our long absence, that their prince and the
whole armament had been lost.
As to the particulars concerning the people and their customs, the animate,
and the productions of these countries, I have written all these in a
separate book, in which I have described the country, and the wonderful
fishes of Frisland, Estland, Norway, Estoitland, Drogio, Icaria, and
Engroveland, on both its sides. I have composed likewise, the life of my
brother Nicolo Zeno, with an account of his discoveries; and a history of
the life and acts of Zichmni, a prince as worthy of immortal fame as any
that ever lived, having been famous for his valour, enterprising spirit,
and humanity.
[1] Or Icarus, for the language in Forster is ambiguous, and does not
clearly fix this important historical fact! - E.
[2] The expression is here so equivocal as to leave in doubt whether the
killed and wounded were Icarians or Frislanders, or part of
both. - E.
[3] Neome seems to be the isle or Stromoe, one of the Faro Islands; as it
is in fact to the southward of Iceland, and only three days sail from
the Orkneys, the Faras-islands, or Frisland of this author. - Forst.
CHAP. XVI.
Travels of John Schildtberger into Tartary, in 1394[1].
John Schildtberger, a native of Munich in Bavaria, went with the army of
King Sigismund of Hungary, against the Turks in 1394. In 1395, being taken
prisoner, he was sent by Bajazet, whose name he always writes Weyasit,
into Asia. In the great battle, in which Bajazet was defeated, and taken
captive by Timur, Schildtberger was again made prisoner, and accompanied
that conqueror in all his expeditions, till his death in 1405, at Otrar or
Farab, though Schildtberger says that he died in his capital of Samarcand.
After the death of Timur, he entered into the service of Shah-Rokh, and was
left by that prince among the auxiliary troops, which assisted his brother
Miran-Shah against Kara-Joseph, a Turkomanian emir of the black-weather
tribe. Miran-shah having been made prisoner and beheaded by Kara-Joseph,
Schildtberger followed the standards of Abubekr, the son of Miran-shah.
At this time, there lived in the court of Abubekr, a prince named Zegra, a
son of the khan of Great Tartary, to whom Ideku[2] sent word that he would
resign to him the sovereignty of Kiptschak. Zegra accordingly set out for
Great Tartary, accompanied by Schildtberger, and four others. Their route
lay through Strana[3], which produces good silk; then through Gursey,
Gurghia, or Georgia, which is inhabited by Christians; after this, through
the country of, Lahinsham[4], where silk is cultivated; and through
Schurban, or Shirvan, where the silk is produced from which the silk
stuffs of Damascus and Kaffer[5] are made. They next passed through
Bursa[6], which is situated in Turkey, and from whence the fine silk, of
which velvet is manufactured, is sent to Venice and Lucca: This is an
unhealthy country. Their route next lay through Temur-capit, Demir-Kapi
or, Derbent, which signifies, in the Tartarian language, the Iron-gate, and
which separates Persia from Tartary. They then went through a town of great
strength, called Origens[7], situated in the middle of the Edil. After
this, their way was through the mountainous country of Setzalet, in which
there are many Christians, who have a bishop and some Carthusian monks, who
perform the service in the Tartarian language, that the common people may
understand what is sung and read. They were now arrived in Great Tartary,
at the camp of Ideku, who had just assembled all his forces and was going
to march into the land of Ibissibur[8]. In this expedition, they employed
two months of continual marching; in the course of which, they crossed a
range of mountains, thirty-two days journey in length, and at their
extremity, there is a desert, which is the end of the world[9]; which
desert is uninhabitable from the number of reptiles and wild beasts with
which it is infested. These mountains are inhabited by roaming savages, who
are hairy all over, except their faces and hands[10], and who subsist on
green leaves and roots, or whatever they can procure. In this country,
also, there, are wild asses as large as horses. The inhabitants employ
dogs, as large as asses, to draw carts and sledges, and some times feed
upon them. They are Christians, and they bury, their young people who die
in celibacy, with music and rejoicing, eating and drinking at their graves.
In this country they cultivate nothing but beans, and they eat no bread.
Having made a conquest of Bissibur, they marched into. Walor[11], which
they also conquered, and then returned into Kiptschak.
At this period, there was a high officer of state among the Tartars, called
Obmann, who had usurped the power of nominating and deposing the khan, and
to whom all the lords or chiefs were subservient. This anomalous dignity
was now held by Ideku; who, as has been already mentioned, had invited
Zegra to accept the dignity of khan.
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