[1] From This Circumstance It Is Obvious, That The Journey Had Been Hitherto Confined To Casaria, Or The Crimea, And That He Had Now Reached The Lines Or Isthmus Of Precop.

- E.

[2] In the English translation of Hakluyt, this word is changed to Capthak, and in the collection of Harris to Capthai; it is probably the Kiptschak of the Russians. - E.

SECTION XV.

Of our Distresses, and of the Comanian funerals.

In our journey eastwards we saw nothing but the earth and sky, having sometimes the sea of Tanais within sight on our right hand, and sometimes we saw the sepulchres in which the Comanians used to bury their dead, at the distance of a league or two from the line of our journey. So long as we travelled in the desert, matters were tolerably well with us, but I cannot sufficiently express the irksome and tedious plagues and troubles we had to encounter in the dwellings of the Tartars; for our guide insisted upon us making presents to every one of the Tartar captains, which we were utterly unable to afford, and we were eight persons in all, continually using our provisions, as the three Tartars who accompanied us insisted that we should feed them; and the flesh which had been given us was by no means sufficient, and we could not get any to buy. While we sat under the shadow of our carts to shelter us from the extreme heat of the sun, they would intrude into our company, and even tread upon us, that they might see what we had; and when they had to ease nature, would hardly withdraw a few yards distance, shamelessly talking to us the whole lime.

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