Three Days Journey Thence, Through A Most Pleasant Country,
Exceedingly Well Inhabited, We Come To The Large City Of Gieza,
Which is
the last in the kingdom of Quinsai, After this we enter into another
province of the kingdom of
Mangi called Concha, the principal city of which
is Fugiu, by which you travel six days journey south-east, through hills
and dales, always finding inhabited places, and plenty of beasts, fowls,
and game, and some strong lions are found in the mountains and forests.
Ginger, galingal, and other spices, grow here in great plenty, and there is
an herb, of which the fruit has the same colour, smell, and effect with
saffron, which it is not, and is much used in their meats[15], The
inhabitants are idolaters, and subjects of the great khan, and eat mans
flesh, if the person has not died of disease, even considering it as better
flavoured than any other. When they go into the fields, they shave to the
ears, and paint their faces with azure. All their soldiers serve on foot,
except the captains, who are on horseback, and their arms are swords and
lances. They are very cruel, and when they kill an enemy, they immediately
drink his blood, and afterwards eat his flesh.
After six days journey is Quelinfu, a great city with three bridges, each
of which is eight paces broad, and above an hundred paces long. The men are
great merchants and manufacturers, and the women are fair and delicately
shaped. The country produces plenty of ginger and galingal, and great
abundance of silk and cotton. I was told, but saw them not, that they have
hens without feathers, hairy like cats, which yet lay eggs, and are good to
eat[16]. In this part of the country there are many lions, which make the
ways very dangerous. After three days journey, we arrive in a populous
country inhabited by idolaters, who make great quantities of silk stuffs.
The chief city is Unguem, near which abundance of sugar is produced, and
sent from thence to Cambalu. Before the reduction of this country by the
great Khan, the inhabitants of this country could only manufacture a bad
kind of sugar, by boiling down the juice of the cane into a black paste;
but certain inhabitants from Babylonia, taught them refine it by means of
the ashes of a certain tree[17]. Fifteen miles farther is the city of
Cangiu, still in the province of Concha, and here the Khan has always an
army in readiness for keeping the country under subjection. Through this
city there runs a river of a mile broad, with handsome buildings on both
sides, and the river is constantly covered with vessels carrying sugar and
other goods. This river disembogues itself at the distance of five days
journey south-east from Cangiu, into the sea at Zaitum all the country
between being extremely pleasant, and abounding in trees and shrubs of
camphor. Zaitum is a famous port, and much frequented by ships with rich
cargoes from India, for the supply of Mangi and Kathay, and from this port
the productions of these regions are dispersed all over India.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 308 of 425
Words from 160523 to 161055
of 222093
