They Have Likewise Abundance Of
Fine Fish, And Eat Of All Sorts Of Flesh, Without Making Any Difference.
Their Cocco Nuts Are As Large As A Mans Head, And The Middle Of Them Is
Full Of A Pleasant Liquor, Better Than Wine.
Dragoian[13] is another of those kingdoms claimed by the khan, which has a
king and a peculiar language.
I was told of an abominable custom in this
country; that when any one is sick, his relatives send to inquire at the
sorcerers if he is to recover? If they answer no, the kindred then send for
a person, whose office it is to strangle the sick person, whom they
immediately cut in pieces and devour, even to the marrow of their bones,
for they allege, that if any part were to remain, worms would breed in it,
which would be in want of food, and would therefore die, to the great
torture of the soul of the dead person. They afterwards carry away the
bones, and conceal them carefully in caves in the mountains, that no beast
may touch them. If they can lay their hands on any stranger, they treat him
in the same barbarous manner.
Lambri is the fifth kingdom of Java-minor, or Sumatra, in which is great
plenty of Brazil wood, some of the seeds of which I brought to Venice, but
they would not vegetate, as the climate was too cold for them. In this
country there are great numbers of unicorns or rhinoceroses, and plenty of
other beasts and birds. Fanfur is the sixth kingdom, having the best
camphor, which Is sold weight for weight with gold. In that kingdom, they
make a kind of meal from great and long trees, as thick as two men are able
to fathom. Having taken off the thin bark, the wood within is only about
three fingers thick, all the rest being pith, from which the meal is made.
This pith is broken to pieces, and stirred among water, the light dross
swimming, and being thrown away, while the finer parts settle at the
bottom, and is made into paste[14]. I brought some of this to Venice, which
tastes not much unlike barley bread. The wood of this tree is so heavy as
to sink in water like iron, and of it they make excellent lances, but being
very heavy, they are under the necessity of making them short. These are
hardened in the fire, and sharpened, and when so prepared, they will pierce
through armour easier than if made of iron. About 150 miles to the
northward of Lambri, there are two islands, one called Nocueran and the
other Angaman,[l5] in the former of which the inhabitants live like beasts,
and go entirely naked, but have excellent trees, such as cloves, red and
white sanders, coco-nuts, Brazil, and various spices in the other island
the inhabitants are equally savage, and are said to have the heads and
teeth of dogs.
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