Into This District A Large River Descends From The Mountains, Which The Inhabitants Lead Off To Water Or Irrigate The Whole Region; So That This River Does Not Discharge Itself Into Any Sea, But After Forming Many Pools Or Marshes, Is Absorbed Into The Earth.

In this region we saw vines growing, and drank twice of their wines.

SECTION XXV

Of the Execution of Ban, and concerning the residence of certain Germans.

The next day we came to another village nearer to the mountains, which, I understood, were called Caucasus, and that they reached from the eastern to the western sea, even passing the Caspian to the west. I likewise inquired concerning the town of Talas, in which, according to Friar Andrew [1], there were certain Germans in the service of one Buri and I had formerly made inquiries concerning them at the courts of Sartach and Baatu[2]. But I could only learn, that their master, Ban, had been put to death on the following occasion. This Ban happened to have his appointed residence in inferior pastures, and one day when drunk, he said to his people, that being of the race of Zingis as well as Baatu, whose brother or nephew he was, he thought himself entitled to feed his flocks on the fine plains of the Volga as freely as Baatu himself. These speeches were reported to Baatu, who immediately wrote to the servants of Ban to bring their lord bound before him. Then Baatu demanded whether he had spoken the words, which were reported, and Ban acknowledged them, but pled that he was drunk at the time, and it is usual among the Tartars to forgive the words and actions of drunk men.

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