- E.]

[Footnote 421:

These seem to be the mountains of Imaus, called Cumao by the natives. - _Hakluyt_.

The Himmaleh mountains, dividing Bootan from Thibet, said to be visible from the plains of Bengal at the distance of 150 miles. - E.]

From Chittigong in Bengal, I went to _Bacola_[422], the king of which country is a Gentile of an excellent disposition, who is particularly fond of shooting with a gun. His country is large and fertile, having great abundance of rice, and manufactures much silk, and cloths of cotton. The houses of this city are good and well built, with large streets. The people go naked, except a cloth round their waists, and the women wear many silver hoops about their necks and arms, and rings of silver, copper, and ivory about their legs. From thence I went to _Serrepore_ upon the Ganges, the king or rajah of which is called Chondery. They are all hereabouts in rebellion against the great Mogul, for there are so many rivers and islands that they escape from one to another, so that his horsemen cannot prevail against them. Great store of cotton cloth is made here. _Sinnergan_ is a town six leagues from _Serrepore_, where the best and finest cotton cloth of all the east is made[423]. The chief king of all those countries is called Isa-khan, being supreme over all the other kings or rajahs, and is a great friend to the Christians. Here, as in most parts of India, the houses are very small and covered with straw, having a few mats hung round the walls and over the door-way, to keep out tigers and foxes. They live on rice, milk, and fruits, eating no flesh and killing no animals; and though many of them are very rich, their sole article of dress is a small cloth before them. From hence they send great quantities of cotton cloths and much rice, all over India, Pegu, Malacca, Sumatra, and other places.

[Footnote 422: Perhaps Pucouloe, a place of some size near Davas between the Ganges and Burhampooter rivers. - E.]

[Footnote 423: Serampoor on the Hoogly river agrees at least in sound with the Serrepore of the text; but, from the context, I rather suspect Serrepore to have stood among the numerous islands of the great eastern Ganges, in the province of Dava, and near the junction of the Ganges and Burhampooter or Megna rivers. Of Sinnergan I can make nothing, only that it must have stood in the same district. - E.]

I went from Serrepore the 28th of November 1586 for Pegu, in a small ship or foist, commanded by one Albert Caravallos, and sailing down the Ganges, we passed by the island of Sundiva, Porto grande, or Chittigong, in the country of Tiperah, and the kingdom of Recon and Mogen[424], leaving all on our left hand, our course being south by east, with the wind at north-west, which brought us to the bar of Negrais in Pegu. Had we met with a foul wind, we must have thrown many things overboard, for we were so lumbered with people and goods, even on the deck, that there was scarce a place to sit down upon. From Bengal to Pegu is 90 leagues. We entered the bar of Negrais, [at the mouth of the western branch of the river of Ava], which is an excellent bar, having four fathoms water where shallowest. Three days afterwards we came to Cosmin, a very pretty town, pleasantly situated and abounding in all things. The people are tall and well disposed; the women white, round faced, and having small eyes. The houses are high built, set upon great high posts, and they go up to them by means of ladders for fear of the tigers, which are very numerous. The country is very fertile, abounding in great figs, oranges, coconuts, and other fruits. The land is very high on the sea coast, but after getting within the bar, it is very low and much intersected with rivers, so that they go everywhere in boats, which they call _paraos_, in which many of them dwell with their wives and children.

[Footnote 424: Recon has already been supposed to be Aracan, which is now quite obvious; but in what manner Mogen may refer to Ava, the next country to the south, does not appear. - E.]

From the bar of Negrais to the city of Pegu, is ten days journey by the rivers. We went from _Cosmin_ to Pegu in paraos or boats, and passing up the river we came to _Medon_, a very pretty town, having a wonderful number of paraos, for they dwell in them, and hold markets on the water. In rowing up and down with their commodities in these boats, they have a great _sombrero_ or umbrella over their heads, to defend them from the sun, as broad and round as a great cart wheel, made of the leaves of the coco or the fig tree, which are very light. From Medon we went to Dela, where there are 18 or 20 great long houses, where they tame and keep many elephants belonging to the king, as elephants are caught in the wilderness near this place. From Dela we went to _Cirian_, [Siriam] a good town having an excellent sea-port, to which come many ships from Mecca, Malacca, Sumatra, and other places; and there the ships discharge their cargoes, and send up their goods in paraos to Pegu. From Siriam we went to _Macao_, a pretty town, where we left the boats, and in the morning taking _delingeges_, which are a kind of couches made of cords and quilted cloth, carried on a _stang_, or long pole, by three or four men, we came to Pegu the same day.

Pegu is a great strong and fair city, having walls of stone and great ditches all round about. It consists of two towns, the old and the new. In the old town dwell all the stranger merchants, and very many native merchants, and all the goods are sold in the old town, which is very large, and hath many extensive suburbs all round about it, all the houses being of bamboo canes and covered with straw.

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