They Burn The Wood Of The
Cinnamon Tree, Which Gives A Pleasant Scent.
In this island there is
great store of rubies, sapphires, and spinels of the best kind, but the
king
Will not allow the inhabitants to dig for them, lest they should
tempt his enemies to make war upon him and deprive him of his dominions.
There are no horses in this country, but many elephants, which are not
so large as those of Pegu, which are of prodigious size; yet it is said
all other elephants are afraid of those of Ceylon, and refuse to fight
them, though small. The women of this island wear a cloth round their
middles, reaching only to the knees, all the rest of their bodies being
bare. Both men and women are black and very little. Their houses are
small, being constructed of the branches of the palmer or coco tree, and
covered with the leaves of the same tree.
The 11th of March we departed from Ceylon and doubled Cape Comorin. Not
far from thence, between Ceylon and the main-land of India at
Negapatnam, they fish for pearls every year, whence all India, Cambaya,
and Bengal are supplied. But these pearls are _not so orient_ [are not
so round or of so fine a water] as those of Bahrain in the gulph of
Persia. From Cape Comorin we went to Coulan, a fort of the Portuguese,
whence comes great store of pepper for Portugal, as frequently one of
the caraks is laden here. We arrived at Cochin on the 22d of March,
where we found the weather very warm, and a great scarcity of
provisions, as neither corn nor rice grows here, having mostly to be
supplied from Bengal. They have here very bad water, as the river is far
off; and by this bad water many of the people are like lepers, and many
have their legs swollen as big as a mans waist, so that they can hardly
walk. The people here are Malabars, of the race of the Nairs of Calicut,
who differ much from the other Malabars. These have their heads very
full of hair, bound up with a string, above which is a great bush of
hair. The men are tall and strong, and excellent archers, using a long
bow and long arrows, which are their best weapons; yet they have some
fire-arms among them, which they handle very badly.
In this country pepper grows, being trained up a tree or pole. It is
like our ivy berry, but something longer, like an ear of wheat. At first
the bunches are green, but as they become ripe they are cut off and
dried. The leaf is much smaller and thinner than that of ivy. The houses
of the inhabitants are very small, and are covered with the leaves of
the coco-tree. The men are of moderate stature, but the women very
little; all black, with a cloth about their middles, hanging down to
their hams, all the rest of their bodies being naked. They have horribly
great ears, with many rings set with pearls and other stones. All the
pepper sold in Calicut, and the coarse cinnamon [cassia] grow in this
country. The best cinnamon comes from Ceylon, and is peeled from fine
young trees. They have here many palmers, or coco-nut trees, which is
their chief food, as it yields both meat and drink, together with many
other useful things, as I said formerly.
The nairs belonging to the Samorin or king of Calicut, which are
Malabars, are always at war with the Portuguese, though their sovereign
be at peace with them; but his people go to sea to rob and plunder.
Their chief captain is called _Cogi Alli_, who hath three castles under
his authority. When the Portuguese complain to the Samorin, he pretends
that he does not send them out, but he certainly consents to their
going. They range all along the coast from Ceylon to Goa, and go in
parties of four or five paraos or boats together, in each of which are
fifty or sixty men, who immediately board every vessel they come up
with, doing much harm on that coast, and every year take many foists and
barks belonging to the Portuguese. Besides the nairs, many of the people
in these paraos are Moors. The dominions of the Samorin begin twelve
leagues from Cochin and reach to near Goa.
I remained in Cochin eight months, till the 2d of November, not being
able to procure a passage in all that time; whereas if I had arrived two
days sooner I should have got a passage immediately. From Cochin I went
to Goa, which is an hundred leagues; and after remaining three days I
went to Chaul, sixty leagues from Goa. I remained twenty-three days at
Chaul, making all necessary preparations for the prosecution of my
voyage. I then sailed for Ormus, four hundred leagues from Goa, where I
had to wait fifty days for a passage to Basora.
From Basora I went up the Euphrates and Tigris to Babylon or Bagdat,
being drawn up most of the way by the strength of men, hauling by a long
rope. From Bagdat I went by land to Mosul, which stands near the scite
of the ancient Nineveh, which is all ruinated and destroyed. From Mosul
I travelled to Merdin in Armenia, where a people called _Cordies_ or
Curds now dwell. I went thence to Orfa, a fair town having a fair
fountain full of fish, where the Mahometans hold many opinions, and
practice many ceremonies in reference to Abraham, who they allege once
dwelt there. From thence I went to Bir, where I crossed the Euphrates,
and continued my journey to Aleppo; whence, after staying some months
for a caravan, I went to Tripolis in Syria. Finding an English ship
there, I had a prosperous voyage to London, where by the blessing of God
I arrived safe on the 29th of April 1591, having been eight years absent
from my native country.
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