The Weapons Of
His Troops Are Swords, Round Bucklers, _Peltes_, Bows And Arrows, And
Javelins Or Darts Made Of Long Reeds; They Also Use For Defence Cotton
Jacks Wrought Very Hard And Close Quilted.
The houses in their towns are
built close together like those in Italy.
This country produces wheat,
cotton, silk of various kinds, Brazil wood, sundry kinds of fruit like
those of Italy, with Assyrian apples, oranges, lemons, citrons, gourds,
cucumbers, and many others. It has many animals both wild and tame.
Among the former are oxen and cows, sheep, goats, hogs, and deer. The
wild beasts are lions, wolves, catamountains, and musk cats or civets.
In the woods are many peacocks and falcons, with popinjays or parrots,
some of which are entirely white, while others are of seven different
colours. There are plenty of hares and partridges, and several kinds of
birds of prey larger than eagles. These birds are black and purple, with
several white feathers intermixed, having yellow bills tipt beautifully
with crimson, which are so large that the handles of swords are
sometimes made of the upper mandible. Their cocks and hens are the
largest I ever saw, and both the natives and the Mahometans who dwell
there, take great delight in cock-fighting, on which they venture large
sums. I have seen them fight for six hours, yet will they sometimes
kill at the first stroke. Some of their goats are much larger and
handsomer than ours, and of these the females have often four kids at
one birth. So abundant are animals in this country, that twelve sheep
may be bought for a single piece of gold worth about a pistole. Some of
their rams have horns like a buck, and are much bigger and fiercer than
ours. Their buffaloes are not so good as those of Italy. This coast has
abundance of fine large fish, which are sold very cheap. The natives eat
the flesh of all kinds of beasts except cows, and feed sitting on the
ground without cloth or carpet, having their meat in wooden vessels
artificially wrought. Their drink is sugar and water. Their beds are
raised from the ground like ours. Their apparel is a cloak or mantle of
cotton cloth, leaving one arm bare, but some wear inner vests or shirts
of silk or cotton. All go bareheaded, except the priests, who have a
kind of caps of two spans long on their heads, with a knob on the top
about the size of an acorn, all sparkling with gold. They delight in
ear-rings, but have neither rings nor bracelets. The complexion of the
natives inclines towards fair, as the air is more temperate than at
Calicut. In their tillage and reaping there is little difference from
the manner of Italy.
[Footnote 86: It is not easy to conceive by what means this could be, as
Pegu, Ava, Aracan, and Tipera, intervene between Tanaserim and Bengal,
and the bay of Bengal between Tanaserim and Narsinga or the Carnatic,
none of the powers mentioned being possessed of any maritime force.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 92 of 441
Words from 47496 to 48010
of 230997
