a.d. THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



1556. 



(they continuing in their sweete song still) Then he 

 put the sworde into the fire till it was warme, and so 

 thrust it into the slitte of his shirte and thrust it 

 through his bodie, as I thought, in at his navill and 

 out at his fundament : the poynt beeing out of his 

 shirt behinde, I layde my finger upon it, then hee 

 pulled out the sworde and sate downe. This beeing 

 done, they set a kettle of water over the fire to heate, 

 and when the water doeth seethe, the Priest beginneth 

 to sing againe they answering him, for so long as the 

 water was in heating, they sate and sang not. Then 

 they made a thing being foure square, and in height 

 and squarenesse of a chaire, and covered with a gown 

 very close the forepart therof, for the hinder part stood 

 to the tents side. Their tents are rounde and are 

 called Chome in their language. The water still seething 

 on the fire, and this square seate being ready, the 

 Priest put off his shirt, and the thing like a garland 

 which was on his head, with those things which covered 

 his face, & he had on yet all this while a paire of 

 hosen of deeres skins with ye haire on, which came 

 up to his buttocks. So he went into the square seat, 

 and sate down like a tailour and sang with a strong 

 voyce or halowing. Then they tooke a small line 

 made of deeres skinnes of foure fathoms long, and with 

 a smal knotte the Priest made it fast about his necke, 

 and under his left arme, and gave it unto two men 

 standing on both sides of him, which held the ends 

 together. Then the kettle of hote water was set before 

 him in the square seat, al this time the square seat was 

 not covered, and then it was covered w 1 a gown of 

 broad cloth without lining, such as the Russes do weare. 

 Then the 2. men which did hold ye ends of the line 

 stil standing there, began to draw, & drew til they 

 had drawn the ends of the line stiffe and together, 

 and then I hearde a thing fall into the kettle of water 

 which was before him in the tent. Thereupon I asked 

 them that sate by me what it was that fell into the 



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