ANTHONY JENKINSON a.d. 



1558. 

 ceiving them to be rovers) gathered our selves together, 

 being 40. of us wel appointed, and able to fight, and we 

 made our prayers together every one after his lawe, 

 professing to live and die one with another, and so pre- 

 pared our selves. When the theeves were nigh unto 

 us, we perceived them to be in number 37. men well 

 armed, and appointed with bowes, arrowes and swords, 

 and the captaine a prince banished from his Countrey. 

 They willed us to yeelde our selves, or els to be slaine, 

 but wee defied them, wherewith they shotte at us all at 

 once, and wee at them very hotly, and so continued 

 our fight from morning until two houres within night, 

 divers men, horses and camels being wounded and slaine 

 on both partes : and had it not bene for 4. handgunnes Handguns 

 which I and my companie had and used, we had bene l ' e n P ro P- 

 overcome and destroyed : for the theeves were better 

 armed, and were also better archers then we ; But after 

 wee had slaine divers of their men and horses with our 

 gunnes, they durst not approch so nigh, which caused 

 them to come to a truce with us untill the next morning, 

 which we accepted, and encamped our selves upon a hill, 

 and made the fashion of a Castle, walling it about with 

 packes of wares, and laide our horses and camels within 

 the same to save them from the shotte of arrowes : 

 and the theeves also incamped within an arrowe shotte 

 of us, but they were betwixt us and the water, which was 

 to our great discomfort, because neither we nor our 

 camels had drunke in 2. dayes before. 



Thus keeping good watch, when halfe the night was 

 spent, the Prince of the theeves sent a messenger halfe 

 way unto us, requiring to talke with our Captaine, in 

 their tongue, the Caravan Basha, who answered the 

 messenger, I will not depart from my companie to goe 

 into the halfe way to talke with thee : but if that thy 

 Prince with all his companie will sweare by our Lawe 

 to keepe the truce, then will I send a man to talke 

 with thee, or els not. Which the Prince understanding 

 as well himselfe as his company, swore so loude that 



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