A.D. 

 1253. 



THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



Tanais. 



[I. 104.] 



The breadth 

 of Tanais. 



He is much 

 deceived. 



a fewe dayes before the feast of Saint Marie Magdalene, 

 we arrived at the banke of the mightie river Tanais which 

 divideth Asia from Europa, even as the river Nilus of 

 j^gypt disjoyneth Asia from Africa. At the same place 

 where wee arrived, Baatu and Sartach did cause a 

 certaine cottage to be built, upon the Easterne banke of 

 the river, for a companie of Russians to dwell in to the 

 ende they might transport Ambassadours and merchants 

 in ferrie-boates over that part of the river. First they 

 ferried us over, and then our carts, putting one wheele 

 into one lyter, and the other wheele into another lyter, 

 having bounde both the lyters together, and so they 

 rowed them over. In this place our guide played the 

 foole most extreamely. For hee imagining that the 

 said Russians, dwelling in the cottage, should have 

 provided us horses, sent home the beasts which we 

 brought with us, in another cart, y' they might returne 

 unto their owne masters. And when we demanded to 

 have some beasts of them, they answered, that they 

 had a priviledge from Baatu, wherby they were bound 

 to none other service, but only to ferry over goers 

 & commers : and that they received great tribute of 

 marchants in regard therof. We staied therfore by 

 the said rivers side three daies. The first day they gave 

 unto us a great fresh turbut : the second day they be- 

 stowed rye bread, and a litle flesh upon us, which the 

 purveyer of the village had taken up at everie house for 

 us : and the third day dried fishes, which they have there 

 in great abundance. The saide river was even as broad 

 in that place, as the river of Sein is at Paris. And before 

 we came there, we passed over many goodly waters, and 

 full of fish : howbeit the barbarous and rude Tartars 

 know not how to take them : neither do they make any 

 reckoning of any fish, except it be so great, that they may 

 pray upon the flesh therof, as upon the flesh of a ram. 

 This river is the limite of the East part of Russia, and it 

 springeth out of the fennes of Masotis, which fennes 

 stretch unto the North Ocean. And it runneth South- 



258 



