LEGENDS OF THE CABOT MAP 447 



N° 9 In this same island of Iceland (Islanda) there is a great quantity of fish. 

 They take it in winter, and dry it by means of the very great cold which there is there, 

 because this said island is within the Arctic circle, and in summer men» go there from 

 many parts and barter foi this fish, thus dried, in exchange for meal and beer ; and 

 this "said fish is so dry and hard, tluit to eat it they beat it with certain luunmers of 

 iron on certain stones'hard as marble, and then they put it to soak a day or two, and 

 thus they eat it, stewed with butter. And in all tliis Northern sea there is a very 

 great quantity of fish, and many of tliem large and of monstrous shape ; those who sail 

 in these seas have seen very large lampreys, which resemble great serpents and [have 

 seen them] attack ships, in order to eat the sailors. The natives of the said island 

 most of them build their houses underground, and the walls of fish-bones. They have 

 no wood, except some extremely small trees, and of these very few and in few places ; 

 but the Provider of all things provides every year that there comes to them by sea, on 

 the northern parts of the said island, a very great quantity of trees of different kinds 

 and sizes, as driftwood, borne by furious north winds to the coast of the said island, 

 with which the natives provide themselves, and make use of it for all that is needful to 

 them. And they say that often they hear spirits speak and call each other by name, 

 and take the form of living persons, and tell them wlio they are ; and in certain parts 

 of the said island there rise up^ certain very dreadful fires, and other wonders= the 

 natives of the said island say there are in it. * 



N° 10. The men who dwell in this region are savages, ^ they are destitute of bread 

 and wine, they tame deer and ride upon them, and they fight witli another people 

 which is situated farther to the north, and which they call the Nocturnal people, for 

 they go about in the night and pei-form their business as here [we do] in the day, and 

 thi.s because the days there from the 14th of September to the 10th of March are so 

 short that there is not an hour of light. They are a very wicked people, qnarrelsome, 

 they rob all those who pass [through their country] so that no ship dares to ride at 

 anchor near the coast Jar fear of these night people, because they slay and rob all who 

 fall into their hands ; and a little beyond these night people toward the southeast they 

 say there are certain monsters which have bodies like those of human beings except 

 the head, which is like that of a pig, and that they understand one another, grunting 

 like pigs. 



N° 11. Those who inhabit this region, some adore the sun, others the first thing 

 they see in the morning, others adore a piece of colored cloth which they place on a 

 lance, and thus each ivorships what he prefers : they are under the sway of the great 

 Khan, emperor oj the Tartars. 



N° 12. Here there are monsters like unto men who have ears so large that they cover 

 the whole body, and they say that farther on towards the East there are certain men 

 who have no joints whatever at the knees nor in the feet : they are under the sway of 

 the grand Khan. In the province of Balor, which is fifty days' journey in extent, 

 there are wild men ; they live in the mountains and forests. 



N° 13. Here dwells that mighty king of Aziumba and Auxama whom some call 

 Prester John, to whom sixty kings yield obedience; he is very wealthy in all riches," 

 and there is no record that he was ever defeated in any battle, but often as he come 

 b;ick with glorious victory from the south from the Throglodyte people, a race naked 

 and black, which people extends as far as the Cape of Good Hope. Among which 

 people there is a race which does not speak but they understand each other by whistl- 

 ing ; and this is not Prester John,'' because Prester John had his empire in eastern 

 and southern India until Genghis Khan, first king of the Tartars, defeated and over- 

 came him in a very cruel battle, in which he died and the said Genghis took from him 

 all his kingdoms and lordships, and allowed the Christians to live in their own faith, 

 and gave them a Christian king to rule and govern them, which king was called 

 George, and from that time till now all the kings who succeed iiim are called George, 

 as Marco Polo relates more at large in the 42nd and 48th chapters of his book: * 



N° 14. The king of this province and Kingdom of Bengal is a very mighty lord, 

 and has under his rule many cities, very large anil of great trade." There is in this 

 kingdom and province much cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, sandalwood, lacqwr, 

 and silk in great quantities. They are wont'" in this province and kingdon\ to burn 



1 Englishmen, Germans, and the inhabitants of various other regions. 



2 fire, dreadful to be seen, rises of itself, and is thrown up and whirled away to a distance. 



3 both to be seen and heard. 4 which for the sake of brevity are omitted. 

 5 live in the desert and are entirely wild. 



fi .«"urpassing by his wealth the most fortunate lot of these most powerful kings. 



7 It is easy to prove that this one is hardly the real Prester John. 



8 in the second and third chapters of his fortieth book. 



9 and he is bound with extremely close bonds with the ever victorious king of Portugal, with 

 wlioiii lie has made a perpetual treaty of peace, by means of which he receives immense quuu- 

 titiesof. 



10 Were wont, they say. 



