Plinies Naturall Hiftone. 



A that the Weft wind which thepeopleof thaccountrey callHypaluSjWasthoDghc moft propec 

 fortomakefailetothe fame place. Howbeittheagecnfuingdilcoveredaflioncrancl fafercut^ 

 nameIy,it from the faid piomontorie or cape Syagrus^they lettheircourle dircdly to the mouth 

 of the river Zizerus^ which maketh an harborough in India . And in truth this pallage held a. 

 long time, imtill fiich time that in the end the merchants foiind out a more compendious and 

 fhortcrcourfej and gained by theirvoiage to India ;for every yeerc now they faile thither, and 

 for fcare of pirates and rovers that were wont very much to infeft and annoy them, they uled to 

 cmbarke in their lliips certaine companies of Archers. And feeing that all thcfe feas are novy dif- 

 cbvcrcdjand never before fo certainely ,1 will not thinke much. of my painesjto declare and fhew 

 the whole courfe of our Indian voiages from our of ^gypt A.nd firft and formoft this is a.thing 



B worthie to be noted and oblerved of every man, that there is not a yecie gocth over our heads^ 

 but it cqfts our State to furnifh a voiage into Indi5,5od hundred thoufand Scfterccs/.iiftic mil- 

 lions of Scfterccs. For which the Indians fendethbackeagaine commodities and merchandifc 

 of theifcownCjwhich being at RomCjare fold for an hundred times as much as they coftjor yceld 

 in the price an hundredfold gaine. But toretiirnc againe to our voiage^fiom Alexandria in :^E-- 

 gyptj it istwo miles CO luliopolis: from whence upon the river of Nilus^ they iaile 303 milej to 

 CoptuSj which may be done in twelve daies fpacCjhaving the Ece(ian winds at;d:e poupe.. From 

 Gopms they travel! forward upon Cammels backs : and tor great default of water in thdfe parts, 

 there be certaine fet places for bait^lodging^and watcring.The firft is called Hydreuma^ij 2 miles 

 from Coptus, Thefecond onedaies journey from thence, in.a certaine mountaine. The third 



Q wateriiig place at another Hydreuma, ^ 5 miles from Coptus , The fourth sgaineinafecond 

 mountaine*The fifth is at a third Hydreuma of ^/'i'//^?/rom Coptus 1 84miles. Beyond which, 

 the reif ing place is upon another hslLAnd then to Hydreuma the newjfiom Coptus 2 ^4 miles. So a-, k appes. 

 Another water towne there is,called Hydreuma the old, named alfo Trogiodyticura, where tyvo ^^.^^^^ 

 miles out of the port way lieth a garrifoUikeeping watch and ward both day and night : and foure was ^aboui"] a 

 miles dill ant it is from newHydreuma.From whence they travell to thetown Ecrenice^Jin haven i^i^-^* 

 towne ftandingupon the red fea,258milesfrom Coptus. Bur for as much as the journey sllthis 

 way is for the moil part performed in the night feafon, by reafon of the exceffive heat, and the 

 travellers are :oictd to reft all the day long,thercforc twelve daies a re fet down for ihc whole voi- 

 age betwcene Coptus and Berenice. The time then that they ufually begin to kt flule, is about 



J) Midfummer before the dog daies,or prelcntly upon the rifing of the dog flarrc. And about the 

 30 daies end they arrive at Ucelis in Arabia jor els at Camajwithin Saba^the country cf incenfe. 

 A third port there is befides called Muz:^,unto which there is no refort of merchants out of In- 

 dia ; neither is it in rcqusft but v\ith merchants that adventure onely for incenfe, drugs, and fpi- 

 ccs of Arabia. Howbcrc,pcopledthiscountrey is within- forth, and hath divers great townes.Of 

 wbichjSaphar is tht principall^and the kings ieat : and another befides of good importance cal- 

 led Sabc. Bur for them that would make a voiage to the Indiansjthe molt commodious place 

 to fet forward is Ocelis: for from thence, and with the Weft wind called Hypalus, they have a 

 paflage of fortie daies fading to the iirft towne of merchandifc in IndiajCailedMuziris.Howbeit 

 a port this is,not greatly in requeft/or th.e daunger of pirates and rovers,which kecpe ordinarily 



E about a place called Hydras : and befides that,it is not richly ftored and furniilied with merchan- 

 difc. And more than fo,the harborough is farrefrom the towne, fb as they muft charge and dif^ 

 charge dieir wares too and fro in little boats. At the time vihtn I wrote this ftorie, the king that 

 reigned there, was nasned Celeboihras, But another haven there is more commodious^ belon- 

 ging to,thcNecanidians,which they calBecarcthekingsnameatthis preientis Pandionmotht 

 offis another town of merchandifewithin the firmeland,called Madufa.As for that region,froin 

 whence they tranfport pepper in fiiiall punts or troughes made of onepeeccof wood, it is na- 

 med Cotona.And yet of all thefe nations^havenSjand townes,there is not a namefound in any 

 of the former wriiers.By which it appcareth,that there hath been great change and alteration in 

 thefe places.But to come againe to IndiajOur merchants returne from thence back in the bcgin- 



p ningof ourmonethDecembcra which the -Egyptians call Tybis: or at fartheft before thefixc 

 day of the Egyptians month Machiris, and that is before the Ides of lanuarie; and by this rec- 

 koning they may pafle to and fro,and make returne within the compafle of or.eyeer.Now when 

 they faile from Indiajthey have the Northeaft wind Vulturnus with them :and when they arc en- 

 tied once into the red fea,the South or Southweft. Now will we return to our purpofed difcouEfe 



N as ■ 



