IBX BAT^TAH IIT SOUTHERN INDIA. 
45 
the wind wlien the vessels were at anchor. Each junk was 
manoeuvred by a thousand men (!!), six hundi-ed sailors, 
and four hundred warriors, among whom were archers, cross- 
bow men, and naptha- throwers (?). The big ships had four 
decks, cabins, saloons, and holds for merchandise ; the oars 
were worked by fifteen men to each oar, and when the vessel 
went to sea, it was accompanied by three of the smaller craft. 
The stewards of the ships were very great personages 
and were always escorted ashore by a guard of archers and 
Abyssinians, proceeding on their way to the accompaniment 
of horns and timbrels. Some Chinese merchants acquired 
great riches by trading with their numerous vessels. 
At length the time came for the members of the embassy 
to proceed on their way. Out of the thirteen junks one was 
fitted and armed by the sultan for their use, a cabin was 
allotted to Ibn Batutah, and his entire suite embarked, as 
also did Sunbul and Zahir-ad-dm, taking on board with them 
the emperor's presents. 
Being a Friday, Ibn Batutah himself remained ashore 
in order to attend prayers at the mosque, intending to return 
to his retinue as soon as his devotions were concluded. 
Meantime one of his servants having represented to him 
that the accommodation reserved for him on board the junk 
was very insufficient, he decided to tranship all his slaves 
and property to the small kakam, where more space was 
avaDable. In making his arrangements, however, Ibn Ba- 
tutah had forgotten to take into calculation the difficulty 
of embarking after 4 p.m., probably owing to the sea breeze 
freshening about that time ; the result was that it became 
impossible to leave the shore. All the junks, with the 
exception of two, had left the port. One of these intended 
wintering at Fandaraina ; the other contained the valuables 
and presents of the embassy. Friday night was spent 
ashore, it being impossible to reach the vessel, and those on 
board were unable to render any assistance. On Saturday 
