Chap. II. 
of the East Indies. 
habitants throw Branches of the Cocoa-nut Tree into the 
Sea, and the Shells ftick to them. They call them Kaptaje 
in their Language. 
4. Beyond thefe Iflands, in the Sea of Herkend , is Se - 
rendib s , or Ceylon , the chief of all thofe Iflands, which 
are called Dobijat. It is all compared by the Sea, and on 
its Coaft they fifh. for Pearl. In this Country there is a 
Mountain called Rahun , to the Top of which it is thought 
Adam afcended, and there left the Print of his Foot in a 
Rock, which is feventy Cubits in Length ; and they fay 
that Adam , at the fame time, flood with his other Foot 
in the Sea. About this Mountain are Mines of Rubies, 
Opals, and Amethyfts. This Illand* which is of great 
Extent, has two Kings ; and here are found Lignum, 
Aloes, Gold, precious Stones, and Pearls, which are 
fiihed for on the Coaft ; as alio a kind of large Shells, 
which they ufe inftead of Trumpets, and are much valued. 
In the fame Sea, towards the Serendib , there are other 
Ifles., but not fo many in Number, tho 1 * * * 5 of vaft Extent, 
and unknown. One of thefe Blands, called Ramni h , is 
under feveral Princes, in which there is great Plenty of 
Gold. The Inhabitants here have Cocoa-nut Trees, which 
fupply them with Food, and therewith alfo they paint 
their Bodies, and oil themfelves. 
The Cuftom of the Country is, that no one may marry 
till he has flain an Enemy in Battle, and brought off his 
Head. If he has killed two, he claims two Wives ; and 
If he has flain fifty, he may marry fifty Wives. This 
Cuftom proceeds from the Number of Enemies which 
furround them fo that he amongft them who kills the 
greateft Number, is the moft confidered. Thefe Iflands 
of Ramni abound with Elephants, Redwood, and Trees 
called Chairman , and the Inhabitants eat human Flefh. 
5. Thefe Iflands feparate the Sea of Herkend for the 
Sea of Shelahet , and beyond them are others called Naja- 
halus , which are pretty well peopled ; both the Men and 
the Women there go naked, except that the Women 
conceal their private Parts with the Leaves of Trees. 
When Shipping is among thefe Iflands, the Inhabitants 
come off in Embarkations, and bring with them Amber- 
greece and Cocoa-nuts, which they truck for Iron ; for 
they want no Cloathing, being free from the Inconve- 
niencies either of Heat or Cold. Beyond thefe two 
Iflands lies the Sea of Andaman : The People on this Coaft 
eat human Flefh quite raw *, their Complexion is black, 
their Hair frizled, their Countenance and Eyes frightful, 
their Feet are very large, and almoft a Cubit in Length, 
and they go quite naked. They have no fort of Barks or 
other Yeffels •, if they had, they would feize and devour 
all the Paffengers they could lay hands on. When Ships 
have been kept back by contrary Winds, they are often in 
i thefe Seas obliged to drop Anchor on this barbarous Coaft 
: for the fake of Water, when they have expended their 
> Stock ; and upon thefe Occaflons they commonly lofe 
! fome of their Men *. 
6. Beyond this there is a mountainous and yet inhabited 
Bland, where it is faid, there are Mines of Silver, but as 
; it does not lie in the ufual Track of Shipping, many have 
i fought for it in vain, though remarkable for a very Joftv 
l Mountain, which is called Kajhenai. It once fo happened, 
that a Ship failing in this Latitude had Sight of the Moun- 
1 tain, and fhaped her Courfe for it, and falling in with the 
! Land, fent a Boat on Shore, with Hands to cut Wood : 
The Men kindled a Fire and faw Silver run from it, which 
plainly indicated there was a Mine of this Metal in that 
i Place ; they Flipped therefore as much of the Earth, or 
Ore as they thought fit ; but as they Were pfocfeedirig out 
their Voyage they met with fuch a Storm, that to lighten 
their Ship, they were under a Neceffity of throwing all 
their Ore over board. 
Since that Time the Mountain has been carefully fought,’ 
but it has never fince been feen. To conclude, there are 
many fuch Iflands in the Sea, more in Number than can 
be fet down, fome inaCceffible by Seamen, and fome un- 
known to them. In thefe Seas it often happens, that a 
whitifh Cloud at once fpreads over a Ship, and lets down 
a long thin Tongue or Spout, quite to the Surface of the 
Water, which then is turned round as by a Whirl-wind % 
and if a Veffel happens to be in the Way, £he is imme- 
diately fwallowed up thereby. But at length this Cloud 
mounts up again, and difcharges itfelf in a prodigious Rain. 
It is not known whether this Water is fucked up by the 
Clouds, or how this comes to pafs. All thefe Seas are 
fubjebl to great Storms, which makes them boil up like’ 
Water over a hire. Then it is that the Surf daffies Ships 
againft the Blands, and breaks them to Pieces with un- 
fpeakable Violence ; and then alfo is it that Fifh of all 
Sizes are thrown dead aihore upon the Rocks. The 
Wind, which commonly blows upon the Sea of Her- 
kend , is from another Quarter, viz. from the N. W. but 
this Sea is alfo fubjedt to as violent Agitations as thofe juft 
mentioned, and then Ambergreece is torn up from the Bot- 
tom, and particularly where it is very deep 5 and the 
deeper it is, the more valuable the Ambergreece. 
It is likewife obferved, with refpedt to this Sea, that 
when it is thus toffed by the tempeftuous Winds, it fpar- 
kles like Fire, and that it is infefted by a certain Kind of 
Fifh called Lockham, which frequently preys upon Men. 
This is probably no other than the Shark, which is com- 
mon enough on all the Coafts of the Indies. Here there 
is a Part of the Manufcript loft, wherein the Author 
treated of the Trade to China , as it flood in his Time, 
and of the Caufes which had brought it into a declining 
Condition. He then proceeds thus : 
7. Amongft others, the Fires that frequently happen 
at Canfu are not the leaft. Canfu is the Port of all the 
Ships of the Arabs , who trade in China , and Fires are 
there Very frequent, becaufe the Houfes are built with no- 
thing but Wood, or elfe with fplit Cane ; befides. Ships 
are often loft in going and coming, or they are plundered, 
or obliged to make too long a Stay in Harbours, or to 
fell their Goods out of the Country fubjedt to the Arabs 3 
and there make up their Cargo. In fhort, Ships are un- 
der a Neceffity of wafting a confiderable Time in refitting, 
not to fpeak of any other Caufes of Delay. 
Soliman , the Merchant k , relates, that at Canfu , which 
is the principal Scale of Merchants, there is a Mohamme- 
dan appointed Judge over thofe of his Religion, by the 
Authority of the Emperor of China ; and that he is Judge 
of all the Mohammedans who refort to thofe Parts. Upon 
feftival Days he performs the publick Service with the 
Mohammedans , and pronounces the Sermon or Kotbat, 
which he concludes in the ufual Form, with Prayers for 
the Sultan of Moflems (or Muflemen). The Merchants of 
Irak , i. e. Rerfia , who trade hither, are no way diffatisfied ' 
with his Conduct or Adminiftration in this Poll, becaufe 
his ; Decifions are juft and equitable, and conformable to 
the Koran. 
8. As for the Places whence Ships depart* and thofe 
they touch at, many Perfons affirm, that the Navigation 
is performed in the following Order *, moft of the Chinefs 
Ships take in their Cargo at Siraff ! , where alfo they fhip 
® This, as we have ftiewn elfewhere, is the Taprobana of the Ancients ; and I think fcarce any Ifland has been called by more Names than thofe, 
which have been bellowed on this ; but whereas in the ancient Work of Coftnas Indopleuftes , it is called Sielendiba, it is very eafy to account for 
tms, and to fliew that it is only a Greek Termination given to the true Name ; /or b is often put for u, and confequently Sielendiba is the fame 
With biele naive ; that is, Sielen Ifland ; whence the modern Name, as we ufually write it, viz. the Ifland of Ceylon. 
Voyage f ° me 0fthe Arabian Geo g ra P heis ; thefe are called the Iflands of Rami ; we fhall give the Reader fome Account of them in aVubfequent 
1 certain, that upon a Arid Enquiry, moft of thefe Stories of Man-eaters have been found to be Fables void of all Foundation ; but Is 
mult be allowed, in regard to our Author’s Account, that what he lays has never yet been difproved 5 for the very lateft Accounts we have of tho 
Indies , give thefe People the fame Character that he does. 
k As to this Soliman the Merchant, it is very probable, that fome Account was given of him in the Page that is loft; but as to the Mohammedan 
'-omul, it is a very extaordimiry Fad, and deferves particular Notice, becaufe it plainly ftiews, that the Mohammedans had for fome Time carried 
on a regular and iettled (Trade to China, which is what from other Accounts we could never have fufpeded. 
It is a very difficult Thing to dinftinguifti, at this Diftance of Time, the Rout laid down by our Author, chiefly by reafon of the Changes of 
Names, of which we have particularly an Inftance in this great Port of Siraff, not to be met with in any of our Maps, of which however we have 
ame Mennon made m other Arabian Writers, who fay, that it lay fxxty Leagues from Shiraz, that it flood in the Gulph of Per/ia. and that when 
it decayed, the Trade thereof was tranfported to the Ifland of Ormuz, 
4 
7 
