§62- 
7he VOYAGES and TRAVELS 
Book I. 
te&ed. Is cruelly beaten ; and if the Executioner lays on Kinfmen, called Zagat ai , to whom the Emperor of Con- 
an hundred Strokes, he muft have an hundred Rods, for ftantinople had written Letters to fuffer me to pafs through 
fuch as are beaten upon Sentence given in Court. Frauds his Territories. 
likewife of every kind they punifh with Death. Sacrile- With this Anfwer of ours, they were fatisfied, giving 
gious Perfons they ufe in like manner, (of which kind of us Horfes and Oxen, and two Men to condubl us. But 
Malefabtors your Majefty fhall be more fully informed before they would allow us thofe Neceifaries, they made 
hereafter) becaufe they efteem fuch to be Witches. When us wait a long while, begging our Bread for their Brats, 
a Man dies they lament and howl moft pitifully over wondering at all 1 hings they faw about our Servants, as 
him, and the Mourners are free from paying any Tribute their Knives, Gloves, Purfes, and Points, and defiring to 
for one whole Year after : Alfo whoever is prefent in the have them. I excufed myfelf, faying, we had a long Way to 
Houfe, where one of Man’s Eftate lies dead, he muft not travel, and that we could not deprive ourfelves of Things 
enter into the Court of Mangu-Kban , till one whole Year necelfary to finifh folong a Journey. Then they faid I was 
be expired. If it was a Child deceafed, he muft not enter a nigardly Scoundrel. It is true, they took nothing by 
into the Court till the next Month after. Near the Grave Force from me, but they will beg all they fee very im-' 
of the Party deceafed, they always leave one Cottage, portunately •, and if a Man beftows any thing upon them 
If any of their Nobles, being of the Stock of Zingis , it is but loft, for they are thanldefs Wretches. They 
their frit Lord dies, the Place of his Burial is not known, efteem themfelves Lords, and think that nothing fhouid 
About thefe Places where they intertheir Nobles, there is a be denied them by any Man : If a Man gives them no- 
Family left to keep the Sepulchre : I could not learn that thing, and afterwards ftands in Need of their Service, they 
they ufed to hide Treasures in the Graves of their will do nothing for him. They gave us of their Cows- 
Pead. milk to drink after the Butter was churned out of it, which 
The Comanians build a ftately Tomb over their Dead, was very four, which they call Apr am ; fo we departed 
and erebl the Image of the dead Man thereupon, with his from them : And indeed it feemed to me that we were 
Face towards the Eaft, holding a Drinking-cup in his efcaped out of the Hands of Devils. The next Day we 
Hand before his Navel. They erebt alfo upon the Mo- were introduced to their Captain. From the Time wherein 
nument of rich Men Pyramids *, and in fome Places I faw we departed from Soldaia , till we arrived at the Court of 
high Towers made of Brick •, in other Places Pyramids made Sartach , which was the Space of two Months, we never 
of^Stone, though there are no Stones to be found therea- Jay in Houfe- or Tent, but always under the Canopy of 
bouts. I faw one newly buried, in Honour of whom they Heaven, and in the open Air, or under our Carts ; neither 
hung up fixteen Horfe-hides unto each Quarter of the faw we any Village, or heard of any Building where any 
World, four between certain high Polls ; and they fet befide Village had been ; but the Graves of the Comanians we faw 
his Grave Cofmos for him to drink, and Flelh to eat ; and in great abundance. The fame Evening our Guide 
yet they faid that he was baptized. We beheld other kind which had conducted us, gave us fome Cofmos : After 
of Sepulchres alfo toward the Eaft, viz. large Floors of I had drank thereof, I fweated extremely, which was owing. 
Pavements, made of Stones, fome round and fome fquare, I believe, to the Novelty of it, becaufe I never drank of it 
and then four long Stones pitched upright about the Pave- before; notwithftanding I thought it was very pleafant and 
ment towards the four Corners of the World. W hen any well tailed. 
Man is Pick, he lieth in his Bed and caufeth a Sign to be 17. We met the Day following with the Carts of Za - 
fet up on his Houfe, to fignify that there lies a fick Per- gatai , laden with Houles ; and I really thought that a 
fon, that no Man may enter into the Houfe ; for none are great City came to meet me. I wondered at the Multi- 
admitted there to Tick Perfons but a Servantofoy. When tude of Droves of Oxen, and Florfes, and Droves of 
any one is fick in their great Courts, they appoint Watch- Sheep ; I could fee but a few Men that guided all thefe : 
men to Hand round about the Court, who will not fuffer Upon which I enquired how many Men he had under 
any Perfon to enter the Precinbls thereof ; for fuch is their him, and they told me that he had not above five hundred i 
Superftition, that they are afraid that evil Spirits or Witches in all, and that the one half of this Number were pafs’d, 
fhouid come together with the Parties that enter in. as they lay in another Lodging. Then the fervant which 
16. On my Arrival among thefe barbarous People, I was our Guide, told me that I muft prefent fomewhat to 
thought, as I before obferved, that I was come into a new 
World, for they came flocking about us on Horfe-back, 
after they had made us wait for them in the Shade under 
the Black Carts. The Jirft Queftion they afked was, 
whether we had ever been with them heretofore or not : 
Zagat ai \ and fo he caufed us to Hay, going themfelves be- 
fore to give Notice of our coming. By this Time it was 
pall Three, and they unladed their Houfes near a River •, 
and there came unto us his Interpreter, who being in- 
formed by us that we were never there before, demanded 
And on our anfwering that we had not, they began impu- fome of our Victuals, and we granted his Requeft. He 
dently to beg our Vibluals from us: We gave them fome alfo required of us fome Garment, for a Reward, becaufe 
of our Bifcuit and Wine, which we had brought with us he was to interpret our Meffage to his Mailer : We ex- 
from the Town of Soldaia ; and having drank off one cufed ourfelves as well as we could. Then he afked usi 
Flaggon of our W^ine, they demanded another, telling what we would prefent to his Lord, and we took a Flag- 
us, that a Man does not go into the Houfe with one Foot ; gon of Vv ine, and filled a Bafket with Bifcuit, and a Sal-i[ 
we gave them 
no more however, exculing ourfelves that 
we had but little. Then they afked us whence we came, 
and whither we were bound ; I anfwered them in thele 
Words ; that we had heard concerning their Prince Sartach , 
that he was become a Chriftian, and that unto him our 
ver with Apples, and other Fruits ; but he was not con-j 
tented therewith, becaufe we brought him not fome rich! 
Garment. 
We were, however, admitted into his Prefence with 
Fear and Baftifulnefs. He fat upon his Bed holding a 
Determination was to travel, having your Majefty’s Let- mufical Inftrument in his Hand, and his Wife fat by him, 
ters to deliver unto him. They were very inquifitive to who, in my Opinion, had cut and pared her JNofe be-| 
know whether I came of mine own Accord, or whether I tween the Eyes, that line might feem to be more ffat-nofeoj. 
was font. I anfwered, that no Man compelled me to for fhe had left herfelf no Nofe at all in that Place, having 
come, neither had I come unlefs I had been willing ; and anointed the very Scar with black Ointment, as Ihe alio, 
that therefore I was come according to my own Will, did her Eye-brows *, which Sight feemed to us moft ugly, 
and to the Will of my Superior. I took the utmoft Care Then I repeated to him the fame Words which I had ipo-v. 
never to fay that I was your Majefty’s Embaffador. Then ken in other Places ; for we were direbteo in this Circuin- 
they afked what I had in my Carts, whether it were Gold, fiance by fome that had been amongft the Tartars , that,,, 
Silver, or rich Garments to carry to Sartac h. I anfwered, we fhouid never vary in our 1 ale. I befought him t at< 
that Sartach Ihould fee what we had brought when we 
were come unto him, that they had nothing to do to afk 
fuch Quefcions 5 but rather ought to condubt me unto 
their Captain, and that he, if he thought proper, fhouid 
caufe me to be direbled to Sartach , if not, that I would 
for there was in the fame Province one of Baaiu ' s 
return 
he would vouchfafe to accept this final! Gift at our Hands! 
exculing myfelf that I was a Monk, and that it was 
againft our Profeffion to poffefs Gold, Silver, or precious 
Garments, and therefore that I had not any fuch Thing 
to give him, unlefs he would receive fome Part of our 
Vibtuals inftead of a Bleffing. He caufed thereupon cur. 
„ ' 'Pre-: 1 
