6© 8 The VOYAGES and TRAVELS Book I. 
'On this Day, In the Morning, all the King’s Captain's* 
Barons, Soldiers, Phyficians, Aftrologers, and Governors 
©f Provinces, and Armies, and other Officers of the 
Empire, affemble in the great Hall before the King, and 
they who happen to haVe no Place there, for the Multi- 
tude ftand in another Place,, where they may fee them, all 
being placed in their Order and Degree. One rifeth, 
who is amongft their Clergy as a Prelate, and erieth 
with a loud Voice, Bow down and adore? and prefently all 
do Reverence, bending down their Foreheads to the 1 
Earth y then he faith, God preferve cur Lord with long 
Life and Joy \ and all anfwer, God grant y then he faith, God 
increaje and advance his Empire , and preferve his Subjects 
in Peace , Concord , and ProfpeHty y and all anfwer, God 
grant ; and this they do four Times, then the Adoration 
being finiflied, the fame Prelate goes to an Altar, richly 
adorned, on which is a red Table, whereon is written the 
Name of the Khan y and taking a Cenfer, and putting, 
Spices therein, they perfume the Table and the Altar 
with great Reverence, in Honour of the Great Khan, and 
lo return to their fPlaces y after which are offered the Gifts' 
of which we have lpoken ; and then the Tables are pre- 
pared, and a molt folemn Dinner held, eating and drink- 
ing with great Joy with their Wives, in manner before 
defcribed. And laftly, a tame Lion is brought to the 
King, which, lying at his Feet like a gentle Whelp, ac- 
knowledged! and careffes his Lord. 
In thole three Months in which we faid before, the Em- 
peror refid es in the City of Cambalu, viz. in December , Ja- 
miary , and February ,, all the Hunters which the Emperor 
hath" in all his Provinces round about the Province of Ca- 
thay, apply themfelves to hunting, and bring all the larger 
Wild Bealls, inch as Stags, Bears, Roe-bucks, Wild Boars 
and Deer, to their Governors y who if they be diftant from 
the Emperor’s Court lefs than thirty Days Journey, fend 
luch Bealls as are taken, by Waggons or Ships, to the Em- 
peror y having firft bowelled them: But fuch as are forty 
Days diftant from his Court, fend only the Skins which 
are neceffary for making of Armour, He hath many Leo- 
pards and Wolves for Hunting* and many Lions alfb 
greater than thofe which are in Babylon , in the Hair where- 
of certain little Beams appear of divers Colours, viz. white, 
black and red, and they are bred to Catch Bears, Boars, 
Stags, Roe-bucks, wild Affes, and wild Oxen, and it is 
marvellous to fee the Lion’s Fiercenefs and Dexterity in 
this Sort of Hunting y two Lions are commonly carried in 
one Waggon when they go to hunt, and with them a Dog, 
with which they are tamed y and they carry them in this 
Fafhion becaule of their Fury and Unrulinefs y and they 
mull carry them contrary to the Wind, for elfe the Beafts 
would fcent them and flee. He hath aifo many tame Ea- 
gles which are fo taught, that they take Hares* Roe-bucks, 
beer and Foxes y among which, fome of them fear not to 
feize upon Wolves, and vex them fo gri'evoufly, that 
without Labour and Danger they maybe taken by them. 
The Great Kan hath in his Court two which are Brethren, 
one 'called Boyan, the other Mngan y called in the Tartar 
Language Ciurco^ that is. Mailers of the Game y each of 
them hath the Command of ten thoufand Men : They 
which are under one of them, are cloathed in Red y the 
others in Sky Colour y when they hunt, thefe keep diverfe 
Sorts of Dogs, to the Number of five thoufand Maftiffs and 
others. In Hunting they go with their People one on the 
Right-hand, and the other on the Left y and the King 
and they take up fo great a Length of the Plain, that from 
one End to the other is a Day’s Journey, fo that no Beall 
can efcape them y and it is great Pleafure when the Khan 
goes in the midll to fee the Dogs follow Harts, Bears, and 
all other wild Bealls. Thefe Brethren are bound by Cove- 
nant from the Beginning of October to the End of March y 
to bring to the Court one Thoufand Head ol Beafts and 
Birds, ' befides Quails and Fifties, the bell they can, in fuch 
Proportion. . 
17. The Month of March coming in, the Great Khan 
departeth from the City of Cambalu , and proceeded North- 
eaflward towards the Ocean, diftant thence two Days Jour- 
ney, bringing with him about ten thoufand Falconers, who 
have Falcons, Hawks, Ger-Falcons, and other kind of 
Fowls of Prey, fit for Hawking. Thefe Falcons difperfc 
themfelves by an hundred or two hundred in a Company,, 
and the Birds that are taken for the moll part are brought 
unto the King, who by reafon of his Gout, fitteth in a wooden 
Houfe, which two Elephants carry covered with the Skins 
of Lions, and within hung with Cloth of Gold, having 
with him for his Recreation twelve choice Hawks, and 
twelve Courtiers y many Noblemen and Soldiers ride by, 
who guard the King’s Perfon, who when they fee Phea- 
fantS, or Cranes, or other Birds flying in the Air, fpeak 
to the Falconers, who are near the King, and they fig* 
nify the fame unto the King, uncover the King’s Houfe, 
and let their Falcons and Hawks fly, and the King fitting, 
on his Bed beholds the Paflime of the Birds. Other ten 
thoufand Men go alfo with the King, who in that Hawk- 
ing, run hither and thither by two and two, and mark whi- 
ther the Falcons and Hawks fly that are call from the Fill, 
that if need be they may help them, and thefe in the Tartars 
Language are called Tofcaol , that is to fay, Watchmen, or 
Markfmen, being fkilful in a certain kind of Whiftle, 
wherewith they call in the Hawks that are flown y nor is 
it needful that the Falconer, who let the Hawks fly, ftiould 
follow them, feeing thefe of whom I now fpeak are bufily 
employed in taking up the Hawks, and are careful, that 
by no means they are hurt or loft ; and every flying Hawk 
carrieth a little Table of Silver on her Foot, figned with 
the Mark of her Mailer, or Falconer, that if fhe be loft, 
ffiie may be reftored to her Owner q . 
But if the Mark cannot be known, the Hawk is deli- 
vered to a certain Baron, who for this Caufe is called Bu- 
langazi , to whom are brought all loft things (otherwife the 
Finder would be punifhed as a Thief) and to him Lofers 
refort to enquire of things loft. He hath a moll eminent 
Place noted by his Enfign, that in fo great an Affembly of 
People he may always be known. While they are thus bulled 
in Sporting and Hawking, they come into a certain great 
Plain called Carzarmodin , where the Tents of the King, 
and all the Courtiers are prepared, about ten thoufand in 
Number. 
The firft is the Khan’s Pavilion, under which ten thou- 
fand Soldiers ftand, befides Barons and Noblemen, with 
the Door to the South, fuftafned by three Pillars, wrought 
with curious and excellent carved Work, and covered with 
the Skins of Lions, and other wild Beafts, which keep out 
Rain 5 but within the Walls of the Paviilion are covered 
with moft coftly Skins of Ermines and Sables, although 
in thofe Countries thefe Skins are accounted moft precious, 
fo that fometimes Skins worth two thoufand Sultanines of 
Gold are fcarce fufficient for one Pair of Veils. The Tar- 
tars call the Sable the Stjueen of Furs y the Cords wherewith 
thefe Pavilions are fupported are of Silk. There are alfo 
other Pavilions erefted, wherein the Wives, Sons and Con- 
cubines of the King remain. Further alfo the Falcons, 
Hawks, Ger-Falcons, and other Birds, which ferve for 
Hawking, have their Tents y for there is fo great a Mul- 
titude of Tents, that to them that come thither, it feems 
at a Diftance, as if a famous City was built there. 
The King remains all March in that Plain, and takes 
innumerable Beafts, and infinite Multitudes of Fowl y for no 
Man may at this time hunt in all the Provinces of that King- 
dom, at the leaft within five Days Journey one Way, ten 
another, and fifteen a third Way, of the Khan’s Court, 
nor keep an Hunting Dog, or an Hawk, from the Begin- 
ning of March until the Month of October. No Man is 
permitted to ufe any Device or Engine whatfoever to take 
Stags, Deer, Roe-bucks, or Hares, left he fhould hinder 
their Breed y and hence it is, that there is fuch Plenty of 
Game. It is incredible what Multitudes of People, Mer- 
s It may not be amifs to remind the Reader, that this Pafiage of our Author confirms what we have before met with in the Accounts of the Arabian. 
Travels, and in the Relation of the Monk Rulryquis. It is alfo very clear from the whole of this Account, that the Notions generally received of the 
Barbarity, Stupidity, and Want of Genius among the Tartars, are not extreamly well founded, but are rather to be ranked among thofs Prejudices 
which are the b fleets of fpeaking or thinking without juft Motives, or, in plain Snglijh, are the ignorance. 
- , chants. 
