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the children do in our country, when we give them fomething that is ftrange or pleafing to them) fmiled at it as often as they look'd on it. The country thereabouts is pretty fertile and plentiful of corn, Indian millet, cotton, &c. and they have also between the rivers very good gardens for the kitchen, with all forts of plants and fruits in them, viz. Colliflowers, Citruls, Pumpions, Cucumbers, Anguries or Water-melons, which they call Bathiece, whereof they have fo many that you may buy forty great ones for one Afper, whereof three make a Medin, much about the value of our penny. There were alfo fome Date-trees, Limon and Citron, and other trees, which I could not diftinguish at a distance.

CHAP. V.

Of our Voyage to the famous town Ana, in which we paffed again through great fandy wilderneses; for the performance whereof we must provide our felves with victuals, and be very careful in our navigation: Some relation of the inhabitants, of their cloaths, and other things we did obferve and fee by the way, and what else did happen unto

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FTER we had paid the custom to the Armin, who was a great deal more civil than he at Racka, and provided ourselves with all neceffaries, we did but half load our fhips, to draw them out of the branch again into the river, and then we carry'd the reft to them by boats and small fhips, for the water was very low and full of mud, fo that we went from thence on the fourth day of October in the evening, and fo ftaid all night, a little below Deer.

The next morning our navigation proceeded very well till noon, when we caine to a very broad and fhallow place of the river, that our mafter did not know which

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way to get through. When he was thus troubled and confidering, there appeared on the hight on the fhoar fome Arabians, and fhewed us the courfe we muft take, but we durft not truft them, for we had heard before that they had funk fome great ftones there, and that a month before they had perfuaded a fhip to go that way which did not difcover their cheat, until their fhip after feveral hard knocks did fplit in pieces and fink. The fame they would have ferved others, which, although they did not follow their counsel yet they came into fuch danger, that they could not deliver themselves out of it in a whole days time. We (thanks be to God) got fooner through than in an hour, after we had drawn our fhip a little back into the deep stream to the great admiration of the Arabians: But the other in our company did not ftick much longer,. yet we had more to do to get her off, becaufe fhe was fhorter with a hollow bottom, wherefore fhe was fooner turned, but could not be got out fo well as ours which was flat bottom'd. In the evening very early we faw at a great distance on the other fide in Mefopotamia, a castle in the plain called Sere, which the Arabians, as they fay, have many years ago demolifhed, which the river Chabu, which is pretty large, runs by, which beginneth not much abovet he caftle (which one may guess by it's fresh water like unto fountain-water) and runs a little way below into the river Euphrates. From thence we thought to have reached Errachaby, a town belonging to the King of Arabia, but being hindred in our navigation, as is abovementioned, we landed a little above this before the night befel us, and went the next morning early to the before-mentioned town, which was pretty large, and lay about half a league from the river in a very fruitful country, where we ftaid until the next day to fell fome goods there. Wherefore two of ours went into the town to call out fome of their Merchants to trade with them.

After they had spent that whole day with them, we went off the next morning early toward Schara, a little village which lieth on the right hand half a league distant from the river belonging to the King of Arabia, where we landed to pay the ufual cuftom. All about the fides

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and the river, I saw a great many bushes and trees. I would fain have been at them to difcern what they were, that I might have viewed them exactly, but I was forced to ftay in the fhip and fo I miffed them. From Schara our navigation went on for feveral days very well, but chiefly through fandy defarts which were as large as any we had before paffed; for they extended fometimes fo far, that we could not see the end of them; and they were fo dry, that you could fee neither plough, land nor meadow, tree, nor bufh, leaf, nor grafs, nor path to go in; wherefore these may very well be called defarts, which are alfo called the fandy feas. First you must expect there great ftorms, as well as in the feas, which caufe waves in the fand as well as at fea; then thofe that go in great caravans through them, must have their leader or pilot, by them called Caliphi, as well as thofe at fea, who knows how to direct their way by the compafs, as pilots do on fhipboard. Then they provide themselves, because the way is very long through them, with victuals for a long time, as well as thofe that go by fea, wherefore they load generally the third part of their camels with provifions, chiefly with water to refresh themselves and their beafts in the great heat of the fun, for throughout all the defarts there is never a fpring to be found, except one should light by chance on a ciftern, which yet are alfo generally dry, for nothing but the rain filleth them. The Turkish Emperors have ordered 30000 of these cifterns to be dug in the ground in thefe defarts (as I was informed when I was at Aleppo) and to be provided with water, that their armies when they marched from place to place in thofe times when they had war with the Kings of Perfia or Arabia, &c. might not want for water, and if one fhould be empty they might perhaps find fome in the others. In thefe wilderneffes I faw nothing worth fpeaking of, but on the 9th of October, fome ancient turrets that ftood upon the high banks on a point called Eufy, where, as fome fay, hath been formerly a famous town. Thereabouts the river taketh fo large a circumference, that we went longer than half a day, before we could pafs it. By the fame river below us, we faw on the other

fide of it several Arabians on horfeback; and nothing elfe remarkable, but as I have told you before, fome small huts of the Moors, who came to fee us often, but chiefly at night time to pilfer fomething, which they are used to from their infancy. Wherefore it behoved us to have great care, and to keap a good watch, as I did find it the fame night: For when it was come to my turn to stand centinel again, which I commonly did in the hindermoft part of the fhip on high, that I might efpy the thieves the fooner if any fhould come, I laid down by me a good cudgel, as we all ufed to do every time, fo I lay down and wrap'd myself up in a frize coat with hanging fleeves to it, to keep myfelf from the froft and dew, which are very frequent and violent there. After long watching, I began to be drowsy and fell asleep, a thief came through the water to the fhip, where I was laid down very filently, and took hold of one of my fleeves that hung down, in hopes to draw out the coat gently, not knowing that I was in it: So I was fenfible that fomebody was there that would steal the coat, and got up, and feeing the head of the rogue, I took hold of my long cudgel to have a blow at him; but he was too nimble for me, swam back and ran away: The reft that lay by me were awakened at this, and did perceive that I had seen fomebody, but did not know the particulars, fo they were very glad that I had frightened away the thief, and gave me thanks for my great care and diligent watching. As the Moors by night follow their robbery, fo they came by daylight often with their wives to trade with Wherefore our mafter fometimes to pleafe fome Merchants did fooner land, who took all forts of goodout with him, as foap-balls, beads of chryftal, and yellow agates, glafs rings of feveral colours, which they wear on their hands and feet; and feveral other toys made of red, yellow, green and blue glafs; and fet in tin, brafs, or lead, high fhoes, which are tied with leathern ftraps at the top, &c. for thefe goods they truck'd with the Moors for fheep's skins, buck's skins, cheefe-curds, and feveral other things, and fometimes for money. Thefe Moors do not differ much in their form from our gypfies, only that these are a good

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good deal browner. They are very nimble in their actions, but they do not much care to work; they rather fpend their time in idle difcourfes, or begin to quarrel with one another with loud and big words, and a great clamour, but feldom are fo much in earnest as to come blows. Their heads are fhaved faving only the crown, where they let generally a long lock grow, like unto the Turks, that hangeth down behind. As to their cloathing, they wear coats made of course stuff, whole before, and without fleeves; they are pretty long before, and reach to their knees, fuch an one I wore on my journey, ftriped with white and black; underneath they have long fhirts, which are cut out about the necks and reach down to their ankles; they are commonly blue, and have wide fleeves which they let fly about chiefly in their walking, when they fling their arms about to fhew their pride. Thefe fhirts they gird up with broad leathern girdles fo high, that you cannot fee the girdle but only their bended dagger that fticks or hangs in them as we wear our fwords. archers put fometimes one of their arms out of their fhirts, and fo leave their breaft bare at the fame time, that they may shoot and fight the freer without being hindred; those that are not able to buy fhoes, take inftead of them necks of undreffed skins, and put them about their feet with the hair outwards, and fo tie or lace them up. The men wear no breeches, but the women do, and they come down to their ankles. Their faces are not veiled as the Turkish womens, but elfe they cover themselves with broad scarfs, which more incline to blue than to white, and let them (chiefly thofe that wear narrow ones) hang behind in a great knot. When they have a mind to be fine, they put on their precious things, as are marbles, amber beeds, glaffes of feveral colours, &c. fixed to laces and hang them down their temples, which come down about a span long, and fly about from face to neck, fo that in bending or moving their head, they often hurt their face, and do not a little hinder them in their actions. Those that are of greater fubftance, and have a mind to be richer and finer in their drefs, wear filver and gold rings in one of their noftrils (as fome do in one of their ears

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