A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume I Part 27

[8] Vochan, Vocham or Vakhan, on the river Vash.--Forst.

[9] This observation was made on the mountains of Savoy and Switzerland, not many years ago, by M. de Luc, and published as a new discovery. The phenomena must be owing to the diminished pressure of the atmosphere at this great elevation, by which water boils at a much lower temperature than is requisite for effective cookery: A digester would effectually remove this evil, by enabling the water to become sufficiently hot, without being dissipated.--E.

[10] Beloro, Belor, or Belur, according to Forster. This immense extent of forty days journey through deserts, seems to include the deserts of Sultus, Cobi, and Shamo, and to reach to the frontiers of Kathay, or Northern China.--E.

[11] Cascar, Chascar, Ca.s.sar, Kaschgar, or Hasicar, according to Forster. Cashgar is at the western end of the great desert, instead of the eastern, as expressed in the text; indeed this route is most confusedly, and almost unintelligibly laid down, probably from corrupted transcription. The series ought to have been, the high table land of Pamer, the province of Cashgar, and lastly, the desert of Pelow or Belur. But care must be taken to distinguish this from the chain of Belur-tag, which runs north and south, between Great and Little Bucharia.--E.

SECTION VI.

_Of the city of Samarcand, the town of Lop, the Great Desert in its Neighbourhood, and other remarkable Pa.s.sages_.

Samarcand[1] is a great and famous city, in a fertile plain, and surrounded by fine gardens. It is subject to the nephew of the great khan, and is inhabited by a mixed population of Christians and Mahometans, among whom there is little agreement; and in one of their disputes, the following miracle is said to have happened, about an hundred years ago. Zagathai, the brother of the great khan, then governed this country, and was persuaded to become a Christian; and the Christians, through his favour, built a church in honour of St John the Baptist, which was constructed with such skill, that the whole roof seemed to depend for support upon one central pillar, which was founded upon a large stone, which, by the permission of Zagathai, had been taken from a building belonging to the Mahometans. After the death of Zagathai, he was succeeded by a son who was not of the Christian faith, and from him the Mahometans obtained an order, by which the Christians were compelled to restore that stone; and though they offered a sum of money as a compensation, the Mahometans absolutely insisted to have the stone itself, hoping, by that means, to reduce the Christian church to ruins: But the pillar lifted itself up, that the Mahometans, might remove the contested stone, and still continues suspended in the air.

Departing from this city, we came into the province of Charahan[2], which is about five days journey in length, and has plenty of provisions. The inhabitants are mostly Mahometans, intermixed with some Nestorian Christians, and are subject to the nephew of the great khan. They are diligent artificers in various manufactures, but are much subject to thick legs, and the _goitres_ or large wens on their throats, occasioned by the bad quality of the waters of the country. The province of Cotam follows between the east and the north-east[3]. It is subject to the nephew of the great khan, and has many cities and towns, the chief city being called Cotam. This province extends eight days journey in length, and possesses every thing necessary for life, in sufficient abundance; particularly cotton, flax, hemp, corn, and wine. The people are Mahometans, and not warlike, but are skilful in various articles of manufacture.

Proceeding through the same country, we come to the province of Peim, extending four days journey in length, and containing many towns and castles, the city of Peim being the chief, near which there is a river in which jaspers and chalcedonies and other valuable stones are found. The inhabitants, who are Mahometans, are expert manufacturers, and are subject to the great khan. There is a custom in this province, that when any married man goes to a distance from home, and remains absent for twenty days, it is lawful for his wife to marry another husband; and reciprocally, if the wife absents herself for twenty days, the husband may take another wife.

The next province, Ciascian[4], of which the chief city is named Sartan, is subject to the Tartars, and has many cities and castles. In its rivers abundance of jaspers, chalcedonies, and other fine stones are found, which are carried by merchants all the way to Ouchach or Kathay, and sold there with great profit From Peim to Sartem, and quite through this latter province, the soil is very sandy, having very little water, and that generally bad. When an army pa.s.ses through this province, all the inhabitants take their wives and children, with all their cattle and valuables, two days journey into the sands, to places where they know that good water is to be found, and remain there till the army has quitted the country; after harvest also, they uniformly take all their corn into the desert, and hide it in pits, and the wind soon obliterates all traces of their footsteps, so that their enemies are unable to discover where they have deposited these precious h.o.a.rds. After travelling for five days through the sands from this province, we arrive at the great city of Lop, which is at the entrance of a great desert called the Wilderness of Lop[5].

The inhabitants of this place are Mahometans, and are subject to the great khan. All the before-mentioned provinces, Cashgar, Yarkand, Koten, Peim, Sartem, and Lop, are in the bounds of Turkestan.

It requires a months journey to cross this desert from south to north, but to go through it lengthways would take up a whole year. Those who intend to cross the desert remain for some time in Lop, on purpose to prepare all necessaries for the journey, as no provisions are to be met with for a whole month. These, with their merchandize, are loaded on a.s.ses and camels, and if provisions fall short in the desert, the unfortunate travellers are reduced to the necessity of killing their beasts of burden for sustenance, preferring the a.s.ses for this purpose, as the camels can carry much heavier burdens, and are satisfied with less food. This journey is entirely through sands and barren mountains, in which water is found every day; yet at some of the resting places it is so scanty as hardly to suffice for a caravan of fifty of an hundred persons and their cattle. In three or four places the water is salt and bitter, but in all the rest of the journey it is very good. In the whole of this journey there are no beasts or birds to be seen.

It is reported, that many evil spirits reside in the wilderness, which occasion wonderful illusions to travellers who happen unfortunately to lag behind their companions calling them even by their names, and causing them to stray farther from the right course, so that they lose their way and perish in the sands. In the night time also they hear noises as of their friends, and sometimes the sound of music is heard in the air, and people imagine that they hear the din of drums, as if armies were marching past.

To avoid the danger of separation, the travellers in the desert keep close together, and hang bells about the necks of their beasts; and if any one stays behind, they set up marks in the route, that they may know how to follow.

Having crossed the desert of Lop, we come to the city of Sachion[6] or Sachiou, which is subject to the great khan, and is situated in the great country of Tangut. The inhabitants of this city are mostly idolaters, who have a peculiar language, mixed with a good many Mahometans, and some Nestorian Christians; this people are little addicted to merchandize or manufacture, and live on the products of their soil. In this city there are many temples, consecrated to various idols, with monasteries of priests devoted to the service of these false deities, to which numerous sacrifices are offered with great reverence. When a son is born to any person, he is immediately consecrated to the protection of some particular idol, and the father nourishes a sheep in his house for a year with great care; and on the anniversary day of that idol, he presents his son and the sheep as a sacrifice, with great reverence and many ceremonies, before the shrine of this tutelary deity. The flesh of the sheep is boiled and set before the idol during the continuance of the prayers and invocations, as an offering for the preservation and protection of the boy, and the idol is supposed to inhale the savour of the meat. After the religious ceremonies are finished, the meat is carried home to the father's dwelling, where all the kindred of the family are convened, and feasted with great joy and devotion; but the bones are religiously kept in certain appropriated vessels. The priests receive the head, feet, skin, and intrails, with a portion of the flesh for their share.

When a person of any estimation dies, his funerals are celebrated with much ceremony. An astrologer is sent for by the kindred, and informed of the year, month, day, and hour when the deceased was born, when he calculates the aspect of the constellation, and a.s.signs the day when the burial is to take place, sometimes at the distance of seven days, or perhaps the planet may not have a favourable aspect for six months, during all which time the body is kept in the house. For this purpose a fit chest or coffin is provided, which is so artificially jointed that no noisome smell can escape, and in this the body is placed, having been previously embalmed with spices. The coffin is ornamented with painting, and is covered over with an embroidered cloth. Every day, while the body remains unburied, a table is spread near the coffin, and set out with meat, bread, and wine, which remains for as long a time as a living person would require to eat and drink, and the soul of the deceased is supposed to feed upon the savour. The astrologers sometimes forbid the body to be carried out for interment at the princ.i.p.al door of the house, pretending to be regulated in this by the stars, and order it to be carried out by some other way; or will even command a pa.s.sage to be broken out in the opposite wall of the house, to propitiate the adverse planet. And if any one object to this, they allege that the spirit of the dead would be offended, and would occasion injury to the family. When the body is carried through the city to be buried, wooden cottages are built at certain distances by the way, having porches covered with silk, in which the coffin is set down, with a table spread out with bread and wine and delicate viands, that the spirit of the dead may be refreshed with the savour. When the body is carried to the place of the funeral, a number of pieces of paper, made of the bark of trees, curiously painted with figures of men and women servants, horses, camels, money, and garments of all kinds are carried in procession, all the instruments of music in the city sounding as the cavalcade moves along; and all these pieces of painted paper are burned in the same funeral pile with the body, under the idea that the deceased will have as many servants, cattle, and garments in the next world, and as much money, as there were pictures of these things burnt along with his body, and shall live perpetually hereafter in the enjoyment of all these things[7].

[1] The text is here obviously transposed. While the editor endeavours to ill.u.s.trate and explain the descriptions of the author, he does not consider himself at liberty to alter the text, even in the most obviously faulty places.--E.

[2] Charchan, Charcham, Carcam, Hiarkand, Jarkun, Jerket, Jerken, Urkend; such are the varieties in the editions of these travels, for the Yarkand of modern maps. This paragraph ought obviously to have followed the account of Cashgar.--E.

[3] Cotan, Cotam, Hotum, Khoten, Khotan, from which the useful material of manufacture, _cotton_, takes its name. But instead of being between the east and north-east direction from Yarkand, as in the text, or E.N.E. it is actually E.S.E.--E.

[4] Called likewise Ciarciam, Ciartiam, and Sartam, in different editions.

--E.

[5] The journey from Sartem to Lop is obviously retrograde, and this course must have been pursued by the Polos for commercial purposes; perhaps for collecting those valuable stones which are mentioned by Marco as giving so much profit when sold in China.--E.

[6] Schatscheu, Tschat-scheu, or Chat-chou, on the Polonkir, which runs into the Hara lake.--E.

[7] It is highly probable that this emblematical representation had been subst.i.tuted by some humane legislator or conqueror, in place of the actual sacrifice of the servants, cattle, and goods themselves, which we are well a.s.sured was once the practice among many rude nations, in honour of their deceased great men.--E.

SECTION VII.

_Of the Province of Chamil and several other Countries on the road from thence to the City of Ezina; and of another great Desert_.

The province of Chamil, which abounds in all the necessaries of life, is situated in the wide country of Tangut, and is subject to the great khan.

This province, of which the city of Chamil or Hami is the capital[1], is bounded by two deserts; the great desert of Lop already mentioned, and another which is only three days journey across[2]. The inhabitants are idolaters, have a peculiar language, and appear to live only for amus.e.m.e.nt, devoting their whole time to singing, dancing, and sports, playing upon instruments of music, and reading and writing after their fas.h.i.+on. When any traveller goes into a house for entertainment and lodging, the master of the family receives him with great joy, and commands his wife and family to obey the stranger in all things so long as he may choose to remain, and even departs immediately from his own house, that he may not be any restraint upon his guest. And while the traveller remains, he may choose a female bed fellow every night, either the wife, daughter, or servant of the polite host, as he feels inclined. The women of the country are very beautiful, and are perfectly ready to obey these singular commands; and the husbands believe that this strange hospitality is conducive to their own honour and glory, and is an acceptable service to their idols, from whose favour it secures prosperity and abundance to themselves and their country.

Mangu-khan having received notice of this detestable custom, issued a peremptory order for its discontinuance, and it was accordingly laid aside for three years; but as these years happened to be unusually barren, and the inhabitants were vexed with some disasters in their domestic concerns, they sent amba.s.sadors to the khan, earnestly entreating him to revoke so grievous a mandate, and to permit them to continue a custom which had been handed down by their ancestors. To this the khan answered, "Since you glory in your shame, you may go and act according to your customs." The messengers who brought back this favourable answer, were received with great rejoicings by the nation; and the above custom continued when I Marco was among them.

After leaving the province of Chamil, we enter into that of Chinchintalas[3], subject to the great khan, which is bounded by the desert on the north, and is sixteen days journey in length. It has large cities and many castles, the inhabitants being divided into three sects or religions: The greater number are idolaters, a considerable number are Mahometans, and a small proportion are Nestorian Christians. In this province there are mountains containing mines of steel, and andanic.u.m or audanic.u.m, and also a mineral substance called salamander or asbestos, from the wool of which an incombustible cloth is manufactured, which, if cast into the fire does not burn. This cloth is actually made of stone in the following manner, as I was informed by a Turk named Curifar, an intelligent industrious person of my acquaintance, who had the superintendence of the mines in this province. A certain mineral is found in these mountains, which yields fibres resembling wool: After being thoroughly dried in the sun, this substance is pounded in a bra.s.s mortar, and then washed to remove all earthy impurities; and the clean fibrous matter is spun in the same manner as wool, and woven into cloth. When this cloth requires to be cleaned or whitened, it is thrown into the fire for an hour, and is then taken out unhurt, and as white as snow. It is said, there is a napkin at Rome of this salamander wool, in which the handkerchief of the Lord Jesus is kept wrapped up, which a certain king of the Tartars sent as a present to the Pope. But as for the salamander or serpent, which is reported to live in the fire, I could hear of no such creature in all the eastern countries.

Leaving this province, we travel for ten days between the east and north-east, during which there are few habitations or things worthy of remark; after which we come to the province of Succir[4], in which there are many towns and villages, the chief city being called Succir. In this province, which is subject to the great khan, there are a few Christians among a great number of idolaters. The best rhubarb[5] is found in great quant.i.ties in this province, and is carried thence by merchants to various parts of the world. Strangers dare not go to the mountains where the rhubarb grows, on account of certain poisonous plants, which occasion any beasts that feed upon them to cast their hoofs; but the beasts of the country know this plant, and avoid feeding upon it Campion[6] is a great city, and is the chief place in all Tangut. In it, besides idolaters and Mahometans, there are a good many Christians, who have three fair churches.

The idolaters have many temples and monasteries dedicated to their idols.

These idols are very numerous, and are made of stone, wood, or clay, some of them curiously inlaid with gold, and very artificially made: Some are very large, almost ten paces high, standing upright, and having many smaller idols placed around, which seem to give reverence to the great one.

The priests of these idols appear to live more regularly, and are less addicted to voluptuousness than other idolaters. Yet wantonness is not looked upon in this country as any great sin; for they say if a woman invites a man, there is no harm in compliance, but if the man solicits the woman, it is quite otherwise.

In this country they divide the year by lunations, and in every moon they keep certain days as holy, in some five, or four, or three days, in which they kill no beast or bird, and abstain from animal food. The people of this country marry twenty or thirty wives, or as many as they are able to maintain, but the first wife always has the precedence over the others. The husband receives no portion with his wife, but on the contrary has to a.s.sign her a dower in cattle, servants, and money, according to his ability. If any of the wives does not live in harmony with the rest, or if she becomes disliked by her husband, it is lawful for him to put her away.

They marry their own near relations, and even the wives of their deceased father, excepting always their own mothers. In the manners and customs of this country, I Marco was sufficiently experienced, having dwelt a whole year in this place, along with my father and uncle, for the dispatch of certain affairs of business.

In twelve days journey from Campion, we come to the city of Ezina[7], which borders on a sandy desert towards the north. All the provinces and cities before mentioned, viz. Sachion, Camul, Chinchintalas, Succair, Campion, and Ezina, are comprehended in the great country of Tangut. The inhabitants of Ezina are idolaters, who live by agriculture, and on the produce of their flocks and herds, having great quant.i.ties of camels and other cattle, but carry on no trade. In this country there are forests of pine trees, in which there are wild a.s.ses, and many other wild beasts; there are likewise abundance of falcons, particularly the lanner and sacre, which are reckoned excellent. Such travellers as intend to pa.s.s through the great desert of Shamo, which is forty days journey in extent, must provide all their provisions in this place, as they afterwards meet with no habitations, except a few straggling people here and there on the mountains and valleys.

[1] Called also Kamul, Chamul, Khami, and Came-xu.--Forst.

[2] The desert of Noman-Cobi; or Tzokurin of modern maps.--E.

[3] Called likewise Cinchincalas, Sanghin-talgin, Sankin-talai, and Chitalas-dalai.--Forst. This appears to be the district stretching to the S.E. of the Bogdo mountains, between the Changai ridge on the north, and the Ungandag on the south, now occupied by a tribe of Eluts, and in which there do not appear to be any towns.--E.

[4] Suchur, Succuir, Souk, or Suck, on the river Suck, which empties itself into the river of Pegu to the north of Thibet.--Forst.

This I suspect to be Chioming of our modern maps, on a river which runs north into the Soukouk lake.--E.

[5] The country of the genuine rhubarb has been described by the great Russian traveller Palas, as situated on the river Selingol, not far from the town of Selinga, which falls into the Chattungol, Hoang-ho, Choango, or Karamuren.--Forst.

The travels of Palas will be found in an after portion of this work; and it need only be remarked in this place, that there are at least two kinds of true rhubarb, the China and Russia; and that two species of the genus, the R. Palmatum and R. Undulatum, certainly produce the drug nearly of the same quality, and are probably to be found in various parts of central Asia or Tartary,--E.

[6] Kampion, Kampition, Kampiciou, Kantscheu, or Kan-tcheou, in the Chinese province of Shensi, on the Etzine-moren, or Etchine river, which joins the Souk.--Forst.

[7] Eziva, or Etzine, on a river of the same name, which runs into the Suck or Souhouk.--Forst.

SECTION VIII.

_Of the City of Caracarum and of the Tartars, with some account of their History, Monarchs, and Manners_.

Having pa.s.sed over the before mentioned desert of forty days, travelling always to the northward, we come to the large city of Charachoran, or Caracarum[1] which is three miles in circ.u.mference, and strongly fortified with an earthen rampart, as there is no stone in these parts. Near the city there is a great castle with an elegant palace, in which the governor usually resides. Near this place the Tartars used to a.s.semble in old times, and here therefore I shall explain the original of their empire.

They dwelt at first in the northern parts called Curza and Bargu[2], where there are many vast plains without cities and towns, but abounding in pastures, lakes, and rivers. They had no prince of their own nation, but paid tribute to a certain great king, named, as I have been told, in their language, _Umcan_, and which some people believe to signify, in the languages of Europe, Prester-John[3]; and to whom the Tartars gave yearly a tenth part of the increase of their flocks and herds, and of their horses.

In process of time, the Tartars so increased in numbers, that Umcan became afraid of them, and endeavoured to disperse them into several parts of his empire; and when any of them rebelled, he used to send parties into their territories to reduce them to obedience; for which purpose, he even frequently deputed some of their own n.o.bles. At length it became obvious to the whole nation, that their ruin was intended; and being unwilling to be separated from each other, they retired into the northern deserts, where they might be safe from the power of Umcan, to whom they refused the accustomed tribute. After continuing in the north for some time, they chose a king among themselves, named Zingis-khan, who was a wise and valiant man, and reigned with such justice, that he was beloved and feared of all as a G.o.d rather than as a prince, so that by his fame and prowess, he soon reduced all the Tartars in these parts under his authority. Seeing himself at the head of so many valiant men, he determined to leave the northern deserts; and commanding his people to provide themselves with bows and other weapons, he began to reduce the neighbouring cities and provinces under his dominion, in which conquests he placed such just governors, that the people were perfectly reconciled to his authority. In all his conquests he carried the chief persons along with him, bestowing upon them provisions and other gifts, and by that means attached them to his person, and continually augmented his power. After sometime, finding himself advanced to power and glory, he sent amba.s.sadors to Umcan, to entreat that he would bestow his daughter upon him for a wife. Umcan received this message with the utmost indignation, saying to the messengers; "Does my servant presume to demand my daughter? Begone, and tell your master, that if ever he dare to repeat so insolent a proposal, I will make him die a miserable death."

Zingis seems only to have wanted a reasonable pretence to justify him in the estimation of his n.o.bles for entering into war against Umcan; he therefore immediately levied a great army, with which he marched boldly against Umcan, and encamped in a great plain named Tanduc[4], sending a message to Umcan to defend himself. Upon this Umcan collected a vast army, with which he advanced into the plains, and pitched his camp within ten miles of that of the Tartars. Zingis commanded his astrologers to shew him what was to be the event of the approaching battle; on which they split a reed into two pieces, on one of which they wrote the name of Zingis, and the name of Umcan on the other, and struck them separately into the ground, saying to Zingis: "While we read in our holy books, it shall come to pa.s.s through the power of the idol, that these two pieces of reed shall fight together, and whose part shall get the better, to that king shall the victory be given." The astrologers began to mumble their prayers and incantations, while the mult.i.tude stood around to observe the result; and after some time, the two pieces of reed seemed spontaneously to fight together, and the portion inscribed with the name of Zingis got the mastery over that of Umcan; and the Tartars being encouraged by this prodigy, went into the battle fully a.s.sured of victory, which they actually obtained. By this battle, in which Umcan was slain, the sovereignty of all Tangut was transferred to Zingis, who took to wife the daughter of Umcan. Zingis reigned six years after this, and conquered many provinces: But at last, while he endeavoured to take a certain castle called Thaigin, he approached too near the walls, and was wounded in the knee by an arrow, of which wound he died, and was buried in the mountain of Altai. Zingis was the _first_ king of the Tartars; the second was Khen-khan, the third Bathyn-khan, the fourth Esu-khan, the fifth Mangu-khan, the sixth Kublai-khan, whose power is greater than that of all his predecessors, as, besides having inherited all their acquisitions, he has added almost the whole world to his empire, during a long and prosperous reign of sixty years[5]. All the great khans and princes of the blood of Zingis, are carried for burial to the mountains of Altai, even from the distance of an hundred days journey; and those who attend the body, kill all whom they meet by the way, ordering them to go and serve their lord in the other world, and a great number of fine horses are slain on the same occasion and pretence. It is said that the soldiers, who accompanied the body of Mangu-khan to the mountain of Altai, slew above ten thousand men during their journey.