Eight Days Journey From Bagdat, Near To A Town Called Heit, Where We
Cross The Euphrates In Boats, And About
Three miles from that place,
there is a valley in which are many mouths, or holes, continually
throwing out, in
Great abundance, a black kind of substance like tar,
which serves all this country for paying their boats and barks. Every
one of these springs makes a noise like a smith's forge, continually
puffing and blowing; and the noise is so loud, that it may be heard a
mile off. This vale swalloweth up all heavy things that are thrown into
it. The people of the country call it Bab-el-gehenam, or the gate of
hell. In passing through these deserts we saw certain wild beasts, such
as asses, all white, roebucks, leopards, foxes, and many hares, a
considerable number of which last we chaced and killed. Aborise, the
king of the wandering Arabs in these deserts, receives a duty of 40
shillings value for every loaded camel, which he sends his officers to
receive from the caravans; and, in consideration of this, he engages to
convoy the caravans in safety, if need be, and to defend them against
the prowling thieves.
I and my companion, William Shales, came to Aleppo on the 11th June,
1584, being joyfully welcomed at twenty miles distance by Mr William
Barret, our consul, accompanied by his people and janisaries. He fell
sick immediately after, and departed this life in eight days illness,
having nominated, before he died, Mr Anthony Bate to succeed him as
consul for the English nation, who laudably executed the office for
three years. In the mean time, I made two other journeys to Bagdat and
Basora, returning in the same manner through the desert. Being
afterwards desirous to see other parts of the country, I went from
Aleppo to Antioch, which is 60 miles, and from thence to Tripoli, where,
going on board a small vessel, I arrived at Joppa, and travelled by land
to Rama, Lycia, Gaza, Jerusalem, Bethlem, the river Jordan, and the sea
of Sodom, and returned to Joppa, from whence I went back to Tripoli; but
as many others have published large discourses of these places, I think
it unnecessary to write of them here. Within a few days after my return
to Tripoli, I embarked in the Hercules of London, on the 22d December,
1587, and arrived safe, by the blessing of God, in the Thames, with
divers other English merchants, on the 26th March, 1588; our ship being
the richest in merchant goods that ever was known to arrive in this
realm.
SECTION V.
Of the Monsoons, or Periodical Winds, with which Ships depart from
Place to Place in India. By William Barret.[5]
It is to be noted, that the city of Goa is the principal place of all
the oriental India, and that the winter begins there on the 15th of May,
with very great rain, and so continues till the 1st of August; during
which time no ship can pass the bar of Goa, as, by these continual
rains, all the sands join together hear a mountain called Oghane, and
run into the shoals of the bar and port of Goa, having no other issue,
and remain there, so that the port is shut up till the 1st of August;
but it opens again on the 10th of August, as the rains are then ceased,
and the sea thus scours away the sand.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 9 of 424
Words from 4179 to 4761
of 221842
