Europe - The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques And Discoveries Of The English Nation - Volume 4 - Collected By Richard Hakluyt
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From the mouth of the riuer Irtische to the Castle of Grustina, is two
moneths iourney:
From whence to the lake Kitai, by the riuer Oby (which I
said to haue his springs in this lake) is more then three moneths iourney.
[Sidenote: Blacke men without speech.] From this lake come many blacke men;
lacking the vse of common speech. They bring with them diuers wares, and
especially pearles and precious stones, which they sell to the people
called Grustintzi and Serponowtzi. These haue their name of the Castle
Serponow, situate in the mountaines of Lucomoria, beyond the riuer Obi.
[Sidenote: Men that yeerely die and reuiue.] They say that to the men of
Lucomoria chauncheth a marueilous thing and incredible: For they affirme,
that they die yeerely at the xxvii. day of Nouember, being the feast of S.
George among the Moscouites: and that the next spring about the xxiii. day
of Aprill, they reuiue as doe Frogges.
[Sidenote: A strange trade of merchandise.] With these also, the people of
Grustintzi and Serponowtzi exercise a new and strange kinde of trade. For
when the accustomed time of their dying, or rather of sleeping, approcheth,
they leaue their wares in certaine places appointed, which the Grustintzi
and Serponowtzi carry away, leauing other wares of equall value in their
places: which if the dead men at the time of their reuiuing perceiue to be
of vnequal price, they require their owne againe: by reason whereof, much
strife and righting is betweene them.
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