[Footnote 91: The Taprobana of the ancients certainly was Ceylon. Sumatra is about 977 statute miles in length, and 200 in its greatest breadth, so that its circumference must exceed 2500 miles.--E.]
[Footnote 92: By Chini in the text is probably meant Acheen in Sumatra.--E.]
We stopt no time at Malacca, but hiring a brigantine we sailed from thence for the island of Sumatra, and arrived at the city of Pyder or Pedier about 80 miles from the mainland, where we found an excellent harbour. The island of Sumatra is governed by four kings, who with their people are all idolaters, and do not differ much in fashions, apparel, and manner of life from the inhabitants of Tanaserim. They are of a whitish colour with large foreheads, round eyes; and of brasyll? colour. They wear their hair long, have very broad and flat noses, and are of low mean stature. Their money is of gold, silver, and tin. On one side the gold coin has the head of a devil, and on the other a waggon or chariot drawn by elephants. The silver coin is similar, and ten of them passes for one of gold; but it requires 25 pieces of tin to equal one gold piece. In this country there are a greater number and finer elephants than in any other place I have been in. The people are by no means warlike, being entirely devoted to merchandise and gain; they use strangers with much kindness and hospitality, and justice is well administered. They have in this island great abundance of long pepper, which in their language is called Molaga, and is much longer and whiter than any other, yet very light and strong; it is sold by measure like corn, and is to be had in such plenty that twenty ships are loaded with it every year for Cathay, or China, where it is much in request on account of the coldness of the climate. The tree which produces this pepper has a larger body, with broader and flatter leaves than the pepper tree of Calicut. This island produces plenty of silk, which is the work of worms as with us; but there is another kind brought forth on the trees spontaneously without any care or labour, which is worse than the other. Here likewise grows the laser tree, which produces the precious gum called Laserpitium or Belzoe[93], as we were told by the inhabitants and merchants, but not having myself seen it I am unable to give any distinct account of this substance. Variety is always pleasing, and ingenious minds can never be satiated with contemplating the marvellous and diversified works of God in nature: Therefore, that the reader may take the more pleasure in these my writings, or at least may experience less tediousness in reading them, I have thought good to set down such things as I have seen more at large. It is therefore to be understood that the reason of no great quantity of aloes or Laserpitium being brought to us is because it comes from the farthest parts of the earth. There are three kinds or sorts of aloes, differing greatly in point of goodness. The most perfect is that called Calampat, which is not found in Sumatra, but is brought from the city of Sarnau near which it grows, as we were told by our companions the Christian merchants formerly mentioned. There is another kind of aloes called Juba or Luba, brought to Sumatra by the before mentioned river or strait, but I know not from what country. The third kind is called bochor. These Christian merchants also told us that none of the finest and best kind of aloes is brought to us, because it comes from the kingdoms of Cathay, Chini, Macym, Sarnau, and Gravay, countries much richer than ours and more abounding in gold, having kings of great power and riches, who take great delight in sweet savours and use them much more than our western princes, owing to which circumstance the true and best kind of aloes is worth ten crowns the pound even in the city of Sarnau.
[Footnote 93: From similarity of names this appears to be Benzoin, or benzoe, sometimes called gum benjamin; yet from some circumstances in the sequel it may possibly indicate camphor.--E.]
We were taught by the said Christian merchants our companions, how to know and distinguish the two kinds of the sweet gums called aloes or Laserpitium. One of them had a certain portion of them both, and about two ounces of the best sort of aloes called calampat. Taking a piece of this in his hand and holding it close for about as long as one might take to rehearse the psalm Miserere mei Deus three times, the aloes become hot, and on opening his hand gave out a savour of incredible sweetness, such as I had never experienced from any other substance. He took also about the size of a walnut of the common laserpitium or belzoe, and half a pound of that which comes from the city of Sarnau, and putting both into different chaffing-dishes with burning coals in a close chamber, the small quantity of belzoe far exceeded, in sweetness of flavour, the other which weighed half a pound, and would even have done so had it been two pounds weight[94]. In this region also is found the substance called lacca from which a bright red colour is procured. This is the gum of a tree not much unlike our walnut tree[95]. In Pedier I saw in one street not less than 500 bankers or exchangers of money; and at this place they make many curious works, such as fine baskets garnished with gold, which were sold for two crowns each[96]. This is a famous mart to which innumerable merchants resort. The inhabitants wear mantles of silk, and syndones? made of cotton.
[Footnote 94: It is impossible to determine from the account in the text what is meant by these articles of sweet scent under the names of aloes, laserpitium, belzoe, calampat, luba, and bochor; all of which seem to be different names of the same substance in different degrees of quality, and assuredly not the drugs now known by the name of aloes and benzoin. There is a sweet-scented wood in the east known by the name of lignum aloes, and possibly the sweet gum called belzoe may have been extracted from it, or from that which produces the oil of rhodium.--E.]
[Footnote 95: Gum lac, long believed the gum of a tree, is now known to be the work of insects, serving as a nidus for their young, in the same manner as bees wax is used by the honey bee.--E.]
[Footnote 96: Perhaps filagree work?--E.]
This country has plenty of wood fit for the construction of ships. Those which they build are of a strange fashion, named gunchos or junks, having three masts with two stems and two sterns, having gouvernals or rudders on both. "When sailing on the ocean and having given their sails to the wind, if it be afterwards needful to have more sails, not changing the first they go backwards without turning the ship and using only one mast[97]." The natives are most expert swimmers, and have a wonderful contrivance for producing fire in an instant. Their houses are very low and built of stone, and instead of tiles or thatch they are covered by the hide of a fish called tartaruca! which is found in that part of the Indian sea, which is so huge a monster that one of their skins which I saw weighed 330 pounds. There are likewise serpents in this country much larger than those at Calicut.
[Footnote 97: This account of the mode of navigation is inexplicable, or at least obscure. Perhaps it is meant to express that they do not tack, but sail with either end foremost as suits the change of wind or direction of the ship.--E.]