[Footnote 157: The text in this place it erroneous or obscure. The indicated distance between China and Japan is enormously exaggerated, and probably ought to have been stated as between Malacca and Japan. The undiscovered islands and shoals seem to refer to the various islands between Java and Japan, to the east and north.--E.]
The Portuguese have a small city named Macao on an island near the coast of China, in which the church and houses are built of wood. This is a bishopric, but the customs belong to the king of China, and are payable at the city of Canton, two days journey and a half from Macao, and a place of great importance. The people of China are heathens, and are so fearful and jealous that they are unwilling to permit any strangers to enter their country. Hence when the Portuguese go there to pay their customs and to buy goods, they are not allowed to lodge within the city, but are sent out to the suburbs. This country of China, which adjoins to great Tartary, is of vast size and importance, as may be judged by the rich and precious merchandise which comes from thence, than which I believe there are none better or more abundant in quantity in all the world besides. In the first place it affords great quantities of gold, which is carried thence to the Indies made into small plates like little ships, and in value 23 carats each[158]; large quantities of fine silk, with damasks and taffetas; large quantities of musk and of occam[159] in bars, quicksilver, cinabar, camphor, porcelain in vessels of divers sorts, painted cloth, and squares, and the drug called Chinaroot. Every year two or three large ships go from China to India laden with these rich and precious commodities. Rhubarb goes from thence over land by way of Persia, as there is a caravan every year from Persia to China, which takes six months to go there and as long to return. This caravan arrives at a place called Lanchin, where the king and his court reside. I conversed with a Persian who had been three years in that city of Lanchin, and told me that it was a city of great size and wealth.
[Footnote 158: Perhaps the author may have expressed of 23 carats fine.--E.]
[Footnote 159: Perhaps the mixed metal called tutenag may be here meant.--E.]
The voyages which are under the jurisdiction of the captain of Malacca are the following. Every year he sends a small ship to Timor to load white sandal wood, the best being to be had in that island. He also sends another small ship yearly to Cochin-China for aloes wood, which is only to be procured in that country, which is on the continent adjoining to China. I could never learn in what manner that wood grows, as the people of Cochin-China will not allow the Portuguese to go into the land except for wood and water, bringing provisions and merchandise and all other things they want to their ships in small barks, so that a market is held daily on the deck of the ship till she is laden. Another ship goes yearly from Malacca for Siam to lade Verzino[160]. All these voyages belong exclusively to the captain of Malacca, and when he is not disposed to make them on his own account he sells them to others.
[Footnote 160: From another part of this voyage it appears that this is some species of seed from which oil was expressed.--E.]
SECTION XV.
Of the City of Siam.
Siam was the imperial seat of the kingdom of that name and a great city, till the year 1567, when it was taken by the king of Pegu, who came by land with a prodigious army of 1,400,000 men, marching for four months, and besieged Siam for twenty-two mouths, during which he lost a vast number of men, and at lost won the city. I happened to be in the city of Pegu about six months after his departure on this expedition, and saw the governors left by him in the command of Pegu send off 500,000 men, to supply the places of those who were slain in this siege. Yet after all he would not have won the place unless for treachery, in consequence of which one of the gates was left open, through which he forced his way with great trouble into the city. When the king of Siam found that he was betrayed and that his enemy had gained possession of the city, he poisoned himself. His wives and children, and all his nobles that were not slain during the siege, were carried captives to Pegu. I was there at the return of the king in triumph from this conquest, and his entry into Pegu was a goodly sight, especially the vast number of elephants laden with gold, silver, and jewels, and carrying the noblemen and women who were made captives at Siam.
To return to my voyage. I departed from Malacca in a great ship bound for St Thome on the coast of Coromandel, and as at that time the captain of Malacca had intelligence that the king of Acheen meant to come against Malacca with a great fleet and army, he refused to allow any ships to depart. On this account we departed from Malacca under night without having made any provision of water; and being upwards of 400 persons on board, we proposed to have gone to a certain island for water, but by contrary winds we were unable to accomplish this, and were driven about by the tempests for forty-two days, the mountains of Zerzerline near the kingdom of Orissa, 500 miles beyond St Thome, being the first land we got sight of. So we came to Orissa with many sick, and had lost a great number for want of water. The sick generally died in four days illness. For the space of a year after, my throat continued sore and hoarse, and I could never satisfy my insatiable thirst. I judged the reason of this hoarseness to be from the continual use of sippets dipped in vinegar and oil, on which I sustained my life for many days. We had no scarcity of bread or wine; but the wines of that country are so hot that they cannot be drank without water, or they produce death. When we began to want water, I saw certain Moors who were officers in the ship who sold a small dish of water for a ducat, and I have afterwards seen a bar of pepper, which is two quintals and a half, offered for a small measure, and it could not be had even at that price. I verily believe I must have died, together with my slave, whom I had bought at a high price, had I not sold him for half his value, that I might save his drink to supply my own urgent wants, and save my own life.