Fred took breath during this interruption, and then went on with the story of what Marco Polo claimed to have seen.
MEDIÆVAL TARTAR HUTS AND WAGONS.
"'The houses of the Tartars,' says Marco, 'are made of wands covered with felt. These are carried along with them whithersoever they go. They also have wagons covered with black felt so efficaciously that no rain can get in. These are drawn by oxen and camels, and the women and children travel in them. They eat all kinds of flesh, including horses and dogs and Pharaoh's rats. Their drink is mares' milk.' This account is confirmed by other writers; and the houses of the Tartars are made to-day as Polo describes, though they are not drawn about on wheels. One ancient writer says that he measured one of the Tartar wagons, and found that the wheels were twenty feet apart, and it was drawn by twenty-two oxen, eleven abreast.
THE ROC, FROM A PERSIAN DRAWING.
"He has a good deal to say," Fred continued, "about the famous bird known as the roc, or rukh. He does not claim to have seen one of these birds, but was informed by persons who had done so. According to his account, 'It was for all the world like an eagle, but one, indeed, of enormous size; so big, in fact, that its wings covered an extent of thirty paces, and its quills were twelve paces long, and thick in proportion; and it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him up in the air and drop him, so that he is smashed to pieces; having so killed him, the bird swoops down on him and eats him at leisure.'