The principal nauigations, voyages, traffiques and discoueries of the English nation. [vols. 1-3] made by sea or ouer-land, to the remote and farthest distant quarters of the earth, at any time within the compasse of these 1600. yeres: deuided into three seuerall volumes, according to the positions of the regions, whereunto they were directed. The first volume containeth the worthy discoueries, &c. of the English ... The second volume comprehendeth the principall nauigations ... to the south and south-east parts of the world ... By Richard Hakluyt preacher, and sometime student of Christ-Church in Oxford.

Of the citie of Satagan.

IN the port of Satagan euery yeere lade thirtie or fiue and thirtie ships great and small, with rice, cloth of Bombast of diuerse sortes, Lacca, great abundance of sugar, Mirabolans dri∣ed and preserued, long pepper, oyle of Zerzeline, and many other sorts of marchandise. The ci∣tie of Satagan is a reasonable faire citie for a citie of the Moores,* 1.1 abounding with all things, and was gouerned by the king of Patane, and now is subiect to the great Mogol. I was in this kingdome foure moneths, whereas many marchants did buy or fraight boates for their bene∣fites, and with these barkes they goe vp and downe the riuer of Ganges to faires, buying their

commoditie with a great aduantage, because that eueryday in the weeke they haue a 〈◊〉〈◊〉, now in one place, and now in another, and I also hired a barke and went vp and downe the riuer and did my businesse, and so in the night I saw many strange things. The kingdome of Bengala in times past hath bene as it were in the power of Moores, neuerthelesse there is great store of Gen∣tiles among them; alwayes whereas I haue spoken of Gentiles, is to be vnderstood Idolaters, and wheras I speak of Moores I meane Mahomets sect.* 1.2 Those people especially that be within the land doe greatly worship the riuer of Ganges: for when any is sicke, he is brought out of the countrey to the banke of the riuer, and there they make him a small cottage of strawe, and euery day they wet him with that water, whereof there are many that die, and when they are dead,* 1.3 they make a heape of stickes and boughes and lay the dead bodie thereon, and putting fire thereunto, they let the bodie a••ne vntill it be halfe rosted, and then they take it off from the fire, and make an emptie iarre fast about his necke, and so throw him into the riuer. These things euery night as I passed vp and downe the riuer I saw for the space of two moneths, as I passed to the fayres to buy my commodities with the marchants. And this is the cause that the Portugales will not drinke of the water of the riuer Ganges, yet to the sight it is more perfect and clearer then the water of Nilus is. From the port Piqueno I went to Cochin, and from Cochin to Malacca, from whence I departed for Pegu being eight hundred miles distant. That voyage is woont to be made in fiue and twentie or thirtie dayes, but we were foure moneths, and at the ende of three moneths our ship was without victuals. The Pilot told vs that wee were by his altitude not farre from a citie called Tanasary, in the kingdome of Pegu, and these his words were not true, but we were (as it were) in the middle of many Ilands, and many vninhabited rockes, and there were also some Portugales that affirmed that they knew the land, and knewe also where the citie of Tanasari was.

This citie of right belongeth to the kingdome of Sion, which is situate on a great riuers side, which commeth out of the kingdome of Sion: and where this riuer runneth into the sea, there is a village called Mirgim, in whose harbour euery yeere there lade some ships with Uerzi∣na, Nypa, and Beniamin, a few cloues, nutmegs and maces which come from the coast of Sion,* 1.4 but the greatest marchandise there is Uerzin and Nypa, which is an excellent wine, which is made of the floure of a tree called Nyper. Whose liquour they distill, and so make an excellent drinke cleare as christall, good to the mouth, and better to the stomake, and it hath an excellent gentle vertue, that if one were rotten with the french pockes, drinking good store of this, he shall be whole againe, and I haue seene it proued, because that when I was in Cochin, there was a friend of mine, whose nose beganne to drop away with that disease,* 1.5 and he was counselled of the doctors of phisicke, that he should goe to Tanasary at the time of the new wines, and that he should drinke of the nyper wine, night and day, as much as he could before it was distilled, which at that time is most delicate, but after that it is distilled, it is more strong, and if you drinke much of it, it will fume into the head with drunkennesse. This man went thither, and did so, and I haue scene him after with a good colour and sound. This wine is very much esteemed in the Indies, and for that it is brought so farre off, it is very deare: in Pegu ordinarily it is good cheape, because it is neerer to the place where they make it, and there is euery yeere great quantitie made thereof. And returning to my purpose, I say, being amongst these rockes, and farre from the land which is ouer against Tanasary, with great scarcitie of victuals, and that by the saying of the Pylot and two Portugales, holding then firme that wee were in front of the aforesayd harbour, we determined to goe thither with our boat and fetch victuals, and that the shippe should stay for vs in a place assigned. We were twentie and eight persons in the boat that went for victuals, and on a day about twelue of the clocke we went from the ship, assuring our selues to bee in the harbour before night in the aforesaid port, wee rowed all that day, and a great part of the next night, and all the next day without finding harbour, or any signe of good landing, and this came to passe through the euill counsell of the two Portugales that were with vs.

For we had ouershot the harbour and left it behind vs, in such wise that we had lost the lande inhabited, together with the shippe, and we eight and twentie men had no maner of victuall with vs in the boate, but it was the Lords will that one of the Mariners had brought a litle rice with him in the boate to barter away for some other thing, and it was not so much but that three or foure men would haue eaten it at a meale: I tooke the gouernment of this Ryce,* 1.6 promising that by the helpe of God that Ryce should be nourishment for vs vntil it pleased God to send vs to some place that was inhabited: & when I slept I put the ryce into my bosome because they should not rob it from me: we were nine daies rowing alongst the coast, without finding any thing but countreys vninhabited, & desert Ilands, where if we had found but grasse it would haue seemed

sugar vnto vs, but wee could not finde any, yet we found a fewe leaues of a tree, and they were so hard that we could not chewe them, we had water and wood sufficient, and as wee rowed, we could goe but by flowing water, for when it was ebbing water, wee made fast our boat to the banke of one of those Ilandes, and in these nine dayes that we rowed, we found a caue or nest of Tortoises egges, wherein were one hundred fortie and foure egges, the which was a great helpe vnto vs: these egges are as bigge as a hennes egge, and haue no shell aboue them but a tender skinne, euery day we sodde a kettle full of those egges, with an handfull of rice in the broth thereof: it pleased God that at the ende of nine dayes we discouered certaine fisher men, a fishing with small barkes, and we rowed towardes them, with a good cheare, for I thinke there were neuer men more glad then we were, for wee were so sore afflicted with penurie, that we could scarce stande on our legges. Yet according to the order that we set for our ryce, when we sawe those fisher men, there was left sufficient for foure dayes. The first village that we came to was in the gulfe of Tauay, vnder the king of Pegu,* 1.7 whereas we found great store of victuals: then for two or three dayes after our arriuall there, we would eate but litle meate any of vs, and yet for all this, we were at the point of death the most part of vs. From Tauay to Martauan, in the kingdome of Pegu, are seuentie two miles. We laded our bote with victuals which were aboundantly sufficient for sixe moneths, from whence we departed for the port and Citie of Martauan, where in short time we arriued, but we found not our ship there as we had thought we should, from whence presently we made out two barkes to goe to looke for her. And they found her in great calamitie, and neede of water, being at an anker with a contrary winde, which came very ill to passe, because that she wanted her boat a moneth, which should haue made her prouision of wood and water, the shippe also by the grace of God arriued safely in the aforesaid port of Martauan.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The commo∣dities that are laden in Sata∣gan.
• * 1.2

  Moores are of the sect of Ma∣homet.
• * 1.3

  A ceremony of the gentiles when they are dead.
• * 1.4

  Marchandise comming from Sion.
• * 1.5

  Niper wine good to cure the French disease.
• * 1.6

  Great extre∣mitie at sea.
• * 1.7

  Tauay vnder the king of Pegu.