arrowes, I have seene flie from his flying troopes, we could not well judge, whether his fighting or flying was most dangerous, so good is his horse, and so expert his bowmen; but if they be so entangled they must fight, there is none can bee more hardy, or resolute in their defences.

Regaining his owne borders, he takes the tenth of the principall captives, man, woman, childe, or beast (but his captaines that take them, will accept of some particular person they best like for themselves) the rest are divided amongst the whole Armie, according to every mans desert, and quality; that they keepe them, or sell them to who will give most; but they will not forget to use all the meanes they can, to know their estates, friends and quality, and the better they finde you, the worse they will use you, till you doe agree to pay such a ransome, as they will impose upon you; therefore many great persons have endured much misery to conceale themselves, because their ransomes are so intolerable: their best hope is of some Christian Agent, that many times commeth to redeeme slaves, either with money, or man for man; those Agents knowing so well the extreme covetousnesse of the Tartars, doe use to bribe some lew or Merchant, that feigning they will sell them againe to some other nation, are oft redeemed for a very small ransome.

But to this Tartarian Armie, when the Turke commands, he goeth with some small artillery; and the Nagagians, Perecopens, Crimes, Osovens, and Cersessians, are his tributaries; but the Petigorves, Oczaconians, Byalogordens, and Dobrucen Tartars, the Turke by covenant commands to follow him, so that from all those Tartars he hath had an Army of an hundred and twenty thousand excellent, swift, stomackfull Tartarian horse, for foot they have none. Now the Chan, his Suitaines and nobility, use Turkish, Caramanian, Arabian, Parthian, and other strange Tartarian horses; the swiftest they esteeme the best; seldome they feede any more at home, than they have present use for; but upon their plaines is a short wodde like heath, in some countries like gaile, full of berries, farre much better than any grasse.

Their Armes are such as they have surprised or got from the Christians or Persians, both brest-plates, swords, semiteres, and helmets; bowes and arrowes they make most themselves, also their bridles and saddles are indifferent, but the nobility are very handsome, and well armed like the

Turkes, in whom consisteth their greatest glory; the ordinary sort have little armor, some a plaine young pole unshaven, headed with a peece of iron for a lance; some an old Christian pike, or a Turks cavarine; yet those tattertimallions will have two or three horses, some foure or five, as well for service, as for to eat; which makes their Armies seem thrice so many as there are souldiers. The Chan himselfe hath about his person ten thousand chosen Tartars and Ianizaries, some small Ordnance, and a white mareş taile, with a peece of greene taffity on a great Pike, is carried before him for a standard; because they hold no beast so precious as a white mare, whose milke is onely for the King and nobility, and to sacrifice to their Idolls; but the rest have ensignes of divers colours.

For all this miserable knowledge, furniture, and equipage, the mischiefe they doe in Christendome is wonderful, by reason of their hardnesse of life and constitution, obedience, agilitie, and their Emperours bountie, honours, grace, and dignities he ever bestoweth upon those that have done him any memorable service in the face of his enemies.

The Caspian Sea, most men agree that have passed it, to be in length about 200. leagues, and in breadth an hundred and fifty, environed to the East, with the great desarts of the Tartars of Turkamane; to the West, by the Circasses, and the mountaine Caucasus; to the North, by the river Volga, and the land of Nagay; and to the South, by Media, and Persia: this sea is fresh water in many places, in others as salt as the great Ocean; it hath many great rivers which fall into it, as the mighty river of Volga, which is like a sea, running neere two thousand miles, through many great and large Countries, that send into it many other great rivers; also out of Saberya, Yaick, and Yem, out of the great mountaine Caucasus, the river Sirus, Arash, and divers others, yet no Sea neerer it than the blacke Sea, which is at least an hundred leagues distant: in which Country live the Georgians, now part Armenians, part Nestorians; it is neither found to increase or diminish, or empty it selfe any way, except it be under ground, and in some places they can finde no ground at two hundred fadome.

Many other most strange and wonderfull things are in the land of Cathay towards the North-east, and Chyna towards the South-east, where are many of the most famous Kingdomes

in the world; where most arts, plenty, and curiosities are in such abundance, as might seeme incredible, which hereafter I will relate, as I have briefly gathered from such authors as have lived there.

CHAP. XVII.

How captaine Smith escaped captivity; slew the Bashaw of Nalbrits in Cambia; his passage to Russia, Transilvania, and the middest of Europe to Affrica.

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ALL the hope he had ever to be delivered from this thraldome, was only the love of Tragabigzanda, who surely was ignorant of his bad usage; for although he had often debated the matter with some Christians, that had beene there a long time slaves, they could not finde how to make an escape, any reason or possibility; but God beyond mans expectation or imagination helpeth his servants, when they least thinke of helpe, as it hapned to him. So long he lived in this miserable estate, as he became a thresher at a grange in a great field, more than a league from the Tymors house; the Bashaw as he oft used to visit his granges, visited him, and tooke occasion so to beat, spurne, and revile him, that forgetting. all reason, he beat out the Tymors braines with his threshing bat, for they have no flailes; and seeing his estate could be no worse than it was, clothed himselfe in his clothes, hid his body under the straw, filled his knapsacke with corne, shut the doores, mounted his horse, and ranne into the desart at all adventure; two or three dayes thus fearfully wandring he knew not whither, and well it was he met not any to aske the way; being even as taking leave of this miserable world, God did direct him to the great way or Castragan, as they call it, which doth crosse these large territories, and generally knowne among them by these marks.

In every crossing of this great way is planted a post, and in it so many bobs with broad ends, as there be wayes, and every bob the figure painted on it, that demonstrateth to what part that way leadeth; as that which pointeth towards the Cryms Country, is marked with a halfe Moone, if towards

the Georgians and Persia, a blacke man, full of white spots, if towards China, the picture of the Sunne, if towards Muscovia, the signe of a Crosse, if towards the habitation of any other Prince, the figure whereby his standard is knowne.To his dying spirits thus God added some comfort in this melancholy journey, wherein if he had met any of that vilde generation, they had made him their slave, or knowing the figure engraven, in the iron about his necke, (as all slaves have) he had beene sent backe againe to his master; sixtecne dayes he travelled in this feare and torment, after the Crosse, till he arrived at Ecopolis, upon the river Don, a garrison of the Muscovites. The governour after due examination of those his hard events, tooke off his irons, and so kindly used him, he thought himselfe new risen from death, and the good Lady Callamata, largely supplied all his wants.

This is as much as he could learne of those wilde Countries, that the Country of Cambia is two dayes journey from the head of the great river Bruapo, which springeth from many places of the mountaines of Innagachi, that joyne themselves together in the Poole Kerkas; which they account for the head, and falleth into the Sea Dissabacca, called by some the lake Meotis, which receiveth also the river Tanais, and all the rivers that fall from the great Countries of the Circassi, the Cartaches, and many from the Tauricaes, Precopes, Cummani, Cossunka, and the Cryme; through which Sea he sailed, and up the river Bruapo to Nalbrits, and thence through the desarts of Circassi to Ecoplis, as is related; where he stayed with the Governour, till the Convoy went to Coragnaw; then with his certificate how hee found him, and had examined with his friendly letters sent him by Zumalacke to Caragnaw, whose Governour in like manner so kindly use him, that by this meanes he went with a safe conduct to Letch, and Donka, in Cologoske, and thence to Berniske, and Newgrod, in Seberia, by Rezechica, upon the river Niper, in the confines of Littuania; from whence with as much kindnesse he was convoyed in like manner by Coroski, Duberesko, Duzibell, Drohobus, and Ostroge in Volonia; Saslaw and Lasco in Podolia; Halico and Collonia in Polonia; and so to Hirmonstat in Transilvania. In all his life he seldome met with more respect, mirth, content, and entertainment; and not any Governour where he came, but gave him somewhat as a present, besides his charges; seeing

themselves as subject to the like calamity. Through those poore continually forraged Countries there is no passage, but with the Carravans or Convoyes; for they are Countries rather to be pitied, than envied; and it is a wonder any should make warres for them. The Villages are onely here and there a few houses of straight Firre trees, laid heads and points above one another, made fast by notches at the ends more than a mans height, and with broad split boards, pinned together with woodden pinnes, as thatched for coverture. In ten Villages you shall scarce finde ten iron nailes, except it be in some extraordinary mans house. For their Townes Ecopolis, Letch, and Donko, have rampiers made of that woodden walled fashion, double, and betwixt them earth and stones, but so latched with crosse timber, they are very strong against any thing but fire; and about them a deepe ditch, and a Palizado of young Firre trees: but most of the rest have only a great ditch cast about them, and the ditches earth is all their rampier; but round well environed with Palizadoes.— Some have some few small peeces of small Ordnance, and slings, calievers, and muskets, but their generallest weapons are the Russe bowes and arrowes; you shall find pavements over bogges, onely of young Firre trees laid crosse one over another, for two or three houres journey, or as the passage requires, and yet in two dayes travell you shall scarce see six habitations. Notwithstanding to see how their Lords, Governours, and Captaines are civilized, well attired and acoutred with Jewells, Sables, and Horses, and after their manner with curious furniture, it is wonderfull; but they are all Lords or slaves, which makes them so subject to every in

vasion.

In Transilvania he found so many good friends, that but to see, and rejoyce himselfe (after all those encounters) in his native Country, he would ever hardly have left them, though the mirrour of vertue their Prince was absent. Being thus glutted with content, and neere drowned with joy, he passed high Hungaria by Fileck, Tócka, Cassovia, and Vnderoroway, by Vlmicht in Moravia, to Prague in Bohemia; at last he found the most gracious Prince Sigismundus, with his Colonell at Lipswick in Misenland, who gave him his Passe, intimating the service he had done, and the honours he had received, with fifteene hundred ducats of gold to repaire his losses: with this he spent some time to visit the faire Cities