_Of an yland named Macumeran, whereas the people haue heads lyke
houndes._[1]
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FROM that yle menne go to an yle that is called Macumeran, whiche is
a greate yle and a fayre and the men and women of the countrey haue
heads like houndes, they are reasonable & worship an oxe for their
god, they go all naked but a little clothe before them, they are good
men to fighte, & they beare a great target with which they couer all
the body and a speare in theyr hande, and if they take any man in
batayle they sende him to theyr King which is a great lorde & devoute
in his faith, for he hath about his necke on a cord thre hondred
pearles great & orient,[2] in maner of Pater noster, and as we saye
Pater noster, and Ave maria. Right so ye King saith euery day three
hundred prayers to his god before he eate, & he beareth also about hys
necke a ruby, oryent, fine & good, that is neer a foote & five fingers
long. For when they chuse theyr Kyng they giue to him that Ruby to
beare in his hande, and then they lead him riding about the citie,
and then euer after are they subjecte to him, and therefore he beareth
that Ruby alway about his necke, for if he beareth not the Ruby, they
woulde no longer holde hym for kynge. The greate Caane of Cathay hath
much coveted this Ruby: but he might never haue it, neither for war
nor for other catell,[3] and this Kinge is a full true & a righteous
man, for men may go safely & surely through his lande & beare y^t he
will, for there is no man so hardy to let[4] them. And from thence men
go to an ile that is called Silo, this ile is more than a hundred[5]
myle about and therein be many serpents which are great with yelow
stripes & they haue foure feete, with short leggs & great claws, some
be five fadome[6] of length & some of viii & some of x & some more and
some lesse & be called Cocodrylles & there are also many wylde beasts
& Olyfants.[7] Also in this yle & in many yles thereabout are many
wyld geese with two heads, and there be also in y^t countrey white
lyons and many other dyverse mervaylous beastes, & if I should tell it
all it should be to long.
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[Footnote 1: Again in Book 7, cap. 2, Pliny speaks of
_Cynocephali_, or dog-headed people, for he says that on many
of the mountains there is a tribe of men, who have the heads
of dogs, and clothe themselves with the skins of wild beasts.
Instead of speaking, they bark; and, furnished with claws,
they live by hunting and catching birds.]
[Footnote 2: Oriental,--coming from the East.]
[Footnote 3: Nor in exchange.]
[Footnote 4: Hinder.]
[Footnote 5: Others say 800.]
[Footnote 6: A fathom is 6 feet.]
[Footnote 7: Elephants.]