_Some Account of the Commodities of India_.
Before concluding this relation of my peregrinations, it seems proper
that I should give some account of the productions of India.
In all parts of India, both of the western and eastern regions, there is
pepper and ginger, and in some parts the greatest quantity of pepper is
found wild in the woods, where it grows without any care or cultivation,
except the trouble of gathering it when ripe. The tree on which the
pepper grows is not unlike our ivy, and runs in the same manner up to
the top of such trees as grow in its neighbourhood, for if it were not
to get hold of some tree it would lie flat on the ground and perish. Its
flower and berry in all things resemble the ivy, and its berries or
grains are the pepper, which are green when gathered, but by drying in
the sun they become black. Ginger requires cultivation, and its seeds
are sown on land previously tilled. The herb resembles that called
_panizzo_, and the root is the spice we call ginger. Cloves all come
from the Moluccas, where they grow in two small islands, Ternate and
Tidore, on a tree resembling the laurel. Nutmegs and mace come from the
island of Banda, where they grow together on one tree, which resembles
our walnut tree, but not so large. Long pepper grows in Bengal, Pegu,
and Java.
All the good sandal-wood comes from the island of Timor. Camphor, being
compounded, or having to undergo a preparation, comes all from China.
That which grows in canes[171] comes from Borneo, and I think none of
that kind is brought to Europe, as they consume large quantities of it
in India, and it is there very dear. Good aloes wood comes from
Cochin-China; and benjamin from the kingdoms of _Assi_, Acheen? and
Siam. Musk is brought from Tartary, where it is made, as I have been
told, in the following manner. There is in Tartary a beast as large and
fierce as a wolf, which they catch alive, and beat to death with small
staves, that his blood may spread through his whole body. This they then
cut in pieces, taking out all the bones, and having pounded the flesh
and blood very fine in a mortar, they dry it and put it into purses made
of the skin, and these purses with their contents are the cods of
musk[172].
[Footnote 171: This is an error, as camphor is a species of essential
oil, grossly sublimed at first from a tree of the laurel family, and
afterwards purified by farther processes.--E.]
[Footnote 172: The whole of this story is a gross fabrication imposed by
ignorance on credulity. The cods of musk are natural bags or
emunctories, found near the genitals on the males of an animal named
_Moschus Moschiferus_, or Thibet Musk. It is found through the whole of
Central Asia, except its most northern parts, but the best musk comes
from Thibet.--E.
"The Jewes doe counterfeit and take out the halfe of the goode muske,
beating it up with an equal quantity of the flesh of an asse, and put
this mixture in the bag or purse, which they sell for true
muske."--_Hackluyt_.]
I know not whereof amber is made[173], and there are divers opinions
respecting it; but this much is certain, that it is cast out from the
sea, and is found on the shores and banks left dry by the recess of the
tides. Rubies, sapphires, and spinells are got in Pegu. Diamonds come
from different places, and I know but three kinds of them. The kind
which is called _Chiappe_ comes from _Bezeneger_, Bijanagur? Those that
are naturally pointed come from the land of Delly and the island of
Java, but those of Java are heavier than the others. I could never learn
whence the precious stones called _Balassi_ are procured. Pearls are
fished for in different places, as has been already mentioned. The
substance called Spodium, which is found concreted in certain canes, is
procured in _Cambaza_, Cambaya? Of this concrete I found many pieces in
Pegu, when building myself a house there, as in that country they
construct their houses of canes woven together like mats or basket-work,
as formerly related.
[Footnote 173: Ambergris is probably meant in the text under the name of
Amber, as the former came formerly from India, while the latter is
principally found in the maritime parts of Prussia.--E.]
The Portuguese trade all the way from Chaul along the coast of India,
and to Melinda in Ethiopia, in the land of Cafraria, on which coast are
many good ports belonging to the Moors. To these the Portuguese carry a
very low-priced cotton cloth, and many _paternosters_, or beads made of
paultry glass, which are manufactured at Chaul; and from thence they
carry back to India many elephants teeth, slaves, called Kafrs or
Caffers, with some _amber_ and gold. On this coast the king of Portugal
has a castle at Mozambique, which is of as great importance as any of
his fortresses, in the Indies. The captain or governor of this castle
has certain privileged voyages assigned to him, where only his agents
may trade. In their dealings with the Kafrs along this coast, to which
they go in small vessels, their purchases and sales are singularly
conducted without any conversation or words on either side. While
sailing along the coast, the Portuguese stop in many places, and going
on shore they lay down a small quantity of their goods, which they
leave, going back to the ship. Then the Kafr merchant comes to look at
the goods, and having estimated them in his own way, he puts down as
much gold as he thinks the goods are worth, leaving both the gold and
the goods, and then withdraws. If on the return of the Portuguese trader
he thinks the quantity of gold sufficient, he taketh it away and goes
back to his ship, after which the Kafr takes away the goods, and the
transaction is finished. But if he find the gold still left, it
indicates that the Portuguese merchant is not contented with the
quantity, and if he thinks proper he adds a little more. The Portuguese
must not, however, be too strict with them, as they are apt to be
affronted and to give over traffic, being a peevish people. By means of
this trade, the Portuguese exchange their commodities for gold, which
they carry to the castle of Mozambique, standing in an island near the
Continental coast of Cafraria, on the coast of Ethiopia, 2800 miles
distant from India.