The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 03Hakluyt, Richard
History
The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 03
Hakluyt, Richard
Discoveries in geography -- English; Voyages and travels
Thus keeping good watch, when halfe the night was spent, the Prince of the
theeues sent a messenger halfe way vnto vs, requiring to talke with our
Captaine, in their tongue, the Carauan Basha, who answered the messenger, I
will not depart from my companie to goe into the halfe way to talke with
thee: but if that thy Prince with all his companie will sweare by our Lawe
to keepe the truce, then will I send a man to talke with thee, or els not.
Which the Prince vnderstanding as well himselfe as his company, swore so
loude that we might all heare. And then we sent one of our company (reputed
a holy man) to talke with the same messenger. [Sidenote: Bussarmans.
Caphar.] The message was pronounced aloude in this order, our Prince
demaundeth of the Carauan Basha, and of all you that be Bussarmans, (that
is to say circumcised) not desiring your bloods, that you deliuer into his
hands as many Caphars, that is unbeleeuers (meaning vs the Christians) as
are among you with their goods, and in so doing, hee will suffer you to
depart with your goods in quietnesse, and on the contrary, you shall be
handled with no lesse cruelty then the Caphars, if hee ouercome you, as he
doubteth not. To the which our Carauan Basha answered, that he had no
Christians in his company, nor other strangers, but two Turkes which were
of their Law, and although hee had, hee would rather die then deliuer them,
and that we were not afraide of his threatnings, and that should he know
when day appeared. And so passing in talke, the theeues (contrary to their
othe) caried our holy man away to their Prince, crying with a lowde voyce
in token of victory, Ollo, ollo. Wherewith we were much discomforted,
fearing that that holy man would betray vs: but be being cruelly handled
and much examined, would not to death confesse anything which was to vs
preiudliciall, neither touching vs, nor yet what men they had slaine and
wounded of ours the day before. When the night was spent, in the morning we
prepared our selues to battel againe: which the theeues perceiuing,
required to fall to agreement and asked much of vs: And to be briefe, the
most part of our companie being loth to go to battel againe, and hauing
litle to loose, and safeconduct to passe, we were compelled to agree, and
to giue the theeues 20 ninths (that is to say) 20 times 9 seuerall things,
and a camell to cary away the same, which being receiued, the theeues
departed into the wildernes to their old habitation, and we went on our way
forward. [Sidenote: The river of Oxus.] And that night came to the riuer
Oxus, where we refreshed our selues, hauing bene 3. dayes without water and
drinke, and tarried there all the next day, making mery with our slaine
horses and camels, and then departed from that place, [Sidenote: A
wildernes of sande.] and for feare of meeting with the said theeues againe
or such like, we left the high way which went along, the said riuer, and
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