ays and two nights, stopping but very little, till at
last we arrived at a village called Plothus, and hasted to Jerawena,
another of the Czar's colonies. On the third day, having entered the
desert, and passed the lake called Shaks Oser, we beheld a numerous body
of horde on the other side or it to the north, who supposed we had
passed on that side of the lake; but either having found the mistake, or
being certainly informed of the way we took, they came upon us towards
the dusk of the evening, just as we had pitched our camp between two
little but very thick woods, with a little river running before our
front and some felled trees with which we covered our rear; a precaution
we always took, and which we had just finished when the enemy came up.
They did not fall on us immediately, but sent three messengers,
demanding the men who had insulted their priests, & burnt their god,
Cham Chi-Thaungu, that they might be burnt with fire; that if this was
complied with, they would peaceably depart; but if not, they would
destroy one and all of us. Our men stared at one another on receipt of
this message, but Nobody was the word, as indeed nobody knew it, but he
who did it. Upon which the leader of the caravan returned for answer,
_That they were peaceable merchants, who meddled with none of their
priests and gods and therefore desired, them not to disturb us, and put
us to the necessity of defending ourselves_. But do far was this from
satisfying them, that the next morning coming to our right, they let fly
a volley of arrows among us, which happily did not hurt any, because we
sheltered ourselves behind our baggage. We expected however to come to a
closer engagement; but were happily saved by a cunning fellow, a
Cossack, who obtaining leave of the leader to go out, mounts his horse,
rides directly from our rear, and taking a circuit, comes up to the
Tartars, as tho he had been sent express, and tells them a formal story,
that the wretches who had burnt the Cham Chi-Thaungu, were gone to
Shiheilka, with a resolution to burn the god Shal-Ifar, belonging to the
Tongueses. Upon which, believing this cunning Tartar, who was servant to
our Muscovites, away they drove to Shiheilka, and in less than three
minutes were out of sight, nor did we ever hear of them more.

When we came to the city of Jarawena, we rested five days, and then
entered into a frightful desert, which held us twenty-three days march,
infested with several small comp