tugall Marchants, which were making ready to depart, with two
palanchines or little litters, which are very commodious for the way, with
eight Falchines which are men hired to cary the palanchines, eight for a
palanchine, foure at a time: they carry them as we vse to carry barrowes.
[Sidenote: Men ride on bullocks and trauell with them on the way.] And I
bought me two bullocks, one of them to ride on, and the other to carry my
victuals and prouision, for in that countrey they ride on bullocks with
pannels, as we terme them, girts and bridles, and they haue a very good
commodious pace. From Bezeneger to Goa in Summer it is eight dayes iourney,
but we went in the midst of Winter, in the moneth of Iuly, and were
fifteene dayes comming to Ancola on the sea coast, so in eight dayes I had
lost my two bullocks: for he that carried my victuals, was weake and could
not goe, the other when I came vnto a riuer where was a little bridge to
passe ouer, I put my bullocke to swimming, and in the middest of the riuer
there was a little Iland, vnto the which my bullocke went, and finding
pasture, there he remained still, and in no wise we could come to him: and
so perforce, I was forced to leaue him, and at that time there was much
raine, and I was forced to go seuen dayes a foot with great paines: and by
great chance I met with Falchines by the way, whom I hired to carry my
clothes and victuals. We had great trouble in our iourney, for that euery
day wee were taken prisoners, by reason of the great dissension in that
kingdome: and euery morning at our departure we must pay rescat foure or
fiue pagies a man. And another trouble wee had as bad as this, that when as
wee came into a new gouernours countrey, as euery day we did, although they
were al tributary to the king of Bezeneger, yet euery one of them stamped a
seueral coine of Copper, so that the money that we tooke this day would not
serue the next: at length, by the helpe of God, we came safe to Ancola,
which is a country of the Queene of Gargopam, tributary to the king of
Bezeneger. [Sidenote: The marchandise that come in and out to Bezeneger
euery yere.] The marchandise that went euery yere from Goa to Bezeneger
were Arabian Horses, Veluets, Damasks, and Sattens, Armesine of Portugall,
and pieces of China, Saffron, and Skarlets: and from Bezeneger they had in
Turky for their commodities, iewels, and Pagodies which be ducats of golde:
[Sidenote: the apparell of those people.] the appa