Part 11 (2/2)
says I, ”do you think it would stand out an arood train of artillery; or our engineers, with two companies of miners? Would not they batter it down in ten days, that an arht enter in battalia; or blow it up in the air, foundation and all, that there should be no sign of it left?”--”Ay, ay,” says he, ”I know that”
The Chinese wanted ave him leave to tell him a few days after, for ere then almost out of their country, and he was to leave us a little time after this; but when he knehat I said, he was dumb all the rest of the way, and we heard no reatness while he stayed
After we passed thislike the Picts' walls so faan to find the country thinly inhabited, and the people rather confined to live in fortified towns, as being subject to the inroads and depredations of the Tartars, who rob in great armies, and therefore are not to be resisted by the naked inhabitants of an open country And here I began to find the necessity of keeping together in a caravan as we travelled, forseveral troops of Tartars roving about; but when I came to see them distinctly, I wondered more that the Chinese empire could be conquered by such contemptible fellows; for they are ano discipline or ht nothing, and fit for nothing; and this we found the first daythem, which was after we entered the wilder part of the country Our leader for the day gave leave for about sixteen of us to go a hunting as they call it; and as this but a hunting of sheep!--however, ittoo, for these creatures are the wildest and swiftest of foot that ever I saw of their kind! only they will not run a great way, and you are sure of sport when you begin the chase, for they appear generally thirty or forty in a flock, and, like true sheep, always keep together when they fly
In pursuit of this odd sort of game it was our hap tomutton, as ere, or whether they looked for another kind of prey, we know not; but as soon as they saw us, one of them blew a hideous blast on a kind of horn This was to call their friends about them, and in less than ten minutes a troop of forty or fifty more appeared, at about a mile distance; but our as over first, as it happened
One of the Scots st us; and as soon as he heard the horn, he told us that we had nothing to do but to charge the us up in a line, he asked if ere resolved We told him ere ready to follow hi at us like a mere crowd, drawn up in no sort of order at all; but as soon as they saw us advance, they let fly their arrohich missed us, very happily Not that they mistook their aim, but their distance; for their arrows all fell a little short of us, but with so true an aim, that had we been about twenty yards nearer we must have had several men wounded, if not killed
Ireat distance, we fired, and sent theallop, to fall in a them sword in hand--for so our bold Scot that led us directed He was, indeed, but a our and bravery on this occasion, and yet with such cool courage too, that I never saw any man in action fitter for command As soon as we came up to them we fired our pistols in their faces and then drew; but they fled in the greatest confusion iht, where three of thens, called the rest to co a kind of sci to their backs Our brave coallops up close to them, and with his fusee knocks one of them off his horse, killed the second with his pistol, and the third ran away Thus ended our fight; but we had this ot away We had not a man killed or hurt; as for the Tartars, there were about five of them killed--how many ounded we knew not; but this we knew, that the other party were so frightened with the noise of our guns that they fled, and never made any attempt upon us
We were all this while in the Chinese dominions, and therefore the Tartars were not so bold as afterwards; but in about five days we entered a vast wild desert, which held us three days' and nights' reat leathern bottles, and to encaht, just as I have heard they do in the desert of Arabia I asked our guides whose dominion this was in, and they told ht be called noa part of Great Karakathy, or Grand Tartary: that, however, it was all reckoned as belonging to China, but that there was no care taken here to preserve it from the inroads of thieves, and therefore it was reckoned the worst desert in the whole er
In passing this frightful wilderness o or three times, little parties of the Tartars, but they seen upon us; and so, like theto say to us, we had nothing to say to theo Once, however, a party of theaze at us Whether it was to consider if they should attack us or not, we knew not; but e had passed at souard of fortythe caravan pass half a mile or thereabouts before us After a while they marched off, but they saluted us with five arrows at their parting, which wounded a horse so that it disabled hireat need of a good farrier We saw no more arrows or Tartars that time
We travelled near a ood as at first, though still in the dominions of the Ees, some of which were fortified, because of the incursions of the Tartars When ere come to one of these towns (about two days and a half's journey before we came to the city of Naum), I wanted to buy a camel, of which there are plenty to be sold all the way upon that road, and horses also, such as they are, because, sothat way, they are often wanted The person that I spoke to to get one and fetched one forwith hie, where it seeuard
I walked it on foot, withvery desirous of a little variety When we caround, walled round with stones, piled up dry, without uard of Chinese soldiers at the door Having bought a careed for the price, I came away, and the Chinese that ith me led the camel, when on a sudden came up five Tartars on horseback Two of them seized the fellow and took the camel from him, while the other three stepped up tous, as it were, unarmed, for I had no weapon about ainst three horseupon ave me a blow on the head, which I never felt till afterwards, and wondered, when I came to myself, as the round; but uese, had a pistol in his pocket, which I knew nothing of, nor the Tartars either: if they had, I suppose they would not have attacked us, for cowards are always boldest when there is no danger The oldme doith a bold heart stepped up to the fellow that had struckhim down by main force a little towards him, with the other shot him into the head, and laid him dead upon the spot
He then immediately stepped up to him who had stopped us, as I said, and before he could coain, made a blow at hi the man, struck his horse in the side of his head, cut one of the ears off by the root, and a great slice down by the side of his face The poor beast, enraged with the wound, was no h the fellow sat well enough too, but away he flew, and carried hi upon his hind legs, thren the Tartar, and fell upon him
In this interval the poor Chinese came in who had lost the ca the Tartar down, and his horse fallen upon hily weapon he had by his side, so like a pole-axe, he wrenched it from him, and made shi+ft to knock his Tartarian brains out with it Buthe did not fly, as he expected, nor coht him, as he apprehended, but stood stock still, the old e his pistol again: but as soon as the Tartar saw the pistol away he scoured, and left my pilot, my champion I called him afterwards, a complete victory
By this tian to wake, that I had been in a sweet sleep; but, as I said above, I wondered where I was, how I caround, and as the matter A few h I did not knohere; so I clapped my hand to my head, and took it away bloody; then I feltwas present to ot hold ofdead, and his horse standing very quietly by hi further, I saw my deliverer, who had been to see what the Chinese had done, cotoafraid before that I had been killed Seeing me bloody, he would see hoas hurt; but it was not much, only e call a broken head; neither did I afterwards find any great inconvenience froain in two or three days
We ain, however, by this victory, for we lost a caained a horse I paid for the lost cao to fetch it h of that
The city of Nau, is a frontier of the Chinese empire, and is fortified in their fashi+on We wanted, as I have said, above two days' journey of this city when ers were sent express to every part of the road to tell all travellers and caravans to halt till they had a guard sent for the ten thousand in all, had appeared in the way, about thirty miles beyond the city
This was very bad news to travellers: however, it was carefully done of the governor, and ere very glad to hear we should have a guard
Accordingly, two days after, we had two hundred soldiers sent us froarrison of the Chinese on our left, and three hundred more from the city of Naum, and with these we advanced boldly The three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front, the two hundred in our rear, and our e and the whole caravan in the centre; in this order, and well prepared for battle, we thought ourselves a ul Tartars, if they had appeared; but the next day, when they did appear, it was quite another thing
CHAPTER XV--DESCRIPTION OF AN IDOL, WHICH THEY DESTROY
Early in the u, we had a river to pass, which ere obliged to ferry; and, had the Tartars had any intelligence, then had been the ti over, the rear-guard was behind; but they did not appear there About three hours after, ere entered upon a desert of about fifteen or sixteen miles over, we knew by a cloud of dust they raised, that the enemy was at hand, and presently they cauards in the front, who had talked so big the day before, began to stagger; and the soldiers frequently looked behind then in a soldier that he is just ready to run away My old pilot was of lese, these fellows ed, or they will ruin us all; for if the Tartars come on they will never stand it”--”If am of your mind,” said I; ”but what must be done?”--”Done?” says he, ”let fifty of our e theht like brave fellows in brave company; but without this they will every man turn his back” Immediately I rode up to our leader and told hily, fifty of us , and fifty to the left, and the restthe last two hundred uard the camels; only that, if need were, they should send a hundred men to assist the last fifty
At last the Tartars came on, and an innumerable company they were; how ht, at the least A party of theround in the front of our line; and, as we found thes to advance swiftly, and give the with their shot, which was done They then went off, I suppose to give an account of the reception they were like to meet with; indeed, that salute cloyed their stomachs, for they immediately halted, stood a while to consider of it, and wheeling off to the left, they gave over their design for that tireeable to our circumstances
Two days after we caovernor for his care of us, and collected to the value of a hundred crowns, or thereabouts, which we gave to the soldiers sent to guard us; and here we rested one day This is a garrison indeed, and there were nine hundred soldiers kept here; but the reason of it was, that formerly the Muscovite frontiers lay nearer to the abandoned that part of the country, which lies from this city west for about two hundred miles, as desolate and unfit for use; andso very remote, and so difficult to send troops thither for its defence; for ere yet above two thousand miles froreat rivers, and two dreadful deserts; one of which ere sixteen days passing over; and on the 13th of April we came to the frontiers of the Muscovite dominions I think the first town or fortress, whichever it una, being on the west side of the river Arguna
I could not but feel great satisfaction that I was arrived in a country governed by Christians; for though the Muscovites do, in my opinion, but just deserve the name of Christians, yet such they pretend to be, and are very devout in their way It would certainly occur to any reflectingit is to be brought into the world where the name of God and a Redeemer is known, adored, and worshi+pped; and not where the people, given up to strong delusions, worshi+p the devil, and prostrate themselves to es Not a town or city we passed through but had their paGodas, their idols, and their te even the works of their own hands Noe came where, at least, a face of the Christian worshi+p appeared; where the knee was bowed to Jesus: and whether ignorantly or not, yet the Christian religion ned, and the name of the true God was called upon and adored; and it made my soul rejoice to see it I saluted the brave Scotshim by the hand, I said to hist Christians” He smiled, and answered, ”Do not rejoice too soon, countryman; these Muscovites are but an odd sort of Christians; and but for the name of it you may see very little of the substance for some months further of our journey”--”Well,” says I, ”but still it is better than paganis of devils”--”Why, I will tell you,” says he; ”except the Russian soldiers in the garrisons, and a few of the inhabitants of the cities upon the road, all the rest of this country, for above a thousand norant of pagans” And so, indeed, we found it