truely i know not whereof the amber is made, and there are diuers opinions of it, but this is most certaine, it is cast out of the sea, and throwne on land, and found vpon the sea bankes. the rubies, saphyres, and the spinels be gotten in the kingdome of pegu. the diamants come from diuers places; and i know but three sorts of them. that sort of diamants that is called chiappe, commeth from bezeneger. those that be pointed naturally come from the land of delly, and from iaua, but the diamants of iaua are more waightie then the other. i could neuer vnderstand from whence they that are called balassi come. [sidenote: the balassi grow in zeilan.] pearles they fish in diuers places, as before in this booke is showne. from cambaza commeth the spodiom which congeleth in certaine canes, whereof i found many in pegu, when i made my house there, because that (as i haue sayd before) they make their houses there of wouen canes like to mats. from chaul they trade alongst the coast of melinde in ethiopia, [marginal note: on the coast of melynde in ethiopia, in the land of cafraria, the great trade that the portugals haue.] within the land of cafraria: on that coast are many good harbors kept by the moores. thither the portugals bring a kinde of bombast cloth of a low price, and great store of paternosters or beads made of paltrie glasse, which they make in chaul according to the vse of the countrey: and from thence they cary elephants teeth for india, slaues called cafari, and some amber and gold. on this coast the king of portugall hath his castle called mozambique, which is of as great importance as any castle that hee hath in all his indies vnder his protection, and the captaine of this castle hath certaine voyages to this cafraria, to which places no marchants may goe, but by the agent of this captaine: [sidenote: buying and selling without words one to another.] and they vse to goe in small shippes, and trade with the cafars, and their trade in buying and selling is without any speach one to the other. in this wise the portugals bring their goods by litle and litle alongst the sea coast, and lay them downe: and so depart, and the cafar marchants come and see the goods, and there they put downe as much gold as they thinke the goods are worth, and so goe their way and leaue their golde and the goods together, then commeth the portugal, and finding the golde to his content, hee taketh it and goeth his way into his ship, and then commeth the cafar, and taketh the goods and carieth them away: and if he finde the golde there still, it is a signe that the portugals are not contented, and if the cafar thinke he hath put too little, he addeth more, as he thinketh the thing is worth: and the portugales must not stand with them too strickt; for if they doe, then they will haue no more trade with them: for they disdaine to be refused, when they thinke that they haue offered ynough, for they bee a peeuish people, and haue dealt so of a long time: [sidenote: golden trades that the portugals haue.] and by this trade the portugals change their commodities into gold, and cary it to the castle of mozambique, which is an island not farre distant from the firme land of cafraria on the coast of ethiopia, and is distant from india 2800. miles. nowe to returne to my voyage, when i came to ormus, i found there master francis berettin of venice, and we fraighted a bark together to goe for basora for 70. duckets, and with vs there went other marchants, which did ease our fraight, and very commodiously wee came to basora and there we stayed 40. dayes for prouiding a carouan of barks to go to babylon, because they vse not to goe two or 3. barkes at once, but 25. or 30. because in the night they cannot go, but must make them fast to the banks of the riuer, and then we must make a very good and strong guard, and be wel prouided of armor, for respect and safegard of our goods, because the number of theeues is great that come to spoile and rob the marchants. and when we depart for babylon we goe a litle with our saile, and the voyage is 38. or 40. dayes long, but we were 50. dayes on it. when we came to babylon we stayed there 4. moneths, vntill the carouan was ready to go ouer the wildernes, or desert for alepo; in this city we were 6. marchants that accompanied together, fiue venetians and a portugal: whose names were as followeth, messer florinasa with one of his kinsmen, messer andrea de pola, the portugal and m. francis berettin and i, and so wee furnished our selues with victuals and beanes for our horses for 40. dayes; [marginal note: an order how to prouide to goe ouer the desert from babylon to alepo.] and wee bought horses and mules, for that they bee very good cheape there, i my selfe bought a horse there for 11. akens, and solde him after in alepo for 30. duckets. also we bought a tent which did vs very great pleasure: we had also amongst vs 32. camels laden with marchandise: for the which we paid 2. duckets for euery camels lading, and for euery 10. camels they made 11, for so is their vse and custome. we take also with vs 3. men to serue vs in the voyage, which are vsed to goe in those voyages for fiue d d. a man, and are bound to serue vs to alepo: so that we passed very well without any trouble: when the camels cried out to rest, our pauilion was the first that was erected. the carouan maketh but small iourneis about 20. miles a day, and they set forwards euery morning before day two houres, and about two in the afternoone they sit downe. we had great good hap in our voyage, for that it rained: for which cause we neuer wanted water, but euery day found good water, so that we could not take any hurt for want of water. yet we caried a camel laden alwayes with water for euery good respect that might chance in the desert, so that wee had no want neither of one thing, nor other that was to bee had in the countrey. for wee came very well furnished of euery thing, and euery day we eat fresh mutton, because there came many shepheards with vs with their flocks, who kept those sheepe that we bought in babylon, and euery marchant marked his sheepe with his owne marke, and we gaue the shepheards a medin, which is two pence of our money for the keeping and feeding our sheep on the way and for killing of them. and beside the medin they haue the heads, the skinnes, and the intrals of euery sheepe they kil. we sixe bought 20. sheepe, and when we came to alepo we had 7