The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 478 pages of information about The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09.

The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09 eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 478 pages of information about The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09.

The 10. at night we went aboard by warning of the patron:  and the 11. in the morning we set saile, and crept along the shore, but at night we ankered by reason of contrary windes.

[Sidenote:  Limisso.] The 12. we set saile toward Limisso, which is from Salines 50. miles, and there we went on land that night.

The 13. and 14. we remained still on land, and the 15. the patrone sent for vs; but by reason that one of our company was not well, we went not presently, but we were forced afterward to hire a boate, and to ouertake the ship tenne miles into the sea.  At this Limisso all the Venetian ships lade wine for their prouision, and some for to sell, and also vineger. [Sidenote:  Carrobi.] They lade also great store of Carrobi:  for all the countrey thereabout adioning, and all the mountaines are full of Carrobi trees, they lade also cotton wooll there. [Sidenote:  Vulture.] In the sayd towne we did see a certaine foule of the land (whereof there are many in this Island) named in the Italian tongue Vulture.  It is a foule that is as big as a Swanne, and it liueth vpon carion.  The skinne is full of soft doune, like to a fine furre, which they vse to occupie when they haue euill stomocks, and it maketh good digestion.  This bird (as they say) will eat as much at one meale as shall serue him fortie dayes after, and within the compasse of that time careth for no more meate.  The countrey people, when they have any dead beast, they cary it into the mountaines, or where they suppose the sayd Vultures to haunt, they seeing the carion doe immediately greedily seize vpon it, and doe so ingraft their talents, that they cannot speedily rise agayne, by reason whereof the people come and kill them:  sometimes they kill them with dogs, and sometimes with such weapons as they haue.  This foule is very great and hardy, much like an Eagle in the feathers of her wings and backe, but vnder her great feathers she is onely doune, her necke also long and full of doune.  She hath on the necke bone, betweene the necke and the shoulders a heape of fethers like a Tassell, her thighs vnto her knees are couered with doune, her legs strong and great, and dareth with her talents assault a man. [Sidenote:  Great pleny of very fat birds.] They haue also in this Island a certaine small bird, much like vnto a Wagtaile in fethers and making, these are so extreme fat that you can perceiue nothing els in all their bodies:  these birds are now in season.  They take great quantitie of them, and they vse to pickle them with vineger and salt, and to put them in pots and send them to Venice and other places of Italy for presents of great estimation.  They say they send almost 1200.  Iarres or pots to Venice, besides those which are consumed in the Island, which are a great number.  These are so plentifull that when there is no shipping, you may buy then for 10.  Carchies, which coine are 4. to a Venetian Soldo, which is peny farthing the dozen, and when there is store of shipping, 2 pence the dozen, after that rate of their money. [Sidenote:  The Famagustans obserue the French statutes.] They of the limites of Famagusta do keep the statutes of the Frenchmen which sometimes did rule there.  And the people of Nicosia, obserue the order of the Genoueses, who sometimes also did rule them.  All this day we lay in the sea with little wind.

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The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 09 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.