National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
7s
BOOK II.
MARCO POLO
it furnishes the material for a most precious medicine.
Thus if a person is bitten by a mad dog, and they give
him but a small pennyweight of this medicine to drink,
he is cured in a moment. Again if a woman is hard in
labour they give her just such another dose and she is
delivered at once. Yet again if one has any disease like
the itch, or it may be worse, and applies a small quantity
of this gall he shall speedily be cured. So you see why
it sells at such a high price.
They also sell the flesh of this serpent, for it is ex-
cellent eating, and the people are very fond of it. And
when these serpents are very hungry, sometimes they
will seek out the lairs of lions or bears or other large
wild beasts, and devour their cubs, without the sire and
darn being able to prevent it. Indeed if they catch the
big ones themselves they devour them too ; they can
make no resistance.
In this province also are bred large and excellent
horses which are taken to India for sale. And you
must know that the people dock two or three joints of
the tail from their horses, to prevent them from flipping
their riders, a thing which
FANG]*ç-V&ÁĺAN they consider very unseemly.
They ride long like French-
iu
°0°►~~li ~11~~~~....-- men, and wear armour of
00
000
°° ~~►~' `~~w•"~' boiled leather, and carry
00,00 `;~ ~® spears and shields and arb-
~..~-- ..."••■/~
"Riding long like Frenchmen."
sons, especially those medi-
tating mischief, constantly turort zachif rcate gcnz ehe-
bnuhent
TAnc frIttchoiz," carry this poison about with
them, so that if by any
chance they should be taken, and be threatened with
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