The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 / Page 215 (Color Image)

0215	The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2

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CHAP. LXXI. THE GREAT RIVER KIAN 171

vessels in the year, without counting those that passed

down ! [Indeed as it has a course of such great length,

and receives so many other navigable rivers, it is no

wonder that the merchandize which is borne on it is of

vast amount and value. And the article in largest quan-

tity of all is salt, which is carried by this river and its

branches to all the cities on their banks, and thence to

the other cities in the iiiterior.3]

The vessels which ply on this river are decked.

They have but one mast, but they are of great burthen,

for I can assure you they carry (reckoning by our weight)

from 4000 up to I 2,000 cantars each.4

Now we will quit this matter and I will tell you of

another city called CAIJu. But first I must mention a

point I had forgotten. You must know that the vessels

on this river, in going up-stream have to be tracked, for

the current is so strong that they could not make head

in any other manner. Now the tow-line, which is some

300 paces in length, is made of nothing but cane. 'Tis

in this way : they have those great canes of which I

told you before that they are some fifteen paces in length ;

these they take and split from end to end [into many

slender strips], and then they twist these strips together

so as to make a rope of any length they please. And

the ropes so made are stronger than if they were made

of hemp.'

[There are at many places on this river hills and

rocky eminences on which the idol-monasteries and

other edifices are built ; and you find on its shores a

constant succession of villages and inhabited places.'

NOTE t.—The traveller's diversion from his direct course—sceloc or south-east, as he regards it—towards Fo-kien, in order to notice Ngan-king (as we have supposed) and Siang-yang, has sadly thrown out both the old translators and transcribers, and the modern commentators. Though the G. Text has here "quant l'en se part de la cité de Angui," I cannot doubt that langui (Yanju) is the reading intended, and that Polo here comes back to the main line of his journey.

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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Citation Information

OCR Text

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books