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I 8 3 . THE MERCHANDISE AND PIRATES OF MELIBAR ."MARCO POLO
from another province which is near to it which is called Goçurat more than a z hundred' ships of pirates come out each year on cruise, which go taking the other P P VB ships and robbing all the merchants who pass by • those seas, for they are great robbers VB VA of the sea. Moreover I tell you that they mostly bring their wives and their big and -
little children to sea with them, and all summer they stay on cruise and cause very z great loss to the merchants and to those who sail. Moreover you may know that the most of these ships of these evil corsairs are parted hither & thither to wait for and z find the ships of the merchants who pass by. And again they do another wickedness. z FB They have indeed such a precaution • that no merchant ship may pass which is not taken, for FB P they go together in companies of twenty or of thirty ships of these corsairs and form a great -
line on the sea that the ships of those who pass may not be able to escape their hands, that is z R to say that they are separated, one ship -moored with the anchor distant from the next FB by about five or six miles, and thus twenty ships are set out one beside the other VB so that they hold wo o miles of sea. And they watch one another by night. And as soon FB as they see any merchant ship they make a light of fire or smoke for a signal the one FB to the other, and they all collect together go there hard and take everything, and in this
z way no ships can go by that sea which they do not immediately see[and]take. But the merchants who well know the way of those evil corsairs and well know that z TA they are bound to find them, they go many together & so well armed and so well z prepared that they have no fear of them when they find them, for they defend z themselves bravely and very often do them great harm. And yet it is true that it cannot be that they do not take any of them . And when these corsairs take some ship with merchants they [88d] take away from them the ship with all the merchanz P dise. And to the men they do no harm but taking their ships & all their goods put them -
ashore with nothing and say to them, Go home to gain some other goods, so you will -
give us of them again perhaps if you pass our way with other things. In this kingdom there is very great abundance of pepper and of ginger likewise; and there is also cinnamon enough, and of other spices there is also great quantity, and turbit s (which are certain medicinal roots) and nuts of Indie. They have also buckram enough z both of the finest and of the most beautiful which may be found in all this world. z They have besides many dear goods and enough. And again I wish to describe to you those which the merchants from other parts bring into this country when they come with their ships to this country to buy of their merchandise. You may know FB R that the merchants carry copper in their ships which come from the sunrising, • and the z z ships of Mangi. • And they ballast the ships with this copper. They carry also silk, |
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