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『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

fI

THE LAKE IS THE ORIGIN OF FOUR RIVERS.   235

The little map in HERBERT 's work, published 1638, Pl. X, has four rivers leaving the lake southwards, and in their »Mesopotamia» the names of Caor, Auva, Satagam, Brama, and Verma are placed without any kind of order. Martavan is to be found at the place of Bangkok.'

On two maps, Nova totius Terrarum orbis geograplzica ac hydrob rafthica tabula, duct' Henr: Hondio 163o, and Orbis Terrarum Opus de integro multis in lotis emendatus, by N. I. Vissclzer 1639, which both in reality are the same map, only two rivers go out of the lake, though one of them does so with two head

branches. 2

Gastaldi showed the lake at a considerable distance east of the Ganges delta, so that the Caor river had to flow nearly westwards to reach it. HOEIUS and ALLARDT, 164o, Pl. XXVI, have the Chiamai Lacus straight north of the Ganges delta, so that the Caor river has to flow S.S-E. in order to join it. The rivers are four and have the ordinary names. WILLIAM BLAEU, 1640, Pl. XXVII, accepts Amuy and Tolema, and has both Caor and Gouro, opposite each other. The cities on the Caor river are: Caor, Comotay, Cirote, Verma, and Satagam. The second river eastwards is apocryphic, with the cities of Bengala and Aracam at its double mouth, and Chatigam, a second Chittagong, west of Bengala. The third river, with Ava and Pegu, is Irrawaddi. Martaban is left without a river. In fact the second and third river, Irrawaddi and Salwen, have changed places.

On JANSSON's map, 1641, Pl. XXVIII, the lake has not undergone any notable change from the previous map, and the Caor river flows, as on Pl. XXVII, to the S.S-W. In the text to the map of the East Indies it is said: »Der grösste aber unter den Seen dieses Lands ist der Chiamay, welcher 400 Meyl wegs in seinem bezirck begreifft, 500 Meyl 3 von dem Meer gelegen ist, und viel fliessende Wässer von sich ergeust», — nothing more, but often much less than in Barros' original description of the lake.

In the narrative of his journey the Portuguese traveller FERNANDO MENDEZ PINTO, also mentions the lake. Describing different nations he came across, he says: Nous en vismes d'autres aussi qui auoient d'assez longues barbes, le visage semé de lentilles, les oreilles & les narines percées, & dans les trous de petits fils d'or faits en agraphes; ceux-cy s'appelloiét Ginaj5hogaos, & la Prouince dont ils estoient

I In a German work on India from about the same time (Extract Der Orientalischen Indien.

Das ist Aussführliche und vollkommene Historische und Geographische Beschreibung ... Alles mit sonderm Fleiss beschrieben Durch Cæsarem Longinvm Historicvm Frankfurt am Mayn 1629, (Second Supplement, p. 91), the following passage is found in the chapter on Siam: Durch diss Landt fleust

der Fluss Menan, welcher gleiche Art hat, wie die andern, un entspringt auss dé grossen See Chiamay, und fait in das Meer.» As the leading maps of the time accepted Barros' lake, the compilators of

geographical handbooks had of course to do the same.

2 Remarkable maps, II—III, No. 6 and No. 9.

3 I do not know which kind of miles this is meant to be. The legoa or old Portuguese league, consisting of 3 Milhas, was 6,197 m. long. If the »500 Meyl, are meant as Milhas, the distance should

be 1,033 km., which, in a north-westerly direction, and starting from the sea at the Ganges delta should take us nearly to the actual source of the Brahmaputra.