Hamilton’s account of the east indie^

284

After the interpreter aforefaid was grown familiar with thofe Arabs , that were fo kindand benevolent, he allied them why fo many of them had affembled on that barrenifland. They anfwered, that about eight days before the Ihip w r as loft, a fakee, who isan ecclefiaftical officer in their church, prophefied that near fuch a time, a Ihip wouldbe loft there, and prefled them to go to the affiftance of the fhipwrecked people, whowould be glad to come under contract •with them, to have one half of what was gottenout of the wreck ; and conjured his auditory to perform their part faithfully, whichaccordingly they did ; though at other times the Badows are perfidious, treacherous,and cruel.

Cape Raffelgat lies about 16 leagues to the eaftward of Maceira, and the fea-lhore isclear of danger ; and juft within the Cape, to the northward,is a village called Teywee,which ftands on the fide of a fmall river near the fea; but it is beft known by a littlemountain (clofe by it) fhaped like an high-crowned hat. And about 1 6 leagues fartherto the northweftward, is C.uriat, a large village in a valley clofe to the fea. To thenorthward of it is a very large high mountain, whofe foot is wafhed by the fea, andthere are 40 fathoms within 200 paces of it. It may be feen above 40 leagues fromthe fea. There are neither trees nor grafs to be feen along the fea-coaft, but at Curiat;and yet the country has plenty of cattle, great and fmall, with variety of fruits androots from the vallies, and filh from the fea. Their w r ells are dug in the vallies verydeep before they come to fprings, but the water is very good.

Chap. VII.— Treats of the Kingdom and City of Mujhat , and of their religious and civilGujloms ; with fome hijlorical Account of their Wars and Oeconomy. And a little Ac-count of the Sea-coaft of Arabia Deferta, as far as Bajfora.

MUSKAT lies about 22 leagues to the north-weftward of Curiat, and is the marttown of Arabia Petrea. It is built on the bottom of a fmall bay, that almoft has thefhape of an horfe-lhoe. It was built and fortified by the Portugueze, in the fifteenthcentury, but taken from them about the year 1650. The King of that province (forthough there be many kings in Arabia, yet none aflumes the title of King of Arabia)having w'ar at that time with the Perfians, had raifed an army of 40,000 men to infultthe fea-coaft of Perfia; and had provided a fufficient number of fmall veffels, calledtrankies, for their tranfports. His army lay at a little diftance from Mulkat, and hisfleet at Muttera, a fmall bay about a mile from the entrance of Mulkat harbour. TheKing fent a civil meflage to the Portugueze governor, defiring the liberty of his mar-kets to buy provifions.

The infolent governor, thinking himfel.f fafe within a walled town, with many fmallforts to annoy any enemy that could come to attack the walls of the town, inftead ofreturning a civil anlwer to the King’s requeft, fent a piece of pork wrapped up in pa-per, as a prefent to the King, and bid the melienger tell him, that if he wanted fuchprovifions, he could furnifii him. The meffenger, not knowing what was in the pa-per, carried it to his mafter, with the rude anfwer. Now pork being forbidden theMahometans as well as Jews , they hold it in abomination, and confequently it aggra-vated the defigned affront. The King was much furprized at the governor’s ill man-ners, but diffembled his refentment, in expectation to find a proper time at his returnfrom his Perfian expedition, to correct the governor’s infolence, or revenge the affrontput on him : but the whole army being enraged at the affront, breathed nothing butprefent revenge. And the queen, who was of the Seid extraction, who are a tribe or

family