Hamilton's- account of the east indies.
308
This country abounds richly in wheat, rice, and legumen, and provender for horfesand cattle; and they never know the mifery of famine, for the Indus overflows all thelow grounds in the months of April, May, and June, and when the floods go oft', theyleave a fat flime on the face of the ground, which they till eafily before it dries, andbeing fown and harrowed, never fails of bringing forth a plentiful crop.
The other productions of this and the inland country, are faltpetre, fal-ammoniack,borax, opoponax, afla-fostida, goat bezoar, lapis tuliae and lapis lafuli, and raw filk,but not fine.
They manufacture in wrought filks, which they call Jentawaars, in cotton and filk,called Cuttenees, and in filk mixed with Carmania wool, called Gulbuleys, in calicoescoarfe and fine, Iheer and clofe wrought. Their cloth called Jurries, is very fine andfoft, and lafts beyond any other cotton cloth that I have ufed. They make chints veryfine and cheap, and coverlets for beds very beautiful. They make fine cabinets, bothlacked and inlaid with ivory. And the belt bows and arrows in the world are madeat Multan , of buffaloes’ horns. They lack wooden difhes and tables, but not fowell as in China . The lack is clear enough, but always clammy. They export greatqualities of butter, which they gently melt, and put up in jars, called duppas, made ofthe hides of cattle, almoft in the figure of a globe, with a neck and mouth on onefide. They are made of all fizes, from thofe that contain 320 pounds, to thofe of five,and that butter keeps, without fait, the whole year round, but as it grows old, it be-comes rank.
The wood Ligna Dulcis grows only in this country. It is rather a weed than awood, and nothing of it is ufeful but the root, called Putchock, or radix dulcis. Inever heard it is ufed in phyfick, but is a good ingredient in the compofition of per-fumes. There are great quantities exported for Surat, and from thence to China ,where it generally bears a good price; for being all idolaters, and burning incenfe be-fore their images, this root beaten into fine powder, and an incenfe-pot laid over finoothlywith allies, and a furrow made in the allies, about a quarter of an inch broad, and asmuch in depth, done very artificially into a great length, the powder is put into thatfurrow, and fired, and it will burn a long time like a match, fending forth a finefmoke, whofe fmell is very grateful, the powder having the good qualities of main-taining and delaying the fire.
The religion, by law eftablilhed, is Mahometan; but there are ten Gentows or Pagans for one Muffulman. But the city of Tatta is famous for learning in theology, philology,and politicks, and they have above four hundred colleges for training up youth in thofeparts of learning. I was very intimate with a Said, who was a profefior in theology, andwas reckoned to be a good hiftorian. He alked me one day, if I had heard of Alexanderthe Great in my country. I told him I had, and I mentioned his battle with Porus , and hisvictory. He told me, that their hiltories mentioned the fame, but with fome difference in thetwo kings names,and Alexander’s paffage over Indus. He faid, that their hiftory mentionedShaw Plafander and Prorus, and that Alexander was a great magician, and fummoningabove a million of wild geefe, they fwam his army over the river, and that Porus ’s ele-phants would never turn their heads towards the place where Alexander was.
The Portugueze had formerly a church at the eaft end of the city. The houfe is{till intire, and in the veftry are fome old pi&ures of faints, and fome holy veftments,which they proffered to fell, but I was no merchant for fuch bargains.
The Gentows have full toleration for their religion, and keep their faffs and feafts-as in former times, when the fovereignty was in Pagan princes hands. They bumtheir dead, but the wives are reftrained from burning with the corps of their hufbands.
14 There