Hamilton’s account of the east indies.

379

fo fmall a {lock as 500 pounds. I wiflied him joy and fuccefs, but told him, that' we

Indians underflood none of thofe profitable voyages, but were well content with 30 or40 per cent.

In the evening their furgeon accofted me in my walk along the fea fide, and afked ifI wanted a furgeon. I told him I had two, and both very good ingenious men. Hefaid, he wanted to flay in India , for his life was uneafy on board of his fhip, that though

the captain was civil enough, yet Mr. Mather was unkind, and had treated him withblows for afking a pertinent queftion at fome wounded men, who were hurt in theengagement they had with the aforementioned {loop. I heard too much to be contentedwith their conduft, and fo I fhunned their converfation for the little time I {laid at

Calecut . Whether Captain Green and Mr. Mather had juftice impartially allowed themin their procefs and fentence, I know not. I have heard of as great innocents con-demned to death as they were.

About two leagues to the fouthward of Calecut , is a fine river called Baypore,capable to receive {hips of 3 or 400 tons. It has a fmall illand off its mouth, about halfa mile from the fhore, that keeps it fafe from the great feas brought on that coaft bythe fouth-well monfoons. Four leagues more foutherly is Tannore, a town of fmalltrade, inhabited by Mahometans. They are a little free {late, but pay an acknow-ledgment to the Samorin . Five leagues to the fouthward of Tannore, is Pennany,mentioned before. It has the benefit of a river, and was formerly a place of trade.The French and Englifh had their factories there, but were removed about the year1670. And about four leagues more to the fouthward, is Chitwa River, which boundsthe Samorin ’s dominions to the fouth.

Chap. XXVI. — Gives an Account of Cottchin; its Government and Strength , its ancientand prefent State, its Product and Commerce, with fome Account of the Jews inhabit -ing there.

THE King of Couchin’s dominions are next in courfe along the fea-coaff,and reach from Chitwa about 24 leagues to the fouthward. There are fo manyrivulets that run off the mountains of Gatti, that they reckon above 1000 iflands madeby their {breams. The mountains come within eight leagues of the fea, and therivulets join their {lores at Cranganore , and make one great outlet to the fea, andanother great outlet is at Couchin city. Cranganore is about five leagues to the fouthof Chitwa. The Dutch have here a fmall fort, which retains the name of Cranganore .It lies about a league up the river from the fea. In times of old it bore the nameof a kingdom, and was a republic of Jews , who were once fo numerous, thatthey could reckon about 80,000 families, but, at prefent, are reduced to 4000. Theyhave a fynagogue at Couchin, not far from the King’s palace, about two miles fromthe city, in which are carefully kept their records, engraven on copper-plates inHebrew characters; and when any of the characters decay, they are new cut, fothat they can fhew their own hiilory from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar to thisprefent time.

Myn Heer Van Reede before mentioned, about the year 1695, had an abflrafl oftheir hiftory tranflated from the Hebrew into low Dutch . They declare themfelves tohe of the tribe of Manaffah, a part whereof was. bv order of that haucrhtv conqueror

f >eouchadnezzar, carried to the eaitermolt province of his large empire, which, it Jeerns

reached

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