down in ten days, that an army might enter in battalia; or blow it
up in the air, foundation and all, that there should be no sign of
it left?” – “Ay, ay,” says he, “I know that.” The Chinese wanted
mightily to know what I said to the pilot, and I gave him leave to
tell him a few days after, for we were then almost out of their
country, and he was to leave us a little time after this; but when
he knew what I said, he was dumb all the rest of the way, and we
heard no more of his fine story of the Chinese power and greatness
while he stayed.
After we passed this mighty nothing, called a wall, something like
the Picts’ walls so famous in Northumberland, built by the Romans,
we began to find the country thinly inhabited, and the people
rather confined to live in fortified towns, as being subject to the
inroads and depredations of the Tartars, who rob in great armies,
and therefore are not to be resisted by the naked inhabitants of an
open country. And here I began to find the necessity of keeping
together in a caravan as we travelled, for we saw several troops of
Tartars roving about; but when I came to see them distinctly, I
wondered more that the Chinese empire could be conquered by such
contemptible fellows; for they are a mere horde of wild fellows,
keeping no order and understanding no discipline or manner of it.
Their horses are poor lean creatures, taught nothing, and fit for
nothing; and this we found the first day we saw them, which was
after we entered the wilder part of the country. Our leader for
the day gave leave for about sixteen of us to go a hunting as they
call it; and what was this but a hunting of sheep! – however, it
may be called hunting too, for these creatures are the wildest and
swiftest of foot that ever I saw of their kind! only they will not
run a great way, and you are sure of sport when you begin the
chase, for they appear generally thirty or forty in a flock, and,
like true sheep, always keep together when they fly.
In pursuit of this odd sort of game it was our hap to meet with
about forty Tartars: whether they were hunting mutton, as we were,
or whether they looked for another kind of prey, we know not; but
as soon as they saw us, one of them blew a hideous blast on a kind
of horn. This was to call their friends about them, and in less
than ten minutes a troop of forty or fifty more appeared, at about
a mile distance; but our work was over first, as it happened.
One of the Scots merchants of Moscow happened to be amongst us; and
as soon as he heard the horn, he told us that we had nothing to do
but to charge them without loss of time; and drawing us up in a
line, he asked if we were resolved. We told him we were ready to
follow him; so he rode directly towards them. They stood gazing at
us like a mere crowd, drawn up in no sort of order at all; but as
soon as they saw us advance, they let fly their arrows, which
missed us, very happily. Not that they mistook their aim, but
their distance; for their arrows all fell a little short of us, but
with so true an aim, that had we been about twenty yards nearer we
must have had several men wounded, if not killed.
Immediately we halted, and though it was at a great distance, we
fired, and sent them leaden bullets for wooden arrows, following
our shot full gallop, to fall in among them sword in hand – for so
our bold Scot that led us directed. He was, indeed, but a
merchant, but he behaved with such vigour and bravery on this
occasion, and yet with such cool courage too, that I never saw any
man in action fitter for command. As soon as we came up to them we