afterwards find any great inconvenience from the blow, for it was
well again in two or three days.
We made no great gain, however, by this victory, for we lost a
camel and gained a horse. I paid for the lost camel, and sent for
another; but I did not go to fetch it myself: I had had enough of
that.
The city of Naum, which we were approaching, is a frontier of the
Chinese empire, and is fortified in their fashion. We wanted, as I
have said, above two days’ journey of this city when messengers
were sent express to every part of the road to tell all travellers
and caravans to halt till they had a guard sent for them; for that
an unusual body of Tartars, making ten thousand in all, had
appeared in the way, about thirty miles beyond the city.
This was very bad news to travellers: however, it was carefully
done of the governor, and we were very glad to hear we should have
a guard. Accordingly, two days after, we had two hundred soldiers
sent us from a garrison of the Chinese on our left, and three
hundred more from the city of Naum, and with these we advanced
boldly. The three hundred soldiers from Naum marched in our front,
the two hundred in our rear, and our men on each side of our
camels, with our baggage and the whole caravan in the centre; in
this order, and well prepared for battle, we thought ourselves a
match for the whole ten thousand Mogul Tartars, if they had
appeared; but the next day, when they did appear, it was quite
another thing.
CHAPTER XV – DESCRIPTION OF AN IDOL, WHICH THEY DESTROY
EARLY in the morning, when marching from a little town called
Changu, we had a river to pass, which we were obliged to ferry;
and, had the Tartars had any intelligence, then had been the time
to have attacked us, when the caravan being over, the rear-guard
was behind; but they did not appear there. About three hours
after, when we were entered upon a desert of about fifteen or
sixteen miles over, we knew by a cloud of dust they raised, that
the enemy was at hand, and presently they came on upon the spur.
Our Chinese guards in the front, who had talked so big the day
before, began to stagger; and the soldiers frequently looked behind
them, a certain sign in a soldier that he is just ready to run
away. My old pilot was of my mind; and being near me, called out,
“Seignior Inglese, these fellows must be encouraged, or they will
ruin us all; for if the Tartars come on they will never stand it.”
– “If am of your mind,” said I; “but what must be done?” – “Done?”
says he, “let fifty of our men advance, and flank them on each
wing, and encourage them. They will fight like brave fellows in
brave company; but without this they will every man turn his back.”
Immediately I rode up to our leader and told him, who was exactly
of our mind; accordingly, fifty of us marched to the right wing,
and fifty to the left, and the rest made a line of rescue; and so
we marched, leaving the last two hundred men to make a body of
themselves, and to guard the camels; only that, if need were, they
should send a hundred men to assist the last fifty.
At last the Tartars came on, and an innumerable company they were;
how many we could not tell, but ten thousand, we thought, at the
least. A party of them came on first, and viewed our posture,
traversing the ground in the front of our line; and, as we found
them within gunshot, our leader ordered the two wings to advance
swiftly, and give them a salvo on each wing with their shot, which
was done. They then went off, I suppose to give an account of the
reception they were like to meet with; indeed, that salute cloyed
their stomachs, for they immediately halted, stood a while to
consider of it, and wheeling off to the left, they gave over their