lord was so sensible of, that he would not allow us to lie abroad
when we came to several cities on the way, but lay abroad himself,
with his servant, in the woods, and met us always at the appointed
places.
We had just entered Europe, having passed the river Kama, which in
these parts is the boundary between Europe and Asia, and the first
city on the European side was called Soloy Kamaskoy, that is, the
great city on the river Kama. And here we thought to see some
evident alteration in the people; but we were mistaken, for as we
had a vast desert to pass, which is near seven hundred miles long
in some places, but not above two hundred miles over where we
passed it, so, till we came past that horrible place, we found very
little difference between that country and Mogul Tartary. The
people are mostly pagans; their houses and towns full of idols; and
their way of living wholly barbarous, except in the cities and
villages near them, where they are Christians, as they call
themselves, of the Greek Church: but have their religion mingled
with so many relics of superstition, that it is scarce to be known
in some places from mere sorcery and witchcraft.
In passing this forest (after all our dangers were, to our
imagination, escaped), I thought, indeed, we must have been
plundered and robbed, and perhaps murdered, by a troop of thieves:
of what country they were I am yet at a loss to know; but they were
all on horseback, carried bows and arrows, and were at first about
forty-five in number. They came so near to us as to be within two
musket-shot, and, asking no questions, surrounded us with their
horses, and looked very earnestly upon us twice; at length, they
placed themselves just in our way; upon which we drew up in a
little line, before our camels, being not above sixteen men in all.
Thus drawn up, we halted, and sent out the Siberian servant, who
attended his lord, to see who they were; his master was the more
willing to let him go, because he was not a little apprehensive
that they were a Siberian troop sent out after him. The man came
up near them with a flag of truce, and called to them; but though
he spoke several of their languages, or dialects of languages
rather, he could not understand a word they said; however, after
some signs to him not to come near them at his peril, the fellow
came back no wiser than he went; only that by their dress, he said,
he believed them to be some Tartars of Kalmuck, or of the
Circassian hordes, and that there must be more of them upon the
great desert, though he never heard that any of them were seen so
far north before.
This was small comfort to us; however, we had no remedy: there was
on our left hand, at about a quarter of a mile distance, a little
grove, and very near the road. I immediately resolved we should
advance to those trees, and fortify ourselves as well as we could
there; for, first, I considered that the trees would in a great
measure cover us from their arrows; and, in the next place, they
could not come to charge us in a body: it was, indeed, my old
Portuguese pilot who proposed it, and who had this excellency
attending him, that he was always readiest and most apt to direct
and encourage us in cases of the most danger. We advanced
immediately, with what speed we could, and gained that little wood;
the Tartars, or thieves, for we knew not what to call them, keeping
their stand, and not attempting to hinder us. When we came
thither, we found, to our great satisfaction, that it was a swampy
piece of ground, and on the one side a very great spring of water,
which, running out in a little brook, was a little farther joined
by another of the like size; and was, in short, the source of a
considerable river, called afterwards the Wirtska; the trees which