The Travels of Marco Polo, page 62
The inhabitants of this (polar) region take advantage of the summer season, when they enjoy continual daylight, to catch vast multitudes of ermines, martens, arcolini,3 foxes, and other animals of that kind, the furs of which are more delicate, and consequently more valuable, than those found in the districts inhabited by the Tartars, who, on that account, are induced to undertake the plundering expeditions that have been described.4 During the summer, also, these people carry their furs to the neighbouring countries, where they dispose of them in a manner highly advantageous; and, according to what I have been told, some of them are transported even as far as to the country of Russia;5 of which we shall proceed to speak in this the concluding part of our work.
1 This is a correct description of the phenomena observed about the arctic circle and polar regions, where, during the winter, or season when the sun is below the horizon during the whole of the earth's diurnal revolution, the strength of the twilight prevents, notwithstanding, an entire darkness.
2 The people here mentioned appear to be the Tongusi, or their neighbours the Samoyeds, on the one side, or, on the other, the Yakûts, who inhabit the country near the river Lena. "The Tongusy," says Bell, "so called from the name of the river (Tonguska), who live along its banks, are the posterity of the ancient inhabitants of Siberia, and differ in language, manners, and dress, and even in their persons and stature, from all the other tribes of these people I have had occasion to see. They have no houses where they remain for any time, but range through the woods or along rivers at pleasure." "The men are tall and able-bodied, brave, and very honest." (Vol. i. p.225.) "It is to be observed, that, from this river northward to the frozen ocean, there are no inhabitants, except a few Tongusians on the banks of the great rivers; the whole of this most extensive country being overgrown with dark impenetrable woods." (P. 231.) "Before I leave Elimsky," says the same traveller, "I shall give a short account of some of the places adjacent; particularly those to the north-east, towards the river Lena, and Yakutsky, according as I have been informed by travellers, on whose veracity I could entirely depend. The people who travel in winter from hence to these places, generally do it in January or February. It is a very long and difficult journey; and which none but Tongusians, or such hardy people, have abilities to perform." (P. 234.) "The Yakuty differ little from the Tongusians, either in their persons or way of life. Their occupation, like that of the other natives, is fishing and hunting."—P. 240.
3 The names of the animals which, in Ramusio's text, follow "armellini," or ermines, are, "vari, arcolini." The former of these are the "vares seu varii" of the Latin glossaries, and the French "vairs," denoting a species of marten or weasel, of a whitish grey colour. The latter, which in the Basle edition are "herculini," and "erculini," I am unable to trace either in dictionaries or books of natural history; but in the copious list of furs enumerated by Professor Pallas, as constituting a principal part of the Chinese trade with the Russians on the borders, mention is made of the skin of a small animal named by the Germans, vielfrass, by the French, goulu or glouton, and by the Italians, arcigoloso; which latter word may perhaps have been corrupted to arcolino. Bell notices the same animal in the Mungal country.
4 It is well known to those who deal in furs, that the richest are procured from the coldest climates; agreeably to the usual economy of nature.
5 It is probable that at the period when Siberia was independent, the furs intended for the European market were all conveyed to a place named Verchaturia, on the Russian side of Tobolsky, and near the chain of mountains called Verchatursky-gori. "These mountains." says Bell, "divide Russia from Siberia. They run in a ridge from north to south." "What makes Verchaturia considerable, is its being a frontier town, and commanding the only entry from Russia into Siberia"—Vol. i. p. 172.
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Chapter XLVI
Of the Province of Russia.1
THE province of Russia is of vast extent, is divided into many parts, and borders upon that northern tract which has been described as the Region of Darkness.2 Its inhabitants are Christians, and follow the Greek ritual in the offices of their Church. The men are extremely well-favoured, tall, and of fair complexions; the women are also fair and of a good size, with light hair, which they are accustomed to wear long. The country pays tribute to the king of the Western Tartars, with whose dominions it comes in contact on its eastern border.3 Within it are collected in great abundance the furs of ermines, arcolini, sables, martens, foxes, and other animals of that tribe, together with much wax.4 It contains several mines, from whence a large quantity of silver is procured.5 Russia is an exceedingly cold region, and I have been assured that it extends even as far as the Northern Ocean, where, as has been mentioned in a preceding part of the work jerfalcons and peregrine falcons are taken in vast numbers and from thence are carried to various parts of the world.
1 Russia is here termed a province, because it had been overrun and subdued, together with a considerable portion of the kingdoms of Poland and Hungary, by the Tartars, under the command of Batu, the grandson of Jengiz-khan, about the year 1240, and continued till the time when our author wrote, and for many years after, to groan under the yoke of these barbarians.
2 This applies directly to the country of the Samoyeds, who, as Pinkerton observes, "first appear beyond the river Mezen, about three hundred miles to the east of Archangel, and extend to the Straits of Weygatz, far within the polar circle.
3 By Western Tartars are here meant the subjects of Batu and his descendants, who inherited as his portion of the dominions of Jengizkhan, the countries of "Kapchak, Allan, Russ, and Bulgar." As distinguished from these, the denomination of Eastern Tartars is elsewhere applied to the followers of Hulagu and his descendants, who settled in Khorasan and Persia.
4 The number of wild animals, whose furs constitute articles of trade, was of course much greater in Russia when the country was less populous and cultivated than it is at present. The most numerous, as well as the most valuable of the furs now exported, are the produce of her Siberian territories, and are partly collected as tribute or revenue; but even before the discovery and conquest of that country, they were procured at a moderate price, by barter on the frontier. Wax is exported in large quantities, and chiefly to England.
5 It does not appear in any modern account of the country, that silver mines are now worked in European Russia; but such may have formerly existed and been exhausted. In the Siberian provinces both gold and silver are found. [Ibn Batuta mentions the silver mines of Russia.]
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Chapter XLVII1
Of Great Turkey.
IN Great Turkey there is a king called Kaidu, who is the nephew of the grand khan, for he was son of the son of Ciagatai, who was brother to the grand khan.2 He possesses many cities and castles, and is a very great lord. He is Tartar, and his men also are Tartar, and they are good warriors, which is no wonder, for they are all men brought up to war; and I tell you that this Kaidu never gave obedience to the grand khan, without first making great war. And you must know that this Great Turkey lies to the north-west when we leave Ormus, by the way already mentioned. Great Turkey is beyond tile river Ion,3 and stretches out northward to the territory of the grand khan. This Kaidu has already fought many battles with the people of the grand khan, and I will relate to you how he came to quarrel with him. You must know for a truth that Kaidu sent word one day to the grand khan that he wanted his part of what they had obtained by conquest, claiming a part of the province of Cathay and of that of Manji. The grand khan told him that he was quite willing to give him his share, as he had done to his other sons, if he, on his part, would repair to his court and attend his council as often as he sent for him; and the grand khan willed further, that he should obey him like the others his sons and his barons; and on this condition the grand khan said that he would give him part of their conquest (of China). Kaidu, who distrusted his uncle the grand khan, rejected this condition, saying that he was willing to yield him obedience in his own country, but that he would not go to his court for any consideration, as he feared lest he should be put to death. Thus originated the quarrel between the grand khan and Kaidu, which led to a great war, and there were many great battles between them. And the grand khan posted an army round the kingdom ot Kaidu, to prevent him or his people from committing any injury to his territory or people. But, in spite of all these precautions of the grand khan, Kaidu invaded his territory, and fought many times with the forces sent to oppose him. Now king Kaidu, by exerting himself, could bring into the field a hundred thousand horsemen, all good men, and well trained to war and battle. And moreover he has with him many barons of the lineage of the emperor, that is of Jengis- khan, who was the founder of the empire. We will now proceed to narrate certain battles between Kaidu and the grand khan's people; but first we will describe their mode of fighting. When they go to war, each is obliged to carry with him sixty arrows, thirty of which are of a smaller size, intended for shooting at a distance, but the other thirty are larger, and have a broad blade; these they use near at hand, and strike their enemies in the faces and arms, and cut the strings of their bows, and do great damage with them. And when they have discharged all their arrows, they take their swords and maces, and give one another heavy blows with them.
In the year 1266, this king Kaidu, with his cousins, one of whom was called Jesudar, assembled a vast number of people, and attacked two of the grand khan's barons, who also were cousins of king Kaidu, though they held their lands of the grand khan. One of these was named Tibai or Ciban. They were sons of Ciagatai, who had received Christian baptism, and was own brother to the grand khan Kublaï. Well, Kaidu with his people fought with these his two cousins, who also had a great army, for on both sides there were about a hundred thousand horsemen. They fought very hard together, and there were many slain on both sides; hut at last king Kaidu gained the victory, and did great damage to the others. But the two brothers, the cousins of king Kaidu, escaped without hurt, for they had good horses, which bore them away with great swiftness. Having thus gained the victory, Kaidu's pride and arrogance increased; and he returned into his own country, where he remained full two years in peace, without any hostilities between him and the grand khan. But at the end of two years Kaidu again assembled a great army. He knew that the grand khan's son, named Nomogan, was at Caracorum, and that with him was George the grandson of Prester John, which two barons had also a very great army of horsemen. King Kaidu, having assembled his host, marched from his own country, and, without any occurrence worth mentioning, arrived in the neighbourhood of Caracorum, where the two barons, the son of the grand khan and the grandson of Prester John, were with their army. The latter, instead of being frightened, prepared to meet them with the utmost ardour and courage; and having assembled their whole army, which consisted of not less than sixty thousand horsemen, they marched out and established their camp very well and orderly at a distance of about ten miles from king Kaidu, who was encamped with his men in the same plain. Each party remained in their camp till the third day, preparing for battle in the best way they could, for their numbers were about equal, neither exceeding sixty thousand horsemen, well armed with bows and arrows, and a sword, mace, and shield to each. Both armies were divided into six squadrons of ten thousand men each, and each having its commander. And when the two armies were drawn up in the field, and waited only for the signal to be given by sounding the nacar,4 they sang and sounded their instruments of music in such a manner that it was wonderful to hear. For the Tartars are not allowed to commence a battle till they hear the nacars of their lord begin to sound, but the moment it sounds they begin to fight; and it is their custom, while thus waiting the signal of battle, to sing and sound their two-corded instruments very sweetly, and make great solace. As soon as the sound of the nacars was heard, the battle began, and they put their hands to their bows, and placed the arrows to the strings. In an instant the air was filled with arrows like rain, and you might see many a man and many a horse struck down dead, and the shouting and the noise of the battle was so great, that one could hardly have heard God's thunder. In truth, they fought like mortal enemies. And truly, as long as they had any arrows left, those who were able ceased not to shoot; but so many were slain and mortally wounded, that the battle commenced propitiously for neither party. And when they had exhausted their arrows, they placed the bows in their cases, and seized their swords and maces, and, rushing upon each other, began to give terrible blows with them. Thus they began a very fierce and dreadful battle, with such execution upon each other, that the ground was soon covered with corpses. Kaidu especially performed great feats of arms, and but for his personal prowess, which restored courage to his followers, they were several times nearly defeated. And on the other side, the son of the grand khan and the grandson of Prester John also behaved themselves with great bravery. It a word, this was one of the most sanguinary battles that had ever taken place among the Tartars; for it lasted till nightfall; and in spite of all their efforts, neither party could drive the other from the field, which was covered with so many corpses that it was pity to see, and many a lady that day was made a widow, and many a child an orphan. And when the sun set, both parties gave over fighting, and returned to their several camps to repose during the night. Next morning, king Kaidu, who had received information that the grand khan had sent a very powerful army against him, put his men under arms at daybreak, and, all having mounted, he ordered them to proceed homewards. Their opponents were so weary with the previous day's battle, that they made no attempt to follow them, but let them go without molestation. Kaidu's men continued their retreat until they came to Samarcand, in Great Turkey.
(1) This, and the following chapters, to chapter 63, come in the original text between the middle of chapter 44 of Marsden's translation and his 45th chapter; but they had been omitted in the texts from which Marsden translated.
(2) In illustration of the historical matters contained in these supplementary chapters, the reader is referred to the text and notes in pages 22 to 24 of the present volume.
(3) The river Gihon; the Oxus of the ancients.
(4) The nacar, or nacaire, was a kind of drum, or a cymbal, used in the east for warlike music, and not unknown in the west.
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Chapter XLVIII
What the Grand Khan said of the Injuries done to him by Kaidu.
NOW the grand khan was greatly enraged against Kaidu, who was always doing so much injury to his people and his territory, and he said in himself, that if he had not been his nephew, he should not have escaped an evil death. But his feelings of relationship hindered him from destroying him and his land; and thus Kaidu escaped from the hands of the grand khan. We will now leave this matter, and we will tell you a strange history of king Kaidu's daughter.
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Chapter XLIX
Of the Daughter of King Kaidu, how strong an valiant she was.
YOU must know, then, that king Kaidu had a daughter named, in the Tartar language, Aigiarm,1 which means shining moon. This damsel was so strong, that there was no young man in the whole kingdom who could overcome her, but she vanquished them all. Her father the king wished to marry her; but she declined, saying, that she would never take a husband till she met with some gentleman who should conquer her by force, upon which the king, her father, gave her a written promise that she might marry at her own will. She now caused it to be proclaimed in different parts of the world, that if any young man would come and try strength with her, and should overcome her by force, she would accept him for her husband. This proclamation was no sooner made, than many came from all parts to try their fortune. The trial was made with great solemnity. The king took his place in the principal hall of the palace, with a large company of men and women; then came the king's daughter, in a dress of cendal, very richly adorned, into the middle of the hall; and next came the young man, also in a dress of cendal. The agreement was, that if the young man overcame her so as to throw her by force to the ground, he was to have her for wife; but if, on the contrary, he should be overcome by the king's daughter, he was to forfeit to her a hundred horses. In this manner the damsel gained more than ten thousand horses, for she could meet with no one able to conquer her, which was no wonder, for she was so well-made in all her limbs, and so tall and strongly built, that she might almost be taken for a giantess. At last, about the year 1280, there came the son of a rich king, who was very beautiful and young; he was accompanied with a very fine retinue, and brought with him a thousand beautiful horses. Immediately on his arrival, he announced that he was come to try his strength with the lady. King Kaidu received him very gladly, for he was very desirous to have this youth for his son-in-law, knowing him to be the son of the king of Pamar;2 on which account, Kaidu privately told his daughter that he wished her on this occasion to let herself be vanquished. But she said she would not do so for anything in the world. Thereupon the king and queen took their places in the hall, with a great attendance of both sexes, and the king's daughter presented herself as usual, and also the king's son, who was remarkable no less for his beauty than for his great strength. Now when they were brought into the hall, it was, on account of the superior rank of the claimant, agreed as the conditions of the trial, that if the young prince were conquered, he should forfeit the thousand horses he had brought with him as his stake. This agreement having been made, the wrestling began; and all who were there, including the king and queen, wished heartily that the prince might be the victor, that he might be the husband of the princess. But, contrary to their hopes, after much pulling and tugging, the king's daughter gained the victory, and the young prince was thrown on the pavement of the palace, and lost his thousand horses. There was not one person in the whole hall who did not lament his defeat. After this the king took his daughter with him into many battles, and not a cavalier in the host displayed so much valour; and at last the damsel rushed into the midst of the enemy, and seizing upon a horseman, carried him off to her own people. We will now quit this episode, and proceed to relate a great battle which fell out between Kaidu and Argon, the son of Abaga the lord of the east.3
