men could hardly move it, and that the King
always fastened his horse to it and kept it as a curiosity on account of
its size and purity. The nobles of his Court wore in their nostrils and
ears ornaments of gold.

"The parts to the East were full of gold mines, but the men who went
into the pits to get gold did not live long, because of the foul air.
The gold sand was given to women to wash the gold from it.

"I enquired the road from Cantor to Kukia and was told the road ran
eastward; where was great abundance of gold; as I can well believe, for
I saw the negroes who went by those roads laden with it.

"While I was thus trafficking with these negroes of Cantor, my men
became worn out with the heat and so we returned towards the ocean.
After I had gone down the river fifty leagues, they told me of a great
chief living on the South side, who wished to speak with me.

"We met in a great wood on the bank, and he brought with him a vast
throng of people armed with poisoned arrows, assegais, swords and
shields. And I went to him, carrying some presents and biscuit and some
of our wine, for they have no wine except that made from the date-palm,
and he was pleased and extremely gracious, giving me three negroes and
swearing to me by the one only God that he would never again make war
against Christians, but that they might trade and travel safely through
all his country.

"Being desirous of putting to proof this oath of his, I sent a certain
Indian named Jacob whom the Prince had sent with us, in order that in
the event of our reaching India, he might be able to hold speech with
the natives, and I ordered him to go to the place called Al-cuzet, with
the lord of that country, to find Mount Gelu and Timbuctoo through the
land of Jaloffa. A knight had gone there with him before.

"This Jacob, the Indian, told me that Al-cuzet was a very evil land,
having a river of sweet water and abundance of lemons; and some of these
he brought to me. And the lord of that country sent me elephants' teeth
and four negroes, who carried one great ivory tusk to the ship.

"Now the houses here are made of seaweed, covered with straw, and while
I stayed here (at the river mouth) three days, I learned that all the
mischief that had been done to the Christians had been done by a certain
king called Nomimansa, who has the country near the great headland by
the mouth of the river Gambia. So I took great pains to make peace with
him, and sent him