h strangers, and the men of the country are very cautious of giving
offence to each other in this matter.

The people of this country are idolaters, who live by hunting, yet
cultivate the ground, and are much addicted to stealing, which they account
no crime; they are clothed in the skins of wild beasts, or in coarse hempen
garments, having no money, not even the paper money of the khan, but they
use pieces of coral instead of money. Their language is peculiar to
themselves. The country of which we now speak belongs to Thibet, which is a
country of vast extent, and has been some time divided into eight kingdoms,
in which are many cities and towns, with many mountains, lakes, and rivers,
in some of which gold is found. The women wear coral necklaces, which they
likewise hang about the necks of their idols. In this country there are
very large dogs, almost as big as asses, which are employed in hunting the
wild beasts, especially wild oxen called Boyamini. In this province of
Thibet there are many kinds of spices which are never brought into Europe.
This, like all the other provinces formerly mentioned, is subject to the
great khan.

On the west of the province of Thibet lies the province of Caindu, which
was formerly governed by kings of its own, but is now ruled by governors
appointed by the great khan. By the west, it is not to be understood that
these countries are actually in the west; but that, as we travelled to them
from those parts which are situate between the east and the north-east, and
consequently came thither westwards, we therefore reckon them as being in
the west[1]. The people are idolaters and have many cities, of which the
principal is called Caindu, after the name of the province, and is built on
the frontiers. In this country there is a large salt lake, which produces
such extraordinary abundance of white pearls, but not round, that no person
is allowed to fish for them under pain of death, without a licence from the
great khan, lest by becoming too plentiful, the price should be too much
reduced. There is likewise a mountain producing turquoises, the digging for
which is restrained under similar regulations. There are great numbers of
the animals called _gadderi_ in this province, which produce musk. The lake
which produces pearls is likewise very abundant in fish, and the whole
country is full of wild beasts of many kinds, as lions, bears, stags, deer,
ounces, and roebucks, and many kinds of birds.