town which it was well worth our while to see, and
which must have been, as near as I can guess, quite in the heart of this
land. It was built with straight streets which ran in cross lines.

But I must own, when I came home to the place of my birth, I was much
struck to hear my friends say such fine things of the wealth and trade
of these parts of the world, for I saw and knew that the men were a mere
herd or crowd of mean slaves. What is their trade to ours, or to that of
France and Spain? What are their ports, with a few junks and barks, to
our grand fleets? One of our large ships of war would sink all their
ships, one line of French troops would beat all their horse, and the
same may be said of their ports, which would not stand for one month
such a siege as we could bring to bear on them.

In three weeks more we came to their chief town. When we had laid in a
large stock of tea, shawls, fans, raw silks, and such like goods, we set
out for the north. As we knew we should run all kinds of risks on our
way, we took with us a strong force to act as a guard, and to keep us
from the wild hordes who rove from place to place all through the land.
Some of our men were Scots, who had come out to trade here, and had
great wealth, and I was glad to join them, as it was by no means the
first time that they had been here.

We took five guides with us, and we all put our coin in one purse, to
buy food on the way, and to pay the men who took charge of us. One of us
we chose out for our chief, to take the lead in case we should have to
fight for our lives; and when the time came, we had no small need of
him. On the sides of all the roads, we saw men who made pots, cups,
pans, and such like ware, out of a kind of earth, which is, in fact, the
chief trade in this part of the world.

One thing, the guide said he would show me, that was not to be seen in
all the world else (and this, in good sooth, I could not sneer at, as
I had done at most of the things I had seen here), and this was a house
that was built of a kind of ware, such as most plates and cups are made
of. "How big is it?" said I, "can we take it on the back of a horse?"
"On a horse!" said the guide, "why, two score of men live in it." He
then took us to it, and I found that it was in truth a large house,
built with lath and the best ware that can be made out of earth. The
sun shone hot on the walls, which were quite white, hard, and smooth as
glass, with forms on them i