very blank at this message, and began to stare at one another, to see who looked with most guilt in their faces, but, nobody was the word, nobody did it.  The leader of the caravan sent word, he was well assured it was not done, by any of our camp; that we were peaceable merchants, travelling on our business; that we had done no harm to them, or to any one else; and therefore they must look farther for their enemies, who had injured them, for we were not the people; so desired them not to disturb us; for, if they did, we should defend ourselves.

They were far from being satisfied with this for an answer, and a great crowd of them came down in the morning, by break of day, to our camp; but, seeing us in such an advantageous situation, they durst come no farther than the brook in our front, where they stood, and shewed us such a number, as, indeed, terrified us very much; for those that spoke least of them, spoke of ten thousand.  Here they stood, and looked at us awhile, and then setting up a great howl, they let fly a cloud of arrows among us; but we were well enough fortified for that, for we were sheltered under our baggage; and I do not remember that one man of us was hurt.

Some time after this we saw them move a little to our right, and expected them on the rear, when a cunning fellow, a Cossack, as they call them, of Jarawena, in the pay of the Muscovites, calling to the leader of the caravan, said to him, “I will send all these people away to Sibeilka.”  This was a city four or five days journey at least to the south, and rather behind us.  So he takes his bow and arrows, and, getting on horseback, he rides away from our rear directly, as it were, back to Nertzinskay; after this, he takes a great circuit about, and comes to the army of the Tartars, as if he had been sent express to tell them a long story, that the people who had burnt their Cham-Chi-Thaungu were gone to Sibeilka, with a caravan of miscreants, as he called them; that is to say, Christians; and that they were resolved to burn the god Seal Isarg, belonging to the Tonguses.

As this fellow was a mere Tartar, and perfectly spoke their language, he counterfeited so well, that they all took it from him, and away they drove, in a most violent hurry, to Sibeilka, which, it seems, was five days journey to the south; and in less than three hours they were entirely out of our sight, and we never heard any more of them, nor ever knew whether they went to that other place called Sibeilka or no.

So we passed safely on to the city of Jarawena, where there was a garrison of Muscovites; and there we rested five days, the caravan being exceedingly fatigued with the last day’s march, and with want of rest in the night.

From this city we had a frightful desert, which held us three-and-twenty days march.  We furnished ourselves with some tents here, for the better accommodating ourselves in the night; and the leader of the caravan procured sixteen carriages, or waggons, of the country, for carrying our water and provisions; and these carriages were our defence every night round our little camp; so that had the Tartars appeared, unless they had been very numerous indeed, they would not have been able to hurt us.