THE GOVERNOR'S DIPLOMACY. 605

gaye them all the good words imaginable. He assured them he
knew nothing of it, and that there had not a soul of his garrison
been abroad; that it could not be from anybody there; and if
they would let him know who it was, they should be caeap eel
punished. They returned haughtily,.that all the country re-
verenced the great Cham-Chi-Thaungu, who dwelt in the sun,
and no mortal would have dared to offer violence to his image but
some Christian miscreant, so they called them, it seems; and they -
therefore denounced war against him, and all the Russians, who,
they said, were miscreants and Christians.

The governor, still patient, and unwilling to make a breach, or
to have any cause of war alleged to be given by him, the czar
having straitly charged them to treat the conquered country with
gentleness and civility, gave them still all the good words he
could. At last he told them there was a caravan gone towards
Russia that morning, and perhaps it was some of them who had
done them this injury; and that if they would be satisfied with
that, he would send after them to inquire into it. This seemed
to appease them a little ; and, accordingly, the governor sent after
us, and gave us a particular account how the thing was; intimating
withal that if any in our caravan had done it, they shoula make
their escape; but that whether they had done it or no, we should
make all the haste forward that was possible; and that, in the
meantime, he would keep them in play as long as he could.

This was very friendly in the governor; however, when it: came
to the caravan, there was nobody knew anything of the matter.
And as for us that were guilty, we were the least of all suspected;
none so much as asked us the question. However, the captain of
the caravan for the time took the hint that the governor gave us,
and we marched or travelled two days and two nights without any
considerable stop. And then we lay at a village called Plothus;
nor did we make any long stop here, but hastened on towards
Jarawena, another of the Czar of Muscovy’s colonies, and where we
expected we should be safe; but it is to be observed, that here we
began for two or three days’ march to enter upon the vast nameless
desert, of which I shall say more in its place; and which, if we
had now been upon it, it is more than probable we had been all