chap, xxiv MUSK 115
The
King of Bhutan, of whom I shall speak in the following Book, in the
description which I shall give of his Kingdom, fearing that the fraud
done in musk might stop the trade, especially as musk is also obtained
in Tonquin or Cochin-China, but is much dearer because it is not so
abundant there—this King, I say, fearing lest this falsification of
goods might divert the trade from his territories, some time ago
ordered that the bladders should not be stitched, but should be brought
open to Bhutan, which is his place of residence, to be examined and
sealed with his seal. Those which I bought were of this kind; but
notwithstanding all the King's precautions, the peasants open them
secretly, and place small pieces of lead in them, as I have said ; this
the merchants tolerate, because the lead does not spoil the musk, and
causes no injury, save in the weight. On one of my journeys to Patna I
bought 7,673 bladders, which weighed 2,557£ ounces, and 452 ounces
without the bladders.1
Bezoar 2 comes from a district of the Kingdom of Golkonda,
Northern
Asia as far as Siberia. A good musk pod is valued at from 10 to 15
rupees. One ounce is about the average produce of the pod.' (Jerdon, Mammals of India, 268 ; Blanford, Mammalia, 552 f.; Yule, Marco Polo, i. 242, 245.) Adulteration, as it is described by Tavernier, appears to be still practised.
1
Barbosa (ed. Dames, 1921, vol. ii, p. 159) says that musk was abundant
in Ava. From this, with similar statements about other commodities, we
see that Ta vernier did not limit his mercantile transactions to
precious stones and he shows the abundance of the animal in his time.
On p. 201 below, he again refers to this purchase (?), and says he
bought 26,000 rupees' worth—a Fr. ounce in the capsule costing 4 livres
and 4 sols, i. e. about 6s. Hd., and out of the capsule 8 francs, or say 6s. 8d„ or
if livres are intended, 12s. But at these prices the quantity here
mentioned falls far short of making the total sum of 26,000 rupees.
This, supposing the occasions to be identical, as appears to be the
case, is a characteristic Tavernier discrepancy.
* Bezoar is from Persian padzahr, Arabic bazahr, bddizahr, '
counter-poison, antidote' the name given to intestinal calculi. It was
formerly so highly esteemed in the East as a drug that the early
European travellers all seemed to believe in its efficacy, and
accounts of it are to be found in the writings by many of them. (See
note 1, on p. 119; Yule, Hobson-Jobson, 90.) It has at present no medicinal value (See Ency, Brit., i. 668, xi. 418; Blanford, Mammalia, 503); Garcia da Orta (Colloquies on the Simples and Drugs of India, ed. Sir C. Markham, p. 362 ff.) has much to say on the subject.
I 2
