from Chapter XXXIV: Of the Hilles of Gold þat
Pissemyres [Ants] Kepen . . .[and the Land of Darkness]
Toward the Est partye of Prestre Iohnes lond is an yle gode &
gret þat men clepen Taprobane þat is full noble &
full fructuous And the kyng þereof is full riche &
is under the obeyssaunce of Prestre Iohn. And allweys þere
þei make hire kyng be eleccyoun. In þat yle ben .ij.
someres .ij. wynteres & men hervesten the corn twyes a 3eer.
And in all the cesouns of the 3eer ben the gardynes florisscht.
Þere dwellen gode folk & resonable & manye cristen
men amonges hem þat ben so riche þat þei wyte
not what to done with hire godes. . . . And men may see the botme
of the see in many places, for it is not full depe. Besyde þat
yle toward the Est ben .ij. oþer yles And men clepen þat
on Orille & þat other Argyte, of the whiche all the
lond is myne of gold & syluer. And þo yles ben right
where þat the Rede see departeth fro the see occean, And
in po yles men seen þer no sterres so clerely as in oþer
places, For þere apperen no sterres but only o clere sterre
þat men clepen Canaros. And þere is not the mone
seyn in all the lunacioun saf only the seconde quarteroun. In
the yle also of þis Taprobane ben grete hilles of gold
þat pissemyres kepen full diligently, And þei fynen
the pured gold & casten a wey the vnpured. And þeise
pissemyres ben grete as houndes so þat noman dar come to
þo hilles, for the pissemyres wolde assayllen hem &
deuouren hem anon, so þat noman dar come to þo hilles,
for the pissemyres wolde assayllen hem & deuouren hem anon,
so þat noman may gete of þat gold but be gret sleighte.
And þerfore whan it is gret hete the pissemyres resten
hem in the erthe from pryme of the day in to noon And þan
the folk of the contree taken camayles, dromedaries & hors
& oþer bestes & gon thither & chargen hem in
all haste þat þei may. And after þat þei
fleen awey in all þat the bestes may go or the pissemyres
comen out of the erthe. And in oþer tymes whan it is not
so hote & þat the pissemyres ne resten hem not in the
erthe, þan þei geten gold be this sotyltee. Þei
taken mares þat han 3onge coltes or foles & leyn vpon
mares voyde vesselles made þerfore & þei ben
all open abouen & hangynge lowe to the erthe. And þanne
pei sende forth þo mares for to pasturen aboute þo
hilles & withholden the foles with hem at home. And when
the pissemyres sen þo vesselles, þei lepen in anon,
And þei han this kynde, þat þei lete no thing
ben empty among hem, but anon þei fillen it, be it what
maner of þing þat it be, & so þei fillen
þo vesselles with gold. And wan þat the folk supposen
þat the vesselles ben fulle, Þei putten forth Anon
the 3onge foles & maken hem to ny3en after hire dames &
þan Anon the mares retornen towardes hire foles with hire
charges of gold & þan men dischargen hem & geten
gold ynow be this sotyltee, For the pissemyres wole suffren bestes
to gon and pasturen amonges hem, but no man in no wyse. And be3onde
the lond & the yles & the desertes of Prestre Iohnes
lordschipe in goynge steight towardes the est, men fynde no þing
but montaynes & roches full grete. And þere is the
derke Regyoun Where no man may see nouþer be day ne be
nyghte as þei of the contree seyn. And þat desert
& þat place of derknesse duren fro this cost vnto paradys
terrestre, where þat Adam oure formest fader & Eue
were putt þat dwelleden þere but lytyll while, And
þat is towardes the Est at the beginnynge of the erthe.
. .
Toward the East part of Prester John's land [India] is an island
good & great that men call Taprobane [Sri Lanka]; it is very
noble & extremely fertile, and the king of that land is very
rich and owes fealty to Prester John. And there their king is
elected. In that island are two summers and two winters, &
men harvest the grain twice a year. And in all the seasons of
the year, the gardens flourish. There dwell good folk & rational,
& many Christian men among them who are so rich that they
do not know what to do with their goods. . . . And men may see
the bottom of the sea in many places, for it is not very deep.
Beside that island toward the East are two other islands, and
men call one Orille & the other Argyte [Pliny's Chryse and
Argyre], of which all the land is mined for gold & silver.
And those islands are right where the Red Sea issues from the
ocean, and in those islands men do not see any stars as clearly
as in other places, for there appear no stars but one star that
men call Canaros [Canopus]. And there the moon is not seen in
all the lunation [the lunar month], save only in the second quarter.
In the island also of this Taprobane are great hills of gold
that pissemyres oversee very diligently, and they refine the
pure gold & cast away the impure. And these pissemyres are
as large as hounds, so that no man dares to go into those hills,
for the pissemyres might attack and eat them forthwith, so that
no man is able to retrieve that gold but by great trickery. And
because the pissemyres rest themselves in the earth from prime
[six a.m.] to noon, when it is very hot, the folk of the country
take camels, dromedaries & horses & other beasts &
go there & load them up in such haste as they are able. And
after that they flee away so that the beasts may roam about before
the pissemyres come out of the earth. And in other times when
it is not so hot, and the pissemyres do not rest in the earth,
then the people get gold by this subtle method: they take mares
that have young colts or foals and put upon the mares empty vessels
made for that purpose, which are all open above and trail low
on the ground. And then they send forth the mares to pasture
in the hills, keeping the foals with them at home. And when the
pissemyres see the vessels, they fill them up right away, for
they have such a nature that they allow no thing to stay empty
among them, but they have to fill it right away, no matter what
sort of thing it is, and so they fill the vessels with gold.
And when the folk think that the vessels are full, they put out
the young foals and make them neigh after their dams, and then
the mares return for their foals with their loads of gold &
then men unload them and get enough gold by this trick, for the
pissemyres allow beasts to go in among them, but no man in no
way. And beyond the land & the islands & the deserts
of Prester John's lordship, going straight toward the East, men
find nothing but mountains & huge rocks. And there is the
dark region where no man may see by day nor by night, as those
in that country say. That desert & that place of darkness
extends from this coast to the Earthly Paradise, where Adam our
first father & Eve were put, though they dwelled there but
a short time, and that is toward the East where the earth begins
. . .
.