Travels in India (Tavernier) 136.1.3

136.1.3

It is where those who come from Bhutan barter their goods for horses, mules, and camels, for there is little money in these countries. Then these Tartars carry their goods into Persia, to Ardabil, and Tabriz; this it is which makes Europeans believe that rhubarb and the seeds (semencine) come from Tartary. It is quite true that rhubarb comes from thence, but it is not nearly so good as that which comes from the Kingdom of Bhutan, as it is much more tainted, rhubarb being subject to decay at the heart. The Tartars carry away from Persia silken stuffs of small value which are made at Tabriz and Ardabil, and some English and Dutch cloths which the Armenians bring from Constantinople and Smyrna, whither they are brought from Europe. Those of the merchants who come from Bhutan and Kabul go to Kandahar and on to Ispahan, and they generally take back coral beads, yellow amber, and lapis wrought into beads when they can obtain them. The other merchants, returning from the regions about Multan, Lahore, and Agra, take calicoes, indigo, and an abundance of carnelian and crystal beads. Finally, those who return by Gorakhpur, and have an understanding with the customs officer, take from Patna and Dacca coral, yellow amber, tortoise-shell bracelets, and others of sea shells, with numerous round and square pieces of the size of our 15 sol coins, which are also of the same tortoise-shell and sea shells.