Travels in India (Tavernier) 8.10

8.10

The great heats of India compel travellers who are not accustomed to it to travel by night, in order to rest by day. When they enter towns which are closed they must leave by sunset, if they wish to take the road. For night being come, and the gates closed, the Governor of the place, who has to answer for thefts which occur within his jurisdiction, does not allow any one to go out, and says that it is the King’s order, which he must obey. When I entered such places I took provisions, and left early, in order to camp outside under some tree in the shade, waiting till it was the hour to march. They measure the distances of places in India by gos and by coss. A gos is about four of our common leagues, and a coss about one league. It is time now to leave Surat for Agra and Jahānābād, in order to see what is remarkable on that route.