N. Where They Embarked In Two Ships And Sailed To Malacca.
The Inhabitants Of Siam, Through Which They Travelled, Eat Of All Kinds
Of Beasts, And Even Of What We Repute To Be Vermin.
The people of this
country are reputed the most virtuous and honest of any in those parts of
the world, and pride themselves much on their poverty and chastity; yet
have a strange practice of carrying round bells within their foreskins,
which is not permitted to the king and priests.
They do not rear any
poultry or pigeons about their houses. The kingdom is 250 leagues in
length and 80 in breadth[23].
Elephants are so numerous in this country, that on going to war, the king
is said to carry 30,000 into the field, besides others which are left in
the several garrisons. This king has great pride in the possession of a
white elephant, having red eyes, which glare like a flame of fire. In
this country there is a certain species of small vermin, which attaches
itself to the trunks of the elephants, to suck their blood, by which many
elephants die. The skull of this insect[24] is so hard as to be
impenetrable to a musket shot. They have on their livers the figures of
men and women, which the natives call Toketa, resembling a mandrake; and
it is affirmed, that whoever has one of these about him cannot be killed
by an iron weapon. They have also wild kine in this country, in the heads
of which certain stones are found, which have the virtue to bring good
fortune to merchants.
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