These Men Must Be Very Wary And Agile,
For Though Their Canes Are Long, The Elephants Would Kill Them If They
Were Not Swift To Save Themselves.
When they have got him into one of
the stalls, they let down ropes from a loft above, which they pass under
his belly, about his neck, and round his legs, to bind him fast, and
leave him there for four or five days without meat or drink.
At the end
of that time, they loosen all the cords, put one of the females in
beside him, giving them meat and drink, and in eight days after he is
quite tame and tractable. In my opinion, there is not any animal so
intelligent as the elephant, nor of so much capacity and understanding,
for he will do every thing that his keeper desires, and seems to lack
nothing of human reason except speech.
It is reported that the great military power of the king of Pegu mainly
depends on his elephants; as, when he goes to battle, each elephant has
a castle set on his back, bound securely with bands under his belly, and
in every castle four men are placed, who fight securely with
arquebusses, bows and arrows, darts, and pikes, or other missile
weapons; and it is alleged that the skin of the elephant is so hard and
thick as not to be pierced by the ball of an arquebuss, except under the
eyes, on the temples, or in some other tender part of the body. Besides
this, the elephants are of great strength, and have a very excellent
order in time of battle, as I have seen in their festivals, which they
make every year, which is a rare sight worth mention, that among so
barbarous a people there should be such goodly discipline as they have
in their armies; which are drawn up in distinct and orderly squares, of
elephants, horsemen, pikemen, and arquebuseers, the number of which is
infinite and beyond reckoning; but their armour and weapons are
worthless and weak. Their pikes are very bad, and their swords worse,
being like long knives without points; yet their arquebusses are very
good, the king having 80,000 men armed with that weapon, and the number
is continually increasing. They are ordained to practise daily in
shooting at a mark, so that by continual exercise they are wonderfully
expert. The king of Pegu has also great cannon made of very good metal;
and, in fine, there is not a king in the world who has more power or
strength than he, having twenty-six crowned kings under his command, and
he is able to take the field against his enemies with a million and a
half of soldiers. The state and splendour of this kingdom, and the
provisions necessary for so vast a multitude of soldiers, is a thing
incredible, except by those who know the nature and quality of the
people and government. I have seen with my own eyes these people, both
the commons and soldiers, feed upon all kinds of beasts or animals,
however filthy or unclean, everything that hath life serving them for
food:
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 162 of 441
Words from 84341 to 84869
of 230997
