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.
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