When The Water
Begins To Increase, It Comes On With A Prodigious Noise As If It Were An
Earthquake.
In its first great approach it makes three great waves.
The
first wave washes over the bark from stem to stem: The second is not so
strong; at the third they raise the anchor and resume their voyage up
the river, rowing with such swiftness that they seem to fly for the
space of six hours, while the flood lasts. In these tides there must be
no time lost, for if you arrive not at the proper station before the
flood is spent, you must turn back from whence you came, as there is no
staying at any place except at these stations, some of which are more
dangerous than others, according as they happen to be higher or lower.
On returning from Pegu to Martaban they never continue more than half
ebb, that they may have it in their power to lay their barks high upon
the bank, for the reason already given. I could never learn any reason
for the prodigious noise made by the water in this extraordinary rise of
the tide. There is another Macareo in the gulf of Cambay, as formerly
mentioned, but it is nothing in comparison of this in the river of Pegu.
With the blessing of God we arrived safe at Pegu, which consists of two
cities, the old and the new, all the merchants of the country and
stranger merchants residing in the old city, in which is far the
greatest trade. The city itself is not very large, but it has very great
suburbs. The houses are all built of canes, and covered with leaves or
straw; but every merchant has one house or magazine, called _Godown_,
built of bricks, in which they secure their most valuable commodities,
to save them from fire, which frequently happens to houses built of such
combustible materials.
In the new city is the royal palace, in which the king dwells, with all
his nobles and officers of state, and attendants. While I was there the
building of the new city was completed. It is of considerable size,
built perfectly square upon an uniform level, and walled round, having a
wet ditch on the outside, filled with crocodiles, but there are no
draw-bridges. Each side of the square has five gates, being twenty in
all; and there are many places on the walls for centinels, built of
wood, and gilded over with gold. The streets are all perfectly straight,
so that from any of the gates you can see clear through to the opposite
gate, and they are so broad that 10 or 12 horsemen may ride abreast with
ease. The cross streets are all equally broad and straight, and on each
side of all the streets close to the houses there is a row of cocoa-nut
trees, making a most agreeable shade. The houses are all of wood,
covered with a kind of tiles, in the form of cups, very necessary and
useful in that country. The palace is in the middle of the city, walled
round like a castle, the lodgings within being built of wood, all over
gilded, and richly adorned with pinnacles of costly work, covered all
over with gold, so that it may truly be called a king's house. Within
the gate is a large handsome court, in which are lodges for the
strongest and largest elephants, which are reserved for the king's use,
among which are four that are entirely white, a rarity that no other
king can boast of; and were the king of Pegu to hear that any other king
had white elephants, he would send and demand them as a gift. While I
was there two such were brought out of a far distant country, which cost
me something for a sight of them, as the merchants were commanded to go
to see them, and every one was obliged to give something to the keepers.
The brokers gave for every merchant half a ducat, which they call a
_tansa_, and this produced a considerable sum, as there were a great
many merchants in the city. After paying the _tansa_, they may either
visit the elephants or not as they please, as after they are put into
the king's stalls, every one may see them whenever they will. But before
this, every one mast go to see them, such being the royal pleasure.
Among his other titles, this king is called _King of the White
Elephants_; and it is reported that if he knew of any other king having
any white elephants who would not resign them to him, he would hazard
his whole kingdom to conquer them. These white elephants are so highly
esteemed that each of them has a house gilded all over, and they are
served with extraordinary care and attention in vessels of gold and
silver. Besides these white elephants, there is a black one of most
extraordinary size, being _nine cubits high_. It is reported that this
king has four thousand war elephants, all of which have teeth. They are
accustomed to put upon their uppermost teeth certain sharp spikes of
iron, fastened on with rings, because these animals fight with their
teeth. He has also great numbers of young elephants, whose teeth are not
yet grown.
In this country they have a curious device for hunting or taking
elephants, which is erected about two miles from the capital. At that
place there is a fine palace gilded all over, within which is a
sumptuous court, and all round the outside there are a great number of
places for people to stand upon to see the hunting. Near this place is a
very large wood or forest, through which a great number of the king's
huntsmen ride on the backs of female elephants trained on purpose, each
huntsman having five or six of these females, and it is said that their
parts are anointed with a certain composition, the smell of which so
powerfully attracts the wild males that they cannot leave them, but
follow them wheresoever they go.
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