[sidenote: these tides make their iust coarse as ours doe.] when the water beginneth to increase, it maketh such a noyse and so great that you would think it an earthquake, and presently at the first it maketh three waues. so that the first washeth ouer the barke, from stemme to sterne, the second is not so furious as the first, and the thirde rayseth the anker, and then for the space of sixe houres while the water encreaseth, they rowe with such swiftnesse that you would thinke they did fly: in these tydes there must be lost no iot of time, for if you arriue not at the stagions before the tyde be spent, you must turne back from whence you came. for there is no staying at any place, but at these stagions, and there is more daunger at one of these places then at another, as they be higher and lower one then another. when as you returne from pegu to martauan, they goe but halfe the tide at a time, because they will lay their barkes vp aloft on the bankes, for the reason aforesayd. i could neuer gather any reason of the noyse that this water maketh in the increase of the tide, and in deminishing of the water. there is another macareo in cambaya, [sidenote: the macareo is a tide or a currant.] but that is nothing in comparison of this. by the helpe of god we came safe to pegu, which are two cities, the olde and the newe, in the olde citie are the marchant strangers, and marchants of the countrey, for there are the greatest doings and the greatest trade. this citie is not very great, but it hath very great suburbes. their houses be made with canes, and couered with leaues, or with strawe, but the marehants haue all one house or magason, which house they call godon which is made of brickes, and there they put all their goods of any valure, to saue them from the often mischances that there happen to houses made of such stuffe. in the newe citie is the pallace of the king, and his abiding place with all his barons and nobles, and other gentlemen; and in the time that i was there, they finished the building of the new citie: it is a great citie, very plaine and flat, and foure square, walled round about and with ditches that compasse the wals about with water, in which ditches are many crocodils, it hath no drawe bridges, yet it hath twentie gates, fiue for euery square on the walles, there are many places made for centinels to watch, made of wood and couered or guilt with gold, the streetes thereof are the fayrest that i haue seene, they are as straight as a line from one gate to another, and standing at the one gate you may discouer to the other, and they are as broad as 10 or 12 men may ride a breast in them: [sidenote: a rich and stately palace.] and those streetes that be thwart are faire and large, these streetes, both on the one side and on the other, are planted at the doores of the houses, with nut trees of india, which make a very commodious shadowe, the houses be made of wood and couered with a kind of tiles in forme of cups, very necessary for their vse, the kings palace is in the middle of the citie, made in forme of a walled castle, with ditches full of water round about it, the lodgings within are made of wood all ouer gilded, with fine pinacles, and very costly worke, couered with plates of golde. truely it may be a kings house: within the gate there is a faire large court, from the one side to the other, wherein there are made places for the strongest and stoutest eliphants appointed for the seruice of the kings person, and amongst all other eliphants, he hath foure that be white, a thing so rare that a man shall hardly finde another king that hath any such, and if this king knowe any other that hath white eliphantes, he sendeth for them as for a gift. the time that i was there, there were two brought out of a farre countrey, and that cost me something the sight of them, for they commaund the marchants to goe to see them, and then they must giue somewhat to the men that bring them: the brokers of the marchants giue for euery man halfe a duckat, which they call a tansa, [marginal note: this money called tansa is halfe a duckat which may be three shillings and foure pence.] which amounteth to a great summe, for the number of merchants that are in that citie; and when they haue payde the aforesayde tansa, they may chuse whether they will see them at that time or no, because that when they are in the kings stall, euery man may see them that will: but at that time they must goe and see them, for it is the kings pleasure it should be so. this king amongst all other his titles, is called the king of the white eliphantes and it is reported that if this king knewe any other king that had any of these white eliphantes, and woud not send them vnto him, that he would hazard his whole kingdome to conquer them, he esteemeth these white eliphantes very deerely, and they are had in great regard, and kept with very meete seruice, euery one of them is in a house, all guilded ouer, and they haue their meate giuen them in vessels of siluer and golde, there is one blacke eliphant the greatest that hath bene seene, and is kept according to his bignesse, he is nine cubites high, which is a marueilous thing. [sidenote: a warlike policie.] it is reported that this king hath foure thousand eliphantes of warre, and all haue their teeth, and they vse to put on their two vppermost teeth sharpe spikes of yron, and make them fast with rings, because these beastes fight, and make battell with their teeth; hee hath also very many yong eliphants that haue not their teeth sprowted foorth: also this king hath a braue deuise in hunting to take these eliphantes when hee will, two miles from the citie. [sidenote: an excellent deuise to hunt, and take wilde elephants.] he hath builded a faire pallace all guilded, and within it a faire court, and within it and rounde about there are made an infinite number of places for men to stande to see this hunting: neere vnto this pallace is a mighty great wood, through the which the hunts-men of the king ride continually on the backs of the feminine eliphants, teaching them in this businesse. euery hunter carieth out with him fiue or sixe of these feminines, and they say that they anoynt the secret places with a certaine composition that they haue, that when the wilde eliphant doeth smell thereunto, they followe the feminines and cannot leaue them: when the hunts-men haue made prouision and the eliphant is so entangled, they guide the feminines towards the pallace which is called tambell, and this pallace hath a doore which doth open and shut with engines, before which doore there is a long streight way with trees on both the sides, which couereth the way in such wise as it is like darkenesse in a corner: the wilde eliphant when he commeth to this way, thinketh that he is in the woods. at end of this darke way there is a great field, when the hunters haue gotten this praye, when they first come to this field, they send presently to giue knowledge thereof to the citie, and with all speed there go out fiftie or sixtie men on horsebacke, and doe beset the fielde rounde about: in the great fielde then the females which are taught in this businesse goe directly to the mouth of the darke way, and when as the wilde eliphant is entred in there, the hunters shoute and make a great noyse, as much as is possible, to make the wilde eliphant enter in at the gate of that pallace, which is then open, and as soone as he is in, the gate is shut without any noyse, and so the hunters with the female eliphants and the wilde one are all in the court together, and then within a small time the females withdraw themselues away one by one out of the court, leauing the wilde eliphant alone: [sidenote: an excellent pastime of the eliphants.] and when he perceiueth that he is left alone, he is so madde that for two or three houres to see him, it is the greatest pleasure in the world: he weepeth, hee flingeth, hee runneth, he iustleth, hee thrusteth vnder the places where the people stand to see him, thinking to kil some of them, but the posts and timber is so strong and great, that hee cannot hurt any body, yet hee oftentimes breaketh his teeth in the grates; at length when hee is weary and hath laboured his body that hee is all wet with sweat, then hee plucketh in his truncke into his mouth, and then hee throweth out so much water out of his belly, that he sprinckleth it ouer the heades of the lookers on, to the vttermost of them, although it bee very high: and then when they see him very weary, there goe certaine officers into the court with long sharpe canes [marginal note: these canes are like to them in spain which they call ioco de tore.] in their hands, and prick him that they make him to goe into one of the houses that is made alongst the court for the same purpose: as there are many which are made long and narrow, and when the eliphant is in, he cannot turne himself to go backe againe. and it is requisite that these men should be very wary and swift, for although their canes be long, yet the eliphant would kill them if they were not swift to saue themselues: at length when they haue gotten him into one of those houses, they stand ouer him in a loft and get ropes vnder his belly and about his necke, and about his legges, and binde him fast, and so let him stand foure or fiue dayes, and giue him neither meate nor drinke. at the ende of these foure or fiue dayes, they vnloose him and put one of the females vnto him, and giue him meate and drinke, and in eight dayes he is become tame. in my. iudgement there is not a beast so intellectiue as are these eliphants, nor of more vnderstanding in al the world: for he wil do all things that his keeper saith, so that he lacketh nothing but humaine speech. it is reported that the greatest strength that the king of pegu hath is in these eliphants, for when they goe to battell, they set on their backes a castle of wood bound thereto, with bands vnder their bellies: and in euery castle foure men very commodiously set to fight with harqubushes, with bowes and arrowes, with darts and pikes, and other launcing weapons: and they say that the skinne of this eliphant is so hard, that an harquebusse will not pierce it, vnlesse it bee in the eye, temples, or some other tender place of his body. [sidenote: a goodly order in a barbarous people.] and besides this, they are of great strength, and haue a very excellent order in their battel, as i haue seene at their feastes which they make in the yeere, in which feastes the king maketh triumphes, which is a rare thing and worthy memorie, that in so barbarous a people should be such goodly orders as they haue in their armies, which be distinct in squares of eliphants, of horsemen, of harquebushers and pikemen, that truly the number of men are infinite: but their armour and weapons are very nought and weake as well the one as the other: they haue very bad pikes, their swords are worse made, like long kniues without points, his harquebushes are most excellent, and alway in his warres he hath eightie thousand harquebushes, and the number of them encreaseth dayly. because the king will haue them shoote every day at the plancke, and so by continuall exercise they become most excellent shot: also hee hath great ordinance made of very good mettall; to conclude there is not a king on the earth that hath more power or strength then this king of pegu, because hee hath twentie and sixe crowned kings at his commaunde. he can make in his campe a million and a halfe of men of warre in the fielde against his enemies. the state of his kingdome and maintenance of his army, is a thing incredible to consider, and the victuals that should maintaine such a number of people in the warres: but he that knoweth the nature and quality of that people, will easily beleeue it. [sidenote: eating of serpents.] i haue seene with mine eyes, that those people and souldiers haue eaten of all sorts of wild beastes that are on the earth, whether it bee very filthie or otherwise all serueth for their mouthes: yea, i haue seene them eate scorpions and serpents, also they feed of all kinde of herbes and grasse. so that if such a great armie want not water and salt, they will maintaine themselues a long time in a bush with rootes, flowers and leaues of trees, they cary rice with them for their voyage, and that serueth them in stead of comfits; it is so daintie vnto them. this king of pegu hath not any army or power by sea, but in the land, for people, dominions, golde and siluer, he farre exceeds the power of the great turke in treasure and strength. [sidenote: the riches of the king of pegu.] this king hath diuers magasons full of treasure, as gold, and siluer, and euery day he encreaseth it more and more, and it is neuer diminished. also hee is lord of the mines of rubies, safires and spinels. neere vnto his royall pallace there is an inestimable treasure whereof hee maketh no accompt, for that it standeth in such a place that euery one may see it, and the place where this treasure is, is a great court walled round about with walles of stone, with two gates which stand open euery day. and within this place or court are foure gilded houses couered with lead, and in euery one of these are certaine heathenish idoles of a very great valure. in the first house there is a stature of the image of a man of gold very great, and on his head a crowne of gold beset with most rare rubies and safires, and round about him are 4. litle children of gold. in the second house there is the stature of a man of siluer, that is set as it were sitting on heapes of money: whose stature in height, as hee sitteth, is so high, that his highnesse exceeds the height of any one roofe of an house; i measured his feete, and found that they were as long as all my body was in height, with a crowne on his head like to the first. and in the thirde house, there is a stature of brasse of the same bignesse, with a like crowne on his head. in the 4. and last house there is a stature of a man as big as the other, which is made of gansa, which is the metall they make their money of, and this metall is made of copper and leade mingled together