to any one, yet he sometimes breaks his teeth in his rage. At length, wearied with violent exertions, and all over in a sweat, he thrusts his trunk into his mouth, and sucks it full of water from his stomach, which he then blows at the lookers on. When he is seen to be much exhausted, certain people go into the court, having long sharp-pointed canes in their hands, with which they goad him that he may enter into one of the stalls made for the purpose in the court, which are long and narrow, so that he cannot turn when once in. 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