ech.

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 wil