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 half of soldiers.  The state and splendour of this kingdom, and the provisions necessary for so vast a multitude of soldiers, is a thing incredible, except by those who know the nature and quality of the people and government.  I have seen with my own eyes these people, both the commons and soldiers, feed upon all kinds of beasts or animals, however filthy or unclean, everything that hath life serving them for food:  Yea, I have even seen them eat scorpions and serpents, and all kinds of herbs, even grass.  Hence, if their vast armies can only get enough of water, they can maintain themselves long even in the forests, on roots, flowers, and leaves of trees; but they always carry rice with them in their marches, which is their main support.

The king of Pegu has no naval force; but for extent of dominion, number of people, and treasure of gold and silver, he far exceeds the Grand Turk in power and riches.  He has various magazines full of treasure in gold and silver, which is daily increased, and is never diminished.  He is also lord of the mines of rubies, sapphires, and spinels.  Near the royal palace there is an inestimable treasure, of which he seems to make no account, as it stands open to universal inspection.  It is contained in a large court surrounded by a stone wall, in which are two gates