Of 30 paces, and its quills were 12 paces long, and thick in
proportion. And it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its
talons and carry him high into the air, and drop him so that he is smashed
to pieces; having so killed him the bird gryphon swoops down on him and
eats him at leisure. The people of those isles call the bird Ruc,
and it has no other name.[NOTE 5] So I wot not if this be the real
gryphon, or if there be another manner of bird as great. But this I can
tell you for certain, that they are not half lion and half bird as our
stories do relate; but enormous as they be they are fashioned just like an
eagle.
The Great Kaan sent to those parts to enquire about these curious matters,
and the story was told by those who went thither. He also sent to procure
the release of an envoy of his who had been despatched thither, and had
been detained; so both those envoys had many wonderful things to tell the
Great Kaan about those strange islands, and about the birds I have
mentioned. [They brought (as I heard) to the Great Kaan a feather of the
said Ruc, which was stated to measure 90 spans, whilst the quill part was
two palms in circumference, a marvellous object! The Great Kaan was
delighted with it, and gave great presents to those who brought it.
[NOTE 6]] They also brought two boars' tusks, which weighed more than 14
lbs. apiece; and you may gather how big the boar must have been that had
teeth like that! They related indeed that there were some of those boars as
big as a great buffalo. There are also numbers of giraffes and wild asses;
and in fact a marvellous number of wild beasts of strange aspect.[NOTE 7]
NOTE 1. - Marco is, I believe, the first writer European or Asiatic, who
unambiguously speaks of MADAGASCAR; but his information about it was very
incorrect in many particulars. There are no elephants nor camels in the
island, nor any leopards, bears, or lions.
Indeed, I have no doubt that Marco, combining information from different
sources, made some confusion between Makdashau (Magadoxo) and
Madagascar, and that particulars belonging to both are mixed up here.
This accounts for Zanghibar being placed entirely beyond Madagascar, for
the entirely Mahomedan character given to the population, for the
hippopotamus-teeth and staple trade in ivory, as well for the lions,
elephants, and other beasts. But above all the camel-killing indicates
Sumali Land and Magadoxo as the real locality of part of the information.
Says Ibn Batuta: "After leaving Zaila we sailed on the sea for 15 days,
and arrived at Makdashau, an extremely large town.
