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WILD SPORTS

OF

BURMA AND ASSAM

COLONEL F. T. POLLOK.

WILD SPORTS

OF

BURMA AND ASSAM

BY

COLONEL POLLOK

LATE STAFF CORPS,
AND

W. S. THOM

ASSISTANT DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE, BURMA

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

LONDON :

HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED,

13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

1900

All rights reserved.
I '

RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED,
LONDON & BUNGAY.

PREFACE

IN 1879 Messrs. Chapman and Hall published a book of
mine, Sport in British Burma, but I was not in the country
at the time, and did not see the proofs or the illustrations—
and many, though immaterial, errors crept in. Since then,
Upper Burma has been annexed, so that from the base of the
Himalaya range to Malaya the whole country, including
Assam, is now uninterruptedly British. When the proposed
extension of our railway system into Yanan is carried out,
there will be a great influx of Europeans into Burma, and
during the intervals of business most Britons delight in
following the/m? naturcz ; but without a reliable guide, sport
is very difficult to be got there, for the conditions between
India and that country are very great, and however au fait a
man may have been on the west of the Bay of Bengal, he will
be quite at sea on the east.

No book giving a description of the wild sports of Upper
Burma has been written. In fact, it has often been asserted
that there was no sport to be had in the whole of Burma,
Upper or Lower, but I trust these pages — copied from diaries —
will prove the contrary.

Beyond a casual visit to Amrapoora in 1856 and Mandalay
in 1858, I know nothing of Upper Burma or its capabilities
for sport, but my colleague, W. S. Thorn, has resided over six
years in that part of the country, and he has been the pioneer
in exploiting its big game, as I may say I was of that in Lower
Burma. We have therefore jointly written this Guide to the
Wild Sports of those countries. I had thirteen years' experi-

Vlll

PREFACE

ence of Lower Burma, and over seven of Assam. Mr. Thorn
has spent eleven years in the two Provinces (now one).

I have no doubt, as the country is opened and developed
from Assam downwards, it will be formed into a Lieutenant-
Governor Chief, with separate Commissioners for each Province,
and the best men for administering the country, or for
exploiting its vast resources, are those fond of a wild life, and
who go into the inmost depths in search of the wild beasts of
the field.

There is no country — not even Africa — where there is more
and varied game than Assam and Burma. The people of Assam,
debased as they are, are preferable to Africans in general, and
all Europeans who have come in contact with the Burmese
prefer them to most Asiatics.

Neither Mr. Thorn nor I pretend to be learned naturalists,
but we have been keen sportsmen and kept our eyes open,
and have studied the manners and habits of the animals we
have hunted, and we flatter ourselves that many points which
we have noted have been ignored or overlooked in the best
Natural Histories.

In Lower Burma, to be successful as a hunter, elephants are
requisite, but are seldom procurable, excepting by a very few.
In Upper Burma my colleague did all his shooting on foot,
tracking up and stalking game with the assistance of skilled
Moksos or native hunters, partly because the pleasure and
excitement gained in this way were greater than could be
obtained from the back of an elephant, and partly because
this animal was available only for officers of the Forest and
Public Work Departments, and that on rare occasions.

I far prefer shooting on foot to shooting out of howdahs, but
for tiger-shooting in Lower Burma, and for big game gener-
ally there, nothing could be done without those useful slaves.
But I was exceptionally fortunate : I had four attached to my
Department, I had always one or two of my own, and the right
to indent for four from the Commissariat on payment, and as
the Commissariat Officer was an old brother officer of mine he
allowed me the pick, and as my jemadar had been formerly in
the Keddah department, he knew many of the mahouts and
elephants, and helped me to choose the best for sport.

PREFACE ix

I was not twenty-one years old when I went to Burma : I
possessed the constitution of a buffalo, I had private means of
my own, and drew exceptionally good pay from Government,
and I was, to all intents and purposes, my own master. I had
a district extending from our frontier to close on Moulmein,
over the whole valley of the Sittang river. I was employed in
road-making and surveying from Meaday down to Bassein and
Rangoon, and even to Cape Negrais, thus my opportunities
of exploring the country and indulging in its wild sports were
unrivalled. In Assam I had similar work to do — I had the
districts of Nowgong, Tezpore, Durrung, Goalpara, the Cossyah
and Jynteah Hills under me, and I was expected to be out
in the district at all seasons ; and for nearly eight years there
were very few square miles that I had not traversed. Thus,
for over twenty-one years I was constantly on the move
without once taking extended leave to Europe. I was inured
to the climate, which is not nearly as deadly as represented ;
I was constitutionally strong, and I was also a believer in out-
door life, and never drank a drop of spirits or smoked, but I
should like to have all that I have spent in beer and other
(comparatively speaking) harmless beverages. Not that I see
the least harm in partaking of spirits or smoking, if not
indulged in to too great an extent ; but no one can expect to
keep healthy in those Provinces who indulges in brandy-panee,
and spends half the day in sleep, and who is afraid to venture
out for fear of sunstroke, — those are not "the men for Gal way."

F. T. POLLOK.

There are would-be sportsmen who have spent most of
their time in mercantile pursuits in Rangoon, Moulmein, and
Bassein, and who, having shot a snipe or two, think they know
everything that is to be known with regard to sport. Hence
they criticize, as Munchausen, the records of adventure and
exploits that transcend the limits of their narrow experience,
and wax anonymously wrathful with sportsmen who are not
ashamed to add their names to what they relate. In reply to

x PREFACE

the criticisms of such, my colleague and I have merely to say,
in anticipation, that our records are taken from our diaries,
and are as accurate as they can be made.

W. S. THOM.

I am indebted to the kindness of P. Burges, Esq., of
Clifton, Sir Benjamin Simpson, Bart., Mr. Hannyngton of
the Burma Trading Company, and to Messrs. Watts & Skeen,
Rangoon, for the photographs in the book.

F. T. POLLOK.

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTORY . " . . . xv
LOWER BURMA

CHAP.

i. LOWER BURMA . . i

HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BURMESE 6

ii. GAME IN LOWER BURMA :

SMALL GAME ..... .24

BIG GAME OF LOWER BURMA . . . -34

in. THE CARNIVORE :

THE TIGER ... .-7 . • 52

LEOPARDS AND PANTHERS . . . -I1

BUFFALOES . . . . . . . . -75

RHINOCEROS . . . . . . .82

THE GAUR . . .... . . . 88

THE GAYAL . . . . . »>;-'• .100

THE TSINE, OR Bos SONDAICUS . . . . . 101

THE DEER TRIBE :

SAMBUR. . . . . . . . . IO5

HOG DEER . . . . . . . . IO6

BARKING DEER . . . . . . . IQJ

MOUSE DEER. . . . . . . . IO7

THE SWAMP OR MARSH DEER . -. . . IQ'J

THE THAMINE . . . . ' . . . . 108

THE SEROW . . ... - • • -HI

THE WILD HOG . . - . . . . .112

WILD DOGS . . . . . '. * . . 113

JACKALS . . 113

iv. ELEPHANTS, HOWDAH, AND MAHOUTS . . . 115

JUNGLE TRIPS ON ELEPHANTS, LOWER BURMA . 134

- v. SPORT IN UPPER BURMA: RHINOCEROS SUMATRENSIS —
THE ASIATIC TWO-HORNED RHINOCEROS. [W. S.

THOM] . . , 165

BLAZING DEER AT NIGHT . . .184

xii CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

vi. MISCELLANEOUS SPORT ON FOOT. . . . .188

AN ELEPHANT HUNT . . . . . .199

GENERAL BLAKE'S ADVENTURE . . . . 206

A VISIT TO UPPER BURMA . . . . -. .214

UPPER BURMA

[Bv W. S. THOM]

i. RANGOON TO MANDALAY: THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE 226

n. THE SPORTSMAN'S OUTFIT, BATTERY, SERVANTS . . 249

in. MANDALAY TO THE RUBY MINES. . . . . 266

iv. ELEPHANTS . . . . . . 282

v. ELEPHANTS . . . 307

vi. INDIAN GAUR, THE Bos GAURUS OF NATURALISTS . 335
VII. BOS SONDAICUS : THE BANTING OR BURMESE TsiNE ;

THE TRUE WILD CATTLE 382

MISCELLANEOUS SPORT 403

ASSAM ... . 425

[Bv F. T. P.]

GENERAL SPORT ....... 432

PIG-STICKING ON THE CHURS OF ASSAM . . . 478

COSSYAH AND JYNTEAH HILLS . 490

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

COLONEL F. T. POLLOK . ' . . . > , . Frontispiece

RANGOON, AS SEEN FROM DALLA . 3

A TATTOOED BURMAN . . ... . . . . -7

A BURMESE BOY BEING TATTOOED . . . . . .II

BURMESE WOMAN . ....... ..... . 1 5

FUNERAL-CAR OF A HIGH PRIEST . . ... . . . 19

HOWDAH ELEPHANTS . . . . . . -45

AN ORDINARY JUNGLE 49

TIGER SKIN . . . ... . . . . -53

A PRIZE INDEED 55

ELEPHANT WITH HIS CHARAH OF WILD PLANTAINS 59

PADDING A LEOPARD . '. ... . . . . -73

A DEAD BUFFALO 79

A DEAD RHINOCEROS 85

GAUR HEAD -. • . . . . 89, 90

DEAD BULL GAUR (ASSAMESE) 97

BURMESE WILD BULL IOI

TSAING OR TSINE . ' IO2

SAMBUR HEADS IO3

BROW-ANTLERED DEER (BURMESE) . . .. . .. . .109

PUTTING ON HOWDAH . . . 117

ELEPHANTS GOING UP RIVER BANK . . . . . .121

ELEPHANTS SPARRING . . . .' . . ' . . . 131

SPECIMEN OF HUNTING GROUND . . . . . . -137

SENDING OFF BEATING ELEPHANTS 141

HOMEWARD BOUND. CHANGING FROM HOWDAHS TO PADS. . 145
VULTURES ON A DEAD CARCASE. A DEAD TIGER DEMOLISHED
IN EIGHT MINUTES •*/ . ' • . . . . IJ1

PADDING A TIGER . . . .... . . . l6l

A SHAN TRADER . . . . 169

SKINNING A TIGER 195

TRAVELLING IN OUT STATION (JUNGLE ROAD) . . . .207

W. S. THOM . . ' . . 227

RANGOON . . . . . .) 231

KING THEEBAW AND HIS QUEEN 235

BURMESE FESTIVAL . . 239

MANDALAY. THE QUEEN'S KYOUNG ...... 243

xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

BURMESE BOAT-RACE 247

THE ANGLE ROCK, UPPER IRRAWADY 267

A BURMESE MATRON AND HER CHILDREN . . . .278

PREPARING TO START .295

A GOOD TUSKER 303

ELEPHANTS WASHING . 319

ELEPHANTS CROSSING RIVER -337

CROSSING THE DRY BED OF A STREAM, AND TIGHTENING GIRTHS 367

BURMESE BULL (TSINE) . 383

PADDING A DEAD TIGER . . . . 405

A SPECIMEN OF JUNGLE ' . 427

A DIFFICULT COUNTRY ; -435

NATIVES OF THE COUNTRY, DOOARS, ASSAM, IN SEARCH OF

RUBBER ' 440

A MOMENTARY HALT 443

RESULT OF FORTNIGHT'S SPORT (ASSAM) . ..-•'. . . 447

TIGER PADDED ON ELEPHANT 45 1

PADDING A BEAR 456

CAMP IN THE DOOARS (ASSAM) . . . . . . . 459

MR. HANNYNGTON AND TIGER .463

SHOT IN MY OLD HUNTING-GROUNDS, DOOARS, ASSAM . ' . .467

CROSSING A RIVER 471

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK ^. 479

BEATING ACROSS COUNTRY AFTER TIGER 483

MAPS

LOWER BURMA To face p. I

UPPER BURMA „ „ 226

ASSAM „ „ 425

INTRODUCTORY

WITH the expeditionary force that helped to conquer
Pegu and Martaban were many noted shikaries, but they
found such a difference existing between the Land of Pagodas
and India, that they despaired of finding game, if any game
did exist, which was denied by many. Not knowing the
language was one cause ; the endless savannahs covered with
elephant grass from 10 to 30 feet high, — the want of such
shikaries as they had been accustomed to, — the difficulty of
procuring elephants, and, when obtained, not knowing where
to seek game, were other causes. Dr. Wilson, once out with
me, shot a sambur, but otherwise was unsuccessful ; so
was Speke, brother of the explorer. So was Grant Allan, as
good a sportsman and as capable an officer as India ever
produced. He had been over Burma more than any man in
Pegu, and in all his wanderings all he had seen were two or
three sambur. Both Wilson and Speke wrote to the Oriental
Sporting Magazine in, I think, 185 5, deploring the want of game
in Lower Burma. I, though but a youngster, and not within
measurable distance of those named as a sportsman, yet
from the commencement of my service in Lower Burma in
July 1853 I had district work to attend to. I kept my eyes
open ; I treated the people well, and on the few occasions
when I was lucky enough to slay a stray sambur, a thamine,
or a hog deer, I kept very little of the meat to myself, and
gave the rest to the Burmans who were with me exploring for
the best routes for roads. I had seen a little game, but from
conversing with men and women in the remoter jungles I
became convinced that not only did big game exist, but that
it was plentiful, so replied, under the name of " Phoongie,"

xvi INTR OD UCTOR Y

that there was no want of the feres naturce, but that owing
to the disturbed nature of the country, want of elephants, and
ignorance of the language, it had yet to be discovered ; and I
set to work to ingratiate myself with the people. 1 may
without boasting assert that I was the pioneer in Lower
Burma, as my colleague has been in Upper, in the shooting
of big game. I had exceptional facilities. I spared no ex-
pense, and was lucky enough to have a stud of never less than
four elephants, and my duties took me too over a vast tract.
I ventured into jungles which were avoided by most men, as
they were said to be deadly. I had had my bout of jungle-
fever in India, so was probably "salted"; was of an active
habit, up at daylight, and, after a cup of coffee, either on horse-
back or an elephant the whole day, getting back in time for a
bath and dinner in the evening, which generally formed my
only meal.

Nothing the Burmese love more than a poo-ay, or theatrical
performance. When I went to a new locality and put up in a
zyat, or rest-house, in the largest village, I sent for performers
and treated the people to one of their interminable operas. I
gave the womenkind (most influential in Burma) bits of jewellery
and finery, a looking-glass or a piece of soap, and asked them
to use their influence to get me some intelligence of game.
One would say : " Why, Moung Oo or Mg. Kyaw, or Mg.
so-and-so, is the village shikarie at — " some place she would
mention ; some other girl would give me information of
another man. If not too distant, I would go to the locality,
and secure the shikarie 's services by giving him a few rupees,
or a little tobacco, tea and sugar, and occasionally a little
rum. Many of them were very chary of going out, fearing, if
any accident were to happen, they would be blamed ; but the
few who did, found I was a fair shot and somewhat generous,
keeping little of the meat for myself, and giving the rest to
them, which they jerked and sold to the people. It was a
slow and laborious process, but patience and perseverance,
they say, will conquer most things ; so it was with me, and in
time I got game ; the very thoughts of which make my
mouth water and a longing to see the like again, old though
I be. Very few sportsmen in Burma have sent their sporting

INTRO D UCTOR Y xvii

adventures to The Field and other sporting papers, until at
last an editor of The Field said somewhere, that if ever game
had existed in Burma it was no longer to be found.

There is no royal road to sporting; to be successful you
must be plodding. In a new country learn the language and
conciliate the people ; and without a certain amount of health
and strength you cannot cope with the difficulties insepar-
able from searching for big game ; but adopt a few pre-
cautions, such as not sleeping on the ground, for which there
is no excuse. Get one of Edgington's trestle-cots ; ask for
my pattern, as it is an improvement on the old, with a large
waterproof cover, and two mosquito-curtains, one of fine
muslin, to be used as a precaution against sandflies, and
another of net for mosquitoes, together with a cork mattress
to put inside, and a pneumatic pillow. Avoid chills — if wet
through, change — or, if you can't, put on the thickest coat
you have. Wear flannel, — be abstemious in your living, — at
the same time, live well. If you have elephants, and are
accustomed to drink beer, take a supply with you ; a bottle
of Lager will hurt no man. If you cannot carry it about,
take whisky, and use it as a corrective to water; avoid
drinking water unless previously boiled. I here preach what
I never practised, for I have drunk water little better than
urine, from any pools or river, but it is not wise to do so.
But thirst is far more unendurable than hunger, and a man
with a parched throat does not consider what is good or bad.
Indeed, I believe half the talk indulged in now-a-days of
bacilli is nonsense. If they are so numerous as the learned
say now, I ought to have died years and years ago. Then
there are also to be considered the best seasons for sport, and
the localities where to find it ; these differ somewhat each
year ; the fires may have been earlier, and the rains also.
If so, the new grass will have sprung up and the game will
be leaving their strongholds in March ; but if the fires are
late and also the Chotabursat has been slight, the grass will
not be fit for grazing until May. I have been out more or
less every month, but to attempt to shoot during the height
of the monsoon is a misery in Lower Burma, and you get
very little owing to the nature of the jungles, which are so

xviii INTRO D UCTOR Y

heavy that you can see no game until you all but touch it,
and few animals are so confiding as to let you get to such
close quarters. In the north-west of Tongho I have shot
game on foot during the cold months, but for real enjoyment
the time is May. Then go to the foot of the Yomahs and
beat about the savannahs at their base. When you form a
line and advance in Burma you never know what you may
start or what you may come across ; it may be a tiger, a
leopard, a bear, elephant, gaur, or tsine, and various kinds of
deer. I have come across all I have mentioned in the course
of the same day.

Burma is now one of our principal Provinces, and it has a
great future. Our employes in it now number by hundreds
compared to the dozens when I was there. No one has
attempted to depict its wild sports as a whole, and I believe
that a book treating of the Lower as well as the Upper
portion will be welcome and useful to those who have to
spend years there. Sport in any shape is fascinating to the
Briton, be he English, Scot, Welsh, or Irish. I know the
difficulties and expenses I underwent in acquiring the know-
ledge I possessed when I left. My colleague has been a
most successful sportsman in countries beyond the limits of
my own experience, and between us I hope that our book will
not only give information to those more intimately connected
with the Province, but will please those who are fond of sport
in general. A reliable book on sport relating to the country
is a godsend to the new-comer.

Were I going to Burma again, if likely to be stationed in
Lower Burma, I would take a double hammerless Mannlicher
rifle, such as are being made by Westley Richards — a Paradox
of either 8 or lo-bore, — a double No. 12 rifle, or an Express
'577 f°r deer and soft-skinned animals, and a 12 smooth-bore
carrying either ball or shot ; and much the same for Upper
Burma, but on that my colleague will give his views. I have
no interest in recommending one maker in favour of another.
I have had guns of nearly every maker of note. I recom-
mend Westley Richards because I believe his block-breech
action is the best, and that he has persistently used the top
lever action for the heaviest and largest bores, when other

INTRO D UCTOR Y xix

makers declined to make rifles with it, asserting that they
were unsafe. They make guns and rifles at prices to suit
every pocket, in every way equal, barring finish and fitting up,
neither of which are required for jungle work in the wilds of
Burma. Rich people might do far worse than go to the East
for a two years' shooting-trip. They could get pig-sticking in
Tirhoot; elephant and gaur and tsine, shooting in Upper
Burma ; any amount of tiger and rhinoceros shooting in
Assam ; capital all-round sport in Lower Burma. The climate
is not pestilential like that of parts of the Dark Continent,
and since the rinderpest, our possessions in Eastern Africa
have lost two-thirds of its game and nearly the whole of the
buffaloes. About Lakoja, where we have troops now, there
is good sport, and the place is not very unhealthy, but going
up the Niger is. I far prefer, having tried them all, our
Eastern possessions beyond the Bay of Bengal ; the people,
too, are so much nicer. You can obtain anything and every-
thing you want in Burma, as there are capital shops in
Rangoon, Moulmein, Akyab, and Mandalay. Even the small
game has a great attraction1 for me, especially snipe. With
Horace Browne of the Commission, I have made fair bags of
Phayre's Francolin at the base of the hills near the White
Pagoda, a few miles north of Padoung Myo.

One day Blair was my guest at the Sapper and Engineer
Mess ; there was a large party, of whom I fear but a few
survive. We sat up very late, and probably drank more wine
and beer than was good for us. When we got up at day-
break next morning to go after snipe, we were conscious of
having heads on our shoulders ; but pouring a few chatties of
very cold water over us, we felt all right, and sallied forth
with six or eight Burmese as beaters to hunt up the long-
bills. As is usual in the early morning, the birds were very
wild, neither of us as steady as we ought to have been, and we
fired atrociously. The beaters regularly laughed at us every
time we missed, and I have no doubt thought us fools for
trying to shoot such small birds on the wing. I fancy we
were the first Europeans they had ever been out with, and
had never seen birds shot flying. Generally, Blair and I could
hit many more birds than we missed ; but this day the more

xx INTROD UCTOR Y

we tried to hold our guns straight, the worse we succeeded.
This would never do ; so we called a halt, took a longish rest,
breakfasted, and drank a bottle of beer apiece, a thing we
seldom did until the day's sport was over ; but to-day it was
a case of " a hair of the dog that bit one," and we felt greatly
refreshed. When we commenced to shoot again, the sun was
well up, the birds lay better, and we commenced to knock
them over right and left, much to the amazement of our
followers ; from jeering they took to praising, and though we
had done so badly in the morning, I don't think either of us
ever shot better in our lives than that day after breakfast, and
we took home thirty-four couple between us.

WILD SPORTS OF BURMA

AND ASSAM

LOWER BURMA

CHAPTER I

IN 1826 Arrakan and Tenasserim, provinces of the ancient
kingdom of Burma, were ceded to us. In 1853 Martaban,
Pegu, and Bassein were annexed. In 1880 Lord DufFerin
made Upper Burma a portion of our vast possessions in the
East. Assam was also annexed in 1826.

No great progress was made in Burma until the late Sir
Arthur Phayre became Chief Commissioner, but under him
it made strides unprecedented in the annals of our rule in
India, and now that the whole province from Yunan down to
nearly the Straits Settlement is ours, it may be fairly claimed
to be considered amongst the most flourishing of our posses-
sions, with a great future before it.

Dr. Mason, a venerable missionary who spent a lifetime in
the country, quoting the words of a visitor, says : " It is a
beautiful country ; in it are views and patches of scenery,
green fields and green lanes, that lead back the mind to one's
own land. It is a beautiful land when seen on the coast, but
it is still more beautiful when seen amidst its mountain
streams, streams which cannot be surpassed in romantic
beauty even in the annals of poetry." Some of the noblest
rivers in the world, such as the Irrawady, Salween, Shwe"li,
Me"za, Myitnge, Mogaung, Mole, and Taeping (these last three
are the most important tributaries of the Irrawady), run
through its centre or skirt its boundaries, whilst small streams
like the Sittang, Shoayghein, Ghine, Attaran, and many

2 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

others, aid in its development, and add additional beauty to
its scenery.

In Lower Burma, between the sea and the Irrawady are
the Arrakan range of mountains, rising to an altitude of 6000
feet, and extending from Chittagong to Cape Negrais. Between
the Irrawady and the Sittang, the Yomahs run parallel, and
rise to an altitude of from 1500 to 2200 feet, harbouring in
their vast solitudes (which have never been explored, except
by a few venturesome sportsmen) immense herds of two
varieties of elephants, gaur, tsine, two varieties of rhinoceros,
buffaloes, to say nothing of the royal tiger, panther, and
leopard, and several varieties of deer. Between the Sittang
and the Yonzaleen there is the Panloung range, which also
extends to the Salween, rising to 7000 feet, and nearer the
Shan States to 10,000 feet, and even more. The Salween
passes through Karennee and the Shan States, where some
of the finest ponies in the world are bred and reared.

The seaports of Burma, namely, Akyab, Sandoway, Bassein,
Rangoon, Moulmein, Mergui and Tavoy, invite ships from all
parts of the world, and will be of far greater importance
hereafter as our trade with China increases.

Lower Burma is rich in minerals, and gold is found in
most streams. In recent times it has not been found any-
where in great quantities, but there are the remains of many
old workings, which in former days yielded a rich crop of
gold to the seekers, and gave a good revenue to the Burmese
Government, who used to farm them out. Even now a few
nuggets are occasionally found in the Shwegyin river. Quartz
of the auriferous deposits is also fairly abundant, and I
firmly believe that at some future date Eldorados will be
discovered inferior to none of those hitherto found.

Silver is rather scarce in the lower provinces, but, as is
well known, it, together with other precious stones and metals,
is found in Upper Burma, though the workings have not,
I believe, hitherto proved remunerative. Copper, combined
with antimony, iron, and sulphur, is found in the islands of
the Mergui Archipelago, and also on the banks of the
Attaran. Lead is scarce in Lower but plentiful in Upper
Burma. Iron pyrites are scattered about everywhere. Tin

ii

I ft

PRODUCTS OF THE COUNTRY 5

is abundant in the Tenasserim province. Manganese and
arsenic are obtainable near Mergui. Coal of an inferior
description is found near Mergui, but some eighty miles further
inland it is very plentiful and of the finest quality. A vein of
excellent coal was discovered near Thayetmyo, but it was
soon exhausted. Limestone is plentiful near Moulmein, where
are situated the Damathat Limestone Caves, but is scarce
elsewhere in the lower provinces. At Yenan-Choung (Stink-
ing Water Stream) are the celebrated earth-oil or petroleum
wells, and a few exist elsewhere in the province.

In botany the province, and in fact the whole country, is
exceedingly rich. Its teak is inferior to none ; the Amherstia
is one of the most beautiful flowering shrubs in the world ;
whilst many of the orchids, wild-flowers, ground orchids, and
flowering shrubs and trees, are amongst the most lovely in
the world.

Though it possesses many venomous snakes, such as the
hamadryad, cobra, bungarus, and others, they are seldom met
with. Its rivers and its coasts abound with the most delicious
ish, such as the pomfret, hilsa, mango, and many other
irieties, as well as such edibles as crabs, crawfish, eels, etc.,
md its mountain streams afford capital sport to the lovers of
le gentle craft. The Thouk-a-ghat, or drinking-water stream,
rhich falls into the Sittang, a little below Tongho, is full of
tahseir and of a fish they call gnamein, which takes a fly, and
is capital eating. Diamond Island has long been famous for
ts turtle, and I used to turn many when at work at a light-
louse on the Great Coco.

The vast forests and extensive plains covered with perpetual

fetation swarm with mammals and birds, sought alike by
the sportsman and naturalist. The wild tea-plant, similar to
the indigenous tea-plant discovered in Assam, exists in
Karennee, and should one day become a great industry. It
has been tried on a small scale in Arrakan, and with most
favourable results. In Lower Burma the extremes of heat
and cold are not so marked as elsewhere, and there is a total
exemption from hot winds. There would be thus nothing
prejudicial to the development of leaf, and both the Burmese
and Karens are easily led, have no caste, and would readily

6 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

settle down on an estate, where they were kindly treated and
got regular work and fair pay. Tea should therefore be one
of the future industries of the country.

HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BURMESE

It is almost impossible to understand a Burman — he is a
man of contradictions.

In physical characteristics the Burmese much resemble the
Mongolian race, from which they are doubtless descended.
They have the same broad faces and high cheek-bones ; the
eyes are oblique, caused by the structure of the lids ; there is
seldom any bridge to the nose, the nostrils are rather broad ;
but since our occupation of the country the people have
improved for the better in good looks, for the Burmese women
readily accept as husbands all foreigners, so there has been a
great mixture of blood, which has shown itself mostly in
features. In Arrakan especially, years ago the Mongolian
type has been modified by a mixture with the Caucasian and
the Aryan, and I have seen young girls with remarkably good
features and showing but very faint traces of the Mongolian
race. But even the unmixed Burmese women, when young,
have a pleasing expression, and greatly ingratiate themselves
with those with whom they come in contact.

The men, though short, are a fine, robust, athletic race;
their frames are well-proportioned, with long bodies and
shortish legs, but good length of arms. The head is well set
on, shoulders square, chest deep and wide, and legs showing
good muscular development.

They wear their hair tied in a knot on the top of the head,
and wind round it a piece of muslin or gay silk handkerchief;
a jacket hangs loosely from their shoulders over the hips, a
putso of bright silk is wound round the waist, extending to the
ankles, and with one end often thrown jauntily over the
shoulder. From the waist down to a little below the knees
nearly every Burman is tattooed, in various figures of animals,
birds, devils, etc., all enclosed in a groundwork of tracery and
flowing lines. This operation commences at an early age

A TATTOOED BURMAN.

From a Photo by Watts &>_Skeen, Rangoon.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PEOPLE 9

and often extends over several years. It is performed by an
instrument resembling a mathematical steel pen. In addition,
portions of the arms and upper part of the body are tattooed
in cabalistic characters and charms against an enemy, evil
spirits, and disease. They also make incisions into which they
insert bits of gold and silver and allow the skin to heal over
them ; this operation they think renders them invulnerable.

The women are fairer than the men, and their features more
delicate. I have never in my life seen more perfect figures
than those possessed by the young girls. The Hindoos are
as good perhaps, and on a larger scale, but the Burmese girls
have firm, well-developed busts, small hands and feet, and are
well moulded together. Their naturally long black tresses, of
which they are very proud, are added to at times with false
tails carefully dressed and perfumed, are gathered at the back
of the head a la Chinois, and gracefully adorned with fresh
flowers, sometimes an orchid, jasmine, or a chumpac. They are
very cleanly in their persons, probably the most cleanly in the
world ; they bathe once, twice, or even three times a day, and
have no disagreeable aroma about them.

They wear, wrapped round the body, a ta-mein of silk,
woven in vandyke, cable, or serpentine patterns of the brightest
dye and varied hues, always blended with great taste. Young
girls support their busts by wearing a tight under-jacket.
Married women with children dispense with this, and cover
their chests by a bodice of a looser material folded in under
the left arm. The ta-mein is tucked in tightly at the waist,
and falls down in front to the ankles, but as the ends only
slightly overlap, a portion of the leg, when walking, is exposed,
sometimes half-way up the thigh. The bottom of the skirt is
of a different pattern, often of a pale pink, with horizontal
narrow stripes of dark colours interwoven with gold or silver
threads. This skirt trails behind some ten inches or a foot on
the ground, and its graceful management, in either walking or
dancing, is one of the accomplishments of a Burmese belle.
An enggee, or jacket, of muslin, silk, or satin, is worn open, and
with a ta-bet or scarf thrown over the shoulders, partially hides
the admirable contour of the bust.

When in full dress, they powder their faces with sha-nat-kha,

io WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

a cosmetic with a fragrance similar to that of sandal-wood,
pencil their eyebrows, and rouge their lips. This is all done
to make themselves look as fair as possible. They cover
themselves over with necklaces, of pure gold inlaid with
precious stones, their fingers with rings, and have peculiar
ornaments of amber or gold inserted in the lobe of the ear.
These ear-tubes are cylindrical, the hollow being large enough
for them to insert a cigar. They are inveterate smokers, —
even children taking to it before being weaned ; they also
chew betel-nut and separee, with which lime and a little aitch
is mixed, and yet have small symmetrical white teeth.

Pliability of the arms and body is much prized. By con-
stant practice, a girl is taught to turn the inside of the elbow
outwards, and the joint becomes so flexible that it moves
with equal facility either way. A girl will stand on a mark,
and by bending backwards, pick up a small coin with her teeth
which has been placed within a few inches of her heels. They
are born actresses, and delight in either seeing or taking a
part in theatricals. There is no stigma attached to a girl
dancing in public as there is in India to the Nautch girls,
who are but courtesans. Their manners are pleasing; there
is a mixture of courtesy and freedom, and even the poorest,
while frank, are well-bred. In their intercourse with each
other they are good-humoured and considerate, and Europeans
are struck with the enjoyment, contentment, and happiness of
the people. No one is rich, but there are no beggars. The
earth is so bountiful that three months' labour suffices to pro-
duce enough food for the year. If by any reverse a family is
in want, the neighbours assist at once ; they are hospitality
itself.

They are more truthful than most Orientals. The affection
of parents for their children is very great. Filial piety is
inculcated as a sacred precept, and much respect is shown by
the young to the old. They are fond of amusement and
excitement, their motto being, " Sufficient for the day is the
evil thereof." Strong, patient, and good-tempered, they are
indolent in the extreme, yet they can work like galley-slaves
on an emergency. No man seeks to make a fortune ; should
he by chance do so, he spends it at once in good works, such

SOCIAL CUSTOMS 13

as erecting phoongie houses or building pagodas, and goes on
leading the same life as heretofore, content with a very little.
There is no selling of girls when infants for marriage, or
worse. The men prefer girls who are fully grown and
developed, and the young men and women carry on their
courtship openly. About eight o'clock in the evening is
courting-time, when the young ladies receive their bachelor
acquaintances, and a lamp placed in their casement is a signal
that they are at home. The great ambition of a girl is to
keep a stall in the market-place. It is her introduction into
society, and a sign that she is marriageable ; it is the equiva-
lent of our girls being presented at Court or taken to balls
and parties. There is a great deal of coquetry on the part of
the girl ; if she lights a cheroot, takes a puff or two and then
presents it to her adorer, it is a sign that "Barkis is willin"';
otherwise, if she refuses to do this act of courtesy, he knows
that his attentions are not appreciated, and that he had better
seek a bride elsewhere. Parents do not unduly interfere in
these matrimonial ventures. Once the couple have agreed to
be man and wife there is no delay ; a feast is prepared, the
happy couple eat out of the same dish before the assembled
guests ; the bridegroom then presents his bride with hla-pet
or pickled tea ; the compliment is returned, and the ceremony
is over. Then follows the interminable poday, but the couple
manage to steal away and go to their home, and as soon
as this is discovered, the bridegroom's friends and others
assemble round his house, throw stones on the roof and at the
doors ; this is in accordance with the immemorial custom, but
a somewhat inconvenient one to the happy couple, who would
prefer their friends' absence to their company ; but if it were
omitted, doubtless they would afterwards think that a compli-
ment was wanting.

A woman socially is her husband's equal ; his superior in
the house and in the interior economy, as she buys and sells
what she pleases. She has the sole right to any property she
possessed before marriage, and also to that acquired after-
wards. She can hold real property in her own right, and
even obtain legal possession of her husband's if he forsakes
her.

i4 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

For Easterns, I consider the Burmese woman decidedly
virtuous. If well and kindly treated, she will seldom commit
adultery, and is faithful to her husband unless she has had a
liaison before marriage, and then, if tempted, she yields, as
she thinks the first man has a prior claim on her. If a couple
do not agree, nothing is easier than for them to be divorced ;
they can part by an equal division of goods, or either can go,
leaving all the property they possess behind. Occasionally,
to be rid of a termagant wife, a Burman will turn priest, or
the woman become a nun, or the slave of a pagoda. The man
can readily resume his ordinary garb again, and remarry, but
not the woman. She can do so, but to have been a pagoda-
slave is always a term of reproach, and very few men would
marry one, even if she were young and pretty ; generally they
are old hags. A doctor who visited Burma and travelled in
it for some weeks, calls them vestal virgins, which would
astonish the old women not a little, as they have probably
done their share to multiply and replenish the earth. The
people are very sensitive, and put an end to themselves on
the slightest provocation, generally by an over-dose of opium.
They are omnivorous, will eat or drink anything, from a
dead and half-putrid elephant to a snail. They are very fond
of fish, and preserve it in various ways ; a favourite dish of
theirs is nga-pee, a horrid decoction of rotten fish pounded
with chillies, garlic, and other condiments.

As Buddhists, they are forbidden to take life, and most
Burmans would not tread upon a worm, but there are always
local shikaries, who kill game and bring it in for sale, and no
one will refuse to purchase and partake of it, as the sin lies
on him who deprived it of life. But between man to man
they are most bloodthirsty, and kill and mutilate an enemy
with horrid tortures. I have known and seen men who had
been strapped down and holes bored through them with red-
hot irons. I have seen a string of men, crucified, impaled,
ripped open, and left to die with a fire lit under them ! They
are a mass of contradictions, but for all that, I prefer them to
the natives of Southern India.

Burmese burn their dead ; only the few who cannot afford
to do so, bury them. Directly the breath has left the body,

BURMESE WOMAN. ^

From a Photo by Watts &> Skeen, Rangoon.

FUNERAL OBSEQUIES 17

the women of the house raise the death-cry ; other professional
women are called to take up the cry when the relations are
exhausted. Coffin-makers are sent for, and do the needful in
the street opposite the house. All those who come to offer
condolences, contribute to the expenses of the cremation.

After the body has been washed, and, in the case of a girl,
her face decorated also, a coin is placed in the mouth. It is
then wrapped in a clean white cloth and laid on an open bier
in the principal room of the house and left there till the
coffin is ready, which is fully two days. When the procession
starts for the last obsequies, alms for the phoongies and poor
are carried in front ; then come nuns carrying pickled tea,
pan, and betel ; then the priests, followed by their pupils
walking two and two. A band of music precedes the coffin
borne by the friends of the deceased, and immediately behind
are the relations dressed in white, which is a sign of mourning
amongst Buddhists. On the arrival of the coffin at the
cemetery it is placed near the funeral pyre with the priests
sitting at its head, and the mourners in front of them ;
the priests then recite the prayers for the dead; the chief
mourner pours out water from a cup on to the cloth attached
to the coffin, or, in its absence, on the ground, pronouncing
at the same time after the chief priest, " Let the deceased and
all present partake of the merits of the ceremonies now per-
forming." The assembly reply, " We will." They then retire
to a distance, the coffin is placed on the funeral pyre by those
whose office it is to set fire to it. Before leaving the ceme-
tery, the alms are distributed to the priests and to the poor,
and the pickled tea and pan and betel are partaken of by
all present. Three days afterwards the ashes are collected,
placed in an urn, and buried.

When a high priest dies, he is embalmed and kept for a
year, and then burnt with much tamasha, as the Indians
would say. The whole population of the neighbouring vil-
lages turns out ; many dummy coffins are made, besides the
one containing the defunct, and neatly arranged in a cluster,
the one containing the remains of the priest in the centre,
with a funeral pyre arranged underneath, in which also there
is generally some gunpowder ; to this ropes are attached, and

i8 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

on these rockets are laid and fired, all endeavouring to be the
first to light the pyre. But before this, as the bier with the
dead priest approaches, two sides are formed, ropes are
attached to the car, front and rear, and the two pull against
one another much as we do when playing at the tug of war ;
but generally it is a mere pretence, those retarding it give
way, and the triumphant party drag the coffin to the pyre
and quickly place it in position.

The hubbub and noise are deafening, and the dust fearful.
Everybody is dressed to within half-an-inch of their lives, and
after some hours' jollification, in which women and children
freely mix and take a part, the whole of the structures so
carefully and tastefully erected are burned down, the crowd
separates, each one going on his or her way rejoicing. The
saturnalia begins two days before the cremation, but ends
soon after it.

The scene, though repugnant to our ideas of what is
becoming at a funeral, is, whilst it lasts, a very gay one, and is
meant as a mark of respect to departed goodness. The gor-
geous apparel of the men and women, the numerous flags and
banners, the structures so gaily painted and resplendent with
tinsel, gold-leaf, and silver, help to light up the otherwise
sombre scene, or which ought to be one.

Their priests are pure mendicants, they can possess no
property, and are supported by the charity of their parishioners.
They cannot speak to, or even look at, a woman ; they are
well housed by the people, and act as village school-masters,
and every Burman is taught to read and write his own
language.

School commences about an hour before daybreak, and the
noise made by the pupils is deafening. When I first heard it
I thought it was an attack by Dacoits. Each lad spouts out
his lessons at the top of his voice.

A phoongie can leave the priestly craft whenever he likes,
and become a layman ; but this is very seldom done, and one
who does it is looked down upon. All the pupils are neo-
phytes, and are dressed in a yellow robe, and go from house
to house every morning with a bowl suspended from the neck.
He solicits nothing, but accepts silently anything put into the

BUDDHISM AND BUDDHISTS 21

receptacle, and this forms the daily meal of their masters and
themselves.

The women are a merry, pleasant set, and so struck were
the stalwart Sikhs, that when, after the war of 1852-53-54,
they returned to their own country, many took back with
them these, comparatively speaking, plain women, preferring
them as wives and companions to the far comelier women of
the Punjaub. I have no doubt that our numerous native
troops, principally Sikhs, located in Burma, have all taken
wives of the country, and have settled down for good in the
province.

There cannot be a prettier sight anywhere in the world than
a crowd of Burmese gathered together en route to a pagoda
on a gala day; what with their gay dresses, pretty figures,
pleasant faces, banners streaming, flags flying, the beauty of
the scenery, and the general jollity, no pleasanter scene could
be wished for. The women of course can neither write nor
read, because their priests cannot teach them, but I think
their ignorance is preferable to what they learn at the schools
instituted by Europeans.

I do not myself believe that the missionaries, though
earnest, hard-working people, do any good. You cannot con-
vert a Buddhist. If you talk to him of our religion, he will
tell you Gaudama and Christ are one, and that the sayings
and doings of the latter are but the utterances of the former,
who lived some 700 years earlier.

To highly educate people like the Burmese, Chinese, and
even Hindoos, is, I think, a great mistake. They were far
happier when their minds were unhinged, and they did not
ape the vices of the conquering race.

Whilst it is all but impossible to convert a Buddhist, the
Karens, having no religion but a legend that the true faith
would be preached to them by people ruled over by a queen,
have been converted by the dozen. So whilst the missionaries,
chiefly American, all but starve on the pittance they get from
their Societies when dealing with Burmese, those that preach
to Karens live in clover, as they are supported by their
converts.

Although the country abounds in large game, it is very

22 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

difficult to discover in Lower Burma, because there are no
regular shikaries in the Indian acceptation of the word.
Every village has its local shikarie, who lives by trapping and
killing game. Taking life is contrary to the precepts of his
religion ; he is looked upon as one damned by his neighbours,
but that does not prevent them buying from him the spoils of
the chase.

Their hunting is done principally at night by means of
lights and bells, which will be described further on. He also
digs pits, lays down snares, uses crossbows, placing them
fixed with a string attached across paths frequented by game ;
or he sits on the lower branch of a tree, and shoots anything
passing underneath. For tigers and leopards he uses poisoned
arrows, or inserts barbed and poisoned panjies along the paths,
carefully concealing them with fallen leaves ; and so deadly
is the poison that if sufficient penetration takes place to
obtain but one drop of blood, the beast dies within an hour
or two.

At first these local shikaries were not willing to accompany
Europeans in the chase, because they feared ill-treatment, and
believed that if an accident were to happen, they would be
severely punished, perhaps even hanged ! So few Europeans
understood Burmese, and the Burmese dislike having to treat
through an interpreter. They don't like, naturally, the jungles
in their own vicinity disturbed, because it would interfere with
their . own sport and profit ; but once you can get them to
believe in your generosity and kindness, they will attach
themselves on to a successful sportsman, who will, in addition
to their pay, give them an occasional glass of grog and a
cheroot, and all game killed, excepting just enough for camp-
followers. This they dispose of at a good profit after con-
verting it into bilthong.

They are very useful as guides, but all the niceties of sport
must be done by the hunter himself. They are not good
trackers ; * nor do they mark down game, but they know the
whereabouts of the beasts, and will take you from one jungle
to another and back to camp. The sportsman must trust to

1 It is different in Upper Burma. Vide Chapter III. by my colleague.
— F. T. P.

NATIVE SHIK ARIES 23

his own knowledge of shikar to beat up the game and to kill it.
They have very good eyesight, and can generally spy out an
animal before any European. They are handy in cutting up
game and slinging it on to elephants, and are most useful in
rigging up temporary sheds, if required to do so. Tents are
seldom taken in Lower Burma.

Good as are these men as pioneers, yet once on a wet, cold
misty day, my guides lost their way, and we did not get back
to camp for eighteen hours, and should not have got there then
had not our men, like most of the Burmese, been able to guide
themselves by the stars. We started at 6 a.m. and got back
at twelve at night, having been soaking wet from 2 p.m.

CHAPTER II

GAME IN LOWER BURMA

THE following are the Mammalia of the province : —

Elephants. Two varieties

Single-horned Lesser Rhinoceros

Two-horned Rhinoceros

Gaur

Tsine or Wild Cattle

Buffaloes

Sambur

Brow-antlered Deer or Thamine

Hog Deer

Barking Deer

Wild Pig

Serow

Tigers

Panthers

Leopards

Bears

Wild Dogs

Many kinds of Wild Cat

There are no Hyaenas, no Ante-
lopes, or Spotted Deer

Jackals are very few, and are only
found near Meaday on the old
frontier.

In the Tenasserim province are found : —
The Tapir. (Malay) Mouse Deer

SMALL GAME

Near Prome, Shoaydoung, Padoung, Eeingmah-Pounday,
Meaday, Thayetmyo, Mendoon, and along the base of the
Arrakan range, along the foot of the Yomahs, the following
are found pretty numerously : —

Green Pigeons, five varieties,

and Green Doves
Three varieties of Doves
Three varieties of Imperial

Pigeons
Ground Doves
Common Blue Rock Pigeons

Woodcock (rare)

Two varieties of Snipe

Jack Snipe (very rare)

Solitary Snipe (very rare)

Godwit

Two varieties of Curlew

Three varieties of Crane

24

BEST PLACES FOR SPORT AND GAME FOUND 25

Green-necked Peacock Duck of various kinds, but never
Yit or Pheasant, allied to the very plentiful in Lower Burma

Derricks Geese

Peacock Pheasant Comb Duck or Perching Goose

Jungle Fowl Three kinds of Teal ; three of

Francolin Bittern

Five varieties of Quail Hares
Six varieties of Plover

The following are peculiar to the Tenasserim province : —

Nicobar Pigeons Argus Pheasant

Double-spurred Peacock Phea- Great Fire-back Pheasant
sant

The following are found in the hills only : —
Ruddy-necked Partridges Three varieties of Francolin

The best places in Lower Burma for game are : —

1. Arrakan range.

2. Mendoon, fifty miles west of Thayetmyo.

3. Ma'ee Pass and along the spurs of the Arrakan range.

4. Eeingmah, Zeagoung, Pounday, along the base of the
Yomahs in the Tharawadie district. In the Yomahs north of
Pegu, near Cape Negrais, Bassein, north-west of Banlong,
inland, along the foot of the Yomahs, in the Yomahs, Mong
on the Sitting ; inland from Shoayghein and throughout the
Yonzaleen. Along the banks of the Attaran river, and in the
districts of Mergui and Tavoy. In most of the places I have
named there are shikaries who will accompany a European,
but the difficulty is to obtain elephants, and without them it is
useless looking for game in the vast savannahs, covered as
they are with impenetrable long grass and reeds ranging from
4 feet to 30 feet in height, and with stems like those of the
bamboo, but rather worse, for they are covered with a fluffy
sort of down which irritates the skin almost as badly as the
Cow-itch.

In the rains elephants and buffaloes wander about, and are
met with generally all over the province, especially near culti-
vated tracts, adjacent to the long grass in which they lie hidden
during the day and sally forth to ravage at night. But it is
all but useless going after them during the monsoon. The

26 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

nature of the country is such that no one can traverse the low-
lands on foot, owing to inundation and the innumerable tree and
swamp leeches which infest these jungles. It is useless trying
to kill elephants off elephants, as it is impossible to get the
requisite angle. It is very cruel work — I only tried it once,
and then I only bagged one at the time, but sent a dozen or so
away very badly wounded. Of these, I came across five dead,
and nearly shot a Burman who had gone inside one for some
tit-bit, and as he crawled out a mass of bloody gore, I thought
he was a bear or some other beast, and was just going to fire,
when he stood up. The Burmese found three others dead,
and these were a godsend to them, for they prefer first the
flesh of the gaur and then that of an elephant to all others ;
but I never tried that mode of sport again.

Green and Imperial pigeons, though most common through-
out Lower Burma and the Andaman and Cocos Islands, are
very difficult to see when roosting on trees, so wonderfully
does their plumage tally with their surroundings. They
are at times very good for the table, but the very reverse at
others. It depends on the fruit in season. Green doves are
very scarce. I don't think I saw above half-a-dozen in twice
that number of years. The Imperial pigeons are very large
fine birds ; some are green, others of a deep metallic or bronze
hue, and others blue. The Burmese call them Knit-ga-noa
or bullock-birds.

The common Blue Rock pigeons are very plentiful beyond
Yenan-Choung, where the earth-oil wells are. The banks
of the river are from 150 to 200 feet above the water, and
much resemble our chalk cliffs. In these the birds burrow and
build their nests, and as there is plenty of grain growing near,
they thrive exceedingly, and are very plump and delicious
eating.

The Green-necked Peacock is a beautiful variety of the
ordinary peacock. It has no bluish purply neck like the
Indian bird. It is green all over, but the tail is the same in
the two, and grows sometimes six feet long. At Port Blair,
Andaman Islands, hybrids between the Indian and Burmese
Peafowl were very common, but they were tame in plumage
when compared with either of their progenitors.

GAME BIRDS 27

The Burmese Pheasant, or Yit, is a beautiful bird of silvery
grey. When caught young and well fed they are capital
birds for the table. They are easily tamed, and often become
a nuisance, as their constant cry is very irritating, and as they
wander in and out of the house and are off and on to the table
even at meal-times. They are common in all hilly parts, but
near Zeagoung they were particularly plentiful.

The Jungle Fowl is similar to those in Assam and over the
greater part of India, but perhaps a little smaller. It is a
game little fellow, and at times affords excellent sport. I used
to take up my position on an elephant and have them beaten
up towards me, and once or twice I found them as plentiful
as pheasants in a preserve in England. Once on the wing,
they are very swift and strong fliers, and require a good blow
to knock them over.

Phayre's Francolin is also a very handsome bird, something
between a painted partridge and a black Francolin as found
in Assam. It perches on trees, and its constant cry of
"Kha-Ka-Kah" is to be heard every morning and evening
along the right bank from Akoutoung and inland to the
Yomahs, but it is not known on the Sittang side.

The Burmese, when they cut their paddy, leave a good deal
of stubble, and I have had capital sport about November in
the dried-up Dhan Kates, which were situated at the foot of
some high land. When flushed, it rises perpendicularly for a
considerable distance, and then flies off horizontally. If fired
at as it rises, even the best shots are liable to miss it by firing
beneath it ; but if one waits until it commences its horizontal
flight no bird is easier to kill. The Burmese keep these
Francolins in cages — why, I don't know, as I never saw them
used for fighting, which is so common in India.

Corn Quail are not plentiful in Lower Burma, but I have
shot some there, and in the islands in the Irrawady going
towards Pagan. The Button and Rain Quail are very plentiful
in the season, and afford good sport. It is best to use only
very small shot, and not too much of it, or of powder.

Of the Plovers, the golden and the grey are the only ones
worth shooting, but the Peewits are very annoying when one
is after big game, as they hover about screeching out, " Pity to

28 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

do it" — and putting every beast within hearing on the qui
vive. I have then shot them in revenge.

Snipe is, after all, the most pleasant of the small game
shooting in Lower Burma, and though plentiful everywhere
during the season (which generally lasts from early in August
to the end of October, though the birds are found later in
certain localities), yet it is not every one who knows the best
places to look for them. All paddy fields not too much
flooded have them, but these should, in my opinion, be
avoided. There is a great deal of knack in knocking the
birds over, but more in finding the most suitable places to look
for them. I used to go about during the cold season after the
paddy had been cut and stored, and noticed places which I
thought would be left fallow next season, or I looked up
ground slightly inundated and covered lightly with reeds or
rushes ; and I used to go there and come back in the season
with a stick laden with the long-bills when better shots than
myself had not a quarter of the birds to show. The Burmese
don't cultivate the same fields every year ; they leave some
fallow for cattle to graze upon, which get manured by their
droppings. The ground is always wet, and as they roam
about, the cattle turn up the sods with their hoofs, and the
snipe — which are never far off — pounce upon the worms, and
will not leave such ground if not too much harassed. Some
wonderful bags have been made in India, and also in Burma.
An officer of the 8oth or i8th regiments, I forget which, killed,
near Shoaydoung, in 1852, 80 couple in one day; but I
think the record bag has been 130 couple to a single gun
somewhere near Madras.

I never shot more than 51 J couple in the day, and the most
I ever found on my stick on getting home was 49^ couple, the
others having been purloined or dropped off. I once thought
I was going to make an immense bag. I was shooting at
Tseben, and before twelve o'clock I had 36 couple on my
stick. I then went to the Zyat, where I was putting up, for
breakfast, thinking I should double my bag by the evening ;
but heavy rain set in ; the birds got wild, and I only killed
12 couple more, and one hare, which was a rarity on the
Sittang side.

SNIPE GROUNDS 29

I was Executive Engineer for five years at Tongho, our then
frontier station. We had as many as 80 Government elephants
in the Pheel Khana, and as these had to go considerable
distances for their daily charah, the surrounding country, soon
after the rainy season set in, became a mass of pitfalls,
rendering the ground almost impossible for horse or foot to go
over.

As I had elephants of my own I could always go about,
and more often than not took one or two men with me. One
day I was out alone, and had visited the best snipe grounds
within a radius of five miles without scarcely seeing a bird.
I sat down on a bund, and whilst deploring the bad prospect
before me I noticed a small herd of buffalo going along in
single file. They passed me, crossed a shallow sheet of
water, and entered a forest. Where buffaloes go to graze
there is sure to be some marshy spot ; I brightened up a bit,
and followed. I thought I knew every inch of the country,
and never dreamt of there being a marsh in the midst of a
forest, but within a couple of miles I came upon a quin or
clearance in the forest ; it was about two miles long, and
perhaps three-quarters of a mile broad. In this the buffaloes
commenced to feed. I put my elephant into it, and up rose
a wisp of some dozen snipe and lit again close by. I was off
my steed in no time, and better sport I never had. I had just
got out my first breech-loader, a pin-fire by Westley Richards,
and not expecting much sport had not brought very many
cartridges with me. The birds lay well, and pitched again
within fifty yards. The walking was easy — it was evident it
had never been shot over before, and in a very short time, and
before I had gone over half the marsh, I had expended all my
cartridges and had 39 \ couple of birds to show. Within a
few days afterwards I took Lloyd, the Deputy Commissioner,
with me. We began to shoot about eleven, and left off at four,
with a short interval in the afternoon for lunch and rest. Lloyd
had then 36^ couple of birds, and I had 36 couple. Going home-
wards on the elephants, two snipe got up, and I bagged them
both with a right and left. The truth is, I lived so much on
elephant-back in those days, and for years afterwards, that I
could shoot almost as well off one as I could on foot.

3o WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

A good retriever is worth his weight in gold for snipe-
shooting. I bought in 1860 a nice-looking, well-bred, spaniel
pup. The parents had been imported by Col. Pinson — a well-
known dog fancier.

This pup soon attached himself to me, and as he showed a
propensity for retrieving, I took to shooting birds and throwing
things for him to fetch, but I had not had him out shooting
game until he was about a year old. I was going across the
Kabong river to a pet piece of snipe ground which was then
only known to me, and to get there I went on an elephant,
and took the dog on the pad behind me. Before long the
dog was as sick as if he were crossing the Channel in rough
weather for the first time, and by the time we got to the
ground seemed to be all abroad. Where I dismounted there
was a small Zyat. I left my tiffin-basket there, and walked
into the snipe ground with the dog at my heels. I had soon
several birds on the ground, and bid the dog fetch, but he
showed no aptitude at retrieving at all, and would not leave
heel. I was very fond of him, but utterly disgusted at his
behaviour, as I had expected great things from him, so I went
on shooting, and presently missed him altogether. I screamed
myself hoarse calling him, but could find him nowhere, nor
had the coolies with me seen him go away : so I thought I
had lost him, and went on shooting till about twelve, when I
went back to the Zyat to breakfast, and there I found my dog
curled up close to the basket. I don't know whether I was
more pleased at finding him, or angry at his behaviour, but I
made much of him, fed him, and took him out again, but it
was useless — he would not retrieve. So I thought I had been
mistaken in him, and never meant to take him out again. He
sat behind me on the pad going home, with 26 couple of snipe
close under his nose ; he was not sick.

Whether he got' used to the elephant's motion and began to
comprehend what was required of him from his close contact
with the birds I cannot tell, but the very next time I mounted
an elephant to go out snipe-shooting, he of his own accord
jumped up behind me, and when I commenced to shoot,
although rather wild at first, he soon settled down and
retrieved as if he had been used to it all his life. In time he

SNIPE-SHOOTING 31

became a perfect retriever : he would remain at heel if told —
or hunt if desired well within shot. My elephant got quite
accustomed to him, and would allow him to jump on and off,
but would not allow another dog to come near him.

One day I hit a snipe ; it flew some way, then towered and
fell into the midst of a very large dense sugar-cane field. I
never expected to see that bird again, but involuntarily said :
" Go in and seek." He took the fence at a fly — was not in the
field five minutes when he returned with the bird in his mouth.
Dogs don't last any time in India. I had him for three years,
and he then — whilst romping round me — fell dead of heart
disease, and I lost a dog that I was as fond of as of a child.

Every now and then we hear a great outcry against snipe-
shooting in India. Those who are too lazy and devoid of energy
pronounce it unhealthy ; but all I can say is, that some of the
best-worn and healthiest men in India, even after forty years'
service, are those who have been devoted not only to big
game shooting, but have also been ardent and constant
followers of the long-bills.

Of course if people whilst snipe-shooting drink brandy-
panee, smoke incessantly, wear linen, sit in their wet clothes
when they get home, probably in a draught or under a
punkah, or do other foolish things, they must expect to get
ill, as they deserve to do ; but for a healthy man who is also
ordinarily prudent, not only no harm, but positive benefit, will
be derived from following such sport. If a man is incapable
of standing a day's snipe-shooting, he is certainly unfit for
campaigning, and the sooner he retires and vegetates in his
club in London the better. Wading in mud and water is a
healthful recreation compared to sleeping through the greater
part of the day and constantly imbibing pegs and smoking
strong tobacco to excess. It is not men of an active disposi-
tion who suffer from an Indian climate, it is those of a
sedentary habit. With a proper covering to the head, which
can be bought for a rupee or two, a man can defy the fiercest
sun, and whilst moving about he need not fear getting or being
wet, especially if he wear flannel and change his clothes
directly he leaves off shooting, which is the best ; or, immedi-
ately he gets home, has a tepid bath and puts on clean clothes.

32 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

He willnot only feel no ill effects, but he will positively be
better for the exercise he has taken. But avoid . stimulants
during the heat of the day, and whilst toiling through mud
and water under a broiling sun, for snipe can best be shot
with advantage during the hours of ten to four. Before and
after that, the birds get wild. The less spirits a man drinks
in India the better. There is no harm in his taking a fair
modicum of the liquor which best pleases him with his evening
meal after the day's fatigue is over, nor indeed a moderate
allowance of claret-cup or shandy-gaff (beer and ginger-beer
mixed) or even a bottle of Lager beer with his late breakfast
or tiffin, but it is best as a rule to avoid drinking anything,
water not excepted, whilst actually shooting. The more you
drink, the more you want. Tea is a fair substitute, but drink
as little as possible. Men who wish to lead a healthy life in
India must not be molly-coddles, but be given to out-door
sport, be it shooting, riding, cricket, rackets, lawn-tennis, and
the like, but they must at the same time lead a sober life.
Drink used to be the curse of India, but since the habit has
died out Indian lives are accepted by insurance offices as good
as those of others who live in more favoured climes. Now
that European troops are being gradually concentrated on
Hills, single stations for native troops are getting more
numerous, and I think in choosing a place where six or eight
officers are to be bottled up for several years, thought ought
to be had for their amusement and recreation. If a lot of
officers get together in a locality devoid of sport, and with
nothing to distract them except their daily routine of drill, it
is placing them at a great disadvantage, and the chances are,
however efficient and good they were when first they arrived
at such a station, they will soon deteriorate. If there be
neither shooting nor riding to be had, then I think the Govern-
ment should provide a racket-court, a swimming-bath, and
lawn-tennis grounds. For be sure that all work and no play
never answers anywhere, least of all in India.

How can a man who takes no exercise ordinarily be fit to
take part in such a campaign as that of the North- West,
where we have met more than our match in the wild savages
who are at home in their crags, and to whom climbing moun-

GOD WITS AND OTHER BIRDS 33

tains, or a twenty-mile trudge, is but child's play? Pick out
men who show bodily activity and endurance. Pluck, all
Britons and Irish possess : but more is wanted. Put all men
useless for such work on half-pay ; they are no use as leaders
of men, and the only use of officers is to lead the way, and
how can they do that if they are not physically fit by constant
exercise ? and where can that be obtained so well as in follow-
ing wild field sports ? Moreover, a man accustomed to meet
the denizens of the forest has his wits about him, or he is
snuffed out. He will exercise all the cunning he has learned
in wood-craft to outwit not only the beasts of the field, but
the enemies of his country.1 All the cramming he has learned
under the present system is not worth a year's experience of
sport, followed up by a six months' campaign. Our officers
and men have shown pluck, but the enemy opposed to us are
just as plucky and have out-fought and outwitted us, solely
because they were physically more fit than ourselves.

Godwits are seldom seen. Only one of the Curlews is fit
for the table, in my opinion ; but some people like the Raj
Curlew, a large black bird. Of the Cranes, the Coolin or
Kurruk, though plentiful in India, is very rare in Lower
Burma; there are two or three kinds of Bittern, one very
small, but they are seldom shot. As for the Waders, Storks,
etc., their name is legion.

Of all the small game shooting in the lower province, Duck-
shooting is the poorest. Notwithstanding that the country is
greatly inundated during the monsoon and from the flooding
of the rivers, it dries up about the time the annual migration
of the duck tribe takes place. There are no large bheels or
tanks during the cold season, so the ducks pass over to India
where there are suitable places for them, and where they
swarm ; but a very few only remain in Pegu. During Sep-
tember I have seen a good many of the Comb Duck, which
often, like the Whistling Teal and also the small Blue-winged
Teal (commonly called Cotton Teal), perch on trees, but they
are not thought much of for the table. There are also a few

1 Vide the Boers, who are born sportsmen, and they have outwitted us
as they have been in the habit of doing the_/m? nature of their country.

34 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Brahminee Ducks in pairs along river-banks, but neither are
they appreciated. There was a large bheel a little below
Shoaydoung where a few ducks could be picked up by going
after them in dug-outs. In the delta of the Irrawady a few
also are found.

The water-fowl, as distinguished from the ducks and teal,
are very numerous, but none of them are worth mentioning
excepting the water-pheasant.

The hares on the Irrawady side are fine large beasts, many
of them nearly as large as English ones, and are fairly plenti-
ful ; whilst those on the Sittang are very rare, much whiter,
and not much bigger than a rabbit. If properly cooked, an
Indian hare is not half bad eating, but though in most things
culinary the native servants and cooks are unrivalled, they
are not adepts at cooking game.

When I was sent to Namyan — five miles south of Prome —
to clear it out for building a Station, there was very fair sport
there. I have shot snipe, hares, francolins, jungle fowl, and
occasionally a barking deer, on the same day.

BIG GAME OF LOWER BURMA

Naturalists acknowledge but two species of elephants, the
African and the Asiatic — in which they are undoubtedly
correct ; but why they assert that the Muckna or Hine is
identical with the Goondas I do not know. Mr. Sanderson —
for whom I have the greatest respect as a sportsman and
observer — remarked in his Thirteen Years among Wild Beasts,
that the having tusks or not was merely accidental, like
whiskers in a man ; but I maintain that the two beasts are
varieties, though of the same species. Any good mahout,
whether Indian or Burmese, laughs at such a theory. There
are marked differences, not only amongst the males, but
those differences extend to the females. In Ceylon they are
almost all Mucknas, also in Sumatra; in Burma there are
more Hines than Goondas. In Assam, Goondas predominate,
but there are plenty of Mucknas too. In India the latter are
decidedly in the minority, and, I think, if further search be

ARE THERE TWO VARIETIES OF ELEPHANTS'! 35

made, it will be acknowledged that Mr. Sanderson made a
mistake in saying they were identical. The Goondas, male
and female, have a broader expanse across the forehead ; the
bump between the eyes and the root of the trunk is more
prominent, but the hollow between the eye and ear, commonly
called the temple, is less marked. Its countenance is more
pleasing, its eyes brighter and kinder-looking; it seldom
grows to the height of the Muckna. The males have large
tusks, the females rudimentary ones.

The Muckna, called " Hine " in Burma, has the head much
longer and narrower, the temple very much depressed ; the
trunk is longer, more ponderous, possessing immense strength,
as if to compensate the beast for the want of the formidable
tusks possessed by its rival. Both males and females have
rudimentary tushes only, longer and thicker in the male than
in the female ; the eyes are small and sleepy-looking, and its
general appearance morose ; and even when quite young it
has an old look. In size, they grow taller and are more leggy
than the Goondas. The two varieties herd apart, but inter-
breed at times, the males often righting for possession of the
females, and the result of the cross-breed is that you get
large males with very poor tusks, but still tusks, as distinct
from tushes, which adorn the Mucknas.

In Ceylon there is not above one tusker to three hundred
Mucknas. I doubt if there would be that number even, had
not tuskers been imported from the mainland for work in the
timber yards, as only tuskers can carry and stack the heavy
squared logs. Some of these in days gone by have probably
got loose or have had intercourse with the female elephants
of the country, and a throw back is now and then the result.
But from long association with both varieties I am convinced,
in my own mind, that they are varieties, and not identical.

If Nature has not given intellect to these animals, it has
given them an instinct next thing to it. One has only to
hunt them in their wilds to learn how wonderfully Providence
has taught them to choose the most favourable ground,
whether for feeding or encamping, and to resort to jungles,
where their ponderous bodies so resemble rocks or the dark
foliage by which they are surrounded that it is most difficult

36 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

for the hunter to distinguish them from surrounding objects ;
while their feet are so made, that not only can they trample
over any kind of ground, whether hard or soft, thorny or
smooth, but without emitting a sound. Some of their en-
camping grounds are models of ingenuity, surrounded on
three sides by a tortuous river, impassable for ordinary
mortals by reason either of the depth of water, its precipitate
banks, quicksands, or entangling weeds in its beds, whilst the
fourth side would be protected by a tangled thicket or quag-
mire. In such a place (as I have found them in) the elephants
are in perfect safety, as it is impossible to get at them without
making sufficient noise to put them on the alert. Their
mode of getting within such an enclosure is also most ingeni-
ous. They will scramble down the bank where the water is
deepest, and then, either wading or swimming up or down
stream, ascend the opposite bank a good half-mile or more
from the place they descended, thereby increasing the difficulty
of following them. I was over an hour once endeavouring
to get into such a fastness as I have attempted to describe,
in which some twenty or more elephants were assembled,
within a space nowhere more than four hundred yards square,
but so well were all the approaches protected, that when at
last I did succeed in getting over the preliminary difficulties,
the noise we made was sufficient to have awakened the seven
sleepers, to say nothing of disturbing a herd of elephants
always more or less on the qui vive, that I had the pleasure
of seeing them make their exit one way as I entered that on
the opposite, and I never even got a shot, for such was the
intricate nature of the country, it was useless — indeed all but
impossible — to follow them with any chance of getting within
range. They prefer forests by day and open ground by night,
and feed on bamboos, wild cardamam, plantains, null, branches
of certain trees, the ficus preferred, or long grass, which is
abundant in all the plains ; but if there be any cultivation
within reach of their stronghold they will go for it and do
more harm by trampling it down than by devouring it, which
is not inconsiderable either. It is marvellous too how they
remember the seasons when certain fruits are ripe. I have
noticed this more in Africa than in India, but it is true of

HOW TO SHOOT ELEPHANTS 37

both. Before this fruit or vegetable appears there will not be
an elephant within fifty miles of the locality; directly it
ripens, down come the lordly beasts and hover about till the
season is past or the succulent morsels devoured.

To hunt these animals successfully on foot is very hard
work, and requires a man to be not only in good training,
sound of wind and limb, but also to be possessed of determin-
ation, undaunted pluck, a quick eye, and very sharp ears ; he
must also have learnt the art of walking over ground covered
with fallen timber and debris, and through dense jungles and
forests without emitting the slightest sound.

Huge as are these beasts, none are easier to kill if the
hunter comes across one whilst on foot at sufficiently close
quarters, and if he knows the right spot to aim at and hit,
and the angle to fire. A knowledge of the two must be
combined; one without the other is useless. Although I have
lately read in Mr. Chandler's Through Jungle and Desert that
with the Mannlicher -256 rifle, his comrade Von Hohnel killed
elephants at 300 to 400 yards, I need not say such would be
impossible in India, because you would never see them at
such distances. The golden rule is to get as close as possible
— the distance should not exceed 20 yards, better if it be
some ten paces closer. General Michael, the great elephant-
shot of Southern India, lays down certain rules for shooting
them in the Encyclopedia of Sport. They differ very slightly
from mine already published in Sport in Burma, and Fifty
Years' Reminiscences of India.

\

GENERAL MICHAEL'S. MINE.

I. "If the animal be directly i. The bump between the
facing you, with both eyes eyes, which should be fired at
visible, and standing on the from the front, low down and
same level as yourself, or a upward,
little above you, plant your
ball low in the rounded bump
which is so conspicuous on an
elephant's forehead just above
the trunk. At that spot there
is a convenient opening in the

WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

GENERAL MICHAEL'S.
skull through which the bullet
will pass slightly upwards,
direct to the brain.

2. " If he be facing you, with
both eyes visible, but standing
on a lower level than yourself,
plant your ball in the con-
cavity of the forehead just
above the rounded bump.

3. "If the animalbe standing
at three-quarters face towards
you, with only one eye visible,
shoot into the hollow of the
temple in a line between the
eye and the orifice of the ear,
at such an angle that the
bullet may cut the middle of
the imaginary rod passing
through the ears.

4. " If he be standing exactly
broadside on to you, shoot
straight into the orifice of the
ear.

MINE.

2. Not noticed.

3. The temple, between the
corner of the eye and top of
ear. This shot should be
fired either from the right or
left face, from the front,
slightly . upwards and back-
ward, or in the centre of the
hollow or temple equidistant
from the corner of the eye to
the top of the ear. Of all
shots this is the easiest to
kill with, and the safest to
the hunter, because being on
one side, if the shot does not
prove fatal, and the elephant
either charges or involuntarily
rushes forward, as most ani-
mals are apt to do on suddenly
receiving a wound, the sports-
man will not be in the line of
charge or flight, and will be
less liable to be trampled upon
than in firing the front shot.

4. This corresponds with my
No. 5, which is — fire straight
across into the orifice of the
ear. For this shot the gun
should be on a level with the

ear.

VULNERABLE SPOTS IN AN ELEPHANT 39

GENERAL MICHAEL'S.

5. "If he be standing with
his head three-quarters turned
away from you, and if you
can still see one eye, shoot
behind the ear when he flaps
it forward, at the level of the
orifice. If his head be so
much turned away from you
that you cannot see his eye,
do not fire.

6. "Get as close as you can,"
etc.

(In all of which I agree, but
have already stated them.)

MINE.

5. This corresponds with my
No. 3, which is — a spot just
behind the ear at the junction
of the head ; but this is a shot
one seldom gets.

6. I have mentioned two
other vulnerable spots — a shot
fired from a moderate height
downwards in a forward direc-
tion, striking the back of the
head at the junction of the
spine — when death will be
instantaneous.

A ball placed behind the
shoulder at the point of the
elbow. I have seen this done
by native shikaries, success-
fully.

A shot fired into an up-
raised foot will cripple the
beast and make him an easy
victim to succeeding shots.

It will be seen that we differ very little, if at all ; but I
would advise the young sportsman to be guided by General
Michael in preference to myself, because he has seen so much
more of elephant-shooting than I have. The spots I have
mentioned and the angles were all successfully tried by
myself, but I don't pretend to pit my experience against his.
My colleague's remarks also deserve attention.

Although the trumpeting of elephants at night leads one
to suppose that they are close at hand, yet this noise is very
deceptive. They wander about so silently, and, as a rule, they

40 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

go such immense distances, that a stern chase is, with them,
the proverbially long one. Although I shot several elephants
in Lower Burma, yet, as my colleague will relate his adven-
tures which will be new, whereas mine would be stale, I leave
them out.

Elephants are at all times a wandering race ; they consume
so much, and waste so much more, that no single forest could
long support them, hence their roving propensities. During
the rains they are very destructive to the paddy crops ; when
the harvest has been gathered, they retire to their hill fast-
nesses ; it is best to follow them there, but somehow — with a
few exceptions — sportsmen now-a-days fear discomforts and
fever more than a generation or two back. There is no royal
road to sport — risks must be run, if you wish to be successful
and are at heart a shikarie. You must first learn to shoot
quickly and accurately ; then study the habits of the beasts
you wish to follow, and the right way to circumvent them,
and then to rough it.

Elephants have a very keen sense of smell and of hearing,1
and so they must be approached up wind ; and in the dry
season, owing to the number of fallen twigs and leaves, it is
almost impossible to come close enough to a herd to be able
to kill one. If they hear the slightest noise, off they go, but
after the jungles have been burnt and a shower or two has
fallen, particularly when they are feeding on bamboos, they
are easier to get at. A friend of mine once got so close to a
tusker's quarters, that he gave him a pat to make him turn
out, which he did, only to fall dead instantly.

The tree leeches,2 so plentiful in forests inhabited by these
beasts in Lower Burma, are a sad drawback to the pleasures
of sport — as I never found anything which could keep them
out for long. I tried the crude petroleum as obtainable in
Burma; that did for a while, but directly it got washed off
by the dew, in they got. The best — though by no means an

1 Their sense of hearing or sight is dull, in my opinion, compared with
their sense of smell.— W. S. THOM.

2 None in Upper Burma.— W. S. THOM.1

1 He has found plenty lately in the Arrakan Yomahs. — F. T. P.

SHOOTING ELEPHANTS— TREE LEECHES 41

absolute — preventative, is wearing first thick worsted stockings,
and over them drawing on a pair of closely knitted cotton or
silk stockings, and saturating them with either petrol or a
thick decoction of salt and very little water. But then if they
can't get at your legs or feet, they will crawl down your back,
or get in anywhere, where a loophole is left. They not only
deplete one, but the bites very often fester. In fact they,
ticks, and mosquitoes, are the plagues of a sportsman's life,
and cause him frequently, I fear, to use many and often big,
big D's.

Some remarks on elephant-shooting by that excellent
sportsman Col. McMaster are so apropos that I take the liberty
of inserting them here.

"Those who only think of elephants as they have seen
these domestic giants working at any of the innumerable
tasks on which these almost reasoning slaves may be em-
ployed, can hardly imagine how puzzling a matter it is to
distinguish them amongst the dark shadows and irregular
outlines that fill up any portion of a landscape in their forest
haunts.

" I was for some moments, it seemed to me hours, waiting
in long grass and reeds within a few feet, not yards, of the
head of a fine tusker, without being able to get a satisfactory
shot at him, or even see more than an indistinct dusky
outline of form, or a dark shadow as his trunk was raised
aloft, when the mighty beast suspected that he scented mis-
chief. Having at length made sure that there was something
uncanny near him, he uttered a shrill cry and wheeled right
round on the very spot on which he stood, without exposing
any more vulnerable target than his enormous hind-quarters,
at which it would have been wicked and wanton cruelty to
fire — rushed down the hill, followed by his family (eight or
ten unwieldy wives and sturdy children), whose progress, as
they crashed through the dense undergrowth of long grass,
caused a noise sufficient to startle any one whose nerves were
not tightly braced, and which my pen is certainly too weak
to describe."

The following is an extract from the South of India
Observer, by " Hawkeye " — General R. Hamilton, I believe ;

42 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

a brother of that famous draughtsman and shikarie, General
Douglas Hamilton, better known as "Velvet Foot" of the old
sporting magazines.

" On another occasion I was blown at by a wild elephant,
who threw her trunk out from behind the jungle lining the
narrow path along which we were running to intercept the
herd, and blew her nose so suddenly in the chest and face of
the leading man, that he fell back right upon me. We had
cut this elephant off from her companions, and having a young
calf to take care of, she had loitered behind the herd. In this
case we noticed what I have before alluded to — the wonderful
and extraordinarily quiet manner in which these gigantic
animals noiselessly move through the forest when trying to
avoid observation or danger."

The height of an elephant is all but twice the circumference
of the front foot as it rests on the ground. This is not quite
exact, but near enough for all purposes. Elephants vary
much in size. We hear of 12, 13, and even 14 feet, as men-
tioned by some writers ; the same credence can be placed
on that statement as of the 12, 13, and more feet tigers.
I do not think that elephants grow to the same size as they
used, for one of 10 feet is now very rare, and a taller all but
unknown ; but there is the skeleton of one in the Calcutta
Museum of Natural History which measures n feet, 2 or 3
inches in height, and must have been, when living, close on
12 feet. The tallest elephants I have ever seen, wild or
tame, were Mucknas. There was one in the Commissariat,
a very old decrepit one, loj feet, but 9 feet for a male is a
fair size — rather over than under, and 8 feet for a female.
For Lower Burma elephants are a sine qud non for hunting.
There are places where game can be followed on foot, when
you get there, but to reach the localities you must have these
giants to take you there.

I have never known an elephant that could be invariably
depended upon for dangerous shooting ; they are like women
— " Uncertain, coy, and difficult to please." I have had them
as staunch as possible one trip ; perhaps the very next —
without the slightest cause — they would run from a deer and
even from a hare ! — whilst if a peafowl or partridge got up

UNRELIABILITY OF ELEPHANTS FOR SPORT 43

with a whirr under their trunks, they would quake with
fear and hesitate to advance. One of my elephants, a
very massive, powerful female Koonkie, did not care two
pins for a tiger, but if she saw a pony coming towards her
at a canter she would run for her life, and nothing could
stop her.

Be careful with your gear for all your elephants ; have the
guddies made to fit each individual animal. No two have
the backbone alike ; in some it is far more prominent than in
others ; the portion over the spine must be left open, and the
pad, lined with pith, should be well stuffed and sufficiently
thick to prevent anything placed on it pressing on the back
ridge. If you don't see to this, and your beast gets a sore
back, you can't use him. The lump formed has to be lanced
and the pus let out, and if an elephant is once cut he is never
so staunch afterwards as before the operation — at least, that is
my own experience after having kept them for twenty-one
years. A good mahout will instil pluck into a cowardly
elephant, whilst a coward will cause the pluckiest animal to
run away. We all know what influence a man has on a
horse — it is doubly so on an elephant, which is a far more
impressionable beast, and with not half the spirit of a thorough-
bred horse. The behaviour of the animal is but a reflex of
that of his rider. I here give an instance, though it did not
occur in Burma, but in Assam.

Col. J. Macdonald, Deputy ,. Superintendent of Surveys in
Bengal, a capital sportsman, was on a tour of inspection, and
as he was anxious to kill a rhinoceros or two, I took him with
me into the dooars where I had to go on duty. The
Luckeepore Zemindar lent him for the trip one of the largest
and staunchest elephants in the province, off whose back
tigers, rhinoceros, buffaloes, etc., had been killed by the dozen.
His history too was a curious one. He was born in captivity,
his mother having been caught but a few months before his
birth, which took place on the same day as the Zemindar's
eldest child. The natives are very superstitious, and the
Brahmins foretold that the prosperity of the family depended
on their keeping possession of the elephant, who rapidly
developed into a very fine and high caste animal, but with

44 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

only one tusk.1 When young he had been considerably
maltreated by a huge Muckna ; but when he was about
twenty he walked off into the jungles and was not heard of
for two years. There was great grief in the Zemindaree, and
all efforts to find him proved vain ; but after he had been
given up and mourned over as one lost for ever, he returned
to his shed as quietly as if he had never left it. The first
thing he did was to go in for his old enemy the Muckna, and
after a severe fight he vanquished his opponent and reigned
supreme, and has shown no inclination to revert to a wild life
since. Macdonald was decidedly in luck getting him, as his
owner did not often lend him to people. With him came the
mahout who had been with him since his birth.

On May 6 we arrived at Soonapilly, where in general
rhinoceros were plentiful ; we started very early on the 7th,
and came across fresh marks at once ; but as it was a
boisterous day, the beasts themselves had retired into the
long grass, where it was not worth while to follow them, as
shooting them in that was out of the question. Whilst
looking for these pachyderms we came across some marsh
deer, and afterwards fell in with a herd of buffaloes, and duly
accounted for some of each. We found there was a party of
elephant-noosers camped not far off, who had disturbed the
game, so we moved camp to Basbarie, going across country
ourselves, and sending our traps by village pathways. I told
Macdonald to lead the way as soon as we came across the
fresh track of a rhinoceros, and it was fortunately travelling
the same way as ourselves. I had a Cacharie mahout,
Sookur by name, a very plucky fellow, and about the best
tracker I ever saw. Although the marks were those of the
morning and we followed up as fast as we could, we did not
come across our quarry under six or seven miles, and then
found her with her little one lying down in a mud-hole. We
both fired a couple of shots each, and the hubbub that followed
was deafening. The rhinoceros grunted its peculiar cry, and
even the redoubtable Maina, who had heard this cry times
without end, turned tail ; mine did the same, of course. By

1 The natives prize these more than those with two tusks, and call them
Gosein.

ELEPHANTS AND RHINOCEROS 47

the time we got back we found the big beast dead, and as the
young one had also been hit, we had to kill it.

On the 9th we started at daybreak, going along the banks
of a stream, and soon hit off a trail, Macdonald leading, and
I keeping a little on one side, ready to pour in a volley if
required. In about an hour we came upon a fine male.
Macdonald fired and hit, but he ran into grass about 20
feet high, and into this we followed, but there were so many
tracks in every direction that we soon lost the one we had
been following. We still continued our course, and presently
came to a patch of unusually high and dense grass into which
Maina refused to enter, and mine hung back too. So we
knew there was something ahead of us. We told Maina's
mahout to push his beast in, but he declared it would not go
in, so Sookur called out : " Get out of the way : it is you who
are afraid, not the elephant ! " Giving Lutchmie a few vigor-
ous prods he drove her headlong into the entangled thicket.
I looked about everywhere, and had perhaps gone through
half the patch without seeing anything, when something
induced me to look back, and there within ten yards of me
stood a full-grown rhinoceros, craning its neck and staring
up at me in a peculiarly idiotic manner ; a lucky shot dropped
her dead, and then we discovered that there was a young one
with her : so leaving the carcase and the butcha undisturbed,
we sent an elephant back to the village for nets and men to
catch the calf, and went on ourselves. It was, as I have said,
a boisterous day, and a nasty drizzling rain set in ; the grass
was so blown about that to track any animal was useless, so
we were thinking of returning to camp when we came upon
two very fresh spoors. We could not resist following them for
awhile, Macdonald still leading. We had to go further than
we thought, and again came upon very heavy grass. Maina
suddenly turned off to the left and went off full score. I
called out, " Where are you going ? that is not the way the
rhinoceros have gone." But I got no reply, and the elephant
and his rider vanished. Sookur, after abusing Maina's mahout,
went straight on, and within a hundred yards I came upon two
full-grown rhinoceros. I could see their ears and indistinct
forms, looking towards me, so guessing for the chest of the

48 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

larger, I let fly. A shriek and a headlong charge was the
result — Lutchmie spun round like a teetotum and went off at
her best pace. I had just time to turn round and fire as the
rhinoceros' nose was within a foot of my elephant's posterior.
I was using a muzzle-loader — a double, two-groove No. 10
rifle by Joseph Lang, the bullets hardened with a mixture of
quicksilver. The bullet entered the back and passed out at the
belly and floored my antagonist, but the row she kicked up
frightened Lutchmie to such an extent that although I got
her to go back, the least movement on the part of the mortally
wounded beast made her scamper, and correct shooting was
impossible. I knew the beast could not survive, and not
wishing to get my elephant cut, I left her and made the best
of my way home.

I bathed, lunched, and still there was no news of Macdonald,
but as he had our breakfast-basket behind his howdah, con-
taining all that was requisite for refreshing the inner man, I
knew he would not starve, but wondered what had become of
him and Maina. He returned about 6 p.m. Maina, on
smelling the rhinoceros, had turned off abruptly, and going
at his best pace straight across country, had returned to our
yesterday's camp some twelve miles distant ! — crossing in his
course several nasty nullahs without slackening his speed, and
shaking his rider into a jelly. The mahout had lost all control
over him.

After resting awhile, and having something to eat, Macdonald
wanted to return by the direct route we had followed, but
nothing would induce the animal to leave Soonapilly unless
he had a man walking ahead of him, and by the long and
circuitous pathway made by the villagers.

Now what had upset this usually staunch animal ? I can
only account for it in this way : Macdonald had a theory,
knowing how fond of opium the Assamese are, that if he took
some of this drug with him and kept doling it out, the mahout's
zeal and pluck would be increased. I fancy he gave no
thought to what the mahout had previously taken — the two
combined proved too much for the man's nerves, and he got
demoralized and communicated his funk to the animal he
bestrode.

m

±4*:

TAMING A YOUNG RHINOCEROS 51

I have seen Maina many times since in all sorts of scrim-
mages, and I never saw him show the white feather again,
though with the same mahout on his back ; but I fancy the
Zemindar, when he heard what disgrace had been brought on
his pet shikarie elephant, gave the mahout a bad quarter of an
hour. During the night the villagers brought in the young
rhinoceros, and when I saw him the next morning he was the
impersonification of all that is savage. He was securely
tethered, but he tried to get at everybody — a tiger could not
have been more savage. Yet in the course of a couple of days
he quieted down, ate plantains out of the hand, and in a week
followed Sookur about everywhere. I sold him to Jamrach's
agent for £60, but I believe I ought to have got double.

CHAPTER III

THE CARNIVORE
THE TIGER

THE Burmese assert that there are two varieties of tiger:
those of the plains that live on the village cattle being much
the larger, and with a longer tail ; those that roam over the
hills and live principally on such game as they can outwit,
being much smaller and with shorter tails ; but, if anything,
more fierce than the former. Tigers are plentiful all over the
country, but very difficult to find ; and where cattle and game
abound they do little or no harm to human life. But in the
remoter districts, especially in the Yonzaleen, man-eaters are
very plentiful. Captain Watson of the Artillery, Assistant
Commissioner of Yonzaleen, assured me he seldom crossed
over the Hills to get to Kyoukee in the plains without losing
one or more men. In Assam they are more plentiful than in
Burma and more get-at-able. Generally each tiger has his
beat, and will tolerate no other male on his preserves. If an
intruder puts in an appearance a battle-royal takes place, and
if one is killed, he is often eaten by the survivor. The length
of tigers has been greatly exaggerated. I have never seen
one more than 10 feet 2 inches as he lay dead, and the largest
I ever heard of from a reliable authority was 10 feet 4 inches.

I here give an instance. A tiger we shot measured as he
lay dead 10 feet I inch ; when the skin was taken off it was 12
feet 6 inches ; when pegged out and dried it became 1 3 feet
4 inches — these measurements having been noted at the time in
my note-book. He was an unusually big brute, with a very
loose skin on him.

The size of a tiger of course depends a great deal on the

52

DESTRUCTIVENESS OF TIGERS

53

quantity of food available. Where cattle abound they are
very destructive. I have known one tiger to kill five bullocks
off the reel, to drag them into the dense bush where vultures
would not get a sight of them, and there to leave them and
partake of them when he was so disposed. If anything, I
think they prefer their game high. I read when a boy that a

TIGER SKIN.

tiger never condescended to partake of anything not killed by
himself, but there cannot be a greater fallacy; they drag away
and eat the cattle that have died of murrain, and which are
thrown to a distance from the village. There is not a surer
bait than a buffalo or a gaur or even an elephant or rhinoceros
that has been shot and left ; but generally he won't go for
them until putrefaction has well set in. I heard of one officer
who had shot three tigers one night by sitting up over the

54 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

body of an elephant he had shot five days before. And as for
the legend that man-eaters are old mangy brutes who take to
homicidal practices when they are unable to pull down game
or cattle, and that they are sans teeth, sans vigour, sans every-
thing but hunger, it is 'a myth. I have known them shot as
sleek as a well-cared-for cat, young, active, and vicious, and as
portions of the cloth of the victim slain were taken out of him,
there could be no mistake as to his identity.

Occasionally white tigers are met with — I saw a magnificent
skin of one at Edwin Ward's in Wimpole Street; and Mr.
Shadwell, Assistant Commissioner in the Cossyah and Jynteah
hills, also had two skins quite white. I have also heard of one
black tiger having been killed. Some have coats far more
fulvous than others ; a few, greatly prized for their rarity, have
double stripes, or very nearly double.

Tigers have a wonderful knack of hiding themselves. I have
known one to be in a bush which we passed quite close and
unseen, although it was so bare that one would have thought
a hare could not have been in it unobserved. Man-eaters, as
a rule, are probably more cowardly than the cattle-lifters, but
occasionally they are the very reverse. Witness the following,
as related by Colonel McMaster, who was at that time Adjutant
of his regiment, and a bold, successful sportsman, and good
naturalist, whether with the rifle or the spear or pen : —

"The 36th Regiment was en route from Samulcottah to
Berhampore in the Northern Sircars, and was approaching
Tonee. An officer's servant, who with the men's kit had, as
is often the case, preceded the corps to the next encamping
ground, was — just at dusk and close to the mess-guard —
carried off the high-road by a tiger ; an infant, then about
eighteen months old, which he had in his arms when he was
seized, was quite unhurt in the awful rush that took place.
It would be interesting to know what effect the recollection of
the scene may have had on the child in after life. On hearing
of the tragedy next day, when we reached our encamping
ground, three of us went back to the spot, about three miles
off, to try and recover the body. Except that we made our
way in Indian file through thick thorny bushes, under which
we had to creep sometimes on hands and knees, the trail-
marked with fragments of clothes, the cap, keys, purse, blood

WHAT IS A PHEAL 1 57

and hair of the victim — was an easy one. The body was very
little mangled, so it was determined to wait for the return of
the tiger, and in the meanwhile to put up a small platform in
the only tree near.

I had office work to attend to in camp, so left my two
comrades, who took breakfast and shelter from the sun (it was
then near mid-day) under a bush close to, but not within sight
of the body, which was not a pleasant spectacle during their
meal ; their gun-carriers were about the spot, collecting the
rough materials at hand for the Machan. While all were thus
employed, the tiger carried off the body from their midst in
open day and through not very thick brushwood, without
being observed by any one. I returned to them soon after, as
they were trying to follow the trail, this time without success,
for the body had now neither blood nor rags to mark the path,
and the ground was hard. It is difficult to conceive how the
beast could have outwitted them, but so it was. I still think,
from the trail as we had it first, that this was a small tiger —
probably a tigress."

The peculiar cry of the jackal (which is generally called
the " pheal "), so unlike its usual unearthly howl, has caused
much discussion. It is only the frightened cry of a jackal.
As the yelp of a dog undergoing chastisement, or under sudden
fright is totally different from its bark, so when the jackal is
attempting to poach on the preserve of his master, the tiger,
and the latter puts in a sudden appearance, the " provider,"
as he is called — the purloiner would be a truer title — goes off
with his tail between his legs, uttering the cry of a " pheal."
Of this I am sure, as it once occurred before me, when a
leopard made a spring at a jackal ; and once when General
Blake and Mr. Barry were watching over a dead bullock, near
Rungeah.

Tigers are chary of attacking wild buffaloes, but they often
kill isolated tame ones ; but if the herd be near, they will
charge en masse, and I once saw a tiger so killed.

Nor does a tiger care to tackle a wild boar in the open —
the bodies of the two have been found near each other dead.
Scott of my regiment, when with Peyton, 9th Regiment, the
crack shot, on the Bison Hill up the Godavery, saw a boar
trotting up the hill-side champing his tushes and looking

58 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

round every moment — so he stepped behind a tree to see
what was up ; as soon as the boar had reached the crest of
the hill, which was quite flat and open, then he turned round
and halted. In a few seconds up came a large tiger, but the
pig would not move; as the tiger walked round him, so the
pig turned, presenting a bold front. Scott was so absorbed
in the spectacle, wishing to see its denotiment^ that he never
thought of firing ; but whether the tiger funked or whether
he got a taint of the biped, he suddenly sprang down the hill-
side, and the boar galloped off on that opposite. Before
Scott could raise his gun to fire, both animals had disappeared.
I here relate a story of a tussle we had with a tigress.

On May 1 1 we moved to Myetquin from Banlong on the
Sittang, Burma.

Madden and Osmer of the 6pth went out to try and secure
one or two of the numerous deer we could see scattered over
the plain, whilst Boyle and I stayed at home.

Between 3 and 4 p.m., just as we were thinking of having
our daily bath, a mahout on a small elephant hurried up,
saying his confreres on the other .elephants had surrounded
a tiger close by. We could see them grouped in a circle not
more than a quarter of a mile away. We had no time to
spare, as the sun sets about 6 p.m. There is no twilight in
the east, and it would be dark at 6.30. Boyle, brother of the
defender of Arrah, had not undressed, but I had on only my
pyjama suit and no socks, and a pair of slipshod slippers.

Seizing a couple of guns each, we mounted the elephant
without changing, and in a few minutes were at the scene of
action. Boyle got on to a large commissariat tusker — on a
pad. I got on to my own elephant, and sat on the charah,
or green fodder, which was piled on his back ready to be
taken to camp. No sooner did we advance than I saw the
tigress creeping along in front of us, but she saw us as soon
as we spotted her, and before we could fire, with a short half-
roar, half-growl, came at us open-mouthed. I think her object
was to frighten our steeds, and in this she fully succeeded, as
every beast we had turned tail and bolted ; but both Boyle
and I fired, and one of our shots went through her foot. She
then took refuge in a patch of long grass. As soon as we
got control over the elephants, we formed line and again

FIGHT WITH A TIGRESS 61

advanced, but although my elevated position gave me a great
advantage as far as seeing was concerned, yet my seat was very
insecure — the charah wobbled about, and I had two weapons
to look after. We had my howdah in camp, but there was
no time left to send for it. We had great difficulty in inducing
our elephants to advance ; they kept trumpeting, shuffling
their feet along the ground, knocking the tips of their trunks
on the hard earth or against their feet — showing, in fact, all
the symptoms of being in a blue funk. The tigress had
shown good generalship in her tactics, for she had succeeded
in thoroughly demoralizing our steeds, and had rendered the
task of slaying her a most difficult one.

However, we forced them into the long grass and started
her again. No sooner was her rush heard than all the hathees
except mine formed a close phalanx and ran for their lives,
taking Boyle with them. Mine did not retreat, but he was
very unsteady, swaying about and kicking up the earth with
his fore-foot To shoot accurately off his back was impos-
sible ; he was a fine young tusker of the very highest caste, but
had not been broken in for shooting. I told my mahout, a
Mussalman, to force his steed into a patch of grass into which
the tigress retired. Before I reached it, Boyle, with the other
elephants, joined me. I could see the grass moving as the
tigress swayed her tail to and fro, and I knew she meant
mischief. Shoayjah, a Burman shikarie, had come up, and
mounted one of the leading elephants ; he urged me to fire at
the moving grass. I did so, and as the movement ceased I
thought I had made a lucky shot and slain the tigress. I
told the mahout to push his elephant in ; we had not gone
above 10 yards, when the tusker began to protest by sundry
shakings of his body and pitiful cries, but still his head was
towards the foe.

She rushed out like a shot from a catapult, and although I
fired and hit her, she closed, and seized the elephant by the
right foot ; but he, with a mighty effort, jerked her off, and
threw her to a distance of some 10 or 12 feet. As she lit
on her back, close to Boyle, whose steed was in full flight,
he fired and shot her through the stomach. I too, fired, and
hit her somewhere. But she picked herself up and went into
a thicket close by. By this time I was getting riled, and

62 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

repented of having got on to the charah, but there was no
time for delay, if we wanted to bag the tigress.

I stood where we were until I saw the other elephants
coming back, though at a snail's pace, protesting the whole
time. My mahout had been punishing my beast, and I think
he got his pecker up, as he did not hesitate to push his way
into the thicket. No sooner had his head entered than the
tigress sprang clean off the ground, lighted between his tusks
and, clinging to the trunk and forehead with her claws, she
set to work to maul him about the jaws. I had hit her as she
sprang, but she seemed to bear a charmed life, and to be still
full of fight. Those who are familiar with elephants will
realize the row mine kicked up at this mark of affection on
the part of the feline.

He suddenly threw himself on his knees, and began to drive
his long tusks into the ground, imagining, no doubt, that he
was pounding the tigress to death ; but she was perfectly safe
where she was, and was mauling him dreadfully. As the
tusker dropped on his knees, the charah toppled over and I
was sent flying. I lit on the broad of my back, holding on
like grim death to my gun — the rifle had fallen off with the
charah. I had half-cocked the weapon as I felt falling off,
but re-cocked it directly I embraced mother earth. When I
picked myself up I was about four feet in front of the infuri-
ated elephant and the equally enraged tigress. To shoot was
impossible, so rapid were the movements and so intricately
mixed were the two— and I might perhaps shoot the
mahout or the elephant — so I thought discretion the better
part of valour, and retreated backwards.

Boyle had seen me disappear, and thought I was in the
clutches of the tigress ; he was thrashing his mahout to come
to the rescue, but not a beast would budge an inch in the re-
quired direction. I expected every moment the tigress would
leave the elephant and attack me, so I kept my eyes steadily
on the combatants and my gun at the ready. I had no shoes
or socks on — my slipshods had disappeared — the ground was
hard and lumpy and covered with the stalks of the grass
which had just then been burnt a short time back. The
stumps were sticking out of the ground like panjies, and cruelly
lacerated my feet ; there were thousands of trailing creepers

SHE HAS BITTEN ME ! 63

with hook-like thorns, and these kept tripping me up, and
every few paces I went a cropper backwards. Every time I
fell, Boyle thought the tigress had me, but could do nothing
to help me ; after about as nasty a hundred yards' trudge as
I ever wish to undergo, I got to where the elephants were
congregated ; the soles of my feet and my legs (pretty well
denuded of my pyjamas) were torn and bleeding.

Fortunately just then a large commissariat tusker, who
had been with Madden and Osmer, came upon the scene. I
jumped on to the pad on his back, and he — not having been
in the scrimmage — advanced pretty rapidly towards where
the elephant and tigress were still fighting. Before I had
gone 50 yards I saw my elephant, who had shaken off the
tigress, coming towards me at his best pace, dragging the
charah along the ground and the mahout hanging on to his
hind-quarters, instead of being seated on the neck as usual.
As he passed me he called out —

" She has bitten me ! "

I of course hurried to the front ; no sooner had I got
within about 20 yards, than without waiting to be shot at,
she charged. I hit her and stopped her for a second ;
had the elephant stood, I might have killed her, but he
spun round like a teetotum. She rushed on and seized him
high up on the inside of the thigh, and hung on like a
bulldog.

Using the gun like a pistol, with one hand, whilst I held on
with the other to the ropes of the pad, I tried to shoot her ;
but her body swayed about so that I missed ; and she fell off
and went into another patch of grass. As soon as I could
get this elephant — who was nearly 10 feet in height — round,
I again returned to the charge, but it was already getting
dusk ; she did not allow us to get very close, but rushed at
me with short, coughing roars that sent the steed flying.

To make a long story short, this vixen mauled my second
mount several times, receiving herself a bullet each time ;
but no great damage was done either way. I was as savage
as the tigress, and would have advanced on foot had it been
practicable ; but the grass, though burnt here and there, was
too long in her vicinity, for she did not throw a chance away
for a man to have had any chance. My elephant at last

64 WILD SPOXTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

refused to budge — it was all but dark — so we judged it better
to leave her and look her up in the morning.

My poor mahout's foot was fearfully bitten — almost
crunched to bits. He bore his wounds like a Spartan, and
all he said was that it was his " nuseeb " — pre-ordained luck.
He hoped I'd get the tigress on the morrow. Madden was
afraid at first that he would have to amputate the leg, but the
man begged him to spare it, even if so doing cost him his
life. So Madden, who was as good a doctor as he was a
companion, took out as many of the broken bones as he
could, and bandaged up the foot, but he had no medicines,
instruments, or appliances with him. I sent off a man at once
to Tongho ; he went all night and reached the station next
day — getting all he was told to bring. He got into a dug-out,
and after an absence of only thirty-six hours he was back
again, having covered one hundred and some twenty miles
in that time, and was fully satisfied with the reward, 20
rupees, which I gave him.

Thanks to our medico's skill and kindness, the man
recovered, but his foot was never very sound, for every now
and then a sore would break out and pieces of bone come
away ; but he remained with me whilst I was employed in
the Provinces.

The elephant's wounds caused by the tigress were bad
enough, but the worst were where he had been cut by the
ropes of the charah. I have been in many scrimmages after-
wards, and he behaved fairly, but was never a very good
shooting elephant, as he would not remain perfectly still.

At daylight next morning we were back at the scene of
combat. There lay the plucky tigress on her back — dead.
She must have died soon after she drove us off, for the body
was quite offensive ; but I have known this to happen a few
hours after death.

She had thirteen wounds ; we took out eleven bullets — two
had gone right through. I recovered my double rifle, but
never saw my slipshod slippers again.

The tigress was only 9 feet long as she lay dead, but
her tail was very short, and the Burmese said she was a hill
tigress, who had probably wandered into the plains after
game ; and that those of her caste were all more savage than

NARROW ESCAPE FROM A MAN-EATER 65

the tigers of the plain, who fatten upon the kine of the
people.

Thus ended as pretty a scrimmage as one cares to be in.

Charlie Hill's escape from a man-eater has been told by me
too often to bear repetition here in extenso^ but I give a
brief summary of it.

He was with a party of Burmese Police in chase of our
Shan levies who had mutinied and absconded with their arms.
One morning, just after daybreak, he was marching along
ahead of his men with only a stout stick in his hand, and his
boy and an orderly carrying his gun and rifle, with orders to
keep close : of course they loitered.

He was following a narrow path along a hill -side fringed
with grass which much resembles bamboo when young, and
thought he heard a slight noise, and thinking it might be a
yit or a jungle fowl, he turned round and told his lugalay to
hand him his gun. Before the lad could do so, out came the
head of a tigress almost within striking distance ; and un-
fortunately not only he, but his detachment and his boys saw
it too, and halted, crying out — " A tiger ! a tiger ! — he will be
killed ! " — without coming to his assistance. Seeing that he
could get neither his weapons nor help from those behind him,
he pretended to hit the brute a back-handed blow, yelling at
her the same time. So far from intimidating her, she rushed
in, and Hill — who was then in the zenith of his manhood and
stood 6 feet 2 — gave her a crack on the side of her head
which either felled or turned her, and then he turned round
and said —

" Give me the gun."

Hardly were the words out of his mouth when his stick
was knocked out of his hand, his right arm pinioned to his
side, and the brute was standing over him with her paws on
his shoulders, growling like the very devil. He bent his back,
and hit at her with his left arm over his right shoulder ; but
with a whoop, she came down on his back and he fell as if shot,
the tigress going a complete somersault over him. He lost
no time in picking himself up — on all-fours ; the blood was
pouring down his face and beard from two holes in his neck.
As the tigress and he got up, they were facing one another ;

66 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

she did not care two pins for a man, but she suddenly found
him transformed into a four-footed beast, more uncanny-
looking than herself — put her tail between her legs and ran
for her life and escaped, but was eventually killed by some
Karens, after killing a great many people, and being for the
time the terror of the hills. Here was a case of a man-eater
showing no fear of even a detachment of troops, who, as they
were all armed and loaded, might have killed her when she
first appeared, had they possessed an atom of pluck. Hill
was carried in to Shoayghein and eventually recovered, but he
had a more than fortunate escape, for only the upper fangs
penetrated his neck, actually grazing the jugular. Had not
Hill fallen so suddenly and she had made good her grip, the
artery would have been severed, and he must have died in a
few minutes.

When a tiger kills a beast he never goes far off, so if it is
intended to sit up for him, great circumspection should be
used in erecting the machan to avoid noise ; it is best to take
a native charpoy or couch, which is light and fairly strong,
and either sling it on to a tree or to fasten it to the branches.
When moving the carcase of the kill, care must be taken not
to allow human hands to pull it about — not that a really
hungry tiger would care, but if he has had a good meal lately
he will be dainty, and smell the carcase all over, and if he
detect the least taint of a human being he will go away and
perhaps not return for several days. Sitting over a fresh kill
is bad enough, but to do the same over a putrid corpse is
sickening, and more than most men can stand. So if there
be no suitable place for sitting up where the garah lies, and
you have to move to a more favourable locality, throw a
noose over the horns and drag it to where your mart has been
erected. In my young days I did a good deal of machan and
mart work, but with little success, and I strongly advise no
man to sit up unless the moon be very bright ; and to use
luminous paint for his foresight. It seems ridiculous — you
can see the smallest objects moving at a distance by moon-
light, yet you can't see the foresight of your rifle. I tried
many dodges — all failed — but the best was luminous paint.
With everything most carefully worked out the chances are
greatly in favour of the tiger getting off, and you have had

HOW TIGERS TREAT THEIR PREY 67

all your worry and annoyance from mosquitoes — not to say of
the risks you run from malaria fever — for nothing.

However careful a man may be, however cool and collected
and a crack shot, the chances are not equal when he meets a
tiger on foot. Many tigers, notably in the Madras and Bombay
Presidencies and in Central India, are killed yearly in this
way, but scarcely a year passes without some fatal accident.
Enough has been said of the stealthy nature of the animal to
prove that he can hide in an inconceivably small space ; and
once within springing distance, in at all thick jungle, one pat
of a tiger's paw or one grip of his tremendous jaws are suf-
ficient to kill an ox. Then what chance has a puny man ?
Such is the vitality of one of these cats, that though shot
through the heart, he is still capable of killing half-a-dozen
men before giving up the ghost himself. At times tigers will,
like every other animal, seem ridiculously easy to kill ; but at
other times the more balls he gets into him, the more lively
he seems to be. I look upon shells as very effective for tigers
and soft-skinned beasts, but useless for pachyderms.

Tigers were at one time very numerous at Pegu. An officer
of the Commission, Dangerfield, had a large powerful bulldog
— which at night was chained to the foot of his bed — killed
under the bed and carried off by a tiger ; and Dr. Le Presle,
Assistant-Surgeon of H.M.'s 84th Regt, baited a trap with a
duck and caught a large tiger !

The two Hamiltons, brothers, Richard and Douglas, were
second to none as shikaries. One of them, writing to the
South of India Observer, says : —

" Some years back, at Pykara, not far from the bungalow, a
tiger took a fancy to a Todah in preference to the buffaloes
he was tending. Two of the Todah's comrades were wit-
nesses of the affair, and they described how the tiger behaved
like a cat with a mouse. Having caught the man, he amused
himself for some time by letting him go, and then dodging
him as the poor victim tried to escape, before killing him out-
right, notwithstanding the shouts and yells of the lookers-on.
It is a moot question concerning man-eating tigers as to what
induces them to take to preying on human beings : some
affirm that it is only when age overtakes the animal, and he
finds himself unable to cope with his ordinary victims, deer or

68 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

cattle, that he falls upon man ; and it is stated in support of
these views, that these man-eaters are mangy and decrepit
beasts without possessing a single point that makes the tiger
the formidable creature he is in his prime. This is partially
true, but man-eaters have also constantly been found to be
sleek, lusty, and at their full strength and vigour, quite as
often as the reverse ; it is not therefore entirely dependent on
age and concomitant weakness that the tiger takes to this
habit. I think the argument advanced by many observers and
naturalists, that the animal — either accidentally or by press
of hunger — having once seized a man and found out what an
easy capture he had made, and, in addition, that the flesh is
palatable, takes advantage of this acquired knowledge, and
thenceforth becomes that dreaded monster, a man-eater — is
equally reasonable, and may be accepted, perhaps, as the more
probable of the two.

" There are divers opinions as to the exact mode by which
a tiger takes its prey. Popularly he is supposed to lie in
ambush and spring on his victim as it passes his lair; or
watching by a pool, awaits the arrival of animals in quest of
water. These would offer but precarious chances even to so
cunning and stealthy a foe as the tiger, as all wild animals
are so wonderfully cautious in their approach to such resorts.
The tiger, too, betrays his presence to them by that peculiar
smell attaching to him, so that the odds are greatly against
our striped friend's success : though of course he occasionally
is rewarded by catching some unwary, over-thirsty animal
that rushes to the water heedless of the consequences. But
this will not apply to the tiger on the hills, where no paucity
of water ever occurs to such an extent as to drive the game
to any one spot to drink. That the tiger's principal food
in certain localities is game there can be little question, but
how he takes it is not well known, and perhaps may never
have been witnessed by any one.

" I have a theory of my own upon this point — let us ventilate
it. In the first place, the tiger must have room to spring on
his victims : in the sholas many are sufficiently clear to allow
this ; and no doubt he takes advantage of such spots when a
chance offers in them, but in general the woods are dense
with undergrowth interspersed with trees so close together

CRAFTINESS ADOPTED BY A TIGER 69

that the spring of the tiger and the force of his blow must, I
should say, be greatly interfered with. Then again, his pre-
sence— as before said — is so liable to detection by the deer
that his chances of capture are remote ; but at night the deer
are out in the open, and then, perhaps, the wind being by
chance in his favour, he may succeed ; and I am disposed to
believe that this is the most likely time for him to do so,
though he is in no way restricted as to time or place, for he
slays buffaloes oftener during the day than the night, and at
times close to their habitations. All deer possess an acute sense
of smell, and against it a tiger has to contend before he can
provide his larder with game ; but how does he manage it?
We cannot give him the credit of the intellect of man, who
in pursuit of game is well aware nothing can be done down
wind ; and also, not a sambur or deer would be left alive —
the tiger would bag them all,, just as he pleased : in fact, he
would then be able to kill any deer when he wanted it.

"We have so far considered the acuteness on the part of the
game to ensure them against total destruction, and I have
only one further observation to record, and that is, how often
the presence of a tiger is indicated by the actions of the
sambur and other deer ; if disturbed by him in a shola during
the intense heat of the day, the deer immediately resort to the
open, watching with eagerness the wood they have quitted,
and generally warning the neighbourhood with loud consecu-
tive bells.

"That the tiger is stealthy and quiet in his movements we
all know ; that velvet paw of his, so soft, yet so formidable,
enables him to tread the woods and forests so noiselessly that
even the sharp-eared deer may often be taken by surprise and
fall a victim to its blows.

" There is also another mode of craftiness adopted by a tiger
in approaching game, and that is, the tiger often replies to the
bell of a sambur or the call of a deer, and he does so with a
short, impatient grunt, at the same time quietly stealing on
towards the sound of the deer's call. This answer of his
seems to elicit a reply from the deer, and so the tiger, ascer-
taining with tolerable precision the position of his prey, is
guided accordingly, stops his growling, and perchance secures
a victim.

70 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

" There is a peculiar and singular distinction in regard to
the mode of breaking up their prey between the tiger and the
panther, the former invariably commencing on the hind-
quarter of the animal slain, and the latter at the fore-quarters
or chest. There is no known reason for this strange difference,
but it is a well-established fact, and perfectly recognized by
all sportsmen, Europeans as well as natives."

An officer thus describes the striking down of a cow which
he and others saw: —

" We were walking along the northern bank on our way to
our posts when we were stopped by the cry of ' Bagh hai ! '
and looking down to the bed of the river we saw what
apparently was a very large tiger, stalking a herd of cattle
that had come down to water. We crouched down and had
the luck to see the whole affair. The tigress, as she proved to
be, when first seen was stealthily stalking a white cow, which
was some little way off from the main body of the herd, and,
taking advantage of. the slightly undulating bed of the river,
had probably approached across an open space of perhaps
500 yards before this cow had seen her; the rest of the
herd were behind one of the islands and could not yet see the
feline. The white cow allowed the tigress to approach to
within about 80 yards before she appeared to notice her
danger, and at first seemed to be fascinated by the appearance
of the brute creeping towards her, and it was only when the
tigress commenced to increase her pace to a trot that the cow
made off; the trot increased immediately to a lumbering
gallop, as the tigress had now got on to the firmer ground that
surrounded the islands, and in a very short time she skirted
over a small ridge into close proximity of the herd, which was
then commencing to scatter, on the news received from the
white cow. The gallop turned into a charge, and in a few
seconds the tigress had picked out a fine young cow, on whose
back she sprang, and they both rolled over together in a heap.
When the two animals were still again, we could distinctly
see the cow standing up with her neck embraced by the
tigress, who was evidently sucking her jugular ; the poor cow
made a few feeble efforts to release herself, which the tigress
resented by breaking her neck. The remainder of the herd,
after rushing wildly away, now returned to within 50 yards

LEOPARDS AND PANTHERS 71

of the tigress, who was silently slaking her thirst off the cow.
Finding, after a few minutes' survey, that the animal embracing
the cow was probably a dangerous one, they scuttled up the
south bank and commenced grazing again."

LEOPARDS AND PANTHERS

Naturalists have come to the conclusion that there is but
one species of leopard, but two well-marked varieties. The
larger with more symmetrical rings arranged in rosettes, the
fur deep, and tawny in hue, length from 6J to 7 J feet, of which
the tail is 2| feet, or 3 feet. It hovers about villages in the
plains, and is most hurtful to cattle, and dogs especially. The
panther is a smaller and more active animal, living principally
on such game as it can capture. It is lighter in colour, and
the rosettes are not so regular. In size it ranges from 3 to
3^ feet to root of tail, which is 2\ feet ; height, I J to 2 feet.
The head is rounder, and it is most common in the hills, and
particularly partial to goats and dogs.

In parts of India the panther is more destructive to human
life than tigers — it will remove thatch, enter a house, kill and
eat the people. At Shillong, Major Montagu, the commis-
sariat officer, caught in the same trap, in his own compound,
twelve leopards and a small tiger in twelve months. Mason
gives instances of people sleeping in trees being killed and
eaten by panthers.

The black panther is but a melanoid of the true panther,
and a female has been known to produce occasionally a black
and at other times ordinary panthers. Although these are
lusus natures, they are far commoner in damp heavy forests
such as those of Mergui and Java and Malaya than in more
open country. It is well known animals and insects get
assimilated in colouring to their surroundings. In the Malaya
Peninsula an ordinary leopard would soon starve, for he has
to prey upon Gibbons and other monkeys, that live aloft, and
if of an ordinary hue, he would be conspicuous, and his prey
would quickly scamper away ; but now and then, in places far
apart, and under totally dissimilar conditions of climate and
foliage, a black panther is occasionally come across. I have

72 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

known of several instances, and tried to shoot a black panther
that used to roam the heavy jungle at the outskirts of
Namyan towards Shoaydoung ; she had with her two cubs, a
black and an ordinary one, but she outwitted us. One melanoid,
in the People's Park, Madras, had several litters, but she never
produced one like herself whilst I knew and took an interest
in her.

When wounded, a panther is more dangerous than a tiger —
it is equally ferocious and far more active.

Whilst a griff, I lived with two other officers in a large
house, with a terraced roof, at Secunderabad. We had a small
menagerie, consisting of a sambur, a bear, and a panther.
The latter had been caught when quite a baby, and used to
sleep on our beds and go about like a tame cat ; but as it got
bigger it showed signs of treachery. We used to take it upon
the roof of an afternoon — one of us would sit down with his
back towards the animal, which was then let go. As soon as
the panther thought he could do so unperceived, he stalked
the sitter immediately, crouching down and crawling along on
his belly. We took care never to let him get within springing
distance, and at a signal the one sitting down would jump up
and confront the beast, and it was amusing to see the utterly
innocent look he would put on, and gaze upon the surrounding
objects, but never towards the person he had been stalking.
At last he became so big and dangerous we had to chain him
up at the foot of a tree in the compound, and he spent the
greater part of the day and night in its branches. I had just
purchased two thoroughbred English greyhounds, and paid a
stiff price for them : they got loose one night, and attacked
the panther, who in a few minutes rendered them hors de
combat. He did not succeed in killing them, because we
rushed out and belaboured him well until he let go and ran
up the tree, but the dogs were useless ever after. He also one
day sprang down on the sambur and would have killed it, had
it not been rescued. He took a decided dislike to one of my
chums and would always go for him, but with us others he
was usually friendly. At last we let him loose on Mole Alley
racecourse and speared him, which was also the fate of the
bear. In Burma I only saw a very few, and only killed one,
and wounded but lost another. In Assam, large towns like

HUNTING LEOPARDS, BUFFALOES 75

Burpetta and Hazoo had swamps and cane-brakes in their
centres, where two or more panthers always lurked. Mac-
kenzie and Campbell shot a good many at Burpetta, which
was their head-quarters. I also shot one there, and two at
Hazoo. My colleague has slain several in the Ruby Mines
district. , Cooksley killed a lot in Assam, and I shot a few,
but not many. I killed many more in India, but this relates
to wild sport of the countries east of the Bay of Bengal only ;
so beyond a casual mention of what game exists there, which
is also found in Assam and Burma, we do not treat of them.

The Chita, or hunting leopard, is not found in these damp
moist countries subject to a heavy rainfall, nor the hyaena ;
the jackal only in Assam and parts of Upper Burma — it does
not penetrate into Pegu. One or two were killed near
Meaday, and I was one of the first to assert its existence, as I
had heard its cry, but had not seen it ; but D'Oyly did come
across one or two ; and Boswell of the Artillery shot one, and
sent its skin to Colonel Phayre.

BUFFALOES

I look upon this animal in its wild state as, if not the most
dangerous, certainly one of the most formidable of the feres
naturce. Not only are they savage, but they are treacherous
and most difficult to kill. Solitaries are invariably morose.
He will lie in wait in a dense patch of grass and attack any-
thing that comes in his way. He is, if anything, worse than
a rogue elephant. There are seldom any buffalo bulls kept
in Burma or Assam, but the people trust to the wild ones to
keep up the breed. There is therefore but little difference, if
any, in size and ferocity between the so-called tame cattle
and the feral.

Even the tame cow buffalo, that will allow itself to be
driven about and thrashed by a little native urchin, will go
for a European. I have frequently been chased when out
snipe-shooting, and poor D'Oyly once meeting a cow that
seemed inclined to prove aggressive, in a narrow lane, rode at
her on his pony; she met them half-way and tossed them,
and killed the pony, but D'Oyly escaped with a shaking.

76 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Baldwin, author of Large and Small Game of Bengal, when
shooting small game on foot near Loqua Ghat in Assam, was
pounced upon by one, and all but killed. I have known
natives, going up incautiously to what they supposed to be a
defunct buffalo, get killed.

During the rutting season a bull takes possession of a tame
herd, feeding and associating with them during the day, and
even following them to the place where they are picketed at
night ; he soon loses all fear of man, and at times will not
allow the gwala to approach the cows even to milk them.
This applies to Assam and not to Burma, for the Burmese
don't use milk in any way, though buffaloes are milked by the
Karens.

Dr. Mason says that he thinks the feral ones are but
descendants of tame ones run wild, but the people think
otherwise, and I agree with them. The Burmese bulls have
heavy horns, much curved as a rule, but the long-horned
variety is also frequently met with. The wild buffaloes resort
to the valleys in the Yomahs, and only venture into the
plains after the monsoon has commenced, in fact just as
sportsmen are going back home, so they are not often met
with. We shot a few during the last three or four of our
trips towards the end of May, but having to visit the same
localities once in July and August, I came across any number
of them.

Tigers fight shy of the wild buffaloes, and will not attack
one if the herd is near, as they rush to the rescue, and often
Master Stripes comes off second best. In that trip during the
monsoon I shot a very large cow whose withers had been
nearly wrenched off, and her back was scored all over with
claw-marks, which must have been done by a tiger.

Although buffaloes inhabit remote and swampy localities,
they at times do a great deal of damage to cultivation, and as
they are very fearless, refuse to be driven off. I have seen
elephants, buffaloes, and rhinoceros feeding about in the same
plain.

The buffalo's forehead is narrow and convex, horns black,
very rough except towards the points, colour blackish-slate,
hair scant ; there are albinos occasionally among both tame
and wild, but in the latter, very seldom. In size they are

A TOUGH OLD BULL BUFFALO 77

almost the same as a rhinoceros. A very large bull— probably
the largest I ever shot — measured, as he lay dead, 12 feet
to the root of the tail from the tip of the nose ; tail, 2\
feet ; height, 6 feet 2 inches !

The thickest horns I ever got, either in Burma or Assam,
were from the very first buffalo I killed in Burma ; they were
not long, but each horn measured, round the greatest circum-
ference, 27 and 26J inches respectively.

These brutes have given me more trouble to kill than any
other animal, and the fights I have had with them have been
innumerable.

We were shooting once near Myetquin near Banlong;
Madden and Boyle of the 69th were with me. We had killed
a couple of gaur — had padded the head of one, and were about
to commence operations on the second, when a herd of
buffaloes appeared. These were the first wild, ones we had
seen ; we chased them, but to no purpose, as they outran us,
so we returned to the dead gaur. We were a long way from
camp when I espied a huge solitary bull buffalo. He looked
at me, but went on feeding placidly. I beckoned to the others,
who had loitered behind, to hurry up, and when we got within
50 yards, we let fly. He was rather hard hit, but did not charge,
and whilst my comrades went in full chase I jumped off the
elephant under a tree to load. I had only muzzle-loaders in
those days, and it was drizzling. Before I had loaded and
remounted, I heard several shots, the trumpeting of elephants,
and a voice calling to me to come sharp, so I made my beast
go as fast as he could, and when I got near I found that the
buffalo had charged and knocked the legs from under Madden's
elephant, very nearly upsetting him, and had then charged
Boyle's, who however got away. Neither steed would budge
an inch towards him, and were restrained from running away
with difficulty. I followed, but I was on a very slow Hine
female, which, though steady enough, could not, or would not,
go faster than about three miles an hour. The bull did not
hurry himself, and when I got within 50 yards I opened fire
and let him have the contents of my battery, but he neither
took notice nor hurried his pace. I had to stop to load, for
I was on a pad, and when I was ready to proceed, the bull
had disappeared. I followed on his track, and soon saw his

78 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

shadowy form in a heavy patch of long grass, intently listen-
ing. I got as near as I thought safe — about 30 paces off
— stood up on the pad, and fired into the broad of his back,
hoping to break his spine. On receiving the bullet he was
round and into my elephant, just as I had time to throw my-
self into a sitting posture astride the pad. He then shifted his
position, and came to the side and looked up into my face.
I put down the heavy rifle, and, touching his forehead, pulled
the trigger, and for the only time, it missed fire. The next
instant my elephant was driven forward a good two yards — I
told the mahout to take her out into an open space close by,
but the foolish beast would not budge, but kept yelling " blue
murder " whilst the bull was cruelly punishing her. At last,
seeing the other elephants — which had at last approached —
she condescended to go towards them, and the bull did not
venture to follow her into the plain. There I got on to a fresh
elephant and went back ; the bull was decidedly seedy, but
charged once or twice, but we managed to stop him, and at
last to lay him low ; but even when on the ground he struggled
so, that we had to pour in volley after volley before he gave
up the ghost. We had fired some 39 bullets into him.
He was fully 18 hands high, and it was as much as four
men could do to lift his head on to a pad elephant. My
elephant was laid up for several months. I never used her
again for sport. Though staunch, she was not fast enough, and
nothing breaks a sportsman's heart so much as being on an
elephant that has not a go in him or her.

On another occasion, when out with General Blake, we came
across several, and killed three ; one of these charged my
elephant, but he promptly knocked him over. In Assam, in
the first six months, I shot twenty-two, and then the sport
had not the same attraction, and I seldom molested them
unless they disputed the right of way, or were inclined to be
pugnacious, which was not infrequent. I shot altogether over
two hundred.

After the wild bulls have served the cows, instead of retir-
ing, they often insist on remaining with their harem. They
then become a nuisance, and the Assamese have recourse to
various devices to get rid of them ; they dig pitfalls, hang a
dart weighted on the branch of a tree under which they notice

TAME BUFFALOES MORE THAN HALF FERAL 81

he wends his way, in the hopes that it will fall on him and
impale him, which it sometimes does. But if any one
(European) is near, they go to him and ask him to shoot the
intruder, which I have done for them many a time ; but as
that has generally to be done on foot, it is somewhat dangerous,
and some hairbreadth escapes have been recorded in Incidents
of Foreign Sport. The very big bulls are not so numerous
now as formerly, yet still bulls with horns close up to 12
feet measurement from one tip to the other round the outer
curve and across the narrow forehead are still to be found ;
the cows have longer horns, but not so thick. The largest on
record is, I believe, one I gave to Lord Mayo when Viceroy
of India; the measurements of which were 13 feet 8
inches and 6 feet straight across between the tips. Although
not so numerous as formerly, yet there are vast herds of
Bubali roaming about the dooars and churs (islands in Assam).
Archie Campbell, for years in the Assam Commission, had
the elephant he was riding knocked down by a bull, .and who
followed him up by scent, as a hound might have done. Just
in time he came to a small tree, and climbed it as the enemy
bore down upon him.

Once near Tseben, a favourite site of mine for snipe, I found
an albino cow, belonging to a villager, that had immensely
long horns; when she threw back her head each horn lay
alongside the dorsal ridge nearly to her croup. I offered the
maximum price in those days for a cow, namely, 50 rupees,
but her owner, seeing how anxious I was to possess her, raised
her price to 200 rupees, which I declined to give. I tried
to get her horns measured, but although quiet enough with
the natives generally, yet when she felt them handling her
horns she became restive, and so the measurements were
never taken.

So alike are the tame and wild buffaloes, that once we came
across a herd far, far away from any village. I did not like
their looks and declined to fire, but my comrade killed two,
and had to pay 50 rupees each. They had been let loose
for breeding purposes. Huge and strong as are these beasts,
the cowardly Assamese catch them in nets, the string of the
meshes being of hemp twisted of the size of one's little finger.
The adult bulls they kill, and also full-grown cows, selling the

82 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

flesh to the Cacharies, but the young ones they tame. The
young bulls are castrated, and employed, when of a size fit for
the purpose, in ploughing.

RHINOCEROS

Although I have heard it stated in Lower Burma that
there are three varieties of the rhinoceros, I think it doubtful.
There is certainly the lesser rhinoceros (R. sondaicus], and the
(R. sumatrensis], and an allied one, which was secured by the
late Captain Hood in Chittagong, and sold by him to the Zoo.
The two are very similar in appearance, and both have strong
incisors, like tusks. I only shot one R. sumatrensis in Burma,
and that near Cape Negrais, but I have been after them
several times ; but the nature of the ground was such, that
our animals (elephants) could not go through the quagmires,
whereas the rhinoceros would half wade, half swim through
them with ease : but my colleague will write about them
more, as his experience with these animals is greater than
mine in Burma.

I may here mention about them in Assam — as I intend to
give a short sketch of wild sport in that Province — that I shot
there forty-four to my own gun, and probably saw some sixty
others slain, and lost wounded fully as many as I killed.

The first is the great Indian rhinoceros (R. indicus\ which
is very plentiful in the Bhootan Dooars, but it is also found
in the Churs of the Brahmapootra, and along the foot of the
Garrow Hills, and also in the swamps along the base of the
Cossyah and Garrow Hills. ^It has only one horn, seldom
1 8 inches long, generally a good deal less ; this horn, which
is said to be a conglomeration of hairs, is liable to get
detached through injury or disease, when another one grows
in its place. The skin is exceedingly thick, with a deep fold
at the setting on of the head, another behind the shoulders,
and another in front of the thighs ; two large incisors in each
jaw, with two smaller intermediate ones below, and two
smaller outside the upper incisors, not always present.
General colour, dusky black. The largest I bagged measured
as follows : extreme length, \2\ feet; tail, 2 feet; height, 6 feet
2 inches ; horn, 14 inches.

ARE RHINOCEROS DIFFICULT TO KILL? 83

All rhinoceros delight in swamps, and lie in mud-holes for
the greater part of the day. In a good-sized mud-hole one
day I saw a rhinoceros lying at one end, and a buffalo at the
other. I have never shot the lesser rhinoceros on the right
bank of the Brahmapootra, but I have no doubt it exists, as
it is also found in the Soonderbunds not far from Calcutta ;
but it is fairly plentiful on the left bank south of Goalparah,
where I have killed it.

As a rule, rhinoceros are inoffensive ; they do a good deal
of damage to grain if any is grown within a reasonable dis-
tance of their haunts, but generally they inhabit such remote
localities that they can do no harm. It is naturally a timid
animal, more anxious to escape than fight, and it is by no
means difficult to kill. Of course, when a rhinoceros has
been severely wounded and is closely followed up, it will turn ;
but so will a rat, or, as they say, even a worm ; but its principal
anxiety is to get away and lie in some mud-hole, where it
wallows, and where it probably dies.^ The horn is only used
for grubbing up roots ; when they wish to attack they use
their incisors, which with them answer much the same purpose
as tushes in a boar. They can inflict a clean deep cut, and
they appear at certain seasons to fight amongst themselves,
for I have killed both males and females scored all over.

It used to be said that the skin of the rhinoceros will
resist an ordinary ball, but that is all sheer nonsense; a
spherical ball out of a smooth-bore, if rightly placed, will kill
one of these animals far easier than it will a buffalo. It is not
the hide, but the enormous muscles, mass of flesh and bones,
that cover the vital organs, that render the use of heavy rifles
and immense charges so necessary to penetration. But as
Von Hohnel killed two rhinoceros in East Africa with one
ball, using a Mannlicher rifle, a similar weapon should account
for them in the East. Colonel Campbell, an old Assamese
shikarie, had the credit of also having killed two rhinoceros
with one ball ; but it was not quite certain, for he did fire two
shots, but at animals some way apart; whereas the two killed
were standing alongside of one another. I have sent a
hardened bullet right through one.

If the bullet, with a sufficiency of powder behind it, is
placed in the centre of the shield over the shoulder, rather

84 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

low down, the ball penetrates the heart. If behind the
shoulder the lungs are perforated, and the beast succumbs
after about five minutes, and can easily be recovered by its
stertorous breathing, which it utters before it gives up the
ghost. This noise, once heard, can never be forgotten.

Although the horns are almost useless as trophies, for many
of them are but knobs, the natives prize them very much, and
will buy them, giving as much as Rs. 45 a seer (2 Ibs.). The
young ones are easily caught after the mother has been
killed, and though very savage at first, soon get tame, and
are worth a lot of money. They cost next to nothing to keep
and rear. The footmarks much resemble those of an elephant ;
but they are a little smaller, and a little longer, and have but
three toes against the elephant's five. Although many castes
in India — Brahmins and Marwaries in particular — partake of
only grain, they have asked me to dry the tongue for them ;
this they pulverize and bottle, and take a pinch of it when ill.

The Assamese, bigoted Hindoos as they are, used to follow
us about in gangs like flocks of vultures, and directly they
heard shots, rush up, all fighting for certain tit-bits ; not a
morsel would be left ; even the hide they cut into lengths and
roast over embers, and eat as some people eat the crackling
of a pig.

Considering the value put on the flesh and horns of this
animal by the natives, I am surprised there is one left alive,
as it deposits its ordure l at one spot only until a mound is
formed, sometimes several feet in height, and as it visits that
spot night and morning, by digging a pit near, nothing could
be easier than to shoot it.

Whenever I went into the dooars I was followed by native
shikar ies who kept out of my ken, but hovered about near ;
as I had seldom time to hunt up wounded beasts, they would
trace them up, and either shoot them, or, if they found them
dead — as was oftener the case — they would appropriate the
horns and flesh. They thus stole a magnificent horn (for
Assam), 18 inches long, off a beast I had severely wounded

1 My colleague states he has not noticed these dung-heaps. I have
seen them, I may say, always, where either variety of rhinoceros have
taken up their residence. He has since come across them in the
Arrakan Yomahs.— F. T. P.

RHINOCEROS AND THEIR HABITAT 87

and lost, and I should have known nothing of it, had the men
not quarrelled over the spoils, and one run back and told the
Deputy Commissioner, but the man was over our frontier
before he could be overtaken and seized.

The lesser rhinoceros is distinguished by being somewhat
shorter in height and their shields being less prominent, and
the skins at times are covered with square angular tubercles.
This animal extends throughout Assam, down Sylhet, the
Garrow Hills, Tipperah, Chittagong, Arrakan, and Burma to
Malaya, and probably into Yunan and the western provinces
of China. The Burmese assert that it devours fire.

The two-horned rhinoceros extends from Chittagong down-
wards. It is not known further north. Its skin is as smooth
as a buffalo's ; the anterior horn is fairly long, the posterior
generally a mere stump. I do not see why they should not
be utilized, as they are easily domesticated. A dhooby in
Gowhatty used to take his clothes from the wash about on
one (R. indicus, R. unicornus], but I think he sold it to an
Afghan, who was one of Jamrach's agents.

The variety obtained by Mr. Hood had tasselated ears. It
got bogged in trying to cross a river, and was secured by
means of Keddah elephants.

Doctor Mason asserts that the larger single-horned rhino-
ceros (R. indicus} has been caught in Arrakan, and that he
has also seen it along the banks of the Tenasserim river.
The Burmese have told me the same, but Blyth declared that
they had mistaken the smaller Sondaicus for the Indicus.

The bigoted Hindoos store their horns in their Namghurs,
the point downwards, the base forming a kind of bowl in
which they pour water and use as a charm. The Chinese also
put a fictitious value on them. Knowing how valuable they
were, Major Cock1 bought up a lot of the white African
rhinoceros horns, which are at times 3 feet long, which he
saw for sale in the Bazaar in Calcutta, and sent them to
Becher in Assam for sale, but the natives would not look at
them, not believing that they were what they professed to be !

1 A rare good sportsman ; afterwards killed in one of the fights in the
Naga country.

88 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

THE GAUR (miscalled Bison)

This animal, one of the noblest game-beasts in the world,
has probably a more extended range than any other beast
which is an object of chase ; yet until very lately very little
was known about it, and the accounts hitherto published of it
have referred to the animal found in Mysore, the hilly ranges
of Southern and Western India. It is plentiful in Travancore;
a few were to be found in the hills not far from Vellore ; in
Central India, near Warungul and the Nirmal jungles in the
Nizam's country ; very many exist in the hilly regions of the
Northern Circars of the Madras Presidency, at the foot of the
Bhootan Hills in Assam, in the hills along our North-Eastern
Frontier, and downwards through Burma to Malaya. In
this extended range there is but one species, but two well-
marked varieties. Mr. Blyth, probably one of the best
naturalists that ever lived, thought for a long time that the
Gayal (Bos sondaicus] took the place of the gaur in Burma,
but he quite altered his views. I sent him some heads, and
when he visited the Province he procured others, and came to
the conclusion that not only did the gaur exist, but that it
was a far larger and finer beast than those in India.

I have shot a great many of them in various parts of
Southern India, and in Lower Burma and Assam, but nowhere
did I see such splendid specimens as in Burma. I have seen
very fine heads brought down from the Mishmee Hills, and
their owners must have been noble bulls indeed. I have no
doubt that the abundance of food procurable in the vast
forests and hilly ranges of Burma has contributed to increase
their height and general bulk. Whereas in Southern India
the largest bull is recorded as 19 hands and 2 inches, cows
have been shot in Burma 19 hands. My colleague has shot
them in Upper Burma up to 20 hands, and I shot one near
Banlong only \ inch short of 21 hands, or 7 feet. It is diffi-
cult, of course, to measure such a beast accurately, but I
always took the greatest care to make the measurements as
correct as possible. I used to stick a straight bamboo in the
ground at the top of the ridge over the shoulder, stretch the

THE GA UR— OFTEN MISCALLED BISON 89

beast out, and another at the heel of the fore-foot, and
measure directly across with a measuring-tape. I did the
same to those I shot in India; but on an average the
Burmese bulls and cows far exceeded them in every way;
besides, there are other differences. The dorsal ridge is more
pronounced, and extends further back to within a span of the
croup or hip-joint ; the head is longer, the nose arched like a

GAUR HEAD.

ram's (some of those in the Western Ghauts have this too,
but in a less degree). The cows in India differ from the bulls
in having slighter and more graceful heads, while those in
Burma have longer heads, and noses more arched than the bulls.
It was recognized by most naturalists that the gaur had
no dew-lap, and such also was my opinion ; but lately it has
been proved that some have a well-marked dew-lap, and others
none. I don't think the loose skin of the neck in the Burmese
animals amounted to a dew-lap, but that depends a good deal

90 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

on what a man understands by that word. " Smoothbore," an
excellent authority, describes dew-lap as follows: — "It originally
meant the loose fold descending from the chest, which, when
the animal was grazing, swept the dew ; thus in Midsummer
Nights Dream hounds are described as 'dew-lapped like
Thessalian bulls ' ; but in the humped Indian cattle the fold
extends from the throat downwards, and in the Mysore
draught bullocks and in the Brahmini bulls is enormous ;
whilst in the ordinary village cattle the development is small."
He also adds, "A planter of many years' experience in

GAUR HEAD. f

Travancore, and a keen, observant sportsman, states that in
some examples the gaur have scarcely any dew-lap, and that
in others it is strongly developed. So marked is this differ-
ence, that the natives divide them into two castes, calling one
'Katia Madoo' or jungle cow, and the other ' Kat-ereiny ' or
jungle buffalo."

The late Mr. Bartlett of the Zoo wrote that the one
which was in the Zoo for about a year and a half had
a well-developed one. But Elliot, Jerdon, Campbell (the old
Forest Ranger), Sterndale, and most authorities have said
that the loose skin did not amount to a dew-lap, so I think we
may conclude that some have, and others have it not. I have
given the measurements of an old bull shot in the Nirmal
jungles, and those of a bull and cow in Lower Burma.

INDIAN AND BURMESE GAUR

MEASUREMENTS OF GAUR.1

INDIAN.

BURMESE.

BULL.

BULL.

cow.

Height at shoulder .

19 hands \ in.

20 hands 3^ ins.

19 hands.

Height at croup

1 8 hands 19 hands I in.

1 8 hands £ in.

Girth behind shoulder .

7 ft. 10 in. 8 ft. 5 ins.

7 ft. 6 ins.

Tail and tuft ....

3 ft. 3^ ins. i 3 ft. 4^ ins.

3 ft. 3 ins.

Snout to crown of forehead

2 ft. \ in.

2 ft. 3^ ins.

2 ft. 4 ins.

Length of ears

Q ins.

i ft. i in.

I ft. \ in.

Length of fore-hoof

8± ins. i 8£ ins.

7f ins.

Horns (outside curve)

2 ft. \ in. 3 ft. I in.

2 ft. i in.

Terminal between the tips

2 ft. 7 ins. 1 3 ft. 4 ins.

I ft. 9 ins.

Girth of horn at base . . i i ft. 6 ins.

I ft. ii ins.

i ft. 5 ins.

Nape to root of tail (straight) . 7 ft. 5^ ins.

7 ft. 10 ins.

6 ft. io£ ins.

Girth of fore-leg near chest . 2 ft. 8^ ins.

3 ft. I in.

2 ft. 4 ins.

Total length from upper lip }

over forehead to tip of tail, \
following curve of hump, f

14 ft.

14 ft. 4 ins.

13 ft. 8 ins.

dorsal ridge, etc., etc. }

The following is Jerdon's description : — " In length it is
about 9^ or 10 feet long from the nose to the tip of the
tail ; the tail 34 inches long, ranging down a little below
the hocks ; the skull is massive, the frontals large, deeply
concave, surmounted by a large semi-cylindric crest rising
above the base of the horns. There are thirteen pairs of
ribs. The head is square, proportionately shorter than in
the ox, and the bony frontal ridge is 5 inches above the
frontal plane. The muzzle is large and full, and the eyes
small, with a full pupil of a pale blue colour. The whole of
the head in front of the eyes is covered with a coat of close
short hair of a lightish greyish-brown, which below the eyes
is darker, approaching almost to black. The muzzle is
greyish, and the hair thick and short. The ears are broad
and fan-shaped, and the neck — which is sunk between the
head and back — is short, thick, and heavy. Behind the neck,
and immediately above the shoulder, rises a fleshy gibbosity

1 The ears of the Indian bull were much torn and slit, and the tips had
disappeared altogether — the horns of this bull also were much worn. The
ears and horns of the Burmese gaur were quite perfect. — F. T. P.

92 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

or hump, of the same height as the dorsal ridge. This ridge
rises gradually as it goes backward, and terminates about the
middle of the back. The chest is broad, the shoulder deep
and muscular, the fore-legs short, and the joints very short
and strong, and the arm exceedingly large and muscular.
The hair on the neck and breast is longer than on the body ;
and the skin of the throat is somewhat loose, giving the
appearance of a slight dew-lap. The fore-legs have a rufous
tint behind, and laterally above the white, the hind-quarters
are lighter and lower than the fore, falling suddenly from the
termination of the dorsal ridge. The skin on the neck,
shoulders, and thighs is very thick, about 2 inches, the horns
pale-greenish, with black tips curling outwards, upwards,
and slightly backwards, and finally inwards. General colour,
dark chestnut-brown, or coffee-brown ; legs, from knee down-
wards, a dirty white. I have already noted in what respects
the Burmese differ from the Indian."

I think the following notes on the gaur will be interesting.
They are from the pen of Mr. A. F. Martin of Travancore,
who wrote to " Smoothbore " : —

" When the Kaunan Desan Hills in North Travancore were
opened out for tea and cinchona some years ago, the felling
of the forest restricted the wild beasts, particularly the
elephants and gaur, when passing across the estate, to one or
two pathways. One particular track was, however, left to
them for about ten years, when further cultivation led at last
to the blocking up of even this right of way. The animals
were at first much puzzled, and both elephants and gaur took
to wandering about the cultivation. The elephants accommo-
dated themselves to the altered conditions, and used the estate
paths. The gaur, more suspicious, took a straight line for
their grazing grounds over the rotten felled timber and
through the older cinchona plantations, but were often
brought up by the sight of whitewashed walls surmounted
by a corrugated iron roof.

" At last they settled down to a pathway between the old
cinchona and a natural belt left between it' and the new
clearing. A pit 10 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet deep
was dug on the boundary, covered with a mat made of

EXPERIENCES WITH A CAPTURED GA UR 93

reeds and bamboos, over which earth and dry leaves were
scattered. The smell of the fresh earth, however, turned them
off. Once a gaur got his fore-feet down the side of the pit,
but made a bold jump and cleared it.

" After some months the tracks of a large herd were found
making for the pit, and it turned out that a gaur had fallen
in, but had managed to jump clean out again. It was evident
8 feet was not deep enough, and rock in the bottom pre-
vented its being sunk deeper. Another pit was therefore dug
some distance away on the same boundary. The ground was
on the side of a steep hill, so that whilst the lower wall was
10 feet, the upper was 14 feet deep.

"After a while a cow gaur fell in, but whilst Mr. Martin was
watching her, and waiting for coolies to help in putting logs
across the pit, she managed to scramble out ; and although
she followed the path to the old pit, she avoided it and escaped.
Two days afterwards a bull fell in and was secured. Getting
logs across the top of the pit, with the gaur charging madly
about, was exciting work, but the feat was successfully accom-
plished only after the utmost difficulty and danger. The
appearance of any one near the pit always caused a furious
demonstration on the part of the gaur, who dug big caves in
the side of the pit with his horns, and thus an approach to
the edge was rendered dangerous. In ten days' time he had
become somewhat tame. He tossed about the grass thrown
in to him and trampled it into the mud, eating but a small
quantity. His only drink was water poured into the pit, and
which collected in the holes he had made in the mud with his
feet. Matters were very little improved by having bundles of
grass lowered by a long piece of cane fastened round, for he
charged them furiously, and got a lot of the grass on the
ground only to trample it into the mud.

" By degrees he began to eat more and to throw less about.
Water was a great difficulty : any attempt, too, at lowering a
bucket to him was futile, and only ended in the bucket being
flattened out. It became imperative, therefore, to get him
out of the pit. To attain this end, a stockade about 30
feet square was made round the pit, consisting of stout poles,
15 feet high at the lower, and 10 feet high on the higher

94 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

part of the ground. They were each sunk about 3 feet
in the ground, 18 inches apart, and lashed together with
cross sticks and fibre, and formed an almost solid wall. A
sheet-iron trough was fixed in one corner; when complete,
large quantities of brushwood, ferns, and grass were thrown
into the pit, until by degrees it became half full, and the bull
was enabled to jump out. His first act was to charge the
corner whence he was being watched, but the only harm was
done to himself, his frontal ridge being slightly cut. His
attention was then attracted by the water-trough, which he
knocked about considerably, but finding the water, he took
one good long drink before finally knocking it to pieces.
During the examination of his new quarters he once more
fell into the pit, and this enabled us to repair damages ; but
before they were quite completed he jumped out again and
caused a general stampede. Having twice hurt his head
against the stockade, he never again made any attempt to
test its strength. The sheet-iron trough seemed to annoy
him more than anything else, and was soon rendered useless.
A three-cornered wooden trough was then inserted in a corner
and protected by stout poles across the corner of the stockade,
and this having been satisfactorily arranged, the gaur soon
became comparatively tame. He allowed the measurements
of his horns to be accurately taken through a window left in
the stockade, and very fine horns they were too, measuring
34J inches across, from outside to outside of sweep. Although
the pit was filled up level with the ground, his previous
experience led him to conclude that it was dangerous, and
he never crossed it. The result was, that the narrow space
between the pit and the stockade became ploughed up, and
he was up to his hocks in mud. It therefore became necessary
to enlarge the enclosure for about 100 yards in length, taking
a bit of jungle for shelter, and a small ravine which would
hold water. A small shed was erected with sliding bars on
the outside and inside, with a view of introducing a domestic
cow as a companion, and so — if he approved of her — she
might be let into the stockade.

" He took to his new quarters very kindly, and soon got to
know that grass was left for him at the inner gate of the shed.

THE PROBABLE DURATION OF LIFE OF A GAUR 95

In a short time it was found that he liked having his nose and
head rubbed, and licked the clothes of the person who rubbed
him. He took salt from the hand, but did not at first seem
to care for it, probably because it was not mixed with earth as
in salt-licks, which he was accustomed to, spitting it out if he
got too much in his mouth at one time. After two months he
became quite tame, and permitted his captor to come into the
enclosure, not even moving if he happened to be lying down.
After the third month he began to shed his hair, and liked it
rubbed off with a wisp of grass, allowing the operator to sit on
him whilst cleaning him, but he did not like his hind-legs or
tail to be touched, kicking out as if he were tickled when this
was done. A shed had been built in one corner of the stock-
ade, with a view of introducing a domestic cow to bear the
gaur company. In this shed was kept guinea grass, to be
given to him in the mornings. One night, however, he thought
he would prefer having the grass of which he was inordinately
fond, instead of waiting till daybreak. He managed to push
aside one of the sliding bars of the gate, break a lower one
down, and raise the top bar sufficiently for himself to get
through ; he ate the bundle of guinea grass, and when this was
finished he repeated the performance with the outer bars of
the shed, and walked out to freedom. So we lost this magni-
ficent specimen. He stood 16 hands ij inches fair vertical
height."

Whilst in the Indian cows the bony frontal ridge is scarcely
perceptible, it is most pronounced in the Burman ones. All
gaur have very small feet for their size, not much bigger than
those of a large sambur. The old bulls have the bases of the
horns much truncated with rough ridges, and each ridge, the
shikaries affirm, represents a year of its life after the sixth
year, before which none are apparent. If this theory is correct
I must have killed gaur over thirty years of age. The old
ones have little hair on their backs, they look as if shaven ;
the skin also exudes an oily substance, slightly offensive.
Never sit on a dead gaur, for this substance will cause a stain
which is ineradicable. These cattle browse on the young shoots
of the bamboo, and graze on such grasses as they can find.
They inhabit in Burma mountain ranges like the Yomahs, but

96 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

after the annual fires, when the new grass has sprung up, they
descend to the forests lining their base. They feed during the
night and early morning, and also in the cool of the evenings,
but during the heat of the day they retire to the deep forests ;
or if gadflies are very troublesome they force their way into
the heaviest elephant grass they can find, and lie there to avoid
their tormentors.

The wind being favourable, they are not difficult to approach
on an elephant, because they see them roaming about so often
in the vast plains which are their joint homes. I never saw
one in Burma charge an elephant, but I did see something of
the sort in the Nirmal jungles when I was a youngster, but I
have heard of their doing so. Sportsmen following up a
wounded solitaire, have occasionally been killed.

Now and then if frightened they run amuk. A herd in
the Goalparah district, moving from one locality to another,
found themselves in the vicinity of a village, and the plain
dotted about with natives. Whether they thought they were
being surrounded or what, I do not know, but they charged
the people right and left, and killed several and wounded many
others. One man I saw in the dispensary had scarce a whole
bone in his body. I forget whether he lived or died, but
natives do make wonderful recoveries. It is best to start
after them before daybreak, and try to get them before they
retire to their strongholds. The solitary bulls are the best
worth seeking ; they are larger and older beasts, and have the
best heads.

When alarmed, their enormous strength enables a herd to
crash through bamboo and forest, knocking down everything
of a moderate size. Often, when disturbed suddenly, they will
gallop forward for about 50 yards, then pull up, turn round,
snorting and staring at the intruder, and then go off for good.
Once I came across a herd of about sixty at the foot of the
Yomahs on the Sittang side, and a prettier sight cannot be
conceived. There were stupendous bulls, graceful cows, pretty
calves, all peacefully grazing on the short, crisp, succulent
young grass. When they saw me they snorted, stamped after
the manner of deer with their fore-feet, and then went off. I
jumped off the elephant, but I had been wet through for five

WILD CATTLE 99

hours, and was so benumbed that all I did was to take a step
or two and then measure my length on the grass ; every one
got away.

The marrow-bones and tongue of a gaur are a bonne bouche.
I am told that the flesh on either side of the so-called hump
along the dorsal ridge, where it is in three layers, is very good,
especially the middle piece ; but I cannot say that I ever
partook of it. The tail makes excellent soup ; the hide, when
cured, is very good for soling shooting boots. In hilly districts
there are depressions somewhat like small nullahs, where a
species of white clay impregnated with natron is found ; and
wherever this exists, other conditions also being favourable,
you will find not only gaur, but deer and also members of the
felidce ; whether the latter go after the fauna, or for the sake
of the earth I do not know, but the natives assert that they,
too, partake of the earth, and have pointed out to me their
droppings in which some of this has been evacuated with
portions of hide and hair of animals.

On one trip in Burma we noticed numerous marks of Tsine
in a quin about two miles from our camp. Close examination
showed that the cattle were in the habit of resting during the
heat of the day in a tope of trees lying in the centre of the
quin. So I determined to try and circumvent one of these
wary brutes. Getting up at 3 a.m., we walked through the
long grass, getting to our destination soaking wet, and there we
had to sit shivering with cold till past ten o'clock before the
beasts put in an appearance. At last two or three cows
leisurely feeding along came in sight, but the bull did not
appear till close on mid-day, and it was fully an hour later
before he got within shot. I then fired behind the shoulder,
and as he fell to the shot I blazed into a cow, and she too
dropped, but the bull picked himself up and went off* full
score. I followed, and the cunning brute very nearly had me,
as he hid in a patch of long grass and charged me as I passed.
I had just time to throw myself behind a prostrate tree, as he
cleared it and fell into a deep nullah on the other side. There
I had no difficulty in despatching him. In the evening I
came across a herd of gaur ; they got up out of a heavy patch
just in front of my elephant. I fired at one going away, tail

ioo WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

on end ; the bullet struck close to the root of the tail and
traversed the whole length of the body — we cut it out of the
neck. The animal fell like a stone to the shot.

THE GAYAL
(Bos frontalis)

These wild kine are plentiful in parts of the Chittagong
Hills and in parts of Tipperah extending towards Munipore
and along our North-Eastern Frontier, where they are kept in a
state of semi-domestication by the Dafflas, Looshaies, Mishmes,
and other wild tribes. Very many of them are caught in nets
when mere calves, and are herded with their tame kindred.
Huge lumps of rock-salt are thrown about near the villages,
and these have an extraordinary fascination for them. After
domestication they are picketed on the outskirts of the forest
near the village, and are let out to graze during the day and
recalled towards night, by the tinkling of bells or the striking
of gongs.

The forehead of the gayal is not concave like a gaur's, but
quite straight, and is destitute of the semi-cylindrical crest.
The horns grow straight out and then curve very slightly
upwards : the forehead is broad, and its colouration is almost
identical with that of a gaur. I suppose it is a cousin many
times removed. It browses more than the Bos gaurus, and
has a slight but distinct dew-lap. The dorsal ridge is prominent,
but not nearly so much as in the larger animal. At a distance
one might easily be mistaken for the other, and unfortunately
both are called Mithun by the Assamese and hill tribes, the
only distinction being that if pressed, they say the gaur is the
Asseel Mithun, and the other Mithun only. This has led even
such a careful observer and good shikar ie as Mr. Sanderson to
say that the gayal is not found in a feral state, and that the
gaur has also been tamed — an error propagated by Mr.
Blanford and also by the Royal Natural History. Mr. Blanford
has also asserted that it is found in a wild state in the Tenas-
serim Provinces, but there I am nearly certain he is mistaken,
for it is not mentioned by either Mason or General Fytche,
and the Burmese have no name for it. I never heard of it

THE GAYAL AND TSINE

101

during my thirteen years' wanderings. Whether the bull
gayal in the Zoo is a pure one or only a hybrid, he is about
as fine a specimen, barring the height, which is somewhat less,
as is to be found in the East.

At the foot of the Bhootan range wild hybrids are
plentiful and very savage. The Bhooteahs and other hill
people bring down tame ones to the fair at Oodulgheery in
Darrung, and Europeans often buy them. If you transport
them to Shillong at once they will live and thrive moderately,
but if kept in the plains in the hot weather they die very soon.
They don't give much milk, but what little they do give is
very rich. I had a pure-bred gayal cow and her bull calf;
they were very handsome ; the cow strangled herself acci-
dentally, and the calf died. I have seen numbers dead of
the murrain, of which Assam is never free, but I never shot
but two, and those fell to a right and left.

THE TSINE, OR BOS SONDAICUS

The wild cattle extend from the hill tracts of Chittagong
downwards, and are found in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the

BURMESE WILD BULL.

Celebes. Father Barbe, a learned missionary, wrote to Mr.
Blyth that the gaur, gayal, and tsine were to be found within a

102 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

measurable distance of each other on the borders of Chittagong
and Tipperah, and that whereas the gayal was not found
further south, the tsine was not found further north, and I
believe he is perfectly correct. These are true cattle, very
handsome, of a deep red (the very old bulls get almost black
in their second childhood), with white rings round the eyes,
white under the belly and under the tail, along the buttocks,
and with dirty whitish stocking below the knees and hocks ;
a slight hump, which is lost in the ridge, which is not very
prominent, and a slight dew-lap which is not always apparent.

TSAING OR TSINE.

The head is very like that of a wild stag, the facial angle quite
straight, and at a little distance they look like a herd of tame
cattle. They are very hard to get at in Lower Burma, as they
feed in the open quins, but the Burman shikaries note the
paths they follow, sit upon a branch, and pot them as they
pass. As during my long residence in Lower Burma and
the many years I hunted them, I killed but five tsine, whilst
my colleague killed twenty-five in less than five years, I will
leave him to tell his adventures with them.

SAMBUR HEADS.

VARIETIES OF SAMBUR 105

THE DEER TRIBE
. SAMBUR

In Burma I am convinced there are two varieties of this
noble stag. Those which inhabit the higher ranges of the
hills of the country are identical in appearance, and carry
heads as large as those of the Neilgherry hills, but those called
" Sapt " — found in the plains of Burma (Lower) — although
as bulky as the others, have but poor heads, and are wanting
in the mane, so conspicuous in their brethren of the mountains.

We used to hunt them generally during May, but I have
shot them at other seasons ; they shed their horns during June,
and are in hiding till September ; the velvet is not worn off
till October, which is their rutting season. Another peculiarity
I noticed in these animals was that every one we shot had an
abrasion of the skin of the neck underneath, of the size of an
eight-anna piece, about the same size as a shilling, caused,
the Burmese said, by the sambur rubbing the part to get rid
of parasites. They are gregarious, living in communities of
six or eight, only one being a stag. When passing through a
forest, the stag brings up the rear. They are possessed of
immense vitality, and will go away with wounds that would
stop most animals. Col. Campbell, " the old Forest Ranger,"
mentions an instance of a stag going off with thirteen well-
placed bullets, and I have myself put eight belted balls out of
a lo-bore double rifle by old Joseph Lang into a moderate-
sized sambur before he fell. I also once shot one through
the heart, and he ran for 200 yards without showing a sign of
having been hit, and then rolled over dead.

The very best stags are the solitaires that lead a hermit's
life, and are usually in almost inaccessible posts. A really
fine stag is a trophy indeed, but out of upwards of a hundred
that I shot in the plains of Burma I did not get a single head
worth mentioning, nor did I see a good pair of horns on any of
the stags shot by others, nor any on the many skulls we came
across killed either by tigers or which had died of the rinder-
pest. The " bell " of a Rusa can be heard a long way off, and

106 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

when disturbed suddenly, or when they see or smell a tiger or
a leopard, they make the surrounding country resound with
their notes of alarm.

Steaks of the sambur, cooked like those of a cow or bullock,
are scarcely to be distinguished from a real rump-steak so
dear to the heart of Englishmen. They are very inquisitive,
and often advance towards an object they cannot quite make
out. I have seen them stamp their fore-feet as if to intimidate
before running away. But the Rusa shot in the Arrakan
mountains are in no way inferior to those of India.

HOG DEER
(Cervus porcinus]

These are equally abundant both in Assam and Lower
Burma. When I saw them first in the latter country they were
in their monsoon coat, and as I only got a glimpse now and
then as they flitted past, I thought they were a variety of
spotted deer — for the young are spotted, and so are the mature
deer during the rains. They possess great vitality, and I have
seen one run 100 yards with its entrails trailing behind.
When in long grass they lie very close and creep along in front
of one's elephant, and now and then I have mistaken the move-
ment for that of a tiger. When in moderate-sized grass, and
you are in want of meat, a charge of No. 2 or even No. 4 shot
will do for them, but that is butchery and not sport, and
only justifiable on an emergency. I remember when I was in
Baghdooar I had a large camp following, and by going on the
Churs of the Manas river — which was fast filling — I shot eight
of them in an hour. They are not at all bad eating — a native
cook will give you cutlets and chops from them which you
would not know from prime mutton. They never carry much
fat ; very good broth can be made from their heads.

BARKING, MOUSE, AND SWAMP DEER 107

BARKING DEER
(Cervus muntjae)

These deer are usually found only in hilly localities, but
I have occasionally come across a few in the plains some
distance from the Bhootan Hills, and also in Burma in the
vicinity of the Yomahs.

If alarmed or wounded, they will call, with an imitation of
a dog's bark, and can be heard a long distance off. They
have peculiar horns and long canine teeth, Roman noses,
a decidedly ugly head, two dark lines down each cheek, and
a tuft of black hair — as a sort of brow — over the eyes. If
anything, the female is uglier than the male. These are also
good eating — the females for choice. A serang at Port
Dalhousie shot one, and converted nearly the whole of it
into a dry curry, which he assured me would keep good for
a year. It was certainly very good to eat when I tasted it,
shortly after it had been made.

MOUSE DEER
(Memimna indicd]

This pretty little deer is found towards Tavoy and Mergui,
and further south in Malaya they are so plentiful that often
a dozen can be bought for a rupee. I did not care for its
flesh, as it had a peculiar taste.

THE SWAMP OR MARSH DEER
(Rucervus davoucilit)

This fine deer has an extended habitat. I have shot them
in the Northern Circars, Madras Presidency ; they are found
in the forest land at the foot of the Himalaya, in the Central
Provinces and Goomsoor, but nowhere are they so abundant
as in Assam and the Bhootan Terai. Some years ago they

io8 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

were found within twelve or fifteen miles of Vizianagram, but
have been exterminated there.

The horns are large and moderately stout, curving well
outwards — pale, with basal antler, and a more or less branched
summit ; the lower branches sometimes simulating a medium
tine : colour, dull yellowish-brown in winter, bright rufous-
brown or chestnut in summer — paler below and inside the
limbs, white under the tail. The female is lighter, of a pale
dun or whity-brown colour ; the young are spotted. Length,
nearly 6 feet; tail, 8 to 9 inches; height, II to uj hands;
average length of horns, 3 feet or a little more. Fourteen
or fifteen points are not uncommon ; I have shot many with
eighteen, and once saw a head with twenty-seven, but many
of the tines were merely excrescences. It is the one deer
in India that carries a lot of fat ; on hitting one I have seen
balls of fat come out of the bullet-holes. I have seen them
in herds of thousands in the Bhootan Terai both north
and south of the Manas. The Churs of the Brahmapootra
river have on them generally many of these deer. They
lose their horns in September and October, and the new
are not perfect till about the middle of June, though I have
got good heads towards the end of May now and then.
They hide in the heaviest patches of long grass during that
period, and lie very close. Tigers kill very many of them.
A saddle off a fat doe is not to be despised.

-THE THAMINE

(Cervus frontalis)

This is a very handsome deer, somewhat less in height
than the swamp deer, and for their size they have very large
and graceful horns. The basal antler is directed forwards
and is very long, and the horns are very divergent, with
terminal branches. A variety is found in Munipur; the
basal antlers of the latter are longer, and form a curve with
the main horn, and very often there are no terminal branches
at all, even in old stags ; whereas in the Burman (except
with the very young) there are always terminal branches.

BROW-ANTLERED DEER (BURMESE).

THE BROW-ANTLERED DEER AND THE SEROW in

I have shot them with six tines on each horn. In the Munipur
deer the basal and the main horn form a continuous curve,
whilst in the Burmese they form more of an angle, generally.
They are gregarious, and feed in quins, or open spaces,
surrounded by the jungle. If there are any patches of long
grass they lie down in them during the heat of the day — other-
wise they go into the forest and rest under the grateful shade
of the trees. A herd of from twenty to thirty is not unusual.
When the rains commence and the gadflies abound, they
are so tormented that their whole attention is taken up in
knocking them off; and then, provided the wind be favour-
able, a wary hunter can get within easy shot, and I know of
no greater pleasure than bagging one of these handsome
stags after a careful stalk. I have shot them off elephants,
but very rarely, and then only when they had retired for their
mid-day siesta.

They drop their horns later than the sambur, and are
then in hiding. I do not remember ever coming across one
at that season. I have seen them feeding in company with
hogs, hog-deer, and wild cattle or tsine. They are plentiful
at the foot of the Yomahs both on the Irrawady and Sittang
sides. Hodgson says he procured them from Nepaul, but I
think he is mistaken, as they are never found amongst hills
or mountainous country like Nepaul. They, like the swamp
deer, are fond of marshy spots, feeding on aquatic plants,
and generally they are very wide-awake and most difficult of
approach.

THE SEROW
(Nemorhcedus rubida)

The serow is found in all the higher ranges in Arrakan,
Pegu, and Tenasserim, and my colleague has shot them in
the Ruby Mines district. They are also found in Assam,
not only in the higher ranges, but we killed three in some
hills only about 1700 feet high, near Ranee about 17 miles
from Gowhatty.

A large male was caught swimming the Sittang . near
Shoayghein. It was a savage, intractable beast, and died

ii2 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

soon after capture. The horns were about 10 inches in
length, much curved backwards.

THE WILD HOG
(Sus indicus)

Pigs are numerous in Burma, but I have never known
them in ridable ground there. In our jungle trips we used
to shoot a few as a change of diet for ourselves and also for
our Burmese and Madrassie followers, who rather admire
their flesh. In the remote jungles they are, as a rule, clean
feeders, simply because they can get no offal ; but shoot a
beast and leave it, and a sounder of hog will soon find it and
devour it. 1 am speaking of the heavier jungles, where
vultures had not caught sight of the slain. The Burmese
boars are very large and possess splendid tushes. They are
wonderfully plucky. One day at Burpettah news of a kill
by a tiger was brought us, and Campbell and I on a huge
Muckna, and Farquharson on one of mine, went out to try
and get a shot. To get to the kill we had to go three miles along
the Government road which I had but lately constructed ; the
country was open on both sides. We had done about two-
thirds of the distance, when we saw an old grizzly boar
walking along, and he crossed the road about 60 yards
ahead of us, and after going some 50 yards or so, he pulled
up, staring at us. When we got opposite, in fun I called
out "Whoof whoof!" Up went his bristles, down went his
head, and he, with a " Whoof whoof ! " also, charged down
upon us. We could not help laughing at his audacity. He
pulled up after going some 20 or 30 yards, eying us viciously,
so I yelled out " Whoof whoof ! " again. This was more
than his hogship could stand, and he made for us as straight
as a dart. It was time to stop his little game, so we up
with our rifles and gave him a broadside. Being severely
wounded, he turned off and made for the forest, but we did
not allow him to escape, but followed him up and killed him.
Now considering he was not 3^ feet in height, and our
elephant over 10 feet, the pluck of the beast may be imagined.

WILD DOGS AND JACKALS 113

Between Pagan Myo in Upper Burma and a range of hills
to the east, I have seen wild pigs out feeding, and as the
ground was perfectly ridable I see no reason why pig-sticking,
the noblest of sport, should not be carried on there.

WILD DOGS (Cants)
(Cuon rutilans)

These are fairly plentiful in the country not subject to
wholesale inundation, but although closely allied to the wild
dogs of the neighbouring hills and other parts of India and
Assam, I do not think they are identical. A bitch McMaster
had and presented to the People's Park, Madras, was a nasty,
savage brute — very offensive ; and neither in size nor looks to
be compared to her kin in the Wynaad.

Dr. Mason also mentions another variety of wild dog in
Karennee. D'Oyly heard of them too, and after a great deal
of trouble two were brought to him by some Karens. They
were hairy — something like skye-terriers ; in size about a
medium-sized spaniel, black and white in colour. They used
to dig out holes on the side of an embankment, crawl in
backwards, and lie there perdu, with only their ferrety eyes
and sharp-pointed noses visible. They were quite young
when D'Oyly got them, but they would never allow themselves
to be petted or handled. They eventually escaped, and we
were never able to replace them. I got another dog from
Karennee, but it was only one of the ordinary pariahs of the
East; it had a very good nose, and would hunt fairly. In
Assam I have frequently seen them in the Dooars.

JACKALS
(Canis aureas)

These are not found in Lower Burma, although a few
exist near Meaday and Prome on the frontier. In Assam
they are in thousands. My colleague will be able to say
whether they are in Upper Burma. Everybody has heard

1 14 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

in the East the unearthly cry of " A dead Hindoo ! where,
where ? — here, here ! " uttered by these obscene animals ; but
there is another cry they give utterance to, called the
" Pheeal " — it is the frightened yelp of the ordinary jackal,
and not that of a variety, as many have asserted. Although
it is asserted to be the Tiger's-provider, I think the reverse
is truer ; they follow the royal beast and hope to pick up
the pieces, but he generally lies up close and will not allow
any one to intrude on his larder; but occasionally when he
has gone for a drink, or is absent for some other cause, a
jackal nibbles at the quarry ; and if the tiger puts in an
appearance suddenly, off he goes with his tail between his
legs, uttering the cry of the " Pheeal."

The hyaena is not known in Assam, or in Lower Assam.
The porcupine is found in both countries.

The snakes are innumerable, and of very many kinds.
Many very venomous, but are seldom met with or seen.
I have seen a Hamadryad in the streets of Shoayghein being
exhibited by a snake-charmer, over 16 feet in length, and
equal to a man's thigh in thickness.

CHAPTER IV

ELEPHANTS, HOWDAH, AND MAHOUTS

MAHOUTS are the best abused servants in India, not
altogether undeservedly, but I do not think due allowance is
made for all they have to go through. They are very apt,
unless well looked after, to allow an elephant to forage for
himself, rather than be at the trouble of bringing in his charah
or green food, of which he requires fully six hundred pounds
a day, and afterwards bathing his elephant, and securely
tethering him. If this is not insisted upon, the elephant will
either get no food, or, in wandering about in search of it, he
will destroy property for which you will have to pay fourfold,
and he will also stray away and not be caught till late next
morning.

But mahouts have their good points. They are, as a rule,
plucky, being principally Moslems ; and as such, fatalists. It
must be remembered the sportsman, safely ensconced in the
howdah, runs or incurs little risk, while the mahout, sitting on
the elephant's neck, with his legs dangling down, is in very
great danger from a charging tiger. He is unarmed, save
with his driving-hook — guzbuz ; and the frequency of accidents
proves that his berth is not a sinecure. The friction caused
by sitting on the animal's neck, perhaps for twelve hours on
stretch, is excessive. He also gets bitten by numerous
gadflies and mosquitoes, and is exposed to the sun all day,
and he has perhaps to readjust your howdah several times
during the day, if it gets out of the perpendicular, as is but
too often the case. Being in a crooked howdah is not only
misery to the rider, but it is impossible to feel at home, and to
be able to shoot correctly when you are lopsided.

"5

n6 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

After reaching camp he may have to go miles to get the
charah, which should have been cut and collected by his
assistant ; he has to stack this carefully on the elephant's
back and bring it home, to bathe and well scrub the animal,
to anoint his head with oil, and then to give him his grain —
which, if properly done, takes a considerable time, as the rice
should be tied up in small bundles of grass or plantain pulp
and then put into the beast's mouth. If allowed to feed
himself, an elephant blows the rice through his trunk down
his throat, without masticating it, and he derives no
benefit from it. He must then be securely tethered for the
night, and his charah placed within his reach. It is only after
this that the mahout is at liberty to cook and prepare his own
food. All these duties combined constitute a hard day's
work, and this continues perhaps incessantly for a month or
more whilst in camp. Is it a wonder, then, that a mahout
sometimes shirks some portion of his daily task ? In the
management of his elephant a mahout should not be interfered
with too much. If you have a stud, engage a head man or
jemadar, one who held some responsible position in the
Government Keddah for choice. If you are known and liked
he will readily come to you if you give him a rupee or two more
a month than he has been receiving. Leave the physicking and
interior management to him. Do not keep a mahout you
cannot trust, or who shows the slightest signs of funk ; he
will only ruin your animal.

I think more can be done by judicious kindness and general
supervision than by bullying or nagging ; but, when neces-
sary, don't hesitate to make a severe example of a man who
wilfully disobeys your orders, or takes advantage of your
kindness to neglect his duties. Treat natives as you would
children, with a mixture of kindness and firmness, and be
liberal in sharing all Government rewards amongst them,
and they will do anything for you ; but avoid extremes — one
is as bad as the other.

Many of the mahouts enter into the spirit of the chase, and
like a successful sportsman for a master, because the more
wild beasts he slays the more they expect to get. I know my
men's pay was frequently doubled whilst out, and this adds

PECULIAR NOISES UTTERED BY ELEPHANTS 119

to their zeal, and without hearty co-operation of your mahouts
you will get little or no game.

Elephants differ greatly in make and size; and a really
good mahout will tell pretty accurately whence the animal
came by merely looking him over. Elephants utter peculiar
sounds to denote certain meanings. A whistling noise
produced by the trunk indicates satisfaction ; when they
trumpet or utter a hoarse, sharp scream it is a sign of
rage ; a noise made by the mouth like " pr-rut-pr-rut " is a
sign of alarm, so is the striking of the trunk on the ground
accompanied by a pitiful cry, whilst a noise like "urmp-
urmp " denotes impatience or dissatisfaction. Elephants are
never still, their bodies are always swaying to and fro, the
ears and tail are constantly flapping or brushing off flies, the
trunk is in incessant use, the legs are constantly rubbed one
against the other ; but if the same animal, so full of restless-
ness, becomes suspicious, he becomes for the moment as rigid
as a rock, with his trunk raised and ears cocked forward,
using his olfactory and acute hearing to the utmost. I do not
think their eyesight is very good, they trust more to the two
senses I have just mentioned, but if an elephant runs away
and all other means fail to stop his flight, try blindfolding him.
I have known it succeed several times.

Elephants when asleep often snore : they are very human-
like in many of their ways ; for instance, I have seen them
use a foot as a pillow on which to rest their head. They get
a piece of wood and use it as a toothpick, they will plug a
wound with clay, they scratch themselves with the tip of their
trunk, or if they cannot reach the irritable part with that, they
take up a branch and use it. An elephant often thrusts his
trunk into his mouth and extracts a quantity of water which
he squirts over his body, and often over his riders.

Before starting on a day's shooting, see that your howdah
is correctly, tightly, and straightly put on : if it is at all
crooked, have it taken off and re-adjusted : it is better to have
it correctly done in camp where you have men to assist than to
have to do it in the jungles where the hands are few. One great
source of the howdah getting out of gear is the constantly
making an elephant sit down to enable the rider to dismount ;

120 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

to avoid this, take a howdah ladder with you. It is about
8 feet long and ingeniously constructed ; there is a groove
into which the rungs fit when the ladder is folded up, and
then it looks like a stout stick slung on to one side of the pad.
They are obtainable in most of the principal towns in India
from which parties start out hunting.

An elephant is naturally very gentle, and would not hurt a
worm, but they can be taught anything. Never allow your
beast to make a football of a dead beast between his legs ; he
will do it at first with reluctance, and only when forced, but
it teaches him bad habits, and if frightened he might do it to
his own master. No elephant will tread upon anything if he
can avoid it ; they are wonderfully sure-footed, and will go up
and clown the steepest places which to any other beast would
be impossible. The way they slide down the steep side of a
nullah with fore-legs stretched out in advance and the hind
doubled backwards dragging them along, or ascend an equally
steep place by bending the fore-legs and walking as it were on
their knees, has to be seen to be believed.

I would rather be on an elephant that runs away than on
one given to charging. I have been run away with dozens of
times, and have had some narrow squeaks. Unfortunately, if
an elephant gets into a panic, and he sees a forest anywhere
near, he will make for it straight across country as hard as he
can amble along, for they cannot canter or gallop ; but it is
astonishing how fast they can go at their shamble. A good
runner might have a chance on a smooth sward, but he would
have none over rough ground. An elephant cannot jump — a
deep ditch of over 7 feet is to him impassable unless he can
go down and up it.

As a rule, they are frightened at seeing fire, but an elephant
of the battery in Debrooghur in Assam would help to put out
a fire, and she would do what I never saw any other elephant
do, and that was — after a fallen buffalo's throat had been cut
through to the vertebrae, she would, when told, put her foot
on the neck, twist her trunk round the horns, and wrench the
head off and hand it up to the mahout. Some few elephants
will pick up birds after being shot and hand them up, but not
as a rule.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF A HOWDAH 123

A howdah should be made as light as possible consistent
with strength. It should not rest on the spine, the part
across that should be hollowed out. The weight must be
distributed equally on each side of the back longitudinally on
bars resting on the pad, which should be well stuffed, and
under it there should be a thick guddelah, and another above,
to prevent the howdah slipping. It is better to have these
guddelahs stuffed with wool than with cotton.

The bars which form the foundation of the howdah have
eyelets through which a rope with a piece of soft leather
attached to it is passed under the throat, and a similar one
under the tail ; these form a crupper and breast-piece as in a
horse, and keep the howdah from shifting either to the back
or front. The body of the howdah should be raised at least
four inches above these bars, and be quite clear of the pad.
I prefer the floor of a howdah to be planked ; the motion of
the elephant is not so much felt ; but some prefer standing on
the guddie, which is, I think, a great mistake. Round the
sides of your howdah tack a strong Charsootie cloth or light
canvas, and give it two coats of green paint, which renders it
not only less conspicuous but also waterproof. On the two
longitudinal iron bars connecting the front with the back of
the howdah sew two strips of good waterproof cloth to serve
as flaps to throw over the guns if rain falls. They are not in
the least in the way, as they hang down outside till wanted.
Sew on a few bullets to the lower edge to prevent the wind
blowing them off or about. By taking this simple precaution
I have kept my weapons perfectly dry in the wettest weather.
The front should not be too high, and should be in accordance
with the height of the person who is going to use it ; it should
be just clear of his elbows when he stands up. The back
part should be about a foot lower. Now that breechloaders
are universal a double howdah is not requisite ; it was intended
for two — in the front the sportsman, and in the back an
attendant for loading, but at the best it was a bad arrange-
ment. When a beast charges, oftener than not the elephant
turns tail, and to avoid a collision, it is necessary to turn
round sharply and fire down over the elephant's tail, and this
cannot be done satisfactorily if there is a man behind.

i24 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

For good shooting and for comfort, everything depends on
the height of the seat from the floor — the edge should just fit
into the bend of the knee : if less and the elephant jolts
suddenly forward, the rider is apt to go backwards ; if higher
the constant friction against the back of the thighs is very
annoying and apt to throw a man forward ; but if of the
height I have mentioned you feel firm, the body sways
to and fro, and you feel at home and able to shoot
here, there, and everywhere. Until you feel at home in a
howdah on an elephant's back and can do without holding on
to the sides, you will never make good shooting. Four guns
in a howdah are ample, two on each side of your seat, where
racks are fitted just large enough for the butt-end of your
stocks ; these racks had better be lined with felt to prevent
rattling. In the fore-part there is a bar with notches for the
barrels ; these should be lined, or the polish will soon be taken
off the gun. In a box, also lined, your cartridges should be
arranged ; in a scrimmage there is no time to pick out
cartridges — it is best therefore to have your weapons of the
same bore, with perhaps the exception of an Express, whose
cartridges cannot be mistaken for any others. There should
be a lid to let down to keep off dew or rain. The less noise,
other than the unavoidable one the elephants make in going
through the long grass, the better ; most of the game in
Burma and Assam are accustomed to hearing and seeing the
elephants moving about, but if they hear the rattling of gun-
barrels or of plates, etc., they soon know there is something
uncanny approaching, and make tracks.

Take a light zephyr waterproof coat to put on if heavy rain
sets in. The best protection overhead is a large native
umbrella with a long handle ; on either side, between your
gun-stocks, drill two holes, one on the seat and the other
in the floor ; by opening the umbrella and inserting it on one
side or the other according to the sun's inclination, you will
have shade, which is only required when going over large
tracts where there is no game expected. When not wanted,
take the umbrella out of the holes, fold it up, and put it head-
downwards on the floor, the handle sticking out behind the
back of the howdah, and it will not be the least in the way.

TO WHAT AGE DOES AN ELEPHANT LIFE? 125

Never picket your elephants long in the same spot; stand-
ing on their own dung and soil impregnated with their
urine will very soon soften or rot the soles of their feet;
which, though spongy, ought to be at the same time as hard
as ivory.

If you see an elephant eating earth, stop his grain, he will
pass in a few days a quantity of bots, and will then be all right
again.

The period of gestation in an elephant and the age it lives
to, have been accepted on very meagre grounds, which are
not, in my opinion, conclusive, or even likely. Mr. Sander-
son says the average age of an elephant may be reckoned at
150 years. Mr. Nuttall, Mr. Sanderson's predecessor for thirty
years in the Government Keddahs, held a different opinion.
Writing to the late Frank Buckland he said : —

" When the British captured Ceylon, a memorandum was
found left by Colonel Robertson, who was in command of the
island in 1799, which stated that the elephant attached to the
establishment at Matura had served under the Dutch for
upwards of 140 years, during the entire period of the occu-
pation from the expulsion of the Portuguese in 1656, and
found by them in the stables when they took possession of
the island."

Even if this were the case, as one swallow does not make
a summer, it does not follow that because there was one
Methuselah amongst elephants, all should live to the same
period. But as Mr. Nuttall continues : —

" The stories of elephants living to an immense age in India
I put no trust in, because with any favourite elephant in
former days (when the jemadar had the naming of them)
they had special names for these animals, and as their
vocabulary of names was but limited, they used to give three
or four elephants the same name, as, for instance, Pobun Peary,
No. I, Pobun Peary, No. II, and so on. 'Pobun' means
* the wind,' and an elephant in the depot possessing swift and
easy paces would go by the name of Pobun, and when Pobun
I. died, Pobun II. became I., and so on. These names
appeared in the office books, while the casualty rolls were kept
merely on fly-sheets, and were after a while disposed of as

126 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

waste-paper, and therefore no check was possible to the true
identification of an elephant, and as no trace could be found
except in the office books, which simply showed the same
names of elephants running on continually year after year,
it appeared as if the elephants reached an extraordinary age.
But all this has now been altered, and the books better kept.
I consider an elephant to be at its prime about thirty-five or ,
forty, and capable of working up to seventy or eighty years of
age. An elephant's life may extend rather longer than a
human being's, but not by much ; but I do not believe in
animals (except a very occasional one) living up to 1 50 years.
There are mahouts whose fathers, grandfathers, and great-
great-great-grandfathers were all mahouts, and my opinion is
founded on theirs, supplemented by my own observations of
the past thirty years."

One of the reasons given for believing that an elephant's
age extends to 150 years is that the gestation takes from
twenty to twenty-four months. When I pointed out that
although the mare took eleven months, and the human race
only nine months in gestation, and that there could be no
comparison in the ages attained by man and horse respectively,
Mr. Cameron says this comparison is inadmissible, because
cattle and mankind respectively belong to different natural
orders. Cattle are born in a condition to take care of them-
selves, while mankind are born helpless, like naked birds in a
nest, and pass, so to speak, through a period of extra-uterine
gestation ; which, if we are to compare them with cattle, must
be added to the intra-uterine period.

If so, add a year or a year and a half, by which time a
child is about as capable of taking care of itself as a calf or
a colt at birth, and we should get a far longer period of
gestation for man than even the elephant, and if so, why
should not men's days be 150 years instead of three-score
years and ten? — but I am not learned enough to argue on such
subjects. About 1890, when I was at Bangalore, an officer
there showed me some photos of a male elephant in coitu
with a female. He had served several, and several photos
had been taken. This is a most unusual occurrence, and as
the elephants belonged to the Government stud, the commis-

WHAT BECOMES OF DEAD ELEPHANTS? 127

sariat officer doubtless made a note of the date, and should be
now in a position to state how long gestation took place ; and
if the young ones brought forth from this connection live, the
generation living about 2136 or thereabouts should be able to
settle as to the longevity or otherwise of these most useful
beasts.

There is, or was, a saying that no one had ever seen in
England a dead donkey or a postboy. Many sportsmen who
have spent a lifetime in jungles infested with these pachy-
derms wonder what becomes of the remains of elephants who
die a natural death. Sanderson, Sir S. Baker, and others, all
assert that they have never come across a dead elephant.
Mr. Cameron says : — " The remains of defunct elephants may
escape the casual notice of a comparatively few sportsmen
absorbed in the eager, and not seldom dangerous, pursuit of
living game ; with the dead elephant, as with a dead stag,
carnivorous animals consume the decomposing flesh ; deer
and oxen chew and scatter the dismembered bones ; the grass
grows, and withers upon what is left ; a bone here and there
may arrest the passing eye, yet tell no story to the preoccu-
pied mind."

He mentions also that Captain Swayne, visiting the exact
spot where a large bull elephant had been killed two years
previously, found after careful search nothing but the jaw-
bones with the grinders embedded in them, and was assured by
his Somalis that the skeleton had been completely disposed of
by the domestic cattle and the koodoos.

This may apply to sportsmen solely, but in my own case it
is different. I was not only a sportsman but an engineer
employed in opening out countries little known ; for this
purpose I had hundreds of men employed in cutting traces
through the enormous savannahs of Assam and Burma —
countries where wild elephants are probably more numerous
than in Ceylon or Southern India. I had to traverse these at
all seasons, even in the rains ; if I could not go by elephants I
had to go by boat. I had to burn these jungles yearly — in all
for over twenty-one years. Yet I have never come across the
body of an elephant that died a natural death, though I have
seen hundreds of carcases of deer, gaur, gayal, buffalo, and

128 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

tsine lying dead — and also the remains of elephants killed
by either myself or others.

In Somaliland there are numerous hyaenas, in Assam and
Burma not one. I cannot credit deer and cattle demolishing
the enormous head and pelvis of an elephant. I instance the
case of a large Muckna shot by Herbert Bainbridge in Assam,
which was in evidence for about eight years, although shot in
a vast plain, far away from all civilization and subject yearly
to inundation in the rains and to fire in the dry weather.
Why should not deer, of which there were plenty about, and
buffaloes which roam about in herds, have demolished those
remains like the tame cattle and koodoos are supposed to
have done in Somaliland ? If the bones are eaten, what
becomes of the tusks ? these would be a tough morsel, and
could not be demolished at a sitting. Why has not a
gnawed one ever been found? The truth is, we are all
in the dark on these subjects, and theories are founded on
conjectures.

Elephants are subject to many diseases, the worst being
Zurbad, a dropsical swelling which appears generally first
under the belly ; if taken in time the animal may be tempor-
arily cured, but the disease is sure to return and kill. It also
seems infectious ; the best thing to be done is to sell the beast
off for anything you can get for him. In Sport in British
Burma I gave the contents of a treatise by Dr. Gilchrist of
the Madras Army of the diseases elephants are subject to and
their treatment, but I myself don't pretend to know much
about them. I know a murrain broke out in the Pheel Khana
in Tongho, and though the elephants were scattered as fast
and as far apart as possible, some forty out of eighty died.
To make up these losses, the commissariat officer, Major
Mackellar, an old brother officer of mine, was directed to
purchase others. There is as much rascality in selling an
elephant as there is in selling a horse ; a vicious elephant is
drugged, and in that state sold as docile, whilst ginger and
arrack even are given to make a sleepy worn-out beast look
bright ; every trick is resorted to — a useless brute that never
carries flesh when worked is fed up with massala and sugar-
cane, on which he speedily gets fat, and is then sold, only to

A VICIOUS ELEPHANT 129

fall off again as rapidly when these stimulants are discon-
tinued and the beast is worked.

Some elephants are vicious by nature — those born in a state
of captivity more than those caught wild ; the former, whilst
losing their dread of man, get treacherous and almost useless
for sport or for ordinary traffic, owing to their fears of all wild
beasts, which those caught have been used to. When D'Oyly
and I lived together at Tongho, he used to hire elephants in
preference to indenting on the commissariat for them, for his
jungle trips. One beast he hired was particularly vicious ; he
had killed several mahouts, and at last ran away into the
jungles, became quite wild, and did a great deal of damage to
the crops, so a reward was offered for his death.

As he haunted the jungles in the vicinity of Tongho many
officers went for him, but though he was frequently wounded,
no one succeeded in producing his tail ; but he suddenly
disappeared, and every one who had fired at him claimed
having killed him. Nothing was heard of him for a good six
months, and the ryots had peace, and supposed that he had
either died in the remoter jungles or had wandered away
elsewhere. After the epidemic, placards were posted at the
Cutcherie that all elephants brought in and passed — if
moderately cheap — would be purchased : so good, bad, and
indifferent were brought in for sale. I was always looking at
them, taking an interest in all animals, and elephants in
particular. Amongst those for sale was a sleepy-looking brute
with lumps about his head which looked suspiciously like
embedded bullets, and he moreover reminded me of the one
D'Oyly used to hire. (He, poor fellow, was no more.) I
spoke to Mackellar, advising him to have nothing to do with
the brute in question, but he did not know one beast from
another, and moreover was completely under the thumb of his
head Gomashta, a Madrassie, a very able man, who had all
the Burmese in that part of Burma in the palm of his hand,
and said he would cause inquiries to be made. Armagum,
the Gomashta in question, said I was altogether mistaken, the
elephant was well known, very quiet (too quiet, I thought), and
ridiculously cheap. So he was bought and taken off to the
Pheel Khanah. In a few days he began to show signs of vice,

130 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and one day when being taken for his charah, he threw his
mahout and prodded at him with his long sharp tusks ; by
wriggling on one side, the man just escaped, and the brute
impaled his own trunk right through. The alarm was quickly
given, and he was soon recaptured by the other elephants,
and after being securely tethered, his trunk was released, but
mortification set in and he died, and on examination numerous
bullets were found embedded in him. The truth then came
out. I was right in my conjecture — it was D'Oyly's old beast.
A knowing Burman had watched the brute, and noticed that
he followed certain paths going to and from the cultivation,
so he threw down goor well impregnated with opium in the
paths. The elephant ate thereof, and became partially stupe-
fied ; he was caught and taken here and there, far away, for
sale, being always under the influence of opium, but everybody
fought shy of him, and as nobody would purchase him, the man
was about to turn him loose when he heard that the Govern-
ment wanted elephants, so first drugging him well, and
doubtless by means of palm-oil, he succeeded in selling him
and got clear away with the money — some Rs. 1 500.

Elephants take strange antipathies ; here is a case in
point, from the Oriental Sporting Magazine : —

" A female elephant which I had lately bought had, partly
from not having been long caught, and partly by bad manage-
ment by the mahout, so great a dislike to Europeans that she
was with much difficulty approached by them, even to mount
her ; and when feeding, she would start off if any European
came near her. It was supposed it was their dress which
alarmed her, and the plan proposed was to dress her
attendants like Europeans. To test this, a native, calling
himself a Portuguese, was sent towards her. To the surprise
of everybody she allowed him to approach and caress her
without any signs of dislike, though he was dressed in
European clothes. It was evident it was not the dress, but
the colour of the face which alarmed her. A friend and
myself now approached her slowly, with black crape tied over
our faces, and no signs of dislike were shown. While patting
and talking to her I slowly drew back the crape so as to
uncover my face. The first effect of this was the quick

ECCENTRICITIES OF ELEPHANTS 133

wrinkling of the muscles of the face, the foot half raised, and
the body swung back as if for a start ; but she came back
slowly to the 'stand at ease/ with the peculiar grumbling
which they make when satisfied with anything. This singular
experiment was made several times, and always with the
same result, and in one instance a red handkerchief was used.

" Nothing was given to her that evening by us, but the next
day she came without any trouble to the verandah, and when
called forward, came up and took fruit from our hands with
her mouth, as all well-trained elephants do. There is some-
thing very much resembling reason in this change in the
animal's behaviour ; she got over her fright as soon as she
discovered that white and black faces could be made to
appear at pleasure."

When a male makes up to a female and she does not chime
in at once with his wishes, he often seizes her by the tail and
wrenches it off". I have seen several instances of this.

Considering that elephants and rhinoceros and buffaloes
herd and feed almost together, why the first should have —
when domesticated — such a dread of the second, I cannot
think, but it is a fact. They dislike the smell, but the grunt-
ing noise made by these thick-skinned beasts they dread far
more. I have known an elephant's leg cut to the bone by the
tush of a rhinoceros, and also one knocked over by a buffalo.
But the shikar elephants in Burma and Assam do not dread
the bubali so much, as the tame ones are nearly as large as the
feral, and equally savage, but whilst going for Europeans, they
take no notice of elephants or of the native children who
herd them.

I have known of a female suckling her own calf and that of
another cow that had died. Some say the females are vicious
to the calves ; it may be the case with old maids, but I have
never seen it in the case of a female who had had young of
her own. An old bull elephant will at times knock over a
presuming hobbledehoy who annoys him, but generally they
are very sociable and peaceable amongst themselves. Full-
grown males cannot, however, be trusted to live in amity ;
thus, for greater security, the tips of Government elephants'
tusks are sawn off".

134 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

JUNGLE TRIPS ON ELEPHANTS, LOWER BURMA

Early in May 1860 I asked our Brigadier, Glencairn
Campbell, C.B., brother of the old Forest Ranger and cousin to
that great Nimrod, Gordon Gumming, if he would like a few
days' sport in Burma. He had seen much fighting, especially
at the Cape against the Kaffirs, and had also been a noted
sportsman and athlete. He was still well preserved, and a
capital shot. He gladly consented, and as Lloyd — also a keen
* sportsman, who had lately come up as Deputy Commissioner
— wanted to go too, we agreed to go together, and asked
Liardet of the 2nd N. I. to accompany us.

The Brigadier, Lloyd, and Liardet started on the 2nd, but
I could not get away until the 4th, but I got into my loung or
racing boat, and reached Banlong by 8 p.m. The others had
finished their dinner, and whilst I was partaking of mine, Lloyd
told the result of their sport. On the 3rd they had tried
stalking thamine, but got none. On the 4th, at Shoayjah's
instigation, they got on to the elephants on pads — there were
no howdahs in Burma in those days — and went through several
savannahs, where the grass was only about four feet high, and
saw much game ; but none of them had been accustomed to
shoot off elephant-back ; on a pad you can only fire comfort-
ably and with any chance of success to the left front, and as a
rule the deer are seldom obliging, but will insist on going off
to the right. They had fired a great many shots ; but the
Brigadier had shot a stag sapt (sambur), Liardet a buck and a
doe sambur, and Lloyd a hog deer, d'ala'el of the Burmese,
but he lost three sambur badly wounded.

On the 5th the Brigadier did not feel well, so Lloyd, Liardet,
and I went alone.

Banlong is on the river ; on three sides are extensive paddy
fields ; beyond them, forests, and beyond again are quins, or
open spaces, formerly cultivated but left fallow for many years
past ; these are covered with short grass, a few trees, and
occasionally a little pool of water. In the quins are herds
of brow-antlered deer, hog deer, and hogs ; in the outlying

MISCELLANEOUS SPORT 135

savannahs there are numerous sambur, hog deer, hogs, and
tigers now and then ; occasionally gaur, and even tsinc. We
saw some thamine and tried to stalk them, but they were
too cunning, and we failed to bag any. On entering the
savannah opposite, I shot a hog deer with rather nice
horns.

We then breakfasted, and on resuming hostilities all the
luck fell to my comrades, and they fired away as fast as they
could load, and they missed at least half-a-dozen, whilst I did
not get a shot. Liardet then bagged a sambur ; up to three
o'clock Lloyd and Liardet monopolized all the luck. Lloyd
got nothing, whilst Liardet was credited with a buck and a
doe. At last I killed one and wounded another, which we
followed on foot. Lloyd came upon her and killed her.
Towards evening I took a snap-shot, and killed one more.
As we were then seven miles from Banlong we went towards
home, and got there at dark.

We had a long confab with the local shikaries, who were
Shoayjah, Moung Wine, and Moung Oo ; they said if we
would go twelve miles further inland we'd get better sport ;
so we moved camp next morning, Liardet and I on one
elephant going ahead. We agreed to fire at no deer, as near
Myetquin we might expect to come across big game such as
buffaloes and gaur. We saw herds of deer, but true to our
compact we did not fire atone ; but Lloyd could not resist the
temptation, and blazed away, but had nothing to show for his
expenditure of ammunition. The next day (7th) we were
out early. Lloyd would fire at deer, so we all took to blazing
away at anything we saw. The Brigadier bagged three sambur,
Liardet also three, Lloyd one, and I two.

On the 8th we followed up tracks of gaur and tsine, and
so got out of the kine grass into the heavy forests, and so
lost much time. By the evening Lloyd had two, Brigadier
two, Liardet lost two ; I only got a hog deer.

We moved back to Banlong on the 9th, and I at once saw
the capabilities of Myetquin as a head-quarters for sporting
purposes, and as soon as I got back I sent out materials and
carpenters and had a bungalow built there. There is a large
bheel at Myetquin, and between it and the Yomahs there is

136 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

to be had the best sport in Lower Burma. We only shot a
few deer en route.

On the loth we came across our first gaur (pyoung) ; we
had shot several deer, when some lumbering beast went
through the heavy grass. Lloyd called out, " A bison ! " and
fired. As the bull passed an open spot, the Brigadier fired
and killed it. There was a dispute as to whether it was the
Brigadier's or Lloyd's, Lloyd claiming it as having fired at it
first. I believe myself that Lloyd missed, and that the beast
was the Brigadier's ; but the elder man had shot too much
game to be jealous, and gave it up.

On the nth Liardet and I went stalking on foot, and I was
as near getting a sunstroke as possible. We had a long walk
over dried paddy fields, then through rather an open forest
for a mile, then through a quin devoid of game ; but in the
tree-jungle beyond I shot a thamine and hung it up. I then
wounded another and tried to run it down, but the ground
was a mass of hummocks covered with trailing and thorny
vines, and I soon measured my distance on the ground, hav-
ing come a cropper. We saw many deer, but they were on
\h&quivive, so we had miles of walking over the most difficult
ground under a blazing sun for nothing. I was thoroughly
done, and we were miles from camp. I told my comrade to
get home as fast as he could and send an elephant for me ;
but he did not like to leave me in my present condition, so
we stumbled along. At last we came to a buffalo-hole in
which those cattle had been wallowing ; it was half mud, half
water, well impregnated with urine, but such as it was I was
glad to pour it over me, and even to drink it. It was to me
a weary trudge, but I was too obstinate to give in, and finally
reached the Zyat more dead than alive. I rushed into the
bath-room, poured all the ghurrahs of cold water over me, and
soon got all right.

May 12. — We were late in starting, several of the mahouts
sick. We did not do much — got out of the kine grass, and
into dense forests, but about 8 p.m. we saw five gaur chewing
the cud and flapping the flies off themselves with their tails.
The Brigadier jumped off and stalked them; he had to go
through long grass fully ten feet high.

FAIL TO BAG A GAUR 139

We remained to cover him, if he were charged. The plucky
old man got to within ten yards, but could not see them.
The bull, hearing a noise, advanced, and we expected every
moment that he would be on the Brigadier. We did not like
to open fire, as we wanted the General to get first shot, but
suddenly the bull spun round, and with tail on end went off
full score followed by his wives. We fired a volley but did
no harm. That was the last chance we got at gaur that
trip.

May 13. — Moved towards home, going via Tagoondine.

May 14. — Brigadier and Liardet went shooting. Lloyd
and I up the Puechoung to see the waterfalls. We came back
by rafts.

May 15. — Nouksedouk, a good place for big game. I left
my comrades there, and rode back to Tongho, having work
to attend to.

In October I received orders to visit an old fort, Zayawadie,
and I persuaded Dyke of the 6pth to come with me. I sent
on the elephants several days before, and told them to meet
us at Banlong. We started on my birthday, the ipth October,
by boat, and after sundry adventures got to our destination
only to find that the elephants had not arrived, but we had
my servants and some food and beer, and made ourselves as
comfortable as possible. We slept on the floor of the Zyat,
and used logs of wood in lieu of pillows. Our elephants did
not turn up till the afternoon of the 2Oth. The mahouts
told us the roads were nearly impassable, and that they had
taken eight days to do what they generally got over in three,
or three and a half. We called the shikaries together, but
they told us it was madness trying to shoot at this time of the
year ; but as I had to go, I thought I'd try and get some
sport. I was luckier than I deserved, for I bagged a couple
of sambur with one ball each ; but it was pure luck, for all
we could see were the ears. The stags had dropped their
horns and were in hiding.

The next day it took us fourteen hours to do eight miles,
and we did not get to Zayawadie till 5 p.m., and our at-
tendants did not arrive till dark. We had our beds rigged
up and took refuge under the curtains, for the mosquitoes

140 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

were numerous and ravenous. Our dinner was not ready
till 8 p.m., and it was handed to us under the curtain,
in bed.

I examined the fort well, and then moved on to Tagoon-
dine on the Pue. The next day we got into the midst of at
least three hundred elephants, all hines. We tried to shoot
them off elephants, but signally failed to bag more than one
at the time, though in all, I believe, eight died, and were picked
up by the natives, who delight in their flesh. It was cruel
work, and I have never since fired at an elephant off an
elephant. Had I thought of the ear-shot, I might have been
more successful, but shooting at the temple is useless at that
angle.

October 25. — We moved to Kyenkein and came across
two of the elephants dead, but the short tushes had been
stolen, and I very nearly slew a Burman ; he had crawled
inside one of the carcases for some tit-bits, but hearing us
talking he came out backwards on all-fours, and as he was
a mass of gore I mistook him for some beast, and was just
going to fire when he got up on his feet !

The next day we shot only one stag, but saw many sambur.
Jungle is too thick at this time of the year. We found out
a new quin where the men said in May and June big game
was plentiful. The shikarie's name, Moung Mon — he lives at
Kadeingzee. The quin is called "Pojahgalay Quin." We
then wended our way home, shooting lots of snipe en route.

I have occasionally shot deer by going three or four miles
out of Shoayghein, and once bagged a leopard. The fishing
in the pure crystal waters of the Shoayghein river was very-
good ; fishing a little way up stream with spoon-bait, mahseer
are to be caught. By using a fly, I have caught, in the course
of an hour or two, several gna-mien, weighing from 3 to
6 Ibs. They are silvery and have no scales, but are capital
eating, with but one bone to speak of, and that like a sole's ;
they have barbules on the mouth, and the flesh is coloured—
slightly pinkish. The larger fish of the same kind take a
spoon, but are not nearly so good for the table as those of
about 5 to 7 pounds ; with a little melted butter and anchovy
sauce, I know no better fish. The most delicious fish in

VARIOUS MODES OF FISHING 143

the East is the hilsa ; they ascend the rivers at spawning-
times, and in the Delta they are caught in thousands. I
have seen a Burman boat almost gunwale under water from
the number caught in nets. Although most delicious to eat,
they are probably the most bony fish in existence, but there
are four bits, each about the size of a table-spoon, which can
be extracted by the cognoscenti, which are totally devoid of
bone. The best plan is to lay the fish flat, and with a fork to
run it down its length with the bones, extracting the flesh and
leaving the bones behind.

The fresh-water crabs are not bad. There are no lobsters,
but immense prawns and crayfish are caught off the coasts,
and are delicious eating. The best thing I ever got for jungle
work was dried prawns ; the smell was against them, but after
soaking them for twelve hours, and then making them into a
curry, they were very good indeed.

Night-fishing by blazing out of a boat is not bad fun. I
used to go out to the lime-kilns some fifteen miles distant from
Tongho ; as the boats we went in were mere dug-outs, upsets
were frequent, so we were arrayed in bathing costume. If
you strike at and miss a fish you are sure to go overboard,
but that is not of much consequence in India. The Thouka-
ghat, or drinking-water stream, is one of the most beautiful I
have ever seen. Its waters are always icy cold, and the
scenery, as it debouches from the mountains, is lovely. I built
a bath in it, staking it all round and making it quite private,
and connecting it with the shore by a bridge. It was a
favourite place even for ladies to bathe. Stakes were neces-
sary, as the current was rather swift. I removed the materials
every year before the rains. I had a house there, 17 feet off
the ground, and whilst it was unbearably hot in Tongho,
we were glad of blankets there.

Determined to try the shooting localities at various seasons,
Lloyd, Clarke, and I went to Banlong in January. The first
day I shot a doe thamine. The next day we went to Myet-
quin, where our future hut had just been commenced. I got
one deer en route. As the grass was very high and the annual
fires had not commenced, we tried what beating would do.
We sent the elephants round and took up our positions in

i44 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

trees, but nothing came our way. In the evening Lloyd and
Clarke got a deer apiece.

January 23. — We went towards Gna-Eein, a pool not far
from the base of a spur of the Yomahs. At first we had not
any luck : we saw lots of deer, but they kept out of shot, but
Lloyd shot a sow for the pot. I had all the luck to-day, and
'bagged several deer. One stag I thought I had missed — he
doubled back and ran on as if untouched ; but hearing a
noise as of something kicking against a tree, I went back, and
found it lying dead between two trees. We came upon a
sambur just killed by a tiger ; we beat for him everywhere,
but failed to find him. WTe came to the conclusion that this
was not the season for sport in those jungles.

24th. — We again tried for the tiger, but had no luck. We
only shot a hog deer and a pig between us.

The Burmans attributed our indifferent luck to the in-
fluence of evil spirits, so we gave them a few rupees to do
pojah with. I had found somewhere — I forget when or where
— two small images (twin-jointed) of Gaudama, the only ones
of the sort I ever saw. I had them with me, and placed
them in the fork of a tree overhanging the Gna-Eein. The
Burmese were delighted, and said as long as they remained
there, the pool would never dry up. Nor did it for three
years, but when we went there the fourth, they were gone
and the pool hard and dry ! Whether the shikaries in their
wanderings had seen the pool dry and removed the images,
I do not know ; but I strongly suspect they did, to verify
their own prophecy. It is a fact that for the three years
they (the images) were there, the pool always had water in
it, though it was more liquid mud than aqua puris. It was
full of a coarse fish, and our mahouts used to jump into it
and catch numbers of them. There were also salt-licks about,
so it is no wonder that game abounded near that spot. We
came across three elephants, one a fine tusker, but could not
get near them for a certain shot. I fired very badly to-day,
and Lloyd and Clarke got three deer between them. Tired
of this work, we mounted our ponies and rode back into
Tongho.

We next thought we would try spring shooting, so Lloyd

VISIT MYETQUIN 147

and Mrs. Lloyd started in a boat over-night, and Clarke, Dr.
Madden, and I early next morning in my loung. We got to
Banlong at 7.30 p.m. The Lloyds had only just arrived.
We had time to bathe before dinner, and soon after, all
turned in. The next morning we started early, but the
jungles had not been sufficiently burnt, and though we put
up a lot of sambur and thamine we saw little more than the
tips of their horns. I got the only deer killed. The next
day I got nothing, and Lloyd killed one deer.

March 20. — Clarke, Madden, and I went ahead to Myetquin,
our house then being ready. I wounded a stag thamine, and
jumping off the elephant, ran after it with a Burman dalweil,
or fighting sword, and with one blow I nearly cut its neck
right through. As I wished to fire off my muzzle-loaders,
we fired at a group of deer fully 400 yards off. We saw
none fall, but from the thud I said I thought one had been
hit in the head, and we found a young buck shot right
through the head with my two-groove rifle which had been
fired by Clarke.

March 21 and 22. — During these two days we only shot
two deer, but the jungle fires were still raging, and the game
on the move. I took Mrs. Lloyd in my howdah, which I
had just had made. Lloyd fired at a peacock with ball and
missed, but Mrs. Lloyd knocked it over very prettily. She
is good all round. We only shot two or three deer, not
worth the expense of coming all this distance at this time of
the year. On the 25th I again took Mrs. Lloyd in my
howdah ; she shot a hog deer, and then, as it was getting
very hot, she got on to a pad elephant and went back to
camp. I killed three deer to-day. On the 26th and 2/th
we again shot with indifferent luck, bagging in the two days
only seven deer between us. The next day I rode back to
Tongho.

In April I had to go to Shoayghein, and got to Ka-een-kine
at 5 p.m. The next day we went across country, making for
Myetquin. I started a tiger, but failed to get a shot ; the
heat was awful, and not a drop of water to be had anywhere.
We were getting to the edge of a tree-jungle, and well out
in the quin was a herd of tsine (wild cattle), the first I had

148 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

seen. They are beautiful creatures, and I have described
them elsewhere. I got off and attempted to stalk them, but
a pad elephant trumpeted, and off the herd went. I followed
them up for some time, but had to desist. We got to
Myetquin at 2 p.m. The large bheel there was all but dry.
In the evening I shot a stag, but as it had not been hal-lal-ed,
the Mussalmen mahouts turned up their noses at the flesh,
so my servants and shikaries fared all the better. I had
wounded a doe also, but lost her in the dark. We found her
remains next morning ; she had evidently been eaten by a
tiger. I hunted for it, got a glimpse and wounded it, but
it got into the tree-jungle and got away. I had an appoint-
ment to keep at Shoayghein, so could not delay any longer
en route. We made for Chowteah, and I shot a stag
en route. On the banks of the Koonchoung we disturbed a
herd of gaur, but they got away. To try the accuracy of my
two-groove rifle I fired at a couple of peafowl right and left,
and brought them down. I saw some Coolen to-day, but
could not get near them.

April 14. — Moved to Thabew, where I had a bungalow.
En route I bagged two deer and a pig, as well as two jungle
fowl. I saw the fresh marks of bears about, but not the
beasts themselves. A tiger killed a cow in the open and I
went out at once. Close by there was a clump of long grass,
and near it I had a pit dug, and sat in it with my shikarie.
About 6 p.m. the tiger appeared, and after spying about every-
where, he slowly approached the kill. He was an old male
with fine whiskers ; he had evidently been wallowing in a
pool, as his body was encrusted in mud. When within a
few yards of the kine he stood still and took a look round
again ; as his head was slightly turned away, he presented
a splendid shot. I pointed to the shoulder for Shoayjah to
fire at; I aimed at the junction of the head and neck. I fired
just ahead of the shikarie, and the tiger rolled over dead.
We walked back to camp. I had ordered the jemadar to
send a couple of elephants directly a shot was fired, but they
were too busy cooking their own food to hurry themselves.
I told them to be more careful to obey orders in future, but
to finish their meal, and to go out to bring in the tiger

SHOTS AT TIGERS 149

immediately afterwards. I had just finished my dinner when
the mahouts returned, saying the tiger was not dead, but
eating the cow ! It was too dark to do anything then, but
I told them to be ready at daylight. There was my tiger,
dead enough, but the cow had been demolished, and her
bones scattered about. I asked where the mud-pool was that,
the tiger had bathed in, and a villager said close by. I went
up to it and started the tigress at once, got two snap-shots,
but failed to bag her ; and as I was pressed for time and she
had got into a tangled forest, I told the local shikarie to look
her up. I left the greater part of my impedimenta here, and
after seeing the tiger's skin pegged out, I started on pony-
back for my destination, with just my bedding and a few
necessaries which had been sent on in the early morning on
a fast pad elephant. I got to Shoayghein by the evening,
and put up with Watson of the Artillery. I was very busy
there looking after a bazaar that I was constructing, for three
days, and then rode back to Thabew, getting there by the
evening. I had three good ponies, two as relays. The
tigress had not been recovered, but the local man had a
couple of panther cubs ; he offered them to me for a rupee,
but as there was no milk to be got, I refused them. I believe
he got his own wife to suckle them till he got a goat from
the Karens, but whether he ever reared them I never heard.

April 20. — I started early for Chowteah. I went straight
across country, and it was very hard work for the elephants
to push their way through the long and entangled grass,
which evidently had not been burned for years. The stems
were more like bamboos. Elephants are the only beasts which
can make their way through these heavy prairies, and in the
tracks they make, gaur and buffaloes follow. I soon lost sight
of the other elephants, and coming on a recent track I told my
mahout to follow it. There seemed no prospect of sport, so
I was sitting down reading, when there was a snort ; I dropt
the book, and just saw the tail of a gaur disappearing. I had
no time to fire. It is a very reprehensible habit, reading in a
howdah, as many shots are lost by it. When too late, I put
the book away, and took up the rifle, but for an hour I saw
nothing, and was all but smothered by the dusty fluff from

150 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the reeds, which is also very irritating. We got out of the heavy
grass and through a quin, then through a belt of trees that
fringed the Koonchoung which we crossed. We then saw
several tracks ; as one seemed fresher than the other, I told
my man to stick to it, and in half-an-hour came upon five
gaur lying down chewing the cud under the few trees that were
there. We had approached so silently that they only saw us
when we were almost on them. I fired at the nearest — a
cow ; the herd sprang up and were off, but not before I
caught the bull a crack, and one more ball finished the cow.
The mahout cut her throat and declared she was hal-lal-ed,
that is, lawful to be eaten, but she was dead as a herring
before he approached her. I had her flayed, and took her
tongue, a strip of the hump, and the marrow-bones for myself.
The mahout took enough meat for the whole camp, and tied
it on behind my howdah. Before we had gone a yard, down
came the vultures — first in ones and twos — then in tens and
twenties — and soon in hundreds. At times we found them
a perfect nuisance : they used to follow us about — flying
ahead, lighting on the topmost branches of the trees, and the
flapping of their wings disturbed the whole country and
frightened game away ; thus proving, from their greediness,
their own enemies. Had they remained in the sky, they
would have got far more pickings. I once threw out a very
large tiger, and in eight minutes there was not a particle of
meat left on the bones. We reached our camp at 4 p.m. and
found our baggage animals had arrived before us ; they too
had seen gaur and wild elephants. The villagers complained
that three men, woodcutters, had been killed by bears lately,
but they did not know where those beasts lived.

April 21. — We made for Myetquin. We lost much time
looking for a rhinoceros, which the people said was always
about Ananbo, but we failed to make his acquaintance. We
saw plenty of hinds, but it was useless shooting them here,
as we had plenty of meat and could get as many as we
wanted at Myetquin. Out of one patch, not 20 yards square,
I put out three sambur and a tiger ; he had been rolling
in the ashes of the grass fires, and I did not recognize him
for a feline till he was all but out of shot. I hunted him for

BAG TWO GAUR—WILD BUFFALOES 153

a couple of hours, but failed to see him again. About five
miles beyond I saw a gaur standing alone; I got off and
stalked him. I was within 50 yards, and should have got
nearer, had I not tripped over a vine, and the noise startled
not only him but seven others. They ran about 20 yards
— the country was just there quite open — and then faced
about. I lay full length on the ground. I had my trusty
Lang, and fired at the chest of the big bull, and, as they spun
round, at the shoulder of another. Both balls told, but
nothing fell to the shots. I picked myself up, and running
along, without a loaded barrel, I all but stumbled over the
prone bull, but he was fortunately in articulo mortis. I
jumped back — reloaded — and then found his spirit had fled.
I waited for the elephant, and got into the howdah. I
had no.t gone 100 yards, when I came upon the cow — gave
her two more bullets, but she led me a long chase, but I
eventually bagged her. I took the usual tit-bits for myself,
and the tail in addition, whilst the mahout — who had again
performed the hal-lal — took a couple of hind-legs, which I
had the pleasure of helping him to tie on either side of my
howdah. When I got to camp I found my other elephants
had come upon the bull and brought in the trophies, thus
saving me the trouble of sending for them. Shoayjah here
met me with the skin of the tigress I had fired at on the I3th,
but the skin was not worth the keeping, and I told him to
take it to the Cutcherie for the reward.

I had left Boyle and Dr. Madden at Myetquin, and gone
back to Tongho for a few days, as my eldest boy was ill and
his mother very anxious. I stopped there from the i6th to the
2 1st, and then, as my people were all but well, I got into my
boat and returned to Banlong. I found no elephant or pony
for me, though I had requested Madden to send them to
meet me ; but I had a cold fowl, some beer, and rusks with
me, and lay down on the floor of the Zyat and slept till day-
light, when I got up, and after my ablutions I walked into
Myetquin, only to find my two comrades out shooting. They
did not return till 2 p.m. They had seen a lot of buffaloes,
had dismounted and wounded several ; fortunately they were
not charged. They failed to bag.

154 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

On the 23rd heavy rain all night, and for the greater part
« of the day, but we went out all the same. About 8 a.m. I
came upon five gaur lying down, and wishing the others to
get shots too, I stood perfectly still, beckoning to them to
hurry up ; but one of the elephants trumpeted whilst my
back was turned, and off the gaur went without my getting a
shot : so much for forbearance out shooting. We followed
them, and at last a monster gave me a broadside shot. I
put two belted balls in him ; he ran about 300 yards and
then pulled up, breathing heavily. Madden was on a fast
elephant, I was on a very slow one ; he ran ahead — came
alongside the bull, and in his excitement missed with both
barrels ! A young one joined the old bull and cleared the
way for him, and eventually we accounted for them both.

We then moved to a village called Thep-pat. We saw
sambur and a lot of gaur, but the grass was too high, and we
could only see the tips of their horns as they bounded along.
The country not having been burnt, it was useless remaining
there, so we made tracks back to Myetquin. We agreed to
fire at gaur, buffaloes, or tigers only, but there were so many
stags about that the temptation proved too much for
my comrades, and they opened fire. The reports of their
fusillade disturbed a gaur to my left. He presently joined
four others in an open glade, so we jumped off our steeds
and stalked them on foot. We got within 80 yards — there
were three standing near one another — one stood at least a
foot higher than the others, and they were all full grown !
The head and shoulders of the monster were behind the trunk
of a tree. I could not see them from where I was, but
Madden and Boyle could. At a given signal we fired. I aimed
at the hip-joint — down he went. He looked very old, very
emaciated ; all his ribs stuck out, but he was colossal. The
others went away with their tails in the air. I ran for-
ward, and by the time I got within 20 yards he had partly
struggled up, his hind-quarters were down and his fore up,
resting on his heels. I let fly into his shoulder ; up he jumped,
and went off on three legs, one of the hind ones flying about
anyhow, broken at the joint. As there was long grass about
we mounted the elephant, and went in chase. I got two

LOSE A GAUR BUT BAG ANOTHER 155

more shots, and he left pools of blood behind, but he managed
to crawl into a cane-break, where elephants could not pene-
trate. We went after him on foot — came upon where he had
been lying in a mass of gore ; but he had enough life left to
play at hide-and-seek with us, and as it was getting dark we
had to desist and go home. Next morning a large herd was
reported as close by, but in the opposite direction to where
we had left the wounded one. Convinced that he was dead,
I sent Shoayjah on an elephant to ascertain, and we went
after the herd. We were rather late in starting, as we were
to move homewards to-morrow. We agreed to fire at nothing
less than gaur, buffaloes, or a tiger, but we searched far and
wide and did not see the kine, so my comrades got tired of
not firing, and coming upon a fine sambur, let fly. I was
disgusted and turned towards home, but had not gone more
than a couple of miles when I saw a couple of gaur. I tried
to stal'k them, and in so doing put up a herd of about eight.
They ran on, tail on end, for 50 yards, and then wheeled
round. I fired a right and left at two of the largest, and
when the smoke cleared away the herd — all but one — was
gone. I went up to it and killed it ; my ball had struck the
dorsal ridge, and had paralyzed it. I knew another was
wounded, and followed the herd, but seeing no marks of
blood, went home. Had I gone about 100 yards to the
right I should have come upon him lying down. There in
that position I found him next morning, but he had strength
to get clear away, but left pools of blood behind him.

May 27. — We determined to go home via Pojahgalay Quin ;
I had heard much of it, so putting everything we had, in-
cluding servants, on elephants, we went straight across country
and put up the wounded gaur as just stated. But my gun
was in its waterproof cover, and I could not get it out in time
for a shot. Beyond the tree-jungle, about five miles on our
way, we came to a sort of half pond, half bheel, in which were
lying down some dozen wild buffaloes ; we dismounted and
opened fire, but failed to persuade one to remain behind ;
further on, we came to two of those Boyle and Madden had
fired at — dead, just dry skeletons.

We got to Pojahgalay Quin late in the afternoon. I had

156 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

ordered a hut to be built here for us, but we could not find it
for fully two hours — none of us knew where it had been
erected. The village was six miles off". The verandah had
evidently been used as a stable by a herd of tsine, as they
had left their cards behind them. The shed itself was so full
of fleas that a white cloth placed on the ground became almost
black in a few minutes. We had the verandah well rubbed
over with the wild cattle manure, and by slinging our ham-
mocks well off the ground, managed to pass the night in
tolerable comfort. We took our meals out in the open. We
sent on a couple of elephants to find the village, and to bring
us supplies and the best shikarie. We went out shooting and
came upon three buffaloes — those we had fired at yesterday —
dead. We each got a buck sambur. In some places the
gadflies were so numerous they drove our attendants, our
elephants, and ourselves nearly mad. Marks of gaur, elephants,
and tsine plentiful. Our people returned with supplies, but
told us the head shikarie had died, and that the others did
not profess to know these jungles. The next day we went to
Ka-een-kine, and thence back to Tongho.

Hill persuaded me to go after rhinoceros to a place called
Thayet-pen-Kin-dat. Starting from Shoayghein I went to
Thanzeik, and on to Upper Bogatah. I got a gaur and a fine
sambur, and lost another gaur there. From Kyoukee we
started for the Yonzaleen — the country exceedingly pretty,
but all the way up and down hills intersected by numerous
watercourses. Groves of betel-nut and delicious oranges
everywhere. The mode of irrigation perfect. A bad road
for laden elephants. There was a false alarm of a tiger in
the night — they are much dreaded, being all man-eaters.
Watson, the Deputy Commissioner, told me he had never
crossed over this part of the country without losing one or
more men from tigers.

The next day the first hill was a buster ; it took us three
hours to reach the top, and then we had to descend nearly as
much again. At last we got to the Pemah-ben-choung at ten.
The Teh or rest-house here was stockaded, and with a chevaux-
de-frise round it of pointed bamboos to keep off the felines.
We halted there till 3 p.m., in the hope that our elephants

VISIT THAYET-PEN-KIN-DAT 157

would come up with our breakfast, but as there were no signs
of them we went on, and got to the police-station of Thayet-
pen-Kin-dat at 5 p.m. The elephants did not arrive till after
dark ; one of the mahouts had helped himself to our liquor,
got drunk, made his elephant — a bad-tempered brute — charge
the females, and broke no end of wine and beer, crockery-
ware, etc. To teach him to behave better in future, I tied
him up and gave him a dozen well laid on. The whole place
we found full of bugs, fleas, and gadflies, and to make matters
worse, the ravines where the rhinoceros live were quagmires
through which elephants could not go, so we did not bless
Hill, but went sadly back to Kyoukee the next day.

April 1 6. — Started for Ananbo — got there at 9.30 — break-
fasted, and went on to Thabew. We put up a lot of deer,
but the jungles wanted more burning, so gave the head-man
ten rupees, with instructions to see it done. We shot various
deer, and one day coining to a Karen village far away in the
interior, we stopped there for an hour or two. Knowing that
the Karens are famous for making a spirit from rice, we asked
them to sell us some, but they, thinking it was a trap laid for
them, swore they had none. After getting round the buxom
daughter of the old chief, who was a hoary old sinner of
about seventy-five, we got a bottle. It was, my comrades
declared, equal to mountain-dew or the real potheen. I am
no judge, as I never take spirits. The old rascal told us, on
our asking him where we could find a stream to bathe in, that
he had never used water for ablutions in his life, and that he
only changed his garments once in five or six years. He was
accustomed to get drunk three times every week for the
benefit of his health. Yet the old fellow, for his age, looked
lusty, and had several fine women for wives, and many
daughters and sons. I shot a couple of deer, and next day,
leaving my comrades to continue their sport, I went on to
Shoayghein, where I had work to attend to.

On another trip — May 3 — I rode out to Za-oo-goon, on the
Pue river, thirty-three miles from Tongho. Felt a sharp
shock of earthquake as I sat in the open, eating my dinner.

May 4. — Made for Myetquin across country. We had not
gone a mile when a tiger was put up, but not near me, and

158 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

it got away into bamboo jungle. I then made two good shots,
and rolled over a couple of sambur. I saw lots of marks of
gaur and some tsine in the distance. Got to camp at twelve
— the heat awful. I went out in the evening, but only got
rather a fine hog deer with the best horns I ever saw. Water
is very scarce. Numbers of sambur lying about dead of some
disease.

May 5. — I made straight for the Gna-Eein, and saw during
the day seven gaur, three buffaloes, a tiger, a boar, and
numbers of various deer. Near Zelokee a gaur got up, but
too far off to fire at. When near the tangled jungle I saw
three gaur go along and lie down under some trees, so got off
and told Shoayjah to stop there till he heard me fire. I took
Moung Wine with me ; when I reached the point where I
expected to find the kine, they were gone! Looking round
for the cause, I found Shoayjah quietly seated in my howdah
close behind ; he had of course frightened the beasts off. I
was in a rage, and gave Shoayjah something not to do the
like again, and made him trudge on foot after us the greater
part of the day. In half-an-hour I again saw a gaur, but
could not get within gunshot. The heat was awful — the sun
like a fiery furnace — not a breath of air and no water — I did
not feel amiable. The mahouts were clamorous for water for
themselves and their beasts, but there was none near. I had
just descended one bank of a nullah and ascended the opposite,
when I saw a very large bull staring me in the face not more
than ten or at the most fifteen paces off. I took a careful aim
with the two-groove Lang, but as I pulled the trigger the gaur
threw up his head, swerved, and ran about 30 yards. I
again fired, and then he lay down. I went up with a new
breech-loading rifle, which Westley Richards had just made
for me ; as he jumped up and attempted to run across, I
gave him the contents of both barrels, and he fell dead.
He was within a half-inch . of 7 feet at the shoulder. I
could not see a shot-mark on his forehead, and the shikarie
declared I had missed with my first shot, but that I could
scarcely credit. On opening his mouth to extract the tongue,
we found the bullet had gone up the right nostril, leaving no
external mark, and had lodged in the neck at the back of the

A FAIR DATS BAG 159

head. The palate was furrowed all along. I went a long
way, and seeing no signs of big game, I blazed at a pig and
fired over it — on which up jumped a gaur and went off at his
best pace. I then came upon three buffaloes, and broke the
hind-leg of one, and put it up several times afterwards, but
did not get a shot at it again. I was at the edge of a small
but deep nullah with a heavy and dense forest beyond, when
there was a sudden roar, and the elephant bolted down the
nullah, and it was as much as the mahout could do to prevent
her running into the forest. I saw the tiger, and might have
had a good shot at him had my elephant only been steady, but
I could not risk the chances of a smash-up amongst the trees,
so refrained from firing. I told the men to make for home,
and in an hour I saw another gaur chewing the cud under
some trees. My first idea was to dismount and to stalk the
bull, but he very conveniently moved behind an immense
bush, and keeping this between us I advanced rapidly on him
and got within fifty yards, and moving a little on one side I
got two shots and did for him. He was a big brute, but not
as high as the former. I got back to camp at 7 p.m., after a
hard and unpleasant day's work.

May 12. — Persuaded Hill to go back with me for a few
days' sport. We determined to go via Thabew and Chowteah.
I tried short cuts, but did nothing but go astray, but at last
got to Thabew at 1.30 p.m. I had just time to get a lot of
people to repair the thatch, when a perfect deluge set in, so
we made ourselves comfortable, and read and lounged all the
afternoon.

May 13. — We agreed not to fire at deer to-day. If we
came across wild elephants, we were to dismount and shoot
them on foot. I saw a porcupine, and thinking it looked
different from those in India, I very foolishly broke through
our rule and shot it. Hill then fired at a stag and disturbed
a gaur, and whilst he took up the spoor I travelled alongside
about 50 yards off on his left. I had got ahead slightly, and
on looking back I saw a splendid tusker walking straight up
to Hill's elephant. As the ground was most favourable, I
jumped off, thinking my comrade would do the same ; but he
got so excited that he blazed into the cranium of the tusker

160 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

without dismounting, and of course did no harm, but effectu-
ally frightened the elephant, who went off as fast as his legs
could take him. We tried to overtake him and followed on
his trail for fully two hours, but never saw him again. We
saw lots of footmarks of gaur and elephants. We were not
far from Chowteah when, in an open quin, we saw a herd of
tsine ; we drew back into the forest, dismounted, and made
the best stalk we could. There were a few clumps of long
grass scattered about, and one large white-ant nest, and
nearest to it the bull of the herd. We crawled up to it, and
fired together. Hill shot it through the body — I near the
hip-joint, a favourite shot of mine, and broke its hind-leg.
Off went the bull, and we after him ; we came upon him
within 200 yards standing under a tree, and directly he saw
us he snorted and began to paw up the ground and to toss
his head, and trotted towards us. It was a pretty sight, but
the poor brute had not a ghost of a chance. Hill had my
double breech-loader, I had my two trusty two-groove rifles,
and in a few seconds he was on the broad of his back — stone
dead. He was just i6J hands high — bright red, with
white under the tail and along the inside of the thighs
and belly ; legs, from the knee downwards, whitish-yellow or
a dirty white ; white rings round the eyes, with a game-like
head and a deer's eyes ; the facial angle quite straight, the
horns somewhat like a cow bison's, but not nearly as massive ;
hump lost in the dorsal ridge, which was distinct, but
nothing like as prominent as in the gayal even ; no dew-lap,
or scarcely any. Opinions differ as to whether the loose skin
of the neck amounts to a dew-lap or not. We skinned him
and cut off his head. The marrow-bones and tongue were
very good for the table ; the beef I did not try. This was the
only one I shot, till — years after — I got four. The bull's
horns were truncated, as shown in the engraving, p. 102.

On the I4th, I5th, and i6th we saw gaur and tsine, but got
no shots, but shot several deer each day.

May 17.— We put up three tigers to-day. We shot five
deer between us, and got home to our hut just in time, as
a regular downpour set in. George turned up, looking like a
drowned rat ; he had had a tiger walking in front of him well

M

A DATS SPORT 163

within shot for some time, but his guns were wet through, and
not one of them would go off. At Tuen he and Lloyd had
killed two gaur and two stags ; Lloyd had been recalled, but
said he would follow in a day or two.

May 1 8. — Hill rode back to Kyoukee. George and I went
out ; we killed some deer, saw a herd of tsine and followed
it on foot for hours, but failed to get within shot : the old bull
in the distance looked black. We then mounted our elephants,
and saw gaur, but had no luck. On getting back to camp found
Watson and Hill there, and Lloyd also arrived in the evening.
May 19. — We all started very early in the pouring rain.
George broke the leg of a sambur, and I killed it for him ; a
little further on, a gaur got up almost under the trunk of
Lloyd's elephant, and everybody, with the exception of myself,
fired shot after shot at it, but it got away. We soon saw
another herd of gaur, but the jungles had been over-burnt —
we could not get nearer than 150 yards. I wanted Hill to
bag a gaur ; I told him to fire at a monster which was nearest
to us. Hill let fly and hit his. Lloyd fired at another and
wounded his ; they took opposite directions, and off went the
ardent sportsmen full chase. As Hill was alone, George and
I followed him ; Lloyd, having Shoayjah, could find his way
about, but Hill could not. I had mounted Hill on my fastest
elephant, and he soon distanced us and got out of sight, but
as he kept up a constant file fire, we followed in his wake.
In the other direction we heard Lloyd popping away, whilst
we two did not get a shot. Hill pulled up after leading us a
wild-goose chase for two hours, and did not bag his beast
after all. He had the tiffin basket behind his howdah. We
sat down to breakfast not in the sweetest of tempers, for Hill
had led us away from all the best ground ; and Lloyd, equally
unsuccessful, turned up in an hour. He, too, was savage that
neither of us had gone with him, as he said, with help he could
have got his beast, whom he had reduced to a walk ; but it
had got into a brake and escaped. On the way back I shot
two hamadryads nearly 10 feet each, with ball right and left;
these are the most venomous of all poisonous snakes. Lloyd
shot a sucking-pig, which proved capital eating. We also got
several deer.

164 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

•

May 20. — Heavy rain ; but we went out in the afternoon
and shot a pig, a sambur, and a dala'el or hog deer.

May 21. — Heavy rains ; only Lloyd and I ventured out.
We had each shot a stag, and were going through a patch of
long grass, in which we saw the movement of some animal.
We thought it was a hog deer, but coming to a small but deep
nullah, over bounded a tigress, and Lloyd, taking a snap-shot,
broke her back, and I put her out of her pain. She had a deep
cut inside her thigh, inflicted on her evidently by the boar.
We padded her and sent her to camp, which was in sight.
She was offensive two hours after death. I got a fine stag
thamine and put up a gaur, but did not get a shot at it.

May 22, 23, 24. — Too rainy to do much, but we killed a
few deer. Lloyd and George went to Banlong. Hill and
Watson to Kyoukee, and I to Tuen, and thence to Tongho.

In October, Lloyd, Duval, and I went south. The grass was
too high and the country under water ; we shot three buffaloes
and some deer, but this is not the season for shooting in
Lower Burma.

These are a few of the records of our trips — just sufficient
to give the reader an idea of what the sport is like.

CHAPTER V

SPORT IN UPPER BURMA

RHINOCEROS SUMATRENSIS — THE ASIATIC TWO-HORNED
RHINOCEROS. [W. S. THOM]

To those desirous of becoming better acquainted with this
rhino's haunts, habits, and appearance, Blandford's descrip-
tion of the animal in his Fauna of British India may not be
amiss. here. He describes this animal as the smallest of living
rhinoceros and the most hairy, the greater part of the body
being thinly clad with hair, and the ears and tail more thickly
covered. The two horns are some distance apart at the
base ; both are slender above, except in the case of females,
which have mere stumps a few inches, and the anterior horn
of the male in fine specimens elongate and curve backwards.
The skin is usually rough and granular ; the folds, though
much less marked than in the one-horned species, are still
existent, but only that behind the shoulders is continued
across the back. Colour, varying from earthy-brown or black.
Dimensions, somewhat variable. The type of Sclater's R.
lasiotis was 4 feet 4 inches high at the shoulder, and 8
feet long from snout to root of tail ; its weight about 2000
Ibs. An old female from Malacca was only 3 feet 8 inches
high; the average height of adults is probably 4 feet to 4
feet 6 inches. The largest known specimen of the anterior
horn measures 32 inches over the curve. Skull, 20 inches ;
basal length, 11*25 inches zygomatic breadth.

Varieties. — Specimens from Chittagong and Malacca .were
living at the same time in the Zoological Society's Gardens,
London, in 1872, and the former was distinguished by Sclater
as R. lasiotis, by its larger size, paler and browner colour,
smoother skin, longer, finer, and more rufescent hair, shorter

165

i66 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and more tufted tail, the ears having a fringe of long hair and
being naked inside; but above all by the much greater breadth
of the head.

Unquestionably the difference was considerable; but by far
the most remarkable, the shape of the head is shown by
Blyth to be variable in both R. unicornis and R. sondaicus,
for he figured and described a broad and narrow type of each,
as well as R. sumatrensis.

The other distinctions scarcely appear to me of specific
value, and I am inclined to regard the two forms as varieties
only.

Distribution. — Rare in Assam, though one specimen has
been recorded on the Sankosh river, in the Bhutan Duars
(P.Z.S. 1875, p. 566). Another was shot 20 miles south
of Comillah in Tipperah, in February 1 876. From Assam the
species ranges to Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and
Borneo.

Habits. — Very similar to those of the other species. This
rhinoceros inhabits forests, and is found at a considerable
elevation, having been observed 4000 feet above the sea in
Tenasserim, by Tickell. It is a shy and timid animal, but
easily tamed when adult.

Details obtained by Mr. Bartlett concerning a young animal
born in London, induced him to regard the period of gestation
as probably a little over seven months. This differs greatly
from Hodgson's account of the period in R. unicornis, but
no details are furnished in the case of the last-named species,
whilst the evidence is stated in that of R. sumatrensis. Still,
for so large and apparently so long-lived an animal, seven
months of uterine life appears short.

Anderson, in his Fauna of Mergui and its Archipelago,
mentions having heard of a two-horned rhino seen swimming
in the sea near High Island in the Archipelago. Probably
all rhinoceros are good swimmers. (They certainly are. —
F. T. P.)

The story of the Chittagong rhinoceros that was unable to
swim must be, I think, a mistake. The account given by
Mason, and repeated by Blyth, of this or any other rhinoceros
attacking fire should be received with great caution. To my

RHINOCEROS SHOOTING 167

personal knowledge Mr. Blyth's principal informant had a
weakness for relating shikar stories which were frequently
good, but not always authentic.1

I was fortunate enough, during my five years' sojourn in the
Ruby Mines district, to come across four of these animals,
three of which I succeeded in getting. I had also many
opportunities, when spending my short leave out in camp, of
studying the habits of these ungainly mammalia. They are
not easy to find, and are always very timid and shy, but when
found they are easily stalked and killed, provided you are
armed with a heavy rifle. They are capable, when alarmed, of
dashing away through the densest jungle at a great pace, and
often travel for many miles over the roughest country before
they come to a halt. Mud-wallows, swampy ground, and
dark, damp, cool jungles amongst the hills, up to an elevation
of 4000 feet, are the spots they usually frequent. (I found them
at the base of the Arrakan range, near Cape Negrais, at a
very slight elevation only. — F. T. P.)

Three or four animals may sometimes be found in one
locality within a mile or so of each other. But as a rule they
are solitary ; I have on one occasion come across two females
wallowing in the same mud-hole.

These mud-holes are usually found at the source of some
small stream, where the soil is swampy, or of a clayey nature.
A spring or a marshy piece of ground by some stream is often
utilized in the same manner, and one rhinoceros may have
two or three wallows, or mud-holes, which he visits in turn :
principally during the months of May, June, July, and
August.

The sportsman will be notified of the near vicinity of a
wallow by the caked mud which has been rubbed off the
rhino's body by the bushes and tree-trunks as the anima\
passes.

Should the rhino be in his mud-bath, the sportsman will
sometimes be made aware of the fact by hearing peculiar, low,

1 I do not agree in this statement. Mr. Blyth to my certain knowledge
was a most painstaking and able naturalist, and did not accept all he
heard, but most Karens and Burmese assert that this rhinoceros rushes
at a fire and scatters it. — F. T. P.

1 68 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

rumbling, humming sounds, the noise being very similar to
that made by a species of large hornbill when soaring through
the air, or like the sound made by a vulture's wing when
stooping to the earth.

These rhinos sometimes wander great distances to feed, but
are most frequently found within a mile or so of their wallows.
They feed principally on bamboo-leaves, shoots, young cane,
thorny shrubs, and a bush called " Kyau-sa." It was in the
Sagadaung jurisdiction of the Shan State of Momeik, Ruby
Mines district, that I first made my acquaintance with these
animals. I had previously, in other parts of the district,
when out looking for gaur and elephant, come across old
tracks, but had never had the luck to find any fresh ones, or
to light on a fresh mud-hole.

One evening, in the beginning of the rainy season, Moung
Hpe turned up in the " zayat," or rest-house, whilst I was
lolling in my long arm-chair, under the soothing influence of
a good dinner, cigarette, and a cup of coffee, and said —
" Thakin, hnepen taung-daw thwa gya-zo, mane-ga wakok
the-ma hnit-yauk kyan-kyi-ya ah thit twe ge de " (Sir,
let us go into the hills to-morrow ; two bamboo-cutters saw
fresh rhinoceros tracks yesterday). This was excellent news,
and Moung Hpe was immediately made the recipient of a
bottle of Younger's Monk Brand beer, an old shooting-jacket,
and five rupees.

Poor Moung Hpe, as fine a tracker as ever stepped ! I
wonder what he is doing now ? Ah, those glorious days,
gone like a fleeting dream !

As the locality in which the rhino's tracks had been seen
was distant in the hills above Sagadaung only some eight
or ten miles, I made up my mind to pay a flying visit to
the spot, leaving early next morning, and camp out only
one night in the jungle, as I had a good deal of work on
hand.

At 6 a.m. next day I was well on my way into the hill,
having first arranged with my camp-followers and servants as
to the spot to be chosen for our camp. Moung Hpe and an
old retired Shan shikarie, whose knowledge of the hills was
extensive, accompanied me. He was a curious old fellow,

A SHAN TRADER.

From a Photo by Wa.tis\& Skeen, Rangoon.

FOLLOWING UP A RHINOCEROS 171

this Shan, and never better pleased than when smoking away
at a long Shan pipe and drinking raw spirits.

I was armed on this occasion with only an old single '450
sporting Martini-Henry carbine, which belonged at one time
to poor Tucker of the police, as daring a sportsman and as
good a shot as Burma has ever seen, and a double 12-bore
shot-gun by Joseph Lang, which burned a maximum charge
of 4^ drams of powder, and carried a spherical ball with great
precision and penetration up to 30 or 40 yards.

After reaching the outlying spurs of the Shwe-u-taung
range we struck the Tunkachoung stream, along whose banks
we walked. As luck would have it, we had not gone a quarter
of a mile before Moung Hpe, jumping down into the sandy
bed of the stream, exclaimed — " Thakin, thakin, kyi-ba-thee
ma, kyau-kyi-ya, ah-thit gane ma net saw zaw thaw-ge-de "
(Sir, sir, look here, fresh rhino tracks ; the animal passed
early this morning). On examining the tracks I noticed that
the water in them was still a little clouded at the bottom, and
that they must be very fresh tracks. I knew that Moung
Hpe very rarely made a mistake as to the freshness of a
track, and I was convinced, from the decided way he had
spoken about the tracks, that he was quite certain in his own
mind that they had been recently made.

We decided to wait the arrival of our camp-followers before
taking on the tracks, as there was a suitable piece of ground
for pitching camp on the banks of the stream, and I wanted
to warn them about making any noise which might disturV
the rhino.

After waiting about an hour and a half our followers turned
up, when we informed them of the fresh tracks, and after
cautioning every one not to cut down bamboos or make any
preparations for chopping firewood, etc., till they had heard me
fire, we started off on the trail.

The ground in the neighbourhood was very hilly, and at
times we had to push our way through cane-jungle and over
swampy ground.

After covering some two miles of country the track
showed that the animal had been feeding round in circles,
1 All rhinoceros feed in circles. — F. T. P.

172 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and at times tracking was made to my eyes almost im-
practicable, as the animal had crossed and recrossed its own
tracks dozens of times. So mixed in fact had they become,
that sportsmen unaccustomed to tracking would be under
the impression that two or three animals instead of one had
been in the vicinity. We succeeded eventually in hitting the
right trail out of this maze, and after travelling for over three
hours, came on unmistakable signs of a mud-wallow. Moung
Hpe now fell back and requested me to lead, warning me
at the same time to be careful, as a wallow was not far off,
and, indeed, numerous traces of it were apparent. The
surrounding jungle was composed of cane, bamboo, and
tree forest.

Following a small game track I pushed my way cautiously
along the side of the hill through the foliage, which fortun-
ately was not very dense here, Moung Hpe and the old Shan
hunter following in my traces.

I felt as if my heart was going to burst from suppressed
excitement, at the thought of seeing for the first time a real
wild rhinoceros. Of course I had seen the larger species
of rhino in the Zoo, but had never seen one in its wild state.
Moreover, the animal I was tracking had two horns, and, if
I remember rightly, no specimen of the Rhinoceros sumatrensis
was in the Zoological Gardens when I paid my visit.

Rounding a clump of overhanging canes on a sloping
ridge, I caught sight of the edge of the basin or wallow on
the brow of the hill, a few feet above the level of my head,
and at a distance of about 25 yards. There were numerous
fresh signs of the rhino's presence in the splashes of yellow
clayey mud all round the edge of the basin and on the
surrounding trees, but no sound emanated from the wallow,
which appeared to be deserted.

Turning round and holding up my hand as a signal to
Moung Hpe and the Shan to stay where they were, I
cocked both barrels of the smooth-bore, bent low, and moved
cautiously forward about ten paces. My coat unfortunately
caught on a hooked thorny cane-creeper, and knocked down
a small decayed branch, which fell to the ground with a faint
rustle.

WOUND A RHINOCEROS 173

The scene was changed in a moment. An ugly, small-
eyed, piggish, horny-looking-beast reared itself up out of
the wallow in a sitting posture, only exposing its head and
shoulders, and blinked at me stupidly for a few seconds in
an undecided manner, as if debating in its own mind what
manner of animal I was. I did not give it time to consider
long, but jumped from my stooping attitude and aimed
hurriedly at the huge head, firing both barrels in quick suc-
cession. A tremendous commotion in the wallow immediately
ensued, followed by sounds like the drawing of corks from
very large bottles, the sound being caused by the rhinoceros
pulling its feet out of the clayey soil as it rushed out of the
wallow and bolted, in full flight, down the hill-side, through
cane-brake and bamboo, carrying everything before it. At
first I was greatly disappointed, being under the impression
that I had made a clean miss.

Moung Hpe, who was also greatly disgusted at my shoot-
ing, came up with a very long face, taking it for granted that
.1 had missed, and said, " Thakiri, thakin, thee-tokan-now ka-
bedaw ma ya bu kyan hue dine ma twe hnine bu ma, hman
bu tin de " (Sir, sir, you will never have such luck again ;
it is not every day that you see a rhinoceros, I think you
have missed it). But I had not missed, for after following
up the tracks for about 100 yards, we found, much to my
delight, blood on either side of the track, which proved
beyond a doubt that one of my bullets had gone clean
through the animal's head.

It was simply marvellous to think that any animal could
have received such a shock without staggering or showing any
signs of having been hit, and then make off, down a steep
hill-side through dense undergrowth, like an express train.

We had not been an hour on the trail before Moung Hpe
pointed out the rhino to me, lying down on its stomach
amongst some bushes, breathing heavily. I could just see
a dirty yellow patch, which I immediately fired at.

On receiving the shot it jumped up and made off again.
We came up with him after going about 300 yards further ;
it was standing broadside on, and I put in a right and left
behind the shoulder. I was obliged to use my smooth-bore,

i74 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

as the striker of the Martini carbine was out of order, and
would not explode a single cartridge. The last two shots
seemed to waken it up pretty considerably, as it travelled
some distance before we again overhauled it. We had
some difficulty on this occasion in finding the tracks, as it
had entered a stream and waded down for a considerable
distance. We now found that the rhino was heading back
in the direction from which it had come, and we could dis-
tinctly hear our camp-followers talking and laughing in the
hollow below, and some of them now joined us in trying to
find the lost tracks.

While we were thus scattered about up and down stream
examining the ground, my attention was suddenly drawn by
Moung Hpe to the rhino, which was standing with heaving
flanks on the bank of the stream, within ten paces of a rock
upon which I had climbed. I could see from its stertorous
breathing that the poor beast was done for and quite helpless,
so wading quietly up to within a yard or two I fired behind
the shoulder, aiming for the heart. The rhino stood motion-
less for about four seconds, and then sank dead on to its
knees, with a long-drawn sigh.

On examination I found that it was a female, and that
only one of my two first shots had taken effect, but this one
had gone clean through the head, and only missed the brain
by a very narrow margin.

The rhino was 4 feet 6 inches from heel to shoulder,
measured between uprights, and had two distinct horns, the
front one about 4 inches in length, and the hinder one a
mere horny protuberance.

In the male the front horn varies from 6 to 12 inches. The
folds were much less marked than in the one-horned species,
and commenced behind the shoulders, continuing across the
back ; there was also a slight overlapping of the skin on
the posterior. The colour of the skin approached a light
earthy brown ; the ears had a long hairy fringe, but were
naked inside.

The male rhinoceros, according to Burman hunters, consort
with the females about the middle and end of the rain.

On another occasion I saw three animals within the space

COME ACROSS AND SHOOT TWO RHINOCEROS 175

of an hour and a half on an outlying spur of the Shwe-u-
taung hill, two of which I succeeded in bagging. We had
been camping in a cave on the top of the hill, and were
moving down a spur intending to pitch on new ground as
soon as we came across traces of rhino or gaur.

I had been out on a shooting expedition for over a month,
having been granted leave from April 3 to May 17, and
during that time I had succeeded in getting two elephants,
six gaur, one tsine, one sambur, two barking deer, one
leopard, and one serow — not a bad bag. Moung Hpe and
I left camp early and started walking leisurely down the
ridge, leaving the remainder to pack up and follow at a
respectable distance.

We had gone about two and a half miles, when Moung
Hpe, suddenly stooping down and examining the ground
carefully, exclaimed, " Kyan hnit kaung, mane ga ma net
saw zaw thwa ge de" (Two rhinos passed this way early
yesterday morning). We immediately called a halt and
held a consultation, chose a suitable spot for our camp, and
arranged for tracking up the animals. Eventually we agreed
that our carriers and camp-followers, numbering in all some
twenty men, had better follow our trail in single file, in
silence, and at a respectable distance, until we came on
fresher tracks, when we could fix on some more convenient
spot near a stream for our camp. On this occasion I was
armed with a 12-bore rifle, and a double 8-bore burning
twelve drams. Moung Hpe carried the 12-bore, whilst I took
the heavier weapon. After warning our followers to remain
perfectly quiet whilst on the march in our rear, Moung Hpe
and I started off and took on the tracks of the rhinos, with
every hope of being able to come up with them in some
mud-wallow before dark. Moung Hpe as usual took the
lead, and whenever he was at fault, which very rarely hap-
pened, I assisted him by making wide casts till the trail was
recovered. We had greater difficulties to contend with than
I had expected to find. The ground was not only covered
with a thick layer of leaves, which in places had either been
scratched up by jungle fowl and pheasant, or scattered by the
wind, thereby obliterating all foot-prints, but at times it was

176 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

very hard and rocky. After covering some three miles of
precipitous but fairly open and rocky country, I felt tempted
to give it up in disgust, > as we had not as yet come upon
tracks which were only an hour or two old. Patience is
however usually rewarded in the end, and after many twist-
ings and turnings, backwards and forwards, up-hill and down
dale, often going over the same ground twice, we came on
fresh tracks, and were suddenly startled by hearing in our
immediate neighbourhood the peculiar low, muffled humming
sound repeated at intervals ; and Moung Hpe at once re-
cognized them as proceeding from the rhinos. To walk
noiselessly down the ridge in the direction of the sound was
the work of a few moments, but I was afraid our camp-
followers would catch us up before we could get sight of
the animals. Fortunately, however, they had all seated them-
selves on the ground for a rest. The peculiar low, buzzing
or humming noises now became more distinct, and as we
rounded a rocky ridge which overlooked a shallow ravine,
wooded with bamboo and an undergrowth of bush and
prickly cane, a large mud-wallow, in a small clearing border-
ing the cane-jungle, came into view, and in this two rhinos
were disporting themselves. One animal, the larger of the
two, was standing half in and half out of the slushy mud ;
the other was lying in it half submerged, rolling about from
side to side, and uttering the peculiar noises which had
attracted our attention. Telling Moung Hpe to fire at the
animal standing on the brink of the wallow, I aimed at the
other, and fired both barrels. Moung Hpe's shot rang out
simultaneously with my own. There was a terrific commotion
for a second or two in the wallow, accompanied by unearthly
grunts and screeches, something like the bray of a donkey,
and then both animals bolted away in different directions
through the cane.

We rushed down and examined the ground and bushes
in the neighbourhood of the wallow for blood, several big
splashes of which we discovered on the line of flight taken
by the rhino which I had fired at. We took on this animal's
tracks immediately, and had not gone very far before I
caught sight of the beast, limping along with a broken

DINE OFP RHINOCEROS STEAK 177

fore-leg ; a right and a left behind the shoulder brought it to
a standstill, and a third shot completed the business. After
marking the spot carefully we returned to the wallow, in-
tending to take on the tracks of the animal fired at by Moung
Hpe. We found that his bullet (Moung Hpe having fired
only one shot, being unaccustomed to a double rifle, and
naturally finding the firing of a second shot with any degree
of precision well-nigh impossible) had passed through a
creeper about the thickness of a man's calf, which would
naturally lessen the penetration of the bullet, although he
used a steel-tipped one.

After arranging a suitable spot for camp with our followers,
who had in the meantime joined us at the wallow, and who
were in great glee at the thought of dining off rhinoceros
flesh, Moung Hpe and I started off after the other rhino, which,
from a spot of blood found on a cane-bush near the wallow,
had evidently been hit.

We were rather ludicrous-looking objects after we had been
following the trail for some time, our clothes, hands, and faces
being plentifully besmeared with the clayey mud whilst
following in the wake of the rhino, which deposited a portion
of its coating on the bushes and branches at every step.
After puzzling over the tracks for three and a half miles of
very rugged country, up and down hill, through cane brakes
and ravines, we gave it up in disgust, as not only was it getting
late, but the animal had not shown any signs of having been
badly wounded. An animal, as a rule, when severely wounded
lies down once or twice to rest after the first mile or so ; an
experienced Burman hunter can often tell by the footprint of an
animal such as the gaur or tsine whether it has been wounded
or not, the slot of a wounded beast being often deep and
irregular, though this very rarely occurs in the case of a
wounded elephant or rhino, which, as a rule, only lie down when
about to die or unable to stand ; though I did once follow a
huge " Muckna" which lay down to rest no fewer than three
times within the distance of two miles.

I did not succeed in coming up with this animal, although
it had received three 8-bore spherical hardened bullets well
placed behind the shoulder.

N

178 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

It was now about 4 p.m., and as we had not eaten any food
since 10.30 a.m. we proceeded to dispose of our respective
breakfasts, mine consisting of cold salted gaur tongue, biscuits,
dried figs, and some cold boiled rice, washed down with
beautifully cool, clear hill water. Moung Hpe opened out on
boiled rice, cold smoked gaur, and last, but not least, that
highly odoriferous national dish, a " bonne bouche," amongst
Burmans known as " ngapee." Whilst in the middle of our
well-earned meal we were startled by hearing the peculiar,
muffled humming sound already referred to, and which seemed
to proceed from no great distance.

We both jumped to our feet with alacrity, sending the
remains of our meal flying. I seized my 8-bore and, after
pocketing a couple of spare cartridges, moved cautiously in the
direction of the sound, Moung Hpe bringing up the rear.
After wading through a swampy piece of ground for about
40 yards I caught sight of another wallow, from which the
sounds seemed to issue. Arriving within half-a-dozen paces
of it I saw a spectacle which made my heart throb at a
tremendous pace — a rhinoceros lay submerged in the mud,
with its ears and the top of its head occasionally showing as
it rolled about from side to side, uttering each time its nostrils
and mouth rose above the surface low, peculiar, long-drawn
grunts. I cautiously withdrew and beckoned to Maung Hpe
to approach a little closer so that he might be of some assist-
ance in case of a charge, and, after seeing him ensconced
behind a tree within a few yards of the wallow to my right, I
took a steady aim for what I took to be the shoulder of the
animal, but which afterwards turned out to be its stomach,
and fired.

A tremendous grunting, screaming, snorting, and splashing
ensued after my shot, and I was so near to the wallow that
several splashes of mud struck my hat and coat.

The rhino, after making several rapid gyrations in the wallow
as if trying to bite its own tail, shot out of the pit through
mud two or three feet deep, and rushed down the side of the
hill as fast as any pig could travel, followed by a second bullet
from me and a right and left from Moung Hpe, all of which,
as I afterwards found, took effect in various parts of his body.

CAN RHINOCEROS SWIM? 179

Notwithstanding all this we had a long, stern chase, the
rhinoceros keeping up a tremendous pace for nearly three miles,
and leading us through some of the most awful jungle which it
has ever been my fortune to travel over. All things must,
however, come to an end some time, and we eventually came
up with him standing stock still on the side of a deep ravine
looking very sick. I was very thankful that we had come up
with him, and I am certain that I should not have been able to
keep up the pace another mile over such country as that we
had traversed, encumbered as I was with the heavy 8-bore. I
was literally dripping from head to foot, and almost blinded
with perspiration from the violent exercise we had just
undergone, enhanced by copious draughts of icy water en
route.

As the rhino was standing facing away from me, I worked
cautiously round till I could obtain a good shoulder shot. I
succeeded in getting partially round, but was discovered by
the brute, which wheeled round with a loud grunt and walked
quickly with lowered head towards me. This was a most
unusual proceeding, and entirely unexpected, for I was always
under the impression that a rhino was a harmless beast. As
may be imagined, I did not wait to see any more, but delivered
a quick right and left. On the smoke clearing I saw that the
rhino had not only come to a standstill, but was about to fall.
In fact, after a preliminary roll or two from side to side, a
loud gasping sigh as it collapsed slowly on to its knees pro-
claimed its decease. A kill of two rhinos in one day was not
bad work, but to crown all we found that we, or rather the
rhino, had been travelling round in a circle, and that instead
of being five or six miles from camp we were only some two
or three hundred yards from it. I returned highly elated, but
feeling a little knocked up, a dip in the stream which flowed
past our encampment (an erection of leaf huts, " taungzin
pet " leaves), and a good dinner brought me up to par once
more. Many a long yarn did my shikaries and I spin over
the flickering camp fire far into the night, before I dropped
off into a well-earned slumber.

With regard to a doubt expressed by some naturalists as
to rhinos being able to swim, I can say, from what I have

1 8o WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

seen and heard myself, that they are undoubtedly good
swimmers.

I remember very well on one occasion, whilst out with a
party of police tracking a gang of dacoits, coming upon some
fresh rhino tracks leading into the Kin river and emerging
on the opposite bank at a crossing where the water, it being
then well on in the rainy season, was quite four to five feet
deep. One of my hunters informed me that he had once
watched two rhinos, a young one and its mother, cross a
stream. Before entering the water, however, the mother had
to prod up the little one from behind with her snout several
times to induce it to venture in. Being unarmed at the time
he was unable to shoot them. He noticed particularly that
both swam very strongly and swiftly across, the young one in
front, and that only a portion of the snout and head of each
animal was visible. The young one on arriving at the opposite
bank lay down and rolled over and over again on the grass,
in the same manner as a horse would do, but the mother
walked steadily on after reaching the bank, leaving her young
one to follow. It is said that rhinos deposit huge mounds of
ordure,1 visiting the same spot daily. I have not noticed this
with regard to the R. sumatrensis (I found the mounds at
the foot of the hills near Negrais, and in Assam they were
very plentiful wherever there were rhinoceros. — F. T. P.),
although I have come across their droppings in the ordinary
course of my wanderings, and they all seemed as if left on a
single occasion. The morning after the death of the rhinos I
had rather a novel experience on the top of the Shwe-u-taung
hill with a tiger.

My hunters and I were engaged tracking a solitary bull
gaur which, after browsing on young bamboo shoots and
leaves in the valley, had left the cover for the more open
grassy slopes on the ridge. The grass here, which was never
at any time higher than one's knees, had been burnt, and the
young green shoots which had sprung up after recent showers
attracted sambur and an occasional solitary gaur.

The tracks after winding about for some time through this

1 Mr. Thorn, since this was written, has found these mounds in the
Arrakan Yomahs.— F. T. P.

STALK A TIGER— FAIL TO BAG 181

open country led us to the top of the ridge, from whence a
glorious view was obtained, the surrounding country lying
like a map at our feet. Here and there might be seen the
river Shweli with its tributaries glistening in the sun like
silver threads, the Kin and the Momeik, whose combined waters
eventually empty themselves into the Irrawady, and an occa-
sional glimpse of the broad waters of the latter some thirty-five
miles off. It was while standing admiring the grand panorama
stretched out before us, that my attention was drawn to five or
six doe sambur, which, emerging in single file from the dense
woods at our feet some 400 yards off, began feeding slowly
along up the side of the hill quite unconscious of our presence.
After the last animal had disappeared over the ridge I was
just about to try a stalk, as our stock of fresh meat required
replenishing, when another animal emerged from the wood,
trotted up to the top of the ridge near where the sambur had
passed, and lay down. Thinking that this was another sambur
and that it would be easily approached, I took my 8-bore,
having no other weapon with me at the time, and began
the stalk. For the first 200 yards or so it was easy
enough, but after that there was little or no cover behind
which I could screen my advance. Whilst pondering how I
was to get any nearer without being discovered, I noticed the
animal's tail flick upwards once or twice with a quick spas-
modic jerk, and then only it dawned upon me that the animal
lying basking in the sun a couple of hundred yards from me
was a tiger. This was rather a shock, and something I had
not bargained for. I was determined, however, not to back
out or show any signs of funk, as my men were watching my
every action, and it would not have done to let them have the
impression that I was afraid to face any animal. I succeeded,
after a great deal of tortuous manoeuvring, in lessening the
distance between us to about 150 yards, and flattened myself
out behind a small clump of ferns. I lay like a log in this
position for over three minutes, in the hope of seeing the tiger
get up and move in my direction, near enough to enable me
to get home an accurate shot. What would I not have given
at that moment for a good '577, -450, or even '256 rifle ! I was
not a good enough shot, nor yet sufficiently accustomed to

182 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

i

the heavy 8-bore, to be absolutely certain of hitting at any
distance beyond 80 to 100 yards, much less of reaching
a vital spot. Besides, the tiger, as he lay on all-fours, did not
present a very large target. At last I made up my mind to
chance a shot, as I was getting rather cramped and uncom-
fortable from the position in which I was lying. So putting
up the 1 50 yards sight and cocking both hammers quietly, I
raised my rifle to the shoulder, both elbows on the ground.
The tiger at the same moment faced round and stared hard
in my direction. I remained as if turned to stone. What a
magnificent appearance he presented, his whiskers and a grand
ruff round his face showing quite distinctly.

After gazing hard in my direction for a few seconds he rose
slowly to his feet, peered down into the valley below him,
where I could still see some of the sambur grazing, and on
one of which I had no doubt he had intentions of making a
meal. After a preliminary yawn or two and a jerky flick,
flick of his tail he stretched himself, and, to my delight, faced
round and started to walk along the ridge in my direction. I
had never had the chance of bagging a tiger before, although
I had seen several and knew a good deal about their haunts
and habits, consequently I was rather excited at the opportunity
now afforded me.

I waited till he had covered half the distance between us,
and then slowly raised my rifle, intending to fire at about
50 yards, but I reckoned without my host, as the brute's
quick eye detected the movement, and, halting dead, he turned
half round as if uncertain what to do. I immediately fired,
taking a full sight, as I am rather inclined with a heavy rifle
to shoot low. The distance would be about 100 yards. A
short hoarse growl was the reply to my shot, and the tiger,
whose fore-leg I had broken, charged away down the hillside
into the dense jungle, where all hope of pursuit on foot was quite
out of the question. I sent a second shot after him as he
disappeared into the jungle, but missed, as I saw the spot where
the bullet knocked up some earth a foot or two behind him.
It would have been utter folly to have attempted to walk
him up, accompanied by any of my men, in jungle where
you could not see two yards ahead, and where some of us would

LOSE SOME GAUR BUT BAG A SEROW 183

in all probability have been badly mauled. If I had had an
elephant it would have been an easy matter to rout him out.
My hunters were very much astonished to see the supposed
sambur change into a tiger.

While returning to camp the same evening, strolling
listlessly along ahead of my men, I suddenly came face to face
with a herd of gaur. I was never so utterly disgusted with
myself, for I had not a rifle with me ; a huge bull, which was
standing some twenty paces off, sounded the alarm with a
terrific snort, and the whole herd thundered away with a
crash through the jungle at a tremendous pace, the deep
thud, thud of their hoofs being audible for some time.

The stampede of a startled herd of gaur through bamboo
jungle, once heard will never be forgotten, so terrific is the
noise. The loud whistling snort of alarm emitted by an
old .solitary bull, standing 19 or -20 hands at the shoulder,
when heard at close quarters for the first time by a sportsman,
is grand, and fills him at the time with an indescribable
mixed feeling of fear and awe. I made a vow from that
hour I would never walk anywhere where there was the
least likelihood of coming across game, without having a
rifle of some sort in my hand. I had, moreover, good reason
to congratulate myself on having my 8-bore in my hands
half-an-hour later. As we were nearing camp, I had not
expected to see any game, and was talking in a low tone to
Moung Hpe, when a slight noise in the jungle ahead attracted
our attention, and almost immediately after a dark-coated
animal, which I at first took for a young gaur or sambur,
passed in front of us at a quick walk, apparently quite
regardless of our presence. I immediately fired for the
shoulder, the bullet taking effect rather low down, breaking
the leg. The goat, for it turned out to be a serow or Burmese
goat antelope, the Nemorh&dus sumatrensis, on receiving
the shot, uttered two or three shrill screams and made a most
determined charge straight down the hill towards me, evidently
intent on getting at me. I had, in fact, to jump to one side
and deliver a second shot before it fell. Even then it seemed
to be very tenacious of life, for it struggled hard, and butted
right and left with its horns whenever we tried to get near it

1 84 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

}
A blow on the back of the neck from a heavy male bamboo

finished it. The horns were about 8 inches long, and
curved slightly backwards. Measurement from tip of tail to
snout 5 feet 5 inches, and length at shoulder 3 feet 4 inches.

It was a very old female animal. The skin and hair of the
body was almost black, with a silvery fringe of long, coarse,
scanty hair running along the whole length of the back : it
was longer and there was more of it at the top of the neck.
The legs were of a rufous colour from the thigh and fore-arm
downwards. The muzzle was jet black. This animal was
shot at an elevation of about 4000 feet.

After skinning and cutting up the animal we left for camp,
which was reached as a heavy thunderstorm broke over our
heads. During the night we heard gaur bellowing not far
from camp.

BLAZING DEER (MEETOUNG) AT NIGHT

A BURMESE MODE OF HUNTING DEER, AND HUNTING THE BURMESE
RHINOCEROS IN LOWER BURMA. [F. T. P.]

The Burmese professional shikaries pot a great deal of
game, but prefer hunting deer by torchlight. I may here
describe the modus operandi. It is most fatiguing, and one
that few Europeans would care to follow as a pastime. Whilst
at Haingye I crossed over to Dalhousie. This was one of the
great Proconsul's follies ; not satisfied with Burma, having
already ports like Moulmein, Rangoon, and Bassein, Lord
Dalhousie determined to construct another to bear his own
name at the entrance of the Bassein river. After several lacs
of rupees had been spent, a tidal wave swept all away in a
night, and all that was visible in 1863 were a few culverts far
apart, and the place had reverted into jungle. A boat's crew
was kept there to aid shipwrecked mariners.

By appointment some shikaries met me one day towards
dark at Dalhousie, and we set out to " blaze " deer. Their
hunting-grounds were a long way ofT, and we had to walk
over deep and loose sand for fully six miles, and then to cross
numerous tidal nullahs, spanned by bridges consisting of a single

BLAZING DEER— HARD WORK 185

bamboo with a small handrail attached; not an easy task at any
time, and very unpleasant on a pitchy dark night. We then
turned inland, and stumbling about over most uneven ground
for another mile, I was told that we had arrived at our hunting-
ground. One of the men put a broken chatty (earthenware
pot) in a framework on his head, fastened it under his chin,
and set some rags well impregnated with earth-oil alight. As
soon as the fire blazed up, he — with a man on either side ring-
ing bells — started off at a fast jog-trot in zigzags, and a man
armed with a dah and I followed in the rear. The country
was a mass of holes and ant-hills covered with short grass
and jungle. They were quite invisible, for the light from the
pot was thrown ahead, whilst all in the rear was impenetrable
darkness. I should be sorry to say the number of falls I had,
but unaccustomed to the work, and unused to such exertions
on foot, I could scarcely keep up with the men, who never
slackened their pace. Presently they redoubled the noise with
the bells, their zigzag pace became faster, and the man
whispered to me to get up closer. Out of the darkness I saw
two eyeballs glaring at me, and as we got nearer I distinguished
a dark object which I took to be the body of a sambur. I fired
into it at a distance of 10 or 12 feet, and on receiving the
ball the poor brute bounded forward, upset one of the bell-
ringers, and disappeared. As the beat was for me, I was
allowed to shoot, but, as a rule, the man with the dah crawls
behind and hamstrings the beast. If in these night-beats the
men come across a tiger, they squat down together and ex-
tinguish the light, and the tiger slinks away ; they then continue
their sport and generally make a fair bag. We continued our
eternal jog-trot, and in about half-an-hour came upon another
sambur. I fired at it, but it, too, got away. By that time I
had had enough, so leaving the three to go on, I, with the
fourth, walked back to the Zyat where I was stopping, getting
there at 2 a.m. thoroughly tired out. The Burmese hamstrung
another sambur after I left, and the next day the two I had
fired at were found dead — a stag with a fair head of horns
and a doe.

One day a Karen brought in the head of a two-horned

1 86 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

rhinoceros, which he had shot, he said, not far off and where
there were many others. This was our slack season. I was
then employed in constructing the Coco lighthouse in the Bay
of Bengal, and during that monsoon I was at Haingye, a
large island at the entrance of the Bassein river. Having
nothing particular to do I agreed to go with him, but as every-
thing had to be carried by men — not easy to procure — I went
in very light marching order. I don't know what his idea of
a short distance was, but he took me at least fifty miles, by
short cuts, over mountains and down dales, until we were not
far from Cape Negrais. The guide and I marched ahead,
leaving the six porters to follow about a couple of miles in the
rear. The first day I killed a kakur, or barking deer, and
several yit — the silver pheasant of the country, a beautiful
bird not only to look at, but also good for the table.

We were much troubled with tree-leeches, gadflies, and
mosquitoes. As there was no village, we camped in a bamboo
forest, and fortunately it did not rain. The next day's march
was a very fatiguing one, but I saw a good deal of game. I
killed a bull gaur a,nd two pheasants, lost a cow gaur, and saw
others and a few sambur. It is a country not often traversed,
and the game, seldom disturbed, was comparatively tame.
On reaching a Karen village we halted, and sent the villagers
back for the deer. The following day we reached our destina-
tion, a valley between two high ranges with an extensive
swamp in the middle ; skirting this, the man pointed out
a mound composed of rhinoceros droppings, some three feet
high and several feet in diameter, and he assured me that
these beasts always deposit their ordure in the same spot
whilst living in the vicinity, which I afterwards ascertained to
be a fact. He also pointed out other similar mounds, but as
none were as fresh as the first, we determined to watch there
at night. Whilst two men were set to dig two pits, we went
across the valley and ascended the opposite range of hills.
We found their surface pretty flat and covered with grass
from three to five feet high, and there were many forms of
sambur about, and a few clumps of trees and bamboos. From
a patch of grass near some magnificent canes, a bull gaur
jumped up, ran about 20 yards, and then faced about. A

SHOOT A GAUR AND A RHINOCEROS 187

ball, No. 10, two-grooved, from my double Lang brought him
down ; we cut off his head and hung it up and went on. We
left the table-land and entered a sholah, where I got three
shots at sambur, but only succeeded in bagging one. On
getting back to the village we sent for the gaur's head, and
the villagers returned staggering under the weight of the beef
they carried. After a bath and an early dinner we went to sit
up — the Karen in one hole and I in the other. Such a night
as I spent ! I would not do it again even to shoot a dozen
rhinoceros, if each of them had four instead of two horns. It
was a bright moonlight night ; the pachyderm came about
eleven, and as he passed, the Karen gave him the contents of
one of my rifles ; in his fright the rhinoceros ran into a very
boggy part of the swamp close to me, and, stepping out, I
killed him easily with a shot behind the ear. It was no use
stopping longer, and I had had quite enough of the mosquitoes,
who were not only very large, very noisy, but very blood-
thirsty. We secured the head next day, and made tracks
homeward by a circuitous route. We saw nothing the first
day, but came across several elephants. I mortally wounded
a tusker, but lost him for the time ; the jungle was so dense
and the tracks so numerous, that we took up the wrong one,
and never succeeded in regaining the correct one. I heard
afterwards that the Karens found him and appropriated his
tusks, which were rather good ones — not long, but thick. We
put up in a Karen village, and the men said if I'd remain
for a day or two they would beat a ravine in which there was
generally a tiger, and they could also show gaur and sambur.
As I was in no hurry, I assented. I was duly posted next day,
but, instead of a tiger, a panther showed himself, and I dropped
him dead. He measured J\ feet to the tip of the tail.
Returning to the hut, I breakfasted, and then went out stalk-
ing. I wounded a gaur but lost it, and got a sambur and
a barking deer. The next day I got back to Haingye.

CHAPTER VI

MISCELLANEOUS SPORT ON FOOT

THERE are very few spots in Lower Burma where sport can
be indulged in on foot. In the forests in the Tharawadie district
at the foot of the Yomahs occasionally elephants can be hunted,
and also from Pegu. In the Banlong district thamine can be
stalked and shot, but for really good sport, elephants are a
sine qua non. But to the north-west of Tongho, as in the
case of General Blake, I have known big game to be met with
in localities where locomotion is possible. Raikes of the
Artillery and Hill of the 69th Regiment had shot a tusker
and various other game at Lepangon near the Pabay Creek.
I once got into the middle of a herd of elephants there, but
failed to bag one out of the herd ; but the next day, starting
very early, we got on to the trail of a solitary male, and as he
appeared to be in no hurry, but fed along, I was in hopes we
should soon overtake him ; but we walked fully fifteen or sixteen
miles before we came upon him standing in the bed of a small
rivulet,browsing on the wild plantains. It is a curious coincidence
that plants which in India only grow at an elevation of 1500
feet and more are found in the plains of Burma. The wind
blowing down the streamlet, I crawled close up to him, and
sat down under a bamboo clump growing out of the river
bank. His broad quarters were facing me, and I could see
no vulnerable spot, but I sat patiently with my rifle at full
cock and a spare one handy, perfectly confident that he would
expose his forehead presently, and that I should bag him to
a certainty. I watched his every movement for fully five
minutes, then without the least warning he spun right round

1 88

SPORT ON FOOT—LEPANGOUNG 189

— evidently he had scented me. I threw up my rifle for the
front shot, but a pendant bamboo caught the barrels and my
rifle exploded in mid- air, and before I could bring the left
barrel to bear, he was off and away.

How I cursed my own awkwardness ! I tried following
him up, but there was a large plain of interminable long grass
near into which he rushed, and, as I heard various trumpet-
ings, I fancy he joined the rest of the herd, and he was lost
to me for ever. Of course, as is usually the case, he had
splendid tusks.

The next adventure relates to the same locality ; but it is
not my own, it occurred some years after I left the Province,
but I had coached my friend where to go, and he had a
wonderful four days' sport. This is the last but one record
of sport on foot in Burma that I shall relate, with the
exception of those of my colleague, who will have something
quite new to say of sport in a portion of country which
to me is unknown.

Tongho, an eastern frontier station, was always a quiet
place in the old days, for the communications with the outer
world there were very tedious. No rail had been constructed,
and a boat trip up the Sittang, extending as it did from
twenty to thirty days, was not enviable. After the annexation
of Upper Burma the garrison was greatly reduced, and as
there were constant requisitions on the part of the civil
officers for troops to quell a rebellion or to chase dacoits, we
could not depend on any prolonged stay in the station, and
could not even obtain the usual privilege leave.

I had several times applied for temporary leave of but a
week or ten days, and it had invariably been refused. But
one day I met Shoay Boh, a local shikarie, who said since the
recent disarmament of the people game had become very
plentiful, the jungles near Lepangoung were just in a nice
state for stalking or beating, and if I could come with him he
thought he could show me good sport. I went instantly to
my commanding officer, who was also the commandant of the
station, and solicited three days' leave from Monday. That
day was Friday. I was not on duty on Saturday or Sunday,
so I calculated that if I were successful in my application I

190 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

could sniggle in those two days as well. For a wonder, the
leave asked for was granted. I hurried off to a Madras
contractor who had some carts, and who now and then let
them out on hire, but he charged Rs.2 a day for the cart
in addition to the keep of the cattle and the pay of the cart-
men, and in case of an accident to either cart or bullock, I was
to make good the loss.

It did not take me long to collect my impedimenta.
Sending word to Shoay Boh that I had obtained leave and
intended to start early on Saturday, I told him if he had any-
thing to put into my cart, to take it to my house at once. I
sent him a few rupees as a douceur. When everything was
ready for starting, I was appalled by the amount of goods the
shikarie had sent down — they required a cart for themselves;
but, wishing to conciliate him, I bade my boy hurry off and
get another cart, and what with my own traps, and those of
my servants and the Burmans, I found the two carts well
laden. So I sent them on ahead, as Shoay Boh was taking
out a lot of ngapee not only for his own consumption but also
for sale to the villagers, and if there is one thing more offensive
than another it is this Burmese delicacy !

I sent on a syce and an extra pony to Tseben. My
servants would sleep there that day, Friday, and I meant to
ride through and have some sport on Saturday, where they
ought to be before me.

I told my boy when he arrived at Lepangoung not to put
up in the village, but in a Zyat on a nullah, about a mile beyond.
I was up and away by 5 a.m. on Saturday. The country all
round is a dead flat, there are no made roads ; the first cart
of the season marks out a track which forms the highway for
the fine season ; during the rains it is much obliterated and
cut up by the commissariat elephants going for their daily
charah.

My ponies were good amblers, and I got to Tseben in two
hours, and by nine I reached the Zyat, just after my men, but
my boy had a cold collation ready for me. Shoay Boh was
also in readiness, and told me he had sent on fifteen beaters,
all he could collect, to some low-lying hills, through which
meandered numerous water-courses which were all dry at that

BEATING FOR GAME 191

season, and where, he said, there were always sambur, ghee
(barking deer), and occasionally a panther or even a tiger.
Meat was scarce in the village, and as the shikarie had been
absent for some days, he had failed to bring in any venison for
sale ; so he had promised on my behalf that if they beat
properly almost all the meat of animals killed by me would
be given to them, and, in addition, that each one would be
paid eight annas for the day's work, with which they could
purchase ngapee, which he had so considerately brought out.
My orderly had gone on ahead, taking a pet double rifle and
gun, and would wait for me at the appointed place.

By 10 a.m. I was off again, and got to my rendezvous by
1 1 a.m. The shikarie went off with the beaters to beat some
low hills towards me, and he stationed me under a bush near
the bank of one of the streams, telling me to look out, as the
game would be sure to come along its bed. The hills were
covered with khine grass about three to four feet high, which
the deer love to lie in during the day. My position was a
favourable one ; the bank on my side was almost perpendicu-
lar, the bed of the rivulet about seven feet below. I could
see 50 yards up it and 30 yards below. In the river's
bed there were only a few bushes and boulders scattered
about. I am not partial to a hank or beat, as I seldom have
any luck and the country gets needlessly disturbed, but the
day was too advanced for stalking, so as I took up my posi-
tion I hoped for the best, but did not anticipate much sport.
The Burmese, when you can induce them to beat for game, if
left to themselves, go very quietly to work, use no tom-toms
or other discordant and noisy instruments, but strike the
trunks of trees with split bamboos, and make just sufficient
noise to induce the game to move quietly ahead. Along the
ridge of the hill there were a few trees ; three men had been
placed as stops, and the remaining twelve, keeping about two
yards apart, forced their way through the long grass, tapping
now and then the few trees they encountered.

The beat commenced fully half-a-mile from me, and very soon
pea-fowl, jungle fowl, and an occasional pheasant (yit) came
running along the bed of the nullah. Had I not been hoping
for something better, I might have made a pretty bag of these

1 92 WILD SPORTS Of BURMA AND ASSAM

beautiful birds. When the beaters had advanced about half-
way, one of the stops indicated that something was coming
his way ; his tat-tat was succeeded by that of the next, and
finally by the last man, and out walked a brocket. As meat
was badly wanted, and I had no faith in my luck, I was think-
ing of murdering this innocent, when there was another tap.
So I allowed him to go by, but as the other markers did not
respond, I thought the quarry, whatever it might be, had
broken back. I had my eyes fixed on the grass beyond the
nullah, not on the water-course itself, but as I saw no move-
ment there, I looked up the nullah, and, with his proud head
in the air, looking about him, was a veritable jungle-wallah, a
sambur, which might have been worthy almost of those in the
Neilgherry hills. He was listening intently, with his ears
turned backward. I think I could have shot him where he
stood, but to make sure, I waited until he should get closer.
For fully five minutes he stood like a rock, then, as the
beaters came closer, he gave a stamp or two with his feet, and
then trotted towards where I was in hiding. He was followed
by five hinds. As he came abreast, I bowled him over ; at
the report the does rushed here and there in a decidedly un-
certain state as to which way to escape. So I had ample
time to put in a fresh cartridge and roll over two plump ones.
Thinking all was over I was just about to descend, when I
heard a vigorous tap-tap. I reloaded and crouched down,
with my heart beating with excitement, but for some little
time nothing showed. But again another tap indicated that
there was something afoot ; the beaters were not far off,
hurrying on, no doubt, to ascertain what I had slain. Just
then there was a dead silence. The last watcher gave no
indication, and I was a bit off my guard, when a large tiger
sprang over some bushes into the bed of the river almost
opposite me and bounded up the bank, his head and face
being about five paces from me. He was hanging on by his fore-
feet and endeavouring to scramble up with his hind. Instinct-
ively I fired into his face, and the tiger fell backwards. I
jumped up, and caught just a sight of a brindled mass disap-
pearing, and took a snap-shot with the left barrel, which the
brute acknowledged by a deep growl. So even supposing I had

A GOOD DAY'S SPORT 193

failed to hit with the first shot, I knew I had hit with the
second, yet to miss such an object a few yards off seemed to
me impossible. But again, had I hit him fairly where I
aimed, the tiger ought to have been as dead as a door-
nail.

I approached very cautiously the place where " Stripes "
had disappeared ; it was a little lower down — at a bend — so I
could not see any of the deer I had slain. The bushes on
either side were sprinkled plentifully with blood, so telling the
orderly to stick close to me with the smooth-bore, which also
carried ball very fairly, I advanced at a snail's pace, keeping
my eyes about me. I would take a step, then pause to listen
for a sound, and to look well ahead and all round for the
slightest movement. The jungle was not high, but dense, and
to get along I had to push my way through the track made
by the tiger. Ticklish work, for these treacherous brutes can
hide where scarcely a hare could, and \\Qperdu until- you are close
up to them — then a rush or a spring, and God be with the
hunter ! But in the excitement of a hot chase, men don't
pause to calculate the pros and cons, but do all they can to
slay and recover the quarry.

After going along the right bank for about a mile, the
feline had descended back into the bed of the nullah by a
sloping path leading to a pool of water, made by animals
going there to drink. Now I was safer, as I could see
pretty well ahead and around me. The tiger had drunk, and
then gone on. I was afraid I should lose him, when I noticed
some frothy blood, and I knew he had been shot through the
lungs, and that the end could not be far off. I followed the
tracks up to close on 5 p.m., then I lost the trail. So telling
the orderly, a Sepoy of the Mahratta race, to look in one
direction, I circled about in another. In about ten minutes
the Sepoy shouted ; I hurried up and found him standing by
the carcase of a tigress stone dead, lying jammed between
two rocks. In her death struggle, panting for breath, she
must have sprung and fallen where discovered. There was
no time to be lost, the sun would soon set, and I only knew
the way back to the Zyat by the way we had come.

We soon collected a quantity of grass and other debris and

i ft WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

covered the body over. If the vultures cannot see the carcase
it is quite safe from them ; there are no hyaenas and scarcely
any jackals in Lower Burma, so hoping to find my prize
intact next morning we hurried back as fast as we could.
We got to the path leading to Lepangoung just at dark, and
we reached the Zyat a little before 8 p.m., and I was
delighted to find not only the bodies of three sambur but also
that of a very fine tiger. Shoay Boh informed me that he
found the feline dead — evidently the one I had fired at first ;
the second must have been his mate. I had the tiger carefully
flayed and pegged out, every particle of fat cut away, and
warm ashes from bamboos well rubbed in. It was then close
on 1 1 p.m. — time to go to bed.

I was up at daylight, and with eight men armed with a long
pole I went off to fetch the body of the tigress. Although it
was Sunday I took my smooth-bore with me, and I shot
several jungle fowl and one yit before we reached the tigress;
found her intact, and returned in triumph. I spent the
rest of that day in pegging out the skin and in preparing the
heads. I have found that by boiling them for six or eight
hours, all the flesh peels off, and the skull is left nice and
clean and perfectly white. The teeth sometimes get loose,
but can be put back and kept in their places by means of
beeswax as a temporary measure, and permanently fixed by
plaster of Paris. That is also the best way to prepare even
deer skulls, taking care not to submerge any portion of the
horn.

I had a long talk with Shoay Boh, and it was decided that
we were to start for some salt-licks some two hours before
daylight, so as to get there by dawn. He said there were
pyoung (gaur) there ; so about 3 a.m. we got under weigh, and
walked steadily for three hours through principally forests of
teak, sal, and other trees and bamboos, without encountering
much undergrowth.

We quickly got on to a fresh track leading towards one of
the licks, but as we had to go down wind by following the
trail it would be labour lost, so we made a long detour, and
it was fully 7 a.m. before we ventured to make for the
depression where the whitish earth impregnated with sodium

A SOLITARY BULL 197

is found. The ground became uneven, the jungle more dense,
and we moved along with the utmost caution. In front there
was a heavy fringe of bamboo, extending to a considerable
distance north and south. We approached it from the east,
with the wind — such as it was — in our faces.

The belt was nearly half-a-mile broad ; in one part the
bamboos had flowered and were dead, but the remainder
were most luxuriant and on the point of blossoming, but they
also would all be dead before six months were over; for,
directly after flowering, all bamboos die — the seed falls to the
ground and the young shoots spring up ; are protected in a
great measure by the dead canes which have fallen down,
otherwise they would soon be devoured by the wild beasts.
Thus the forest which succeeds is far denser than the one they
replace. A forest of bamboos in flower is a lovely sight, but
one seldom seen. The seed is very nutritious, and, if within
reach of a village, the people collect it and use it in lieu of rice.

Owing to the impenetrable nature of the dead canes, we
could not get to the nearest salt-lick, and it was close upon
nine before we got to the others. It was then getting un-
commonly hot, and the game had all retired to its fastnesses.
Shoay Boh said there was usually a solitary gaur about, but
up to twelve o'clock we saw no signs of him. It is no use
searching for game in the heat of the day,1 so I sat down, took
my breakfast, got into a comfortable position under shade,
and went fast asleep. When I awoke the shikarie was
absent. I could do nothing wandering alone in these solitudes,
beyond losing myself, so I made myself comfortable, and
with the last Field whiled away the time.

Shoay Boh did not return till past four. He then beckoned
me to follow, and taking up a pet 'S77, carrying 6J drams
of powder and a solid conical in each barrel, giving him the
smooth-bore, off we set. He whispered he had seen the marks
of the " solitaire " ; after going a mile we crossed over a
nullah and made for some hilly ground, covered with dense
jungle, and with pendant vines, creepers, and rattan cane. We
could only progress by following paths made by wild beasts, a
most devious course. Although he had not seen the monster he

1 Unless you are tracking up an animal.

igS WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

declared he had got close enough to hear it breathing, but the
thicket he was in was so dense that he had prepared a light
bamboo ladder to enable me to climb a tree close by and to
shoot the gaur from that coign of vantage. When we got to
the place, the shikarie was up the tree in a moment, but, after
staring about and listening, he shook his head and descended,
and said the bull was no longer there.

After searching about we got on his trail ; this led fortun-
ately towards Lepangoung. There was very little wind, and
that in our favour. We walked along quickly, for we had not
much daylight left ; on turning an abrupt corner, close to a
banyan tree with numerous drooping roots, before we knew
anything about his being near us, the bull charged down upon
us from such a short distance ofif that I had no time to put the
rifle up to the shoulder, but fired into his face with both barrels
from the hip, and then sprang aside amidst the pendant roots ;
the bull went but a few yards; Shoay Boh gave him the
contents of my smooth-bore. I did not take many seconds to
reload, and I gave him again the contents of both barrels ; on
receiving them, he retired very groggily into the jungle. We
followed very cautiously, the Burman most unwillingly, until we
ascertained that he was going away from our camp and no
longer towards it. So we left him for that evening, and
trudged home, where we did not get till after nine. At four
next morning we were up, and in for another hard day's
trudge. We went by short cuts, and got to where we had
parted company soon after daybreak. We had followed the
trail about a mile when we heard growling and snarling, so
guessed the gaur was dead, and the bone of contention between
two felines. We crept upon all-fours, inch by inch ; it was
still gloomy and dark, and although I could hear I could not
distinguish the disputants, but the dead body of the gaur
loomed immense in the distance, and after a while I made out
two leopards snarling at one another. Raising my body till I
was on my knees, I took a shot at the nearest, but just as I
fired he sprang at his antagonist, and I made a clean miss, but
I fired again, and strongly suspect that the solid conical
passed through them both. They separated, and there was
blood, but very little, on each trail. I left them for the time

ORDERED TO KARENNEE 199

being, intending to look them up later on. The giant bull
was fully 21 hands high, and the greatest breadth of his
horns from bend to bend was 57 \ inches. Shoay Boh went
off to get men, and returned at 2 p.m., and, to my disgust,
with him came an orderly bearing an official letter, saying
I must return at once to take command of a force starting
next morning for Karennee. There was no help for it, so
telling the shikarie to preserve the gaur's head for me, and to
try and recover one if not both leopards, I mounted my pony,
found a change at Tseben, and got back to cantonments that
evening. After eight weeks' fruitless wanderings I returned ;
the alarm had been a false one.

AN ELEPHANT HUNT

In 1856 I had to go to Mendoon on the Matoon, a lovely
stream, some forty miles west or south-west of Thayet Myo,
which was, until lately, our frontier station on the Irrawady
on the right bank. I had been here before, and had had
various sport under the guidance of an old Burman shikarie
who had accompanied Ashe of the Artillery (afterwards killed
at Cawnpore) into the Arrakan range, where he shot three
elephants.

On my arrival I sent for the man and inquired if there was
any game about near, for my time was limited, and I could
not remain away long from my head-quarters, which were at
Namyan. He professed to be able to show me a solitary bull
elephant with large tusks. I asked him how long it would
take to overhaul him.

" If we leave to-day," he replied, " there is a teh we can
sleep in to-night, and get to the jungle he frequents about
twelve to-morrow."

I had been sold before, so only credited about half what he
said ; but I could spare four days, during which my work-
people would be collecting certain timber I wanted, so telling
my head-man to dismantle some deserted phoongie houses
and to make rafts of the timber for transportation down the
Matoon to Prome, and that I'd be back in that time, I put

200 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

together a few things, which a couple of men carried, and with
my two servants started about 10 a.m. Mendoon had been a
place of importance, an appanage of the eldest son of the
king of Burma, but it had been burnt down and all but
deserted during the late war with us. When clear of it we
followed by-paths for an hour, then crossed a stream, an
affluent of the Matoon, and entered first an Eeinghein and then
a teak forest. There was not much undergrowth, and we
followed a track for a couple of hours or more made by
elephants during the last rains. We then began to climb
the spurs of the lower range of hills. Calling a halt I made
an al fresco meal, giving some food to the Burman, who,
having no caste, will eat anything ; in fact, they are the most
omnivorous people I ever met — nothing comes amiss to them
in the way of food.

The meal over, I reclined under a convenient shade and
allowed the Burmese to have a smoke, and doled them out a
tot of grog. We then started afresh. The ascent became
very stiff, and although I was in very good and hard condition,
it was very soon a case of u bellows to mend," but I soon
recovered my second wind and was then able to trudge along
fairly well. Animals construct these paths as if they had been
instructed in engineering, for they wind round and round the
hills, gradually ascending, and if we had stuck to them all
would have been easy, but the guide would take short
cuts, which proved very laborious and fatiguing, as the
hillsides were covered with fallen branches of trees and
debris of all sorts. About 5 p.m. we were probably at an
elevation of 1000 feet. Looking back, the lovely Matoon looked
almost at our feet, though miles away ; to the east, in the
distance, the mighty Irrawady appeared a mere thread ;
to the north and west rose the Arrakan mountains, which
reach an elevation of some 6000 feet, and are densely
wooded for about 3000 to 4000 feet We could see mist
rising here and there from the valleys which lay between
us and the main range.

About 5.30 we resumed our journey, and after a climb of
another 200 to 300 feet began to descend, and soon came to
some townyahs, or clearances, made by Karens for growing

ON THE ARRAKAN YOMAHS 201

their hill paddy. These people are very destructive to forests,
as they change their location every two years, trusting to the
ashes of what they have felled and burnt to manure their
crops for that period, then they seek fresh pastures.

Just before dark we came to a teh, a raised platform fully
20 feet off the ground, but as there was space on it only
large enough to accommodate a couple of men sitting, I did
not think it worth while to ascend it, and although I was told
there were man-eating tigers about, I decided to take my
chance at the bottom, taking precautions to light fires all
round. My dinner was soon ready, and whilst I partook of it,
all hands but one servant set to work to collect wood.

My meal finished and washed down with a bottle of that
divine nectar as it then existed, Bass's pale ale ; alas ! that
firm seems to have forgotten the knack of making the ale
which made them so famous in days gone by, — or I cannot
get it, — for the beer of the present day cannot hold a candle
to that which used to be exported in hogsheads to India in
the middle of this century, and which, when mature and
cooled, was a drink for the gods ! Never sleep on the ground
if it can be avoided, it is so simple to erect a platform of
bamboos or other wood a foot or two off the ground ; this
done, I wrapped a cumbly round me, and with an air-pillow
under the head I was soon asleep, and slept like a top till
within an hour of dawn, when we were all astir. Drinking a
cup of cafe noir, for no milk was procurable, we resumed our
march by daylight, and it was a case of ascending and
descending all day. The lower spurs of all considerable
mountains consist of a mass of teelahs ; no sooner have you
come to the crest of one than down you go into a valley,
cross a rivulet, and ascend a hillock higher than the last, and
so on, till the intermediary stage is passed and the base of the
mountains itself is reached, which may be at any altitude
from 600 to 1000 feet or more. About 6 p.m. we halted at
the top of a sk>pe, a stream running down close by. We
must have been fully thirty miles from Mendoon. The water
of this rivulet was deliciously cool and clear, and I utilized it
for cooling a bottle of beer. I delight in water for lavatory
purposes, but at my meals I prefer something stronger.

292 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Here we soon rigged up sleeping berths and shelter overhead,
and were glad to avail ourselves of razais as covering, for the
air was decidedly chilly. At the elevation we were there
were few or no mosquitoes and no sand-flies.

The shikarie warned us to be very quiet, as elephants and
gaur and occasionally tsine wandered about here, and we
could see from their droppings that this was rather a favourite
beat of theirs. So only such fires as were requisite for
cooking our food were lit in a secluded glen, and then by
8 p.m. extinguished. The night passed without disturbance.

By 5 a.m. we were up and away. We neither ascended
nor descended, but went along the edge of the plateau towards
where the shikarie said were some salt-licks, always favourite
resorts of almost all animals. Leaving the cleared spot where
we had rested, we entered into a gloomy forest consisting of
sal and buttress trees ; from the latter an oil or varnish is
extracted. These monarchs are of immense girth and height,
often 100 to 150 feet above the ground without a single
branch ; the roots grow out of the main stem fully 5 or 6
feet, and form buttresses which extend to some distance before
disappearing into the ground. On the lower lateral branches
there are often huge bee-hives pendant, many of them 7
or 8 feet long by 3 or 4 in depth. These attract the bears,
that climb up the trees by sticking their claws into the soft
bark, and thus rob the bees of their store of food.

The Burmese and Karens copy these beasts ; fill a haver-
sack with bamboo pegs, drive one in, rest on that, drive
another higher up, and so on, till they reach the site of the
coveted prize ; they then smoke the bees until they are stupid
and partially unconscious, and then walk off with the honey.
The process of thus climbing seems hazardous in the extreme,
but an accident seldom happens.

Besides these trees there were stupendous clumps of both
the male and female bamboos ; the former are much prized for
shafts for hog-spears, and the latter are converted into a
thousand and one articles, in fact an entire house, including
the roofing, is often made from bamboos alone — many of
them are 3 feet in circumference and make capital buckets.

From an inspection of the country I came to the conclusion,

A PAIR OF BE A UTIES 203

before I could bag my elephant my work lay before me. I
had at that time a two-grove, No. lO-bore double rifle, made by
old Joseph Lang. I was so pleased with it that I had another
made like it afterwards, but at that time I only had one of his
and one of Sam Smith's, both noted makers in India. The
shikarie carried one weapon, I the other. They were muzzle-
loaders, of course, as breech-loaders had not come into use
then. He led the way, I next, and the coolie about 100 yards
in the rear, keeping us. just in sight.

About 7 a.m. we came upon the fresh spoors of two
elephants ; they had been feeding quietly and moving along
leisurely, so we had no difficulty in tracking them. Those
who wish to slay these leviathans in their forest homes need
be sound of wind and limb, for it is no child's play following
them up, for quietly as they feed along they are ever on the
move, and get over the ground far faster than one would
believe. Occasionally, when the weather is very oppressive,
a beast may take a siesta and be caught napping, but where
we were the heat was not outrageous, and these two had not
made any considerable halt, so it was close on four before we
came in sight of them, standing a few yards apart, pulling
down and browsing on the tender shoots of the bamboo. The
noise they made in rending the bamboos and then converting
them into pulp by beating them on a foot, deadened the
sound of our footsteps, and I had no difficulty, the wind being
in our favour, in reaching a buttress which afforded good
shelter and was within easy shot. The two animals differed
greatly, they might have been father and son. The one near-
est me was an old emaciated male with long tusks, the
other was in his prime, very handsome to look at. What a
beauty he would have made for a howdah elephant ! We
had no means of entrapping him, but it seemed a shame
almost to devote him to death for the sake of his tusks alone ;
but what will not a hunter do with the furor of the chase upon
him !

Motioning to the shikarie to stand close, ready with the
spare rifle, I waited until a movement of the old one exposed
the temple shot ; then, stepping aside, I took a quick but
steady aim and let fly.

204 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Down he fell ! His companion turned at the sound and
gave me a front shot ; dropping on one knee, I fired, and he
fell stone dead. I thought the first also was as dead as Julius
Caesar, and, as I was going towards them, he picked himself
up and charged full at me. I fortunately had the spare rifle,
and gave him a right and left, and threw myself under the lee
of a buttress ; as the monster passed, he all but trod on me.
He only ran a few yards, and then right-about faced and bore
down towards me again, but I had shifted my position further
back behind another buttress or he would have had me. I now
noticed that he was hunting for me by scent, for one of my
last shots had knocked out one eye, and the other had, to a
certain extent, paralysed the trunk, and the blood was pouring
from the wound into the sound optic. So I retreated behind
another tree some 20 yards further, where I found the
shikarie, who had loaded his rifle. I soon loaded mine — the
bullets fitted beautifully — and in pushing them down they
made no noise. Being ready for battle again, I stepped clear
and gave him the contents of both barrels into the temple,
but as I fired he threw up his head, and neither missile reached
the brain. On receiving these wounds he blindly rushed
forward, a buttress caught his fore-feet, and down he went,
such a cropper ! I seized the other rifle and gave him two
shots as he was attempting to rise, but he bore a charmed
life, and I again failed to kill. He then retreated. As soon
as I had both weapons ready I took up his trail. Considering
the terrible nature of his wounds, inflicted at a distance of
only a few yards, and the cropper he had come, it was mar-
vellous at what a rate he went away. We had to follow at a
trot, and when he heard us coming he either hid and then
rushed at us, or spun round and charged blindly. I fired no
less than eleven more shots, but failed egregiously to put him
out of his misery. It was getting too dark in the gloomy
forest for accurate shooting, and the monster kept his head
tossing about as if possessed of a perpetual motion. To hit
the brain, except by a fluke, was hopeless, so we left him,
determined to follow him to the death on the morrow.

We could not find the coolie with our food ; he had
disappeared during the scrimmage. To return to camp was

THE MONSTER BAGGED AT LAST 205

not to be thought of; sleeping out for a night is no great
hardship to a real hunter, so we went back to the elephant I
had slain. We collected sufficient debris to keep our fires
going all night, and then, declining to partake of any portion
of the flesh of the elephant, which the shikarie had cut off and
partially cooked, I lay down alongside the elephant, and
using one of his ankles as a pillow, and bidding the man light
a couple of fires and keep them going, I was soon fast asleep.

When I awoke just before dawn I felt a little hungry, and
missed my cup of coffee, but tightening my belt and washing
my face in the first little stream we came to, we resumed our
chase. He must have got ahead fully ten miles, which we
had to make up, so we walked along at a pretty brisk pace.
When I was all but exhausted I espied a peacock and
bowled him over. We carried him till we came to water, and
then kabobed some of its flesh over some embers and made a
hearty meal.

We did not overtake the tusker that day, so slept in the
jungle again, but felt the cold considerably, for we had been
steadily ascending. To make matters worse our fires died
out, and we were pretty well benumbed by the morning, and
glad to resume our pursuit. Every now and then we came
upon where the poor stricken brute had struck the boles of
trees, the result of his more than half blindness, and also
where he had lain down in a mass of gore. We noticed also that
his stride became shorter and shorter, and that he had leant
against a tree or two for support — all signs of increasing
weakness — so we pressed on with renewed hopes.

The country we were in was pretty open forest, with here
and there patches of long grass. We had just passed one,
with our eyes riveted on the ground, when there was a
fiendish screech, and a bloody form all but tottered on to the
top of us ! I jumped aside, and fired both barrels into his
carcase, close to the shoulder. This reduced him to a slow
walk, and he struggled along with his trunk pendant and limp,
and altogether his aspect was a woebegone one. I seized the
other rifle, ran forward, and as he flopped an ear forward I
fired into the space behind it, and staggering along two or
three yards, he fell forward — dead !

X2o6 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Poor old beast ! Thank God he was at last dead, for he
must have suffered fearful agonies. One eye was shot out,
the other all but closed by coagulated blood, and he had
received numerous wounds, yet the gallant brute never uttered
a groan, and died fighting to the last. His tusks were 4
feet 8 inches and 4 feet 6 inches respectively, but thick
and straight. By the foot measurement he was just 10
feet 2 inches high.

But now where were we ? The shikarie climbed a tall tree,
took a good look all round, and when he descended, said if
we walked quickly we should get to the camp by night.
Before we had gone far a sambur crossed our path, which I
killed, and as I felt very tired and hungry, I preferred camping
out another night in the jungle and to have a square meal at
once, to tramping on on an empty stomach, with the chance
of reaching camp that night.

The Burman soon broiled ^the liver, cut in slices, which we
ate, but Adam's ale was our only drink ! We rigged up a
shelter overhead, lit a fire, and slept the sleep of the weary
till close on daylight. We partook of another meal before
starting, and finally reached camp after mid-day.

The coolie had returned and reported that he had seen me
trampled to death by the elephant, so my boy had gone to
where the encounter had taken place to pick up master's
bones, but finding one elephant dead and evidences that we
were in chase of another, he wisely returned to camp and
stuck to it until we should return.

After a day's rest I took all hands, and as decomposition
had commenced we had no difficulty in extracting the tusks,
and soon made our way back to Mendoon, and thence by
boat to Namyan, where I got only a day after I was due, but
as I was my own master that did not signify.

GENERAL BLAKE'S ADVENTURE

"When coming up here (Tongho) I telegraphed for
elephants to meet me at Shoayghein, thinking I might as
well have a go in at Myetquin on my way up, but they were

ELEPHANTS AND LONG GRASS 209

not forthcoming, so there was nothing for it but to get carts
and come here as fast as I could.

"Starting from Shoayghein on the evening of the 26th,
going to Thanzeik that night and reaching this on the 3Oth,
is not bad going, but it was a case of continual move, and
threatening the bandy-men, one of whom I did walk into in
uncommon nice style ; I having given him three hours' start,
and he having taken out his bullocks to graze after having
gone about two miles out of Kyoung-bya.

"From Moulmein to this I did not see a single head of
game of any sort, large or small. I just arrived in time to
see Lloyd with a party of six start for Myetquin. For me
to remain quietly here whilst shikar was going on was quite
out of the question, so as I could not go with them I took my
old line, and went to my former haunts on the banks of the
Pabay river,- going to Tseben the first day. When I got to my
destination there was nothing there, the shikaru said ; how-
ever, that night our ears and eyes told us of elephants being
there, a large tusker showing himself just below the huts at
one corner of the small tounyah (clearance) and another at the
other corner. In the morning I was after them, and followed
them backwards and forwards through the kine grass till I
was ready to drop. It was fearfully hot. I then took on
myself the task of getting up to them. I went through the
grass at one end and got round them ; at least, this was my
intention, but I found they had crossed my path and got into
some rattan jungle. I followed sharp, saw them, ran up
towards them, and as I was then in the midst of the herd and
could see no tusker, let fly and knocked over one. It was a
bad shot through rattans and their hanging leaves and
creepers. Immediately on this there was, of course, a
tremendous rush, and a huge Muckna came and stood
about 20 yards to my left; he was quite in the open, and
there was not a bush between us ; but though quite clear he
did not give me a good shot, as he was a little too far past me
for a good temple shot ; however, I fired, and he and all the
rest bolted. I walked up to where I had floored the first one,
and he, too, was gone, so you may suppose how disgusted I
was. I followed them right through the elephant grass out

p

no WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

on to the other side, and imagined they had bolted slick away.
Amongst the wild ones was Armoogum's little elephant that
he had lent me, for the little brute had been grazing in the
grass the night before, and had gone off with the herd. The
mahout said he knew his elephant, as it was hobbled, and as
it could not have gone away withx the rest, he went into the
long grass after it. Great was his horror — for he was an awful
coward — when he found himself amongst the whole herd,
which were resting quite silently. Up a tree he went, and
the herd ran back again. I went round, and whilst moving
on quietly I heard an elephant, and, strange to say, though I
called their attention to it several times, the shikaries did not
hear it. So, taking only one Sepoy to carry a reserve gun, and
accompanied by the mahout, I walked towards the sound ;
and, sure enough, I came upon an elephant in the Pabay,
which is merely a nullah here. At length it showed its head.
I asked the mahout if that was his elephant ; he said he could
not tell ; at length I saw her move her fore-legs, and saw that
they were hobbled. I said to the mahout, l Run forward and
get hold of your own elephant; ' but he said, ' There is a large
elephant close to her.' I saw what the fool mistook for a
j an war was a bough of a tree, but he was in a great funk,
though I went into the kine with him ; no sooner had he
mounted than he bolted home sharp.

" I heard the herd at a little distance ahead of me, followed,
and saw them coming towards me, when a female saw, I
think, a Sepoy who was with me — gave a trumpet, and all
rushed back. I again followed and came upon them standing
quite quiet, and then, for the first time, I saw a splendid
tusker. I had left every one except one man behind, and thus
was waiting for the huge brute to turn his head for me to
take the shot. He would not do so, but moved forward about
10 yards, putting his head behind a tree and his body under
cover of that of a female. There was no moving quietly, a
burning hot day, and the ground covered with fallen leaves ;
I think, therefore, that they must have heard me, for they
suddenly wheeled round and were off at score. I followed for
some distance, but felt myself so done that I could scarcely
raise my big rifle, so gave orders for home, and when I did get

CHASE ELEPHANTS AND GAUR 211

back to my halting-ground was so done that I could scarcely
speak, and was obliged to take a tot of brandy to bring me
to. I do not remember ever to have been more thoroughly
used up. The day was one of those cloudless, furiously hot
ones, and if there was any wind it was not to be felt in the
high grass, and I was running and walking all day with a
heavy rifle in my hand, so it was not very wonderful that I
did not go out the next day. But on the following I took up
the trail of the hathees, and though I knew they had one
day's and two nights' start of me, yet followed on, and soon
got upon fresh tracks of bison, and, on turning a corner of the
kine, came upon a huge bull about 10 yards off.

" He was more astonished than I was, gave a sort of roar, and
bolted before I could finger trigger. I ran forward, but he
had dashed down into a nullah and was away. Wonder where
I should have been if, instead of bolting, he had come at me !
Soon saw that he had gone off with no intention of allowing
me to see him again that day, so took 'up the elephant track
again, and in about half-an-hour afterwards, in a perfectly
open piece of ground, and in the middle of the road that the
elephants had made, came upon a tiger lying down. As we
were upon no fresh track, I was not carrying my gun, and
before I could get it he was away into the jungle. I followed
for some little distance, but found he had gone into a dense
thicket, in which there was no seeing anything. I went some-
what further, and seeing that the elephants had never stopped
to eat or drink, and ascertaining that the nearest water was
something like six or eight miles off, I gave it up and got
back into the Pabay stream, and walked back without seeing
anything.

" Next morning I was out after bison again. Before long
got on a fresh trail, but it was long before we came upon the
brutes themselves. They were in a burnt-up-looking bit of
jungle on the top of a hill. I saw the white stockings of one,
and ran forward as rapidly as I could till I sighted his
chocolate-coloured body, which, by contrast with the jungle
around, looked black. He was looking at me and so gave
me a bad shot. He was about 80 yards off. I fired, and
rolled him over. Running forward, I saw another standing

£12 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

broadside on, which had escaped my notice before. I gave
this the shoulder-shot with the remaining barrel of my rifle.
This one bolted off, and the first one, wounded, picked himself
up, joined the other, and they both galloped down the hillside.
One fell at the bottom of the hill, but picked himself up
again. There was lots of blood, and I hoped to come upon
one of the brutes, at least, lying down or dead. The fellow I
had as a tracker was the best I have ever met with out of the
Wynaad jungle ; he held back when we got to some very thick
brushwood and bamboos, and kept climbing trees to see if any-
thing could be seen ahead. However, he seemed satisfied
when I put my rifle over his head, and he saw that he had
nothing to do but to spring back or aside, if the animal charged,
for me to receive it.

" Twice we came upon one of the wounded ones, but not
close enough for me to get a shot, the jungle was so dense ;
and after having followed for I can't say how many miles,
were obliged to give it up and make tracks homeward, and a
precious long distance I found it too, and got drenched to the
skin before I got back. I was pretty certain that the muzzle-
sight of my rifle had got shifted, and so, before reaching home,
I tried the weapon, and found that both barrels threw con-
siderably to the left. So I think very probably, that instead of
hitting behind the shoulder, I struck the brute on the shoulder ;
and the other one, instead of on the chest, on the point of
the shoulder, which caused it to fall, though not much hurt.

" Two days afterwards I saw vultures sailing away in that
direction, so the probability is that one, if not both, of the brutes
died, though I was no gainer thereby. My last day now
arrived, for though leeches, gadflies, and ticks were endured,
— with what anathemas I will not say, — the rain was now
coming down in torrents, and to shoot much longer was
impossible, especially as all the carriage I had was a bandy
(cart), which in a few days would have been unable to return,
as the nullahs would be full and the country flooded.

" I went out before daylight to catch the gaur grazing. I
came upon two, not 20 yards from me, and, as they did not
see me, I got a cool pot at one, and my favourite shot behind
the ribs. Away they went into some dense rattan and thorny

BAG A COW GAUR 213

jungle. Scarcely any blood on the trail at all ; we came
upon the two together twice, but did not see them, only
heard their rush. At length took up the track of one, and,
after going some distance, found it was the wrong one ; so
back we went again, came upon the right track, put the brute
up three times, and at last found it dead. My ball had struck
it a little too high and a little too far back, just over the hip-
bone, but it had gone in a slanting direction all but through
the body, being only retained by the skin at the shoulder.
You would scarcely suppose that any animal could have
moved after receiving such a wound as that, yet this creature
led me a dance for upwards of three hours. Certainly the
gaur grow very much larger in Burma than in India ; this
was a cow, and she was 19 hands, or 6 feet 4 inches, in fair
measurement, from heel to the top of the dorsal ridge. Now
a very large bull killed by me in India was only of the same
size, and an immense old fellow that I saw killed in the
Wynaad was only two inches higher.

" Got back about noon, the sun furious till about two, when
it came down a deluge. When they went back for the meat
of the cow the following day, they found a tiger had drawn it
away, and as he growled alarmingly at their intrusion, the
shikaries wisely let him keep the beef, but I, fortunately, had
taken the tongue and head away with me, and uncommonly
good the former was, too, to eat."

The above graphic description of sport on foot in Burma is
by one of the most accomplished sportsmen I ever knew.
But we learn the following : — That all sights on a rifle should
be screwed down to the rib to prevent shifting. This I have
always insisted on in my own weapons and advocated in my
writings. And the second is — never move in the jungle with-
out carrying your own weapon : I have known so many
chances lost by transferring for a time your weapon to a gun-
carrier. I could not myself trudge through the jungles unless
I carried my own rifle. Use is second nature. Had the
sights been true, the General would doubtless have killed an
elephant or two and a couple more gaur, or bison, as he calls
them. Had he had his rifle in hand, he would doubtless have
added the tiger to his bag.

i

214 WILD SPORTS Of BURMA AND ASSAM

A VISIT TO UPPER BURMA

In 1856 I determined to visit Umrapoora, the then capital
of Upper Burma. A little distance beyond Meaday, our then
frontier station, there was no regular monsoon known, rain
might or might not fall at any time, and during the months
of July and August a steady breeze blew up the Irrawady,
one of the straightest rivers in the world. Sir Arthur Phayre,
accompanied by Col. Yule and other officers, had gone
there on a mission previously, but although a couple of
officers had taken a trip there too, and nothing had been said
to them, yet there was a general order that Europeans in
Government employ were not to go across our frontier with-
out previously obtaining permission from the Chief Commis-
sioner, which it was understood would not be readily accorded.
So four of us determined to run the risk, and, hiring a large
cargo-boat and fitting it up to suit our requirements, Furlong,
the Superintendent of the road to Tongoop, and Scott and
Stephenson, his assistants, and I set out. The Burmese boats
can be made very comfortable ; they sail before the wind at a
great rate, and often have yards 120 feet across, with a sail in
proportion, and at times a topsail. The lie of the river is
north and south till within one day's sail of Ava, where it
takes a bend to the east. The boats hug the shore, and I
have seen them often pass a steamer. Leaving Prome, we
reached Thayet Myo in a day and a half, and halted there
barely twenty-four hours. Starting afresh, we reached Men-
loon, the first Burmese station, on the second day. There
the Burmese had a Custom- House, and all boats going up and
down were examined. The officials were very civil and gave
us no trouble at all. We called on the Governor, who received
us in grand state and was exceedingly polite, and offered to
show us some sport if we would remain a few days; we
thanked him, but declined, as we said our time was limited ;
in fact, we were afraid we might be recalled if we dawdled
near our frontier.

Portions of the Irrawady between Meaday and Menloon

YAY-NAN-CHOUNG— PETROLEUM WELLS 215

are very beautiful. The stream is somewhat confined by high
banks and studded with well-wooded islands ; the water is
clear, and we could hear francolins and peacocks calling, and,
on landing, occasionally put up a few corn-quail. Beyond
Menloon whenever we approached a town we landed to visit
the monasteries and pagodas, .many of which were very
picturesque. On entering a phoongie house we were
generally asked to take off our shoes, because Sir Arthur
had done so, but on our assuring them that our custom was
to take off our hats, and that the doing so was a far greater
mark of respect than going in unshod, they made no objection.
Although we did not hurry, we did not halt for any length of
time anywhere until we reached Yay-nan-choung, or " stinking-
water stream," and wishing to visit the petroleum wells we
halted for a day. The atmosphere round Yay-nan-choung is
foetid. There are always hundreds of boats that take the oil
in bulk. In stowing a great deal is spilt, and the surface of
the river is covered with a film of petroleum very unpleasant
to one's olfactory nerves. The wells are about three miles
inland, so, starting early, we got there about seven, and spent
an hour or two in watching the extraction of the mineral oil.
The appliances are of the crudest. The wells are fully 300
feet in depth ; there are not many of them, -and all are
owned by some dozen families, who used to intermarry so
as to keep their interests intact ; but the older inhabitants now
complained that the young people were getting independent,
that the young men brought home strange girls for wives, and
that the girls often marry outsiders, and as each retains his or
her interests, the property is rapidly decreasing in value. The
produce is a monopoly of the king's, and pays him well. If
a well requires deepening there are but two or three men
capable of undertaking it, no one can remain down for more
than a minute or two at the most, and occasionally a man dies
in the attempt. Where these wells are there is not a blade of
grass, no vegetation grows within several hundred feet of their
vicinity. Although there are other wells known in Burma,
none pay but these. Far finer wells were discovered in Assam,
but owing to peculation and bad management those who
started their working utterly failed ; but lately a fresh start

I

216 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

has been made, and they ought to pay well, especially when
the railroads, now in course of construction, are completed.
The crude petroleum is like thick mud and is very offensive.
In Rangoon they have refineries now, and manufacture candles,
soap, and kerosene and Rangoon oil.

Leaving Yay-nan, the banks of the river form chalk cliffs,
rising from 100 to 150 feet above the river bed, and, sailing
alongside, we found they were infested with wild blue-rock
pigeons, who had formed their nests by burrowing into the
chalk formation, and as the country is well cultivated with
wheat, cholum, and other grains, we found the birds delicious
eating, and shot a good many of them. As most of them fell
into the river when killed, our boatmen, who were amphibious,
retrieved for us and fared all the better for their exertions, as
we gave them a good many of the birds. As there is no
regular monsoon, the great staple, paddy or rice, is grown
only here and there where irrigation can be resorted to, so the
people of Upper Burma are in great measure dependent on
the Lower for their great necessary of life. A trip up this
great water-way, especially in a large commodious boat, is
very pleasant. We never found the heat oppressive ; the steady
wind acted as a fan, and the scene varied so at every turn and
twist as to resemble a kaleidoscope, and we never tired of its
beauties. We halted for two days at Pagan Myo, which alone
is worth a month's trip to see ; along the river bank for fully
nine miles there is visible pagoda upon pagoda, and these
extend inland for some three miles. Unfortunately, most of
these beautiful structures are in ruins ; the hill people, who are
not Buddhists, have broken into them for the sake of their
relics, and but few remain intact ; these luckily are probably
the most beautiful of all. Yule declares that the Ananda Pya
is in its way more lovely than the Taj at Agra. He thinks it
was built by Italians acting under the orders of the Court of
Ava many centuries ago. Pagan used at one time to be the
capital of Burma, but it was captured by the Chinese, and in
1824-26 Sir Archibald Campbell made it his head-quarters
for some time. It is only a place of very secondary importance
now, but will ever be famous for its monasteries and pagodas.
There they make, too, the best of the boxes the Burmese use

PAGAN MYO, UMRAPOORA, WHITE ELEPHANT 217

for carrying betel-nut and ingredients for chewing and other
purposes. They are woven from very fine strips of bamboo
and then lacquered, an art in which they, the Chinese, and
Japanese excel all other people. Some ten miles to the east
of Pagan there are hills rising to an altitude of some 2000 to
3000 feet, where it is said game is abundant. I saw boars
feeding in the open where, had we had steeds and spears, we
could have ridden them easily. Hares, jungle fowl, and fran-
colins were fairly plentiful, and I killed enough to last us for a
couple of days. To see Pagan and its vast ruins properly one
should spend a month there.

Although paddy is a scarce commodity, wheat, grain of all
kinds, and cereals thrive well. We also landed at Saigon and
Ava ; the former capital is a mass of ruins and overgrown with
jungle, with the ramparts tumbling down. The pagodas
remain, and a portion of the old town is still inhabited, but
it is a sad ruin to contemplate. Umrapoora, the then capital,
was a thriving, well-built, handsome city. We called upon Mr.
Spears, an English merchant who had long been resident
there, and who showed us much hospitality and kindness. He
hired for us a house and acted as our cicerone. The king
was notified of our arrival, and placed four ponies at our dis-
posal, and promised to see us when the stars should be propi-
tious. We went about freely; there was not the slightest
hindrance, and we met with the greatest civility everywhere.
We visited the White Elephant, who ranked after the king
and had a palace all to himself. When dressed for state
occasions his trappings are worth several lacs of rupees. His
head -piece alone contained rubies and emeralds worth, Mr.
Spears told us, over ^"20,000. I wonder what became of
them when we finally occupied Mandalay in 1880, or there-
abouts— looted by the soldiers and officers when Mandalay
was taken, most probably. One Tommy, who was placed
under arrest for looting, said : " Devil-a-bit do I care — I have
enough loot for three generations." Very foolishly, the maids-
of-honour were allowed to leave the palace unsearched : they
took a vast quantity of jewellery and precious stones with
them, but the soldiers were on the look-out, and deprived
them of everything. The elephant was certainly a very fine

2i8 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

one, most symmetrically formed, and with a splendid pair of
tusks. I heard that after we annexed the country Messrs.
Rogers of Sheffield bought these tusks at auction. I wonder
whether they cut them up into handles for knives ! He had
been must some time, so had not been washed or bathed for
about a month, and as he was covered with dirt thrown over
his body by himself it was impossible to judge how white he
was. He had certainly pink eyes — so I fancy he was an
albino. He died a few months after we saw him, and was
replaced by a miserable little beast who had not much pre-
tence to being white.

In the centre of the town was the king's palace and its
outbuildings — all surrounded by a broad ditch and walls
flanked with towers. I was disappointed with the palace ;
it was not half so grand as many of the phoongie houses I
had seen. The stables were extensive, but only occupied by
some four or five spotted ponies of no value, and such as we
see in most circuses. The great idol is a representation of
Buddha seated in the usual cross-legged manner, and consists
of metal. It was cast in Arrakan, and when we overran that
country it was moved across the mountains to its present site,
and took, it is said, 10,000 men to carry. I have no doubt
it is very valuable. It is, or was when I saw it, very much
distorted from the many thousands of pilgrims daily smearing
it over with gold leaf. The Chinese had a quarter to them-
selves, and their Joss-house was well worth a visit, the images
inside were very life-like and beautifully dressed. The whole
of it, even the stones used in the structure, we were told, had
been brought piece by piece from China via Bhamo, and must
have been a work of time and vast expense.

Round the king's palace were built the houses of his
mingyees or ministers, and each had a neat little garden in
front with a trellis-work on which were growing vines. The
streets were broad, well laid out, and perfectly straight ; the
cross roads being at right angles, forming boulevards like
those common on the Continent. There were a good many
brick houses. The Mannipuries, who form the king's cavalry,
lived apart by themselves, and their women are reckoned the
beauties of the capital. Each trade has a street allotted to

THE COURT OF AVA IN 1856 219

it, so you see the same things for sale all in a row, and there
is a good deal of competition and importuning to purchase.
The site of Sir Arthur Phayre's Embassy was about a mile
and a half from the town across a large lake. We had to
cross a bridge (wooden) fully a mile long to get to it. In
Lower Burma in those days we had not succeeded in rearing
European vegetables, so we were delighted at seeing some
cabbages growing, and, after a good deal of haggling, I bought
one for a rupee and took it home in triumph. My boy, the
next day, bought twelve for the same price ! The phoongie
houses were splendid — the inner posts of that occupied by the
high priest were studded with precious stones. Very fine
oranges are grown in the hilly districts, and of course all
tropical fruits thrive if looked after ; but we were then not at
the right season for fruit. Our interview with his Majesty was
postponed from day to day ; either the stars were unpropitious,
or a child was born, or some excuse made. So we left without
seeing the king of kings after all. Just as we were leaving,
the Kulawoon (Minister for Foreign Affairs) presented each
of us with a putso of silk of the king's own pattern as a fare-
well gift, and asked us to delay our departure. We thanked
him, but would not remain any longer.

The king has one principal wife — his half-sister — and some
seven hundred concubines, many of whom he probably would
not recognize. If we could believe a quarter of what we were
told, great profligacy was carried on by the ladies of his
harem, who admitted their lovers freely; and as for the
children, not one in a hundred could claim paternity from the
Lord of Many White Elephants, etc. So the half-sister was
probably no way related, and that I think must be pretty well
understood, for I always found that the Burmese had a horror
of committing incest, and the greatest opprobrium you can cast
on a man is to accuse him of having been intimate with his
own sister. No rain had fallen for two months when we were
in Umrapoora, though it was the height of the monsoon in the
Lower Provinces. I only saw one cultivated fig-tree in the
suburbs ; at a little distance, I was told, they, as well as
peaches, apricots, pomegranates, and other fruits, were to be
found.

220 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Although mangoes,1 or rather the trees, are very com-
mon, good mango fruit was in those days very difficult to
procure — nearly every one has a beetle inside, and the only
grafted ones I ever saw were some imported by me and
planted at Tongho. Custard apples thrive opposite Prome.
But Burma — except in the hilly districts — was not then a
good place for fruit. Very fine mangoes and oranges may now
be had in Rangoon, Mandalay, and Moulmein.

In 1858 the Government discontinued the works on the
road I was employed on, so I reverted to the sappers and
miners. Each company of a European regiment and the
sappers had been supplied with a large boat, and Butt and I,
with the help of Dr. Ranking, who had formerly been in the
navy, rigged ours up as a yacht, and, having obtained a
month's privilege leave, we determined to sail up the river and
have a look at Mandalay, the new capital. We took two
sappers as a crew, and our two servants, and, laying in an
ample supply of stores, we set sail. It was blowing great
guns when we started, and the wind continued fair and strong
the whole way. I was steersman ; Butt undertook the man-
agement of the sails, etc. Everybody laughed at us, and told us
we were a couple of fools for thinking we could get up without
the aid of a Burmese crew, but I, who had already been up,
knew there were no difficulties in the way, so we felt confident
of our ability to do without extra aid. Our yacht was a
capital sailer, and being provided with a keel she could sail on
a wind, whereas the Burmese boats can only sail with a breeze
fair astern. We did not stick to the bank like the Burmese,
but went boldly into mid-stream. Seeing us do this, several
large native boats followed our example, and in a straight run
fairly ran away from us, passing us with a good-natured joke,
but directly there was the least bend they all went ashore,
whilst we, close-hauled, passed them in our turn, laughing at
them and asking them if we should report having seen them
at Mandalay. It is no joke if one of these huge craft gets on
a lee-shore if there is a strong breeze blowing, for it then takes
them sometimes days to get off. We landed at many of the

1 Excellent mangoes are now obtainable in Mandalay, and, in fact,
nearly every district in Upper or Lower Burma. — W. S. T.

SAIL TO MANDALAY IN OUR OWN BOAT 221

islands and shot a number of corn-quail, which in the Lower
Provinces are very scarce. We also killed hares, jungle fowl,
and pigeons sufficient for our wants, and in one place we came
across a lot of goggle-eyed plovers, which had been fattening
on grain, and found them uncommonly good eating. We
spent two days at Pagan Myo, before mentioned, where the
pagodas are so numerous that if a Burman wishes to express
an impossibility, he says, " Such and such is as possible as for
a man to count the pagodas at Pagan."

Including all our stoppages we reached Mandalay without
any assistance on the eleventh day. We sailed up a creek
and anchored close to the town. The people at its mouth
tried to induce us to stop there, but we pretended ignorance
of their language and sailed on. We looked up Mr. Spears,
and though he was kind enough to offer to put us up, as we
intended remaining only a few days, we declined with thanks
and remained in our own boat. In 1857 the king had decreed
that Umrapoora was to be abandoned, and a new capital
formed four miles higher up the river. It was thought that
the position of Mandalay would be safer from the guns of our
war-vessels than Umrapoora, but the science in gunnery has
made such strides of late years, that the new capital could have
been as easily battered down as the old one, which was on the
river's bank. The new town was in embryo. It had been
admirably laid out, and the streets were 100 feet broad, and all
laid out regularly in parallel lines with the cross-roads at right
angles. The king's palace as usual in the centre. We walked
to the site of Umrapoora, where two years ago all had been
beautiful to the sight, but which was now a mass of ruins and
desolation. The inhabitants had been forcibly removed, the
ramparts thrown down, the brick houses demolished, wooden
ones burnt Nothing was left but charred remains and rubbish,
and numbers of half-starved dogs, who were lying about; why
they had not followed their masters to the new capital I can't
conceive. There are large marble quarries near Mandalay,
and alabaster is also found, and hundreds of artisans were
busy modelling images of Gaudama of every conceivable size,
from an inch or two to 10 and 15 feet in altitude. Nothing
was finished, but several thousand people were at work

222 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

excavating the fort-ditch, throwing up ramparts, and making
bricks.

The officials could understand Butt coming up to admire
the country, but what could have brought me up a second
time they could not make out, and evidently looked on me
as a spy !

Phayre's abode during his embassy had been burnt down.
We saw the hairy woman and her family, and some very
clever jugglers, who did the Davenport trick long before that
family was heard of. We wandered all over the place, no
one objecting, and, after seeing all that could be seen and
purchasing knick-knacks, and obtaining a certificate from
Spears that we had arrived on a certain date, to satisfy those
who had bet that we should not reach the capital, we crossed
over the river to Mendoon, where there is the largest mass of
brickwork in the world and the second largest bell. The
former was intended to be an immense pagoda, and a model
alongside shows that it was to have been 600 feet high when
finished, but after it had been raised 200 feet, the great earth-
quake of 1839 shattered it, and the Burmese, thinking it a
bad omen, abandoned the work ; but there it was, just as it
was left, even portions of the scaffolding were still up ! Close
by it is the great bell, with an inner diameter of 16 feet.1

1 " Since our occupation this bell has been raised, by public subscription,
on a proper scaffolding. Steps were taken by the District Magistrate to
obtain funds for raising the bell. The appeal having been generously
responded to by all classes of the community, and sufficient funds having
been raised, the committee appointed to superintend the work entered
into a contract with the Irrawady Flotilla Company to raise the bell and
re-hang it on iron pillars. The work of raising it by means of powerful
jack-screws and levers was successfully accomplished in March 1896, and
the massive iron columns and beams from which the bell will depend are
now being cast at the Flotilla Company's works at Dalla, opposite to
Nangoon. The beams and pillars have been made of a strength sufficient
to support a hanging weight of 100 tons, a weight exceeding by 20
tons the estimated weight of the bell. As it has no clapper, it will perhaps
be necessary to provide some mechanical contrivance to elicit sound from
its huge lips." (Extract from Wanderings in Burma, by S. W. BIRD.)

The bell is called Mingun Bell. I never saw a large bell in Burma
with a clapper. I have seen them struck with the horn of a deer —
generally a sambur.— F. T. POLLOK.

THE MENDOON PAGODA— AN EARTHQUAKE 223

One portion of the deserted pagoda is said to contain images
in gold, life-size, of the past and present members of the ruling
dynasty ; and if so, there must be wealth enough to satisfy
even the greed of a miser. The country is hilly, covered with
jungle, and we could hear the cocks crowing and francolins
calling all around ; the people also said that hares were
plentiful, but they were of no use to us, as no one was allowed
to fire a gun within a radius of twenty miles of the capital.
The big gun which I had seen at Umrapoora had also been
taken to Mandalay, but no care had been taken of it, and it
was badly honeycombed, and I would rather not be the man
to fire it. We saw about fifty tusker elephants at work
removing teak logs. Adjoining the walls of Umrapoora
there were two enclosures, where they used to catch wild
elephants, who were decoyed there by tame females. The
officials told us that as many as twenty to twenty-five males
had been caught there in one year. The Burmese, when going
down-stream during the freshets, to save themselves the
trouble of rowing, throw overboard branches of trees and
attach them with ropes to the prow of the boats ; these catch
the full force of the stream and drag the boat along at a good
rate. I adopted this idea, but constructed a large kite with
mats and bamboos, and, weighting it on one side, launched it
overboard. It remained upright, and dragged us along about
five miles an hour. The river was pretty well at its height ;
the greater part of the sand-banks had disappeared, so we
went down merrily without any exertion on our part, until one
afternoon, when a heavy sea drove us back. We could not
•understand it. We took in our kite and tried the oars, but it
was of no use, the waves broke over the boat, so we made for
the bank, and, finding a sheltered spot, anchored. The moon
rose brightly, it was full ; but after a while a total eclipse took
place, which we noted in our journals. About 3 a.m. the
waves went down ; we pulled into the stream, let down the
kite, and again went on rapidly. As we passed the different
pagodas, notably those of Pagan Myo, we noticed that the
Thes, or umbrellas that surmount their crest, were either down
or all askew, and wondered what had caused it. Near Yay-
nan-choung the wind veered round to the north and blew half

224 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

a gale. So we took in the kite, hoisted the sails, and went
down at a good fifteen miles an hour till dark, when we furled
the sails and brought the kite again into play. No one
steered ; we lashed the helm amidships, and expected to be at
Menloon early next morning. When we woke at daylight we
could not conceive where we were, but we thought Menloon
was still ahead, but hour after hour passed, and at last to our
surprise not Menloon, but Meaday loomed ahead. We had
gone eighty miles in twelve hours by the kite alone. As we
approached Thayet Myo we saw all the pagodas a mass of
ruins, and thought they had been demolished by the Executive
Engineer, but we found on landing that on the day of the full
moon, about two in the afternoon, an earthquake had shattered
the pagodas, and caused the stream of the Irrawady to run up
towards its source, which fully accounted for our progress being
barred that day.

Thayet Myo is not a nice place to be stationed at. The
rainfall is very trifling and the heat excessive. Cholera, too,
is very prevalent. There is very poor shooting anywhere
near — even snipe are scarce. In the floods there is good
boating ; but a huge sand-bank formed, and when I was last
there the steamers had to lie fully a mile ofT.

Going from Thayet Myo, fifty miles west to Mendoon, very
good large-game shooting can be had. Near Meaday there
was very fair snipe and francolin shooting and occasionally
some hares. I believe Meaday and Tongho were some years
ago connected by a road.

Robberies were very frequent at Thayet Myo. Ponies were
frequently abstracted and taken across the frontier. At one
time a cordon of sentries with loaded muskets were placed
round the station, but the Burmese, who are daring and expert
robbers, used to creep through, and a night seldom passed
without some one being visited and despoiled.

There is excellent sport between Prome and Rangoon in
the vicinity of the railway. When I surveyed that line in
1855 I found yit (pheasarits), the Burmese francolin, and
jungle fowl abundant in many places. In the Irrawady
district at the foot of the Yomahs, in the forests, big game
abounds, and in the more open country thamine or the brow-

JSASSEIN DISTRICT GOOD FOR SPORT 225

antlered deer were plentiful. Bassein is also famous for its
sport. General Fytche has entered fully into the subject in
his book, and no man knew the district better than he, and he
was not only an expert shot, but an indefatigable and success-
ful sportsman. Crossing from Haingye and the lower ranges
of hills to Cape Negrais I have had some capital sport.

UPPER BURMA

CHAPTER I

RANGOON TO MANDALAY : THE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE.
[W. S. THOM]

THE first portion of this work treats of Lower Burma, its
people, the sport, and the ways and means by which it may
be best obtained. It shall in turn be my endeavour to give
to the best of my ability, although I am neither an adept with
the pen nor a learned naturalist, a similar account of that
portion of the country known as Upper Burma. Six out of
the eleven years of my service were spent in Upper Burma,
five in Lower; the " Land of Pagodas." I had therefore many
opportunities of enjoying to my mind that most enjoyable of
all sports, viz. "big game shooting." Most of my short leave
and every available hour of my spare time were utilized in
this manner. I was thus able to study and note the habits,
haunts, and peculiarities of the many wild animals to be met
with in the vast tracts of hill, jungle, and dales of Upper
Burma. Always in the best of health and condition, and
backed by a good constitution, I was enabled to endure fatigue
and hardships when in pursuit of game without any very
serious after effects, and could at the same time when in the
clutches of malaria throw it off after an attack of a few days.

It is not my intention to dwell on statistics relating to the
history, trade, products, the people, their language, religion,
and customs, etc., as these subjects have partly been discussed
and dealt with in the earlier part of this work by my colleague.

226

GooCi Sportinn area

>jiaavord!s Geog J?sia2). Zondorv

W. S. THO.M.

ROUTES TO BURMA FROM ENGLAND 229

Mr. Geo. W. Bird, of the Burma Educational Department, has
also recently in his admirable work Wanderings in Burma
dealt with the subject at some considerable length. I shall
only touch lightly on these matters as I proceed ; the principal
object in view being to produce a text-book on sport for those
who intend visiting the country.

Rangoon may be reached from England by two direct lines
of steamers, the Bibby and Patrick Henderson's. The former
line do the passage in about thirty days, calling at Colombo,
and are most comfortable. The latter line take sometimes
from thirty to thirty-three days, and charge as passage money
£30 ; the food and service on board are everything that can
be desired. The journey by the Bibby line, only first-class
saloon accommodation, is £$o. Passengers have no difficulty
in getting their luggage passed through by the Customs officials,
who come on board all vessels entering port. Import duty is
however charged, if my memory does not deceive me, on all
fire-arms, at the rate of ten per cent, on the value of each
weapon. Hotels under European management are to be
found both in Rangoon and Mandalay. The principal in the
former town are Evershed's, Sarkies, Great Eastern, and the
British India.

The sportsman on his arrival in Rangoon should first of all
make up his mind by what route he intends proceeding to
Upper Burma, which may be reached in two ways, viz. (i) by
train to Mandalay, a distance of some 386 miles, or (2) by a
splendid service of fast steamers, belonging to the Irrawady
Flotilla Company, plying twice a week between Rangoon and
Mandalay. The journey by rail may be completed in twenty
hours or less ; by steamer again up the Irrawady several days
are required, as the distance is greater and the steamer stops
at various stations en route. This is, however, a most enjoy-
able trip, and if the sportsman is not pressed for time the
latter journey is certainly to be recommended. The Irrawady
Flotilla Company are in possession of as fine a fleet of river
steam-boats as any now afloat. The saloon accommodations,
furniture, and fittings for Europeans are superb, and last, but
not least, most of their vessels are lighted by electricity, and
their victualling department, in the way of food, liquor, ice,

230 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

wines, aerated waters, etc., is everything that the most fastidi-
ous could desire.

Let us now suppose that the sportsman has arrived
by train at Mandalay with the intention of proceeding
up the country. He would first, after his arrival at the
station, proceed to the dak bungalow, or rest-house, pro-
vided by Government for the use of travellers, where all
his belongings would be deposited, and where for a very
moderate sum per diem his wants would in every way be
most comfortably attended to. The only hotel which merits
special notice is the Hotel Europe. The visitor, it is presumed,
before leaving the interesting city for fresh fields and pastures
new higher up the river, would naturally pay a visit to the
various objects of interest to be seen in this town, such as
Theebaw's palace, the " Centre of the Universe " as it is called
by Burmans, now converted with the various other buildings
within the walled enclosure into useful abodes and pleasure
resorts for the officials, civil' and military, now residing in
Mandalay. One portion of the palace proper serves now as
the dining, reading, whist, and billiard-rooms of the Upper
Burma Club. The roof and ceiling are supported by huge
posts of teak, and the whole interior is covered with gold-leaf.
Beautiful ornamental tanks, grottoes, rockeries, rustic bridges,
and winding paths shaded by grooves of tamarind, mango,
bamboo, and other flowering trees meet and entrance the eye
on every side. The king's throne is simply a pedestal of
wood, of shape similar to those seen in temples,, "ponghyi
kyaungs " or monasteries, and is about eight feet high. Some
of the carved teak-wood spread over the whole area of the
palace is very fine. British and native troops occupy various
buildings within the enclosure, and other blocks of buildings
again are utilized as offices by the Government officials of the
various departments, such as Military, Medical, Forest, P.W.D.,
etc. The building adjoining the theatre, built by King
Theebaw for the Parsi Theatrical Company, a room used by
the court when witnessing these performances, is now used as
the mess-room of the garrison. There are numerous other
places worthy of a visit in Mandalay and its environs, such
as the Kutho Daw or 729 tablets, the Queen's Kyaung or

RANGOON TO MANDALAY 233

monastery, the residence of a Buddhist bishop, and the famous
Mingun bell ; this huge mass of metal, said to be the second
largest bell in the world, is situated about nine miles above
Mandalay, on the right bank of the Irrawady. This great
bell, weighing over 80 tons, is 12 feet high, from 6 to 12
inches in thickness of metal, and the external diameter
at the lip is 16 feet 3 inches. Another very large casting,
in the shape of a colossal brass image of Gaudama,
may be seen at Amarapoora. This figure, one of 12 feet
high in a sitting posture, with limbs in proportion, was once
regarded as the palladium of Arrakan, and was brought
from thence on its conquest, A.D. 1784, by the Burman
monarch. Numerous pagodas, monasteries, and religious
buildings may also be seen scattered about over the outer
town. The so-called " incomparable pagoda" among pagodas
is the most interesting.

As these are however noticed at length in every book
on Burma, I may perhaps be permitted to go on to the
object I more especially have in view. A short account
of what may be seen and purchased in Mandalay, together
with a brief outline of the character, habits, and customs
of the people there, may not be amiss. Should the traveller
be a connoisseur in curios and works of art, such as objects
carved in teak, silver, ivory, or brass, some really very
useful and pretty articles may be purchased. Silver-mounted,
carved, ivory-handled Burmese " dahs " (a short fighting-sabre
or sword) and daggers may be obtained to order. Some
excellent lacquer-work may also be seen in almost every
native or Burmese shop throughout the town, or in the bazaar.
Should he desire a better acquaintance with the people and
their manners and customs, he has only to stroll out through
the town and pay the market, or what in Burma is called the
" ze," a visit. En route to the " ze " or bazaar some curious
studies of the extraordinary motley and variety of nationalities
may also be seen in the streets. Here, slouching along, comes
a band of sturdy Shans with a decided Chinese cast of features
about them, wearing wide-brimmed, beautifully-woven, soft
straw hats or "kamouks," a long, crooked, silver-mounted,
fighting " dah she " or sword in its wooden sheath, and sling

234 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

bedecked with bright tassels slung over the shoulder, and
wearing the usual dark blue or white, baggy trousers, tattooed
from the waist to the ankles. Again, if we look down that
side street, the Chinese quarter, the prosperous, smiling, pig-
tailed celestial will be seen, child-like and bland, jabbering
away to his neighbour in the most voluble manner. There
again, on their daily begging rounds, accompanied by their
novices and scholars, go a string of Buddhist pongyis or
priests, patient and contemplative, looking neither to the right
nor left, but stopping in front of each house, the inmates of
which, having been warned by the clear, reverberating notes
of the half-moon-shaped metal gongs carried by the " kyaung
thas " or scholars, are ready with their charitable doles of rice,
fish, and vegetables. Then again down that street, wearing
huge turbans, go a few fierce-eyed, flat-nosed, dirty, ragged-
looking, wiry Kachins, with their shifty and treacherous nature
depicted in their every look and action. Arrakanese with
their European type of features and hirsute appendages,
jolly, mild-faced, converted Karens, stolid, hard-working
Maingthas, active Chins, malodorous of "khaung" or rice
beer, Hindus and Mussalmen, also swell the motley throng to
be met with in this wonderful town of queer tribes and
primitive superstitions. In the bazaar, representatives of the
above-mentioned races may be seen sitting side by side with
the Burman, busily engaged in plying their trade. The
panorama now presented before one, of the various bright-
coloured dresses of the many different nationalities, is pictur-
esque in the extreme, and the impression thus conveyed to
a new-comer is one which will not easily be forgotten.

To one who has any knowledge of the native of India, a
marked difference will at once be apparent between him and the
Burman. The former, clad invariably in loose, white, flowing
robes, turban and hirsute appendages, is easily identified from
the latter, who is brightly attired in silks of every shade and
pattern, with a face invariably as bare as it was when he first
saw the light of day. In character they are quite as strongly
contrasted. The Hindu, Mussalman, Corringhee or Madrassie
is full of caste prejudice, deceitful, mean, and cringing ; the
Burman, on the other hand, is more pliable, tractable, honest,

KING THEEBAW AND HIS QUEEN.

From a Photo by Watts & Skeen, Rangoon

MARKETS IN MANDALAY 237

and sociable, without caste, more straightforward, frank, and

jovial, and showing a deal of independence both in his manner

of speech and dealings. His attention whilst wandering about

from stall to stall might well be drawn to the bright, amiable,

chatty, self-possessed, vivacious manner of their women-folk,

whose freedom of action in every respect is unparalleled

amongst any other Oriental nation. Their graceful and

fascinating ways grow upon us more and more the longer one

knows them, and they, like the men, have a great eye to dress

and adornment of person, the greater part of their clothing

consisting of silks made for the most part in Manchester ; he

or she is in a very poor way indeed who does not wear

some article of silk about the person, or some such ornament

as gold bangles, rings, necklaces, and earrings of various

designs. They also, however, manufacture by hand-looms or

shuttles their own silk, which is really a very strong wearable

and good washing material. Many European ladies in Burma

wear blouses made from really very pretty patterns and shades

of this particularly strong and purely silk material.

The Burmese have well been called the "Irish of the East";
they are full of wit and humour, and are never at a loss for a
quick repartee. They are a nation of smokers ; their children
as soon as they can walk are provided with cheroots quite
an inch in thickness, and sometimes quite a foot in length.
Often a child at the breast will take his mother's cheroot and
take a puff or two. It is amusing to see little boys and girls
in the streets puffing away at these torches, handling them
with the same grace and ease as is shown by their elders.
The men do a good deal of trade in a small huckstering way,
in either stalls in the market-place, "ze," or in their own
houses ; the women, however, do nearly all the real hard work
and attend to all the wants of the household, in fact, they do
everything except till the ground, and are infinitely superior
in every way to their lords. These have, unfortunately, the
terrible fault of being inconceivably lazy, apathetic, unam-
bitious, which, coupled with their absolute indifference, conceit,
and independence, will eventually, more's the pity, be the means
of allowing themselves in the not very distant future to be
ousted and superseded in every department of commercial

238 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and industrial work by their more thrifty, hard-working, and
plodding neighbours, the natives of India and Chinamen.
What he will eat and drink to-morrow does not trouble him
in the least so long as he has enough for to-day. Such a
thing as a starving Burman, however, is unknown, as food
may be had from any monastery for the asking, and wages are
high ; the people are besides noted for their charitable and
hospitable qualities. If you enter an out-of-the-way jungle
village, where no white man has perhaps ever set foot in before,
you are sure to receive a pleasant reception. You may be
tired, travel-stained, and disreputable-looking, with regard to
dress and general appearance. You may look like a veritable
tramp or loafer, in fact, as one often does in out-of-the-way
parts of Upper Burma, from deputy commissioners downwards.
At any rate, speaking for myself, my appearance, decked out
as I have often been in a pair of baggy, dark blue, silk Shan
trousers, " baungbees," a banian, a shooting-coat, and an old
brown Ellwood's shikar-hat, would certainly lead any one at
home, who should see me thus clad for the first time, to suppose
that I had either escaped out of a lunatic asylum or was in
reality a tramp. It makes no difference to the Burman ; he
will at once attend to your wants and that of your pony before
even troubling you with any inquisitive questions as to who
you are, your destination, the object of your journey, etc.
Fresh cocoa-nuts, cheroots, the offer of a seat on a strip of brand-
new Manchester carpet in the verandah of his house, are at
once placed at your disposal. The perfect freedom of the
women, as I have already remarked, and the very frank manner
in which they reply to your questions and in turn put others
to you, is, coupled with their seductive and winning ways,
particularly attractive to an Englishman, and very different
from what one would be likely to meet with from any other
Oriental.

Their food consists chiefly of rice, vegetables, fresh and
salt fish ; a decoction of pounded fish is also consumed in
a state of semi-putrefaction, after it has undergone a process
which need not here be gone into, but it is considered amongst
them as a bonne bouche, and known as " ngapee," their national
dish. His one and only ambition, so far as I have been

BURMAJSTS FAITH IN HIS CHARMS 241

able to gather, is to obtain an appointment in Government
service, even though it should only be a minor appointment,
such as a clerkship or a court-peon's billet on fifteen to twenty
rupees per mensem. To be in possession of a gun and an
unlimited supply of ammunition is also one of his dearest
hopes, although the taking of life in any form is forbidden
in their religion — Buddhism. The recent attack upon the
Mandalay fort had no political significance whatever, although
nearly all the men concerned, some ten or eleven, were either
killed or executed ; the conspiracy originally promulgated
and led by a fanatical ex-pongyi, or priest, who thought himself
bullet-proof, and who was accompanied by a few idiots simi-
larly affected, labouring under the impression that they were
going to take the palace and drive the British from Mandalay.
Such an action is quite typical of Jack Burman, who is really
a very inoffensive fellow, but easily beguiled into believing
anything, especially when it emanates from the mouth of one
of their priests, who, however, do not now appear to have the
same power over the people as when King Theebaw sat on
the throne. The faith of the Burman in his charms is beyond
all conception. He will wear a piece of silver about the size
of a sixpence perforated in two places and secured round his
forehead with a piece of string, in the firm belief that by so
doing he has made himself invulnerable to bullets or steel.
A number of Burmans and Shans have also circular pieces of
silver or metal charms inserted beneath the skin of either arm
for the same purpose.

I remember very well on one occasion when out on
tour through the district of Katha, putting to shame some
pongyis or priests before a large gathering of villagers.
A priest approached me while I was having breakfast in
a "zayat" or rest-house, and said that he had heard that
I could shoot, and that he wanted to see whether I could
perforate with a shot from my revolver a white handkerchief
hung up at thirty paces. Certain charms in his possession, he
informed me emphatically, would prevent my being able to
do so. This distance being just a few paces too long for
straight shooting with any degree of certainty, I stipulated
that it might be lessened by ten paces, adding that distance

R

242 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

should make no difference to the efficacy of his charms. This
the monks, several of them having in the meantime arrived on
the scene, agreed to. I took up my stand at the required dis-
tance and succeeded, much to their disgust, in sending a hole
through the centre of the handkerchief. A dissatisfied murmur
from the onlookers, and the speedy disappearance of the priests
into their monastery, was the result. The priests afterwards
informed me that their charms had been rendered useless by
the fact that the fabric was of English manufacture instead of
Burmese. Taking their good and bad qualities together we
conclude that the Burmese are all round to be preferred to
the ordinary native of India.

As a companion in the jungle, whilst camping out under
canvas with them after game as I have often done for
a couple of months at a time, I have always found them
most agreeable, entertaining, and adepts in the art of
spinning out many a long yarn, truthful or otherwise, as
to how such and such a dacoit "bo," or leader, they knew
was sword or bullet-proof, or how such and such an elephant
which they had come across in a certain range of hills had to
ascend them backwards, owing to its tusks being too long to
allow of its walking up them in the usual manner. (This
yarn is current in every part of Burma visited by me. — F. T. P.)
Hair-breadth escapes from tigers, ghost tales, and gruesome
stories of dacoity and murder often form part of these after-
dinner yarns, told " far from the madding crowd," in the open,
before a roaring camp fire, with only the stars and the moon
shining above us. He is a good shikarie, an indefatigable
walker when he chooses, and an all-round inveterate gambler,
and the mains of buffalo and cock-fights and boat-racing in
which he revels have none of the brutalities which distinguish
these sports in other countries. He is also very often, I am
sorry to have to relate, addicted to the vice of smoking and
eating opium, a habit which, when once it has obtained a firm
hold of its victim, invariably leads him on to mental and physical
destruction. Buddhism forbids the use of opium as one of the
five deadly sins. There has been a good deal written for and
against opium by well-meaning people, who perhaps have not
had an opportunity of studying its good or evil effects upon

OPIUM AND OPIUM-EATERS 245

mankind. " A confirmed smoker may go a day or two without
his smoke and only feel incapable of eating or performing his
daily work, but within a week or ten days he would probably
die from want of it. Yet while his supply is regular he is
little affected by the indulgence if not carried to excess, and
is to all intents and purposes as well able to go about his
daily work as a man who does not use it. Indeed, the opium
smoker can bear a much greater amount of fatigue than the
man who does not smoke, while, as far as I can judge, the
habit does not shorten life, unless, as already stated, the con-
sumer be deprived of his drug." So says one writer who was
capable of giving an opinion. It is only when the drug is
eaten in excess, not smoked, that its baleful effects are felt.
Opium has been the cause of a good deal of trouble and
misery to the Burman ; he will sell his all to gratify his craving
in this respect. On the other hand, he is sober and abstemious
in his way of life, drunkenness amongst them being almost
unknown, except in a few cases in those towns adjoining the
coast where education and European example have led him
astray. It has been said, and not without some truth, that to
some extent the taste for opium has been cultivated in early
youth through its use as an anaesthetic for the painless
administration of the tattooing needle. Burmans are invariably
tattooed from the waist to the knee with a decoction of sesamum-
seed or indigo, in a tracery of figures representing cats, bears,
ogres, tigers, monkeys, nats or spirits, and mysterious squares
and letters. This painful process is undergone by the
" kalatha " or young man at any time between the ages of
seven and fifteen. The youth, after recovering from the
stupefying effects of the opium and the inflammation which
continues for some time after the tattooing process is over,
surreptitiously, it is said, resorts to opium in order that he may
enjoy all over again the pleasant dreamy recollections ex-
perienced from his first dose. This may or may not be the
case, of course. Many parents now, I believe, have the needles
used upon their children without the assistance of opium.

The Chinese and Shans are also great consumers of the drug,
but they have a better physique than the Burman, and neutral-
ize to some extent its evil effects by taking it in moderation,

246 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and eating at the same time comparatively good and nutritious
food. We will now suppose that the visitor or intending
sportsman has had enough of Mandalay, and desires an
introduction to the glorious shooting grounds of Upper Burma,
where even at the present day the lordly elephant and gaur
roam about unmolested, over vast tracts of hill and dale
which have as yet, comparatively speaking, been untrodden
by either the foot of the globe-trotter, or the relentless searcher
of trophies and record heads.

CHAPTER II
THE SPORTSMAN'S OUTFIT, BATTERY, SERVANTS

THE first matter to be taken in hand by a sportsman after
his arrival in Mandalay is to look about him for a good
servant, cook, interpreter, and table-servant combined in one, if
he wishes to economize. Madrassie servants who have already
served in the out-of-the-way hilly stations of Upper Burma,
where they have become acclimatized, and who talk English and
Burmese fluently, are the most useful men to accompany one
on a shooting expedition of this sort, but as a rule these men
are great rascals and much too fond of drink. They may also
be picked up in Rangoon, and it would perhaps be as well to
engage one there if possible, as he would then look after his
master's property and wants en route to Mandalay. Messrs. A.
Scott and Co., Merchants, Bankers, and Agents, Merchant
Street, Rangoon, would be able to assist the sportsman in
many ways, such as in getting together not only the necessary
servants and kit which may be required, but also stores, liquor,
ammunition, and, in fact, almost any other thing that may be
wanted for making one comfortable during a prolonged stay
in the jungle. Should the sportsman have a stock of liquor
with him, such as whisky, beer, etc., he should keep these
things if possible under lock and key — letter-padlocks are the
best — as " Ramsawmy " is particularly addicted to helping
himself freely from his master's bottle whenever an occasion
offers. Should money be a secondary consideration, I would
suggest the sportsman engaging a Burmese " lugale " or table-
boy, who will wash clothes, clean boots and guns — the last
should always in my opinion, however, be taken in hand by
the sportsman himself— and do general all-round work ; the

249

250 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

labours of the cook would then be considerably lightened. It is
always best, in fact, to have at least two servants with one, as
should the cook fall ill, as he very often does out in camp, from
jungle fever, dysentery, or other causes, the Burman can always
be utilized as cook. Burmans do not consider it pilfering help-
ing themselves to tea, sugar, or tobacco, and it is as well not to
be too strict in such matters. The " lugale " would also act as
a set-off to the native boy, who would then have to be on his p's
and q's, as each other's misdeeds and pilferings would then be
promptly reported to the master. English-speaking Burmese
boys are, however, difficult to obtain, and when they are
to be engaged they are not always to be depended upon, as they
are so independent and touchy about the least thing. Never
strike a Burman servant for a small matter, it is no punish-
ment, as he is inclined to be as hasty as yourself, and would
leave you without the slightest warning or hesitation, and
sometimes without even claiming the pay that might be due
to him. From Rs.25 to Rs.3O per mensem, including food,
would be the maximum salary for the best English-speaking
cooks or table-servants obtainable in either Rangoon or
Mandalay. Burman servants who do not speak English
could be engaged for Rs.2O per mensem. The name and
address of any servant engaged should invariably be noted in
case of desertion, which however rarely happens. The head
butler in the dak bungalow or rest-house in Mandalay, should
the visitor be staying there, or any other European whom he
may know or happen to have letters of introduction to, should
be able to put him in the way of at once obtaining without
difficulty servants, stores, and liquor, or any other thing that
may be required. Stores, liquor, etc. may be purchased in
Mandalay at almost the same prices as in Rangoon.

The sportsman's attention should next be directed to his
camp equipment, kit, battery, etc. It is better to be comfortably
provided with everything if you wish to enjoy sport, but to do
so you must live well. Certain articles herein mentioned may
be left out by less fastidious sportsmen who do not mind
roughing it to a certain extent. But I am at one with the
late Mr. Sanderson, who says, in his excellent work, Thirteen
Years amongst the Wild Beasts of India : " The great principle

COMFORT IN JUNGLE LIFE 251

to be borne in mind in making arrangements for jungle life
is, that the sportsman should make himself and followers as
comfortable as possible. Any amount of hard work may be
done by all during the day if they have dry clothes and a
comfortable dinner and bed at the end of it. Roughing it
when there is no necessity, and there seldom is nowadays in
India or Burma, is a mistake which only the inexperienced
fall into. There is rarely any reason why a sportsman should
sleep without sheets, drink out of a tin-pot, or dine off a box,
though these are merely discomforts. In matters actually
affecting the health of a party in jungle localities it is suicidal
not to know what are the precautions to be observed or
to neglect them." Many people at home seem to be under
the impression that Burma is a fever-stricken, unhealthy tract
of swampy country, inhabited by an uncivilized people, and
that Europeans in stations there are deprived of many
comforts and enjoyments of home life, by the want of which
existence is rendered unbearable. Let me inform the reader,
on the authority of one who has just returned to this country,
for the first time after an absence of eleven years, as fit if not
fitter than when he left it, that such is far from being the case.
Europeans have certainly to take greater care of themselves
in many respects, especially with regard to what they eat and
drink; more care, I suppose, than has to be exercised at home.
Plenty of outdoor exercise and general moderation in every-
thing, especially with regard to whisky, is the key to good
health in the East, but I suppose the same maxim is also
applicable at home. I attribute all my present health to, in
the first place, a good constitution, and next to the greater
amount of outdoor exercise I went in for there, and at the
same time total abstinence as regards spirits. The two
enemies of the European in Burma are the water when drunk
unboiled or unfiltered, especially out of standing pools in the
jungle, and ordinary malaria or fever, brought on for the most
part by one's own carelessness, by either catching a chill,
drinking bad water, or sleeping in the open when roughing it
out shooting. I have had one or two sharp attacks of jungle
fever off and on at different times. These attacks were, I may
say, the results of my own indiscretion in sleeping on damp

252 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

ground whilst in the pursuit of big game. Thanks, however,
to a good constitution I pulled through and recovered in four
or five days.

The following is a list in detail of articles under different
heads requisite for a sporting expedition into Burma : —

Wearing Apparel.

Three shooting-suits made of some strong untearable
material such as gabardine, khaki-cord, or shooting-cloth ; the
first named may be purchased from Messrs. Burberrys, 30 Hay-
market, London. The knicker-bockers should be loose and
baggy at the knees.

Three pairs of gaiters to match suit ; these should not be
made of leather unless it is very soft like sambur skin, as the
noise made against hard leather gaiters by leaves and branches
while you are stalking game through bush and undergrowth
is very distinct. A light green-coloured shooting-cloth
during the rainy season when everything is green, or a dirty
brown for the hot weather, should be worn. Personally,
I preferred the following kit : an ordinary pair of strong,
dark blue cotton Chinese or so-called Shan "baungbees"
or bags, pulled up short till the ends are hanging a couple of
inches below the knee to prevent tripping when running or
jumping obstacles, and hitched up round the waist by a spring
or elastic or leather belt. A strong pair of box-cloth or dark-
coloured canvas gaiters worn from the knees to the ankles
over the boot. This, with a woollen banian, cholera-belt, a
strong dark or light green-coloured, untearable shooting-
jacket, together with a pair of light strong boots with canvas
or leather uppers, and a brown Ellwood's shikar-hat, usually
comprised the rest of my shooting attire — the coolest, most
convenient, and least cumbrous in every way. These
" baungbees " or trousers, which, by the way, may be had in
silk as well as cotton, may be purchased from any Chinese,
Shan, or native shop, for about Rs.io or Rs.i2. I am not
prepared to recommend any new-comer to try this par-
ticular article of wearing apparel, first, because it would

A KIT RECOMMENDED

253

take him some time to get accustomed to them, and secondly,
because the colour comes out and they are expensive.

12 well-shrunk flannel shirts.

12 thin woollen banians.

3 woollen cholera or stomach-belts.

3 dozen strong pairs of soft, thin woollen socks with double-
spliced heels and toes.

2 dozen pairs of stout ditto.
6 flannel sleeping suits.

3 dozen handkerchiefs.

1 light ulster and a dressing-gown.

2 pairs of strong braces. These are best got from Thersher
and Glenny, who though dear in their prices supply first-rate
articles.

2 belts, leather, spring, or elastic.
6 bath towels.

6 small towels.

3 small table-cloths.
6 napkins.

2 pairs bathing-drawers.

6 sheets.

6 common towels for servants' use.

2 or 3 balls of twine.

A canvas housewife, needles, thread, scissors, sponge, soap,
nail, tooth, and hair brushes, comb, tooth-paste, and other use-
ful articles you may require.

A light mattress and 2 pillows to fit trestle-cot.

2 pairs of blankets.

i folding-glass to hang up or stand.

3 pairs of good shooting-boots with light, strong canvas or
leather uppers.

i pair of shooting ammunition boots with short nails on the
sole and high uppers for hill work.

3 pairs of tennis shoes with rubber soles for stalking ; these
should be light and pliable as well as strong and serviceable,
as one has very often to walk some distance over very rough
stony ground. My plan was always to change into my
stalking shoes when my trackers, who are invariably shoeless,
had warned me that the quarry was not far off. Very often,

254 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

however, one has a false alarm, and the sportsman finds that
instead of having to walk only a few hundred yards, he has to
cover a mile or two of country before coming up with the
animal being tracked up, which may be grazing and walking
along steadily ahead of him. This happens over and over
again, and the sportsman is compelled by the signs before
him, such as warm droppings, mucus from the animal's mouth,
freshly- cropped grass, etc., to prepare for a silent stalk on
catching sight of the animal, which may now happen at any
moment. %

1 dozen pairs of cheap canvas hempsoled shoes should also be
taken for your servants, gun-bearers, and trackers, who can
always be made to take them off when game is near. These
may be bought in Rangoon for Rs.2/4 per pair, or about two
shillings and eightpence.

2 waterproof capes for your own use, made, if possible, of
stout weather-proof gabardine.

6 cheap syces' waterproof capes for your men. These may
be purchased in Rangoon or Mandalay for Rs.4 or Rs.5 each.

4 double-texture waterproof sheets, 7x7.

6 common, cheap, stout, black cotton umbrellas costing about
Rs.2 each. Do not laugh, reader ! these are very useful
should you be doing any shooting in the rainy seasons. Each
man to carry his own waterproof and umbrella. I have always
found an umbrella in the jungle very useful indeed, and have
often saved my cartridges, guns, breakfast hampers, etc. from
many a drenching when a waterproof was utterly useless.

The only portion of his person that a Burman cares about
keeping dry is his precious head of hair, of which he is very
proud, and the wetting of which disgusts him thoroughly, as it
necessitates his uncoiling, re-combing, drying, and oiling it
again. Burmans are besides addicted to catching fever or
cold by getting the head wet.

2 mosquito-nets, one being made of very fine muslin to
prevent the entry of sand-flies.

2 soft-peaked felt caps. These come in very handy during
the evenings or early morning, when the hat or helmet may be
discarded, or when game is being walked up in cover where
the foliage is sufficiently dense overhead to allow of a cap

HEAD-COVERING 255

being worn nearly all day. I have often worn a small cap
from sunrise to sunset on cloudy days during the rains ; it is
not, however, always safe to do so ; besides, I was to a certain
extent acclimatized. The sportsman should, however, be able
to judge for himself whether the sun, although behind the
clouds, affects his head or not. It is well known that on a
very hot sultry day, when there is not even the faintest breath
of air, the sportsman will feel great relief and minimize
the danger of catching sun-stroke or heat-apoplexy if he at
intervals lifts up his hat above his head 5 or 6 inches so
that it may be kept cool. A few plantain or other leaves
stuffed into the top of an Ellwood's shikar-hat are also of great
assistance towards warding off the sun's rays. These hats
should all be ventilated.

2 pairs of riding-breeches made of khaki-cord or any other
material suitable for the purpose should also be brought, as
the sportsman, to travel comfortably from camp to camp, will
require a pony. The latter may be hired, borrowed, or bought
almost anywhere in Upper Burma. It would almost be better,
however, to purchase a mount in Mandalay, as there might
afterwards be some difficulty in procuring an animal, and this
would cause a delay. A serviceable Burman pony may be
bought in Rangoon or Mandalay for from Rs.i5o to Rs.2OO.
Suitable riding-kit and, in fact, any other clothes required for a
prolonged stay in Burma may be obtained at short notice in
Rangoon, there being several very good tailors there, viz.
Messrs. MacFie and Messrs. Harman and Co.

Cooking Utensils, Crockery, etc.

Enamel cooking pots, plates, tumblers, and cutlery of all
kinds may be purchased in either Rangoon or Mandalay for
a few rupees in any European or native firm. Should money
be a secondary consideration, aluminium ware would be more
useful, as being not only lighter and less bulky than the iron
enamel ware, but because it is easily kept clean. Saucepans
and pots should fit one inside the other and should also have
detachable handles ; a knife with corkscrew and tin-opener
combined, together with a spare corkscrew and tin-opener,
should also be taken.

256 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

6 wood-choppers or Burmese " dahmas " ; these are found
very useful for breaking up the various animals, cutting down
jungle, chopping firewood, and a hundred other purposes.
A pestle-and-mortar for the cook.

A couple of medium-sized iron, copper, or brass cooking
pots for servants' and hunters' use.
Carving-knife, fork, arid sharpener.

1 2 ordinary soft metal butchers' or other knives for skinning
and cutting up animals shot. Two or three stones for sharp-
ening same.

12 leather chaguls or water-bottles for yourself, trackers, and
gun-bearers, and for camp use. I have never seen these in either
Rangoon or Mandalay, and doubt very much whether they
are to be bought there. Messrs. Greet Bros., Cawnpore, India,
supply them, and a letter to them from England with instruc-
tions to forward them on to Scott and Co., Rangoon, or any
other agent, who should in turn be directed to pay the bill
and take delivery pending the arrival of the sportsman, would
facilitate matters.

i sandstone bottle-filter and 2 pocket-filters,
i zinc pail or bucket.
I meat saw.

Stores.

Branson's extract of coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar (lump and
ordinary), tinned soups, ox tongues, sausages, bacon, Crosse
and Blackwell's square tins, yellow ; order the very thin ones
only. Swiss condensed milk, sweetened or unsweetened,
tinned fruits, jam, butter (Esbensen's Danish), ghee or
clarified butter for cooking purposes, salt, pepper, mustard
(Crosse and Blackwell's, Durham), dried prawns, if you can
get them, chutney, pickle, flour, onions, potatoes. " Bovril " or
Brand's Essence of Beef should also be taken, as a stand-by in
case of illness when living on slops is imperative. Curry powder
and paste (Barries' Madras is the best) and the ingredients
which go to make it up. The following should also be
included for your servants and followers : — chillies, " ngapee,"
rice, salt, dried fish, pumpkins, red and white (" buthees
and shwepyaungthees "). The rice, " ngapee," salt fish, and

CAMP EQUIPAGE 257

vegetables being the staple food of the Burman, the quantity
taken out should be sufficient to last throughout the journey.

Matches, toilet-paper, a case of candles containing twenty-
five packets, two candlesticks with spare globes ; the pattern
of the former should, if possible, be in two pieces to allow of
its being fixed up on a peg or nail driven into the tent-pole.
Oil lamps are a nuisance, as everything in time, one's food
included, invariably becomes impregnated with the taste of
the oil, kerosene, which does not by any means act as an
appetizer. Should lamps however be taken, a couple of Hinks*
best hurricane hand-lamps are the least troublesome, most
serviceable, and cheapest.

All the above may be purchased either at Mandalay or in
any of the cargo or bazaar-boats plying up and down the river,
to which reference has already been made. A good supply
of pounded saltpetre and alum for the curing of skins and
heads of the various animals shot should also be included.

Tents, Camp-tables, Chairs, etc.

Second-hand or even new tents, single and double, may be
picked up in Rangoon or Mandalay for Rs.5O or Rs.6o.
Should the sportsman, however, bring one out with him, I would
recommend him getting a light, strong, waterproof V-shaped
tent 10 x 8. The best material is green Willesden waterproof
canvas. One end of the tent should be closed. The open end
should have two flaps fitted with eyelet-holes, so that it can
be laced up at night if necessary. The poles, which should, if
possible, be of bamboo, should be pointed with rings in them so
that they can be tied together when packed. All joints of the
poles should be fitted like those of a fishing-rod, metal to metal,
otherwise in wet weather, when the wood swells, it is difficult to
get them apart. Messrs. Benjamin Edgington, 2 Duke Street,
London Bridge, S.E., make these tents. They may also be
had at the Military Equipment Stores, 7 Waterloo Place, Pall
Mall. A very good pattern of a trestle-cot, an improvement
of my colleague, Col. Pollok, may also be obtained at
the former place. The double Cabul tents, usually seen in
India and Burma, are not to be recommended, as I have always

s

258 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

found that they get too heavy when saturated with rain, and
were not only easily torn but rotted very soon from damp and
mildew. A second and smaller tent should, if possible, be
brought, for not only the comfortable housing of your servants
in damp weather, but the stowing away of various articles
liable to be destroyed by the rain, which often overtakes one
without the slightest warning. If there are villages where
you can put up, tents are scarcely required, as there are
zayats, or a Burman will give up his house for a very slight
present.

The success of the whole expedition, in fact, depends on
the health and comfort of your servants and hunters. A
dozen pockets of various depths and sizes should be sewn
on all round inside the walls of the tent, as they are very handy
as receptacles for all sorts of things — brushes, comb, sponge,
binoculars, novels, razor, strop, note-books, etc. Loops for
attaching various articles to the walls and keeping guns in an
upright position against the sides of the tent should also be
added. Four loops fixed up inside the roof of the tent in such
a way as to allow of a mosquito-net being rigged up over the
cot are also useful when poles are not used. Four double-
texture waterproof sheets 8x8 with eyelets; a long arm camp
folding-chair with a table fitting in at the back, which may be
used not only for writing on but for dining purposes as well.
These are the most useful chairs that were ever made,
originally invented, I believe, many years ago in Maulmain by
an officer in Government service now holding a prominent
position in Rangoon. These chairs may be purchased in
the workshop of the Rangoon or Maulmain Jails for Rs.i2 or
Rs.i4.

A small folding camp -table and stool would also be
useful.

A zinc bath tub or a block-tin metal box shaped like a tub,
made by Jones and Co., with a cane wicker framework basket
fitted inside, which serves also as a trunk for holding clothes,-
should also be taken. The removal of the lid and the wicker-
basket which fits inside the box, together with all it contains,
converts it into an ordinary tub. Should mule transport be
used, however, a tub could not be taken. For my own part, I

MEDICINES AND MEDICAL COMFORTS 259

have always found two large-sized strong zinc pails or buckets,
one for hot water and the other for cold, quite sufficient for
all purposes. A good bath sponge is also a very necessary
adjunct.

Six mule trunks, made of strong cane with a waterproof
covering of tarred canvas, are also very useful for packing
stores, clothes, cartridges, etc., being perfectly watertight.
These trunks, which pack on to mules very easily, may be
purchased either at the Rangoon or Mandalay Jails for about
Rs.i6 or Rs.2O each.

A good alarm-clock and pocket-compass ; the latter will not
be required much, as a Burman hunter never loses his bearing
as long as he can see the sun or stars ; at any rate, such has
been my experience of them.

A dozen empty sacks, which, when stuffed with grass, are
used as mattresses for the men to lie upon, are also useful.

Medicines, etc.

The following medicines and other articles will be found
invaluable.

Quinine in powder form for your servants, hunters, and fol-
lowers. Five-grain gelatine-covered quinine capsules (McKessin
and Robins) for your own use. A bottle or two of each of the
following should also be added — brandy, chlorodyne, raw car-
bolic acid, for use when diluted with water for washing wounds
or sores, antipyrine or phenacatine, Cascara Sagrada capsules,
citrate of magnesia, a box or two of Cockle's or any other
pills you may fancy, blue or otherwise. Castor oil or black
draught for your followers. A pot or two of vaseline for
blistered feet, a bottle of Rubini's Liquid Camphor, an india-
rubber hot-water bag. Do not laugh, reader, at the variety and
length of the above list ; every article is useful and likely to be
required. You may say to yourself: " I have never had a
day's illness in my life, what is the use of taking out all this
trash ? " Allow me to inform you that it is best to be on the
safe side, one never can tell what may happen — I speak from
experience. Six pints of champagne might also be added to
the above list as a powerful stimulant and pick-me-up, should

260 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

you be unfortunate enough to be laid low with an attack of
malarial fever.

Liquor.

Light Pilsener or Lager beer, or any other liquor you may
wish to take out with you, such as whisky, brandy, Beaune
claret, Vermouth, etc. I would suggest, however, that the
less liquor taken the better, as no man can do a real good
day's work on foot after big game such as gaur or elephant
with a hamper in his immediate rear consisting of a bottle
of whisky and half-a-dozen soda. A peg at lunch, and one
perhaps during dinner at 8 p.m., is quite enough for any man
who wishes to keep himself in condition in a tropical clime
like Burma. More men are invalided home from the East
from the results of over-feeding and too many whiskies and
sodas, hanky pankies, cock-tails, and other mixtures, than
from any ether cause. A few bottles of. rum, gin, whisky, or
brandy should be taken for your hunters, who should have an
occasional dram after sunset round the camp fire after a
successful day. A Burman " mokso," or hunter, loves his
" peg " after a hard day's tracking, but he invariably prefers
it neat, without either water or soda.

Saddlery.

A good panel or colonial hunting-saddle with numerous
" dees " fixed on all round for saddle-bags should be brought
out from home. Saddle-bags should be made to buckle on
with straps, and lie flat, attached to the " dees " on either side
of the saddle. A thick felt " numdah " or saddle-cloth is also
a necessary adjunct, although many people do not use any
with a panel-saddle. A strong leather head-stall. Two
bridles with chain snaffle; the bit to fasten on to the head-stall
at either side of the mouth with two small straps, so that the
head-stall may remain on the pony's head after the reins with
the bit have been removed.

Two blue spare girths, spare rope, a blanket for pony,
curry-comb, brushes, and a grass-cutter's sickle.

A GOOD BATTERY 261

A supply of paddy or unhusked rice should be taken out
into camp for your pony.

Native blankets for your servants and followers.

Rifles, Cartridges, Camera, and Binoculars.

It will be unnecessary for me to enter into details on this
subject, as numerous books on Indian and African sport with
excellent advice have been written. A few hints, however, for
the benefit of those who have not read the books I refer to
may not be amiss. The following is my ideal battery, and for
sport in Burma it is in my opinion most suitable.

(i) A double hammerless 8-bore "Paradox," by Messrs.
Holland and Holland, burning 8 to 10 drams of powder,
top lever action, for use upon big game, such as elephant,
rhinoceros, gaur, tsine, or wild cattle.

,(2) A double hammerless 12-bore "Paradox," burning 4
drams, for snap-shots and while driving for thin-skinned
animals, such as tiger, leopard, bear, sambur, etc.

(3) A double hammerless -256 Mannlicher for hill shooting
and long shots, or double hammerless '303.

(4) A double hammerless 12-bore shot-gun.

The low trajectory, accuracy, absence of smoke, recoil, and
great penetration of the Mannlicher is something marvellous.
A small bore like the '256 or '303 is all very well when picked
shots are obtained in fairly open ground, such as tree or
bamboo forest, where the sportsman has been able to approach
in an easy, cool, collected manner to within say 15 or 20
yards of an animal. He is then enabled to place his bullet
in a fatal spot. The advantage of an immediate retreat
behind a tree or bamboo clump in case of failure or a charge
is also available. It would be a very different matter, on the
other hand, should he, after a hard climb up a steep ridge of
say a mile or so through a patch of low dwarf bamboos or
"kaing" grass, suddenly find himself face to face with either a
solitary bull elephant, gaur, or wild bull. The -256 or -303
would be of little use to him in the breathless trembling
condition he wculd then be in. It is in a case of this sort that
the heavy rifle, such as an 8-bore "Paradox," acts as a stopper.

262 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

One need not necessarily burn straight powder, as the shock
received anywhere by an animal of a 4 or 2 ounce ball
driven by 10 or 12 drams of powder, would either floor
or, at any rate, astonish an animal and induce it to change
the direction of its charge, whereas the effects of the small-
bore bullet, owing to the minuteness of the wound and the
consequent absence of shock, is not felt soon enough to
prevent a charge, unless of course, as I have already said, the
animal has been struck in a vital spot. An 8 or 4-bore is
therefore an indispensable adjunct to the battery of every
sportsman who intends shooting big game in Burma on foot,
as animals such as gaur, elephants, rhino, and tsine have very
often to be followed up into thickets, especially in the case
of old solitary bulls, a charge from which, if not met by a
good knock-down blow, is very often made good to the detri-
ment and danger of the sportsman. A heavy rifle need not
be carried by the sportsman till he is about to use it upon an
animal (I think the sportsman should never be without a
weapon ready for use — F. T. P.) — one's gun-bearers do all that.
And as for kicking, heavy weapons are built in proportion to
the charge used, and in the heat of the moment one really
never feels that the rifle has gone off at all. I often fired,
within the space of five minutes, fifteen or twenty shots from
an 8-bore, burning 10 drams of powder, and never felt any
recoil. Should the sportsman, however, require anti-recoil
pads, indiarubber air-cushions for the butt and cheek are
made and fixed permanently on to the rifle by Messrs.
J. and W. Tolley, Conduit Street, London, at a small cost.
Should the sportsman already have a battery of hammer
rifles, he should see that all safety-catches be done away with,
as they are a nuisance and quite unnecessary. See that all
your rifles for large and dangerous game are double; the
danger of a misfire is a fatal objection to single-barrelled
weapons. Rifle-cases should be well lined with at least a
quarter of an inch of felt, and each case should have a strong
waterproof canvas cover to keep the damp out and prevent it
from being knocked about.

See that your rifles fit tightly into their cases, as they get
shaken about a good deal in transit' on the backs of mules or

GUN-MAKERS RECOMMENDED 265

in carts. Spare back and fore-sights for each rifle should also
be taken. Slings for rifles are unnecessary, as the belts and
(swivels are not necessary, there are loops to any good sling-
one goes on to the small grasp end of the stock, and the other
over the barrel — but these cannot be used when firing at game,
they are only handy to sling a weapon across one's back after
the day's shooting is over) swivels not only rattle about and
alarm game, but invariably catch on every projection, and are
a nuisance to yourself in every way. A Burman does not
object to carrying your rifles without a sling, and I have never
yet had one of my rifles dropped or damaged through any
carelessness on the part of my gun-bearers and hunters.
With regard to breech actions, the Westley-Richards breech
and top-snap action (said to be the best sporting action in
the world) should, if possible, be used. There are several very
good makers of rifles and really very little to choose between
any of them.1 It is all a matter of money, and if that is a
secondary consideration you can always obtain a good rifle.
Each maker has, of course, his own speciality or patent with
regard to breech, top-snap action, ejecting and single-trigger
mechanism, rifling of barrels, etc. Metford '461 double rifles
by Geo. Gibbs of Bristol are also very highly spoken of by
Mr. F. V. Kirby, author of In Haunts of Wild Game, who has
done great execution with this rifle amongst the pachyderms
of Africa, killing elephant and rhinoceros with both the head and
body shots. Messrs. Holland and Holland are the well-known
makers of Colonel Fossberry's patent, the " Paradox " (this is
also made by Westley-Richards) ; a double hammerless -303
Lee-Enfield is also a useful weapon for deer, and all thin-
skinned animals. For the " Paradox," conical, steel-pointed,
hardened lead bullets, conical, steel-core bullets coated with
lead, and solid, hardened, conical lead bullets are used.

For the Mannlicher, soft-nosed, nickel-coated, copper-coated,
and slit-up bullets are used. The cartridges made abroad for
this weapon — in Austria, I believe — are said to be superior to
those of English manufacture. The '303 bullets are similar to

1 I got my own rifles recently from Messrs. Jas. Dickson and Sons,
Prince's Street, Edinburgh, and they turned them out to my entire satis-
faction.

264 WILD SPOJtTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

those mentioned above for the Mannlicher. Two cartridges
may be used for Gibbs -461 Metford rifles, one taking a charge
of 90 grams powder and 570 grams bullet, hollow and copper-
sheathed projectiles, and the other 90 grams powder and 360
grams bullet, hollow. All cartridges should be hermetically
sealed in tins of twenty-five each to protect them from
the climate and damp ; they are then always fresh and give
better results than if they had been lying in a cartridge
magazine exposed to the air day after day. Each tin should
state on the outside the gauge of the cartridge, bullet charge,
etc. If you have paper-cases (get Eley's brass shells, they
are dear, but never or scarcely ever fail) for your double 8
and 12 Paradox's, a cartridge-extractor for each should be
taken for use, should a shell expand and remain in the
chamber. Smokeless powder in preference to black should
not be used for any rifle larger (for all rifles if possible) than
a '45o-bore or '500 at most. Many gun-makers will not
recommend the use of nitro powders for even small bores, as
the pressure is so great as to allow of an accident happening
to the breech at anytime. Smokeless powder should never
be used out of any rifle not originally built for the purpose,
unless the maker has first been consulted as to the feasibility
of doing so. All rifles should, if possible, be hammerless.
There is no reason why big bores should not be hammerless
any more than small bores. Many men are, however, under
the impression that big bores should not be hammerless,
because the second hammer is apt to go off" by the jar
or recoil occasioned by firing the right barrel. This is
altogether an erroneous idea, and, if such ever happens, it is
entirely the fault of the weapon and the firm who made it.
(I perfectly agree.) Rifle-sights, both fore and back, should be
screwed down to the rib of the rifle, as sights that are let in
from the side or front without screws are apt to slip or be
jerked out of their places when, with head down, you are
engaged in boring your way through jungle in hot haste after
a wounded or other animal. Strong waterproof covers for
each weapon should also be taken; white enamel night-sights
to fold down flush with the rib should be fitted on to your
8 and 12-bore "Paradox," as many opportunities occur of

MISCELLANEOUS OUTFIT 265

sitting up at night over a " kill " for a tiger or leopard, or
in an elevated Burman's paddy " Hte " or hut adjoining the
rice-fields for elephants (luminous paint is the best thing to
put on to one's fore-sight even if it is only a make-shift, nothing
else answers thoroughly ; if you can catch a fire-fly it is the
best thing for a few hours, but the insect soon dies and then
the light goes out). Gaur, tsine, leopard, bear, sambur, etc.
may also be shot in the same way over a water-hole or salt-
lick, but this sort of sport is to be deprecated except in the
case of the three first-named animals. Several bottles of
Rangoon oil and a quantity of cotton " waste " or tow, such as
is used by engineers in steamers, should also be taken out for
gun-cleaning purposes. A good camera and a light pair of
Aitchison's best collapsible aluminium binoculars should also
form part of the equipment. A light rope-ladder, about
25 feet in length, with iron hooks at one end for hitching
on to branches of trees, would be very useful to enable the
shikaries to get a view of the surrounding country whenever
it is desirable. If this is not available, a light bamboo
ladder will do, or better still one of the ladders made for use
for getting into and off howdahs, procurable in Calcutta
and Bombay.

CHAPTER III

MANDALAY TO THE RUBY MINES

Large and small game to be found there — Best time to find it— Burmese
hunters, trackers, transport available — Hints on tracking game.

L«T us then suppose that all arrangements have been made
for a journey up the river, and that the sportsman has together
with all his belongings arrived on board the steamer. Two
services of paddle-boats leaving Mandalay for Bhamo are
available, viz. the mail or express and cargo boats. The former
leave Mandalay every Monday and arrive at Bhamo on Thurs-
day. The latter leave Mandalay every Thursday and arrive at
Bhamo on the following Tuesday. It is an amusing sight to
watch from the river bank, as the cargo boat arrives alongside
with its two huge flats or barges on either side, the busy
motley crowd, consisting of nearly every nationality, Burmese,
Shan, Karen, Chinese, Jew, natives of India, Eurasian, and an
occasional European, who are all ready to rush on board the
moment she has been made fast, some for the purpose of
buying stores for the forthcoming week, and others again as
passengers. For fifteen minutes at every halting-place the
vendors of the numerous shops or stalls on board do a roaring
trade with the villagers. Pins, needles, pick-axes, and spades,
rice, fruit, vegetables, fish and stores, tinned or otherwise, silk
and cotton goods, lamp oil, and, in fact, everything, from a
sack of potatoes to a box of Pears' soap or Beecham's pills,
may be obtained on board these steamers. How anxiously
the advent of these boats is looked forward to by European
officers living in small stations along the river bank and
inland who have run out of stores, and who are expecting
their weekly supply of aerated waters, liquors, ice, and other
luxuries ordered from European, Chinese, or Jewish firms in

266

THE ANGLE ROCK, UPPER IRRAWADY.

From a Photo by Watts &" Skeen, Rangoon.

UP THE IRRAWADY— BEAUTIFUL SCENERY 269

Rangoon or Mandalay. A loud blast or two from the whistle,
a few revolutions of the paddle, and we are in mid-stream. It
is wonderful with what dexterity and skill these huge river
steamers are manoeuvred and made to answer their helm by
the skippers in command, most of whom are, by the way,
Scotchmen, who have very often, as I have personally wit-
nessed, found themselves in very tight places. The greatest
caution is requisite in turning sharp corners, avoiding sand-
banks, and the many large unwieldy Burmese " paddy " or
rice junks, and huge teak or bamboo rafts which come swing-
ing along with the wind and current regardless of all rules of
the road. The steamer after leaving the wharf at 8 a.m. pro-
ceeds on its way up-stream, passing numerous islands and
sand-banks. The hills which may be seen on approaching
Mingun to the west of the river are the Sagaing hills. A
huge pagoda-like-looking building composed of bricks, with
the massive Mingun bell alongside it, a description of which
has already been given, may now be seen. On the right bank
three miles above Singu, Kyauk-Myaung, in the Shwebo dis-
trict, is next reached after a run of twenty-four hours, and en
route are passed several large islands. This village is situated
on the sloping banks of the river. Singu is the head-quarters
of the northern subdivision of the Mandalay district.

Ten miles further on, on the right bank, we come to Kabwet,
the head-quarters of the Burma Coal Mining Co. The coal
found here is said to be of good quality. The third defile is
here reached, the river contracting considerably for some
miles, and the hills, which are covered with luxuriant vegeta-
tion, rising up boldly from the banks on either side. Towards
evening the village of Thabeitkyin, prettily situated on the
rising banks of the river, is reached. This place is the quay
or river port for the Ruby Mines district, the head-quarters
of which is Mogok, situated some sixty-one miles inland from
the river bank at an elevation of about 3000 feet above sea
level. A good metal cart road at great yearly expense is
maintained between this town and the Irrawady. Five years
of my service were spent in this district, and it was here that
some four or five months of my short leave were spent, in the
pleasurable excitement of big-game shooting. I may also be

2yo WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

permitted to say that I was the first European who laid him-
self out to tap in earnest the big-game tracts of this glorious
district. I would therefore ask the would-be sportsman to
leave the steamer here and accompany me into the wilds. It
was thought at one time that no big-game shooting worth
having was to be obtained in Upper Burma, and that to get
at what there was necessitated a great expenditure of time,
money, and labour. Such is certainly far from being the case,
and the men who first 'circulated this announcement were, I
presume, invariably those who had had no practical experi-
ence of this particular kind of sport, and who were unacquainted
with the language of the people, their customs, and habits, a
knowledge of which is an indispensable factor in securing
successful sport. Some of the best big-game shooting in the
world, with the least possible trouble and expenditure so far
as transport, food supplies, comfort, guides, and trackers are
concerned, may be had in Upper Burma, if the sportsman
will only go about it in the right way. Inland, a few miles
from Tagaung, a subdivision of the Ruby Mines district,
situated on the left bank of the river a little more than a
day's journey by mail steamer from Mandalay, a distance of
some seventy-seven miles, and only about forty-five miles
above Thabeitkyin, some of the finest big-game shooting in
Upper Burma may be had. Some eighteen months of my
service were spent in this subdivision, and I was, I may say,
the first police-officer — none of my predecessors apparently
being sportsmen — to indent on the vast herds of gaur, ele-
phant, wild cattle, and other animals which roamed about the
jungle and hills to within, I might almost say, a mile or so of
my very doors. I have often on a bright moonlight night,
when all was still and silent, save perhaps the occasional
splash, splash of a paddy-boat's oars, the faint wailing of a
child, or the yelp of a pariah pup from the village, heard,
while seated in my verandah in a long arm-chair, and under
the soothing influence of a cigar, the dull rumblings and
mutterings of elephants as they wandered about only a few
hundred yards off, amongst the tall dense " kaing " or ele-
phant grass which skirts the river's banks often for miles along
its course. The verandah of my house commanded a lovely

MID-DAY MEDITATION 271

view of the river, both up and down-stream for miles, and
on a clear night its waters rolled past to within 20 yards of
my steps, with a shimmer and a sheen, beautiful, and far sur-
passing my powers of description. Across the river again,
whilst I am leaning on the rail of my verandah in a medita-
tive mood, with my eyes fixed on the lo\y, rugged, dark range
of scantily wooded hills which skirt the river within the juris-
diction of the Shwebo district, the sharp distinct bark of the
" ghee " or barking deer, and the startled bell of the sambur
or rusa deer as he starts away from the near proximity of the
dreaded midnight prowler, who spares neither man nor beast,
may also be heard floating across the river. The rasping
" waugh, waugh " of the prowling leopard as he stalks forth to
find his midnight meal is also wafted across through the
stillness of the night. All these sounds, reader, Nature's
music, are greedily drunk in by all of the same craft as my-
self. Glorious bags of snipe and shooting of all kinds may
also be had at nearly all the stations where the steamer stops
en route. There are numerous inland lakes, off the river a
short distance, caused for the most part by an overflow of the
river's banks during the rainy season, or an old diverted
course of the river, where geese, duck, and teal abound in
amazing numbers ; snipe are also very plentiful along the
banks and in the surrounding paddy fields. I have often,
without exaggeration, seen hundreds of these birds, when out
shooting on one of these lakes, and have never come away
without having got a mixed bag of at least twenty to thirty
brace. One of the lakes or sheets of water I refer to is
situated about thirty miles above Tagaung, and within a mile
of a village named Kyetta-gaung, which is accessible to
steamers, being situated on the left bank of the river. The
best time for duck, geese, teal, etc. in Upper Burma is from
November to January. The snipe season begins in Septem-
ber and continues till December or January. The following
numerous varieties of feathered game abound in nearly every
district of both Upper and Lower Burma. Green and im-
perial pigeons, several varieties of doves, peacocks, and
pheasant, jungle fowl, partridges two or three varieties, quail,
plover, woodcock, snipe, whistling and cotton teal, godwit,

272 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

curlew, coolen, sarus, duck, and geese. These last four are
more plentiful in Upper Burma than in Lower, and as for
waders, storks, and water-fowl, as distinguished from the regular
duck and teal tribe, they are numerous but scarcely deserve
mention. The best snipe shooting is, however, to be found in
Lower Burma.

The following are the mammalia to be found in Upper
Burma : —

1. Elephants.

2. One-horned rhinoceros {Rhinoceros sondaicus).

3. The Asiatic two-horned rhinoceros {Rhinoceros suma-
trensis). This animal is the smallest of living rhinos and the
most hairy.

4. Gaur, miscalled bison (Bosgaurus], Bur. "pyoung."

5. Bur. "tsine," wild cattle, the banting (Bos sondaicus}.

6. Buffaloes (Bos bubalus).

7. Sambur or rusa deer (Cervus unicolo).

8. " Thamine," brow-antlered deer (Cervus eldi).

9. Hog deer (Cervus porcinus). Bur. " dayai " and " dalael."

10. Rib-faced or barking deer (Cervulus muntjad). Bur.
"ghee."

1 1. Wild pig (Sus cristatus\ Bur. " wet."

12. Serow, Burmese goat antelope (Nemorhcedus].

13. Tiger (Felis tigris}. Bur. "kya."

14. Leopard, panthers (Felis pardus}. Bur. " kya thit."

15. Bears. Two varieties, Ursus torquatus and Ursus malay-
mus, the Malay bear, a smaller species. Bur. " wet wun."

1 6. Wild dogs (Cyon rutilans\ Malayan wild dog. Bur.
" taw kwe," or " cyon dukhunensis," the Indian wild dog.

There are also numerous species of wild cat and other
vermin, such as porcupine, jackals, etc. ; the latter are not,
however, found in Upper Burma proper. Hares may be shot
in some districts of both Lower and Upper Burma ; they are
not, however, plentiful. The tapir, mouse deer, and I believe
the larger species of rhino are to be found in the Tenasserim
Provinces, Lower Burma. It will be seen from the above list
that game is plentiful, and that magnificent shooting may be
had. The best time of the year to get at the big game of
Upper Burma is, in my opinion, during the months of April,

BEST SEASONS FOR SPORT— UPPER BURMA 273

May, June, and up to the middle of July, when the rainy
season begins in earnest. During March and April most of
the dense undergrowth, dry leaves, twigs, branches, etc. have
been burnt. Rain begins to fall in most districts of Upper
Burma about the middle or end of May, and stalking is not
then such hard work. Should the sportsman, however, not
be able to stand the heat and rain with its accompanying
discomforts, which is really, taking it all round, not so great
as in Lower Burma, I would recommend his starting for the
jungles about the middle or end of November, when delight-
fully cool and dry weather may be experienced till the end of
January or even February. I have often shot during the
rainy season in the Ruby Mines district, and have not been
troubled in the least by leeches, mosquitoes, or sand-flies. On
the other hand, the shooting, which will in all likelihood have
to be done on foot, no elephants being available, will be
much harder work then than in the hot and rainy season.
During the commencement of the rains the ground would be
soft and denuded of all superfluous undergrowth, allowing of
easy stalking and tracking, whereas in the former case the
hard ground would not only make it up-hill work for your
trackers, but stalking would be well-nigh impracticable, owing
to the dry leaves, twigs, undergrowth, dense jungle, and
" kaing " or high elephant grass, which has sprung up during
the rains, and which, to a sportsman unaccustomed to it,
would appear to be at times well-nigh impenetrable. The
healthiest time of the year to camp out in the jungles I have,
from my own experience, always found to be between the first
of April and beginning of July. All malaria and fever-giving
germs have by that time been destroyed by the fires which
occur all over the country. After the first few showers of
rain in May the young grass sprouts up rapidly all over those
parts where jungle fires have occurred.

It is then, in the early dawn or at sunset, that game may be
seen in herds or in twos or threes browsing on the tender
shoots. Gaur, wild cattle, rusa deer, brow-antlered deer, etc.
will then invariably be found feeding out in these open patches,
and they may often easily be picked out a long way off with
the assistance of a good pair of binoculars. From about the

274 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

end of July to September elephants, gaur, wild cattle, sambur,
barking deer, pig, etc. may usually (at all hours of the day) be
found in shady bamboo forests feeding on the young succulent
shoots. All the above animals are then very easily approached,
as the ground has by then been thoroughly saturated, and
there never is, as a rule, any undergrowth in bamboo forests
at any time to impede one's movements and alarm game.
An animal often gives indication of its presence in bamboo
jungle when it is feeding on the tender shoots, and should
you be standing anywhere within 200 or 300 yards of where
it is feeding, the snapping off of a shoot is quite audible and
distinct from any other noise. The sportsman is then enabled
to make for the spot at once as quietly and quickly as he
can, after having, of course, first tested the wind to see whether
it is in his favour or not, as a gaur, tsine, or elephant will
wind a man at a distance of from 300 to 400 yards, and of
course make off. The easiest way to test the wind is by
lighting a match and then blowing it out ; the direction taken
by the smoke, however slight a current of air there is, at
once indicating whether the wind is in your favour or not.

Hunters, gun-bearers, and trackers are to be found in every
district in Upper Burma. The best way for a new-comer to
obtain their services is as follows : —

He should first of all write a polite letter to the head of
the district, a Civil servant known as a deputy commissioner,
and inform him that he wishes to shoot in the said district,
and ask whether there is any objection to his doing so, and if
he would kindly assist him in obtaining transport, hunters,
trackers, etc.

The Deputy Commissioner, or District Magistrate as he is
sometimes called, will usually depute one of his subordinates,
a Burman " myook " (minor magistrate or " thugyi," head-
man of a village), to do the needful. It would perhaps be
wise at the same time, if the sportsman wishes to shoot
elephants, to ascertain where these animals have been
destroying plantain or banana crops, and damaging paddy
or rice fields, in which case, a permit to shoot them will also
be required from the Deputy Commissioner, as the shooting
of elephants has now, as in India, been prohibited. It would

NO ROYAL ROAD TO SPORT 275

perhaps also be as well to inform the sportsman that should
he receive permission to shoot one or two elephants, he should
not be in too great a hurry to slaughter the first small tusker
or female he comes across, as there are plenty of very fine
tuskers to be met with in Burma, and if his trackers and
hunters are worth their salt he will soon come across one of
these monsters.

It must be understood that game, however plentiful, will
not be found unless a good deal of trouble, one way or
another, is taken by the sportsman. Some men who are not
particularly keen go out for a day or two, and because they
happen to have bad luck in not coming across anything, they
return in disgust to their head-quarters dissatisfied with them-
selves for having ventured out into the jungle, and vowing
vengeance on those who have misled them into believing that
there was game. Such is not the case with the true, keen
sportsman, however unsuccessful he may be. However plen-
tiful the game, all men have disappointing days. I have
often been out in jungle teeming with gaur, elephant, and
wild cattle and other game, and on several occasions for two
or three days at a time have failed in even catching sight of
an animal. But I have always stuck to it in the hopes of
eventually coming up with something, be it only a fresh track,
and have eventually been rewarded on the third or fourth day
by obtaining several shots.

It is, as I have already stated, those men who are not very
keen who give it up early, those who cannot do without their
" pegs " during the day. These are not the men who will
follow a wounded tusker elephant, solitary bull pyoung, or
tsine for twenty miles or more, and then come up with it and
administer the coup de grace. I have been out with some
men who, after marching all day under a hot sun without
seeing any signs of game, have turned round in a sudden fit
of rage upon their unfortunate shikaries, and rated them
severely, simply because no game had been seen, as if his
men were really to blame for that, and could tell to within a
mile or two where animals would be found grazing or lying
up for the day. Burmans are very independent, and a sports-
man will find that it is always best to keep his temper with

276 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

them if he wishes to have a successful issue to his expedition.
It is a very different thing from India, where, I believe, your
sJiikarie marks down game and then comes to you with the
information. The Burman hunter, than whom a better never
followed a spoor, will often mark down a herd of elephants or
bison, or even a solitary bull for you, and tell you that he had
seen certain fresh tracks in such and such a place, but as a
rule he much prefers you, and expects you, to accompany him
when he looks for game, and for my own part I think half the
excitement of big-game shooting is that derived from the
tracking up and rinding of your own animal.

Some of the Burman shikaries I have known were marvellous
trackers, and one man especially, Moung Hpe, whose name will
often be mentioned in connection with the various hunts
narrated hereafter, never once made a mistake, or failed to
bring me up with an animal whose tracks he had once taken
up as being fresh. Tracking was the one thing, besides being
a good shot, that he prided himself on doing well, and that with
an energy and dogged determination that at times surprised
me. I have often come on tracks which, to my unpractised
eyes, appeared perfectly fresh. Moung Hpe, when taxed as to
its freshness or otherwise, would say, " Well, sir, that animal "
— supposing the hour to be 9 a.m. — " passed last night about
dark ; you will notice how the morning's dew has dulled its
freshness, and that a tiny cobweb has been spun across the
hollow of the slot or track ; we might come up with it if you
care to take on the tracks, but it is hardly advisable, as he
may have travelled a long way by this, besides we will come
across other more recent tracks." Of another track he may
say, " That track was made yesterday afternoon ; look at the
little insect-made earth furrows thrown across it ; it is useless
taking them on, besides the animal who made them is making
for such and such a tract of jungle," mentioning a particular
patch of cover or tree forest known to himself a long way off.
And of yet another track, some nine hours old, perhaps he
might say, if we had had bad luck and there was not much
game about, " I think we might take on these tracks, sir ; if
we keep at it long enough we may come up with the owner
before nightfall."

NATIVE HUNTERS 277

A good " mokso " tracker or hunter, who knows every foot
of the country thoroughly, can tell you almost to a certainty,
on coming across the trail of a solitary bull or herd of animals
in the open, what particular patch of jungle or cover the animals
are leading for. Fresh signs, such as the bark scraped off a
root by an animal's hoof, exposing the white wood with the
juice oozing out before the bruises have turned yellow from
exposure to the air, smoking ordure, steaming urine, with the
froth and bubbles en evidence, freshly- cropped grass, a muddy
pool, an animal's resting-place where the ground and grass is
still warm, and where the odour of the animals still pervades
the surrounding atmosphere, — these and many other tokens
are all distinct indications, which are quite intelligible to the
experienced sportsman, of the near vicinity of an animal. To
become proficient in the art of tracking and stalking an
animal is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult of all the
arts of woodcraft, and no European sportsman can ever
become an adept at it unless he is a close observer of nature,
and has spent a good many years of his life in the wilds
and jungles, far from social and political strifes, with only his
guns, dogs, and hunters as his companions.

Burman hunters and trackers are to be found in nearly
every district of Upper Burma where game is at all plentiful.
The best method of getting at them is by invoking the aid of
a myook or (a myauk, as he is sometimes called by strangers,
in Burmese means a monkey) a subordinate magistrate, or a
thugyi, the head-man of a village, as previously mentioned
in this chapter. Many of the myooks speak English, but
through the medium of an interpreter all difficulties would be
removed. It is difficult to fix on a rate of pay for your men ;
they have not as yet, thank heaven, been spoilt by the
sporting millionaires of England and our cousins across the
water. As a rule, 12 annas per diem and his food, with
perhaps an occasional coat or a blanket thrown in, and the
right to dispose of the meat of all the animals shot, is sufficient.
A present of Rs.5 or Rs.io should, however, invariably be
given on the close of a successful shoot, if the sportsman
finds his shikarie has been working hard and doing his duty
faithfully. Two hunters or trackers, the qualities being

278 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

usually combined, and one gun-bearer should be engaged.
Two out of the three men should have a thorough knowledge
of the country you intend shooting over. The interpreter,
who should, if possible, be a Burman, as no half-breed is, as a
rule, to be depended on, would also accompany the sportsman
for several days till he gets into the run of things. It would
be to his interest, however, to see that he did not overwork
him, for should he fall ill he would have to return, and then
the sportsman would be deprived of his valuable services.

A BURMESE MATRON AND HER CHILDREN.

From a Photo by Watts & Skeen, Rangoon.

The native English-speaking boy or cook, of course, can
always be fallen back upon, but he would not be able to
accompany you when you leave camp to shoot, as he would
be too tired to do any cooking on his return. The transport
men would also come in handy for carrying anything in the
way of eatables. The " boy " should, every second or third
day, be dosed with quinine, as on him largely depends the
success of the expedition, good food and good cooking being
essential to the health of the sportsman.

NEVER BE WITHOUT A RIPLE IN HAND 279

When I started out from camp at dawn to shoot I was
invariably accompanied by three men, viz. my head-tracker,
who carried my lightest rifle, a bag of cartridges, and a pair
of binoculars, a second hunter who carried my heavy 8-bore>
and a third man with eatables, a leather chagul or water-
bottle, and any other necessary article. The sportsman should
himself travel as lightly as possible, but should always have a
rifle of some sort in hand when after game.

I remember once travelling listlessly through some very
open country sparsely wooded here and there by bamboo
clumps, accompanied by my hunters, at about 10 a.m., a
blazing sun overhead, with only a light walking-stick in my
hand, never for one moment expecting to see any game, when
a huge solitary bull gaur got up within fifteen paces from behind
a bamboo clump, where he had been having his mid-day siesta,
and with a snort dashed down a declivity and disappeared
from view behind a piece of rising ground before I had time
to even put the rifle, hastily snatched from one of my men, to
my shoulder. One is sure to meet with disappointments like
this if a rifle of some sort is not carried. Of course there are
times when there is no possibility of seeing any game, but it
is always best to be on the safe side. An experienced tracker
will warn you at once when to be prepared for a shot. Your
shooting-boots should then be discarded for a pair of light
rubber, tennis, or other shoes, in order to be able to stalk up to
the animal noiselessly. The snapping of the smallest twig,
the rustling of a few branches, or, in fact, any sound out of the
common would startle the quarry at once. Should you be
wearing a hard Ellwood's helmet or " shikar " hat, it should
be exchanged for a soft fore-and-aft peaked cap at once, as it
is then easier to bend about through the shrubs and trees
without noise, whereas the sounds made by branches and
leaves against a hard hat are audible a long way off.

There are three means of transport available in most districts
of Upper Burma, viz. mules, carts, and carriers, or porters as
they are called in Africa. Mules are certainly to be preferred
when obtainable, as they are very handy, carry three times as
much as any single porter, and can cover twice as much
ground over hilly country in a shorter space of time. They

28o WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

may be hired at the rate of from Rs.25 to Rs.3O per mensem
per mule (about £2\ and the services of one muleteer
for every three mules is included. The mule men are also
very useful in assisting one's servants in pitching camp,
erecting tents, getting together firewood, and cutting down
jungle. These Maingthas, or Shan Tayouks as they are called,
come of a very hard sturdy race, and at first sight with their
pig-tails one would take them to be Chinamen. They are, as
a matter of fact, of Chinese extraction. Burmans are abso-
lutely useless as muleteers, as they do not understand how to
lace up packs on to the Shan or Maingtha pack-saddle, which
is really one of the simplest, lightest, least galling, and most
serviceable articles of its kind I have ever seen, and in my
opinion to be preferred to any Government commissariat or
other pack-saddles ever invented. Should the sportsman not
be able to hire mules in the district he intends shooting over,
and should money be a secondary consideration, I would
suggest his getting an agent in Mandalay or Bhamo to pur-
chase mules for him. Good serviceable mules may be bought
from sums varying from Rs.So to Rs.i2O each. Carts
drawn by bullocks may be hired in any district throughout
Burma for sums varying from Rs.i to Rs.2 per diem;
they are, however, a very slow means of locomotion, and the
sportsman can only keep the beaten track ; all hilly country
would be quite inaccessible to them. A good deal of baggage
can be conveyed by cart, and when rough cart roads intersect
a flat game country, it would perhaps be as well to take them,
for part of the journey at any rate. The feasibility of this would
of course first be ascertained by the sportsman. I have often
used carts myself in the Tagaung subdivision of the Ruby
Mines district, but found that I was unable to get as deep
into the jungle as I should like to have gone, owing to the
absence of cart tracks and to the continual breaking of an
axle-tree, an accident which requires a halt of a few hours.
No journey by cart could be undertaken into a hilly, rocky
country, such as is likely to be met with in parts of the
following districts of Upper Burma, where the best big-game
shooting is, namely, Chindwin, Katha, Myitkyna, Singu, in
Mandalay district, Shwegu in Bhamo district, Momeik and

HOW BEST TO ENGAGE CARRIERS 281

Tagaung subdivision of the Ruby Mines district. Big and
small game abound in all the above districts, and especially
in the vast tracts of forest lying around Shwegu in the
Mandalay district, up to Thabeitkyin, Chaukhlebein, and
Shw^nyaungbin of the Mogok or Ruby Mines district.
Coolies or carriers may be engaged at most villages after
arranging with the head-man or thugyi of the village. It is
always best, however, should the sportsman engage carriers,
to apply to the nearest Magistrate, stating exactly what he
requires, and he will invariably, if not in a disobliging mood,
and there are not too many cases on hand, issue instructions
to the thugyis of the villages from which he intends starting
for the jungle to supply him with all he requires in the way
of transport, etc. It would be as well to state at the same
time, prior to his departure, the period for which the coolies
were required, as then proper arrangements could be made
with regard to the quantity of rice, dried fish, pumpkins, salt,
etc. which would have to be taken out for their consumption.

CHAPTER IV

ELEPHANTS

My first tusker — My second, and the peculiar circumstances connected
with his death — A good tusker.

ELEPHANTS are perhaps the most docile, timid, intelligent
of animals, and yet when thoroughly roused and in full charge
with curled-up trunk they present a most furious and fear-
inspiring spectacle. There are two distinct varieties of the
Asiatic elephant, although of the same species, to be found
in Burma. I quite agree with all Colonel Pollok says on
the subject with regard to the marked differences between
tuskers and "hines," or tuskless elephants. The first are
known in Hindustanee as " goondas," the tuskers ; the second
as " mucknas," or in Burmese " hine." I have no intention of
going fully into particulars as to their habits, etc., as Colonel
Pollok, whose experience of them is much more varied and
greater than mine, has already, in the beginning of this book,
dealt with the subject at some considerable length. I should
like, however, before relating my experience with them, which
covers the death of some twenty-two animals, to give the
sportsman some idea as to the method of approaching and
shooting them, their haunts, peculiarities, and any other
observations which, to one who has never seen an elephant
in his wild state, may be of some service. The elephant is,
as a rule, very easily stalked, provided one has the wind in
his favour. I have often been standing within a yard or two
of the hind-quarters of one of these animals waiting patiently
for the huge beast to turn round and expose a vital part.
Their powers of scent, as is well known, are very keen, and

282

HOW TO APPROACH ELEPHANTS 283

they can easily detect the presence of a human being at a
distance of a quarter of a mile. Their senses of sight and
hearing, on the other hand, are far from good ; I have often
approached an elephant, which was directly facing me, while
it rested under the shade of a tree during the heat of the
day, and have not been observed. He does not seem to be
able to comprehend matters till his head is turned a little to
one side, when apparently you come into view more easily ;
he then immediately backs or wheels sharply round as if on
a pivot, and makes off. Under these circumstances a male
elephant will not charge once in a hundred times.

At other times I have been within 80 to 100 yards of a herd
right out in the open, with hardly a tree or a bush between,
and have not apparently been detected although stared at
suspiciously, and it was not till a slant of my wind had been
obtained by an uplifted trunk that the usual dull rumblings
of alarm were sounded, preparatory to a sudden and swift
departure. There are various sounds uttered by elephants
denoting different meanings, which are well known to all who
are familiar with the habits of these animals. Colonel Pollok
has remarked on them. It is marvellous how after an alarm
a herd will collect together and then swiftly and noiselessly
take its departure.

An inexperienced sportsman will often be exceedingly
surprised on approaching a cover, which he has every reason
to believe contained a number of elephants, to find that
not only have they all disappeared, but that there are also
no sounds to indicate that they are even anywhere in the
immediate vicinity, so quietly, quickly, and orderly have
the whole herd in single file melted away. I have never
had any difficulty in approaching a solitary elephant or
even a herd to within a few yards ; gaur, tsine, deer, etc.
are very much harder to stalk, their sense of hearing,
compared with that of the elephant, being more acute.
Elephants will often stampede when suddenly alarmed, and
the whole herd will rush off pell-mell in the greatest confusion
in different directions with a noise so terrific, especially should
it be in bambo© cover, from the smashing and falling of the
canes, that it somewhat resembles an independent musketry

284 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

fire. Should the sportsman be in the line of flight in a
stampede of this sort he should always stand firm behind
the trunk of some tree or solid clump of bamboos. He will
then be in perfect safety, as the terrified animals are intent
only on getting away as far and as quickly as possible. A
herd alarmed in this manner will often travel ten or fifteen
miles without stopping. The only danger to be apprehended
is from a female elephant when accompanied by a young
one, of whose safety she is very solicitous. An old female,
when the herd has been alarmed, invariably takes the lead,
and the rear is usually brought up by a huge " muckna " or
tusker. The large tuskers more often, however, are the first
to get out of danger's way, and are, so far as my now
experience goes, never found near a herd, but always on the
outskirts, at distances varying from a few hundred yards
to a quarter of a mile. A large tusker will often during the
night wander away miles from a herd, in order to visit rice
fields or a certain favourite banana plantation. These visits
are often repeated at intervals, till the animal has either been
fired at or in some other manner effectually scared. Elephants
in Upper Burma do a great deal of damage annually to the
rice crops, and in a single night a herd of twenty animals
will utterly demolish a field of rice, in fact they destroy
more by trampling on it than they eat.

I remember very well once on a pitch-dark night vainly
endeavouring to get a shot at a huge solitary elephant, that
night after night visited a certain patch of "paddy" land
in the Twinge jurisdiction of the Tagaung subdivision,
Ruby Mines district. The Burmans in this locality, being
unarmed, had done their utmost to drive away this animal
by making huge bonfires along the paths by which he was
known to enter the fields, and by throwing lighted brands
at him ; all to no purpose, however, as with a slight, sup-
pressed scream of rage and feinting charge he used to put
them all to flight. He would then stalk calmly in amongst
the standing rice and begin uprooting it ; the swish, swish
of the earth being knocked off the roots of the rice-stalks
as he banged them across his fore-legs prior to stuffing them
into his capacious mouth was distinctly audible. I succeeded

WANDERING HABITS OF ELEPHANTS 285

eventually in shooting this animal, which turned out to be
a huge " muckna " or " hine." The circumstances connected
with his death will be related in another page.

No forest can contain a herd of elephants for more than
three or four days, as, destroying more than they eat, they
consume all fodder in a very short time. They are therefore
continually moving about from one locality to another. The
denser and more luxuriant the vegetation the better is the
chance of falling in with them. Elephants are found at
almost any elevation. I have shot them at a height of quite
3200 feet; they do not as a rule, however, remain at such a
high elevation for any length of time. During the end of
April, May, and June elephants, gaur, and tsine resort to hilly,
open places where there is a breeze, and where they can escape
from the tormenting gad and other predatory flies which
infest the low-lying country. An elephant's skin, although
very thick, is just as sensitive as that of many other animals
to the proboscis of the various insects which prey upon
mammalia. Solitary elephants are always worth following
and shooting, as they are usually large and have the best
tusks. Should the tracks of an elephant with a diameter of
1 8 to 20 inches be found, and it prove to be a tusker,
it will invariably be noticed that he has one if not two
good tusks. Burman hunters say that they can always
tell by examining the toe impressions whether the animal
possesses good tusks or not, or whether the right tusk is
heavier than the left, simply by the deep and distinct im-
pression or otherwise of the two front toes of the fore-feet
in the soil. This depends a good deal upon whether the
earth is hard or soft at the time. My hunter has often
remarked to me of a track, " Sir, look at the deep toe
impressions of this elephant's right fore-foot compared with
his left, which is very indistinct ; he has only one tusk."
Again, of another fresh track, which shows only the huge
circle-like impression of the foot without the toe impression,
he would say, " We need not take on these tracks, sir, it is
only a ' hine,' ah-swe-ma-she-bu," or in other words a tuskless
male. I am convinced, from my own experience of tracking
up elephants, that large tuskers invariably leave a very

286 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

distinct and deep impression of the two front toes of the
fore-feet in the soil, though a similar impression may some-
times be made, and has, within my own experience, been
made, by a huge "muckna" or " hine." I have personally
tracked up and shot several large solitary " mucknas," which
had done a great deal of damage to crops, and found that
in most cases there was always the huge circular imprint
with a perceptible impression of the toes, but the latter not
so well marked as in the case of a tusker. A solitary bull
should always be approached with the greatest caution, as
he is generally an old stager, who is on the alert for the
slightest sound, and has often been stalked and fired at by
Burman hunters. A solitary bull which has often been
fired at or disturbed by hunters generally rests during the
heat of the day in dense " kairig," tall elephant grass, quite
impenetrable to the sportsman, or in some thicket where he
is practically unapproachable. Sometimes, however, he is
found stretched out at full length on his side on some breezy
bamboo-wooded slope sound asleep, snoring away quite
unconcernedly.

I remember once very well when out in camp shooting
with Captain Clements, then Chief Commissariat officer at
Bernard myo, how the latter suddenly came on a solitary
tusker elephant sound asleep and snoring loudly, and it
had eventually to be wakened by throwing little pieces of
sticks and stones at it, to be laid low again by a well-planted
shot from Clements, which took effect in the temple. The
circumstances connected with the bagging of this elephant
recall to my memory a sad accident, which resulted in the
death of a Karen military police naik of the Mogok battalion,
who was accidentally shot by me under rather peculiar
circumstances during a false alarm in camp one night over
a tiger. Mr. C. E. Daniel, D.C., who held the inquest, and
Captain Clements, who was on the spot when the accident
occurred, can corroborate my story, which to oe intelligible
must be related in detail.

Clements and I were encamped in the jungle at the foot
of the Shwe-u-taung hills in a small natural clearing some
six miles from the village of Chaukmaw, on the banks of the

A SAD ACCIDENT 287

Kanavvzo choung or stream. On the first night of our arrival
in camp a tiger suddenly made us aware of his presence by
roaring at intervals in a most determined, monotonous, and
somewhat mournful manner. We had altogether a following
of some twenty-five men, 'consisting of our servants, syces,
" drabies " or muleteers, two Karen military policemen,
hunters, and trackers. Early on the morning of the second
day, Clements, thinking there might be a kill somewhere in
the neighbourhood, went to look for it, without however
finding it or seeing any signs of the tiger, and eventually
finished up the day by shooting the tusker already mentioned.
I had no luck, although I came on a herd of gaur, which
winded me and made off.

I remember getting back to camp that night about 7.30 p.m.
feeling rather done up, having had some very stiff climbing
and a long tramp. Almost immediately after my arrival, as
we were about to sit down to dinner, the tiger started roaring
again as on the previous night. We had no tent with us on
this occasion, as the rainy season had not then set in, but slept
side by side on a raised split bamboo framework platform,
which our hunters had put up for us. This make-shift was
about 8 feet broad by about 7 feet long, and stood in
the centre of the clearing at a height of between 2 and 3
feet from the ground. Our mattresses, waterproof sheets,
bedding, etc. were laid on this, the space some 18 inches
between our respective beds being occupied by our rifles,
cartridges, my revolver, and a few odds and ends. I had
also rigged up overhead waterproof sheets and blankets
to keep off the damp and wind in such a way as to form,
as it were, three sides of a mosquito curtain over my own
mattress. I had a sheet stretched out overhead, another
behind me, and one on my left, the windward side. Clements
was sleeping on my right.

Some ten or fifteen villagers from Chaukmaw, I may
mention, had, on hearing that an elephant had been killed,
turned up in camp early in the evening, so as to assist
next day in cutting out the tusks and taking away the
meat. The tiger, strange to say, continued his roars or
calls till about 10 p.m., at which hour we retired to rest,

288 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

feeling anything but safe, and that we would much rather
have been lying in a canvas camp-cot beneath the shelter
of a good tent. I overheard various remarks made by
the Burmans as we were turning in, about the " nats " or
spirits of the woods being displeased over the death of the
elephant, that some one was going to be carried off that night
by the tiger, which was an evil spirit or " nat " in disguise.
A bird of bad omen amongst the Burmans called the
"aungwa," a species of night-hawk, I think, which is
never seen during the day, settled on a tree overhead and
uttered its disagreeable calls of " aungwa, aungwa." I have
seen in the Shan States or Momeik quite a number of
villagers turn out and endeavour with shouts, and sticks, and
stones to frighten away one of these birds, which had settled
in a clump of trees near the village. Both the Burmans and
Shans are very superstitious in this respect, and implicitly
believe that if one of these birds settles in a house or a tree
anywhere near and utters its peculiar cries, some person
within that house is sure to die before the year is out. All
this seemed to cause a general feeling of uneasiness amongst
the more nervous of the villagers and our servants. For my
own part, I must say I did not feel by any means comfortable,
lying as we were out on an open platform exposed to the
attack of an animal which can carry a man in its mouth and
make off as quickly and as easily as a cat with her kitten.
Our servants, muleteers, hunters, and villagers were lying
scattered about on the ground amongst the bushes and under
bamboo clumps to the rear on our right. No one was sleeping
to our immediate front, that is to say in the direction towards
which our feet were pointing. The Karen military policemen
and the hunters were sleeping alongside one another under
the shade of a huge bamboo clump on the right side of the
platform nearest Clements, and only some 10 or 15 yards
away. My dog " Jumbo," a thorough-bred pariah, which
had been in my possession for some eight years (now, alas,
no more, having been lost in the streets of Edinburgh), and
who was really the cause of the whole mishap, was tied to
the corner post of the platform at my head. The night was
a very dark and cloudy one.

A MAN HIT 289

At midnight, when the whole camp was hushed in slumber,
a fire flickering here and there, Jumbo woke me with a start
by biting through the rope which secured him to the post. I
remember turning drowsily over from my left side to my right,
and saying to Clements, " Confound it, Clements, Jumbo has
got loose," after which I dropped off to sleep. At about 2 a.m.
I Was suddenly wakened by hearing all our camp-followers
shouting at the top of their voices, every man, as I afterwards
found out, with his head under his blanket. I immediately sat
up, and on hearing the words — " Kya, kya, lu-ta-youk-pa-thwa-
byi-ah me le peya ! " (A tiger, a tiger, a man is being carried
off; oh, my God !), I came to the conclusion that one of our
followers was in the act of being carried off, or had already
been taken away by the tiger. Thinking that perhaps by
firing a few shots I might be able to startle the tiger sufficiently
to make him drop the man he was carrying, I whipped out
my loaded revolver, as I sat, and with a hurried ejaculation to
Clements of, "My God, Clements, somebody is being carried
off by a tiger ! " I stretched out my arm at full length before
me, and, aiming up into the trees, fired two shots in quick
succession, sufficiently low to avoid boring a hole through the
waterproof sheet some 30 inches or thereabouts above my
head, after which I put the weapon down between us and
waited events. All shouts had ceased after my two shots,
with the exception of a few inquiries as to who had been
carried off. While these inquiries were going on the fires
all round which had burnt down were blown up and re-kindled
to a bright blaze. All this was, of course, the work of a few
seconds. Moung Hpe, my favourite head shikarie, who
was seated round a fire some fifteen or twenty paces off to
one side under a bamboo clump, suddenly made my heart
throb in a way that I have never experienced since or before,
or ever hope to again, by saying, "Thakin, thakin, lu-
ta-youk-hman-thwa-byi ! " (Sir, sir, a man has been hit !).
Clements and I, on hearing this, immediately leapt out from
beneath our blankets on to the ground, and there stretched
right out at full length on his back close alongside the foot of
the bamboo platform, grasping tightly with his right hand his
snider rifle, was the poor unfortunate fellow, a Karen corporal

290 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Moung Bya, breathing his last. It was a ghastly sight, and
one which will never be effaced from my memory. We were
not sure at first where the bullet had taken effect, as there
was only a little clotted blood on the head, and at first we
were buoyed up with the hope that it might perhaps, after
all, only have been a graze. But it was not, as we found, on
examining the head carefully under lamp-light, that the
bullet had entered the left temple and passed out at the top
of the head, the brain protruding. It was a dreary wait till
daylight, and I do not remember ever having spent such a
miserable night ; all sorts of fancies and fears of trouble to
come chased one another through my mind in rapid succession.
We were unable to come to any satisfactory conclusion as
to how the unfortunate Karen had managed to find his way
alongside the foot of the platform, and as to whether my first
or second bullet had killed him, but we could only presume
that on hearing the outcry he had started up from his couch,
rifle in hand, and rushed across to protect us from danger
at the moment perhaps of my pulling the trigger. The
unfortunate man did not utter a sound when shot, the bullet
passing through the brain.

There was nothing to indicate on the other hand that I had
in any way lost my head ; my intention, as already stated in
firing the shots, being to startle the tiger, so that it would drop
its prey. As it happened in this case, however, it turned out
that no one had been carried off and that it was a false alarm,
caused by my dog Jumbo, which, after biting through the
rope which secured him to the platform at my head, had
trotted away towards the cooking-place in search of bones.
Our men were sleeping scattered about on the ground amongst
the bushes, and Jumbo, whilst sniffing about for bones, had
jumped over a prostrate Burman who woke with a start, and
on hearing an animal trotting about amongst the bushes and
dry leaves close to him, immediately took it for the tiger, and
shouted out an alarm at the top of his voice, the whole camp
joining in with a vengeance. The alarm was very realistic,
and under the circumstances I was perfectly justified in firing
as I did, knowing that there was no one sleeping anywhere in
front at our feet. The Karen to be hit must, after running

SHOULDER-SHOT FOR ELEPHANTS 291

some 10 or 15 yards, have stood close up alongside the
platform to receive the shot, which had been fired at an
angle up into the trees. I _could not have fired in my im-
mediate rear as the men were all sleeping about there, besides,
I should have had to shoot through a blanket. A shot fired
over Clements to my right would also have been dangerous, as
a number of villagers, hunters, and the two Karens were sleep-
ing in that direction, and again, a shot on the opposite side on
my left would have bored another hole through a waterproof
sheet. The perforation of a sheet or blanket would of course
have been a very insignificant matter indeed, if I had thought
there was the least danger in firing as I did. An inquest was
afterwards held by Mr. C. E. Daniel, then Assistant-Commis-
sioner of the Shan States of Momeik, at which it was shown
that my actions were under the circumstances perfectly
natural.

There are four or five shots by which an elephant may be
killed ; these are well known, and have already been pointed
out in detail in an earlier chapter of this book, by Colonel
Pollok. The shoulder-shot by reaching the heart, which lies
exactly between and protected by the massive bones of either
fore-leg, was a favourite shot of mine. The heart may be
reached without touching the shoulder-bones by firing at an
angle behind the elephant, or with a raking shot forward into
the chest through the small of the ribs. Should the heart be
missed by this shot the lungs are penetrated. I have always
found that two well-placed bullets from an 8-bore behind the
shoulder brought an elephant to a standstill in a few minutes.
Most of the elephants bagged by me in Upper Burma were
killed by the shoulder shot, although I quite agree with the
late Mr. Sanderson, who says that head shots are the poetry,
and body shots the prose of elephant shooting. Elephants
as a rule are not given to charging unless suddenly confronted
by a human being. When wounded, however, and in fairly
thick cover they are most dangerous, as without the slightest
warning, although seemingly rendered hors de combat, they
will spin round and charge through undergrowth, and then
woe betide the sportsman or follower who, whilst fleeing,
should make a false step, trip, and fall, for he would in the

292 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

space of a few seconds be converted into a mass of unrecog-
nizable pulp. I remember once asking a famous old Burman
hunter in Webaung, Momeik State, Ruby Mines, named
Moung Aung Gyi, how he had come by certain weals and
scars across his thighs and legs. He said, " Ah, yes, sir, these
were connected with circumstances which I bring to memory
even now with a shudder ; it was a very narrow escape I had
from a large solitary tusker elephant, which I, together with
two or three other hunters, had succeeded in wounding
severely. I was young and active then and a good shot,
although only armed with a flint-lock. The elephant, which
had a magnificent pair of tusks and was badly wounded, had
taken up a position in a fairly open tree forest, with a thick
undergrowth of thorny wait-a-bit bush through which, naked
as we usually are from the feet to the hips, it was rather
painful to travel at any great pace." (I may here mention
that Burmans when shooting elephants often use a short,
strong, pointed iron spear, about two feet in length, which is
inserted into the muzzle of the gun till the end rests on the
wad over the powder, the barb only showing over the muzzle.
This is a very effective powerful missile when fired as is
usually done at a range of from 10 to 12 yards into or
behind an elephant's shoulder. The poor beast, although often
not touched in a vital spot, is very soon brought to a stand-
still, as it cannot travel through the forest without suffering
great pain owing to the butt of the spear, which, protruding
several inches from his body, comes in contact with every
branch and bush which the animal brushes against. Many
elephants in Burma have been slaughtered in this manner by
Burmans ; others again, I regret to say, have escaped with these
fearful iron shafts buried in their bodies only to die lingering
deaths, or should the wound not be very severe, to be a source
of danger to other sportsmen and villagers who come across
them.)

" As it was getting late, and thinking that the elephant was
unable to charge, I made my way up cautiously to within a
few feet of him and, aiming for the temple, fired. The shot
did not reach the brain, and with a shrill, short, sharp scream,
he wheeled round and bore straight down on me like a * mi-

ELEPHANTS UNABLE TO JUMP 293

yeta ' — railway train — and as you can imagine, sir, I fled
through those thorny bushes as fast as I could go, regardless of
the pain I was enduring ; but such great difficulty had I in
keeping out of reach of the elephant, which was at times only
a few feet behind me, that I would most certainly have been
caught up and trampled to death ere I had gone very far, if by
a good chance I had not stumbled head-first into a dry
water-course, some 7 or 8 feet deep, and about the same in
breadth, and escaped. I was laid up for days afterwards,
owing to my legs becoming inflamed by the very severe tear-
ing and scratching they underwent when running away from
this elephant."

It is a well-known fact that elephants cannot take all four
feet off the ground together, and that they can only step over
a crevasse or gap that comes within the compass of their
stride, which is never more than 7 or 8 feet at the outside,
so that a man chased by an elephant can clear a fifteen-
foot nullah or chasm, land on the other side, and turn round
and fire at the animal, unless of course the ground permits
of it running down the side of the one bank and up the other.
As a rule, however, a narrow nullah, 8 or 10 feet wide and
the same in depth, is quite impassable to an elephant. I had
a short conversation at Edinburgh the other day with the
owner of perhaps the best troupe of performing elephants in
the world, and he informed me that he had taught these
animals to do almost anything except jump, and although
he had tried again and again, he had so far utterly failed in
his efforts ; whether he has since succeeded I cannot say.
These elephants were, by the way, procured from Maulmain,
in Burma.

My first elephant, a small tusker, was bagged in the Nam-
pan forest in the Shan States of Momeik, Ruby Mines district,
whilst on a two months' shooting expedition. My hunters
and I were on the move one morning early through the jungle
on the look-out for fresh gaur tracks, when the snapping of
a twig in a bush skirting a water-course about 20 yards
ahead of us attracted our attention. On hearing the sound I
thought we had either got on to a herd of gaur or a solitary
bull, and immediately pushed forward as quietly and as

294 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

quickly as the conditions would permit ; but what was my
surprise on gaining a piece of rising ground to see, not what
I had expected, gaur, but a solitary tusker elephant, standing
perfectly still, with its ears cocked forward, and trunk up in a
listening attitude. It was quite a rude shock to my nerves, as
this was my first elephant, and the distance between us only
about twenty paces, with no trees or bamboo clump behind
which to retreat, so I felt very much inclined to go back
quietly by the way I had come. Not wishing to show any
signs of funk in the presence of my hunters, I managed to
screw up courage to creep up a little nearer, my heart and
pulse all the time going like sledge-hammers. When within
about fifteen paces I decided to fire for the point of the
shoulder from a little behind, in order to rake the vitals and
penetrate the heart. Bang ! went the report from the heavy
8-bore, followed by an angry, shrill, half-suppressed scream
from the elephant, which, wheeling suddenly round as if on a
pivot, came straight for us. I hardly waited to see the result
of my shot, and, as you can imagine, did record time over and
through the bushes and fallen timber, hampered as I was
with the heavy 8-bore, which, however, at the time felt like a
feather. I very nearly came to grief all the same, as, while
jumping a fallen tree, a hidden stump tripped me up and
sent me sprawling frog-fashion, rifle and all, on the other side.
Moung Hpe, one of my hunters, was fortunately equal to the
occasion, as, running up, he at close quarters effectually stopped
the charge, by letting the animal have the contents of both
barrels of my double-twelve Lang smooth-bore, burning
4-i- drams of powder. My rifle and I were fortunately
none the worse for the fall, so hastily jamming in another
cartridge I ran round to where the elephant was standing
in rather an undecided manner, and at a distance of about
twenty-five paces succeeded in getting in a right and left
behind the shoulder. This seemed to have the desired
effect of disabling him, as after first staggering from side to
side in the vain endeavour to ascend a slight incline, he
lurched heavily to one side against a bamboo clump and then
collapsed stone dead in a kneeling position. My last two
shots I afterwards found had, after raking his lungs and

THE EDIBLE PORTIONS OF AN ELEPHANT 297

grazing the heart, lodged in his chest. We extracted the
tusks and also took away with us to camp the tail, liver, and
heart ; the latter is, if my memory does not deceive me, about
the size of a Rugby football, o"r a little smaller perhaps, and is
capital eating. The tail stewed or as soup is simply excellent
in my opinion. The elephant was afterwards cut up, and the
meat divided amongst my camp-followers, who dried it in the
sun and over a slow fire, eventually disposing of it, together
with the meat of other animals shot by me at the expiration
of my shoot, to the neighbouring villagers, thereby netting a
round sum of some Rs.3OO to Rs.4OO. I have always made
it a point when out shooting to allow as little meat to be
wasted as possible. The proceeds of sale of all meat of
animals shot was always given to my hunters, who were after-
wards all the more keen in furnishing information as to the
whereabouts of game.

My second elephant was bagged under rather peculiar
circumstances, and for some days after its death disagree-
able arguments by outsiders, who had nothing whatever to
do with the matter, and who had never before shot an elephant
amongst them, but who were keen on having their say, were
continually being raised as to who was entitled to the tusks.
The reader will, however, judge for himself.

I was out on a ten days' shoot with two officers from a
regiment at a neighbouring hill station, Bernardmyo, whom
I had invited to shoot with me. I shall call them A and D ;
the latter was a hardy old veteran of over fifty, who had
lived a long time in the East, and was, besides being excellent
company, a keen and enthusiastic sportsman. A was a young
subaltern who had not, I presume, been long in the East.
Both knew how to use the rifle well. After getting out into
the jungle under canvas, some ten or fifteen miles away from
any village, we managed to work up separately, each with his
own gun-bearers and trackers, towards the Shwe-u-taung range
of hills. Our beats were arranged so that we should not
interfere with one another's sport. I had not been out half-an-
hour before my hunters struck the trail of a herd of gaur;
these tracks were, however, according to Moung Hpe, about
twelve hours old. Nevertheless, I was determined to stick

298 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

to them. So we took them on, and worked steadily up a
steep ridge. At about mid-day, after being out since day-
break, my attention was attracted to a herd of elephants
trumpeting in the valley to my left, somewhere in D's
neighbourhood ; not wishing to relinquish the bison, how-
ever, or to interfere with D's sport, we held on. We were then
at an elevation of some 2500 feet. Whilst moving along
in this manner I heard a faint noise on ahead, and suddenly
to my surprise a magnificent tusker elephant stalked
majestically into view down the same ridge we were on.
It was amusing to see how the animal kept the flies from his
body by whisking from side to side a small branch covered
with leaves which he had broken from a tree, and which he
used as dexterously as a lady does her fan. This elephant
was a much larger animal than my first, and his tusks
protruded from his mouth quite three feet. The wind was
fortunately in our favour, or else the animal would soon
have scented us and made off. I waited till he had ap-
proached broadside on to within about twenty paces, and
fired for the temple shot between the eye and ear. The
8-bore was the only weapon with the exception of the
double smooth-bore I had in my possession at that time, a
single "303 and double 12-bore rifle not having been purchased
till a year later, and I had unfortunately left the smooth-bore
in camp. As I was on lower ground than the elephant when
I fired, I immediately retreated out of the way to one side,
taking up my stand behind the trunk of a large buttress tree,
which had huge parapet-like projections on either side at
the base. The smoke after the shot obscured everything for
a few seconds, and the next thing I saw was the elephant
rolling down the side of the hill exactly to the spot I had
just vacated, where it was brought up by a slight depression
in the ground. It was a sight never to be forgotten to see
that elephant struggling on its back, with all its four legs in
the air, vainly trying to recover its equilibrium, having only
been temporarily stunned by my shot, which had passed into
the right side of the head, missing the brain by a very little.

An elephant invariably recovers from a head shot wound,
when the brain is not touched, as there are no large arteries,

FLOOR AN ELEPHANT, BUT LOSE IT FOR A TIME 299

the severing of which would cause it to die from loss of blood.
Sanderson says, " A shot that goes through the skull nto his
neck without touching the brain may kill him, but it will take
time." While the elephant was in this position I was only
about six paces off behind the tree already spoken of, vainly
endeavouring to extract the empty cartridge case which had
somehow expanded in the chamber, so that I should have
two shots instead of one to meet him with should he get up.
I did not succeed, however, in getting it out. In the meantime
my plucky hunter had been doing his best to hamstring the
unfortunate beast with his sharp "dah," or fighting sword;
this, however, owing to the frantic endeavours made by the
beast to regain his legs, he failed to do, and as I saw that the
elephant was about to regain his feet, having got on to his
fore-legs, I aimed for the forehead bump shot between and
below the eyes, and fired ; but whether through nervousness,
or excitement, I cannot say, my shot did not reach the brain,
nor did it seem to have the slightest effect, as, slowly regain-
ing his hind-legs, he swept majestically down the hill-side
without uttering a sound, evidently making a bee line for the
herd already referred to in the valley below. I was awfully
disgusted with my bad luck, or bad shooting, call it which you
will. We took on the tracks immediately, and followed on as
quickly as possible ; after about half-an-hour's tracking we
suddenly heard two shots fired down in the valley somewhere
in D's neighbourhood, which showed that he had got on to
something. An interval of about half-an-hour then elapsed,
when eight or ten shots were fired at intervals. My hunter,
then turning round to me in an excited state, said he was
convinced that D had come upon my elephant, which might
have been partially disabled by my last shot passing through
the forehead into the neck or body, and that he was now all
unconsciously killing my animal. This was too much for me ;
it was about mid-day, and the whole jungle had been
thoroughly disturbed by our shots, so I thought it useless
looking for game, and returned to camp, intending, if D had
not already killed the animal I had wounded, to take on the
tracks next day. Towards evening D returned to camp
triumphantly waving an elephant's tail in his hand, jubilant at

3oo WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

having slain his first tusker in Burma. I jokingly said to him,
that I hoped he had not shot the elephant I had fired at and
floored.

Next day, A, D, and myself visited the spot, accompanied
by our trackers. The elephant was lying in a kneeling
posture with both tusks driven deep into the ground. It
was impossible to tell from an examination of the bullet-
holes in the animal's head whether any of the shots had
been fired by my 8-bore or by D's 12-bore rifle, or the 10
smooth-bore which he was using, as the skin had contracted
and the holes appeared exactly alike. I made my hunters
take on yesterday's tracks, and after an absence of about
three-quarters of an hour they returned, having taken up the
trail right up to the spot where D had first fired at the
elephant. Poor D would at first hardly believe me when I
told him that the elephant now lying dead before us was in
reality the one I had wounded. I knew, however, that my
trackers would never have played me false over such a serious
matter simply to curry favour, so I suggested cutting out the
bullets, which we did ; and after a great deal of labour, one
of my 8-bore, solid, hardened, spherical bullets was to D's
utter astonishment and disgust then brought to light. A, who
was rather incredulous, suggested weighing the bullet ; D
was, however, quite convinced that it was mine, and although
it had been very much knocked out of shape, the lead was all
there, and it certainly presented the appearance of having at
one time been an 8-bore spherical ball.

The rule amongst sportsmen is, that the animal belongs to
the one who first draws its blood, so long as he sticks to it
and follows it up till he kills it ; should he relinquish the chase,
however, and give up the animal as lost, then any other sports-
man would be entitled to shoot. I then proposed to D, who
had naturally by this time become very crestfallen, that we
should split the difference by taking a tusk each, although I
suppose both tusks rightfully belonged to me. D made no
demur, but assented to this proposal. The rightful ownership
of these tusks was, as I have already said, afterwards made the
subject of many a heated argument, and I was often told I had
no right to them. This may or may not be the case as it

WHOSE ELEPHANT WAS IT? 301

happened ; however, I think I was quite entitled to one tusk,
if not both. D's first two shpts, I afterwards ascertained from
the Burman hunter who was with him at the time (a villager of
Chaukmaw, near Sagadaung, Momeik State, Ruby Mines
district), had been fired at the head of another elephant
altogether, which had gone clean away, practically not having
been hit in a vulnerable spot, or even floored. It was while
following up the tracks of this elephant, according to the
account afterwards given me by D's tracker, that they came
upon the one I had wounded standing stock-still under some
trees looking quite disabled ; it was then an easy matter for D,
who mistook it, according to the Burman's story, for the one
he had first fired at, and whose tracks he believed he was still
following, to pump lead into it, which he did with a vengeance,
firing no less than ten shots, the animal being apparently too
done up to either charge or put on enough speed to escape.
The surrounding country in the neighbourhood was very hilly
and rocky, and a wounded elephant would therefore find
escape, having a lot of climbing to do, well-nigh impossible.
My second shot I afterwards found proved, on examination,
to have done all the damage, having entered the body after
passing through the neck.

There is no sport which entails a greater amount of endur-
ance and hard walking than elephant hunting, and the sports-
man has to be in fairly good condition if he wishes to indulge
in this particular branch of big-game shooting with any
degree of success. I have repeatedly marched on for miles
on the seemingly fresh tracks of a solitary bull elephant,
sometimes in despair of ever coming up with the owner, so
steadily and over such an immense stretch of country do
these animals wander ; at other times after walking for many
a weary mile I have come on the animal, only to find that he
has winded me, and made off. In cases of this sort, should
it be after mid-day, it is well-nigh hopeless to take on the
tracks of the elephant again that day, as the animal, if it be
a large tusker which has often been disturbed in this manner
will travel for miles without stopping once.

One day in July, in the rainy season, while cantering along
the road between the villages of Chaukmaw and Pinkan, I

302 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

came across the large tracks of an elephant ; having nothing
of any importance to do at the time, I dismounted from my
pony, hitched it up to a tree, and waited till my transport
and servants arrived. The tracks had a circumference when
measured of quite 4 feet 8 inches, which would approxi-
mately make the elephant's height to be about 9 feet 4
inches. On the arrival of my men and transport I unlimbered
my guns from their cases, a double 8-bore rifle by Tolley,
burning 10 drams, and a double 12 smooth-bore, burning
4j drams, and started on the tracks accompanied by two
villagers from Chaukmaw, who were not much use as trackers.
The tracks which, according to my companions, had passed
the road early that morning, about 3 a.m. probably, held
steadily on for about three miles, in which distance the
animal had not apparently stopped once to feed, except on
an occasional bamboo shoot which happened to be growing
within reach of its trunk.

An elephant, in fact no wild animal, cares to cross a beaten
track or highway during the day ; they often do so, but in
great trepidation and fear, and the pace is invariably increased.
A gaur, tsine, sambur, barking deer, or pig, will either bound
across or trot over quickly after a little hesitation ; a tiger will
walk across, if not disturbed, with a long, quick, stately step.
An elephant will shuffle over noiselessly by turning his head
slightly to either side as he passes, to see that none of his
human foes are in sight. Should any of these animals suddenly
cross your newly-made trail in the jungle, they invariably
dash off at a great pace ; gaur, tsine, and the deer tribe gallop
away with a snort, or a bell ; the elephant will back suddenly
and make off at right angles, bringing his trunk at the same
time down to the ground with a rap, emitting often a sharp,
clear, metallic sound of alarm. I have watched a whole herd
of elephants which had been alarmed and were going at full
speed, recoil from human scent in this manner and refuse to
cross the trail, as if they had each one received a severe blow
on the forehead.

Within three hours of the time of my taking on the tracks
we came upon the animal's fresh warm droppings ; this raised
my hopes of at any rate being able to come up with the

DIFFICULTIES OF TRACKING 305

elephant that day. The rain about this time came down in
torrents, and in spite of a waterproof cape, so heavy was the
downfall that it was with the greatest difficulty that I could
keep my cartridges dry. On one or two occasions I almost
despaired of ever finding the tracks, as they were often nearly
obliterated by the rain. The men with me, however, who
were, as I have already said, by no means experienced
trackers, stuck to it, stimulated by my promises of plenty of
" sungwe " (reward money), and assisted by my little know-
ledge of tracking, by making now and again wide casts,
always succeeded in striking the trail again. We were at last
rewarded by hearing the snapping of a bamboo a few yards
ahead. I then tried the wind by striking a match, and blow-
ing it out ; the direction taken by the smoke indicated that
the wind was fortunately in our favour. Another 30 yards
brought me in sight of the tusker, who was standing on the
edge of a steep, rocky piece of ground, feeding on some young
bamboos. I crept up with the 8-bore to within about twenty-
five paces, having just instructed one of the trackers to
be in readiness with the 12 smooth-bore should I require
it. Fixing on a small bamboo clump in my immediate rear,
behind which I could retreat after firing, I walked up to the
elephant and fired when about fifteen paces off for the
shoulder-shot, after which I immediately retreated under
cover of the smoke, which hung in the damp air, to the
bamboo clump fixed upon. The elephant on receiving the
shot stood perfectly still for a few seconds, and then, with a
shrill scream of pain and rage, charged up and passed within
six feet of the flimsy bamboo clump behind which I had
taken up my position. I had in the meantime succeeded in
getting in another cartridge, and as the elephant passed me
at a quick shuffle I gave it a right and left immediately
behind the shoulder which caused it to stumble slightly. The
huge beast on receiving the shots turned round and faced me
as if about to charge, but after regarding me for a few seconds
in an undecided manner it wheeled round and made off again.
My two companions at this critical moment had, on seeing
the huge beast loom up alongside the bamboo clump, thought
discretion the better part of valour and ascended trees.

x

3o6 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

The rain all this time had simply been coming down in
torrents. After shouting myself hoarse for the two trackers, who
looked very sheepish when I began to chaff them for making
themselves scarce, we took on the tracks of the elephant, whose
route was now plainly indicated, not only by its tracks, but
by splashes of blood on the ground and surrounding bushes.
We had not gone half-a-mile before I caught sight of the
elephant standing in some open " indaing," bastard teak forest,
with its trunk up in the air, through which at intervals blood
appeared to be issuing ; this was a sure indication that he had
been shot through the lungs and was practically disabled.
On seeing me approach he made feints of charging, but I
could see from the bubbles and bloody froth which dropped
from his trunk that he was helpless and that the end was
near. I then walked up to him accompanied by a Burman
with a spare gun, and at the distance of about ten paces
administered a coup de grace by planting a bullet in the
centre of the bump with my Lang smooth-bore. The elephant
on receiving the shot toppled over on one side with a dull
thud, falling on its right side, the heavier tusk being the right
one. I have noticed that tuskers, when shot through the
brain, invariably, when they fall on their sides, collapse on
the side which has the heavier tusk. Elephants very often,
on the other hand, when killed by body shots, succumb in a
natural life-like kneeling posture. His measurements, taken
as he lay, were as follows :—

Vertical height at shoulder, 9 feet 4 inches.

Length from tip of trunk to tip of tail, 26 feet.

Right tusk, length 4 feet 9 inches.

Right tusk, weight 38^ Ibs.

Left tusk, length 3 feet 9 inches.

Left tusk, weight 28 Ibs.

A piece of the right tusk had, at some time of the animal's
life when he belonged to a herd, been broken off in an en-
counter, or perhaps through an accident. The pulp cavity in
both tusks had decreased considerably, showing that the
elephant was an old one. It will be noticed that the hollow
or pulp cavities of large massive tusks are as a rule very small.

CHAPTER V

ELEPHANTS

Shoot my largest tusker — Death of a huge solitary "muckna" or tuskless
male — Shoot solitary "muckna," noted for destroying rice crops and
plantain plantations — Fire at large tusker in herd of five tuskers ; am
charged by remaining four ; succeed in bagging two — Shoot my last
tusker on New Year's Day 1897, after a long chase.

SOME of my readers, I dare say, think that sportsmen are
unnecessarily cruel and callous in their methods of killing
game, and no doubt wonder how one can find any pleasure
and excitement in doing to death such a harmless beast as
a gaur, or an animal so intelligent and useful as the elephant.
Granted, but we have all still, more or less, implanted in our
breasts a taint of the savage instinct of our forefathers to
take life, and there is also a natural craving for some form
of excitement amongst the majority of people, which has in
some way or other to be satisfied, and what better form of
excitement or what more manly and healthful sport could
one desire, than the tracking up and stalking of these wary
denizens of the jungle ? We sportsman have, however, whilst
standing over an animal newly shot, a momentary feeling of
regret or remorse, call it which you will, but this feeling is
only momentary and is more than counterbalanced by the
satisfaction of having obtained another noble trophy.

The largest tusker elephant which it was ever my good
fortune to shoot fell to my 8-bore one lovely evening in
November 1895. It was then about the beginning of the
cold weather, and the evenings and early mornings were quite
chilly.

Whilst travelling through the subdivision in the neighbour-

307

3o8 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

hood of Twinge, one of the police posts under my charge,
I got word of a huge tusker elephant which had, according
to rumour, been fired at and wounded by Burman hunters,
who were still tracking up the animal. As these hunters had
all previously been warned by me not to disturb or shoot any
of the solitary elephants, gaur, or tsine in the neighbourhood,
there being numerous herds upon which they could indent,
I was naturally not a little annoyed at their behaviour, more
especially as I had promised them " sungwe " (Bur., reward
money), and plenty of powder and ball, should they furnish me
with information regarding the whereabouts of " solitaires."

Proceeding to the village of Wapyudaung, which lay within
the sphere of my duties and where the hunters lived, I ascer-
tained that the rumour was true, and that three of them had
come on a huge tusker asleep, in some bamboo jungle about
six miles from Wapyudaung, and that while the animal was
lying asleep they had fired simultaneously at his head with
their old Tower muskets, and then followed up the beast for
three successive days without coming up with it, eventually
giving up the chase in disgust, as the animal had not shown
any signs of being disabled. Whilst en route to Wapyudaung
I fortunately met these hunters on their way home on the
day of their return from the jungle. They gave me full
particulars regarding the locality in which they had relin-
quished the tracks, but absolutely refused to accompany me,
on the grounds that they were foot-sore and tired, and that
there was not much chance of my coming up with the
elephant, the direction of whose tracks plainly indicated that
it was making for the Shwe-u-taung range of hills. No amount
of bribes would induce them to come with me, not even the
promise of the value of one tusk, should I bag the animal.

It would have been quite a different matter if I had had
my own hunter, Moung Hpe, with me ; he, however, lived at
Sittone, a village distant from Wapyudaung some twenty-five
or thirty miles, and could not therefore be sent for to arrive
in time to take up the tracks. Eventually, I heard that the
thugyi or head-man of the village of Ontabu, situated about
nine miles from the village oi Wapyudaung and about three
miles from the spot where the hunters had given up following

A WELL-KNOWN TUSKER 309

the elephant's tracks, had at one time been a shikarie and
tracker of some note. The Wapyudaung hunters had on
their way back imparted to the Ontabu thugyi the where-
abouts of the elephant's tracks. So, early next day I left for
Ontabu with a few coolies, determined to follow up and sleep
on the trail of the elephant till I came up with and bagged
him, I was all the more determined to do so, after the
opposition I had received from the Wapyudaung hunters,
who were, I have no doubt, somewhat vexed and disappointed
at having lost an elephant whose tusks were worth at least
Rs.6oo. As a tracker the old Ontabu thugyi turned out
to be all that could be desired. I started out with eight or
nine coolies, taking as little kit with me as possible, and
armed with my double 8 and 12 -bore rifles.

We struck the tracks of the elephant at about 9 a.m., and
followed them all day without coming up with the owner.
I camped that night in the jungle, sleeping on a waterproof
sheet with a few branches rigged up overhead to keep off
the dew. At daybreak we were off again, and soon came on
fresh signs of the elephant having been in the neighbourhood.
Some cultivators, whose clearing we passed, informed us that
the animal had, during the preceding night, eaten and
trampled down a large quantity of standing paddy or rice.
This was good news to us, although rough on the cultivator,
and it showed that the elephant was in no way disabled, nor
had it apparently any intentions of making for the Shwe-
u-taung range of hills, or leaving the neighbourhood.

Hitherto my tracker was under the impression that the

elephant had, as predicted by the Wapyudaung hunters,

headed for the Shwe-u-taung hills, but now he informed me

that it had altered its line of flight, and from various signs

en rcute^ we noticed that it had quite settled down again and

got over its recent alarm, as it had begun to zigzag from one

place to another, and had fed on several bamboo clumps,

which had been stripped bare of their leaves. My coolies,

boy, and Burman " lugale," or servant-of-all-work, were now

instructed to follow my hunter and myself at a respectable

distance, while we moved cautiously forward. At the same

moment the loud cracking sound of a breaking bamboo was

3io WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

distinctly audible some way ahead. It was amusing at this
juncture to see with what longing eyes my servants and
coolies looked about them for suitable trees amongst whose
branches, should the elephant charge, they would find a safe
retreat. I then lit a match, blew it out, and noticing that the
current of smoke was in our favour, I moved quickly and
noiselessly forward. The elephant had in the meantime
moved into a shady patch of tall young bamboos, whose
stems were nowhere thicker than a man's wrist, and about
12 or 15 feet high; there was also a number of small
sapplings, but not one of a sufficient thickness to furnish a
retreat in case of a charge. We could now distinctly hear the
animal as he stood in the shade lazily flapping his ears.

I have always found it the best policy, when possible, before
firing at large game such as elephants, rhino, gaur, or tsine,
to fix on a good solid bamboo clump, tree-trunk, or rock,
behind which to retreat after firing in case of a charge. It is
not always necessary, of course, and there is not always a
retreat available, but it should always be taken advantage of
when possible, as it is quite unnecessary to risk your life and
become foolhardy.

An elephant or gaur, I have always found, when disturbed
or wounded will invariably be found standing or resting in
cover, head on towards the point by which danger is expected,
namely, the trail by which he has just entered. Animals have
sufficient instinct to know this, and, as happened in this case,
I found the elephant standing facing me. I crept up to
within about twenty paces, backed up by my gun-bearer, and
then for the first time got a glimpse of ivory that convinced
me that for once the Burmans had not exaggerated, and that
the animal now standing before me was the possessor of the
best pair of tusks it had ever been my good fortune to see,
and which now seemed within easy grasp.

The animal's head was unfortunately hidden amongst the
bamboo leaves and branches, sufficiently to prevent my
obtaining the head-shot ; so creeping quietly round, fearful of
treading on dry leaves or twigs, I gradually worked round to
his flank. The wind must, however, have shifted, as wheeling
suddenly round with a low sharp snort of alarm, like the

A STEXN CHASE AND UNEXPECTED CHANGE 311

sound emitted from a steam-pipe when suddenly turned on,
off he sailed away at a great pace through the slim
bamboos, which bent, cracked, and waved about beneath his
strides like reeds. I immediately dashed away in his wake,
determined to get in a shot somewhere, with the intention
eventually, of course, of following him up to the bitter end, even
though I should have to sleep on his trail for another week.

After keeping up with the animal in his immediate rear
for some 200 yards, and finding that I could not outflank him
so as to obtain a raking shoulder-shot, I fired in desperation
at the huge target that presented itself, my shot apparently
taking effect under the tail. The effect was magical in
the extreme, and, contrary to all my expectations and
experiences with elephants, the huge beast wheeled round
with a shriek and charged straight down upon me at a great
pace. I was too breathless and jumpy from the sharp run I
had just undergone with the heavy 8-bore, to shoot straight,
and having only one chamber loaded I fired wildly, aiming
for the bump or forehead shot, jumping to one side immediately
after.

The shot could not have hit the elephant, as he did not stop
or swerve from his course in the slightest. My friend with
the 12-bore was non est, poor man; he thought, I have no
doubt, that the weight of three-score years and ten warranted
his getting out of danger's way. As can be imagined, I did not
wait to see any more, but dashed off at a tangent, jamming in
two cartridges as I fled, the heavy 8-bore, although weigh-
ing quite 1 8 Ibs., feeling as light as a feather. I was, how-
ever, in the pink of condition and as hard as nails. The
elephant caught a glimpse of me as I dashed to one side, being
then not quite ten paces- off, and swerving round slightly to-
wards me, stood for a few seconds, after which, wheeling round,
he sailed away again in the direction he had first taken when
fired at by me.

After collecting my men, who scrambled like so many
monkeys down from the various trees outside the patch in
which the elephant had taken up his quarters, and instructing
them to follow behind slowly, my tracker and a gun-bearer and
I took on the tracks, and kept steadily on. It was then about

3i2 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

9.30 a.m., and my guide informed me that he did not think we
would come up with the animal that day, as we would not be
able to travel very quickly, owing to the many difficulties
which would be thrown in our way, such as the tracks becom-
ing mixed up with those of other animals, a herd of which had
been seen in the neighbourhood.

Some people may imagine that to track an elephant is a
very simple matter, and so it is in wet weather, when the
ground is wet and soft and the elephant leaves a deep
impression. It is a very different matter, however, in dry
weather, on hard stony ground or oh hard laterite soil, when
the ground is bare and denuded of all vegetation.

I know from experience that it is really much easier often
to track up a solitary gaur or tsine under these circumstances
than an elephant, whose flat feet leave hardly any impression.
The utmost capabilities of my tracker were on this occasion
called into play about an hour after we had taken on the
tracks ; in fact, on one occasion, for half-an-hour I almost
despaired of ever finding them again, as they had become so
mixed up with those of a herd which had been in the
vicinity the day before, so that it was almost impossible to
distinguish between them. Some of the best Burman shikaries
and trackers I have known have been at sea when it came to
the tracking up of a solitary bull elephant, but were, on the
other hand, in their element when on the trail of a gaur or
tsine ; the reason for this being that some hunters made a
living by mostly following and shooting elephants, whilst
those who were afraid to tackle these monsters stuck to the
other game. After making a number of wide detours or casts
we did, however, eventually strike the trail, and immediately
pushed on again.

It was now well on to the evening, and, as tracking was
made much easier by the ground being softer and covered
with more vegetation, I suggested to my hunters that we
should push on as quickly as possible, leaving the coolies and
servants to follow. This we did, each of us scanning eagerly
the ground, with the determination of not again losing the trail.

After having covered some eighteen miles of country from
the time I fired at the elephant, we struck the banks of the

BAGGED AT LAST 313

Pethaung stream, which was about 30 yards wide, strewn
with huge rocks and boulders and high shelving banks. The
elephant's tracks now headed down-stream, and as there did
not seem to be much chance of our coming up with him that
evening, it being then about 5.30 p.m. and some time past
sunset, I called a halt, and sent back the tracker to ascertain
how far off our coolies were. About a minute or two after his
departure, my gun-bearer and I were startled by hearing a
crash in the jungle on the opposite bank some 150 yards
down-stream, and at the same time an elephant, with a
magnificent pair of tusks, walked down the side of the bank
into full view, and came up the middle of the river-bed in
our direction, and stood motionless beside a pool, facing us
50 yards off. My gun-bearer and I were fortunately lying
down out of sight at the time, resting under an overhanging
clump of bamboos by the river-side, and also hidden by a few
low stunted bushes which were growing in mid-stream close to
us. At this moment the all-unconscious tracker, who was
fortunately some way off, began blowing on a hollow bamboo,
with the intention of bringing up the coolies. The elephant,
fortunately, did not seem to notice the noise, and after standing
in mid-stream for about half a minute, lazily flapping his ears,
he began to move up-stream slowly towards us. The wind was,
fortunately, in our favour, so wriggling into a kneeling posture,
I crouched down to receive him with the 8-bore when he
came near enough. My gun-bearer in the interval, who was
sitting crouched down behind me with my spare rifle, was in
a great state of excitement, as he was continually urging me
to shoot, saying: "Shoot, sir, shoot ; he will wind us and be off ! "
The elephant in the meantime was walking along steadily and
slowly towards us, with the intention of apparently returning
along the route by which he had come. I waited till he
approached to within about 15 yards, and then taking a
steady aim with the 8-bore, fired for the bump or forehead
shot. On receiving the bullet he swerved quickly to one side,
with a loud, sharp, shrill scream of pain and anger, and made for
the opposite bank. Before reaching it, however, he received
my left barrel ; the ball, a hardened spherical one, entering
behind the right shoulder, penetrating the heart, and bringing

3i4 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

him to the ground after a preliminary lurch or two, where he
lay uttering a low, deep, rumbling sound, resembling distant
thunder, while life ebbed away. I rushed up, having in the
meantime reloaded, thinking he might get up again, but saw
from the way the blood gushed out that the heart had been
pierced. He was a magnificent beast, with massive tusks.
The space between the tips of his tusks measured, as he lay,
4j feet across ; the following were the other measurements
taken after the tusks were extracted : —

Weight of right tusk, 55 Ibs.

Weight of left tusk, 45 Ibs.

Length of right tusk, 5 feet 5j inches.

Length of left tusk, 5 feet I \ inches.

Circumference right tusk, outside gum at thickest portion,
17 inches.

Circumference left tusk, at thickest portion, 16 inches.

Circumference of fore-feet, 5 feet ij inches.

For an Asiatic elephant these were a very fair pair of tusks,
and much beyond the average size shot by sportsmen, and at
the time I was proud to think that I had succeeded in beating
the largest pair bagged by Sanderson, the well-known author
of Thirteen Years amongst the Wild Beasts of India, now, alas,
no more. I do not think I exaggerate when I say that
elephants with larger and heavier tusks have been shot in
Burma than in India. The following are the measurements
of a very large pair of tusks, the record for India, I believe,
till last year, when the honour fell to Burma : —

RIGHT TUSK
feet inches

Total length, outer curve . . . .8 o
Greatest circumference . . . _. ... • i 4-9
Weight ..-.". . . . . 90 Ibs.

LEFT TUSK
feet inches

Total length, outer curve . . . . 3 3
Greatest circumference . : . I 8

Weight . . . . . . - . . 49 Ibs.

Total 139 Ibs.

MEASUREMENTS OF TUSKS 315

The above elephant was shot in the Mysore jungles by Sir
Victor Brooke and Col. Douglas Hamilton, in 1863, and
up till April 1896 the 8-foot tusk was, I presume, the
record for the Asiatic elephant. Mr. Clough of the Burma
Police, a young sportsman, shot a very fine tusker on April 18,
1896, in the jungles near Chaungwa Kyaikto, subdivision of
the Thaton district of Lower Burma. All measurements and
weights of the two tusks were published under the signatures
of Messrs. R. C. Syms, of the Burma Commission, and H. P.
Pedler, District Superintendent of Police, Thaton, in an issue
of the Rangoon Times in May 1897. These tusks, the
following of which are the measurements, are believed to be,
for Asiatic elephants, a record pair.

RIGHT TUSK LEFT TUSK
feet inches feet inches

Length, outside curve . • • 7 9f 8 5j

Length, inside curve . • • • 6 9^ 7 6
Length from centre of base to tip

(direct) .... . 5 8J 64!

Greatest girth . . .15 i 4i

Weight, right tusk, 2705 tolas, 69-156.
Weight, left tusk, 2780 tolas, 71-136.
Total weight of pair, 141*12 = 280 Ibs.

Another very large pair, weighing over 100 Ibs., were found
last year in the jungle near Mogok, Ruby Mines district,
Upper Burma.

One morning early one of my hunters woke me with the
welcome news that the tracks of a huge elephant, which must
have passed during the night, had been seen within 100 yards
of camp. I was then on two months' privilege leave, and had
been out in the jungles for over a month and a half. It was
then well on to the middle of the rainy season, and the
ground was very sodden, and vegetation and undergrowth
dense.

After hurriedly dressing and partaking of some "chota hazri,"
consisting of tea and toast and a little bacon, I mounted my
pony and took up the tracks, hoping that the animal might be

316 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

in possession of a good pair of tusks. I had low jungle-
fever on me at the time, and did not feel equal to a long walk.
A pony, as I have said before, will always be found most
useful in camp should you get knocked up, be laid up with
fever, or meet with an accident. I invariably rode to the
particular tract of country I intended shooting over, which
often lay at a distance of from three to four miles from camp,
and then dismounted, thus saving me many a long walk. A
riding or transport pony can be taken anywhere over the
country throughout either Upper or Lower Burma. Game in
Burma cannot of course, like that in Africa, be run down on
horseback, the country is not sufficiently open to allow of this
style of hunting. My hunter used to give me ample warning
when to dismount, by saying, " Sir, you had better get down
here, we may see game now at any time," or he might wait
till we had struck the fresh trail of a solitary gaur, tsine,
elephant, or rhino before asking me to dismount. The pony
would then be handed over to a Burman, who would walk
behind my tracker and me, keeping us in sight, at a respect-
able distance. Fodder in the shape of bamboo leaves, "kaing"
grass, known as " doop " grass, may be found pretty nearly all
over Burma from July to February. A sack or two of paddy
or unhusked rice, upon which all Burman ponies thrive, should
always be taken.

A pony will also be found very useful should the sportsman
have covered a long stretch of country, and find that he is
unable to return to camp before a late hour. He may then,
if he cares to venture, return alone quickly on pony-back.

This is not always safe, and it might be productive of serious
consequences should he take the wrong route and get lost in
the jungle. A Burman pony will invariably find his way back
to camp alone if left to himself. At any rate, I have done it
over and over again, and been in and had a comfortable warm
tub and dinner hours before the return of my men. A pony,
to know the camp, will naturally require to have been fed
there for at least two or three successive days, before his
instinct can be relied upon. On several occasions, when
some six or seven miles from camp, and having no further use
for my pony owing to the dense jungle and undergrowth, I

STAMPEDE OF A HERD 317

have turned the animal loose, after hitching up the stirrups
and bridle in such a way as to prevent their becoming detached,
and found the animal on my return quite safe in camp. But
I am afraid I am digressing.

On arriving at the place where the elephant had passed,
I saw that the tracks were enormous, the tape-measure
showing a diameter of 21 inches. My trackers were very
doubtful as to whether the animal possessed tusks or not,
although there were occasionally distinct toe impressions
which, from the theory already aired by me in a previous
chapter, pointed to the presence of tusks.

The tracks led through some open, undulating, bamboo
country for about two miles, and then entered a dense patch
of jungle consisting of bamboo, bush undergrowth, and the
forest. Here the tracks became mixed up with those of a
herd of elephants which the solitaire had apparently joined.

I dismounted, and with my trackers made various detours
and reconnaissances, in the hope of being able to see the
monster. Various rumblings, squeakings, and an occasional
flap, flap of an ear suddenly made us aware that we were
in close proximity to the herd, which was apparently resting
during the heat of the day. After making several circuits
round the patch in which the elephants were, we took up our
stand under the shade of some trees distant some 200 yards
from the elephants, intending to wait till evening, when the
animals would leave the dense cover to feed.

After the lapse of about an hour and a half we were
suddenly startled by hearing the elephants apparently charg-
ing in a body at a great pace through the dense undergrowth
in our direction. The noise was terrific, and sounded as if a
tornado had suddenly sprung up to the accompaniment of a
sharp musketry fire. My pony, usually a very quiet beast,
accustomed to all sorts of noises, and even standing alongside
of an elephant, snorted and trembled with alarm. My men,
who had been dozing on the ground, leapt to their feet.
Screaming jungle fowl, pheasants, barking deer, and chattering
monkeys, all thoroughly alarmed, flew or ran past us at a
great pace. Moung Hpe, jumping excitedly to his feet,
said : " Get ready, sir ; the elephants, while wandering about on

3i8 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the outskirts of the cove, have scented us by coming on our
trail, and are now coming straight in our direction." Seizing
my 8-bore, and handing my 12-bore to Moung Hpe, we took
up positions behind the thickest trees we could find ; these
were not, however, of a sufficient girth to be any protection.
My pony was unhitched from the tree to which it had been
tethered, bridled, and then made over to one of my followers,
who did not by any means feel comfortable at being held re-
sponsible for the pony's safety. The elephants, which were now
only about 1 50 yards off, changed their mad rush into another
direction, only, on meeting our trail in the new direction also,
to recoil and head back again in our direction. The noise of
the terrified charging elephants as they came nearer and
nearer, crushing and trampling down everything before them,
was simply indescribable. Telling my men to stand firm and
not to be alarmed, I took up my position alongside my pony,
which had by this time got quite accustomed to the noise.
Within about two minutes of the time the stampede occurred,
the leading elephant, a huge bony-looking female, came
bobbing along, followed in single file by a numerous progeny
of all sizes and sexes. It was a wonderful and unique sight,
and I had the full benefit of it as they filed noiselessly past
me, having moved up from my position to within fifteen
paces of their line of retreat, there being no undergrowth to
impede the view, and as they followed one another in single
file there was no danger of any of the animals coming in my
direction. What would I not have given for a camera ? The
various expressions in the eyes and faces of the different
animals, indicative of temper, were very noticeable. Some
with bland, good-natured, stolid, or stately faces, others with
a fierce or mischievous twinkle in their eyes. Nearly every one
of them, the small tuskers especially, turned their heads
slightly in my direction, a half-left turn of the head as they
passed, evidently scenting danger from that quarter. I
noticed that after leaving the dense cover and reaching the
open the animals seemed to have recovered somewhat from
the panic, as they all moved along in a more methodical
and mechanical manner one behind the other. Out of the
number that passed me, some thirty in all, there was not

URGED TO SHOOT A SMALL TUSKER 321

a single animal with tusks sufficiently large to warrant my
shooting.

Almost immediately after witnessing this march-past,
another contingent of the herd, consisting of some seven or
eight animals, suddenly appeared on my right, bearing straight
down at a quick shuffle towards the position occupied by my
pony and companions. Thinking that, as often is the case,
the rear of the herd would be brought up by a large tusker,
and hoping that the animal whose large tracks we had
followed that morning, be he tusker or muckna, would now
show himself, I ran back and took up my stand beside the
pony, as the foremost elephant, a large female with short
tushes, arrived within ten paces of us. I had previously
warned the Burman who was holding my pony, should the
elephants pass close by, to remain perfectly motionless and
not to attempt to lead off the pony or drive off the elephants
by shooting, the latter proceeding being most dangerous. My
warning was, however, entirely disregarded, as the Burman
holding my pony bawled out several times, and at one time
I really thought the old female would charge home. Fortun-
ately for us, however, she did not, and with the rest, some
seven or eight animals in all, she recoiled with lowered head
and swerved off to one side. In the meantime, the large
elephant we were on the look-out for did not put in an appear-
ance. My men, meanwhile, had become rather annoyed at
my not having shot one of the small tuskers of the herd for
them.

After waiting patiently for about a quarter of a minute
we heard a faint sound in the direction of the dense cover
from which the herd had come. Thinking this was probably
the monster we were on the look-out for, and which would
be sure to follow in the footsteps of the herd, I waited.
Presently, at a distance of about 100 yards, I caught sight
of a large elephant making off slowly in a direction at
right angles to us. I immediately ran forward with the hope
of being able to cut him off, and to see whether he was a
tusker or muckna. I did not succeed, however, as he winded
me, and it was all I could do to run up and, at a distance of
some 30 yards, fire a raking shot into the small of his ribs

322 WILD SPORTS Of BURMA AND ASSAM

from behind ; this quickened his pace considerably. We
followed as quickly as possible, being guided by the breaking
and cracking of bamboos and branches, never for one moment
expecting to see him, at any rate for the next ten or fifteen
miles, but what was our surprise to come up with him
suddenly standing broadside on, on a rather thickly wooded
knoll. I immediately gave him a right and left behind the
shoulder, and Moung Hpe, who was armed with my single '303,
also gave him a shot in the same place, but the brute moved
off. I was unable to make out at the time whether the
elephant possessed tusks or not, as its head was hidden from
view behind some foliage. It being by now late in the even-
ing, it was decided, very much against my wish, to relinquish
the chase till next day. I was not by any means keen on
continuing the pursuit, as I was under the impression that it
was a muckna, but as the poor beast had been badly wounded
I determined to follow it up, and if possible put it out of its
misery.

We took on the tracks again at an early hour next
morning. It was a weary trudge, through one bamboo cover
into another, till I felt as if bamboo jungle, trees, earth, stones,
streams, and elephant tracks had been indelibly photographed
on my brain. We kept steadily on the trail for some hours,
an occasional drop of blood, the size of a threepenny piece,
showing here and there at intervals. After marching from
6 a.m. till 9 a.m., the tracks led us through some rice and
maize cultivations, to which the elephant had helped himself
liberally. The cultivators, an old Burman and his wife, who
appeared rather concerned about the destruction of their crops,
informed us that they had heard the animal pass about 2 a.m.
that morning. After refreshing ourselves with the milk of
some fresh cocoa-nuts, which the owners of the cultivation
hospitably offered us, we pushed steadily on, having an occa-
sional difficulty where the tracks passed over dry, hard, stony
ground ; Moung Hpe was, however, indefatigable, and was never
really at a loss. We only halted once for about half-an-hour
for something to eat, my own breakfast consisting of cold
gaur tongue, chicken, a few biscuits, figs, and prunes, washed
down with water from a neighbouring stream.

DRIED FRUITS PREFERABLE IN HOT WEATHER 323

I made it a rule to eat as little meat as possible when
marching during the heat of the day, in fact I had an abhor-
rence for meat of any kind when the weather was at all warm,
and found that a meal of dried fruits, such as figs, dates,
prunes, with chocolate and biscuits, was very sustaining and
quite as nutritious, and as for liquor, I never touched any
whilst out walking. Spirits I never drank at any time.

After having covered some twenty miles of country we
almost gave up hopes of ever coming up with the animal
again, but eventually, towards the afternoon, we came on fresh
indications of the elephants having at last settled down to
feed and wander about in an aimless fashion. The jungle
was now becoming denser, and Moung Hpe informed me that
the animal, whose droppings were now quite warm, was certain
to be found in a cover some three or four miles ahead which
he knew, and where the animal would most likely be either
found asleep or resting.

I may mention that I had on this occasion, besides the
•303 and 8-bore, a double 12-bore rifle, burning a maximum
charge of 6 drams of powder and carrying heavy conical
steel-pointed bullets.

We now moved forward very cautiously, as we were in
cover where there were no large bamboo clumps or trees
behind which we could retreat in case of a charge from the
elephant, which was sure to be in a very irritated and
dangerous state after the wounds which he had received.
While moving along in this manner, my 8-bore in hand,
loaded with steel-tipped conical bullets, and backed up by
Moung Hpe with the Lee-Metford and another Burman with
the 12-bore rifle, we suddenly came across the elephant lying
down on its side with all four legs stretched out at full length,
apparently sound asleep. At first I thought the animal was
dead, but being only some twenty paces off, I made out, from
a closer examination, the regular up-and-down breathing
motions of its body.

With a whisper to the Burman who was carrying my 12-
bore rifle (the thugyi of the Tsaizingon village) to stand firm
and be ready with the rifle should I require it, I aimed for
the region of the heart, and fired, jumping immediately to

324 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

one side to see the effects of my shot. The result was start-
ling in the extreme, and I was astonished to see with what
rapidity the huge animal had regained its legs and was bear-
ing straight down upon us with curled-up trunk and head
held high in the air. This was too much for our friend from
Tsaizingon, he disappeared. A shot from the Lec-Metford
and another from the 8-bore was immediately fired, neither
of which seemed to have any effect, as, sweeping past within
a few feet of us, the elephant rushed down the steep almost
inaccessible banks of a stream strewn with logs, fallen trees,
and blocked with dense jungle, ascending the other side, and
making off as if untouched. I now saw to my sorr.ow, for the
first time, that the elephant was a tuskless male.

After severely rating the thugyi and informing him that he
was not fit to hold an appointment under Government, we
followed on, hoping that the animal would not be able to go
very far. We had not gone two miles before we came up
with it leaning against the trunk of a large teak tree, looking
very sick. It was a magnificent beast, standing, as I found
from a careful measurement taken on the spot with a metallic
tape, 10 feet 4 inches between uprights.

All the differences pointed out by Colonel Pollok, already
referred to by me, between •" mucknas " and tuskers were now
quite apparent. The poor beast, on seeing us approach,
turned round and faced us as if to charge, but eventually
collapsed slowly on to its knees after a preliminary lurch or
two, when it died uttering low rumbling sounds and looking,
with its wide-open bright and mischievous eyes, still most
life-like. The rain about this time came down in torrents,
and as it was now getting late and we had covered some
twenty miles of country, too far to be able that night to return
to camp, we decided to head for the nearest village, Pauktabin,
distant about three miles, from whence I intended sending
out villagers next day to bring in the two fore-feet and rudi-
mentary tusks of the muckna, which were in themselves
curiosities. About 100 villagers surrounded the dead
carcase of the elephant next day like so many vultures,
and soon cut up and carried away all the meat, leaving
nothing but bones. This elephant I afterwards ascertained

IDENTIFYING AN ELEPHANT 325

was the animal which had been so destructive to the crops
of Tsaizingon and other neighbouring villages, so after all
I felt that he had not been wantonly slain.

Some three or four days after the death of the elephant,
while tracking up a solitary bull tsine or Bos sondaicus
about two or three miles from camp, I came upon the large
tracks of another solitary bull elephant, which my hunters
declared from the impressions of its foot to be a certain
tusker which they had often come upon but failed to bag.
The reader will perhaps think it strange that any one would
be able to identify an animal by the impression of its foot.
It is nevertheless true, and I have often recognized the tracks
of certain large tuskers, muckna, solitary bull gaur, or tsine
from peculiarities in the formation of the huge circle-like
depression in the first case, and the great breadth and length
of the slot in the other. The tracks of female elephants, as
indeed in the case of gaur, tsine, are all much smaller and
narrower than those of the bulls. Mahouts, whose elephants
have strayed, are often able to distinguish from amongst
other tracks those of the animal they are looking for, simply
because their eyes are accustomed to the peculiarities of the
print. Burman hunters from being continually out in the
jungle recognize the tracks of all solitary animals, and can
very often tell you, if they are themselves acquainted with the
locality, in which cover they are most likely to be found
lying up during the heat of the day. Solitaires, as a rule, have
their own beats, and are always to be found day after day, if
not disturbed, within a certain area. I remember once after
shooting a solitary bull tsine in the neighbourhood of a
patch of cover, situated some four miles from my camp, and
for which my hunters and I were heading, as I hoped to get
a shot at a huge solitary bull gaur, whose tracks had for
several days been seen by bamboo-cutters, finding that the
gaur whose fresh trail we had struck had been feeding on the
young shoots in some open bamboo forest, and had become
alarmed on hearing my shots and galloped off in consequence.
I was awfully disappointed at the time, although I succeeded
two days afterwards in bagging the animal, when it had got
over its alarm and returned to its old haunts. I have noticed

326 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

that solitaires, when disturbed from a certain cover they have
been in the habit of frequenting, invariably return to it again.
But let me go back to the elephant whose track we had
discovered. My hunters positively asserted, this time from
the formation of the footprints, that the owner was really a
tusker. We had not been following the trail long, before
sounds from a neighbouring bamboo cover informed us that
the elephant was close by. After ascertaining in the usual
manner whether the wind was in our favour, I moved forward
cautiously with the 8-bore, followed by Moung Yauk, another
favourite hunter of mine who was armed with my 12-bore.
Both weapons were loaded with solid, hardened, conical bullets,
driven in the case of the 8-bore by 10 drams of powder, and
in that of the 12-bore by 6 drams.

After picking our way carefully through some rather thick
undergrowth we came into more open bamboo forest, where,
to my utter astonishment, five tusker elephants instead of the
one I had expected to see came into view walking along
slowly in single file, broadside on, at a distance of about 35
yards, apparently heading for an adjacent cane-brake, where
I have no doubt they intended resting during the heat of the
day. Picking out the leading elephant, the largest tusker,
which, from a side view, appeared to have only one tusk, I
fired, aiming for the heart. The elephant on receiving the
bullet charged straight ahead, and crashed into dense cover,
some 50 yards further on, when all sounds ceased. The
other four tuskers, none of which carried large tusks, wheeled
round and came bobbing along, in full charge, straight down
upon us. It was rather a startling spectacle, and for the
moment I felt very much inclined to get out of the way as
quickly as possible. Moung Yauk, at this critical juncture,
seemed very undecided what to do, and looked as if he would
like to clamber up into the branches of the tree behind which
we had taken our stand. The tree was not by any means
one of massive girth, and could easily have been knocked
down by a butt from an elephant's forehead. After warning
Moung Yauk to stand firm and be ready with the 12-bore
should I require it, I aimed for the forehead of the nearest
elephant, which was by this time some fifteen paces off, and

SHOOTING UNDER DIFFICULTIES 327

fired. The effect was instantaneous ; the elephant on receiving
the shot rolled right over and turned a complete somersault,
like a rabbit hit in the head, rolling right over on to its back
and then on to its side, stone dead, the blood spouting out
of a bullet-hole in the centre of the bump or forehead. The
other three animals changed the direction of their charge, and
swerved slightly to one side, being met by a hurried right and
left from Moung Yauk, who nearly burst the drum of my
right ear by firing within a few inches of my head, the bullets
taking effect amongst the upper branches of a tree some 20
or 30 feet from the ground.

As I was suffering at the time from a rather severe attack
of low malarial fever, my temperature being about 103, I did
not feel by any means keen on following the animal I had
first fired at, as I was sure it would go clean away and cover
some fifteen or twenty miles of country before we should see
it again, having only received one shot, and that perhaps not
in a vital spot. Judge my surprise when, on entering the
cane-brake already referred to, and into which the elephant
had gone, we heard the well-known flapping sounds of an
elephant's leathery ears. The jungle here was very dense>
and our position was now extremely ticklish should a charge
be made, unless I could stop it with my heavy rifle.

There were only passages here and there, originally made
by elephants, through which we could follow in single file.
There was no escape right or left, should the animal come
down on us ; the only means of exit was by running back
along these narrow passages, which were often not by any
means clear of overhanging creepers, branches, stumps, and
very strong hooked cane thorns. There were, besides, no
bamboo clumps or trees of sufficient girth and stability
behind which to take refuge. The flapping sounds seemed
to come from a dense patch of jungle some 25 yards off,
but do what we would, not a single portion of the animal
was visible, although I reconnoitred his position from every
available point. At last in desperation I collected a few
stones and threw them one after another into the patch as
quickly as possible. The result was electrifying, for with a
smothered shriek the elephant charged through the thick

328 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

cover, which bent, broke, and gave way before the huge beast,
straight towards us, and pulled up to within ten paces of
where I was standing. I dared not make a hurried move-
ment for fear of bringing the infuriated beast upon me, but
slowly raised my rifle to the present, and, taking aim for the
right ear-hole, which was, however, partially hidden by foliage,
fired. The elephant staggered slightly to one side, and then
wheeled round and sailed off again through the dense under-
growth, carrying everything before him. We followed in his
wake as quickly as the inequalities of the ground would
permit for about a hundred yards, when we suddenly per-
ceived him standing stock-still stern on and in a listening
attitude, and only some 10 yards off. To crouch down and
make ourselves as small as possible was the work of a
moment. We had not been in this position more than a few
seconds before the huge beast spun round quickly and
charged straight for us. It was a very close thing, as he
passed within a foot or two of the spot where I was crouch-
ing, in fact one ponderous foot was within touching distance.
Moung Yauk had only time to throw himself to the other
side of the narrow lane out of sight, ere the elephant
passed between us. Fortunately, instead of bringing up and
looking for us, he held straight on for about 100 yards, and
then came to a halt in some dense cover, where he stood
grumbling angrily and banging his trunk violently on the
ground, sure signs these of pain and rage. It was now get-
ting late, and as the fever was making me feel very wretched
I thought it high time to bring matters ' to a climax. So
telling Moung Yauk to back me up I edged up carefully
towards the elephant, in the hopes of being able to get in a
head-shot and thus finish the business. It was very hard
work, however, and only those who have followed elephants,
especially a wounded animal, through thick cover can under-
stand the magnitude and danger of the undertaking. While
pushing our way carefully through the undergrowth, and
when quite 25 yards from the beast, it suddenly seemed
to be aware of our presence, and without the slighest warn-
ing charged in our direction at a great pace, the thump
of its feet on the ground, strange to say, being very distinct

BAG A GOOD TUSKER OVER 10 FT. IN HEIGHT 329

and unlike the comparatively noiseless advance of the ele-
phants which I had previously encountered. As before, we
had just time to step out of his way, one on either side.
Instead of passing us he stood between us, in an undecided
manner, at a distance of about fifteen paces ; I immediately
covered his left temple, which was exposed, and fired, the
bullet taking effect in the brain and bringing him to the
ground with a dull thud.

He was a magnificent beast, and measured at the shoulder
10 feet 6 inches. His tusks were not so large as I had
expected, the right one weighing 40 Ibs., and the left 25 Ibs.,
total 65 Ibs. I mounted my pony and returned to camp
alone, feeling very ill, leaving my men to bring in the tusks,
together with the fore-feet, heart, and liver.

My five transport ponies were sent out to the spot next
day early, and returned laden with the tusks and feet and as
much of the meat as could be packed on the saddles. The
delicacies already mentioned, such as the heart, liver, and
elephant's tail, were specially reserved for my own con-
sumption.

I was quite incapacitated from doing any shooting for
several days, as apart from the fever I had contracted, my
" boy" or cook had been bowled over with jaundice and liver,
and I was consequently unable to get any good food, such
as soups, broths, egg-flips, custard, puddings, which were
necessities in the condition I was then in. For the next ten
days, however, I had to manage as best I could under the
circumstances, dieting and doctoring myself to the best of my
ability. The great secret of good health in the East, and
particularly in Burma, is to eat sparingly, and in the case
of the hunter over-eating is fatal.

I shot my last tusker on New Year's Day, 1897, in the
Ondan valley, at the junction of the Ondan and Nakayin
streams, at the base of the Shwe-u-taung hill, having first
picked up his tracks in the jungle between the Mogok, Tha-
beitkyin road, and Ondan rice-fields, a locality some twenty
miles from the spot where I eventually succeeded in getting
him.

My hunters on sighting the spoor pronounced it that of a

330 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

tusker, and, indeed, it was soon patent to every one, as he had
left marks of his tusks in the steep clayey side of a river bank
where he had been eating the earth, which, being impregnated
with a certain amount of soda or salt, is eagerly partaken of
by all ruminating animals. There are a great many of these
salt-licks and tepid brackish streams (yenganbauk and myen-
gan) scattered over both Upper and Lower Burma, and
animals such as elephants, rhino, gaur, tsine, buffaloes, and
deer frequent them periodically, and often travel great dis-
tances to indulge their craving for salt. Burman hunters
often sit over these pools or licks and pot "the game from
trees.

Well, to return to our tusker, I first came on the animal's
tracks on Thursday afternoon, December 31, 1896, and took
them on for some five or six miles over very hilly country par-
tially covered by open tree and bamboo forest, with occasional
patches of old " tounyas " or deserted cultivation, which had
grown up into a perfect jungle, and through which at times it
was very hard work to make one's way. We did not succeed
in coming up with the animal that day, as he winded us and
made off while we were 100 yards off, so we returned to camp,
fully intending to try for him again next day.

" Chota hazri " at dawn next morning, and then taking a
hamper containing breakfast we started on the trail, deter-
mined to come up with the animal before dark. The usual
slow, steady, wearisome trudge then ensued for several hours,
the monotony being occasionally broken when a difficulty
occurred in tracking, or when some startled sambur or bark-
ing deer roused from his morning slumber fled, uttering a
loud bell or bark as the case might be. Occasionally a
porcupine or solitary boar would cross our path in front, as if
aware that I could not shoot without alarming the nobler
quarry whose tusks I was bent on having. Occasionally a
question would be put by me to my trackers, such as, " How-
ki-la, thee-chi-ya-hman-the-la ? " (Is that so — are these the
correct tracks?) " Gane-chi-ya be-daw twe-mi is tin-the-la?"
(When do you think we shall come upon to-day's tracks ?)

After covering some ten or twelve miles of country in this
fashion, steadily on over hill and dale, we at last came on

MY LAST TUSKER IN UPPER BURMA 331

signs of the animal having passed early that morning. The
difficulties sometimes were great, but I need not go into
details, as they have already been enumerated elsewhere, how
we worried around and made casts when the animal had
stopped for a short time and fed round here and there in
circles, crossing and recrossing its tracks, or what trouble we
had to pick out his trail from amongst those of other ele-
phants which had recently been in the neighbourhood. Let it
suffice to say, that after travelling in this manner from 5 a.m.
till about 2 p.m., we eventually heard sounds of breaking
bamboos on a neighbouring hill-side some 300 yards off,
which plainly indicated that we had at last come up with
the animal and that it was feeding.

It is much easier to approach an animal when it is feeding
than when it is resting or even on the move, as in the two
latter cases it seems to be more on the alert, whereas the
noise made by an animal feeding naturally drowns to
a certain extent all other sounds in its immediate vicinity,
such as the breaking of twigs, the rustling of leaves and
branches when the sportsman brushes against them, and
so on.

I had only my 12-bore rifle with me on this occasion, my
8-bore rifle and '303 having been sold, as I was about to
proceed to England on long leave.

I soon caught sight of the elephant standing broadside on,
feeding away quite unconcernedly on bamboo leaves, oblivious
to all danger. He was standing with his back a little above
the top of a ridge on the edge of a steep ravine, a most
advantageous position for a quiet approach, although I must
say I felt an occasional qualm pass through me, as there was
not a single substantial tree behind which I could retreat in
case of need. I moved forward very cautiously to within
about fifteen paces, when a brute of a monkey, the common
brown species, jumped from one branch to another on a tree
overhead and knocked down a rotten branch, which fell with
a loud crash almost on top of the elephant, which, swinging
quickly round, faced me. I immediately stopped dead, and,
thinking I was discovered, was preparing to raise my rifle
slowly to my shoulder, when he turned round and began

332 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

feeding again, the monkey, which had apparently seen me,
keeping up all this time an incessant chatter.

After composing myself, and placing spare cartridges in a
handy pocket, I crept a little nearer, and, aiming for the
shoulder-shot, fired both barrels in quick succession. The
smoke hid everything for a few seconds, then I heard a great
crashing and smashing of branches, and saw that the elephant
had charged straight down the side of the steep ravine, leav-
ing great ruts behind, where he had slid along on his haunches.
To ram in two fresh cartridges, close the breech, and take aim
and fire both barrels again at the elephant, as he clambered
up the steep bank on the other side of the ravine, was the
work of a moment. Both shots took effect between the neck
and hind-quarters near the spine, and must have gone well
into his vitals. I was now pretty certain of getting him, as
I knew that one of the four steel-tipped bullets driven by 6
drams of powder was sure to have penetrated a vital spot,
probably his liver or lungs, and would prevent his travelling
any distance.

We followed in his wake very cautiously, as the ground was
strewn with boulders, fallen logs, and branches ; the under-
growth was also fairly thick. There was plenty of blood
along the trail, and my clothes from contact with the blood-
besprinkled leaves were all stained. The elephant now made
us aware of his immediate vicinity by uttering at intervals
sounds like distant thunder, and by thrashing the ground with
his trunk. This was a sign that he meant mischief, if possible,
but it also meant that he was partially disabled.

We were now very deliberate in our movements, as we
might come suddenly on the animal in turning a corner, for
the elephant was evidently on the look-out for his aggressors.

But luck was in our favour, and after going through some
very ticklish jungle we caught sight of the quarry stand-
ing in some fairly open bamboo and cane jungle, with his
ears cocked well forward listening. We were about 35 yards
from him and on higher ground, and as he was stand-
ing broadside on, I thought I might as well try to disable him
from where I was, as the nature of the ground would have
prevented my getting any nearer without being discovered.

NOT KILLED YET 333

So, aiming for the shoulder, I fired. The elephant stood stock-
still as if carved out of stone. I fired the second barrel, on
which he turned round and made off at a great pace towards
the stream (the Ondan or Kin river). We caught him up as
he was crossing, pulling one huge leg after the other over the
large boulders which lay in his path in mid-stream, the
water, some three or four feet deep, seething and boiling all
around him.

I did not care much about attempting to ford the stream
carrying my heavy rifle, as the water rushed like a mill-stream,
but managed eventually to scramble across by jumping from
rock to rock. The elephant had now got a start of quite half-
a-mile, but we caught it up again. We rushed along rather
recklessly at times, I am afraid, being guided not by the foot-
prints but by splashes of blood, and risked running into the
wounded animal at any moment. As it happened, we did
nearly come to grief, as the elephant had, after crossing the
stream and holding on for some distance along the bank,
turned off and doubled back upon its own tracks for some
twenty or thirty paces, and stood amongst the jungle close to
the path we were following. Fortunately he betrayed his
presence by flapping his ears, and we >were warned in time,
but only just, for hearing our approach he charged out of
cover straight at us. We were about ten or twelve paces off
at the time, and it was a very close thing. I had no idea the
brute had so much life left in him, for he charged at a terrific
pace. I had barely time to jump to one side and take up my
stand behind a tree, Moung Yauk doing likewise, when the
elephant rushed past us, over-shooting us a few yards from
the momentum of his charge, then swinging round with
curled-up trunk and a shriek of rage he again made for us.
All this was the work of a few seconds, and Moung Yauk
being unarmed had made himself scarce. It was only natural;
and as I had everything with me, including spare cartridges,
I did not mind. The elephant, on reaching the tree behind
which I had taken up my stand, began uprooting the small
trees and bushes in its vicinity, and hammered the ground at
intervals with its trunk, trumpeting shrilly with rage. Stones
and clods of earth were kicked in all directions, and my

334 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

position was far from comfortable, as there was no other place
of refuge within a radius of 30 or 40 yards.

A change of position on the part of the elephant exposed
the temple, a chance of which I promptly availed myself, the
distance between us being only about three yards. The huge
beast on receiving the shot collapsed all of a heap, and after
a few subdued murmurs lay lifeless. His tusks quite repaid
me for all my hard work, the pair weighing 80 Ibs.

As it was too late to extract them and cut off the fore-feet
that night, we wended our way to camp, thinking little of the
tiresome walk we had before us in our pleasure at the satis-
factory ending to our day's toil. On my way back I saw
several fresh signs of Rhinoceros sumatrensis ; these animals
will be treated of hereafter.

We got back to camp about 7.30 p.m., where I found a
comfortable warm tub awaiting me, a pint of beer cooling in
a neighbouring stream, and a well-cooked dinner prepared,
for my Madrassie cook thoroughly understood the art of
catering for a hungry hunter.

CHAPTER VI

INDIAN GAUR (MISCALLED BISON), THE BOS GAURUS OF
NATURALISTS

BLANDFORD'S description of this magnificent animal, the
grandest and largest of all the existing bovines, may not here
be amiss : —

" General form massive, body deep, limbs and hoofs small.
Ears large. A high ridge along the anterior half of the back,
terminating abruptly about half-way between the shoulder
and the tail, and caused by the spinous processes of the dorsal
vertebrae being long and those of the lumbar vertebrae short,
the change in length taking place suddenly. Skull bearing a
high ridge convex on the vertex between the horn cores ; in
front of this ridge the forehead is deeply concave. Horns,
considerably flattened, towards the base curved throughout,
the tips turned inwards and slightly backwards. Thirteen
pairs of ribs. Tail just reaching the hocks. No distinct dew-
lap. Hair short, thin on the back in old bulls.

" Colour. — Brown, almost black in old bulls : less dark
and sometimes more rufous in females and young males,
especially during the cold season, and in those inhabiting
drier parts of the country where there is less shade. Lower
parts rather paler, hair about axil and groin golden-brown.
Legs, from above the knees and hocks to the hoofs, white.
Head, from above the eyes to the nape of the neck, ashy
grey, becoming in some animals whitey-brown or dirty white.
Muzzle, pale coloured. In calves, according to Blythe, there
is a dark stripe down the back. Horns, pale-greenish or
yellowish, with black tips.

335

336 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

"Dimensions. — This appears to be the largest of existing
bovines. Large bulls are said to exceed 6 feet in height at
the shoulder, but this is rare and exceptional, 5 feet 8 inches
to 5 feet 10 inches being the usual height. Cows are much
smaller, about 5 feet high. A huge bull measured by Elliot
was 6 feet \\ inches high, 9 feet 6 inches from nose to root of
tail, tail 2 feet 10 inches long, girth behind shoulders 8 feet.
A cow 4 feet 10 inches high measured 7 feet from nose to
rump over curves, and 6 feet 9 inches in girth. A large male
skull from the Western Ghats measures 18 inches in basal
length and 9*9 inches zygomatic breadth. Average male horns
measure 20 to 24 inches round the outside curve. Horns
from Travancore have been recorded 39 inches in length and
19 inches in girth at the base ; whilst other Travancore horns
measure 2075 in girth, and a pair from the Malay Peninsula
22, though only 32 long.

" Large cow-horns measure 23 and 24 round the outside curve,
with a girth of 13*25. The girth of each horn in freshly-
killed specimens is about an inch more than in dried skulls.1

" Distribution. — (With regard to India and Burma) All the
great hilly forest tracts of the Indian Peninsula, Assam, and
Burma.

" The gaur keeps to forest or high grass generally, but not
always near the hill, and is found in herds of from five to six
to about twenty or occasionally more. Bulls often wander by
themselves, and the finest and oldest bulls are said always to
occur solitary ; still, very large bulls are found with herds, and
young bulls are frequently seen alone, or two or three together.
All are shy and avoid cultivated tracts as a rule, though in-
stances occur in wild parts of the country of gaur feeding on
growing crops.2 Their food consists chiefly of grasses ; they do
not commonly browse, though they occasionally eat the leaves
and even the bark of particular trees, and they are fond of the
shoots of bamboos. They feed generally in the early morning
and evening, and lie down to rest from about 9 a.m. to about

1 This applies to Indian gaur — the Burmese variety has been described
accurately by Col. Pollok.

2 I have seen whole fields devastated by a herd of gaur in the northern
Circars.— F. T P.

GAUR, ITS DISTRIBUTION, ETC. 339

4 p.m. and at night. They drink, as a rule, in the afternoon.
These bovines inhabit the hills of the Indian Peninsula to an
elevation of 5000 or 6000 feet, or occasionally even higher ;
but they do not ascend the Himalayas to nearly the same
extent. They are admirable climbers, and ascend or descend
steep hills with wonderful facility. They are timid animals,
but in wild places where they are rarely subject to attack
and disturbance they are by no means remarkably wary.
Wounded animals occasionally charge, and solitary bulls have
been known to attack without provocation ; but the tales of
the gaur's ferocity recorded by some sportsmen are not
confirmed by any of the later writers who have had good
opportunities of studying the animals. A bull gaur is one of
the noblest animals in the world, a model of strength and
symmetry, and his formidable appearance has led to his
being unjustly credited with a savage disposition.

" The period of gestation is not known with any certainty.
Breeding is said to take place in the cold season. The calves
are mostly born (in the peninsula of India) in August or
September, a few early in April, May, or June. Gaur suffer
from the same diseases as domestic cattle. In India all
attempts at domestication of this bovine have been failures.
The calves appear always to die in captivity, none, it is said,
having been known to attain their third year. But there can
be little doubt that the gaur has been tamed and kept tame in
some of the hill tracts between Assam and Burma,1 and quite
recently a young male animal, now nearly four years old, has
been brought to England from Pahang in the Malay Peninsula,
and is still (1891) living in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's
Park (London). According to Sanderson three distinct sounds
are uttered by this species. The first is a sonorous bellow used
as a call, and unlike any of the usual bovine sounds. The
second is a low ' moo,' indicative of apprehension or curiosity.
The third is the well-known whistling snort of alarm with
which the animal dashes off when frightened. I have heard the

1 This is a mistake. It is the gayal and not the gaur that has been
domesticated in the hill tracts between Assam and Burma. Mr.
Sanderson was misled by the similarity of name common to both,
"mithun," in supposing there were no wild gayal. — F. T. P.

340 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

tame animal in Regent's Park utter a prolonged call not very
unlike the lowing of Bos taurus, but utterly unlike the lowing
of Bos indicus"

I trust I shall be excused for giving in full Blandford's
description of the gaur and its habits, etc. I have done so in
order that I may compare my own experiences, acquired
through having shot on foot some twenty-five bulls, with the
observations published by him.

Having lived and spent most of my short leave in a part of
the country (the Ruby Mines district of Upper Burma) where
these animals roam about in large herds numbering in some
cases as many as thirty animals, I had many opportunities of
studying their habits, haunts, and peculiarities.

The gaur is usually known under the misnomer of bison,
but is not to be confused with the American, which in point
of size and appearance is quite an insignificant animal
compared with the Indian gaur ; an old bull is, in my opinion,
one of the grandest and noblest prizes that can fall to the
rifle of any sportsman.

It shall be my endeavour in this chapter to relate, for the
benefit of those who intend hunting gaur, detailed accounts of
the death of some six or seven of the largest solitary bulls
shot by me.1 I hope on the other hand that I may be excused
if, to some of my readers, these narratives should have an
appearance of baldness and similarity about them, which is,
however, a sine qua non when one is relating true statements
of facts taken from diaries written on the spot.

The first gaur I ever saw was one that had been shot by a
hunter of mine, Moung Yan Gin, whilst we were tracking up
a herd ; I remember how annoyed I was with him, and very
naturally too. Moung Hpe, my favourite shikarie, was also
with us at the time. We had struck the fresh tracks of a
herd which led up a steep hill some 500 feet above Saga-
daung at the foot of one of the outlying spurs of the
Shwe-u-taung range, when somehow or other Moung Yan Gin,
who was tracking up a bull on his own account, became

1 Gaur shooting, principally off elephants, has been described by my
colleague, Col. Pollok, who has shot over one hundred in Burma and
India.

SHIKARIE SHOOTS A GAUR 341

separated from us. The next intimation I had of his where-
abouts was the report of his flint-lock piece, and a shout
informing us of the death of a bull. I remember rushing up the
steep ridge and feeling anything but charitably inclined to-
wards Moung Yan Gin, whom I now saw standing beside a huge
bull which was kicking in its last throes, having been shot
neatly through the heart. Moung Yan Gin excused himself
for having shot the gaur by saying that he had come on the
animal suddenly, which, having seen him, would have given
the alarm to the rest of the herd. I accepted his excuse, but
told him he was never to shoot any animal again when with
me unless by my permission.

Having applied for and been granted a month and fifteen
days' privilege leave due to me, and having previously made up
my mind to spend it in shooting, I started from the Shan
states of Momeik one morning early and plunged into the
jungle well equipped with everything. My transport consisted
of mules, ponies, and coolies, and I had three hunters, my
servants, and a camp-following of some twenty-five men in all,
a goodly number to feed.

My camp equipment was as follows : — A double Cabul tent,
a Maulmain jail-made camp folding-chair, which is, having a
table fitted on at the back, a dining-chair, writing-desk, and
easy-chair combined in one. A small iron frame folding spring-
mattress camp-cot.

All the above, including wearing apparel, my guns, three
cases of stores, a case of ammunition, bedding, cooking
utensils, a patent winding fan lamp, a tin of kerosene oil, to-
gether with my servants' kit, made up all the baggage, which
was carried by four transport mules and ponies. The cost of
rice, tobacco, betel, ngapee, dried fish, chillies, cheroots, cooking
oil, etc., for the consumption of my followers, was met by
me.

These latter, after a fair division, were divided amongst
my men, who carried their loads in wicker baskets called
"kyingyas," woven from thin strips of bamboo, which contained,
amongst other things, the owner's blanket, strip of carpet or
" kawzaw," betel-box, without which he never travels anywhere,
a " lue aik" or haversack, a chopper or hatchet, " dahma," and

342. WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

a cutting-up or skinning knife, named a " da myaung," the
well-to-do men probably stowing away a spare jacket and a
u loongyi " or loin-cloth.

The above is about the sum total of a Burman's kit when
travelling or out on shikar. The trip from beginning to end,
including rations for myself, servants, and camp-followers, to-
gether with the hire of two mules, the other two being my own
(excluding cost of tinned and other stores), would be as follows :
Rations for camp-followers from April 3 to May 15, Rs.ioo.
Hire of two mules at Rs.i per diem per mule, Rs.86. Total,
Rs.iSo As many of the licensed gun-holders had had their
licences withdrawn, game was plentiful in the neighbourhood.
There were numerous signs of Bos sondaicus, the banting or
tsine, as well as gaur about, but the ground was still rather
dry and parched after the recent fires, and tracking was rather
hard.

The places most frequented, apparently from recent tracks,
appeared to be those parts where large areas of grass had been
burnt and the young shoots had sprouted. After the fires,
April, May, or June is certainly the best time for big-game
shooting in Upper Burma,1 more especially for gaur and tsine,
as, being easily seen a long way ofF, they can be approached
and stalked without difficulty.

After we had been out in camp two days, one of our mule-
men, on his return from cutting fodder, informed me in the
evening that he had seen fresh tracks of a herd of gaur near a
patch of "kaing " or elephant grass, about four miles from camp,
which had recently been burnt. Moung Hpe" and I immedi-
ately pricked up our ears on hearing this piece of information,
and as he was acquainted with the locality referred to by the
muleteer, we decided to visit the spot next day. Early next
morning we were up, and well on our way when day broke.
Moung Hpe, who knew the patch well, said that the gaur were
sure to be found grazing on the young shoots of " kaing " grass,
which ought to be about a foot high. While nearing the patch
in question, a piece of ground some 40 yards square, a few
loud snorts and stamping of feet were heard some 50 yards
off. I immediately rushed up, but arrived at the patch only
1 Also in Lower. — F. T. P.

FIRING THE GRASS TO DRIVE OUT GAUR 343

to find that the gaur had winded us, and were making off. I
just caught a glimpse of one animal as he was charging off",
but did not care to fire and needlessly alarm the herd, as I
hoped to obtain a shot later on, by taking on the tracks when
the animals would probably lie up in some cover during the
heat of the day.

After taking on the tracks for about a mile, Moung Hpe
informed me that the animals had settled down into a steady
walk, and had even begun to crop the grass here and there
whilst on the move, which was a sure sign that they had got
over their alarm. After keeping steadily on through some
open " indaing," l or bastard teak forest, the tracks led into a
dense patch of tall elephant grass some ten or twelve feet
high, in which, according to Moung Hpe, they would most
likely lie up during the heat of the day. This patch of grass,
which was about half-a-mile long by about 200 yards broad,
would have completely hidden out of sight the tallest elephant.
The dry and parched state of everything on the ground
rendered our stalking the animals in this cover quite an impos-
sibility. It is on occasions like these that a howdah elephant
is useful.

We then arranged to set fire to the grass, and to place
myself in a position where I should be able to get a shot when
the animals broke from the cover. This was easier said than
done, however, as it was almost impossible to tell at which
particular spot the herd would break from the grass. The
patch appeared to be about a quarter of a mile long by about
1 50 yards broad, shaped like a parallelogram. We eventually
decided that I should station myself at one of the angles
of the patch furthest away from the spot where the bison had
entered, and that the grass at the end round about the track
taken by the gaur should be fired simultaneously in a dozen
different places.

I may mention that I had with me on this occasion, besides
Moung Hpe, two other men.

The grass was then fired, after I had taken up my stand.
About an hour afterwards, I heard the gaur make a tremen-
dous charge, but for the life of me could not tell in which
1 Often called Eeingeen in Lower Burma. — F. T. P.

344 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

direction to expect it from, as the prodigious noise made by
the roaring and crackling of the burning grass nearly drowned
every other sound. Eventually I succeeded — after running as
fast as I could for a distance of about 50 yards through
fairly thick tree jungle, which grew right up to the edge of the
patch of grass — in getting a snap-shot at a large bull as he
burst out of the cover some 25 yards off. He dropped like a
stone to the shot, but struggled on to his feet again immedi-
ately, only to be laid low by my second barrel, which hit him
on the neck, bringing him to the ground with a thud. My
first shot had passed through his dorsal ridge close to the
spine, giving him the temporary shock which floored him.

Always give any animal which drops like a stone to your
first shot a second barrel, as it may have been only stunned
temporarily by the brain or spinal cord having been grazed.
An animal shot through the heart, or even in the brain, will
not fall dead on the spot ; they will often stagger away a few
yards before dropping. Again, an animal shot through the
neck or back, when the spinal cord has been severed, will drop
like a stone.

This was my first bison, an animal standing some 17 J hands
high, with small horns.

Two days later I came upon the tracks of a couple of
solitary or " neenaung " gaur in the bed of the Nampan
stream. Whilst we were taking them up, however, and when
within about thirty paces or so of the two huge brutes, which
were sleeping close to one another, we were suddenly startled
by hearing a number of girls laughing and shrieking. Both
animals on hearing the unusual noise had jumped to their
feet, and dashed away before I could catch even a glimpse of
them. This was most annoying, to say the least of it, and I
was astonished to think that women should have come so far
away from any habitation unattended by any men. Villagers
often travel miles into the jungle on expeditions of this sort,
some for the purpose of cutting cane, bamboo, or " shaw " —
the bark of a tree used for making rope and binding purposes —
others for collecting honey, berries, mushrooms, iguanas' eggs,
or catching fish, which abound in nearly every stream. The
noise seemed to come from the bend of an adjacent stream,

MODESTY OF BURMESE WOMEN 345

so Moung Hpe and I, on curiosity bent, made our way to the
spot to see what all the merriment was about. On arriving
at the spot and looking down into the river we saw three or
four young girls of from seventeen to eighteen years of age,
disporting themselves in mid-stream and along the banks in
puris naturalibus, perfectly unconscious that any one was
looking on. Moung Hpe recognized the girls to belong to
the village of Sagadaung. We retraced our steps without
making our presence known, and returned to camp.

It has been said by a critic in Land and Water that Burmese
women are very modest in all their actions and pourparlers
before the opposite sex, and that they never, when bathing in
a river, enter the water in puris naturalibus. In contradicting
this, and without wishing it to be thought for one moment
that it detracts in any way from their modesty, I may say
that I have over and over again seen girls, both old and young,
disporting themselves in the water in the above-mentioned
state, not only in outlying jungle streams, but in those which
flowed through or close to a village.1

Some days later my men, who had gone out to cut out the
tusks of an elephant I' had bagged, reported on their return
that they had seen the tracks of a huge herd of bison on the
outskirts of a large tract of - cane jungle some three miles
off.

After arriving at the spot where the tracks had first been
seen, we took them on through some patches of "kaing" and
cane jungle. At times the tracks were very scattered, wander-
ing in and out and round in circles, and it was no easy matter
often to hit on the right line taken by the animals. After
threading our way in this manner through a long stretch of
thorny cane and bamboo we eventually came on fresh signs
of the herd's immediate vicinity, and were at the same time
warned by a low " moo " and the faint snapping of a twig
that the gaur were close by. The cane and grass at times
were rather dense ; fortunately for us, however, elephants had

1 During thirteen years' residence and extensive travel all over the
country, from Mandalay to Mergui, I have seen girls bathing without a
stitch of clothing, hundreds of times. It was a common occurrence in my
day.— F. T. P.

346 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

recently been in the neighbourhood, consequently numerous
lanes had been trodden down, affording an easy passage.

Two of my hunters who were with me on this occasion,
Moung Hpe and Moung Yan Gin, were both armed with
muzzle-loading Tower muskets. Finding that the wind was
in our favour, after testing it in the usual way, I took my
8-bore and moved cautiously forward, sending Yan Gin and
Moung Hpe round on either side of the herd, so that they
might also obtain a shot after I had fired. I had not gone
forty yards before I heard a gaur breathing stertorously whilst
browsing. A whisk of its tail brought it to my view standing
broadside on beside a clump of bamboo, all vital parts, how-
ever, being hidden behind the clump. To glide off to one
side and take up my position behind another clump, some
fifteen paces from the animal, was the work of a second or
two. I had not long to wait before the gaur, stepping out,
exposed his whole body. I immediately fired, aiming, as
he was standing away from me, for a little behind the
shoulder. The shot took effect through the heart, as dashing
away for about thirty yards she collapsed all of a heap.
Moung Hpe succeeded in bagging a huge bull with one shot
through the neck, the animal dropping dead in its tracks.
Moung Yan Gin wounded another, which, charging in my
direction, was bowled over by me with a right and left. The
animal shot by me turned out to be a large female, standing
about i8|- hands with a fair head. Moung Yan Gin's bull,
finished off by me, stood i8J hands, and measured from tip
to tip 1 1 feet 6 inches. Moung Hpe's animal stood 3 inches
higher, but was the same length to half an inch. I am aware
that it is not supposed to be the correct thing amongst sports-
men to shoot females unless you are badly off for fresh meat,
but I can only plead guilty to my want of discrimination
between bulls and cows.

It takes, in my opinion, no little experience to be able to
pick out at a glance the bulls from the cows in a herd when
you have only got, say, some ten or fifteen seconds to do it in,
and where the gloom of the jungle is great. Should you by
chance happen to come across the animals in dark tree jungle
where the gloom is great, it is well-nigh impossible to dis-

DISTINGUISHING BULLS FROM COWS 347

criminate betwixt the two. It is harder still to obtain a
clear shot, as not only in the majority of cases has the bullet
to penetrate many small intervening twigs, which are apt to
turn it from its course, but the gloom is also so great in many
parts of the jungle, especially in cloudy weather, there is a
want of contrast between the foresight and dark hide of the
animal, which adds to the difficulty of planting a bullet in the
right spot.

There is a distinct difference, nevertheless, between the male
and female gaur, which is, however, only noticeable at close
quarters. Colonel Pollok gives this difference. He says that
the Burmese cow bison has a longer head, nose more arched,
and the points of the horns bend slightly backwards, and are,
of course, much smaller ; the frontal ridge is also prominent.1

Having made up my mind to change my camp from the
Nampan Tankta-kugyi forest, and work up the Shwe-u-taung
hill and its outlying spurs for rhinoceros, elephants, wild goats,
and the like, I issued orders accordingly, and we were soon
en route. The climate in the neighbourhood of the Shwe"-u-
taung hill would also be more enjoyable and cooler, having an
elevation of some 4000 to 5000 feet. The water was not only
cooler at that time of the year — May — but was also purer and
more wholesome than that found in the low-lying country of
the Nampan forest, which was invariably brackish, and nearly
always in a tepid state.

After arriving at the village of Pinkan, near Sagadaung,
Moung Hpe and I started for the hills, leaving our camp
people to follow, having previously arranged with them as to a
suitable spot for camping, in a gorge some eight miles from
Pinkan. Moung Hpe and I, after wandering about for some
time without seeing any tracks, were thinking of returning to
camp, when a loud, long, deep, sonorous roar or bellow pro-
ceeded from an adjacent ridge. I was quite convinced in my
own mind that the noise had been made by elephants. On
the sound being repeated, however, Moung Hpe, although
himself rather doubtful, informed me that it was the call of a
gaur, and that a herd must be in the neighbourhood, as
solitary animals seldom, if ever, call or bellow. After pro-
1 These I have noticed in all I have seen or slain. — F. T. P.

348 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

ceeding cautiously in the direction of the sound for a distance
of about 300 yards, I caught sight of three gaur, standing
stern on, under some trees ; others, from the sounds of break-
ing bamboos and an occasional low deep " moo," were moving
about and feeding in the hollow beyond. With a whispered
injunction to my men to lie down, I took my 8-bore, stuffing
at the same time two spare cartridges in a side pocket,
and stealing quickly forward, I took up my stand behind the
trunk of a tree distant some forty paces from the animals, till an
opportunity of obtaining a clear shoulder-shot presented itself.

After waiting for nearly twenty minutes in this position,
one of the animals, which had apparently become suspicious,
although the wind was in my favour, turned round broadside
on and afforded me the coveted shot, which I immediately
availed myself of, planting — as I thought — a bullet behind the
shoulder. There was a general stampede and crashing of
bamboos, etc., at the sound of the report, and before the
smoke cleared, the herd, including the animal fired at, was out
of sight in the valley below.

I ran up to the top of the ridge, in the hope of being able to
get in a second shot, as the smoke from the charge — 10 drams
of powder — hung before me in the damp air like a cloud, and
prevented my getting in another shot in time.

While looking for the tracks of the wounded animal on the
summit of the ridge, Moung Hpe drew my attention to a sight
which it has not been the fortune of many sportsmen to
behold, viz. two young gaur calves. Both animals, probably a
few days old, were lying down on the ground, watching us in
the most calm, placid manner with their large liquid eyes, ears
twitching backwards and forwards, eyeing us in turn without
seeming in the least degree alarmed. No sooner, however, did
we approach to within a yard or so of them, than that intuitive
dread of man, inborn in all wild animals, showed itself. Both
animals staggered to their feet, and swaying from side to side,
attempted with staggering and uncertain steps to escape.
Being still too young to use their legs with any degree of
stability, they were easily captured. On being laid hold of,
they bleated piteously for a short while, and then seemed to
become quite reconciled to their fate. After a thorough

TWO GAUR CALVES 349

inspection of the ungainly and yet pretty little beasts, which
were about the size and appearance of young calves, we
released them and left them in peace — to be shot, no doubt,
at some future date, when developed into beasthood. Both
animals, I noticed, had a faint dark stripe down the back. I
have since regretted not having made an effort to try and get
them brought in and have them suckled by a cow buffalo, as
I believe, looking at it from a pecuniary point of view, that I
could have made a good thing out of it by selling the animals
to some dealer of wild beasts at home. And yet I am not
sorry I released them, as I do not think I could have succeeded
in bringing them in alive, as, being not only difficult animals
to rear at any time, I should not have had an opportunity of
obtaining fresh milk for them for probably two or three days,
not to speak of the possibility of being unable to purchase
eventually a milch buffalo. Besides, I should not have liked
the little beasts to die whilst on my hands. But yet another
and more important consideration — I should have lost the
remainder of my leave if I had returned with them. Taking
all things together the risk was great, and I do not think
I should have been compensated for my trouble in the
end.

After the usual scene of finding blood on the leaves and
ground, we took on the tracks of the wounded gaur. Moung
Hpe, after we had been following the trail for about a mile,
seemed to think that I had hit the animal rather far back,
and that we would in consequence have a long chase before
bagging it. The tracks showed that the wounded gaur had
separated from the herd and taken a line of its own. This is
usually a distinct sign of an animal having been badly wounded.
It is on occasions like this that the advantage of a heavy rifle
is most apparent.

I have often picked out an animal from a herd of either
tsine or gaur and fired at them with a -303 rifle, and then
found on going to the spot, should the animal not have been
shot through the heart or head, that I was unable to tell
which animal to follow, simply because the minute hole inflicted
by the Lee-Metford bullet had not caused a sufficient flow of
blood by which the tracks of the wounded animal could be

350 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

followed. On the other hand the wound made by a 12 or
8-bore rifle bullet invariably leaves a big blood-spoor.

My 8-bore bullet had apparently passed clean through
the gaur, as there was blood on either side of the trail. After
two miles of steady tracking we came up with the gaur,
looking very sick, standing alongside the trunk of a huge teak
tree. The distance being about 100 yards, rather a long
shot for the 8-bore, I put up the 100 yards sight and,
taking a very full sight, fired, aiming for the point of the
shoulder. The gaur stood stationary for about five seconds,
and then, quivering in every limb, sank slowly to the ground,
when he died after a few struggles. The bullet, I afterwards
found, had, after piercing the heart, passed through the body
and lodged beneath the skin on the other side. It was a
fair-sized bull, standing 18 hands 2 inches, with a very
good head and horns well ringed or corrugated at the base ;
the signs, it is said, of an old bull.

My camp-followers left for the spot early next day, and
returned late in the evening with the head and meat. The
latter was cut up into square junks laid on a framework of
split bamboos, shaped like a parallelogram, erected some
three feet above the ground, and then gradually smoked and
dried over a slow log fire. This fire is sometimes maintained
for a whole day before the meat has been thoroughly smoked
and dried.

After a sufficient quantity of it has been cured it is put
into woven wicker baskets made of thin strips of bamboo,
called by the Burmans " kyingyas," and taken away for sale
at the end of my shoot to neighbouring villages. It is then
sold, my men making as much as 12 annas or even . a
rupee per viss — a viss is about 2\ Ibs. — eventually dividing
amongst themselves the proceeds of the sale, amounting to
sometimes as much as Rs.3<DO, about ;£i8.

It is by allowing my men to dispose of all the meat of the
animals shot by me for their own benefit, and by giving them
the use of my transport animals to forward it to neighbouring
villages, that I have always been able to obtain their services
and get information regarding the whereabouts of game.
Kind treatment, and an occasional present of an old coat,

HOW TO TREAT YOUR NATIVE HUNTERS 351

blanket, or pair of boots or shoes, a few cigars, a bottle of
beer, or a few rupees at odd times will always repay the
sportsman.

When out on shikar for a lengthy period his hunters must
always be treated on an equal and on a friendly footing; receive
them into your hut occasionally after a successful day's
shooting, give them a peg, and chat and hobnob with them,
if you wish to gain their confidence. This can always be done
without lowering oneself or losing in any way one's dignity, or
permitting of any undue familiarity or liberties. A Burman,
should you treat him in the right way, will always be respect-
ful, and knows how to keep his distance perfectly well. On
the other hand, should a sportsman show any signs of temper
or impatience by striking any of his guides and hunters, they
will not only take jolly, good care never to accompany him on
another expedition, but will also be very chary of accompany-
ing any other European into the jungle after game.

Next day I lost a huge solitary bull gaur through having
only my 12 smooth-bore gun in hand. We were walking
listlessly along when the bull, which had been sleeping
within a yard or two of the track, suddenly jumped up
and dashed away without even the customary snort of
alarm. I had only time to fire an ineffective shot with
the smooth-bore, taking aim for its ribs. A few spots of
blood, the size of a threepenny piece, appearing now and again
for a distance of over two miles, during which time the gaur
had not slackened its pace, convinced me that it was useless
following any further.

While tracking up this animal we ran into a nest of hornets,
which stung one of my men most unmercifully. These hornets
were in size quite an inch long, of a black colour, and as thick
as my little finger. I happened to be leading at the time,
and hearing the warning " buzz " overhead of a single
" boodwho," which was, I have no doubt, on sentry-go over
the rest, I dashed forward, leaving at the same time my hat,
an Ellwood shikar, behind me. The two men who were
walking behind at the time, and who had also stepped on to
the nest, dashed off at right angles uttering yells of pain.
On looking back, at a distance of some 30 or 40 yards,

352 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

I saw that my hat was literally covered with a black, enraged,
crawling mass of hornets. We had actually walked over the
nest, and I was the only one who had escaped. My two
companions fairly writhed and groaned in their agony, so
excruciating was the pain. Two or three stings from this
particular species of hornet, it is said, is sufficient to kill a
man.

I had a few days before this incident received a letter from

my friend D , already referred to in a previous portion of

this paper. I may mention that his was a hornets' nest in a
tree in the garden of a Buddhist monastery, occupied by
several monks, who had asked D — - to destroy the nest by

firing a charge of shot into it. D had arrived that day

from Bernardmyo, with a friend, G , and they were both

putting up in a rest-house adjoining the monastery a few yards
off*. I shall read an extract from his letter. " That affair
with the wasps was awful. I had a very narrow squeak ; I
just managed to get into a very dark place in the jungle in

time, there were hundreds after me ; G took refuge in

a dark room in the ' pongyi khoung ' — monastery. They
were a small-sized wasp with dark brown bodies and no
stripe. They killed both our dogs, two of my transport mules,

and G *s pony. One of the mules had only six stings,

and many Burmans in the village had a dozen or more, so
that the poison evidently effects animals more than men."

I had an awful business recovering my hat ; quite an hour
and a half elapsed before I eventually succeeded in dragging
it away by tying bamboos together. These hornets seemed
to be able to see at a distance of from 15 to 25 yards, as one
of my men was stung a second time by one of them, which
shot out from amongst the cloud hovering and crawling
around the nest, and made straight for him, stinging him on
the back as he ran off. I remember, on one occasion, being
nearly killed by my pqny, which, maddened by the stings
received from them, ran away with me through jungle,
regardless of curb-chain, fallen trees, stumps, and overhanging
branches. I had to dodge them as best I could, thinking all
the time that my last hour had come. When a thing like
this happens to an elephant, especially should there be a

A PLAGUE OF HORNETS 353

howclah in the question, it becomes a more serious matter, as
the huge brute, maddened by the stings, often travels miles
over and through the most awful jungle ground before
bringing up. My colleague has, I have no doubt, seen and
experienced a good may mishaps of this kind.1

A few mornings afterwards, when camped out near the

village of Chaukmaw with D and A , two officers

from Bernardmyo, I came upon the tracks of a solitary bull
gaur within half-a-mile of camp.

The ground at this time of the year was dry and hard, and
it was consequently rather difficult to walk along noiselessly
through the low dwarf-stunted bamboo shrubs, as the ground
was covered with dry, feathery bamboo leaves and stems
which cracked at every step. If any person, unacquainted
with the art of stalking, had been watching Moung Hpe and
myself, he would have come to the conclusion we had gone
mad, so cautiously and carefully did we pick our way along,
as if the treading on a single leaf or twig was a matter of life
and death.

Those who have not experienced the pleasure and excite-
ment of stalking a large animal like a gaur in jungle, will
never understand the intense excitement and thrill of sup-
pressed expectation which is felt.

It is not the shooting of the animal alone which is the
exciting part of it, but the getting within sight and shooting
distance of him without being discovered. But let me go
back to the gaur we were stalking.

The animal had lain down twice, and the odour of gaur
and other signs well known to a hunter with any experience,
such as a number of flies hovering over the impression left
by the animal's body on the ground, smoking ordure, the
froth and bursting bubbles of its urine, pieces of freshly-
chewed vegetation, freshly-cropped bamboo twigs or tufts of
grass, fresh white juice oozing out of a root bruised by the
bison's hoof, showed us that the gaur was in the immediate
vicinity. Moung Hpe now warned me to be careful, as there
was little or no cover behind which to retreat in case of a

1 I have been stung and chased by bees and wasps many times, but
don't remember coming across hornets. — F. T. P.

A A

354 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

charge, and we might now come upon the bison at any moment.
I shall never forget the excitement of that moment, and how
carefully we crouched down and stalked along at the rate of
about two steps to the minute, eagerly scanning with lightning
rapidity the surrounding jungle, with every sense on the alert.
The low overhanging bamboo shrubs afforded admirable
shade from the sun's rays, and as it was then about 9 a.m.,
Moung Hpe said the animal would be sure to be either asleep
or resting, chewing the cud. After gliding along in this
noiseless manner, like two human leopards, for a distance of
about 100 yards, Moung Hpe, who was a foot or two away on
my right but abreast of me, suddenly sank down on one knee
and pointed out a dark mass to me which lay motionless under
a low, overhanging bamboo clump. At first I could hardly
believe it was the gaur, as not only was it quite motionless,
but, which is unusual in a solitary bull, its breathing was also
inaudible. Our position was a most awkward one, as I was
not only unable to make out any vital portion of the gaur's
body, which was partially concealed from view by overhanging
bamboos, but I had to sink down on to both knees before
firing — which I did, aiming for what I took to be the chest
and neck, rather a risky shot considering the position I was
then in. For a second or two after the shot the smoke hung
and obscured everything, during which time I heard a
tremendous snort and thumping of feet. On the smoke
clearing, I caught sight of the gaur struggling to its feet ; a
second shot through the shoulder, however, finished its career,
as, struggling to its feet with difficulty, it lurched heavily from
side to side, and after crashing through several small bamboo
clumps, sank slowly to the ground, when it died after a long-
drawn bellow and an interval of a tremendous quivering and
stiffening of every muscle and limb. This was a very fine old
bull, standing at the shoulder 19 hands. The horns were not,
however, for the size of the animal, as fine a pair as I expected

them to be. I gave the head to my friend D , who

expressed a wish to have them.

Several articles have appeared in the Field recently regard-
ing the presence or absence of a dew-lap in the gaur. Col.
Pollok, who has been more observant than I have in these

HAS A GAUR A DEW-LAP1}

355

matters, has also referred to the subject at some length, so I
need not go into details. I have shot altogether about twenty-
five of these animals, mostly old and solitary bulls, but have
never noticed a distinct dew-lap. That there is a heavy skin
appendage where the dew-lap ought to be goes without saying,
but it can hardly be given the name of dew-lap, which is a
loose fold of skin descending from the neck to within a short
distance of the ground. With regard to the dew-lap being loose
in the calf, I may say that there was absolutely no appearance of
one on the two animals captured by me, referred to in a previous
page of this chapter.

One evening, a short time after sunset, I was strolling along
a ridge near the top of the Shwe-u-taung hill with my binocu-
lars, amusing myself by examining the surrounding country,
and watching the movements of a herd of sambur which were
browsing on a ridge about 300 yards off, when a large black
object, which I at once recognized to be a gaur, emerged from
a strip of wood and walked up the side of a ridge, grazing on
the tender young shoots of grass as it moved along. As it was
then late in the evening, and the animal was distant about
two and a half miles, Moung Hpe, who was standing beside
me, thought it advisable to leave the animal undisturbed till
next day, when we would have more time to come up with
him, as he was sure to be found in the neighbourhood. We
started next morning early, long before the sun rose, after a
cup of tea and some biscuits. Moung Hpe and another gun-
bearer accompanied me. After a steady tramp of about three
hours through fairly open tree and bamboo jungle, we came
upon the bull's fresh tracks. The animal had been wandering
about here and there, backwards and forwards, grazing on the
young shoots of grass, and had apparently taken up his abode
in the neighbourhood, as a number of his old tracks and drop-
pings were visible all over the place. The trail now showed
us that the gaur was not far off, so we were on the alert. It
was not long before the animal was heard labouring along up
the hillside straight towards us, evidently on his way back
over old ground again, his deep breathing being audible at
quite 100 yards off. I had in the meantime taken up my
stand behind the trunk of a tree, and loaded up with hardened

356 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

spherical ball. Moung Hpe stood in readiness beside me with
the 12 smooth-bore. The wind, although I had not tested it,
must have been in our favour, as the gaur moved steadily on
till within about 20 yards of my position, when he stopped,
evidently suspicious that all was not right.

I did not care to fire at once, as I wanted to watch his
actions and methods of feeding. I noticed particularly that
whilst walking slowly along he browsed on the rough leaves
of a certain bush called by the Burmans " kyan-sa," or
rhinoceros food, the rough tongue of the animal being used
to pull the leaves and small twigs into his mouth. At
intervals, whilst standing, he would whisk round his tail on
to his ribs with a resounding thump, thump, emitting at times
the low deep breathing sounds. Old bulls can never graze
on very short grass if they are standing on level ground, as
their necks are too short to allow of their mouths reaching
low enough. In the same way, many a charging gaur could
not toss or reach with its horns a man lying perfectly flat on
the ground.1

After waiting patiently for a few seconds he veered suddenly
round, and stood in a listening attitude as if expecting some-
thing to approach, and exposed his shoulder. I immediately
availed myself of the opportunity and, raising the 8-bore slowly,
fired, aiming for a little behind the shoulder low down. Instead
of turning off and crashing away down the hillside, or dropping
dead, the gaur stood stock-still for about thirty seconds, and
then made a sort of half-hearted blundering rush towards the
tree behind which I had taken up my stand. A second shot,
however, from the 8-bore turned him, and he went staggering
away down the steep incline into a nullah, where he fell with
a tremendous crash, stone dead. I found, on opening him,
that my second bullet had pierced the heart. My first bullet
had entered a little too high. The tape showed his height to
be 1 8 hands 3 inches, and 10 feet 3 inches in length; the
horns were very massive at the base, with a circumference of
19^ inches, but were short.

One has to be particularly careful when firing at gaur not

1 Disproved in the case of Captain Syers, who, when lying on his back,
was tossed and killed by a gaur : vide page 366 of this chapter.

LOSE A VERY LARGE GAUR 357

to aim too high, as is often done, owing to the target presented
by the huge dorsal ridge. A bullet may be driven clean
through the hump or ridge in question without even bringing
the animal to the ground.1 If hit near enough the spine, how-
ever, the shock will stun him temporarily, and he will fall to
the ground as if dead, but will be up in a second and off again
as if untouched. I have, however, referred to this elsewhere.

I remember an instance of this happening to myself on one
occasion, and how awfully disgusted I was at losing the animal,
which was a very large gaur — the largest, in fact, it has ever
been my fortune to see. I lost this animal partly through
being too impatient and partly through bad shooting.

Whilst encamped at a place called Mezli Sakan on the Tha-
na-da choung, we struck the fresh trail of a large solitary gaur,
which, however, winded us and made off. We again took them
on, and after crossing some three miles of country the tracks
led into some rather thick cover. Leaving my men outside, I
entered with the 8-bore and worked my way cautiously into
the jungle. I noticed while moving along that there were
numerous fresh tracks of elephants about, and was only hoping
that I shouldn't come across any of the brutes in the cover I
was then in, as I was not very keen on tackling an elephant
in such thick cover.

After having crawled along carefully for about 100 yards, I
suddenly caught sight in the gloom of what I took to be the
huge dark posterior of a young elephant. Thinking I had got
into the middle of a herd of these animals, I immediately
backed out to where I had left my companions in order to
arrange as to the next move. On getting outside the cover, I
heard a crash and a tremendous chattering of monkeys near
the spot I had just vacated. We returned to the locality and
found, much to my disgust, that the supposed elephant was in
reality the gaur we had been following up, which had again
winded us and made off.

I was awfully annoyed and ashamed of myself. We picked
up the tracks again, however, which, after crossing the Tha-
na-da choung — stream — near the camp, entered the jungle on

1 I once shot a gaur through the dorsal ridge, a little in front of the
hump, and he was paralyzed— F. T. P.

358 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the other side. When we reached this spot, Moung Hpe
advised me not to follow any further till the gaur, which had
now settled down to a walk, had quite recovered from its
alarm, and as it was near evening, Moung Hpe rightly argued
that after resting in the cover ahead of us the animal would
be sure to be found feeding in the neighbourhood later on in
the evening. I was too impatient, however, to listen to any
advice, as I was under the impression that the gaur had gone
on much further. The responsibility of what followed now fell
on my own shoulders.

We crossed the stream, which had only a thin current of
water flowing along its sandy bed, and entered the jungle
on the other side. We had not gone 200 yards before the
now thoroughly alarmed gaur, which had been lying down
resting, rose up and dashed away with a loud whistling snort
of alarm. I had only time to catch a glimpse of him, and fired
a snap-shot in the hopes of hitting him somewhere. The
animal, I afterwards found, dropped to the shot, and from
blood-stains on leaves' and bushes some five feet from the
ground, my hunter concluded that my bullet had passed
through the dorsal ridge. I was too disgusted to continue
the chase, as the bison had gone away practically unhurt. It
was thus that I lost my chance of bagging the largest gaur I
have ever seen. The animal stood, I am certain, quite 21
hands at the shoulder. I took on his tracks again next day
and followed them on for several miles, but eventually gave
them up and fired at one of a pair of solitary bull tsine,
which were feeding along directly in our track, and which I
succeeded in bagging. I often came across the tracks of this
monster gaur afterwards, but never managed to come up with
him.

Two days after this occurrence I again struck the trail of a
solitary bull gaur in the neighbourhood of my encampment,
" Mezli Sakan " (Bur. " mezli," the name of a tree, " sakan "
Bur. for camp). We found the tracks of gaur and took them
steadily on all day, covering, I am sure, some fifteen or eighteen
miles of country before coming up with him. The sportsman has
to be very keen indeed to go in for tracking up an animal to
the bitter end, as it is not only very hard work but it tries the

BURMESE KEENNESS FOR SPORT 359

patience severely. The trackers, if not experienced and
trustworthy men, will often try to discourage and put the
sportsman off if they don't know him well, and think there is
the least likelihood of having a long tramp after an animal. He
should not be deterred by such hints as " Thakin thee kyi-ya
ah-haung tin de gane ma hmee hnine bu " (Sir, these tracks
are old, we will not come up with them to-day), or " Mochok
la b^i thakin, pyan thwa gya zo, yaku ma pyan yin sakan
gane nya ma yauk hnine bu kyi ya knepan, ma neh pyan
kaukhli me" (It is getting dark, sir, let us return; if we
do not return now we will not reach camp to-night ; we
can return to-morrow and take on the tracks again).

There are very few natives who are keen sportsmen, and
they cannot understand our mania for big-game shooting
when we only collect the trophies and discard the meat ! A
Burman hunter, of course, takes to the pastime simply to make
a living, and naturally he goes about it in a business-like
way, and takes good care to do as little walking as possible.
Often, when out shooting during the day on his own account,
he will have a long snooze when the sun is at its hottest, and
only begins to think of business in the early morning and
evening.

Three men accompanied me on this occasion, and it was
amusing to listen to their remarks en route as to the likelihood
of our coming up with the gaur before dark. Moung Hpe,
my favourite hunter, was not with me on this occasion, or
else there would have been none of this uncertainty. One
man would say to his comrade, for my benefit of course,
"Gane kyi ya ma ho pu tin de" (I do not think these
are to-day's tracks), or " Ah thit lo lo ahaung lo lo a hman
ma pyaw hnine ba nya gyi ta gaung gyaw thwa de tin de ;"
literally : " Sometimes they look like old tracks, sometimes
new, I cannot say for certain. I think they went last night
after I a.m."

The sportsman, should he not have a really good tracker
with him, must trust a good deal to common sense and his
own experience of tracking, as to whether he should continue
taking on the tracks of an animal or not.

In this case, after travelling on the tracks of the gaur from

360 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

about 9 a.m. till 4 p.m., the hunter who had first said they were
fairly fresh began to hint that he thought he had made a
mistake, and that they had passed during the night at about
10 p.m., in which case the gaur, should he have been on the
move since that hour, would now be a long way off. After a
little hesitation I made up my mind to stick to the tracks and
follow them up, even though we should have to sleep in the
jungle. This can always be done, even though the tracks
should be a day or two old, and if the sportsman has good
trackers with him, he will ultimately — if he is keen enough —
come up with the animal he is following.

The sportsman should always let his hunters and guides see
that he is not afraid to camp out in the jungle for a night with
them, even though he should have to go without a meal.
They are always in mortal dread of taking the sportsman
too far away from camp whilst in pursuit of an animal, in case
they are sworn at by the " thakin " or sahib, when he finds —
especially after an unsuccessful hunt — that he has some sixteen
or eighteen miles of country to cover before arriving at camp,
and that he will arrive there too late fora comfortable tub and
dinner. A sportsman, to be successful when big-game shooting,
must occasionally undergo discomforts of this kind, and sleep a
night in the jungle when necessary. In fact, if he cannot put
up with it now and again when it assures success, he is not
worthy of the name of sportsman, far less to follow up so
noble a prize as a solitary bull gaur. But let us go back to
the animal I was tracking up.

At one spot, whilst nearing a dense patch of " kaing " or tall
elephant grass, we came on a burnt black stump of a tree some
5 or 6 feet high, at which the gaur had apparently shied and
been thoroughly startled. The deep impressions of its hoofs,
which were left on the ground, showed that it had dashed away
with long leaps ; mistaking, I have no doubt, in the uncertain
light of the early morning, the burnt stump for a human being.
The tracks then entered the adjacent patch of grass.

I now became convinced from the tracks, and after an
examination of the animal's droppings, that he must have
passed about 9 a.m. that morning. It was now necessary to
be very careful, as it was very ticklish work, and almost an

DIFFICULT TRACKING 361

utter impossibility to attempt to stalk the gaur in grass of this
description, where the animal would most likely be lying
perfectly still and make off on hearing the least noise. I now
noticed that the animal had settled down from its recent alarm
and that its tracks crossed and re-crossed one another all over
the place ; tracking, consequently, became very perplexing work.
It showed me, however, that the gaur had stayed in the neigh-
bourhood for some hours, and would probably not be far off.
After warning my men to use the utmost caution in moving,
as the snapping of the smallest twig or grass stalk would have
been fatal, we moved along in single file through the various
narrow, lanes that intersected one another throughout the patch,
I led the way with the 8-bore, both hammers at full cock ready
for action.

After travelling in this manner for about 50 yards or so, I
found it was hopeless work going any further, as there were
not only numerous gaur tracks all over the place, but it was
well-nigh impossible to distinguish from amongst these the
tracks of the animal we had been following. Numerous lanes
intersecting one another had been trodden down in the neigh-
bourhood recently. Whilst debating amongst ourselves as to
our next move and the advisability of making for camp, it
being then well on in the evening, and returning next day to
take on the tracks, I heard a low, deep " mooing " or breathing
sound, which seemed to emanate from an adjacent cover.
Moung Yauk at once said : " Thakin pyaung shu than ah nee
gale be " (It is the noise of the gaur breathing not far off).
After examining both chambers of my 8-bore to see that they
were loaded, and ordering my men to sit down on the ground
and wait for me, I worked my way out of the grass and moved
cautiously in the direction of the sound.

I had not gone 100 yards before the deep breathing
sound of an old solitary bull gaur was wafted across to
my ears like music from a patch of jungle some 40 yards
ahead of me. On getting nearer, I could distinctly hear the
animal cropping the grass which was growing inside the
wood quite luxuriantly. The thrill of excitement which now
passed through me can only be realized by those who have
gone through the same experience. I had no time to

362 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

ascertain by lighting a match whether the wind was in my
favour or not — there was fortunately hardly a breath of air
stirring — and everything round was as still as the grave,
except, perhaps, for the distant bark of a ghee or barking
deer, or the crow of a jungle cock as he strutted about with
his family in some bamboo jungle close by. Without wasting
any more time I stepped cautiously forward in a bent attitude,
my sense of sight and hearing stretched to their utmost
tension. I had not gone far before, in the gloom of the
jungle, I caught sight of the black body of the gaur standing
broadside on, motionless, except perhaps when he shook the
gadflies from his head or brushed them from his body with
his tail or horns, or perhaps an occasional stamp from a neat
yet mighty hoof. It was a grand sight, and one perhaps to
make a sportsman hesitate before bringing his death-dealing
tube to bear ; but, alas ! I was only human, and the feeling
to slay — that feeling of exultation and triumph which
predominates in every sportsman on occasions like this,
especially after a hard day's walking under a broiling sun —
overpowered me.

The gaur was now in full view, and although there was
comparatively little cover between us in the way of dense
undergrowth, he was quite unconscious of my presence. I did
not wait any longer, but fired, aiming for the point of the
shoulder, the distance between us being about 30 yards.
The gaur, on receiving the shot, dashed straight off; but
turned, strange to relate, after going about 30 yards, and
bore straight down on me. It had not covered half the
distance that separated us, however, before it collapsed with
a tremendous crash into a clump of small trees, a little to one
side of me in front. I was standing behind a tree ready to
receive him, intending to give him a right and a left behind
the shoulder should he pass me at the charge. He was a
magnificent bull, standing 6 feet 6 inches at the shoulder,
measured correctly between uprights. From tip round the
curve to the base the horns measured 38 inches, 20 inches
in girth at the base, 19 inches tip to tip, 42 J inches widest
outside, and inside width 34 inches. After disembowelling
the gaur we returned to camp, using dry splinters of bamboo

GAUR AND TSINE 363

tied together in bundles to serve as torches to light our way,
the night being starless. It was simply marvellous how my
followers managed to strike the right line to camp in the
dark. En route to camp we walked into a herd of tsine,
which stampeded, snorting, in all directions. I sent my
transport mules for the head next day, and all the meat they
could bring in for my men.

They returned late next evening with the information that
they had come upon the huge tracks of another solitary bull
gaur, within half-a-mile of camp, near an old camping-ground
of mine called Thanada, after a stream of the same name.
During the night rain fell heavily, obliterating all tracks, so
that next day — should we come upon any tracks — we would
have no difficulty in ascertaining whether they were new or
old ones. After striking the Thanada choung, or stream, and
walking along the banks for about a quarter of a mile, we
struck the tracks of a solitary gaur which were only a few
hours' old. The impression of its hoofs were enormous
compared to what I had been accustomed to seeing, and at
first I thought the owner must be a veritable monster.
Moung Yauk, however, pointed out to me that the imprint
of the animal's hoof had only been made larger owing to the
mud and clay which adhered to the feet, the surrounding soil
from the recent heavy rain being very soft. Tracking under
these circumstances being comparatively easy work, I took
the lead myself, with the hope of being able to come up with
the animal before mid-day.

The feeling of satisfaction which comes over one under
circumstances like these, when the sportsman is confident of
coming up with an animal soon, can only be understood by
those who have experienced it. Here I was on the fresh
tracks of a huge solitary bull gaur, no dense impenetrable
jungle in the neighbourhood to impede my movements, my
footfall rendered absolutely inaudible on the leaves and twigs,
owing to the sodden and saturated state of everything after
the recent heavy rainfall, no treacherous breeze to warn
the animal of our approach, and our camp distant only about
a mile. The tracks, after crossing the stream several times,
and along the banks of which the animal had been grazing,

364 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

eventually led into a shady strip of jungle, where there was
little or no undergrowth, but yet ample cover from the rays of
the sun. I was now on the alert ; my eyes flashed here and
there ahead of me and to either side, and my ears strained to
their utmost to catch the slightest sound. It was magnificent
cover for gaur, as there was lots of grass growing in patches
throughout the wood which afforded admirable grazing
ground, and I was consequently hoping that the animal would
remain in the neighbourhood. Moung Yauk and another
companion were following in my footsteps at a distance of
about twenty-five paces. The tracks now showed us that the
gaur was about to rest, as he had wandered about from side
to side in a listless fashion, as if on the look-out for a suitable
place to lie down. The animal could not be far off, as a very
strong odour of bison prevailed about the place, and, sure
enough, after rounding a small clump of bamboo I saw the
huge dark mass looming up standing broadside on, under the
shade of a large clump of bamboos not twenty paces off. The
animal appeared quite unconscious of my presence. Without
turning my head, I lifted up my hand behind my back as a
signal for my men to halt, and quietly raising the 8-bore,
fired for the shoulder, a very clear shot being obtainable.
The gaur dropped to the shot like a stone, shot through the
heart.

It was curious to watch its actions then, as it closed its
eyelids and shot its tongue out at times into its nostrils.
After an interval of about half a minute every muscle became
rigid and the whole body trembled violently, after which it
emitted one or two loud bellows, struggling the while, and
then died, the eyes staring and wide open.

Sportsmen should be very careful never to approach a gaur
after it has been floored should it remain with closed eyelids,
as this is a sure sign that the animal is not as yet in articulo
mortis}- Many a Burman hunter has been gored to death
through carelessness in approaching an animal supposed to

1 A better is that a stricken animal commences to kick ; then passes
water, then wind, then evacuates — then it is a sign that he is dead.
Vide an old copy of the Dragon of Wantley in Bishop Percy's Reliques
of Anden( English Poetry.— ¥. T. P.

DANGER OF SMALL-BORES FOR GAUR SHOOTING 365

be dead. Pieces of sticks and stones should always be
thrown at the body for some minutes after it is down. The
sportsman can, of course, when armed with a heavy rifle and
there is a sufficiently solid shelter behind which to retreat,
such as a bamboo clump or tree trunk in the immediate
vicinity of the animal, approach to within a yard or two and
administer a quietus. As little powder and ball as possible
should, however, be wasted, as not only is the surrounding
jungle disturbed for miles around, but it is useless expenditure
of ammunition. It is simply marvellous what a gaur will
take in the way of lead before succumbing, even from a
heavy weapon like 'the 8-bore, and at others how easily it is
killed.

It is absolute folly attempting to use small-bore express
rifles upon such thick-skinned, muscular, big-boned, and
massive beasts as gaur. Many sportsmen have, I have no
doubt, been, fairly successful with small bores, but one day
in thick cover with a charging gaur, bull elephant, or tsine
in his immediate front, he will discover his mistake. An
article in the Field of September 10, 1898, entitled "Jungle
Experiences in Pahang," gives a very good instance of how
an experienced sportsman, Captain Syers, Commissioner of
Police for the Federated Malay States, lost his life through
having pinned his faith to a -577 express double rifle. I shall
here quote an extract from the above article for the benefit
of those sportsmen who may still be of the same opinion
with regard to a '577 and other small-bores upon huge and
dangerous game, who may not have seen the publication I
refer to.

" We started down-river, reaching Knala Klan about mid-
night on the 1 2th. Next morning (July 12, 1897) we went
up the Klan river and landed at Padaung Ali. I landed here
at a grass plain on the river bank, and found eleven bison and
a calf feeding. I went back to the boats and informed Syers.
He was armed with a '577 express, and on his recom-
mendation I carried a similar weapon, leaving my lo-bore
in the boat. We started the bull through grass about five
feet high, and we both gave him the contents of both barrels ;
he made off at a terrific pace into the jungle. The remainder

366 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

of the herd cantered past slowly, and we managed to put the
contents of another two barrels each into a cow as she passed
us. She ran into a patch of undergrowth, where Syers
finished her. In the meantime my Malay tracker, Awang,
came up with my lO-bore, but stupidly only brought two
cartridges. We then proceeded to follow the wounded bull.
We tracked for three hours, when we unexpectedly heard a
bison stamping, knocking off the flies from his legs. We
made for the spot from which the noise proceeded, and came
across a fresh bull in big jungle. He was about 30 yards
from us, and we agreed to fire simultaneously. I gave him
both barrels of my lo-bore and Syers both barrels from
his -577.

" The beast bolted ; we followed up, and about half-an-hour
afterwards heard him moving in the jungle ahead. We made
a detour, but the bull had been watching us, and charged
Syers, who gave him one barrel, turning him ; he again
charged, and Syers gave him his left barrel ; the bull, on
receiving the bullet, reared clear on his hind-legs and dashed
past at an angle. He then made for me, and I gave him
both barrels from my '577, having in the meanwhile handed
my lo-bore to Awang, as I had no more cartridges for it.
All these shots had taken effect, but the bull was not
disabled. Syers used a '577 express throughout. The bull
went on for about 300 yards and then waited for us ; as
we came up to him he again charged at a terrific pace.
I heard him coming and stepped aside; Syers waited for
him, and fired his first barrel at a distance of 20 yards,
and his second at a distance of only two yards. Neither shot
turned him, and the bull caught him clean in the back, rearing
up into the air with him. Poor Syers, still clutching to his
rifle, turned three complete somersaults before his head struck
the branch of a tree some 35 feet from the ground. He
fell straight down on his back. The bull till now had not
touched him with his horns, but waiting for him the moment
he touched the ground again, tossed him with his right horn,
the horn penetrating below his ribs in the right-hand side. I
was close at hand, and fired two simultaneous shots, not even
putting the rifle to my shoulder, and was knocked endways.

DEATH OF A GALLANT SPORTSMAN 369

All this occurred in a few seconds, and I had been unable to
put in a shot sooner. The bull left the spot and lay down in
the undergrowth close by, kicking and bellowing where he
lay. I went at once to Syers' assistance, and found him
terribly injured ; the lining of the stomach protruding from
the wound in his right side. I at once sent Awang to get
assistance, and he returned in an hour and a half's time with
some sakies, whom he met coming down-river in their
dug-outs. In the meantime, I did all I could to bind and
dress Syers' wound. We made a stretcher and carried him
to the boat.

"At Syers' urgent request I returned to despatch the bull,
leaving him in the care of his old servant, Yacoob. I had
some difficulty in finding the spot where the bison was
lying, but, on finding him, I stalked close up to him. He
tried to rise but was unable to do so. I gave him five shots
before he was finished. I counted fifteen bullet wounds,
mostly on the shoulders, some of them penetrating clean
through the body. Yacoob, in the meanwhile, had sent on
news of the accident to Knala Semantan by a fast sampan.
I left two men to gather the head, and immediately proceeded
down-river with Syers. It was about 1 1 a.m. when Syers
met with his injury, and we commenced our way down-stream
about 2 p.m. Before proceeding down-stream I dressed the
wound with carbolic bandages, and gave him small doses of
brandy-and-water. He complained of great pain in his
bladder, and I applied hot fomentations and opium.

u We reached Knala Semantan at 9.30 p.m., where Mr.
Townley gave me every available assistance. We moved
Syers into a larger boat and gave him some chloroform. We
left at 10 p.m. with a crew of twenty Malays rowing hard,
in the hope of reaching Pekan, where the nearest medical aid
was obtainable. Syers was in good spirits and complained
of being sleepy, but at 12.45 a.m., on the I4th, he expired.

UI reached Pekan on the I5th, where poor Syers was
examined by Dr. Jesser Coope. On examination it was
found that the muscles on the right side of his back were
completely torn away from the spine, and Dr. Coope expressed
the opinion that this alone would have been sufficient to kill

B B

370 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

Syers, apart from his internal injuries, which were extremely
serious. In fact, he was surprised that Syers should have
lived so long as eleven and a half hours after the accident.
For the benefit of other sportsmen I may here state that
Syers, who before his accident was a firm believer in the
•577 express for big-game shooting, and with which weapon
he had shot no less than thirteen bison and other large game,
told me, shortly before he expired, that if he had been armed
with an 8-bore the bull, in his last charge, would have been
stopped ; and earnestly entreated me never to go after bison
again with so small a weapon. With this sad experience
before me, it is needless to add that in future I will follow out
this last advice of the best sportsman who ever breathed."

The above narrative speaks for itself, and is a very sad
instance of the folly of using small-bore rifles upon large and
dangerous game, especially in thick cover where it is abso-
lutely imperative to prevent an animal from making good its
charge. I cannot point out too often the danger of using
small-bores.1 I remember on one occasion, shortly after the
purchase of a "303 Metford rifle, having a very close shave
from a huge solitary bull tsine or Bos sondaicus. I was
walking along the top of a ridge covered with dwarf bamboo
bushes, when, at a distance of only about twenty paces, I caught
sight of a tsine looking at me through some bamboo shrubs,
the chest and face only visible. I immediately fired, aiming
for the chest with a Lee-Metford ; the tsine, on receiving the
shot, dashed straight at me, and I had only time to step on
one side ; as it was, the bamboo branches dashed aside by the
animal in its charge knocked my hat off. I never saw this
animal again, nor could I even make out if he had been hit,
there being no blood-spoor by which to follow. This would
never have happened had I been armed with a double 4 or
8-bore.

Two days after the death of my last gaur I changed my
camp, and proceeded some five miles higher up the Thanada
stream. Here we struck the tracks of a herd of bison that

1 Yet Van Hohnel shot elephants at 400 yards and two rhinoceros
with one shot out of a Mannlicher ! — F. T. P.

STALKING GAUR 371

had been in the neighbourhood the previous day. We took
them on till late in the evening, when Moung Hpe said that
we would have to camp a night in the jungle if we wanted to
come up with the herd. This I agreed to do. After covering
some three or four miles of ground, Moung Hpe warned me,
from the signs he had seen en route, that the herd were
probably lying down resting in a shady patch of cover ahead
of us. It now behoved us to be very careful, as everything
was very still, and there being little or no breeze, the least
noise would have alarmed the whole herd. At about 4.30 p.m.,
while seated for a minute or two on a fallen tree till Moung
Hpe and the other two men with me had had a chew of betel-
nut and a puff at their cheroots, the deep stillness of the
jungle was suddenly broken by a dull, muffled, prolonged roar
or bellow, which appeared to come from the jungle, some
hundred yards or so from where we were seated. The bellow
or call, which lasted for about seven seconds, had no sooner
been emitted, than we heard from all directions the sound of
animals walking quickly along over dry undergrowth and
leaves in the direction from which the call had come. We
had very nearly walked right into the middle of the herd,
which had apparently been asleep. It was marvellous with
what rapidity the animals had obeyed the call of their leader,
an old bull or probably a female. I tried to stalk this animal,
whose deep breathing could be heard quite distinctly before
the herd came up. I had, in fact, covered half the distance
between us, when a young bull suddenly stepped into view
within ten paces and stared hard at me. I lay in a crouched
position, not daring to move, hoping that he would move on
and allow me to get a shot at the leader; but no — after staring
hard at me for a few seconds it obtained my wind and dashed
off, after sounding the customary snort of alarm. I was very
disappointed at not having got a shot at the old bull, and
yet I was very pleased to think I had witnessed the manner
by which the herd had been collected, and with what alacrity
the animals had obeyed their leader's call.

After some very stiff walking we reached camp late that night.
I succeeded on the way back in shooting a large rock-snake,
or " sabagyi," or python. These snakes are fairly numerous

372 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

all over the province, and some have been found over 20
feet in length. On another occasion I shot one of these
amimals whilst it was in a torpid state through having
swallowed a doe, barking deer, or " ghee," an animal standing
a good deal higher than a collie dog. The Burmans not only
ate up every portion of the snake, but accounted for the deer
as well. The venison, of course, was perfectly- good, as the
animal had only been recently killed.

In a previous chapter of this book I made some mention as
to solitary bulhbison frequenting the same localities for days
together, and that they, like solitary elephants, go over the
same ground when coming and going from one cover or
grazing-ground to another.

An instance of this occurred, in my experience, in the
Nampan forest near Okshitk5n. I had heard that the tracks
of a solitary bull gaur had been seen on the outskirts of a long
strip of dense jungle, situated some three and a half miles from
camp. Having first verified this information, I started out
before daybreak, accompanied by Moung Yauk and another
man acquainted with the locality. We made a wide detour,
intending to return towards evening past the cover in question
where the tracks had been seen, with the hope of finding the
gaur in the neighbourhood.

Whilst moving along through a very likely piece of bamboo
jungle we struck the fresh trail of a solitary tsine, and heard
it almost at the same time feeding off young bamboo shoots
some forty paces off. I immediately stalked it, but hesitated
about firing, as I was afraid the old bull gaur we intended
looking up in the evening might hear the shot and leave the
locality. But as the old saw has it, that " a bird in the hand
is worth two in the bush," I made up my mind to chance it,
and, aiming for the shoulder, fired a right and left. Both
bullets from the 8-bore took effect, and brought the tsine to
the ground with a crash, where he lay kicking and bellowing
till life ebbed away.

After disembowelling the animal to prevent the meat
becoming tainted, we proceeded to the spot where the tracks
of the solitary bull gaur had been seen, hoping that the
animal had not taken alarm at the report of my shots and

FAIL IN TRACKING AND RETURN TO CAMP 373

made off. We had not gone a mile and a half before we
came upon unmistakable signs of the animal's presence. His
tracks were, in fact, only an hour or two old, and two places
where he had lain down appeared to have been only recently
vacated, as the flies were still buzzing around, and there was
an unmistakable odour of bison.1 At numerous other places,
old tracks, and the remains of bamboo shoots upon which the
bison had been feeding, showed us that the animal had been
in the neighbourhood for some days. A few yards further on
the track suddenly widened, with great gaps between each
footprint, and the slots or divisions of the hoofs now showed
very deep and distinctly in the soft earth. I now saw at a
glance from the tracks that the gaur had become alarmed at
my shots and made off at a great pace. After taking them on
for about 300 yards, we noticed that the animal had stopped,
turned round, and halted for a short time to listen, after
which it had continued its flight with long leaps. It was very
aggravating, to say the least of it, and as I knew the animal
would travel a long distance before halting, we did not think
it worth while following him up any further. After taking on
the tracks for about a mile and a half along a low ridge, during
which time the bison had not once slackened its pace, we relin-
quished the tracks and returned to camp.

I made particular note of the fact that there were several old
tracks going and coming along the route by the gaur in its
flight which were exactly similar in shape and size to that of
the animal we were following; I concluded from this that
the beast we had just alarmed always used this particular
track along the top of the ridge when bound for its favourite
cover and feeding-ground. I made up my mind, therefore, to
go back to the ridge two or three days later on, with the hope
of being able to see his return tracks. Three days later, in
spite of protests from my men, who did not believe the gaur
would come back to the cover, I left for the ridge, distant
from our camp some eight miles.

During the interval of two days I stayed in camp and
amused myself by writing up my diary and cleaning my
trophies. My men were not, however, idle ; I made them go
1 Very like the smell of a cattle-pen.— F. T. P

374 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

round and visit neighbouring bamboo jungles and likely
covers for solitary bulls, and promised twenty rupees to the
man who first brought me " kubber " of a solitary tusker
elephant, ten rupees for information of a solitary gaur, and
five rupees for a solitary bull tsine. This should always be
done if you have men to spare. Three or four of them
should always be sent out in different directions, with the
promise of a reward should they come upon tracks, solitary
bulls preferred.

On arriving at the ridge I saw at a glance, to my utter
astonishment, that the bull I had alarmed with my shot a few
days ago had apparently only just passed on his way back to
his old feeding-grounds. It was a great piece of luck, and I
felt quite proud to think that in spite of my hunters' non-
belief regarding the return of the bull, my prediction had,
after all, been correct.

While we were examining the tracks a herd of tsine, some
thirty in number, thundered past us at a distance of about
30 yards. They had been startled in some unaccountable
manner, probably by crossing our tracks somewhere in our
rear. I could have shot a magnificent bull which brought up
the rear, but refrained from doing so, as I was determined to
bag the solitary gaur, these animals being scarcer and by far
the nobler quarry of the two. Tsine were very plentiful
throughout the Nampan Tankta-kugyi forest, and on some
days I have come upon two or three herds, not to mention
solitary animals.

We had not taken on the tracks of the gaur a distance of
200 yards before I caught sight of the animal coming up the
side of the ridge broadside on, breathing deeply and munch-
ing away at a bamboo shoot. He was a magnificent animal,
and looked an old bull. Beckoning to my men to remain
where they were, I moved forward along the track, cocking
both hammers of my 8-bore, which was loaded with ten cjrams
of powder and hardened spherical balls. There was nothing
to impede my view ; in fact, the jungle in the neighbourhood
being composed entirely of bamboo, was open and free from
all undergrowth, and there was besides hardly a breath of air
stirring. I succeeded in getting to within about thirty paces,

BAG A FINE BULL 375

and, aiming for the shoulder, fired. The bull on receiving the
shot dashed off down the side of the ridge at a great pace,
but collapsed stone dead against a bamboo clump with a
tremendous crash a hundred yards or so off. It was very
gratifying to think that I had succeeded after all in bagging
this animal. He was a very fine bull, standing nineteen
hands to the shoulder, and had a very good pair of horns.
On my return to camp I was obliged to send my boy or cook
back for medical treatment for jaundice, liver, and a hundred
other ailments, which deprived me of decent food for nearly
a month. I was consequently laid low with jungle fever for
two or three days, but succeeded in pulling through, and was
on my legs again none the worse.

A short time after my recovery, and a few months before I
sailed for Europe, I bagged my last and record bison after
some very hard work. This animal gave me more walking
than ever I have had from any animals, elephants included.

One day in October I was on my way to the Military Police
Post, " Chaungyi," which, situated on a stream of the same
name, divides on that side Singa from the Ruby Mines
district, when a Shan trader met me and said he had seen
the large tracks of a bison across the pathway some three
miles on. I proceeded to the spot at once, and saw from the
tracks that the owner must be a magnificent animal. I also
noticed that after taking them on for a couple of hundred
yards, several good-sized saplings — the knocking down of
which would really have done credit to an elephant — had
been butted down by the gaur en route. This astonished me
very much, as I had never seen an instance before of gaur
uprooting trees with their horns. The beast at intervals
seemed to be in an infuriated state, as the ground was pawed
up and the bark on the trunks of several large trees had been
scored and bruised.

The tracks, on a closer examination, did not look as if the
animal had passed that day, and I was inclined to think that
he had crossed the previous day early in the morning. It was
now about 9.30 a.m. I had quite made up my mind to take
on the tracks till we came up with the owner, even though we
should have to follow him up for two or three days. We

376 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

tracked the whole of that day till 4 p.m. unsuccessfully, only
coming up with his tracks of that morning. We were, there-
fore, obliged to return to camp again that evening, arriving
there at 1.30 a.m. Next morning we started early for the
spot where we had relinquished the tracks the evening before,
and took them on again. For the second time we failed to
come up with the beast before it got dark, and were again
obliged to return to camp. Next day before daylight, for
the third morning in succession, we took on the trail, deter-
mined, if possible, to come up with the owner this time. At
about 9 a.m. we found signs that the animal had passed late
at night ; and at last, at about 1 1 a.m., we came upon unmis-
takable evidences of the gaur's near presence. The jungle
about here was mostly composed of open bamboo forest,
with little undergrowth, and hardly sufficient cover for a large
animal to lie up in during the heat of the day. We noticed
that a herd had been in the neighbourhood, as there were
numerous tracks all over the place. The solitary bull had, as
is usually the case, been wandering about on the outskirts of
this herd for some days. We were now moving down a gentle
incline towards a stream, whose rushing waters could now be
heard roaring in the distance. Never dreaming for one
moment that we should come upon the gaur in such open
bamboo forest devoid of all cover, we were walking along
rather carelessly, talking in an undertone to one another,
when suddenly we were startled by hearing two or three low,
sharp, short " moos," accompanied by a suppressed snort,
which we at once knew came from the animal we were
following. Fortunately there were several bamboo clumps
intervening, which partially hid us from view. My men
immediately threw themselves on the ground while I peered
anxiously round a clump to catch a sight of the gaur. There
he stood ; a magnificent specimen, a model of strength ! It
was a grand sight and one not easily forgotten, as he stood
gazing at us with heaving flanks and dilated nostrils, through
which at times he snorted defiance, challenging us, as it were,
to approach nearer. His whole attitude, although fierce and
defiant, bore at the same time a curious mixture of fear,
uncertainty, and suspicion.

NOTE OF ALARM OF A GAUR 377

The sharp, short spurts of air which escaped from his
nostrils at intervals when he raised his head from side to side
or up and down in his endeavours to make out what we were,
warned me that I must fire without an instant's delay.

The distance was quite 70 yards, and the shot, consider-
ing the position the animal was then standing in facing
me, head and cheek only exposed, was not an easy one. I
hesitated for a second or two with the rifle at the present, to
consider whether I should not attempt to outflank him and
get in a shoulder-shot.

He might, on the other hand, have not seen us, and have
only been suspicious ; or perhaps obtained a very slight slant
of our wind, or heard us talking ; in which case, should he
catch sight of me crawling along to outflank him, there
being little or no cover to screen me, all doubt would then
be thrown to the winds, and he would either immediately
charge me or dash off, and I should in the latter case have
lost the opportunity first offered me of a shot. So quietly
making up my mind to fire, I squatted on the ground, and
taking a steady aim, fired. On the smoke clearing, I saw the
gaur making off at a great pace up a steep incline on the
other side of the stream which flowed close by, and over
which, a leap cf some 13 feet, the gaur had jumped.
Several bamboo stumps which intervened did not permit of
my getting in a second shot. I noticed, when aiming at the
gaur, that two or three bamboo stems were in my line of fire,
and one of them I now saw had been neatly perforated in the
centre.

I became convinced, on sending a Burman to stand at the
spot where the gaur had stood when I fired, comparing the
height of the bullet-hole from the ground, that the gaur had
been hit.

After partaking of a hurried meal on the banks of the
stream we took on the tracks of the gaur, which plainly
indicated, after we had gone about 200 or 300 yards,
from an occasional splash or two of blood, that the animal
was hit and was bleeding freely. The latter is not, as a
rule, a good sign ; and if hit fatally behind the shoulder, in-
ternal bleeding invariably takes place ; and I noticed during

378 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the next half-a-dozen miles, that there was far too much blood
for a wound which in the end would become fatal, and I was
beginning to think that it might only be a severe flesh wound,
in which case we would have a very long, stern chase, not to
speak of the gaur being on the qui vive when we came up
with him. It was twelve o'clock when I fired the shot, and
my hunters had warned me that if I wanted to reach camp
before dark we would have to return at once. This wasn't
good enough, so I told them I wasn't afraid to sleep out in
the jungle, and that I was determined to bag the bull, con-
sidering he was such a huge animal, and had already been
wounded. I informed them emphatically, therefore, before
going any further on the tracks, that they were not to attempt
to dissuade me from going on, as I had quite made up my
mind to follow up the gaur till I killed it. Tracking was
now easy work, as there were numerous traces of blood on
the grass, ground, and bushes en route for the next nine miles
or so ; we moved along at the rate of quite three and a half
to four miles an hour — as fast, in fact, as we could possibly
travel. At times, of course, we were delayed, and had some
difficulty in finding the tracks when there did not seem to
be the same flow of' blood, and the animal travelled over
hard and stony ground.

Once or twice it was very trying work, sometimes plumping
down into a gorge and wading over a stream, then up a steep,
densely-wooded ridge, or anon scrambling down a steep hill-
side, thickly strewn with undergrowth and bamboos, the stems
of the latter lying about interlaced with one another pell-mell
all over the place, impeding our movements at times very
considerably. All this, together with the intense itching to
the skin set up on one's arms, legs, and face from coming in
contact with spear grass and the fine hair of the bamboos,
was most uncomfortable in the extreme. And what made
life still more unbearable on these occasions was the minute
parasites, or ticks, which, when a nest of them had been dis-
turbed by the sportsman whilst moving along, crawl all over
his person, and cling to him like leeches, after embedding
their forceps into the skin, to remain there until picked out
carefully by the hand. Sometimes a nest of hornets or red

SCENTING A GAUR 379

ants may also be brushed against by the sportsman or some
of his followers, and then woe betide them, for they are
most unmercifully attacked and stung by these pugnacious
and infuriated little insects, causing painful blisters which
smash and irritate one all day, to say nothing of the inflam-
mation of minor scratches caused by the rays of the scorching
sun, which, staring down upon one all day with an unceasing
glare, well-nigh takes all the energy and spirit out of one.

All these, reader, and many other discomforts have to be
reckoned with the pleasures of big-game shooting, and it is
only he who has a hankering after this form of sport who can
face the many discomforts I refer to.

We now came upon the first resting-place of the gaur. He
had lain down under the shelter of a low-lying overhanging
bamboo bush at the top of a steep ridge, and I could see
from the position he had occupied that his head was pointing
in the direction by which we should have had to approach.
It is always best in the case of a wounded gaur, or tsine, to
let them settle down and get over their first alarm. Should
they be very badly wounded they will invariably lie down
and be too stiff and sore to rise and charge at once on the
approach of the sportsman. Care should also be taken not
to rush away in hot haste after a newly-wounded gaur or
tsine when in thick cover, as, after going a few yards, they
have often been known to turn round and stand motionless
by the side of the track, ready to charge down upon the first
person who should approach without the slightest warning.
It now behoved us to be careful, as we might come upon the
animal at any moment. I had not the least doubt now that
my shot had only glanced off the shoulder, and caused a
severe flesh wound. At any rate there was nothing to show
from the animal's movements that it had been badly hit. It
did not lie down every two or three miles, halt repeatedly, or
wander about in a zigzag fashion, as it would have done had
it been severely wounded.

The odour of gaur now became very strong, and after
going up one or two very steep ridges we suddenly came
upon the gaur standing broadside on, under a barnboo clump,
whisking its tail from side to side to keep off the flies. The

380 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

head and shoulders were completely hidden from view be-
hind the clump. I was only distant some twenty paces,
but so noiselessly had we approached that we had not
been discovered. My men -had of course immediately
made themselves scarce behind neighbouring bamboo clumps.
The wind was also fortunately in our favour. I moved
slightly to one side so as to get in a raking shot from behind,
which would travel well forward.

The gaur stood like a rock, and I had consequently a
magnificent shot. There was a tremendous stampede of feet
after I had fired, and I saw the bison, when the smoke cleared,
standing like a rock, head down, as if ready to charge the
moment he could catch sight of his invisible foes. We were
all perfectly motionless, however. I had also, immediately
after firing, taken up my stand behind a clump of bamboos.
A second shot from the 8-bore fired into the gaur's
shoulder now rang out. This was too much for him, as,
wheeling round, he dashed off down the steep hillside, but
brought up after going some 50 or 60 yards, and along-
side the trunk of a huge tree, where he stood motionless,
evidently done for. I walked quietly up and fired a right
and left behind the shoulder, on receiving which he immedi-
ately wheeled round and staggered up the hillside straight at
me. I had only time to cram in one cartridge as he blundered
along up to the clump behind which I had taken up my
stand, when he stood some three paces off snorting and
stamping at me, the picture of rage and defiance.

I refrained from firing at his head, as I did not wish to
damage the frontal bone or the horns. I now noticed the
wound on his cheek ; the bullet had entered rather high up
to one side and passed out, causing only a severe flesh wound,
and without, as I afterwards found, damaging any of the
bones. So close was the animal that I could distinctly see
the white larvae left by flies on the surface of the wound.

As the gaur remained stationary without showing any
further signs of aggression I fired for the centre of the chest.
On the smoke clearing I saw that although still standing he
was about to fall. After one or two vain attempts to keep his
feet the mighty beast sank slowly to the ground. My men

DIMENSIONS OF A GAUR 381

now joined me, and we retired to a respectful distance. In
a minute or so the gaur began to quiver all over, and in a
short time the death throes set in, when every muscle and
sinew became rigid and showed up distinctly. After a few
tremendous struggles and a loud long-drawn bellow — its last
effort, which resounded over the hills — its limbs became lax
and it was dead.

He was a magnificent animal, standing 20 hands at the
shoulder, and 12 feet 3 inches in length, including tail
measurement. His horns measured as follows : —

Length of right horn along the curve, 34 inches.

Length of left horn along the curve, 33 J inches.

Girth at base of horn, 2oJ inches.

Tip to tip, 21 inches.

Greatest width outside, 42^ inches.

Tip to tip along curve and over forehead, 81 inches.

After disembowelling the animal and cutting off the head,
which was slung up into the branches of a tree to be sent for
next day, we turned our faces homewards.

To reach camp, Chaung-gyi outpost, situated some twenty-
five miles off, on a stream of the same name, we were obliged
to walk down-stream the whole distance, as not only was it
late, but the woods along the river bank were too densely
wooded to enable us to make our way through them after dark
in a locality which was also not very well known to my men.

It was a weary tramp after what we had already gone through,
and what with carrying my heavy i8-lbs. rifle and bag of
cartridges, it was no joke. My men were also laden with strips
of bison meat and other articles, including myi2-bore rifle.

We reached our destination at 3 a.m. next morning, and I
turned in, after a warm tub, to rise about 3 p.m. feeling none
the worse. I should have felt very differently, however, had
I not bagged the gaur. A successful day invariably drives
away aches, pains, and any weariness that may wish to
overcome the sportsman.

We passed numerous traces of elephant, gaur, tiger, leopard
and bear. All the country in the neighbourhood between
Manday and the Ruby Mines is simply teeming with big game
of all kinds, especially between Singu and Shw^nyaungbin.

CHAPTER VII

BOS SONDAICUS : THE BANTING OR BURMESE TSINE ; THE
TRUE WILD CATTLE

BLANDFORD describes this animal as follows : — "This animal
appears to be slighter than the gaur, with the legs longer in
proportion and the dorsal ridge less developed. The tail
descends below the hocks. The dew-lap is of moderate size.
The head is much more elongate, the forehead not concave^
the horns smaller, cylindrical in the young, flattened towards
the base in adults, and curving outwards and upwards at first,
and towards the tips somewhat backwards and inwards."

Colour. — Cows and young bulls have the head, body, and
upper portions of the limbs, bright reddish-brown, approaching
chestnut ; old bulls are black ; in both sexes the legs from
above the knees and hocks ; a large oval area on the buttocks,
extending to the base of the tail but not including it, a stripe
on the inside of each limb ; the tips and the inside of the ears
are white ; calves have the outside of the limbs chestnut
throughout and a dark line down the back.

Dimensions. — According to S. Muller, a full-grown Javan
bull measured 5 feet 9^ inches at the shoulder ; the length
of the head and body was 8 feet 6 inches, and that of the
tail 3 feet. The largest Burmese specimen recorded was 16
hands high (5 feet 4 inches). A skull from Java, in the Indian
Museum, Calcutta, has horns measuring 30 inches in length
by 17 inches in circumference at the base. This is unusually
large. A male skull from Borneo, in the British Museum,
measures 1775 inches in basal length by 875 in zygomatic
breadth. The following are the measurements of three
magnificent heads which belong respectively to Mr. H. W.

382

DISTRIBUTION OF THE TSINE

383

Tarleton of the Burma Police, Surgeon-Captain Evans, and
myself.

The head belonging to the first-named measures : length
of outer curve, 33 inches; circumference at base, 15 J inches;
tip to tip, 29 inches ; greatest width between horns, 37^
inches.

The head of the animal in Surgeon-Captain Evans' posses-
sion measures : length, 24 J inches ; girth, 14^ inches; tip to
tip, 30 inches ; widest inside, 35 inches.

BURMESE BULL (TSINE).

From a Photo by Mr. Hannyngton.

The head of the animal shot by me measures : length,
outer curve, 33 inches; circumference at base, 15 inches; tip
to tip, 2g\ inches ; greatest width between horns, 38 J inches.

Distribution. — Throughout Burma and the Malay Peninsula,
also in the islands of Borneo, Java, and Bali. This species
is probably found also in Sumatra and Siam. It extends
north of Northern Pegu and Arrakan, and probably to the
hill-ranges of Chittagong.

These animals are also very numerous in all the forests

384 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

between Mandalay and the Shweli river, in the Ruby Mines
district. I have seen them in the latter district roaming
about in herds of thirty and forty.

Habits. — So far as is known, similar to those of Bos
gaurus, except that Bos sondaicus, from the greater pro-
portional length of the legs, is probably less of a climber,
and more restricted to the plains of high grass. My own
experience of these animals bears out this statement, and I
have noticed in the Ruby Mines district that I have never
come upon tsine at any elevation beyond 1500 feet.

They are very wary animals, and most sportsmen find
them much harder to stalk than gaur, which can often be
approached to within a few yards without much difficulty.
Their sense of sight, hearing, and smell is very acute, and
they can often wind one when quite a couple of hundred
yards off". When wounded, and walked up in cover, or
driven to bay, they attack and charge home at a tremendous
pace, and are considered by Burmans to be as dangerous, if
not more so, than gaur. The latter, moreover, are not such
fast movers as tsine. I have heard of native hunters being
chased round trees by a wounded bull tsine just as a dog
would hunt a rat.

They have a very gamey appearance, and it is a very
pretty sight to watch a herd of these animals feeding out in
the open, or dashing away across an open glade when alarmed.
Tsine feed principally upon bamboo shoots, leaves, and grass,
and inhabit open tree or bamboo forests, except when dis-
turbed or lying up during the heat of the day, when they
penetrate the densest patch of " kaing " grass or undergrowth
they can find.

During the hot weather they are invariably found resting
in some open shady spot, or on a piece of rising ground,
where they can not only benefit by any breeze which may blow,
but where the approach of an enemy can also be at once
detected. When suspicious of any danger, and no scent of
the sportsman has been obtained, a solitary bull will remain
perfectly still till the object of its suspicion appears in view,
when it makes off, after emitting the customary snort of
alarm. As a rule they feed very noiselessly, but when

DIFFICULTY OF GETTING UP TO TSINE 385

browsing on young bamboos the sounds of the shoots being
bitten or broken off are often heard at a considerable distance.
When the shoots obtain a height of from 4 to 5 feet, the
animal uses his horns to snap off the tops, which are tender
till the shoot has attained a height of, say, some 1 5 or 20 feet.

" Solitary " bulls, singly or in pairs, are often found wander-
ing about the country, and in the month of May, when the
animals are nearly driven distracted by the gadflies and
mosquitoes, they move along at a good pace, their attention
being devoted to shaking off these insects. When surrounded
by a cloud of these pests and when not feeding, they are
more easily approached.

The early morning, between 5 a.m. and 7.30, or even 8 a.m.,
and after 5 p.m. till dark, are the best times to find these
animals out in the open.

Patches of recently burnt " kaing " grass should always be
visited, as after a few showers of rain the young grass springs
up and attracts not only tsine, but gaur, barking deer, brow-
antlered deer, swamp deer, pig, and sambur. These patches
should invariably be visited at a very early hour in the
morning or late in the evening, or on some moonlight night.
Gaur and tsine, as indeed all the other animals mentioned,
except barking deer, are very chary about feeding out in the
open, especially should the neighbourhood have recently been
disturbed by wandering bamboo-cutters, or shots fired by
hunters. Tsine take more killing than gaur, and although
they are not such massive beasts, they are more tenacious of
life. I have on two or three occasions had very long weary
stern chases after tsine, whose fore-legs have been broken by
a shot, before coming up with and killing them. If water is
scarce and there are one or two pools in the neighbourhood
of the sportsman's camp, which from the footprints appear to
have been visited nightly by these animals, it is a good plan
to sit up close by. In this manner a good head can often be
obtained. It is weary work, however, and not in my opinion
worth the trouble. More disappointments than successes
attend one's efforts in this kind of shooting, and many men
consider it unsportsmanlike to indulge in it. Red ants,
mosquitoes, sand-flies, and all the other pests of a tropical

c c

386 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

clime, not to speak of the want of sleep, worry one to such
an extent on these occasions, that a sportsman is entirely
knocked up for any hard walking he may have to undergo on
the following day.

Tsine, especially old solitary bulls, often travel many miles
when on the move. I have often been led a long tramp after
picking up the tracks of a bull which had apparently only
passed an hour or two ago. The trackers must usually follow
at a slower pace than that at which the animal is moving.
The consequence is, that should the fresh track of an animal
be picked up at, say, 7 a.m., it has probably moved into some
dense cover by the time the sportsman has come up with
it, in which case he will not be able to stalk it successfully.
It is always the best plan, in cases of this sort, to leave the
animal undisturbed till evening. He will then come out of
the cover in which he has been lying up, and begin grazing
close by, probably in some open bamboo forest, where he can
be easily stalked and shot. It is well-nigh impossible to stalk
a tsine when he has taken up a position in cover for a sleep
during the heat of the day. The slightest noise will awaken
him, and he will be off before you can draw a bead on him.
One might just as well try to walk up a sleeping sambur in
cover as try to stalk a solitary bull tsine ; both are especially
wary, the former perhaps a degree more so than the latter.
In the cold season, i. e. November, December, and January, I
have often seen a herd of tsine sunning themselves out in the
open till 9 or 10 in the morning. They very rarely lie up in
dense cover during these months, unless disturbed or appre-
hensive of danger, when they seek the thickest cover available.
Old bulls which have been shot at or driven out of a herd,
invariably lie up in the most inaccessible places they can find.
When in cover, they prefer to lie up in kaing grass or thick
bamboo jungle where there is some shade, and where they
can detect from underneath, without rising, the approach of
anything, while remaining unseen themselves. In colour the
old bulls have often a dull, dirty-brown appearance, approach-
ing sometimes almost to black. In the distance, some 200 yards
off, I once mistook a pair of old bulls for gaur, so dark were they.
In the case of some animals in a herd, I have noticed a distinct

MY FIRST TSINE 387

white ring round the eyes, but in old bulls I do not remember
ever having seen this peculiarity.

In the rutting season herd animals seem to be continually
on the move. I remember on one occasion following the
fresh spoor of a herd, which showed from the tracks, which I
was obliged eventually to relinquish, that the animals had
been on the trot off and on all day, the result, I have no
doubt, of the bull's pertinacity.

Tsine have a very strong and distinctive odour of their own,
quite distinct from that of all other animals, and their meat
for the same reason is far from palatable. In the case of a
female, the odour a la tsine is not so pronounced as in a
bull. As in the case of a boar, it is necessary to remove the
credentials of a bull gaur, in order to make the meat at all
palatable.

Burmans as a rule prefer the meat of gaur, or rhinoceros,1 to
that of any other animal except the pig ; they do not object to
tsine, but their choicest dish, like John Chinaman's, is pork
reared in a village.

I have had many opportunities of shooting tsine where
they abounded. On many occasions in the course of a day,
when out tracking up solitary bulls, I have put up two or three
of these animals.

When galloping along on my pony down the bed of the
Nampan stream, to see if I could come upon any fresh tracks
of solitary gaur, I rode right through a herd of tsine, which
were feeding on the long succulent grass which was growing
luxuriantly along the bed of the river and its banks. I had
no gun with me at the time, so could not shoot. It was very
amusing to watch the different movements and attitudes of the
animals as, recovering from their alarm, they collected in twos
and threes on either bank, and watched my every action, a
mixture of curiosity and fear depicted on their faces. It was
not till I wheeled round and rode at some of them with an
unearthly whoop that the spell was broken, and they dispersed
and dashed away with snorts of alarm.

I remember how proud I was when I bagged my first tsine,
a veritable solitary bull and a veteran. I had just invested in
1 I have generally known them to prefer elephant flesh. — F. T. P.

388 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

a double 8-bore rifle by Tolly, burning 10 drams, which my
hunters always regarded with an admixture of awe and
admiration. They expected wonders of me now, as hitherto
I had always used a double 12 smooth-bore by Joe Lang,
burning a maximum charge of 4^ drams, and had not in
consequence always succeeded in bagging everything I had
hit.

I had just been granted a month's leave, and had been out
in camp for three or four days without having seen anything
larger than a barking deer, or a boar, so decided to change
my shooting-ground and pitch my tent on the banks of the
Nampan stream, where tsine, gaur, and elephants were plenti-
ful. I intended afterwards to visit the Tankta-kugyi stream,
another glorious locality for big game, between Tagaung and
the river Shweli.

My camp-followers and servants had been directed to proceed
to the site fixed upon, on the bank of the Nampan stream, and
make everything snug and comfortable for my return in the
evening. Moung Hpe, Moung Kyun Thet, and Moung Yan
Gin, three favourite hunters of mine, accompanied me on this
occasion.

We left camp at daybreak and struck across country
towards a likely part some ten or twelve miles off, known
to Kyun Thet, who assured me that we were sure to come
across tsine en route.

After travelling through open " indaing " forest for some
three hours, during which time we had not even come upon
fresh tracks, we suddenly caught sight of a solitary bull tsine
careering along down the side of a wooded incline in a direc-
tion which would bring him near us.

He was moving along at a steady trot, shaking his head and
whisking his tail from side to side, evidently maddened by the
cloud of gadflies which hovered round and settled on his
body. He was so taken up by his endeavours to get rid of his
tormentors that he did not notice us. I waited till he came
opposite to me, at a distance of some 45 yards, and then gave
him the contents of the right barrel, which floored him instan-
taneously. On rushing up to be ready to fire again, should
he get up, I saw that his spine was broken, and that he was

DELIGHTS OF A WARM TUB AFTER A DA TS FAG 389

completely disabled. Otherwise, however, he was dangerous,
as he lunged out with his horns and snorted at us whenever
any one approached too near.

A second shot through the neck finished him off; after
disembowelling him and breaking him up, we made tracks for
camp, which was distant quite eight or ten miles. My men
took as much of the meat with them as could be conveniently
carried. En route we passed numerous varieties of feathered
game, such as imperial pigeon, jungle-fowl, pea- fowl, and
pheasant.

Not having a shot-gun I did not fire at anything. I make
it a point never to take a shot-gun with me when out after big
game, as I do not wish to be tempted to fire at birds. No
sportsman, in fact, who is out after anything larger than a
sambur should ever carry a fowling-piece. Should his larder
require replenishing, however, jungle-fowl, pheasant, and even
pea-fowl may often be obtained in the immediate neighbour-
hood of camp. There is always a risk, of course, of disturbing
any animal which may be lying up close by.

My new camp had a very pretty site, under a large banian
tree, situated on the banks of the Nampan stream.

A pleasure which sportsmen only can experience and
enjoy, is to find ready on their return to camp, after a hard
day's work, a warm tub, to be followed by a comfortable
dinner, washed down with a pint of light ale, and the comforts
of a long arm-chair, with the soothing influence of a cigarette
or cigar. These make life worth living when one is under
canvas.

During the night, should you sit dreamily in your chair or
loll in your camp-cot, before dropping off into well-earned
sleep, you will hear the hundred and one sounds which
emanate from a tropical jungle, sounds which are to the
sportsman refreshing and musical in the extreme ; the short,
sharp, hoarse bark of the "ghee," or barking deer, from a
neighbouring hillside, or the bellow of an old bull tsine or
gaur comes floating on the night air when all else is still.

Should the remains of any animal which has been shot be
anywhere in the vicinity of the camp, the sportsman may
perchance have the good luck to hear the roar of a tiger which

390 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

having scented the meat, intends, uninvited, to make a mid-
night feast on the remnants. The more common and well-
known " waugh, waugh " of a prowling leopard bent on a
similar errand may also be often heard in some adjacent
thicket. The clear bell of a startled sambur, which has perhaps
been feeding close by, resounds through the air as he dashes
away, a taint of the occupants of the camp, or perhaps of his
more deadly enemy, having been wafted to his nostrils and
warned him of his danger. All these sounds send through one
a thrill of delightful expectation of good sport to come on the
morrow.

At daybreak, should the sportsman be awake, he will hear
the familiar sounds which usher in the morn. Jungle-cocks
crow, and pea-cocks utter their discordant cries, screaming
horn-bills flutter from tree to tree, following one another in
single file, a solitary jungle raven croaks overhead, attracted
by the hope of picking up something edible, and large flocks
of paraqueets and parrots uttering sharp cries pass overhead
like fleeting clouds.

" ' Chota hazri ' ready sir," are always the first words that
greet me each morning before I rise, and, after a hurried meal,
my hunters and I are soon well on our way towards the
ground considered likeliest for our sport.

There were numerous herds of tsine all over the place, but,
as I have said before, I preferred looking for solitary bulls, as
they not only gave better sport, but carried better heads than
those generally found with a herd.

While stalking a particular animal picked out from a herd,
the sportsmen is often discovered by one of the smaller fry
which alarms and disperses the rest.

I came upon numerous tracks of tsine along the foot of
the Thaung-bwet-taung, a range of low-lying hills some ten or
fifteen miles inland from the Irrawady, in the Twinge jurisdic-
tion of the Tagaung subdivision, Ruby Mines district.

Game of every description may also be obtained inland
either from Tagaung, Twinge, or Thabeitkyin. The steamers
which ply on the Irrawady, from Rangoon to Mandalay, and
from thence to Bhamo, halt at Tagaung and Thabeitkyin,
while a very comfortable " bundobust " or arrangement may

BEST LOCALITIES FOR GAME 391

be made at either of these places, provided you land there
from the steamer supplied with stores, and are equipped in
every way, ready for your start inland. Fowls, vegetables,
rice, and salt may be purchased at Tagaung or Pongon, an
adjacent village. Fowls cost from 8 to 10 annas each (about
8df.). Other stores, such as tinned milk, biscuits, candles, sauce,
flour, lard or ghi, and lamp oil, may be purchased on any of
the cargo steamers which ply up and down the river.

Elephants, gaur, tsine, sambur, barking deer, leopards, tigers,
and rhinoceros are obtainable inland, within forty miles of the
river. To obtain rhinoceros the sportsman should visit Twinge,
a village situated on the Irrawady, some thirty miles below
Tagaung, and between that place and Thabeitkyin. From
Twinge he should proceed to Tsaizin-gon, and from thence,
after getting one or two men acquainted with the locality to
accompany him, he should go straight inland towards the
hills already mentioned, known as Thaung-bwet-taung (pro-
nounced exactly as it is spelt). The whole range should be
thoroughly worked up as far inland as possible. The Tsaizin-
gon thugyi and his son are both sportsmen and fair trackers,
and both are thoroughly well acquainted with the Thaung-
bwet-taung hills. I have not shot rhinoceros myself there,
but have seen their tracks, and know from what I have heard
that they are to be found among these hills. Father and son
accompanied me on one expedition into the hills ; the former,
however, was not very keen on going, as he had his cultivation
to attend to, and should his services be required, he will
probably say, in order to avoid going, that he knows nothing
about the jungles. The sportsman should of course make it
worth his while. A present of Rs.25 down, with the promise
of another Rs.25 at tne end of the shoot, works wonders.

Another locality for rhino is the range of hills known as
the Shwe"-u-taung or Kin valley, also in the Ruby Mines
district. To reach this part of the country, the sportsman
should land at Thabeitkyin, and cart all his kit up the road
which leads to Mogok as far as Shwe-nyaungbin, two or three
days' journey at the outside from Thabeitkyin, i.e. a distance
of about thirty-five miles. On entering Shwe-nyaungbin, the
sportsman will notice a valley on his left, and a range of hills

392 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

some 3000 to 4000 feet high beyond it. These hills should be
well worked up north, south, east, and west, and the hunter,
should he work hard enough, will not fail to come across
rhino, gaur, and elephants. The former are not of course
plentiful, but this species is never found herded together in
large numbers. I have only seen these brutes myself singly
and in pairs.

Another good locality for solitary tusker elephants, gaur,
and wild goats, is the spurs which run down from the Shwe-
u-taung hill to the village of Ye-nya-u. A good hunter, who
is well acquainted with this locality, lives at Ye-nya-u. I
have forgotten his name, but if inquiries are made of the
thugyi, he will be forthcoming, as there is only one hunter of
any note living there.

The following are the names of some of the best hunters
and trackers in the Ruby Mines district who have been
employed by me : — (i) Moung Yan Gin, Momeik State, Ruby
Mines district; (2) Moung Youk, of Pongon village, near
Tagaung ; (3) Moung Hpe, Sittone village, near Sagadaung,
Momeik State ; (4) Moung Kyun Thet, of Sagadaung ; (5)
Moung Yan Shin, a retired forester, Tagaung; (6) Moung
So, of Wapyu-daung (there are several good hunters who
live at the latter place) ; (7) Moung Pu, of Chaukmaw, near
Sagadaung, Momeik State; (8) Moung Hlaing, of Tagaung;
(9) Moung Pyu, of Bathin ; (10) the head-man of Tsaizin-
gon village.

The best places to pitch camp inland from Tagaung are
first, Kyaukoh and then 6kshitkon. The first-named village,
where there are only one or two huts, is situated some ten or
fifteen miles off. 6kshitkon is distant from Kyaukoh some
six or eight miles. Bullock carts may be driven right out to
6kshitkon from Tagaung, and the sportsman can canter
along on his pony pretty nearly the whole distance without
dismounting. Elephants, gaur, tsine, sambur, barking deer,
and pig abound in the jungles round Okshitkon. Thamine
(brow-an tiered deer), sambur, gyi, and tsine are to be found
at Kyaukoh. In fact, magnificent sport may be obtained in
the stretches of jungle which extend all round Okshitkon.
Excellent shooting may also be had at tsine, gaur, and

RIVAL BULLS 393

elephants in the jungles along the banks of the Chaunggyi
stream, near Wapyudaung, and between that stream and the
village of Chaukhlebein. Indeed there are very few locali-
ties in the whole district where really good shooting of some
kind is not obtainable (see chapter on miscellaneous sport).

I was moving along cautiously through some bamboo jungle
one morning early in September, accompanied by two of my
hunters, on the look-out for a solitary bull tsine whose tracks
we had picked up, when the sound of a bamboo shoot being
broken off warned me that some animal was close by. Moung
Hpe, who was always near me, now handed me my 8-bore,
and after instructing my men to remain where they were, I
picked my way along in the direction of the sound. The
ground, from recent heavy rain, was quite sodden ; I was
consequently enabled to pick out the tracks without any
difficulty, and move along myself quite noiselessly. Great
care had of course to be taken that I did not tread on a
rotten bamboo or twig, as the animal, whose sense of hearing
is very acute, would have made off at once. I had not gone
1 50 yards before I heard it feeding on bamboo shoots close
by, so near in fact was the animal that its breathing was
quite audible. There were numerous bamboo clumps and a
lot of undergrowth which impeded my view for some yards,
but I succeeded eventually in catching sight of the tsine,
a huge bull, standing in an open space, broadside on, some
twenty-five paces off. He was slowly munching away at a
young bamboo shoot which was dangling from his mouth.

I was just about to fire, when another solitary bull appeared
upon the scene, round an adjoining clump, evidently a stranger
to the one I had just sighted. On catching sight of the new-
comer, the latter turned partially round, lowered his head
almost to the ground, stiffened himself all over, and pawed
the earth, breathing deeply through his nostrils the while as
if challenging the other bull to fight. The other animal acted
in a similar manner. I would have given worlds for a camera
at that moment, as I could have taken both animals together,
and it would have been a unique photograph. Unfortunately,
however, I did not possess one, never having gone in for
photography. The wind was luckily in my favour or else

394 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

both animals would long ere this have made off. After re-
garding each other side-ways for awhile with lowered heads,
they made feints of charging at one another, snorting defiance
through their nostrils. These warlike proceedings, however,
led to nothing ; after pawing up the ground and bushes in
their immediate neighbourhood, they calmed down and began
feeding close to one another.

I raised the 8-bore slowly and fired at the shoulder of the
nearer animal. The shot took effect, and the bull collapsed
in a dazed manner, and sank to the ground in a sitting posture.
He was not dead, however, as a few seconds after falling, and
before the death struggle ensued, he uttered a long, loud
bellow. The other animal on hearing the report had dashed
off a few paces, but on seeing its companion sink to the ground
and utter as it were a bellow of defiance, it immediately
wheeled round and walked back with lowered head, putting
on at the same time a bellicose attitude. It seemed a little
puzzled at first and appeared undecided whether to retreat or
advance. All this was of course the work of a few seconds.
I did not wait a moment longer than was necessary, but fired
at the second animal without reloading the right chamber.
The shot was quite as effective as the first one, and the bull,
after staggering against a neighbouring clump, collapsed,
bellowing loudly, and in a few minutes was dead. The
animals lay within twenty-five paces of each other. They
measured respectively : height, 5 feet I inch, and 5 feet 2
inches ; length, 10 feet, and 10 feet 3 inches.

As there was a track for carts close by, I was enabled to
bring up two, which I had with me on this occasion as trans-
port. The meat of both animals, including the two heads,
was placed upon them, and driven away to camp, thus saving
my men a good deal of hard work, as otherwise they would
have had to carry the meat. My camp was pitched on the
Dat Choung at the foot of the Thaung-bwet-taung hills.

Some two or three days later I came upon a couple of
solitary bulls or " nyi-naung," as the Burmans call them, while
tracking up a solitary bull gaur. We had been following the
latter's tracks for some time, through a stretch of rather heavy
undergrowth, and had come upon some fresh tracks. Whilst

CHARGED BY A WOUNDED TSINE 395

seated on the ground debating amongst ourselves as to
whether the new tracks we had struck were those of gaur
or tsine, two tsine suddenly appeared on the scene. We
remained seated, as it was easier to watch their movements in
that position, besides, they were heading apparently straight
in our direction. We had not long to wait. Both animals
came along at a quick pace, cropping the grass on either side
of them as they moved, breathing deeply and sharply the
while, as if just recovering from the effects of a long gallop.
It was then about 9.30 a.m. and very warm ; this may have
accounted for their stertorous breathing, as they were not very
old bulls. I aimed at the shoulder of the nearest animal and
fired ; the distance would probably be about 25 yards. Both
tsine immediately dashed away. The one I had fired at only
travelled a short distance, and then pulled up looking very
sick. I was unable to put in a second shot at either beast, so
quickly did they disappear through the undergrowth. Moung
Hpe now informed me that he could hear the wounded animal
close by, stamping its feet to shake off the gadflies. I moved
cautiously forward, but had not gone 30 yards before the tsine
charged down upon us at a great pace. We stepped to one
side, and as he passed us I let him have another shot behind
the shoulder, which brought him to a standstill before he had
gone 40 yards. He was now limping badly, and as I could
see that he would not be able to charge again, I finished him
off with another shot. He was a fine bull, standing 5 feet
4 inches at the shoulder, and had a very good head. My
men afterwards broke him up, and took away all the
meat.

We followed the tracks of the gaur, hoping that he was not
in the immediate neighbourhood, but had not gone far before
we came upon unmistakable signs of his having been alarmed ;
the deep indentations of his hoofs and the width between each
track showed us plainly that he had heard my shots and
made off. I was much disgusted at the time, I remember,
because a solitary bull gaur is, in my opinion, a grander prize
and more worthy of bagging than a tsine. I used a 12-
bore rifle on this occasion, burning 6 drams of powder,
and steel-tipped conical bullets, one of which, my first shot,

396 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

had passed clean through the tsine. I found it to be a most
effective weapon upon both tsine and gaur.

On glancing through my diaries, I notice that there are a
good many entries such as : " Came upon a herd of tsine to-
day, did not fire at them, as I was following up the tracks of a
solitary bull ; " or " Saw two herds of tsine to-day, but did not
shoot, as there were no animals amongst them with heads
worth having and I am not in want of fresh meat." Other
entries often occurred such as : " Saw two solitary bull tsine
to-day, but failed to get a shot at either, as they winded me
and made off; " or " Came upon fresh tracks of a solitary bull
tsine this afternoon,; but failed to come up with the owner
before dark." A few entries such as : " Fired at and wounded
a solitary bull tsine to-day, and had a long stern chase but
did not succeed in bagging him," may also be seen occasion-
ally. It is not necessary to slaughter every animal that one
comes across simply for the sake of shooting. I cannot repeat
too often that the man who does so is no sportsman, but an
itinerant butcher.

I found the '303 Lee-Metford carbine quite ineffective upon
tsine, and when using it I lost a great many more animals
than I bagged.

On one occasion I came upon a herd of tsine, numbering, I
should think, some twenty-five to thirty animals in all. So
tame were they, that they allowed me to come up and fire at
them no less than half-a-dozen times within the space of five
minutes. My shots, whether aimed too high or too low, did
not seem to have the desired effect, and the animals trotted
away a short distance and, after each shot, turned round to
stare at me, wondering, I have no doubt, what the sharp short
reports could mean. But, what was still worse, there were no
blood-drops by which I could follow up any wounded animal.

My hands were not perhaps as steady as they might have
been, as I had to make several short spurts of 50 and 100
yards on two or three occasions to make up on the animals
before firing, a necessity not at all conducive to good shooting.

One animal certainly did fall as if dead; I passed it lying
on the ground as I sprinted to try and cut off the rest of
the herd, but found, much to my surprise, on my return to

A BULL MERELY STUNNED 397

look for it, that it was non inventus. I concluded therefrom
that my bullet had either grazed the spine or glanced off its
head, stunning it temporarily. This often happens, and, as I
have remarked before, an animal which drops to your shot
like a stone invariably gets up again little or none the worse,
and makes off. No animal mortally wounded by a body-shot
drops thus, and remains perfectly motionless, unless the spine
has been penetrated. Sometimes, even in the latter case,
animals stagger away before dropping.

Tsine are, as a rule, found near streams whose banks are
thickly wooded with bamboo and undergrowth, but they are
also sometimes found feeding or lying up a long distance from
water. They are particularly fond of sleeping or resting in
low bamboo-wooded undulating forest.

The best way to find fresh tracks is to walk along down the
bed of some stream, where there is only an occasional pool of
water and where tsine are accustomed to drink, and the chances
are that before the sportsman has gone very far he will come
upon the tracks of both solitary and herd animals crossing and
re-crossing the stream. They are often found feeding on the
succulent shoots of doop grass, which grows along the banks
and in the beds of streams.

During the dry weather some of the streams dwindle to a
tiny rivulet, an inch or two deep and a few feet broad, mean-
dering along the course, sometimes disappearing altogether to
reappear lower down, and forming at times large pools, which
are frequently visited by animals during the hottest time of
the day.

I remember on one occasion out shooting in the jungles,
accompanied by three of my hunters, near the village of
" Kyauk oh," which in Burmese signifies " stone pot," coming
suddenly upon three bull tsine, or rather, to put the case
more honestly, they intruded upon us. Moung Hpe, Moung
Youk, and another old friend, whose name I have forgotten,
and I had seated ourselves on the ground in a shady spot
beside a pool, where we intended having some refreshment.

We had been out all day in the broiling sun since 5 a.m.
without getting a shot, and as it was then about mid-day, we
called a halt at the pool to cool ourselves and have drink.

398 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

The water was not very inviting to look at, being full of green,
mossy-looking vegetable matter, decayed leaves and branches;
it was nevertheless quite palatable.

A sportsman in Burma must not be too fastidious with
regard to the water he drinks. I have often been only too
glad to go down on my hands and knees and drink deep
draughts of water at the first pool I came to without looking
at its colour. Of course, I always make a point of sniffing at
it, and if too malodorous or tasty, never drank it. The nose
is a very good guide in these matters. I believe the drinking
of water does one less harm in India than most people
imagine, and I am quite sure that more men in the East
suffer from over-doses of whisky than from the evil effects of
drinking water.

But to return to our tsine. We had been seated for about
half-an-hour, when the noise of animals galloping at a great
pace in our direction became apparent. Moung Hpe immedi-
ately jumped to his feet, and said, " Thakin, tsine yd thouk-
po-la-byi " (Sir, tsine are coming to drink water). On second
thoughts, however, he said, " Ma hopu thakin, tsine ye" thauk
po la-bo-kyan-de-chunok-do kyi-ya-mya-ah-hnan-ya-thwa-
byi yaku pyi ne de" (No, sir, the tsine were on their way to
drink, but they scented our tracks and are now making off).

From the direction in which the galloping sounded, I con-
cluded that the animals were heading in our direction, so,
leaving my men at the pool and loading up the 8-bore, I
walked out towards the point at which I expected the tsine
to put in an appearance. I had not long to wait before some
three or four bulls galloped past me at a great pace. A small
patch of low kaing grass and some stunted shrubs partially
hid them from my view as they charged past my position
some 30 yards off, and though an occasional glimpse of
them could be obtained, yet it was insufficient to allow of my
shooting with any chance of putting a bullet in the right
place, or even hitting an animal at all. I noticed besides,
after they had passed me, that they were slackening their
speed and intending pulling up close by.

I now began to stalk them, and had not gone 150 yards
before I caught sight of three of the animals standing on the

WOUND TWO BULLS WITH ONE SHOT 399

far side of a small patch of low grass, a space of some
90 yards between us. I was fortunately hidden from their
view in a strip of jungle.

All three animals appeared very uneasy, and were walking
backwards and forwards in a restless undecided manner when
I caught sight of them. I could not see the fourth, but doubt-
less he was not far off. I noticed that when the tsine were
stationary they held their heads high and craned their necks
from side to side, looking hard in the direction by which they
had come, and from whence they had evidently expected
danger. Occasionally they would glance over in the direction
of the pool, for which they were presumably bound when they
crossed our trail.

I remained motionless for quite five minutes in the hope of
seeing them make towards the pool for a drink, but they were
apparently suspicious of danger and remained where they
were. One animal gave me some splendid opportunities of
shooting, but the distance was too great for me to risk it with
the 8-bore. With a lighter weapon it would have been a very
different matter.

It now struck me that if I did not look sharp my men
would be coming to look for me, as they were ignorant of the
fact that the beasts were close by. In fact, one of the hunters
was already making a clicking noise with his tongue to attract
my attention. This noise is peculiar to Burmans. I put
up the 100 yards sight and waited. The animal which
showed himself before gave me another chance, of which I
availed myself. He stood like a rock while I aimed for his
shoulder high up. A second animal stepped out from behind
some high grass as I was about to pull the trigger, and stood
close alongside the animal at which I was aiming. I pulled
the trigger ; the brutes swerved and dashed off at right angles
from each other. The one fired at only went some 30
yards and then pulled up, the other held on with a broken
hind leg ; my bullet, a conical steel-tipped one, hit it after
passing clean through the first animal.

I ran up and despatched the first bull, which was standing
quite dazed, the bullet having entered the loins rather far
back. My hunters now joined me, and we took on the tracks

400 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

of the other. There were numerous traces of blood on the
ground, and it was not long before I caught sight of the tsine
limping painfully along. Telling my men to remain behind,
I ran quickly but quietly on, and put in a shot which took
effect in the small of the ribs and raked his vitals forward, the
bullet making its exit through the right shoulder-blade. The
shot brought him to a standstill, but he turned round and
faced me with his head down, shaking it at intervals, and
stamping the while with his feet. I took good care to have a
bamboo clump between us, in case he should make up his
mind to charge.

After a little manoeuvring I managed to work my way
round to his flank, but no sooner did he catch sight of me
than he wheeled round again and faced me with lowered
head, snorting at intervals. My patience was by this time
exhausted, so aiming point-blank for the frontal bone, I fired.
The tsine dropped like a stone, and after a few short struggles
was hors de combat.

After disembowelling him we made tracks for camp. En
route, while rounding a bend of the Nampan stream, which
had at that time very little water in it, we came suddenly
upon a pack of wild dogs which had pulled down a sambur.
The poor beast was still struggling when we appeared upon
the scene. I had no time to change my 8-bore for a smaller
weapon before the dogs had disappeared. The sambur had been
ham-strung, and its hind-quarters were fearfully lacerated, as
also were the neck and throat. The latter was punctured in a
dozen places. The deer was a full-grown doe, and on dis-
embowelling her we found she was with young, which would
have probably been born in a day or two.

These wild dogs do a great deal of damage to the deer
tribe, especially to sambur and barking deer, both of which
are run down and winded by these plucky and hardy little
poachers. It is not often that one comes across them, as they
are very shy.

Richardson of the Police, whilst out on tour in the Ruby
Mines district, between the village of Ginnwe and Pinkan,
came upon a pack of these animals, which had just pulled
down a barking deer or gyi. He dismounted from his pony

WILD DOGS 401

and fired at them with his revolver in the hope of bagging
one. The " gyi," which had not, if I remember rightly, been
badly injured, received the bullet instead, and the dogs unfor-
tunately escaped scot free.

Richardson, when telling me about it afterwards, said that
the deer's skin had been scored in a dozen different places by
the teeth of the dogs, but was otherwise uninjured.

I have gone out, during the hot weather on many occasions,
after big game mounted on a pony and accompanied by two
of my shikaries, who were also mounted. A great deal of
ground can be covered in this manner in a short space of time,
and it always enabled me to return to my house early enough
for a warm tub and dinner. Tagaung, my head-quarters, was
a very convenient place for shooting of this kind. It was
always a very easy matter for me to ride out in the morning,
provided, of course, I had no very important work on hand,
bag a solitary tusker elephant or a gaur or two, and ride back
to Tagaung in the evening none the worse, in time to change
for dinner. Many men overdo the thing on foot, and not
only knock themselves up, but lay themselves open to attacks
of fever.

The two men, Moung Hlaing and Moung Youk, villagers
of Tagaung and Pongon, who used to accompany me on these
expeditions, could both ride fairly well. Moung Youk carried
my 8-bore rifle slung over his shoulders and a bag of cart-
ridges, Moung Hlaing was laden with three Burmese " lueaiks "
or satchels, containing our respective breakfasts and luncheons,
and their own betel-boxes and other paraphernalia. I carried
a single Martini-Metford rifle and a pair of binoculars. We
also took two leather water-bottles, or " chaguls," with us.
When the ground was soft the three ponies moved along
quite noiselessly in single file. I invariably took the lead, and
when one of us saw a track which looked fresh, we all dis-
mounted and I took the lead on foot, leaving my men to
follow at a respectable distance. Occasionally, I would mount
my pony till told we were near the animal, when I would
dismount again and begin the stalk.

The pony I rode, a dark bay, would allow me to fire off its
back without flinching. The first time, however, that I tried

D D

402 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

it, I remember the shock of the recoil nearly knocked me out
of the saddle.

We had just come on a herd of tsine, which, however, had
winded us, and made off. Shortly afterwards, while tracking
up a solitary tsine, we came upon another old bull standing
stern on between two bamboo clumps, its head and shoulders
completely hidden from view and protected by one of
them.

All three of us were mounted at the time, but so noiselessly
did we approach that we were unheard. I had just time to
lean over my saddle, take the 8-bore out of Moung Youk's
hands, giving him the Metford, and fire a hurried shot at
the animal's flanks. The bullet struck right enough, but the
shot entered too far back. The tsine, on receiving the shot,
dashed round a clump of bamboos, and disappeared into an
adjacent patch of grass before I could get in a second shot.
We took on the track and followed in his wake as quickly as
possible. After going about 250 yards, we came on him
standing in some tall grass. He heard us coming, however,
and making his exit on the other side entered another large
stretch of tall kaing grass, where we had very hard work to
stick to his trail, as there were numerous tracks of tsine
which had recently been in the vicinity. It was now neces-
sary to be careful, as, should we come on the wounded
animal, it would very likely be at close quarters.

He was still a long way off, however, and it was not till
some three hours after that we came upon him lying down
under the shade of some bamboos.

The wind being in our favour, I managed, under cover of
some shrubs, to work my way up till within 20 yards of
him. I was armed with a Lee-Metford, as I wanted to test
its efficiency as a sporting weapon. Aiming for the point of
its shoulder, I fired, the bullet used being a solid nickel-coated
one. The tsine struggled to its feet with difficulty. I had
reloaded in the meantime, and aiming again for the head, as
it was about to dash off, I pulled the trigger. The bullet
made the animal turn a complete somersault and roll over on
its side dead. He was a magnificent specimen, standing
1 6 hands and 3 inches at the shoulder. One horn was a

MISCELLANEOUS SPOtiT 403

mere stump measuring only a few inches, it having been
broken off at the base ; the other was 24^ inches.

MISCELLANEOUS SPORT

The following are some of the best shooting districts in
Burma : —

1. Ma-u-bin. — Elephant, tiger, leopard, sambur, and hog
deer.

2. Tavoy. — Elephant, rhinoceros, gaur, tsine, leopard, tiger,
tapir, sambur, etc.

3. Pyuntaza in the Pegu Yoma Hills. — Gaur, rhinoceros,
and elephant.

4. Shwegyin and Tongho. — Tiger, gaur, tsine, leopard,
buffalo, deer, and elephant.

5. Pegu district, in the jungles near the villages of Panoot
and Pagyne. — Elephants, tigers, and thamine, or brow-antlered
deer, may be shot.

6. Papun district, Salween. — Elephant, rhinoceros, gaur,
tsine, tiger, tapir, and magnificent mahseer fishing.

7. Excellent tiger, rhinoceros, gaur, tsine, and thamine
shooting may be had to the east of Tharrawaddy amongst the
Pegu Yomahs, and at their base near Tapoon.

8. Mergui, Tenasserim Province. — All large game except
elephants.

9. Yai, below Amherst. — Elephant, leopard, tiger, rhino-
ceros, tapir, gaur.

10. Ruby Mines, Tagaung, Wapyu-daung, Momeik. — Gaur,
rhinoceros, tsine, elephant, wild goat, bear, leopard, tiger,
sambur, pig.

11. Bassein district, Arrakan Yomahs. — Rhinoceros, gaur,
elephant, tsine, tiger, and leopard.

12. Wild buffaloes may be shot between Prome and Arra-
kan in the Arrakan Yomahs, and near Banlong and Myetquin.

13. Tigers and wild buffaloes are to be obtained in Pyapun.

14. Chindwin district. — Rhinoceros, gaur.

15. Mogaung. — Tiger, gaur, tsine, thamine, and elephant.

1 6. Elephants in the low flat country of Pegu, viz. Pagaing

4o4 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and Panoot, leave for Bawni and Zamini in the rains, where
they may be shot.

17. Excellent duck, snipe, partridge, deer, bear, and leopard
shooting may be had between Wuntho and Tigyaing.

1 8. Splendid snipe shooting may be had at Dabein and
Ledaung-gan between Rangoon and Pegu ; the latter is in
itself one of the best snipe grounds in Burma.

There is hardly a village in Upper Burma near which game
of some kind may not be put up during a drive. Burmans, as
a rule, are very good at making a " bundobust " for a drive,
and can tell to within a yard or two where an animal will
break. Should a sportsman wish to arrange a beat near a
village, he should notify the thugyi the night before, and also
call up the local shikaries and hold a friendly confab with
them as to the patches of jungle to be beaten up on the
morrow, and the kind of animals that are most likely to turn
up in them.

The services of at least twenty or thirty villagers should be
requisitioned for driving. It depends very much on the
extent of jungle that has to be driven.

I have seen as many as fifty or sixty beaters at work. It
is not advisable, however, to have too many men, as they are
harder to keep in hand and often go off the line. They
should always be cautioned to move along quietly, tapping
the trees on either side as they proceed. It is much
easier to keep a few beaters in hand than a large number,
unless, of course, they are skilled at this sort of work, and
each man knows every foot of the ground he is beating, and
the point which he has to make for. They often go off the
line, and beat up some jungle in an entirely opposite direction
to that in which the guns have been placed.

When too much noise is made animals, such as sambur, pig,
and barking deer, very often break through the beaters. On
the other hand, when the men are moving along quietly, the
driven beasts have time to consider from what quarter to
expect danger, and after stopping to listen once or twice they
invariably move straight ahead towards the guns. The
sportsman is posted at some likely spot, a cart-track, for
instance, or an open glade ; in fact, the most likely spots for

BEST WEAPONS TO USE FOR GAME 407

the animals to break out of the cover which is being beaten.
These places are well known to the local shikanes.

The sportsman should make sure before firing at anything,
that he is really about to pull trigger at an animal and not at
a human being. Mistakes of this kind have often happened
in Burma and elsewhere through the sportsman, whose nerves
are, perhaps, through excitement somewhat overstrung, being
in too great a hurry to shoot at the first moving object that
presents itself ; one cannot, therefore, be too careful.

No small-bores, rifled to carry long distances, such as -303,
•256, and Martini-Henrys, should be used on occasions like
this, as one never knows where the bullet travels to. The
best weapons to use when driving for any of the following
animals, viz. tiger, leopard, bear, sambur, or pig, are a double
hammerless 12-bore Paradox by Holland and Holland, or a
double "577 express with solid, soft lead bullets. The Paradox
burns a charge of from 3 to 4 drams of powder and carries a
conical bullet. A 12-bore shot-gun, burning a maxim charge
of 3^ drams powder, and carrying a solid, spherical, hardened
bullet or Meade shells for the smaller and less dangerous
animals, is also a very serviceable weapon. It cannot be
depended upon, however, to carry a ball accurately at any
distances beyond 40 or 50 yards.

When the sportsman intends to beat up jungle near
villages he should take a shot-gun with him, as jungle-fowl,
pheasant, and even pea-fowl and hare often appear, and
magnificent shots at the former while on wing may be obtained.
I have seen twenty and thirty jungle-fowl fly out of beaten
cover overhead in ones and twos at a great pace, and they
often rocket and afford excellent sport. Number four or five
shot is the size for jungle-fowl and pheasant ; for pea-fowl and
geese numbers two and three are more suitable. Cartridges
loaded with buck-shot to the number of twelve in each should
be taken with the sportsman, as barking deer and hog deer
often rush past at such a pace that they only afford a glimpse.
It is then well-nigh impossible to hit them with a bullet from
a rifle unless the sportsman is a second Dr. Carver. The
beaters will often try to take their dogs along with them to
assist in driving the game. This should not be allowed, as

408 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

they invariably enter the jungle before the beaters have begun
work and start a hunt after some animal on their own account,
thereby alarming the whole jungle. When untrained dogs
are used, the hunted animals invariably dash away at a tre-
mendous pace in the opposite direction to that in which the
sportsman has been posted, and very often the dogs are shot
by some one in mistake for a barking deer. Dogs are only
useful for bringing big game to bay, to enable the sportsman
to walk up and fire at the animal with the best head, for
running down a wounded animal, or for locating a tiger,
leopard, or bear.

Should the sportsman be the only armed European present
at a drive, he should see that he is posted in the best position,
which is usually the centre. Two stops, some fifty or a hun-
dred paces ofT, should also be placed in likely spots on his right
and left. These two men should be instructed to turn inwards
any animals which may appear in front of them, so as to afford
the sportsman a shot.

To avoid any disappointment it is well to see, before a drive
is begun, that each beater understands the point for which he
has to make.

A wrong line is often taken, and the sportsman is left alone
wondering why the noises made by the beaters are growing
fainter and fainter, the beaters having moved off in an entirely
opposite direction to that in which the sportsman has been
posted. The men should also be instructed to stop beating
only when they have come within a yard or two of the guns.
They have a knack of scattering and stopping to talk to one
another, taking it for granted that there are no animals left
between them and the sportsman, but I have seen both
barking deer and pig break away past the guns when the
beaters have been only a few yards distant.

It is simply wonderful what can be turned out of a patch of
jungle by beaters. The first animal to put in an appearance, as
a rule, is either the sambur or barking deer. Should the former
put in an appearance first he will be seen moving along slowly
with a wonderfully noiseless tread. He will often appear
quite suddenly in front of the sportsman without giving
any warning, at other times, when startled suddenly,

VARIETY OF GAME MET WITH IN A BEAT 409

he will dash out of the cover straight ahead at full
speed ; occasionally he stops and turns his head to listen,
his long bell-shaped ears twitching backwards and forwards
restlessly the while, endeavouring to catch the slightest sound.
Should the wind enable him to catch the scent of the sports-
man, he will immediately dash off at right angles to his former
course with long bounds, uttering a sharp bell of alarm. But
hark ! what is that sharp clattering of hoofs on the hard
ground ? some animal is pelting along towards the sportsman.
Presently with a bound a chestnut-coloured, short-horned
animal scurries past like a flash, uttering a sharp bark as he
darts off at a tangent on catching sight of his foe. A troop
of chattering monkeys next put in an appearance, some
running along the ground, others tearing away through the
foliage overhead, and all in a great hurry to get out of dangers
way. Mothers, clutching their young one with one arm, skip
from branch to branch in fear and trepidation. Old scowling
males scamper along on all-fours over the ground, stopping
occasionally to rise on their hind-legs and look back along their
line of flight. In a short time they have all disappeared. A
few pheasants now hurry along, uttering the low gurgling cries
peculiar to them when disturbed. The beaters soon draw
near, and there does not seem to be another living thing in the
cover, when suddenly a huge solitary boar charges out at a
terrific pace, to be met with a right and left from the sports-
man which terminates his career for ever. A more glorious
death would have been his if, instead of the deadly tube, the
sportsman had met him face to face in the open with the spear.
A jungle-cock now comes running along followed by a whole
harem of hens, and, passing to the right of the sportsman,
they all get up and fly off with startled screams on perceiving
him. A few squirrels next scamper through the foliage, and
perhaps a porcupine or an iguana scuttles away, the two latter
making more noise than a dozen animals of greater worth.

The beaters now come into view with dishevelled heads and
garments, their long hair streaming about their necks and
shoulders, and perspiring from every pore. Some sit down to
extract thorns from the soles of their naked feet and other parts
of their persons, which are usually unprotected from the thighs

4io WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

downwards. Others are engaged re-arranging their hair and
tying up their " gaung baungs " or turbans, whilst some lie
down at full length on the ground to rest themselves. Driving
is hard, hot, thirsty work for the men, and the sportsman must
take care not to overwork them or lose his patience, or he will
find it very hard to obtain their services again. Government
officials, as a rule, do not pay villagers for beating jungle, as it
is often voluntarily done and payment is not wanted or asked
for. The greater portion of the meat of the animals shot is
usually made over to them as their portion. Should no game
have been bagged, however, and the sportsman had several
shots, it is advisable to divide Rs.5 or Rs.io amongst the
beaters according to the number employed. It enables them
at any rate to buy cheroots for themselves. The sportsman,
should he be driving in a locality where game is plentiful, will
sometimes have bear and leopard driven out to him, and on rare
occasions a tiger. I remember an instance of one of the latter
being driven out by beaters, when only sambur and barking
deer were expected. The incident which I am about to relate
happened near the village of Sagadaung in the Momeik State,
Ruby Mines district. Tom Dobson of the Police, as keen a
sportsman and as good a shot as is to be found anywhere in
the country, had during a beat wounded a sambur. The
animal, which was hard hit, managed to get away into an
adjoining cover. The beaters, some twenty men in all,
proceeded to beat out this thicket, while Dobson took up a
position at the far end.

Dobson, who was only armed with a 12-bore shot-gun, did
not of course expect to come upon a tiger so near the village.
His right chamber was loaded with 3 drams of powder and a
Meade shell, whilst his left contained the same charge of
powder but a solid spherical bullet. The beaters had hardly
begun when the tiger appeared suddenly on the scene within
a few yards of Dobson. I think that at the time the
latter was seated on a log smoking a cigarette. At any rate
the tiger halted on seeing Dobson, and so composed was the
latter, that he cogitated whether it would not be advisable to
fire the left barrel first instead of the right one, the solid ball
being more effective than the Meade explosive shell.

SHOOT A BEAR 411

Having made up his mind on the subject he pulled the
left trigger, and the tiger sank to the ground on all-fours with
its head resting on its paws, the bullet having pierced its
brain.

I remember having a somewhat similar experience with my
first bear. I had been beating for sambur in the neighbour-
hood of Pinlebu Katha district, and had just driven two
covers, when a villager turned up and informed me that he
had seen a bear enter a patch of jungle some 300 yards off.
We proceeded thither without any delay, and after posting
two other guns, one on either side of me, some 150 yards
apart, the beaters began their work.

My position overlooked the ravine in which the bear was
supposed to have taken up his quarters, and I also had a clear
view of the ground to the right, left, and front. Before the
beaters started work, I had ordered the villagers to tie up
three dogs which they had brought with them, as I was afraid
the bear would break away in an entirely opposite direction
to that by which he was expected to emerge from the cover.
The beaters were now making enough noise to awaken the
seven sleepers. As the wind was rather high I could not hear
anything moving inside the jungle. A barking deer suddenly
appeared in view, about 1 50 yards off, and began to trot along
the side of the cover towards me. As I did not wish to alarm
the bear I let it go unmolested. A minute or so afterwards I
heard two or three sharp hoarse grunts, followed by yells from
the beaters, and at the same time saw a number of the latter
ascending trees like monkeys. After a few shouts of inquiry, I
ascertained that the bear had broken back but had not left
the cover. It was now suggested that the three dogs should
be brought back and taken into the cover with the beaters,
who were to begin the drive over again. The dogs were then
let loose, and the beaters recommenced their work with more
confidence, perhaps, than on the first occasion. In a few
minutes I heard two or three sharp yelps, and knew that the
pariahs had given tongue on scenting the bear. It was not
long before Bruin appeared lumbering along with a heavy
tread. On reaching the open he stopped, and turned round to
listen, twisting his snout in every conceivable direction and

412 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

sniffing the air the while. After satisfying himself that his
enemies were in his rear he trotted slowly up the incline
towards me.

Fortunately, none of the dogs had followed him, or else he
would have travelled much faster, in which case I should not
have got such an easy shot. As it was he only moved along
at a slow trot I waited till he had approached to within
about 30 yards of me, and as he was moving off broadside on,
I fired, aiming a little behind his left shoulder. On feeling
the shot he stood upon his hind-legs and, after uttering two or
three angry roars, clawed and bit to pieces a small sapling
which grew beside him. As he again dropped on all-fours I
fired the second barrel, which was too much for him, so he
turned tail and re-entered the jungle looking very sick. The
beaters and dogs now appeared, and the latter very soon
found the bear lying dead on its stomach a few yards inside
the cover, with its tongue protruding.

Bears commit great havoc amongst plantain groves, or, in
fact, any fruit-bearing trees, Jack fruit especially. They may
often be found up trees asleep in wigwams, which they con-
struct themselves of leaves and branches. Burmans and Karens
are often severely mauled by them.1 I know of several instances
of villagers having been injured by bears attacking them whilst
collecting firewood, fruit, etc. It often happens that a bear is
up a tree, like the Thabye-thee tree, for instance, eating the
berries, when some unsuspecting villager appears upon the
scene to pick up the fallen fruit or collect dried sticks and
branches for firewood. The bear on seeing the person below
him generally scrambles down as quickly as possible, usually
with the intention of escaping, but should the unfortunate
human being be too close to the tree trunk when the bear
reaches the ground, he will most assuredly be attacked and
badly clawed and bitten, the injuries sustained frequently
resulting in death.

I remember the case of a hunter who will carry to the grave
with him the marks of a severe mauling from a bear, which
had been feasting on Jack fruits in a strip of jungle on the

1 In Assam more people are mauled and killed by bears than by
tigers.— F. T. P.

A MAN MAULED BY A BEAR 413

banks of the river Lemro facing the village of Lehnyindaung,
Akyab district. Three hunters, A, B, and C, of whom two were
armed with flint-lock guns and one with a dah only, left the
above-named village together to shoot on the opposite bank
of the river. While they were seated at the foot of a Jack
fruit tree a bear came upon the scene and ascended a tree
near at hand. They waited till he had got well into the
branches, and then one hunter, A, fired at him. The bear fell
to the ground after making one or two vain efforts to maintain
its equilibrium, but managed to hobble off into a dense patch
of jungle close by. C, who was armed only with a "dah she,"
or fighting sword, and B, who had one of the guns, decided to
leave the bear alone and persuaded A to do the same, and
proposed to return to the village for dogs to hunt up the
wounded animal. As they were about to re-cross the river
with the intention of going to Lehnyindaung, A changed his
mind, and said he was going back to shoot the bear whether
his two comrades accompanied him or not. B agreed to wait
by the canoe till A and C returned, the latter having finally
agreed to go with A. On reaching the cover in which the
bear had taken refuge, A crawled into it on his hands and
knees, and suddenly came upon the bear face to face. He pulled
the trigger but his gun missed fire, and the bear charged,
seizing him first by the left arm and then by the right
thigh, and began to worry him. A, who was bowled over
into a sitting posture with his legs stretched out straight
before him, held on to the bear's ears like grim death,
shouting all the time for assistance. A was all this
time exerting his strength to the utmost to prevent the
animal biting him about the loins and stomach, as a nip in
those parts might prove fatal. C all this time had apparently
lost his head, as he was dancing about, chopping down at the
same time the plantain trees in his immediate neighbourhood,
and shouting at the top of his voice — " He will be killed ; he will
be killed." Fortunately for A, B heard the uproar and cries
for assistance, and appeared upon the scene in the nick of
time, as poor A was nearly done. The bear's head being held
low down between A's thighs, B had to squat on the ground
before firing, which he did at a distance of about two paces,

4i4 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

aiming at the head. The bullet narrowly missed hitting A on
the leg, as after passing through the bear's head it entered the
ground alongside A's thigh.

The river Lemro for a distance of quite two miles is thickly
wooded on either bank with Jack fruit trees, and bears, sambur,
and pigs are often to be found feeding during the early hours
of the morning and in the evening ; the whole atmosphere is
sometimes impregnated with the sickly odour of Jack fruit,
and during the night the sounds of the over-ripe fruit falling
to the ground may be heard for a considerable distance.
Bears are also found in hilly rocky places in deep ravines, and
in tree forest where there is a certain amount of undergrowth.
The sportsman should always look up those localities where
wild mangoes and other fruit trees are plentiful, as bears are
particularly partial to fruit. I will now relate the circum-
stances under which I got another bear in the hills between
the village of Chaukmaw and Pinkan, in the Momeik State of
the Ruby Mines district.

While riding along the road from Pinkan to Chaukmaw,
accompanied by Moung Kyun Thet, one of my hunters, and
two of his companions, we came on the tracks of a bear.
The animal had apparently been regaling itself during the
early hours of the morning on wild mangoes, which were
plentifully strewed about on either side of the road. After
dismounting and sending my pony on to Chaukmaw we took
on the tracks of the bear, which led up a steep ridge. I had
with me an 8-bore rifle and 12-bore shot-gun; the latter
burned a maximum charge of 4^ drams of powder and carried
a spherical ball. The track took us up and down hill over
some very rough and steep ground, and, as the sun was ex-
tremely warm, walking was, to say the least of it, hard work.
The bear having covered a considerable amount of ground,
we eventually gave up in disgust, as I saw that if we went
much further we should not be able to return to Chaukmaw
that night. We accordingly turned our faces homeward and
took our way down a very steep rocky incline. Being a fast
walker, and having made my gun over to one of my men,
I pushed on ahead, intending to take a drink at the stream
whose waters could be heard roaring at the bottom of the

DISTURB A BEAR DURING HIS ABLUTIONS 415

hill. I told my three followers that I would wait for them there,
and requested them to follow slowly and take every care of
my guns. I reached the bottom in about half-an-hour without
any mishap, and after a good drink of icy water I stretched
myself out under the shade of a tree to rest. I determined
to lie perdu when my followers put in an appearance, in
order to see what they would do. Waiting till they were
half-way down the incline, and I could hear their voices
distinctly, I hid myself behind a thin fringe of bushes which
skirted the stream within a few feet of the water's edge. The
men presently appeared picking their way carefully down the
rugged incline. One of my followers, I may remark, was
armed with a flint-lock gun ; as soon as they reached the
bottom I could see from the movements of their lips and the
expressions on their faces that they were wondering what had
become of me, but owing to the noise made by the stream,
which flowed close behind me, I could not hear what they
were saying although they were only some twenty-five paces
distant. All at once I was surprised to see Moung Kyun
Thet, the man who was carrying my 8 -bore, hand his weapon
hastily to one of his companions and receive in exchange the
flint-lock gun, which he deliberately pointed in my direction.
Thinking he had mistaken me for some animal and was
about to fire, I sprang up like a Jack-in-the-box.

Moung Kyun Thet quickly handed back the flint-lock and,
seizing the 8-bore, rushed up to me with it, pointing at the
same time to the stream behind me, where, to my astonish-
ment, I saw a huge bear enjoying a bath, about 8 or 10
yards from the bushes behind which I had been concealed.
I took a steady aim for the shoulder and fired. All this was
only the work of a few seconds. A few short, barking roars
from the bear were followed by a charge up the bank straight
for us. The effort proved abortive, for, on reaching the top, he
fell backwards into the water, stone dead. All this while a
most ludicrous incident was taking place. One of my followers,
the one armed with a flint-lock gun, had accidentally disturbed
the nest of a small species of hornet, and the furious little
insects had attacked him at all points with such vigour that
he was unable to fire at the bear as it charged up the bank.

4i 6 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

To see him attempt to bring his gun to his shoulder and
immediately lower it again, bobbing and squirming about
while endeavouring to crush the insects which were stinging
his bare legs and thighs, was, to say the least of it, extremely
funny. The bear was an old veteran with hardly a sound
tooth in his head, and his skull now adorns my room along
with other trophies of the chase.

I will now describe some incidents which occurred in the
Akyab district, and request my reader to accompany me
at least in the spirit to these well-known and much-appre-
ciated hunting-grounds ; if later on he should be tempted
to venture there in the body, he need only step on board
a B. I. steamer at Rangoon, and in three days he will
reach his destination. Steamers for Akyab leave the Boh-
ta-taung jetty. In the north-east monsoon, from September
till May, on Tuesday mornings. In the south-west monsoon,
May till September, on Monday mornings. The language
of the Arrakanese differs from that of the Burmese, as
much as the English language differs from the Scotch.
All words ending in ya are pronounced in Burmese as spelt,
while in Arrakanese they are transformed into ra. There
are many other peculiarities connected with the language
which need not be detailed. The better class of Arrakanese
are more intelligent than the same class amongst the Burmese.
Their general appearance seems to indicate that they have
a strain of Indian blood in their veins, and unlike Mongolians
they often have heavy hirsute appendages.

Some very fine snipe shooting may be had in the neigh-
bourhood of Akyab, and I am told the birds arrive there
before appearing in the Rangoon district. It would perhaps
be as well to warn the sportsman that the Akyab district is
notoriously feverish and unhealthy. Many Europeans who
live there seem to suffer greatly from malarial fever even after
a stay of only a few days. The best time of the year to visit
Arrakan is November, December, and January, the rainy
season being generally over in October.

Very good leopard, sambur, and barking deer shooting
may be had near Kyauktaw, a village in the Akyab district.
I shot my first leopard in the neighbourhood of this village

SHOOT A LEOPARD 417

while beating not far from the Kuladan river. Some villagers
from the far side of the river had reported that a couple of
leopards had recently carried off several goats and pigs, and
begged that the animals might be shot. So bold, in fact, had
they become that pigs and dogs had been carried off in broad
daylight. I determined to rid the neighbourhood of these
pests if possible, and as the villagers knew the locality in
which the leopards had taken up their quarters, I sent word
to say that I would go over the next day if beaters were
collected, and that they were to meet me on my arrival at the
village. I crossed the river in the early morning and, after a
short palaver with the head-man and beaters, we made tracks
for the spot where the leopards were supposed to be lying up.
We beat several strips of jungle without coming across any
signs, and with the exception of barking deer, a pig, and some
jungle fowl, nothing was seen. But later on our efforts were
rewarded.

The cover to be beaten was a long low-lying ridge with
very thin bush extending down either side, scarcely sufficient,
one would think, to afford cover for such large animals. There
was a small patch of thick cover, however, at the far end of the
ridge where the beaters were to begin, and where the leopards
proved to have been in hiding. I took up my position on
the top, and two men with guns were stationed at the foot of
the ridge, one on either side of me about 120 yards away, and
these were instructed to turn the leopards in my direction if
possible. The beaters now began their work some 400
yards off, moving in a semi-circle so as to prevent the
leopards from breaking away on either side. The ground
in my immediate front and to my right and left for about
50 or 60 yards was fairly open, so I hoped to obtain an easy
shot. The beaters drew nearer, and soon I heard a slow
" pitter-patter " on the dry leaves some 20 yards ahead, and a
large leopard came into view about ten paces from where I
was standing. On perceiving me he stopped and turned
partly round as if to pass on my right, showing me his teeth
at the same time while he uttered a low guttural snarl. I
raised my 12-bore, which was loaded with spherical ball and
3 drams of powder, and sent a ball through his right shoulder.

E E

4i8 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

The animal bounded off as if untouched, uttering as he
disappeared a sharp roar. The other leopard, which had
apparently been following its mate, broke back and dashed
through the beaters with an angry snarl. One man threw
his heavy wood-chopper or " dan ma " at it as it dashed past,
but the weapon rebounded off the animal's body with a dull
thud without doing any harm. I suppose she was a female,
as the one shot by me was a male. A few spots of blood
showed that I had not missed, and before we had gone 150
yards the leopard was viewed some 30 yards ahead, lying
stretched out on its side with its tongue hanging out and blood
oozing from its mouth. My bullet had entered at one side,
and after passing through its lungs made its exit on the
other.

I remember once on another occasion having a close
shave from a leopard which I had wounded. I had just
left my tent for a stroll along the bed of the Nampan stream,
and was walking some 20 yards ahead of my shikarie^ who
was carrying my 8-bore, when a leopard jumped down the
side of the bank and making its way to the water-side began
to drink. The 12-bore I was carrying at the time was loaded
with 3^ drams of powder and Meade shell. After a little
manoeuvring I managed to lessen the distance between us to
about 35 yards. As I was about to put my gun to my shoulder
the leopard looked round and saw me. I fired hurriedly as
it turned and bounded off towards the bank, but missed badly
with the first barrel ; my second shot was more successful, for
the brute dropped to the shot and lay motionless. Thinking
I had shot it dead I went forward some 25 yards, but was
surprised to see the leopard sit up. I now noticed that my
shot had taken effect on the jaw, which appeared to be
completely shattered, while drops of blood were falling on to
the ground, and it seemed quite dazed and helpless. My
hunter with the 8-bore now joined me, and at this moment
the leopard, which was only some 5 or 6 yards off, regained its
legs and charged straight at us. Fortunately, we were watch-
ing it at the time and were able to get out of its way ; both
eyes appeared to have been blinded by the effects of the Meade
explosive shell. I succeeded in getting in a right and left

PART BETWEEN CHITTAGONG AND AKYAB 419

as it was clambering up the bank, and one took effect, for it
fell backwards amongst some bushes along the river's edge
with its back broken. It was now easy to walk up and
administer the coup de grace, as it lay snarling and helpless.

Some excellent shooting may be had in the neighbourhood
of Maungdaw and along the river Naaf, which is the boundary
between the Chittagong and the Akyab districts. Pig,
sambur, leopard, and I have no doubt tiger and bear are
fairly plentiful, and up in the hills large game, such as gayal,
gaur, elephant, and rhinoceros, may also occasionally be met
with. This part of the country has not by any means been
overrun by sportsmen. Alligator shooting may also be had
up the river. The journey to within ten or fifteen miles of
Maungdaw, or Teknaaf as it is sometimes called, can be
performed in a steam-launch which leaves Akyab at least
once a week.

Tigers are not so readily got at in Burma as in India, for
howdah elephants are required to beat them out of the cover,
and there are not many to be obtained in Burma. It has
been said that there are very few tigers in Burma compared
with India. I doubt this statement.

Burma is not so thickly settled as India, nor do the
people in this country possess so many head of cattle. The
consequence is, that tigers in Burma have a large area of
unpopulated country to roam about and fewer cattle to prey
upon, while the immense jungles, some of which are well-nigh
impenetrable, afford magnificent cover where they lie unseen.
In India,1 tigers are often to be found in small patches of
jungle, close to villages where there are large herds of cattle,
upon which from time to time they levy toll. Goats, buffaloes,
and cows are carried off by these depredators in large numbers.
Buffaloes, ponies, cows, etc. are without doubt carried off in
Burma, but the numbers cannot be compared with those of
India. Tigers as a rule only prey upon cattle in those parts
where game is not plentiful. The favourite diet of the tiger
appears to be the pig or sambur, an immense number of these
animals falling victims to the carnivora. Tigers wander about
a great deal, and often turn up unexpectedly in the neighbour-
1 Also in Assam.— F. T. P.

420 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

hood of some village, where, for a few days, they commit great
havoc, not only on cattle but sometimes upon human beings,
and as suddenly disappear again, to be heard of at some other
place thirty or forty miles off.

Tigers in Burma are most often shot from a machan over
a " kill," or in other words buffalo or cow, which has been
killed or dragged away. Occasionally, however, an animal is
turned out in a beat near some village.

Colonel Pollok, who has shot a number of these animals, has
gone more fully into this subject.

I remember my first experience with a tiger in the days
when I was a griffin and had not begun to use a rifle. The
incident happened in the Sandoway district. I was out on
tour and had just arrived at the village of Sathwa, where the
thugyi, who was a half-bred native of India and Burma, begged
me to stay for a day and assist him in shooting a tiger, which
had been preying upon the cattle of several villages in the
neighbourhood, his own included. I was delighted at the
prospect of getting a shot at a tiger, so, after collecting some
thirty beaters, we sallied forth to beat up all the likely covers
where Stripes might be lying. There were three guns in all ;
a Civil police constable armed with a muzzle-loading Enfield,
the thugyi with a breech-loading snider carbine, and myself
with a double 12-bore shot-gun, loaded with 3^ drams of
powder and 12 buck-shot in each barrel, a very sorry weapon
indeed with which to face a tiger. After beating out some
eight or ten covers, which occupied the greater part of the
day, but without seeing any signs of the animal, we gave it up
in disgust and began to retrace our steps homewards. When
within 300 to 400 yards of Sathwa, a Burman, who was walking
behind me, touched me on the shoulder, and said in an excited
manner, " Thakin, thakin, no ma kya " (Sir, sir, there is the
tiger). I looked in the direction in which he was pointing, and
to my surprise saw Stripes seated watching some cows which
were feeding close by, and which were apparently quite
unconscious of danger. It was then about 5.30 p.m., and I
have no doubt that the tiger intended waiting till it got a
little darker before pouncing upon a victim. As the distance
between us was only about 60 yards he saw us at once, and,

LOSE A TIGER 421

rising to his feet with a toss of his head and a low growl,
trotted off into a clump of bushes on a hillock which was quite
isolated from any of the surrounding jungle. The thugyi
immediately ran round to the other side with the intention of
cutting off the animal's retreat, calling me at the same time to
accompany him, as the beaters would drive the tiger towards
us if he was still in the clump. Unfortunately, there were no
large trees up which I could ensconce myself, so I had to
remain standing on the ground. The thugyi quickly placed
himself on my left, whilst the constable who had accompanied
us climbed into the branches of the only available tree some
1 20 yards to my right. Being the only "Thakin" or Euro-
pean present, I was given the best position in the centre, the
one by which the tiger was expected to pass. As the ground
in the immediate rear of the constable and the thugyi was
open paddy field, the tiger was not expected to pass near
them. A short grassy glade some 30 yards broad separated
the small clump in which the tiger had taken up his quarters
from denser cover beyond, and it was across this strip, in the
centre of which I had been posted, that he was expected to
break. It was not long before the men began to make them-
selves heard, and we were soon to know whether the tiger was
still in the cover.

The beaters had not travelled 50 yards before I heard a
slow heavy tread on the dry leaves and undergrowth. The
jungle in my immediate front for some 50 or 60 yards was
fairly open and devoid of all thick undergrowth. In the
innocence of my unfledged experience, I had imagined that
the tiger would come flying past, and that I should then be
able to put in a right and left at close quarters, which would
be sure to take effect somewhere. Instead of that, however,
here he was walking along quite unconcernedly in my direction.
On perceiving me he stopped dead for a few seconds, and
then, after sniffing audibly, looked first towards the tree which
contained the constable, and then in the direction of the
thugyi, being all the time apparently perfectly well aware of
their presence. My heart all this time was thumping like a
sledge-hammer, and I must admit that I should like to have
been somewhere else at that moment. The tiger stood long

422 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

enough to be photographed if I had had a camera. He was
not more than thirty paces off, and his tail was twitching all
the time with spasmodic jerks. Taking a hurried aim, I
banged off both barrels, threw down my gun, and ran like a
redshank for the tree up which the policeman was snugly
seated. The tiger charged straight ahead with a roar without
attempting to come after me, and disappeared in the thick
jungle. I then returned to the spot where the animal had
been, but except for a few deep scratches on the ground from
the tiger's claws 'and the buckshot, there were no marks to
show whether I had missed or not.

I remember on one occasion sitting up over a buffalo that
had been killed by a tiger within 150 yards of a small village
situated on the banks of the Kin river, some 300 or 400 yards
from the village of Sagadaung, Momeik State* I had the
buffalo dragged to a suitable spot under a tree convenient
for erecting a machan, and staked it down there. The
machan was erected some 25 feet from the ground (8 or 10
feet too high). There was no time to alter it, as it was then
about 4.30 p.m., and the tiger might turn up at any moment ;
so, armed with a double smooth-bore loaded with 3 drams
of powder and spherical ball, I ascended the tree and sat
down on my perch. The erection or platform was very
badly constructed, and I had a very uncomfortable seat,
being obliged to sit down with my legs stretched out before
me. A rail had been constructed in front, on which I rested
my gun. My intention was to shoot the tiger if possible
through the head, for I did not mean to afterwards follow it
up on foot, through heavy cover, if only wounded. The village
being close at hand I expected all the different noises eman-
ating from it, women pounding rice, children crying, dogs
barking, and cattle lowing, would have tended to keep the
tiger away, so I did not anticipate its visit before dark. I
had not been seated half-an-hour, however, before the scream
of a startled jungle fowl warned me that something was on
foot. I was instantly on the qui vive, and before long I heard
all the " bulbuls " and other small birds chattering and twitter-
ing away in the bushes some 20 or 30 yards in my rear.
Presently the heavy tread of the tiger was heard, and on

SIT OVER A KILL 423

looking down I saw Stripes slouch quickly along and pass
under my roost to the kill. After walking round the carcase
and sniffing at it the tiger lay down beside it, all four legs
extended like a dog. I shut my eyes for a few seconds and
tried to pull myself together, then, aiming for the animal's
head, I fired. The tiger gave a loud " waugh," and was out
of sight before I could fire the second barrel. My bullet had
missed Stripes and hit the carcase of the buffalo. I was dis-
gusted with my bad shooting, as were the Burmans, for they
always expect a European to bag everything at which he
fires. I had really no excuse to offer. I would advise a
sportsman to always be present when a machan is being
erected for him if he wants a comfortable seat, for Burmans
are accustomed to squat in any position for hours without
discomfort, and consequently put up very rude machans
unless properly supervised. There should always be a rest
for the feet some 24 inches below the seat, and the sportsman
should be enabled to stand up, turn round, and fire in any
direction. The machan should be so constructed as not to
creak when movement is made inside it. Tigers visit their
kill as a rule about sunset, but sometimes, if the latter is too
near a village and Stripes is not very hungry, he will not
appear till I or 2 a.m.

In the jungle, far from any habitation, he will be found
feeding on the carcase at all hours of the day, and invariably
lies up close to it, especially if there should be water close by.
I remember on one occasion, when following up a solitary
bull gaur, coming suddenly upon a tiger which was making a
meal off a sambur. We were walking in single file, Moung
Hpe leading, the tracks winding through a patch of kaing
grass, which here and there was rather sparse. We were
moving along noiselessly, expecting each minute to sight the
gaur, when two or three loud snarling growls were uttered
close to us as the tiger bounded away through the grass. We
had almost walked on top of Stripes while he was feeding on
the remains of a sambur which had apparently been pulled
down by him two or three days before. Vultures were
perched on the surrounding trees, but not a single bird was
on the ground near the kill when we appeared. A tiger has

424 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

been known to kill a vulture which he caught helping himself
to the kill. Solitary wild dogs have been known to follow
tigers about, presumably in the hope of obtaining a share of
the spoil. I was once sitting over a cow, one of four
which had been killed by the same tiger ; two carcases had
been cut up and removed, and I expected Stripes to visit the
one over which I sat sentinel, for the fourth kill was not
discovered till the following morning. I waited all night in
vain, and at daylight found that the tiger had made a hearty
meal of the, till then unsuspected, fourth kill. The tracks of
a wild dog were noticed following, and in some instances
covering the tiger's pad marks, and I found that the wild dog
had accompanied the tiger to within a short distance of the
kill, where the dog had apparently laid down, and from this
place the dog tracks led straight to the partially consumed
carcase, on which the weaker marauder had presumably
regaled himself after the departure of the chief actor.

I have heard of a species of grey wolf which is said to exist
in Burma. My informant states that he saw them on two
occasions in the Shwebo district. On the first occasion there
was only one animal, but on the second there were two, and
so near was he when he encountered them that they snarled
at him before disappearing in the bush. I had never come
across any of these animals during my wanderings, in either
Upper or Lower Burma, and was unaware till now that they
were to be found. I have also learned from another source
that a wolf cub1 was caught in the Zamani forest, Pegu
district, and brought down to Rangoon, where it lived for
about eight years, only to fall a victim by the hands of an
over-zealous Burman constable, who poisoned it in compliance
with the municipal rules for destroying dogs.

1 These were probably wild dogs, and not wolves. — F. T. P.

ASSAM

[F. T. P.]

OF all our possessions in the East, Assam is probably the
richest in natural resources, and up to a very late period,
also the most neglected and backward. It came into our
possession on the conclusion of the Burmese war of 1824 —
1826.

During the time the Burmese had possession of it they had
devastated it fearfully ; they not only wiped out the majority
of males, but carried away very many of the younger women.

Although there are evidences that Assam at some remote
period has enjoyed a fair share of civilization, good govern-
ment, and prosperity, there remained to us but ruins of cities,
portions of vast embankments and dykes to prove that in a
by-gone generation Assam was not the deserted wilderness it
was when it became ours. Very soon after we annexed it
Mr. Bruce discovered the indigenous tea-plant.

The Province was never popular with the higher officials of
India or with Europeans in general. No governor-general
interested himself in the Province as Lord Dalhousie did in
Burma, or Lord Ellenborough in Scinde. It had no inde-
pendent Government, but was tacked on to Bengal, already
an unwieldy Lieutenant-Governorship ; but its patronage was
valuable, and any contemplated separation was strenuously
opposed. The local authorities and the Board of Revenue
were always at loggerheads; the former knew the require-
ments of the Province — the latter did not, and cared less.

Although Assam has fields of coal, petroleum, slate, and
other minerals in abundance, nothing was done to work them,
and had it not been for the lucky discovery of the tea-plant

425

426 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

I believe the Province would have been neglected to this
day.

But English capital was largely invested in that industry,
and the planters gradually but surely forced the Government
to introduce a better government.

But the success of a few companies induced others also to
embark in tea, and the wildest and, in many cases, the most
dishonest speculation took place, and led almost to the ruin of
the whole trade.

Assam is a long, narrow valley, bounded on one side by the
Bhootan, and on the other by the Cossyah and Garrow hills.
It is intersected by the Brahmapootra river, one of the finest
in India ; as it debouches from the Himalaya it takes a
westerly course and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal.

There is scarcely a portion of this valley through which this
mighty river has not at some time or other flowed ; sometimes
approaching the Cossyah range to the south, and at others to
the Bhootan hills to the north ; it has left deserted channels
everywhere, and has at last settled down about the centre of
the valley, about half-way between the two ranges which proved
insurmountable barriers to its erratic course. Wherever this
river has once flowed and receded it has left vast beds, which
are now swamps, covered with tangled and high grass, many
of which are quite impassable for laden elephants. In these
recesses, almost impregnable, vast herds of elephants, rhinoceros
and buffaloes live unmolested, save by an occasional European
hunter, who, unheedful of the stories told him by the old stay-
at-home residents of the deadly malaria prevalent there, has
penetrated their wilds.

Assam, like Burma, is subject to a damp heat, totally
unlike the hot dry climate of the greater part of India ; one
suits certain constitutions and the other, others. Men who
will thrive in the one won't in the other, and vice versa.

Like in Burma, so in Assam ; it does not do for a man to
drink freely or to lead a sedentary life. He should wear
flannel and be ordinarily careful. I travelled over the whole
valley at all seasons, and suffered very little from malarial
fever ; but there is one thing a man in Assam must avoid, and
that is (if he encamps near the foot of a range of high hills)

DIFFICULTY OF PROCURING ELEPHANTS 429

sleeping within the influence of the wind, which nightly rushes
down from the elevated plateau to take the place of the
exhausted air of the plains, through one of the numerous
gorges abutting into the plains, through which almost invariably
a river flows.

The great crying evil of Assam was the want of communi-
cations ; the country is subject to inundation, and to make
roads fit for traffic all the year round very heavy embankments
are required. Until Captain de Bourbel, Bengal Engineers,
became superintending engineer, no regular system of road-
making worthy of the name had been initiated. When I
arrived — not at all willingly, as I did not wish to leave
Burma — he asked me to undertake a regular system of sur-
veying various routes and taking levels, so as to have reliable
data to go upon.

After considerable obstruction from Bengal I got my own
way, and was allowed to purchase four good elephants,
towards which I did not hesitate to contribute myself, so as
to get really good reliable beasts, not only for burden but
also for sport. It was impossible to force one's way on these
Goliaths through the vast prairies covered with long grass
from 10 feet to 30 feet without disturbing much game, and it
was also impossible to decide on the best line for embank-
ments which would also suit hereafter for railroads without
thoroughly exploring the country. So for the first two
years I lived almost on elephant-back, and had explored the
country from the Deopani river down to near Tara in the
Garrow hills. I had also to construct a road to Dewangiri in
Bhootan, and to lay out and partially construct a cart-road
between Gowhatty and Shillong. I had also charge of the
Public Works in the Cossyah and Jynteah hills, and also in the
Tezpore district ; so I had enough of out-door work to look
after, which I flatter myself I did thoroughly ; but I was also
expected to do most elaborate office work, for which I had
neither time nor inclination, and in which no doubt I failed,
and brought down 'on me the animosity of the accounts
branch in Bengal. The two should be totally separate : no
man can excel in both. If useless and minute accounts were
required, they should have sent men to compile them — for the

430 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

most part they are fudged — but red tape must have its
way.

The Assamese are difficult to deal with ; the people are
debased, given to debauchery and opium, and it is impossible
to depend on them. Daily payments are very objectionable,
as a great deals sticks to the palms of the subordinates. I
introduced the contract system, paying for heavy embank-
ments only after measurements ; but I ran great risks, as I had
to advance often many thousands of rupees to get reliable
men to take up the work on my own responsibility and risk,
and I got very little thanks for my pains.

The Bengal element prevails in the larger towns, and
education does not improve the Bengalie Baboo ; they are all
adopting Bhramoo Somaj faith, which gives them greater
facilities for getting drunk and for aping the vices of the
Europeans. The Assamese are most litigious, and will swear
to a lie sooner than to the truth.

The Cacharies, who live away far from the larger towns, are
a far preferable race — descendants, I fancy, of the Burmese
who overran the Province for so many years. When left to
themselves they are a hard-drinking, merry race, but they are
gradually being Hindoo-ized and degenerating rapidly.

The Bhooteas, who visit Assam during the cold season, are
a fine-looking, largely-made race, but abominably filthy in
person and habits. They are great beggars, and come with
their sheep laden with grain, and with snow-boots, small dogs,
ponies, and hybrid gayals for sale.

The Cossyahs are very like the Karens, and wear much the
same kind of dress. They are a sturdy, powerful race, carry-
ing immense weights, and being in that respect only inferior
to the Hamals of Constantinople and Syria. Like all hill
people they are not over cleanly in their persons, but their
daughters, when caught young, learn cleanly habits and make
capital Ayahs ; they are well-made, are well-developed, with
shapely busts and small hands and feet.

No Cossyah will go round by a made road if he can go
straight up a hillside, even with a very heavy weight. They
burn their dead, and erect cairns to their memory. Some of
these cromlechs are huge granite slabs ranging as much as

GAME OF ASSAM 43i

29 feet high ; the upright are for the male, the flat for their
female relations.

There is a bridge at Nurting made of a single slab of the
following dimensions : length 30 feet, width 9 feet, depth 2 J feet.
As there is no stone of the description in the neighbourhood,
these must have been brought many miles.

The Jynteahs are very similar to the Cossyahs, but perhaps a
finer race, but of the same stock. In former days they were
possessed of great wealth and power, but successive rebellions
and invasions of our territory by them led to their ruin. Our
Gurkhas had no difficulty in thrashing them soundly, and they
are not likely to repeat their raids in future. Their wealth
consists in oranges and betel-nut groves, limestone, coal, slate,
and in growing and exporting to Calcutta and Dacca vast
quantities of potatoes.

Gowhatty, formerly the capital of the Province, is a very
unhealthy place, but since Assam has become a Chief Commis-
sionership, the head-quarters have been fixed at Shillong.

The whole country teems with game, which is never likely
to be exterminated, for where it lives the land is useless for
other purposes, and its pursuit is too costly to enable the
bog-trotters to go in for wholesale destruction, and the chances
are, not a few would die of malarial fever. The fishing, too, is
unsurpassed in India ; the lordly mahseer can be caught in
many of the hill streams, and fish up to 80 Ibs. have been
snared with a rod and line, but the largest 7 ever caught only
weighed 44 Ibs.

At the foot of the Bhootan range we have elephants, gaur,
gayal, buffaloes, rhinoceros, marsh deer, sambur, hog deer,
barking deer, spotted deer, tigers, leopards, and bears. In two
localities — one to the north, and the other to the south of the
Manass in Bagh Dooar — there are a few antelope ; the spotted
deer are also found at a place called Huttee Muttee Coochgar
in the Mungledye subdivision.1 In the vast plains and in the
churs and deserted beds of the Brahmapootra — now quagmires

1 Also in a valley close to Bagh Dooar there are several herds of the
dappled beauties. The Royal Natural History, misled by Mr. Blandford,
states there are no spotted deer in Assam. Quite an error, as I have seen
herds and shot some myself. — F. T. P.

432 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

— there are two varieties of the rhinoceros, buffaloes in
hundreds, tigers, bears occasionally, marsh and hog deer.
The serow is also found in a few of the Cossyah, Jynteah, and
Garrow hills. Amongst the Mishmie hills on our north-eastern
frontier is found the takin, an ugly-looking brute, somewhat
resembling the gnu of Africa. The yak or bungooroo is
found in Bhootan ; hogs are innumerable and of vast dimen-
sions, and afford good pig-sticking in some of the churs below
Dobree. The hare is only met with in a few places in Mung-
ledye, but is more plentiful below Dobree. The pigmy hog
and the hispid hare are also found in the Dooars at the base
of the Bhootan hills. Leopards often take up their residence
in cane-brakes in the midst of large towns like Burpettah
and Hazoo. The jackal is very common, but the hyaena, as
far as I know, is unknown. The tucktoo of Burma is also to
be heard in various places, notably Burneyhat, eighteen miles
from Gowhatty, and also inland from Goalpara.

The game-birds consist of the Indian variety of pea-fowl,
the ordinary jungle-fowl, two varieties of pheasant, the black
and the marsh, and three varieties of hill-partridges. There
are also quail, and the florikin is very plentiful, but there are
no bustard.

GENERAL SPORT

Gowhatty is not a pleasant place to live in, and there was
not even a house to be got when I arrived. The Commissioner's
clerks occupied the public bungalow, but Mr. Campbell the
Assistant-Commissioner, lived in a dilapidated house, and kindly
placed half of it at our disposal, and as he was shortly leaving
on a tour with the Commissioner, said I should have it to
myself ere long. I had a young wife with me, and was rather
ashamed of the only accommodation I could offer her, but I got
in a lot of workmen and soon converted the tumble-down
building into a habitable one.

I had great trouble in getting elephants, the price sanctioned
for their purchase being altogether inadequate. The Bhootan
war had exhausted the Province of these useful slaves, but
after a long fight and much correspondence and telegraphing,

PURCHASING ELEPHANTS 433

I got a curt reply — " Purchase what you want at the price
mentioned" (which was Rs.2Ooo, instead of Rs.isoo).
I lost no time in procuring the best I could, and where
requisite, added out of my own pocket the difference asked.
I also bought two for myself. I was offered nearly double
what I paid for one, but refused ; but she was stolen, her
young one left behind, and taken across our frontier, and I
never got any redress. I did not know the people, nor the
language — Hindoostani was of very little use. My clerks were
bad, my subordinates worse — decent workmen would not go
to Assam — there had been thirteen Executive Engineers of
the Lower Assam division in one year before my transfer. I
should have preferred remaining in Burma, but I knew Assam
also swarmed with game. Being a willing horse, I had tacked
on to me the Nowgong-Darrung, Goalparah, and the Cossyah
and Jynteah divisions, in addition to Kamroop. There were
military buildings to erect in the stations, surveys and levels
to be carried out, and all I had were two assistants. We
could never have done the work had I not risked advancing
large sums, and getting contractors to undertake .the heavy
embankments, which eased us a bit, as after marking out the
line of roadway or railway curves, we only measured the
earthwork every month or so, and then paid for the work
done. It was a life of constant activity, and as roads did not
exist, to reach the many localities under me I had to go across
a country swarming with wild game.

Whilst marking out the road to Nowgong, I used to put up
at Chunderpore, Kullung river, a garden belonging to the
Bainbridge brothers, both capital sportsmen, as was also their
cousin Frank. Between Gowhatty and the Kullung I found
that gaur were to be found in some low hills, and hunted them
with varied luck, sometimes getting one, at others none.
There were also buffaloes about, and in the first six months I
shot twenty-two, and then rather tired of the sport.

At Lowqua-ghat I have killed rhinoceros, tigers, buffaloes,
and deer. In March 1867 I was shooting there with Sir
Charles Reid, of Delhi fame ; he shot two with a very small
bore rifle, and I lost one on that occasion, but killed many
afterwards. I had to go to "Burpettah in June 1867, as it was

F F

434 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

reported that the Government buildings were in danger of
being swept away by the river, which was encroaching on its
banks. The season was late, as the rivers begin to rise in
June, so I sent on elephants ahead, and then dropped down
by boat to Tarah-barie-ghat, but no elephants had arrived ;
but they turned up that afternoon. It was reported that there
were many tigers about, and some of them man-eaters ;
certainly their footmarks were very plentiful.

So on the nth I started at daybreak, hoping to find one,
if not more. The country in the immediate neighbourhood
was fairly open, with very short grass and bushes. I saw a broad
track, and told my mahout to go along it. It was too dark to
see what had caused the trail. When we came to a marshy
bit, I found we had been following two rhinoceros. I soon
came upon a mound of their droppings ; they always deposit
their ordure in one spot, until quite a large mound is formed,
so I knew the beasts must be pretty close. My elephant
began to show signs of funk, but the mahout kept her pretty
straight. At last, in front of me, behind a bush, stood a
rhinoceros, intently listening to the noise made by the elephant
splashing along. Neither the mahout nor elephant saw the
game ahead. I tapped the mahout on the head, and he
stopped his beast at once. I fired into the mass before me,
and as the smoke cleared away, a very large rhinoceros
rushed into the open and got another bullet in its shoulder.
He pulled up. I dropped the discharged weapon and took up
another, and gave him two pills in the chest ; he swerved and
ran off, squealing awfully. On hearing this noise my steed
right-about faced, and raced for her life, and could not be
stopped for some time. So I went back to the bheel and took
up the trail, and soon came upon the rhinoceros stone dead.
Its horn was not long but very massive, weighing if seers.
We got men from the nearest village, who were thankful to
get the flesh, cut off the head and took off the shields, and
reached Burpettah about twelve, where I put up with Boyd. I
examined the river banks, and sent for men to shore up the
side nearest the bungalow, and next day went for a few days'
trip into the Dooars. I followed a rhinoceros for some way,
but it had got into a tangled brake, where it was safe. I then

SHOOT INFAMOUSLY

437

came across some buffaloes, and shot a couple of bulls, one
with very curious horns, forming nearly a circle, and all but
meeting at the points. I reached Barry's deserted garden
about 2 p.m., and put up in his bungalow, and sent for Sookur,
his old Cacharie mahout, who was then all but a boy, and
engaged him. He was a plucky fellow, and about the best
tracker out of India I ever came across.

The next day I sent on my traps to Dowkagong, Barry's
second garden. I saw the marks of a lot of game, but all I
shot were a couple of buffaloes. At Mina Muttee there is a
nice stream of cold water, but no bungalow. Dowkagong is
rather out of the way. I sent for the head-man for supplies,
but he said they had nothing, and could get nothing without
the Mouzadar's orders, so I had him tied up to one of the
verandah posts, when everything requisite was forthcoming as
if by magic. I paid for everything with my own hands at the
prices asked, but the Assamese are an intractable race and
will do nothing without being forced by the Mouzadar, who
is seldom forthcoming. They don't live in their Mouzahs, but
go to some large town, where there are plenty of dancing
girls, and they can drink and debauch themselves to their
hearts' content.

For the next day I either shot very badly or had the devil's
own luck. I came upon rhinoceros after rhinoceros, all at close
quarters, but failed to get a single one, though some six or
seven were severely wounded. As the rivers were rising I had
to hurry back. So on June 16 I went back to Bornuggur.
I had heard a good deal of a place called Pakah, and was told
it was not far from Bhowanipore. I was told deer were very
plentiful there, and where they are, tigers are sure to be near ;
but there was no such town or village as Pakah — it was the
name of a district. Whilst in search of it, we had to cross
numerous nullahs, all out of depth, so we had to unload the
elephants, carry the goods across in boats, swim the steeds,
reload on the other side, and so on five or six times a day.
Two of my servants had gone off to Burpettah ; as I could
find no place of that name, viz. Pakah, I put up in a small
village inhabited by nominal Moslems, but they spoke no
Hindoostani, and to propitiate the Hindoos who lived round

438 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

them, they had actually built a namghur and put an idol into
it ! For the first time I saw nets used for catching game,
from deer up to buffaloes ; those for the latter were made of
jute, the string being as thick as my little finger. I saw these
nets at work afterwards, but will describe the process separ-
ately. My servants, who had gone on to Burpettah, did not
reach my camp till midnight.

On the 1 8th I was again hunting for Pakah. I shot some
florikan to-day, and also a couple of marsh deer. I saw men
going out with nets and agreed to go with them in a few days.
I put up in a namghur, but the priests objected, and we very
nearly had a row ; but before leaving Gowhatty I had ascer-
tained that any traveller of any caste had a right to put up in
them. The people were inclined to be bumptious, but seeing
my battery arranged in a row, and my two chupprassies ready
to back me up, they thought better of it and begged me as a
favour not to dine inside, to which I readily agreed, as I
always had my table under a tree, only using the namghur
for shelter during the heat of the day, or in case it came on to
rain. These debased Hindoos will always presume if they
think they can do so with impunity. With the greatest
difficulty I got back to Gowhatty on June 22, and all the old
residents prophesied I'd be dead in ten days, but I did not
even get a day's fever.

Round Gowhatty we had many a day's sport, but the
wounded game oftener than not got into the low hills densely
covered with bamboos, and escaped for the time.

In July 1867 I took my wife and a lady friend of hers up to
Shillong, and left them there. There was scarcely the vestige
of a road in those days ; we had to deposit the money for
coolies impressed to carry goods into the Cutcherie, and many
of our loads were deposited in the jungles and the coolies fled,
we being heavily the losers, but no redress was to be got.

The Lower Assam Company had a bungalow in the station
(Gowhatty) ; there was a good deal of jungle about its vicinity,
and twice Fisher, their able manager, had shots at tigers from
the back verandah, but failed to bag; and several leopards
were caught there in traps.

Near Moirapore, a tea-garden of the Lower Assam Company,

VISIT BAGH DOOAR 439

there was very good snipe-shooting, and the officers of the
Company shot a good number of tigers there by sitting up
over kills. Five miles from Govvhatty on the Beltolah road
was the best snipe ground, and we used to get lots of jungle-
fowl, pea-fowl, and a few florikan. At Myung wild game
abounded ; I have shot there at times tigers, rhinoceros,
buffaloes, deer, a few hares, lots of florikan, and now and then
had capital sport both with the black and kyah partridges.

In January 1868, as I had to go down to Burpettah, I took
with me Bowie of the Police and Barry a tea-planter, and at
whose gardens I had put up in 1867. He knew the whole
country and could speak the language, which is a bastard sort
of Bengali. The Assistant-Commissioner had reported that
there were no less than five man-eating tigers preying on the
people about Baisah-ghat, so we went there by boat, having
sent on our kit and elephants well ahead. At this time of the
year the valley of the Brahmapootra is enveloped in a dense
fog, which only begins to clear about 9 or 10 a.m. We went
all night, but as our boatman was afraid of over-shooting our
destination he pulled up about 4 a.m. But of course no objects
were visible, and we allowed the boat to drift. When the fog
cleared we found we were a long way from Baisah-ghat, so the
crew were set to row again. We saw a buffalo on the bank,
and he walked into the river and lay down. We ceased rowing
and got within some 80 yards without disturbing him ; he
then stood up and we opened fire. In our first round all the
shots missed, but with my left barrel I caught him in the hip
and down he went. We jumped ashore and soon killed him,
and then found that it was a poor emaciated beast suffering
from an old wound, so it was a mercy putting him out of his
misery. We did not reach the ghat till 3 p.m. We halted
there that day and made inquiries about the tigers, but could
hear nothing certain about them, though their pugs were
plentiful enough.

We had not enough elephants to carry all our impedimenta,
so had to hire coolies, and only those who have been forced
to adopt this mode of conveyance can imagine the amount of
trouble and bother there is in procuring coolies in Assam.
The Mouzadars, themselves Hindoos, will not impress their

440 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

own religionists, but send miles and miles away and forcibly
seize Cacharies and make them do the work which their own
villagers ought to do. There is the usual protest by every
man that the load set apart for him is too heavy, that he has
not had food for twenty- four hours — often but too true in the
case of Cacharies. For an hour there is nothing but wrangling
and fighting, and it is no use to leave the camp till each coolie

NATIVES OF THE COUNTRY, DOOARS, ASSAM, IN SEARCH OF RUBBER.

From a Photo by P. Surges, Esq.

has started with his load, or the chances are it will be left
behind. I would advise no one to go on a shooting trip in
Assam who cannot muster enough elephants to be altogether
independent of manual labour. It is heart-rending work to
have anything to say to the wretched inhabitants. I had
enough elephants for my own use, but in all my trips my
comrades were dependent on me for everything, carriage
included, so shooting in companionship entailed considerable

CATTLE DISEASE IN ASSAM 441

expense, and led to much annoyance. There are no zyats in
Assam, so tents had to be carried. There are namghurs, but
often they are in the heart of a village, and not pleasant places
to put up in ; and besides, the Hindoos are not like the
Burmese, who welcome visitors, whilst the former would be
insolent if they dared.

We found that the villagers, to drive off the tigers, had
burnt every scrap of jungle, so all game had gone elsewhere.

We got to Burpettah at 2 p.m. Near a bheel en route we
shot some duck, teal, and partridges. We halted the next
day — I had work to attend to, and everything had to be
repacked. In the evening I shot some black partridges ; these
are generally very good eating, but at times, when they
swallow deer droppings, are not fit for table. Jungle fowl in
the vicinity of large Hindoo villages, especially if there be a
bamboo jungle handy, are very numerous ; but avoid them,
as they feed on human ordure. Even the cows act as
scavengers, and are so pressed for salt that they greedily
lick up any urine. The cattle are small, and die in hundreds
every year from the rinderpest, from which Assam is never
free. It is said that one of the richest Moslems in Calcutta
made his fortune by purchasing for a few pice dozens of the
skins of the animals that had died of this fell disease. These
were imported to other countries and carried the infection
with them. These cattle, when they die, are dragged away
about 200 yards from the village. If there is a native
chumbar he skins them for the pelts ; tigers drag away some
of their bodies and devour them at their leisure.

After the usual trouble we got off on the I2th, and camped
near Sookur's village, re-engaging him and his uncle Seetaram
for the trip. I wanted Sookur to take permanent service with
me then, but he had just married a young girl who gave him
a lot of trouble, and he did not then like to leave her, but he
joined me shortly afterwards. In the evening we tried for
small game on foot, but did not get much : the florikan were
too wild and kept out of shot. All we got were a pea-fowl,
three black partridges, and a jungle cock.

The next day we reached Mina Muttee, having shot some
small game en route. The Deputy Commissioner had ordered

442 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

huts to be built here ; it had not been done, of course ; so we
pitched our tents and had to do the work ourselves, as we had
no tent lascars. We were on the banks of a little rivulet with
deliciously cold water, in which we cooled our liquor and also
bathed. We made ourselves comfortable before dark, and
after a good dinner turned in.

January 14. — Very cold this morning — a fog like a heavy
Scotch mist, which wetted us through, and prevented our
seeing more than a yard or so ahead. There were numerous
marks of rhinoceros about. In about an hour Sookur hit off
a fresh trail, and followed it like a bloodhound. These pachy-
derms feed in circles, and it is~ tedious following them up.
At last we tracked it into grass fully 20 feet high, and we had
not gone far when a rhinoceros grunted. My elephant stopped
dead, all the others bolted. Sookur hammered mine well
over the head and made her enter it with a rush. The pachy-
derm made tracks, and as it crossed a clearing I got two shots,
but it went into heavier grass still. I did not like following
it in that, as I could not see it until I came close up to it, and
these beasts, when they charge, rip like a boar. I hoped by
making sundry noises to induce it to go ahead where the
jungle was not quite so heavy, but it would not budge. My
elephant, Lutchmie, was in an awful stew, but I told Sookur to
force her in, which he did. Barry just then got his elephant
up, but Bowie's would not move to the front. As I advanced
the rhinoceros retreated ; I got shots as it was crossing the
dry bed of a nullah; it ran up the opposite bank squealing,
and my steed after it. The rhinoceros turned, and was in
the act of charging when I gave her — for it turned out to be
a cow — two more bullets which turned her, and three more
shots laid her low. She was a large cow, with a horn 1 3 inches
long, weighing i^ seers. WTe then breakfasted, and Barry not
being well went back to camp, and wounded a leopard en
route, but lost it.

Bowie and I went on ; we soon came upon a fresh trail, and
came upon a cow with a half-grown calf. A lucky shot of
mine out of a short-barrelled rifle by Lyell of Aberdeen hit
her behind the ear, and rolled her over stone dead. Sookur
kept calling out " Shanah, shanah," and pointed towards some

SHOOT A GOOD BULL RHINOCEROS 445

commotion in the grass ahead, so I fired, and by the worst
luck possible brought the animal down, which proved to be
the calf! Sookur meant me not to fire; I thought it was
something unusual and that he wanted me to kill it ! These
calves are easily caught after the death of the mother, as they
won't leave the body, and are worth from £80 to £100 each.
Bowie's elephant behaved very badly ; she is generally staunch,
but her mahout is away, and she was being driven by her
grass-cutter, in whom she had no confidence. We got back
to the tents soon after twelve, and in the evening shot some
florikan.

January 15. — I lent my elephant and Sookur to Bowie, as
I did not want to keep all the sport to myself. I visited the
Boorie Nuddie and, searching about, soon found a lot of lime-
stone, which was much wanted for conversion into lime for
our public works. I saw a lot of marsh or swamp deer to-day,
but all does ; the bucks were in hiding, having shed their
horns, and the new ones not having formed. I followed a
rhinoceros, but my steed would not go up to it. Bowie joined
me later on ; he had wounded and lost a huge bull rhinoceros.
We shot some florikan.

The next morning Barry was too ill to go out. So Bowie
and I went together, and almost in sight of our tents we came
upon a very large rhinoceros in shortish grass. I hit it twice
and Bowie once. It ran in circles, and at last stood at bay in
the open. My elephant at first refused to go up, but Sookur
very forcibly made her do it, and with a few more shots I
killed one of the finest rhinoceros I ever got. It had a horn
1 3 inches long, weighing 2 seers or 4 Ibs. I eventually gave
it to Colonel Dillon, secretary to Lord Napier when he was
Commander-in-Chief of India.

Shortly after finishing off this beast, Sookur took up the
tracks of two others ; the way he followed them was an art in
itself. It was not till fully an hour and a half that we came
upon them. Bowie killed the larger with a ball, out of a
smooth-bore, behind the ear ; the other charged me savagely,
but she had no chance ; and no sooner was the life out of them
than the Assamese swarmed like so many vultures, fighting
with each other for the tid-bits. They never leave a scrap on

446 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the bones, take the hide and cut it up into long strips and
roast them ovef a charcoal fire, and eat them much as
Europeans do the crackling of a pig. Each rhinoceros re-
presents a money value of, I was told, Rs.5o. In two
days these villagers had five rhinoceros equal to £25 gratis,
yet when we wished to move camp, every villager had dis-
appeared, and we could not obtain a single coolie without
sending miles away to the Mouzadar. I paid for all our
supplies myself daily, to prevent our under-strappers taking
" dustoorie " or blackmail. We paid what they asked without
haggling, yet I never met with anything but ingratitude from
these people. I need give no further details of this trip. We
shot enough deer for our wants, and saw hundreds ; but they
were principally does and a few brockets : the stags, having
shed their horns, were in hiding. We also shot a few buffaloes
if they got in the way, or were inclined to dispute our right of
way, or if we came across one with an exceptionally large
pair of horns.

On arrival at Rungiah I found that my overseer Subrooden
had just shot on foot a very large tiger. After carefully
skinning him we threw out the body, and within less than a
quarter of an hour the vultures had picked it clean.

In February 1868 I had to march up to Deopani, some
eighty miles beyond Nowgong, to meet the new Superintending
Engineer, Sam Davis. I had fair sport, with indifferent luck.
At Lowqua-ghat I wounded a lot of rhinoceros, but lost most
of them. On the 25th I was in want of venison for camp
use, and went to some land higher than the surrounding plain,
where marsh deer were abundant. In rounding a patch of
unburnt grass, just in front of me, and about 50 yards off, I
saw the heads of three tigers, close together, looking in my
direction. Neither the mahout nor the elephant had noticed
them, so bidding the mahout to stop the elephant and to keep
her steady, I took a deliberate shoulder-shot at the nearest ;
the smoke hung, but a tigress galloped off to my right, and
a smaller one bolted much in the same direction ; what had
become of the third I did not see ; but as the tigress went off
growling and roaring, I came to the conclusion she was the
one I had fired at, and gave her another shot and rolled her

/ SHOOT TWO TIGERS 449

over ; but she picked herself up, and with a magnificent bound
disappeared into the long grass. There were within 100
yards a lot of villagers returning from fishing, and I had to go
towards them and tell them to make themselves scarce, as
there was a wounded tiger close by. This delayed me a little,
and I then returned and searched about everywhere, but could
not find a trace of her. I thought she had sneaked away
along the bed of a nullah close by. I was in a rage ; it is not
often that one comes upon three tigers sitting on their haunches
like dogs, and then fail to bag one at such close quarters. I
abused the mahout, though when I came to think of it, he was
in no way to blame. I told him to go back and look for the
trail afresh. He replied, " Sahib, you have killed one — the
first you fired at ; the second has gone away wounded." I
thought he merely said this to flatter me, and I got angrier,
if possible.

" If I have killed one," I said, " where is it ? "

" I will show the sahib," he replied, and took me back to the
spot I had fired from at first, and sure enough, there lay a
tiger stone dead. He had fallen without a movement, and
what with the smoke and my attention being distracted by
the survivors, I had not noticed that he had fallen. In front
of the dead tiger lay a fawn, dead, as I supposed, so I told
my mahout to get down and secure it, as it would do for
the table ; but no sooner had the man got almost up to it than
the little creature jumped up and ran away, and would have
escaped had not I shot it for the pot. My own idea is, that
the mother tigress and her eldest hopeful had been giving the
youngster a lesson in stalking, and that the hopeful had made
a good beginning and had floored its first victim, when I
appeared on the scene. I did not search for the mother as I
thought she had got away.

February 26. — I hunted for the wounded rhinoceros, saw
lots of quite fresh marks, but not a pachyderm. I got into
the midst of a large herd of marsh deer, and shot several.

February 27. — I started for Koliabar across country, in-
tending to shoot my way. I made straight for where I had
seen the tigers the day before, and after passing it, up flew a
lot of vultures. I thought it was the dead rhinoceros at last,

G G

450 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

but it turned out to be the tigress ; she had never moved after
the last bound she gave, but must have fallen dead. There
was not much of her left, and that very offensive, but I cut
off the head and padded it.

I saw lots of buffaloes, but did not fire at them. I reached
Koliabar about 2 p.m. and put up with Tye, the tea-planter,
a capital sportsman, who had slain numerous tigers and gaur>
which were plentiful on his own tea estate. We tried shooting
here, but beyond getting a few deer and a couple of buffaloes,
did nothing. There were plenty of marks of tigers and
rhinoceros about. I bought Tye's two elephants ; the larger
had a calf which he presented to me ; the other elephant was
only useful for baggage, as she had been cut by a rhinoceros,
and would not go into the same field with one. She was as
good as a pointer in that respect.

March i. — Rode to Deopani, expecting to meet the Super-
intending Engineer and his brother, who was the Executive
Engineer of the Upper Assam Division, but he had not arrived.
This was a beastly hole, in dense jungle, so I moved back to a
nice open spot on a river five miles distant. There I was kept
kicking my heels about for a whole week before the magnate
arrived. I saw lots of marks of game, but the jungles had
not been burnt.

At last Sam Davis arrived. He was very consequential,
and wanted to know why I had not remained at Deopani. I
told him I was within call, and that he alone was to blame, as
he was a week behind time. I pointed out the unsuitability
of Deopani for a camp, and advised him and his brother to
accompany me to my huts, where they would have everything
they required. This, after grumbling by Sam, they agreed to
do, and I went back to have dinner ready for them. We then
marched back to Govvhatty, the brother returning to Dee-
brooghur. Sam was not a bad fellow, but very consequential.
He had been very lucky as a speculator, and had shares in
the Murree brewery and other companies, and when he died
about two years afterwards, he left some ^2O,ocx> to a daughter
whose existence no one had dreamed of.

Towards the end of April the Superintending Engineer and
I were at Goalparah, and Colonel Comber came into camp-

SHOOT A TIGRESS AFTER A GOOD FIGHT 453

with us. We stopped a day or two at Luckeepore, as guests
of the Zemindar there. The Palace is a curiosity shop, which
he is very fond of showing to people. He had a large stud
of elephants — amongst them a well-known one-tusker shikarie
elephant, Mainah. His son — quite a young man — was a bit
of a poacher, but had been very successful, having killed a
lot of elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, and other game. The
country is full of game.

On the 29th Comber and I were out after game. My
elephant, Lutchmie, began to trumpet in a peculiarly pitiful
way, and I called out to my comrade to be on the look-out,
as there was evidently a tiger near ; we immediately formed
line and carefully advanced. The elephants all began to give
tongue and did not seem keen to move ahead. The grass
had been prematurely burnt, the stalks had only been charred
and were still standing, and through them we saw a tigress
sneaking away. We both fired and missed ; she then ran
down the bank of a nullah and up the other side ; I fired and
hit her through the thigh ; she roared and disappeared. We
got the elephants close together and steadily progressed.
Comber was on Mainah. We had not gone far when the
tigress charged, picking out the biggest elephant of course ;
we reserved our fire until she was within a few paces, then
fired and bowled her over. Not an elephant moved. She
picked herself up as quick as lightning, retreated a few yards,
and then came at us again ; this time she picked out Lutchmie,
but a right and a left from me and a shot from Comber sent
her to the right-about. She ran down the bank of a rivulet,
swam through, and as she was ascending the opposite bank
I killed her. She was only a small beast, 8 feet long. That
was the only luck we had ; we shot a deer or two, and saw
rhinoceros and buffaloes, but got no shots at them, they were
too wild to get near. We got wet through, as a torrent of
rain set in, and we were glad to get home and change.

May i. — Comber and I went on elephants across country
to Dhobree, whilst our comrade, who was not a sportsman,
went on his pony by a village track. We saw lots of deer,
and at Tihri Killah got into rhinoceros ground. Comber
killed a cow and called out to me to look out. I saw some

454 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

beast lumbering through the long grass and fired, and killed
a three-parts-grown rhinoceros. We then separated. I
came upon a monster ; he looked more like an elephant
than a rhinoceros, and I hesitated to fire at first ; but directly
he squealed I put two barrels into him, brought him on his
knees, but he jumped up and went off screeching. I chased
him some way, but he was going away from camp and it was
getting on for evening, so he escaped. We found our camp
pitched close to a tank on high ground, quite open all round,
very different from other parts of Assam.

May 2. — Comber and I shot our way across country, which,
with the exception of a patch of long grass here and there,
was open all round and lovely for riding. There were
numerous boars, who seemed to care nothing for us. We
had no spears and no horses, or we might have had lovely
pig-sticking ; but I made a note of the locality, and had some
fine fun there afterwards with Williamson.

Leaving this oasis, we got into heavy grass, and I shot

one of the lesser rhinoceros. Comber wounded one, but lost

it. On reaching the river bank, a villager told us a tiger had

just killed a cow, and took us to its body, which was scarcely

cold ; but with the exception of a long narrow tank, the banks

of which were fringed with grass about four feet high, the

country was quite open, with here and there a baire-tree1

or a baubul bush. We thought we were sure of this tiger,

and that he must be in the grass on the edge of the nullah,

so we formed line and beat through it twice without a sign

of the tiger, so thinking he had gone to some other chur I

shot a small deer, and as we clustered round it Comber's

mahout called out, "The tiger I" and there he was sure

enough, bounding along in the open, and before we could

pick up a gun he had disappeared down the bank, and

though we searched for him for two hours, we never saw him

again that day, but I shot him near the same spot the next

year. He had been lying under a solitary bush in the open,

watching a herd of cattle, and had allowed us to pass him

within 50 yards without moving, and it was only my shots

1 The baire-tree bears a fruit something like a crab-apple, not bad
eating if thoroughly ripe. — F. T. P.

SHOOT SOME BUFFALOES 455

that disturbed him. The steamer coming in, we sent our
steeds back by land and returned in her to our respective
head-quarters.

Towards the end of the month I was out on a tour of
inspection at Kumblepore, en route to Dewangiri. The
villagers came to me complaining that a small herd of wild
buffaloes had taken possession of a cane-brake lying in the
middle of their village, and had gored several people. I was
disinclined to go out ; I was tired of shooting buffaloes, and
I had cut the middle finger of my right hand almost to the
bone, firing heavy charges, but the people were so earnest
that I got on my elephant and went. I came across one of
the buffaloes in the open before reaching the brake ; he did
not seem to mind me a bit, and allowed me to come within
60 yards, and then walked towards me shaking his head and
pawing the ground. I allowed him to come within 40 yards
and then floored him with a belted ball in the chest ; he fell
down, but picked himself up and ran across me. I made a
lucky shot, and dropped him dead. I then went in the cane-
brake — a terrible place — very boggy, with dense long grass
and rattan creepers, through which it is almost impossible for
an elephant to go ; but by dint of perseverance, and cutting
down with my shikar knife the pendulous creepers which
these rattans throw out, and which are covered with hooked
thorns like fish-hooks, I got sufficiently far in to see two
buffaloes. I killed one and severely wounded the other, but
it got away and was not likely to return there again.

In January 1869 Barry, Butter, and I were at Kumblepore
again. About 4 p.m. on the i8th, just as we were going to
bathe, an Assamese came running up saying he had just seen
a bear feeding in the open about 300 yards off. We each
took a rifle, and my overseer, Subrooden, accompanied us with
one of my guns laden with ball. On reaching the place
where the man had seen the bear, we saw its marks, but it
had disappeared. There was only one clump of long grass,
and we stood round this, with our weapons on the half-cock,
wondering where he could have gone to, when there was a
movement in the grass. I stepped to the right and full-cocked
my rifle. Barry went behind me, Butter to the left, and out

456 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

walked a large bear within 10 yards of me, looking up at me
like an idiot. I fired perhaps a second before Barry, who
half-deafened me by firing past my ear, within a yard of it.
She rolled over, and another shot from me and two from
Subrooden did for her. It turned out to be Ursus labiatus,
a beast unknown in the Province, where only the Ursus
tibetanus is generally found. Jerdon, the naturalist, would
not credit it until I produced the skin with the head still

PADDING A BEAR.

From a Photo by /". Burges, Esq.

attached to it. How it came there I do not know ; I never
came across another like it in Assam, though I shot many
afterwards.

From the iQth to the 26th we were constantly marching.
It is a curious fact that nullahs, or rivulets, which during
the night are running streams, are dry during the day. We
could scarcely credit it until we ascertained the fact for our-
selves. We shot enough black partridges, florikan, and deer
to feed the camp, but did not come across anything dangerous.

FJSHING IN THE MANASS, MINA MATTER 457

On the 26th we encamped at Mina Mattee, and sent for
Sookur; but he was absent with some elephant-catchers.
Without him it was useless looking for big game, but as I
had to measure certain cubes of limestone, we took things
for a three days' trip and went for the Manass in Bagh Dooar.
It is a long march, but the country is very pretty and full
of game ; we must have seen a thousand marsh deer to-day,
but all either does or brockets. We only shot enough to
keep the camp supplied with meat. Near where the Manass
emerges from the hills the country is beautiful. In the after-
noon I tried fishing ; I had bought some second-hand tackle
from a Deputy Commissioner, but no care had been taken of
it, and it was more or less rotten. As there were no boats I
went to the extremity of a rock that jutted out into the river,
threw out a spoon-bait, and began to drag it towards me ;
a large fish at once took it, but the line broke in two and
away it went with one out of the only two spoons I had with
me, and some 30 yards of line. I again baited my line and
soon had on another fish, and succeeded in landing it after
about twenty minutes' play. It was a fine mahseer, 7 Ibs. in
weight. As it was getting dark, I would not tempt fortune
any more, but went back with my fish to the hut. We had
a portion curried and a portion broiled, and found it good
both ways.

During the night a wild Muckna elephant visited our
females. Fearing he might do some damage — for if these
males are baulked in their desires, they think nothing of
wrenching off the tail of the coy female — I took a rifle and
stood guard within 10 yards of him for three or four hours,
not blessing him, as the mosquitoes were very troublesome.
I was not sorry when he got our wind and went away across
the Manass. Shooting elephants was then forbidden in
Assam.

As it was raining in the morning I would not go out
shooting, though some Bhooteahs declared they could show
me four rhinoceros within a couple of miles. I tried fishing
.again, landed a beauty of between 8 and 9 Ibs., then I hooked
another; I played him for some time, but he eventually broke
my line and escaped. I tried crystal bait, artificial minnows,

458 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

and the fly, but had no further luck. Directly I reached
camp I ordered out £50 worth of mahseer tackle from one
of our leading makers.

We then went to Gohine Goung, then Bornuggur, and on
to Burpettah. There I had shots at a tiger, but failed to bag,
but shot a few deer and a lot of small game. Barry and I
visited from Baromah the Namuttie bheel ; the whole place
was alive with wild-fowl, but they had been much molested
by the police and were as wild as hawks, but we shot a few
geese and a lot of duck and teal. I had various sport between
March and May, bagging a couple of tigers and three
rhinoceros, deer, and buffaloes.

In January 1870, General Blake, Mrs. Blake, Ommaney of
the 44th, and Masters of the Police accompanied me as guests
to the Manass. The General was a most noted sportsman,
but shooting off elephants was to him a novelty. We caught
a good many fish, for I had received the tackle I had sent
for, killed two rhinoceros, several buffaloes and various deer
without any particular incident, and were en route back and
within sight of Burpettah, when Campbell, the Assistant-
Commissioner, joined us. It was getting hot, and no prospect
of any sport where we were, so the General and his wife went
off, and I proposed we should dismount and try for florikan.
The grass was only about three feet high, in which I had
frequently shot on foot hog deer and small game. We had
scarcely entered this and were«about to dismount, when to
our amazement we put up a right royal Bengal tiger !
Campbell fired and missed ; my ball went through the tiger's
stomach. Campbell and I being on the fastest elephants,
gave chase, but lost sight of our quarry. General Blake,
hearing the shots, turned back and joined us ; we then formed
line, and we beat through the grass without seeing anything;
the tiger had allowed us to pass him. We turned back and
carefully retraced our footsteps ; we saw the tiger with his
head down, looking anything but well or lively. Masters and
I fired, and one of the shots struck ; he ran into the heaviest
portion of the cover, growling like the devil. Blake, Ommaney,
and I went towards him ; the others stood a little way off,
one to the right and one to the left. No sooner did we get

4 I

A PUGNACIOUS RHINOCEROS 461

within 50 yards of him than he rushed at us, half roaring,
half growling, and away went our steeds; he picked out
mine and was close to its quarter, when I turned round, and
firing down over the back of the howdah, I struck him on
the back of the head, and he turned a complete somersault;
and there he lay, but kicking up such a row that none of our
elephants would go up to him from the front. So I beckoned
to Campbell and Masters to take him from the rear, which
they did, and rolled him over, dead. In bulk he was the
very largest tiger I ever beheld ; it took fifteen men to lift
him on to a pad. As he lay dead, he was just 10 feet I inch
in length ; after being flayed the skin was 12 feet ; after being
pegged out, 13 feet 4 inches, and broad in proportion ! It
was curious afterwards, in comparing notes, to hear the
different accounts those present gave ; they remembered the
12 feet and 13 feet, but none remembered the 10 feet I inch !

On April 15, 1870, Jackson, Adjutant of the 43rd A.L.I.,
and I started by boat and got to Bassah-ghat by 2 a.m. We
found our elephants there and reached Burpettah in time to
breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Campbell. The whole day was
devoted to repacking our things. We intended to go in light
marching order, as my time was limited. We were hurried
throughout our trip, and lost nearly all our wounded game,
which was retrieved, if I may say so, by native shikaries, who
hovered round us, and whilst keeping out of sight got most
of the game which had escaped us, sorely wounded.

My comrade had seen a good deal of sport in Central
India ; he was a capital shot, an ardent sportsman, and right
good fellow ; but he had never had any experience of shoot-
ing off elephants. We generally took a couple of pad
elephants with our breakfast and to help to carry game, but
the others we sent on by native pathways. Sookur and his
uncle Seetaram also accompanied us. We went straight
across country to Baikee ; we saw deer and had a few shots,
but failed to bag, and we also saw numerous buffaloes that
we would not fire at. About half-way I shot a marsh deer
and Jackson a hog deer. Our attendant elephants were not
with us, so we had to quarter the deer and hang the pieces
to the sides and back of our howdahs. My stag had good

462 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

horns ; they were still in velvet, but the horn had formed. We
separated, and Jackson shot a sambur, the first I had seen
in the plains in Assam, and also a nice young porker for the
table. We got to Balkee at 1 1 a.m. We put up in a small
shed, taking the precaution before going into it to knock
down all the sides. As there was a nice breeze blowing, we
were fairly comfortable after we had bathed and put on our
pyjama suits. After breakfast we had a snooze, and on
waking were told a tiger had just killed a cow within half-a-
mile of our abode, but we did not go after it till 5 p.m. We
then got all our elephants in a line, close together ; Jackson,
guarded the left flank and I the right. We had not advanced
300 yards when in front of us, nearer Jackson than to me, out
sprang a tiger, and ran along through the short grass. The
shot was a long and difficult one, but Jackson let fly ; the
tiger gave a roar and pulled up. I certainly thought he was
hit, and called out : " Well done, Jackson, a good shot ! "
With the exception of the patch of long grass in which the
tiger was, the country was open all round. We took up our
positions on each side of the bush, and the leading elephants,,
touching one another, advanced ; when within 60 yards the
tiger rushed towards them, uttering many a roar and growl,
but as not one of them moved, he came down upon me, open-
mouthed. I was on the elephant I had bought from Becher
the tea-planter ; she did not care two pins for a tiger, but the
sight of a pony nearly drove her mad with fright ! I allowed
him to come within 10 yards, when a shell in the chest killed
him, and he fell almost at the feet of my steed. I put another
ball into the neck to make sure, but there was no need for it,
for he was stone dead. On carefully examining him we
could find no other recent wound than my two ; he had an
old scar on his shoulder, the result of a shot from some native..
He measured 9 feet 4 inches as he lay dead, and was in
height 2 feet 1 1 inches.

April 1 8. — W'e marched straight to Mina Muttee, getting
there at eleven. We had great difficulty as usual in getting
supplies, not because they were scarce, but because the
Mouzadars forbid the villagers to sell except through them.
They ought to have known me well by this time, as I had

INGRATITUDE OF THE ASSAMESE 465

been there more than once and had always paid their own
prices with my own hand to prevent peculation by our
servants. They also knew Seetaram and Sookur well ; but
the Assamese are only fit to be slaves, and will do nothing
unless driven.

April 19. — We started very early for the Manass, for
Matagoorie. I rode to-day a very old Muckna elephant
belonging to the 43rd A.L.I. He was half blind— I think
quite deaf— but very steady; nothing in the world would
make him go more than about two to two and a half miles an
hour. To be on his back with a wounded beast in front was
heart-breaking ; but in a scrimmage he was invaluable, for he
would not move. We changed our minds, and put off going
to Bagh Dooar till the morrow — got nothing but three deer for
camp use.

April 20. — This time we started in earnest. We went a
long way. I shot a couple of swamp deer, both bucks, but
the horn had not formed, so the heads were useless. We
then came upon fresh rhinoceros tracks and followed them
up. We found one asleep in the bed of a nullah, without
even a blade of grass to screen him from the sun ; probably
it was only a siesta, and that he would have retired to a
heavier jungle later on. He looked for all the world like a
huge pig. I was the nearest to him, but did not like to fire as
there was no vital spot visible. Sookur had the sense to
whistle, which awoke the sleeping beauty, and Jackson and
I fired at his chest. He was on his legs in a second and
came at us open-mouthed, but before he could climb up the
bank he fell back dead — our battery was too much for him.
We then shot a couple of buffaloes with good heads, which
Jackson wanted. We breakfasted, rested half-an-hour, and
then resumed our journey. Jackson then shot a stag. We
were within sight of Matagoorie, and were going along the
left bank of the Manass, when I saw a huge rhinoceros
standing under a monarch of the forest. Its head and
shoulders were protected by the trunk, but I could see its
shoulder, and my first shot with the 2-groove rifle knocked
it over. I fired two more shots as it lay struggling on the
ground, but it recovered its legs and went off at a slow trot.

H H

466 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

I went in chase, loading and firing, but could not gain an
inch on my quarry. All the thrashing in the world could
not induce the Muckna to go faster than its usual pace.
The dense jungle was only a hundred yards ahead, and once
in that I should never see the monster again. Just then
Jackson on a fast elephant hurried up, ran alongside, and
laid the rhinoceros dead. This was one of the largest
rhinoceros I ever shot. It length from snout to tip of tail
was 1 3 feet 4 inches ; height at shoulder, 6 feet 2 inches ;
length of horn, 13 inches. I went direct to the huts, but
Jackson shot on. He came across another giant and fired
seven shots into it, but it got into a tangled brake and there
he had to leave it. He arrived at camp at 4 p.m. We then
went to the Manass. Jackson caught the first fish; a 6-pounder;
I then caught three — 19, 8, 25 Ibs. each. The mahouts that
went to bring in the head of the rhinoceros I had killed
came across a tiger eating a deer, but as it was all but dark
we put off going after it till the morning. We had pitched
our tents too close to the river ; the wind came down in a
tornado all night, and we had six inches of sand over us in
the morning, so moved further away — this night breeze is
deadly.

April 21. — This morning, instead of going after the tiger,
Jackson persuaded me to search for his rhinoceros. He said
his mahout (a Gurkha) knew the place it went into; but
these jungles are so alike he could not find it, and we lost
some valuable time, so we had to give it up ; but seeing
fresh tracks we followed them up, and in passing through a
narrow belt of long grass Jackson saw a rhinoceros and fired
into him. The wounded one spun round and round, uttering
the usual grunting squeals, and I should say the noise was
echoed by some dozen others. I never heard such a pande-
monium in my life, and whilst the pachyderms were making
this noise not an elephant would go into the long grass, which
was very dense and high. Not wishing to get any of our
beasts cut, we waited until all this excitement should be
over ; we tried to burn the grass, but it was too wet with the
night's dew, so we sat down to breakfast under a tree. Before
we had half finished, a mahout said : " There is a rhinoceros

A HERD OF RHINOCEROS 469

feeding quite near ; he looks as big as an elephant." There
was a nullah close by, and had we got into it we might have
crawled up within a dozen yards, but instead of following
this obvious course we got into our howdahs and went
towards it. When within about 60 yards the animal looked
up, saw us advancing, plunged down the side of the ravine,
and was lost to us for ever. We hurried back, finished
breakfast, formed line, and went into the long grass — I was
still on the Muckna. We told the mahouts to advance
almost touching; we had not gone far, when a rhinoceros
with a young one charged Jackson ; his elephant swerved,
but he put a brace of bullets into her ; as she crossed me I
dropped her dead. Going on, I found myself in the midst
of a herd of rhinoceros ; they were all round me, kicking
up their diabolical row, and threatening to charge from every
quarter. Fortunately the old Muckna never moved. I fired
four double rifles and a double gun as fast as I could, and
it was only with my last shot that I rolled over the most
persistent of my foes. There were two dead, two more just
crawled away, one of whom lay dead a few yards ofT, and
several more were wounded. My friend had gone a little
way off after one he had seen, and was not in time to join
in the scrimmage, the like of which I have never seen else-
where. Sookur, who was on the Muckna, wanted to follow
up hot-foot, and I had great difficulty in restraining him till
I had loaded my battery. The wounded ones had got into
a brake where we could not follow, but we heard that the
people who followed us about had found three others dead.

He then went back towards the slain, when a three-parts-
grown rhinoceros charged Jackson, whose elephant turned
tail and ran for its life with the rhinoceros in full chase.
Jackson was so knocked about, it was some time before he
could put in a shot ; after the brute had actually struck his
elephant, but fortunately without cutting it, he killed it. Going
homewards, well pleased with the day's bag, we shot a deer
and a pig for the camp.

In the evening we went out fishing. Jackson caught two
mahseer — 20, 12 Ibs. each. I also got two — I9l>6 Ibs. — so on
the whole we did not do so badly to-day.

470 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

April 22. — Jackson was ill with dysentery, so we did not
start till late. We saw nothing till after crossing the Gatee
nullah. We then saw a rhinoceros, but he declined being shot.
Shortly afterwards we saw another ; as he entered a tope of
trees we hurried round, and got there just as he leisurely
walked out, and killed him off the reel. Its horn had been
injured, the root on the muzzle was full of maggots, the
stench dreadful ; it would have fallen off in a few days, and
in time another would grow up. These horns, naturalists
say, are only hairs conglomerated together. We went on
to the Poh5omarah river and crossed it. In a tope of trees
I had shots at a gaur, but lost it for the time. Jackson shot
a hog deer for the pot. In the evening's fishing Jackson
caught two, 26, 7 Ibs. each, and got upset. I caught also
two — 17, 9 Ibs. each. We each lost some others.

April 23. — We moved camp. We came upon a rhinoceros
lying down in a running stream and killed it. I then shot a
bear. We then lost three rhinoceros, and came upon a very
large wild Muckna elephant. Our servants also saw two
rhinoceros, and also, I fancy, the same elephant as we did.
Seetaram fired at it, as he declared it followed the females
and meant mischief. We halted at Basbarie, where there is
a deliciously cold stream.

April 24. — We made rather a mess of to-day's sport.
We sent a Gurkha orderly and Seetaram to track up rhinoceros
we had wounded, but instead of doing so, they had a hunt
on their own account, and disturbed the jungles ahead of us.
I rolled over a bear, but lost it. After going a long way
Sookur came upon fresh marks of a rhinoceros ; the heat was
awful, there was not the least shade, or a cloud in the sky.
As usual, the rhinoceros had been feeding in circles ; my
comrade got disgusted at our slow rate of progress and took
shelter under the only tree near. I went on, and in half-an-
hour, which seemed like several hours, came upon the beast
lying down in a patch of heavy grass, and killed it with two
shots in the shoulder. We then saw a cow with a young
one; we killed the mother and intended to catch the little
one, but one of Jackson's conicals glanced off the old one and
went .into the youngster, so we had to kill it. The udder

SHOOTING GAME DURING INUNDATIONS 473

being full of milk our men filled two bottles with it. I just
tasted it ; it was very weak and very sweet. Going home-
wards, I saw a rhinoceros in the bed of a nullah on its back,
and with its feet in the air. Thinking it was one of our
wounded ones that had died, I called out to Jackson. No
sooner had I spoken, than up it jumped and came straight
at me ; for the first time the Muckna swerved a little, and
escaped being cut, and the second after the beast was Ivine-

1 i » o

dead.

We only shot one more rhinoceros this trip — getting back
to Gowhatty on the fifteenth day. We killed a lot more
deer than I have enumerated, and also small game ; but I
have said enough to show what sport is to be had in parts of
Assam.

Jackson having still a balance of fifteen days' leave, went
to Barry's garden, Kookooriah (which] I bought afterwards),
and bagged a rhinoceros with a horn 13 inches long, weighing
2j seers or 5 Ibs., besides deer and buffaloes.

I will now describe killing game out of boats during inunda-
tions. I had to go down the road to ascertain the highest
water-marks, and reached Luckeepore after a very unpleasant
trip in July.

The Rajah collected a lot of boats, and as the whole
country was under water, he asked me if I would like to see
one of their national modes of killing game. The Assamese
take only spears and dans. I took an old rifle. I did not
interfere with the sport as I was only a looker-on. These
boats are propelled by a dozen men ; they draw very little
water. We went along till we reached some small islets
covered with long grass. These were in reality only
knolls ; as we approached one of them our boatmen began
to yell, and three marsh deer and two hog deer plunged
into the water and commenced to swim for their lives, but
were speedily killed one after the other. We went on with
various luck until some eight or nine deer had been killed ;
we then had a chase after three buffaloes; but as we
passed the knoll out of which they had started, the old bull,
who had remained behind, charged us. We were only in
a depth of some two feet of water, which to him was no

474 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

hindrance. The men tried to pull into deep water, but he
was too quick for us, and he all but closed. I fired, and he
fell so close to the cockleshell of a boat we were in, that it
was nearly swamped by the waves made by his colossal body ;
but he was by no means dead. One of the boatmen speared
him as we passed, but he was up and after us. Before I
could load he struck the boat — the men jumped out ; he took
no notice of us, but butted the bark. The water was up to
my waist, but I got a close shot at the beast's chest which
proved a sickener, and as he turned I placed the second
barrel behind his shoulder. He ran a little way and then
fell down, to rise no more. The other boats had chased the
cows, but only one was killed, the others getting away. We
went on for several miles, looking up all likely spots, getting
a hog here and a deer there. One rhinoceros was started,
but he got away. About three o'clock there was a cry of
"bagh ! " and we went full chase after a royal tiger, who was
swimming for his life. We were rather behind, but were
coming up fast, when a man in the leading boat threw a
spear, but missed ; another was launched and struck ; the
tiger roared and turned round to give battle, but he was
saluted with such a shower of spears that he right-about-
faced ; then ranging up alongside, spear after spear was
thrust into his beautiful hide, and the water was crimsoned
with his blood. Once it closed and caught the gunwale of
the dug-out and nearly upset it, but a blow from a dah laid
open the head and it let go of its hold. Still the tiger, though
covered with wounds, and dyeing the water with its blood,
swam strongly ; and what with its roaring, growling, and gurg-
ling when thrust under the water, the yells of its assailants,
the scene was an exceedingly savage one. The tiger got to
a shoal and charged, seizing the prow of the boat. Fearing
injury to some of the inmates, I put the rifle close to its head
and blew out its brains. All this time the whole energies of
the beast were devoted to the destruction of the boat — it
took no notice of the crew. It turned out to be a tigress,
8 feet 3 inches in length. We got home at five with thirteen
deer, five pigs, two buffaloes, and one tiger. As the Rajah
was going to send his koonlaes to catch wild elephants, he

NOOSING ELEPHANTS OFF ELEPHANTS 475

asked me if I'd like to see the sport. It is certainly most
exciting, and apparently most dangerous, but in reality very
few accidents ever occur.

For this sport only the fastest elephants are retained, and
regularly trained and fed on grain to give them good wind.
Near the root of the tail there is a sore the size of a cheese-
plate kept, which is hammered during a run. The elephants
are bare-backed, but a stout rope is twined round the body
like a girth, then under the neck and tail like a breast-plate
and crupper, and all are securely fastened together at the
withers, and where the sling is also tied. The mahout who
guides the elephant and throws the noose must be a plucky
fellow, specially trained to the work, and he must of course also
be at home on the beast's bare back. He has a man to assist,
who is also trained, and whose business is not only to keep
the koonkie going her fastest, but to assist directly the wild
one has been lassoed. These two men are quite at their ease,
although whilst going at full speed the elephant at times all
but topples on her head, and at others almost falls backwards.
The ground is covered with matted grass and brambles ; its
inequalities cannot be seen ; there are narrow water-courses
to be negotiated (invisible) ; there are fallen logs of trees,
rocks, holes, ant-hills — every device to upset an animal ;
but whatever the obstacles may be, the elephant's speed must
be maintained so as to overtake the quarry before it can
obtain its second wind. The mahout as often as not stands
up, holding on to a small rope attached to the girth, and it is
really marvellous how he sticks on. In my own case I was
tossed to and fro, never on the elephant's back for two minutes
on end ; I held on like grim death. Fortunately I was pretty
young, fairly strong, and given to gymnastics ; but after the
hunt was over my arms felt as if they had been dislocated,
and I felt sore all over.

In falling in with a herd, the mahout singles out one,
generally a three-parts-grown tusker, a komooriah if possible ;
but if no good tusker is present, then a good young female is
chosen. As soon as the victim has been selected, they en-
deavour to get as near him as possible, and then lay in as fast
as the koonkie can put legs to the ground, and endeavour to

476 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

separate the quarry from the rest of the herd ; then for half-
an-hour or more it is a case of the devil take the hindmost.
You must go as fast as your steed can amble. The koonkie
ranges alongside, the noose is thrown over its head ; the wild
one, feeling it dangling about its face, curls up its trunk, and in
so doing assists in its own capture, for the noose then slips
under the neck and is at once drawn tight. The koonkie now
plants herself as firmly as possible, leaning her whole weight
to the side opposite to the prisoner, with one foot advanced
to meet the struggles its opponent is sure to offer, and who,
recovering its wind, rushes off with great violence, dragging
the koonkie after it ; but the noose tightens, and the animal
gets half strangled and has again to pull up. A second noose
made of stouter rope is then thrown — this has a slip-knot;
another koonkie runs up alongside and another noose is
thrown, and the beast is safe. The attendants slip off and
fasten hobbles round the front and hind legs.

The mahout who first lassoed has now the dangerous task
of loosening the slip-knot and of fastening thick ropes round
the neck of the victim. So expert are the men, that an acci-
dent seldom occurs. Two or three elephants range alongside,
get in front, and lavish attentions on the poor half-strangled
captive, while the man is attaching a small rope, which he
carries for that purpose, to the end of the slip-knot to loosen
it, which is often a matter of difficulty, for the sling first cast
cuts deep into the flesh, and cannot readily be withdrawn.
Directly this is accomplished, the wild elephant is led away
between two tame ones, and is tethered at the appointed spot,
where water and fodder are plentiful. Sometimes the mahouts,
contrary to orders, noose an old elephant, who now and then
proves too much for them and has to be cut loose ; but
generally, as soon as an elephant finds himself in the toils, he
abandons hope and resigns himself to his fate.

1 have now described most of the wild sports of Assam and
where to look for them. I will here briefly note how animals
are trapped in nets and speared to death.

On the day appointed I found over a hundred men carrying
nets, whilst about fifty more were laden with stronger nets,
made of jute of the thickness of my little finger, and who were

TRAPPING GAME IN NETS 477

to follow. These were to form the outer barrier to intercept
large animals, such as buffaloes, who would scatter the frailer
nets, but could not break through those.

The nets are never made more than 8 feet high; when
employed in hunting they are kept upright by bamboos, the
lower portion being fastened down with forked bamboo pegs
driven into the ground. When a rush takes place, the net
falls forward on to the intruder. Men and boys, armed with
spears and dans, take up their position in rear of these
obstructions, hiding behind bushes, long grass or anything, to
administer the coup de grace to such animals as are snared. If
the first line is broken, the watchers retreat to the second, and
if that too be demolished, they take up their final position
behind the impregnable nets. It is seldom that any one is
ever hurt in these encounters, which look perilous to a degree.
The nets enclose a large space, and when every one is in his
place the army of beaters commence " tom-toming," cholera-
horn blowing, and yelling like demons. As the game advances,
the nets in the rear are pushed on, curtailing the circle gradu-
ally. In half-an-hour the circle would be considerably dimin-
ished, many deer slain, and fallen nets re-adjusted. Some
of the deer, scenting the people ahead and the blood of the
slain, attempt to break back, but they find their retreat cut
off more fully than even the front, so in despair a grand
rush is again made, and more animals are killed. On the
occasion I particularly allude to, I saw many of these beasts ;
a tigress at one point, and a three-parts-grown cub at another,
were in the meshes. The latter was easily killed by the men
opposing it, but the former had only two boys to deal with ;
they gave her many a stab, but were not strong enough to
drive the weapon home. I hurried up, rifle in hand, but the
boys said they could manage her ; but as I saw she had got
her head through the netting, I thought it quite time to blow
out her brains. While this was going on at one place several
buffaloes had broken down two sets of nets and had carried the
third some way with them in their rush. I hurried there and
found the natives stabbing the full-grown animals, but noosing
the cow-calves. One bull tossed a man, and I had to shoot
him. This is about the commonest mode of sport amongst

478 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the Assamese. I also shot game in the Durrung and Nowgong
districts, but the sport did not materially differ from that
already narrated.

PIG-STICKING ON THE CHURS OF ASSAM

Williamson, the Deputy Commissioner of the Garrow
hills, and I had been shooting for a few days in the Churs of
the Brahmapootra below Dobree, and as pigs were very
numerous, my friend proposed that we should have a shy at
them. Neither of us were well equipped for the sport ; I had
got rusty, as, during my thirteen years' residence in Lower
Burma, I had been unable to indulge in this the noblest of
sports. My spears had got blunted and rusty, and not think-
ing that I should have a chance of using them in such a jungly
country as Assam, I did not carry them about with me ; nor
had I suitable steeds. I had four good ponies, the best to be
got; but none of them were above 13.2 — my largest — and the
others under. I had put on a certain amount of flesh and
was no longer the light-weight I had been in the fifties, there-
fore these diminutive animals could not carry me as they
would have done ten years previously. I had only two ponies
out with me ; we seldom took any, but moved about and lived
almost on elephants. Williamson had a country-bred mare
and a couple of short jobbing spears of Bengal ; they are
barely 6 feet long, heavily weighted at the butt end ; those
I had been accustomed to were from /-|- to 8 feet long, and
were used for thrusting and not jobbing. Williamson had
seen a little pig-sticking in Tirhoot. Although neither of us
was properly equipped, the temptation to once more follow a
grizzly boar was too great to be resisted, especially as they
lay out under the very flimsiest of shelter and in splendid riding
ground. So we determined to try first the mainland on the
left bank, where the pigs were particularly numerous, the
country flat, fairly open, the beau ideal for hunting. Fences
and ditches there were none, but occasionally a dry water-
course had to be negotiated ; but most of these had sloping
banks, up and down which it was easy going, so I thought

PIG-STICKING IN THE BRAHMAPOOTRA CHURS 481

my two nags, Pekoe and Elgin, would do fairly well, even
with a heavyish weight on their backs.

The jemadar of the mahouts was directed where to take
the elephants (we had ten with us) at daybreak next morning,
and to beat in a certain direction towards us. As I have said,
we were hunting under difficulties, for we had no spare spears
and were inadequately mounted ; but there is a charm in hog-
hunting which is impossible to resist, if you have once been
entered to it.

Williamson was an out-and-out sportsman, plucky to a
degree, a splendid shot, a good rider, and under thirty, while
I was over forty. He weighed about ten stone, I twelve or
more. His mare was well bred and about 15 hands, and had
been ridden to pigs ; mine had had no such experience and
were a hand and a half lower, so the handicapping was all
against me. In a straight run I should be .nowhere; but in
hog-hunting even the slowest of steeds has a chance, particu-
larly if the boar turn out a j inker.

I was tired of being eternally on the back of an elephant,
and welcomed the chance of a gallop, even if I failed to draw
first blood. To get to work early, we crossed over from the
right to the left bank over-night, sleeping in an unused cattle-
shed, so we were ready for the fray at dawn.

The jemadar, on a small elephant, received our orders and
went off to execute them, and in about half-an-hour we could
see the line of elephants advancing towards us. Williamson
was ensconced behind a patch of long grass on the right ; I
was similarly concealed a little to the left, an interval of about
50 yards between us, having agreed that we were to ride
boars only, and to let them pass us and get well ahead before
laying in. The space before us, although not quite a plain,
was ridable for fully three miles. These boars lead an idle life
and have their food at hand, so do not take much exercise
and get very fat and disinclined to run, and will as often
charge at once as seek safety in flight. So fearless are they
that I have in these churs put them out of the same patch of
grass as a tiger, the two having been lying within thirty or
forty paces of one another. The mahouts were told to

advance in line and silently — only to shout when a boar

i i

482 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

broke. In less than a quarter of an hour there was a hubbub all
along the line, the mahouts shouting, prodding their elephants,
who were crying aloud and endeavouring to break back and
showing all the signs of being in a stew. We at first thought
that the commotion had been caused by a tiger, but presently
a sounder of fifteen or sixteen pigs appeared. We let them
go for a couple of hundred yards, and then W. shouted,
" Ride ! " I was just about to ram in the spurs, but looking
backwards for a moment, I saw a grey old boar trotting along
leisurely, champing his tushes and giving glances backwards,
as if more than half inclined to charge the leviathans that had
disturbed him from his beauty sleep. The sounder that had
gone ahead contained two largish boars, but the one now
coming up was a veritable Goliath. Williamson had a good
start, and in a straight run my nags had not a ghost of a
chance with his mare, so I determined to go for the grey boar.
I had to restrain my steed, who, generally placid enough, had
plenty of pluck in him, and he got excited at hearing W.'s cry
and seeing his mare go off full speed, and naturally wished to
follow.

By the time the veteran had passed me, my comrade was
half-a-mile away ; I gave the quarry a hundred yards' grace
and then started in pursuit. " Pekoe " was very fresh, and
galloped along, pulling double. Hearing a clatter behind him,
the boar looked back with his wicked old eyes, hesitated a
moment, seemed half inclined to bring our encounter to an
issue at once by charging, but the array of elephants was fast
approaching ; he changed his mind and resumed his flight at
an accelerated speed ; with his bristles on end he looked
nearly as big as " Pekoe," and although not going full speed,
for he did not hurry himself, he got over the ground wonder-
fully. I let my nag go his best ; but after going a quarter of
a mile I only gained a little, he was still 50 yards ahead.
There was a small patch of grass in front into which he
bounded, and I too, a second or two after him. Unused to
carrying the short spear, which is held with the blade down-
wards, I was somewhat bothered, but I was fairly ready,
though not expecting to come across the enemy for another
200 or 300 yards ; but I had not been in the cover above

A PLUCKY BOAR 485

a few seconds when a grey mass almost sprang at me,
fortunately on the spear side. Mechanically I jobbed and
drove in the spurs ; the blade missed the vertebra, but went
well into the neck behind the immense head ; my speed carried
me clear, just escaping a vicious prod. The spear came away,
but the gallant quarry — nothing daunted — with a "whoof!
whoof!" chased us. I kept ahead, going fast enough to
keep out of his way, but no more, until I had lured him well
into the open ; then, putting on a spurt, wheeled round and
went at him again. I fancy some small artery had been
severed, for the boar was bleeding " like a pig," as the saying
goes, and although he met me in the most plucky manner,
there was not the usual vitality, and his charges became weaker
and weaker. Ultimately, with a downward job I drove the
blade deep into his withers, yet he managed to wriggle round,
and with an upward jerk he cut the sole of my boot right
through, his enormous head catching us^ amidship and sending
us spinning to the ground, but he was in articulo mortis. The
pony and I were not much the worse for the spill. Picking
up the pieces, admiring the proportions of our late adversary,
I withdrew the spear and remounted just in time to see W.
coming down towards us at full speed. He had apparently
a large, lanky boar before him, who was evidently wounded.
I too joined in the chase, but I soon saw our quarry was not
of the right gender.

" Why, W.," I sung out, " this is a sow ! ".

" But look at the tushes," retorted my comrade.

" Yes, I see them ; but they are not much to speak of : it is
a barren sow."

" It is wounded, so we must slay it, boar or sow," replied W.

Just then she jinked, and my friend's mare, rather hard-
mouthed, did not turn as quickly as she ought to have done,
so allowed me to cut in. " Pekoe " was quite game, notwith-
standing his upset, and took me up nicely, so I gave her a
good dig in the ribs, but could not withdraw my blade again,
so had to let it go. W. was alongside of me in a moment,
but it was no easy matter to get near the brute to administer
a coup de grdce, for the heavily-leaded shaft remaining upright
swayed about woefully, and with these job-spears you have to

486 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

get to close quarters indeed before you can use one effectively.
1 was useless, having no weapon, and W. tried to rush in
several times, but he got a whack across the shins which
made him roar again, and I much doubt whether the victory
would have been ours had not the pig rushed through a bush
and got rid of the spear sticking upright in her. W. then
went up alongside and finished the melee. Luckily my shaft
was not broken, nor even sprung. The male bamboo used
for these spears is stouter, shorter, and tougher, with closer
joints than those used in the longer weapons. We had our
rifles with us, for there was no knowing what animal we might
come across.

We then shifted our position, and I mounted my grey,
Elgin, who was only 13 hands high, but a very high caste,
swift, though headstrong pony. We shifted our ground
closer towards the base of the Garrow hills. The ground
was not nearly so favourable for pig-sticking there, as there
was a quantity of long grass standing. A few pigs broke
back through the advancing line of elephants, and then the
animals commenced to trumpet and to strike the tips of their
trunks on the ground — unmistakable signs to the initiated.

" A tiger ! " cried my friend.

We dismounted, seized our rifles, sent the steeds further
back, and took up our positions on a couple of ant-hills, not
far apart. I saw-W. turn round to his left and let fly both
barrels. A loud series of roars proclaimed that a royal tiger
had been hit.

I ran up just in time to see as wicked a head as it is
possible to conceive, not above a yard from my comrade, who
was ramming in a couple of cartridges, the man with his
extra weapon having vanished. I got a clear shot at the
chest ; the ball, a solid conical, went right through her from
end to end, but she required another shot from me and one
from W. before she — for it was a tigress — gave up the ghost.

But some of the men, pointing at right angles towards the
river, called out : " Soor ! Soor ! " So getting astride our
steeds, off we galloped, spear in hand. I have before said
there was a good deal of unburnt grass about. Elgin, always
eager and rather hard of mouth, seeing the mare ahead, took

GET A CROPPER 487

the bit in his mouth and fairly ran away with me. I thought
it did not signify, for it looked plain sailing, and there was a
good mile or more to the river's bank, so I sat quietly and let
the pony have his own way. Passing through a longish bit of
grass, Elgin pitched upon his head and turned a complete
somersault, and I was sent spinning ! and all around there
was no end of grunting and squealing. The pony had fallen
over a sow in her lair with her progeny and come a cropper,
but no harm was done. I was up again and caught my
animal before he recovered his legs. Mounting, I went in
chase of W., who had no end of start, but just then the
sounder took a turn to the right, so by cutting across I made
up for lost time.

Wild pigs — sows in particular — form a shelter by biting the
grass and piling it up, and then crawl under and form a fair
roof overhead. In this the sows litter, and remain during the
heat of the day. It was over one of these caches that I had
come to grief. When I got up to the sounder, Williamson
was too close to the only boar to enable me to cut in ; his
mare was somewhat blown, whilst Elgin, notwithstanding his
tumble, was quite fresh. There is no certainty in hog-hunt-
ing ; boars, when pressed, often "jink," and I hoped this one
would do so, and in my favour ; so I kept about ten paces to the
right, Elgin holding his own in speed. W. got within distance
— up went his spear to job, when over the mare rolled. A
creeper had caught her across the legs, and the two went a
"buster." But there was no time to lose, a sloping bank
leading down to a navigable part of the river was close at
hand ; and however clumsy domestic pigs may be in swim-
ming, wild ones excel in it, and take to water readily. The
best place to job a boar is the centre of the withers, but I
could not get near enough to deliver that blow. We were
descending the shelving and sandy bank; I did the best I
could, and dropped my heavily-weighted blade between the
hips, which I could just reach. Down went the boar, my
pony sprang clear of the prostrate body of the swine, which
was rolling down the incline, and I just avoided going a
header into the river, which was only some 25 yards across,
and on the opposite bank of which basked an enormous

488 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

crocodile. The boar's back was broken, but he got into the
stream. I was off in a moment and grasped a hind leg ;
Williamson joined me in a second and got hold of the other,
and we hauled with all our might ; but our feet could not get
a firm hold of the ground, the sand kept slipping away from
underneath, and not wishing for a bath just then, we let go and
ran up the bank, calling for assistance. We heard a snort, and
turning round had the pleasure of seeing a knob at the end
of a snout project, seize the still struggling but half-drowned
boar in his massive jaws and slowly sink into the slimy depths
below. We got our rifles and stood there a good half-hour in
the hopes of seeing the saurian once more, but never saw him
or his prey again. It was now getting hot, and we saw no
prospect of any more sport. I went back towards the
elephants, but Williamson rode on a little further. There was
a cry of " Geddha ! " (rhinoceros). I seized the first weapon
I could get hold of; it was one of Williamson's double
8-bores. A cow rhinoceros with a three-parts-grown calf
rushed past. I saluted her with both barrels ; this was too much
for Elgin, he broke away from the man who held him and
scampered across the plain ; the pachyderm, wild with fury,
caught sight of him and made for him. They luckily galloped
in a circle, so I managed to get in and to kill the rhinoceros.
I then had to walk home, for Elgin was not recovered till late
that afternoon.

Now took place a most unique occurrence. Williamson on
his mare, seeing the juvenile pachyderm fairly out in the open,
rode it, spear in hand. His mare at first objected to go near
the uncouth beast, especially objecting to its squealing ; but
W. was a determined rider and forced her alongside, and,
holding the spear by the butt, drove it in behind the shoulder
with all his might, and was astonished at the ease with which
it penetrated. But the youngster, on receiving the wound,
made such diabolical noises that the mare reared, and he had
to let go of the weapon and become an inactive spectator.
The antics of the stricken beast, he declared, were most
grotesque ; he capered, he shook himself, he sprang from side
to side, roaring and squealing the while, the shaft of the spear
swaying about like the arm of a windmill ; and W. was on the

CURIOUS DEATH OF A YOUNG RHINOCEROS 489

point of riding back for a rifle to give it its quietus, when the
rhinoceros tripped up and fell on its side, driving the spear-
blade right through him and out of the chest ; a few more
squeals and gasps, and he lay dead !

When the spear was extracted the shaft was splintered, so
our hog-hunting ended. Before the next season came round
poor Pekoe had been eaten by a tiger, and I was en route to
Secunderabad. Nor did W. survive long. He was the most
rising man in the Commission, and his death was most
painful and inexplicable. Peace to his ashes ! for a better
fellow never lived.

COSSYAH AND JYNTEAH HILLS

THESE hills may be said to commence about eighteen miles
south of Gowhatty, at Burneyhat, and extend in a south-
eastern and western direction ; they skirt Sylhet and Cachar,
and beyond are called the Lushai hills ; and both further
north and further south they go by various names, but they
are all a part of a vast plateau. Towards the east and
north they are called the Naga, Mishmee, and other hills, and
extend into China and Burma, and there are lofty peaks
often covered with snow. Until Upper Burma was annexed,
only two or three people (Europeans) had ever crossed from
Assam into Burma, but now the provinces are contiguous.
The people inhabiting that vast space consist of many tribes,
all more or less savages, and give constant trouble — frequently
cutting up small detachments, and then fleeing into their
mountain fastnesses, where they are pretty safe from attack
by regular troops ; but the brave Sikhs who have enlisted
into our police generally give a good account of them.

Cherra Poonghie, overlooking the Sylhet plains, was occupied
by our troops for many years, but Shillong and Jowai and
Kohima, as well as Muniyur, are the only places now
garrisoned, excepting small detachments at Deebrooghur
and other places. These regiments are now Gurkhas, but in
my time the 44th was the only real Gurkha regiment.

Colonel Briggs, who had been employed under Major
Kennedy in the construction of the hill road towards Nepaul,
laid out with his usual skill a road connecting Shillong and
Gowhatty, and also Shillong and Jowai. These were far too
good for bridle paths, and never completed as a cart road.
The distance too was excessive. The consequence was that it

490

GAME FOUND ON THE C OSS YAH HILLS

491

was never used ; a shorter and a rougher route being preferred
by Europeans and natives alike. There is now a capital road
from Gowhatty to Shillong ; I laid it out and commenced it,
but it was finished after my time. By the old route Burney-
hat was the first stage, Nongpoh the second ; it is 2700 feet
high. It is a wild place ; there were but a few huts about,
and very little cultivation. There was a fair sprinkling of
elephants, gaur, sambur, hog deer, barking deer, bears and
tigers and panthers about, but the jungle was very heavy—
quite impenetrable in places. I shot a few sambur, hog deer,
muntjac, two bears, a panther, besides jungle fowl, derrick
pheasants and partridges, and saw lots of marks of bigger
game; a few gaur have been shot there.

From Nongpoh the hills gradually rise, the jungle is more
open, and about half-way to Oomsling it ceases altogether,
being succeeded by open undulating hills covered with grass
about four feet high, with sholas or belts of trees in the ravines
along the water-courses. Many of the hills present a very park-
like appearance, and capital stalking can be had ; sambur and
bears and panthers are always plentiful, and now and then
elephants and gaur and tigers are to be found. From Oom-
sling the old path wound about amongst the hills, which are
nearly bare with the exception of a few stunted pine-trees
scattered about. There is the usual game to be found there,
but it is not plentiful. The Oomean is a pretty mountain
stream over which I threw a substantial bridge ; it joins the
Burneyhat stream, and the two fall into the Kullung near
Kookooriah. There are mahseer in it ; I caught a few, and
knew others caught too, but none above 6 Ibs., and those
principally with the fly. After crossing this river the ascent
of the true Cossyah hills commences, and Shillong, 5000 feet
high, is reached.

There was another road via Ranee to Mooflong and thence
to Cherra. The hills commence a few miles beyond Moirapore ;
near there we shot and trapped in nets some serow, a most
unusual place to find them in, as the elevation was only 1700
feet. The first stage was Jyrung, where a tiger killed a valuable
pony of mine in the verandah. I had sent it on ahead, and
my people, thinking there was no danger, picketed it in the

492 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

verandah, and placed the pads of the elephants round it ; the
elephants were close by — the people were all sleeping quite
close. A tiger sprang over the pads and the railing against
which they rested and fastened on the pony's neck. It was
driven off immediately, but his jugular had been severed, and
he was dead in a few minutes. The tiger remained close by
all night and only retired at daylight. I arrived shortly after
and found my pony — for whom I had paid Rs.4OO — dead. As
a window of the bungalow commanded the body, and the
night was as bright as day, I watched there all night, but the
feline did not put in an appearance. So I lost my steed and
obtained no compensation, though I was there on duty. This
was the second pony I had had killed by tigers — the other
was in Burma.

There is fair shooting along this road. The next stage is
Oomloor ; en route, by starting very early, a good many
derrick pheasants and an occasional barking deer may be
seen, and if you leave this road at Oomloor and go by
Colonel Briggs' road to Palliar, in May and June, gaur are
very plentiful there. In three days' shooting there I got four
gaur, three sambur stags, two barking deer, and I saw at
least thirty more gaur and a dozen tusker elephants, but these
were not allowed to be shot then. From Palliar I followed
Colonel Briggs' road ; it passes over a plateau very like Oota-
camund, and 6000 feet high. I had to encamp near a heavy
cutting, and strolled off the next day in search of game. I
met some Cossyahs, and they said they would show me game
if I'd put up in their village, a little off the unfinished cart
road ; so I sent back a man to bring on my traps and went
with them. They took me through beautiful park-like
scenery, and I soon saw and shot a noble stag with very fine
horns : in a straight line 34 inches, round the curve 38. I
saw several does and the pugs of gaur and elephants. In the
village they had the head and horns of a very fine gaur, and
two or three of serow. My things came up rather late. I
tried fishing in a neighbouring stream, and caught but three
mahseers, the largest only 2 Ibs.

In the night a tiger killed a cow, and going to inspect it,
with a view of sitting up over it at night, walking carelessly

A LUCKY SHOT 493

along with the express in hand, up the tiger got, and on the
impulse of the moment I took a snap-shot, and was lucky
enough to break its back — another shot behind the ear killed
it ; it measured 9 feet I inch. I then, later on, got a bear, and
moved on to opposite Mooflong. At Nungklow there are a
good many pheasants and a few barking deer. There is also
a cinchona plantation, but the trees were not thriving. The
next stage, Myrung, has two deodars, but they are very stunted
— quite unlike their kind in the Himalaya. There are also two
bushes of tea, originally planted by General Vetch ; they were
then trees 20 feet high. Mooflong is 6000 feet high. There is
any quantity of slate on these hills, and also coal of the best
quality and limestone, but the principal industry is potato
growing.

From Mooflong the road descends by zigzags to the Kala
Panee, which we bridged like the Oomean. We collected
disused telegraph wires, twisted them into a cable of five
strands, stretched two across the river, and on them built up
the bridge. The former bridges were only cane ones, and had
to be renewed every year. Cherra Poonghie has the greatest
rainfall in the world, the average being 50 FEET per annum.
The hills rise abruptly out of the plains and attract the rain-
fall as the monsoons approach. The plateau is cut up into
crevasses or canons, many of them with sides like those of a
wall 2000 feet deep. Notwithstanding this deluge, the place
was very healthy, and all English flowers throve exceedingly.
Then the earth used to be washed away every monsoon, but
it was easily renewed from that of the valleys, and labour was
very cheap there ; the people would take down their loads of
potatoes and bring back goods from Terreah Ghat for two or
three annas. Coal cost under a rupee a ton — lime was plenti-
ful, so were rubble stones ; the people were capital masons
and carpenters, and erected very good bungalows very
moderately. Living was cheap, and Cherra throve for many
years; but Rowlatt the Deputy Commissioner, a very able
man, in his wanderings discovered Shillong, where the rainfall
was not above 72 inches, so he persuaded the Government to
desert Cherra and to form a station near Shillong, not Shillong
itself, which had a bad name even amongst the Cossyahs, who

494 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

only used it as a burial-place. His idea was for forming the
station round where he built himself a little bungalow. But
the Government with its usual blundering must needs send
up a committee of old Indian officers who had lived in the
plains all their lives, and had commanded Oude men to
report on the eligibility of the proposed site. They were of
course frozen to death, and reported on it unfavourably, as
unfit for native troops, forgetting that it was not proposed to
locate Bengal Sepoys there, but Gurkhas, whose homes were
in Nepal at an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea-level. So
as a medium, Shillong, which lies in a hollow, was fixed upon.
It is also subject to certain diseases, and even to cholera, but
is, of course, an improvement on Gowhatty, and since the
province was made into a Chief Commissionership the can-
tonment and Civil lines have been greatly extended, and now
reach to Captain Rowlatt's original site. The cart road, laid
out and commenced by myself, has been finished, and now
light covered-in carriages ply between it and Gowhatty, and
a person can reach it within twelve hours after landing.

Going from Shillong to Jowai, the first stage is Nurting,
whare there is a Welsh Mission. In my day, the dak bunga-
low there was always occupied by the Welsh parson, who
seemed to have nothing to do but breed children. I never
saw his wife, but she must have been a most prolific woman,
for there were some dozen or more children of all sizes, with
intervals of barely nine months between them. The school-
house was neglected, the pigs had the run of it ; it was in a
swamp surrounded with human and pigs' ordure — a more
filthy and disgusting place I never saw.

There is fair shooting and hunting ; there are barking deer,
pheasants, snipe, duck, and woodcock. Some of the largest
cromlechs on these hills are there ; the ducks rest on certain
tanks, but if disturbed soon fly far, far away. The only
place where I have seen coveys of partridges in the East was
on Briggs' road within four or five miles of Jowai. They are
peculiar to the hills, and at times are very plentiful. The
Cossyahs kill them by throwing loaded sticks at them, and I
have been offered as many as a dozen as the result of one
man's shikar in a day. The birds are, I believe, the ruddy-

A GRAND CHASE BY A JYNTEAH RAJAH 495

necked partridge ; blacks are also very common ; they are of
course a francolin. In former days, to judge by the follow-
ing extract from the Lives of the Lindsays, the Rajahs of the
Jynteah hills must have been possessed of large means and
had considerable forces at their command ; they frequently
invaded our territory and made themselves otherwise very
objectionable, but they were so thrashed by our plucky
Gurkhas that they are not likely to prove troublesome again.
All their greatness has departed.

" The Jynteah Rajah of the Cossyahs was my nearest fron-
tier neighbour; he was by far the most powerful and the
most civilized of the whole, holding large possessions both on
the mountains and on the plains about fifty miles distant.
When a younger man he had been misled by a false idea of
his own powers, and he had in consequence been the aggressor
by entering British territory in a hostile manner. A regiment
of Sepoys easily drove him back and convinced him of his
insignificance, and he was now endeavouring to show me his
perfect attachment to our Government. The Rajah proposed
my paying him a visit in his own country, and to partake of a
chasse he had prepared for me ; and after arranging the pre-
liminaries the day was fixed. By mutual agreement we were
to be accompanied by a few attendants only. It was during the
season of the rains, the whole country being completely under
water, looking like an extensive lake. I embarked in a beau-
tiful yacht of my own building, well manned, and armed with
eighteen swivel-guns, and arrived at the place of rendezvous
at the appointed hour, when to my surprise I found advanc-
ing towards me a fleet of boats not less than fifty in number,
with streamers flying and fantastically dressed. As this was
contrary to our agreement I was not well pleased at the display,
but betrayed no kind of alarm. The Rajah proved to be a
handsome young man with a good address. He requested
me to accompany him to his barge to partake of the shikar
already prepared for our amusement. We rowed some miles
towards a rising ground, on which we landed, and were then
carried on men's shoulders to a temporary stage erected for
the occasion. On surveying the arena round us I found that

496 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the enclosure was not less than 30 acres, surrounded by a
stockade, and lined on the outside by the vassals of the Rajah.
They had previously driven in the wild beasts of the country
to this place, being the highest ground on the plain, and sur-
rounded them. The sight was whimsically wild and magnifi-
cent, the concourse of people immense, the whole population
of the hills and plains having turned out for the occasion.

" The place into which we were introduced was a species of
open balcony ; on either side of my chair were placed those
of the Rajah, his prime minister, commander-in-chief, and
officers of state.

"We each prepared our arms for the magnificent chasse now
about to begin. Upon looking round me with attention, I saw
there were now no fewer than two hundred of the largest wild
buffaloes inclosed, several hundreds of sambur, great variety
of the smaller description of deer, and wild-hog innumerable.
These animals were now galloping round us in quick succes-
sion, when the Rajah, turning politely towards me, asked me
to begin the sport by taking the first shot. I was no marks-
man, and afraid to betray my want of skill in so public a
manner. First I declined the honour, but the Rajah insisted ;
I therefore raised my rifle to my shoulder, and taking a good
aim, to my own astonishment dropped a bull buffalo dead on
the spot. There was a shout of general admiration. I, on
my part, put my pipe into my mouth, throwing out volumes
of smoke to show my indifference, as if the event were a
matter of course. But no power could persuade the Rajah to
exhibit, from the apprehension of not being equally successful
before his own people. On my left hand sat his luscar, or
prime minister ; his quiver, I observed, contained but two
arrows. ' How comes it, my friend,' said I, ' you come into
the field with so few arrows in your quiver ? ' With a sar-
castic smile he replied: ' If a man cannot do his business with
two arrows he is unfit for his trade.' At that moment he let
fly a shaft, and a deer dropped dead. He immediately had
recourse to his pipe and smoked profusely. The loud and
hollow sound of the nagara or war-drum, and the discordant
tones of the conch shells announced a new arrival. The fold-
ing doors of the arena were thrown open, and ten male ele-

WILD BULL BUFFALO AND ELEPHANT 497

phants with their riders were marshalled before us. If it is
expected that I am to describe the gorgeous trappings and
costly harness of these animals, or the sumptuous dress of the
attendants, disappointment must follow. My savage friends
were little accustomed to stage effects or luxuries of any kind.
The noble animal had not even a pad on his back — a rope
round his body was his only harness. The rider was dressed
nearly in the garb of nature, and the hook with which he
drives or guides his animal was his only weapon. A motion
from the Rajah's hand was the signal to advance. The
buffaloes at this unexpected attack naturally turned their
heads towards the elephants, and appeared as if drawn up in
order of battle. The scene now became interesting in the
extreme. The elephants continued to advance with a slow
majestic step, also in line, when in an instant the leader of the
bovines rushed forward with singular rapidity and charged
the elephants in the centre. Their line was instantly broken,
they turned and fled in all directions, many of them throwing
their riders, and breaking down the stockage — one solitary
elephant excepted. This magnificent beast had been trained
for the Rajah's own use, and accustomed to the sport ; the
buffalo, returning from his pursuit, attentively surveyed him
as he stood at a distance alone in the arena. He seemed
for a few seconds uncertain whether to attack him or rejoin
the herd. None who do not possess the talents of a Zoffany
can describe the conflict which now took place ; the elephant,
the most unwieldy of the two, stood on the defensive, and his
position was remarkable. In order to protect his proboscis
he threw it over his head,1 his foreleg advanced ready for
a start, his tail in horizontal line with his back ; his eager
eyes steadily fixed upon his antagonist. The buffalo, who
had hitherto been tearing up the ground with his feet, now
rushed forward with velocity. The tusker advancing at the
same time with rapid strides, received the bovine on his tusks
and threw him into the air with the same facility as an Eng-
lish bulldog would toss a cat, then drove his tusks through

i This is a mistake. To protect their trunks elephants curl it up, and
do not throw it over their heads.— F. T. P.

K K

498 WILD SPOJtTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

the body of the buffalo, and in that position carried him as
easily as a baby, and laid him at the feet of the Rajah ! "

This story must be accepted cum grano salis, as no ele-
phant could possibly lift up and carry a wild bull buffalo as
here described ; but the account, apart from self-evident
exaggeration, is interesting, as showing the power and state
of the Jynteah Rajahs of those days. When I knew them
twenty years ago they were as poor as church mice, and I do
not think there was an elephant in the possession of one of them.
Those they had were requisitioned for the Bhootan war, and
died of hard work and insufficient food and worse treatment.
Their wealth, as I have before said, consists in orange and
betel-nut groves and limestone. Many years ago, a well-
known merchant entered into a highly advantageous contract
as far as he himself was concerned, and rented for a nominal
sum immense tracks of orange and betel-nut trees from a
Cossyah- Jynteah Rajah, the terms of his lease being written
in their language " for as long as he remained above ground,"
meaning thereby for as long as he lived ; but by the time he
died these plantations were yielding over £5000 net profit
per annum. So his knowing wife had a glass coffin made, in
which, up to the time I left that part of the world, his remains
lay exposed to view in one of the rooms of his bungalow.
The Rajah appealed, hoping the Judge would take a sensible
view of the lease, but he gave it in favour of the widow !

When the plains are inundated the deer find their way up
the hills, and tigers and panthers follow them. I have seen
the fresh pugs of a tiger in the verandah of the dak bungalow
at Cherra Poonghie. Tigers used to find their way up to
Shillong, too, and we killed several there on foot, and the
Gurkhas accounted for others. Panthers, or rather leopards,
were very plentiful ; we shot a good many, more were caught
in traps; but it was almost impossible to keep a dog for them,
for they preyed on them.

I made several trips into these hills, sometimes alone, and
at others in company ; we generally got bears and sambur.
Once I took my family down to Oomseing and beat the
neighbouring hills. The grass had not been burnt, so I got
together a few Cossyahs and told them to set the hills on fire,

NEARLY BURNT ALIVE 499

but to give us ample time to take up our positions. The
grass was very heavy, and we had to force our way through
it, so our progress was very slow. Before we got much more
than half-way, we found a line of fire, half-a-mile in breadth,
bearing down upon us at a terrific pace ; sauve qui peut was
the order of the day. We knew these hills were full of hama-
dryads, and other venomous snakes, bears and tigers, but there
was no time for picking one's way. We tore frantically over
the top of the plateau, down a steep declivity, and sought
shelter in the bed of a rivulet over which creepers and other
plants met. We were only just in time, the flames were upon
us and passed overhead, setting on fire the drier of the
creepers overhead. It did not last above five minutes, but
those minutes were to us like half-an-hour, as we were in a
veritable oven, and half-roasted and suffocated before we
could emerge. We took up fresh positions, and at a given
signal this time the firing recommenced. I shot a fine stag
with my "577 Express, and then finding a cleared spot on a
conical hill, I took up my position there, and the grass was
set on fire at the bottom all round. The volumes of smoke
were dense ; fortunately I had undergone smoking out many
a time in the fires in Prome and in the jungles in Burma,
where three times I was all but burnt to death, so I could
stand it ; but my two gun-bearers could not, and I told them
to lie down, as heated air always ascends. I saw two bears
on the move for fully half-an-hour before they came my way ;
they tried to escape by various routes known to themselves,
but were met everywhere by a fiery furnace, so they had to
make for the only space free from fire, and that was where I
was stationed. I rolled the largest, the leader, over, and was
going to fire at the other with the left barrel when the first one
picked himself up, so I put the remaining shell behind the
shoulder and he dropped dead. Before I could seize my
second gun, the smaller ran back towards the circuit of fire.
I knew there was no escape that way, so leisurely reloaded
and waited for him to return ; but I never saw him again, nor
did any of the beaters who were behind the fire. What became
of him I can't think. I beat these hills for two days with but
indifferent luck : one gun was not sufficient ; there was no

500 'WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

lack of game, but it generally broke away far from where I
was stationed. Gaur and sambur and bears were the principal
beasts to be found.

In October 1869, General Blake, Ommaney of the 44th, and
I went for an excursion over the hills, and Trevor, the Super-
intendent Engineer, accompanied us as far as Jowai. Skinner,
of the Police, also came a part of the way. We started after
breakfast, going by the Cossyah paths in preference to the
cart-track laid out by Major Briggs. By the route we fol-
lowed, Pombara was only twelve or thirteen miles, by the
latter, twenty-two ; but the grass had not been burnt, and the
Cossyah paths obliterated, so we had to walk the greater part
of the way, and it took us three and a half hours to get to
our destination. Pombara is a pretty place. -It is colder
than Shillong. There is a very deep and widish ravine to the
right, with high peaks beyond. The bungalow is very fair.
We took our guns and strolled out in the evening ; we only
saw a few black partridges and quail, but the General went on,
whilst we returned home and shot a young barking deer,
which turned out when roasted whole uncommonly good
to eat.

The road from Pombara towards Jowai is very pretty, with
groves of oak and rhododendrons and masses of the common
pine. It is pretty level for about five miles, then there is an
abrupt ascent of 1500 feet. There was no road then, so
we had to climb up the steep hillside, which was no joke ;
but the view from the top was lovely. We breakfasted
there and then went ofT a couple of miles further, then turned
off to Nurting. The road had either lapsed into jungle or
had been washed away ; we went by Cossyah paths, and
worse ones I never wish to see. One nullah we came to had
precipitous banks, and the means of crossing was a fallen tree.
This was very well for bare-footed Cossyahs, but useless to
us with ponies. Ommaney wanted to ride his old screw over
the frail bridge, where there was no foothold for a horse ;
but we persuaded him to dismount at all events. On he
went, leading his Bucephalus ; but the latter had not got half-
way when he toppled over, one hind-leg caught in a fork of
the tree, and the horse was suspended head-foremost over the

NURTING AND ITS WELSH MISSIONARY 501

bed of the nullah, which was a mass of huge boulders. The
branch gave, and down the horse went, but as his value was
but nominal he was not seriously hurt ! We sent our beasts
by a roundabout way and walked over this temporary bridge,
and after a while came to what had in former days been a
very good road. It had been bridged, but it had not been
attended to for years, and they were impassable and in the
last stage of decay.

When we got within sight of the village, I took a short cut
and got there before the others. I found, as before stated, a
Welsh missionary with a cartload of children in the dak
bungalow, so we had to put up in the school-room, which,
from its appearance, could not have been used for months and
months, and was a mass of filth. We got it cleaned out, but
the odours were abominable, and surrounding the bungalow
we were in, were vile marshes ; pigs roamed about in dozens
and were evidently in the habit of occupying what ought to
have been the place of instruction for the village community.
We could not stand the stenches and filth, and left the next
afternoon for Jowai, having shot some duck, teal, snipe,
and a solitary snipe in the adjacent bheels. We had a
delicious bathe in the Mouton river, which was a clear, cold
stream. The road to Jowai is exceedingly pretty, passing
through undulating country, for all the world like the Brighton
downs. We had to cross several lovely streams and flooded
woods, where in the season woodcock abound. We got to
the dak bungalow at 3 p.m., and our traps arrived shortly
afterwards. Mr. Shadwell, the Assistant-Commissioner, soon
sent us a quantity of vegetables and also other necessaries of
life. There is a detachment of the 44th here, and I was
building a stockade for them. Just below the hill on which
the bungalow stands there is a deep valley, with a river
passing through its centre, and on a former visit I had noticed
that it swarmed with fish ; so this time I had plenty of tackle
with me, and also an india-rubber boat. The Gurkhas used
to catch a good many of the fish, but the Cossyahs did not
like their doing so, as they said the river was sacred. So
Blake, Ommaney, and I went down, thinking to fill our creels ;
but not only did we not catch a single fish, but did not see

502 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

one ! When I went there a year afterwards without tackle
the pools were full of them. The Cossyahs said their gods
had sent the fish away to prevent our catching them.

To console ourselves we shot a lot of snipe. The road to
Cachar and Nowgong was visible a long way winding over
the hills ; and on it, a year or two afterwards, I killed the
only two gayal I ever bagged, though I had seen numbers
dead of the rinderpest. Our elevation was 4300 feet. We
got coolies together to start for the river Durrung next
morning.

October 30. — Our route to-day lay over the most beautiful
scenery possible, high table-land, well wooded and with three
fair-sized rivers running through it. One of these rivers, the
largest, was spanned by a wooden trestle bridge, the others
by huge stone slabs supported by upright slabs. The sholas
or ravines reminded me very much of the Neilgherry Hills ;
one plateau was particularly lovely, very nearly flat, with an
elevation of 5700 feet, with a river to the south and one to
the north ; and looking down we could see hundreds of fish
which we took to be mahseer, but some were spotted like
trout. The marshy woods had woodcock in them and we
disturbed several, but got no shot. I think this place would
have made a better military and civil station than Shillong,
as water-carriage is nearer. We halted at Jarain, where there
is a very good bungalow. On a clear day Cherra is visible,
but we did not see it, as it was very misty.

October 31. — The Durrung is still a good eighteen or
twenty miles ofT. We started at daybreak, but found the
road so bad that we had to dismount and walk, and to send
our ponies back with orders to go on to Jynteeapore and wait
there for our arrival. We could not find a drop of water
anywhere, and had a weary trudge of it till 3 p.m., when we
reached the village of Sankar. Here we rested awhile, and
had a good drink of water ; but our destination, though not
far ofT, was not at all easy to get to. We had to go down
a nearly perpendicular bank, by means of steps cut out, or
by springing from rock to rock. We reached the Cossyah
village at last, but found the hut built for us in the heart of
the village ; there was no privacy, and the odours were not

FISHING FOR MAHSEER 503

pleasant, so we went beyond until we came to a level spot
some 15 feet square on the banks of the river, which was as
clear as crystal. We all set to work and collected branches
of trees and various posts to rig up an awning overhead, as
the dews are very heavy at night. Close by, but a little
lower, we found another level spot, just large enough for a
small camp-table and our chairs. We had brought our tackle
with us, and as soon as we could get boats we went out.
We could see thousands of fish, from a few inches to three
feet long. Ommaney had been here before — the General and
I were new to it. We caught nothing, but the Pipon brought
in three — 7 Ibs., 4 Ibs., and I Ib. respectively. By dark most
of our traps had arrived, but only two servants, the rest
had got drunk at Sankar and did not turn up till late next
day. Whilst the servants prepared our dinner, we arranged
our beds, rigged up the mosquito curtains, and put several
bottles of ale and wine into the river to cool ; whilst, after our
work was over, we also took headers into the icy cold stream,
swam about as hard as we could and then jumped out, and a
good rub down made new men of us all. At eight o'clock
dinner was ready ; but my servant John had excelled himself
— we had soup, fish, roasted wild duck, snipe on toast, bread-
and-cheese, and washed them down in libations of icy cold
Bass' pale ale. We retired to bed soon, and were glad of our
quilts, and slept like tops till daylight. The General and I
were in the water before the Pipon would wake up, which he
did at last, and had tea ready by the time we had finished our
ablutions. The place was perfect for bathing; you could
take headers off perpendicular rocks into 20 feet of the
clearest water conceivable. We each selected a boat ; I took
the one nearest me, and I found I had perhaps the best man
as boatman in that part of the country. He had been out
often with Mr. Hind, our padre, and with others. I christened
him "wind-up," as that was the only English he knew, and
which he repeated whenever we came to a shallow or I struck
a fish. This river is divided into rapids, with deep pools
intervening. One portion, which we called the gorge, was not
less than 60 feet deep, with perpendicular banks of from
200 to 300 feet high, and hills on either side all densely

5o4 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

covered with forest jungle. The General made some very
pretty sketches of this and other parts of the river.

The Cossyah boats are very light, broad in the beam, have
a very small false keel, are safe and easily propelled. I went
up stream as far as I could, without getting a run ; I was
trolling with a spoon-bait, but coming back at a rapid I
struck a fish ; we were carried down at such a rate the boat
could not be stopped till we got into smooth water again,
by which time my fish was dead. It was spotted something
like a trout, and 2 Ibs. in weight. I then passed the village
and our camp and four rapids, and to the extremity of the
gorge, where there was a weir, without a run ; but on my way
back I caught two, 3^ and ij Ibs each. In the gorge itself I
heavily weighted the line and trolled very deep ; I was using
a spoon of the size of a large gravy spoon, treble gut, spinning
tackle, and one of Farlow's best mahseer rods ; at last I felt a
tug and a half, and more than 70 yards of line out of 120 was
carried out. I got the boat to a sand-bank, and landed to
play it ; it fought me for half-an-hour without allowing me
a glimpse of it. The morning sun was full on my face, and
the perspiration running down all but blinded me. I gradually
drew the fish into shallow water, and could note its every
movement. It did all it could by lying down on its side and
rubbing its mouth into the sand to get rid of the hooks, but I
did not give it much liberty and it did not succeed in its
efforts. At one time, a fish almost the image of it approached,
and my monster went at him open-mouthed. General Blake
came up and looked on at the struggle, and after three-
quarters of an hour's hard fight I landed about the hand-
somest fish I ever caught. It weighed between 28 and 30 Ibs.
My weighing machine was only graduated to 20 Ibs., so we
had to cut the fish in two to weigh it. The two, after loss of
blood, entrails, etc., weighed over 28 Ibs. For the next trip I
got a proper fish scale showing up to 60 Ibs. Always weigh
a fish as soon after it is caught as possible — it loses weight as
it dries up. We then had a bathe and went back to breakfast.
In the afternoon in the rapids I caught two, 4^ Ibs. each, and
one \ Ib. I then went through the gorge, and close to the
weir I caught a monster of 40 Ibs., but it did not give half the

OUR SUCCESS IN FISHING 505

play of the one caught in the morning. Ommaney had bad
luck, losing several fish ; he secured only one with a spoon,
2\ Ibs.; and with the fly thirteen small fish, weighing altogether
9 Ibs. General Blake got two, 4 and 4^ Ibs. each, but his
sport was spoiled by gar-fish ; they take a spoon and offer no
resistance, so the fisherman goes on unconscious of what is at
the end of his line. No other fish will take the gar-fish as a
bait ; so unless a line is frequently examined, much time is
uselessly expended.

November 2. — To-day I again had all the luck and caught the
following — 4, i J, 35, 5J, 3^ Ibs. The large fish I caught below
the weir, very near where I killed the 4O-pounder. I also lost
a fish about 8 Ibs. I had exhaused it, and hauled it up close
to the boat, and told the steersman to spear it; but he made a
bad shot, struck the hooks out of the fish's mouth, and in
rebounding one went into his thigh, and I had to cut it out.
Wilson of the Artillery, an old school-fellow of mine, and
Lightfoot of the 44th, joined us to-day. The former caught a
mahseer, g\ Ibs., with the spoon, and several small ones with
the fly. Lightfoot using a fly only caught about fifty small
fish. General Blake with the spoon caught one 18 Ibs., and a
lot with the fly. Ommaney had very bad luck and got only
a few small fish.

November 3. — We went out early, and fished with indifferent
luck. I hooked a lot of fish, but they all got off, the hooks
either breaking or straightening. I was on to a very large fish
for over an hour, but at the last moment the hooks gave, and he
got off. I only landed one 6J Ibs — Wilson one 2 Ibs. Neither
the General nor Ommaney got anything. In the afternoon we
moved camp to Joplong en route to Jynteeapore ; we walked
the distance — about four miles. There was only a small
stream, in which, in bathing, we came across the gna-booden,
a little fish that blows itself into a balloon if taken from the
water — a little wretch that takes nips out of one. We had
known them in Burma and now made their acquaintance
again in Assam. We slept under some fine trees, where there
is a weekly hat or bazaar held.

November 4. — We had to walk about two miles to get to the
river leading to Jynteeapore ; the boats were frail dug-outs

506 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM

without any covering, and I don't think I ever felt the sun
more in my life ; there was not a breath of wind and our
progress was very slow, as we had to pole against the stream
the whole day.

By dusk we were still three miles from our destination, and the
branch of the river going past Jynteeapore had dried up. We
put up in a namghur on the banks of the stream and sent into
the town for coolies ; the river where we halted was muddy
and sluggish.

November 5. — The coolies, for a wonder, turned up at 8 a.m.,
and we reached Jynteeapore about ten. This place many years
before had given us a good deal of trouble to reduce and
subjugate ; even then there were many dismantled cannons
lying about, and the ramparts were in a fair state of preserv-
ation.

The people are a ruffianly lot — Sylhetian Moslems — who
are not kept in the order they ought to be ; these people were
too grand to carry loads, so we had to send for Cossyahs, and it
was pretty late before we got a sufficient number to carry all
our traps. Our ponies were here all right ; as neither Wilson
nor Lightfoot had any steeds, Ommaney and Wilson took it turn
about to ride, and I walked, giving Lightfoot mine. We had
only ascended about half-way up the ghat when darkness set
in and the coolies refused to go on, as they said there were
many man-eating tigers about. So on reaching a fairly open
spot, we halted ; the coolies lit huge fires and sat up all night,
but we turned in. In the middle of the night there was a cry
of a tiger ; Lightfoot fired his rifle off in the air and there
was a general commotion, but it was a false alarm.

November 6. — I saw a peacock-pheasant to-day, but could
not get a shot at it. We got off early, passed Jarain, and put up
in some huts which had been built for the survey. There was
a cold drizzling rain all day, and we were glad to get under
shelter and to light fires. We reached Jowai the next day,
and Shillong the day after.

I visited these fishing-grounds and also the Lahat river several
times afterwards, and always had good sport, which I need not
detail here. At Terreah-ghat there used to be good fishing,
but the boatmen who ply from Sylhet took to poisoning the

THE BEST LURE FOR M AH SEER 507

river and have ruined it for sport. It is full too of limestone
caves, into which a fish dives ; and you can't get it out again,
for the line gets frayed. The largest fish I ever caught was
44 Ibs., but they have been captured up to 60 Ibs. In one trip
Colonel Hicks, Ommaney, Bourne, and I got in five days 736
Ibs. offish — of which I got 276 Ibs., Ommaney 258^ Ibs., Colonel
Hicks 105^ Ibs., and Bourne 96 Ibs. At another time in two
days I caught 272 Ibs. weight of fish.

1 may here, I think, conclude wild sport in Assam and
the adjacent hills. I had on one occasion good pig-sticking
with Williamson of the Garrow hills, below Doobree, and I
wonder that the Tent Clubs of Bengal do not pay those
localities a visit now and then, for the boars are of the largest
and most savage. I have put them up within a few yards of
a tiger !

The best lure for a mahseer is a large spoon-bait, about the
size of a gravy spoon, silver on one side and gilt on the
other ; it should spin freely and easily, and the treble hooks
should be extra strong and keen of point, for the fish have
leathery lips, not easy of penetration ; treble gut of the best
and fully 6 feet in length ; the line should be fully 120 to
1 80 yards in length. Fishing in deep water, lead heavily, as
the big fish remain close to the bottom ; strike moderately
hard and give plenty of line. Don't be in too great a hurry
to land your fish. The scales on the fish are very large and
almost as tough as tin, and I found a gaff of no great use — a
three-prong spear is better, if thrust into the back of the head
with force it will penetrate, and your fish will be secured.
Salmon flies are good for moderate-sized fish in torrents, but
not of much account in smooth water. Salmon rods for
trolling.

THE END

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have collaborated in bringing out a book on riding for ladies. The result is in every way
satisfactory, and, no matter how well a lady may ride, she will gain much valuable
information from a perusal of ' The Horsewoman.' The book is happily free from self-
laudatory passages."— The Field.

" A most useful and practical book on side-saddle riding, which may be read with
real interest by all lady riders." — The Queen.

" Mrs. Hayes is perhaps the best authority in these countries on everything connected
with horsemanship for ladies." — Freeman's Journal (Dublin).

" With a very strong recommendation of this book as far and away the best guide to
side-saddle riding that we have seen." — Saturday Review.

LONDON : HURST £ BLACKETT, LIMITED.

4
Imperial i6mo. Second Edition, 2is.

ILLUSTRATED

HORSE BREAKING.

By Capt. M. H. HAYES, RR.C.V.S.

This Edition has been entirely re-written; the amount of

the letterpress more than doubled ; and 73 reproductions of

Photographs have been added.

"It is a characteristic of all Capt. Hayes' books on horses that they are
eminently practical, and the present one is no exception to the rule. A work
which is entitled to high praise as being far and away the best reasoned-out
one on breaking under a new system we have seen." — The Field.

"The work is eminently practical and readable." — Veterinary Journal.
Fifth Edition. Revised. Crown 8vo. 6s.

Training and
Horse Management in India.

By Capt. M. H. HAYES, RR.C.V.S.

"A useful guide in regard to horses anywhere. Concise, practical, and
portable." — Saturday Review.

"We entertain a very high opinion of Capt. Hayes' book on 'Horse
Training and Management in India,' and are of opinion that no better guide
could be placed in the hands of either amateur horseman or veterinary surgeon
newly arrived in that important division of our empire."— Veterinary Journal.

"We have always been able to commend Captain Haves' books as being
essentially practical, and written in understandable language. As trainer,
owner, and rider of horses on the flat and over country, the author has had a
wide experience, and when to this is added competent veterinary knowledge, it
is clear that Captain Hayes is entitled to attention when he speaks.1' — The
Field.

LONDON : HURST & BLACKETT, LIMITED.

REC