69 



in India go to ground readily. About Samulcottah, in the Northern 

 Circars, in particular, they appeared to know every vacant fox 

 earth in their neighbourhood and to run to them as naturally as the 

 original owners would have done. I do not, however, remember a 

 hare thus taking advantage of a fox-earth which appeared to have 

 a tenant ; they always went to ground in those that were deserted, 

 or the owners of which we had killed. I once shot a hare which 

 got into a hole in an ant-hill, and which had it not been for a dog, 

 I could never have found.* 



The hares of Upper Burmah, page 225 of Jerdon, did not to me 

 (but I write from recollection only) appear to differ in any way 

 from those of India. They are not, I believe, to be found anywhere 

 in Lower Burmah. Hares, I have heard abound near Prome, Thay- 

 etmyo, and the other stations on the river Irrawaddy ; a part of 

 Burmah, of which I have seen very little. I doubt however if they 

 are often to be found south of Tounghoo on the Sittang river. 



When Tounghoo was first occupied as a frontier post by British 

 troops, hares were very abundant near it and a sportsman who 

 knew the haunts and habits of the animals might shoot one or two 

 almost any evening on the plain to the north of the old fort, or city, 

 we were first quartered in, or on the ground which was afterwards 

 allotted as a site for the present cantonment j but I could never 

 get over the feeling that we were killing the progeny of quasi 

 domesticated animals, originally imported by some Governor of the 

 old city as pets for the ladies of his household. How far this notion 

 is even founded on fact I know not ; nor whether it has been proved 

 that hares are at all plentiful in more remote parts of the district, or 

 to the south of Tounghoo, I merely mention, for what it is worth, 

 my idea at the time, which although it may have been a right one, 

 did not, I am ashamed to say, prevent my shooting a hare whenever 

 an opportunity offered. Hares, like many other animals and birds, 

 appear to be very easily fascinated by the bell and flame decoy 

 which I have attempted to describe at page of these notes, and 

 like all other Indian game, they suffer terribly from want of game 

 laws, or a close season, or some protection against the ruthless 

 poaching which now exists. The animal in some places affords 



* Vide Memoranda following page 79, VAGRANT. 



