Tiger Shooting. 53 



there, although the remoter villages are protected by 

 either a palisade or by a strong fence of thorny 

 bushes. 



I had a lime quarry about thirteen miles from 

 Tongho. There I had built a good house, out-offices, 

 etc., but a tiger one night killed a valuable pony of 

 mine in the stable. I sat up for him, and hit him hard, 

 but never got him. Then for about a year we heard 

 nothing more of tigers, but news was brought to me 

 by one of my workmen that several people had dis- 

 appeared from an inland village, about fifteen miles 

 from the limekiln station, so I determined to pay 

 it a visit and arrange for a hunt. The country was 

 very rough, being a series of low hills covered with 

 dense bamboos with other jungle, nasty swamps 

 occurring between them, so elephants as beaters 

 were utterly useless. Moreover the interstices were 

 seldom burnt, so undergrowth was excessive, making 

 stalking and beating alike impracticable. Thus 

 the only chance of a shot was to sit up over a 

 " kill." * 



A day's journey from the "kilns" up the lovely 

 Thouk-y-ghat, or drinking-water stream, the country 

 was opener, and yit, (pheasants), jungle fowl and 

 barking deer were to be found. So I had a hut built 

 there close to a toivnyali or clearance, where three or 

 four Karens lived, who looked after my effects 

 during my absence. I was well known and friendly 

 with all the people, and about once a year I used to 

 send invitations to the different head men within a 

 day's journey to attend a pooay, or native theatricals, 

 which the Burmese dearly love. One April it was 

 if I mistake not the 21st I left for my hut on 



