Wild Cattle Shooting. 149 



bull carried him clean over me, and lie fell with an 

 awful splash into the pool. This must have knocked 

 the wind out of him, for he lay in the water half- 

 submerged. I drew myself on to terrajfirma, seized my 

 rifle, pulled both triggers, but the only result was snap, 

 snap the caps had fallen off ! I screamed to Moung 

 Shoay Jah, and he came up with another weapon. 

 By this time the bull had recovered his breath and 

 legs, but it was not for long, for instantly afterwards 

 I rolled him over dead. Once afterwards these cattle, 

 with calves, rushed past me. When I saw them first 

 they were grazing some way off. Soon after there 

 was a stampede, with some active beast prancing 

 about on their backs, while to judge by the violent 

 cow-kicking that went on, another assailant was at 

 their heels. A family of leopards were driving off 

 the herd, doubtless in the hopes of making a meal off 

 one of the little ones, but I interfered, slew one and 

 the rest decamped. 



TIGERS, GAUR AND LEOPARDS. 1 



In the good old days, before we annexed Upper 

 Burma (which ought to have been in 1852), Tongho, 

 our frontier station, was a quiet place, and officers had 

 no difficulty in obtaining leave ; but since the last 

 war, we have changed all that. The garrison has 

 been reduced, and no one knows what a day may 

 bring forth in the way of requisition for men and 

 officers to chase dacoits and catch only fever ! I had 



1 This happened to a near relative of mine, and is told in his 

 own words. 



