94 HUNTING WITH THE KARENS 



The experience of the first day was the expe- 

 rience of the following two weeks, during which 

 we travelled over the country and across its fre- 

 quent streams, making our way towards one par- 

 ticular section, which all united in declaring was 

 sure to yield us buffalo if we were not earlier suc- 

 cessful. There was scarcely a day in those two 

 weeks that we did not cross elephant tracks, and 

 the tracks of deer, and the Siamese variety of the 

 guar ; several times I had the luck to sight the deer 

 itself. 



In the Far East is an interesting and exclusive 

 Oriental group of deer (Rusine), which includes 

 the sambar of India, Burma and Siam, with its 

 numerous Malayan varieties; and several closely 

 allied similar forms through Malaya and the Phil- 

 ippine Islands. Most important but least nu- 

 merous is Schomburger's deer (Cervus schom- 

 burgki), standing about four feet at the shoulder, 

 and carrying a good-sized head, entirely unique in 

 the whole world of deer for its many-pointed ant- 

 lers. This was the only deer at which I should 

 have risked a shot while in the buffalo section ; but, 

 unhappily, I never saw one, as it is very scarce 

 except in the far northern parts of Siam, and not 

 plentiful even there. In fact, good heads are rare. 



Also in Siam is the little barking (Cervulus 

 muntjac) or ribfaced deer, about twenty inches 



