98 HUNTING WITH THE KARENS 



push and haul the carts out to the bank. One day 

 we came to a river that was too deep to ford, and 

 the Karens saved the situation by swimming the 

 bullocks across, after floating over the carts. Then, 

 wading chin deep, they portaged on their heads all 

 the stuff that had been taken out of the carts, 

 shouting and laughing and playing all the time like 

 a lot of boys in the old swimming hole. We were 

 two days at this place, and the Karens had the time 

 of their lives. Meanwhile Phra Ram stood on the 

 bank adding his unmusical voice to the general 

 hubbub during intervals of betel-nut chewing. 



After this crossing we travelled through some 

 fairly open, grassy country, where I saw several 

 varieties of handsomely plumaged birds, notably 

 a woodpecker, of a glorious golden red. Here we 

 had our first view ahead of the " mountains," a 

 range of small hills in Burma which looked very 

 blue, and of course densely wooded. Soon, how- 

 ever, we entered a swampy, noisome section where 

 both Nai Kawn and I fought dysentery which the 

 drinking water gave us, although we boiled and 

 limited to a cup a day. The nights were cool 

 enough to make sleeping under a light rug com- 

 fortable, but very damp; the tent was wringing 

 wet each morning, and our rifles had to be well 

 greased every night to keep them free of rust. 



The bullocks here made very slow time, not over 



