100 HUNTING WITH THE KARENS 



that I ever beheld. Something of the frank nature 

 of these courts may be judged when I say that a 

 woman, who complained that her husband had left 

 her for a younger one, was asked by Ram if she 

 had any disease, at which the entire gathering 

 yelled with great delight, the woman herself and 

 the court (Phra Ram) joining in. In fact Ram 

 always got a lot of enjoyment out of these sittings, 

 joking plaintiff and defendant impartially, and 

 having, obviously, a thoroughly good time. I 

 noticed, too, that the presents were always more 

 numerous where Ram was in good form ; and you 

 may be sure that did not escape the chief, to whom 

 the delay here and the further opportunity it 

 afforded for court holding and present receiving 

 were by no means distasteful. 



Ram told me we were to await the arrival of 

 some men who were really hunters of buffalo ; and 

 I groaned, for my daily prayer had become that 

 I might lose those we already had. But we tarried. 

 Meanwhile, Wan and I went out into the surround- 

 ing jungle, chiefly with the idea, as far as I was 

 concerned, of getting away from the unending im- 

 portunities of the dirty people among whom we 

 camped. The country immediately surrounding 

 these houses was a little bit more open than that 

 which we had come through and we saw no buffalo 

 tracks but did see a tiger— rather an unusual expe- 



