HUNTING WITH THE KARENS 107 



kept getting fresher and fresher. Suddenly I 

 could hear the chopping of bamboo, and shortly 

 afterward the tracks indicated that the buffalo had 

 begun running. Soon we came almost at our 

 camp. The buffalo had got the wind of our camp 

 which, together with the noise of bamboo cutting, 

 had frightened them out of leisurely travel. The 

 men in camp said they had seen the buffalo cross 

 just below, running at full speed. 



Next morning at daybreak I picked up these 

 tracks again and followed them for eight hours 

 through thick jungle swamp, but early in the after- 

 noon they led to hard ground and soon we lost 

 them. 



It was several days before I found other tracks 

 and late, just about dark. So we picked them up 

 the next morning and followed all day until nearly 

 dark; again through the dense jungle among cu- 

 rious clumps of bamboo, raised mound-like as a 

 huge ant hill, and occasional trees, looking like 

 three or four trees stuck together, having a gross 

 diameter of eight to ten feet. We left the tracks 

 when it grew too dark to see them, but I deter- 

 mined to follow them up in the morning and to go 

 on alone with Wan. In fact, my party had by 

 now dwindled to Thee, Nuam and Wan, for the 

 others, walked to a standstill, had returned to the 

 main camp. And indeed I was glad to be rid of 

 them. 



