CHAP. xxvi. Burmah. 391 



"April 20th. Sixteen fish, from i| down to f Ib. 



"April 2ist. Sixteen fish, 2, iy, i, i, i, i Ib., and rest about Ib. each. 



" 1896, March 3rd (?). Ten pounds, 2, 2, i, i, on boiled Indian corn and 



small hook ; 1 2-ft. fly rod. 

 " March 2oth (?). One fish of 20 Ibs. on crushed sessamon seed mixed 



with atta. Twice broken. One fish ran out (150 yards) all my line, 



and broke at end, using strong salmon gut. 

 " April 1 2th. Ground nut fried and pounded and mixed with atta ; 



about half of each. On trout rod, 12-ft. fly rod, 2|, I Ib., five 



small. 

 "April i3th. Bait ditto. On i2-ft. trout (fly) rod. Morning, three of 



il Ibs, ; afternoon, !--, 3!, 5l, 5!, and 7 Ibs. 

 " April I4th. i, 2| Ibs., three small. 



" April 1 5th. 2|, 3!-, 6|-, Ib. Several times broken by heavier fish. 

 " From 20th to 23rd April, bait ground nut and atta, steel wire traces, 



19, 14, 13, 9, 6j, 5, 5, 2j, and several of i to 2 Ibs. Line broken five 



times by heavy fish. 

 " April 29th. A heavy fish ran out 1 20 yards of line, and wound line 



round a rock. Had to smash ; besides, I went down stream about 



300 yards with him. 

 " This is not quite a full record, but as near as I can give. 



"G. H. BIGG-WITHER." 



A fisherman helps me with the following knowledge of localities irk 

 Burmah. 



As soon as he gets out again he 



" hopes to get some labeo out of the moat round the fort at Mandalay, and", 

 also out of the ponds in the Palace Gardens, where I know them to be 

 numerous. In a small pond some twenty-five yards square (which I believe 

 used to be the bathing place of Queen Soopyalat and her maids of honour), 

 a warrant officer in the Ordnance Department (I believe he was) used to 

 catch a great many. I saw one just after he had landed it, which weighed 

 29 Ibs. There are several of these ponds in the gardens, all connected m 

 such a way that the fish can move from one to another. 



" I have no doubt that all suitable rivers in Burma contain Mahseer ; in 

 the Irrawaddy there must be some as large as 'dug outs.' I have only 

 fished in the undermentioned, and only in No. i to any extent. 



" i. Nampoung. In Bhamo district, thirty-two miles from Bhamo, easy 

 to reach, and full of fish. Captain S. G. Radcliffe of my regiment 

 (3rd Burma) got a Mahseer of 60 Ibs. where this stream runs into the 

 Taping river ; this was the best of several good fish. 



" 2. Namsiri Choung (Choung = river, Burmese). In Bhamo district. 

 Best fishing place is where river leaves the hills, about eleven miles from 



