THE BANTING IN UPPER BURMA 



red, and in some places almost a brick-red colour. The 

 trees grow sparsely about these plains, and are almost all 

 confined to the species indine, which grows to about 

 thirty feet in height only, the soil presumably not being 

 favourable to a luxuriant vegetation. It should be men- 

 tioned that a large river drains the valley, to the west 

 of which lie the Chin Hills, the Burmese villages being 

 almost entirely confined to the east bank of the river, 

 a precaution necessary in times when the King of Burma 

 ruled the land on account of the raids which the Chins 

 made on the Burmans. I do not, however, think that 

 this would entirely account for the almost total absence 

 of Burmese villages and cultivations from the west side 

 of the river, and the cause must, no doubt, be found 

 partly in the poorness of the soil on that side. However 

 this may be, it has been very acceptable to the solitude- 

 loving tsine, which has roamed here between the river 

 and the hills from "time immemorial." These plains 

 soon became familiar to me after my arrival in the 

 valley, as they are in the vicinity of forests where I 

 have to superintend the felling of teak trees on behalf 

 of the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation, who are 

 known throughout the East for their wealth and enter- 

 prises in Burma, Siam, and elsewhere. As my work 

 takes me into the jungle all the year round, I find 

 exceptional opportunities for hunting big game and 

 noting their habits. The great difficulty for a sportsman 

 in Burma is the question of transport. In India coolies 

 can, I believe, always be obtained, but in Burma it is 

 quite otherwise ; the inhabitants are few to begin with, 

 and unfortunately payment, however liberal, has not the 

 least attraction for them. The only way in which a man 

 unacquainted with the language and country could get 

 transport would be to obtain an order on village headmen 

 through the Deputy-Commissioner to supply coolies, but 

 it is rather doubtful whether the Deputy -Commissioner 

 would even do this ; certainly not at a busy time of year 

 when crops were being planted, for would not that mean 



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