26 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



nature of the country is such that no one can traverse the low- 

 lands on foot, owing to inundation and the innumerable tree and 

 swamp leeches which infest these jungles. It is useless trying 

 to kill elephants off elephants, as it is impossible to get the 

 requisite angle. It is very cruel work I only tried it once, 

 and then I only bagged one at the time, but sent a dozen or so 

 away very badly wounded. Of these, I came across five dead, 

 and nearly shot a Burman who had gone inside one for some 

 tit-bit, and as he crawled out a mass of bloody gore, I thought 

 he was a bear or some other beast, and was just going to fire, 

 when he stood up. The Burmese found three others dead, 

 and these were a godsend to them, for they prefer first the 

 flesh of the gaur and then that of an elephant to all others ; 

 but I never tried that mode of sport again. 



Green and Imperial pigeons, though most common through- 

 out Lower Burma and the Andaman and Cocos Islands, are 

 very difficult to see when roosting on trees, so wonderfully 

 does their plumage tally with their surroundings. They 

 are at times very good for the table, but the very reverse at 

 others. It depends on the fruit in season. Green doves are 

 very scarce. I don't think I saw above half-a-dozen in twice 

 that number of years. The Imperial pigeons are very large 

 fine birds ; some are green, others of a deep metallic or bronze 

 hue, and others blue. The Burmese call them Knit-ga-noa 

 or bullock-birds. 



The common Blue Rock pigeons are very plentiful beyond 

 Yenan-Choung, where the earth-oil wells are. The banks 

 of the river are from 150 to 200 feet above the water, and 

 much resemble our chalk cliffs. In these the birds burrow and 

 build their nests, and as there is plenty of grain growing near, 

 they thrive exceedingly, and are very plump and delicious 

 eating. 



The Green-necked Peacock is a beautiful variety of the 

 ordinary peacock. It has no bluish purply neck like the 

 Indian bird. It is green all over, but the tail is the same in 

 the two, and grows sometimes six feet long. At Port Blair, 

 Andaman Islands, hybrids between the Indian and Burmese 

 Peafowl were very common, but they were tame in plumage 

 when compared with either of their progenitors. 



