44 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



only one tusk. 1 When young he had been considerably 

 maltreated by a huge Muckna ; but when he was about 

 twenty he walked off into the jungles and was not heard of 

 for two years. There was great grief in the Zemindaree, and 

 all efforts to find him proved vain ; but after he had been 

 given up and mourned over as one lost for ever, he returned 

 to his shed as quietly as if he had never left it. The first 

 thing he did was to go in for his old enemy the Muckna, and 

 after a severe fight he vanquished his opponent and reigned 

 supreme, and has shown no inclination to revert to a wild life 

 since. Macdonald was decidedly in luck getting him, as his 

 owner did not often lend him to people. With him came the 

 mahout who had been with him since his birth. 



On May 6 we arrived at Soonapilly, where in general 

 rhinoceros were plentiful ; we started very early on the 7th, 

 and came across fresh marks at once ; but as it was a 

 boisterous day, the beasts themselves had retired into the 

 long grass, where it was not worth while to follow them, as 

 shooting them in that was out of the question. Whilst 

 looking for these pachyderms we came across some marsh 

 deer, and afterwards fell in with a herd of buffaloes, and duly 

 accounted for some of each. We found there was a party of 

 elephant-noosers camped not far off, who had disturbed the 

 game, so we moved camp to Basbarie, going across country 

 ourselves, and sending our traps by village pathways. I told 

 Macdonald to lead the way as soon as we came across the 

 fresh track of a rhinoceros, and it was fortunately travelling 

 the same way as ourselves. I had a Cacharie mahout, 

 Sookur by name, a very plucky fellow, and about the best 

 tracker I ever saw. Although the marks were those of the 

 morning and we followed up as fast as we could, we did not 

 come across our quarry under six or seven miles, and then 

 found her with her little one lying down in a mud-hole. We 

 both fired a couple of shots each, and the hubbub that followed 

 was deafening. The rhinoceros grunted its peculiar cry, and 

 even the redoubtable Maina, who had heard this cry times 

 without end, turned tail ; mine did the same, of course. By 



1 The natives prize these more than those with two tusks, and call them 

 Gosein. 



