82 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



flesh to the Cacharies, but the young ones they tame. The 

 young bulls are castrated, and employed, when of a size fit for 

 the purpose, in ploughing. 



RHINOCEROS 



Although I have heard it stated in Lower Burma that 

 there are three varieties of the rhinoceros, I think it doubtful. 

 There is certainly the lesser rhinoceros (R. sondaicus], and the 

 (R. sumatrensis], and an allied one, which was secured by the 

 late Captain Hood in Chittagong, and sold by him to the Zoo. 

 The two are very similar in appearance, and both have strong 

 incisors, like tusks. I only shot one R. sumatrensis in Burma, 

 and that near Cape Negrais, but I have been after them 

 several times ; but the nature of the ground was such, that 

 our animals (elephants) could not go through the quagmires, 

 whereas the rhinoceros would half wade, half swim through 

 them with ease : but my colleague will write about them 

 more, as his experience with these animals is greater than 

 mine in Burma. 



I may here mention about them in Assam as I intend to 

 give a short sketch of wild sport in that Province that I shot 

 there forty-four to my own gun, and probably saw some sixty 

 others slain, and lost wounded fully as many as I killed. 



The first is the great Indian rhinoceros (R. indicus\ which 

 is very plentiful in the Bhootan Dooars, but it is also found 

 in the Churs of the Brahmapootra, and along the foot of the 

 Garrow Hills, and also in the swamps along the base of the 

 Cossyah and Garrow Hills. ^It has only one horn, seldom 

 1 8 inches long, generally a good deal less ; this horn, which 

 is said to be a conglomeration of hairs, is liable to get 

 detached through injury or disease, when another one grows 

 in its place. The skin is exceedingly thick, with a deep fold 

 at the setting on of the head, another behind the shoulders, 

 and another in front of the thighs ; two large incisors in each 

 jaw, with two smaller intermediate ones below, and two 

 smaller outside the upper incisors, not always present. 

 General colour, dusky black. The largest I bagged measured 

 as follows : extreme length, \2\ feet; tail, 2 feet; height, 6 feet 

 2 inches ; horn, 14 inches. 



