ioo WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



on end ; the bullet struck close to the root of the tail and 

 traversed the whole length of the body we cut it out of the 

 neck. The animal fell like a stone to the shot. 



THE GAYAL 

 (Bos frontalis) 



These wild kine are plentiful in parts of the Chittagong 

 Hills and in parts of Tipperah extending towards Munipore 

 and along our North-Eastern Frontier, where they are kept in a 

 state of semi-domestication by the Dafflas, Looshaies, Mishmes, 

 and other wild tribes. Very many of them are caught in nets 

 when mere calves, and are herded with their tame kindred. 

 Huge lumps of rock-salt are thrown about near the villages, 

 and these have an extraordinary fascination for them. After 

 domestication they are picketed on the outskirts of the forest 

 near the village, and are let out to graze during the day and 

 recalled towards night, by the tinkling of bells or the striking 

 of gongs. 



The forehead of the gayal is not concave like a gaur's, but 

 quite straight, and is destitute of the semi-cylindrical crest. 

 The horns grow straight out and then curve very slightly 

 upwards : the forehead is broad, and its colouration is almost 

 identical with that of a gaur. I suppose it is a cousin many 

 times removed. It browses more than the Bos gaurus, and 

 has a slight but distinct dew-lap. The dorsal ridge is prominent, 

 but not nearly so much as in the larger animal. At a distance 

 one might easily be mistaken for the other, and unfortunately 

 both are called Mithun by the Assamese and hill tribes, the 

 only distinction being that if pressed, they say the gaur is the 

 Asseel Mithun, and the other Mithun only. This has led even 

 such a careful observer and good shikar ie as Mr. Sanderson to 

 say that the gayal is not found in a feral state, and that the 

 gaur has also been tamed an error propagated by Mr. 

 Blanford and also by the Royal Natural History. Mr. Blanford 

 has also asserted that it is found in a wild state in the Tenas- 

 serim Provinces, but there I am nearly certain he is mistaken, 

 for it is not mentioned by either Mason or General Fytche, 

 and the Burmese have no name for it. I never heard of it 



