156 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



ordered a hut to be built here for us, but we could not find it 

 for fully two hours none of us knew where it had been 

 erected. The village was six miles off". The verandah had 

 evidently been used as a stable by a herd of tsine, as they 

 had left their cards behind them. The shed itself was so full 

 of fleas that a white cloth placed on the ground became almost 

 black in a few minutes. We had the verandah well rubbed 

 over with the wild cattle manure, and by slinging our ham- 

 mocks well off the ground, managed to pass the night in 

 tolerable comfort. We took our meals out in the open. We 

 sent on a couple of elephants to find the village, and to bring 

 us supplies and the best shikarie. We went out shooting and 

 came upon three buffaloes those we had fired at yesterday 

 dead. We each got a buck sambur. In some places the 

 gadflies were so numerous they drove our attendants, our 

 elephants, and ourselves nearly mad. Marks of gaur, elephants, 

 and tsine plentiful. Our people returned with supplies, but 

 told us the head shikarie had died, and that the others did 

 not profess to know these jungles. The next day we went to 

 Ka-een-kine, and thence back to Tongho. 



Hill persuaded me to go after rhinoceros to a place called 

 Thayet-pen-Kin-dat. Starting from Shoayghein I went to 

 Thanzeik, and on to Upper Bogatah. I got a gaur and a fine 

 sambur, and lost another gaur there. From Kyoukee we 

 started for the Yonzaleen the country exceedingly pretty, 

 but all the way up and down hills intersected by numerous 

 watercourses. Groves of betel-nut and delicious oranges 

 everywhere. The mode of irrigation perfect. A bad road 

 for laden elephants. There was a false alarm of a tiger in 

 the night they are much dreaded, being all man-eaters. 

 Watson, the Deputy Commissioner, told me he had never 

 crossed over this part of the country without losing one or 

 more men from tigers. 



The next day the first hill was a buster ; it took us three 

 hours to reach the top, and then we had to descend nearly as 

 much again. At last we got to the Pemah-ben-choung at ten. 

 The Teh or rest-house here was stockaded, and with a chevaux- 

 de-frise round it of pointed bamboos to keep off the felines. 

 We halted there till 3 p.m., in the hope that our elephants 



