160 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



without dismounting, and of course did no harm, but effectu- 

 ally frightened the elephant, who went off as fast as his legs 

 could take him. We tried to overtake him and followed on 

 his trail for fully two hours, but never saw him again. We 

 saw lots of footmarks of gaur and elephants. We were not 

 far from Chowteah when, in an open quin, we saw a herd of 

 tsine ; we drew back into the forest, dismounted, and made 

 the best stalk we could. There were a few clumps of long 

 grass scattered about, and one large white-ant nest, and 

 nearest to it the bull of the herd. We crawled up to it, and 

 fired together. Hill shot it through the body I near the 

 hip-joint, a favourite shot of mine, and broke its hind-leg. 

 Off went the bull, and we after him ; we came upon him 

 within 200 yards standing under a tree, and directly he saw 

 us he snorted and began to paw up the ground and to toss 

 his head, and trotted towards us. It was a pretty sight, but 

 the poor brute had not a ghost of a chance. Hill had my 

 double breech-loader, I had my two trusty two-groove rifles, 

 and in a few seconds he was on the broad of his back stone 

 dead. He was just i6J hands high bright red, with 

 white under the tail and along the inside of the thighs 

 and belly ; legs, from the knee downwards, whitish-yellow or 

 a dirty white ; white rings round the eyes, with a game-like 

 head and a deer's eyes ; the facial angle quite straight, the 

 horns somewhat like a cow bison's, but not nearly as massive ; 

 hump lost in the dorsal ridge, which was distinct, but 

 nothing like as prominent as in the gayal even ; no dew-lap, 

 or scarcely any. Opinions differ as to whether the loose skin 

 of the neck amounts to a dew-lap or not. We skinned him 

 and cut off his head. The marrow-bones and tongue were 

 very good for the table ; the beef I did not try. This was the 

 only one I shot, till years after I got four. The bull's 

 horns were truncated, as shown in the engraving, p. 102. 



On the I4th, I5th, and i6th we saw gaur and tsine, but got 

 no shots, but shot several deer each day. 



May 17. We put up three tigers to-day. We shot five 

 deer between us, and got home to our hut just in time, as 

 a regular downpour set in. George turned up, looking like a 

 drowned rat ; he had had a tiger walking in front of him well 



