BEATING FOR GAME 191 



season, and where, he said, there were always sambur, ghee 

 (barking deer), and occasionally a panther or even a tiger. 

 Meat was scarce in the village, and as the shikarie had been 

 absent for some days, he had failed to bring in any venison for 

 sale ; so he had promised on my behalf that if they beat 

 properly almost all the meat of animals killed by me would 

 be given to them, and, in addition, that each one would be 

 paid eight annas for the day's work, with which they could 

 purchase ngapee, which he had so considerately brought out. 

 My orderly had gone on ahead, taking a pet double rifle and 

 gun, and would wait for me at the appointed place. 



By 10 a.m. I was off again, and got to my rendezvous by 

 1 1 a.m. The shikarie went off with the beaters to beat some 

 low hills towards me, and he stationed me under a bush near 

 the bank of one of the streams, telling me to look out, as the 

 game would be sure to come along its bed. The hills were 

 covered with khine grass about three to four feet high, which 

 the deer love to lie in during the day. My position was a 

 favourable one ; the bank on my side was almost perpendicu- 

 lar, the bed of the rivulet about seven feet below. I could 

 see 50 yards up it and 30 yards below. In the river's 

 bed there were only a few bushes and boulders scattered 

 about. I am not partial to a hank or beat, as I seldom have 

 any luck and the country gets needlessly disturbed, but the 

 day was too advanced for stalking, so as I took up my posi- 

 tion I hoped for the best, but did not anticipate much sport. 

 The Burmese, when you can induce them to beat for game, if 

 left to themselves, go very quietly to work, use no tom-toms 

 or other discordant and noisy instruments, but strike the 

 trunks of trees with split bamboos, and make just sufficient 

 noise to induce the game to move quietly ahead. Along the 

 ridge of the hill there were a few trees ; three men had been 

 placed as stops, and the remaining twelve, keeping about two 

 yards apart, forced their way through the long grass, tapping 

 now and then the few trees they encountered. 



The beat commenced fully half-a-mile from me, and very soon 

 pea-fowl, jungle fowl, and an occasional pheasant (yit) came 

 running along the bed of the nullah. Had I not been hoping 

 for something better, I might have made a pretty bag of these 



