358 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



the other side. When we reached this spot, Moung Hpe 

 advised me not to follow any further till the gaur, which had 

 now settled down to a walk, had quite recovered from its 

 alarm, and as it was near evening, Moung Hpe rightly argued 

 that after resting in the cover ahead of us the animal would 

 be sure to be found feeding in the neighbourhood later on in 

 the evening. I was too impatient, however, to listen to any 

 advice, as I was under the impression that the gaur had gone 

 on much further. The responsibility of what followed now fell 

 on my own shoulders. 



We crossed the stream, which had only a thin current of 

 water flowing along its sandy bed, and entered the jungle 

 on the other side. We had not gone 200 yards before the 

 now thoroughly alarmed gaur, which had been lying down 

 resting, rose up and dashed away with a loud whistling snort 

 of alarm. I had only time to catch a glimpse of him, and fired 

 a snap-shot in the hopes of hitting him somewhere. The 

 animal, I afterwards found, dropped to the shot, and from 

 blood-stains on leaves' and bushes some five feet from the 

 ground, my hunter concluded that my bullet had passed 

 through the dorsal ridge. I was too disgusted to continue 

 the chase, as the bison had gone away practically unhurt. It 

 was thus that I lost my chance of bagging the largest gaur I 

 have ever seen. The animal stood, I am certain, quite 21 

 hands at the shoulder. I took on his tracks again next day 

 and followed them on for several miles, but eventually gave 

 them up and fired at one of a pair of solitary bull tsine, 

 which were feeding along directly in our track, and which I 

 succeeded in bagging. I often came across the tracks of this 

 monster gaur afterwards, but never managed to come up with 

 him. 



Two days after this occurrence I again struck the trail of a 

 solitary bull gaur in the neighbourhood of my encampment, 

 " Mezli Sakan " (Bur. " mezli," the name of a tree, " sakan " 

 Bur. for camp). We found the tracks of gaur and took them 

 steadily on all day, covering, I am sure, some fifteen or eighteen 

 miles of country before coming up with him. The sportsman has 

 to be very keen indeed to go in for tracking up an animal to 

 the bitter end, as it is not only very hard work but it tries the 



