394 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



both animals would long ere this have made off. After re- 

 garding each other side-ways for awhile with lowered heads, 

 they made feints of charging at one another, snorting defiance 

 through their nostrils. These warlike proceedings, however, 

 led to nothing ; after pawing up the ground and bushes in 

 their immediate neighbourhood, they calmed down and began 

 feeding close to one another. 



I raised the 8-bore slowly and fired at the shoulder of the 

 nearer animal. The shot took effect, and the bull collapsed 

 in a dazed manner, and sank to the ground in a sitting posture. 

 He was not dead, however, as a few seconds after falling, and 

 before the death struggle ensued, he uttered a long, loud 

 bellow. The other animal on hearing the report had dashed 

 off a few paces, but on seeing its companion sink to the ground 

 and utter as it were a bellow of defiance, it immediately 

 wheeled round and walked back with lowered head, putting 

 on at the same time a bellicose attitude. It seemed a little 

 puzzled at first and appeared undecided whether to retreat or 

 advance. All this was of course the work of a few seconds. 

 I did not wait a moment longer than was necessary, but fired 

 at the second animal without reloading the right chamber. 

 The shot was quite as effective as the first one, and the bull, 

 after staggering against a neighbouring clump, collapsed, 

 bellowing loudly, and in a few minutes was dead. The 

 animals lay within twenty-five paces of each other. They 

 measured respectively : height, 5 feet I inch, and 5 feet 2 

 inches ; length, 10 feet, and 10 feet 3 inches. 



As there was a track for carts close by, I was enabled to 

 bring up two, which I had with me on this occasion as trans- 

 port. The meat of both animals, including the two heads, 

 was placed upon them, and driven away to camp, thus saving 

 my men a good deal of hard work, as otherwise they would 

 have had to carry the meat. My camp was pitched on the 

 Dat Choung at the foot of the Thaung-bwet-taung hills. 



Some two or three days later I came upon a couple of 

 solitary bulls or " nyi-naung," as the Burmans call them, while 

 tracking up a solitary bull gaur. We had been following the 

 latter's tracks for some time, through a stretch of rather heavy 

 undergrowth, and had come upon some fresh tracks. Whilst 



