458 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



and the fly, but had no further luck. Directly I reached 

 camp I ordered out 50 worth of mahseer tackle from one 

 of our leading makers. 



We then went to Gohine Goung, then Bornuggur, and on 

 to Burpettah. There I had shots at a tiger, but failed to bag, 

 but shot a few deer and a lot of small game. Barry and I 

 visited from Baromah the Namuttie bheel ; the whole place 

 was alive with wild-fowl, but they had been much molested 

 by the police and were as wild as hawks, but we shot a few 

 geese and a lot of duck and teal. I had various sport between 

 March and May, bagging a couple of tigers and three 

 rhinoceros, deer, and buffaloes. 



In January 1870, General Blake, Mrs. Blake, Ommaney of 

 the 44th, and Masters of the Police accompanied me as guests 

 to the Manass. The General was a most noted sportsman, 

 but shooting off elephants was to him a novelty. We caught 

 a good many fish, for I had received the tackle I had sent 

 for, killed two rhinoceros, several buffaloes and various deer 

 without any particular incident, and were en route back and 

 within sight of Burpettah, when Campbell, the Assistant- 

 Commissioner, joined us. It was getting hot, and no prospect 

 of any sport where we were, so the General and his wife went 

 off, and I proposed we should dismount and try for florikan. 

 The grass was only about three feet high, in which I had 

 frequently shot on foot hog deer and small game. We had 

 scarcely entered this and wereabout to dismount, when to 

 our amazement we put up a right royal Bengal tiger ! 

 Campbell fired and missed ; my ball went through the tiger's 

 stomach. Campbell and I being on the fastest elephants, 

 gave chase, but lost sight of our quarry. General Blake, 

 hearing the shots, turned back and joined us ; we then formed 

 line, and we beat through the grass without seeing anything; 

 the tiger had allowed us to pass him. We turned back and 

 carefully retraced our footsteps ; we saw the tiger with his 

 head down, looking anything but well or lively. Masters and 

 I fired, and one of the shots struck ; he ran into the heaviest 

 portion of the cover, growling like the devil. Blake, Ommaney, 

 and I went towards him ; the others stood a little way off, 

 one to the right and one to the left. No sooner did we get 



