20 BIG -GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



you may happen to be stationed, it is as well 

 to ascertain the nature of the reception awaiting 

 you. This applies, of course, equally to men 

 coming out from England, and over from India, 

 to shoot in Burma. 



But bearing in mind the Kheddah operations 

 in Burma, and the prohibitions of the Elephant 

 Act, I would not advise anyone who is especially 

 keen to hunt elephants to apply to the Local 

 Government for permission to shoot one. This 

 course would only be advisable in the case of 

 those who want to shoot a variety of game — 

 bison, tsaing, thamin, &c. — and who wish to 

 add an elephant to the bag. If elephants are 

 the raison d'etre of a hunting trip, I would say, 

 time your arrival for September, and confine 

 your attentions to the dry belt. During the 

 latter part of the rains elephants wander into 

 the dry zone to escape the insect pests of the 

 damp regions. As the feeding is very limited 

 in extent, the animals soon find their way to 

 the paddy-fields, and before long reports of 

 damage come in from all quarters. Permission 

 is then given to drive off the elephants, and 

 who so competent to effect this meritorious 

 action as the sportsman, with his modern high- 

 velocity rifle ? Off he goes, therefore, armed 

 with a chit from the Deputy Commissioner 

 containing the necessary sanction. But even 

 this precaution, though desirable, is not actually 

 necessary. So long as elephants have really 



