46 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



them I alarmed the herd, which decamped, 

 together with the combatants. The scene of 

 the fight, however, left no doubt as to the 

 fierceness of the struggle. The ground was 

 ploughed up in all directions, saplings and 

 branches were strewn everywhere, while here 

 and there clots of blood showed that more than 

 one thrust had penetrated the thick hides of 

 the antagonists. I was sorry to have missed 

 what would have been a unique sight ; but, con- 

 sidering the denseness of the jungle and the 

 excited state of the combatants, it was, perhaps, 

 just as well for me that I failed to obtain an 

 interview. As it was, I only got to the place 

 by crawling on my hands and knees, the 

 intertwining creepers and low-hanging branches 

 preventing a more comfortable attitude. 



The exact time of year during which ele- 

 phants breed is uncertain ; but as the young are 

 generally dropped in the late autumn, and the 

 period of gestation lasts about twenty months, 

 it is probable that the breeding season is during 

 the hot weather and commencement of the 

 rains. I once caught a young elephant early in 

 November. I had come unexpectedly on ele- 

 phants in long kaing grass, and the herd had 

 stampeded without giving me a chance. While 

 debating whether to follow them up, I was 

 surprised to hear an elephant roaring a little 

 way off. I made my way to the spot with 



