152 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



almost as the point of a spear. Another very 

 fine head had as many as fourteen points ; 

 but the six-pointer was, none the less, the finer 

 of the two. The horns vary in colour almost 

 as much as in appearance. Some are a beautiful 

 golden brown with white tips. Others are a 

 bluish grey in colour, and you get every shade 

 between these two extremes. The tips of the 

 brow antler, and of the points, are, however, 

 always white, as is the case with all deer when 

 the stag is a fine one. 



As regards length, the horn is always meas- 

 ured to exclude the brow antler. This is fair 

 enough ; but since half the beauty of a thamin's 

 head lies in the brow antler, it would, in the 

 case of this deer alone, be more satisfactory, 

 I think, if the length of the brow antler were 

 always mentioned. A head measuring 35 in., 

 with a brow antler of 17 in., is, in my opinion, a 

 more handsome trophy than one measuring 

 38 in., with a brow antler of only 14 in. Heads 

 measuring 42 in. and over, exclusive of the 

 brow tine, have been shot ; but these are very 

 rare, especially nowadays. The biggest head 

 that has fallen to the writer measures 37| in., 

 with a brow antler of 17£ in. I should call 

 one of about 34 in., with a brow antler of 

 12 or 13 in., a good average head. Any beast 

 with a head less than 30 in. ought not to be 

 fired at. It is wonderful, by the way, how, 



