180 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



decides in his own mind the hour up to which 

 he is prepared to follow it; in the rains it is 

 advisable to abandon further pursuit in time 

 to admit of camp being reached before dark. 

 In the hot weather it is often desirable to sleep 

 on the tracks. He should make his decision 

 known to his trackers, who will work all the 

 better for having definite instructions. A good 

 tracker should be able to state approximately 

 how long it will take to come up with the animal 

 under ordinary circumstances. If it is met 

 with sooner than he expects, so much the better. 

 But nothing is more annoying than to follow 

 a trail which the trackers have every reason to 

 suppose will not bring them up to the beast 

 before dark, and to have to give it up in order 

 to reach camp before night sets in. The Burman 

 is an impetuous sort of fellow, and on striking 

 tracks of the day before at 3 p.m., or thereabouts, 

 will often follow them when miles from camp, 

 knowing that the chance of coming up with 

 the beast before dark is so slight as to make 

 following it labour lost. On the other hand, 

 when fairly fresh tracks are found in the morn- 

 ing, he is just as likely, after several miles of 

 tracking, to turn round and tell his employer 

 that the animal has gone far, and that there is 

 little chance of coming up with it before dark; 

 whereas, in reality, another hour of persevering 

 tracking would bring the sportsman to his beast. 



