182 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



is that there is no telling whether a Burman is 

 staunch or not until he is tested, and it fre- 

 quently happens that the men who boast most 

 loudly of their prowess are the very ones to be 

 troubled with ' nerves ' at the critical moment. 

 After the trackers have seen the sportsman 

 knock over one or two big beasts, even the most 

 faint-hearted are likely to have confidence in 

 him ; but before this desirable state of mind 

 can be attained a good chance may have been 

 thrown away. Elephants are another matter. 

 I have only met two Burmans who would follow 

 one into a big herd of elephants, and personally 

 I am satisfied to be brought up to a herd, and 

 expect no further assistance when I get there. 

 But a decent tracker should, at all events, bring 

 the sportsman within sight or sound of his game, 

 and should remain motionless while the shot is 

 being taken. It is always best, whenever it 

 can be managed, to drop your man as far away 

 as possible from the scene of action ; but it 

 often happens that the animal is met with unex- 

 pectedly, and it is then that with faint-hearted 

 trackers a bad attack of nerves is likely to ensue. 

 Even if there is no doubt as to the staunchness 

 of the tracker, his curiosity may induce him 

 to creep on after the sportsman, and his 

 movements may alarm the game. I lost my 

 one and only chance of bagging a coal-black 

 tsaing, one out of the three black bulls men- 



