IN SEARCH OF BIG GAME. 
3 
About once a year a very large elephant crosses the 
Triang near Kuala Pertang Kanan ; now that is an elephant, 
•or the hantu of one, I have not qnite made up ray mind where 
to place him, hut as 1 came across him on my return from this 
trip I will tell yon my opinion of that elephant later on- 
W tth the exception of these two or three beasts I doubt 
whether there is anything really big in the Triang now, 
so I decided to look for their tracks only, and failing to 
find tiiem to push on to the Pahang River and go into the 
valle}' of the Jitika, a tributary of the Pahang, where there 
used to be a very big elephant which 1 was anxious to go after. 
Below the Negri Sembilan and Pahang boundary at Sungei 
Dua there are a series of padangs commencing a little 
above Plangai and continuing down to Kuala Pertang Kanan ; 
these open spaces aie sometime.-; almost connected, sometimes 
as far as a mile apart, with exceptionally thick jungle all 
round them. There is a large herd of seladang which Uves in 
this locality, probably about twenty-five beasts in all, but they 
generally break up into small parties of six to ten, and having 
been much hunted seldom stay very long in the sauve place. 
One of tlieir nmst favourite haunts is a padant^ known as 
Padang Menggas, which lies about a day's journey down stream 
from Kuala jerang, so I made up my mind to camp there the 
first day out and visit the padang in the evening on the chance 
of pickiu!:^ up new tracks. 
The padiings near the Triang are frequently burnt off by 
Malays who pass up and down the river, and as the lalang 
with which they are covered burns up com[)leteIy when fired 
in the dry weather, there is at times a supply of the most 
attractive food for the seladang when the new shoots 
spring 'up. 
We camped ab >ut four o'clock, a little al>ove Padang 
Menggas. A nasty driz;;Ie had set in which looked like last- 
ing, and as w^e bad to make a camp a site on the river bank 
had to be cleared for it. I did not think it worth while jroing 
further down the river. About five o*clock Yasin and I went 
through t!ie jungle towards the padang, and approaching from 
the land side were at once rewarded by the sight of some half 
a dozen seladani^ quietly feeding well in the mitidle of the 
clearing. We wntched them for some time, trying to make 
out the head of a fair-sized bull which was feeding at the far 
side of the herd. 1 never saw his liead plainly, but 1 do not 
think that be was anything very much, the dorsal ridge which 
I saw quite plainly was not very well developed. What inter- 
ested me most was the attitude of an old cow who was obvi- 
ously acting as sentr}^ : she stood practically stock-still with her 
