3 
such an out of the way locality, I think perhaps a few details may interest brother 
officers. 
Small game shooting is plentiful within a few miles of Mandalay, and lasts for 
close on eight months in the year, the rain-quail coming in in August and the 
snipe leaving about March. In the 1893-94 season No. 7 M.B., R.A. game book 
shows a bag of 9 hares, one pheasant, 10 jungle-fowl, 1563 brace of partridge, 
186% brace of quail, one goose, 170 duck, 11393 couple of snipe, 34 golden 
plover, 8 pigeons, 2 curlew and 18 various—total 8213 head. This year to the 
end of December, the bag consists of 9 hares, 433 brace of partridge, 153 brace 
of quail, 12 geese, 105 duck, 694 couple of snipe, 16 plover and 13 various— 
total 1936 head. The best bag of snipe was 604 couple by Lieut. Marshall, shot 
in eight hours—121 birds bagged and four lost for 223 cartridges—very straight 
shooting and, I believe, a record for Mandalay district.. The partridge found here 
is the Chinese Francolin, a close connection of the black partridge of India, a fear- 
ful runner, hard to find without dogs and very eccentric when put up. Big game 
we have not had much chance at, as it has unfortunately been rather difficult to 
get away on leave at the right time owing to sections being on command, the drill 
season, competitive practice coming on and other causes. Major Gunner with 
Surg.-Captain Bean managed to bag an elephant at Maymyo—a fair tusker—and 
between us we have shot six ¢hamin (brow antlered deer) but none of them with 
heads of any size. Several of the gunners go in for a little small game shooting, 
but confine themselves to the larger species, powder being too expensive a com- 
modity out here to waste on quail and snipe. 
For two years in succession we have won the Carbine Cup at the Burma Rifle 
meeting—open to teams of four from any corps armed with the M.H. carbine, 
7 shots at two ranges—and are amalgamating the proceeds to procure a Burmese 
bowl for the mess. Major Gunner has won the Officer’s Purse for the second 
time; in 1898 he also won the Rifle St. Leger—best score at 800 yards, all-comers 
—and this year wins the Burma R.A. bronze medal for being second for the all- 
comers championship, being only beaten by one point all up the range. Gunner 
Johnston won first prize in the Consolation Stakes, and several of the men took 
minor prizes in different events. 
At the Burma district Assault-at-Arms, our drivers won the Natives Light- 
weight Tug-of-War for the second time, but the gunners met more than their 
match in the tug for Europeans, the Wilts Regiment producing a well-trained team 
that averaged 13st. 8lbs., whereas our men could only scale 13st. 2lbs., of course 
three years in Burma has told on some of our men, and four of our former team 
were unable to pull from sickness or its after effects; however, I do not think 
that affected the result, as the Wilts team would be hard to beat anywhere. One 
of our gunners won “ Putting the Shot,” and Major Gunner took the cup for 
Officers’ Fencing. 
No. 5 (Bo.) M.B. were here with us for about a month in November, having 
just come back from our only “ Sanitarium”? Maymyo, where they lost a section 
of mules from Surra, and on their return had to invalid a large percentage of their 
men. The authorities, I am told, are prospecting for a new health resort. 
SHEERNESS. 
SINCE last notes there has not been much to chronicle; the Well Marsh has been 
changed from a cricket ground into golf links, the polo ponies have become 
hunters, officers have joined and officers have left and Sheerness has been buried 
in snow, but advantage was taken of it to rig up a sleigh with four ponies driven 
four-in-hand through the town and round the Isle of Sheppey, with bells clanging 
