constantly put their backs up by assuming mastery over them, and issuing orders as from himself.

"Heh! Kulah! put those here, not there. What are you about?-yainday!" he vociferated, as the boys were handing up the things to the elephant-drivers. The boys treated his orders with sullen disdain, and went on quietly attending to their business. Loogalay was stamping about and slapping his thighs, becoming more flushed every minute, and looking more and more like an enraged turkey-cock. I was enjoying the fun, sitting quietly smoking in my chair up in the court-house, and would have liked to have watched its further development. There is nothing like a thunderstorm to clear the air, or a good determined school-fight to put the young folk at their ease and knock sense into them. Dr Cushing, however, being in charge of the marching arrangements, put an end to the cabal by appearing on the scene and bundling Loogalay and Portow off to attend on the other elephants.

With his presence order came out of chaos, and by halfpast seven we were ready to start. A quarter of an hour later Dr Cushing stepped off the verandah of the courthouse on to the head of his elephant, sprawled over the greasy Karen mahout to the seat that had been prepared for him, said good-bye to the Myook, and headed the train of elephants as they commenced their journey.

9

CHAPTER II.

SURVEYING- THANKFUL FOR A HALT-LEAVE

HOUSES

HLINEBOAY -KAREN

WELL-RIGGING UP

INFESTED WITH BUGS-HALT NEAR SHELTER FOR THE NIGHT-TENT LEFT BEHIND-TEAK-FORESTSCARE-EXPLODING BAMBOOS TREES 130 FEET

YUNNANESE-A

HIGH-A MID-DAY HALT-THE BRITISH GUARD-HOUSE-A NIGHT CAMP --GLUTINOUS RICE, MODE OF COOKING AND CARRIAGE-ELEPHANTS FEEDING-HEAVY DEW-JOURNEY DOWN THE YEMBINE VALLEYMOTION OF ELEPHANTS-DIFFICULT SURVEYING-A PRACTICAL JOKE -RAILWAY TO RANGOON AND MANDALAY-HEATHEN KARENS-NO LONGER A MISSIONARY-DIFFICULTY IN CONVERTING BUDDHISTSVENISON FOR DINNER STUNG BY BEES -PASS BETWEEN THE THOUNGYEEN AND THE SALWEEN-TREES 25 FEET IN CIRCUMFERENCE -LIMESTONE CLIFFS-OFFERING TO THE DEAD-DESCENT TO THE THOUNGYEEN-THE FORD.

If

SURVEYING by time-distances and a prismatic compass, when on the march, requires a steady hand, a quick judgment for selecting an object for your angle, and a good memory. the hand is unsteady, the ring of the compass, which is balanced on a needle, will not come to rest. In a jungleclad country you must watch the foremost elephant as it winds through the trees, and rapidly select the point for your next angle as the animal is just passing from view. A good memory is required, otherwise in noticing the trees, rocks, by-paths, width and depth of streams, breadth of fields, size of villages, and taking sketches of, and angles to, neighbouring hills, you will forget the object, twig, branch or trunk of tree, that you have aimed at.

Having taken your angle, you must catch up the last elephant for you are taking your distances by the time it takes in passing over the ground-and observe the time and

10

SHELTER FOR THE NIGHT.

your next angle on arriving at the object you had formerly chosen. This constant observation, continuing from dawn to dark with one interval for refreshment, is a great strain upon one's attention, and when joined with the necessity of taking heights from the aneroid barometer, and temperatures from the thermometer at every change of level, makes one thankful for a halt at the foot or summit of a mountain pass, where one has to check the height by the boilingpoint thermometer.

For the first hour after leaving Hlineboay we passed over slightly undulating ground, covered with stunted trees and scrub-jungle, and then entered paddy-fields through which we proceeded to Quambee, a Talaing, or Pwo, Karen village in a rice-plain over half a mile in breadth. To the east of the plain amongst the forest appeared many isolated hills and knolls, backed up by a boldly defined peaked range of hills, the Dana Toung, distant about fifteen miles, which forms the water - parting between the Thoungyeen and Salween rivers.

There being no zayat, or rest-house, in the village, and Karen houses being generally infested with bugs, we decided to camp in a grove of large trees in the vicinity of a well, from which we could draw water for bathing and cooking. After the elephants were unloaded and we had finished our supper, a shelter for the night was quickly formed with a few bamboos, roofed with two large waterproof sheets which I luckily had with me. My tent had been left behind in Maulmain through an oversight of the boys; and although the Bombay-Burmah party kindly brought it with them to Hlineboay, it may be still at the latter place, as they had not carriage sufficient to bring it farther. A tent is a cumbersome and costly thing to carry about, and we managed very well for several months without one.

The next day we resumed our short stages, hoping that Mr Bryce's party would catch us up. The country continued of much the same character as between Hlineboay and Quambee-only, cultivated fields became rarer, isolated hills more numerous, and teak - trees were frequently interspersed in the forest.

The first night from

Quambee we spent in a zayat on the bank of the Hlineboay river.

Towards dark a party of Chinese from Yunnan, who had sold their goods at Zimmé, came scampering by, armed with Shan dahs or swords, spears, and very antiquated horsepistols. They were conducting a caravan of between forty and fifty mules and ponies to Maulmain, intending to bring them back laden with piece-goods and general articles of merchandise. They ultimately camped about half a mile from us, as several times in the evening we heard from that direction what we considered to be the discharge of firearms. Chinamen were not likely to waste powder in frightening off dacoits or wild beasts when they had any simpler, equally efficient, and cheaper means at command; and next morning we learnt our mistake in a very unexpected and alarming manner. We were suddenly awakened by a fusilade of reports around our camp. jumped up, seized my Winchester, and rushed out, thinking that our party was being attacked. I found the boys squatting quietly round the fire, grinning like monkeys, and heaping on joints of green bamboos. The liquid in the cavities turning to steam under the influence of heat, caused them to explode, thus giving rise to the reports which had startled us. The rascals had learnt the trick from Portow, and were amusing themselves at our expense, being evidently bent on giving us a good fright.

I

Leaving the zayat a little before seven, we crossed the river and clambered over a low hillock, and continued through the forest, with teak-trees still appearing at intervals. Small hills and spurs from the Kyouk Toung range were occasionally seen to the east, backed up by the Yare-theymare hill, a great spur of the Dana range, some four miles distant. About half-past eight we crossed the Hlineboay river for the last time, and shortly afterwards ascended 80 feet to the crest of the high ground, 300 feet above sealevel, and seventeen miles from Hlineboay, which forms the water-parting between the Hlineboay and Yambine rivers.

Thence we passed through the forest, still occasionally interspersed with teak-trees, following the course of the

Yingan stream, with hills at times bordering on either side, and halted at half-past eleven for breakfast by the side of the stream, under a magnificent clump of thyt-si trees, which produce the celebrated black varnish. These monarchs of the forest, 130 feet in height, owing to great buttresses springing from the stem some feet from the ground, were of enormous girth, and looked truly magnificent. Here was a perfect place for a mid-day halt: hill, forest, and water scenery all combined; a cool stream as a bath for the elephants and ourselves; shelter from the heat of the sun; a pleasant glade for a ramble whilst breakfast was being prepared. Nothing was wanting but the songs of birds and the rippling chatter and laughter of girls to make our picnic all that could possibly be desired. Day after day, month after month, we enjoyed such picnics on our travels.

We struck camp at a quarter past two, and after a little more than an hour's journey, still following the stream, reached Teh-dau-Sakan, the halting-place close to the Lanma-Gyee Garté, the last British police post on our road to the Shan States-having thoroughly enjoyed our day.

It

The police station, which is situated twenty-four miles from Hlineboay, consists of two thatched buildings built of bamboo, and surrounded with a dilapidated stockade, which would have been useless as a defence against dacoits. was occupied by ten or twelve Madras constables, who complained much of the feverishness of the locality, and begged for quinine, saying they were out of it. I never met less intelligent men in my life; they seemed to know nothing of the locality, and the idea of a map was utterly incomprehensible to them-they had not been educated up to it. There was no getting any information from them; the whole current of their thoughts ran towards carna and pice (food and money), and their bodily ailments.

We erected our shelter for the night about a hundred yards from the station, in a grove of thyt-si trees, each measuring from 30 to 40 feet in circumference five feet from the ground. A large party of Shans from Lapoon encamped near us, and came over in the evening for a chat with our men. Camp-fires were dotted around us in all directions.