on.

[Illustration: THE MARKET PLACE.]

I have already said that the Burman is not permitted to take life, and
in consequence meat enters but little into his diet; but in all
bazaars frequented by natives of India, who are under no such
prohibition, the slaughter and sale of cattle is of regular
occurrence, and among the most eager buyers of the meat thus offered
for sale are the Burmans themselves.

Among other articles which I have noticed are "dahs," and knives of
many sorts and degrees of excellence. No Burman travels without his
"dah," which serves as a weapon of defence or enables him to clear his
path where the jungle is thick, while the heavier knives are used for
chopping the domestic fuel. Some of these "dahs" are very finely
finished, the handle and sheath of wild plum being bound by delicately
plaited bands of bamboo fibre, in which the ends are most skilfully
concealed, and the blade, often 2 feet long, is excellently wrought
and balanced.

At various times of the day groups of priests and novices move up and
down the market collecting offerings from the people, while some
"original" or buffoon gives the scene its touch of humour.

At sunset, when the bazaar is closed, long lines of people, some on
foot, some in hooded carts, wend their ways towards their distant
homes; and long after darkness has fallen on the land may still be
heard the faint creaking of some laden cart as it slowly disappears
along its lonely forest path.

CHAPTER VIII

FIELD WORK

If you are up very early in the morning you may see large herds of
buffaloes and bullocks being driven to the paddy-fields. These
surround the village, sometimes extending for miles in different
directions; but often they are simply small clearings scattered
through the jungle. The cattle are always driven by the children of
the village, and it is curious to see how docile these huge buffaloes
are under the control of some diminutive native, while with Europeans
they are obstinate, ungovernable, and often dangerous.

The children always ride the cattle to the fields, sitting well back
on the haunches, for they frequently have to travel a long, and often
broken, path to their destination, and during the rains they are thus
enabled to cross the streams and flooded areas, which it would have
been impossible for them to do on foot.

It will interest you to know something about the manner in which the
Burmans produce their rice-crop. Rice, as