Opposite Pak Muang many buffaloes of a light colour were lying in the river, enjoying still contentment, with their nostrils only just above the water. If they had not been too indolent to scent us, they would have advanced with heads stretched out, horns laid back, and nostrils sniffing to satisfy their natural curiosity, and then have plunged back helter-skelter to the bank, and stood gazing at us from a respectful distance; or else, finding we were strangers of the hated white race, have lowered their heads, made lances of their horns, and charged full tilt at us. My first experience of hunting in Burmah was being hunted when on pony-back by a herd of buffaloes in full chase after me, and being saved by the herd boy, a lad of eleven or twelve years of age, who, happening to be between me and them, rushed forward and drove them in another direction. I would gladly have tipped that boy if I could have got at him without renewing my acquaintance with the buffaloes. At Ta Hong Pai, and later at Song Kare, a village at the mouth of the Meh Ka, which enters from the east, I got a good view of Loi Soo Tayp, the great hill behind Zimmé, and made sketches, at the same time taking angles to the well-defined peaks. We halted for the night at the monastery of Chedi Lee-am, which is situated at the 233d mile to the east of the river. [Illustration: _View of Loi Soo Tayp from Ban Meh Ka._ ] Chedi Lee-am, the pagoda to which the monastery is attached, was the largest seen by me in the Shan States. A hole five feet in diameter had been broken into one side of it near the top, in order to rob the shrine; otherwise it was in good repair. This pagoda is peculiar in shape, and resembles a rectangular church-steeple rising in five great steps or tiers, cut off from the tower and placed on the ground. Its summit has not been provided with a _htee_, or umbrella. Each side of each tier had three niches, and each niche contained a statue of Gaudama larger than life, making sixty images in all. At each corner of each tier was a pedestal finished off with a flame-like ornament at the top. The pagoda was 60 feet square at the base, and 120 feet high. It is made of brick, and plastered over with excellent cement. The next day, the 25th of February, we left early, being eager to arrive at Zimmé, which was distant less than two hours’ journey. The night’s rain had washed the face of Nature, burnished the trees, and brightened the whole landscape. The cool fresh morning air, that bathed one’s hands and face, was scented with the fragrance of flowering shrubs and trees, and the panorama we were passing through was delightful.