bred by himself, a third was a crafty man at dove-
noosing ; and all were happily free from the squalid
poverty of the nearer East.
Although these men were roughing it, so to speak,
in the jungle, as travellers away from home, they were
possessed of flexible sleeping mats, coloured rugs,
tumblers/- and drinking mugs. They had time for
leisurely meals, and they ceased work at sunset. While
waiting for the rice to boil, they sipped tea from small
Chinese cups, chewed betel, and smoked cheroots.
Good-humour and consideration for each other prevailed
to a remarkable degree amongst them. Each man
seemed to do his share of such work as entailed cooperation
without any pressure. They were all on the
best of terms, and all the evening, though there was
much hilarity, and voices were raised in story-telling
and laughter, there was no note of anger or quarrel.
The Madrasi cook hectored the Karen within his
radius and quarrelled with the Mohammedan peon. The
European censured the dulness of the. guide' who had
misled him the previous day. But bland good-humour
was the atmosphere of the Shan-Burmese encampment.
What a precious quality it is !
I do not suggest that these people are angels without
wings, or even that they are incapable of truculent rage ,
but many years of life and travel in Burma have convinced
me that in the minor self-control which sweetens
human relationships, they far surpass the white man.
I shall not easily forget these pleasant hours in this
little clearing in the jungle. How the slant sun
688
TH E HEAD OF TH E CARAVAN
VOL. II.