708 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 



tips littered the ground in clumps, clearly indicating that the victim was not 

 overcome without making a good fight for his life and liberty. Though I 

 searched for the skull, I could not discover its whereabouts. The tiger must 

 have been, in the first instance, extremely pressed by hunger to tackle this 

 somewhat formidable antagonist. Though the Malayan bear is diminutive 

 in size, it can use its claws with great effect, and we can but surmise that the 

 tiger obtained some nasty scratches before he had proved the victor. It is 

 most probable that the bear was pounced upon unawares after having descended 

 from the tree. The tiger, too, must have felt somewhat uncomfortable till he 

 had got rid of the remains of his ursine meal. The spot where the bear was 

 devoured was high up on a mountain-side and some five miles from the place 

 where I picked up its claws. Are there other instances of a similar nature 

 on record ? 



W. H. LANE, Captain, 



Indian Army. 

 Kalemyo., Upper Burma, 

 January 20th, 1904. 



No. V— LATE STAY OF SNIPE. 



Last hot weather an orderly came to me one afternoon and brought news 

 that in some paddy fields that had recently been flooded by Burmans a. 

 considerable quantity of snipe had congregated together. As I had thought 

 to see no more of these birds that season, I was somewhat sceptical as to the 

 truth of the report. The first time on which I paid these inundated fields a 

 visit, I had ridden thirty miles in the morning ; but as two friends were arriving 

 on the following day, I made up my mind to prospect the swamp and see 

 whether it would be worth while giving them an outing. The following three 

 excerpts from my shooting diary may be of general interest, not on account of 

 the average number of cartridges per bird, for the shooting was very indifferent, 

 but by reason of the dates and the size of the bags : — 



March 29th, Kalemyo. — 16 snipe, 1 redshank, 1 snippet (shot by mistake out 

 of a whisp) ; self out. My gun did not arrive from Kalewa till 4 p.m., light 

 very bad, and birds wild ; lost two more. Out of the last six shots only one 

 bird was hit, which eventually settled in very high grass, but darkness inter- 

 rupted the search. Expended 49 cartridges. 



March 30tft, Kalemyo. — M B and self out in afternoon. Total 14 couple. 



I was not shooting as straight as usual as guns walked too far apart and birds 

 got up rather wild. 



April tth, Kalemyo. — Self out. Birds wild and day very hot. One of my boots 

 fell to pieces. 19 snipe. 50 cartridges expended. 



On the first day I could not have commenced shooting before 4-30 p.m., as 

 the fields under water were a full mile from my bungalow. As the extract 

 shews, the last few shots were fired in semi-darkness. This, coupled with the 

 fact that I had just arrived from a 30-mile ride, was hardly conducive to 

 straight shooting. The second effort on March 30th was rendered a failure by 



