Game Animals of India, etc. 



the present species. Describing his first sight of the 

 party, the narrator says : " It was indeed a fine sight. 

 A family of bears were taking their constitutional ; a 

 huge fellow had gone on to a log which had fallen 

 across the stream and was half-way across ; two others 

 were having a pleasant scramble for the right of 

 precedence, but without the heart-burnings of a state 

 function. It was too good a chance to lose, so, 

 forgetting for the moment our main aim, I raised my 

 rifle, and, taking a steady shot, rolled the old bear off 

 the log, the ball going into the shoulders and coming 

 out at the mouth. The remainins: two bolted back 

 whence they had come before the smoke rolled away. 

 By this time the rear men had found out that a whole 

 family of the dreaded ' mee-ay-woon ' (ground-bear) 

 had been run into, and there was a general dropping 

 of pots and pans and a swarming up trees. One man 

 only so lost his head that he tried to ' squirm^' up a 

 smooth tree about fifteen feet in girth and was unable 

 to get up ; he then made similar attempts at other 

 trees, and was yet running round and round, though 

 imbecile with faintness, when we came back for them. 

 In the meanwhile I loaded and went forward with the 

 old man to see our prize ; he stopped about ten yards 

 off, and I went beyond the fallen tree and looked 

 down ; there was the bear, and he was not yet dead 

 but trying to rise. I was weighing the propriety of 

 finishing him, but the old man held up his hand and 

 pointed away to the bison-valley. At this moment I 

 heard horrible howls and growls behind me, and, 

 turning round, saw the two bears which had bolted 

 coming along at a gallop, now and then making 

 grotesque jumps into the air. These animals had 

 never heard a rifle-shot before, and had seen no living 

 enemy. They were probably not charging me but 

 returning to their friend, I was standing almost in 

 their line, however, and a little covered by some young 

 growth of bamboo. The wounded animal answered 



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