30 THE FRONTIER DISTRICT OF ASTOR 



This animal is not fond of snow, and I should say would 

 seldom be found at elevations of 12,000 to 14,000 feet as 

 stated by Sterndale. From all accounts, it is a most difficult 

 animal to stalk, as it generally frequents level plateaux, 

 where it cannot be approached within easy rifle range. 

 Lar»e horns are now scarce in Astor. 



The Himalayan Brown Bear. Sterndale's description of 

 this animal is as follows : " A yellowish-brown colour, 

 varying somewhat according to sex and time of year." 

 Jerdon says : " In winter and spring the fur is long 

 and shaggy, in some inclining to silver-grey, in others 

 to reddish-brown ; the hair grows thinner and darker in 

 summer as the season advances, and in autumn the under 

 fur has mostly disappeared, and a white collar on the 

 chest is then very apparent. The cubs show this collar 

 distinctly. The females are said to be lighter in colour 

 than the males." 



The brown bear is always found close to the snow, at 

 very high elevations. He is most impatient of heat, as he 

 well may be in view of the tremendous quantity of hair 

 that clothes him ! Grass, roots, and berries are his food. 



I must confess to feelings of regret as I contemplate 

 the figure of this old acquaintance on page 110 of Stern- 

 dale's book. He has been persecuted for a generation in 

 Kashmir by the English sportsman, and has yielded his 

 splendid furry coat year after year amid groans and 

 grumblings that cannot be soon forgotten. An old male 

 mortally wounded and fast dying at your feet, uttering 

 his protest in his own bearish language, seems to say : 

 " Why have you murdered a harmless creature like me ? 

 I keep far away from the human species, and have done 

 them no harm — even the roots and berries that are my 

 food cannot ever be of any use to you and yours." And 

 after he has been deprived of his coat, his stark and naked 



