THE INDIAN BEAR. 241 



Neither bears nor monkeys are to be found in 

 the Sindh jungles, at least in those where I 

 have hunted, and the Khyrpooreans seemed sur- 

 prised at the sight of a couple of show bears 

 from Cashmere. These appeared to be the 

 common bear of India, black, with a white gor- 

 get. The Indian bear, of which I have shot 

 many, lives principally on roots, honey, wild 

 fruits, and the comb found in the nests of white 

 ants. These animals are not carnivorous, but if 

 they get a man in their power they will suck 

 at a limb till they have extracted all the blood 

 and chewed it to the consistence of a sausage. 

 Of this I once saw an instance in the case of 

 the late Lieutenant Macleod of the 34th Madras 

 Light Infantry, who had a young bear which 

 one day took a fancy to his arm, and mauled 

 him very severely before he could get free. 



Bears are seldom to be met with in open 

 ground where it is possible to spear them, as 

 they are indifferent runners and very awkward 

 in their gait, though they evince much activity 

 in climbing. I once however saw a very 

 large bear found in a sugar-cane field, which 

 killed one of the beaters, and was making for 

 tlie nearest jungle when brought to bay. Bruin 



VOL. I. 16 



