MOUNTAIN INFLUENCES. 105 



and a moan (the peculiar death-note of a bear) our 

 assailant rolled over dead, to the intense satisfac- 

 tion of more than one of the party, several of whom 

 were not a little bruised by tumbling amongst the 

 rocks in their hasty endeavours to get out of his 

 clutches. The bear was a handsome specimen; so, 

 when the people came up the carcass was slung on 

 poles and carried down to the tents. After this 

 little episode, dancing and other amusements were 

 carried on as before, pistol-practice at bottles was 

 introduced, and several matches got up between 

 the ladies, some of whom proved quite proficients 

 in the art ; then, as the sun began to get low, we 

 mounted our animals and commenced our home- 

 ward route towards Dehra, where, with the aid of 

 cheel pine-torches, we arrived about midnight. As 

 we were supping in Fred's comfortable quarters, 

 the Doctor, looking significantly at our host, who 

 had only just turned up from escorting some fair 

 party home, remarked, in his dry, quaint manner, 

 that he imagined there was something peculiarly 

 " cornific " in the atmosphere so near the moun- 

 tains, the influence of which extended to other 



