EXPERIENCES IN CENTRAL PROVINCES 



93 



quite close. It was the agonized mother, -for the youngster 



before me was a young barking deer. My companion 



wanted to carry it off to 



cook for his supper, but of 



course I would not permit 



this. We moved noisily 



away to let the mother 



know, my companion very 



surly at the thought of his 



lost supper. The barks 



ceased abruptly. The poor mother who had passed through 



such fearful anxiety had evidently rejoined her offspring, 



and in an ecstasy of wild frenzy was licking it all over to 



assure herself that it had come to no harm. 



Soon after leaving the burnt-out tract we reached the 

 rendezvous for the next item in the day's programme the 

 bear hunt. The procedure was fairly simple. I had a few 

 squibs and crackers, and with them and burning grass we 

 hoped to be able to induce the bears to come out. The rocky 

 hill-side was similar to the general run of such country in 

 these parts. Scrub-covered, with a small tree or two 

 scattered about, and giant boulders and rocks strewing the 

 surface. In these latter were hollows sufficiently large and 

 deep to afford capital residences for the black or sloth bear. 

 After inspecting the ground we determined to commence 

 with the biggest cave which was also the lowest. I squatted 

 on a rock at one side of the entrance which enabled me to 

 command the exit, and two of the men then threw in a few 

 squibs. I could hear them spluttering and banging inside, 

 but nothing came out. Some bundles of lighted grass were 

 thrown in with a like result. " Blank," I thought ; but not 

 so the shikari. Warily he approached the entrance, and 

 taking a large cracker he lit the end and hurled it into the 

 dim recesses, at the same instant starting to climb nimbly 

 up the rocks at the side of the cave. He had scarcely got 

 up five feet when with a roar a great black mass hurled 

 itself out of the entrance, pulled up and stood for an instant 

 blinking in the light, and then turning swiftly made for the 

 shikari. As the bear turned I fired, and then somewhat 

 hurriedly pulled the second trigger. Both shots went 

 home, missing was out of the question with the animal so 

 close, but the beast only dropped to the second shot. It 

 broke a leg we subsequently discovered, Scrambling up 



