150 CASUALS IN THE CAUCASUS 



High above us on a shelf-like ledge a small brown 

 bear faced us coolly, for all the world as though he 

 had been waiting weary hours to meet us. He was 

 certainly not more than eighty yards off, but bear pelts 

 in August are hardly worth the taking. Our little 

 friend of the patchy coat, long in places, short in 

 others, evidently knew we had no need of his inferior 

 covering, for he continued to glare at us, grumbling 

 to himself. Then, with a deep-toned " Wouf ! " he 

 shambled off with plantigrade steps to a wilderness of 

 stones in his rear. 



There are two species of bears in the Caucasus, the 

 ordinary brown, who lives almost anywhere in timbered 

 regions, and is in some parts really plentiful, and the 

 brown-grey of the mountain tops, a creature of altitudes 

 and snow. 



The natives say that Bruin of the grey coat 

 is a much more dangerous beast, more treacherous, 

 than the quaint brown " Michael Michaelovitch," as 

 they affectionately term him, and round the latter 

 they weave enough romances and folk-lore yarns to 

 fill a book. 



The brown is bigger than the grey, who makes up for 

 size by differences in temper. Owing to the conditions 

 under which he must be stalked, he is a somewhat rare 

 trophy ; the natives themselves only tackle him from 

 above, when the beast hasn't the foggiest chance. On 

 level ground they never try conclusions. 



As we climbed, the scenery grew grander and grander, 

 fiercer and more forbidding. Vast ravines yawned on 

 every side, their tops patched with snow, and through 



