THE KILLING OF THE GREY BEAR 167 



treat the ursine inhabitants of the mountain land very 

 cavaherly. The opposite is the case. In this particular 

 instance it is likely that the she-bear hadn't a chance, 

 and was doomed ere she issued from her den. 



Poorly armed as they are, and with the inherent 

 respect for the bear tribe peculiar to all those who 

 share their fastnesses with the dangerous arctoids 

 whose exploits are the basis of most wild folk-tales, a 

 native hunter ever endows a bear with a reputation 

 which places the animal in the forefront of all keen- 

 witted, well-armed beasts of prey. 



Well, I am not disposed to speak lightly of the 

 reputed formidableness of the Caucasian silver-grey, 

 although I have very little experience of their methods 

 of attack and general cunning — we only came across 

 one specimen in the country. Nobody who has ever 

 faced the magnificent onslaught of a cornered bear 

 battling for its life could write slightingly of the 

 bravery of any of the genus. 



Down the centre of the stony roadway a procession 

 of sorts passed before our tents, plodding solemnly 

 behind a ragged figure, another of All's numerous 

 cousins, who kept up a continuous rat-a-tat-tat on a 

 most ingenious drum made from baked clay, with 

 stretched tops of roughly prepared skin. Everybody 

 carried a nodding branch of pine, a banner worth 

 something in a region where trees are scarce. Birnam 

 Wood had come to Dunsinane. 



We took the serenade, like the self-centred Brit- 

 ishers we were, to be a sort of town's welcome, and 

 were just preparing a comprehensive form of thanks 



