AN UGLY CUSTOMER. 135 



munition with the other shikaree, who has considered it pru- 

 dent to remain below, and with whom we dare not com- 

 municate lest the bear may detect us and judging from the 

 surly glances he casts around, he is quite prepared to make 

 himself exceedingly disagreeable should he catch sight of us. 

 Ramzan, in a smothered whisper, suggests that as the beast 

 looks " bobbery," as he expresses it, we should make ourselves 

 as small as possible behind our cover, and thus await the 

 issue of events. Like pancakes we, therefore, continue to lie 

 flat, merely raising our eyes carefully now and again for a 

 peep, until at length, as his strength fails him, he begins 

 sliding slowly down the slippery incline. Immediately he 

 reaches our level, up we jump, and with a view to getting 

 well above him, take to our scrapers upward, for we can see 

 he is now too far gone to charge up-hill after us, though he 

 makes abortive attempts to do so. We can now shout to the 

 man below to bring up the ammunition by a circuitous route, 

 so as to avoid the bear, which is still quite capable of doing 

 damage down-hill, and on its arrival a quietus is administered 

 to this tough and ugly customer a huge male, and, I think, 

 the biggest brown bear of the many I saw in these mountains, 

 and I am certain I never killed a larger. We left the de- 

 funct brute as he lay, sprawling on the snow, it being now 

 too late that evening to perform his obsequies. 



So much snow had fallen overnight, and was still falling, 

 on the heights above, that crossing the pass next day was out 

 of the question; so, by way of employment, I accompanied 

 the men who went to skin Bruin. We had hardly set out, 

 when on came the snow again heavier than ever. Nearly 

 two inches must have fallen ere we returned from our task, 

 during which we nearly perished with cold. 



All day, and all that night, snow fell almost incessantly. 

 By morning it lay so deep that my little tent was half-buried 

 in it, and could scarcely support its weight. My native fol- 

 lowers had contrived to make themselves pretty snug by con- 



