BEAR-SHOOTING IN THE MULBERRY GROVES. 157 



and gradually die away among the distant recesses of the 

 mountains with a mournful sighing monody, which seems to 

 the wrought-up imagination almost as though it proceeded 

 from some sad invisible spirit lamenting over the utter deso- 

 lation of its abode. But to return to the material denizens 

 of these wilds. 



The shaggy coat of another brown Bruin was added to my 

 peltries. A long shot was also chanced at a friend that was 

 with him. The bullet struck high, but it must have aston- 

 ished his weak nerves, for the brute, much to our astonish- 

 ment, gave a loud grunt of fear, and trundled itself heels 

 over head several yards down the hill before continuing its 

 flight. 



On reaching our first camping-place in " the Vale," I was 

 told that black bears were numerous in the vicinity, they 

 having come down into the mulberry groves to feast on the 

 fruit, which was then the month of June in full season. 

 Although this kind of sport is rather tame after mountain 

 work, it is by no means to be despised. I therefore, deter- 

 mined to devote a day or two to looking up Bruin in his 

 feeding-grounds. The first morning I failed to get a shot, 

 although I was very close to one fellow, where he had en- 

 sconced himself among a lot of thick bushes, which effectually 

 covered his retreat as he bolted. Next time we went out I 

 had better luck, when I secured the only bear we saw, after 

 putting several bullets through his black hide. The same 

 evening we found another munching away quite at his ease 

 in a mulberry-tree, when a ball sent into his back as he stood 

 up stretching out his paws to gather the fruit, brought him 

 down with a loud " yeeough " from the tree, at the foot of 

 which we found him dead, his mouth full of mulberries, poor 

 beast ! A leopard was also seen at dusk by Eamzan as it 

 slunk away through the bushes quite close to us. 



After two or three days at this kind of work, I bade Eam- 

 zan good-bye for the present at his home, and made straight 



