HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



and rolling into the jungle edge near by, where it soon 

 died. Not another living thing came near us that night, 

 and so on the whole of that trip we only saw those two 

 bears, and were lucky enough to bag both. 



During a trip in December a couple of years ago with 

 my cousins Roy Storey and Gerald Sharpe, which we had 

 undertaken at that time of the year as the best time for 

 general shooting, we had an unexpected bit of luck with 

 bears. 



We were not far from camp one morning, making our 

 way all together through some forest in pouring rain, when 

 we suddenly heard that extraordinary noise which bears 

 make when sucking the combs out of an ant-hill. The 

 wet weather softens the ant-hills a little, and enables the 

 bears then to dig into them more easily with their im- 

 mensely powerful fore-legs and great claws. Having 

 reached the combs, they then suck out the larvae by 

 tremendous inhalations, alternating with equally powerful 

 snorting puffs to blow away the dust and earth, the 

 operation making a fearful and wonderful noise almost 

 impossible to describe. 



Our men were not at all keen on looking for the bears, 

 but in we went, stooping, peering, and listening, making 

 our way through the dripping undergrowth, very uncertain 

 as to the direction, as the bear ceased its " suction " work 

 and only gave a low grunt at long intervals. I believe our 

 men at first purposely misled us, for I quickly perceived 

 that we were not getting any nearer our quarry, so I took 

 the lead myself and struck out in what I considered to be 

 the true direction. After crawling along for some time, 

 happening to look round, I could not see either my 

 cousins or my men, so grunted, jungle fashion (the native 

 hunters' method of communicating with each other), to let 



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