222 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



and guns dry. As soon as objects could be seen a 

 scout who was perched on a high conical rock 

 descended and gave the welcome news that three of 

 the ursce were coming straight up the hill. I had a 

 double rifle and gun. To avoid a miss-fire, I ascer- 

 tained that the powder was well up the nipples, put 

 on fresh caps, and got behind a rock at the edge of 

 a platform, and awaited events. Very soon three 

 black balls, as it were, came at a shamble, and funny 

 objects they looked, moving along with a rolling 

 gait, every now and then pouncing upon a beetle 

 and halting to gobble it up. This was my introduction 

 to this genus in its wild state. My shikarie carried 

 my spare gun, I the rifle. Having waited until the 

 leader was within twenty paces, I let fly. Such a 

 hubbub as ensued then is indescribable. The first 

 bear fell upon the second, and the two upon the third, 

 and they all set to work to maul one another in the 

 most approved style. I fired my second barrel at the 

 struggling mass, and the shikarie fired both barrels and 

 took to his heels. The bears left off fighting and came 

 for me, but I was young and active, and more 

 than an average runner, so I had no difficulty in 

 distancing and dodging them amongst the rocks. 

 Before I could reload, they had got into their dens. 

 I lost little time in getting hold of the shikarie and 

 gave him a good drubbing for having fired off my 

 spare gun. To smoke out the beasts I tried, but did 

 not succeed, so lost them for the time being. But 

 two days afterwards one was found dead, and about 

 a week later on, another was mobbed by some 

 Bringarees and also killed. I then shot a couple at 

 Narkapilly, and occasionally at considerable intervals, 



