224 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



in which a villager said lots of bears were to be 

 found. In the evening I went to the hill east of the 

 camp, posted the men on all the heights, and waited 

 patiently till dusk. Just as I was returning to the 

 tents, I heard Meer Saib, my orderly, whistle. On 

 running up, two bears were shown me. I cut them off 

 from their dens, and shot the female dead with a two- 

 ounce ball through the head. A good-sized cub that 

 was with her was also secured after a great deal of 

 roaring and a free fight, in the course of which two 

 of my men got rather severely bitten, owing to their 

 own stupidity. Eeturned to camp, as it was now 

 dark. It appears that five bears were afoot at once, 

 but the other three, hearing the uproar, made off. 



"29th. Out this morning, long before dawn, but 

 got nothing. In the afternoon I rode over to Torla- 

 koonta, as my shikaries informed me that bears were 

 plentiful in a small rocky hill near which the village 

 was built. Posted my markers, and towards dusk a 

 large bear that lived under one of the bastions came 

 out. I ran after him with my rifle, but as he took to 

 the open I preferred spearing him. Mounting ' Dicky' 1 

 I was after him in a minute, but the knowing brute, 

 when he saw that I was overtaking him, made back 

 for the hill ; however, I met him at full speed and sent 

 my spear through his body. He tried to lay hold 

 of the horse, but I pushed him over, the weapon 

 unluckily being broken in the struggle. Bruin now 

 got upon the rocks, but my dogs being let loose, 

 brought him to bay, when, dismounting, I clambered 



1 Dicky was a galloway, barely fourteen hands high. He was 

 rather head-strong, but out of all the horses Nightingale possessed, 

 he was the only one he could depend upon to take him up to a 

 bear. 



