BEAR-SHOOTING IN TRANSYLVANIA. 405 



with his tongue hanging out, to my brother-in-law, who most 

 likely gave him a shot low down in the shoulder. From that 

 point he made a slight curve through the beat, and came out 

 by Baron S., who missed him with both barrels; but by this 

 time he had had about enough of it, so bursting impetuously 

 through the line of beaters, he plunged down the steep hillside 

 followed by one of my dogs. 



We found a good deal of blood at my brother-in-law's post, 

 where the first shot had been fired, and with others of the 

 party I now followed up the trail, which led us down to the 

 valley, where some labourers had seen the bear, and then 

 unfortunately uphill again into the first beat of the day. To 

 go on would have been useless, 'and we could only hope to get 

 a second shot at the wounded beast by making another drive. 



As the bear was not very hard-hit we thought that it would 

 never stop in the first beat through which so many men had 

 passed, so we took the most outlying wood of this chain of 

 heights, in the direction of the main valley; but this beat, alas! 

 was unsuccessful, as was also the first, which we made over 

 again as a precautionary measure. 



When the beat was finished we again took up the trail 

 where we found plenty of blood, and at first even some 

 splinters of bone; but on seeing that the wounded animal had, 

 after descending the slope and crossing a brook, held on up 

 the steep hillside, we gave up the pursuit, and sent a couple 

 of trackers to follow it up, who returned in the evening 

 equally unlucky. 



The third beat was blank ; in the fourth, which was not a 

 very large cover, a bear passed near Baron K., but out of 

 shot and often concealed by the bushes. The cunning beast 

 must then have found a spot where no gun was posted, for it 

 got away unseen. 



On the 29th we tried the lower woods, and began by taking 

 the beat into winch the bear had crossed without being shot 



