CHAPTER XIV. 



After Wapiti and Ibex. 



I TRIED much the same ground on September 9th, as the firing 

 of the day before had driven the ibex towards the main valley. 



On the way up we passed the freshly made tracks of a big 

 bear in the snow, and Numgoon, after examining them with a 

 care born of long experience in the wilds, said the bear had 

 passed that way some three hours before, and that he had been 

 moving quite slowly, evidently on his way down to an earh* 

 morning graze on the grassy slopes beneath. 



Bears are met with, as I have already shown, throughout the 

 Thian Shan. They, in common with most of their tribe, hibernate 

 during the winter after having become fat and heavy on the 

 roots, herbs, and grass constituting their principal diet. This 

 long slumber indulged in within the recesses of a cavern or the 

 hollow of a tree lasts until the winter months give way to spring, 

 when the bear, thin and emaciated, emerges to regain his erstwhile 

 plump proportions. 



I came one day on a small cavern in the side of a cliff fringing 

 the upper reaches of -a tributary of the Agiass. It bore signs 

 of having been occupied by a bear, for we found pieces of fur 

 and other indications of Bruin's tenancy. I thought that possibly 

 the bear might return to his lair, but Nurah, after careful 

 examination of the ground, said it had only used the place as 

 a temporary abode, possibly for a day or two, and that it had 

 doubtless left the neighbourhood, since the tufts of hair gave 

 evidence of having lain there some time. Further, Nurah's 

 knowledge of the habits of bears was such as to clearly show 

 that Bruin had certainly left the spot altogether. 



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