INDIAN SHOOTING 191 



bottom of the crevice to the opposite cave, acknowledging the 

 second barrel with that peculiarly plaintive moan which a bear so 

 often gives when he has received his death wound. L. then jumped 

 aside, saying, ' Look out ' ; a second bear's head and shoulders 

 appeared just above the crevice. I fired into her ear at about a 

 yard's distance, and she rolled back to the bottom dead. Tying 

 the ponies' leading ropes together I climbed down, put a noose 

 round the bear's neck, and steadied her while the others hauled 

 her out. 



I now told L. that I was perfectly certain that his bear was dead 

 too, and that I would go down and see. I did not fancy going 

 down the archway, as that seemed to be the bears' regular run, so 

 looked about for another entrance, and soon found one which 

 seemed to lead almost perpendicularly down into the back of the 

 cave. After removing a stone or two at the top in the vain hope of 

 being able to see without actually going down, I started on my 

 journey. As it was pitch dark and I had to use both hands in 

 climbing down, I left my rifle behind, intending to run and not 

 fight if I got into a scrape. 



On reaching the bottom, I found myself on an underground 

 continuation of the crevice. On one side was a stone about a 

 couple of feet high on which I stood, and as my eyes got accus- 

 tomed to the darkness, I made out an overhanging rock just in front 

 of me, and protruding from beneath it, at my feet, a mass of hair. 



I did not like to put my hand on it, so climbed up again, bor- 

 rowed a stick from one of the natives, then jogged down again, 

 and jammed the end of the stick into the bear. To my horror 

 he jumped up with a growl, but luckily, being just as frightened 

 as I was, he bolted further up the cave, while I legged it up my 

 hole at about the best pace on record. 



I then sent back to camp for a lantern, and with it in my hand 

 and my short single rifle slung across my back, journeyed down 

 for the third time, after posting L. at the top of the crevice, warn- 

 ing him to let any bear that might turn up come well out into the 

 open before he fired, and on no account to let a wounded one 

 ome back into the cave on me. 



Arrived at the bottom, I placed the lantern on the ground, un- 



iung the rifle, and stepped on to the stones. There, just sticking 



'Ut from under the overhanging rock, was undoubtedly the back 



■fa bear, so I let drive into it. The smoke completely concealed 



everything, then there was a prolonged growl, afterwards a succes- 



