CHAMBA 23 



After a long tramp we separated. Will made his 

 way to the top of a snowy nullah, and I waited while 

 the men went on a short distance to look about and 

 report. There had been much miserable snowy 

 and dull weather, but on this particular day there 

 was a clear blue sky, and it was delightful to sit 

 down in the sun to eat my breakfast. Even the 

 butter on the hot, sunny plate ran about for joy. 

 Rum John noticed this, and fixed up his black 

 umbrella over me on a rock and brought me some icy 

 cold spring water, and a bunch of rhododendrons 

 and a green lily, which he laid down beside me and 

 then went off to eat his midday meal. 



Quite early in the afternoon the coolie came to 

 say there was a bear with two cubs on the opposite 

 slope. I went with him and we found Fufna watch- 

 ing. The bear was a long way above us with her 

 cubs, that were well-grown ones and quite able to do 

 without their mother. 



It was a very long climb up the mountain, but 

 excellent ground for a stalk, a ridge of ground all the 

 way hiding us completely from the bear. Fufna was 

 a terrible man to go with on a stalk; he always 

 raced on ahead and never looked round to see if 

 one was following. All he seemed to want was to 

 get close to the animal himself, though I am sure that 

 he would never have dared to go close enough to a 

 bear to put salt on its tail. I had often told him that 

 there was no sense in this, but that never stopped 

 him from doing the same thing again. This time 

 he was off as usual. He had disturbed several bears 

 before in this fashion, so I sat down and made the 



