266 SPORT IN EUROPE 



October and November, he repairs to the oak forests for a course of 

 acorns, he is hunted by battues, the guns being posted amid the 

 undergrowth in the thickest part of the wood. The maize fields 

 also suffer terribly from his visits, but, as soon as winter sets in in 

 earnest, he seeks the shelter of some cavern or hollow tree, that 

 he has previously lined and carpeted with dry leaves, and there 

 slumbers throughout January and February without taking any 

 manner of food. Out of such retreats he is sometimes smoked, 

 being shot as he emerges ; and this mode of getting a bear is both 

 difficult and dangerous, for the nature of the country is usually in 

 his favour, and he is also, if wounded, more likely to attack than at 

 any other season. 



On the whole, however, bear-hunting, while not free from occasional 

 fatalities, is a far less dangerous sport than is popularly imagined, 

 the bear being, as a rule, only too anxious to make good his escape. 

 The very best weapon for the work, which is, for that matter, equally 

 suitable for the other big game of the Carpathians, is a double 

 500 Express. 



The stag has of late years become extremely rare, and can only 

 indeed be regarded as resident on half a dozen of the largest estates, 



where it is rigidly preserved. Ouite recently, it is true. 

 The Stag. . . 



its numbers have again somewhat increased, but un- 

 fortunately, instead of contenting themselves with stalking it in 

 September, the rutting season, or driving it a month later, native 

 sportsmen frequently hunt it with hounds, which scare it for good 

 from all its favourite haunts. This Roumanian stag grows to a 

 great size, now and then rivalling in weig^ht, as well as in length of 



