2o6 SPORT IN THE HIGHLANDS OF KASHMIR chap. 



Coming back to the camp that night thoroughly tired 

 after a very laborious day, I found it near a spring, about 

 500 or 600 feet above the snow stream at the bottom of 

 the valley. As there was no level ground large enough 

 for my tent, my bedding, etc., had been arranged in a 

 sort of cave, and the cook had lighted his fire under a 

 neighbouring rock. It was about half an hour from dark, 

 and I had got into my night things, and was preparing to 

 get into bed, when one of the coolies reported a red bear 

 on the opposite hill. I at once slipped on a coat and my 

 boots, and thrusting a few cartridges into my pocket, started 

 off down the hill with the shikari and a coolie. Knowing 

 that there was very little light, Abdulla recommended 

 waiting till the morning, when he said the bear would be 

 pretty certain to return past the place he was then at, as 

 he was evidently going down the nala to graze on the 

 crops a little distance below. But I felt very doubtful 

 about seeing him again, and thought it best to go for him 

 while we knew whereabouts he was, even though it should 

 be a bit dark when we reached him. So we went tearine 

 down the steep descent, jumping from boulder to boulder, 

 sliding through shale, and pushing through rose bushes 

 and cedar clumps, till we reached the bottom. Here we 

 turned up the nala to cross by a snow bridge, and then 

 went up the opposite side as hard as we could go. The 

 bear had been seen grazing about amongst some small 

 ridges, nearly as high up on the south side of the nala as 

 we were camped on the north, but almost immediately 

 after had disappeared amongst some cedars with which 

 those ridges were studded. So his exact whereabouts could 

 only be surmised as we went up. At the snow bridge I had 



