182 WILD MEN AND WILD BEASTS. 



neighbourhood of a town or village in the plains of Malwa, 

 without a watchful guard, I should probably, on waking in 

 the morning, have found my tent stripped. 



In the month of April I had arranged to meet Hunt, who 

 had obtained two months' leave of absence from his regiment, 

 and we trysted at the point where the Bombay and Agra road 

 crosses the Nerbudda at Khull. But I had previously to 

 inspect the road for fifty miles to the southward, and on my 

 way I diverged to the right and left, gathering information 

 as to the sporting resources of the country. I left the main 

 road at Goojree, two marches south of the Mhow cantonment, 

 and, after moving about seven miles east, halted at the foot 

 of the Vindyah range. My men had preceded me, and 

 reported having seen both bears and sambur, but they had 

 been unable to mark anything down. 



Immediately in rear of our camp rose a steep hill of con- 

 siderable height, and on its face, at various altitudes, were 

 lines of bare rock and huge stones. The hill was covered 

 with trees and scrub, and in parts the rank dry grass had 

 escaped the annual jungle conflagration. About noon I was 

 called out by one of my men, who, pointing to the black 

 rocks on the hill-side, informed me that he had marked a 

 bear among them, and had left his comrade on the watch, 

 while he came into camp with the intelligence. The April 

 sun was blazing down on the encampment, which was shut 

 in by hills throwing off an intense heat ; and though I had 

 small hopes of dislodging the bear from its cave, I thought 

 that on the hill-side the air might be cooler, and accordingly 

 started oft' at once with my men. 



Toiling up the abrupt face of the hill, I found myself 

 compelled to halt on more than one occasion, for the sun was 

 powerful and oppressive. I suppose we had ascended 700 



