IN THE LAND OF THE BORA. 219 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



If I have dwelt at such length on these old-world 

 heretics, it is because their tornhs, more than any 

 natural feature of the country, are connected with 

 the memories of every sportsman in the Herzego- 

 vina. How often have these monoliths not served 

 me as convenient seats for lunch, or places for my 

 followers to lay down their burden of roebuck or 

 chamois, or even as a screen behind which one 

 could smoke a quiet pipe, sheltered from bora 

 or rain ! 



At last the season when Bruin awakes from his 

 winter sleep came round. In my opinion, the 

 most sportsmanlike method of bear-shooting is to 

 follow up his tracks in the snow or soft ground, 

 using more precaution as they become fresher, 

 until the animal is either discovered feeding or 

 breaks with a crash from the underwood, when a 

 bullet only will arrest his headlong flight. An 

 unwounded bear is rarely bayed by dogs, and when 

 he is so set up he has a nasty trick of hurling 

 branches or stones at his assailants, which may 

 result in the loss of a valuable animal. Stalking 



