BEARS. 7 



preferable to the ambuscade system ; it affords sport to all 

 the party, and can be undertaken at any hour most 

 convenient ; moreover, the news of a kill seldom reaches 

 camp before 9 a.m., and the early morning work is 

 harassing, when followed by a long day's beating in the 

 sun for a tiger that has killed. The off-days those on 

 which the tiger has not killed are very tedious when 

 passed in tents, and on such occasions we always went out 

 for a casual beat, when a likely tract of jungle existed, 

 remote from the tiger's haunts. My first encounter with 

 a bear was in a jungle near Poppinapett, about fifty or 

 sixty miles north of Secunderabad. 



A brother officer was my companion. We were both 

 tyros, and, having obtained a month's leave of absence, 

 commenced operations by driving a rocky stretch of jungle, 

 reputed to be the resort of bears. We started from camp 

 on an elephant, which had been lent by H.H. the Nizam, 

 and, having left it under a shady tree some distance off, 

 took up our positions about half a mile ahead of the 

 beaters, who, led by our shikaries, advanced in skirmish- 

 ing order, making a tremendous din with tom-toms, 

 horns, blank cartridge, and shouting. The caves in the 

 rocks were searched by fireworks, and a bear was soon 

 forced out, and headed straight for our position. We 

 were posted on rocks, about three hundred yards apart, and 

 on arriving within range, the bear was subjected to a heavy 

 fire from both rifles, with the result that it was lamed, and 

 could not travel fast over the rough ground. I was armed 

 with a 12-bore pin-fire rifle, which, though by a maker of 

 great repute, only burnt '2^ drachms of powder, and the 

 cartridges after being fired almost invariably stuck in the 

 breech. We both got down from our rocks, and kept up a 

 running fire on the bear, which turned in my direction, and 



