BEARS. 33 



Colonel J. C. Eussell (12th Lancers), and as our time was 

 short, and we had a lot of ground before us, we were 

 pushing on for the Pakhal Lake, only stopping for a day 

 or two at the most likely places on the way. At Mankote 

 we had a kill by a bor butcha, and on our march to 

 Penconda had a beat for him. He did not show, but 

 during the beat, preceded by swarms of peafowl, a bear 

 passed near me, going straight for Colonel Eussell, and I 

 soon heard both my companions open fire. At the end of 

 the beat we found the bear lying dead within a short 

 distance of their posts. He had run the gauntlet of both 

 their rifles. We then had another beat, during which a 

 bear charged out to me. The right barrel rolled him over, 

 as we thought, dead ; but, after a few seconds, up he got and 

 bolted between me and the Colonel, who hit him hard, 

 causing him to jump clean off the ground into the air ; 

 nevertheless, he gained the shelter of the hill we had first 

 beaten, closely followed by Kistiah and me. Here he 

 entered a cave and was attacked by my Colonel and Kistiah, 

 Colonel Eussell and I taking refuge from the heat and 

 glare in a little grotto at the foot of the hill. 



Here we had been coffee -housing for some time, and 

 expatiating on the glories of shooting in the Highlands, 

 when suddenly two shots on the top of the hill put us on 

 the qiti vive, and we just had time to clear out, when down 

 came the bear to the very spot ; but we had no difficulty in 

 shooting him, as he stood facing us a short distance off. 

 My first shot had entered his back, just over the point of 

 the near shoulder, and opening out on the ribs, had made 

 an ugly but harmless wound this was with a '500 

 Express, the bullet of which is, I think, generally too 

 light. Good sport with bears was also obtainable near 

 Mulkapoor and Markudpully, on the Masulipatam road. 



