34 BEARS. 



and in the country towards Toomulgooduim ; but these 

 districts were reserved for operations in the cold weather, 

 on account of the good small-game shooting they then also 

 afforded, and of their suitability for short leave of absence. 

 The cream of the bear country in that part of India lies 

 thirty miles on each side of a line joining Secunderabad 

 and Chandah, and during one trip we met no less than 

 forty-five bears, in part of that zone, although much of our 

 time was then devoted to tigers. They are also fairly 

 plentiful in Mysore ; but, as a rule, the thick jungles there, 

 and in the Shimoga, Billiga, Rungum, and Annamullay 

 forests, are unfavourable for good sport with any j an wars, 

 except bison or elephants, which, owing to their size, cannot 

 easily conceal themselves. 



One morning in December, 1881, at Bandipore, near 

 Gopaulswamy Hill, when searching for a rogue elephant, I 

 struck the fresh trail of two bears, which were followed up 

 without difficulty, through the long green grass and 

 creepers, to a wooded slope, dotted with glades, in which 

 the grass was quite six feet high. My battery consisted of 

 a double-barrel 10-bore rifle, burning seven drachms of 

 powder, and a "500 Express, the latter being carried by 

 Busma, a local shikari. After a mile we entered a dense 

 patch of spear grass, surrounding some large rocks. The 

 traces were very fresh here, and on turning the corner of a 

 rock, I came face to face with a large bear not five yards 

 off. He had heard us coming, and was standing up on his 

 hind legs, his head and neck only showing above the high 

 grass, ears cocked and eyes sparkling, evidently resenting 

 intrusion, and about to become aggressive. The head and 

 shoulders of his spouse appeared alongside him ; she had 

 been grubbing up some roots, and had just realised the 

 situation. The rascal Busma now bolted with the Express, 



