BEARS. 37 



that there was no doubt in my mind that they were the 

 worse for drink, rolling about from side to side when on 

 their hind legs, pushing each other over and fighting at 

 intervals. This was in a district that contained many 

 send-bunds, the owners of which complained that they 

 sustained great loss by the nightly visits of the bears to 

 their chatties, which they invariably broke in order to lap 

 up the contents. As they neared my post the leading bear 

 was about thirty yards ahead of his companions, coming 

 straight up a rocky track towards me ; he stopped for a 

 few seconds to turn over a stone in search of grubs, and 

 I stepped into the middle of the path while he was thus 

 engaged, and remained perfectly steady ; he resumed his 

 advance without noticing me, so I coughed slightly to 

 attract his attention ; for some seconds he was dumb- 

 foundered and could hardly believe his eyes. Then, stand- 

 ing up on his hind legs, he made hostile demonstrations 

 with his paws in the air to frighten me, and then turned 

 viciously on a small tree at the edge of the track and tore 

 branches off it evidently with the same object. A shot 

 through the horseshoe immediately afterwards finished 

 him. Poor brute, I often regret having fired that shot. 

 His companions bolted and were not again seen. It is 

 inadvisable to fire at a bear or any other dangerous animal 

 straight above you on higher ground ; this is the only shot 

 that is barred in bear shooting. At the same time a 

 certain amount of respect is due to a bear ; his offensive 

 powers are underrated, and many serious and even fatal 

 accidents have occurred thereby, the last I remember being 

 that of the death of the plucky young Lord Edward St. 

 Maur, who was so severely bitten by a wounded bear 

 which he had followed up, that he succumbed to the effe< -t> 

 of amputation a few days afterwards. 



