BEAR-SHOOTING IN THE MULBERRY-GROVES. 123 



It was with a light heart and a keen appetite I that 

 evening despatched my frugal meal of broiled ibex-meat and 

 " chuppaties " (thin cakes made of flour and water). After 

 a "nightcap" of hot whisky-toddy and a few pufis of 

 tobacco beside the fire, notwithstanding very tough venison, 

 and a hard couch under no roof but the starlit sky, I was 

 soon ibex-hunting in dreamland. 



In a few more days we were recrossing the Mergun pass 

 en route for Srinuggur. The snow had almost entirely 

 disappeared from the summit of the pass, which was now 

 clothed with short green turf, thickly besprinkled with 

 buttercups, their bright colour presenting a strange and 

 pleasing contrast to the savage aspect of the bare grey 

 rocks and partially snow-clad heights on either side. 



On reaching our first camping-place in " the Vale," I 

 was told that black bears were numerous in the vicinity, 

 they having come down into the mulberry-groves to feast on 

 the fruit, which was then — the month of June — in full 

 season. Although this kind of sport is rather tame after 

 mountain work, it is by no means to be despised. I there- 

 fore determined to devote a day or two to looking up Bruin 

 in his feeding-grounds. The first morning I failed to get 

 a shot, although I was very close to one fellow, where he 

 had ensconced himself among a lot of thick bushes, which 

 effectually covered his retreat as he bolted. Next time we 

 went out I had better luck, when I secured the only bear 

 we saw, after putting several bullets through his black 

 hide. The same evening we found another munching away 

 quite at his ease in a mulberry-tree, when a ball sent into 

 ■his back as he stood up stretching out his paws to gather 

 the fruit, brought him down with a loud " yeeough " from 

 the tree, at the foot of which we found him dead, his 

 mouth full of mulberries, poor beast ! A leopard was also 

 seen at dusk by Eamzan as it slunk away through the 

 bushes quite close to us. 



One of my first excursions on arrival at Srinuggur was 

 with a view to getting thoroughly cleansed at a hummam, 



