256 AN EAELT WALK. 



by a lucky shot, from a man who had not 

 fired a gun, above half a dozen times in 

 his life. 



It was during the harvest time, when 

 bears visit the grain-fields, and happening 

 to take a stroll to a village near my camp 

 at Jallah, very early in the morning, I met 

 the men, who had been keeping watch all 

 night, returning to their homes. They had 

 been, as is customary in the hills, guarding 

 their crops against the bears, and one of the 

 villagers reported that at day-break, he had 

 seen an old black bear and her two cubs, 

 leave one of the fields, and go into a patch 

 of thick jungle below. I had my rifle with 

 me, for I had now become possessed of one, 

 although it was somewhat on a par with 

 my first double-gun, having cost forty 

 rupees; and it was agreed that we should 

 have a regular hunt for them, with all the 

 men and dogs the village could muster. 

 They gave me a breakfast of hot cakes, with 

 new milk and honey, and whilst eating it, 

 I laid the rifle on a stack of half-dried grain. 



