BEARS AT CLOSE QUARTERS. 149 



began biting them, grunting savagely the whole 

 time. 



The Purdhan shouted to me to shoot, but the 

 whole scene looked so ridiculous and there seemed 

 to be so little immediate danger that I decided 

 to await developments. Finding no satisfaction 

 apparently in biting her own paws, down she 

 went again and after the headman as hard as she 

 could go. Anon she would rise on her hind legs 

 and hop forward in the most comical manner, and 

 then down again. How long this would have 

 lasted it is hard to tell, as natives are long-winded 

 and can keep up a race for miles ; but now an 

 unforeseen danger threatened, which made me 

 regret that I had not fired before. The cubs, 

 which had bolted on the report of the first shot, 

 finding their dam did not follow them and pro- 

 bably hearing her growling, now came shambling 

 up. Although not quite full-grown, they were 

 large enough to make formidable opponents to 

 an unarmed man, and it would be all up with the 

 headman if they came to the assistance of their 

 mother. Only two ball cartridges left and three 

 bears to face ! A bear robbed of her whelps has 

 passed into a proverb for ferocity, but a wounded 

 bear with her cubs present is even worse. There 

 was not much time for deliberation. Shouting to 

 the Purdhan to throw his turban at the she-bear 

 and then run towards me, I decided to let her have 

 both barrels when she stopped to worry the turban, 

 and to take our chance with the cubs. As I antici- 

 pated, she at once clutched at the turban and began 



