232 SPORT IN BENGAL. 



savage and powerful. Refusing to descend from his strong- 

 hold on the bare suspicion of armed enemies being on the 

 look-out for him, he will remain on the hill-top while his 

 kindred come down to drink and feed ; nor can he be driven 

 out of the network of caves in which he makes his lair. I 

 have been in pursuit of this malignant old villain on several 

 occasions, but have only once heard him from the rock on 

 which I watched for his descent ; and that evening he must 

 have detected me, though how I cannot imagine, since I took 

 good care to remain silent and well-concealed. Possibly he 

 may have scented me, he being not fifty yards off, as I could 

 tell by the sound of his footsteps ; or he may have seen or 

 heard my comrade, perched upon a boulder on my right a 

 good deal higher, for he was not as quiet as he might and 

 ought to have been. However that might be, the bear did 

 not descend from his lofty fastness that night at all, and an 

 attempt made to cut off his retreat at daylight next morning 

 proved unsuccessful, other bears only being seen. 



On another occasion, a very young sportsman who was 

 out with me met the old bear face to face on a narrow path 

 among rocks and boulders well up the hillside, when both 

 retired without coming to blows. So far as I know, this 

 animal is still alive. If he be ever bagged, his skin should 

 prove a grand trophy on account of its great size, and it 

 is one well worth a protracted pursuit, for which I had 

 not time, moving my camp almost daily as I was compelled 

 to do. 



At certain times, bears will congregate in some numbers, 

 either for social intercourse, or for the discussion and settle- 

 ment of family and tribal affairs. About three or four miles 

 east of " Pachait," which dominates that part of the country, 

 a hill springs from the rocky plain, with a gradual and 

 gentle rise from its western base, to its summit, and then dips 

 down steeply on the east, its entire length being about half-a- 

 mile, and its breadth at the base, north to south, some three 

 hundred yards. Finding many fresh footprints about this 

 hill, a party of us resolved to beat it with a few score of 



