

BAD SHOTS. 241 



dead, the first wound of itself being fatal, although not 

 instantaneously so. The other bear had risen to his feet 

 meanwhile, and was turning round and round moaning and 

 growling piteously, but quite unable to make off, and he was 

 put out of pain as soon as possible after his companion had 

 been attended to, and ultimately fell dead almost touching 

 one of the posts of the platform. 



As the reports of my heavy rifles went rolling over the 

 hills, the beaters redoubled their cries and the din of their 

 drums, and presently advanced rapidly in knots of five or 

 six, under the impression that the beat was ended in the 

 death or escape of the animals driven up to us. I was in 

 the act of descending, and had put down my rifle for that 

 purpose, when a loud " ouh-ouh " proceeded from the gully 

 below me, and a half -grown bear passed rapidly in front from 

 left to right, escaping ultimately through the beaters over 

 the eastern ridge, slightly damaged by one of the two bullets 

 hastily sent after it by me. 



The panther was seen first by the natives in the farthest 

 " machan," when we observed them showing signs of excite- 

 ment, but was not fired at as they said they left it for one of 

 us, as may have been the case. My comrade saw something 

 of the beast as it crawled into a gully leading down to the 

 rivulet, and it must have gained the wooded ridge on the east, 

 escaping in that direction, and was seen no more by either of 

 us. Both the slaughtered bears being in prime condition, 

 gave us a pair of fully furred hides and a fair amount of 

 grease. 



Such sport as there was that afternoon fell to me alone, 

 and I should have been well content but for that unlucky 

 miss, which lay heavy on my mind. The range being so very 

 short, the heavy bullet may have flown high by two or three 

 inches, and passed through the fur on the bear's shoulders ; 

 on the other hand it may have been one of those egregiously 

 bad shots of which one is guilty at times, however unaccount- 

 able it may appear at the moment and afterwards. 



Writing of bad shots, I am reminded of the remarkable 



R 



