Sporting Notes in the Far East. 63 



" BEARS." 



Bears inhabit the island of Yezzo North Japan, the Kuril 

 islands adjoining, and also the island of Sagalien. They feed 

 mostly on fish, and it is no use going to hunt them much before 

 the month of September ; as before that time the salmon have not 

 come up the streams, and the bears are away from the banks in 

 the thick impenetrable jungle. 



I believe the only method of hunting them, is to pitch your tent 

 in a well watered country ; and spend the days in wading up the 

 different rivers, in the hopes of getting chance shots at the 

 animals fishing. 



Expeditions after these bear, are few and far between ; as it 

 means decidedly roughing it. The Kuril Islands were visited in 

 1887 by two officers in the army, quartered at Hong Kong, and 

 their efforts were so far successful, as to enable them to be the 

 " death of" three bears ; but they were six weeks too early, and 

 would have done much better had they been hunting in the late 

 autumn. 



The species of the animals, is much the same as the Indian 

 black bear ; and they sometimes grow to a great size. I myself, 

 seeing one in the possession of the Mikado, which weighed 

 considerably over a thousand pounds. 



