THE -450 EXPRESS. 107 



In captivity they become very docile, and are easily taught tricks. It 

 would be hard to enumerate all their accomplishments, but they certainly 

 are very lively and amusing. I shall never forget awaking one night in a 

 station in the Punjab, to notice at once the well-known " hoff, hoff " of a 

 bear. The season was hot, doors and windows were open, but the punkah 

 dispensed with at night. It flashed through my brain that this must be 

 some pet escaped from confinement, and I puzzled myself trying to decide 

 how to secure him or defend myself should he attack me. Bears were not 

 within twenty miles of the station, and a flat cultivated country inter- 

 vened, so he was not likely to be wild, but, if escaped from captivity, there 

 was no saying what sort of a " budniash " he might be. I crept out of 

 bed, looked out of the window, and, by the moon's bright light, descried 

 a half -grown cub, walking about under a mulberry tree some ten paces 

 away. I soon saw he was secured and went to bed again, wondering how 

 in the world he came to be tied up in my garden. Next morning I found 

 my chum in the other part of the house had brought the pet up from 

 barracks, where she (for it was a female, after all !) played hide-and-seek 

 with the men often. It was so grotesque to see a six-foot Paddy come 

 quickly out of one door into the verandah of his barrack-room, dodge in 

 at another, and the bear after him, just too late to catch him. Bound and 

 round they went many times, and Bruin thoroughly enjoyed the romp, 

 never hurting anyone, for her sharp canine teeth had been removed. 



While chained in my garden it was most amusing to see Sally (that 

 was her name) take a bath. The bath consisted of half a fifty-six gallon 

 cask, sawn in two through the bung-hole in the usual manner; into 

 this the bheestie emptied two or three mussucks of water, and then Sally 

 began her antics. First she walked round it, shoved it about, peered 

 over the edges, splashed an odd paw in, and played with it much as a cat 

 does with a mouse. When tired of these simple pranks, she climbed on 

 to the edge and remained balanced with the two hind feet close outside 

 the two fore ; there she remained admiring herself iu the natural mirror, 

 slapping at her reflection now and then. Presently she would begin 

 rocking the tub, balanced as she was on one edge, and would keep it 

 going up and down at great speed until she had succeeded in splashing 

 at least half the water out. The see-saw motion was quite remarkable, 

 for I never saw her upset the tub ; she always retained the balance 

 perfectly. 



Her next move was to pretend to lose her balance while the tub was at 

 rest, and flop well down into it. Out she would get again two or three 

 times, and finally lie down in it, coiled up, with her nose near her tail 

 She would then try the other side, and when she considered her ablutions 

 completed, she always climbed out, upset the tub and sent it rolling away. 

 After many shakes and rubbings she then climbed into the tree, reclined 

 on a bough and dozed till dry and hungry. I forget what became of 

 Sally, but her owner has joined the great majority, I regret to say. 



I often was after bears in various parts of the hills, and found them 



