124 A Sportswoman in India 



over, he soon scrambled up again and began to ascend 

 the ravine. 



S. and the shikaris climbed down and across it, and 

 followed as quickly as they could, occasionally seeing 

 the bear, but never getting within shot. Time went 

 on, and very little daylight remained ; the hillside 

 was open, and they found themselves with another 

 ravine full of snow lying between them and the bear, 

 who was under a sort of cliff. The only chance lay 

 in crawling across, which they eventually did, and in 

 the end S. rolled the bear over, stone dead, Clamber- 

 ing back over the frozen snow and ice was hard work, 

 but the shikaris were a tower of strength. 



That night the Jemadar came to us full of a tale he 

 had heard of some bears which had attacked a whole 

 family of charcoal-burners in the jungle farther on 

 and rather below our camp. They seem to have been 

 coming home at night and to have met some old bears 

 and their cubs ; the old bears turned upon the men, 

 who took to their heels, fortunately little the worse, 

 except for a claw-mark or two. They were anxious 

 we should visit a cave, which the bears were said to 

 live in, that night, and smoke them out by moon- 

 light ; but our prudent shikaris strongly advised 

 waiting for daylight, and after all we had had a 

 tiring day, and were not sorry to get to bed early. 



Next morning we were called before it was any- 

 thing approaching light, and proceeded to walk to 

 this bears' den. The stars were almost dazzling, and 

 it was freezing hard ; the snow shone ashen white 



