Black Bears 227 



It still remained to have a last look for Bear No. i. 

 Searching carefully, blood was seen on the ground ; 

 and, tracking his marks warily, we at last came on 

 him, stone dead, in the open, shot through the side. 

 He was a smaller bear, with a better coat, a deep, glossy 

 black. 



I left S. still arranging about the poor native, and 

 with a coolie as a guide I went back and found 

 my tat and rode to the camp. Later on a tremendous 

 noise resounded up the valley, and by-and-by into 

 our orchard wound a triumphal procession, headed 

 by tom-toms thumping wildly and natives dancing 

 and capering, while around the two bodies of the 

 bears, borne upon poles, a shouting throng jumped 

 and cheered. 



The paying of the beaters followed. At last they 

 all cleared off, alternating between weeping like children 

 over the recollection of the accident, and screaming 

 and dancing with joy over the successful issue of the 

 honk. 



We sat down to a soothing meal, while Lalla and 

 Co. skinned the two hdrfdts ; after which the skins 

 were carefully stretched and secured by numerous pegs 

 along their margins, powdered alum was thickly 

 sprinkled on and thoroughly rubbed in, and some 

 parts were well anointed with arsenical soap. The 

 next day, rolling the skins up with the hair inwards, 

 we sent them straight off on the back of a coolie to 

 Srinagar to be roughly cured by our skin-man, before 

 despatching them home to Rowland Ward. On 



