228 A Sportswoman in India 



skinning the big bear they found he was literally 

 stuffed with mulberries. 



As an example of what natives are, after having 

 skinned the bears they never troubled to bury the 

 bodies, but left them both in the sun, and in 

 the wind's quarter. Though late in the afternoon, the 

 smell which blew into the camp was quite unbearable ; 

 however, the servants were unconscious of it, and 

 would, I am sure, have lived next the carcases cheer- 

 fully for the rest of the autumn. 



Having had such luck with bears, we thought that 

 we could not do better than march away farther afield 

 and higher up, and try for a bara singh (twelve horns), 

 by which name the Kashmir deer is generally known 

 among shikaris. He is almost identical with the red 

 deer in Scotland ; but he is, alas ! gradually being 

 banished from many hills where he once abounded 

 by the vastly increased herds of cattle, especially 

 buffaloes. Not only so, but the deer are massacred 

 almost wholesale by the natives, with dogs, in the 

 snow in winter. Gurais was once a favourite locality, 

 and in this direction we turned our faces. 



From Keypoor we marched by degrees to 

 Imbresilwara, where we were in camp all among fir- 

 trees. From there we marched to Alsoa, along a 

 ridge, with a magnificent view of the Lolab Valley 

 stretched out below us on our left. We saw Nagmerg 

 in the distance ; and then descending from this high 

 ground, we came down down -to Alsoa, almost on 

 the borders of the Wular Lake. 



