BLACK BEAR HONKING 201 



or vital spot of the body ; and indeed with the hin- 

 drance of the thick brush his death was due more 

 to luck than to marksmanship. The last shot, which 

 finished him, had struck the shoulder fair. 



It was not until several days later that the second 

 bear came in. We started early from camp and 

 moved all day from one nullah to another, covering 

 a great stretch of ground ; but save in one case, where 

 two bears broke through the line and got away be- 

 fore I could shoot, no game appeared. At five in the 

 evening, we turned toward camp, I regretting heart- 

 ily that my last day of hunting in Kashmir was over, 

 for I had decided in any case to break camp the fol- 

 lowing morning. 



But the shikaris suggested honking one more 

 small patch of jungle not far from the camp-ground. 

 The coolies came down through it listlessly, they also 

 being discouraged, and I had no hope whatsoever of 

 success. Then suddenly there came from one corner 

 of the line that sudden yell, so welcome to a sports- 

 man's ears, " Bhalu, bhalu ! bara wallah !" (Bear, 

 bear ! big one ! ) The beaters, managed by Sidka, ar- 

 ranged the honk splendidly, forming at once a com- 

 plete chain and then closing in. The bear attacked 

 several of them, and finally went so savagely for 

 Sidka that he was warded off only by repeated 

 blows from the shikari's iron-tipped staff. This I saw 



