676 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [April 1, 190L 
mir as a holirlay resort would be doubled, and 
it migbt be quite possible to extend the Indian 
habitat ot the tront to such streams as the Poonch 
and the Giri. G nerally speaking tlie fish could 
only be introduced into the Himalayan streams, 
for in waters whose temperature rises for consider- 
able periods over 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the 
salmon tamily do not thrive. Still the success 
of one serious attem[)t at pisciculture might give 
rise to others. Why not try and cultivate the 
niahseer, for instance? There are not wanting 
signs that this truly sporting fish, what with the 
enormous increase of poaching and the greatly ex- 
tended operations of anglers, will in time begin to 
get scarce in many of the more get-at-able waters. 
What has already happened to the salmon in many 
home streams will in course of time happen also 
to the mahseer, unless Art steps into assist the 
operations of Nature. When once a certain 
amount of practical experience has been gained by 
Indian sportsmen in the art of fish-rearing as 
carried out in Kashmir, it would be a compara- 
tively cheap and simple matter to rear young 
mahseer in suitable localities, and thus add enor- 
mously to the sporting value of the selected rivers. 
The experiment now being carried out in Kashmir 
is conseqtuently one whicli is capable of great 
results, and the progress of the operations will be 
watched with anxiety by all who take an interest 
in the improvement of sport. So far the cost of 
the Kashmir tiials has been borne by a few, but 
we feel confident that if experiments on a small 
scale give any promise of success, there will be 
money enough forthcoming from the sporting com- 
munity to enable them to be prosecuted on a more 
ambitious scale, — Pioneer, February 8. 
A TROPICAL BEAT FOR BLACK BEAR IN 
KASHMIR. 
All the arrrangements had been made the day 
before by " Whiskers," my shikari (so-called because 
hia hirsute appendages ssnck out like a oat's), for 
50 coolies and i tom-tomwallahs to turn up at 6 a.m., 
which means 8 a.m. Consequently when they arrived 
talking only as Kashmiris can talk at 9 a.m., it 
did not matter much, as it is considered rude to 
disturb a boar in his early morning sleep. As a 
matter of fact, it is easier to drive them in the 
middle of the day when it is hot. Off we started 
— Kashmiris, t -)m-tomwallahs, hangers-on and swells, 
tous ensemble — to a narrow strip of forest on a steep 
side of a hill about one mile away. The coolies and 
tom-tomwallahs, &c., were distributed, according to 
the drive, at either end of the forest, to beat both 
ways and eventually meet in the middle. In the 
meantime after a stifQsh climb myself and shikari, 
who was fairly agog with excitement, reached the 
top and planted ourselves, after much deliberation 
on my sJiUcari's part, by a boundary pillar with a 
view down either side, along the ridge, for about 
100 yards along a cut line, with perfectly dead 
ground at my feet. This I tried to explain would 
be very awkward with a lively bear. However, there 
was no time to change now as the faint sound of 
tom-toming was heard in the distance. All the rifles 
and guns were loaded and I tried to get comfort- 
able ; but deodar needles are not the best of friends 
with thin trousers. On came the beat with the 
coolies whisi.ling and shouting, all making as much 
noise as an English school-boy does when he gets a 
half-holiday. Sudrlenly — " What's that?" from my 
shikari, accompanied by a nudge in my short ribs, 
as a breaking of branches was heard below us to 
the left. I grasped my faithful '.^OO and waited ; the 
noise came nearer, and then I saw something black. 
"Shoot, shoot," cried the s/it'/ijart, " Baloo, Baloo "; 
but I wa^ not iiuch a fool as to do so antil I had seen what 
it was ; for to shoot a cow in Kashmir is considered 
mnch worse than polishing off a human being ; and 
right enough, after about three minutes, oat wan- 
dered a, small black heifer across the cut line. My 
shikari was quite overcome, wagging his head and 
clasping his hands and muttering prayers to Allah in 
his whiskers. But there was no time for this, so I 
woke hitn up with the butt-end of my rifle.' In 
the meantime the beat had been drawing nearer and 
nearer, and the whistles sounded like a lot of gallery 
boys in a theatre on the Surrey side of the river. 
Suddenly another nudge from my shikari, and right 
enough, in the bushes to my left, about 100 yards 
away, below the cut line, I saw something move. I 
turned round and not into as comfortable a position 
as I could when out bolted a bear across the line. 
Bang ! I let drive, and what a row he kicked up, 
which was good to hear as I knew I had hit him 
as be disappeared down the other side of the hill. 
The shikari was simply bursting with jov, so I had 
to quiet him again with the butt-end of" my rifle. 
The beat now was coming to an end, und. the .ihikari 
was thinking of stopping it, when suddenly — "Wough- 
wough," and a grunt at my feet; of course, just 
where nobody was looking; and out of a bush from 
this very dead ground appeared the sleek head of a 
fine black bear. J don't know who was the moat 
surprised — thebea,r, the shikari, or myself. Anyhow the 
bear bolted before I had time to swing round on 
deodar needles (a very painful performance] and get 
a shot. The brute evidently broke back thiough 
the beaters as he never appeared again. This made 
old "'Whiskers" very wroth, and so he hurled in- 
vectives at all the coolies' and tom-tomwallahs' grand- 
mothers as they turned up, in which performance the 
poor man made himself quite hoarse. 
The beat being over, great excitement was evident 
amongst the coolies, especially as my shikari had 
informed them that the bear I had shot was at least 
12 feet long. The next business was to track up 
the wounded bear ; and for this purpose village dogs 
were sent for. These amused themselves For the 
fir.st half hour in pulling each other to pieces, and 
judging from the fur that flew, they did. However, 
with the help of many sticks, they were brought un- 
der subjection. In the meantime my gallant shikari 
had disappeared, taking with him, without my 
knowledge, my 1'2-bore loaded with ball. Suddenly, 
bang-bang, far down the hill. I collared my rifle 
and legged it for all I was worth to where the 
sounds came from, through thick brushwood, which 
was almost as nasty as the deodar needles. I came 
upon my trembling shikari; probably he was in a 
funk on account of his having disobeyed orders in 
shooting, and not from being alone in the proximity 
of a wounded bear. He informed me that he sud- 
denly came across the bear lying down, and that 
he let him have it, right and left, straight into 
the brute's back. This evidently woke him up, as 
he had gone down hill; but the dogs soon rounded 
him up : so I took the 12 bore and descended to 
where the dogs were baiting the bear behind a 
large deodar tree. I could see nothing, so sat down 
about 20 yards away above the tree and awaited 
results. Presently a black head appeared round 
the corner, so I gave the beast a ball in his necK 
which settled him. The plucky dogs, finding the bear 
dead, immediately began to maul the carcass and 
to pull it down the very steep hill side. However, 
the coolies soon drove them off, and when in about 
an hour's time 10 coolies came staggering under the 
load, 1 had him measured — a full 4 feet ten inches. 
So much for the 12-footer. I found that my first 
shot had hit him a few inches behind the shoulder 
and had torn him about terribly. The shikari's shota 
had further blown great holes into him; anditwaa 
a wonder, the animal being so small, that he ever 
got away at all— a fact which shows their extreme 
vitality. I had two or three more beats after this 
with no luck ; but as moral: "Keep an eye on th^ 
shikari,"— Indim Forester. E, Radcliite, 
