now sent back with orders to take the beaters round to the other side of the hill, and extending them across the whole breadth of the jungle, with which it was covered, to beat directly down on us and to order them to sound their trumpets, and beat their drums with all their might on the way, so as to drive every animal concealed therein from his lair. He accordingly departed on his mission, and I posted our native allies who were most noisy subjects, and a great nuisance, where I thought they would be least in the way, earnestly entreating them to be as quiet as possible.

I had just returned to my station when I heard our beaters on the top of the hill, and a deer brushed past me, but so suddenly that I could not take aim at him. The plot now began to thicken, and shortly afterwards a bear made his appearance in the ravine, about eighty yards to my right, and I was in hopes he would come my way, but was disappointed. He turned down towards F's station, and I heard both his barrels go off, and shortly afterwards another shot from the serjeant at the end. The beaters were now half way down the hill, and the noise they kicked up was certainly sufficient to have driven all the beasts out of the country.

I was just moving down to F to hear

KILLING A BEAR.

51

what he had done, when I heard a tremendous rustling and cracking of jungle in front of me, and out came an enormous bear, right on the path on which I was standing. We were within five yards of each other, and the brute seemed staggered by the suddenness of the unexpected encounter, and for a moment inclined to turn tail. The infernal din of the musical instruments behind him, however, prevented that, and he made a rush at me. I had taken aim at his head the moment he appeared, and as soon as he moved on the open path, I let fly and dropped him on the instant; he gave one ferocious growl and expired. I had shot him exactly between the eyes, and being end on, the ball had passed through his head into his body, playing no small havoc with his intestines on the way.

On looking round for my servant, he was nowhere to be seen, and on calling out to our native friends I found they were missing also. I climbed to the place where I had posted them, and from thence had a good view of them running as hard as they could lay legs to the ground in the direction of their village; my aid-de-camp, with the reserve gun and all my ammunition, being of the party. They had evidently bolted the moment the bear made his appearance, and the young sportsman may take a hint from this

never to expect a native to stand by him when there is any danger, or he may be left in an awkward predicament. It is seldom, indeed, that wild animals of any size are killed by a single ball, and the plan which I always afterwards adopted, was to take my reserve gun from the native, and place it on the ground close by my station, always taking care also to have some spare balls and powder in my own pocket. It was then immaterial whether the nigger ran away or not. F

soon came down on hearing my shout, and from him I learned that the other bear had got off, but he thought he was wounded. We determined therefore to follow him, and see if we could not dispatch him also.

On arriving at the sergeant's post, he informed us that he had fired without effect, and that Bruin had gone up the hill again, finding so many enemies on his path. While here, we heard a shout from the hill, which had a perpendicular descent on this side, of about twenty or thirty feet. On looking up, we saw Bruin plainly enough standing on his hind legs in a menacing attitude, and one of the beaters seemingly paralyzed at his appearance close by him. We could not fire, the man being between us and the bear, but on our shouting to him he seemed to gain confidence, and swinging his iron-bound

latee* round, he gave the brute a rap on the head with hearty good will. Bruin's frontispiece, however, was thick enough to allow him to receive a much harder knock with impunity, and he advanced evidently enraged, and with his mind made up for mischief. The native retreated backwards to the verge of the cliff, and, seemingly having completely lost his recollection in the present danger, in spite of our shouts of warning, made another step, and in an instant was over the precipice.

.

We ran to the spot and found him very seriously hurt by the fall; he had also received an ugly scratch from the bear and was unable to speak. The other beaters soon crowded round the place and said he was dead: but I found he had life enough in him to clutch pretty firmly some rupees which I put into his hand. We sent him home, and then wished to proceed to the next jungle to which Bruin had been tracked. No persuasions, however, would induce the natives to go in again; they had had enough of it. In vain we offered them double pay, and pointed out that the accident which had occurred was entirely owing to the man's own folly. Had he moved on one side out of the way, instead of attacking the bear, and then tumbling down the precipice in his fright, we could have shot the

* A long club of the solid or male bamboo.

animal from where we stood. All would not do: one man had been killed they said, and though it was very good fun for us to kill the bears, they did not see any fun in being killed themselves. It was useless to attempt to draw the jungle without beaters, so we were at last reluctantly obliged to give it up, abusing them most heartily for their cowardice.

On looking round for something at which to discharge my rifle before departing, I espied what appeared to be a monkey seated on a rock at the top of a small hill behind us. He was a long way off, but I thought I would try a shot. Accordingly I fired, but the ball struck short, and the figure did not seem to take any notice of the report. In order to rouse him from his apathy, I elevated rather higher to allow for the distance, and firing the other barrel, sent its contents this time close under him. He was now evidently alarmed, and starting to his legs, began to run for it. To our astonishment, we now perceived that what we had taken for a monkey was a man, and I had very narrowly escaped sending him to his last account. I was completely taken aback on finding my mistake, and asked the natives why they had not told me it was a man at whom I was firing. They coolly answered that they did not wish to spoil my sport, and that I might