Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1Baker, Samuel White, Sir
History
Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1
Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Animal behavior; Hunting
Before we had time to examine the actual condition of affairs, the big
bear suddenly dashed out again straight at the elephant, and once more
in a disgraceful panic he took to flight, without the possibility, on my
part, of taking a shot, when the bear thus daringly exposed itself.
Again I had to comfort Hurri Ram, and by degrees we stopped his mad
career, and once more returned to the scene of his discomfiture. There
was a slight depression in an open hollow, where high grass in swampy
ground intervened between two sections of the forest. As we advanced,
the elephant being severely punished by the driving-hook and scolded by
the mahout, the bear suddenly uprose from the high grass, and standing
upon its hind legs, it faced us at about 40 yards' distance, affording a
magnificent chance for a deadly shot. Away went Hurri Ram again,
whisking round before I had a moment to fire; and after two successive
chances of this kind, the bear escaped into the opposite jungle, and we
searched for it in vain.
We now returned, and with some difficulty drove Hurri Ram to the scene
of conflict. There was a bear lying dead. The howls and roars had
ceased, and a few yards to the left of the dead bear was a large black
mass: this was another bear, in the last gasp. Both had been knocked
over by only one bullet from the Paradox.
Although I had only seen one bear, and that most indistinctly, it
appeared that the bullet, being intensely hard, and propelled by 4 1/2
drams of powder, had gone completely through the shoulder of the
original bear, and then struck an unseen companion, who must have been
some yards distant upon lower ground beyond. The bullet had broken the
shoulder of this unlucky friend, and was sticking in its lungs, having
carried a bundle of coarse black hair from bear No. 1 and deposited it
upon its course in bear No. 2.
Although these were full-grown bears, there can be little doubt that the
bear that had so determinedly attacked the elephant was the mother,
infuriated by the roars and howls of her dying offspring. The
penetration of the Paradox bullet was highly satisfactory, but I was
terribly disgusted with Hurri Ram, whose misconduct had caused the loss
of bear No. 3, which would most certainly have been included in the list
of killed had I had the chance of only one second's quiet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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