, instantly an angry
swarm of venomous and enraged hornets comes buzzing about your ears.
Your only chance is to squat down, and envelope yourself completely in
a blanket. Old sportsmen, shooting in forest jungle, invariably take a
blanket Avith them in the howdah, to ensure themselves protection in
the event of an attack by these blood-thirsty creatures. The thick
matted creepers too are a great nuisance, for which a bill-hook or
sharp kookree is an invaluable adjunct to the other paraphernalia of
the march. I have seen a mahout swept clean off the elephant's back by
these tenacious creepers, and the elephants themselves are sometimes
unable to break through the tangle of sinewy, lithe cords, which drape
the huge forest trees, hanging in slender festoons from every branch.
Some of them are prickly, and as the elephant slowly forces his way
through the mass of pendent swaying cords, they lacerate and tear the
mahout's clothes and skin, and appropriate his puggree. As you crouch
down within the shelter of your howdah, you can't help pitying the
poor wretch, and incline to think that, after all, shooting in grass
jungle has fewer drawbacks and is preferable to forest shooting.

One of the drivers reported that he had seen a bear in the jungle, and
we saw the earth of one not far from where the young tiger had fallen;
it was the lair of the sloth bear or _Ursus labialis_, so called from
his long pendent upper lip. His spoor is very easily distinguished
from that of any other animal; the ball of the foot shows a distinct
round impression, and about an inch to an inch and a half further on,
the impression of the long curved claws are seen. He uses these
long-curved claws to tear up ant hills, and open hollow decaying
trees, to get at the honey within, of which he is very fond. We went
after the bear, and were not long in discovering his whereabouts, and
a well-directed shot from S. added him to our bag. The best bear
shooting in India perhaps is in CHOTA NAGPOOR, but this does not come
within the limits of my present volume. We now beat slowly through the
wood, keeping a bright look out for ants and hornets, and getting fine
shooting at the numerous jungle fowl which flew about in amazing
numbers.

The forest trees in this patch of jungle were very fine. The hill
seerees, with its feathery foliage and delicate clusters of white
bugle-shaped blossom; the semul or cotton tree, with its wonderful
wealth of magnificent crimson