de'el be in her skin that did it."

Poor old Jock M'Phee! On the whole he did well to escape with but
injury to his garments. I have seen several men mauled by she-bears;
one of them was scalped and torn to such an extent that it was a long
time before he recovered; and I always marvelled to think he got over
it at all.

The British soldier is rather fond of a bear cub as a pet; and Captain
Baldwin tells an amusing story of one which followed the men on to
the parade ground, and quite disorganised the manoeuvres by
frightening the colonel's horse. In 1858 I was quartered for a time
with a naval brigade; and once, when there was an alarm of the enemy,
Jack went to the front with all his pets, including Bruin, which
brought up the rear, shuffling along in blissful ignorance of the
bubble reputation to be found at the cannon's mouth.

Although as a rule vegetarian, yet this species is not altogether
free from the imputation of being a devourer of flesh when it comes
in its way. In such cases it possibly has been impelled by hunger,
and I doubt whether it ever kills for the sake of eating. I have known
even ruminants eat meat, and in their case hunger could not have been
urged as an excuse. Mr. Sanderson mentions an instance when a Barking
Deer he shot was partially devoured by a bear during the night.

Very few elephants, however steady with tigers, will stand a bear.
Whether it is that bears make such a row when wounded, or whether
there be anything in the smell, I know not, but I have heard many
sportsmen allude to the fact. A favourite elephant I had would stand
anything but a bear and a pig. Few horses will approach a bear, and
this is one difficulty in spearing them; and for this reason I think
bear dancers should be prohibited in towns. Calcutta used to swarm
with them at one time. It always makes me angry when I see these men
going about with the poor brutes, whose teeth and claws are often
drawn, and a cruel ring passed through their sensitive nostrils. I
should like to set an old she-bear after the _bhalu-wallas_, with
a fair field and no favour.

The bear rising to hug its adversary is a fallacy as far as this
species is concerned; it does not squeeze, but uses its claws freely
and with great effect.

* * * * *

I think we have now exhausted our Indian bears. Some have spoken of
a dwarf bear supposed to inhabit the Lower Himalayas, but as yet it
is unknown--possibly it may