Thrilling Incident.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3005, 17 September 1888, Page 2

Thrilling Incident.

, Major B—-was.; a Splendid .shot : - ■:.;■'>: with a rifle. Ihaveknownhiintodo s 5 some most marvellous things in the : • way of shooting. Some of hisjfeats..'■'; :•• : - were so wondorful that people would not beleive them when told them, ' : : ..'.' finding thou that they would not be-- '■■.. lievo the truth he took to inventing ' . \k2'M the most exaggerated absurdities.. At -.J//4Rto any rate his yams were harmless and^flJHß amusing, and as he was.otherwise anV-^^^^ agreeable fellow he was. % pretty : "; general favorite. In 18—he was at Simla on leave, and being invited^r by the cliiefto dinner, he told suoh aw lot of stories about bear shooting that-'. an arrangomerit was there and then niade for the old gentleman to go out withß—and have a shot at a bear. Of course they had to wait till a bear ~' ■ was reported within some reasonable distance, and it was not very long before this took place. B—iug his yarns had not counted on being asked to take him out shooting in the hills, which means- ~ s : really very heavy work, so he deter? mined to let the old manhaye enough of it on the first occasion, They went , ; ; down some steep" gullies, round some difficult crags, and up.some stiff ascents, till at last theyoanie to a " pretty level place with some cedars '■„'.; and oak brushwood. Here they suddenly came upon a half-grown ■ ■ ;'; bear, which stood up attheir approach. : ■; They could see its head and shoulders, : .:;.. : ■ but not the lower part of its body, ; . ■.. t ■■'■: -■ which was hidden by the ' : Sir H-r—was made to fire, wM knocked tbV beast- over. ;B— '' - '.; pushed forward and finished it, most of the beaters following to seouro the game. The oliief was : standing, a .." ,■; good deal done up with his walk, and , - one barrel of his muzzle-loading rifle; ':'; discharged. They; had --scarcely :.;.;.:.';.r.'£; reached the animal when they saw:: ''rA-k its mother, attracted by the cry of : the young boar, coming tearing down tho hill and making Straight for Sir : v ' : " H—-. Tho few natives round hiin "- ' cleaved right and left, leaving the old. man standing with his one shot, on. ;'■• which so much depended, for a oharg- -o ■■[u ingbear is a very difficult beast to , : •;• stop if you are below him. He' comes down hill in suoli a way—running, ..: ■• tumbling, rolling, anyhow-that it is ; :'- very difficult to get a good-ahot, If ever you go bear shooting keep above > hitn, for then hohag to approaohiyou.) . at a reasonable pace, andiri a able way, whereas if you are : unditt « | him be tumbles down oh top of yoTB before you know where you ;■-.■, Fortunately there was-a bit of a ■ before tho beast could roach the '* ''■ .'-•.-: oliief, and as it steadied its pace the old man fired and hit it badly but not fatallyj for it still camo at him. Thon . M B-—-, who was about fifty yards off, showed his accuraoy of aim. He, too, had but one barrel loaded, and if that failed the bear would certainly maul ■. .'' :i if not kill the old man. It was difuV - cult too, to get a clear shot, for there' ;' ; [i. • were several• natives in the way,. >.; shouting, halloaing, brandishing their -V sticks, Ac, At last, as the beast was within half a dozen yards of its goal, B—fired and the bullet crashed' into its brain, so that it almost fell „ on the top of the old chief. It was a • \ a very near thing, and I don't think ' ho was ever allowed to go bear shooting again, for even a ohief has a '";,'> better half, The recounting of one story about shooting bears, or anythin" else, brings a dozen others |o ■■•■;' one's memory. There was the case of poor Billy o—, who was stationed' with his'regiment at Nqorpoor, aC - tho foqt of the Cangra range of hillsjal .--> . ; - He got a few days leave and' j bear'shooting. He had shot a grea| :; many.and used to talk contemptuously of the beasts, but on this qccas; ion they were ono (qo many for him, The story, as related by one of tho nativo beaters, was, that haviiig.heard of some bears in the neighbor:, hood, he had started off with only, one or two men to show him the way,; ' and in going along a narrow path he . had come across-three of the' ~ ' animals in a small plantation a little ■•'' ' ' V above his track. Quite forgetting or disregarding tho precaution - ' %lave: above montioned of gotiiug above them '. before firing at them, he deliberately £. shot two of thein, but tho thir.d oqe. , ' .- v camp uqwi) fc]iqliillathjinbefore 113 : .■' could reload,and carried him over a.' ,'■' precipice. They,foli?about6ofeeior ■■-!■ 80 feet sheer dowhi ahd~'wore botli'; : ,■"- picked up dead,"' Tho' natives" aboul ";, an'd werg' Jf' : \/£ very fond qf hjm, as he ps" &lwayi. :{^,"..''-; ;\ open-handed andjgood-tempered withM' i. ; v? them, and they brought poor fellow's body in on a oharpoy or. .; '- : > M cot, together with tho three dead- ■-,- bears. ■•.->'"/-■' ■V--^