Show ca f 1197 ar WAY up in the northeast ot of india lies the beitl british h district of Gar hwal a land of lofty fa peaks great glaciers and rug ged ravines the habitat odthe 0 the brhel or blue sheep and red bear rhe fhe dominant note of this is ile ao Him himalaya alaa range or abode ot of snow as the unities natives picturesquely erm it that stupendous natural bar ter ler beti between een tibet and hindustan 3 contains within its limits ome lome 20 peaks exceeding a height of 0 leet feet including nanda devi 25 60 feet feet and nany many others of 0 almost equal magni ude apart from tho the people who nho in babit these mountain fastnesses fast nesses the hief object of interest attaching to ho he region in question is the hero here found of which the burbel ovis in inaura huria and the red bear ursus isa ellenus are the most moat prominent writes P T etherton in county lite life connecting link the berhel or blue blua sheep mav ma be considered onside red as a link between the sheep ind and the goat inasmuch as it possesses the tape of horn peculiar to the sheep while its habitat is ground favored 17 Y tho the goat family more particularly lang lan Berous erous precipices and the rock bound carries which form so kroml abent a feature of 0 the higher ground in the himalaya the burbel Is remarkable for its climbing abilities and tt this respect it probably has no equal in the world being able to negotiate ground round on which no thing thing could apparently maintain a tooting footing in color t Is bluish grey ou on the upper portions at f the bod bad with white below the hair being brittle and closely set which nables the animal to NIth withstand stand the rigors ot at the himalayan malayan Hl climate the berhel Is seldom found below an altitude of 12 feet and more frequent ly at elevations of feet and over the rho herds var in number from 15 or 10 0 to upwards of 50 and thea prefer broken ground in the of high ind and inaccessible rocks to which they min ail betake themselves ies on the approach of danger the berhel is or oce df at the hardest animals to locate on t the h mountain side as its color assimilates V A 41 V el e ak apical so well to the surrounding rocks and shale that it la is frequently overlooked by the hunter even when using bt bl noc ulars it was carl in july when v we e camped in a wild and rugged side ravine ant ai offshoot cf t the main valley camp being pitched on a rich grass sward liard b the waters edge while hile above us stretched the dark moraine and then the sno capped Tapped peaks ol of the hima la laba a amid this prospect of surpass ing grandeur the berhel has his home but seldom disturbed by the crack of the hunters rifle during the day of our arrival in this picturesque spot wo we had bad seen berhel high up on tho the slopes within w athin a mile of camp which augured good prospects tor for the morrow we started the next morning before dawn heading up the ravine and on to the ridge which we ve followed follow ed in the hope of getting above tho the berhel and work ing down donn against the wind nind thus citing the chance of their scenting us 1 it was a long and ex extremely hard climb and near the anoiline snow line became much more SO BO from the huge nature of the rocks and boulders but luck was in for arrived at the top 0 o sighted a herd of berhel out on an open patch baro bare and alarmingly precipitous cip itous which descended in a single sweep full 2 feet to the river bed below the binoculars shoved one of tho the heads to be particularly line fine with that graceful backward and outward of the burbel E beep characteristic once out on the slope on which the herd was mas feeding wo we became more or less exposed while the rattle of loose shale might easily cause the quarry to seek safety in precipitate flight dy by crawling along and taking advantage of slight olds folds in tho the terrain we finall reached a point from which aich any furth burth er advance was out of the question tor for by just rising above a lying pos ture one could see the burbel some yards off evidently something had alarmed them tor for they stood in a bunch gazing latently intently in our direction be singling out the big bead the rifle WIB quietly pushed forward and a shot behind the shoulder sent him rolling arid and bumping down the slope while tho the rest of the herd betook retook them themselves selNes off in headlong flight far down donn tho the mountain side we e found the fallen monarch some rocks an and d boulders having arrested his bis descent the tape gave the horns at 28 inches a really fine head find and a most happ opening daa da altitude of 0 feet wo we spent some time in and around this camp getting anoil another Is r good head bead to add to the lilg big camp was then moved to a further to the north west in the direction of the la one of the passes parses connecting india with tibet at an altitude of 0 feet wild sheep of tho the ovis arnmon ammon variety are said to be found in a one ne or two tho near the niti an and d though as tar far as one can ascertain their identity still lacks determination the aro are probably some herds which hao come oer from the tibetan side of oc the Hima himalayas lajas the red bear ursus Isabe llinus Is found in the y valleys and along the higher ground 0 of f the himalaya and the ranges continuous thereto its habits approximate to those of the black bear with the exception that it is met with ith only at high attitudes altitudes the fur is of a reddish color and in the autumn when hen the bears are in good condition the skins form fine trophies all the bear tribe possess mond wonderful erful powers of scent and are able to detect the presence of danger at considerable distances A bear when brought to bay Is an ex extreme dangerous antagonist its size and formidable claws clans rendering a tussle with mith it often a life and death struggle from the ground in the vl vi of the new camp slina signs alre ela evl dent of red bear and a day or two tao aft er arrival when nhen working along a bare abare rocks rock valle one waa vas sighted grazing 0 on n the he eastern easier slopes and just shale aboe the illa f forest r s t 1 level yet the wind i was as right an and d the bear in a favorable position luear f tor r a still stalk so we e started oft off in hot pur pursuit sult we were able to crep creep up within ards and from the cover of ct some rocks had a prell preliminary minar gaze at him ile he was nas a alne looking beast w lib a coit coat that looked rich and full in the morning sun it was a longish shot but further approach was imps slide bible so pushing the rifle forN forward lard I 1 covered him behind the shoulder and let drive ile he gave gae a jump and then made ott off down into the forest whither we ve fol followed lomed hard on his trail it was comparatively easy to track him since the ground and sundry leaves and bushes bore tell tale marks of blood which showed the shot had bad told furth pr er on we A a caught sigh of hini disappear ing into a cavern among some rocks and so halt was vas called the while we ne discussed ways and means of bringing the quarry to bay finally it mas decided that bruin should bo be evicted from the cave a proceeding not an filkel to bo be productive of 0 much exciting incident as proved to be the case the cave was nas fairl largo and low roofed and we entered catered it cautiously cautious iI and then paused to get accustomed to the halt half light and penetrate the pre vl villing lingg bloom suddenly there Is if a rustle in the file tar far corner and instinctive Instinct he ly ones one s rifle Is 19 at the ready read and so wo we await developments turning lur ning st sl bently to the at my side I 1 mo me tinned him back and slowly we re treated to near ill the entrance to the cavern where the gloom was mas less profound and one could to a certain extent see what nhat was on then a mighty rush ensued as a great red dish mass rose into the air and bore down on us with such ominous growl groni ing A shot at the bruin tailed failed to arrest his career and in the scuffle which i followed the was borne t to a the ground by the en raged animal in an instant the rifle Is pushed into the brutes side aide and again the cavern reverberates reverberated rever berates with the report this time a shot that tolls slowly tho the beast relaxed its grasp and then with a shiver rolled on to its side and all was over |