Bears do not always eat flesh; but it
seems when once tasted, they have a liking for it, and cease to be
vegetarians. A simple-minded bear delights in maize, honey, wild apples
and raspberries.
Our guns required a good deal of cleaning before we were ready to start
for the second day's sport.
The result of the battues were not satisfactory. A fine buck was shot,
and two or three chamois were bagged. We sighted no less than three
bears, but they all broke through the line, and got off into the lower
valleys. The provoking thing was that the bear or bears came again to
our camp the second night; but they were able to do no mischief this
time. The horses were kept better together, and the dogs scared the
intruders from close quarters I imagine. Fires certainly do not frighten
the bear in districts where they get accustomed to the shepherds'
fires.
The third day of our shooting the weather was good, but we had no sport
at all. I believe we should have done better with a different set of
beaters, and this opinion was shared by several of our party. The
_Foerstmeister_ had made a mistake in choosing men from the villages in
the plain, instead of getting some of the hill shepherds, who know the
mountains thoroughly well, and are not afraid of a bear when they see
one. Some of our beaters were funky, I believe, and gave the bear a wide
berth I feel sure, otherwise we must have had better sport.
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