Going After Indian Bears With An American Client Braver Than A Lion

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I’m in. Great tales that you have been telling Sir.

Bullthrower
Makes 2 of us.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The Nilgai was hit in the heart . Upon having the coolies cut the Nilgai open , the unmistakable hole in it's large heart was present. Our client's aim had been very true. He certainly knew how far that Nilgai would run before it's life would give out.
That night , we were all at camp , as the coolies grilled the best cuts of meat from the Nilgai over a smoky wood fire . My favorite choice cut comes from the short loin of the animal . Nilgai tastes like coarse beef and aside from the short loin , liver and kidneys , the rest of the animal's meat certainly benefits from being aged in controlled , cool conditions for three weeks for maximum enjoyment of it's flavor. While l enjoy a beef steak rare , the Nilgai , on account of it's coarse texture benefits from being cooked to medium doneness and seasoned with fine salt and the juice of two lemons.
This was served alongside a tin of baked beans from the firm Heinz . Heinz's baked beans were a staple for every family pantry back in those days. I was sitting on one end of the fire eating my meal , not expecting much conversation from my client. The clients are not our friends. They are our charge. However , the client was an extremely friendly gentleman. He asked to see my shot-gun and said that l must have a lot of pain tolerance to be able to fire such a light 12 bore loaded with SG cartridges. He ate with us instead of eating alone in his tent . The coolies were singing among themselves and he really enjoyed it and asked them to sing some more so that he could hear. Realizing that this gentleman was trying to be friendly , l decided that l would ask him a question which l was very eager to ask . " Shahib " l asked . " May l ask you a question ? " . The gentleman smiled and replied " Shoot" . I was initially a little confused as to what the client wanted me to shoot , but l quickly realized that he meant affirmative . I asked him what firm of ammunition he was using , as it did not come from any factory made box of cartridges. His reply was " I load my own. If you love your rifle and know what's good for it , you will always hand load . " I had already been loading some of my SG cartridges by this point , but this was more due to lack of ammunition availability , rather than passion for reloading cartridges . I was intrigued by this gentleman's reply and we had an excellent conversation about reloading cartridges , shot-guns and rifles which will probably bore the readers as it was very long and lasted two hours . By this point , the gentleman was eating a type of biscuit which he had brought with him in a jar from the United States of America. He offered me one and l enjoyed it very much . That would be my very first chocolate chip cookie . I would have my next chocolate chip cookie again 1979 and it would be something which l enjoy every evening with black Turkish coffee. He also talked about an American restaurant which sold cheese burgers named White Castle , which would end up becoming my favorite place to eat burgers during my visits to the United States of America after 1984.
But , enough of this mundane topics . Let us now focus on the penultimate part of this entry . The bear Shikar and the photographs of a very exciting day.

Friend Ponton
Not a single part of your stories is mundane. It all goes to ad meaning to the story my friend. Choc chip cookies are a wonderful invention my friend.
Cheers friend Ponton
Bob Nelson

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Friend Ponton
Not a single part of your stories is mundane. It all goes to ad meaning to the story my friend. Choc chip cookies are a wonderful invention my friend.
Cheers friend Ponton
Bob Nelson

Friend Kawshik, Bob.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Friend Kawshik, Bob.

Wyatt Smith
My apologies.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Ridge Walker
Thank you so much for your support.
There are far greater hunters alive in this world than l.

Kawshik Rahman
That may be true, but reading your PERSONAL first hand account of how things really were beats those that are over dramatized to make them sound better. Your writing is factual, unbiased and give great insight into the humble man you are. I find this type of writing most enjoyable and heart warming. Please do write a book of you adventure. I'm sure there would be a queue up to by it. In the meantime keep writing I will surely keep reading.
Thank you
Bob Nelson

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Wyatt Smith
My apologies.

No apologies needed, was just trying to save some future confusion.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

How thick is this chicken fried steak?
We have Schnitzel in Australia. Maybe 1/4” to 3/8” thick at most a bit of tenderised beef or veal coated with egg to bind the breadcrumb.
We also have chicken schnitzel being breast or thing played out Tom get correct thickness and tenderness. Thigh being slightly more moist. Maybe shallow fried at home or deep fried from commercial kitchen like hotels truck stops etc.
I think Schnitzel is a German word.

CBH
Chris I do like my snitties (Aussie for schnitzel) especially with mushroom sauce or parmagiana.
Cheers mate Bob.

 

[Bignut]

Ridge Walker
Thank you so much for your support.
There are far greater hunters alive in this world than l.

There may well be, but you're pen tells a better story!

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Considering the fondness the some of the honorable forum members have shown over my last three articles , and their request that l give an account of hunting the great Indian bears , it is my privilege to oblige. In one of my previous articles , l had given an account of an incident with a client which was not so enviable , so today l decided that l would write about one of my favorite hill bear Shikars with a client . Let us begin.
It was 1965 . The morale among Sundar Raj’s Shikaris was low . A month prior to this , our senior Shikari at Sundar Raj Shikar , the late Rongon Daas had been hung by the neck , until dead , by the police as per the orders of the Nilgiri Wild Life Association. He was unable to save a client , who was killed by a Royal Bengal tiger , after the client wounded it with a Winchester bolt operation rifle of the calibre .220 Swift . My best friend and Shikar Partner , Karim and l were getting increasingly demoralized , as many of our professional Shikari colleagues had quit Sundar Raj Shikaris after this incident out of fear for their lives in case any client accidentally got harmed during a Shikar .

Karim had decided to go on a trip to the United States of America with his family for a month and l was all alone. But it did not matter , as l could spend time with my late girl friend , Antora , who used to be a student at Buet University and would come to Darjeeling once every two weeks during the weekend , as her parents lived here. Her parents would let her stay outside until 7 PM and l used to drive her back home in my Ford car , a model T. One day , after dropping her outside her house , l went to Sundar Raj’s office , as l had been told that l would meet a new client. Sundar Raj Introduced me to the client . He was a gentleman from South Carolina , in the United States of America . He was a white man , his skin was sun burnt . Just by looking at him , l knew that this gentleman spent a great deal of time out doors. He had an interesting tattoo on the underside of his arm. It was a red rectangle with a dark blue X running across it. There were white stars on the X . At the time , l did not know what the tattoo meant.
This gentleman smiled and shook my hand. He had acquired license to shoot two animals : A Nilgai and an Indian bear. His two fire arms were lying over the counter . One was an under lever rifle made by the American firm Savage. It was of the calibre .243 Winchester. The other was a Mauser mechanism bolt operation rifle calibrated for magnum .300 Winchester. The name of the maker of this firm , was , as my client said , an American firm called Griffen and How. Just by looking at the rifles , l knew that this was a client who hunted very well. His rifles were very clean and well maintained , but also showed signs of being well used. For guiding this gentleman , l would get Rupees 2000 . I agreed . We were to set off towards the Kudai hills the next morning with our coolies.
And so we did , as the next post will relate...


View attachment 308335
Our loyal coolie , Rishi holding the respectable client's Savage under lever rifle. This brave fellow was of Nepalese descent and a Gurkha . Their kind is , in my opinion the bravest in the entire world.

My friend Kawshik Rahman
How times have changed from when a gentleman would have his girlfriend home at a certain time and showed both the girlfriend and her parents the respect they deserve.
A lot of our younger society including the girls are sadly lacking in this department. A lot of young people don't even respect themselves enough to show others respect. Is it the parents fault or just how society is developing in this new age.
Your friend
Bob Nelson

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

What a great way to spend a working lunch, heading out on safari with you in India in 1965. Keep it coming please!

Mort
If that were only true. Our friend Rahman does a,splendid job of make us feel like we are there.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

The Nilgai was hit in the heart . Upon having the coolies cut the Nilgai open , the unmistakable hole in it's large heart was present. Our client's aim had been very true. He certainly knew how far that Nilgai would run before it's life would give out.
That night , we were all at camp , as the coolies grilled the best cuts of meat from the Nilgai over a smoky wood fire . My favorite choice cut comes from the short loin of the animal . Nilgai tastes like coarse beef and aside from the short loin , liver and kidneys , the rest of the animal's meat certainly benefits from being aged in controlled , cool conditions for three weeks for maximum enjoyment of it's flavor. While l enjoy a beef steak rare , the Nilgai , on account of it's coarse texture benefits from being cooked to medium doneness and seasoned with fine salt and the juice of two lemons.
This was served alongside a tin of baked beans from the firm Heinz . Heinz's baked beans were a staple for every family pantry back in those days. I was sitting on one end of the fire eating my meal , not expecting much conversation from my client. The clients are not our friends. They are our charge. However , the client was an extremely friendly gentleman. He asked to see my shot-gun and said that l must have a lot of pain tolerance to be able to fire such a light 12 bore loaded with SG cartridges. He ate with us instead of eating alone in his tent . The coolies were singing among themselves and he really enjoyed it and asked them to sing some more so that he could hear. Realizing that this gentleman was trying to be friendly , l decided that l would ask him a question which l was very eager to ask . " Shahib " l asked . " May l ask you a question ? " . The gentleman smiled and replied " Shoot" . I was initially a little confused as to what the client wanted me to shoot , but l quickly realized that he meant affirmative . I asked him what firm of ammunition he was using , as it did not come from any factory made box of cartridges. His reply was " I load my own. If you love your rifle and know what's good for it , you will always hand load . " I had already been loading some of my SG cartridges by this point , but this was more due to lack of ammunition availability , rather than passion for reloading cartridges . I was intrigued by this gentleman's reply and we had an excellent conversation about reloading cartridges , shot-guns and rifles which will probably bore the readers as it was very long and lasted two hours . By this point , the gentleman was eating a type of biscuit which he had brought with him in a jar from the United States of America. He offered me one and l enjoyed it very much . That would be my very first chocolate chip cookie . I would have my next chocolate chip cookie again 1979 and it would be something which l enjoy every evening with black Turkish coffee. He also talked about an American restaurant which sold cheese burgers named White Castle , which would end up becoming my favorite place to eat burgers during my visits to the United States of America after 1984.
But , enough of this mundane topics . Let us now focus on the penultimate part of this entry . The bear Shikar and the photographs of a very exciting day.

Friend Kawshik Rahman
Your story of the shikar is very good but the glimpses of the person who wrote it is even better. To learn that you like choc chip cookies and cheese burgers as well as reloading give us a greater insight into yourself that I truly appreciate.
Your friend Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

WAB
I believe Hoss Delgado is a better writer than l can ever aspire to be. He is also far more knowledgeable than l on modern fire arms made after 1972. Thank you for your appreciation.

Frien Kawshik
That may be so but he didn't do what you have done
No disrespect to Mr Delgado.
Bob Nelson

 

[CBH Australia]

Bob, we dont seem to see Kawshik here of late. Since about January. I wonder if he ever reads these posts since he is not writing.
@Major Khan knows him personally perhaps he may encourage jim to have a look

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Bob, we dont seem to see Kawshik here of late. Since about January. I wonder if he ever reads these posts since he is not writing.
@Major Khan knows him personally perhaps he may encourage jim to have a look

Chris friends Ponton and Rahman have been spending time together during the pandemic at Kawshik place and having daily shikars after fowl and fur. I know friend Ponton Is trying to get Kawshik to write again and so is my dear friend Panther Shooter. We will just have to wait and see.
Cheers mate Bob
How goes the renos mate.
Didn't do any good up Tamworth way last weekend but not to worry a mate has invited me down to get a deer this weekend. I will let my son shoot it as it will be his first Australian deer.

 

[CBH Australia]

Well he has already hunted Namibia. He is doing OK my first deer was in my40s
Still trying to do some work bouncing between things.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

We sent Rishi to go find the coolies. Having heard the news of success from Rishi , the bravery of the coolies suddenly returned . They were all jolly again and came in no time to help us skin the bears.
On our way back , l asked the client " Shahib , how did you manage to make your bullet reach the brain of the bear ? It is not possible . " . He smiled and replied " Something is only impossible until some one comes along and does it . " I found that very motivating. He later told me that he had been a soldier in the Korean war , but did not go into details. He was certainly telling the truth , as he had the discipline of a military man. He lamented that he had brought the Savage under lever rifle , even though he did not find any use for it ,at all. He wished that he could have brought a shot-gun to enjoy some bird shooting and l assured him that next time , l would guide him , l take him bird shooting. But l never met this gentleman ever again . Sundar Raj had given me a handsome amount of Rupees 2000 ( which was a great amount of money for 1965 ) and l went about with my other Shikars. It would be many years later that l would recognize the tattoo on the gentlman's arm. It was a tattoo of the American Confederate flag , a flag which media today associates with racism and bigotry. However , my client was about as far from a demeaning and condescending person as l had ever met. He was a true gentleman in every definition of the word. But l will never know how he had managed to shoot a bear in it's head.
I kept the skin of the bear which l had shot and presented it , as a gift to Antora . It would remain in her house until her death and perhaps her family even have it today.
I would like to dedicate this article to my late Shikari friend , Rongon Daas. While he failed to save his client from the Royal Bengal tiger , l do not believe that he should have been hanged for it or even minorly punished . I am not demeaning Rongon Daas's client . But his choice to shoot a Royal Bengal tiger with a Swift .220 calibre rifle , not only cost him his own life , but it also cost Rongon Daas his life. Rongon was 31 years of age at the time of his hanging.
I am also very curious from my American fellow forum members as to how an Indian bear compares in size and strength to an American grizzly species. Based on internet pictures , they look very intimidating and much larger.

What a great story! I am so glad that you write them for us. One thing that I would like to note though is that not all people who display the Confederate flag are racists. While I am not from a Southern state, and would not ever display one of their symbols, I have met many who were. The "rebel" flag for the most part is only an indication of Southern pride and reflects where they came from and not what they believe. The American press is largely made up of ignorant, left-leaning individuals who would believe that all hunting should be banned and all hunters can lumped in with knuckle-dragging, racist Neanderthals. We all know how that has worked out in India, Kenya, and other places that have had their wildlife decimated.
Again thank you so much for sharing your stories with us, and please keep them coming