Dardistan in 1866, 1886 and 1893 / Being an account of the history, religions, customs, legends, fables, and songs of Gilgit, Chilas, Kandia (Gabrial), Dasin, Chitral, Hunsa, Nagyr, and other parts of the Hindukush, as also a supplement to the second edition of the Hunza and Nagyr handbook and an epitome of part III of the author's "The languages and races of Dardistan"

by G. W. Leitner

4.—THE BEAR AND THE ONE-EYED MAN.

The following story was related by a man of the name of Ghalib Shah residing at a village near Astór, called Parishing. He was one night looking out whether any bear had come into his “tromba” field.[79] He saw that a bear was there and that he with his forepaws alternately took a pawful of “tromba,” blew the chaff away and ate hastily. The man was one-eyed [shéo = blind; my Ghilgiti used “Kyor,” which he said was a Persian word, but which is evidently Turkish] and ran to his hut to get his gun. He came out and pointed it at the bear. The animal who saw this ran round the blind side of the man’s face, snatched the gun out of his hand and threw it away. The bear and the man then wrestled for a time, but afterwards both gave up the struggle and retired. The man, after he had recovered himself went to look for the gun, the stock of which he found broken. The match-string by which the stock had been tied to the barrel had gone on burning all night and had been the cause of the gun being destroyed. The son of that man still lives at the village and tells this story, which the people affect to believe.