HUNTING THE BOAR
HUNTING ADVENTURES IN INDIA

HUNTING THE BOAR

A favorite meet was at Suheej, a few miles further down the river. I was camped at this place with my friend Bulkley in the month of May. The heat was intense; but this was in some respects in our favor, as the pigs were attracted to the cypress in the bed of the river. We left our tents about 9 AM., our shikarees having been out before daybreak. They met us on the ground, and reported that several hogs had been seen in the early morning entering the covert. Soon after the beaters began to move, a well-grown boar left the jungle, and ascending the bank, went off slowly over the open country. Hunting a boar - Riding for the first spear We gave him a good start, and then cantered after him. By the time we topped the bank, he was well away, and we now increased the pace and closed up to him. On finding himself pursued, he halted, looked round for a moment, and then went off at score. We now went at him in earnest, and both being well and evenly mounted, we had a most exciting chase. The pace was good throughout, and the boar ran true for some distant sanctuary, which he was doomed never to reach. I had got the best place, being on his left quarter; and as I made a rush at him, I made sure of the spear, but with a sudden swerve he shot across my front, nearly upsetting my horse, and I missed him. He was less fortunate with Bulkley, who stopped him with a thrust behind the shoulder, and as the blood streamed from his mouth, we saw that his race was run. He struggled gamely on for a short distance, but my second attempt was more successful, and poor piggy was laid low. We were now joined by our grooms and a few beaters, the main body having been quietly drawn out of the covert by the shikarees as soon as the pig broke away. The boar was slung on a pole and carried back to the river; and having breathed our horses we remounted and returned to our old places. On reaching the high bank which bounded the cypress covert, we observed a monster boar crossing the broad shallow stream, making for a patch of cypress of some on the other side. In a position commanding a full view of this covert, we had placed a native in a tree as a marker. As we could see him plainly, and he made no indication of the boar having gone on, we concluded he had lain up in the covert. We therefore arranged to put the beaters again into the place which we had first driven, and before long, another pig - a sow this time - came out, and went off, taking much the same line of country as the boar we had killed. She gave a very good and fast run over some very rough ground, hut our horses carried us well and never made a false step. As we reached some good riding ground, we pressed in on her, and I took the first spear; on which she stood and seemed determined to act on the offensive. extent Bulkley advanced at her at a walk - a rather dangerous proceeding, as in the event of the spear missing, both horse and rider are at the mercy of the pig, which can make its rush and do damage before its foes can get away. Bulkley, however, stopped her, but so determined was the charge that she managed to run in on the spear and bit him sharply in the foot. Fortunately he was protected by a stout deer-skin boot, and before farther mischief could be done, I had turned and given her the coup de grace. Again returning to the river, we were met by grooms leading a couple of galloways, which we mounted, sending off our horses to the tents. We partook of a slight refreshment, and as we smoked our pipes, we formed the plan of attack on the big hoar which we had seen crossing the river. The beaters being sent round, we took up our positions, and stood anxiously waiting the appearance of the monster. Tom- toms and drums were loudly beaten, horns were blown, and guns fired, but still no signs of the game; and it was only when the last man left the covert that I began to suspect the true state of affairs. Leaving the beaters, our shikarees proceeded to examine the ground round the cypress, and on coming to within a few yards of the tree on which our lookout man had been posted, they came on the tracks of the hoar, leading up the hank. The villain had either slept on his post, or had been amusing himself by watching our runs in the morning, and had allowed the boar to pass up the bank unobserved. The footprints were not to be mistaken, for the boar was of the largest size. Leaving the river, he had made a detour of about two miles in the open country, which, though cultivated, was at this season quite bare of crops. Our men were equal to the occasion, and taking up the track they moved quickly along, scoring the ground at every few yards with a short stick across the prints of the boar's hoofs. We now found that he was crossing a wide bend in the river, and that the tracks would again fall into the bed of the stream. The trackers moved fast and sure, and we followed close in their wake with the crowd of beaters. At length we came to where a smaller stream joined the river, and on the ground between the two was a crop of irrigated maize, about ten feet in height, and looking very cool and green. The smaller stream was about fifteen yards in width, slow and sluggish, having about a foot of water, and an equal amount of black mud below it. We had crossed and sent the beaters to the end next the junction of the streams, when we heard much yelling and shouting, and next moment the boar came out at speed, and dashed down the slope into the stream we had just crossed. Bulkley was only a few yards from him, and driving in his spurs he rushed down the bank, regardless or forgetful of the muddy bottom. His horse seemed to turn heels over head, and as I checked mine and floundered slowly across, he was picking himself out of the black mud and shaking his steed to his legs again. He had lost his hunting-cap, and his spear was buried in the grimy slush. I reached the bank in safety, and gathering up my galloway I went on after the boar. From his great size and weight, I was sure he would make a good fight, and I saw I had work cut out for me, so I determined not to irritate him with a minor poke, but, if possible, to disable or check him till such time as my friend should emerge from the mud and come to my assistance. As the boar went along at an easy canter, I saw I should have no difficulty in overhauling him. We were going up the side of a field, having a high mud-bank on our right, and watching my opportunity I lowered my spear and pressed my horse with the spur. In an instant I was alongside of the boar, and had my spear within a few inches of his shoulder, when, with a savage grunt, he made a sidelong charge at my horse. The spear took him in the neck and checked him, but with a sudden wrench he broke the bamboo shaft, leaving the head imbedded in his muscles. Turning my horse sharp to the left, I got clear away, but having only the headless spear-shaft in my hand, my offensive powers were at an end, and I saw that my only hope of getting the boar lay in being able to keep him in view till my friend should rejoin me. In this way we held on over many fields. At times I pursued and tried to turn the boar, at others he pursued me, and then I was forced to "advance backwards." Still no signs of my friend, and I began to fear that either he or his horse had been seriously damaged. The boar had nearly reached the spot from whence we had first started him in the morning, and as he went down the steep bank into the cypress cover, I pulled up in despair. At that moment I saw Bulkley coining along at a hand-gallop, and with a frantic yell I again set off after the boar. Aided by Bulkley, I succeeded in turning him towards the water, into which he hurled himself and lay still, apparently dead beat. Springing from his horse, Bulkley lowered his spear and ran in at him, but the boar rose and charged. He was stopped by a thrust in the neck, but his great weight broke the bamboo, and though Bulkley managed to get away unscathed, we had no spears, and were now powerless for all purposes of attack. Unwilling to leave the wounded beast, and hoping that some of our men with spare spears would soon come up, we followed him slowly down the river, and seeing some cultivators irrigating their fields near the banks, Bulkley rode off to them in the hope of obtaining some offensive weapon. Presently he came after me armed with a short crooked sword, but by this time the boar was going down a part of the river where he had an abrupt bank six feet in height on his immediate left. Bulkley vainly tried to force him out, as he found it impossible to reach him with the short sword. At length he made a cut, but the boar charging at the same moment, ripped his horse in the foreleg, and finding that he could not again get him to go near the pig, he handed me the sword and I took up the running. We here came to a tributary stream, joining the river at right angles. Into this we plunged, and as the boar swam almost on a level with my saddle, I rose in the stirrups and made a cut at him with all the force I could muster. Had the weapon served me truly, I should have laid the boar in two halves ; but the blade of the sword, being merely fastened into the hilt with lace, fell out, and the pig turned on me. I had just time to fend him off with my hand, receiving as I did so a slight cut over the thumb from his tusk. Wheeling my horse round, I got away from him, when he crossed the stream, and, turning up the other bank, left the main river. By this time he was nearly exhausted, and our shikaree appeared on the scene, having followed the run on foot. Another sword was procured from some cultivators. The shikaree carried his own, and one of his men had an iron-bound club. Leaving our panting steeds, we made a simultaneous rush on the boar, as he stood at bay in the water. He made a last charge, but the swords cut fairly this time, and the huge beast succumbed. Condensed from Wild Man and Wild Beasts; Scenes in Camp and Jungle, by Lt. -Col. Gordon Cumming. - "Library of Travel and Adventure," edited by Bayard Taylor. Hunting in India - Wild bulls Hunting in India - Tiger-hunting at night Hunting in India - Hunting the boar Hunting in India - Bitten by a bear Hunting in India - Tiger-hunting with elephants Hunting in India - The cow-killers killed Hunting in India - Death of a gun-bearer Eastern turbans Hunters paradise in China