SPORT IN EASTERN BENGAL 109 



The boar turned to the shot, but the dogs, for another had 

 joined the first, distracted his attention and I fired again. 

 He lurched and I thought he was going over, but with a 

 fierce grunt he staggered into the jungle on our side before 

 I could get a third shot at him from my smooth-bore, which 

 I had seized. A very pandemonium now began. A third 

 dog had turned up and they were now all three engaged in 

 baiting the old boar. His grunts of rage showed that he had 

 still plenty of fight in him. I was unwilling that the dogs, 

 who possessed considerable value in the eyes of their native 

 owners, who had spent a lot of time in training them, should 

 come to harm and so determined to follow them up and try 

 and polish off the boar. My orderly and the other man with 

 me, both of whom had long knives with them, agreed to 

 follow and we hurried in the direction of the scuffle. Forty 

 paces was all we had to go, and then we burst upon a scene 

 which baffles description. The old boar was standing or 

 half-squatting with his back against a large tree and five 

 dogs were jumping round him, yapping for all they were 

 worth. First one and then another would try and run in 

 only to retreat as the old fellow's head came round with a 

 vicious upward cut of the tush. The dogs appeared to be 

 covered with mud and blood, but it was impossible to say 

 whether any of them were yet severely hurt. So occupied 

 were they all that it was a minute or two before they 

 perceived us. I had tried to get a bullet into the boar, but 

 the risk of hitting the dogs made it impossible. And I did 

 not think he looked sufficiently harmless for me to walk 

 up to him with only a knife in my hand. And sure enough 

 he was not ! For as soon as he set eyes on us he got up and 

 with a furious grunt tried to charge. But he was far spent. 

 As I fired the biggest dog, a thick-set bright red brute with 

 a terrific jowl on him, was in like a flash and got hold of the 

 right ear, getting gashed as he did so. The old boar swayed 

 on his feet and looked as if he would drop over. I fired 

 again but just not quick enough. A second yellow-coloured 

 dog, lithe and slim, went in on the left, and in a second 

 lay disembowled on the ground, the old boar falling over 

 on his right side after this last effort. I hastily reloaded and 

 fired another barrel to make sure of finishing the business 

 and we went up to the dogs. Four of them were now on the 

 body each with his teeth firmly fixed in some part, nor 

 could we move them. 



