Sus. A19 
The last was successful, for, charging straight at the camel's legs (receiv- 
ing some shot in his face on his way) he completely routed the whole 
arrangement, knocked over and ripped the camel, which broke its leg in 
falling, and then made away across the fields; he was followed and 
twice speared, but he was as cunning as courageous, and managed to 
give his pursuers the slip in some long grass and thick bushes. This 
boar’s savage charge at the camel was within a few yards of all of us, 
for every one was trying to entice him to come forth; after his head- 
long rush out of the bush he reared so upright in his attempt to reach 
his clumsy disturber, which was quite frantic from deadly fear, that he 
succeeded in ripping it in what in a horse would be termed the stifle 
joint. The poor brute rolled over in its agony, smashed one of its legs 
in the fall, and was of course shot. Luckily the rider, one of the best 
known among the Nagpore Hunt, was not hurt.” 
I believe a wild pig will charge at anything when enraged. I had 
an elephant who, though perfectly staunch with tigers, would bolt from 
a wild boar. The period of gestation is four months, and it produces 
twice a year ; it is supposed to live to the age of twenty years, and, as 
its fecundity is proverbial, we might reasonably suppose that these 
animals would be continually on the increase, but they have many 
enemies, whilst young, amongst the felines, and the sows frequently fall 
a prey to tigers and panthers. Occasionally I have come across in 
the jungles a heap of branches and grass, and at first could not make 
out what it was, but the Gonds soon informed me that these heaps were 
the nests or lairs of the wild pigs, and they invariably turned them over 
to look for squeakers. ‘These are funny little things, of a tortoiseshell 
colour, being striped reddish yellow and dark brown. There is an old 
writer on Indian field sports, Williamson, who makes some correct 
observations on the habits ot the wild hog, although much in his book 
(now, I fancy, out of print) is open to question. He writes: “The 
wild hog delights in cultivated situations, but he will not remain where 
water is not at hand, in which he may, unobserved, quench his thirst 
and wallow at his ease; nor will he resort for a second season to a spot 
which does not afford ample cover, whether of heavy grass or of under- 
wood jungle, within a certain distance, for him to fly to in case of mo- 
lestation, and especially to serve as a retreat during the hot season, as 
otherwise he would find no shelter. The sugar-cane is his great delight. 
both as being his favourite food and as affording a high, impervious, 
and unfrequented situation. These hogs commit great devastation, 
especially the breeding sows, which not only devour, but cut the canes 
for litter, and throw them up into little huts, which they do with much 
art, leaving a small entrance which they stop up at pleasure. Sows 
never quit their young pigs without completely shutting themup. This 
is, indeed, requisite only for a few days, as the young brood may be 
2 Et 
