154 THE IMAGE OF WAR 



the beaters have started in the right direction. Of 

 the two alternatives, dogs or beaters, I should prefer, 

 as a matter of personal taste, working these coverts 

 with two couple of slow musical hounds, such as wire- 

 haired bassets, with one man, to any number of beat- 

 ers. Thirdly, if beaters are to be used (and few 

 will have hounds with them in Albania to avoid this 

 necessity), let them leave their dogs at home and go 

 silently. The occasional tap of a stick, a muttered 

 word or a whistle, will move the pig fast enough. 

 In urging this I am only repeating a sportsman's 

 axiom which applies to all sorts of game, but the 

 result of its application in Albania should be phe- 

 nomenal. I firmly believe that every pig along its 

 seaboard knows that fiendish yells, shouts of "Z)ar- 

 ramos,'' and the yelping of curs simply mean danger 

 in front, and consequently breaks back if he can. 

 Lastly, of course, a sufficient number of guns to cover 

 the ground should form the party, the nature of the 

 country often preventing one man from seeing fifty 

 yards in either direction. By our only being two on 

 this occasion, we lost three distinct chances on the 

 first day — in fact all the pig that came forward at 

 all. 



