*72 THE RIFLE AND BOUAD IN CEYLON chap, xi 



where the bushes were moving, but as it was I could 

 do nothing. A rifle was useless in such jungle. At 

 length the boar broke his bay, but again resumed it 

 in a similar secure position. There was no possibility 

 of assisting the dogs, and he was cutting up the pack 

 in detail. If Lucifer and Lena had been there we 

 could have killed him, but without seizers we were 

 helpless in such jungle. 



This lasted for an hour, at the expiration of which 

 we managed to call the dogs off. Old Smut had stuck 

 to him to the last, in spite of his disabled state. The 

 old dog, perfectly exhausted, crawled out of the 

 jungle : he had received several additional wounds, 

 including a severe gash in his throat He fell from 

 exhaustion, and we made a litter with two poles and a 

 horsecloth to carry him home. Bran, Merriman, and 

 Ploughboy were all severely wounded. We were 

 thoroughly beaten. It was the first time that we had 

 ever been beaten off, and I trust it may be the last. 

 We returned home with our vanquished and bleeding 

 pack — Smut borne in his litter by four men — and we 

 arrived at the kennel a melancholy procession. The 

 pack was disabled for weeks, as the two leading hounds, 

 Merriman and Ploughboy, were severely injured. 



Poor old Smut lingered for a few days and died. 

 Thus closed his glorious career of sport, and he left a 

 fame behind him which will never be forgotten. His 

 son, who is now twelve months old, is the facsimile of 



