THE WILD BOAR OF INDIA. 5 



This contact with civilization made him all the more fear- 

 less of men, though it made him also far more cute than 

 the general run of pigs. 



In the hot weather when food and water became 

 scarce, and the crops were taken off the ground, he (the 

 tailless boar) used to pay nightly visits to villages, and 

 his usual game was to go to golas or barns, and boring a 

 hole at the bottom, naturally all the grain used to run 

 out, and Master Piggy had a good feed; but as he was 

 very knowing, he seldom ventured in moonlight nights, 

 but always preferred dark nights. Success, however,' 

 emboldened him, and he soon found out that one of the 

 Zemindars had a large stock of grain on hand. The 

 visits became of daily occurrence, and the Baboo, who 

 had put a watch, very soon found out who was the thief 

 that used to rob him every night; he had one of his 

 servants seated in a covered up hackery with a loaded 

 blunderbuss, and told him to wait for the thief. About 

 midnight the marauder turned up and began his little 

 game, but a well-directed shot, a few feet off, very soon 

 put an end to poor piggy's grain-stealing propensities. 



During the time the crops are on, and where pigs are 

 very plentiful, the villagers keep up nearly the whole 

 night shouting and beating on tom-toms and empty 

 kerosine oil tins. The wily pig very soon find out that 

 there is not much harm in all this, and go on with their 

 depredations all round. 



Dummies, made of straw having outstretched arms 

 and an earthen pot with painted eyes and nose for a 



