24 REMINISCENCES OF PIG-STICKING. 



ordered up. Some of us had dismounted ; but Lyall, 

 who was still on his grey pony, thought of riding into 

 and examining an old ditch partly overgrown with grass. 

 The place looked so small and unlikely for a pig to hide 

 in that no one ever dreamt for a moment that there was 

 a boar right in the midst of us. However, Lyall had 

 scarcely got down in the ditch than out rushed a splen- 

 did boar and went through riders, horses, coolies, &c, and 

 made straight for Dhorompore village. Lord William 

 Beresford, Captain Harbord, Lawrie Johnstone and one 

 or two others were soon after him. Both the pig and 

 riders going at a rattling pace, and negotiating some 

 rather big obstacles in fine style. The pig, who knew his 

 line of country and the short distance he had to go to 

 get to the village, never thought of looking back, and 

 must have been rather astonished and considerably sur- 

 prised when he found himself being prodded by Lord 

 Beresford. No sooner the boar found himself being 

 speared than he got on to a high bit of ground and turned 

 round ready to meet any of his pursuers. A big ditch 

 round the place and some small trees about were all in 

 piggy's favour, so he remained master of the situation ; 

 the remaining distance to the village being nothing but 

 mulberry fields with big ditches ; it was simply impos- 

 sible to think of riding over such a country. After a 

 desultory ride among village houses and lanes the boar 

 was marked down in a clump of bamboos, but much too 

 thick to get him out off, unless with the elephants, and 

 these were a long way behind. There was nothing now 



