A Melee. 173 



of our weight in addition, as we hung on to the hunt- 

 ing-knives buried in his shoulders. For about fifty 

 paces he tore through the thick jungle, crashing it like 

 a cobweb. At length he again halted ; the dogs, the 

 boar and ourselves were mingled in a heap of confu- 

 sion. All covered with blood and dirt, our own cheers 

 added to the wild bay of the infuriated hounds and the 

 savage roaring of the boar. Still he fought and gashed 

 the dogs right and left. He stood about thirty-eight 

 inches high, and the largest dogs seemed like puppies 

 beside him ; still not a dog relaxed his hold, and he 

 was covered with wounds. I made a lucky thrust for 

 the nape of his neck. I felt the point of the knife touch 

 the bone ; the spine was divided, and he fell dead. 



Smut had two severe gashes in the throat, Lena was 

 cut under the ear, and Bran's mouth was opened com- 

 pletely up to his ear in a horrible wound. The dogs 

 were completely exhausted, and lay panting around 

 their victim. We cutoff the boar's head, and, slinging 

 it upon a pole, we each shouldered an end and carried 

 it to the kennel. The power of this animal must have 

 been immense. My brother's weight and mine, to- 

 gether being upward of twenty-four stone, in addition 

 to that of half a dozen heavy dogs, did not appear to 

 trouble him, and had we not been close to the spot 

 when he came to bay, so that the knives came to the 

 instant succor of the dogs, he would have most prob- 

 ably killed or wounded half the pack. 



In this wild and rough kind of sport the best dogs 

 are constantly most seriously wounded, and after a fight 

 of this kind needles and thread and bandages are in fre- 

 quent requisition. It is wonderful to see the rapid re- 

 covery of dogs from wounds which at first sight appear 

 15* 



