BOAK-IIDNTIXO.] 



A:SD TlIEIlt VAKIUUS BKKEDS. 



\rhite; that on tho head yellowish; and on 

 the neck ho hail a blaek haiul ; tlie ears wore very 

 larj^e and straiL;ht. Notwithstundinfj tlio pro- 

 dis:jioiis bulk of this formidable and ferocious 

 brute, it is stated that ho dit^played great 

 swiftness. 



Boar-hunting in India still forms a fa- 

 vourite amusement to those who delight in tlie 

 excitement incident to such diversion. The 

 animal is usually hunted with Arabian horses; 

 the swiftness of which, and their well-ktiowii 

 tractability, render them well adapted for this 

 kind of sport, AVhen the boar is just started, 

 he sets oft' at a slow trot at first; but this is 

 soon quickened into a sort of shambling gallop, 

 keeping his eyes well heliind upon his pursuers. 

 Tiie pace now becomes exceedingly swift, and 

 he can only be taken by being run down. 

 After running three miles he frequently makes 

 his escape, and will sometimes run even and 

 even without suftering himself to become a 

 victim. The usual height of this animal is 

 about three feet; but some of them reach a 

 few inches over that. The young of the Indian 

 boar are of a palish yellow hue, irregularly 

 marked with yellowish brown. From a remote 

 period, hunting the wild boar has been a 

 favourite amusement with those who delight 

 in manly exercises, and have nerve sufficient 

 to confront danger even when it glares from the 

 eyes of a hard-pressed and infuriated animal, 

 capable, by his strength, of bringing a horse to 

 the ground, and, with a single rip of his tusks, 

 depriving it of life. 



In the mouth of December or January, each 

 male attaches himself to the society of a chosen 

 female, which he accompanies in the deepest 

 glens of the forest for about thirty days. 

 When about to produce her young, the female 

 seeks some undisturbed retreat, remote from 

 the haunts of the male, which, it appears, 

 exhibits a propensity to devour her progeny if 

 he discover the litter. To her young the 

 female is a most attentive mother. She suckles 

 them lor three or four months, and they remain 

 with her for a long time. An aged female is 

 sometimes seen followed by several families, 

 among which are some of the age of two or 

 three years. These young rovers are called, 

 by the French hunters, leles de compaqnie. 

 The wild boar seldom stirs from his lair during 

 the day. and may, therefore, be regarded as, 



[BOAn-nUNTIKO. 



in Rotne degree, nocturnal. On tho approach 



of twilight, ho rousivs from his indolent slum- 

 bers, and sots out in quest of food, which con- 

 sists of acorns, beech-mast, grain, different 

 vegetables, and roots. In search of tho latter, 

 he ploughs up tho ground with his snout. 

 Corn-fields in tho vicinity of fun-sts, whero 

 wild hogs exist, often suft'er extensively from 



I their nightly incursions. Tho wild boar, 

 though not truly carnivorous, does not refuse 

 animal matters which chance may throw in his 

 way. Jfe does not, however, ordinarily attack 

 and kill others for the sake of their flesh, but 

 only devours what he may meet with in his 

 rambles. In the morning he returns to his 



. lair, which is generally in the thickest and 

 most gloomy part of tho forest, under a rock, 

 in a cave, or under the canopy of gnarled and 

 intertwined branches. When roused by tho 

 hunter and his dogs, the old boar retreats 

 sullenly and slowly, gnashing his teeth, foaming 

 with anger, and frequently stopping to receive 

 his pursuers, on whom he often rushes with 

 sudden impetuosity, striking with his tusks, 

 goring dogs and men, and scattering terror 

 around. When he turns upon a pack, the 

 foremost dogs are sure to suffer, and several 

 will fall by as many strokes. An instance is 

 on record in which a boar turned suddenly 

 upon a pack of fifty dogs which pursued him, 

 and instantly dispatched six or seven of them, 

 wounding all the rest with the exception of 

 ten. The young boar is less resolute than the 

 old, and will run to a considerable distance 

 before he is brought to bay ; nor is the 

 assault attended with any great degree of 

 danger. 



AV^'e have said that, from a remote period, 

 boar-hunting has been a favourite diversion ; 

 and we find the writings of the Greek and Ro- 

 man classics abounding with allusions to it, and 

 the great risks which men run in its pursuit. 

 Ovid gives a spirited account of the chase, in 

 which tho fury and strength of tho enraged 

 beast are admirably depicted. It would seem 

 that the ancients endeavoured to enclose the 

 boar by nets, so as to prevent his esca|)ing into 

 the recesses of the forest. The combat being 

 close, it was necessarily dangerous. Driven 

 from his lair by tho dogs, and liemmed in, the 

 infuriated animal turned savagely upon his as- 

 sailiints, and died — after killnig and wounding 



755 



