232 BOAR SPEARS. 



matter of veiy great consideration. It often 

 happens that no second spear is at hand when 

 the hunter has thrown his spear which remains 

 in the hog, and which he is not able to approach 

 near enough to lay hold of, without running great 

 risk of having his horse ripped then a light spear, 

 acted on by the elasticity of the shaft's bending 

 with the hog's motion, will soon be extricated; or 

 if it should not, will give him so much pain that he 

 will stop and shake himself to effect it. The best 

 kind of shafts are hill bamboos which have no hol- 

 low, and, if naturally straight, they are more valu- 

 able than if straightened by the force of fire, (which 

 makes them stiff,) nor should they be very taper for 

 the same reason, and because it would occasion 

 the balance to be too near the point. Some sports- 

 men insert the small end of the shaft into the 

 ferrule of the spear, and use no leaden ferrule at 

 the top, which has the same effect as the ferrule, 

 causing the balance to be farther from the point 

 of the spear; the great objection to this is their 

 frequently breaking close to the ferrule, where the 

 greatest strength is required. Shafts are also 

 made with splitted pieces of cane bound round 

 with coarse silk, or slips of raw hide, and var- 

 nished ; these are chiefly made at Benares and 



