GET A CROPPER 487 



the bit in his mouth and fairly ran away with me. I thought 

 it did not signify, for it looked plain sailing, and there was a 

 good mile or more to the river's bank, so I sat quietly and let 

 the pony have his own way. Passing through a longish bit of 

 grass, Elgin pitched upon his head and turned a complete 

 somersault, and I was sent spinning ! and all around there 

 was no end of grunting and squealing. The pony had fallen 

 over a sow in her lair with her progeny and come a cropper, 

 but no harm was done. I was up again and caught my 

 animal before he recovered his legs. Mounting, I went in 

 chase of W., who had no end of start, but just then the 

 sounder took a turn to the right, so by cutting across I made 

 up for lost time. 



Wild pigs sows in particular form a shelter by biting the 

 grass and piling it up, and then crawl under and form a fair 

 roof overhead. In this the sows litter, and remain during the 

 heat of the day. It was over one of these caches that I had 

 come to grief. When I got up to the sounder, Williamson 

 was too close to the only boar to enable me to cut in ; his 

 mare was somewhat blown, whilst Elgin, notwithstanding his 

 tumble, was quite fresh. There is no certainty in hog-hunt- 

 ing ; boars, when pressed, often "jink," and I hoped this one 

 would do so, and in my favour ; so I kept about ten paces to the 

 right, Elgin holding his own in speed. W. got within distance 

 up went his spear to job, when over the mare rolled. A 

 creeper had caught her across the legs, and the two went a 

 "buster." But there was no time to lose, a sloping bank 

 leading down to a navigable part of the river was close at 

 hand ; and however clumsy domestic pigs may be in swim- 

 ming, wild ones excel in it, and take to water readily. The 

 best place to job a boar is the centre of the withers, but I 

 could not get near enough to deliver that blow. We were 

 descending the shelving and sandy bank; I did the best I 

 could, and dropped my heavily-weighted blade between the 

 hips, which I could just reach. Down went the boar, my 

 pony sprang clear of the prostrate body of the swine, which 

 was rolling down the incline, and I just avoided going a 

 header into the river, which was only some 25 yards across, 

 and on the opposite bank of which basked an enormous 



