58 TOO MUCH CARE TAKEN OF ME. 



Dutch civilian of those clays was not a sportsman and had no 

 idea of the necessity of keeping perfectly quiet when a beat 

 was taking place ; the consequence was that though game 

 abounded, I got but very few shots. They generally posted 

 me with a couple of belted officials to look after me, who 

 when they heard anything approaching would insist upon 

 calling to me to look out, thereby turning the animal back. 

 I used to steal away from them and by dodging about in the 

 jungle, hoped to shake them off, but no, perhaps just as some 

 animal was approaching, these noisy officials would come 

 upon me ! My fury would be great, but it had not the 

 slightest effect upon them. They were ordered to keep me 

 in sight and did so. So fearful were they that I should be 

 killed by a tiger or a rhinoceros that they would not let me 

 go anywhere alone ; not that they cared so much about 

 me individually, but if anything happened they would have 

 to report it to the Governor General ; indeed one official 

 on hearing that I had gone out alone with my rifle said to 

 the English planter with whom I was staying, " Oh dear, 

 oh dear ! he will be killed by a tiger and I shall have to 

 report it to the Governor General ! " and his delight on seeing 

 me walk in with a whole skin was really sincere and genuine. 

 Many parts of the island swarmed with wild hog, and some of 

 the old boars were very savage. They were of a species 

 of wart hog, 1 though differing considerably from the African 

 species, and when facing you their body is completely 

 hidden by their huge ugly heads. I killed a good many 

 of them, besides muntjack, pea fowl, jungle fowl and a few 

 deer of the larger kind but smaller than our Indian sambur. 



1 There are two species of wild hog in Java, Sus verrucosus or wart 

 hog and Sus vittatus. 

 * Cervus rusa. 



