NATURAL HISTORY 27 



Activity. The activity of a pig is boundless. 

 He can travel great distances, he is a beautiful 

 jumper and a fine swimmer. He will, when pressed, 

 throw himself over any height, generally with no 

 damage to himself ; though Baden-Powell records 

 that he once saw a pig break a leg in a fall. Having 

 straight shoulders, they often fall over a drop when 

 a horse stands up. 



Fighting Powers. As a fighter, the pig is so 

 well known that I do not think I need dwell on this 

 aspect of him at any length. A boar will not turn 

 aside for any animal living. I have seen him knock 

 over a camel, and bump full tilt into an elephant. 

 There are several known instances of their having 

 fought with tiger. Inglis, in Tent Life in Tiger Land, 

 records one such case which Baden-Powell quotes 

 at length. During the tour of a recent Viceroy a 

 fight between a boar and a tiger was arranged at 

 one of the native courts. In the first round the 

 tiger knocked the boar straight out with one 

 tremendous blow of his forearm. He had but to 

 give the coup de grace and the fight would have 

 been ended. He, however, turned away. The boar 

 recovered, rushed at the tiger, and disembowelled 

 him. I have never quite liked this episode ; I 

 suppose you cannot insist on the niceties of the 

 N.S.C. in a fight of this description. 



In all my hunting I have seldom, when alone, 

 killed a hog who did not oppose me bitterly. And 

 I am sure this is the experience of most men. If 

 of a cynical disposition, you will smile and attribute 

 this to the tendency inherent in man to magnify 

 his own prowess. Still it is the truth. 



When you hunt in company with others, the pig 



