100 MODERN PIG-STICKING 



not break twice. We know his tactics : two of us 

 ride him, while the third rides parallel on the left by 

 the nullah. After a hot run of a quarter of a mile, 

 the hog turns sharp left down to the nullah, which 

 has broadened here to wide jheel and swamp. The 

 two spears thunder behind him, while the third, 

 on the left, tries to take him broadside on. But 

 the effort is miscalculated : the hog pauses just 

 enough to let the broadside man pass him, and then 

 with a swerve and a couple of bounds has reached 

 the jheel and safety. 



Where a hog is making a point and there is a 

 chance of intercepting him, the above method is 

 worth trying. But the broadside man must take 

 chances ; he must time his pace exactly so as to 

 catch the hog broadside on, and not over-shoot 

 him as in this case. Also, if the other spears are 

 hot on the pig, he runs a good chance of giving a 

 dangerous foul across them. It is not a good 

 manoeuvre for novices. 



This is the end of our sport ; for, though there 

 are long waits, and other pig break, none do so to us. 

 The signal is made that all is over, and the line 

 comes out, dripping with sweat, scratched, and 

 tired. Harder work this for the coolies than the 

 open country. 



High noon is now on us as we leave the bagh 

 and the plain shimmering in the sun, and get back 

 to grateful shade, tub, and breakfast. We talk 

 over the runs, and hear the fortunes of others, and 

 of the vile behaviour of one pig who enticed his 

 hunters into a melon bed, and so on to their heads, 

 and went his way rejoicing. 



So the day ends with ten good pig, and one more 

 happy memory. 



