THE NAGPUR HUNT 165 



down in a puddle panting with two dogs lying on 

 the bank three or four yards away with their tongues 

 out, but every now and then giving a four pi-dog . 

 power yell. The boar seems quite done, but as 

 we approach he looks at us, then gets up and walks 

 slowly towards us, then raises a trot, then in with 

 a rush straight on the middle spear. Our centred 

 man is driven back by the force of impact, but we 

 on the right and left drive our spears home into the 

 chest. Still trying to urge his way up the spears 

 the boar falls on one side and dies without a groan. 

 It is as well to carry a shikar knife, either in the belt 

 or boot as the Rajputs do. General Kinloch, after 

 being disarmed and nearly killed by a boar, always 

 carried a knife. I have seen Sir Pertab Singh of 

 Jodhpur dismount, go up behind a wounded boar 

 standing at bay, catch it by the hind leg, throw it 

 over and stab it through the heart with his short 

 curved knife. Colonel Baldock's spear-head knife 

 is rather heavy, but I remember longing for one 

 when trying alone to keep a wounded boar from 

 cover with a broken spear. So back to the beat 

 which has been halted for us and another party. 

 The hunt goes on with varying success over the 

 same sort of country until about midday, when we 

 begin to look anxiously for the hunt club lunch flag : 

 a red ground with a yellow bottle, and spear head 

 on it. This was always hoisted on the very top 

 of the highest available tree. Water and feed 

 horses and men. How well one remembers that 

 black buck stew. But not " Toujours black buck 

 stew," please. Then smoke and sleep if one can 

 till 3 P.M., when it is boot and saddle and off again. 

 Probably news has been brought in of an outlying 

 boar, and the party that has had the least sport is 



