THE GUZERAT CUP 183 



a famous pig, called the Phantom Boar (christened 

 thus on account of the number of occasions on which 

 he disappeared when apparently his pursuers had 

 him " stone cold "), was killed by Captain Barley, 

 who was again at Ahmedabad in 1904-1906, when 

 his excellent bundobusts for outwitting the wily 

 boar, and the true hunting spirit which he drilled 

 into his field, produced one of the biggest yearly 

 totals on record. 



The best years recorded were 1860-61 (49 boar), 

 1882-83 (44 boar), 1883-84 (47 boar), 1905-1906 

 (42 boar). The bad rainfall in 1900-1901, 1911, and 

 1912 was the cause of very poor sport in the seasons 

 following those years, but it is hoped that the good 

 rains of 1913 may have revived the stock of pig 

 in the country. 



The following letter is worthy of reproduction. 

 The writer, Mr. Hancock, was one of the original 

 promoters of the Guzerat Cup some eighteen years 

 after the events here recorded. 



For the annals of the " Ahmedabad Hunt," from an old 

 member. 



To the Secretary, Ahmedabad Hunt. 



DISTRICT near JAMBOOSIB, 

 28th February 1867. 



DEAR SIR After many a blank day, having been long 

 pursued by bad luck, I yesterday resolved to pursue my 

 bad luck till I broke it. When out beating the day before 

 I had dismounted to shoot a black buck, and was stalking 

 him round the corner of a hedge when, with a grunt that 

 made my heart thump, a big boar jumped out of a bush 

 on my right and rushed across me with a wicked look in 

 his eye which made me instinctively cover him with my 

 rifle till he passed. " Blood and thunder," I shouted (my 

 horse's name, by the way), and, a trusty wagree running up 



