240 MODERN PIG-STICKING 



tuck your head in is essential if you do not want 

 to break your neck. Some people always hurt 

 themselves, while others generally avoid injury. 

 Mr. Garrard in the 5th Dragoon Guards had spent 

 some leave in a riding stable, and it was most 

 instructive to see him jumping chairs or a sofa in 

 the billiard-room, landing on his shoulder on the 

 hard floor without using either hands or arms to 

 save himself. 



In England it seems to me that people send for 

 professional aid on the first symptom of anything 

 wrong with their horses or themselves. In India, out 

 after pig, there is often neither veterinary surgeon 

 nor doctor within many miles. A man has to fend 

 for himself. I therefore give you some notes on 

 the more common mishaps that may occur, with a 

 few of my own experiences. 



I have had a certain amount of practice myself, 

 having been " laid out " one way or another twelve 

 times. This includes, however, being twice mauled 

 (panther only). It is by no means a heavy average 

 for fifteen years, and it compares favourably with 

 that of many men. A friend of mine, for instance, 

 has had two bullets through him, has twice been 

 hit by poisoned arrows, has been well mauled by 

 a tiger, and in a single season's hunting at home 

 has had ninety falls. He claims, however, that he 

 is now a wiser, if not a better, horseman. 



I have no intention of writing a scientific treatise. 

 I assume that you know your Hayes^ Veterinary 

 Notes by heart, and that you have some slight 

 knowledge of the amateur treatment of simple 

 human ailments. Such technical advice as I do 

 give is not my own, but is due to my old friends 

 Captain D. Macdonald, A.V.C., and Captain G. 



