270 MODERN PIG-STICKING 



Of the unfortunate perpetrator the less said the 

 better. 



Your spear must be really sharp. On a slow 

 horse, when the pig is going if anything faster than 

 you are, a sharp spear and a strong blow are the 

 only resource. Get your spears sharpened profes- 

 sionally, and keep them sharp with a hone ; use 

 a file sparingly ; in this lies three-quarters of the 

 secret of giving a good spear. Messrs. Manton & 

 Co., Calcutta, sell a stone of carborendum in a 

 neat case which is probably the best thing. 



I have spoken of him before in the Cavalry 

 Journal, but I must mention again my friend Z, 

 the Collector, who has his spears sharpened by the 

 same man who attends to the weapons of the dacoits 

 of his district. I like to picture to myself the little 

 queue of Collector and dacoits waiting with their 

 weapons in all amity outside the armourer's 

 shop. 



For the purposes of sharpening, the steel of the 

 spear-heads should be as soft as possible ; that of 

 the English makers is generally too hard. Bodraj 

 is the chief Indian maker ; he always makes the 

 Bodraj head, a complicated affair with a strengthen- 

 ing rib, an excellent weapon, but difficult to sharpen. 

 Wilkinson makes a very nice triangular bayonet 

 blade. There are many forms of blades. Laurel, 

 Simson, and others. I do not believe in the very 

 wide blades, though such are favoured by many in 

 Bengal. Mr. Norton designed a pattern which 

 Manton made. It had a wide socket, no neck, and 

 a wide triangular head. It looks first-class, but is 

 not satisfactory in practice. The socket must be 

 wide enough to avoid much paring of the shaft. 

 Fix the shaft in with glue ; on no account drive a 



