TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



with in high grass, cactus bushes, or rocky caves, and afford 

 the best sport. 



When riding in company with others, the main object 

 of the hunters is to obtain the " first spear," i.e. to be the 

 first to stick the pig, for the rider who draws first blood, 

 however sHght the wound he inflicts, is entitled to the 

 tusks, hence the competition for these trophies is naturally 

 very keen. 



In the Madras and Bombay Presidencies, where the 

 weapon is held lance-wise, the long spear is invariably 

 used, varying in length from eight to ten feet, but in Bengal 

 a short leaden -headed, jobbing spear is preferred. The 

 shafts of all pig-sticking spears are made of what is known 

 as the male bamboo, which for strength and rigidity cannot 

 be surpassed. 



The spear-head, or blade, varies in shape according to 

 the taste and experience of the hunter, but the lance-shaped 

 blade is to be preferred as it is easier to draw out of the boar 

 after the thrust has been delivered. 



The horses best suited for the sport are Arab stallions, 

 as they are extremely courageous and very clever on their 

 feet — an important qualification, for the boar usually 

 selects the worst line of country in his flight, in the hopes of 

 shaking off his pursuers. 



In following a boar, the rider must be ever on the 

 alert, ready for any contingency that may arise, for no one 

 who has not been an eye-witness of the desperate courage of 

 the wild hog, would believe in the utter recklessness of life 

 which he displays, or in the fierceness of his attack. 



With a spear passed through his vitals, he has been 

 known to bury his tusks in the body of a horse, or the leg 

 of its rider. He is none the less a noble foe, rarely turning 

 to mutilate a fallen enemy ; unless so desperately wounded 

 as to be unable to go on, and when conquered, dies, as only 

 a wild hog can die, in absolute silence. 



On one occasion, I had a long and severe run after a 

 solitary old boar, which on the second time of being speared, 

 ran up the spear and fixed its tusks in the chest of my horse, 

 bringing him heavily to the ground. I was picked up 

 insensible and with a broken collar-bone ! 



Another time when riding for the spear, with my friend 

 100 



