16 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS 



into, the deep blue sky, dazzling white as the sun shone on 

 them. Below, the hills were clothed with forest, except 

 where here and there a white village clung to the precipitous 

 side, built against the rock in tiers of streets and houses. 

 Behind us, that most lovely island, Corfu, confined the view, 

 with its beautifully green hills and valleys, lofty San Salvator, 

 crowned by its monastery, towering over all. A stake dam 

 spanning the river near another old Venetian castle stops 

 our progress for a while, but a small sum to the fishermen 

 opens the way through, and the guard of Turkish soldiers 

 stationed here lend a helping hand, their services being 

 rewarded by a present of tobacco. Slow ahead is once more 

 the word, until the heavily-weighted boats run aground ; there 

 is no help for it but to get out and tow them into deeper 

 water ; then on again through high reeds, where we hear 

 ducks splashing about and quacking everywhere though we 

 cannot see them, to the lake. Where not water, the plain 

 at the foot of the mountains is marsh and swamp, a few 

 solitary hills rising here and there, each surmounted by a 

 house or even a small village sometimes, built there to be 

 out of reach of malaria. Some of the marsh is covered with 

 thick scrubby coverts, as are also the valleys as they run 

 down from the mountain-side. These coverts and swamps 

 are the home of the boar, and at one of the former we 

 commenced operations. 



Our two head beaters are Greeks from Corfu, who know 

 every inch of this coast, visiting it as they do with their 

 employers every year ; we have brought with us also a number 

 of Albanians, dirty-looking ruffians, clad in grey woollen 

 garments with open sleeves, baggy trousers and tight gaiters. 

 One or two are armed with antiquated guns, all with an 

 arsenal of pistols and knives in their capacious leathern belts, 

 which also contain tobacco, tinder, powder, and anything else 

 of value. Their big, shaggy, and very ferocious sheep dogs 

 are dangerous to meddle with, and object to strangers very 

 strongly, but they are of the greatest use at a boar hunt. 

 Our road now lay through the low oak scrub, which, we 

 sincerely hoped, might shelter many an old tusker, and we 

 were presently posted at some likely spots, where we made 

 ourselves as comfortable and as little conspicuous as possible 



