6 THE WILD BOAE. 



lighter than an old tusker I killed the previous autumn near Yen-an Fu 

 in Shensi. This latter animal gave uie a good run requiring four bullets 

 to finish it. 



It will bo gathered from these t^vo narratives that the mountainous 

 nature of the country in which they live renders impossible any other 

 method of hunting these pigs than by shooting them. The method 

 employed in India antl elsevi'here of running down and spearing the 

 wild boar ivould be quite out of the question in North China. 



Pi'g; hunthig with the aid of the rifle is naturally a far less danger- 

 ous sport than when the spear- is used. Nevertheless one can have some 

 exciting moments. 



On one occasion acconrpanied by two natives I succeeded in driv- 

 ing some seven or eight pigs out of a dense pine wood at the top of 

 a wide valley. The pigs ran down the side of the vallej' and took 

 shelter in a clump of stunted oaks. Sending the natives up above 

 them to drive them out 1 waited below. 'J'he men missed their 

 bearings aiid came iijion the jiigs in such a maimer as to cause the 

 A^hole herd to break cover and come thundering like a troup of cavalry 

 straight towards me. Fortunately, however, they swerved to right and 

 left Ti-hen withm a few yards of nie, and I managed to hit one as i" 

 rushed past. The wounded animal broke away from the rest of the 

 sounder, and tried to cross the valley, so that I was able to knoct it over 

 as it was climbing the o]i]io;^ito slope. 



Winter is undoubtedly the season for pig hunting as the chase 

 is altogether too arduous for the hot weather, while the foliage of the 

 summer and autumn increases the difticiilty of finding the quarry, and 

 of keeping it in sight when jnit up. Few of the residents of North 

 China can spare the time required to hunt the wild boar, as it often 

 takes a week or more to locate the game after one has readied the 

 hunting ground, but once having gleaned the necessary knowledge of 

 the country one can enjoy good shooting. I once managed to get three 

 pigs in four days, and on another occasion bagged a fine tusker and 

 two roedeer in twelve hours. My companion on that occasion also shot 

 two roedeer. 



