178 NARROW ESCAPE. [Cuar. X. 
pits are dug on the hill sides, and, as there are 
springs in almost all these places, the pits are 
scarcely finished before they are half full of water. 
The mouth of each pit is then covered over with a 
quantity of sticks, rubbish, and grass, to attract 
the animal, and no sooner does he begin to bore 
into it with his snout, than the whole gives way, 
and he is plunged, head foremost, into the pit, 
from which it is quite impossible for him to extri- 
cate himself, and he is either drowned or becomes 
an easy prey to the Chinese. These pits are most 
dangerous traps to persons unacquainted with the 
localities in which they are placed. I had several 
harrow escapes, and once in particular, when com- 
ing out of a dense mass of brushwood, I stept 
unawares on the treacherous mouth of one of them, 
and felt the ground under my feet actually giving 
way; but managing to throw my arms forward I 
caught hold of a small twig which was growing 
near, and by this means supported myself until 
I was able to scramble on to firmer ground. On 
turning back to examine the place, I found that 
the loose rubbish had sunk in, and a deep pit, half 
full of water, was exposed to my view. The pit 
was made narrow at the mouth and widening in- 
side like a great China vase, being constructed in 
this manner to prevent the boar from scrambling 
out when once fairly in it. Had I fallen in, it 
would have been next to impossible to have extri- 
cated myself without assistance, and as the pits are 
generally dug in the most retired and wild part of 
