Chap. I. /^ PIG-HUNTING DOGS. 7 
had laid a plan for the forcible entry and plunder of 
my house and several others ; but one of their own 
party betrayed them, and my agent and a few others 
took the due precautions, and then sallied out upon the 
gang before they were prepared, and gave them a good 
licking with their fists. Thus we were living under 
club-law ; and a good watch-dog or two were no despi- 
cable guardians of a house, and were very desirable 
companions out-of-doors at night. 
But to return to the hunt. The hog once at bay^ 
bold and unskilled dogs rush straight in for his nose, 
and are often severely wounded by his long tusks or 
his hoofs. An experienced dog, without allowing him 
to escape, watches his opportunity to seize the jowl or 
the root of the ear. A dog that persists in seizing the 
legs, or any other part, is generally shot by his owner, 
as the practice spoils the hams, and is considered con- 
trary to rule. When the dogs are fast, no struggle of 
the hog, no dragging of the dogs through bushes or 
swamp, succeeds in shaking them oflF; and the native 
lads run up and fasten thongs of the flax-leaf round the 
hind-legs. If the animal is very wild, they also bind 
the fore-legs and even the muzzle, as the weight of the 
dogs, and fatigue, prevent much resistance. The pig 
is rarely killed in the field, as it is considered more 
sportsmanlike to bring him in and show him off alive ; 
so that the hunting-knife or rifle, although sometimes 
carried in case of necessity, is rarely made use of. 
This was comparatively tame work to the wild and 
fatiguing chases, which I have at times enjoyed with 
E Kuru and a troop of the maori lads, in districts 
near the river where the hogs had been undisturbed 
for many years, and were claimed by any one who 
caught them. Especially in the district between the 
Wanganui and Wangaihu rivers, we used to spend 
whole days in this pursuit. E Kuru was a keen 
