" The villagers construct round some of their grain-fields tremendous hedges of dried-up wild bair bush, which they collect and pile up to a height and breadth rarely negotiable on horseback. This is done with the object of keeping out the pig. in which, however, they are but very partially successful. Such were the obstacles I had now to face.

" I rode to try and cut him off from one of these hedges-—some five; or six feet high, and of corresponding breadth for which he was making, as I knew, from past experience, that they frequently have regular runs through them, like those of hares in England. I succeeded in this, and turned him from that side, but he made for the nearest corner, which he rounded, and continued at full pace down alongside the hedge.

"He soon got blown, and I closed with him. I thought I was certain to spear him before he could creep into any run there might be on that side, for the hedge was on my spear hand, and I pushed him along close to it. I was just preparing for a rush at him, when, to my extreme astonishment, he made a tremendous leap sideways at the hedge, and went clean over, without so much as coming out into the field to get a clear run at it. Once over, he disappeared in some high standing grain barjeree, I believe leaving me somewhat perplexed on the other side. Some say a horse can jump what a pig can, but I know to the contrary. However, there was no help for it, old ' Kutty' was bound to get over somehow, and being very good at hurdles and fences, I gave him room for a run and crammed him at the huge mass of thorns.

" He charged at it and rose well, but not enough by a long way to clear the obstacle, and we took with us into the next field enough of dried thorn to form a very respectable bonfire.

" He was almost down, but picked himself up cleverly, and we galloped on ahead. I rattled past some men employed in cutting the grain, who, to my inquiries for the line of the pig, only gazed at me in speechless astonishment, evidently wondering where the deuce I had come from. Another individual, however, a little further on, pointed ahead, and I continued on, getting out of the field accompanied by nearly as much as I had brought in. My next difficulty was the lane. I went in easily enough, but it was some little time before I found a practicable part where I could get out of it again; this I did, however, and at last managed to climb up the bank. This difficulty surmounted, I galloped across several fields, taking some fair fences in my line, but as yet I had seen nothing of the pig.

" I fortunately remembered having observed somewhat in the direction in which I was riding, a small pond, and for this I considered it very likely the boar had made. I accordingly galloped towards a clump of trees, which my bump of locality led me to believe indicated the position of the pond. When within about half a field of it, I saw the boar going quietly along among some bushes, after having had a good roll in the water, and evidently thinking he had thrown off his pursuer. I rode sharp to the place, and thought he had squatted, as I suddenly lost sight of him. So impressed was I with the belief that he must be in the bushes somewhere, that I rode at a mound of earth and pricked it with my spear, as it bore a strong resemblance to a pig. I kept guard over the place till some of my men came up, when they found that his pug had gone back again in the direction of the water, which was less than a couple of hundred yards off.

" Arrived there, I took up my station on a mound on the edge of a nullah which acted as a conductor to the pond, and let the men hunt about. For some time they could not understand the trail, as they were unable to pick it up beyond a neighbouring hedge. Suddenly, however, a yell announced that he was a-foot, and he rushed out from the hedge, having found his form there getting too hot for him. He passed in front of me on the other side of the nullah, and I soon lay into him. I rattled him about, in and out of the nullah, endeavouring as far as I could to prevent him from again making for the enclosures. Several times I momentarily lost sight of him, and once I over-rode and very nearly missed him altogether among some bushes. Seeing nothing of him in front, I glanced round, and just caught sight of a whisk of his tail round a bush to my right, and somewhat behind me. He was evidently a very dodgy boar, and resorted to every trick to throw me off.

" This move took him into the open across a wide fallow field, and I was up with him in no time. I speared him well between the shoulders, and he charged, but passed behind my horse as I shot past. He then resumed his original direction, which was towards a patch of jungle and high grass, and I came round. He made every effort to reach it, and I to cut him off; but I was too quick for him, and when pretty close forced him to a charge. He came round at me as I rode upon him from the flank, and my spear entered just over the shoulders and went clean into him without touching a bone. He very nearly touched the horse, but I managed to withdraw my spear, the bamboo sprung with the shock, and to get out of the way, and the boar trotted slowly into the grass, not more than a dozen yards off.

" The turns of the chace had brought me round near the place from which we had originally started the boar, and my men were only a few hundred yards off. On their arrival I got a fresh spear, and on searching the patch of grass we found the boar lying dead.

" My last spear had entered within an inch of the first, but, of course, penetrated in a different direction. It had gone clean through the depth of his body, and emerged at the belly, a pretty effectual settler for any beast.

" I gained a good deal of applause from the shikarees, for it was rather difficult country for a single man to ride and keep sight of a boar in; but luck had certainly greatly befriended me. He proved a nice clean boar, of good size, with a tush of six and a half inches."