The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-11-17
wild Boar shooting in Jamaica.

Wild Boar Shooting in Jamaica.
\ cry of Wake, massa, wild pig
10 ;be grant" caused myself and my
worthy and much-es,eemed friend to
spring up eff our beds one we 0e;o-
Der morning, while staying at an old
abandoned estate somewhere in tie
very centre of Jamaica. a short
time before, a wild boar had had the
efirontery TO penetrate, on a moon
light morning, into The very yard sur
rounding the great house." and
more than that, to poke his moss into
an ouihouse. An early rising boy
saw the animal steal in, aud very
quietly shut the door on him
'Busha" (Anglice overseer) was
away at the time, and nobody had a
gun. So the negroes crawled IN at
Il hole in the root, angled for a time,
and succeeded in noosing the intrud-
er, who was hoisted up, till he stood
% his hind legs, and then dispatched
by lei of crowbars, by other ne
groes who entered at the door. We
were not long in getting ready, and
taking III guns, loaded with slugs,
and accompanied by three or four
mongrel dogs, which are generally to
be seen about a Jamaica country
house, of we started after our guide
The path was narrow, zigzag, and
steep. All paths used by negroes
are narrow; for they never walk
abreast of each other, but always
single file. 1t often surprises one, on
following a thin, but well beaten
track in the bush, TO come suddenly
upon a populous village of huts,
which have no other outlet. We
were led up the side of a steep lime
stone hill, covered with virgin forest,
and, therefore, fortunately free from
underwood. Ga the ridge were stu
ated the provision grounds in which
we expected to find our quarry.
And, indeed, the dogs soon gave
tongue, and scampered down the ota-
er side of the bill. Him gone e de
cotton tree down q bottom" said
Sambo, and we had to follow. But
to do this was Nc easy matter 1t is
simply impossible to make rapid
way in a straight line down a wood
ed boDeycomb limestone mountain
For not only are the occasional BUSH
es of wait-a-bit likely to remind you
not TO be ia a hurry, bat immense
boulders of the boneyc0mb rock lie
scattered about, and jumping from
ore TO the other, or climbing over
them, requires time and care. We
selected to go down TO the cotton tree
by the roundabout u easier way.
Just then a rustic was heard among
the plantains. Sambo informed Us
it was the field male and ~piccanin-
les" running away. 1t seems that,
whenever a boar and his family are
disturbed, if they cannot all get
away unperceived, the boar shows
fight and leads away the enemy,
while the SOW and young ones make
off in a different direction. LoHg be.
fore reaching the spot we could hear
that our friend was well at bay.
Approaching cautiously, we at last
saw him, within range standing be-
tween the b~uttress-like roots of the
tree with his stern to the trunk, and
the dogs yelping 10 front. We both
fred, and evidently hit him. He ill.,
stantly burst through the dogs, and
made in our direction. 1t is unneces-
sary to say Sambo was up a tree in
40 time. One of our dogs fortunate.
ly caught the animal by the flank,
and turned him again TO the tree.
Another shot in the shoulder then
finished him. He proved to be a fine
-usset-brown ~six-years-old, with tusks
inches long, Of which two inch
es projected from the lip. Wild pigs
are by no means Uncommon in Ja-
maica. There are very few mango
walks which are not visited nightly
during the fruit season, by two or
three OF them, though during the day
they keep in the most inaccessible
woods. They are not indigenous,
but are all descended from tie do
nestle pigs of the old Spanish colon
lists. or from others which have since
become feral. In t1e time of the
Buccaneers, it appears that Jamaica
was a great provisioning station for
pork. Large herds of semi-wild pig
were kept, allowed to roam and feed
themselves in the woods during the
day, and recalled by the zound of a
born by night. Later on, the MA
rooms" descendant of runaway |
slaves, principally gained their liveli-
hood by hunting pigs in the bush
roughly picking and smoking the
flesh to form the so-called ierked
pork. The wild pigs now in the is
land have nearly all acquired red
dish tiuge, although varying in color
from light brown to almost black.