The herald., 1893-08-15
INDIAN PIG STICKING.
ONE MAN WHO SAYS 1T IS THE
FINEST SPORT IN THE WORLD.

Anuio ahu I<OTthcrH <A1TiCss 1Fc nuhbou
by Enthusiastic sportsmcn OF Other
Countries--P1enty of Danger.
AS an ardent pig sticker may be for
given for advancing the opinion that it
is the finest sport in the world. By "pig
sticking" of course mean pig sticking
as it is practiced in India and in north
ern Africa and perhaps in some other
English colonies-viz, riding down the
pig on horseback and dispatching him
with spears.
The Indian wild pig varies naturally
according to his home. The biggest l
have ever seen were in the Vindhya
mountains, where used to shoot them
as food for my beaters. Sometimes they
were of vast size, bigger, think, than
even their Ganges cousins.
A peculiarity of the wild pig is the
straightness of his tail as compared with
the curled nppendage of his domestic
brother. From the top of his low fore
head to the end of his snout is almost a
perfectly straight line, and he has a far
longer snout and jaw than the English
market pig. His skin is kind Of
blush gray and his bristles gray or
black, though sometimes an almost
brown pig Is. found. The wild pig will
never live far from water. He is hap
piest in the longrass, often 12 feet high,
that grows along the banks of the big
Indian rivers, and above gil rejoices in
''jao," a kind of evergreen brushwood
that is as common as the grass. He only
eats at night, and about 10 p. m. he sal
lies forth from cover and will go many
miles to find the succulentsugar cane or
other luxury, returning as rule about
an hour before the first streaks Of dawn.
Pig aticking begins usually about
Christmas week, when the giant vegeta-
ton Of the rains has died down sufficient
ly to get at piggy, and the marshy
ground where he lives is firm enough for
horses, but it is not till the end of Feb
ruary that really good pig sticking be-
gins, and it improves as the weather gets
dryer and hotter till the June rains come,
and pig sticking instantly ceases.
At about a. nh., after light break
fast, the sportsmen set out-usually in
"tumtums"Zto the meet, having sent
their spears and horses on ahead over
night, together with Che all important
mess tiffin basket, in which huge block
of ice and innuInerabie soda water bot
Ties and beer bottles figure largely. It
is rare to gather together more than f2
men. 1t may have been different in
olden times, but polo is formidable
rival to pig sticking nowadays, and the
ordinary British subaltern can rarely af-
ford time and money for both. Indeed.
from my own experience. / should say
the average field was not above five, and
personally, l much prefer, except from
the social poiht Of view, very faw-conl-
panions.
The Officer IN command divides the
party, if large enough, into little sections
Of three, and each section separates from
the other and keeps together all day,
either at one end Of the line Or in the
middle. The coolies are usually about
30 in number and form line, covering
about 200 yards Of ground. Each is
armed, or should be, with a big stick,
and the end men carry flags, which can
be seen above the long grass and help to
keep the coolies in line. Behind them
marches on each wing one of the chi
kari's satellites; and in the center is the
shikari himself on horseback, and these
officers, like sergeants, keep the line
straight, and exhort, often in language
more forcible than polite, the apathetic
coolies to strenuous exertions. The
sportsmen generally ride few yards in
advance Of the line, unless, from the ma
ture of the covert, the pig is likely to
break back.
A pig. lies usually in kind of form
like o hare and win sometimes let q
man or horse almost tread on him be
fore moving, and being often covered
with mud or dust is very difficult to see
in the grass and weeds. When, how
ever, he does jump mp, he slips along at
an Incredible speed.for the first 80 or 40
yards and then settles down to very
fast gallop. Thave known boars at once
on being put up mako straight for the
first man OF horse they see before they
have been wounded Or touched, and, as
all know, the tusk Of the wild boar cuts
like a razor, though luckily the wound
is usually healthy, clean cut-very' diff
ferent from mauling by the fetid claws
of a tiger or leopard or the thrust of
stng's horn.
Wherever pig gets up one Of the
sections go after it, and there are various
little rules as to how the pig should be
attacked and in what order. The most
important rule is never to drop your
spear, still less throw it at the pig, as
some beginners have been known to do.
Spears are weighted with lead at the
handle, and when dropped from the hand
in the long grass, the sharp end, being
the lighter, naturally sticks up, so that
the next horseman or beater may be
wounded. know of several horrible ac-
cidents that have happened in this way.
The man who first draws blood gets
'the first spear" and is entitled to tho
carcass. The body is given to the coolies
to eat, and the head is taken home by the
triumphant sportsman to adorn his bun
galow hall, or the tushes are taken out
and made into some knickknack. or
course he is in honor bound to help
fairly kill as well as prick his foe, but It
is the second horscman, riding perhaps
four lengths behind him, who has the
most dangerous part to play. A pg
whom wounded rarely pursues his for
mer course, and the leader often loses
touch with him, while his follower har
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