The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1918-01-17
THE GIANT FOREST HOG
Some Seldom Met-With Animals of the African
jungle the Theika River
Charles Cotar, in Outdoor
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Charles Cottar, IN Outdoor Life

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every nerve and muscle, yet made
as much noise as steer in dry
stalk field. And the reproachful
glances of the guides added to my
misery and fatigue, for / was doing
my best, and l class myself some
stalker.
But those Wanderobo! Without
the slightest sound and with ex-
treme speed, conditions considered,
they glided along the trail of the
pigs, stopping occasionally to blow
the smoke from a smoldering torch
they each carried to determine the
course of the wind lest the trail
might have varied in it's winding
among the thick bamboo and the
quarry get a sniff of our scent.
Time and again l halted and sig
nailed my inability to proceed
without resting, for the altitude
was around 5000 feet, and the pigs
we're headed up steep incline, the
natives still declared, to feeding
places on the top of the ridge,
where the growth of vines and
young bamboo on which they fed
grew more profuse and tender.
Then rain came. 1t rains almost
every day in the hog country. And
the cold rain made it the more dis
agreeable and the thickness of the
jungle made faster walking impos-
sible. To proceed with the neces-
sary caution required the slowest
gait, for the guides said we were
within few yards of the hogs.
All traces of a path had long
vanished and the trail led beneath
tangles of vines not two feet above
the wet, slushy debris beneath the
growing vegetation.
Then the twang of breaking
vine, seemingly not rod away,
brought us all to halt, but the
continuous moaning of the bamboo
drowned all movements that might
have followed. Then for another
hour we twisted and turned about,
crossing our trail several times,
but not sound or a glimpse of
pig. Finally they split up, going
in several directions, crossing and
recrossing the routes of others, yet
we stuck to the spoor of the larg-
est Observation-Disclosures as big as
moose and which sunk into the wet
mould to the depth of foot.
The sun peeped through the
clouds. It was near noon when
our big pig had come upon rival
of his own species, and, less than a
hundred yards off, began to settle
some grievance of perhaps long
standing, undoubtedly anent the
leadership of the drove. Bamboo
broke and cracked, but not another
sound. There was no evidence of
the grunting and squealing of the
domestic or other wild varieties of
the species Just the terrible smash
ing of bamboo.
One of the guides seized my
arm, pointed in the direction of the
breaking bushes, and we darted
away at top speed, for we seemed
to understand that what little noise
we made in hurrying along would
not be noticed above the din of the
rowing rivals. But we were mis-
taken. Before we saw a sign of
the pigs the trouble had ended, and
all was still as death, saving the
moaning of the tall bamboo. We
stopped to listen. Not sound of
a living thing. But the trail of
pig was before us and we moved
along for rod as silent as cats ap-
preaching prey.
[ had kept in mind the location
of the breaking bamboo and natur-
ally my eyes were turned in that
direction as we stopped. A second
we gazed, and again the native
seized my arm, and, following his
glance, / saw my first giant hog.
He was standing broadside ten
Continued on page 3. column s.,