lear-cut from
the rest. And pig-sticking is the sport of all sports which entail the
killing of animals in which we could wish him to excel. Hear Major
Moray Brown on the subject of fox _versus_ pig: "You cannot compare
the two sports together. To begin with, in fox-hunting you are
dependent on 'scent.' Granted the excitement of a fast burst over a
grass country, and that you are well carried by your horse, the
end--what is it? A poor little fox worried by at least forty times its
number of hounds. Has he a chance, bar his cunning, of baffling his
pursuers? No. Now, how different is the chase of the boar of India!
There you must depend on _yourself_ in every way, and at the end your
quarry meets you on nearly fair and equal terms." Let it be remembered
that the boar is an animal of great reputation among beasts. It is a
well-ascertained fact, says Baden-Powell, that of all animals the boar
does not fear to drink at the same pool with a tiger; nay, a case is
on record of his having taken his drink with a tiger on each side of
him. In his book on pig-sticking Baden-Powell quotes an exciting
description of a battle between a tiger and a boar, a battle which
will give English readers a vivid idea of the boar's pluck and
doggedness. The narrative is as follows: "When the boar saw the tiger
the latter roared. But the old boar did not seem to mind the roar so
very much as might have been anticipated. He actually repeated his
'hoo! hoo!' only in a, if possible, more aggressive, insulting, and
defiant manner. Nay, more, such was his temerity that he actually
advanced with a short, sharp rush in the direction of the striped
intruder. Intently peering through the indistinct light, we eagerly
watched the development of this strange _rencontre_. The tiger was
now crouching low, crawling stealthily round and round the boar, who
changed front with every movement of his lithe and sinewy adversary,
keeping his determined head and sharp, deadly tusks ever facing his
stealthy and treacherous foe. The bristles of the boar's back were up
at a right angle from the strong spine. The wedge-shaped head poised
on the strong neck and thick rampart of muscular shoulder was bent
low, and the whole attitude of the body betokened full alertness and
angry resoluteness. In their circlings the two brutes were now nearer
to each other and nearer to us, and thus we could mark every movement
with greater precision. The tiger was now growling and showing his