s, and should make excellent saddles. So tough
are they upon the live animal that it requires a very sharp-pointed
knife to penetrate them, and too much care cannot be bestowed upon the
manufacture of a knife for this style of hunting, as the boar is one of
the fiercest and dangerous of animals.

Living in the thickest jungles, he rambles out at night in search of
roots, fruits, large earthworms, or anything else that he can find,
being, like his domesticated brethren, omnivorous. He is a terrible
enemy to the pack, and has cost me several good dogs within the last
few years. Without first-rate seizers it would be impossible to kill
him with the knife without being ripped, as he invariably turns to bay
after a short run in the thickest jungle he can find. There is no
doubt that a good stout boar-spear, with a broad blade and strong
handle, is the proper weapon for the attack; but a spear is very
unhandy and even dangerous to carry in such a hilly country as the
neighbourhood of Newera Ellia. The forests are full of steep ravines
and such tangled underwood that following the hounds is always an
arduous task, but with a spear in the hand it is still more difficult,
and the point is almost certain to get injured by striking against the
numerous rocks, in which case it is perfectly useless when perhaps most
required. I never carry a spear for these reasons, but am content with
the knife, as in my opinion any animal that can beat off good bounds
and a long knife deserves to escape.

My knife was made to my own pattern by Paget of Piccadilly. The blade
is one foot in length, and two inches broad in the widest part, and
slightly concave in the middle. The steel is of the most exquisite
quality, and the entire knife weighs three pounds. The peculiar shape
added to the weight of the blade gives an extraordinary force to a
blow, and the blade being double-edged for three inches from the point,
inflicts a fearful wound: altogether it is a very desperate weapon, and
admirably adapted for this kind of sport.

A feat is frequently performed by the Nepaulese by cutting off a
buffalo's head at one blow of a sabre or tulwal. The blade of this
weapon is peculiar, being concave, and the extremity is far heavier
than the hilt; the animal's neck is tied down to a post, so as to
produce a tension on the muscles, without which the blow, however
great, would have a comparatively small effect.

The accounts of this feat always appe