d,
she decided to stay, and if need be fight for her family. It was a
touching picture, no doubt, but there is not much room for sentiment
when the stomach is empty and the body weary and unsatisfied. The
prospect of fresh pork that night in lieu of the everlasting mutton, the
cooking of which we had varied in every way we could devise was very
tempting, and we set to work to make some plan for capturing the sow;
the baby piggies were too young and delicate for our taste.

We possessed no weapons but our pocket knives, and they would be of
small use against so powerful a brute as a wild sow in defence of her
young. The dogs shirked her neighbourhood altogether. At length, in our
extremity, we were struck by the idea that we might strangle her with
one of the tether ropes carried around the horses' necks. We unloosed
one, and each taking an end thirty feet apart, approached to the
encounter. To our amazement and joy the sow herself here contributed in
a quite unexpected manner to her own capture. Immediately the rope was
within her reach she snapped viciously at it, and retained it in her
mouth. Discovering that she persisted in holding on, and that the rope
was far back in her jaws, we shortened hand rapidly, and ran round,
crossing each other in a circle, keeping the rope taut meanwhile. By
this means we quickly twisted the rope firmly over her snout, so that
had she now desired she could not have rid herself of it. The rest was
easy; we shortened hand till near enough to despatch her with our clasp
knives. We cut up the beast and carried off as much of the meat as would
last us some days, and that night supped sumptuously off pork chops.

[Illustration: KILLING THE WILD SOW.]

After ten days of this very undesirable existence, Mr. Lee arrived and
informed us that the Inspector would be up on the morrow. Very welcome
news; and we were further gladdened by a fresh supply of the necessaries
of life which Mr. Lee had brought on a led pack horse. The delay was
owing to the Inspector having been called away to a distant part of
Canterbury, and Mr. Lee had a ride of nearly a hundred miles to find
him.

In those days the postal arrangements were very primitive. Once a week
only the mails were carried, and some stations distant from the line of
route were obliged to send a horseman 20 to 50 miles to fetch their
post.

The sheep were safely crossed on the third day, and we started afresh
for Christchurch.

We had up to