Notwithstanding the difficulty of his position, he would not give up his hold.In the meantime, Bran kept seizing the other ear, but continually lost his hold as the ear gave way.Killbuck's weight kept the buck's head on a level with his knees; and after a run of some hundred yards, during the whole of which, the dog had been dragged upon his back without once losing his hold, the elk's pace was reduced to a walk.With both greyhounds now hanging on his ears, the buck reached the river, and he and the dogs rolled down the steep bank into the deep water.I came up just at this moment and killed the elk, but both dogs were frightfully wounded, and for some time I despaired of their recovery.
This was an extraordinary feat in seizing; but Killbuck was matchless in this respect, and accordingly of great value, as he was sure to retain his hold when he once got it.This is an invaluable qualification in a dog, especially with boars, as any uncertainty in the dog's hold, renders the advance of the man doubly dangerous.I have frequently seen hogs free themselves from a dog's hold at the very moment that I have put the knife into them; this with a large boar is likely to cause an accident.
I once saw a Veddah who nearly lost his life by one of these animals.He was hunting 'guanas' (a species of large lizard which is eaten by all the natives) with several small dogs, and they suddenly found a large boar, who immediately stood to bay.The Veddah advanced to the attack with his bow and arrows; but he had no sooner wounded the beast than he was suddenly charged with great fury.In an instant the boar was into him, and the next moment the Veddah was lying on the ground with his bowels out.Fortunately a companion was with him, who replaced his entrails and bandaged him up.I saw the man some years after; he was perfectly well, but he had a frightful swelling in the front of the belly, traversed by a wide blue scar of about eight inches in length.
A boar is at all times a desperate antagonist, where the hunting-knife and dogs are the only available weapons.The largest that I ever killed, weighed four hundredweight.I was out hunting, accompanied by my youngest brother.We had walked through several jungles without success, but on entering a thick jungle in the Elk Plains we immediately noticed the fresh ploughings of an immense boar.In a few minutes we heard the pack at bay without a run, and shortly after a slow running bay-there was no mistake as to our game.He disdained to run, and, after walking before the pack for about three minutes, he stood to a determined bay.
The jungle was frightfully thick, and we hastily tore our way through the tangled underwood towards the spot.We had two staunch dogs by our side, Lucifer and Lena, and when within twenty paces of the bay, we gave them a halloa on.Away they dashed to the invisible place of conflict, and we almost immediately heard the fierce grunting and roaring of the boar.We knew that they had him, and scrambled through the jungle as fast as we could towards the field of battle.There was a fight! the underwood was levelled, and the boar rushed to and fro with Smut, Bran, Lena, and Lucifer all upon him.Yoick to him! and some of the most daring of the maddened pack went in.The next instant we were upon him, mingled with a confused mass of hounds, and throwing our whole weight upon the boar, we gave him repeated thrusts, apparently to little purpose.Round came his head and gleaming tusks to the attack of his fresh enemies, but old Smut held him by the nose, and, although the bright tusks were immediately buried in his throat, the staunch old dog kept his hold.Away went the boar covered by a mass of dogs, and bearing the greater part of our weight in addition, as we hung on to the hunting-knives buried in his shoulders.For about fifty paces he tore through the thick jungle, crashing it like a cobweb.At length he again halted; the dogs, the boar, and ourselves were mingled in a heap of confusion.All covered with blood and dirt; our own cheers added to the wild bay of the infuriated hounds and the savage roaring of the boar.
Still he fought and gashed the dogs right and left.He stood about thirty-eight inches high, and the largest dogs seemed like puppies beside him; still not a dog relaxed his hold, and he was covered with wounds.I made a lucky thrust for the nape of his neck.I felt the point of the knife touch the bone; the spine was divided, and he fell dead.
Smut had two severe gashes in the throat, Lena was cut under the ear, and Bran's mouth was opened completely up to his ear in a horrible wound.The dogs were completely exhausted, and lay panting around their victim.We cut off the boar's head, and, slinging it upon a pole, we each shouldered an end and carried it to the kennel.The power of this animal must have been immense.My brother's weight and mine, together being upward of twenty-four stone, in addition to that of half-a-dozen heavy dogs, did not appear to trouble him, and had we not been close to the spot when he came to bay, so that the knives came to the instant succour of the dogs, he would have most probably killed or wounded half the pack.
