early I took a stroll into the
woods by myself; while looking about me I saw what I thought was a large
animal sleeping in the bushes. I began accordingly to stalk him. I got
within eighty yards, put my gun up to shoot, but as I could not pitch on
a vital part to aim at, only seeing a mass of what was evidently an
animal rolled up, I went nearer and nearer; in fact, little by little, I
got within ten yards of the quarry; then I fired a ball into what I now
saw was a huge pig. No move! What did it mean? I could not have killed
it sleeping. However, I took courage and went close and put my hand on
the beast; what should it be but an immense boar lying dead in his lair.
He must have died months before I found him, as the skin fell to pieces
on being touched, the hair into powder; his head was a splendid one,
but I could only save the jawbones, in which were a grand pair of tusks.
The moral of this was that pigs, like everything else, die--sometimes
quietly in their beds, be that retreat only a lair in the forest; but it
is a rare occurrence to find relics of wild animals in so perfect a
state. I fancy their friends and relations generally eat them. The bed
or lair he was lying in was a most snug spot, and he would have been
quite invisible had not some of the brushwood been burnt away, Arab
fashion, a short time before I found him.

I must warn any sportsman intending to shoot in the Jihoon river that
the wandering Arabs who are to be found there, though not brigands of a
high order, are petty thieves to the last degree. We were always obliged
to keep a watch in our tents, leaving a man behind in charge when we
went on shooting excursions. On one occasion we found on our return that
our watchman had captured an old woman whom he caught in the act of
creeping under the tent and stealing a spoon. I had myself a curious
adventure. An Arab told me that he knew where a boar was lying in the
long grass, and that he would take me to the spot if I would accompany
him. We started off together, and on getting well into the wood we went
on our hands and knees, crawling under the trees and brushwood, towards
the spot where the boar was supposed to be. We had to keep quite close
together. I carried round my neck a very pretty silver whistle, which I
prized exceedingly. Suddenly, when we were in a very thick part of the
bush, the Arab seized hold of my whistle and held it tight. I
immediately grasped the hand that held the whistle; this