[23] Or, 'a pretty chase must follow.'
[24] Or, 'if within the prison of the net the ground be sloping, it
will not take long to make him spring up; he will be up again on
his legs in no time.'
[25] Or, 'being concerned about himself.'
Should the animal for all that rain of javelins and stones refuse to stretch the skirting-rope, should he rather relax[26] in that direction and make a right-about-face turn bearing down on his assailant, there is nothing for it, under these circumstances, but to seize a boar-spear, and advance; firmly clutching it with the left hand forward and with the right behind; the left is to steady it, and the right to give it impulse; and so the feet,[27] the left advanced in correspondence with the left arm, and right with right. As he advances, he will make a lunge forward with the boar-spear,[27] planting his legs apart not much wider than in wrestling,[28] and keeping his left side turned towards his left hand; and then, with his eye fixed steadily on the beast's eye, he will note every turn and movement of the creature's head. As he brings down the boar-spear to the thrust, he must take good heed the animal does not knock it out of his hands by a side movement of the head;[29] for if so he will follow up the impetus of that rude knock. In case of that misfortune, the huntsman must throw himself upon his face and clutch tight hold of the brushwood under him, since if the wild boar should attack him in that posture, owing to the upward curve of its tusks, it cannot get under him;[30] whereas if caught erect, he must be wounded. What will happen then is, that the beast will try to raise him up, and failing that will stand upon and trample him.
[26] {epanieis}. See Sturz, s.v.
[27] Lit. 'forwards the left foot will follow the left arm and the
right foot the other.'
[28] 'Statum venatoris aprum venabulo excipientis pinxit
Philostratus,' 'Imag.' i. 28, Schn.
[29] Or, 'he will step forward and take one stride not much longer
than that of a wrestler, and thrust forward his boar-spear.'
[30] Cf. Hes. 'Shield,' 387; Hom. 'Il.' xii. 148: 'Then forth rushed
the twain, and fought in front of the gates like wild boars that
in the mountains abide the assailing crew of men and dogs, and
charging on either flank they crush the wood around them, cutting
it at the root, and the clatter of their tusks waxes loud, till
one smite them and take their life away' (A. Lang).
From this extremity there is but one means of escape, and one alone, for the luckless prisoner. One of his fellow-huntsmen must approach with boar-spear and provoke the boar, making as though he would let fly at him; but let fly he must not, for fear of hitting the man under him. The boar, on seeing this, will leave the fallen man, and in rage and fury turn to grapple his assailant. The other will seize the instant to spring to his feet, and not forget to clutch his boar-spear as he rises to his legs again; since rescue cannot be nobly purchased save by victory.[31] Let him again bring the weapon to bear in the same fashion, and make a lunge at a point within the shoulder-blade, where lies the throat;[32] and planting his body firmly press with all his force.[33] The boar, by dint of his might and battle rage, will still push on, and were it not that the teeth of the lance-blade hindered,[34] would push his way up to the holder of the boar-spear even though the shaft run right through him.[35]
[31] 'Safety can only be won with honour by some master-stroke of
victory.'
[32] {sphage}. Aristot. 'H. A.' i. 14. 2. 'Straight at the jugular.'
[33] Or, 'throwing his whole weight on the thrust, press home with all
his force.'
[34] Or, 'but for the intervention of the two projecting teeth of the
lance-blade.' See the account of the passage of arms between Col.
Pollock and a boar in his 'Incidents of Foreign Sport and Travel.'
There the man was mounted, but alone.
[35] Lit. 'force his heavy bulk along the shaft right up to the holder
of the boar-spear.'
Nay, so tremendous is the animal's power, that a property which no one ever would suspect belongs to him. Lay a few hairs upon the tusk of a boar just dead, and they will shrivel up instantly,[36] so hot are they, these tusks. Nay, while the creature is living, under fierce excitement they will be all aglow; or else how comes it that though he fail to gore the dogs, yet at the blow the fine hairs of their coats are singed in flecks and patches?[37]
[36] {euthus}, i.e. 'for a few seconds after death.'
[37] The belief is still current, I am told, in parts of India.
So much and even greater trouble may be loked for from the wild boar before capture; I speak of the male animal. If it should be a sow that falls into the toils, the huntsman should run up and prod her, taking care not to be pushed off his legs and fall, in which case he cannot escape being trampled on and bitten. Ergo, he will not voluntarily get under those feet; but if involuntarily he should come to such a pass, the same means[38] of helping each the other to get up again will serve, as in the case of the male animal; and when he has regained his legs, he must ply the boar-spear vigorously till she too has died the death.
[38] {dianastaseis}, 'the same methods of mutual recovery.'
Wild pigs may be captured further in the following fashion: The nets are fixed for them at the entrances of woody glens,[39] in coppices and hollows, and on screes, where there are outlets into rank meadow- lands, marshes, and clear pools.[40] The appointed person mounts guard at the nets with his boar-spear, while the others work the dogs, exploring the best and likeliest spots. As soon as the quarry is found the chase commences. If then an animal falls into the net, the net- keeper will grip his boar-spear and[41] advance, when he will ply it as I have described; if he escape the net, then after him full cry. In hot, sultry weather the boar may be run down by the hounds and captured. Though a monster in strength, the creature becomes short of breath and will give in from sheer exhaustion.
[39] Al. 'at the passages from woodland lakes into oak-coppices.'
[40] {udata}, 'waters,' lakes, pools, rivers, etc.
[41] Or, 'and proceed to tackle him.'
It is a form of sport which costs the lives of many hounds and endangers those of the huntsmen themselves. Supposing that the animal has given in from exhaustion at some moment in the chase, and they are forced to come to close quarters;[42] whether he has taken to the water, or stands at bay against some craggy bank, or does not choose to come out from some thicket (since neither net nor anything else hinders him from bearing down like a tornado on whoever approaches); still, even so, advance they must, come what come may, to the attack. And now for a display of that hardihood which first induced them to indulge a passion not fit for carpet knights[43]-in other words, they must ply their boar-spears and assume that poise of body[44] already described, since if one must meet misfortune, let it not be for want of observing the best rules.[45]
[42] Reading {prosienai} [{ta probolia}]. [The last two words are
probably a gloss, and should be omitted, since {prosienai} (from
{prosiemi}) {ta probolia} = 'ply,' or 'apply their boar-spears,'
is hardly Greek.] See Schneid. 'Add. et Corr.' and L. Dind. ad
loc.
[43] {ekponein}, 'to exercise this passion to the full.'
[44] Lit. 'assume their boar-spears and that forward attitude of
body.'
[45] Lit. 'it will not be at any rate from behaving correctly.'
Foot-traps are also set for the wild boar, similar to those for deer and in the same sort of places; the same inspections and methods of pursuit are needed, with consequent attacks and an appeal to the boar- spear in the end.
Any attempt to capture the young pigs will cost the huntsman some rough work.[46] The young are not left alone, as long as they are small; and when the hounds have hit upon them or they get wind of something wrong, they will disappear like magic, vanishing into the forest. As a rule, both parents attend on their own progeny, and
