wild pig-hunting.
it is said that captain cook introduced pigs into new zealand. they were at the time i write of, the only wild quadrupeds in the land, except rats (for which i believe the country is also indebted to captain cook), but together they made up for no end of absentees by their prodigious powers of breeding.
most of the middle island was infested with pigs; they principally inhabited the low hills and river bed flats and swamps, and would come down on to the large plains in herds for feeding on the root of a plant called spear grass, to obtain which they would tear up the sward and injure large tracts of grazing land.
their depredations became so extensive that the provincial government was obliged to take steps for their extermination by letting contracts for killing them off, at, i think, sixpence per head, or rather tail, and by this means i have known a single district cleared of 8,000 to 10,000 pigs in a season.
pig-hunting on the hills is not the inspiriting amusement it is on the plains. in the former they must be hunted on foot, and shot down, riding being impracticable, while on the plain they were hunted on horseback with dogs bred for the purpose, and the huntsman's weapon is only a short heavy knife sharpened on both sides to a point like a dagger, and suspended in a sheath attached to the waist belt. spears were sometimes used, but they were of a very rough and primitive description, and not effective. pig-sticking on the modern scientific principles was not then practised in new zealand.
for a day's pig-hunting on the plains a party of men on strong and fast horses, with a few kangaroo dogs and a bullock dray in attendance, formed the hunting party. the location of the herd is previously noted and kept quiet. the dogs are held in leash till well within sight, say, from half to one mile off. the animals are easily startled, and they know that their best chance of safety depends on their reaching the hills before their pursuers overtake them.[pg 42]
with a fast horse, giving full-grown pigs a start of a mile, it will be all the huntsman can do to pick them up in a gallop of 3 to 5 miles, and the best chance in his favour is when there is a herd, and not only a single pig or small number of strong hardy fellows. until pressed the herd will keep pretty much together, and if by good management the hunters contrive to get to leeward of them as well as to intercept them from making direct for the cover of the hills they are sure of good sport.
the kangaroo dog (so called) was a cross between a stag-hound and mastiff, very fast and powerful, and he ran only by sight. a well-trained dog on overhauling his pig will run up on the near side and seize the boar by the off lug, thereby protecting himself from being ripped by the animal's tusks. then the hunter should be on the spot to jump off his horse and assist the dog by plunging his knife into the beast's heart from the off side.
with a good dog the danger to which the experienced hunter is exposed is slight. a properly trained, courageous dog will hold the largest boar for several minutes in the manner described and will not let him go till forced to from sheer exhaustion. but if he is obliged to disengage himself before assistance arrives, he will very probably be ripped or killed.
the trained bush horse will stand quietly where his rider leaves him, never attempting to move further from the spot than to nibble the grass will necessitate.
one day, having heard that a large mob of pigs had come down on the plains near the gorge of the rakaia, some fifteen miles off, we at once organised a hunt, and two neighbours from another station promised to join us.
a rendezvous was fixed upon where we were to meet at daybreak, a bullock dray having been sent on the previous night. we were all well mounted and equipped with three fine dogs. after riding some ten miles we separated, taking up a long line over the plain, and using our field glasses to obtain an idea of the position of the herd as soon as possible, and thus give us time to arrange a plan of attack before coming to too close quarters, the animals being very quick to scent danger.
one of our friends, legge, who was riding on the extreme left, was the first to discover the herd, and he galloped up to say that there were a considerable number of pigs about two miles further east, scattered amongst the cabbage[pg 43] trees near a small river bed. on approaching carefully till within view we could count upwards of fifty, and many seemed to be large boars; no young pigs were visible. the latter, indeed, seldom came far out on the plains, their elders probably fearing that in the event of surprise they would not be able to run with the rest of the herd.
the whole mob of pigs lay directly between us and the hills, which were almost five miles distant, so it became necessary for us to divide and make wide detours, so as to obtain a position on their further side without being seen. this movement took about an hour, but we succeeded under cover of snow grass and cabbage trees in approaching within half a mile of the herd, with the hills behind us, before they took the alarm. then all were speedily in motion, but as our position prevented them from taking a direct line to shelter, they ran wildly, and so gave us a considerable advantage.
the order for attack was now given; the dogs were slipped, and away we went like a whirlwind, each singling out a pig and taking the boars first, as did the horses.
owing to our first advantage we picked up with the leaders in a couple of miles, and two of the largest boars were immediately seized by the dogs close together in a piece of bad marshy ground, covered with snow and spear grass, much rooted and honeycombed. smith, who was first in the running, narrowly escaped a broken neck. the huge sixteen hand mare he rode planted her feet in a hole and somersaulted, throwing smith on to one of the boars and dog engaged, but the latter was game, and by his pluck and smartness saved his master and himself from being ripped, and before smith was fairly on his feet the boar had six inches of steel through his heart and his career was ended.
during the few minutes we were here engaged, the other boar, a powerful and fierce brute, had forced the dog which seized him some fifty yards down a dry gully, and it was clear that unless he was speedily relieved the dog would have the worst of the encounter. smith and i rushed to his assistance none too soon. the boar, in his struggles, had already slightly ripped the dog on the shoulder, and the blood was streaming down his leg and breast, but the plucky hound still held on, lying close on the near side, while his teeth were fast through the boar's off lug, the latter striving all he could to get his head round and tusk the dog. added to this the position they had contrived to get themselves[pg 44] into was unfortunate; the boar was so close to the bank it was impossible to reach his off side, and the dog lay so close he could not be touched on the other.
smith was a powerful fellow, and in fun of this kind would have faced a boar singlehanded. he called to me that he would rush in and seize the boar by his hind legs and try to pull him round, while i watched my opportunity to jump between him and the bank. it was our only chance to save the dog, at any rate, and luckily it proved successful. as smith laid on i jumped, and although i fell on all fours between the boar and the slippery bank, i contrived just in time to drive the knife into his heart, and the huge beast rolled over and with a few gasps died. we were both exhausted, and the poor dog, when the excitement was over, lay down with a low whine, thoroughly done up from exhaustion and loss of blood. we washed and bound his wound as well as we could and tied him to a bush of snow grass to await the dray.
encounter with wild boar
encounter with wild boar.
legge and forde had already despatched a large boar and two full-grown sows, and were in chase of others. we came up with them when they were engaged with a fine young boar which had sheltered and come to bay in a clump of thorny scrub (wild irishman, so called). neither dogs nor men could reach him, and the only plan was to irritate him till he bolted. this was difficult, but at length successful, and the beast made a rush straight for us. however, he was bent on defence rather than offence, and we escaped his tusks. legge was first mounted and away with one of the dogs in chase, but going over the rough, honeycombed ground i mentioned he too met with a bad fall which threw him out of the running, and now smith, forde, and i were in full cry with the two dogs.
by this time both dogs and horses were somewhat blown, whereas the boar having had a rest we feared would escape, and reaching a low swampy flat he disappeared in a large patch of snow grass and reeds. as we were not sure of his exact position, we decided to ride through in line, to endeavour to drive him again to the open. in doing so the boar broke covert under forde's horse's legs, and ripped him below the hock. this rendered forde and his horse hors de combat, and smith and i had the chase again in our hands. for nearly a mile that boar led us a furious dance over villainous ground, through spear grass and swamp, in momentary danger of being thrown or torn by thorny shrub, twisting and doubling[pg 45] in and out of inaccessible places, but he was beginning to show signs of fatigue, and we saw he could not make much fight when once the dogs got hold. the latter were in fierce excitement, having lost their prey so often. after a final spurt of half a mile they pulled him down, and he was easily despatched.
our bag was now six pigs, of which four were boars, and we had been actually hunting for about three hours, including the time spent in making the detour. after cutting off a ham and the head of the last boar, we carried them back to where we left forde with his wounded horse. legge had already arrived, and we all sat down to take some food while awaiting the arrival of the dray.
the remainder of the herd had reached the hills long since, and there was no more sport to be had in the neighbourhood that day. forde removed his saddle and bridle to be sent on the dray and turned his horse loose to find his way to the run, while he started on foot to the nearest station to procure another mount to carry him home. the rest of us proceeded to a flat near the first gorge of the ashburton, where we succeeded in killing five other pigs before the evening closed. forde's horse reached his station as soon as his wounded leg permitted him, but the wound being found more serious than anticipated, and that he would be lame for life, it was decided to destroy him.
