On Hunting

He must again present the spear in the same way as before, and thrust it inside the shoulder-blade where the throat is, and push with all his might. The enraged beast will come on, and but for the teeth of the blade, would shove himself forward along the shaft far enough to reach the man holding the spear.

His strength is so great that he has some peculiar properties which one would never imagine him to possess. Thus, if you lay hairs on his tusks immediately after he is dead, they shrivel up, such is the heat of the tusks. While he is alive they become intensely hot whenever he is provoked, or the surface of the hounds’ coats would not be singed when he tries to gore them and misses.

All this trouble, and even more, the male animal causes before he is caught. If the creature in the toils is a sow, run up and stick her, taking care not to be knocked down. Such an accident is bound to result in your being trampled and bitten. So don’t fall under her, if you can help it. If you get into that position unintentionally, the same aids to rise that are used to assist a man under a boar are employed. When on your feet again, you must ply the spear until you kill her.

Another way of capturing them is as follows. The nets are set up for them at the passages from glens into oak coppices, dells and rough places, on the outskirts of meadows, fens and sheets of water. The keeper, spear in hand, watches the nets. The huntsmen take the hounds and search for the likeliest places. As soon as the boar is found, he is pursued. If he falls into the net, the net-keeper must take