Those bush pigs are larger than the ordinary unfattened farm pig, and the boars have very fine curved tusks almost equal to the Indian pig. The young ones have a delicious taste, and when properly cooked in a native oven make very good eating; they are as tender as chickens.
The wily opossum leads its hunters a rare dance, but the natives, who are its chief hunters, enjoy the game thoroughly. It is a sport at which white men are no good as it necessitates remarkable agility in tree climbing. The boys run up the trunks of the trees and give chase to the little animal from tree to tree. They follow the opossum as quick as lightning, until the poor creature is driven to the ground. Then, of course, he is captured easily, as his clumsy movements prevent him from running at any great speed—all { 122} his powers of swinging by his tail are lost when he gets on the ground.
Owing to the thickness of the undergrowth in the bush hunting is not over enjoyable, and it generally resolves itself into a track-making expedition, and the only way to ensure a safe return to the village is to mark the trees as one goes. There is such a similarity in shape of the trees and the lay of the country that it is impossible to remember the way one has come, and as the light only penetrates dimly into the thickest parts, one cannot get any knowledge as to the shape of the tops of trees, a method by which one is often able to travel with certainty in less thickly growing bush. This darkness also prevents one from getting one’s bearings by the sun, so that tree scarring is the only sure method of avoiding unnecessary delay in the bush.
Crocodiles are met with pretty frequently in the swampy districts and in the rivers. They are of the usual type, ranging from six to fourteen feet in length. They do not seem to mind salt water in the least, and are often observed quite a distance out from the shore, in fact, when they are chased they generally make for the sea. I do not know whether this is common with crocodiles in other { 123} lands, but those in the South Sea islands appear to prosper and be contented in both fresh and salt water.
[Illustration 42: THE HOME OF THE CROCODILE, BRITISH SOLOMON ISLANDS]