BARON

See also:

• GEORGE
• GEORGE, 8TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (1787-1876)
• GEORGE, HENRY (1839—1897)
• GEORGE, LAKE
• GEORGE, SAINT (d. 303)

GEORGE

See also:

• BARON GEORGE PIGOT (1719-1777)

PIGOT (1719-1777)  , English governor of Madras, was born on the 4th of March 1719 and entered the service of the East India Company in 1736; alter nineteen years he became governor and commander-in-chief of Madras in 1755 . Having defended this place against the French in 1758-59 and occupied Pondicherry on behalf of the company, he resigned his office in November 1763 and returned to England, being made a baronet in 1764 . In the following year he obtained a seat in parliament, and this'he retained until his death; in 1766 he was created an Irish peer as Baron Pigot . Returning to India in 1775 to occupy his former position at Madras, Pigot was at once involved in a fierce quarrel with the majority of his council, which arose out of the proposed restoration of the rajah of Tanjore . The governor was arrested by order of his opponents, and was still a prisoner when he died on the 11th of May 1777 . Meanwhile the conduct of Pigot was censured by the court of directors in England and the order for his restoration was followed immediately by another for his recall . This happened about a month after his death, but before the news had reached England . In 1779 the matter was discussed in parliament, and four of those who were responsible for his arrest were tried and were fined £1aoo each . Pigot, who left several illegitimate children, was never married, and his barony became extinct . Two of the governor's brothers were men of repute . SIR ROBERT PIGOT (1720-1796), who succeeded to the baronetcy, commanded his regiment (the 38th) at the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill during the War of American Independence . He became a lieutenant-general in 1782 .

The other

brother, HUGH PIGOT (c . 1721-1792), was a sailor . After some years of service he became an admiral and commander-in-chief in the West Indies in 1782 . One of his sons was General SIR HENRY PIGOT (1750-184o), and another was HUGH PIGOT (1769-1797), a captain in the navy, who was murderedduring a mutiny in September 1797 while in command of the Hermione." PIG-STICKING, or HOG-HUNTING, the chase of the wild boar, as a sport, on horseback with the spear . The chase on foot was common among ancient peoples, and in central Europe has lasted to the present day, although, on account of the introduction of fire-arms, the spear has gradually become an auxiliary weapon, used to give the coup de grace to a wounded animal . The modern sport is the direct descendant of bear-spearing which was popular in Bengal until the beginning of the 19th century, when the bears had become so scarce that wild pigs were substituted as the quarry . The weapon used by the Bengalese was a short, heavy, broad-bladed javelin . British officers introduced the spear or lance and this has become the recognized method of hunting wild pigs in India . The season for hunting in northern India, the present headquarters of the sport, is from February to July . The best horses should be quick and hot too big . Two kinds of weapon are used . The long, or underhand, spear, weighing from two to three pounds, has a light, tough bamboo shaft, from seven to eight feet long, armed with a small steel head of varying shape .

This spear is held in the

hand about two-thirds the distance from the point, with the knuckles turned down and the thumb along the shaft . The short, or jobbing, spear is from six to six and a half feet long, and somewhat heavier than the longer weapon . It is grasped near the butt, with the thumb up . Although easier to handle in the jungle, it permits the nearer approach of the boar and is therefore more dangerous to man and mount . Having arrived at the bush-grown or marshland haunt of the pigs, the quarry is " reared," i.e. chased out of its cover, by a long line of beaters, usually under the command of a mounted shikari . Sometimes dogs and guns loaded with small shot are used to induce an animal to break cover . The mounted sportsmen, placed on the edge of the cover, attack the pig as soon as it appears, the honour of " first spear," or " spear of honour," i.e. the thrust that first draws blood, being much coveted . As a startled or angry wild boar is a fast runner and a desperate fighter the pig-sticker must possess a good eye, a steady hand, a firm seat, a cool head and a courageous heart . For these reasons the military authorities encourage the sport, which is for the most part carried on by the tent clubs of the larger Indian stations . The following technical terms are used . " Frank," a boar enclosure . " Jhow," the tamarisk, a common cover for boars .

" Jink " (of the boar), to turn sharply to one

side . " Nullah," a dry water-course . " To pig," to hunt the boar . " Pug," the boar's footprint . " Pugging," tracking the boar . " Ride to hog," to hunt the boar . " Rootings," marks of the pig's snout in the ground . " Sanglier " (or " singular "), a boar that has separated from the " sounder." " Sounder," a family of wild swine . Squeaker," a pig under three years . " Tusker," a full-grown boar . See Pig-Sticking or Hog-Hunting, by R . S .

S .

Baden-Powell (London, 1889) .