Chapter 2 : 
Bulka and the Wild Boar
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18881888

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Author : Leo Tolstoy

Translator : Nathan Haskell Dole

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One time in the Caucasus we went boar hunting, and 
Bulka ran to go with me. As soon as the boar-hounds 
got to work, Bulka dashed off in the direction of their 
music and disappeared in the woods. 
This was in the month of November ; at that time the 
wild boars and pigs are usually very fat. In the forests 
of the Caucasus, frequented by wild boars, grow all man- 
ner of fruits, wild grapes, cones, apples, pears, black- 
berries, acorns, and rose-apples. And when all these 
fruits get ripe, and the frost loosens them, the wild 
swine feed on them and fatten. 
At this time of the year the wild boar becomes so fat 
that he cannot run far when pursued by the dogs. When 
they have chased him for two hours, he strikes into a 
thicket and comes to bay there. 
Then the hunters run to the place where he is at bay 
and shoot him. By the barking of the dogs one can 
tell whether the boar has taken to cover or is still running. If he is running, then the dogs bark with a yelp, as if some one were beating them ; but if he has taken 
to cover, then they bay with a long howl, as if at a 
man. 
In this expedition I had been running a long time 
through the forest, but without once coming across the 
track of a boar. At last I heard the protracted howl 
and whine of the hounds, and I turned my steps in that 
direction. 
I was already near the boar. I could hear a crashing 
in the thicket. This was made by the boar, pursued by 
the dogs. But I could tell by their barking that they 
had not yet brought him to bay, but were only chasing 
around him. 
Suddenly I heard something rushing behind me, and 
looking around, I saw Bulka. He had evidently lost 
track of the boar-hounds in the forest, and had become 
confused ; but now he had heard their baying, and also, 
like myself, was in full tilt in their direction. 
He was running across a clearing through the tall 
grass, and all I could see of him was his black head, 
and his tongue lolling out between his white teeth. 
I called him, but he did not look around ; he dashed 
by me, and was lost to sight in the thicket. I hurried 
after him, but the farther I went, the denser became 
the underbrush. The branches knocked off my hat and 
whipped my face ; the thorns of the briers clutched my 
coat. By this time I was very near the barking dogs, 
but I could not see anything. 
Suddenly I heard the dogs barking louder ; there was 
a tremendous crash, and the boar, which was trying to 
break his way through, began to squeal. And this made 
me think that now Bulka had reached the scene and 
was attacking him. 
I put forth all my strength, and made my way through 
the underbrush to the spot. 
Here, in the very thickest of the woods, I caught a 
glimpse of a spotted boar-hound. He was barking and 
howling without stirring from one spot. Three paces 
from him I saw something black struggling. 
When I came nearer I perceived that it was the boar, and I heard Bulka whining piteously. The boar was 
grunting and charging the hound, which, with his tail 
between his legs, was backing away from him. I had 
a fair shot at the side and the head of the boar. I 
aimed at his side and fired ; I could see that my shot 
took effect. The boar uttered a squeal, and turning 
from me dashed into the thicket. The dogs ran bark- 
ing and yelping on his trail. I broke my way through 
the thicket after them. 
Suddenly I heard and saw something under my very 
feet. It was Bulka. He was lying on his side and 
whining. Under him was a pool of blood. I said to 
myself, " My dog is ruined ; " but now I had something 
else to attend to, and I rushed on. 
Soon I saw the boar. The dogs were attacking him 
from behind, and he was snapping first to one side, then 
to the other. When the boar saw me, he made a dash 
at me. I fired for the second time, with the gun almost 
touching him, so that his bristles were singed. The 
boar gave one last grunt, stumbled, and fell with all his 
weight on the ground. 
When I reached him, he was already dead ; only here 
and there his body twitched, or purled up a little. 
But the dogs, with bristling hair, were tearing at his 
belly and his legs, and others were licking the blood 
from where he was wounded. 
That reminded me of Bulka, and I hastened back to 
find him. He crawled to meet me, and groaned. I 
went to him, knelt down, and examined his wound. 
His belly was torn open, and a whole mass of his bowels 
protruded and lay upon the dry leaves. 
When my comrades joined me, we replaced Bulka's 
intestines, and sewed up his belly. While we were sew- 
ing up his belly and puncturing the skin, he kept lick- 
ing my hand. 
They fastened the boar to a horse's tail, so as to bring 
it from the woods, and we put Bulka on a horse's back, 
and thus we brought him home. Bulka was an invalid 
for six weeks, but he got well at last. 



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     Chapter 2 -- Publication : November 30, 1887

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