“Oh, yes, you would,” said my host, smiling; “a little practice makes perfect; but come, we’ll try on foot, on your account, after we have taken some refreshment; we will confine ourselves to the skirts of the grass and bajrakates,[55] where we can see about us.” Having refreshed ourselves with a glass of ale and some cold ham and fowl, we proceeded to try our luck on foot, and I now had the satisfaction of killing my fair share of game. “You have never, I presume, seen the mode in which the hog-deer is taken in this part of the world?” I answered in the negative. “Well, then,” resumed Mr. Sympkin, “if disposed to vary your sport, we have yet time before dinner. My people have the nets, and I’ll show you how it is done; this will be something to put in the next letter you write home to astonish them all.” Having mounted horses, which were in attendance, we proceeded at a smart amble to a pretty extensive tract of reeds lying at the distance of a mile; into this tract, which terminated rather abruptly at some distance, a line of men was placed, with here and there a horseman. At the extremity of the tract of reeds, but in the open plain, two ranks of men, with intervals of forty or fifty paces between each man, were placed, in prolongation of the sides of the patch of reeds. These two lines converged, and were terminated at the apex of the cone by a row of nets, formed of stout tarred cords, slightly propped up by stakes. The first-mentioned line now advanced with cries and shouts, and as it approached the confines of the bank of reeds, two fine hog-deer broke cover. The men composing the two lines above mentioned, whose termini appuyed on the nets, now squatted down close to the earth, and as the animals approached, they raised their heads successively; this alarming them, and preventing every attempt to quit the street in which they were confined. In this clever way they forced the deer, edging them on at full speed into the nets, into which they tumbled headlong, rolling over and over, completely manacled in the toils. I never saw anything so cleverly managed; the fellows did everything with wonderful coolness and tact, and seemed perfectly masters of their craft. Laden with game, after a most interesting day’s sport, we returned to Mr. Sympkin’s tent, where we found our smiling little friend, the Padre, with his ever-ready hand extended, and prepared to receive and to congratulate us.