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- Burgkunstadt, Germany
I am one of 3 Head Beaters, or Head Drivers here in the area. There is a large hunters group here in town. I started out a a normal "driver, in 1977. Over the years, lots of the drivers have gotten too old or passed on, and I have advanced to a "Leadership" position. I have a list of folks I can call on, when the hunters have an annual "Driven" hunt, or if someone sees a bunch of pigs. About 12-15 years ago, on a Sunday, came a call. We had snow on the ground, and that makes the pig hunt easy. Looks like two bulldozers have passed through town. I called everyone on the "Alert Roster" and got maybe 10-12 people, and with my two sons, it was enough. The pigs had been seen by the water pumping station, so we went up and got set. There were about 18-20 hunters. I got out, and opened the trunk, and got my pig stick. A pick handle, with a hole I drilled in the handle for some 440 cord, to slip around my wrist. My sons had the same. Everyone else had cut some branches off, that looked like something my Grandma would have used on me. They were all making jokes about "Thor's Hammer" and the like. We formed up, and I got in the middle with a small radio. called the hunters, and they were about 400 meters down hill, and almost ready. I called the flanks, and we were in a line about 60 meters wide. Flanks in place and ready. The hunters called and said "roll em". We started off, everything was easy and light hearted. People were singing out like a cow drive and beating on trees and brush. Just like it should be. We did not walk 50 meters, and all the sudden, the breast high weeds and brush, came alive! Instead of running down hill, into the hunters, the pigs ran up hill into us beaters! It sounded like a hundred of the suckers thundering our way! It was like a bad movie. You could not see the suckers, as the brush was too high, but when the brush started to part in front of you like a steam roller, the blood warmed up! I was screaming and beating at anything moving, or not moving. Get a solid hit twice. Pigs squealing and people screaming. Then the 4 rear hunters started in like WW2. I then started to scream at them to "not forget we are here!!" Then it was over. I looked around, and every one of the beaters was standing behind me and my sons. Not one had anything in the hand. Their little sticks long gone. They were all white faced and ready to go home. The hunters got 9 pigs. Two honkers, 170-180 Kg's (350-400 Lbs) Was surprised to see my sons in the middle of butchering operation, but proud as I could be. Oh, the next time I called the boys out for a Pig Drive, not one of them showed up with anything smaller then a maul handle, with 440 cord to keep it on the wrist. 
