402 Information respecting Zoological Travellers* 



have been trained by the Indians separate one from the herd and 

 keep it at bay until the huntsman arrives to shoot it with his arrow ; 

 the dog then sets oil' after the herd again and aets in like manner. 

 I have known a hunter with a well-trained dog to bring three and 

 four hogs ;i- the fruit of his hunting excursion. The Indian who is 

 not provided with a dog, on coming up with a herd climbs the first 

 tree; and begins to imitate the barking of a dog; if young ones 

 should be among the herd, at which period they are particularly 

 fierce, this sound is quite sufficient to urge them to attack, and they 

 soon gather in numbers round the tree, threatening with their tusks. 

 This is the time for the Indian to discharge among them the con- 

 tents of his gun, if provided with one, and with what success may 

 be imagined : off sets the herd in full flight ; the Indian is equally 

 quick to follow them, and should he be nimble-footed enough to 

 outstrip them and to get before the herd, he climbs another tree, and 

 again imitating the barking of a dog, he is sure to assemble them in 

 full rage around the tree, and has opportunity of firing a second 

 shot at them. This method is now frequently practised, where guns, 

 and even double-barreled ones, are no rarity among the Indians of 

 the coast regions. An Arawak Indian from the Lower Essequibo 

 nearly paid this ruse with his life ; the branch on which he sat when 

 he was about to fire among the incensed herd which had gathered 

 round the tree, broke, and he w 7 ould have fallen among them if he 

 had not caught one of the lower branches, not high enough however 

 from the ground to be entirely out of their reach. His legs were 

 almost literally torn to pieces by their triangular tusks ; still he did 

 not let go his hold, and kept presence of mind enough to try to 

 swing himself upon the branch, in w r hich he at last succeeded. Their 

 victim having escaped, they exhausted their ire on the gun, and at 

 length left the Indian, w 7 ho in spite of the loss of blood crawled 

 homew 7 ards and escaped narrowly with his life. 



Their flesh is savoury, though drier and leaner than that of the 

 hog ; but precaution must be taken soon after the animal has been 

 killed to cut off that part on the back which contains the glands, 

 otherwise it communicates a musky taste to the meat. They form 

 one of the chief articles of sustenance of the Indians ; and as their 

 being hunted with a w 7 ell~trained dog insures more certain success, a 

 dog of that description commands a good price. The Peccari is 

 called Apuya by the Arawak Indians, Paraka by the Macusis, Pa- 

 kira by the Paravilhanas, Pakitye by the Warraus. 



The w 7 hite-lipped Peccari or Kairuni (Dicoteles labiatus, Cuv.) is 

 considerably larger than the preceding, of a darker colour, and white 



