THE PECCARY. 



Looks ^'ery much like a little 

 Pig, does'nt he, children? Well, 

 so he is, a species of wild pig 

 found in the canebrakes of 

 Texas, and native of South 

 America. 



You would hardly think so 

 small an animal could be so 

 ferocious, but the inhabitants of 

 South America dread and fear 

 him as much as they do the Wild 

 Boar. He is a fearless little 

 creature, too, attacking any ob- 

 ject which comes in his way no 

 matter how big it is. Even an 

 Elephant wouldn't scare him, 

 though, as Elephants are not 

 found in South America or 

 Texas, I presume a Peccary 

 never saw one. 



His jaws, as you see, are armed 

 with tusks, like those of the 

 Boar, but they are straight 

 instead of curved, are sharp at 

 the edges, and although no 

 longer than your finger can 

 inflict a terrible wound on ac- 

 count of the great strength of 

 the animal's neck. 



W^hen a body of them charge 

 an enemy they will fight till 

 every one of them is slain. 

 You will not wonder then that 

 Men, Horses, and Dogs fly at 

 the approach of a herd of 

 Peccaries, the poor Horses being 

 so easily brought down by 

 having their legs cut to pieces 

 by the sharp tusks. 



In the canebrakes of Texas, 

 where the trees are of enormous 

 size, the Peccaries make their 

 home. A fallen tree overgrown 

 with thickets of the cane, matted 

 together with strong and thorny 

 vines, is their favorite lodging. 

 Into one of these hollow logs a 

 drove of twenty or thirty will 

 enter at night, each one backing 

 in, the last one to enter standing 

 with his nose to the entrance 

 and acting as sentinel. 



On dark, drizzly days they 

 never leave their lodgings, and 

 it is on these days that the 

 farmers who have suffered hy 

 their ravages on grain-crop and 

 stock, succeed in putting an end 

 to many of their enemies. As 

 soon as daylight appears and 

 the protruding snout and watch- 

 ful eyes of the sentinel on duty 

 can be seen, a sharp report of a 

 rifle is heard; with a spring the 

 sentinel leaps out and soon rolls 

 lifeless upon the ground. In- 

 stantly a low grunt is heard, 

 and another snout and sharp 

 pair of eyes appear in the 

 opening. A flash, a report, and 

 out he leaps to his death, also; 

 thus they go on till every 

 ^lodger" is disposed of. 



Of all animals the Peccary 

 alone, it is said, resists the terror 

 of the gun, its flash and report 

 serving only to enrage him. 



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