A Peccary Hunt on the Nueces 171 



the ranch house, toward which we were bend- 

 ing our steps ; and here we were received with 

 the hearty hospitality characteristic of the 

 ranch country everywhere. 



The son of the ranchman, a tall, well-built 

 young fellow, told me at once that there were 

 peccaries in the neighborhood, and that he 

 had himself shot one but two or three days 

 before, and volunteered to lend us horses and 

 pilot us to the game on the morrow, with the 

 help of his two dogs. The last were big black 

 curs with, as we were assured, "considerable 

 hound" in them. One was at the time stay- 

 ing at the ranch house, the other was four or 

 five miles off with a Mexican goat-herder, 

 and it was arranged that early in the morn- 

 ing we should ride down to the latter place, 

 taking the first dog with us and procuring his 

 companion when we reached the goat-herder's 

 house. 



We started after breakfast, riding powerful 

 cow-ponies, well trained to gallop at full speed 

 through the dense chaparral. The big black 

 hound slouched at our heels. We rode down 

 the banks of the Nueces, crossing and recross- 

 ing the stream. Here and there were long, 

 deep pools in the bed of the river, where 

 rushes and lilies grew and huge mailed gar- 



