THE PECCARY. 133 



twenty bullets left, and I could only count nineteen 

 peccaries round the tree, I might just as well kill 'em 

 all off, one after the other, just as I'd done the first. 

 And so I did. I began a loadin' and firin' as fast 

 as I cud, and as the varmint rolled over, I gave 

 a tremendous ' hurrah ! ' which woke up the echoes 

 I ken tell j^ou. At last, up comes my friend, just 

 as I had shot the last peccary, and you may suppose 

 how skeered he was at seeing what had taken place, 

 and the critters all lyin' dead." The crowd which 

 had collected round the Texan, evidently took the 

 greatest interest in this story, and congratulated the 

 hunter on his extraordinary skill with the rifle. 



Two months afterwards, I happened to be going 

 down the Mississij)pi from St. Louis and New Orleans 

 on board the steamer Black Eagle, and the very 

 same Texan was on board. In the evening, sitting 

 round the stove, the passengers were talking poli- 

 tics, commerce, and sporting, and you may be sure 

 my Texan did not forget his peccaries. The reader 

 may guess my surprise at hearing the story with 

 the following variation : — " One, two, three hours 

 passed, but no help kem. I got very onaisy both 

 in mind and body, but just as I had moved a little 

 to make my seat easier, I lost my balance and fell, 

 Fort'nately for me, I dropped my rifle, and caught 

 hold of a branch, and there I hung. This was very 

 okkard, for my feet hung within five feet of the sile, 

 and I cud see the peccaries jumpin' up to catch hold of 



