HUNTING PECCARIES IN TEXAS. 383 



our wild animals, even at this late day, venture into the 

 fastnesses of the Dismal Swamp, or any of those enormous 

 cane-brakes locked up within the sluggish embrace of the 

 bayous of the Mississippi, and propose to shake hands with 

 the first Panther he meets, or offer the fraternal hug to Bruin, 

 and he will see what a reception he will find ? let him be 

 armed with as many guns and pistols as he can carry, I'll 

 engage he will need to make the most of them, the first time 

 he comes within spring of a panther, or treads on the tail (?) 

 of a bear. 



The fact is, the introduction of fire-arms, in modifying the 

 face of the whole globe, physically as well as morally and 

 mentally, has not failed, of course, in its effects upon savage 

 animals as well as savage men. If it has thundered civiliza- 

 tion or extermination into the ears of one, it has as well 

 detonated circumspection into the ears of the other. 



Before the East India conquests of the British introduced 

 fire-arms, the bold and open ravages of lions, tigers, and other 

 wild beasts, were frequently carried to such a formidable 

 extent, that whole villages of the imbecile natives were 

 depopulated by a single animal, to destroy which armies 

 had to be assembled ; and even they have been beaten back 

 from the jungles, without effecting their object more than 

 partially. When British officers first commenced lion and 

 tiger hunting, it was considered the most dangerous sport 

 in the world; and the records and correspondence of that 

 period teem with fearful tales of bloody deaths at the horrid 

 jaws of those animals. At that time, the tiger, without 

 hesitation, attacked large parties of men, leaping into their 

 midst from the jungle, and carrying off a victim without 

 regard to epaulettes or color : while the lion charged boldly 

 into camps, carrying off men, oxen, or any other dainties 

 that happened to suit his taste. 



In hunting on elephants, it was so exceedingly rare to find 

 one who would charge a jungle after the scent of the tiger 



