176 ABOUT THE PECCARY. 



a half feet in length, from the groin to the root of the 

 tail, not the less is he one of the most dangerous animals 

 of North America. 



The peccaries live in herds, whose number varies from 

 ten to fifty. Their jaws are ornamented with tusks like 

 that of a wild boar; but they are straight instead of 

 curved, as with their congeners, and, perhaps on account 

 of this very difference, they are more terrible and mur- 

 derous. These formidable tusks, as trenchant as a razor- 

 blade, vary in length from four to five inches. The 

 movements of the peccaries are as rapid as those of the 

 squirrel; and such is the strength of their shoulders, 

 neck, and head, that nothing can resist their impetuous 

 attack. Experience has taught the hunters that, the 

 peccaries never hesitating to spring upon aught which 

 comes in their way, be its object animate or inanimate, 

 the safest plan is to take to flight upon encountering 

 them. As they habitually rush en masse on whatever 

 interrupts their march, and as they will fight until the 

 last one of them perishes, it is absolutely useless to make 

 head against them ; for they will cover with wounds ani- 

 mal or' man, whatever his strength and stature, and 

 victory will cost much more than it is worth. 



When a herd of peccaries comes in sight, then, men, 

 dogs, horses, all seek safety in flight. It is a general 

 sauve-qui-peut ; and the American peccary is the terror 

 of the Nimrods of the New World. 



This fantastic animal is, undoubtedly, an intermediate 

 link between the domestic pig and the wild boar of the 

 woods. In form his body more nearly approximates to 

 that of the swine ; but his bristles, thinly scattered over 

 a wrinkled hide, have the faculty of stiffening, like the 



