400 THE HOG. 



seizing on an individual in the rear, in an instant strikes him 

 dead, and then escaping to a tree, waits until the herd, un- 

 able to reach their enemy, pass on, leaving their wounded or 

 dead companions behind. The Indians shoot them with 

 arrows from trees and inaccessible rocks. They are said to 

 be under the guidance of a leader, and to take to flight the 

 moment he is slain. A singular description of an encounter 

 with these creatures is given by M. Schomburgk, in his ac- 

 count of his ascent of the river Berbice. While his men 

 were employed in cutting a mora tree, information was 

 brought that a herd of Indian Hogs was feeding at a little 

 distance from the river. All the guns were immediately put 

 in requisition, and the party started off in pursuit. M. 

 Schomburgk himself first came upon the herd : he found them 

 in a muddy pool of water, wallowing and enjoying themselves, 

 the younger ones in the centre. When within fifteen yards, 

 the sentinel observed him ; his bristles rose, and turning to- 

 wards the intruder, he clashed his teeth ; but the next 

 instant he was prostrate, pierced by the ball of the rifle. 

 The traveller graphically describes the bustle, the rush, the 

 clashing of the tusks of the herd, which sought security in 

 rapid flight in the opposite direction. They were followed 

 by the party, and M. Schomburgk himself, having given up 

 his arms, remained alone. In a little time he heard a rush- 

 ing noise approaching through the thickets, and the well- 

 known growl and clashing of teeth left him in no doubt as 

 to the cause. The herd had divided, and a part was coming 

 directly upon him. He stood alone, unarmed, and had not 

 even a knife to defend himself. He knew not how he climbed 

 the lower part of a mora tree, when past they rushed, their 

 rough bristles erect, and their muzzles almost sweeping the 

 ground. They came and passed, he says, like a whirlwind, 

 and before he had recovered his astonishment he heard them 

 plunge into the river, to swim to the opposite bank.* These 



* Af enagerie? ; Lib. of Ent. Know., vol. Hi. 



