50 UNITED STATES AND MEXICAN BOUNDARY. 



62. DICOTYLE TORQUATUS, Cuv. (p. 627.) Texas Peccary. 



This species was occasionally met witli by toe Coraraission along the Rio Grande, but under 

 circumstances when it was not convenient to preserve any skins. 



*'Thia annimal habitually lives in the bottom lands of the water couraee; it is not confined to Buch places, as it is not 

 unfreqiiently seen on the prairie singly, or in a drove. Many stories are told of its ferocity; of its attacks without provocation; 

 no manifest evidence of such a disposition came under my observation, though I have seen it chased and wounded repeatedly. 

 lu open ground it is somewhat shy, and for a hog runs with fleetness; and when pursued will dodge and squat with at least as much 

 facility and success as a jack-ass rabbit. Its vicinity is easily detected by an odor, which, though le^s intense, is not much less 

 offensive than that of the skunk. Theie is a swamp near Elnggold Barracks that perfumes the whole neighborhood with the odor 

 of the peccary, and is known as the "wild-hog den," by which name (wild-hog) it goes among frontier men. The Mexicans 

 apply to it the same term (moran) that they do to the domestic hog. Live Oak creek, a rivulet emptying into the Pecos near its 

 lower crossing, is noted for the great number of peccaries inhabiting its course. 



"The food of the peccary in southwestern Texas consists mainly of acorns and pecans; further west, and in higher regions, 

 these sources of subsistence fail, and the occurrence of the animal is consequently rarer. The absence of any largely developed 



posterior appendagCj usually designated as the tail, is the most characteristic and striking feature, not excepting the secretory 

 sac, resting skin deep only on the rump, and which emits the odor. Neither the immediate removal of this sac, nor any other 

 precaution or process, could render its lean and stringy bams palatable. Like the domesti.3 hog, it both wallows and roots; the 

 meagre traces in these respects show that the wild hog is less industrious than its domestic representative." — (J. H. Clark.) 



" The peccary is not an uncommon animal in southwestern Texas. It is met with in greater or Itbs numbers along all of the 

 streams, and is especially numerous along Devil's river. Live Oak creek and the Pecos river. West of the Kio Grande we 

 observed them only at San Bernardino. 



" They are almost always associated in herds, composed of from five to ten individuals, and are very rarely found alone. They 



r 



prefer the thickest and most impenetrable bushes, from which they are not easily driven out. In the localities where they are 

 very numerous, their proximity, especially after sunset, may be discovered by the peculiar order which they emit, and which 

 is not entirely unlike that of the skunk, (Mephitis.) though of less inteufcity ; this we particularly observed in travelling up the 

 Pecoa river, 



" They sometimes become quite vicious, and might prove a dangerous antagonist on account of their sharp tusks and great 



activity. 



L 

 J 



" If one of a herd is wounded, the remainder will often turn and attack the assailant with great fierceness and desperation. 

 " In their choice of food they seem to give preference to pecans, walnuts, and acorns, though they also eat roots and other 

 substances." — (Dr. Kennerly.) 



63. CERVUS VIRGINIANUS, Boddaert, (p, 643.) Virginia Deer. 

 This species is abundant in many parts of Texas, thougli no specimens were collected. 



" On the prairies near the coast this animal supplants the antelope and the black-tailed deer. It may be seen here grazing 

 among the cattle of the settlements, where it is wilder and more difficult of approach than in wholly unfrequented regions. On 

 the plains of northwest Texas and further westward the occurrence of the common deer is somewhat rare, and principally 

 confined to the water-courses, where, besides the water and grass, is the additional attraction of trees and bushes, which serve 

 as protection from the northers in winter and from the heat of the sun in summer. In the country lying between the Nueces 

 and the Rio Grande , more deer were seen in one day than a week's travel disclosed in any other region traversed by the 

 Boundary Commission. It is les3 gregarious than the antelope, but more so than the black-tailed deer ; this latter prefers 

 mountainous regions, and is never seen in company with the red deer," — (J. H. Clark.) 



64. CERVUS MEXICAKUS, Gmelin, (p. 653.) «onora Deer. 



»* The Virginian deer, so common Ihrorghout the entire Stale of Texas, and particularly its southwestern portion, was alao 

 observed by us in considerable numbers in various localities weat of the Rio Grande. Indeed, we believe tliat few species of 

 animals are so generally spread over the entire continent as this, and at the same time in such great numbers. It was observed 

 in the valleys of all the streams passed by us in our journey from El Paso to Los Nogales, as well as in the various mountain 

 ranges, particularly the San Luis and Sierra Madre, In the valley of the Santa Cruz river and the adjacent country we found 

 them in such numbers as to influence the belief that a few skilful hunters might have supplied our entire party with fresh meat. 



