THE PECCARY. 615 
The structure of the teeth in this animal is very curious, and will repay examination. 
Another species, the HALLur, or Harosa (Phacocherus eliani), belongs to the same genus. 
This animal is sometimes known as the Ethiopian Wild Boar, or the Abyssinian Phacochcere. 
AMERICA possesses a representative of the porcine group in the Peccaries, two species of 
which animals inhabit the Brazils. 
The common PEccAry, or Tasacu, although it is of no very great dimensions, resembling 
a small! pig in size, is yet as terrible an animal as the Wiid Boar of India or the Phacochere 
of Africa. Ever fierce and irritable of temper, the Peccary is as formidable an antagonist as 
can be seen in any land, for it Knows no fear, and will attack any foe without hesitation. Fear 
is a feeling of which the Peccary is ignorant, probably because its intellect is not of a very 
high order, and it is unable to comprehend danger. Although the Peccary is a very harmless 
animal to outward view, being only three feet long and weighing fifty or sixty pounds, and its 
armature consists of some short 
tusks that are barely seen beyond 
the lips, yet these little tusks are 
as fearful weapons as the eight- 
inch teeth of the vlacke vark, for 
they are shaped like a lancet, being 
acutely pointed and double edged, 
so that they cut like knives and 
inflict very terrible wounds. 
No animal seems to be capable 
of withstanding the united attacks 
of the Peccary, even the jaguar 
being forced to abandon the con- 
test, and to shrink from encounter- 
ing the circular mass of Peccaries 
as they stand with angry eyes and 
gnashing teeth ready to do their 
worst on the foe. In Webber’s 
Romance of Natural History there 
is a very amusing account, too long 
to be quoted in this place, of the 
sudden consternation that was caused during a bear hunt by the charge of a herd of Pee- 
caries, which came rushing over the very spot where the deadly struggle was being waged, 
scattering men, dogs, and bear in a common confusion. The singular courage of this animal 
seems, however, to be based on ignorance, for after a herd of Peccaries have been frequently 
assailed by the hunter, they appear to learn the power of their adversaries, and instead of 
charging at their opponents, make the best of their way to some place of concealment. 
The usual resting-place of the Peccary is in the hollow of a fallen tree, or in some burrow 
that has been dug by an armadillo and forsaken by the original inhabitant. The hollow tree, 
however, is the favorite resort, and into one of these curious habitations a party of Peccaries 
will retreat, each backing into the aperture as far as he can penetrate the trunk, until the 
entire hollow is filled with the odd little creatures. The one who last enters becomes the 
sentinel, and keeps a sharp watch on the neighborhood. The native hunters take advartage 
of this curious habit to immolate great numbers of these animals. There are two methods of 
Peccary killing, one by the gun and the other by the sword and pitchfork. 
In the former method the hunter takes up his temporary abode in some concealed spot 
that commands the entrance of the tree or hole in which the Peccaries are known to sleep. 
As soon as the sentinel has assumed its post, the hunter takes a careful aim at the forehead, 
and kills it with a single ball. The wounded animal cautiously leaps from the cover, and its 
place is immediately taken by its successor. The hunter instantly reloads his rifle, and kills 
the second Peccary in like manner. In this way he will kill the entire family without giving 
PECCARY.—Dicotyles torquatus. 
