142 UP THE RIVER OF TAPIRS [chap, v 



types than as regards individuals, and entirely indifferent 

 to good or evU, and works out her ends or no ends with 

 utter disregard of pain and woe. 



The following morning at sunrise we started again. 

 This time only Colonel Rondon and I went with Bene- 

 detto and Antonio the Indian. We brought along four 

 dogs, which, it was fondly hoped, might chase the 

 eashadas. Two of them disappeared on the track of 

 a tapir, and we saw them no more ; one of the others 

 promptly fled when we came across the tracks of our 

 game, and would not even venture after them in our 

 company ; the remaining one did not actually run away, 

 and occasionally gave tongue, but could not be per- 

 suaded to advance unless there was a man ahead of 

 him. However, Colonel Rondon, Benedetto, and Antonio 

 formed a trio of hunters who could do fairly weU without 

 dogs. 



After four hours of riding, Benedetto, who was in 

 the lead, suddenly stopped and pointed downward. We 

 were riding along a grassy interval between masses of 

 forest, and he had found the fresh track of a herd of big 

 peccaries crossing from left to right. There were appar- 

 ently thirty or forty in the herd. The small peccaries 

 go singly or in small parties, and when chased take 

 refuge in holes or hoUow logs, where they show valiant 

 fight ; but the big peccaries go in herds of considerable 

 size, and are so truculent that they are reluctant to run, 

 and prefer either to move slowly off chattering their 

 tusks and grunting, or else actually to charge, ^^'^here 

 much persecuted the survivors gradually grow more 

 willing to run, but their instinct is not to run, but to 

 trust to their truculence and their mass-action for safety. 

 They inflict a fearful bite and frequently kill dogs. They 

 often charge the hunters, and I have heard of men being 



