THE GREAT THICK-SKINNED ANIMALS 
187 
shapes, afford ample protection from any enemy who may attempt to 
attack him from behind; and then, backing himself against this natural 
fortress, he awaits the onset of his foes. His assailants do not tarry 
long, and soon the foremost arrive, and prepare to rush upon their 
formidable-looking prey. Encircling his refuge, they avoid the dan¬ 
gerous teeth, and try to seize him from behind; but the favoring roots 
are too thickly grown, and all their efforts are unavailing to reach 
him. Angered at being so foiled, several of them rush on him at once, 
hoping to distract his attention by numbers, but the massive head is 
quickly turned to either side, and the nearest wolf is hurled helpless to 
the ground, bleeding from several fearful gashes, while the remainder 
recoil to a safer distance to gnash their teeth with impotent rage. The 
grim inhabitant of the jungle, in the meanwhile, his small, wicked¬ 
looking eyes glancing fire, and the blood and froth falling from his 
open mouth, with his short tail curled tightly over his back, secure in 
his post of vantage, grunts aloud his defiance. The cries of the dis¬ 
comfited wolves bring others to their aid, and over the moonlit snow 
the shadowy forms of many loping creatures are seen advancing to 
help their brethren. Soon the fight will become more desperate and 
furious. Urged on by long-experienced hunger, the wolves will forget 
the danger in their desire to secure the prey, and, encouraged by 
numbers, will assail the boar on every side. He will not be idle, but, 
impelled by the great strength of his neck, the tusk will be used 
mercilessly, and the prostrate bodies of his foes will lie around and 
before him, crimsoning the snow with their life-blood as it streams 
from many a gaping wound, while the cries of the combatants arouse 
the sleeping echoes of the wood. At length, dismayed and discomfited 
by his valiant defense, the few survivors among his assailants will 
gradually slink away, leaving him to emerge from his secure position, 
a victor in this desperate conflict at close quarters. 
In saying farewell to the pachyderm family here, it is proper to 
explain that the animals coming under this classification are hoofed 
quadrupeds or four-footed animals which do not chew the cud. In 
fact, the pachyderms are the first class we have come to which live 
almost entirely upon vegetation. 
We come now to another family which lives on vegetation, and, 
