2 
THE HOG. 
HISTORY. 
larger head and shorter neck than the common swine, and he has a fleshy excrescence on each side of the face beneath the eyes, 
giving him a savage and hideous aspect. He has the faculty of burrowing, and dwells in holes which he has excavated. He is 
ferocious, prompt, and swift of foot: he does not court a contest with enemies, but, when molested in his lonely cavern, he rushes 
forth upon his assailants with resistless fury, snapping their limbs asunder in an instant, and ripping them up with his formidable 
tusks. The natives say they would as soon encounter a Lion as a Wood Swine. 
Whether these fierce and powerful creatures breed with the domestic species is not known. Sparkman states, that he saw 
two of them at the house of a farmer in the province of Lange-Kloof perfectly tame. They went down on their knees to graze, 
and changed their posture to that of standing with the greatest ease. An individual of this species was sent by the Governor of 
the Cape of Good Hope to the Hague, in 1763, as a present to the Prince of Orange. He was gentle, except when offended, and 
then his keepers were afraid to approach him. But, for the most part, whenever his cage was opened, he came out in good hu¬ 
mour, and frisked gaily about in search of food, devouring greedily whatever was offered to him. He was pleased to be stroked, 
and delighted in a rough brush. Sometimes, with his tail erect, he would amuse himself for hours, pursuing the Fallow-Deer and 
other animals. On one occasion, being left alone for a few minutes in the court-yard, he was found, on the return of the keepers, 
employed in digging the earth. He had made a large excavation over a sewer, which doubtless he intended to reach. It was only 
by the force of several men that he could be made to relinquish his attempt, and he expressed his grief and resentment by uttering 
a sharp and mournful noise. 
In Africa, the family of Hogs presents itself also under a slight change of characters, constituting the Phacochseres, or 
Wart-bearing Hogs, so named on account of certain fleshy prominences and excrescences on the face. These creatures appear 
to be very wild and fierce, and are armed with tusks of great magnitude, which they use with deadly effect when attacked or dis¬ 
turbed in their retreats. There are believed to be two species; one of which, inhabiting Guinea, the interior of the Cape, and a 
vast extent of country, is the Phacochceris Africanus , Des. ; another, found in Kordofan and Abyssinia, is supposed to be the 
creature referred to by JElian as the Hog with four horns, and hence has been termed Phacochceris AEliani. He has a mane of 
long bristles extending along the back, powerful tusks, and on each of his cheeks two fleshy lobes, one larger and one smaller. 
He is an inhabitant of forests and bushy tracts, and his principal food, like that of others of the family, is vegetable. It is not 
known whether any of the Wart-bearing Hogs have been reduced to domestication by the tribes of Africa, or whether they breed 
and form a fruitful progeny with the true Swine. 
In the New World, the Hog family likewise appears, but under a distinct form. It is there represented by two species, cha¬ 
racterized by a glandular opening in the back, whence the term dicotyles , signifying a double navel, has been applied to the genus. 
These animals, termed Peccaries, are smaller than the common swine of Europe, but resemble them in their general form. Their 
canine teeth are sharp, and capable of inflicting severe wounds, but do not curve upwards in the manner of tusks. The glan¬ 
dular openings on their backs exude a peculiar liquid, the use of which is unknown. They are nearly destitute of tail, and 
are covered with stiff bristles, very long upon the neck and spine, which they erect when irritated. They dig the earth with their 
trunk, and grunt in the manner of the common Swine, but make a loud clashing with their teeth when alarmed. They are omni¬ 
vorous, but feed chiefly on vegetable substances: their flesh is leaner and less delicate than that of the common Swine. They are 
readily tamed, and are pleased with the caresses of those with whom they are familiarized. Of the two species, the one, 
the Collared Peccary, Dicotyles torquatus , inhabits the countries of the Atlantic from Guiana to Paraguay, and is found in 
pairs, or in small numbers together; the other, the White-lipped Peccary, Dicotyles labiatus , inhabits nearly the same regions, 
and congregates in herds. The habits of the latter species have been well described by Azara and other writers. They are 
eminently gregarious, associating in bands of many hundreds : they traverse the country in quest of food, unimpeded by the broadest 
rivers, and making their way through the densest thickets. Should the cultivated lands of the settler lie in their course, they de¬ 
vastate every field that can afford them food, lay waste the inclosures, and trample down and devour the growing corn. They 
defend themselves resolutely against the beasts of prey by which they are unceasingly assailed. Erecting their long bristles, and 
clashing loudly with their teeth, they rush upon their assailant, and unless he shall have escaped to a tree, or saved himself by rapid 
flight, surround and tear him to pieces in an instant. Even the formidable Jaguar, it is said, fears to attack these united hordes. 
He follows them in silence, and seizing on an individual in the rear, in an instant strikes him dead, and then escaping to a tree, 
waits until the herd, unable to reach their enemy, pass on, leaving their wounded or dead companion 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 account 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 
