d, badly wounded. Pompo tackled another, that had run
down the lliana, and was attempting to get off; while Abe with his axe
clove the skull of a fourth, that had tried to escape in a similar
manner.

"The other two ran back into the `funnel,' but only to come out again
just in time to receive a shot each from the reloaded gun, which brought
both of them tumbling from the tree. We succeeded in bagging the whole
family; and thus finished what Abe declared to be the greatest
`'coon-chase on de record.'

"As it was by this time far in the night, we gathered up our game, and
took the `back track to hum.'"

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

WILD HOGS OF THE WOODS.

Next day while threading our way through a patch of oak forest--the
ground covered thickly with fallen leaves--we were startled by a
peculiar noise in front of us. It was a kind of bellows-like snort,
exactly like that made by the domestic swine when suddenly affrighted.

Some of the party cried out "bear," and of course this announcement
threw us all into a high state of excitement. Even the buffalo itself
would be but secondary game, when a bear was upon the ground.

The "snuff" of the bear has a very considerable resemblance to that of
terrified hogs, and even our guides were deceived. They thought it
might be "bar" we had heard.

It proved we were all wrong. No wonder we fancied the noise resembled
that made by hogs. The animal that uttered it was nothing else than a
wild boar.

"What!" you will exclaim, "a wild boar in the forests of Missouri? Oh!
a peccary I suppose."

No, not a peccary; for these creatures do not range so far north as the
latitude of Missouri--not a wild boar, neither, if you restrict the
meaning of the phrase to the true indigenous animal of that kind. For
all that, it was a wild boar, or rather a boar _ran wild_. Wild enough
and savage too it appeared, although we had only a glimpse of its shaggy
form as it dashed into the thicket with a loud grunt. Half a dozen
shots followed it. No doubt it was tickled with some of the "leaden
hail" from the double-barrelled guns, but it contrived to escape,
leaving us only the incident as a subject for conversation.

Throughout the backwoods there are large numbers of half-wild hogs, but
they are usually the denizens of woods that are inclosed by a
rail-fence, and therefore private property. One part of the year they
are tamer, when a scarcity of food renders it necessary for them to
a