peedily tire, lose
their wind, and come to bay. Almost immediately one of these, a sow, as
it turned out, wheeled and charged at Moore as he passed, Moore never
seeing her but keeping on after another. The sow then stopped and stood
still, chattering her teeth savagely, and I jumped off my horse and
dropped her dead with a shot in the spine, over the shoulders. Moore
meanwhile had dashed off after his pig in one direction, and killed
the little beast with a shot from the saddle when it had come to bay,
turning and going straight at him. Two of the peccaries got off; the
remaining one, a rather large boar, was followed by the two dogs, and as
soon as I had killed the sow I leaped again on my horse and made after
them, guided by the yelping and baying. In less than a quarter of a
mile they were on his haunches, and he wheeled and stood under a
bush, charging at them when they came near him, and once catching
one, inflicting an ugly cut. All the while his teeth kept going like
castanets, with a rapid champing sound. I ran up close and killed him
by a shot through the backbone where it joined the neck. His tusks were
fine.

The few minutes' chase on horseback was great fun, and there was a
certain excitement in seeing the fierce little creatures come to bay;
but the true way to kill these peccaries would be with the spear. They
could often be speared on horseback, and where this was impossible, by
using dogs to bring them to bay they could readily be killed on foot;
though, as they are very active, absolutely fearless, and inflict a most
formidable bite, it would usually be safest to have two men go at one
together. Peccaries are not difficult beasts to kill, because their
short wind and their pugnacity make them come to bay before hounds
so quickly. Two or three good dogs can bring to a halt a herd of
considerable size. They then all stand in a bunch, or else with their
sterns against a bank, chattering their teeth at their antagonist. When
angry and at bay, they get their legs close together, their shoulders
high, and their bristles all ruffled and look the very incarnation
of anger, and they fight with reckless indifference to the very last.
Hunters usually treat them with a certain amount of caution; but, as a
matter of act, I know of but one case where a man was hurt by them.
He had shot at and wounded one, was charged both by it and by its two
companions, and started to climb a tree; but as he drew himself from
the g