The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-03
FIGHT WITH WILD HOGS.
Two Texas Farmers Have a Very DCS.
pcTate Struggle.


Until Relieved by Neighbors, Who
Heard His Screams-The Rescuer
Also Badly Used Up.
Brazoria TEX Letterin Philadelphia Times
Maj. Wniteside and Owen Thurman,
of this neighborhood, report recent
thrilling adventure with hogs, which
came near resulting fatally for the
former If left TO themselves any length
of time, even domesticated swinaanRe apt
to return to a state OF nature, aa& as is
the case with all cattle whichd6 this,
become, if possible, iercer and moro ag-
| gressive than before.
Some years ago a herd of hogs broke
out from the corral where they were CON
fined on Mai. Whiteside's place, and scat
| tered through the pine woods adjacent.
They refused to return to the inclosure,
! but found pasturage in abundance along
| the Brazos river. AS they were only of
the variety known as the razor back"
and could at any time be secured when it
was necessary to kill them, the owner al
| lowed them to run at large. But some
days ago, riding through the woods of "the
bottom, he saw Il fine boar run acaoss the
road, and having his gun with him, raised
! it and fired.
He succeeded in wounding the animal
/ m the shoulder and it fell, when he was
| about to fire again, but rising, the boar
made for him, giving his horse fearful
| thrust in the leg and nearly unseating
| him. He killed the creature before it
could again attack his defenseless horse
with its well-developed tusks, but, recog-
nizing that this herd Of now thoroughly
| wild swine was menace to the neighbor-
| hood, he resolved to kill il out If ii was not
| posi- BILE to drive ii into captivity again.
| This determination was strengthened by
| an incident that occurred about the same
time as his own adventure. A negro boy
| of about IL and his sister girl of 10,
were gathering dead branches and pine
cones in the woods for the purposes of
| fuel, when they were all at once sur
rounded by drove of hogs,
The boy, raising the stick he held,
struck several of the hogs over the back
with 1t. They turned on him Instantly,
and for a moment he and the girl stayed
to fight them, but, realizing the temper
OF the beasts, they finally fled, and Just
succeeded in reaching ascalable tree with
the yelping, swapping crowd close upon
them. Fhe girls bare legs were terribly
lacerated, and the boys neither garments
were torn completely off him. For
whole night the children were kept in the
tree by the hogs, which gathered about
the foot, daring them with angry grunts
to come down. About daylight the drove
went away, and at last the frightened lit
tie darkies ventured to leave their perches,
and to carry the news of their adventure
to the major.
The next morning this gentleman set
off TO invite his neighbors to join him in
the hunt, 5meaning to make the occasion
one of sport and pleasure. But on going
through the woods he ran into a number
of the animals feeding along the path.
The hogs showed no intention of giving
him the road, but only looked up from
their grazing with a low grunt or two.
Major Whiteside shook his whip at them,
hoping TO scare them out of the way, and
his horse, with all that animals hatred
of the hog, kicked out at them There
was a sudden yelping on the part of the
old males, bristling of the short, ugly
hair and the whole herd with fierce
grunts charged the rider and his horse
There was an answering cry from every
direction of the woods, and "A score more
of the beasts came running to the assist
ance of their brethren.
Major Whiteside seeing the number
and ferocity of the hogs, and not desiring
combat just then, tried to turn his horse
and make his escape but, surrounded as
|
mass of tusks and swapping jaws it was
unable to break through the Gordon.
Fortunately for the planter he had
brought his gun with him and carried IN
a belt about his waist a revolver Draw
ing this he fred shot after shot into the
crowd about his stirrups, and for
moment it hesitated. He took advantage
of this brief respite to spur his horse out
of the throng, and would have outdis-
tanced it had not a gigantic boar CAME
running out of a thicket close on his right,
and, charging the horse with great fury,
run it through the foreleg, breaking the
bone and bringing the poor creature to
the earth. Selling his gun, and withouT
waiting to aim the major poured its con
tents right and left wounding and killing
at least a dozen of the hogs.
Now made thoroughly desperate, the
creatures showed no intention OF letting
i their victims escape them, for, as is well
Y known to stockmen, the hog, though ordi-
narily so stupid and sluggish, when once
aroused is the most stubborn and gamest
animal alive.
Though their number was sensibly de-
creased by the majors fire, the othars
attacked the fallen horse with renewed
| ferOcity and soon dispatched him. The
riders stout hunting boots of leather had
until now protected his limbs from the
| teeth of his foes, but now he was for the
moment at their mercy, and the boots
were torn into strips, and so fierce was the
onset of the hogs that he would have
been thrown down had he not got near
tree and putting his back against it, met
them with a rapid fire. which soon piled
them up about him threedeep. But fairly
tumbling over the dead bodies of their
companions they came on, and with des-
perate clinging TO life Major Whiteside,
now that his ammunition was exhausted, ,
continued to fight them with his gun
lclubhed, knocking them on the head as
| they came.
But, wounded several times il the legs,
with his feet traInpled into the bleeding
flesh by the lnife-like hoOfs and with the
! holder leaping up to snap at his face, the
planter gave himself up for a lost man,
and shouted for help, which was even
then on its way to him. Mr.. Thurman,
who had been hunting squirrels, had
heard the succession of rapid shots, and ,
fearing something was wrong in the quar-
ter from which it came was making his
way thither when he was further alarmed
to hear the squealing of angry hogs and
the cries for help from a human being.
| He broke into q run, arriving in time TO
see Major NkkASide borne down by a
swarm of bristfmg hogs, though still
fighting with fragment Of his gun.
Mr. Thurman rushed TO the neighbours
rescue and scattered the hogs with a
sweeping blow of his weapon They fell
! ba or ioy'rr enough tn allotu him n raisa