Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-25
WILD HOGS N ARIZONA.
The Degenerate Progeny of swine Of
Arfstocrntic Ancestry.

From the San Francisco Chronicle.
The widest OF wild hogs live both above
and below Yuma, on the Colorado river.
While the steamer was lying at Castle
Dome lanling n few days since loading
with ere. 4 fine hand Of them On the oppo-
site shore came down to the river 20 feed
ca the banks. where the grass ana weeds
were green, and TO get a drink Of water.
They ra!i no attention 10 the beat. nor TO
the Indians at work After losflng around
for a while, an old boar came out OF the
brush, ami, on spying MS. gave swish"
AMI away they all went. Hardly day
passes that the Indians and catticmen do
not run upon them. These bands seem 10
be more tinlid than ugly.
When the late Thomas Blythe was trying
TO settle a colony at Lerdo, forty-fve miles
Delow Yuma on the Colorado. he sent down
O large number of very fine fuii-blooded
Berkshire and Poland-China pigs and turned
them loose on the banks of the river near
Lerdo, where they lived on the roots. grass.
weeds, tules and mesquite beans; bred. null
tplied, kept fat and filled the low and tuIe
lends with q large number Of fine porkers.
Never seeing a human being except now
and then a lone Indian. they soon became
wild. and wilder STILL and scattered until
the lowlands and woods were full of them.
Notwithstanding that he coyotes slaugh-
tered tie little ones IN great numbers. they
have increased until Il is estimated that at
TIE present time there are more than l0tsD
and Hardie rivers. from their mouths up a.
high as the tide runs or from sixty-fiye to
seventy miles this side Of the gulf
They go wherever they please; nothing
stops them in their course. When the Colo
faao is at its food they will cross n from
chore TO shore. even near the Hardie where
IL is four miles wide when at Its highest
gauge. Their range gives them the finest Of
feed-wild sweet potatoes, tules, stray fish,
CLAIMS. dead turtles and seaweed along the
river bank at low tide. They are unmolest-
ed except now and then by a hunter who
finds his way down the river Most Of the
hunters give the wild swine a wide berth.
except now and then as they happen TO spy
a nice little roaster on the bank and within
easy rife shot.
a few years ago a man and his family
were living a few miles below the colony,
on the bank Of the Colorado. He had a
pair of very fne, large staghounds which
the owner claimed could run down and Kill
any wild hog in that region. One DAY he
took dogs and rife and went for a nice lit
tie one, just right for the oven. He had not
gone far before he found q large hand Of
hogs. and turned his dogs loose on them
No sooner had they started when out OF the
titles near by jumped sn enormous boar, q
monster, who with mouth wide open, pay
ms no attention to the dogs, made for the
hunter. The latter drew up his rife and
fred, but on came the boar, the dogs nip
ping him at every jump.
The hunter fired a second shot. but on
came the beast. The hunter turned and ran
Tor mesquite tree a. few yards distant. the
hog close TO his heels. He dropped his gun
and jumped for his life. grasping a limb OF
the tree just as the hog grabbed his pants
End tore one-hah OF them from him, but he
was safe: just out of reach. The dogs all
this while ran grabbing the hog 10y the
hind legs, to which the beast paid no atten-
ton.
The mad boar seized the bark OF the tree
In his great tusks and tore il into shreds
Finally he turned upon the dogs Instantly
killed one and wounded the other so that I.
died soon after. He then turned his atten-
ton 10 the tree where sat the hunter. He
guarded him until IL was dark. Twice did
the man get down and try 10 get his rife,
but his foe was on guard and drove him
back up the tree. During the night tho
boar left Daylight came and so did help.
The men had hardly reached the river and
got in their boat when down came the old
hog after them in vain pursuit