The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-05-04
HUNTER WAS HUNTED
Perilous Adventure With a Herd of
Infuriated PeccarieS.
SWIFT SCRAMBLE FOR LIFE
Hair-Hreadth Escape With Savage
"Tuskers" Crashing 7 heir Teeth
Below-A Protracted Siege-
Deliverance at Last.

Bacheller.)
was lost This appalling conviction
was forced upon me as soon as / dis
covered that l was travelling in a ctr
Gle. l was In a pitiable plight. The
sun was hidden, the trees were stu
dripping from a tropic downpour that
had barely ceased. was drenched,
hungry. bewildered and in despair-al-
most, for never quite give up. At last
coming to cliff which overhung a
stream and gave some shelter. / sat
down TO think 1t over.
Beneath the cliff there was a cave,
dry and quite deep which offered a re-
treat for the night, If it should chance
sthat / could not reach home. Placing
my gun far in, out OF the wet, / sat in
the caves mouth and abandoned my
self to gloomy reflections. l was rude
ly aroused, however. by a sound quite
near me; and looking up, L saw the
animal which, of all four-footed Great
ures dreaded most TO meet ant such
time and in such a place. 1t was
beast, short and sturdy in shape and
dark in color--a miniature hog. in fact.
A peccary-I recognized him at a
glance; l know. too, that there were
likely to be others not far away.
Meanwhile he stood staring ait me, as
IL to inquire by what right l had taken
possession of his den. He did not even
move when / rose and reached in for
my gun, but spread his legs apart and
shook his vicious Shocking head, In
manner that indicated a determination
to attack. rather that retreat a single
step. 1t was then very clear to me
that l was occupying the entrance to
his habitation, and that he was very
anxious for me to get out Of the way.
He made several feints and lunges as
If to pass me and lodged about 50 rap
idly that for a while l could get no
good aim at vulnerable spot in his
tough. hairy hide. But at last as he
halted moment beneath the cliff,
seemingly about to charge upon me, l
gave him a load of coarse bird shot
back of the fore shoulder. This. how
ever, was worse than useless. IL did
not kill him but merely Infatuated him.
He fell. to be sure. but with his snout
toward the enemy, and gave utterance
TO such unearthly sounds that / was
much alarmed. And with good reason;
for either lhis horrid squeals or the re-
port of my gun caused whole herd of
peccaries to start up-they seemed to
come right out of the ground. They
became perfectly frenzied at sight of
their wounded companions; and after
rubbing noses with him moment or
two, and inquiring, brute fashion, the
cause of his trouble. they all made a
dasll ait me. l now had both barrels of
my gun loaded with larger shot and let
the ugly brutes have them. right and
left bowling over two of the largest.
! then scrambled up the cliff as far as
j could go.
IL was not very far-not far enough,
in fact, for they came after me. pell
NELL, tumbllng over each other In their
eagerness TO ayenge their friend.
There was one old "tusker" whose
white teeth CLEANED wickedly through
his parted hips, and he led the charge,
getting 50 near TO me that one of my |
leggins was ripped up and a small |
cash cut In one leg. A well-put kick |
in his jaws sent him tumbling down |
amongst the others. though he was in |
stantly up again and at me, the fire |
fairly flashing from his eyes, and his |
lips dripping foam. In the brief inter |
val | had drawn myself as far up as |
the narrow ledge l was on would per- |
NIT; but this was only few inches |
beyond the reach of the old boar in |
his desperate lunges. and even there, |
] could only hold on with great diff
Guilty.
At imminent risk of falling amongst
that grunting. wrfthing mass Of stark |
mad peccaries. l got a cartridge out of |
my belt lbut whether of large or small |
shot / could not telD and finally man.
aged to slip IL into my gun. This load
i sent right into the face and eyes of
the "tusker;' and over he went. land
ing at the base of the cliff, where he |
spun round and round on his back at
lively rate.
The peccary has a curious gland i'm
Its back, which emits a musky odor /
The negroes have belief that IL you
can only strike the animal at this spot
he will be put out of the fight imne-
diately. Be that as II may. this old |
peccary was spinning around like a |
top, the center of a wondering throng /
OF companions. whose attention was |
so much taken by his maneuvers that |
i had an opportunity to glance about |
and slip another cartridge into my |
gun.
The cliff above me was very steep. |
and my foothold so precarious that | |
was I'm constant danger of falling; but |
projecting from rent i'm the rocks. |
not more than 20 feet away, | saw a |
large tree overhanging the bed of the |
stream. III only l could but secure !
refuge in that tree. There I should be |
safe. at least for the time; but the |
trouble was to get there. without Slip |
ping, and fallings into the midst OF |
that herd of savage pigs beneath me. /
Singing up my gun over my choulder
j began the perilous experiment My |
motions. OF course. attracted the at |
tention of the herd and they all dashed |
wildly at the rock. but the foremost |
fell short by nearly a foot. despite his 1
most frantic efforts. My feelings, at z
that moment. were indescribable. but
1 shut my eyes to the possibility OF n
fall and concentrated all my powers I'm
my finger tips, clinging TO the wall of
rock like a hmpet and worming my
way along inch by inch. Ny porcine
guards below continued TO inform me
OF their presence. grunting their disap-
prevail of my fight and crashing their
teeth in expectation of a chance 10
whet them on my bones. l was keenly ,
aware of their every motion. hut kept
n frtRnnlV
which reached out towards me. and .
This l finally grasped. after what
seemed To me an age OF anxious expec- 1
1ation.
Safe IN the tree at last. l seated my 1
self amongst spongy mass OF wild 4
pines and dripping. broad leaved 4
plants. IL was not the pleasantest seat /
in the world and I felt as Crsisoe once \