Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1898-12-22
Battle Royal in Cexas
Peccaries Matched Against a Lion
and Three Bears.

~ ever witnessed occurred on
Texas ranch few days ago. The cow
boys of Spangler ranch Lad three full
grown bears, captured at one time or
other in the Santiago mountains. The
bears wandered about the ranch and
stables, eternally in some mischief, but
nobody feared them, as they were al
ways good-humored and playful. Over
at Tom Ray ran ..r Los Chisos, the
boys owned wo-year-old Mexican
lion, o. panther. That sort of pet will
always become dangerous by the time
it is two years old, and this particu-
lar one was about the meanest lion even
caught in that section. and the boys of
Tom Ray concluded to fight him, if
battle could be arranged, with the bears
of Spangler.
Before arrangements could be made
Mexican Pope, hunter for Spangler
ranch, discovered den of peccaries, or
wild Mexican hogs. as they are called
in Texas. There's no animal on top of
ground more uncomfortable than pee
cary. They are small, round-bodied,
yellowish-brown animals about the size
of a quarter-grown hog. They are COW
cred with coarse bristles, the ridge
down the back and along the neck be-
ing often five or six inches long. They
sport long, curved, scimetar-like tusks,
sharp as knife blades, and their dispo-
sitions are devilish. They are tailless.
There's no animal known which will
face them voluntarily. The band dis
covered by Pope had for its headquar-
%ar-c in a Of ho
tain. The mouth of the cave was less
than two feet in diameter, but the cave
itself was fully 40 feet wide and so
feet long. Pope was hunting at the
time, and the musky odor of the pee
carries betrayed them. Luckily for Pope
the band must have just returned from
some excursion, as they were asleep at
the time, and before they woke up Pope
had corked up the entrance to the cave
with rocks, which were thickly strewn
about
When Pope returned to the ranch and
told his story the cowboys proposed a
battle royal. They sent word to Tom
Ray ranch and the cowboys of that
ranch brought over their Mexican lion.
Meanwhile the boys had built a heavy
rail fence about 100 feet square and 10
feet high above the cave. The next
morning there were so cowboys of Tom
Ray ranch, as many or more from the
Rocket ranch and nearly 100 of the
Spangler ranch boys gathered together.
The ground within the rallied Enclosure
was cleared of every obstacle except
four good-sized stumps, to each of
which a bear or panther was chained
with a 20-foot chain. Each of the
stumps had been squared off three feet
above the ground.
At one o'clock all was ready for the
battle except the peccaries This part
Of the work was delegated to Red Jim.
an Indian cowboy of Spangler. with the
betting two to one that Jim would get
nipped before he could get out of reach
of the Infatuated peccaries. But Jim
knew his business. He first rolled
stones and placed them several feet
from the mouth of the cave to impede
the brutes should they get too quick
for him. Then he slipped a lariat around
the big stone which corked up the
mouth of the cave. Retreating Is or
20 feet, he gave the lariat a strong pull.
and out came a stream of raging wild
hogs. They didn't catch Jim. but they
came close enough to spring at his heels
as he scaled the fence Then fully 100
mad and swapping peccaries stood a
minute and looked around In front, 10
or so feet away, were three big bears
and a Mexican lion Most people
would think that such a sight would
have scared the peccaries, but it did
not. On the contrary tho bears and
the lion began to display signs of I'M
easiness. The bears quickly climbed to
the top of the tree stump to which
they were chained and the lion squatted
and showed his teeth
Betting was about even. Bronchos.
saddles, brides. Winchesters and cow
boy possessions of all sorts went up
on the result, until the ground was
covered with piles of traps The pee
carries didn't wait, but with general
squeak of rage charged their adYer-
saries. Squads Of something like lal
numbers attacked each bear and the
lion, and then followed a fight to the
death. The bears stood with all four
feet on each stump, and as the pee
carries sprang at them they struck right
and lett, knocking the pugnacious
brutes yards away. Half a dozen pee
carries had received severe injuries
from the claws and blows. and it began
to look like a win-out for the bears.
when suddenly two of the wild hogs
sprang up behind one of the bears
while his attention was attracted in
front, and in a second they had severe
ly nipped him in the rear. Turning too
quickly, a bear slipped ana reil from
his pedestal. In a second there was
mass of reddish brown bristles and bear