. Our young folks [serial]. nter, the bears remain for the most part in thedepth of the woods, where they sleep away the time in some cavern formed bythe roots of a fallen tree, or within the hollow trunk of one large enough tomake a sort of hall bedroom for a single bear of regular habits. Next we come to a sort of pigpen, — a small enclosure with a hut in it; thelatter fitted, as we may fairly guess, with all the modern conveniences essen-tial to the comfort of its occupants. And a pair of queer little fellows theseare, — specimens of the small wild boar called the peccary, which is a native
. Our young folks [serial]. nter, the bears remain for the most part in thedepth of the woods, where they sleep away the time in some cavern formed bythe roots of a fallen tree, or within the hollow trunk of one large enough tomake a sort of hall bedroom for a single bear of regular habits. Next we come to a sort of pigpen, — a small enclosure with a hut in it; thelatter fitted, as we may fairly guess, with all the modern conveniences essen-tial to the comfort of its occupants. And a pair of queer little fellows theseare, — specimens of the small wild boar called the peccary, which is a native ofMexico, as well as of several parts of Central and South America. Theyhave large, piggy heads, but the length of their legs indicates that they canrun with great swiftness. Their bristles are very thick, and of a colorthat suggests the idea of pepper and salt, —just as if the little pigs wereordered to be converted into sausages while yet alive, and had already under- 400 Among the Cages in the Central Park. [July,. gone the process of seasoning. These peccaries are very courageous, andeven ferocious, when molested. One of them will keep several dogs at bay for a good while, protecting himselfin the rear by standing against alarge tree, or in the angle of a fence,and ripping up with his sharp tusksany of his assailants that may berash enough to come to close quar-ters with him. Sometimes, whenattacked by a hunter, a herd of themwill turn upon him; and then hisonly chance of escape is to climbinto a tree, round which these wick-ed little pigs will go raging for hours,grunting and squeaking horribly, allthe while, to the intense gratification,doubtless, of the gentleman up the tree. The fattest, busiest, and funniest creatures that we have yet come to arethese two, engaged in throwing up earthworks in their cage. They are badg-ers from the prairies of the far West, where large spaces of ground aresometimes excavated by them. On this account the buffalo-hunters have agrea
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublisherbosto, bookyear1865
