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Quadrupeds, What They Are and Where Found: A Book of Zoology for Boys
Chapter Sixteen.
Swine
If not one of the most agreeable, the Hog – or Pig, as it is oftener called – is one of the most useful of the domesticated animals. Indeed, it would be difficult to say how culinary operations could be carried on without the valuable fat which this creature produces in such plenty, and to which both cooks and confectioners are so largely indebted. Besides, there are whole nations who feed almost entirely upon its flesh; and even its skin and bristles constitute an important item of manufacturing industry. The facility with which the flesh can be preserved under the name of bacon, the length of time it may be kept without the danger of spoiling, combined with the undoubted wholesomeness of such an article of diet, render it one of the most convenient articles of provision; and hence in agricultural districts, and other places far remote from towns, it is an almost universal article of food.
The number of species that form the group of hogs or swine is very limited indeed; in all not exceeding half a score. These, however, are found in endless varieties, and distributed over all the globe, since in each of the five great divisions one or more indigenous kind of hog has been found. That which forms the type on which the swine family is founded, is, of course, the Common Pig; and this is supposed to be descended from the wild boar, so well-known in connection with the chase during medieval times.
It is superfluous to say that the common hog of our farmyards has been propagated until an almost countless variety of breeds have been produced – not only every country, but even single counties or provinces having a breed of its own. All, however, are so much alike in habits and general appearance, and their characteristics so well-known, that it would be idle to give any description of them here. We shall only remark that the pig, if fairly treated, is by no means an animal of filthy or dirty habits, as is generally supposed. On the contrary, it is cleanly in its nature; and its slovenliness is brought upon it by the manner in which it is styed up, in its own filth. Neither is it a stupid creature, but possesses considerable intelligence; as is proved by the tricks which it has been taught to perform under the name of the “learned pig;” while several individuals have been trained to follow the gun, and stand to game as stanch as the best pointers. In France it is not uncommon for the truffle-hunters to use pigs in search of this favourite esculent – the keenness of scent which the animal possesses enabling it to find this hidden treasure, just as it does potatoes or other roots, far under the surface of the ground.
The Wild Boar, next to the common domestic variety, is the best known and most celebrated of the swine. In earlier times it was found in every part of Europe. Even at this day, it is not rare in the forest fastnesses of most of the continental countries, and also in Asia. It was formerly common in England, and the chase of it was a favourite pastime among the kings and nobles, especially about the time of the Norman Conquest. In those days the Game laws were certainly harsh enough – much more so than those of our own time – since William the Conqueror issued an edict punishing with the loss of his eyes any one who should be convicted of killing a wild boar!
In Europe the famed boar spear, used in hunting this animal, has given way to the rifle; but in India, where the field is taken on horseback, the spear is still in use; and hunting the wild boar is one of the most exciting of wild sports practised in that country.
The wild boar of India, however, is in some respects different from that of Europe; and naturalists generally class it as a distinct species.
The Babirussa is another species belonging to the East Indian world: found principally in the Moluccas and other islands of the Indian Archipelago. It is of about the same size as the common pig; but of more slender shape, and stands higher upon its deer-like limbs. The skin is thinly furnished with soft bristles, and is of a greyish tint, inclining to fawn colour on the belly. But the most striking character of the babirussa is to be found in its tusks. Of these there are two pairs of unequal size. The lower ones are short – somewhat resembling those of the common boar – whereas the two upper ones protrude through the skin of the muzzle, and then curve backward like a pair of horns, and often downward again, so as to form a complete circle! It is not known for what purpose these appendages exist. The two lower tusks must be formidable weapons; but the upper ones, especially in old individuals, can hardly inflict a wound. They may perhaps ward off the bushes from the eyes of the animal, as it rushes through the thick cover of its jungly retreat. The females are without these tusks; and are also much smaller than the males.
The babirussa inhabits marshy thickets and forests; and is hunted for its flesh – which is highly prized both by the natives and foreigners. It is very swift and fierce. When pursued or wounded in the chase, it will show fight like the wild boar of Europe.
The Papuan hog, or bêne, is a native of the Island of New Guinea; and is characterised by its small stature and slender and graceful form. Its tusks are not large, and are shaped like the incisor teeth. It is covered with thick, short, and yellowish-coloured bristles; and when young it is marked by bright fulvous stripes along the back. The native Papuans highly esteem its flesh; and on this account it is hunted by them in the forests where it is found. Its young are often captured, and brought up in a domesticated state – in order that their flesh may the more easily be procured. Foreigners, who have visited this island, relish it as an article of food.
We now come to the hogs of Africa – the Wart-hogs, as they are commonly called. Of these there are two species; and it would be difficult to say which is the uglier of the two. In respect of ugliness, either will compare advantageously with any other animal in creation. The deformity lies principally in the countenance of these animals; and is caused by two pairs of large protuberances, or warts, that rise upon the cheeks and over the frontal bone. These excrescences – if we may so call them – lend to the visage of the creature an aspect positively hideous, which is rendered still more ugly and fierce-looking by a pair of formidable tusks curving upward from each jaw. The body is nearly naked – excepting along the neck and back, where a long bristly mane gives a shaggy appearance to the animal – especially when these bristles, of nearly a foot in length, are erected under the impulse of rage. Other peculiarities are, a pair of whiskers of white curling hair along the lower jaws; small black eyes surrounded by white bristly hair; a long tail tufted at the extremity; and on the knees of the fore-legs a piece of thick callous skin, hard and protuberant. In fact, every characteristic of this creature seems intended to make his portrait as disagreeable as may be.
We have said there are two species. These are known as Aelian’s wart-hog and the Cape wart-hog. The former is a native of Abyssinia, Kordofan, and other countries of North Africa; while the latter, as its name implies, is found at the Cape – or rather throughout the whole southern part of the continent. It is the Vlack Vaark of the Dutch colonists; and this species differs from Elian’s wart-hog in having the cheek protuberances much larger, its head more singularly shaped, and, if possible, in being uglier!
The wart-hog dwells among low bushes and forests. It creeps on its bent fore-feet in quest of food – sliding along on its knees, and propelling itself forward by its hind legs. This habit will account for the callosities already mentioned. In this posture it digs up the ground, extracting therefrom the roots and bulbs (of which its food is supposed entirely to consist); for, fierce and hideous as its aspect may be, the wart-hog is less omnivorous than several other species of the tribe.
And now for the indigenous hogs of America, the Peccaries. Of these, also, there are two species described by naturalists; though certainly a third kind exists in the South American forests, distinct from the two that are known.
These are the Collared Peccary, or Coyametl; and the White-lipped Peccary, or Tagassou.
For a long time these two species were confounded with each other; but it is now proved that they are distinct – not only in size and colour, but to some extent also in their geographical distribution, their haunts, and habits.
The Collared Peccary is of small stature: not larger than a half-grown Berkshire pig. It is thickly covered with hairy bristles of a greyish-brown colour, and has a whitish band or collar around the neck – from which circumstance it derives its trivial specific name. Its geographical range is more extensive than that of its congener. It is found not only in South America, but throughout the whole of Central and North America, as far as the borders of the United States territory: in other words, the limits of its range are co-extensive with what was formerly Spanish America. It exists in Texas; and still further to the north-west, in New Mexico and California – though nowhere to the east of the Mississippi river. In Texas it is common enough; and stories are related of many a redoubtable Texan hunter having been “tree’d” – that is, forced to take shelter in a tree from a band of peccaries, whose rage he may have provoked while wandering in their haunts, and too recklessly making use of his rifle. The same is related as occurring to South American hunters with the white-lipped peccaries – that have a similar habit of trooping together in droves, and acting in concert, both for defence and attack, against the common enemy.
The chief points of distinction between the two species are in the size and colour. The white-lipped kind is much the larger – frequently weighing one hundred pounds – while a full-grown individual of the collared peccary does not exceed in weight over fifty pounds. The former are of a deeper brown colour, want the white collar around the neck; but in its stead have a whitish patch around the mouth or lips, from which also comes their specific appellation. These are also thicker and stouter, have shorter legs, and a more expanded snout. They troop together in larger droves, that often number a thousand individuals of all ages and sizes. Thus united, they traverse extensive districts of forest – the whole drove occupying an extent of a league in length – all directed in their march by an old male, who acts as leader. Should they be impeded in their progress by a river, the chief stops for a moment to reconnoitre; then plunges boldly into the stream, followed by all the rest of the troop. The breadth of the river, and the rapidity of the current, seem to be but trifling obstacles to them; and are overcome easily, since the peccaries are excellent swimmers. They continue their onward march through the open grounds; over the plantations, which, unfortunately for their owners, may chance to lie in their way; and which they sometimes completely devastate, by rooting out the whole of the crops of maize, potatoes, sugarcane, or manioc. If they should meet with any opposition, they make a singular noise – chattering their teeth like castanets; and if a hunter should chance to attack them when moving thus, he is sure to be surrounded and torn to pieces: unless he find some tree or other convenient object, where he may make escape, by getting out of their reach.
The white-lipped peccaries are found in all the forests of South America – from the Caribbean Sea to the Pampas of Buenos Ayres. They are abundant in Paraguay; and Sonnini, the traveller, has observed them in Guyana. Others report their presence on the Orinoco and its tributaries – as also on all the waters of the Amazon. Most probably, it was from the number of these animals observed upon its banks by the early travellers, that the last-mentioned river obtained one of its Spanish names – the Rio Maranon – which signifies the “river of the wild hogs.”
Chapter Seventeen.
Horses and Asses
The Horse —par excellence the noblest of animals – is represented by only a limited number of species; but, like other creatures domesticated by man, he is found of many different breeds and varieties: too many to be minutely described in these pages. Suffice it to say, that almost every civilised nation possesses several kinds of horses – differing from one another in size, shape, colour, and qualities: in size especially – since this fine animal may be observed not much bigger than a mastiff; while other members of his family attain almost to the dimensions of an elephant! Even savage tribes, both in Asia and America, are in possession of peculiar breeds of horses; and it may be assumed as a fact, that more than a hundred varieties exist upon the earth. These have all been regarded as springing from one original stock; but here again there is only vague conjecture; and it is far more probable, that the domesticated horses are the descendants of several kinds originally distinct in their wild state.
There are wild horses at the present day in Asia, Africa, and America; but it is questionable whether any of these are the descendants of an originally wild stock. More likely they are the progeny of horses escaped from the domesticated breeds. Of course we refer to the true horses of the genus equus; and not to the dziggetais, quaggas, and zebras – to which we shall presently refer. These last-mentioned kinds are still found wild, as they have ever been; and, with one or two exceptions, none of their species have been tamed to the use of man.
In America – both in the northern and southern divisions of the continent – herds of wild horses are numerous. These have all sprung from individuals that escaped from their owners, and in process of time have multiplied to a great extent. Of course they could have no other origin: since it is well-known that, previous to the time of Columbus, no animal of the horse kind existed in America. The wild horses now found there are descended then from a domestic breed; and this breed has been easily ascertained to be that used by the Spaniards in their conquests of Mexico and Peru. It is a race known as the Andalusian horse – nearly allied to the Arabian – and no doubt at an earlier period imported into the peninsula of Spain by the Moors. These horses are much smaller than the English hunter; but possess all the properties of a true horse – the shape, action, etcetera – and cannot, therefore, be considered as mere ponies. They are, in reality, well-blooded horses, of small stature; and no breed could be better suited to the climate of most parts of Spanish America, where they now run wild.
On the pampas of South America these horses exist in vast droves. The Gauchos, a half-civilised race of men, live amidst their herds, and hunt them chiefly for the hides. They early learn to capture and ride them; and a Gaucho is seldom seen off the back of his horse. He can capture and break one in in the course of an hour. The flesh also serves him as an article of food. Down as far as the Straits of Magellan the droves of wild horses are found. There the native Indians have tamed many of them – even the women and children going most of their time on horseback. On the llanos, or great plains, that extend northward from the Amazon and Orinoco – that is, in the provinces of Venezuela – other droves of wild horses exist; and these, along with half-wild oxen, form the sole property and pursuit of a class of men called Llaneros, who in many respects resemble the Gauchos. Again, proceeding to North America, we find the same species of horse running wild on the great plains to the north of Mexico; in California, and upon the prairies east of the Rocky Mountains. In Mexico Proper, as also in California, they are owned by great landed proprietors; and are annually caught, branded, and sold. Many of these proprietors can count from 10,000 to 20,000 head roaming within the boundaries of their estates, besides large droves of horned cattle and mules. In the vast regions between the settled parts of Mexico and the frontier settlements of the United States, the wild horses are the property of no one, but range freely over the prairies without mark or brand. These are hunted and captured by different tribes of Indians – Comanches, Pawnees, Sioux, Blackfeet, etcetera, who also possess large numbers of them tamed and trained to various uses. Like the Gauchos and Llaneros of the south, these Indians use the flesh of the horse for food, and esteem it the greatest delicacy! Among some tribes, where the buffalo is not found, the horse takes the place of the latter as an article of diet; and forms the principal article of subsistence of thousands of these people. Among most of the prairie tribes the chase of this animal, or the buffalo, is the sole pursuit of their lives.
Still further north ranges the wild horse, even as far as the prairies extend; and among the tribes of the Saskatchewan he is also found – used by them for the saddle, and also as a beast of burden. In these regions, however, the buffalo still exists in great numbers; and the horse, besides being eaten himself, is also employed to advantage in the chase of this animal.
The wild horses of America are not all exactly of one breed. Those of the Mexico-American prairies, called by the Spaniards musteños (mustangs), differ slightly from those found upon the llanos of South America; and these again from the horses of the pampas, and the parameros of Peru. These differences, however, are but slight, and owing solely to climatic and other little causes. But the mustangs of the northern prairies have among them an admixture of breeds, derived from American runaways along the borders of the Mississippi, and others escaped from travellers on the prairies; and there have latterly been discovered mustangs of large size – evidently sprung from the English-Arabian horse.
In the Falkland Islands the horse is also found in an untamed state. These were introduced by the French in 1764; but have since become perfectly wild. Strange to say, they are only found in the eastern part of the island – although the pasture there is not more rich than in the west, and there is no natural boundary between the two!
In Asia the horse runs wild in large herds – just as in America. The range in which they are found in this state is chiefly on the great plains, or steppes – stretching from the Himalaya Mountains to Siberia. The Calmuck Tartars tame them; and possess vast droves, like the Gauchos and Indians. They also eat their flesh; and among many tribes of Tartars mare’s milk is esteemed the most delicious of beverages.
After the true horse, the most beautiful species is the Zebra. Every one knows the general appearance of this handsomely marked animal, which appears as if Nature had painted his body for effect.
Of the zebra there are two distinct kinds – both of them natives of Africa, and belonging to the southern half of that great continent. They are easily distinguished from each other by the stripes. One of them is literally striped to the very hoofs – the dark bands running around the limbs in the form of rings. The stripes extend in the same way over the neck and head, to the very snout or muzzle. This is the true zebra, an animal that inhabits the mountainous regions of South Africa, and which differs altogether from the dauw or Burchell’s zebra, also found upon the great plains or karoos of the same region. The latter has the stripes only over the body; while the head and legs are very faintly streaked, or altogether of a plain brownish colour. Attempts have been made at taming both of these kinds, and with some success. They have been trained both to the saddle and draught; but, even in the most tractable state to which they have been yet reduced, they are considered as “treacherous, wicked, obstinate, and fickle.”
Another species of horse found also in South America is the Quagga. This is very much like the zebra in size, shape, and in fact everything except colour. In the last respect it differs from both, in being of a plain ashy brown hue over the upper parts of the body, very indistinctly striped, and of a dirty white colour underneath. Like the dauw, it frequents the open plains – trooping together in vast droves, and often herding with several species of antelopes.
Another species of quagga, called the Isabella quagga, is supposed to exist in South Africa; but there are doubts upon this subject. The name is derived from the colour of a specimen seen by a very untrustworthy traveller, which was of the hue known as Isabella colour; but nothing is known of the animal, and most naturalists believe that the Isabella quagga is identical with the other species, and that the specimen reported by Le Vaillant was only a young quagga of the common kind.
All these species of African horses are generally classed with the genus Asinus; that is, they are considered as asses, not horses.
We now come to other species of the ass genus, which were all originally natives of Asia.
First, then, there is the domestic Ass; and of this species there are almost as many varieties as of the horse, – some of them, as the Guddha of the Mahrattas, not larger than a mastiff, while others exist in different parts of the world as large as a two-year-old heifer. Asses are found of a pure white, and black ones are common, but the usual colour is that to which they have given their name – the “colour of an ass.”
Besides the domestic species, there are several others still found wild. There is the Koulan, which is exceedingly shy and swift – so much so that it is difficult to capture or even kill one of them; since before the hunter can approach within rifle range of them, they take the alarm and gallop out of sight. They live in troops, inhabiting the desert plains of Persia and Mesopotamia in winter, while in summer they betake themselves to the mountain ranges. They are also found on the steppes bordering the Caspian and Aral Seas.
Another species of wild ass is the Kiang. This inhabits Thibet. It is of a bright bay colour, and has a smooth coat; but the males are deeper coloured than the females. They live in troops of about a dozen individuals under a solitary male; and frequent places where the thermometer is below zero – though they dwell indifferently either on open plains or mountains.
The kiang has a variety of appellations, according to the country in which it is found. It is the Dziggetai, and the Wild Ass of Cutch, and also the Yototze of the Chinese; but it is very probable that all these are the names of different species. It is further probable, that there exist several other species of wild asses in the Thibetian and Tartar countries of Asia – and also in the vast unknown territories of North-eastern Africa – yet to be classified and described; for it may be here observed that a monograph of the horse tribe alone, fully describing the different species and breeds, would occupy the whole life of a naturalist.
