had
behaved very pluckily.

Six or seven other attacks eventually followed, but each one became
weaker, and at intervals between of longer duration. The eventful night
seemed interminable, and finally it was not until near daybreak that we
heard the last grunt.

At the first lights of gray dawn Jose proposed to reconnoitre, and went
off for the purpose. At first he proceeded very gingerly from tree to
tree. I proposed to myself to go also, but just at that moment I had a
fellow-feeling for the Don's deafness, and thought what a comfortable
place a hammock was, and that really I could do no good; and further I
remembered that generals should always occupy high, commanding
positions; every one was chary of moving from their places of security.

Jose soon afterwards returned, and reported that the enemy had finally
withdrawn.

Thoughts of the horses and mules then occurred to us, and we anxiously
awaited their arrival, for they had acquired the habit of appearing in
camp of their own accord in the early morning for their matutinal feed
of corn. Thankfully I saw three or four soon after arrive, but two men
had to go for the others, that were fortunately found browsing on a
plentiful supply of the shoots of young bamboos. Happily the animals had
been pasturing in a direction opposite to that from whence the peccaries
came, otherwise there would have been a stampede.

Almost the first thing the men did after the final retreat of the
peccaries was to slash the skin on the top of the loins of the defunct
enemy, and extract the gland that creates the disgusting odor peculiar
to these animals; for if not extracted soon after death, it taints the
flesh to such an extent as to render it uneatable except by Indians, who
do not object to any flavor, and eat all their animal food cooked on the
same principle as a European cook prepares a woodcock. There were
twenty-seven dead pigs found in and about the camp, and also several
wounded, to whom it was necessary to give the _coup de grace_. The
wounds were mostly from the knives and small axes, but a very
considerable number of the wounded must have got away to recover, or
linger unfortunately in pain.

Six of the plumpest were selected for drying and salting, the
preparations for which, and also to repair the damages done to the bags
of provisions, delayed our departure for some time.

An examination of these animals showed them to be a species of peccary
resembling that known