Texas Feral Hogs

The first swine to enter the United States was in 750 to 1000 AD as Polynesian immigrants brought pigs to Hawaii. The earliest record of hogs coming to the Americas is in 1493 when Christopher Columbus on his quest to discover America, had eight hogs on board as he landed in the West Indies. It wasn’t until the year 1539 that hogs first made land fall in the continental US. It was that year that Hernando DeSoto obtained 13 hogs in Cuba on his way to Florida. In the next several years DeSoto traveled around exploring the southeastern US until he died in Arkansas in 1542. At the time of his death, his hog herd had increased to 700. The first hogs to reach Texas resulted from the travels of Rene Robert Sieur de LaSalle.In a failed attempt to reach the mouth of the Mississippi River, LaSalle landed in the Matagorda area on February 18th 1685. Among the supplies brought from the West Indies were cattle, swine and chickens. After establishing a settlement, LaSalle left the area in 1687 leaving behind 20 people, 70 pigs and 18 chickens. The first hogs to arrive with any significance and established a wild population originated with the colonist that settled in Nacogdoches in 1819.An excursion by Mexican Colonial Ignacio Perez and his troops reported good crops of cotton, corn, pumpkins, potatoes and many cattle and hogs. By the middle 1820’s, colonist begin to receive land grants and settle east Texas. Hogs were the most common livestock and all livestock were allowed to roam free in the woods to fend for themselves. The hogs were usually gathered once or twice a year to mark and butcher. It was about 1835 when hostilities began to arise between Mexico and the Texas settlers. Many settlers fled their homes out of fear of the Mexican Troops. The hogs were left behind and eventually became feral...The Vindicator