The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-11-01
! lIftI GEY9rerRta9fIrlIElra

II HEfI3rsrRt9lT'yuYYfrR Z
a HyelY lad laf, beeRto See; lils Girl
and was riding hems. abd,it'tw5 oeISek
Ia the morning, through the pitchy
darkness. At an unexpected moment
his horse reared bolt upright and came
near dislodging him. Iesheftt-uhepant-a
NAL In, although it still plunged ard
kicked and snorted us though in terror
of someftp Observation-Disclosures.
While trying to fatholn The darkness he
heard Observation-Disclosures Of missiles
like arrows pasthis head and something
the soles of his boots. Rightly coujec-
turing that his horse had run upon Il
porcupine, he put whip and got out ot
further danger. The horse ran for
nearly mile antbtheh hbegantgroanlD,g,
and finally lay down in great pain. His
own feet were aRaiAingo him Intensely
Attempting to pull off his boots he
found them absolutelyir riveteda to his
feet. Tho quills had worked through
and were one-halfin the boot-sole and
the rest in his foot. He sat there and
endured nearly three mortal hours Of
agony, until they made their way
through the uppers oi,lhis tboots. yIllj
the meantime the horse died and the
man himself has not been. able, to walk,
for months. But 1t remained for anoth-
or unsophlsticated dweHer!on. the molpl,
tain tops to enlightcn tic public on the
th1eving procliviCcs of this same sljeeies
OF porcupinc. According to this state
ment, In the autumn ofathe ytaritRey
visit the orchards when the apples fall,
and by f6ping oyer them Glttaql them
to their qhllls III large quahtitfes,, and
carry them of to their dcns. When
porcupines arc PlentyA ALL the gabples
arc carried oft or the \ofchnfds,, ind thu
irate pomologist no doubt attributes
their disappearance to the villygc boys,
lie gave several instances of their De-
datory habits, but one will suffice to-
show what they can do. Missing large
quantities Of apples, he lay for the i'll
truder one night with shot gun. Pre-
sently he sespicd Il porcupine come into
the orchard and make up to tho choice
tree, where the mellow ana d1usciousap-
pies lay thick upon the ground. Over
and over it rolled upon them until it
attained an enormous size, and big
apple was OH each particular quill.
Having loaded itself, down to the guards
it moved off, aha he followed 1t. A.
good opportunity Offering he fired at 1t,
and killed. iJ. 81 picked up the applcs,"
he said, "and measured them lust for
curiosity, and found that porcupino
was getting away with just two bushels
and threetpccks of fI'emN} bra akGoill
GLOW large was the porcupine2 how
much did 1t weigh m L ventured to,
ask. - H'''%t.E bla ni0oD vpUa'{
"Well, 1t was some two feet long and
six inches high-would weigh five or
six pounds before it was skinned :" was
the reply.
Two oushelsa and three, pecEs ofgrcen
apples would weigh about onc-hun{ned
and twenty-five pounds, anu would
make good load for full-grown man.
And yet there are plenty of people,
both In town and country, who say that
newspaper men arc given to making
re ckless statements. But what is most
singular about these porcupinc stories
Is that there Is II OF now and never were
any porcupin"s in thiscountry, outside
of geological gardens and travelling
menageries. Another curious tact is
that l have heard precisely these same
stories told me with the most solemn
earn estness and without the slightest
variation, in almost evcry&paft f'satiis
Union, by persons who have neither
read nor travelled Upon inquiry l
have also found that the ancestors of
the people who most frequently tell
them were originally from! Southern
Europe, and it is reasonable to infer
that these wonderful 'porcupihe stories
haye been handed handed down, through. ira,
dition for at least tlvc'hundrcd years. Z"
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