The news., 1882-06-08
wild Hogs In Burlington County.

an unsuspeeting and credulous public
We have authority from our correspond
ent at Browns Mills 10 say that the arti-
Gle has not the slightest foundation on
facts and that it must have emanated
entirely from the brain Of some over
imaginative quill-driver,
A drove of full-grown wild hogs, made
savage and desperate by hunger, have
been roaming up and down the highways
about Browns Mills for a week past, at
lacking travellers, killing and devouring
sheep, dogs and poultry, and in several
cases driving farmers from their work in
the fields. During the war a mother and
litter of pigs belonging TO J. L. Cramp-
ton, farmer Of that place took refuge in
the swamps and became as wild and say
age as peccaries. From that litter of pigs
have sprung all the wild hogs that live
or have lived 10 the miles Of swampy
and unreclaimed land in Burlington and
adjoining counties since 1864 Between
1870 and 1875 several were killed by
hunters, and during the severe winter Of
1877 those farmers who had suffered by
the depredations Of the wild porkers made
arrangements for great drive hunt
Seventy men and boys on foot and horse
back took part in the drive, which lasted
four hours and ended when thirteen hogs,
weighing from one to two hundred pounds
each, were killed. The hogs were barbe-
cued on Christmas day, and several hum
dred people assembled TO enjoy the feast,
which, however, did not prove as salts
factory as was expected, the meat being
too highly favored with fish, pine cones
and other aromatic but unpalatable
things that the swine had fed upon.
This hunt had the effect of making the
hogs that escaped retreat 10 the depths
of the swamp and become wilder than
ever. A few pigs are killed by hunters
every winter, but as the hunting has TO
be dons over boys and creeks and through
almost impenetrable underbush none but
enthusiastic sporsmen attempt it. 1t is
said that in the summer season the old
ones Gevour the pigs and that in the win
ter the strongest kill and eat their weaker
companions. @Oldn John Pateman, a
professional pot-hunter, declares that in
1880 he saw Ten or fifteen wild hogs attack
the weakest one in the drove and after
they killed and ate ii they at once attacked
another, but the second made such des-
perate resistance that it was not killed for
nearly an hour. Last winter the wild
hogs were unusually bold, particularly in
the neighborhood of the Ryan, Fairfield
and Big Pine Swamp. There is more
mash 10 and about this swamps than
anywhere else in the county, and conse-
quently the hogs centre there in search of
of food.
On Friday, May 26, drove Of five at
lacked horse that James Cooke was
driving along the Browns Mills turnpike,
Cooke endeayored to drive through the
swine, but his horse became so frightened
that he refused to move in the desired
direction. The horse wheeled, however,
upset the buggy, tumbled Cooke out and
ran away. The hogs followed the horse
few yards and then returned, intending
to make a meal of Cooke-who, by the
way, weighs over two hundred pounds,
and is young and no doubt tender and
juicy. Anticipating their desire Cooke
| started at fat mans racing speed for a
small pine tree forty or fifty yards away.
The hungry hogs followed and the race
was close. and exciting to the finish
Cooke reached the tree few yards in adj
vance and managed in some unaccount-
able way to climb it and perch himself
safely on the only limb that was stout
enough to support his weight. His por-
cine pursuers were frightfully euraged at
the escape of their prey and spent an
hour crashing their teeth and jumping
fruitlessly at Cookies dangling legs After
| gnawing the bark entirely off the butt Of
| the tree they stretched themselves on the
ground and waited for Cooke TO come
down and be eaten. Cookies runaway
horse was stopped at the Mount Misery
toll-gate and as the owner Of the equine
did not appear before dark a party Of men
on horseback started to hunt for him.
The approach of this party frightened
| the hogs off and Cooke was saved. He
was in the tree five hours and he declares
that he could not have stuck to his perch
much longer. Nearly all the wild hogs
| that have been seen are of dirty brown
color and their legs and shouts are much
longer than domesticated swine. Cooke
said that one OF the hogs that freed him
was Jet black. Two days after Cookies
adventure farm hand named Berry was
chased across a thirty-acre lot field by a
drove of hogs and TO escape from them,
was compelled 10 take refuge in hay
barrack. The kept him bloekaded about
an hour and then went away. This oc-
cured in the morning, mile south of the
Peterson tavern. That afternoon the
same drove, led by black boar killed
and devoured two dogs on the farm of
Joshua Ludwig, four miles to the South.
| On May 30th Hiram B. Barclay saw his
flock ofsheep running wildly around their
pasture field. Supposlng that they were
attacked by dogs Barclay got his gun and
ran to the field, where he found five hogs
feeding on nice, fat merino eve. Bar
clay shot and crippled brown hog and
the others retreated rapidly. He killed
the crippled the hog with another shot.
On the following day the same band of
hogs gave chase to farmer named Muir
ply, who lives in Tally-ho and was driv-
ing home when the porky pirates sighted
him. They raided john Tierney's poul-
try yard on the evening of May 30th and
remained there all night. The next morn
| ing Tierney, who is farm hand was
unable to leave the house on account Of
the hogs that roamed around the yard in
search of live or dead food. As Tierney
had no gun he, his wife and three daugl,-
tiers were compelled to remain in doors,
watching their blockaders chasing chick
ems and ducks around the yard until
noon, when the four hogs tiooped away
and Tierney came at once to Browns
Mills and told his story. A hunting
party of eleven men was organized and
the pursuit of the hogs began. The trail
was followed from Tierney's place TO Bis
! Pine Swamp, where two of the hogs wers