The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-09-30
AMERICAN PoRcuPiNEs.
They Abound In rcnpsyivania and Eune
on Empty Barrels.

They Abound In Pennsylvania and Lunch
Empty barrels
/ There are probably more hedgehogs.
| or porcupines, as many of the natives
call them, in the lumber woods os
northwestern Pennsylvania than any
where else in the east They are curi-
GUS creatures. these hemlock weosis
porcupines, and great pest around
Lumber camps
They are passionately fond Of salt,
and If the four sides of n lumber camp
shanty should be salted from ground to
roof the porcupipes would eat IL down
over the very heads of the inmates aud
not leave splinter of it 10 mark where
IL stood. They don't mind man or
twenty men. if there is salt barrel in
capp, and they will persist in getting
| to it as long as one OF them is lef, alive.
The other night drove of porcupincs
made q raid on an old lumber-shantv
west Of this place. in the McKean
county woods. The shanty was a.
cupied by two bark-peelers The por-
cupines came from all directions and
! made their way into the shanty, walk
! ing the men by tramping over them and
keeping them awake long time after
ward by their determination 70 take
possession of the place.
With their axes the bark-pce'ers
fought the bold and persistent little
animals, and it was not until they had
killed the whole drove. thirty in num-
Der, that they were able 70 go To bed
again in peace
The next night the shanty was .:
tackled again by detachment of por-
cupines apparently ar large ss the first
| one. The occupants had closed up tho
the apcrtures through which the drove
the night before had gained entrance,
and the second lot, finding no place To
get in, promptly set TO work 10 gnaw a
place through the boards In wonder
fully short time three different
entrances were made by tho sharp
toothed and industrious animals. and
the two bark peelers found themselves
under the necessity Of either spending
the night fgh Ig porcupines again or
surrendering the shanty To the invad.
erS The men concluded TO whit and
see what the animals would %
They ignored the presence Of tho
bark peelers entirely and scrambled To
a corner of the shanty where an empty
saltpork barrel stood. a relic Of some
previous occupancy of the premises
The porcupines attacked tho barrel and
In less than an hour had eaten 10 mp,
slaves, hoops and ALL Then they
chewed up lot Of boards near the BAR
rel, on which brine had been spilled
and departed as they had entered, ex-
cept that they carried away with thera
q pretty good load Of lumber on which
tbev had lunched
"You don't have 70 skirmish round
much 10 get feed 20 fatten one OF tfI-ss
hemlock porcupines on" says an old
Potter county woodsrnan. "Juss
sprinkle some salt over stick Of cord
wood, or saw-log fer the matter. and
he'll eat the whole business and enjoy
it like you would mince pie.'
The customary diet Of these animals,
though, is hemlock browse They
make themselves a home IN hollow
log or under the roots of some old tree.
but always in reach OF n big hemiock
HftulbfA II ts3E1 DsAAtGEF Af4Ff
make beaten paths going 20 and fro be-
tween the tree and their hone& The
porcupine climbs the tree as readily as
a squirrel would, provided you don't slip
up and cut his tail OF " bile DE is going
up. Somehow or other he cant climb
the tree without his tail, nor he won't
come down without T. II you catch
one 81 these porcupiHes clirn bing tree
and chop his tail Of close he will stop
right where bs is and viii stag thsrs
until he starves 20 death, unless he IL
taken away. Once up the tree ths
porcupine goes oEs or the big limits.
and pulling the small branches in with
one paw, bro~ses on the puugent
leaves In going through the woods
yon viii find Nttio piles % these emo
leaves on the ground under beniocl<
trees That means that . porcupins u
feeding n the tree. ths leaves On the
groane being dropped from his feet
Sometimes , porcnpin- ~ill remain IN
a heEnlOck tree vyesA az a tine. hez-
ging close % the trunk q, night. sad
feeding during the Cay. This curious
little be2st Is The on3y known living
thing that ests the foliage of .ae as1r
lock -FA.saGeiph phiz Presz