The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-05-22
THE GREAT AMERICAN HOG.
He Ii a Wise Beast, n Sure weather
Prophet and n Fine Fighter.
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Hogs are not stupid-the popular impress
sion to the contrary Notwithstanding. In
stead they are very wise-especiaHy wealth
e- wise. Negroes say, "Ole Brer Hawg.
he kin see de wind" Certainly Brer
Hogs behavior Is sometimes such as 70
give color of reason to the belief. The
wind may blow softly. the sun shine
warm in clear blue sky, but II that
mysterious sense warns the hog of change,
he gets ready for 1t upon the instant.
Hogs in herd are tremendously gregari-
Gus; they feed and range end sleep in
gangs. Their leaf beds are heaped to-
gether as soon as the frost falls. The
older animals begin the heaping, and the
pigs quickly fall in line. At first The
mound Is moderate. but when cold or snow
threatens 1t grows as If by magic. Not
only leaves, but slow, bushy brush and
strawy sedge are gnawed off and carried
in great mouthfuls to reinforce the bed.
II twenty hogs are to sleep in It It will
be breast high to a man before the ac-
cumuiatio ceases. Then as soon as feed
ing is over the hogs make dash for 1t,
burrow under and bury themselves, head
and ears, in its depths. They lie cross
and-pile any fashion, indeed, which brings
them as close together as possible. AS
the cold increases I'm the night those
upon the outer edges push under and
between their sleeping mates, thus rous-
ing them to squeal discomfort.
A sucking SOW makes her own bed and
drives away from 1t everything except her
pigs. She heaps 1t conically gets upon
top works herself halfway down in II,
then whirls around and around, until she
has followed for herself andf her piggfes
snug nest. After she Hes down IN 1t,
with her pigs strung along her side she
rises upon her forelegs. and with her
snout flrts the bed-stun all over her
litter.
Upon bitter day the pigs do not leave
the bed Hogs of every sort indeed lie
asleep through the cold unless driven out
by hunger.
A curious fact is that a pig will not
squeal II caught and lifted by the tail
Darby pig-abstractors take advantage of
1t to carry off plump captives from right
under the noses Of their lawful owners
But woe betide even the most law-abiding
captor who seizes upon a pig by leg or
ear or round the middle Piggy not only
sdueals. and tries to bite. but HIS squeal-
ing calls every other hog within hearing
to fierce attempt at rescue. Br4stling,
gnashlng their tusks fceming and red
eyed, they charge down upon the ravager
If he runs, they run after; II he stands,
they ring him shout. uttering the while
peculiar sound, something between a
squeal and cultural roar. Oddly enough,
sucking mothers are hardly so fierce as
other members OF the herd But It is the
part of wisdom TO drop your pig and run,
as otherwise you are In danger OF serious
injury.
Sight of vicious or even teasing dog,
no doubt, brings back to the herd hog a
memory of the time when his forebears
fought off wolves. For he adopts the same
method of defense-forms a ring with his
stronger companions, inside of which the
weaker are sheltered. The ring faces out,
brlstlng and uttering its cultural war
cry. II the dog leaps at It II swiftly be-
comes a longish oval, reaching out TO
meet and rend him.
inside the foreleg every hog has five
curious, small indentations, whose use no
anatomist has ever discovered. Tradition
calls them the marks of the devil, which
entering into herd Of swine, made them
rush violently down into the sea. They
are, perhaps, an eighth of an inch In
depth, and as big round as a small pea
Negroes say that If by chance they be-
come cogged the pig will not thrive, and
the experience OF many hog raisers goes
TO confirm the saying.
Hogs learn quickly to discriminate They
will set up prodigious squealing when
hungry at sight of their habituai feeder
yet pay no attention to any other person.
They also learn their own calls as distin-
guished from those of other animals Up
in the region OF mountains and moonshine
whisky, hogs are called with long wood
en- trumpets. whose sound is like that OF
a hunting horn, but more powerful and
carrying further. Revenue vigilance is
OF course the horns reason OF being-its
blasts do not awaken suspicion as would
the usual calling. The hogs ranging miles
OF mountainside come when they hear
the trumpet a little before daylight, for
their beloved swill, but cannot be de-
ceived by blasts OF any other horn.
Singularly, once upon time. three pet
pigs were trained TO come for their morn
ing mush and milk at the sound Of
"Dlxie" most vigorously sung They
never failed to hear and heed even
though a half a mile off, yet paid no at
tention whatever to any other song or
sound. Another pig, friendess and astray,
fell into the way of feeding with the cows
IN pen. and until he was transmitted into
bacon answered only 10 the call OF 'gsook
COW! Soo-ookv' And still another learned
10 regulate feeding by the sound of the
big farm bell and came grunting and gall
Looping TO the trough whenever he heard
its clamor
While fat pig is about the laziest and
the clumsiest of created things, one lean
and hungry is among the most active In
mind and body. fearless foraRer, the