The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-02-03
THE lDIOIIC PORCUPlNE.
WISCONSIN'S ODD PROVISION FOR
MEN LOST IN THE MOODS.

To supply Them with Food Il Pro.
tects Poreupines and Has More o.
Them Than Any Other Ten states
Nature ofthe Brast-The QuiIls Which
are its Defence.
There is one Wisconsin law which is
peculiar to the state. 1t is the statute
protecting the hedgehog, or porcupine
from the man behind the gun. 1t has
!. been law practically since Wisconsin
had a legislature, and there has never
been an effort to repeal or change it,
1t provides a heavy fine or imprison-
nent for the person who shoots or
shares porcupine, and though it is Of
ten VIOLATED there is no doubt that any
well-mear ag country justice of the
peace worSd sock it to a culprit if he
got a chance. The object of the law is
found in the nature of the beast. The
porcupine Is the only creature in wild
state which an unarmed man, lost in the
vast forests would be able to capture
and kill, if necessary, with his feet. 1t
is perpetually preserved as sort of
food-supply for those who have wan
dered from the beaten track and become
conflsed in the dim aiSles of the woods.
Nearly half of this commonwealth is
thinly settled. Such counties as Bay
field, Ashland, Chippewa and Price
have few people living in them They
are composed for the most part of lakes
and pine lands. A man lost in them
might easily starve to death if he had
no weapon or fish line, but for the por-
cupine. So long as these animals are
left In countless numbers there is no
danger of death from lack of food in
these woods The hedgehog is cap
tured without trouble because of two
reasons. In the first place, it has not the
swiftness to escape; in the second place
1t depends upon it's armbr of spines to
protect 1T from all dangerous things.
Curled into a ball. with its head be-
tween Its hind legs and it's quilts pro-
jecting seventeen ways for Sunday, it
fancies itself secure, whereas a stout
club welded by human arm puts an
end to its existence as readily as bull
let The speed of the porcupine, like
it's intelligence, is conspicuous because
of its absence. 1t knows chat its fat
legs could not save it from any pursuer
except a terrapin, consequently 1t
makes a ball of itself whenever it scents
trouble There are good many in
stances In Wisconsin history where
porcupine, roasted over an open fire,
without salt, has saved the life of a
traveller or surveyor who would other
wise have first eaten his boots. then
gnawed the bark from trees as long as
his teeth held out and then sunk into
the eternal sleep, dreaming of hot pork
sausages and mince pie.
Because Of it's habits the porcupine
really belongs in Australia or China, for
1t does everything in reverse fashion.
1t is semi-mindless beast, with
temper as cantankerous as its quilts
and that which it might be expected to
do is the thing it will not do under any
1t is found near the
water when 1t should be on dry land 1t
ls's%far removed from water at hours
when, other animate things seek it. 1t (
sleeps on the ground in summer when !
the air next to the earth is hot. 1t |
hunts the tallest tree it can find and
Cl1lllUS W tHC fCIS IVY LII q nap Ill !
winter when the icy gales howl down
from the north and every other thing
wings would like to get under I
ground ii 1t could.
+ 1t has sense enough to go into hol-
low stump or log when it wishes to give
birth its couple of young in April or
May, but not sense enough to hunt
shelter Of that kind when the storm
blows highest. 1t will seek place un-
der an overhanging bank of soft June
when every bird and insect Is |
awake, and sleep there all day long.
When the rain is pouring down in
streams and every natural trench in the
earth is rivulet, it wanders about
dripping wet to the skin and utterly
but determined to stay ex-
posed as long as it can be unhappy.
Having nothing to do but eat and all
lay long to eat in, it often refuses to
take anything for it's stomach's sake,
but, when dark has fallen and it can
not see a yard in front of its nose. it
will stumble around until it str Les the
ed glimmer of some hunters f/e, then
,neak in and devour anything it can
ind from rancid becon to a Jagged to-
nato can. 1t is more confirmed thief
han the crow or the polecat and will
ug off anything 1t can tote, whether of
Use or not There are some law-abid-
ng hunters in this part of the world
nd it rifles a man of this character to
,e continually missing things, knowing
where they have gone, If he comes with
n easy gunshot of fifty porcupines of a
lay and may not once pull trigger on
hem. Nate Reed. who Is a guide in
he eastern part of Price county, just
n the edge of the State Park. once
shed all day when he was hungry and
aught one two-pound bass. He took
t to camp, cleaned it nicely, stirred up
he Goals. hunted large green leaf in
which to wrap it and then went down
0 the creek to get a bucket of water.
When he came back the bass was gone
nd In the outer rim of. the freight
orcupine was ambling away with the
sh in it's mouth. 1t heard Reeds quick
pring of anger, dropped the bass and
oiled itself into it's usual impervious
all. 1t grunted once when a heavy {
Tub mashed it fiat but there is no {
oubt that it went dead still believing s
hat nothing on earth could harm it.
he guide. like all other guides, will j
OF touch anything that has been once /
efiled by the porcupine, so he threw the
sh away and fined on cold bread and t
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