Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-11-05
pEsPoNDENT HOG A SUICIDE.
Life without Mud Wasn't Wortr
Living, So He Died.

Life Without Mud "hsht "oH
Living, So He Died.
Il see that a melancholy mule COM
mitted suicide over in Kansas City,
Kan, the other day." said the old GUS
| TONER as related by the Kansas City
! Journal. They seem to think that's
wonderful, but I've seen things that
beat jumping over an embankment in
a fit of dependency"
When I was a kid on a farm OFT
| in Northern Kansas we had pig which
the hired mans wife raised from the
time it was big enough to squeal. She
kept 1t in the yard, which was fenced
in, and never allowed Jerry, as she
called him, to get muddy. She had an
idea that it was merely habit, not an
| Unborn trait, that made pigs wallow III
| the mud.
But her dope was wrong. AS soon
as Jerry got big enough TO have Ideas
| of his own he wanted mud. When IT
would rain he would try as hard as ne
could to break through the fence or
| jump over so as to get out in the mud
| dy road. The yard was well sodded,
and at first he couldn't find any mud
spots In his Enclosure.
Finally, though, he discovered that
| if he dug down in the ground he would
| find dirt, and one morning we found
| that he had dug up the sod near the
pump and had q mud hole. We couldn't
imagine how he got the water. but
| watched him the next night and found
| that with almost human intelligence he
pumped the water himself into bucket
that was kept standing near and then
| tipped over the bucket. The pump was
| arranged so If there was no bucket I'M
der the spout the water would run into
| drain.
How did he pump it? Pushed the
handle up with his nose and down with
his front feet. We stopped that by put
ting him in a clean pen with floor in
| it, But Jerry had mad one mud bath
and he longed for more. He would
moan most piteously at night, and we
wanted to let him out with the other
| pigs but the hired mans wife threat
ened to quit if we did. She thought
as much of Jerry as she did of her
children, and she couldn't bear the
| thought of having him dirty, enjoying
| himself with the other pigs.
Jerry began to grow thin. He for
| merly had cheerful look in his eye,
| but now there was no longer the health
full. joyous glitter when | came around
with his food He actually began TO
get pale and he wouldn't eat much
HE deliberately planned suicide.
Life without mud wasn't worth living.
First we caught him trying to cut his
throat with his front feet. We cut his
toe nails and made them harmless.
Then he tried to drown himself by
sticking his head in a pail Of water, but
through force of habit he drank up
all the water before he was drowned.
''That gave him an idea, and he tried
to drink himself to death, but we never
gave him enough water at one time.
And still the hired mans wife couldn't
bear to let him out with the common
herd. Hoglike, he never thought of
starving himself to death, although
worry cut down nis appetite consider
ably.
FINALLY he accomplished the desired
end. We found him lifeless in his
spotless pen one morning We called
the family doctor-the hired mans
wife would not stand for veterinari-
an. He examined Jerry and found that
he lad died from lack of respiration.
Jerry had held his breath until he suf-
located" And the old customer wiped
tear from his left eye and sadly
thought of the pig who couldn't live
without mud.