Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1909-04-15
BESET BY SWARM
OF P0RCUPINES
Pennsylvania Ranger Has Plight for
Life in Lone CabIn-kilIs Fise Of
Them i'm Struggle In the DARK.


Them in Struggle In the DARK.
Nell Johnson. whose business IL is
20 salt and herd the range feeders"
that the Wallis Run and Proctor dis
trict farmers turn out TO Craze and
fatten each spring. had a thrilling eX-
pericnCe on his "skirmish" trim this
spring. and ne is sim engaged i'm
healing a lot OF wounds which he
sustained in an unequal battle. writes
a Proctor tPaD correspondent OF the
| Philadelphia Record.
( Johnson has a little log cabin we'll
up in the Little Bear Creek district.
in which he keeps his seasons salt.
few bushels Of grain 70 feed aihng cat
tie The cabin affords him good shell
ter during his long vigil In the woods
| for ofteutimes. when water is scarce.
or In the seasons when forest fires
are liable 20 start. he spends as much
as two weeks at time on the range
which Is an area OF wild lands fully
5000 acres I'm extent. The first thing
that Johnson has 20 do in the spring
| is 20 make round OF the range for
the purpose of ascertaining where late
/ fires In the fan killed prospects for
early browsing. and TO take account
OF conditions generally before the cat
tie are turned out He had hauled
some bags OF salt and several bushels
OF oats and millet seed 70 the cabin.
Two nights later. after a DAYS in
speCtiOn OF one section OF the range
I Johnson returned 20 the cabin 20 cook
some supper and spend the night Dur
inE his absence some animal had got
ten into the hut and gnawed a hole
into the millet sacks. and b. the guam
uty OF grain that had disappeared ne
judged that the thief must have had
"A rayeuous appetite He supposed the
thief 90 he a raccoOn or two. and. as
he vas not ayerse 20 having "lerked"
coon for dinner next day. ne laid a
plan 90 catch one of the nocturnal
visitors
Johnson Keeps a set OF traps in the
cabin and one OF these ne hid adroit-
ly. partly under pile of the millet
seed and partly under a corner Of the
next bag His sleeping quarters is on
bunklike loft six feet above the
ground floor OF the cabin and ne
counted on quickly making a light in
the night when ne found that th,
F coon had been entrapped leaping
down upon him and clubbing him IN
jns
In Swarm OF PorcRpines.
Johnson thinks IL must have been
about 7 o'clock At night when NJ VAS
awakened hy an awful cOmmOtion on
the uOOr below him. lie was tired
and had slept more soundly than he
was wont 10. So that the thieves had
made entry 20 his abode without his
knowing H. And by the chorus OF
sounds that greeted his ears he guess
ed that instead OF one or tVO 'coons
there must De- a whole colony That
one Was fast In the trap he VAS pretty
one OF the 'varmints" indicated that
il Was IN agony. IL was only the work
OF minute 90 apply match 10 a little
pitch pine bundle. and then NJ vas
ready for the fray
But be- reckoned without his host
Tor the moment ne landed on his teet
on the ground he found that NJ had
gotten into worse than hornets nest
Ills visitors were not raCcOOns AZ an
but pOrcupines. and al least A dozen
or them. One vas fast ia the trap.
and the others were gathered about
him IN evident frenzy ur anger The
light from the pine fagots blinded the
animals for minute. and most OF
them scampered FOR shelter but the
cries OF their imprisoned fellow. now
more pitiful than ever. called them 10
the rescue and they made concerted
onslaught on Johnson as the cause OF
their mates plight. They scrambled
up over him and bit him every ~ here.
face. neck and hands and only now
and then was he able 20 deliver a tell
ing blow upon any of his ANTAGONISTS
Rid OF Them by Strategy.
FINALLY, IA desperate attempt tO
shake one OF the animals on his hand
he dropped the bundle OF lighted
splints. and he feared that ne would
be overcome by the animals Then
lucky thought flashed through his
mind. II ne were 10 silence the chap
IN the trap perhaps the others would
desist. One stroke OF the clnb put
that "pOrkie" ont. and sure enough. as
though their commander had been
taken. the whole colony OF pOrcupines
took 20 flight Gathering up his sput-
tering pine fagofs Johnson began tax
ing account OF stock lie was surpris-
ed To ind that in addition 10 the en-
trapped animal he had killed five
others.
But his own condition was such that
after applying such remedies as ne had
al hand, be was compelled 10 walk
home that night and have the bites
and scratches attended TO. His condi-
ton was such for few days that very
serious consequences were feared
Johnson says be thinks he would
about as soon have a regiment of Wild
cats come at him as a drove OF porcu-
pines. He thinks deer hunters must
have left food OF some kind In the
cabin that drew the "porkies." and
that they probably were there the
90 -