The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1948-12-30
True Tales About Ohio
Concluded from page Il

"~A@ ~tsstes AAE Was DSiA1e 1OlIOWEt
and not by a lone enemy but BY
several.
Wolves? No, wolves did moi
scatter out, but hunted from behind
in packs. Pantbers? ? Not panthers
They were lone hunters among which
three would be crowd. 1t wasn't
Indians or there. would have beer
no noise at all-and besides there
were no Indians thereabouts. Their
chorus of grunts and a scuffle
from behind and Rogers knew what
it was-wild hogs!
The man made for the nearest
tree he could climb and had little
time for choice. The best he
could do was rotting 15-foot stump
which wobbled as he climbed but al.
ready the hogs were around it
jumping and 1urching and tearing al
the decayed wood with their ugly
brown tusks.
v FtCAUMs bOaFs
Vicious old boars tore at the roots
with the foam dripping from their
mouths while others tried to climt
the stump through the hollow inside
The frail haven shook and waverec
rerilously.
Rogers drew bead on the largest
hog and pulled the trigger. Nothing
happened. Then he pulled again. Nc
explosion. Apparently the new
tangled gun lock was no good. Only
once in each eight or ten times he
tried to fire did the gun go off, Bui
every time it did go off hog gave
a little squeal and a few kicks ther
| laid still.
As each animal fell the other.
crowded around it, smelled the BLOOD
and grew more frantic. Some oi
them even showed their snouts uT
against the bullet holes. Adding tc
Rogers dismay, he found that seec
had become mixed with the percus
sion in his pockets.
Continues Journey
How many times he fired, Rogers
had no idea but finally the squeals
and grunts took on a less terrifying
tone and the hogs began to mov'
away-a disappointed drove. Whel
all had gone the man got off thu
stump and hurried on to Cleveland
He had been about at the Hinckle!
jungle when the attack came ant
that was almost to the Cuyahog;
County metropolis.
Before he got the mail or did
single errand, Rogers hunted up tn
gunsmith and made him replace tn
old fiint-lock. Slow, maybe, bu
certain.
On the way home Christmas Da
with the mail, medicines and TOYS
Jim Rogers could hardly wait 70
the hogs to again attack him. Thi
time the old fint-lock was on hi
gun and the chaff out of his percus
sion-piils. BY the time he came u
to the stump he had seen not
single hog nor heard an echo of
squeal.
l6 Hogs Killed
Around the stump where tn
Christmas Eve battle had take
place the man counted the carcasse
of 16 hogs. Even as tough as vii
hogs were it would have seemed a
awful waste of pork at today
prices.
| Other than the dead ones, Roger
saw only a few hogs on his wa
back to Medina and those he sa,
were "a long way off. He did M
discharge his gun once and neve
had an opportunity to try the oil
lock on that trip. However, the ma
was certain that had the old loc
been on the gun the day before HI
battle with the hogs would hav
been short one.
Christmas night the Medina chilc
rem had their trinkets and toys, til
sick, their medicines and the lovelor
lasses, their love letters. Roger
wondered long about the clean-picke
bones in, the wilderness-maybe
had not been the wolves after al
Gould have been them pigs" h
reasoned.
| Hogs Origin Unknown
The origin of the wild hogs, n
settler knew. The Indians did ne
introduce them into the country. TIL
saVages raised no animals at a
other than few horses and the
own dogs, depending all together O
the hunt for their meat. An India
would not attempt to eat wild no
anyhow unless he was near starvs
tlon-he couldn't. His teeth woul
not stand it.
The settlers did not raise them q
pigs to wander off into the wood
and go wild. They had no hogs an
could raise no pigs at all for man
years-the bears and wolves saw |
that. But they did not bother til
wild hogs. A wild hog could lie
any wolf and even the bears stage
clear of them.
In a few years the hogs disappear
ed as mysteriously as they had com
into the woods. A great communit
hunt in Medina County in 182
revealed not one wild hog among tt
hundreds of deer, bears and othe
animals found slaughtered when tt
great ring closed in.