Year: 1878

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The next mans experience was
equally exciting. He had been to see
his girl and was Hiding home about two
o'clock in the morning, through. the
pitchy darkness. AT an unexpected mo-
ment his horse reared bolt upright and
came near dislodging him. He held the
animal in, although it still plunged and
kicked and snorted as though in terror
of some-to him-unseen object. While
trying to fathom the darkness he heard
the fierce whizzing of missiles like ar
rows past his head and something strik-
ing the soles of his boots. Rightfully
conjecturing that his horse had run
upon porcupine, he put whip and got
out of further danger. The horse ran
for nearly 8 mile and then began groan-
ing, and, finally lay down in. great
pain. His own feet were paining him
intensely. Attempting to pull off his
boots he found them absolutely riveted
to his feet. The quills had worked
through and were one half in the boot
sole and the rest in his feot. He sat
there and endured nearly three mortal
hours of agony, until they made their
way through the uppers of his boots.
In the meantime the horse died and the
man himself has not been able to walk
for months.


But it remained for another unso-
phisticated dweller on the mountain
tops to enlighten the public on the
thieying proclivities of this same spe-
cies of porcupine. According to this
statement, in the autumn of the year
they visit the orchards when the apples
fall, and by rolling over them attach
them to their quills in large quantities
and carry them off to their dens. When
porcupines are plenty all the apples are
carried out of the orchards, and the
irate pomologist no doubt attributes
their disappearance to the village boys.
He gave several instances of their pred
atory habits, but one will suffice to
show what they can do. Missing large
quantities of apples, he lay for the in
truder one nigfIt-miith siIot-srr11.- a.-er-
emily he espied porcupine come into
the orchard and make up to the choice
tree, where the mellow and luscious ap-
Piles lay thick upon the ground. Over
and over it rolled among them until it
attained an enormous size, and a big
apple was on each particular quill.
Having loaded itself down to the guards
it moved of, and he followed it. A good
opportunity offering he fred at it, and
fortunately killed it. picked up the
apples," lie said, "and measured them
Just for curiosity, and found that por-
cupine was getting away with just two
bushels and three pecks of 'em."


Chow large was the porcupine? how
much did it weighT' I ventured to ask.


"Well, it was some two feet long and
six inches high-would weigh five OF
six pounds before it was skinned" was
the reply.


Two bushels and three pecks of green
apples would weigh about one hundred
and twenty-five pounds, and would
make good load for full-grown man.
And yet there are plenty of people,
both in town and country, who say
that newspaper men are given to max.
ing reckless statements. But what is
most singular about these porcupine
stories is that there is not now and never
were any porcupines in this country,
outside of geological gardens and tray.
cling menageries. Another curious fact
is that have heard precisely these same
stories told me with the most solemn
earnestness and without the slightest
variation, in almost every part of the
Union, by persons who have neither
read or Travelled. Upon inquiry have
also found that the ancestors of the
people who most frequently tell then
were originally from Southern Europe
and it is reasonable to infer that thes'
wonderful porcupine stories have beeI
handed down through tradition for a
least five hundred years.