Year: 1874

The Hamilton Spectator relates q
very remarkable incident which oc-
CURED on the shore of Lake Ontario, q
short distance east of that city. 1t
says about the first of January last,
it will be remembered, there was a
great thaw here, which partly barred
the fields of the surrounding country,
and transformed the frozen creeks into
swollen, rushing freshets. At about
the time of this freshet, in FEBRUARY, a
farmer, whose land was situated on the
among number that were allowed to
range the barnyard and fields. Circum-
stances, which it is needless to refer to,
pointed suspicion of theft at certain
person, but the farmer being unable TO
trace any satisfactory evidence the
matter was allowed to drop. A couple
of days ago q son of the farmer was
along the lake duck hunting, and hap
pened to be standing for moment by
a projecting point of the icy banks
which were then thawed away to much
smaller eminence, some of them, indeed.
having already disappeared when he
heard a noise. Though nobody ap-
pesred to be near the noise after pause
was repeated. He listened intently,
aud again. after a silence, the sound
was heard, this time apparently pro-
ceedimg from the ice beneath him. On
bending his ear to the ice the singular
sound broke forth with more distinct
ness and seemed to be a voice. His Gu
riosity was now excited to its utmost In
tensity, and he began to examine into
the state of the ice that appeared to
hold the secret of this unnatural voice.
Kicking away lump of ice from the
top he observed a hole in the mound.
He peeped into this, but was forced to
draw back from the fetid smell that is
sued. like q poisonous gas, from the
opening. But he did not desist. Be-
tween scraping and kicking he at last
made the aperture of the cavity quite
large, and once more looking into the
stenchy hole, saw to his utter wonder
and amazement q hogi Proceeding
without delay to the house, he pro-
cured an axe, and returning. chopped
open day light into the strange residence
of the pOrcine in short order. He found
the poor animal in the same position as
when he had left him. with his hams
upon the sand, but erect upon his fore
legs. A great portion of his hair and
bristles had dropped out, and formed a
thin bedding among the sands, and the
animal himself was literally but skin
and bone, and was too weak to move
from his position. He was pulled out,
however, but was unable to stand upon
his four feet. On inspecting the cave
the sand underneath was found to have
been loosened for a depth of two feet
and half, and burrow holes had been
dug along the surface some three or
four feet, in several places on each side.
1t appeared that pure air and the mo-
ton induced by being dragged out of
his six weeks. home had q fatal effect
on him, for he died in less than nine
hours after having been taken out EK


elusive of the burrow holes, the cavity
was but seven feet in diameter, aud
how he got sufficient air to sustain life,


OF how he obtained enough food to keep
him in existence is mystery indeed. 1t
is possible that it survived on dead fish
and other stnff which it could get by
burrowing. This is the only e1plana-
tion of the wonderful mystery of how it
kept alive. One rather singular and
unaccountable act in connection with
this strange matter was, that the sides
of the upper portion of the cave were
turned to a yellow color, and this color
was distinctly noticeable to the depth
of nearly three inches in the ice.