Porcupine

“ We passed the night on the Wittenberg, sleeping on the moss, between two decayed logs, with balsam boughs thrust into the ground and meeting and forming a canopy over us. In coming off the mountain in the morning we ran upon a huge porcupine, and I learned for the first time that the tail of a porcupine goes with a spring like a trap. It seems to be a set-lock; and you no sooner touch with the weight of a hair one of the quills than the tail leaps up in a most surprising manner, and the laugh is not on your side. ”

“ It again sprang up, ran along the boughs of the fallen tree, and advanced once more towards the porcupine; but its courage and agility did not avail it. Another blow from that formidable tail cast it once more into the snow; while the porcupine looked down with contempt on its defeated antagonist. Reuben, taking good aim with his rifle, put the marten out of misery; while I killed the victorious porcupine. The dogs then rushed forward; but Snap, the most eager, had reason to repent his eagerness, as before we could keep him off the animal he had received several sharp quills in his jaws. ”

“ Of all the creatures of the wilderness the porcupine seems the most slow and stupid, yet he bears a charmed life. In the woods, where few may cross the path of the hunter and live, the porcupine is usually allowed to go unhurt. Because he can easily be killed without a gun, his flesh has more than once, it is said, been the means of saving a lost hunter from starvation. As a rule, the creatures of the wilderness, too, let him strictly alone, knowing well the deadly work of his quills, which, when embedded in the flesh, sink deeper and deeper with every frantic effort toward dislodgment. ”

“ And, when all this had been said, would any one of the auditors have formed a just idea of a porcupine? Would any two of them have formed the same idea? There might exist innumerable races of animals, possessing all the characteristics which have been mentioned, yet altogether unlike to each other. What the description of our naturalist is to a real porcupine, the remarks of criticism are to the images of poetry. What it so imperfectly decomposes it cannot perfectly re-construct. ”

“ He sleeps all the day like the hedge-hog, and only stirs out in the night: he climbs up trees, and hangs on branches by his tail. All travellers agree, that his flesh is very good eating. He is easily tamed, and commonly lives in high places. These animals are found over all America, from Brasil and Guiana, to Louisiana and the southern parts of Canada; while [255] the porcupine is only to be found in the hottest parts of the Old Continent.
By conferring the name of porcupine on the coendou, the same faculties have been attributed to him, especially that of shooting his quills. ”

“ Most animals know that it isn't good to fool with a porcupine. The only way to kill him is to 128 turn him over on his back, and get at his throat and belly, which are not covered with quills. When a porcupine sees an animal coming he holds his body close to the ground, makes his quills stand up all over him, and thrashes around with his tail, which is pretty well covered with quills too. His tail is strong, and he can hit a hard blow with it ”

“ But let anger or fear seize upon the animal, and a whole forest of bayonets spring up. If assailed, the Porcupine turns its back to the enemy, and places its head between its fore-paws, at the same time uttering a hollow grunting noise. If the assailant will not be intimidated, the Porcupine endeavors to thrust its quills against the body of the foe. The wounds thus inflicted are much to be dreaded; for not only are they difficult and tedious to cure, but frequently the detached barbs adhering in the flesh are almost impossible to extract. ”

“ There are no Irish porcupines, which is remarkable when you consider that, in a fight, the porcupine invariably advances backward, most valorously retreating to the front in pursuit of the enemy to which he turns his back, and pressing forward courageously to the rear. That is to say, in a manner less mixed, that the porcupine always attacks an enemy by springing backward at him, with spines extended. He has a tremendous set of teeth, like chisels, but these he never uses except to chew up timber with. ”

“ Of this animal there are several species. The common porcupine of Europe is about two feet long, and covered with long spines or quills. In defending itself, it lies on one side, and rolls over upon its enemy. The quills of the American porcupine are used by the Indians in ornamenting their dress.
Curious Playmates.—We are told that Sir Ashton Lever had a tame porcupine, a domesticated hunting leopard, and a Newfoundland dog, which he used frequently to turn out together, to play in a green behind his house. ”

“ Whenever the porcupine is chased by any animal, and finds he cannot get out of the way, he just stops and bristles up all his quills. Then he backs quickly upon the animal, so that the short, sharp quills may stick into the body. If any happen to be a little loose, they stick so fast in the flesh, like an arrow, that they often make a very bad wound. Remember this whenever you come in the way of the porcupine.
MRS. G. HALL.
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.
I was watching Willie and Grouse at play on the lawn a few days since. I saw in the poor dumb brute a spirit that is too seldom found in man. ”

“ Canada Porcupine.—The first settlers found porcupines were common in the county. My father killed one in 1855 in Lodi Township, and the last one known in the county was killed near Saline in October, 1868, by John H. Bortle.
The porcupine lives on the buds and bark of several species of trees, and also eats the stems and leaves of water lilies. It is a clumsy and stupid animal, knowing under natural conditions neither fear nor haste. Its coat of sharp-barbed quills affords almost complete protection from nearly all enemies except man, who alone is responsible for its extinction in the county. ”

“ Then Lady Mary brought a print and showed it to her nurse, saying,
"Nurse, is the porcupine like this picture?"
"The American porcupine, my dear, is not so large as this species; its spines are smaller and weaker. It resembles the common hedgehog more nearly. It is an innocent animal, feeding mostly on roots [Footnote: There is a plant of the lily tribe, upon the roots of which the porcupine feeds, as well as on wild bulbs and berries, and the bark of the black spruce and larch. It will also eat apples and Indian corn.] ”

“ This retreat is called The Porcupine, and I ought by good rights to know something about the habits of the small animal from which it derives its name. Last winter my dog Buster used to return home on an average of three times a month from an excursion up Mt. Pisgah with his nose stuck full of quills, and he ought to have some concrete ideas on the subject. We two, then, are prepared to testify that the porcupine in its moments of relaxation occasionally contracts itself into what might be taken for a ball by persons not too difficult to please in the matter of spheres. ”

“ He will never fight with his teeth, being apprehensive of a punch on the nose, where he is tender. But in his advance to the rear he is formidable, and wonderfully quick. I have already mentioned Church's experience. The night is the time of the porcupines' greatest activity, and then they are apt to fight, springing backward at one another, [Pg 605] losing quills and tearing out specimen lumps of anatomy at a terrific rate. In the daytime the porcupine is not an active creature. ”

“ The Porcupines are singular animals, endowed with a very peculiar faculty, that of causing their body, which is covered with quills, to bristle up, and thus forming for themselves a formidable armor. The small family of Porcupines is divided into four genera—Porcupines proper, the Brush-Tailed Porcupine, the Canadian Porcupine and the Prehensile Porcupines. ”

“ He now commenced ascending, still holding the porcupine’s tail in his teeth; taking good care not to brush too closely against the quills. ‘Surely,’ thought we, ‘he cannot climb up, carrying a body almost as big as himself!’ It was not his intention to climb up—only to one of the lowermost branches—and the next moment he had reached it, stretching his long body out on the limb, and clutching it firmly with his cat-like claws. ”

“ The former are found in South America, though one, the Canadian Porcupine, is found in the North; the latter are European and Asiatic. In Africa they are also common. The Canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in trees, feeding on the leaves; but it has not a prehensile tail. The Common Porcupine is abundant in Italy (where it is eaten by man) , Greece, Spain, and Africa. It lives in burrows or among rocks. In India a very similar species is found. The head and shoulders of these ground-porcupines are not protected by the larger sharp spines which guard the rest of their bodies. ”

“ The porcupine, however, is the most obstinate of animals, and, having started, he was not lightly to be stopped. If it was his tail that tried to stop him, so much the worse for his tail. He dug his powerful claws into the snow, and tugged, and jerked, and strained; till suddenly the tail gave up the struggle and peeled off. He went ploughing forward on his nose with a squeal of pain, leaving a great tuft of fur and quills sticking up in the jaws of the trap. ”

“ The female has only one young one at a time. It is reported to live from twelve to fifteen years. The Porcupine is dull, fretful, and inoffensive; it feeds upon fruits, roots, and vegetables; and inhabits the south of Europe, and almost every part of Africa, particularly Barbary.
THE COUENDOU, (Hystrix, or Synetheres prehensilis,) Which is also called the Brazilian Porcupine, is chiefly found in Guiana, and differs from the common Porcupine, not only in the shortness of its spines, but also in the great length of its tail. ”

“ The porcupine, unhurried, continued to advance, nothing but an increased elevation of his quills betraying that he was aware of an opponent. The cat's absurd stub of a tail twitched spasmodically, and for a few seconds it seemed as if rage might get the better of discretion. But all the wild creatures know the qualities of that fine armory of quills carried by the porcupine. The big cat pulled himself together with a screech, ran back, and sprang off to a rock on the bank, whence he spat impotently while the porcupine crawled by. ”

“ He was not yet two years of age, but I believe that a porcupine is born old. Some of the Indians say that he is ashamed of his homely looks, and that that is the reason why, by day, he walks so slowly, with hanging head and downcast eyes; but at night, they say, [153] when the friendly darkness hides his ugliness, he lifts his head and runs like a dog. In spite of the hour and the cheering influence of the wash-tub, our Porky seemed even more low-spirited than usual. ”

“ When a porcupine wishes to attack an enemy, he rushes at it backwards, and usually leaves the enemy literally covered, like a living pin-cushion, with his spines. These animals have convex skulls, short tails, and live chiefly in the warmer regions of the Old World. Those of America are different in one particular—the soles of their feet are covered with hard, bone-like tubercles, instead of being soft and smooth; there are also a number of hairs that are intermingled with the spines. The Canada porcupine has more hairs than the American, and a shorter and stumpier tail. ”

“ The porcupine, fearless beneath his panoply of spears, was one of the few wood folks who did not bother to practice secrecy, and the sprawling step and crackling limbs emanated from his nocturnal prowlings and did not evidence the presence of a bear. ”

“ Ernest, examining it carefully, pronounced its incisor teeth, its ears and feet, to resemble those of the human race, and pointed out the curious crest of stiff hairs on its head and neck.
"I have read of another species," said he, "called the tuft-tailed porcupine, which must be even more curious looking than this is. It has short, flat quills, and a scaly tail ending in an extraordinary tuft, like a bunch of narrow strips of parchment. It cannot be such a disagreeable enemy to encounter as this fellow." ”

“ The porcupine is probably the safest from starvation of any of our woodland friends. He can eat anything from green leaves and tender plants to the little twigs and bark of our evergreen trees. Summer or winter, his larder is full. The lynx, wolves, carabou and moose may suffer during the long frozen winter; but the little Porky has only to climb the nearest tree and get busy with the eternal bark supply.
His teeth in themselves are an institution, two chisels in the lower and two in the upper jaw. ”

“ The porcupine’s nose is very sensitive, a good blow on it being sufficient to kill him, so he has learned to tuck it down between his feet for protection, and to turn so that his back and tail are presented to the enemy. There are no quills on his underside and an occasional enemy has learned to reach under with a paw and quickly flip him over on his back in order to expose the unprotected portion for final attack. ”

“ The Porcupine is in its nature quiet, and seldom gives provocation of offence; and when attacked by an animal of prey defends itself by erecting its quills in such a manner as always to keep them pointed towards the enemy ”

“ Formerly rare, the first actual record was of a single individual in Paradise Valley in 1933, porcupines are increasing throughout the forested areas of the park, although the animal is still considered uncommon.
An apparent lack of interest or concern in events is probably the outstanding characteristic of the porcupine. Protected as it is with an almost impregnable defense of quills, it has no need 46 for speed and shows little fear of any other creature, even man. If pursued when encountered, it will waddle away at top speed, which is about equal to a man’s brisk walk. ”