Whale, Walrus, and Seal

July

16,1891.1

FOREST AND STREAM. 51B

THE PORCUPINE.

TEE

^remarksof"Lotor" about the porcupine rolling itselfintoa little ballwere read with interest,as alsio the pertinent replyof ''BackwoocUmau," in your issue of

May

38. Inijst heartilyindorse-'Backwoods-

man"

iu his assertions,but

want

to adda

few

observa- tionscarefully

made

duringthe last tvpentyyears.

He

sayshehas seen thousandsof

them

in the pinewoods, butdoes not givehisaddressso

we may

understand where these improperly-calledhedgehogs areso numerous. I liveinMichigan,and thoughIhave beenacloseobserver, not over twenty-five i)orcupine have

come

to

my

^notice

altogether, and I have hunted and ^{collected in both} peninsulas.

The common

porcupine {EretJiozon dorsatus) is-well

known

topersonslivinj?iuwildandunsettled portionsof the

Union

eastofthe MississippiRiverand northof 43°

northlatitude. Totireeastit isgettingscarce,and even in this tState is

now

very rarely taken south of 42

",

althoughformerly quite

common

hereatKalamazoo,^43°

20'. I

am

informedthatitisstillfoundin

some

partsof northern Pennsylvania, and, as is well

known,

it is

abundant in Maine,northern

New

York,

Vermont

and

New

Hampshireinthewilderportions, Avhile inWiscon- sinand Michigannorth of44°itisa familiar rodent.

I

am

notaware thatthe porcupine ever feedson

any

substancesnot vegetable,and therefore cannot indorse

"Backwoodsman's"assertions thatit willdevour almost anything around camp. His observations were un- doubtedly

made

during the wintermonths,ashe embraces oldbootpacksin theporcupine'smenu, andas

my

notes weremostly

made

in the springand fallitfollows that I

may

not understand the predilectionsof thisstrange creatureatothertimes. Thatthe animalismiscliievous anddisposed, likeacolt,to investigate ;uid mutilate,is true,andthis characteristic

may

accountfor thehabits observedarotmdcamp,

when

itapparently attacked any- thingavailable. In carefuldissections

made

upon both

young

and oldspecimens, I havefound the stomach tocontainonly vegetable matter. Leavesgenerallycom- pose the fare frornJtlaytillAugust,andIdoubtnot that theanimalcouldhve entirely

upon

this diet.

The

bill offareisoften variedwith tenderbark of

young

trees and shrubs,and frequentlyby bark not sotender,as I haveseen

them

feedingon the inner barkofthewhite oak(Quercus alba). In season the acorns of this oak furnishfoodfor the needle-backs,andinthefallIhave shot

them

from

immense

timber-land oaks fully75ft.

fromtheground. Theseoaks,allof50ft. without alimb

and

30in.in diameter,would seem insurmountable to animalsapparentlysoclumsilyformed,but theunwieldy creatm-esscale therough-barkedtreeswith ease,if not withtheactivity ofasquirrel, at leastwith

much

greater easethanthe

woodchuck

(Arctomysmonax). Theporcu- Ijinefeedslargelyongrassandclover

when

itcangetit,

andinthisrespect

much

resembles that other destruciive lodent,thewoodchuck, whichhas

come

toalmostentirely selectcloverfields for hisburrows,

moving

aboutasthe farmershiftshiscropsfromfieldtofield.

It is

when

theyoungarewith the oldonethat grassand thefoliage of shrubs,aswellas roots,are chosen,for I donot think the

young mount

into treesofanysizeuntil quite half grown;at least Ihave never

met

with small unesin treesnorhaveIlearnedof theirbeing takenthere.

Ihavenever seenyoungsosmall that theywerestillnurs- ing,buthavethricetaken

them when

stillin

company

with theirmother,thoughthey

had

adoptedavegetablediet.

The young

are undoubtedly broughtforthin burrows, though as to this Icannotattest.

At

leastthey quickly hideinburrows

when

disturbed,asdo theoldonesalso, although,if alone,theold ones evidently preferhollow trees.

One

place that I

know

of where these strange animalsaretobefoundisinahuge hollow sycamore,in- tricatelyconnectedwithotherandsmallertreesby huge roots, which contain a labyrinth of passages. This sycamoreissosmooththatasquirrelcouldhardly

mount

it,yet the old porcupine has been seenat thetop. It

alwaysseemedto

me

thattheanimal

must

have climbed tothe topby

way

of thehollow.

Ihaveoncefoundtwoyoungin

company

withthe old one,andtwice onlyone young. Thelitter undoubtedly consists of at least

two

andprobablymore,for Idonot

know

ofone species ofMichiganrodents whichbrings forthlessthantwo,andgenerally there are threeormore inalitter.* The

young

runalong after themotherin herseai-chfor food,and are exact counterparts ofthe parent

when

only8 to lOin. long.

At

thislength they are provided with spines,and will throw themselves intoadefensive postureifanintruder comes suddenly onthescene, as doesa kitten

when

disturbedbya dog.

The

porcupineisamuscularbutvery clumsy animal.

With

greatstrength,bothof

jaw

andLimb,and undoubt- edly capableof

making

agooddefenseif it were gifted withactivityandcourage, it is as great a coward as exists,and if prevented from seeking safety in flight offersnooffensive resistance,but squats

down

andwaits the expected onslaught,with elevated back anderected bristles. Ifnotmolesteditwill,

upon

theslightestchance beinggivenit,shuffleofftoa placeof security.

When

in this position,although notin shapehke a ball, as des- cribedby"Lotor,"itrests

upon

itsfeet,whichare

drawn

inunderthe body,withits headturned down, offering the_ best position to repel attack. Against a hunter this positiondoesnotafforditsafety,asasmart blow with a

.stickwillturnitheels up,

when

it

may

be quicklydes- patched; buttoadogorotheranimalthe defenseisijrac- xicaUy complete, and theporcupineisas safebehindits

impregnable cheveaux defrise asifit

was

initsburrow

•orinthe topofatree.

Woe

to the dogthat ignorantly bitesat that animal in an attempt to worry it. The resultisa mouthfulof sharp, bearded spines or quills,

from1toSin.long,which are readily detachedfromthe integument and as readily penetrate thelining ofthe

mouth

andthe noseofitsluckless assailant. Sometimes as

many

asfiftyor

more

quills

may

befoundsticking in the

mouth

and muzzle of an uneducateddog,which,

maddened

withpainafterhisfirstmouthful,hasrenewed

}iis_attack,thoroughlyenragedat hisquietenemy. These

quillsmustbe

drawn

out,andthe sooner the better for thesufferer,astheycannotbe

removed

by the dog and will lead tofrightfulsuppuration,

and

usuallytodeath.

*0£ importedrodents,Jhaverepeatedlyknown of instances WQeretiieGainea-pigproduced but oneata.birth.

Wildcatsand eventhecougar orAmericanlionaresaid to have been found dead" with quill-lilleJmouths,the resultofhunger-inspired.^ttacksonthe porcupine. These

quills,largestand most numerous ontheback and rump, are the natural covering ofcertain partsoftheanimal and,likethe intermingled.hairs, sining fromfolliclesin thecreature's skin. Theyarereadilyreproducedandare undoubtedlyintended for a protection of an otherwise defenseless animal.

They may

lje readily disengaged fromthe integument,andthe removal quickly follows the tension

made

on

them

afterthe point of the quillis drivenintotheflesh

and

isheld therebythe barbs, small and numerous, which press backward against the penetrated skin or other integument. I

am

thusexplicit, andperhaps unnecessarilydiffuse,asread bythose

who

haveexaminedthearrangement,becauseI

want

to

men-

tionamootedquestion. Therearestill

many who

firmly believe thatporcupiiiesthrowtheir quills,and thoughit isalmosttoosimple a subjecttodiscuss,a

word may

not

come

amiss. There are

many

intelligent pcopUj'

who

could not be brought near to one of these iaolfensive animals, firmly believing that the creature hastiiepower ofshooting thequills toquitea distance

and

with groat accuracy. Ihavebeentold repeatedly,

and

by

men

of undoubtedveracity,thattheyhadoftenseenmen,fences, dogsandtrunksof treesfilledwiththe thrown quillsof thehedgehog.

They

were simplytellmg

what

they

had

oftenheardandhad

come

tosincerelybelieve,

"Likeone

Who.having untotruth,bytelling ofit,

Madesuch a sinuero£liismemory Tocredithisownlie."

Thesepeople

would

behardtoconvinceoftheirerror under anycircumstances,andyet I have

much

sympa- thyfor them,for there are

numerous

stories atpresent goingtheroundswhichare

much more

ridiculous.

The

porcupine

when

assailed elevates its back and

makes

the

skm

tense, so that thequills areerectandin thebest position fordefense. This position is followed,

when

an.attackis

made

on thecreatm'e,by quickeleva- tions or jerks

upward

and sidewaysof head andbody, accompanied by floppings of its

armed

tail,whichare

made

toinflict injuryon theenemy,theanimalin the

meantime

lookingaboutforan advantage orchance for safety. Thereisnoother time

when

awild animal will fightasitwill

when

found in

company

withits young, andtheeffortsofafemale porcupinetoprotecthersingle

young

onecalledforth

my

admiration. Theoldonekept its front toward itsoffspring, which ^itplaced beside a logandpartiallycoveredwith itsforeparts,andinaddi- tion toitsbristlingarmorit alsoused itsteeth,savagely biting astick

when

pushed away. Thisold oneweighed 211bs,,and its stomach contained over 14^1bs.of green vegetablematerialground

up

as fine as goodteethcould

chew

it.

The

small one weighed41bs.,anditspaunch wasdistendedwiththe

same

food.

Thesensesof theporcupine are evidentlyverydullor elseitisconsciousof nodanger,deeming itsprotection sufficientguaranteeforitssafety. Ihave

more

than once discovered

them

bythedroppingofbarkoracornsfrom the limbs where they were feeding, and have then watchedtheiractionsfor

some

timeasthey continuedto feed, whollyignoring

my

presence. If shot at

when

feeding in_a largetree,say60ft.fromtheground, they arenoteasilybroughtdown, and

when

^restingonalimb threeorfour inchesindiameter,whichprotectsthehead andvitals,agood

many

shotsarerequiredtobring itoff itsperch. Thequills ofterstrong protection against any- thing biitverycoarseshot,

and

even with Bs itisnot readilydislodged,as it possesses great vitalityand will

hang

tillthelastgasp.

One

that

was

well riddled, after fallingfully70ft.,escaped

me

inapieceofdense under- growth.

Having

a true hunter's appetite, with addition of a great

amount

of curiosity,I have beeninthe habitof testingtheedible qualities of

many

ofthewildbirdsand

mammals

not generally in demand.

Among

others I tried

some

porcupine stew,beingled tobelieve thatit

would be palatable and gamy,as itis saidtobe quite often eaten byour redbrothers.

Now,

woodchuck, coon and possum gowell,andIhave nothingparticirlar tosay against

some

otheranimids not generally chosen, butas to porcupine,excuseme. Aftercookingfor five hotirs,and

still finding it not done, it

was

thrown to the dogs, whichdiscreetanimalselevatedtheirnosestoheaven and gavea dismalhowl.

In nearlyevery specimentha.tIhave examined,thein- testines aswell as stomach were found to be suiiering fromtheravages of a pecuharparasite,and, strange to say,theseentozoansofsingular habitwere always found attacking the externallining ofthetissuesand werenot foundwithin the alimentary canals ofthe otherwise ap- parentlyhealthy animal.

In conclusion, a

word

in regardto hedgehogs. This animal is only found on the Eastern Continent and islands. It belongs to the order Insect ivora, and has teethformed

much

after thefashionof the mole.

The

porcupine,sooften incorrectly calledhedgehog,belongs tothe Rodentia, ov gnawers,'and its teeth are formed

more

likethoseoftherat,squirreland woodchuck. It is severaltimes thesizeofthe littlehedgehog. The

name

hedgehog,therefore,inno

way

applies to our

American

porcupine.

MoBRis

GiBBS,M.D.

KaijAmazoo, Mich.

WHALE, WALRUS AND SEAL.

EARLY

^{in July, 1889,the small schooner Nicoline,}

registering about forty tonsand drawingonly 5ft.

of water,left San Francisco for the

mouth

oftheMac- kenzieRiver in searchof the

bowhead

or Polar whale.

The

vessel

was commanded

byCapt, Louis ITerendeen, whosebrother,

Edward

P. Herendeen, acoi-respondent ofForest

and

Stream, accompanied

him

as fii'stmate.

The

crew comprisednine men, and additionalhelp

was

tobe obtained

among

the

Esquimaux

atPoint

Barrow

or HerschellIsland,allof

whom

are excellentandfearless whalers.

Many whalemen

believe that the

bowhead

breedsat the

mouth

oftheMackenzie. Although

many

whalespass intothe Arcticthrough BeringStraitin the spring,very fewareseen to return southwardinthefall

dming

the stayofthe whalers. Ofcoursetheyall

come

southlater.

IMackenzie

saw

agreat

many

whalesatthe

mouth

ofthe river bearing his

name

during hisArctic explorations.

Near Point

Barrow

whaleshave beenkilledwithold irons

of the Greenland whalers imbedded in their blubber.

When

stationedatPointBarrow with theSignalService expedition of 18S2-18S3,Capt.E.P. Herendeen traveled far to theeastwardandlearned fromthe natives, that whalesareabundantinthelocalityinwhichtlieNicoline andothervessels ai'e

now

operating. TheNicoline

was

selectedbecauseoftheadvantage avesseloflightdraft wouldliave infollowing small leadsintheicenearshore.

She reachedHerschell Island about lastAugust,andthe steamer George

W. Hume

and anothervessel or vessels werethereatthe

same

time. WhileatPoint

Barrow

ill-

ness forced Capt.E. P.Herendeentoabandonthevoyage totheeastward,and he returned toSanFrancisco.^'

He

hastakensteps,however,tosecufeinformationforFor- est

and Stream

andcollections ofnaturalhistory objects, which

we

hopeto report upon after the return of his brotherduring the

coming

fall.

In conversation with the Captain recently

we

have obtained

some

additional interesting noteson thewhale, walrusandseal,which

we

giveherewitii.

Capt.Herendeenhas seenwhalecalvesonlya

few

days oldatPoint

Barrow—

sosmall thattheir flukeswerenot yet straigtened out and the whole calf couldbetaken into asingle vomiaJc, orskinboat.

The

very

young

calves are not timidand areeasilycaught bythenatives,

who

delightineatingthem, in a short time the cow^steach

them

to sinkintimesof danger and their captitre be- comesdifficult.

The

whales

commence

goingtotheeast atPointBarrowabout April15andthe

young accompany

them; tlieycontinue running until June

and

are seen occasionallyas lateasJune15.

Walrusbreedontheiceandlivealongitssouthern edge,

coming

furthest south in winter.

When

the whalers catch thepupsin June and Julythevfind

them

pretty well

grown

and bearinglittletusks. Natives informed Capt.Herendeenthatwalrus,

some

time ago,were taken asfar northasPoint

Barrow

in winter, and that they havebreathing holes in theice just likeseals.

A

herdof 1,000walrus was driven ashore and capttured atPoint Molleryea,rsago;

from

these were obtained 8,0001bs.of ivory.

A

podof 4t0wa,sstartedinland

and

kept

moving

for

some

timebypricking those that turned,inthe nose witha sharp iron-pointedpole. Finally, however, they

became

utterlyunwillingtogofurther fi'omthe sea

and

everyoneofthelot

dug

his snout deep intothemoist sand, completely protecting the only tender portion, plowingas

much

asonefoot deep,anditwasimpossible to turn a single individual.

When

walrus haul out on the land the near approachof good weather

may

be confidently expected;theylovetoliein closecontact likepigsandfrequentlyonewill partiallyoverlap another.

In the winterof1885 a

number

ofsealswere killed

by Esquimaux

while traveling over the

snow

fromthe frozen rivers tothesea. Capt.Herendeen

saw

the tracksoffour orfivethatwereescapingfromtheirimprisonmentin this way.

About

30miles inland, southeastof CapeSraythe, he foundaseal that had beenkilled bya native

when

goingoutwithhisdogteam. Thesealsgointotherivers for whitefish, trout,smeltand otherfish; theyfijidopen holesfulloffoodand continue their feast until theice freezesupeverything solid,and then theyareforcedto traveloverland.

The Esquimaux

say theynever

make

a mistakeand<rothe

wrong

direction;thecom-setothe sea

islaidalongthe nearestroute. T.H. Bean.

UkcBNT Ar4IUVAI;RATTUEPniL,VI>KI,l-IUAZooi-onrcAT.(tAIl- DUN. i'iu-chii.-t:d-()iieiJiiiiUiohli,'.'^giikj {l.'iUiiciuiiinnarliun}, otie Ki-izzlyhearcub(fTrmsfl?Tto,slinrnhiHf)f, one K'llcioncat (Felt's nuKiimriKis)S,DHL' pruns-iiorutd Hiiiclope (A iitihwaiirn amcH-

caiia) i.tsvoi.Tilhi.-<inH'slian-seals{Zahiphus cahttirnhtnw),<:and9,

one rc.i-l.illeil lioi-nbill ilnccus ('/•;/?/)rnp«/((///i)/,s). two Orinoco Kcesc ^<..'•>,":'!>• _{juhata) S} ami 9, fiv« Kin-opean widgeons (-«'" ^. . . ,t and,i ¥, iiVB blac-k snakes iBasmniOll tna^LiI': 1 uAtf.-isnake {<Jpliimuru-s voUriiiis).seven

kmg

"J uv i< h , /L?f/)'s),ihi.I ^Miua1 Ji( 1.suilLs((?o;aZop7iO- i-iminiluinm), iiuie piae snakes (Pitiiophiif melanoleucm), three cliickensnakes((.iilvhiriiiMdriviltatm). lourcoach-wnipsnakes (B((xc((//U(/;(CDUsinircfirjUnaViiormc}, one indiEco snake (Spilotes Cfdiemius).onecommonlioti-nosedsnake{HeterocioiiiMtyrhinxis), one Dlsck hotr-uoicd^iiake (if.plalurhimisatmotles), two ganer snakes(iSuiwntastrtahs),nnuone boa {Boaconstrictor). Presented

—OneRarbai-yape.(Macacusimim)i.twelveopossums(Didelphys inroiniana).three raccoonstProci/on hAor).oneprairiewoif iCanis UitranH)<f,onered fox {(jamsvulpc^ iidvusK onesoarrowhawk

[J^akn sparvcnm). one mockiLHiurd ilurftiu^ polyqlottm), two oaired owls Usyrnnun nchiUommKsixaUu.ul.oi-.4{Ailiijntor missis- A'ippiCD.S'isl, SIXmusk turrles {AroiiiDcIirhi.-^ iiitoratux).one\ello\v w^iipHO'ilce {Dascauifirm llariclhiorinc tcsinccmn).one Hav's king snake{Uijliibnhi.^uciulus-Sf/yi),one lloibrook'a watersnake(Tropi- donoiiisrhomhiicr), zwo \\oudhouie^? war.er snakes (T.siped^n woodlioiisri),oneiiou-t]oyedr,u}x\ie{Hctrrodo}ijilntijrhiinisi).one pine snake{Pitijuplm maarinie-itcw^).and ihiee t;ar>ersnakHS(Butrmia

sirtatis). Horn—Oiu^ Vut;-uiia deer {CaridcntiL'tr(/t/;^.' -ni ine tallow deer(Oerrw.vdauia),onebactnau camel(tiamrii: :)

$,one blacklemur(Lof/KO-/iiaeacij).one llama (La,:;^{, ,} oneAmerican elk {Ccrvus canadcntiitt)9. and sixe.nrt-r sr,a;--e:i {EKtcB-ivui' sirtalis). Kxenau^ed—Four Bell's painted terrapin Hjliriisemytthcdi),oneunarmedsolt-shelled turtle(Amydamutica), andoneKobbsuIslandsnake(Corondlapliomrum).

\umB §dg mtd 0nti.

The

full textsofthe

game

lawsofalltheStates, Terri- toriesandBritish Provincesare givenin the

Booh

ofthe

Oame

Lavjs.

ANOTHER OLD STORY.

Editor Forest

and

Stream:

Old Captain Prout, for

whom

Front's Neck,

now

a well-knov\aa

summer

resort,isnamed,

was

anoted gun- ner in the days

when

waterfowl were plenty in that vicinity. "Early one spring,1860or thereabouts," said anoldsettler tome,"he brought

home

from the

West

Indiesagun, thelikeof

which had

never beenseen

by

thenatives. It

was

a muzzleloader,about a2-gauge, and weighed

some

301bs. Soon after its ai-rival there

came

aheavy storm,and the next

morning

a

pond

a coupleofacres inextent backofthe Captain'sbarn

was

coveredwithduckssothick that another one_{could not} possibly have been squeezed in. Here

was

anoppor- tunitytotrythe

new

gun,andloadingitwiththe regu- lation charge,of Jib,

powder

and ilb.shot, he sallied forth.

At

the corner of the barn he cocked the piece andstepped outwithitheldin rsadiness.

When

within about 40yds. all theducks

jumped

as one bu-d.

The

Captain aimedatthemiddleofthemass andfired."

Here

my

informantstopped as if expecting

some

en- couragement,and

somewhat

against

my

will Ifelt con- strainedto ask,

"How many

didheget?"

"Wal," hereplied,"he didn'tget any,he undershot but hepicked

up

three bushels of ducks'legs."

MAINK. E.

W

^I*