304 MAMMALIA. 



its way through a gap, another, shortly after, continued the opera- 

 tion beside the lifeless body of its companion. 



i( It seems probable that these singular rodents cannot long sur- 

 vive human settlement. Incapable of rapid motion they are easily 

 approached, and their spiny armature, so potent a protection from 

 their natural enemies, fails before the merciless power of man. In 

 the isolation of the mountain top where we have just seen them, 

 they appeared to be at a loss to understand the nature of their 

 disturbers, and when met with showed little excitement, or anxiety 

 to escape. Their greatest effort in this direction appeared to be 

 leisurely shuffling out of the immediate way, often climbing with 

 sluggish effort into a small balsam and composing themselves 

 among the branches just out of easy reach." * 



Among certain Indian tribes the flesh of the Porcupine is a 

 staple article of diet, and I have been informed by hunters and 

 trappers that it is by no means bad eating. 



In the copper districts of Lake Superior, Porcupines are put to 

 a novel use. The following clipping is from the Ontonagon 

 [Michigan] Miner of July 28th, 1883 : " Porcupines as Fuel. Mr. 

 Stratton who has charge of the work at the Wilmot mine has 



o 



found a new article of fuel which is more effective than green 

 wood, Porcupines ! Yes, Porcupines. These pests had become so 

 numerous, that one day he threw a couple of them into the fire 

 place of the steam-drill, and to his surprise his steam ran up to 80 

 pounds in a short time. Having made this discovery he concluded 

 to follow it up, and the boys are ordered to kill and bring in every 

 porcupine they can catch, which are thrown in to help make fuel. 

 They have now killed and burned 126 of them." 



By persons ignorant of natural history, the Porcupine is some- 

 times called " Hedgehog." The hedgehog is a small animal, re- 

 lated to the mole, and is not found in America. 



The Porcupine makes its nest in a ledge of rocks, or in the hol- 



* Transactions of the Linnaean Society of New York, Vol. I, 1882, pp. 121-122. 



