100 SQUIRRELS AND OTHER FUR-BEARERS 



delivers its fire before the citadel is reached. It 

 is doubtless this fact that has given rise to the 

 popular notion that the porcupine can shoot its 

 quills, which of course it cannot do. 



With a rotten stick we sprang the animal's 

 tail again and again, till its supply of quills be- 

 gan to run low, and the creature grew uneasy. 

 " What does this mean ? " he seemed to say, his 

 excitement rising. His shield upon his back, too, 

 we trifled with, and when we finally drew him 

 forth with a forked stick, his eyes were ready to 

 burst from his head. In what a peevish, injured 

 tone the creature did complain of our unfair tac- 

 tics ! He protested and protested, and whim- 

 pered and scolded, like some infirm old man 

 tormented by boys. His game after we led him 

 forth was to keep himself as much as possible in 

 the shape of a ball, but with two sticks and a 

 cord we finally threw him over on his back and 

 exposed his quill-less and vulnerable under side, 

 when he fairly surrendered and seemed to say, 

 "Now you may do with me as you like." Then 

 we laughed in his face and went our way. 



Before we had reached our camp I was sud- 

 denly seized with a strange, acute pain in one 

 of my feet. It seemed as if a large nerve was 

 being roughly sawed in two. I could not take 

 another step. Sitting down and removing my 



