CAVE LODGERS. 209 



kerchief round his middle, and attach to it a long twisted 

 withe. The dog would go in, and presently, between 

 the two, out would come the porcupine." 



The porcupine becomes loaded with fat in the fall by 

 feasting on the numerous berries found on the barrens. 

 The latter half of September is their running season. 

 The old ones are then very rank, and not fit to eat. 

 Their call is a plaintive whining sound, not very dis- 

 similar to the cry of a calf moose. At this season, when 

 hunting in the woods, I have frequently found old males 

 with bad wounds on the back — the skin extensively 

 abraded by, apparently, a high fall from a tree on the 

 edge of a rock. My Indian says with regard to this, " he 

 make himself sore back, purpose so as to travel light, and 

 get clear of his fat." 



The female brings forth two at a birth in the den very 

 early in the spring. 



It is a remarkable fact that, though abundant in Nova 

 Scotia, the porcupine is not found in the island of Cape 

 Breton, separated only by the Gut of Canso in places 

 but a few hundred yards across. Frequent attempts have 

 indeed been made by Indians to introduce the animal in 

 Cape Breton by importation from the south side, but have 

 always ended in failure. Though the vegetable features 

 of the island are identical with those of Nova Scotia 

 proper, the porcupine will not live in the woods of the 

 former locality. This is a well-ascertained fact, and no 

 attempt at explanation can be offered. 



Again, though it is found on the Labrador, and at the 

 Straits of Belle Isle, the great island of Newfoundland, 

 which is thus separated from the mainland, contains no 

 porcupine. 



