52 WILD LIFE AND THE CAMERA 



so after releasing our moulted friend we returned 

 to the farmhouse sadder and wiser men. 



During the afternoon we made an enclosure 

 which would safely contain our next victim, and 

 when night came we went out to hunt. Before 

 long the dogs began a furious barking ; they had 

 discovered two porkies behind the chicken house, 

 fortunately not far from the new enclosure. With 

 the aid of the dogs and by much pushing we managed 

 to get the prickly creatures inside and left them 

 there till morning. Soon after breakfast we started 

 for the dwindling snow patch a curious procession. 

 One of the porcupines was slung from a pole, 

 secured by all four legs ; in this way the man and 

 the boy carried him, while I followed armed with a 

 camera, tripod, and other paraphernalia. All w r ent 

 well till we came to the river, which had to be 

 crossed in a very small, frail, low-sided punt. The 

 river was a raging torrent owing to the recently 

 melted snow, and the prospects ofreaching the 

 opposite bank were not at all cheerful. Two of us 

 got into the punt with the porky, who was very 

 well behaved until we were nearly half way over, 

 when a lot of water rushed over the side, soaking 

 the poor beast, who immediately began to squirm so 

 vigorously that he got his feet out of the slipknots, 

 and, finding himself free, made straight for the end 

 of the boat where the man was devoting all his 

 attention to paddling and steering. As a very 

 close companion a porcupine is scarcely to be 

 recommended, especially in a small and very frail 

 boat in very rough water. The man had on heavy 

 boots, and with these he pushed and pushed the 



