STORY OF A PORCUPINE HUNT 51 



who have attempted to control the creatures. It 

 unfortunately happens that they are almost entirely 

 nocturnal in their habits, coming out towards dusk 

 and returning to their sleeping quarters about 

 dawn. As the photographic work could not be 

 done at night it was necessary for us to secure our 

 would-be, or perhaps I should say our would-not-be 

 models during their nightly wanderings and keep 

 them till morning, all of which sounds easy, but was 

 none the less the cause of many tribulations and dis- 

 appointments ; for, be it remembered, a porcupine 

 can climb almost anything and if enclosed in a box 

 will eat his way out within a few hours. We 

 decided a sack would be the thing, so when on the 

 first night we caught a fine animal which was 

 prowling about seeking what he might devour in 

 the way of spade handles or other wooden articles 

 used by men, we put him in a sack, tied it up, and 

 put it in a barrel. When morning came we carried 

 our victim to a place where the setting coincided 

 with that of the story. The camera was carefuUy 

 arranged, and the bag opened, and out roUed an 

 animal which possessed not a single point, good or 

 otherwise. All the quills had been transferred to 

 the sack, and we beheld a rough, hairy and very 

 sad-looking model utterly unsuited to our purposes. 

 This was most unfortunate, because the picture de- 

 manded snow. And this small patch, hidden in a 

 sheltered nook, a last remnant of the winter, was 

 the only snow in the region. The day was warm 

 and springhke, so that in a few hours this too 

 would be melted and our chance gone for the 

 year. There was nothing to be done for this day, 



E 2 



