Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/191

 almost drop out when the points stick into anything.

The porcupine is slow in its movements and it has no teeth or claws worth speaking of, and yet, in consequence of its array of quills, there is no animal living in the woods that is less interferred with.

On one occasion a hunter who was stalking big game observed a porcupine pass into a open space below him. The hunter at the time was standing in the fork of a large tree some thirty feet from the ground. For many minutes he watched the animal's movements with great interest, as he had never been as close to one before. The porcupine dug up a few roots and was leisurely eating them when suddenly it paused; its body seemed to stiffen, and with good reason. Out of the shadows came stalking a beautiful leopard. Its evil green eyes were glistening as it looked upon the prickly one. The leopard studied the porcupine from all sides walking slowly round and round and snarling the while. Suddenly it sprang, and in the only way it could hope to do with safety that is, straight at the head so that the quills would be pointed away. The porcupine, for once in its life, was quick and gots its quills stuck out, with the result that the leopard landed on a veritable pin cushion. The big cat sprang away roaring with pain, its paws and sides bristling with quills, while the porcupine shuffled off under some large tree roots to a place of safety. The hunter saw his chance and fired. When the smoke cleared away the leopard was on its back kicking its heels in the air in its last struggle. The leopard's skin was badly torn by the quills, and a close examination proved that this was not its first meeting with a porcupine, for several barbed points were found deeply embedded in its flesh. One would think that after a leopard, or any other animal, had had one experience with a porcupine it would remember it for ever after and steer clear of so dangerous a prey.

In every land where porcupines are found hunters bring back stories of the barbed quill points being found in the skins of tigers and lions showing that fights are more numberous than is generally supposed. Any creature must be very hungry to tackle a porcupine, for even if it had the luck to kill it there is not very much to eat. The porcupines body is small in proportion to its bulk. On the other hand, it has been urged that the great creatures of the jungles may be something like boys who don't want anything to get the best of them, and consequently make war on the porcupine, even if it does hurt them and tear up their fur.

Up in Canada there is a porcupine that can climb, and if it is hard pressed by any wild animal it runs up a tree for safely.