Olive Wixom's life story: Porcupine Pie

From Olive Nunn Wixom's life story, from her diary April 10, 1917.

Elbert took up a homestead out in Fall Creek Basin so we all packed up and went out there, about 35 miles east of Idaho Falls, Idaho. So I didn't pass the seventh grade and had to take it the next year. We met the Poulter family (Olive's sister Ruth later married Orla Poulter.)....Orla and Ray were over to our house a lot as was Virgie and Mert. We all palled together and became lifelong friends.....

We stayed out on the dry farm all summer and had a very enjoyable time. Frances (Olive's sister) and I would roam over the hills. We would have to be careful not to go where there were range cattle. I lived in constant fear of them. The bulls would beller and paw the ground.

We lived in a tent and had a wonderful spring close by. Wild strawberries for the picking, also gooseberries and mushrooms as big as a dinner plate by the gunny sacks full right off the range hills, and Mother knew how to fix them really good. She would soak them in salt water over night then fry them in butter the next morning.

We had ice cream on the 4^th of July. We went up in the mountains close by for snow to freeze it with.

There were three families going to have a potluck dinner and they asked Mother to make a chicken pie. When we went up for the snow we took our dog along and on the way he chased a porcupine and the poor dog had quills all over his nose. Albert shot the porcupine.

We got the snow and hurried back to the tent. They pulled the quills out of the dog's nose with pliers and the dog felt good in a day or two.

Mother had a few hens but they were all laying so Mother made good use of the porcupine. She made her chicken pie out of it. Everyone at the dinner thought it was the best chicken pie they had ever eaten.

But Mother thought it was too good (of a secret) to keep, so she told them after they were all through eating. We all lived through it so I guess it's all right to eat porcupine.