J. Cribb Captured Wild Hog of Columbus County, Jan. 4, 1921

Fair Bluff in Columbus county has a real curiosity in the shape of a genuine wild hog, captured Monday in Columbus Bay a few miles up from the river in Robeson county by Mr. J. Cribb. Sometime between 11 and 13 years ago the hog was the property of Mr. J.P. Waddell of Fair Bluff. It ran wild and resisted all efforts to effect its capture or to kill it. Year after year the beast roamed in the forest and marshes along the river, gradually growing wilder and fiercer. It is said to have acquired a scent as keen as any dog and the distant approach of a human being was the signal for it to cut for the tall timbers. It was known to occasionally associate with free range hogs in the woods, leaving them instantly at the least sign of the approach of man. Equipped with formidable tusks and an equally formidable strength, it was the terror of hunters on account of the havoc it played with their dogs when they encountered it. Many fine canines are said to have met a summary death and others have been hopelessly cut and torn by the wild animal during its many years of freedom. It was apparently afraid of nothing but man, and not of him when driven to pay. Hundreds of shots are said to have been fired at it without apparently in the least injuring it. Its hide had acquired the toughness of that of an elephant and nothing but a rifle bullet would penetrate it. High waters in the river and swamps during recent weeks drove the animal from its favorite haunts, and Mr. Cribb conceived the idea of building a box trap and luring the animal into it by means of careful baiting day by day. It was useless to attempt to get near enough to shoot it. The hog is now being confined in a strong stable here in town and is attracting much attention. It is very poor from the privations that is has undergone during the winter but will weigh in the neighborhood of 200 pounds. Its hair is almost white, owing to its great age, and it bears numberless scars and wounds from the various encounters it has had. From The Monroe Journal, Jan. 4, 1921