Saturday, August 28, 2004 - The "javelina story," as it's now frequently called, actually occurred on Wednesday, August 18, 2004, at about 11:30 PM. Due to circumstances not directly in our control, we were unable to publish the story in a more timely manner. However, due to the high amount of interest in the story, here it is, in it's entirety, for all to enjoy ...

According to Nassau West Sheriff Kelly Bartram, on Wednesday night, he was chased into the Capitol by a javelina. The Sheriff stated that he had been outside smoking when he heard soft grunting noises coming from clumps of bushes on both the north and south ends of the Capitol building.

His attention being caught by the noises, he retreated to the Capitol and retrieved a flashlight. Upon his return to the front (west) entrance, he started pointing the flashlight about in search of the noise sources, which he assumed were javelina from a previous encounter.

After a few minutes of looking around, he finally caught two gold eyes in the beam of the flashlight. Apparently, javelinas don't like being discovered. Bartram next heard the clicking of hooves on the ground, and was sad that he had scared the javelina away with the flashlight.

Seconds later, while looking to see which direction the javelina had run, Bartram saw the javelina charging toward him, at this point being only about ten feet away from him. Unbeknownst to Bartram at the time, javelina can run at speeds of up to 21 miles per hour. Bartram, with cigarette still in hand, immediately ran into the Capitol and locked the door behind him.

Now feeling very silly for having run away from a "pig," Bartram loaded a .22 revolver and headed back to the entrance. When he opened the door, he was greeted with a loud grunt, and quickly slammed the door and locked it. Now trapped in the house, he finished his cigarette and pondered what to do with the butt. He cautiously and quietly went to the east entrance at the back of the Capitol, opened the door and threw the butt outside.

While all of this was happening, Nassau West Border Patrol agent Zoey Bartram, laid on the floor and did nothing. Nassau West Customs agent Ivan "the Terrible" Bartram was on assignment elsewhere. The Sheriff retired to his bedroom and tried to sleep.

The Sheriff's Department considered suspending the Sheriff for his cowardice. However, when research proved that the Sheriff did the right thing by retreating, he was vindicated. It has been ascertained that Bartram was in between a mother and father javelina, and the babies (although unseen) were probably on the other side of the Nassau West One, which is parked directly in front of the Capitol's main (west) entrance.

No charges or sanctions were leveled against the Sheriff. On another note, javelinas are actually collared peccaries, a distant relative to the common pig. They are generally 30-60 pounds and about 18-24 inches tall. Their main defense is to charge head first into attackers. They usually travel in small groups, and are vicious defenders of each other.

They are called javelinas (Spanish for javelins) due to their 1½ inch canines that are razor-sharp. Javelinas, generally, are vegetarians and primarily feed on cactus. The canines are designed to tear into the cactus pads, and they seem to be immune to the prickly spines they encounter on the pads.

To see a short video clip of a javelina in action, click here.

Benson Weather