Possibly.  The spike in volume and short coincided with that backwoods pump.

What I was also pondering was whether the short position was taken by someone wanting to raise money to participate in an anticipated PP with warrants.  Once you get the PP shares you use them to cleanly cover the short instead of having to run after (and run up) scarce shares in the market.  You net-out keeping the warrants for zero cost.  This leaves the stock hammered by the short selling pressure without the eventual benefit of the shorter buying an equall amount while covering the short that usual way.  IIRC Bloom Burton one year pull off that nasty little trick on us. 

Private Placements should issue shares with long 'no-trade holding periods' stipulated.   This would stop a shorter in a thinly traded stock from deploying the above trick.