334 



THE MUSEUM. 



admit that a close proximity to a re- 

 cently killed skunk is rather over- 

 powering to a weak stomach, but 1 

 think the description of its penetrating 

 influence given by most naturalists is, 

 to say the least, greatly exaggerated. 



That the bite of the skunk will cause 

 hydrophobia, as many writers assert, 

 is, without doubt, a relic of Indian 

 superstition. No direct evidence has 

 ever been given from a reliable source, 

 to prove that any person or animal 

 ever suffered fhat terrible affliction 

 from the consequences of a skunk bite, 

 and a great deal of evidence could 

 easily be found to prove that it does 

 not. I know from personal exper- 

 ience of a dog who was bitten on the 

 nose while shaking a skunk, and who 

 has never suffered from hydrophobia 

 either before or after being bitten. 



Here is an anecdote from Wood's 

 Natural History, Volume 2, page 376: 



"A dog whose coat had suffered 

 from the discharge of a skunk, retain- 

 ed the stench for so long a time that 

 even after a week had elapsed it ren- 

 dered a table useless by rubbing itself 

 against one of the legs, although its 

 fur had been repeatedly washed. If a 

 single drop of the odorous fluid should 

 fall upon the eyes it would deprive 

 them of sight." The first statement is 

 absurd, and unjust to the skunk, and 

 is greatly exaggerated in every detail. 

 If it rendered a table useless after 

 seven days' time, what a week of suf- 

 fering that dog must have had. That 

 the fluid could cause blindness is quot- 

 ed by most naturalists, and until last 

 autumn I believed it to be the case 

 myself. I accompanied a skunk hunt- 

 er on several of his nightly expedit- 

 ions, and on the first night, if I re- 

 member rightly, my companion re- 



ceived a full dose of the liquid square 

 in the eyes. It blinded him for a -few 

 moments, but not so much as to deter 

 him from killing a skunk and carrying 

 it home. It of course pained him 

 very much for a short time, but after 

 washing the eyes with warm water, 

 and a good night's rest, his eyes were 

 as well as ever. The effect was ap- 

 parently no more than any strong 

 liquid would cause if thrown into the 

 eyes. 



I remember reading in an old nat- 

 ural history that the skunk first dis- 

 charges the liquid on its tail, and then 

 flirts it at the enemy in a mop-like 

 fashion. The skunk is a remarkably 

 clean animal and never discharges the 

 fluid except in self-defense, and as 

 careful to avoid soiling himself with 

 the fluid as the rattlesnake is not to 

 suffer his body to come into contact 

 with his poisonous venom. The tail 

 of a skunk is the handsomest part of a 

 very beautiful animal, being very long 

 and bushy, with coarse, glossy hairs. 

 The action of discharging the fluid is 

 identical with that of a syringe with 

 compressible bulb, the raising of the 

 tail compressing the sacs containing 

 the secretion, throwing the fluid to a 

 distance of from ten to twenty feet in 

 a fine, mist like stream. 



When discharged at night the liquid 

 has a yellowish phosphorescent appear- 

 ance, the odor being perceptible for a 

 mile or more off. It is more offensive 

 at night and in damp weather than 

 during the day or in a draught. 



Although by nature the skunk is a 

 slow and clumsy pedestrian, yet when 

 hard pressed by pursuing enemies it 

 will move fast enough to keep its pur- 

 suers on a swift run for some distance. 

 It cannot swim or climb trees, except 



