Hudsonian Skunk 



977 



And woe to the unhappy creature that is made the offen- 

 target of this battery. If it reaches his eyes it may cause ^^g 

 blindness, at least for a time; in his nostrils it acts as a chok- 

 ing irritant. The smell alone is powerful enough to upset 

 most stomachs, and in some 

 cases causes convulsions, 

 fainting, and even death. 

 Certain individuals are much 

 less powerfully affected than 

 others, but, as a rule, men, 

 dogs, and wild creatures 

 with one accord prefer to let 

 the Skunk alone. They 

 will endure a terribly hard 

 pinch of hunger before invit- 

 ing a volley from the ' Smell- 

 cat's' famous 'breech-load- 

 er,' which, by the way, is 

 also a 'repeater,' for it con- 

 tains not one round, as 

 some have supposed, but 

 enough for nearly a dozen 

 discharges, depending somewhat on the size and age of the 

 Skunk, as well as the time that has elapsed since last it was 

 justified in protecting itself. 



Like the rattlesnake, it usually gives fair notice, and acts habits 

 only on the defensive. Let the Skunk alone and it will let you 

 alone. When approached by an enemy, it usually makes off, 

 ambling deliberately, and evidently unwilling to provoke 

 attack. If the enemy follow and overtake it, as a man may 

 easily do, it turns and faces about, and seems to say, "all right 

 if you will have it, come on." But it still gives you three fair 

 warnings — which is almost scripturally correct; the first by 

 facing about and stamping, the second by raising and spreading 

 the tail, all but the tip which hangs downward. The third 

 final and dreadful warning is, when the tip rises up and spreads 



Fig. 229 — Anal scent-gland of M. pulida 9 dissected and 

 raised to expose the rectum (R). Life size, but a 

 very small example. 



Cos Cob, Conn., Oct. 12, 1908. 



