216 NORTH AMERICAN MUSTELID.E. . 



rupeds aiul not a few birds, which are more abundant in 

 '^clearings'' than in the depths of the forest or in the loneliness 

 of unreclaimed prairie. I was struck with this circumstance 

 during my recent travels [in Colorado, where Skunks were a 

 never-failing nuisance about the ranches, though I never saw 

 or smelled one, to my present recollection, in the uninhabited 

 mountains of that State. Their entire absence, however, is not 

 to be predicated on this score, but simply their relatively lesser 

 numbers; and I have rarely found Skunks more numerous in 

 the West than they were in the entirely unsettled stretches of 

 country in Montana northwest of Fort Benton, and thence to 

 the region of the Saskatchewan. Richardson notes their fre- 

 quency in this latter portion of the country, and fixes the north- 

 ern limit of the species at about 56^ or 57^ North latitude. In 

 the opposite direction, the habitat of the Skunk overlaps that of 

 the Conepate, reaching into Mexico; but exactly how far remains 

 to be ascertained. It is probably replaced, southerly in Mexico, 

 by the closely allied though apparently distinct M, macrura of 

 Lichtenstein, treated on a following page. A recent local writer 

 on the quadrupeds of one of our States noted that out of the 

 large number of Skunks attributed to North America only one, 

 the present species, was found in his locality, humorously adding 

 that one, however, was generally considered sufficient. Through- 

 out British America, and most of the northern tier of States, 

 New England, the Middle States, and some of the Southern 

 States, the present is the only species of the subfamily certainly 

 known to occur ; in most parts of the West, and some of the 

 South, it is associated with the smaller species, Spilogale putorhis; 

 while the extreme Southwest may rejoice in the possession of 

 all three of the Cuited States species. 



The Skunk yields a handsome fur, lately become fashionable, 

 under the euphemism of ''Alaska sable"' — for our elegant dames 

 would surely not deck themselves in obscene Skunk skins if 

 they were not permitted to call the rose by some other name. 

 Pelts to the number of a thousand or more have annually passed 

 through the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company ; and this 

 kind of "sable" is one of the staples of American furriers, 

 many thousands being yearly exported to Europe. The black 

 furs are the most valuable, ranging in price, according to qual- 

 ity, up to $1 apiece for prime; the " half-stripe" and the white 

 bring much less. The trapping of the animal seems to be an 

 easier matter than the subsequent disposition of the prize; for 



