44 The Skunk 
to place, they form a line from fifteen to thirty feet 
long, with the mother in the lead. When a capture 
is contemplated, the would-be captor takes his place 
behind the line, and noiselessly approaching the 
rear skunk, with a quick movement he lifts it from 
the ground by the tail. This is a nervous moment 
for the novice, but entirely safe, for when a skunk 
is thus lifted from the ground, the power of spraying 
the essence is apparently lost. After the youngster 
is captured and put in a safe place, the operation Is 
repeated until all the young are taken, the mother 
continuing on her way, apparently as unconcerned as 
though she had not lost her family. 
It takes a very steady nerve to approach an old 
skunk and lift it by the tail, and, although I have 
heard of several instances, I have but once actually 
seen the feat. This occurred when I was a small 
boy, in a village where I had gone to get a horse 
shod. The blacksmith’s house and shop stood near 
each other, and the side door of the shop opened 
opposite to the outside door of the old-fashioned 
basement of the house. As it was nearing the noon 
hour the good wife went to the basement for some 
potatoes, but scarcely had she entered, when she 
saw a black and white object in the middle of the 
floor. The light being dim, its outline was at first 
