MEPHITIS MEPHITICA, 



75 



without appearing" to notice him he invariably became much enraged 

 and chippered and scolded away at a great rate, stamping, meanwhile, 

 most vehemently. Me always liked to be carried up to my office, 

 and as soon as strong enough, would climb up of his own accord. 

 He was very sprightly and frolicsome, and used to hop about the 

 floor and run from room to room in search of something to play with, 

 and frequently amused himself by attempting to demolish my slip- 

 pers. I have often given him a bit of old sponge, with a string 

 attached, in order to keep him out of mischief. During the evening 

 he occasionally assumed a cunning mood, and would steal softly up 

 to my chair, and standing erect would claw at my pants once or 

 twice, and then scamper off as fast as his little legs could carry him, 

 evidently anxious to have me give chase. If I refused to follow, he 

 was soon back, ready to try a new scheme to attract my attention. 



I have heard many persons, who reside in the country, say that 

 they had never seen a live Skunk. This must be because they are 

 not much in the fields and groves at dawn of day, or dusk of evening, 

 for at these times they are frequently seen. The farmer's boy, in 

 going after his cows early every morning, meets plenty of them. 



Skunks have large families, from six to ten young being commonly 

 raised each season; and as a rule they all live in the same hole till 

 the following spring. A steel trap, set at the mouth of this hole, will 

 often capture the entire family, at the rate of one per night. In win- 

 ter half a dozen or more may sometimes be taken in a single night, 

 in the following manner : the hunter treads a narrow path in the 

 snow, leading from the mouth of the hole away in the direction of 

 some favorite resort and, at intervals along this path, the traps are 

 set in the snow. At nightfall, when the Skunks come out, they 

 march, single file, down the path, the mother usually taking the lead. 

 The head one is generally caught in the first trap, and the others 

 climb over the resulting obstruction and move on till a second is 

 taken, and a third, and so on. 



