276 November 1748. 



fo foon. A certain man of rank who had 

 by accident been wetted by the polecat, 

 flunk fo ill, that on going into a houfe, 

 the people either ran away, or on his open- 

 ing the door, rudely denied him entrance. 

 Dogs that have hunted a polecat are fo 

 offenfive for fome days afterwards, that they 

 cannot be borne in the houfe. At Phila- 

 delphia I once faw a great number of people 

 on a market day throwing at a dog that 

 was fo unfortunate as to have been engaged 

 with a polecat jure before, and to carry 

 about him the tokens of its difpleafure. Per- 

 fons when travelling through a foreft are 

 often troubled with the itink which this 

 creature makes ; and fometimes the air is 

 fo much infected that it is necefTary to hold 

 ones nofe. If the wind blows from the 

 place where the polecat has been, or if it 

 be quite calm, as at night, the fmell is 

 more ilrong and difagreeable. 



In the winter of 1749, a polecat tempt- 

 ed by a dead lamb, came one night near 

 the farm houfe where I then flept. Being 

 immediately purfued by fome dogs, it had 

 recourfe to its ufual expedient in order to 

 get rid of them. The attempt fucceeded, 

 the dogs not choofing to continue the 

 purfuit : the ftink was fo extremely great 

 that, though I was at fome diftance it 

 affected me in the fame manner as if I 



had 



