27 8 November 1748. 



flanding before him ; {looping to pluck it, 

 he was to his cofl convinced of his miftake, 

 by being all on a fudden covered with the 

 urine of a polecat, whofe tail as it flood up- 

 right, the good man had taken for a plant: 

 the creature had taken its revenge fo effec- 

 tually that he Was much at a lofs how to 

 get rid of the flench. 



However though thefe animals play 

 fuch difagreeable tricks, yet the EngliJJj, the 

 Swedes, the French, and the Indians in thefe 

 parts tame them. They follow their mas- 

 ters like domeflic animals, and never make 

 ufe of their urine, except they be very 

 much beaten or terrified. When the Indi- 

 ans kill fuch a polecat, they always eat its 

 ikfh, but when they pull off its fkin, they 

 take care to cut away the bladder, that the 

 flem may not get a tafle from it. I have 

 fpoken with both Fnglijhmcn and French- 

 men, who allured me that thev had eaten of 

 it, and found it very good meat, and not 

 much unlike the flefh of a pig. The fkin 

 which is pretty coarfe, and has long hair, 

 is not made ufe of by the Europeans ; but 

 the Indians prepare it with the hair on, and 

 make tobacco pouches of it, which they 

 carry before them. 



November the 6th. In the evening I 



went out of town to Mr. Bar tram, I found 



. a man 



