THE SKUNK. 341 



much maligned little animal. Anyone who has watched 

 an old skunk, with two or three young ones playing 

 about her, as I have, could not help liking them. They 

 are as playful as kittens, and twice as pretty. It is only 

 when attacked and in danger of its life that it makes 

 use of the weapon of defence with which nature has 

 furnished it, viz. its stink bag. The skunk is found in 

 the forest, but it seems to prefer old camps and barns ; 

 often even coming into outhouses and cellars in the settle- 

 ments, I believe in pursuit of mice. The fur is extremely 

 pretty, and the smell of the animal when killed in a dead 

 fall is little worse than the smell of a mink. I have 

 myself skinned several of them. But, on the other hand, 

 when hunted by a dog, or shot, the smell is terrific. A 

 favourite dog of mine killed a skunk on one occasion, and 

 for days I might in his case say for weeks neither of 

 us was fit for human society. He, poor fellow, knew what 

 was the matter with him, and, though generally the most 

 sociable of animals, kept at a distance from everybody, 

 and no doubt felt himself an outcast. I gave the clothes 

 I had on at the time of the rencontre to an Indian boy, 

 who, I believe, has gone by the name of "the skunk" 

 ever since. No wonder that the old French habitants 

 called them Enfans du diable. The flesh is eaten by some 

 Indians ; they are very fat, and the fat is said to be an 

 excellent cure for rheumatism. They den in winter in 

 old deserted camps, under piles of bushes, or in fallen 

 trees. 



The porcupine (Histrix pilosus). This animal is by 

 no means evenly distributed over the Canadian forest. 

 In many parts of Lower Canada I have been in the woods 



