110 UNWELCOME VISITOR. 



it their prey. Though they had been frequently 

 flogged for killing these animals, they invariably 

 forgot the punishment they had received, and re- 

 peated their fault, the result being that they became 

 sick for some hours from the noxious stench they 

 had inhaled, completely losing their powers of scent 

 for days, and becoming so disagreeable to our ol- 

 factory organs, that for at least a month to come 

 it was more pleasant to avoid their vicinity. I have 

 passed at a distance of a mile from the spot where 

 one of these fetid animals had been killed many 

 hours after its life had become extinct, and the at- 

 mosphere was still impregnated far and wide with 

 its nauseous effluvia. 



When residing in the township of Oro, on the 

 north-western margin of the charming waters of 

 Lake Simcoe, I was the guest of an old gentleman, 

 long an officer in the gallant 44th Regiment, and 

 who had distinguished himself in Spain during the 

 Peninsular War. He informed me that a skunk, 

 which had decimated his stock of poultry, had taken 

 up its residence under his house to be closer to 

 the scene of its nightly forays. The loss occasioned 

 by this unwelcome visitor was so great that it 

 became absolutely necessary to accomplish its de- 

 struction. Traps skilfully set and carefully baited 

 failing most signally to effect the desired end, it 

 was at length determined to raise the flooring over 

 the spot where the marauder's retreat was supposed 

 to be, but the wrong planks were accidentally 



