92 THE FACE OF THE FIELDS 



frail skunk here by the snowy woodside, and it 

 thrilled as I pledged him protection, as I acknow- 

 ledged his right to the earth, his right to share 

 life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness with 

 me. He could have only a small part in my life, 

 doubtless, but I could enter largely into his, and 

 we could live in amity together in amity here 

 on this bit of the divine earth, anyhow, if nowhere 

 else under heaven. 



This was along in February, and I was begin- 

 ning to set my hens. 



A few days later, in passing through the wood- 

 lot, I was surprised and delighted to see three 

 skunks in the near vicinity of the den, resi- 

 dents evidently of the stump ! " Think ! " I ex- 

 claimed to myself, " think of the wild flavor to 

 this tame patch of woods ! And the creatures so 

 rare, too, and beneficial! They multiply rapidly, 

 though," I thought, "and I ought to have a fine 

 lot of them by fall. I shall stock the farm with 

 them." 



This was no momentary enthusiasm. In a book 

 that I had published some years before I had 

 stoutly championed the skunk. "Like every 

 predatory creature," I wrote, "the skunk more 



