98 ANIMALS OF THE 



and if it should happen that a drop of this fetid 

 discharge falls in the eye, the person runs the 

 risk of being blinded for ever.* 



The dogs themselves instantly abate of their 

 ardour, when they find this extraordinary bat- 

 tery played off against them ; they instantly turn 

 tail, and leave the animal undisputed master of 

 the field, and no exhortations can ever bring 

 them to rally. " In the year 1749," says Kalm, 

 " one of these animals came near the farm where 

 I lived. It was in winter time, during the night ; 

 and the dogs that were upon the watch pursued 

 it for some time, until it discharged against them. 

 Although I was in my bed a good way off, I 

 thought I should have been suffocated ; and the 

 cows and oxen, by their lowings, showed how 

 much they were affected by the stench. About 

 the end of the same year another of these ani- 

 mals crept into our cellar, but did not exhale the 

 smallest scent, because it was not disturbed. A 

 foolish woman, however, who perceived it at night 

 by the shining of its eyes, killed it, and at that 

 moment its stench began to spread. The whole 

 cellar was filled with it to such a degree, that the 

 woman kept her bed for several days after ; and 

 all the bread, meat, and other provisions, that 

 were kept there, were so infected, that they were 

 obliged to be thrown out of doors." Neverthe- 

 less, many of the planters, and the native Ame- 

 ricans, keep this animal tame about their houses, 

 and seldom perceive any disagreeable scents, ex- 



Voyage de Kalm, as quoted by Buflbn, vol. xxvii. p. 93. 



