3 8 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



An entire family of skunks out on a frolic 

 came unexpectedly upon me. They numbered 

 eight. I was sitting on a log against a pine, 

 and resolved not to move. In front of jne the 

 mother stepped upon a thorn, flinched, and lifted 

 her foot to examine it. All gathered about her. 

 As they moved this way and that, in the sun- 

 shine then in the shadows, their shiny black and 

 clean white showed as though just scoured and 

 polished. Surely they were freshly groomed 

 for a party. 



Without noticing me they began playing, 

 jumping, and scuffling about. Then single file 

 they pursued one another round a tree. In a 

 mass they suddenly started to rush round the 

 pine against which I sat. I saw them vanish 

 behind the northwest quarter but when they 

 swept round the southeast I was not there. 



In Montana I was sitting on top of a low 

 cliff looking down into a willow thicket below, 

 when a deer shied from the willows and hurried 

 on. Then a coyote came out mad and sneez- 

 ing. A squirrel went down to investigate but 

 quickly climbed a pine sputtering and threaten- 

 ing. The unusual ever lured me appealed to 

 my curiosity and often this brought adventure 

 plus information. So down into the willows I 

 started. From the side of the cliff I reached 

 an out-thrust limb of a pine, swung out, and let 



