122 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



would be their next adventure. Around a 

 turn of the trail within five minutes after the 

 black bear met the skunk he clashed with a 

 lion, so tracks by the trail showed. 



I often wondered, too, what experience an 

 animal had been through immediately before he 

 trailed into my sight. The peevish lion was 

 just from her fat, safe, happy kittens. One of 

 the two cross grizzlies was from a row with 

 another grizzly, while the other had been play- 

 ing along the trail and was on good terms with 

 himself and the world. 



When skunk and mink the more offensive 

 of the smelly family meet in contest, then 

 smells to heaven their meeting. Driven into 

 a corner, the mink will spread high-power musk 

 in the only avenue of advance. He then is in 

 an impregnable position no fellow has nose 

 sufficiently strong to pass. Or, if the mink 

 place a guarding circle of musk around a prize 

 kill this makes a time lock and will hold his prize 

 for hours against all comers. 



A skunk and mink clashed by the trail across 

 the river. The skunk was leisurely advancing 

 to seize a flopping, misguided trout on the bank 

 when a mink rushed as though to close with the 

 skunk. The skunk hesitated and lost the 

 fish. The mink in the delay of action made 

 musk screen near the trout. The skunk went 



