242 FIFTY YEARS A HUNTER AND TRAPPER. 



the glands can be easily cut out and thrown away or saved for 

 bait, as the trapper wishes. Now proceed to skin the skunk. 

 By following these directions, the trapper will not suffer any 

 great inconvenience from the animal's scent. 



Now if the trapper is a little timid, he can carry some kind 

 of a gun of small caliber and shoot the skunk in the head. But 

 if the skunk does not use his weapon of defense, then it is a dif- 

 ferent skunk than I have been accustomed to meet with. If the 

 trapper uses a clog instead of a stake to fasten his trap with, and 

 his traps are close to water, he can use a long pole or a hook and 

 gently drag the skunk to the water and drown it. Then the water 

 will carry the fluid or scent as discharged, away. 



Now if the trapper is very timid and has plenty of time, I 

 would advise that he provide himself with a light pole ten or 

 twelve feet long, split at one end and take a quart tin can with 

 sockets or brackets soldered onto the sides of the can, so that 

 the can may be placed in between the split at the end of the pole. 

 The two prongs placed into the sockets on the can so as to hold 

 the can firm. Now fill the can part full of cotton and prepare 

 yourself with a bottle of chloroform (not brandy). Now with 

 this outfit the trapper will proceed to follow along his trap line, 

 and when he finds a skunk in his trap he will cautiously approach 

 the skunk after he, the trapper (not the skunk) has well sat- 

 urated the cotton in the can from the chloroform from the bottle. 

 Then gently work the can up to the skunk's nose and over its 

 head, when the chloroform will soon do its deadly work. After 

 the skunk is dead, the trapper should remove the scent glands as 

 before described, lest the scent may be squeezed from the glands 

 in skinning the skunk. 



Another reader asks what kind of a gun he shall take with 

 him to hunt deer, as he is contemplating going on a deer hunt- 

 ing trip next fall. Now I would say any kind of a rifle that suits 

 you. But if you should ask me what kind of a gun I use, I would 

 .not hesitate to say that I prefer the 38-40 and black powder. This 

 gun shoots plenty strong to do all* the shooting as fo distance or 

 penetrations that the deer hunter will require, and there is not 

 near so much danger of shooting a man or domestic animal a 



