ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



The anal scent-glands of these interesting 

 animals are both offensive and defensive organs 

 but their secretion is never distributed except 

 under impulse of fear or for protection. If not 

 disturbed or needlessly alarmed the peculiar 

 odor of these animals is not made manifest. 

 They share this musk-secreting power with 

 many animals, but theirs is most peculiar and 

 penetrating. 



I rode slowly homeward, holding the basket 

 so as not to greatly jar my highly prized gifts. 

 On reaching home I put my newly found pets 

 into a wooden box lined with soft hay and 

 placed it in one corner of our granary. For 

 several days the skunks seemed weak as a re- 

 sult of having their scent-glands removed. I 

 could not coax them to eat and so, on the sec- 

 ond day, I opened their mouths and fed milk 

 to them with a spoon. In a short time, how- 

 ever, they recovered and became very playful 

 and tame. They would follow me around the 

 yard and garden like puppies, eating grasshop- 

 pers and other harmful insects that chanced to 

 cross their paths. 



The larger of the three I named Mongola, 

 [,86] 



