THE SKUNK. 



377 



the legs, although its fur had been repeatedly washed. The odor of this substance is so 

 penetrating that it taints everything that may be near the spot on which it has fallen, and 

 renders them quite useless. Provisions rapidly become uneatable, and clothes are so 

 saturated with the vapor that they will retain the smell for several weeks, even though 

 they are repeatedly washed and dried. It is said that if a drop of the odorous fluid 

 should fall upon the eyes, it will deprive them of sight. Several Indians were seen by 

 Mr. Gresham who had lost the use of their eyes from this cause. 



On one occasion, a coach full of passengers was passing along the road, when a Skunk 

 ran across the path and tried to push its way through a fence. Not succeeding in so 

 doing, it evidently seemed to think that the coach was the cause of its failure, and ceas- 

 ing its attempt to escape, deliberately sent a shower of its vile effluence among the pas- 

 sengers. Secure in its means of defence, the Skunk is remarkably quiet and gentle of 

 demeanor, and has more than once enticed an unwary passenger to approach it, and 

 to attempt to seize so playful and attractive an animal. 



Mr. Audubon has recorded a curious adventure which befell him in his younger 

 days. In one of his accustomed rambles, he suddenly came upon a curious little animal, 



SKUNK. Mephttla variant. 



decorated with a parti-colored coat and bushy tail, and so apparently gentle in 

 demeanor that he was irresistibly impelled to seek a nearer acquaintance. As he 

 approached, the creature did not attempt to run away, but awaited his coming with 

 perfect equanimity. Deceived by its gentle aspect, he eagerly ran towards the tempting 

 prize, and grasped it by its bushy tail, which it had raised perpendicularly as if for the 

 purpose of tempting him to make the assault. He soon repented of his temerity, for he 

 had hardly seized the animal when he was overwhelmed with so horrible a substance, 

 that his eyes, mouth, and nostrils were equally offended, and he was fain to fling away 

 the treacherous foe. After this adventure he became very cautious with respect to 

 pretty little playful animals with white backs and bushy tails. 



There is nothing in nature that is wholly evil, and even this terrible fluid is proved 

 to be possessed of medicinal virtues, being sometimes used for the purpose of giving relief 

 to asmathtic patients. There is rather a curious story respecting a clergyman who had 

 been accustomed to use the scent-glands of the Skunk for this purpose, and to keep them 

 in a closely-stopped bottle. It unfortunately happened, one Sunday, that, having been 

 attacked with a fit of asthma, he took his bottle into the pulpit, and when his breathing 

 became troublesome, he opened the bottle, and applied it to his nostrils. Whether he 

 obtained the required relief or not is not recorded, but he was entirely spared the trouble 



