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Photo by George Shiras, 3rd 

 A FLASHLIGHT SET FOR COONS IN A CORN PATCLI IS FIRED BY A SKUNK, SHOWING 

 THAT THEY EAT GREEN CORN ; SQUASH WAS UNTOUCHED BY EITHER ANIMAL 



"Cutting the line did not appease the animal, and until midnight most of us remained 

 outside in a pouring rain, awaiting the smoke of battle to clear awa}^" (see some adventures 

 with skunks, text, page 794). 



and the small potatoes scattered about. 

 Skunk tracks told the story of our mis- 

 directed effort at conservation. In the 

 evening a trap was placed near by with 

 a fish hanging over it, and in the morn- 

 ing sunlight we found a big, fat skunk, 

 with both feet pinioned by the steel 

 jaws. The usual baptism in the creek 

 followed, and by way of a warning and 

 retribution the body was placed in an- 

 other potato hill. 



The next morning this hill had disap- 

 peared, while the body of the skunk was 

 found caught sidewise in a hole beneath 

 the cabin, showing an endeavor on the 

 part of his comrades to carry him from 

 the field of death. In order to get addi- 

 tional evidence on this point, the body 

 was again placed in another potato hill. 

 The camp cook remonstrated, with the re- 

 mark that at this rate we would be ''sure 

 skunked on a potato crop.'' During the 



evening a tugging was heard at the edge 

 of the cabin, and later the rubbing backs 

 of the animals indicated that they were 

 pulling the body well under the floor and 

 all uttering a chorus of whining notes. 

 Soon significant glances were exchanged, 

 for from below came the well-known 

 scent, and in a few minutes the several 

 rooms were wholly uninhabitable and we 

 fled to a brush lean-to some yards away. 

 An hour later it was recalled that the 

 four-foot cellar, loosely boarded up to 

 keep the soil from caving in, contained 

 all our meat and perishable food, and 

 that it was in the center of the danger 

 zone. But so thoroughly impregnated 

 had everything become that, lacking food 

 and comfortable shelter, the next day 

 the entire party sadly returned to town. 

 Whether this proceeding was a wake, 

 followed by a ceremonial salute over the 

 grave, or was a premeditated attack upon 



795 



