f 



Photo by George Shiras, 31-d 

 THi: i^IRST SKUNK THAT VISITi:d OUR CAMP AND TOOK ITS OWN PICTURE (SEE 



PAGE 788) 

 See adventures with skunks, pages 790-795 



As might be expected, his phght was 

 made known by an odor that quite filled 

 the atmosphere. Protected from inhal- 

 ing the flames, he managed to reach the 

 tent, when a desire to put an end to such 

 suffering and at the same time save a 

 portion of our outfit led one of us to 

 seize a rifle, with which he was des- 

 patched. And then the charred body 

 was interred, can and all. 



Except when defending itself against 

 a recognized aggressor or in a final death 

 struggle, a skunk will seldom use his 

 weapon indiscriminately, even though 

 suffering great pain. Of the many doz- 

 ens trapped about my Michigan cabin, 

 none have signalized their capture by the 

 slightest odor, even though hours or an 

 entire night might pass with a foot in the 

 clutch of a steel trap. 



A simple and effective method of safely 

 killing these trapped animals was used at 

 my cabin for many years. A 5-foot chain 

 connected the trap to a long pole, the 

 latter acting as a drag, and when it be- 

 came necessary to kill and remove the 

 animal from the trap the pole was used 



to safely drag the skunk down to the 

 little bridge spanning the near-by creek, 

 where, like a giant fishing-rod, the pole, 

 chain, and trap were swung over the 

 water and lowered, the weight of the 

 trap sinking the animal beneath the sur- 

 face, the carcass being easily removed 

 a few minutes later. Never in dragging 

 the struggling animal to the water did it 

 discharge the fetid matter, evidently be- 

 cause its captor was well out of range 

 through the use of the dragging pole. 



Another method of practical value in 

 permanently driving such animals away 

 from one's camp or cabin without run- 

 ning the usual risk when shooting them 

 was brought to my attention while camp- 

 ing south of Lake Superior in 1883. On 

 this occasion a skunk was discovered 

 busily employed eating our small collec- 

 tion of eggs in the provision tent. Shout- 

 ing or rattling the canvas had but a mo- 

 mentary effect, for every few minutes 

 another tgg was pulled out of the box 

 and eaten with great relish. The colored 

 cook was in a frenzy of indignation, fa- 

 voring drastic action, but the rest of us 



792 



