Photo by George Shiras, 3rd 



A MICHIGAN VARYING HARE, OR SNOW-SHOE RABBIT,, FIRES THE I^I^ASH 



"The fact that this rabbit was difficult to photograph and, moreover, was typical of the 

 northern swamps, being a staple winter diet of the trapper, homesteader, explorer, and of 

 many Indian tribes, led me to try for a series of pictures, even if such a humble and timid 

 animal was not rated high on the sportsman's list" (see text, page 787). 



skunk. I then put up a light-colored 

 plank for a background and hung the 

 bait from it, so that the animal was sure 

 to be in focus and its figure well out- 

 lined against the board, however dark 

 the fur. Then at dusk the camera and 

 flashlight were set within a dozen feet 

 of the bait. 



After dinner I sat on deck awaiting re- 

 sults, and about 8 o'clock I gave an in- 

 voluntary start, when the bright flame 

 and heavy report broke in on the quiet, 

 dark waters of the little bay. But, what- 

 ever the animal, it had quietly disap- 

 peared before I came ashore with the 

 lantern to reset the camera and the flash 

 for another trial. Several hours later 

 the house-boat quivered from the shock 

 of another explosion, but I did not get 

 up, wishing to see what the developed 

 plates would show the next day before 

 trying again. The first exposure was 



that of an adult skunk pulling sidewise 

 at the bait, and marked with the usual 

 dorsal strip of white and a tail of black 

 tipped with white (see page 792). The 

 second plate showed a skunk with a 

 darker body and a tail almost entirely 

 white (see page 793). 



The next night it rainea constantly and 

 nothing came, for skunks dislike wet 

 grass or dripping bushes. On the third 

 night three flashes were fired before ii 

 o'clock, and the plates showed the skunk 

 with the white-tipped tail ; and this one 

 continued to come night after night to 

 brave the terrors of the flash. Finally, 

 the white-tailed skunk summoned up 

 courage for a second visit, and then came 

 regularly. Up to this time no picture had 

 shown the great plume-like tail of the 

 skunk when erected for action. 



But the second skunk had evidently 

 discovered that every time it pulled on 



