174 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISOENOEiS. 



the surrounding mesquite valley. 

 At the time of writing hundreds of 

 Mexicans with their queer camping 

 outfits, dispersed among the hilly- 

 regions and mesquite jungles west 

 of the lake, can be seen there at 

 work in clearing the brush and 

 trees, and the wild ducks and 

 other fowls, formerly alighting on 

 Mitchell's lake by the thousands 

 and millions now only sparingly 

 congregate there. However, it is 

 presumed, as soon as the cleared 

 places around the old lagoon are 



close to the stove of the kitchen,, 

 and the other near its haunts in 

 the nearby jungles, surrounded 

 by some dogs. It was a rainy 

 day and therefore the views did 

 not turn out as desired, but the 

 one herein shows his mephitic 

 majesty of the cactus jungles, 

 quite plainly. 



The animal proved to be such 

 a rare variety of the skunk family 

 (Mephitis pestorius) that it may 

 be a lifetime to encounter a similar 

 species again in nature. 



Main Boat Landing at Mitchell's Lake, (Original Photo, Winter 1910) 



cultivated with green fields, the 

 lake may again be full of game. 



During a visit to that lake we 

 happened to come across a Mexi- 

 can dwelling where pandemonium 

 reigned supreme — all on account 

 of a little skunk which had taken 

 the liberty to make its entrance 

 during a cold night into the cavall- 

 ero's kitchen. Having my kodak 

 with us, I managed to prepare 

 two photos of the intruder,' one 

 showing the interesting animal 



The ordinary skunk or "polecat" 

 is entirely differently striped and 

 of much larger size, with only two 

 broad, continuous white stripes 

 along the margin of its back, whilst 

 this one had various interrupted 

 white stripes across its black body, 

 with long bundles of white bushy 

 hair at its tail end part. 



The prevailing cold weather at 

 that time caused these, as so many . 

 other marauding animals, to seek 

 food and shelter near farmhouses, 



