TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCES. 175 



Occasionally these animals also en- 

 ter some dwelling in the hot sum- 

 mertime; and I recollect anarration, 

 years ago, when a skunk, during 

 a bright moonlight night, entered 

 the open window of a farmhouse 

 and commenced to perform all 

 sorts of stunts with the farmers' 

 house-slippers. It came this way: 

 Whilst asleep, the farmer sudden- 

 ly awoke at midnight, and, be- 

 lieving the house-cat had entered 

 his sanctum, but little attention 

 was at first given the intruder. 



some acrobatic stunts with the 

 slipper. It held the slipper be- 

 tween its front feet upward and rol- 

 led it around, like a child would 

 do in playing with a ball. After 

 it tired out, it slowly made its exit 

 through an open rear door of the 

 sleeping-room, and disappeared in 

 the yard, where it was killed the 

 next day by the dogs. 



I may state, by the way, that 

 this is not an imaginary story, 

 but can be verified by my friend, 

 the farmer himself, who now re- 



A Rare Specimen of Skunk Encountered at Mitchell's Lake Hunting Ground 



However, as the animal began 

 crawling on the farmer's bed, and 

 quite close to the sleeper, the 

 farmer now could clearly notice 

 it to be a skunk — the moonlight 

 aiding him in discerning its white 

 and black-striped hair, and he 

 watched its every movement. 

 After prowling a while on the bed, 

 it slowly crawled down to the 

 floor again, and, taking one of the 

 farmer's slippersy it rolled on its 

 back and commenced performing 



sides in San Antonio, and is a 

 prominent alderman of the city 

 administration, and, 'at whose farm 

 the above incident occurred. 



In looking up the literature 

 on these queer animals I found 

 a noteworthy account on the 

 habits of the skunk, in general, 

 by Dr. C. H. Merriam— "Mammals 

 of the Adirondack Region, New 

 York, 1884," which reads :^ 



"The skunk preys upon mice, 

 salamanders, ' frogs, and the eggs 



