192 EVERYDAY ADVENTURES 
over the bow or from port or starboard, but rarely 
astern. 
The liquid musk itself is a clear, golden-yellow fluid 
full of little bubbles of the devastating gas, and curi- 
ously enough is almost identical in appearance with 
the venom of the rattlesnake. As to its odor, it has 
been described feelingly as a mixture of perfume- 
musk, essence of garlic, burning sulphur, and sewer- 
gas, raised to the thousandth power. Its effect is very 
much like that produced by the fumes of ammonia, 
another animal product, or the mustard-gas of mod- 
ern warfare. It may cause blindness, convulsions, 
and such constriction and congestion of the breath- 
ing passages as even to bring about death. Some 
individuals and animals, however, seem to be more or 
less immune to the effects of this secretion. I remem- 
ber once attending by invitation a possum hunt 
conducted by a number of noted possumists of color. 
We were accompanied by a bevy of miscellaneous 
dogs. The possums were generally found wandering 
here and there among the thickets, or located in low 
persimmon trees. Every now and then one of the 
dogs would bring to bay a strolling skunk. As the 
skins had a considerable market value, these skunks 
were regarded as the special prizes of the chase. The 
hunters dispatched them by a quick blow across the 
back which broke the spine. Such a blow paralyzed 
the muscles and effectually prevented any further 
artillery practice on the part of the skunk which 
received it. Before it could be delivered, both the 
hunter and the dog were usually exposed to an un- 
