240 U^ILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 



sees them coming, he prepares to fire, and never 

 fails to hit his mark. "The instant a dog has 

 received a discharge of this kind on his nose and 

 eyes, he appears half distracted, plunging his nose 

 into the earth, rubbing the sides of his face on the 

 leaves and grass, and rolling in every direction." 

 So says Audubon ; and that skunk often goes free. 

 But this authority adds that the same dogs do not 

 hesitate to attack other skunks as soon after as 

 they are able, and this despite severe punishments 

 by their masters. Many other experiences to the 

 same purport might be quoted, — for example, the 

 dog of Mr. Fred Mather, long a Fish Commis- 

 sioner of New York, which, driven back in his 

 first attack, recovered spirit enough in a few 

 minutes to rush in with streaming eyes and demol- 

 ish the enemy ; and which ever afterward killed 

 skunks with his eyes shut ! 



As far as the mere stench is concerned, I doubt 

 whether that deters any animals from attacking or 

 consuming this or any other of the many animals 

 noxious to us by reason of their musky secretions. 

 We must be careful not to impute to the dogs, 

 wolves, etc., the mental or physical disgust we feel 

 at this vile odor. The fluid itself burns their 

 eyes, nostrils, and throats, but the smell is more 

 likely to attract than offend them ; and it is proba- 

 bly the instinctive appreciation of this which leads 

 the skunk to take the greatest care, by hoisting 

 its tail and spreading its haunches, to prevent a 



