SAND DUNES AND SALT MARSHES 



ever, my notes say that the speed of the ani- 

 mal along the beach was about four miles an 

 hour, and that the gait was a peculiar one in 

 that the fore legs trotted while the rear legs 

 seemed to hop or gallop, so that the front part 

 of the body kept an even level while the back 

 part bobbed up and down. 



Although the ordinary gait of the skunk is 

 a very leisurely one, I once found tracks which 

 showed that the animal was bounding over the 

 sand in long strides or leaps, because his four 

 feet came down in linear patterns with con- 

 siderable gaps between each set. He must 

 have been frightened by a ghost for, well 

 armed as he is, he is afraid of nothing made 

 of flesh and blood. 



The odor of the skunk is almost never no- 

 ticed in the dunes. Its presence generally 

 means a meeting with a dog or a gunner. 



Skimk droppings are often made up wholly 

 of insects, such as beetles and crickets, al- 

 though I have found the bones of birds and 

 mice, their feathers and fur, as well as bits 

 of grass and seeds. It is possible that the last 

 named were accidental additions to the diet. 



Mice tracks in the dunes are for the most 

 part made by white-footed mice and meadow 



58 



