34 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
A little girl came running toward a house 
with her arms full of something and calling, 
“See what cunning kittens I found.” She leaped 
merrily among the guests on the porch, let go 
her apron, and out dropped half-a-dozen young 
skunks. 
How many times can a skunk repeat? How 
many acid shots can a skunk throw at an an- 
noyer or an enemy before he is through? was 
one of my youthful interests in natural history. 
Eight times was, so everyone said, the re- 
peating capacity of skunk fire. 
One morning while out with two other boys 
and their dogs it fell to my lot to check up on 
this. 
We came upon a skunk crossing an open 
field. There was no cover, and in a short time 
each of our three cur dogs had experienced 
twice and ceased barking. Each of the boys 
had been routed. All this time I had dodged 
and danced about enjoying these exhibitions 
and skunk demonstrations. 
While in action on the dogs and at the boys 
he had an extraordinary field of range. From 
one stand, apparently by moving his body, he 
threw a chemical stream horizontal, then nearly 
vertical, and then swept the side lines. Far 
off a tiny solid stream hit in one spot; close up 
it was a cloud of spray. 
