42 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 
west say that a skunk may be so killed and that 
a sharp whack of a pole across his back para- 
lyzes nerve action—result, no smell. 
In a conversation with a Crow Indian he 
assured me of his ability to successfully kill a 
skunk with a pole, and also that he was plan- 
ning to have a fresh one for dinner. I was to 
eat with him. 
He procured a pole and invited me to go along. 
I told him of my plan to go down stream for 
the night. He would not hear of it. As I made 
ready to go his entire family, then a part of the 
tribe, came to protest as they were planning to- 
morrow to show me a bear den and a number of 
young beavers. There was no escape. 
Skunk stew was served. I felt more solemn 
‘than I appeared, but not wanting to offend the 
tribe I tried a mouthful of skunk. But there 
are some things that cannot be done. I tried 
to swallow it but go down it simply would not. 
The Indians had been watching me and sud- 
denly burst out in wild laughter and saved me. 
I wonder if the clean white forked stripe in 
the jet black of the skunk’s back renders him 
visible in the night. Does this visibility pre- 
vent other animals from colliding with him, 
and thus prevent the consequences of such col- 
lision? The skunk prowls both day and night, 
and it may be that this distinct black and white 
