170 FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AND FOREST. 



very slowly and without making a sudden move; 

 " but," he adds, " a young one squirts upon insuffi- 

 cient provocation " — a dubious fact which, to say the 

 least, is disconcerting to the inexperienced, who can 

 not be expected to " size up " a skunk in a jiffy and 

 run if it should prove " ower young ! " 



The skunk is so common an animal all over the 

 country that his unique method of defense is thereby 

 proved to be quite as effective as any other means of 

 protection common in animal life. I do not know of 

 any animal that preys upon the skunk. Other crea- 

 tures, however well provided with means of defense, 

 find their match ; even the porcupine, in spite of his 

 quills, falls a prey to his arch enemy, the fisher ; but 

 all creation seems to " draw the line " at the skunk, 

 and he hves a comparatively unmolested life. The 

 miserable dog who has had an experience rolls him- 

 self in the grass or dirt, resorts to the pond, looks 

 quite crestfallen for the rest of the day, and shows 

 by an evasive eye that he has lost every atom of his 

 self-respect. 



Having perfect confidence in his means of defense, 

 the skunk is perhaps the least timid of all the smaller 

 animals except the weasels, whose audacity and calm 

 assurance are simply unparalleled. But the skunk 

 and weasel are not overconfident ; there is everything 

 to justify one's self-confidence when the world flees 



