THAT FAMOUS ESSENCE PEDDLER. l^^ 



will elevate his tail, present his rear, and assume an 

 uncomfortably suspicious attitude. Give him a little 

 time, and he will about face and peer at you again 

 with his little, keen, black eyes. Now advance a little 

 nearer, be sure of your aim, and when you strike, 

 strike hard. The main thing is to keep cool and not 

 strike too soon. On receiving the blow his hinder 

 parts settle helplessly upon the ground, and the tail, 

 which was carried high over the back, now straightens 

 out behind, limp and powerless. As a rule, the head 

 soon droops and the skunk expires." 



A heavy blow on the back given by a pole (not 

 too long), the doctor further explains, injures the 

 spine and thus produces paralysis, or a complete loss 

 of power in the muscles supplied by those nerves 

 which radiate from the spinal column just below its 

 point of injury. By shooting or decapitating the ani- 

 mal the ensuing death struggle inevitably brings 

 about a discharge of the scent. Audubon, however, 

 testifies to the contrary ; nevertheless, my own expe- 

 rience teaches me that Dr. Merriam is right and Au- 

 dubon is wrong. If there are those who wish to 

 satisfy themselves on this point, let them practice on 

 the skunk vdth a revolver, and escape the perfume if 

 possible. Also, it is not true that the animal limits 

 himself to one discharge ; he is quite equal to several, 



if there are sufficiently serious provocations. 

 13 



