MEPHITIS MEPHITICA. 
too fast lie will elevate his tail, present his rear, and assume an un- 
comfortably 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 and 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 animal expires. If he does not die directly 
he is easily dispatched, being effectually disarmed. The common 
causes of failure, in this mode of killing, are two: ist, in using too 
long a pole, and consequently striking when so far off that the beast 
has time to jump forward (in attempting to dodge the blow) and is 
hit too far aft — often on the tail; and 2d, in not striking hard enough 
to break the back. When properly done this method never fails, and 
it is the safest, surest, and simplest way to kill a Skunk without oc- 
casioning a discharge from his battery. I speak with some confi- 
dence on this point, having myself killed upwards of an hundred 
Skunks in the manner above recommended. Out of this number 
were six failures, due to the causes above specified. 
It has been asserted, on high authority, that if the Skunk is shot 
in a vital part he will die without discharging his scent. This is an 
error, as I have demonstrated repeatedly to my entire satisfaction. 
I have put the muzzle of my double-barrelled shot-gun within a foot 
from the head of a Skunk, that was in a steel-trap, and literally blown 
his whole head off ; under similar circumstances have I tried the ef- 
fect ol both shot and ball upon his heart and lungs; and further, on 
one occasion, I severed the head from the body with one blow from 
a sharp axe, and in each instance was the death struggle accompanied 
by a discharge of the scent. These remarks may seem to conflict 
with the writings of Audubon and Bachman, who state: “We had 
one of their burrows opened to within a foot of the extremity, where 
the animals were huddled together. Placing ourselves a few yards 
