Oscar Gardner tells of his experience at the old Coad ranch, where he stopped the first night. Here he met Runey Campbell and Jim Shaw, who were looking after the Bay State affairs at the ranch. He was invited to stay, and took supper with them. At bed time he shared with Shaw a bunk on the kitchen floor. He was awakened in the night by the sniffling about of some night prowler, and in the dim light he could make out some kind of moving form.

Jim awoke at this time and sat up, asking what was the matter. "There is some kind of animals moving around in here," Oscar said. Jim let out a sleepy grunt and said simply "skunks," then he rolled back and went to sleep. Sleep with skunks prowling about was such a new and novel experience, that Gardner's rest was much broken. But in the morning he learned that it was the habit of a nest of these skunks to come to the kitchen every night. They entered through a hole in the sod wall, and proceeded to pick up such' fragments of meat, bacon rinds, or pieces of bone that the boys threw about on the dirt floor, instead of out at the door.

Later it was determined to rid the place of the skunks, and the manner was as novel as the way of cleaning the kitchen. So accustomed were the animals to the presence of man, that they would move about close to their feet, as though scarcely aware of their presence. It is said that a skunk has no sense of pain and from the story told one must believe that it is true. The manner of their destruction was to spill kerosene into their hair or fur, and then set it on fire.