The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-27
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS
A USEFUL ANIMAr,

Who creates quite a stir;
 For when his pelt is duly shrunk It makes expensive fur
 Birmingham Age-Herald.
 Paul Cooks odorous, won't say rank quotation, suggests the tale of a skunk
 I'm no nature faker, just plain story teller, who has been accustomed to use the words skunk and polecat indiscrimi- nately, meaning thereby the animal with the scent that will not rub out.
 
 Of course, my knowledge of French tells me that probably if I went far enough back I would find that polecat probably had its birth in the French word poule, hen, and literally a poIecat is a hen cat (not because some men speak disrespectfully of some women as cats, but because 1t feeds on poultry. But women get even by having some men designated as skunks.
 It seems it's thesanimal with the mans name that smells to heaven. Anyway, the hero of this nature story had the markings and the characteristics of the skunk. He was some advertiser, if mak- ing ones presence known in community comes under the head of publicity.
 
 Having given the chief actor in my tale name, I will now localize the story by giving the environment in which he moved. His habitat was in the Lakeview section, not far from Mountain Terrace. and scarcely stones throw from the golf links of the Country club
 Residents who sat out on their porches on balny nights or strolled under a waning moon soon learned that there was something rotten this side of Denmark. and that it wasn't to be charged to busi-' ness. It was the unresstible perfume that stifled even the violet breath from the many beds that tried to sweeten the nights air
 It was skunk. No use trying to make believe that my leading man was a pole cat even though his love for chickens was his ruin. Night after night the peace and repose of one of Birmingham s builders was disturbed by the squawk of hen.
 Now, the retired capitalist has a fond ness for chickens and so has spent con- siderable money and much ingenuity in building henhouse that is supposed to be both. rat and burglar proof. He has also gone to the expense of putting elec- tric lights in the yard and cunningly ar ranged rows of cowbells to entangle any chicken thief
 Hearing the cry of distress from his hennery for several nights he relieved his feelings by opening window and firing his pistol in the direction of the noise. Getting tired of the continual wis., its. he got up his nerve one night and descended as far as the back porch. Not being able to see anyone, he thought pos- sibly it was 'possum and so began to throw rocks toward the henhouse He found out his mistake at the first shake of my hero's tail.
 He was now up against real prob lem. It takes finesse and strategy to catch or kill skunk. Neighbors were interested and free with advice. Finally one who was used to the woods suggested a trap. I happened to be at the setting. Nine boys were on tip-toe to see if it would do the work.
 Early next morning I happened to look out of my window and I saw happy, 10- year-old kid with shining face, in spite of smell, proudly dangling the chain on which a skunk was suspended, but I little dreamed what was in his boyish mind.
 Knowing the great interest of the neighborhood in the capture of the var mint who had so long poisoned the air. saw him with his catch go triumphantly into a neighbours house, and felt sorry for the way in which he was hustled out To this day he feels that his desire to show the skunk to his friends was not appreciated.
 It was beautiful specimen-black as midnight, with white markings-a white frontal stripe and two broad stripes of white at the sides of the back, made a skin of value and boylike, it's proud owner wanted to skin it.
 
 A council of war, or rather a commit tee on slzinning, was called and at last the man who knew how was found, but only agreed to tell how over the telephone The boy got his first experience as a taxidermist, but not without paying the price.
 I wanted to tag on moral to this tale and make plea for all to try and rid the community of the men who, while getting their living here, are continually damning it with faint praise or knocking it. But what's the use? Let us hope, however, that as the pelt of the skunk of which I have written will find it's way to market and be sold as Alaska sable, so also will Birmingham's detractors seek a hotter climate if this city's atmosphere does not agree with them.
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