by Rosemary Curley

Human memory has certain strengths, and one is the ability to

recall the source of any odour, even after several decades. What exiled farm inhabitant could not identify the smell of newly turned earth, white clover, or horse manure? Still, a century ago, Prince Edward Island residents may have experienced a purer recall of the sweeter scents, for their brains were not yet cluttered with the memory of the malodorous skunk. Today no Islander can deny the familiar skunk odour. But in 1890, when naturalist Francis Bain lived and breathed pure air, he, like earlier authors who described our mammals, omitted the skunk with a clear conscience and an unsullied cerebrum. It remained for humans to intervene and give the skunk a free ride across the Northumberland Strait. One might speculate that some demonic influence was at work, but the truth is that the striped skunk was imported for a single reason, to multiply in captivity, and yield up its attractive coat at pelting time.

Early Prospects

Historical reports of fur auctions reveal the elevated position occupied by the skunk. As early as 1860, 116,609 North American skunk pelts were shipped to London fur sales. By 1907, annual North American production was 1.5 million pelts* Skunk fur was noted for its durability. On a scale of 100, the more numerous muskrat rated a 37, while

* By "skunk" one may infer striped skunk although some of the smaller and rarer spotted skunks may have been included.

silver fox was given a mark of 40. The skunk clearly surpassed these furs with a ranking of 70. In addition, the gall bladder and rendered skunk fat were marketable commodities. Skunk oil was believed to relieve rheumatism and afford relief to sore throats when applied externally. The demand was understandably low. The utility of the gall bladder is not stated, but one may assume that it was used in the aphro-disiac trade with the Orient, much as bear gall bladders are used today. Thus the skunk, like most other furbearers in the year 1900, was a candidate for "domestication", and Prince Edward Islanders did not scorn the opportunity.

An early assessment of the expecta-tions for fur farming was produced by the American Fur Breeders Association of Fur Bearing Animals in 1898. The report noted the failure of a $25,000 Pennsylvania skunk farm and conclud-ed "skunk, muskrat, opossum, and raccoon . . . need not be considered at present". However the idea of "cultur-ing" the striped skunk did not die. An Ohio publisher/author devoted a whole chapter to skunk-raising in his 1909 publication, Fur Farming. He opined with cautious optimism that, if a rancher were not afraid of the scent and took an interest in his animals, he would likely succeed. He then scuttled his argument by reprinting three letters from another failed Pennsylvanian skunk rancher, who provided additional tips on how to be a skunk magnate. The problem was not in rearing the animals or in getting them to reproduce, for they were as easy to raise as domestic cats. The problem was in turning a profit. By 1910, the silver fox was a newly established success story in Prince

Edward Island, and a Canadian assessment of ranching it and other furbearers was not long in coming.

In 1913, J. Walter Jones gave a rather succinct explanation of the laws of supply and demand in determining the success of the neophyte fur-farming industry. His book Fur-Farming in Canada advanced the opinion of the day: that ranched furs must be pro-duced to compensate for declining wild furbearer populations. He stated that in the 10 years prior to 1913, numbers of exported wild furs of all species except the striped skunk had declined. Yet Jones (who later became premier of P.E.I.) was downright optimistic about the future of skunk farming, because in his assessment, all the signs pointed to a further expansion in the demand for skunk fur.

20

In the past the skunk had been dis-guised at the sales desk as "black marten" or "Alaska sable". But by 1913, the two most common North American pelts, the skunk and muskrat, could be sold without prejudice under their real names. Muskrat fur was replacing mink for use as coat linings, but the skunk was in demand for a more overt show of fashion. Black fur, especially black fox, was at the apex of fashion, but fox was so expensive as to be available only to the wealthy upper classes. Jones stated, "To supply the demand for a medium-priced black fur of beauty, the common animal, the skunk, has been chosen." He went on to describe its pelt as "an excellent fur of dark hue . . . beautiful and durable... in high favour and likely to remain in the class of medium and higher priced furs". Apparently, domestic cats and dyed hares might also fit the bill.

Jones seems to have overlooked the glut of skunk furs already being supplied by trappers, not to mention an abundance of hares, and untold numbers of black cats, but he may have reasoned that the middle classes outnumbered the skunks by a signifi-cant margin. Skunks were black, and if their pelts were marred by white stars or white stripes, then the offending parts could be removed. The "finest speci-mens", sold for $4.00 - $8.00, and the future looked promising.

The Smell of Success

In 1912 Jones had found foxes, fishers, minks, raccoons, beavers, muskrats, and skunks in captivity on the fur farms of Canada. He proudly described the vast accomplishments of the fox industry founders and followers, but nowhere did he describe a successful skunk rancher. When a revised and expanded version of his book was published by popular demand in 1914, Jones remained cautiously optimistic about the fortunes of skunk ranchers. True, he himself had not examined any skunk ranches which were profitable, but he had received numerous reports of money-making operations after the release of his first edition. He went on to predict that "the rapid advance in the price of skunk in 1912 and 1913 will give an impetus to the skunk raising indus-try. If the high prices -- $8.00 to $12.00 for the finest black northerns - continue, there is a large profit to be made in skunk ranching". In fact, the average

price for the blackest pelts was only $3.00 in 1914.

North America was mad with the whole idea of the huge profits to be plucked in the fur-farming industry, and probably nowhere was the fever more apparent than on Prince Edward Island. Foxmen were the new heros of the day; skunkmen remain as shadowy figures in our history. The best docu-mentation of an Island skunk ranch dates from 1980* 65 years after the ranch owners, Hubert and Herbert Ramsay of Wilmot Valley, went out of the skunk business. Their ranch was established in 1912, and like all fur operations at the time, it must have suffered heavy losses when the Great War cut off European fur markets. It seems probable that other Island skunk operations also existed, unrecorded, unrewarded, and perhaps even unwelcome.

* See the Wilmot Valley Historical Society's local history, A Bridge to the Past

BLACK (STAR)

SHORT STRIPE

NARROW STRIPE

BROAD STRIPE

Not all skunks were of the same stripe: the less white the better.

Without more documentation on Island skunk ranches, one can only speculate on the basis of what was happening across the Strait in Nova Scotia. There, skunk raising was a flourishing occupation by 1914. Out of 58 permits issued in that year to keep the beasts in captivity, 33 were to ranchers whose sole interest was the striped skunk. Four of 46 incorporated fur farms in Nova Scotia were skunk farms, with a combined investment of $65,000.00. Would not the adventurous Prince Edward Islander, already the acknow-ledged leader in the fur industry, not expand his opportunities, in the hope of selling breeding stock as the industry spread? Would not the person unable to afford a breeding pair of foxes, try his hand at making his fortune in skunks? It is impossible now to say, but many may have dabbled in skunks during those early days.

Certainly, the Provincial Government was openminded about encouraging success with the new fur industry. In 1913 it enacted legislation which protected any and all furbearers in captivity from vandalism and invasion of privacy. Moreover, no permit was required to import exotic species or to keep wildlife in captivity. It is notable, however, that taxation was reserved solely for fox ranchers. The revenues that a skunk rancher could deliver to the provincial treasury in 1913 must have been minute indeed.

The Taming of the Skunk

Though it is difficult to identify specific skunk ranches on Prince Edward Island, it is much easier to generalize about skunk ranching. The Island rancher's first job would be to find skunks. In the 1920s fur trade journals ran occasional advertisements offering skunks, mostly from the New England and Midwestern States. The Wilmot Valley ranchers secured their stock from New Brunswick and New England. Foxes were being shipped across the continent, but since some express companies did not fancy the idea of handling skunks, this may have limited the rancher's choice in securing "star" specimens (see diagram). A likely, and handy, source might have been New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the latter province being well provided with skunk ranches to supply stock.

The rancher's next task involved housing. A large pen, similar to a fox

21

run, was recommended. There the animals could exist amiably until the breeding season approached in February and March. Fortunately, skunks exhibited few of the mink's vicious habits, since separate cages were too expensive to ensure a profit in skunk ranching. Dens could be hand-dug for the beasts, or orange crates might be accepted above ground.

Once the animals were securely confined, the rancher faced the major decision of the business. Should he deodorize his skunks, or leave them equipped by nature? Most experts of the day assured prospective ranchers that skunks soon became quite tame and would not spray if treated properly, and that they herded easily from cage to cage without a shot being fired. Ranchers interested in selling stock demonstrated various foolproof methods of handling skunks, the most popular being to suspend them by their tails. In fact, no method worked every time. Nevertheless, the skunk ranch odour was deemed to be less offensive than that of a fox ranch.

Deodorizing the skunks no doubt caused the most stink around the community. Skunks were put in bags, where the hindquarters could be exposed through the top. Only a 1/4 inch cut with a sharp, clean knife was needed

mMWm

Experts assured prospective ranchers that skunks soon became quite tame.

to excise the scent glands. Picture this operation being performed for the first time by the newly established rancher, who a year earlier had never even seen a skunk. The decision to deodorize may have put some ranchers out of business before they got started.

Feeding was simple. Clean water was provided and rations were allotted in amounts that would sustain a cat, popular favourites being milk, bread, offal and chicken remains. Fruit and vegetables, fresh or rotten eggs, butchers' scraps or dead stock would all serve. A dead horse would feed 150 skunks for a week, and in summer skunks foraged insects in their pens. More food was provided in the fall to allow the skunks to deposit fat for their winter semi-hibernation.

As winter approached, the animals were separated by sex, with 5-12 females being housed with one male. After mating, the males were removed since the females might possibly kill them. The young, usually five or six, were born in separate dens 63 days later. The problem of females eating their young was a perplexing one for the beginner but might be solved by ensuring a proper diet for the mother.

Skunks were attended by the usual assortment of fleas, but few records of disease were noted. A mysterious malady, similar to diptheria, wiped out one operation in the United States. Few investigators cared enough to catalogue the possible causes of death in the skunk, or to find a solution to benefit the skunk industry.

At pelting time the rancher had to choose a kill method, but first he might have to wake up some of the animals to begin the selection process, extracting them from their winter dens. Drowning was a popular choice, but poisons such as chloroform, carbon bisulphide or hydrocyanic acid were also employed. While killing might be accomplished without triggering a scenting reaction, the delicate process of skinning around the scent sacs remained -- unless of course they had been removed earlier. The cased pelts were then shipped to Montreal or London auctions where the rancher discovered the final truth about skunks: the pelts were virtually worthless.

Pelts and Pests

Skunk ranchers' earliest attempts may have ended in failure, but the idea did not die easily. A United States publication

on wild and domestic skunks, first issued in 1914, was revised in 1917 and reprinted again in 1922. People were buying just about any story on fur farming in those days. Still, by 1926 there were only 133 skunks in captivity in Canada. Possibly a few were located on P.E.I.

In 1928 a Federal government bulletin trumpeted, "Prince Edward Island has always been supreme in the fox industry, and while maintaining this position is expanding through the adoption of other phases. Illustrative of this development was the shipment recently of raccoons, skunks and opossums for Hamburg on their way to Czechoslovakia." In retro-spect, this statement probably indicates that an Islander was involved merely as a middleman in supplying breeding stock to the Europeans, since the history of opossum farming here is far briefer than that of the skunk. In Europe, people were buying more than just stories in an effort to establish their own fur farming industry. The phases in the development were similar to those in North America, where as many species as possible were given a chance to reproduce in exchange for food and lodgings. In 1929 a Summerside resident, Ed Stein, adver-tised in the Canadian Silver Fox News for a plethora of species, including skunks. Perhaps he actually wanted to raise skunks, but more than likely they were to be shipped overseas. In the previous year, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics had not bothered to count skunks separately, and the numbers of the beasts on Canadian ranches did not exceed 33* In 1934 skunk pelts sold for only $1.45 and only 20% of those offered were actually sold. The industry was clearly not booming.

It was merely a matter of time before skunks were released into the wild, and that time was probably shortly after the rancher first started his venture. In a 1958 publication on mammals, the National Museum of Canada was unwilling to state just when skunks were first liberated, but the Wilmot Valley Ramsays appear to have been among the first to do so in 1915. In 1965 a Canadian Wildlife Service biologist stated unequivocally that the date of introduction was 1917. Even prior to 1915 would not seem unrealistic. Raccoons are said to have been turned loose as early as 1912, and their value and

* Skunks, fishers, martens, and rarer creatures were all lumped together as "Other".

22

unheralded, a living and ever present reminder of its limitations as a fur-bearing animal. No museum is needed.

5KUNK ©/B f̂flg'

Wiimo£ Vaiiey's ciaim cannot be proven — but then, it can't be disproven either!

Courtesy the Wilmot Valley Historical Society

personality was held in higher esteem. Striped skunks rapidly reached pest

status in the wild on Prince Edward Island. In 1932 a bounty was offered for the first time, and a skunk snout could be presented for a 50 cent reward. In that first year, 5,561 snouts, or reasonable facsimiles, were turned in, but the skunk refused to die out. The bounty system continued until 1963, and a total of $126,369 was spent in the interim. From April 25,1940 to September 19,1941 the offer was withdrawn, but when the 1942 returns came in, 9763 snouts had been presented. Islanders had appar-ently stockpiled snouts and lobbied for a reinstatement of the bounty in hopes of a cash bonanza. The government must have been truly alarmed by the high numbers, however, because in 1943 the bounty was raised to $1.00.

As in other jurisdictions, the bounty system did nothing to diminish skunk numbers, but it was a popular way for rural Islanders to obtain quick cash. A seemingly respectable gentleman recently related to me how he had marketed bottled dead and decayed baby kittens as skunk snouts when he was a boy. Those who received the offerings were never brave enough to inspect further, and the money was duly handed over. Indeed, more stories could be written about fraud in the bounty system than about skunk ranching.

Eulogy

Today the true essence of skunk ranching has escaped no one. It has seeped into the consciousness of every Islander who has ever seen and smelled the remains of one of those unfortunate beasts that "never mastered a defense against the automobile". Skunk ranchers, like skunks themselves, were apparently brave or foolish individuals who did not recognize when they were outmatched. They practised a difficult trade with, at best, a narrow profit margin, and on the Island they even had to send away for breeding stock.

In contrast to the success of the fox industry, the skunk ranch was a project that failed almost from the outset. The predicted high sales for ranched pelts never materialized and the product only added to an already glutted market. Skunk breeding never advanced to the point where an all-black pelt could be produced. No "Black Skunk News" or similar trade journal supported or advised the early skunk farmers, and no Dominion Experimental Station was ever established to examine anything other than foxes or mink. The chief legacy of skunk ranching on Prince Edward Island is the skunk itself. Today, while an International Museum of the Fox is emerging in Summerside, the striped skunk is wandering about

Sources

The major source for this article is J. Walter Jones's Fur-Farming in Canada, both 1st and 2nd editions (Montreal, 1913 and Ottawa, 1914), which also conveys the flavour of the early era of fur farming. Also valuable is A.R. Harding's Fur Farming (Ohio, 1909) and "Economic Value of North American Skunks", a U.S. Government Farmer's Bulletin by D.E. Lantz (USDA, 1922).

Local information on the skunk bounty system was gleaned from the following: Austin W. Cameron's Mammals of the Islands of the Gulf of St Lawrence (Nat. Museum of Canada, 1958) and J.D. Heyland's unpublished manuscript, "The Decline of the Grey Partridge, Perdix perdix and Ring-Necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, on Prince Edward Island, 1955-1961" (Ottawa, 1965). Original bounty records may be found in the annual reports of the P.E.I. Department of Industry. The recent book, A Bridge to the Past (Wilmot Valley Historical Society, 1980) is particularly useful in actually documenting an early Island skunk ranch.

Fur trade journals, especially ones dealing with silver foxes, arose in the 1920s to support the fur farming industry. Black Fox Magazine, American Fur Breeder, Rod and Gun & Canadian Silver Fox News, Canadian Silver Fox and Fur, and others are notable for their lack of discussion of the skunk industry, though other fur species were lauded, for example, muskrats. The few excerpts from Canadian gov-ernment agricultural bulletins and the Dominion Bureau of Statistics are taken from Rod and Gun & Silver Fox News and Black Fox Magazine.

It is rare to find a biologist who has spent several years studying skunks. Fortunately, factual information is available, and lovingly presented by B.J. Verts in his The Biology of the Striped Skunk (Chicago, 1967).

: % ( # frfr s*x# 5P«

23