Note 6 — Chapter X
Reading edition
The skin of a skunk, which had been thrown aside near our hut, gave out no scent when the frost was very severe, but on the least abatement of the cold, its odour was perceptible. From the variations in the intensity of the smell we could judge very closely of the warmth of the weather. The scent is by no means so disagreeable as it is generally represented, and only when very powerful is it at all disgusting. The Indians use the gland which furnishes the secretion as a cure for headache, and other maladies.