Courtesy of the January 7, 1938, “Medford News”, it seems that Mrs. Cleora Bixby, who lived on the Jacksonville-Phoenix road, never had much use for skunks. When they started getting into her chicken coop, she took it upon herself to do something about it.
Someone told her that if she’d grab a skunk by the tail and hold it up, the skunk couldn’t spray. So the next time she heard a skunk in her pen, she snuck up on it and grabbed its tail. But now what to do with it?
She set out to a neighbor’s house, holding the skunk at arm’s length by the tail. It was no short walk, and the skunk started to get heavy. When the neighbor refused to have anything to do with the skunk, there was nothing to do but turn around and walk home. By the time she got there, her arm was almost paralyzed, and Mrs. Bixby was desperate. She decided to try cracking the skunk’s head against a post, but as she swung it around, she slipped, lost her grip, and the skunk landed on top of her. The result was very unpleasant to say the least.
Some days later, she heard another skunk in her chicken coop. She had no intention of grabbing it by the tail, so decided to dispatch it right away. She hurried out of the house, leaving the light on and the kitchen door open.
Mrs. Bixby’s efforts were partially successful. The skunk fled the chicken coop, but in a dash for safety, spied the open kitchen door and fled inside and under the bed. Well, you can guess the rest! The skunk exited the bedroom…and this life. Mrs. Bixby opened all the windows to the January air and abandoned the bedroom herself, at least for some days….