Sorry its a day late, sometimes you lose track of the days.....
Since skunks seem to be the highlight of the fur industry right now, I thought this little story would be amusing to share.
From John Bradbury's travels in 1809-1811:

In the evening I descended into the valley, and on
my way to find the boat, observed a skunk(4), (Viverra mephitis) and being desirous of procuring
the skin, fired at it, but with shot only, having that day taken out my fowling-piece instead of my
rifle. It appeared that I had either missed entirely, or only slightly wounded it, as it turned round
instantly, and ran towards me. Being well aware of the consequence if overtaken, I fled, but was so
closely pursued, that I was under the necessity of re-loading whilst in the act of running. At the
next discharge I killed it; but as it had ejected its offensive liquor upon its tail, I could not touch
it, but cut a slender vine, of which I made a noose, and dragged my prize to the boat. I found that
the Canadians considered it as a delicacy, and were desirous of procuring it to eat: this enabled me
to obtain the skin without having to perform the disgusting operation of taking it off myself.

Makes one curious what John had in mind for that skin. A hat maybe? Of all the lists of furs sent east I don't ever recall seeing skunk on a manifest.

I also wonder what method was used to de-scent that pelt. I imagine baking soda and H. peroxide might have been scarce in the mountains.

I would guess wood ash

wood ash wetted down makes lye , lye is very good at binding to oil , it is how you make soap

ash also having charcoal with it might help

I would assume personal/professional collection. He was a naturalist touring the West on a "discovery" expedition with the Astorians.

Oh yeah, he was with Hunt's overland route to Oregon wasn't he.

Certain Mexican communities think highly of skunk meat as well. I think for medicinal purposes.

I'd have to be mostly dead to eat skunk.

I've read a few story of people eating skunks, thanks for posting

I believe some of the folks on the forum have sold essence up to Canada for some first nation usage of some type. Not for lure either.

Meat's meat!

you know I often get the sense that the info we would really want to know about the west , trapping , history , is all lost

I learned a long time ago that the guy who wrote the book on something was a lot more likely to be a starving English major who found something to write about rather than a true subject matter expert.

It is very refreshing when one of our members writes a book and puts some of that vast knowledge on paper.

I know K Snow and I are both partial to firsthand accounts written by the actors themselves. These have details that would not be possible to know about otherwise.

Yes, when it gets right down to it, I really like to have 3 first hand accounts/sources to support something.

I even hesitate at times to use Ruxton as a source, as he visited and wrote years after the mountain men were most active. He may have met many of them, but their tales are told through him, not by them. If I read something in Ruxton, I try to find it in the original journals and diaries, or trade manifests.

We'll never have a perfect picture of the past, but I try my darndest to get as close as I can.

I understand that and those are the best we have. far better than some second hand account.
what I am saying is John Bradbury's account is great but from the perspective of a guy who thinks the skunk so vile , now I am not fond of the nose full but might he have been more a writer than a skinner

The account I would hold more valuable but is lost is that of the "Canadian " who skinned and ate the skunk , how did they prepare it , how did they like to eat it.

so all the first hand accounts need also be given a bit of salt. as they are written from one point of view and in very factual documents like manifests , bales of fur and pounds of shot . we get the data. where in accounts we get the opinion and view of that person.
just saying sometimes a man is better with a pen thana knife , the very very rare thing is a man who is skilled in both the pen and the knife and takes the time to write what might be just so day to day for him.

and I appreciate that very much , I was just pointing out the lost things we would love to know were often in the mind of a person who didn't read nor write at least not the English language.
did the tribes of the time and era have written language and would they have written down and documented what they normally passed person to person through working side by side.

Especially if you are reading James Beckworth (Beckwith, Beckwourth, it varies). That guy was ALL about stretching the truth, or flat out lying.

I nerd out quite a bit when I discover some previously unknown to me mundane little factoid in a journal.

Me too K.

I was pretty excited to recently learn that the very first white built structure inland in Oregon was a small trading post on the Willamette river by Astor's men. The location is just downstream from where I trap.

Got that from a journal kept by one of the men at the fort.

there was some really interesting stuff , that I can't remember enough of to quote it , about the early interrelations with the natives in the Apostille islands that I saw visiting the museum on Madeline island and the early French and English fur traders.
I did find parts of their 20 minute video at the Museum a bit "campy" (goofy for the sale of keeping it light and funny) while I was like tell me more , take a deep dive on that subject I could listen to another hour on early fur trade, I want to know so I also geek out on it but less on digging through writings.

they make a little light of the fact that the natives were a bit confused which of the white man gods was more powerful , French Catholic vs English Protestant because it was post 1534 when King Henry wanted a divorce/annulment and England started going protestant.

I suppose it would confuse them even more to learn they were the same god and that the English had been Catholic a just 3 generations earlier but the one white man king wanted a divorce from his wife.

although they probably would have understood in there own ways the disagreements of men.

"Songs Upon The Rivers" is a great book about the Great Lakes fur trade. Heavy on the Euro's, not so much on the Natives, but some. Kind of an academic read, but LOTS of information.