Striped Coat, the Skunk

In Short

Joseph Wharton Lippincott’s 1922 wildlife narrative follows the life of Striped Coat, a unique skunk distinguished by his solid black body and bold white neck stripes. Born beneath a woodpile, Striped Coat learns to navigate the perils of the northern woods, defending himself with his potent musk and outsmarting local trappers and a hostile farmer named Ben Slown. Across seasons of scarcity and plenty, he rises to become the master of his range, eventually finding a mate and establishing a legacy in the pine barrens. The book endures for its remarkably observant, sympathetic portrayal of natural predator-prey dynamics and its avoidance of human sentimentality toward wildlife.

The Story

The narrative opens along the moonlit banks of Goose Creek, where a mother skunk seeks a safe haven for her newborn litter beneath Farmer Ben Slown's woodpile. Among the kits is Striped Coat, distinguished by his unusual solid black coat and crisp white collar. As the kits grow, they learn the ways of the forest, dodging natural predators like the aggressive mink and the screech owl. Farmer Slown, hostile to all wild creatures he believes threaten his crops and livestock, inadvertently tangles with the mother skunk on his way to bed, earning a powerful musk bath that leaves the entire homestead reeking and sparks a bitter, ongoing feud.

When a forest fire sweeps through the area, the skunk family is forced to flee, taking refuge beneath the floorboards of Farmer Slown’s barn. Here, Striped Coat’s curious nature leads him to repeatedly plunder the farmer's laundry lines, dragging away a blue nightshirt and socks to line their den. This petty thievery mystifies the farmer and eventually draws the attention of local gossips, newspaper reporters, and curious tourists, turning the quiet creek into a circus of sensation. A visiting boy named Oswald nearly captures Striped Coat beneath the barn, only to be overwhelmed by the skunk's defense mechanism, which cements the animal's local notoriety and places a fifty-dollar bounty on his head.

Seeking quieter territory, Striped Coat migrates to a secluded log cabin inhabited by Mr. Henry, a solitary writer who appreciates the local wildlife and offers the skunk sanctuary. As autumn turns to harsh winter, Striped Coat hibernates beneath the cabin's floor, sharing his warm refuge with his mother. With the spring thaw, he ventures out and encounters a female skunk with whom he mates. Together, they defend their territory and rid the local area of a destructive, chicken-stealing gray rat that has long plagued Farmer Slown. Impressed by this service, the farmer undergoes a change of heart, declaring a truce and dropping his opposition to the skunks. The story closes with an older, wiser Striped Coat patrolling his territory along Goose Creek, recognized by every forest animal as the undisputed master of his domain.

How It Unfolds

• The wood pussy's journey: A mother skunk travels silently through the moonlit Goose Creek woods to find a secure den, commanding instant deference from passing opossums, foxes, and deer.
• Strong medicine: Farmer Slown encounters the family under his woodpile and receives a blinding baptism of musk when he encourages his cowardly hound to attack.
• Under the brush pile: Striped Coat emerges as the stouter, uniquely marked kit in the litter, rapidly growing strong on a diet of beetles, mice, and grubs while evading a predatory mink.
• Flight from the flames: A roaring forest fire threatens the timberland, prompting the mother skunk to lead her single-file troop of striped kits to safety beneath the floorboards of the farmer's barn.
• The missing laundry: Striped Coat's penchant for pilfering shirts and socks from the clothesline baffles Farmer Slown and inadvertently launches a media frenzy that brings tourists and reporters to the creek.
• Captured at last: After a series of comedic close calls involving inquisitive visitors, Striped Coat finds a permanent refuge in the woodland cabin of a friendly writer named Mr. Henry.
• Master of the woods: Following a successful winter hibernation and a partnership with a mate to eliminate a destructive barn rat, Striped Coat earns the respect of Farmer Slown and reigns supreme over the Goose Creek range.

The People

Central figures in this narrative include animal and human participants whose interactions drive the progression of the book. Striped Coat wants only to hunt, forage, and secure safe shelter, but stands against relentless human trappers, hungry predators, and Farmer Slown's initial hostility; he ultimately matures into the respected master of the woods. Farmer Ben Slown wants an isolated, controllable farm free of wild pests, but his stubborn opposition to the local fauna brings him constant frustration and smelly humiliation until the skunks prove their worth by destroying a nuisance rat, leading to his change of heart. Mr. Henry wants quiet solitude for his writing at his cabin along the creek, and by offering safe harbor to Striped Coat, he acts as a benevolent buffer between the wildlife and the outside world. Oswald wants to prove himself a hero, but his clumsy attempts to capture the skunk under the barn result only in a severe musk bath and local notoriety.

In Its Own Voice

The full moon was shining over the narrow waters of Goose Creek.

This sentence sets the tranquil, atmospheric tone of the opening chapter as the mother skunk begins her nocturnal journey.

With a yowl of pain the surprised dog threw himself on the ground and tried to rub the smarting stuff from his half blinded eyes.

This line vividly captures the immediate, disruptive impact of the skunk's defensive musk on Farmer Slown's hound.

Striped Coat, the discoverer, hustled around her eagerly, but got only the drippings and what was left on the edges of the shell.

This detail illustrates the youthful eagerness and social hierarchy within the skunk family as they scavenge food together.

What It's Really About

The book explores the uneasy friction between human settlement and native wildlife, questioning our impulse to demonize animals that do not conform to agricultural convenience. Lippincott argues that creatures like the skunk serve a vital ecological role as rodent controllers and deserve respect rather than eradication. Beneath the plot lies a deeper inquiry into territoriality, adaptation, and the hidden community of the woods that operates entirely outside human awareness. It challenges the reader to look past superficial prejudices—such as an animal's defensive odor—to appreciate the innate dignity and intelligence of wild creatures.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love classic natural history narratives and gentle, unhurried animal biographies will find much to cherish here. Reading it feels like stepping into a quieter, deeply observant era of American conservation writing, where the prose relies on close field observation rather than anthropomorphic sentimentality. What stays with you is the vivid depiction of the Goose Creek ecosystem and the quiet dignity of an animal that simply asks to be left alone. Modern readers should be prepared for the slower pacing of early twentieth-century prose and occasional archaic period attitudes toward nature and rural life, but these elements only anchor the book more firmly in its historical moment, rewarding anyone willing to match its patient rhythm.