Palomar Mountain News

Maybe Robert Asher picked a big bouquet of fresh lilac when he went a’calling after his civit cat encounter!  You might also appreciate Peter’s webpage with archives of Palomar History: http://peterbrueggeman.com/palomarhistory/index.htm

From: Peter Brueggeman

Subject: Robert Asher’s civet cat anecdote

There were ring-tailed cats aka civet cats on Palomar Mountain years ago.  Anyone know of some still around?  They are in the raccoon family, and emit a strong musk as protection.

Robert Asher’s rustic cabin wasn’t so animal proof, and he writes in his diary in 1934: “The civet cat was so persistent in rustling around the kitchen last night that I got up to investigate several times. The last time he was on the kitchen stove. He stood staring at me, so remembering Mrs. Hill’s stunt in the hen chicken house, when she nearly drowned a civet cat, I grabbed a cup of water and dashed it at my animal only about 3 feet from my face. He let loose the dogs of war spraying the back of my hand. Luckily my face was higher and back of the stove pipe. Otherwise I might had received some of the scent in my eyes. The smell was pretty stiff for awhile, but it is slowly wearing off, and maybe I’ll be fit to go visiting by the time Sunday comes.”