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AMERICAN

NATURAL HISTORY.

VOLUME II.

PART I.-— MASTOLOGY.

BY JOHN D. GODMAN, M.D.

ROTESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORT IN THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE OF PENN«
STLVANIA; ONE OF THE PROFESSORS OF THE PHILAHELPHIA 3IUSEUM;
2HEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; OF THE PHILADEL-
PHIA ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, &C,

PHILADELPHIA:

H. C. CAREY & I. LEA— CHESTNUT-STREET.

n, WRIGHT, PRINTER.

1826

Q cd w Q Yv

U-

Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to wit:

»»».«««« RK IT REMEMBERED, That on the third day of Jul)',

•lEn fiftieth year of the Independence of the United

States of America, A. D. 1826, Robert Wright, of the
said district, hath deposited in this otRce the title of a
book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following,
to wit:

“ American Natural History. Volume II. Parti. Mastology. By John
D. Godman, M. D. professor of Natural History in the Franklin Insti-
tute of Pennsylvania; one of the Professors of the Philadelphia Mu-
seum; Member of the, American Philosophical Society, of the Phila-
delphia Academy of Natural Sciences, &c.

In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, inti-
tuled, “ An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the
copies of Maps, Charts, and Books,' to the authors and proprietors
of such copies, during the times therein mentioned” — .And also to the
Act entitled. An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled. An Act for the
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts,
and Books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the
times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the
arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.”

D. CALDWELL,

Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

AMERICAN

NATURAL HISTORY.

CHAPTER I.

Family V. — Mausupialia; Pouched or Marsupial
Animals,

The beings at present considered as members of
this family, offer so many peculiarities and striking
differences in their construction and economy, as in
strictness to constitute a distinct order of animals;
or if not, the remarkable differences which exist be-
tween the species in relation to their teeth, organs
of digestion, food and habits, fully justify the ar-
rangement of them under different orders in our ex-
isting classification.

They are wonderfully unlike all other animals
in relation to the production of their offspring,
which are brought forth in a condition apparently
imperfect or premature. The young, when they are
first to be discovered in the external pouch, seem
scarcely formed, are incapable of movement, ex-
hibit but slight traces of limbs or other external
organs, are found attached to the teats of the mo-
ther, and are unable to resume their hold if it
be broken. Thev remain thus attached until they
acquire size and strength enough to move about

4

GENERAL HISTORY

at will, and continue to take refuge in this curious
retreat until they attain the size of a common rat, or
are even larger. The pouch is formed by a process
or elongation of the skin of the belly, and is sup-
ported by two peculiar bones which arise from the
pubis, and are sustained by the abdominal muscles.
What is more singular, the males of these animals
also have such bones, although they have no pouch,
and similar bones are observed in both sexes of spe-
cies which have little or nothing of the pouch itself."^

Genus XIX. Opossum; JDidelphis; L.

Germ. Beutelthier. Fr. Sarigue.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The head is conical, with a pointed muzzle and
lateral nostrils; rounded, nearly naked and delicate

* “La matrice des animaux de cette famille n’est point
ouverte par un seal orifice dans le fond du vaginj mais elle
communique avec ce canal par deux tubes lateraux en forme
d’anse. II parait que la naissance prematuree* * des petits
tient a cette organisation sii\guliere. Les males ont le scro-
tum pendant en avant de la verge au contraire des autres
quadrupedes.”— Cuvier; Regne An. i. 170.

* We cannot avoid objecting in this place to the inaccuracy of ex-
pression occasionally indulged in by the most celebrated men, since the
influence of their example under such circumstances, is as injurious as
in opposite conditions it is beneficial. The birth of the young is not
premature in these animals, but takes place in a perfectly regular
and mature manner, according to their peculiar organization and na-
ture, though it may be apparently premature when compared with
other animals. M. Desmauest gives as the most striking character-

OF THE OPPOSSUM.

5

ears. The thickness of the body is great when com-
pared with the length of the limbs. The digits on
the anterior extremities are five in number, armed
with hooked claws, and all lying parallel to each
other. On the posterior extremities the internal
digits are not in the same range with the rest, but
are opposable, or constitute proper thumbs. They
are rounded at the extremity, without nails, broad
and fleshy. The soles of the posterior feet are pro-
vided with large fleshy tubercles, which materially
aid in grasping small objects. The females of this
genus have a fold of the skin of the belly, so arranged
as to form a marsupium or pouch capable of receiv-
ing the young after birth; the teats, eight in number
on each side, are within this pouch, which is sup-
ported by two bones of considerable length, articu-
lated with the pubis and connected with the muscles
of the belly. The males also have similar bones, but
no pouch.

In the upper jaw the incisors are situated at
the extremity of a very elongated ellipsis. The

istic of this family, “ birth of the young 'premature,” (“ naissance des
petits prematur^e”) which is entirely at variance with fact and phi-
losophy. An American translator of Desmarest has advanced still
farther, and “ capped the climax” of absurdity by rendering the words
above quoted, “ growth of the young premature!”

Dental System.

6

GENERAL HISTORY, &C.

first is cylindrical, hooked and longer than the four
following, which resemble each other and are tren-
chant. To these succeed a very marked depression,
and then the canine which is compressed, terminates
in a point and is hooked, but with rounded edges. At
its base there is a very small but normal false molar,
to which succeeds a vacant space, and then two
equally regular false molars, the last of which is a
little larger than the preceding. The three first
molars successively and gradually increase in size,
and have the same forms. At first the inner base is
elevated nearly as high as the prisms; these are merely
distinguished by the points, which are only developed
at the three angles presented by a section of them,
the anterior being much smaller than the posterior;
its anterior point is very small. Finally, the inner
base is carried obliquely forward, in consequence of
which there is left between each tooth on the inside
of the jaw an angular vacuity, much larger than in
the insectivorous animals, where this base is uni-
formly developed. The last molar only differs from
the others in being truncated at its posterior part,
like all the last upper molars in animals of this or-
der.

In the lower jaw w'e find four incisors, ob-
liquely inclined forwards, of a cylindrical form, and
nearly equal in size. The canine, which are in no
respect peculiar, follow; then come three false molars,
one very small, at the base of the canine, and after
a vacant space the two others, somewhat larger than
the first, but the middle is the largest, and all three
are normal. The four molars are composed, ante-
riorly, of three points, disposed in a triangle, and

THE COMMON OPOSSUM,

7

posteriorly, of a spur also composed of three tuber-
cles, but less regularly disposed and less elevated
than those of the anterior part: the external is the
largest.

There is nothing very peculiar to be observed re-
specting the relative position of these teeth.

Species I. — The Common Opossum.

Didelphis Virginiana; Penn. Gmel. &c.

Le Manicou: Feuilie, Obs. Peru, iii. 206.

Tlaquatziri: Hernand. Mexico, 330.

Opossum; Lawson’s Carolina, 120. Catesbt’s Carolina, App. xxix.
Sarigue des Illinois; Buef. Sup. tom. vi. pi. 33. Sarigue a long poil,
Ibid pi. 34.

Didelphis Opossum; L. Gmee. Syst. Nat. i. p. 105.

Micoure premier; D’azzaba, Quad du Paraguay, Trad. Fran. i. p. 244.
Virginian Opossum; Penn. Quad. ii. p. 18, No. 217, Shaw, i. part 2,
pi. 107.

Didelphis Wbapink; Barton, Facts and Conjectures, 8cc,

Centuries have elapsed since this species was first
observed by European naturalists, and it has long
been a frequent theme of admiration and discussion
to those of America, yet it is still considered as a
sort of anomaly among animals, and the peculiarities
of its sexual intercourse, gestation, and parturition,
are to this day involved in profound obscurity. Per-
haps nothing can more clearly demonstrate the im-
patience of the human mind, and the reluctance
with which men yield to the hard necessity of care-
fully observing the operations of nature, than the
history of this animal. Volumes of facts and conjec-
tures have been written on the subject, in which
the proportion of conjecture to fact has been as a

8

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

thousand to one, and the difficulties still remain to
be surmounted. The animal is among the most com-
mon within our borders, and is annually killed or
captured in large numbers; faithful investigations
into the habits of a few individuals would be suf-
ficient to settle all doubts forever, and yet these
still remain to be made. Very full and interesting
observations have been made at almost every other
period; but the great question how the helpless off-
spring, weighing scarcely a grain, are conveyed into
the external pouch and attached to the teat of the
mother, has never been properly answered.

For obvious reasons we shall wave for the present
the consideration of these particulars. In our ap-
pendix we hope to give a full description of the
sexual peculiarities of this very singular animal, and
may then have it in our power to remove all the
obscurities from the subject, by the only true method,
that of a patient and vigilant observation of nature.

The opossum is very remarkable from other pecu-
liarities, besides those which relate to the continua-
tion of its kind. In the first place, we have already
seen that it has a very large number of teeth, and
its hind feet are actually rendered hands by short,
fleshy and opposable thumbs, which, together with
the prominences in the palms of these posterior
hands, enable the animal to take firm hold of ob-
jects which no one would think could be thus grasp-
ed. An opossum can cling by these ybe^-hands
to a smooth silk handkerchief or a silk dress, with
great security, and climb up by the same, In like
manner he can ascend by a skein of silk, or even a
few threads. The slightest projection or doubling

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

9

of any material, alfords him a certain mean of climb-
ing to any desired height. Another curious and
amusing peculiarity is his prehensile tail; by sim-
ply curving this at the extremity, the opossum
sustains his weight and depends from a limb of a
tree, or other projecting body, and hanging in full
security, gathers fruit or seizes any prey within his
reach; to regain his position on the limb it is
only necessary to make a little stronger effort with
the tail and throw his body upward at the same time.

In speaking of the more obvious peculiarities of
the opossum, we may advert to the thinness and
membranous character of the external ears, which may
remind us in some degree of what has been heretofore
said relative to the perfection of the sense of touch
possessed by the bat, in consequence of the delicacy
of the extended integument forming the ears and
wings. The extremity of the nose of our animal is
also covered by a soft, moist and delicate integument,
which is no doubt very sensitive. On the sides of
the nose, or rather on the upper lip, there are nu-
merous long and strong divergent whiskers or bris-
tles, projecting to the distance of nearly three inches;
over each eye there are two long black bristles,
rather softer than the others, somewhat crisped or
undulated, and slightly decurved; while, on the pos-
terior part of the cheek, and about an inch below and
in front of the ear, there is a bunch of long, straight
bristles, (very similar to those of a hog) six or eight
in number, projecting laterally so as to form a right
angle with the head. When the elongated conical
form of the opossum’s head is recollected, together
with its nocturnal habits, we cannot avoid remarking.

VOL. II.— B

10

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

that all these arrangements appear to have immedi-
ate reference to the safety of the animal, furnishing
the means of directing its course, and warning it
of the presence of bodies which otherwise might
not be discovered until too late.

The mouth of the opossum is very wide when
open, yet the animal does not drink by lapping, hut
by suction. The wideness of the mouth is rendered
very remarkable when the female is approached
while in company with her young. She then silently
drops the lower jaw to the greatest distance it is ca-
pable of moving, retracts the angles of the lips, and
shows the whole of her teeth, which thus present a
formidable array. She then utters a muttering kind
of snarl, but does not snap until the hand or other
object be brought very close. If this be a stick or
any hard or insensible body, she seldom closes her
mouth on it after the first or second time, but main-
tains the same gaping and snarling appearance, even
when it is thrust into her mouth. At the same
time the young, if they have attained any size,
either exhibit their signs of defiance, take refuge in
the pouch of the mother, or, clinging to various parts
of her body, hide their faces amidst her long hair.

The general colour of the opossum is a whitish
gray. From the top of the head along the back
and upper part of the sides the gray is darkest, and
this colour is produced by the intermixture of coarse
white hairs, upwards of three inches long, with a
shorter, closer, and softer hair, which is white at base
and black for about half an inch at tip. The whole pe-
lage is of a woolly softness, and the long white hairs di-
verging considerably, allow the black parts to be seen.

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

li

vSO as to give the general gray colour already mention-
ed. On the face the wool is short and of a smoky
white colour; that on the belly is of the same cha-
racter, but longer on the fore and hind legs; the co-
lour is nearly black from the body to the digits,
which are naked beneath. The tail is thick and
black for upwards of three inches at base, and is
covered by small hexagonal scales, having short rigid
hairs interspersed throughout its length, which
are but slightly perceptible at a little distance. The
opossum is generally killed for the sake of its flesh
and fat. Its wool is of considerable length and fine-
ness during the winter season, and we should sup-
pose that in manufactures it would be equal to the
sheep’s wool which is wrought into coarse hats.

The opossum is a nocturnal and timid animal, de-
pending more on cunning than strength for his safety.
His motions are slow, and his walk when on the ground
entirely plantigrade, which gives an appearance of
clumsiness to his movements. When on the branches
of trees he moves with much greater ease, and
with perfect security from sudden gusts of wind;
even were his weight sufficient to break the limb on
w'hich he rests, there is no danger of his falling
to the earth, unless when on the lowest branch, as
he can certainly catch and securely cling to the small-
est intervening twigs, either with the hands or the
extremity of the tail. This organ is aways employed
by the animal while on the smaller branches of trees,
as if to guard against such an occurrence, and it is
very useful in aiding the opossum to collect his food,
by enabling him to suspend himself from a branch

12

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

above, while rifling a bird’s nest of its eggs, or ga-
thering fruits.

The food of the opossum varies very much accord-
ing to circumstances. It preys upon birds, various
small quadrupeds, eggs, and no doubt occasionally
upon insects. The poultry-yards are sometimes
visited, and much havoc committed by the opossum,
as, like the weazel, this animal is fonder of cutting
the throats and sucking the blood of a number of in-
dividuals, than of satisfying his hunger by eating the
flesh of one. Among the wild fruits the persimmon
{Diospip'os Virginiana) is a great favourite, and it
is generally after this fniit is in perfection that the
opossum is killed by the country people for the mar-
ket. At that season it is very fat, and but little
difference is to be perceived between this fat
and that of a young pig. The flavour of the flesh
is compared to that of the roasting pig; we have in
several instances seen it refused by dogs and cats,
although the opossum was in fine order and but re-
cently killed. This may have been owing to some
accidental circumstance, but it was uniformly re-
jected by these animals, usually not very nice when
raw flesh is offered.

The hunting of the opossum is a favourite sport
with the country people, who frequently go out with
their dogs at nie:ht, after the autumnal frosts have
begun and tbe persimmon fruit is in its most delici-
ous state. Tbe opossum, as soon as he discovers the
approach of his enemies, lies perfectly close to the
branch, or places himself snugly in the angle where
two limbs separate from each other. The dogs, how-

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

13

ever, soon announce the fact of his presence by their
baying, and the hunter ascending the tree discovers
the branch upon which the animal is seated, and
begins to shake it with great violence to alarm
and cause him to relax his hold. This is soon
effected, and the opossum attempting to escape to
another limb is pursued immediately, and the shaking
is renewed with greater violence, until at length the
terrified quadruped allows himself to drop to the
ground, where hunters or dogs are prepared to
despatch him.

Should the hunter, .as frequently happens, be un-
accompanied by dogs when the opossum falls to the
ground, it does not immediately make its escape, but
steals slowly and quietly to a little distance, and then
gathering itself into as small a compass as possible,
remains as still as if dead. Should there be any
quantity of grass or underwood near the tree, this
apparently simple artifice is frequently sufficient to
secure the animal’s escape, as it is difficult by moon-
light or in the shadow of the tree to distinguish it,
and if the hunter has not carefully observed the
spot where it fell, his labour is often in vain. This
circumstance, however, is generally attended to, and
the opossum derives but little benefit from his in-
stinctive artifice.

After remaining in this apparently lifeless condi-
tion for a considerable time, or so long as any noise
indicative of danger can be heard, the opossum
slowly unfolds himself, and creeping as closely as
possible upon the ground would fain sneak off unper-
ceived. Upon a shout or outcry in any tone from
his persecutor, he immediately renews his deatli-like

14

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

attitude and stillness. If then approached, moved
or handled, he is still seemingly dead, and might de-
ceive any one not accustomed to his actions. This
feigning is repeated as frequently as opportunity is
allowed him of attempting to escape, and is known
so well to the country folks as to have long since
passed into a proverb. He is playing ’possim^’
is applied with great readiness by them to any one
who is thought to act deceitfully, or wishes to ap-
pear what he is not.

The usual haunts of the opossum are thick forests,
and their dens are generally in the hollows of de-
cayed trees, where they pass the day asleep, and
sally forth mostly after night-fall to seek for food.
They are occasionally seen out during day-light, es-
pecially when they have young ones of considerable
size, too large to be carried in the maternal pouch.
The female then offers a very singular appearance,
as she toils along with twelve or sixteen cubs nearly
of the size of rats, each with a turn of his tail around
the root of the mother’s, and clinging on her back
and sides with paws, hands and mouth. This cir-
cumstance was thought distinctive of another species,
hence called dorsigera, but is equally true of the
common or Virginian opossum. It is exceedingly cu-
rious and interesting to see the young, when the
mother is at rest, take refuge in the pouch, whence
one or two of them may occasionally be seen peep-
ing out, with an air of great comfort and satis-
faction. The mother in this condition, or at any time
in defence of her young, will make battle, biting with
much keenness and severity, for which her long ca-
nine teeth are well suited.

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

15

It‘ taken young the opossum is readily tamed and
becomes very fond of human society, in a great degree
relinquishes its nocturnal habits, and grows trouble-
some from its familiarity. We have had one thus
tamed which would follow the inmates of the house
with great assiduity, and complain by a whining noise
when left alone. As it grew older it became mis-
chievous from its restless curiosity, and there seemed
to be no possibility of devising any contrivance effec-
tually to secure it. The same circumstance is fre-
quently remarked by persons who have attempted
to detain them in captivity, and of all the instances
which have come to our knowledge, where even a great
number were apparently well secured, they have all
in a short time enlarged themselves and been no more
heard of. In some such instances these animals have
escaped in the city, and for a long time have taken
up their quarters in cellars, where their presence has
never been suspected, as during the day they remain
concealed. In this way it is very probable that many
are still living in the city of Philadelphia, obtaining a
plentiful food by their nightly labours.

In Dr. Barton’s facts and conjectures on the opos-
sum, he mentions as a circumstance worthy of curiosi-
ty, the faculty the opossum has of lying on its back.
We have observed this action of the animal, but
could see nothing in it very different from what is
very frequently done by the dog, cat, marmot, squir-
rel, and various other animals, which occasionally
place themselves sufficiently on the back to expose
the inferior surface of the body fully; but that this
action in the opossum is indicative of any peculiarity,

16

THE COMMON OPOSSUM.

or is the ordinary position chosen by the animal, is
whal vve cannot state from our own observation.

The size of the fid! grown opossum is about twen-
ty inches, and tiiat of the tail twelve; the weight is
about fourteen pounds. The number of young is
from twelve to sixteen. There is th^elbre not
much probability of the species becoming very scarce,
especially as their nocturnal mode of life renders
it by no means necessary that they should fly
to very remote distances from the habitations of
man.*

* It is amusing to read the accounts of the wonderful
medical virtues which have been attributed to the tail of this
animal, in some of the older writers on the natural history
of our continent The following is a good specimen of the
credulity and disposition to deal in the marvellous, which
was formerly thought to form an almost essential quality in
the natural historian: — “The tail of this animal (says Marc-
grave) is a singular and wonderful remedy against inflam-
mation of the kidneys; for if it be broken, and the quantity
of a drachm of the water in which it is steeped be drunk
sometimes, fasting, it wonderfully cleanses the ureters, ex-
pels calculi and other obstructions, [excitat venerem, et
generat lac, medetur colicis doloribus, prodest parientibus et
accelerat partum, promovet menses,] and if it be chewed
and placed on a part into which thorns have been thrust, it
extracts them, loosens the bowels, and I believe in all New
Spain there is not to be found another remedy as useful in
so many cases ” — Hint. Ker. Nat. BrasiU lib- vi. p, 22.

The. above passage may have served as a hint to the cele-
brated Cumberland, who, in one of his amusing works,
introduces a quack, soliloquising on the virtues of a dried
lizard’s tail in the following Avords:

“ Thou wilt pulverize most featly,” quoth he, “ when I

CHAPTER II.

Order IV. Glires; L. Gnaiver&.

SECTION I.— CLAVICULATA.

Having perfect, and in some, very strong clavicles.

The animals belonging to this order have the
brain nearly smooth and without convolutions; the
orbits of the eyes are not separated from the tem-
poral cavities, which are slight; the eyes are directed
laterally; the zygomatic arches are delicate and curved
downwards, indicating feebleness in the jaws; the
fore arm can scarcely be turned, and the two hones

have thee under the pestle; but before I consign thee to the
mortar and reduce thee to dust, let me ponder upon thy pro-
perties, and do nothing without forecast and circumspection.
Poisonous thou can’st not be, for though I have never eaten
of thy species myself, I know that others have; and if thy
flesh be delicate, thy dust cannot fail to be wholesome; nay,
I doubt not but it is medicinal. Thou hast other virtues, if I
could but recollect them; there is something more about thee;
something I have read in learned authors of the back-bone
of a lizard; and thine, heaven be prais’d, I perceive is per-
fect and entire; but whether it is recorded as a provocative
to incontinency, or as a preventative, I cannot to a certain-
ty recollect: upon second thoughts, I suspect thou art a
stimulative; as I’m a sinner, I suspect thou art of a stirring
quality, for thy tail betokeneth it.’’

VOL. II. — C

18

GLIllES ANIMALS,

are often consolidated. Those possessing the strong-
est clav^icles exhibit some intelligence, and use their
fore feet to convey their food to the mouth. They
have the posterior extremities generally higher
than the anterior, by Avhich they are rendered fit-
ter for leaping than running. Their intestines are
very long, and the stomach is simple, or but little
divided; the coecum is often larger than the stomach
itself.

These animals are provided with two large cut-
ting teeth in both jaws, separated by a vacant space
from the molars, and such teeth are exclusively des-
tined to disintegrate solid bodies by repeated efforts,
by nibbling or gnawing; the name of the order has
been derived from this circumstance in various lan-
guages. The cutting teeth are enamelled only on the
anterior surface, so that as the posterior surfaces
wear away first, they always preserve a beveled edge.
They grow from the root as rapidly as they wear
at the edge, and when an opposing tooth is broken or
lost, the other grows so rapidly as to become mon-
strous. The lower jaw is' articulated by a longitu-
dinal condyle, and has no other horizontal movement
than from behind forwards and the reverse. The mo-
lar teeth have flat crowns, with transverse projections
of enamel, in opposition to the horizontal motion
of the jaw.

Those which have simple lines on the crowns in-
stead of projections, and the whole surface of the
molars very plane, are more exclusively frugivorous.
Those whose teeth have these projections divided
into blunt tubercles, are omnivorous;[the small number
which have points to these teeth, attack other ani-

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE BEAVER.

19

mais more readily, and slightly approach carnivorous
animals.*

The head is large, with a short and blunt snout,
small ears and eyes, and the upper lip divided. The
trunk of the body is thick, having four teats, two
near the fore limbs, and two at the posterior part of
the chest. The limbs are short, the anterior being
somewhat larger than the posterior; nil the feet have
five short, free and flexible toes, which are webbed,
and the posterior toes have the membrane longer and
broader. The middle toe is always longest in the
fore and hind feet; the thumb and little finger, on
the external and internal digits, are the shortest, and
equal to each other; the intermediate toes are of
middling size and equal in length. All the digits
are furnished with strong and slightly incurvated
nails, which are fit for burrowing; those on the hind
feet are rather the largest. The tail is peculiarly
flattened, of an oblong, oval shape, broad and covered
at base with thick fur; the remainder has a covering
«f scales.

Genus XX. Beaver; Castor; L

Gr. Kascg
Fr. Bievre.
Ger. Biber.

Ital. Bevero.
Pol. Bobiv
6>wed. BoefFvver.

GENERIC CHARACTERS

See Cuvier, Regne Animal, p. 186-

20

GENERAL HISTORY, &C.

Dental System.

r

I 10

2 Incisive
8 Molar.

2 Incisive
8 Molar.

In the upper jaw the incisors are flat, smooth and
of a very great breadth, arising from the inferior
and anterior part of the maxillary bone. The mo-
lars differ slightly from each other in size, and ap-
pear all to be composed of one internal and three
external grooves, which being interrupted by the
wearing of the teeth, at length merely present ellip-
tical figures. Many of these external grooves are
characterized b"^ enlarging at their extremity. The
germs of these teeth show the same number of
grooves as we have described from partly worn
teeth.

In the lower jaw the incisors are similar to those
of the upper, and not less remarkable for great
size; they rise far beyond and beneath the molars, be-
tween the coronoid process and condyle. The molars
present absolutely the same characters, that is, the
same figures as those in the opposite jaw; excepting
that the three grooves are on the inner side of the
tooth, and the external has but one. The germs of
these teeth have also the strongest resemblance to
the figures which are seen when the teeth are partly
worn away. ^

7^ -

'Kl' " ' '

•fr-

THE BEAVER.

21

Species I. — The Beaver,

Castor Fiber; L. Erxl. &c.

Le Castor ou le biewe: Bniss. Reg'n. An. p. 133.

Le Castor: Buff. viii. pi. 36.

Castor Fiber: Sabine, App. p. 659. Sat, Long’s Exped. to the Rocky
Mountains, i. p. 464.

Truth, alike the object and reward of all rational
inquiry, is too delicate and unobtrusive to be advan-
tageously approached or estimated, unless the men-
tal vision be entirely free from prejudice, and her
votaries, for the sake of her unostentatious though
unfading charms, forego the pride of worshipping
the fantastic creatures of their own imaginations.
Accessible to all who in the proper disposition seek
her presence, how many ages have elapsed during
which fiction has been pursued in her stead, till at
length opinion gains such strength, and prejudice so
deep a root, that the semblance passes into general ac-
ceptation for the substance, and what was at first
the mere breath of speculation, becomes finally re-
ceived and accredited as indubitable. Thankless is
the office of the individual who ventures to overturn
any of these. of the mind;* to displace the illu-
sions of fancy by cold reality, and disperse into
thin air the fairy world which credulity first
called into existence, and indolent imagination per-
petuates. It must be confessed that occasionally

“Excrevit autem mirium in modum, istud malum ex
opinione quadam sive sstimatione inveterata verum tumida
et damnosa: minui nempe mentis humance majestatem, si ex-

22

THE BEAVERc

this is no pleasant task; yet it is one of the duties
especially incumbent on the teacher of natural his-
tory, inasmuch as the exercise of imagination is al-
ways prejudicial to the study of nature, the sober
reality of which, when correctly examined, possesses
an interest far transcending that of all the fugitive
beauties bestowed by this deluding faculty of the
mind.

Who has not heard of the wonderful sagacity of
the heaver, or listened to the laboured accounts of
its social and rational nature? Who that has read
the impassioned eloquence of Buffon, to which no-
thing is wanting but truth in order to render it sub-
lime, can forget the impression which his views of
the economy and character of this species produced?
The enchanter waves his wand and converts animals,
congregated by instinct alone, and guided by no
moral influence, into social, rational, intelligent be-
ings, superior to creatures high above them in organi-
zation, and even far more exalted than vast tribes of
that race which has been justly and emphatically
termed lords of creation.” Alas, for all these
air drawn prospects! while we endeavour to gaze
upon their beauties they fleet away and leave no
trace behind.

perimentis et rebus particularibus sensui subjectis et in ma^
teria detei’minatis diu ac multum versetur; prsesertim quum
bujusmodi res ad inquirendum laboriosse, ad meditandum
ignobiles, ad dicendum asperae, ad practicam illiberales; nu-
mero infinitae et subtilitate tenues esse soleant. Itaque jam
tandem hue res rediit ut via vera non tantum deserta sed
etiam interclusa et obstructa sit; fastidita experientia, nedum
relicta, aut male administrata.-— Bacon; Nov. Organ..

THE BEAVER,

23

The injury the mind receives from this source is
scarcely to be appreciated, and among others, the
false notions vve form concerning the relative perfec-
tion and excellence of the plan of nature, may be
considered as of the first magnitude. The beaver,
for instance, is endowed with singular instincts, and
perfoi’ms actions worthy of our admiration; yet the
beaver is not more sagacious than the ant or the bee,
creatures far removed from it in every respect, nei-
ther are its moral qualities better than those of the
common rat. Each, according to its instinct, provides
for the safety and support of itself and offspring,
each obeys the impulse of a power beyond its own
control, and each remains through countless genera-
tions the same in point of intelligence; — untaught,
incapable of teaching, and as well qualified to per-
form all the singular actions of its predecessors, if
removed at the earliest age from its kind, as if it
had grown to maturity in their midst, and aided in
their operations from the time its strength became
sufficient to the task.

After rejecting the exaggerated facts, as well as
the numerous fictions relative to this animal, ample
scope will still remain for the exercise of our admi-
ration; for although the beaver is in no respect ex-
clusively wonderful, yet its character and habits are
such as to render it highly interesting. We shall
therefore give a plain, unvarnished statement of facts
obtained from the most authentic sources, and after-
wards present some sketches of what, although fre-
quently repeated in books of acknowledged authori-
ty, may be termed the fabulous history of the ani-
mal. This will prove serviceable as well as amusing,

24

THE BEAVEll.

as it will lead the inexperienced to receive wonder-
ful narrations of the intelligence, &c. of animals,
with enough of scepticism to prevent them from be-
ing betrayed into error.

The general aspect of the beaver, at first view,
would remind one of a very large rat, and seen at a
little distance it might be readily mistaken for the
common musk-rat. But the greater size of the bea-
ver, the thickness and breadth of its head, and its
horizontally flattened, broad and scaly tail, render
it impossible to mistake it for any other creature
when closely examined. In its movements, both on
shore and in the water, it also closely resembles the
musk-rat, having the same quick step, and swimming
with great vigour and celerity either on the surface,
or in the depths of the water.

In a state of captivity or insulation, the beaver is
a quiet or rather stupid animal, evincing about as
' much intelligence as a tamed badger, or any other
quadruped which can learn to distinguish its feeder,
come when called, or grow familiar with the inmates
of the house where it is kept. It is only in a state
of nature that the beaver displays any of those sin-
gular modes of acting which have so lo jg rendered
the species celebrated: these may be summed up in
a statement of the manner in which they secure a
suflicient depth of water to prevent it from being
frozen to the bottom, and their mode of constructing
the huts in which they pass the winter.

They are not particular in the site they select
for the establishment of their dwellings, but if in
a lake or pond where a dam is not required, they
are careful to build where the water is sufficiently

THE BEAVER.

25

deep. In standing waters, however, they have not
the advantage afforded by a current for the trans-
portation of their supplies of wood, which, when
they build on a running stream, is always cut higher
up than the place of their residence, and floated
down.

The materials used for the construction of their
dams are the trunks and branches of small birch,
mulberry, willow, poplar, &c. They begin to cut
down their timber for building early in the summer,
but their edifices are not commenced until about the
middle or latter part of August, and are not com-
pleted until the beginning of the cold season. The
strength of their teeth and their perseverance in this
work, may be fairly estimated by the size of the trees
they cut down. Dr. Best informs us that he has
seen a mulberry tree, eight inches in diameter, which
had been gnawed down by the beaver. We were
showm, while on the banks of the Little Miami
river, several stumps of trees, which had evidently
been felled by these animals, of at least five or
six inches in diameter. These are cut in such a
manner as to fall into the water, and then floated to-
wards the site of the dam or dwellings. Small shrubs,
&c. cut at a distance from the water, they drag with
their teeth to the stream, and then launch and tow'
them to the place of deposite. At a short distance
above a beaver-dam the number of trees which have
been cut down appears truly surprising, and the
regularity of the stumps which are left might lead
persons unacquainted with the habits of our animal
to believe that the clearing w’as the result of human
industry.

VOL. II.— D

36

THE BEAVER.

The figure of the dam varies according to circum"
stances. Should the current be very gentle, the dam
is carried nearly straight across; but when the stream
is swiftly flowing, it is uniformly made with a con-
siderable curve, having the convex part opposed
to the current. Along with the trunks and branches
of trees they intermingle mud and stones, to give
greater security, and when dams have been long un-
disturbed and frequently repaired, they acquire
great solidity, and their power of resisting the pres-
sure of water and ice is greatly increased by the
willow, birch, &c. occasionally taking root, and even-
tually growing up into something of a regular hedge.
The materials used in constructing the dams are
secured solely by the resting of the branches, &c.
against the bottom, and the subsequent accumulation
of mud and stones, by the force of the stream or by
the industry of the beavers. In various parts of the
western country, where beaver are at present en-
tirely unknown, except by tradition, the dams con-
structed by their labours are still standing securely,
and in many instances serve instead of bridges to the
streams they obstruct. There are few states in the
Union in which some remembrance of this animal
is not preserved by such names as Beaver-Dam^
Beaver- Lake^ Beaver-Falls^ ^c.

The dwellings of the beaver are formed of the
same materials as their dams, and are very rude,
though strong, and adapted in size to the number
of their inhabitants. These are seldom more than
four old and six or eight young ones. Double that
number have been occasionally found in one of the
lodges, though this is by no means a very common
occurrence.

THE BEAVER.

25

When building their houses, they place most of
the wood crosswise and nearly horizontally, observ-
ing no other order than that of leaving a cavity in
the middle. Branches which project inward are
cut off with their teeth and thrown among the rest.
The houses are by no means built of sticks first and
then plastered, but all the materials, sticks, mud and
stones, if the latter can be procured, are mixed up to-
gether, and this composition is employed from the
foundation to the summit. The mud is obtained from
the adjacent banks or bottom of the stream or pond
near the door of the hut. Mud and stones the bea-
ver always carries by holding them between his
fore paws and throat.

Their work is all performed at night, and with
much expedition. When straw or grass is mingled with
the mud used by them in building, it is an accidental
circumstance, owing to the nature of the spot whence
the latter was taken. As soon as any part of the
material is placed where it is intended to remain,
they turn round and give it a smart blow with the
tail. The same sort of blow is struck by them upon
the surface of the water when they are in the act
of diving.

The outside of the *liut is covered or plastered
with mud late in the autumn, and after frost has be-
gun to appear. By freezing it soon becomes almost
as hard as stone, effectually excluding their great
enemy, the wolverene, during the winter. Their
habit of walking over the work frequently during
its progress, has led to the absurd idea of their using
the tail as a trowel. The habit of flapping with the
tail is retained by them in a state of captivity, and, un.'

2S

THE BEAVER.

less it be in the acts already mentioned, appears de^
signed to effect no particular purpose. The houses,
when they have stood for some time, and been kept in
repair, become so firm from the consolidation of all
the materials, as to require great exertion and the
use of the ice-ehisel or other iron instruments to he
broken open. The laborious nature of such an un-
dertaking may easily be conceived, when it is known
that the tops of the houses are generally from four
to six feet thick at the apex of the cone. Hearne
relates having seen one instance in which the crown
or roof of the hut was more than eight feet in thick-
ness.

The door or hole leading into the heaver-hut is
always on the side farthest from the land, and is near
the foundation of the house, or at a considerable
depth under water. This is the only opening into
the hut.

The large houses are sometimes found to have
projections of the main building thrown out, the
better to support the roof, and this circumstance has
led to all the stories of the different chambers or
apartments in beaver-huts. But these larger edifices,
so far from having several apartments, are either
double or treble houses, eaclf part having no com-
munication with the other, except by water. Up-
wards of twelve such dwellings have been seen
under one roof, and, excepting two or three of
them, the whole of the remainder had no coinmu-
nication unless by water, each having its own door
into the dam, which is doubtless well known to
the inmates, who may have comparatively little in-
tercourse with each other. It is a fact that the

THE BEAVER.

29

musk-rat is sometimes found to have taken up his
abode in the huts of the beaver; the otter also oc-
casionally intrudes his company. The latter ani-
mal, however, is a dangerous guest, for, if provi-
sion grow scarce, it is not uncommon for him to
devour his host.

The northern Indians believe that the beaver al-
ways thicken the northern walls of their houses much
more than the others, in order more effectually to
resist the cold. In consequence of this belief, these
Indians always break into the huts from the south
side.

All the beavers of a community do not co-operate
in the fabrication of houses for the common use of
the whole. Those which are to live together in
the same hut, labour together in its construction, and
' the only affair in which all seem to have a joint
interest, and upon which they labour in concert, is
the dam, as this is designed to keep a sufficient
depth of water around all the habitations.

In situations where the beaver is frequently dis-
turbed and pursued, all its singular habits are relin-
quished, and its mode of living changed to suit the
nature of circumstances, and this occurs even in dif-
ferent parts of the same rivers. Instead of building
dams and houses, its only residence is then in the
banks of the stream, where it is now forced to make
a more extensive excavation, and be content to adopt
the manners of a musk-rat. More sagacity is dis-
played by the beaver in thus accommodating itself to
circumstances, than in any other action it performs.
Such is the caution which it exercises to guard
against detection, that were it not for the removal

30

THE BEAVEE.

of small trees, the stumps of which indicate the sort q1‘
animal by which they have been cut down, the pre-
sence of the beaver would not be suspected in the vi-
cinity. All excursions for the sake of procuring food
are made late at night, and if it pass from one hole to
another during the day time, it swims so far under
water as not to excite the least suspicion of the pre-
sence of such a voyager. On many parts of the Missis-
sippi and Missouri, where the beaver formerly built
houses according to the mode above described, no such
works are at present to be found, although beaver
are still to be trapped in those localities. The same
circumstances have been remarked of the European
beaver, which has been thought to belong to another
species, because it does not build. This, however,
as may readily be inferred from what we^have just
stated, is no test of difference of species.

These animals also have excavations in the adja-
cent banks, at rather regular distances from each
other, which have been called ivashes. These exca-
vations are so enlarged within, that the beaver can
raise his head above water in order to breathe with-
out being seen, and when disturbed at their huts,
they immediately make way under water to these
washes for greater security, where they are more
readily taken by the hunters, as we shall presently
discover.

The beaver feeds principally upon the bark of the
aspen, willow, birch, poplar, and occasionally the
alder, but it rarely resorts to the pine tribe, unless
from severe necessity. They provide a stock of wood
from the trees mentioned, during the summer season,
and place it in the water opposite the entrance to

THE BEAVEE,

31

their houses. They also depend in a great degree
upon the large roots (of the nuphar luteum,) which
grow at the bottom of the lakes, ponds and rivers,
and may be procured at all seasons. It is remarked
that these roots, although they fatten the beaver
very much, impart a rank and disagreeable taste to
their flesh.

The number of young produced by the beaver at
a litter is from two to five. Females have been
killed in which six young were found, but this oc-
curred only in two instances out of many hundreds
examined at different stages of gestation.^ During
the season of union, the voice of both sexes resem-
bles a groan, the male having a much hoarser note
than the female. The young beavers whine in such
a manner as closely to imitate the cry of a child.
Like the young of most other animals they are very
playful, and their movements are peculiarly inter-
esting, as may be seen by the following anecdote,
related in the narrative of Capt. Franklin’s peril-
ous journey to the shores of the Arctic Sea. — ■
One day a gentleman, long resident in the Hud-
son’s bay country, espied five young beavers sportiag
in the water, leaping upon the trunk of a tree,
pushing one another off", and playing a thousand
interesting tricks. He approached softly, under
cover of the bushes, and prepared to fire on the
unsuspecting creatures, but a nearer approach dis-
covered to him such a similitude betwixt their
gestures and the infantile caresses of his own chil-

^ Hearne.

32

THE BEAVEll,

dren, that he threw aside his gun and left them
unmolested.’’

The beaver is a cleanly animal, and always leaves
the house to attend to the calls of nature; the excre-
ment being light, rises to the top of the water and
soon separates and disappears. Thus, however
great may be the number of individuals occupying
the hut, no accumulation of filth of this kind occurs.

The beaver swims to considerable distances under
water, but cannot remain for a long time without
coming to the surface for air. They are therefore
caught with greater ease, as they must either take
refuge in their vaults or washes in the bank, or seek
their huts again for the sake of getting breath. They
usually, when disturbed, fly from tbe huts to these
vaults, which, although not so exposed to observa-
tion as their houses, are yet discovered with suffi-
cient ease, and allow the occupant to be more readily
captured than if he had remained in the ordinary
habitation.

To capture beavers residing on a small river or
creek, the Indians find it necessary to stake the
stream across to prevent the animals from escaping,
and then they try to ascertain where the vaults or
washes in the lianks are situated. This can only be
done by those who are very experienced in such ex-
plorations, and is thus performed: — The hunter is
furnished with an ice-chisel lashed to a handle four
or five feet in length; with this instrument he strikes
against the ice as he goes along the edge of the
banks. The sound produced by the blow informs
him when he is opposite to one of these vaults.
When one is discovered, a hole is cut through the

THE BEAVER.

33

ice of sufficient size to admit a full-grown beaver,
and the search is continued until as many of the
places of retreat are discovered as possible. During
the time the most expert hunters are thus occupied,
the others with the women are busy in breaking into
the beaver- houses, which, as may be supposed from
what has been already stated, is a task of some diffi-
culty. The beavers, alarmed at the invasion of their
dwelling, take to the w^ater and swim with surprising
swiftness to their retreats in the banks, but their en-
trance is betrayed to the hunters w'atching the holes
in the ice, by the motion and discolouration of the
water. The entrance is instantly closed with stakes of
Wood, and the beaver, instead of finding shelter in his
cave, is made prisoner and destroyed. The hunter
then pulls the animal out, if within reach, by the intro-
duction of his hand and arm, or by a hook designed
for this use, fastened to a long handle. Beaver- houses
found in lakes or other standing waters offer an easier
prey to the hunters, as there is no occasion for
staking the water across.

Among the Hudson’s bay Indians every hunter
has the exclusive right to all the beavers caught in
the washes discovered by him. Each individual on
finding one places some mark, as a pole or the branch
of a tree stuck up, in order to know his own. Bea-
vers caught in any house are also the property of the
discoverer, who takes care to mark his claim, as in
the case of the washes.

* Lewis and Clark relate an instance which fell under
their observation of one beaver being caught in two traps
belonging to different owners, it having one paw in each. The
V0L. II.-— E

34

THE HEAVER.

The number of beavers killed in the northern
parts of this country is exceedingly great, even at
the present time, after the fur trade has been carried
on for so many years, and the most indiscriminate
warfare waged uninterruptedly against the species.
In the year 18^0, sixty thousand beaver skins were
sold by the Hudson’s bay company, which we can by
no means suppose to be the whole number killed dur-
ing the preceding season. If to these be added the
quantities collected by the traders from the Indians
of the Missouri country, we may form some idea of
the immense number of these animals which exist
throughout the vast regions of the north and west.

It is a subject of regret that an animal so valuable
and prolific should be hunted in a manner tending
so evidently to the extermination of the species, when
a little care and management on the part of those
interested might prevent unnecessary destruction,
and increase the sources of their revenue. The old
beavers are frequently killed within a short time of
their littering season, and with every such death
from three to six are destroyed. The young are
often killed before they have attained half their
growth and value, and of necessity long before they
have contributed to the continuance of their species.
In a few years, comparatively speaking, the beaver
has been exterminated in all the Atlantic and in the

proprietors of the traps were engaged in a contest lor the
beaver, when the above named distinguished travellers ar-
rived and settled the dispute between them by an cquita
ble arrangement.

THE BEAVER.

3.5

western states, as far as the middle and upper waters
of the Missouri; while in the Hudson’s bay pos-
sessions they are becoming annually more scarce, and
the race will eventually be extinguished throughout
the whole continent. A few individuals may, for a
time, elude the immediate violence of persecution,
and like the degraded descendants of the aboriginals
of our soil, be occasionally exhibited as melancholy
mementos of tribes long previously whelmed in the
fathomless gulf of avarice.

The Indians inhabiting the countries watered by
the tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi, take
the beavers principally by trapping, and are gene-
rally supplied with steel-traps by the traders, who do
not sell, but lend or hire them, in order to keep the
Indians dependant upon themselves, and also to lay
claim to the furs which they may procure. The name
of the trader being stamped on the trap, it is equal
to a certificate of enlistment, and indicates, when
an Indian carries his furs to another trading estab-
lishment, that the individual wishes to avoid the
payment of his debts. The business of trapping
requires great experience and caution, as the senses
of the beaver are very keen, and enable him to de-
tect the recent presence of the hunter by the slightest
traces. It is necessary that the hands should be
washed clean before the trap is handled and baited,
and that every precaution should be employed to
elude the vigilance of the animal.

The bait which is used to entice the beavers is
prepared from the substance called castor {casto-
reum,) obtained from the glanduloms pouches of the

36

THE BEAVER.

male^' animal, which contain sometimes from two to
three ounces. This substance is called by the hun-
ters Z»arA-stone, and is squeezed gently into an open
nioirhed phial.

The contents of five or six of these castor bags
are mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves,
and thirty grains of cinnamon, in fine powder, and
then the whole is stirred up with as much whiskey as
will give it the consistency of mustard prepared for
the table. This mixture must be kept closely corked
up, and in four or five days the odour becomes more
powerful; with care it may he preserved for months
without injury. Various other strong aromatics are
sometimes used to increase the pungency of the
odour. Some of this preparation, smeared upon
the bits of wood with which the traps are baited,
will entice the beaver from a great distance.

The castor, whose odour is similar to tanners
ooze, gets the name of bark-stowe from its resem-
blance to finely powdered bark. The sacks contain-
ing it are about two inches in length. Behind these,
and between the skin and root of the tail, are found
two other oval cysts, lying together, which contain a
pure strong oil of a rancid smell.

During the winter season the beaver becomes very
fat, and its flesh is esteemed by the hunters to be
excellent food. But those occasionally caught in
the summer are very thin, and unfit for the table.
They lead so wandering a life at this season, and
are so much exhausted by the collection of materials

Juxta preputiuin utroque latere existunt.

THE BEAVER.

37

for building, or the winter’s stock of provision, as
well as by suckling their young, as to be generally
at that time in a very poor condition. Their fur
during the summer is of little value, and it is only
in winter that it is to be obtained in that state which
renders it so desirable to the fur-traders.

The different appearances of the fur, caused by
age, season, disease, or accident, has at times led in-
dividuals to state the existence of several species of
beaver in this country. No other species, however,
has yet been discovered, but that whose habits we
have been describing. Beavers are occasionally found
nearly of a pure white, which is owing to the same
cause that produces albino varieties of various ani-
mals. A specimen of the albino beaver may be seen
in the Philadelphia Museum; Hearke saw but one
such specimen during a residence of twenty years
in the Hudson’s bay country. This was considered
a great curiosity, and no other was afterwards pro-
cured there during the ten ensuing years, notwith-
standing he offered a large reward to the Indians
for as many of the same colour as they could pro-
cure.

The traits of character exhibited by the beaver
in captivity are not very strikingly peculiar, though
sufficiently interesting. It learns to obey the voice
of its master, is pleased to be caressed, and cleanly
in its habits. Hearne states that he has kept
various individuals about his house during his re-
sidence at Hudson’s bay, and remarks, they made
not the least dirt, though they were kept in my
own sitting room, where they w'ere the constant
companions of the Indian women and children, being

38

FABULOUS HISTORY

SO fond of their company that when the Indians were
absent for any considerable time, the beaver disco-
vered great signs of uneasiness, and on their return
showed equal marks of pleasure by fondling on them,
crawling into their laps, laying themselves on their
backs, sitting erect like a squirrel, and behaving to
them like children that see their parents but seldom.
In general during the winter they lived on the same
food as the women did, and were remarkably fond
of rice and plumb-pudding. They would eat fresh
venison and partridges very freely, but I never tried
them with fish, though I have heard they will at
times prey on them.”*

Fabulous History of the Beaver.

This part of our subject is richer in materials than
any other which comes within the scope of our work.
We have in the beginning adverted to the grand

* ‘^tis well known that our domestic poultry will eat ani-
mal food: thousands of geese that come to London market
are fattened on tallow craps, and our horses in Hudson’s
Bay would not only eat all kinds of animal food, but also
drink freely of the wash or pot-liquor intended for the hogs.
We are assured by the best authorities, that in Iceland not
only black cattle, but also the sheep, are almost entirely fed
on fish and fish-bones during the winter season. Even in
the isles of Orkney, and that in the summer, the sheep attend
the ebbing of the tide as regularly as the Eskimaux curlew,
and go down to the shore which the tide has left to feed on
the sea-Aveed. This, however, is through necessity, for even
the famous island of Pomona will not afford them an ex-

OP THE BEAVER.

39

source of error in this and other departments of
natural history, but there is one circumstance pecu-
liar to the history of the beaver, which has thrown
over it more delusion than in the case of almost any
other animal. The fur-traders, Indian interpreters,
and Indians themselves, have furnished the greater
part of the information which we possess of the
habits and manners of this animal. To these per-
sons the beaver is a most important object, and re-
garded with a degree of admiration and superstition
exactly proportioned to their ignorance. Hence
they have in numerous instances been led to magnify
facts actually observed, and to state their own notions
of the sagacity of the animal as realities, not intend-
ing to deceive, although they have deceived them-
selves. To become acquainted with the peculiarities
of a species both nocturnal and exceedingly timid
and vigilant, requires years of patient and assiduous
attention. It is not surprising, therefore, that per-
sons seeking information should resort to those who
are devoted to the pursuit of the animal, and re-
ceive their statements given with seriousness and
minute detail as worthy of credit. In addition to
the errors which spring from the ignorance of these
observers, there is a worse evil to which inquirers
are exposed. The traders, hunters, and interpre-

istence above high-water-mark.” — Hearne, 8vo. p. 245. It
must always be borne in mind that observations made on the
diet of captive animals, will not at all apply to them when
they are free to follow the dictates of nature. It is, however,
highly interesting to know how far they can accommodate
themselves to necessity.

40

FABULOUS UlSTOliY

ters have, for various reasons, considerable jealousy
of all those who are too inquisitive about their
peculiar concerns, and it is an occurrence of al-
most daily repetition, that when they are ques-
tioned on these subjects, they take a malicious plea-
sure in palming, with truly Indian gravity and pa-
tience, the most false and marvellous relations upon '
their auditor.

This is frequently done with so much art as by no
means to outrage probability, and the whole is made
to appear so consistent, and is to the eager inquirer
so highly interesting, as to prevent him for a^moment
from supposing that the whole is an extempore fable.
We have been informed by an ear witness ,on one
such occasion, that he was astonished to hear a trader
giving a long account, full of the most extraordinary
and interesting particulars, of the habits of the bea-
ver, to an ardent inquirer, who was writing it down
with great delight. As soon as the collector of notes
on natural history had retired, after listening to the
whole story \yith the most unsuspecting confidence,
the other inquired of the trader how it happened
that he never had before given this information,
which he must have known would have been so very
acceptable. The answer to this question was a roar
of laughter, and an assurance that there was not a
word of truth in the whole statement; but that,
having been exceedingly annoyed by the inquisitive-
ness of the individual, he had chosen to get rid of
him at once by appearing to tell him all he knew.

As the reader is already in possession of all the
well attested facts to be procured in illustration of
its habits and character, we may safely present a few

OF THE BEAVER.

41

of the marvellous relations which have been hereto-
fore given of the beaver, leaving him to separate
the great mass of fiction from the few truths with
which they may be mingled. We therefore begin
with the most ancient of these fictions, and come
down to the latest writers who have contributed to
the perpetuation of such erroneous views.

The castor, or beaver, when in the rivers, feeds
upon shell- fish and such other prey as it can catch.
This variety of food is the reason why its hinder
parts, to the ribs, have the taste of fish, and that they
are eatpn upon fast days, and all the rest has the
taste of flesh, so that it is not used at other times.

It has pretty large teeth, the under standing
out beyond their lips about three fingers breadth;
the upper about half a finger, being very broad,
crooked, strong and sharp, growing double, very
deep in their mouths, bending circular, like the edge
of an axe, and are of a yellowish red. They take
fishes upon them as if they were hooks, being able
to bi-eak in pieces the hardest bones. When he bites
he never loses his hold until his teeth meet together.
The bristles about their mouths are as hard as horns;
their bones are solid and without marrow; their fore-
feet are like a dog’s, and their hinder like a swan’s.
Their tail is covered over with scales, being, like a
soal, about six inches broad and ten inches long,
which he uses as a rudder to steer with when he
swims to catch fish; and though his teeth are so ter-
rible^ yet when men have seized his tail they can
govern the animal as they please.

‘‘The beavers make themselves houses of square
timber, which they gnaw down with their teeth al-

VOL. II. — F

42

fabulous history

most as even as if they were sawed, and almost as
equal as if it were measured. They lay these pieces
across, and each is let down by large notches into
the other, so that, having dug a hole for their foun-
dation, they build several stories, that they may rise
higher or lower, according to the fall of water.”*

Amongst the beavers some are accounted mas-
ters, some servants. They are cleanly in their houses;
for the making of which, they draw the timber on
the belly of their ancients, they lying on their
backs. ”t

While some are engaged in cutting down large
trees for the dam, others traverse the vicinity of the
river and cut smaller trees, some as thick as one’s
leg, and others as large as the thigh. They trim
these and gnaw them in two at a certain height to
make stakes: they bring these pieces first by land
to the edge of the stream, and there float them to
the dam; they then form a sort of close piling,
which is still farther strengthened by interlacing the
branches between the stakes. This operation sup-
poses many difficulties vanquished; for to prepare
these stakes, and place them in a nearly perpendicu-
lar situation, they must raise the large end of the
stake upon the bank of the river, or against a tree
thrown across it, while others at the same time
plunge into the water and dig a hole with their fore-
feet for the purpose of receiving the point of the
stake or pile, in order to sustain it erect. In pro-

* Pomet, Hist, of Drugs,
t Lemery.

OF THE BEAVER.

43

portion as some thus plant the piles, others bring
earth, which they temper with their fore-feet and
beat with their tails; they carry it in their mouths
and with their fore-feet, and convey so large a quan-
tity that they fill all the intervals of the piling. This
pile work is composed of several ranges of stakes
of equal height, all planted against each other, ex-
tending from one side of the river to the other: it
is piled and plastered throughout. The piles are
planted vertically on the side next the water-fall;
the whole work is sloping on the side sustaining
the pressure, so that the dam, which is ten or twelve
feet wide at base, is only two or three feet thick at
the summit. It has therefore not only all the solidity
necessary, but the most convenient form for raising
the water, preventing it from escaping, sustaining
its weight, and breaking its violence. At the top of
the dam, that is at the thinnest part, they make two
or three sloped openings for the discharge of the
superfluous water, and these are enlarged or closed
up as the river swells or diminishes, &c.

It would be superfluous after such an exposition
of their public works, to give a detail of their pri-
vate edifices, if in a history it were not necessary
to relate all the facts, and if this first great work
were not done with a view to render their little
dwellings more commodious. These dwellings are
cabins or rather little houses, built in the water on
close piles, near the edge of the pond, having two
doors or issues, one on the land and the other on the
water side. Sometimes they are found to have two
or three stories, the walls being as much as two feet
thick, elevated perpendicularly upon the piles which

44

fabulous history

serve nt the same time for the foundation and floor
of the house, &c. The walls are covered with a
sort of stucco, so well tempered and so properly
applied, that it appears as if it had been done by hu-
man hands. Their tail serves them as a trowel for
applying this mortar, which they temper with their
feet, &c.

These retreats are not only very secure, but also
very neat and commodious; the floor is strewed with
verdure; boughs of box and fir serve for a carpet,
upon which they never leave the least dirt. The
window which looks out upon the water serves them
for a balcony for the enjoyment of the air, or to bathe
during the greater part of the day. They sit with
the head and anterior parts of the body elevated and
the posterior plunged in water; the opening is suffi-
ciently elevated never to be closed by the ice, which,
in the climates where the beavers reside, is some-
times three feet thick; they then lower the shelf by
cutting the piles upon which it rested aslope, and
make an opening into the water below the ice!!

“ The habit which they have of continually re-
taining the tail and hinder parts in the water, ap-
pears to have changed the nature of their flesh.
Thus the fore parts, as far as to the loins, has the
quality, taste and consistence of land animals; that
of the thighs and tail has the odour, savour, and all
the qualities of fish; this tail, a foot long, an inch
thick, and five or six broad, is really an extremity,
a true portion of a fish attached to the body of a
quadruped.

“ However admirable, or marvellous the state-
ments we have made on the labours and society of

OF THE BEAVER.

45

the beaver may appear, we dare to say that no one
will doubt their reality.^ All the relations made
by different witnesses, at various times, agree to-
gether as to the facts we have related; and if our
statement differ from some among them, it is only at
points where they have swelled the marvellous, sur-
passed the truth, and even transcended probabilitylf

Beavers are most industrious animals; nothing
equals the art with which they construct their dwell-
ings. They choose a small piece of ground with a
rivulet running through it. This they form into a
pond by making a dam across, first by driving into
the ground stakes five or six feet long, placed in
rows, walling each row with pliant twigs, and filling
the interstices with clay, ramming it down close.

They have a chief or superintendant in their
works, who directs the whole. The utmost attention
is paid to him by the whole community. Every in-
dividual has his task allotted, which they undertake
with the utmost alacrity. The overseer gives a sig-
nal, by a certain number of smart slaps with his tail,
expressive of his orders. The moment the artificers
hear it they hasten to the place thus pointed out,
and perform the allotted labour, whether it is to
carry wood, or draw the clay, or repair any acci-

*0! magnus posthac inimicis risus!— Uterne
Ad casus dubios fidet sibi certius? Hor. Serin, lib. ii.
t Buffon ed. Sonnini, vol. xxvi. p. 102.
t Pennant’s History of Quadrupeds. The whole of tlie
observations in that work on the habits of the beaver are
transcribed from Buffon.

46 FABULOUS HISTORY

dental breach. They have also their centinels, who,
by the same kind of signal, give notice of any appre-
hended danger. They are said to have a sort of
slavish heaver among them (analogous to the drone)
which they employ in servile works and domestic
drudgery.”*

In 1792, Capt. G. Cartwright published a jour-
nal of transactions, &c. on the Labrador coast, where
he had resided nearly sixteen years. In this he ap-
prises the reader that his account will appear verij
different from what BulTon and others have written
on the subject, and begs it may be remembered that
they wrote chiefly from hearsay, but what he ad-
vances is the result of his own actual observation.

Yet, with a very trifling exception, this actual ob-
server repeats all the trash of preceding hearsay-
writers, nearly in their own words, only expressing
doubts about the tail being used as a trowel, or a
sledge upon which they haul stones and clay. The
following is his version of Buffbn’s account of the
solitary or hermit beaver: Sometimes a single

beaver lives by itself, and is then called a hermit or
terrier. Whatever may have been the cause which
has separated these individuals from society, it is
certain that they always have a black mark on the
inside of the skin upon their backs, which is called
a saddle, and distinguishes them from the others.
Cartwright supposes this separation from society may
arise from their fidelity and constancy to each other.

* Pennant’s Arctic Zoology, p. 117. vol. i.
t Church’s Cabinet of Quadrupeds.

OF THE BEAVER.

47

and that, having by some accident lost their mate,
they will not readily pair again. He thinks, like-
wise, that the mark on the back may proceed from
the want of a companion to keep that part warm.”*
Three beavers were seen cutting down a large
cotten-wood tree: when they had made considerable
progress one of them retired to a short distance and
took his station in the w'ater, looking steadfastly at
the top of the tree. As soon as he perceived the
top of the tree begin to move towards its fall, he
gave notice of the danger to his companions, who
were still at work, gnawing at its base, by slapping
his tail upon the surface of the water, and fhey im-
mediately ran from the tree out of harm’s way.”-]'
It is difficult for a traveller to publish his tra-
vels without speaking of the beaver, although he
should have travelled only in Africa, where there
are none. I should wish to avoid repetition, but
I have no recollection of what those gentlemen indi-
vidually, even Buffon from his closet, have written.
I will communicate what I have seen and learned on
the spot, respecting this surprising animal. If I say
the same that others have said, it will serve to con-

* Church, Cab. Quad. Bachelors of the human species
have good cause to rejoice that their backs are clothed, if
Gapt. Cartwright’s doctrine holds good throughout, otherwise
their forlorn condition would be at once indicated by some-
thing like the aforesaid saddle.

't Long’s Exped.- to the Rocky Mountains, vol. i. p. 464.
It is but just to state that this is given in that work as a
“ hunter’’ s story,” wliich is too often synonymous wdth an
English word of three letters.

48

FABULOUS HISTORY

firm you the more in what you already know, if
there should be any tiling new, you will be obliged
to me for adding to your stock of information,

“ On the west side a small stream enters the lake.
The beavers have barricaded the mouth of it, by
means of a causeway^ which a regiment of engineers
could not have made better; the water is thrown
back and forms a pond, where they have erected
their town. It must be observed that they know
that this river is never dry; for otherwise, they
would not have chosen it.

“ The stakes planted in the earth, and the trunks
of trees which cross them, are of a considerable
thickness and length. It is incredible how this little
animal could transport such enormous pieces; but
what is most astonishing, they never use trees thrown
down by the wind or felled by men, but they make
their own selection, and cut those which seem to them
best adapted for their buildings.

Whilst 6ve or six of them cut or gnaw with
their teeth at the foot of the tree, another remains
in the middle of the river, and informs them, either
by a whistle, or by a blow wdth his tail on the water,
when he observes the top inclining, in order that,
continuing not the less their labour, they may be
cautious and remain on their guard. Observe, they
never gnaw the tree on the land-side, but always on
that next the water, in order that it may certainly
fall in that direction.

“ All the tribes then unite their efforts and float
it to the place proposed. Then, with their teeth,
they sharpen the stake, with their claws they make
deep holes in the earth, and with their paws they

OF THE BEAVEB.

49

plant and drive it in. They place branches of trees
crossways against these stakes, they then fill up
the interstices with mortar, which some prepare,
while others are cutting the trees, or are occupied
with other labours, — for the tasks are so distributed
that none remain idle. This mortar becomes harder
and more solid than the celebrated cement known
among the Homans.

When the causeway is completed and they have
tried it, in order to know if it answers their pur-
poses, they work out at the lower part of it an
opening, in the nature of a sluice, which they open
and shut at need, in order to let the river flow
again; they then begin to build their house in the
midst of the ground destined to form the pond. They
never build the house before the causeway, lest this
last should not succeed according to their wishes, and
they should thus lose their time and trouble.

Their house, built likewise of wood, and plaster-
ed, is of two stories, and double. It is long in pro-
portion to the number of the tribe which are to
inhabit it.

“ The first story serves them in common, as a
magazine for provisions, and is under the water;
the second is above, and serves them for lodging-
rooms, where each family has its apartment.

Under the foundation of the house they work out
a number of passages, by means of which they enter
and go out under ground, without being perceived
even by the most vigilant Indian; these open at some
distance from the house, and at that part which forms
the pond, or at the lakes or rivers, near which they

VOL. II. — G

50

FABULOUS HISTORY

commonly establish themselves, in order to have the
choiee of taking that direction which may be most
convenient to them, or least dangerous in the differ-
ent incidents of their life.

The beavers are divided into tribes, and some-
times into small bands only, of which each has its
chief, and order and discipline reign there, much
more, perhaps, than among the Indians, or even
among civilized nations.

Their magazines are invariably provisioned in
summer, and no one touches them before the scarcity
of winter is felt, unless extraordinary circumstances
render it absolutely necessary, but never in any case
does any one enter except by the authority and in the
presence of the chief. Their food consists in gene-
ral of the bark of trees, principally that of willow,
and of all the trees which belong to the poplar family.
Sometimes when bark is not found in sufficient quan-
tity, they collect the wood, and in this case they
cut it into bits with their teeth.

Each tribe has its territory. If any stranger is
caught trespassing, he is brought before the chief, who
for the first offence punishes him ad correctionem^
and for the second deprives him of his tail, which
is the greatest misfortune that can happen to a
beaver, for their tail is their cart, upon which they
transport, wherever it is desired, mortar, stones, pro-
visions, &c. and it is also the trowel, which it exactly
resembles in shape. Used by them in building. This
infraction of the laws of nations is considered among
them as so great an outrage, that the whole tribe of
the mutilated beaver side with him, and set off im-
mediately to take vengeance for it.

OE THE BEAVER.

51

“ In this contest the victorious party, using the
rights of war, drives the vanquished from their
quarters, takes possession of them, and places a pro-
visional garrison, and finally establishes there a co-
lony of young beavers. With respect to this point,
another particularity of these admirable animals will
not appear less astonishing.

The female of the beaver produces her young
usually in the month of April, and has as many as
four. She nourishes them, and carefully instructs
them during a year, that is to say until the family
is about to have another increase, and then these
young beavers, obliged to give place, build a new
dwelling by the side of the paternal mansion, if
they are not very numerous, otherwise they are obli-
ged to go with others in order to form elsewhere a
new tribe and a new establishment. If then, at this
time, the enemy is driven from his quarters, the vic-
tors, if their young of that year are arrived at the
period of emancipation, (that is to say of governing
themselves) instal them there. The Indians have re-
lated to me in a positive manner another trait of these
animals, but it is so extraordinary that I leave you at
liberty to believe or reject it. They assert, and there
are some who profess to have been ocular witnesses,
that the two chiefs of two belligerent tribes sometimes
terminate the quarrel by single combat, in the pre-
sence of the two hostile armies, like the people of
Medieve, or three against three, like the Horatii and
Curiatii of antiquity. Beavers marry, and death
alone separates them. They punish infidelity in the
females severely, even with death.

When they are sick, they are carefully nursed.

FABULOUS HISTORY

The sick have also their plaintive cries, like humaB
beincTs. The Indians hunt them in the same manner
in which, as you have seen in our sixth promenade,
they hunt the musk-rat. The musk-rat is a l»eaver
of the second degree. He has the same form in
miniature, and many of his qualities, although his fur
is inferior in beauty and fineness. The Indians,
moreover, in winter make holes in the ice which
cover the ponds surrounding the houses of the bea-
ver, watch for the moment when they put out their
heads to take the air, and shoot them.

The Great Hare at Red Lake wished to make
me believe that, having come to the spot where two
tribes of beaver had just been engaged in battle, he
Ibund about fifteen dead o? dying on the field, and
other Indians, Sioux and Chippeways, have also assur-
ed me that they have obtained valuable booty in simi-
lar circumstances. It is a fact that they sometimes
take them without tails. I have seen such myself.
In fine, these animals are so extraordinary, even in
the eyes of the Indians themselves, that they suppose
them men, become beavers by transmigration, and
they think in killing them to do them a great service,
for they say they restore them to their original
state.”*

We may advantageously conclude the fabulous
history of the beaver by introducing the judici-
ous observations made on the subject by Hearne,
whose excellent remarks on this animal have been,
hitherto, altogether overlooked.

* Beltrami; La Decouverte des Sources du Mississip-
pi, &c. 1825.

OF THE BEAVER.

53

I cannot refrain from smiling when I read the
accounts of different authors who have written on
the economy of these animals, as there seems to be
a contest between them who shall most exceed in
fiction. But the eompiler of the Wonders of Nature
and Art, seems in my opinion to have succeeded best
in this respect, as he has not only collected all the
fictions into which other writers on this subject have
run, but has so greatly improved on them, that little
remains to be added to his account of the beaver,
besides a vocabulary of their language, a code of
their laws, and a sketch of their religion, to make it
the most complete natural history of that animal
which can possibly be offered to the public.

There cannot be a greater imposition, or indeed
a grosser insult on common understanding, than the
wish to make us believe the stories of some of the
works ascribed to the beaver; and though it is not to
be supposed that the compiler of a general work can
be intimately acquainted with every subject of which
it may be necessary to treat, yet a very moderate
share of understanding would be sufficient to guard
him against giving credit to such marvellous tales,
however smoothly they may be told, or however
boldly they may be asserted by the romancing tra»
veller.’’*

Most of the wonders related of the beaver are to be
found in Gesner’s work, De Quaclrupedihtis, which
contains a collection of all the statements made an-
terior to this time. These extravagances will be
found, with slight valuations, repeated down to the

* Octavo ed. 1796, p. 231,

54

FAUULOUS HISTORY, &C.

present day, by Buffon and his successors. We sub-
join a few of these, which it is unnecessary to trans-
late, as specimens of the close repetition indulged
in by various writers, who should have drawn more
largely upon nature instead of aiding in the diffu-
sion of fictions and error.

“ Morsu potentissimum adeo ut cum hominem in-
vadit, conventum dentium non prius laxet quam con-
crepuise persenserit ossa fracta: Plin. et Solin. Apud
Gesnerum.

‘^Gaudent enim, ripis magnorum fluvium cum ani-
mal sit arapbibium, non solum ut reliqua quibus hoc
nomen tribuitur quse victus tantum gratia aquas
petunt, sed etiam quadam natura affinitate, ut jam in
caudse et pedum posteriorum mentione diximus quse
ad piscium naturam accedunt.

Castores gregadm ad sylvas lignatum pergunt
imponunt autem ligna super ventrem resupinati unius
qui pro vehiculo sit et inter crura ejus artiliciose com-
ponuiit: qui ne delabantur compressis ea cruribus
ante et retro stringit; hunc sic onustum cseteri cauda
ad casas usque pertrahunt. Hanc injuriam fieri ne-
gant nisi peregrino castori qui aliunde ad eos con-
fugerit ant fortuito pervenerit ad castores loci aliCii-
jns incolas: ilium enim hoc pacto in servitutem
ab eis redigi. Alii non’ peregrino sed natu grandi
et laboribus confecto qui propter dentes obtusos
lignis secandis ineptus jam sit, hoc fieri aiunt. Ita
tractati castores in dorso glabrescunt, quo signo a
venatoribus agniti illsesi interdum diraittuntur. —

Falsum estqnod agitatiis a venatore castret seip-
sum dentibns ac testes projici at et postea si ab alio
venatore urgeatur erecto corpore, castratum se os-

THE BEAVER.

55

tendat, ut ssepe in regionibus nostris compertura
est.” — Mh. Mag.*

Description of the Beaver.

The beaver is about two feet in length, having a
thick and heavy body, especially at its hinder part.
The head is compressed and somewhat arched at the
front, the upper part. being rather narrow, and the
snout, at the extremity, quite so; the neck is very
short and thick. The eyes are situated rather high
up on the head, and have rounded pupils; the ears
are short, elliptical, and almost entirely concealed
by the fur. The whole skin is covered by two sorts
of hair; one which is long, rather stiff, elastic, and
of a gray colour for two- thirds of its length next the
base, and terminated by shining, reddish, brown
points, giving the general colour to the pelage; the
other is short, very fine, thick, tufted and soft, being
of different shades of silver gray or light lead co-
lour. On the head and feet the hair is shorter than
elsewhere. The tail, which is ten or eleven inches
long, is covered with hair similar to that of the back,
for about one-third of its length nearest the base,
the rest of it is covered by hexagonal scales, which
are not imbricated. f

* “ Imitatus castora, qui se Eunuchum ipse facit, cupiens
evadere damno testiculoriim. Juvenalis xii. liv. xxxiv.

t When the beaver sits erect upon its hinder limbs, as in
the act of conveying his food to the mouth with his fore

56

THE BEAVER,

The only species of beaver known is the one we
have described; all the others which have been no-
ticed are varieties of this species.

During the first year of their lives, the beavers
are termed pappooses by the hunters; when two
years old, small meddlers; at three years of age,
large meddlers. In their fourth year they are called
beavers, and after that old or great beavers.*

paws, like the squirrel, the tail is doubled under, or thrown
forwards, lying between the legs.

Castoris penis modo profecto singulars ab ano, copulandi
gratia protensus est; dehinc inter ista, et monotremata, sive
animalia unico communi que foramine praedita, similitude.

* It was our intention to have concluded the account of
the beaver, by presenting a sketch of the history of the Ame-
rican fur trade, so intimately connected with this animal.
But the difficulty of collecting the necessary data is so great,
and our inquirers thus far have been so unproductive of satis-
faction, that we are reluctantly obliged to defer our observa-
tions on this interesting subject until a future period.

CHAPTER III.

Genus XXL Musk-Rat; Fiber; III.

Germ. Zibethratze: Bisarabiber; u. s. f. Fr. Rat Musque.

The head is rather long and blunt at the snout,
with eyes of a moderate size and short ears. The
limbs are short, the anterior having four toes, not
united, but bordered by a membranous edging some-
what fringed. All the toes are furnished with in-
eurvated nails of moderate size. The tail is long,
compressed, or flattened vertically, covered with a
naked granulous integument, with a few hairs inter-
spersed. The teats, which are six in number, are
placed on the belly. A peculiar matter, having a
strong musky odour, is secreted by glands situated in
the pubic regions.

The teeth of this genus do not differ from those
of the Campagnole Arvicola; Lacep. hereafter to be
described, except in having distinct roots, and in

VOL. II,

Swed. Desmansrotta.

Eng. Musk-Beaver.

GENERIC CHARACTERS

Dental System

58

THE MUSK-RAT.

the lower jaw the first molar having two triangles^
one on each side, more than the Arvicolse.

Species I. — Musk-Rat.

Fiber Zibethicus.

Rat Mtisqui du Canada: Bniss. Reg’. An. p. 136.

Castor Zihethicus: L. Erxl. Bod.

Mus Zibethicus, Gmel.

Ondatra: Buff. x. pi. i.

Ondatra Zibethicus: Sat, Long’s- Exped. to the Rocky Mountains.

Fiber Zibethicus: Sab. App. p. 659.

Musquash of the Traders and Indians.

The musk- rat, which is so closely allied in form
and habits to the beaver, does not, like that timid
animal, retire from the vicinities inhabited by man,
but, relying on its peculiar instinct for concealment,
remains secure, notwithstanding the changes induced
by cultivation, and multiplies its species in the very
midst of its enemies. Thus, while the beaver has
long since entirely disappeared and become forgotten
in the Atlantic states, the musk-rat is found within
a very short distance of our largest and oldest cities,*
and bid fair to maintain its place in such situations
during an indefinite future period.

The musk-rat owes this security to its nocturnal
and aquatic mode of life, as well as to the peculiar
mode in which its domicile is constructed. Along
small streams, mill-races and ponds, where the banks

* Within a mile of Philadelphia, on every side, this animal
may be found, along the banks of all the streams emptying
into the Delaware and Schuylkill.

THE MUSK-EAT.

59

are of someyelevation and strength, the musk-rats
form large and extensive burrows. These have the
entrance always in the deep water, so as to be en-
tered or left w'an)ut betraying the presence of the
animal. Th d .outh of the burrow ascends from its
commencement near the bottom, and slopes upwards
until it is above the level of the high water. The
burrow then extends to great distances, according to
the numbers or necessities of the occupants. Like
most other animals residing in such burrows, they fre-
quently excavate them beneath the roots of large
trees, where they are perfectly secure from being dis-
turbed by having their burrow broken into from
above.

The injuries done by the musk-rat to the banks
thrown up to exclude the tide from meadows and
other grounds, are frequently very extensive. The
tide encroaches more and more on the burrow as the
soil softens and is washed away; the animals extend
their excavations in various directions, in order to
free themselves from the inconvenience of the water,
and at length, from the co-operation of both causes,
the bank caves in and the water is allowed free ac-
cess, often laying waste the most valuable parts of
the farm. To understand the extent to which such
mischief may be carried, it is sufficient to take a
walk along the banks thrown up to protect the mea-
dows on the Delaware, on both sides of the river.
Similar, though not as extensive injury, is produced
along the borders of ponds, races and small streams,
by the caving in of the burrows formerly tenanted
by the musk- rat.

Where musk-rats frequent low and marshy situR'

60

THE MUSK-EAT.

tions, they build houses, which, in form and general
appearance, resemble those made by the beaver.
These edifices are round, and covered at top in form,
of a dome, and are built of reeds^ ^ s, &c. mingled
with mud. Instead of one place 6i" entrance and
exit there are several subterraneous passages, leading
in different directions, and as these are extensive,
the musk-rats when disturbed take refuge in them.
Numerous individuals, composing several families,
live together during the winter season; but, in the
warm weather the house is entirely deserted, and the
musk-rats live in pairs and rear their young, of which
they have from three to six at a litter.

The musk-rat builds in a comparatively dry situa-
tion, at least not in a stream or pond of water, but
in the marsh or swamp. He requires no dam, and
does not, like the beaver, lay up a stock of winter
provision, neither does he erect so strong and dura-
ble a dwelling, as it is not to be repaired, but desert-
ed for a new one the following season.

Speaking of the musk-rat, as observed by him in
the Hudson’s Bay country, Hearne remarks, that

instead of making their houses on the banks of
ponds or swamps, like the beaver, they build on the
ice, as soon as it is skinned over, and at a considera-
ble distance from the shore, always taking care to
keep a hole open in the ice to admit them to dive
for their food, which consists chiefly of the roots of
grass. The materials made use of in building their
houses are mud and grass, which they bring up from
the bottom. It sometimes happens in very cold win-
ters that the holes in their houses freeze over, in
spite of all their efforts to keep them open. When

THE MUSK-RAT,

61

that is the case, and they have no provision left in
the house, the strongest prey upon the weakest, till
by degrees only one is left in a whole lodge. I have
seen several instances sufficient to confirm the truth
of this assertion: for when their houses were broke
open, the skeletons of seven or eight have been found
and only one entire animal Though I have before
said that they generally build their houses on the
ice, it is not always the case: for in the southern
parts of the country, particularly about Cumberland
House, I have seen, in some of the deep swamps that
were over-run with rushes and long grass, many
small islands that have been raised by the industry
of those animals, on the tops of which they had
built their houses like the beaver, some of which
were very large. The tops of these houses are fa-
vourite breeding places for the geese, which bring
forth their young brood there without the fear of
being molested by foxes, or any other destructive
xinimal, except the eagle.”

The musk-rat feeds upon the roots, &c. of aquatic
plants, and is especially fond of the acorus verus,
or calamus aromaticus, which grows abundantly in
most of the marshy vicinities inhabited by the musk-
rat. It has been imagined that this animal feeds
also upon fish, merely from its habit of living much
in the water. There is the same reason for believ-
ing that the beaver is piscivorous, an opinion which
the structure of the teeth, stomach and intestines
of both animals, sufficiently contradict.

The musk-rat is an excellent swimmer, dives well,
and remains for a considerable time under water. It
is rare to have an opportunity of seeing the animal

62

THE MUSK-RAT,

during the day time, as it lies concealed in its bur-
row, but by watching during moonlight nights, in
situations not much frequented by human visitors,
the musk- rat may be seen swimming in various di-
rections, and coming on shore for the sake of seek-
ing food, or for recreation.

I'he musk-rat has its nose thick and blunt at the
end, and short ears, nearly concealed in fur. Its body
and head very much resemble those of the beaver,
but differ from it in colour, being a reddish brown.
The belly and breast are ash colour, mingled slightly
with ferruginous. The feet and tail of the rausk-rat
are also remarkably different from those of the bea-
ver; all the toes are free and unconnected. On the
hinder, instead of a web uniting the toes, there is a
stiff fringe of bristly hair, closely set and projecting
from the sides of the toes. The tail is thin at the
edges, compressed so as to be vertically flattened,
covered with small scales, having a slight intermix-
ture of hair, and is about nine inches long, being
nearly of the length of the body, which measures
about twelve inches from the end of the nose to the
root of the tail. The powerful odour of musk renders
the flesh of the musk-rat of little value, and few can
eat it. The skin is highly valued on account of the
fineness of its fur.*

* “ The musk-rat is never seen in Carolina, Georgia, or
Florida, within one hundred miles of the sea coast, and very
few in the most northern parts of these regions; which must
be considered as a most favourable circumstance by the peo-
ple in countries where there is so much banking and drain-
ing of the land, they being the most destructive creatures
to dykes. Travels, p. 281,

CHAPTER IV.

Genus XXII. Field Mouse; Arvicola; Lacep.

Germ. Feldmaus: Heerdenmaus; u. s. f.
Fr. Campag'nol: Rat des champs.

Ital. Topo Terrajuolo: Campagnuolo.
Swed. Molle.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The animals belonging to this genus are in general
appearance very similar to the common rat, have a ru-
diment of a thumb on the anterior feet, and the toes of
these feet armed with slender nails. The posterior feet
have five toes, provided with nails, and destitute of
connecting membrane, or fringing of hairs on their
edges. The teats, which vary in number from eight
to twelve, are situated on the chest and belly. The
tail is nearly of the length of the body, round, and
covered by a velvet-like tegument.

This system of dentition is composed of small tri-
angles, surrounded by enamel, and disposed alternate-
ly on each side of a common axis, so that there is a

Dental System.

TT C 2 Incisive

PP ^6 Molars.

T C 2 Incisive

1 6 Molars.

64

THE FIELD-MOUSE.

triangular vacancy between each of them, that forms
a deep groove on the outside of the tooth.

In the upper jaw the incisors are even, and slight-
ly rounded on their anterior surface. The first molar
is composed of five triangles, — one anterior, two ex-
ternal, and two internal, and these correspond to the
interval left between the others, so that they arc
closer than those of the anterior triangle. The se-
cond is composed of four triangles, one anterior, two
external and two on the inner side, corresponding
to the vacant spaces which separate the two others.
The third is composed also of four triangles, one an-
terior, one external, one internal, and one posterior;
the latter is irregular, being narrow, elongated, and
the lines forming it sinuous. These three teeth di-
minish gradually in size, from the first to the last.

In the lower jaw the forms of the teeth are the
same as in the upper: the incisors are even, and
slightly rounded on the anterior surface. The first
molar has five angles, or rather five divisions; the
first is in form of a trefoil, then come two small in-
ternal triangles, an external and a posterior larger
than the middle ones. The second is also composed
of five triangles: one small anterior, two internal,
one exterior and one posterior. The third appears
to have only three or four triangles, placed nearly
one behind the other, and joined by their angles.

THE MEADOW-MOUSE,

65

Species I. — The Meadoiv- Mouse,

Arvicola Xanthognatus; Leach.

Arvicola Xanthognatus: Sabine, App. p. 660. Sat, Long’s Exped. to
the Itocky Mountains, i. 365.

Campagnol aux joues fauves; Uesm. Mammal, p. 282.

Were we to confine our attention to an individual
of this species, its diminutive size, delicacy of limbs
and evident feebleness, might lead us to consider it
as altogether insignificant, and equally incapable of
benefitting or injuring mankind. In this, as in vari-
ous analogous instances, nature has compensated for
individual feebleness by numerical force, and endow-
ed this species with a fecundity which not only pre-
serves it amidst numerous vigilant’ and destructive
enemies, but enables it to multiply so extensively as
to become a severe tax, and occasionally a scourge to
the farmers.

The meadow-mouse is found in various degrees of
abundance throughout this country, and, as implied
by its name, prefers the meadow and grass fields to
other situations. The banks of drains, and those
thrown up to keep off the tide, or overflow of streams,
are the favourite places for their burrow.s, which are
both numerous and extensive, being continued in
various directions and to considerable depths. These
burrows are frequently causes of injury similar to
that resulting from those of the musk rat, the tide
gradually enlarging the cavities, and the bank final-
ly falling in, until a fair breach is made, through
which the grounds are injuriously inundated.

VOL. II.— I

66

THK MEADOW-MOUSE,

During the temperate and warm seasons of the
year, the meadow-mice spend the greater part of
their time above ground, travelling about through
little lanes and alleys among the grass. These small
roads are so frequently travelled, that after the hay-
harvest, when they are left exposed, they have some-
thing of the appearance of little burrows among the
grass-roots. At the season of the first hay-harvest
their nests are found in great numbers on the surface
of the ground. These are made very similar to a small
bird’s nest, of soft grass, and generally contain six
or eight young ones. Recollecting that this species
breeds more than once a year, we shall find no diffi-
culty in understanding how the meadow-mice may
become very injurious by excessive multiplication,
notwithstanding their defenceless condition and nu-
merous enemies. Besides being preyed upon by
owls, hawks, cats, &c. the country people are very
vigilant in putting them to death, and the hay-makers
consider mouse hunting as one of the most en-
livening circumstances connected with their labours.
Thus far the mischief of which the species is no-
toriously guilty, appears not to be compensated by
any peculiar good quality; but although we are una-
ble to state the precise degree of service rendered,
the fact of its existence is sufficient evidence of im-
portance in the great scale of creation, whatever diffi-
culty there may be in discovering or acknowledging
it. No doubt this, among other species, was des-
tined to limit the undue increase of the vegetable
kingdom; various other ereatures in an analogous
manner subsist by the destruction of meadow-mice,
while the great destroyer man seems to be the last

THE MARSH CAMPAGNOL.

67

in the chain of destructiveness, since he is not only
in the habit of extinguishing vegetable and brute
animal life, but of extending his ravages to his own
kind.

The general colour of this species is a reddish
yellow, mingled with black on the upper part of the
body, and a clear cinereous gray beneath. The sides
of the head are fulvous; the tail is black above and
white beneath; the paws are brownish on their supe-
rior surface, and white beneath. Its length, including
the tail, is about five inches.

Species II. — The Marsh CampagnoL
Arvicola Riparius; Ord.

.irvkola Biparitis.- Orb, Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences,
iv. part ii. p. 305.

This species, like the preceding, makes its burrows
in the meadow banks, and resembles it in various
other respects. All that we know of it is derived
from the account given by Mr. Ord, in the work
above quoted.

“This species (says he,) is fond of the seeds of
the wild-oats [zizania aquatica,) and is found in the
autumn in those fresh water marshes which are fre-
quented by the common rail, [Gallinula Carolina
Lath.) When the tide is high the animal may be
observed sitting upon the fallen reeds, patiently
waiting for the recession of the water. From its
position when at rest it has much the appearance of
a lump of mud, and is commonly mistaken for such

68

THE COTTON-RAT.

by those who are unacquainted with its habits. It
swims and dives well.”

The head of the marsh campagnol is large, with
a thick obtuse snout, — having small eyes and short
roundish ears, nearly concealed by the hair on the
cheeks. The fore legs are very short; the posterior
parts of the body are more slender and weaker than
the anterior. The tail is thinly covered with hair,
and tufted or penciled at tip, and is longest in the
male. The upper parts of the body are of a tawny
brown colour mixed with black, the lower parts of
an ash or gray colour. The female has four pecto-
ral and four abdominal teats, and brings forth eight
young at a litter.

Species III. — The Cotton- Rat, or Hairy Cam-
pagnol.

Arvicola.Hispidus; Ord.

Sigmodon Hispidum: Sat & Ord, Journal of the Academy of Natural
Sciences, iv. part ii. p. 354.

This animal was discovered in East Florida in the
year 1818, by Mr. Ord, whose description was not
published until 1825. He found its burrows in
the deserted plantations lying on the river St.
Johns, East Florida, especially in the gardens,
where they are seen in every direction. It is high-
ly probable, he thinks, that this animal will be
found a source of much injury and vexation to the
future settlers of that country.

THE WOOD-RAT.

69

The head of the hairy campagnol is thick, and
the snout elongated, having eyes of considerable size,
and large round ears; the tail is nearly as long as the
body. The ears are slightly covered with hair; the
fore legs are short; the hind feet are large and strong,
with short lateral toes and stout claws. The upper
parts of the body and head are of a pale, dirty, yel-
low ochre colour, mixed with black; the lower parts
are cinereous. On the upper parts of the body and
sides the hair is long, plentiful and coarse. The
animal is six inches long from the tip of the snout
to the insertion of the tail, which is four inches long.
In the adult animal yellow is the predominant colour;
the young are generally black.*

The cotton-rat obtains its name from the circum-
stance of making its nest with cotton, which it col-
lects for the purpose in large quantities; the nest is
generally placed within a hollow log, or else in a
chamber at the extremity of a burrow.

Species IV, — The Wood- Rat.

Arvicola Floridanus; Ord.

The Wood-Rat: Bartham, Travels in E. Florida, p. 124.

Mus Floridanus: Sat, Long’s Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, i. p. 54.
Neoioma Floridana: Sat and Ord, Journ. of the Acad, of Nat. Sciences,
iv. part ii. p. 352.

This beautiful animal was once thought to be pe-
culiar to Florida, and received its scientific name
from that circumstance. But it is now highly pro-

* See note at the end of the next species.

70

THE WOOD-RAT.

bable that it is to be found throughout this country
in certain situations; by Say it was obtained on the
Missouri.

From all that we can learn relative to this ani-
mal, it is of a gentle, timid disposition; harmless in
its manners and inoffensive in its mode of living.
Far from having aiiy of that peculiar cunning and
distrustful air that is so remarkable in the common
rat, it shows few signs of fear when approached, and
allows itself to be made prisoner or killed without
difficulty. They burrow under stones and among
the ruins of buildings, and feed on vegetable sub-
stances. They construct their nests with large quan-
tities of brush and rubbish.

The wood campagnol is about sixteen inches long,
including the tail, which measures seven inches.
The head gradually diminishes in size from the ears
to the snout, and is of a lead colour intermingled
with gray. Its ears are nine-tenths of an inch long,
rounded, prominent and open, having but few hairs
on their back part and on the margin within. The
eyes are of a moderate size and prominent; the whis-
kers are arranged in six longitudinal series, the
longest of them surpassing the tips of the ears. The
tail is hairy and brown above; the legs are stout and
of nearly equal length, with white feet, having the
toes annulated beneath, and the nails concealed by
the hair. The thumb is minute, and the palms of
the fore feet have five tuberculous prominences; in
the soles of the hind feet there are six tubercles, of
which the three posterior are distant from each
other.

The wood-rat (says Bartram,) is a very curious

THE WOOD-RAT.

7i

animal; they are not half the size of the domestic
rat, and of a dark brown or black colour^ their tail
slender and shorter in proportion, and covered thinly
with short hair. They are singular with respect to
their ingenuity and great labour in the construction
of their habitations, which are conical pyramids
about three or four feet high, constructed with dry
branches, which they collect with great labour and
perseverance, and pile up without any apparent or-
der, yet they are so interwoven with one another,
that it would take a bear or wild cat some time to
pull one of these castles to pieces, and allow the ani-
mals sufficient time to secure a retreat with their
young.”^

The wood-rat has, beyond doubt, been as common
throughout this country at a former period, as it is
at present in Florida and on the Missouri. f It has
very universally given place to the black-rat, and
both have disappeared before the Norway rat, as we

* Page 125.

t “ In turning over some of the baggage we caught a rat
somewhat larger than the common European rat, and of a
ligliter colour; the body, and outer part of the legs as well
as the belly, feet and ears, are white; the ears are not covered
with hair, and are much larger than those of the common rat;
the toes are also longer; their eyes black and prominent; the
whiskers very long and full; the tail rather longer than the
body, and covered with fine fur and hair, of the same size
with that on the back, which is very close, short and silky
in its texture. This was the first we had met, although its
nests are frequent among the clifts of rocks and hollow trees,
where we also found large quantities of the shells and seeds
of the prickly pear, on which we conclude they chiefly sub-
sist.”— Lewis and Clarke^ i. p. 289.

72

THE AVOOD-RAT.

shall soon have occasion to state. The wood-rat soon
learns to infest the houses of the settlers, and to do
nearly if not quite as much mischief as the common
rat. It is highly probable that some of these rats
still remain in the remote and barren parts of the
Atlantic states, or in situations analogous to those
occupied by this species in the southern and western
country.*

* In the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences,
(vol. iv. part ii. p. 345, 352,) Messrs. Say and Ord propose
to establish two new genera for the reception of this and the
preceding species, under the names of Sigmodon and Neoto-
ma, in consequence of the differences they have observed
in the dentition of these animals. These differences are the
following: In the hairy campagnol {arvicola hispidus*') “the
different arrangement of tlie folds of the enamel, and the
circumstance of the molars being divided into radicles, cer-
tainly exclude it from the genus arvicola.” In relation to
the wood -rat {arvi ola Floridanus]) they remark, “that the
ffrindina: surface of the molars differs somewhat from that
of the molars of the genus arvicola, but the large roots of
the grinders constitute a character essentially different.”
With due deference to the opinion of our respected friends,
we are decidedly of an opposite belief. This variation of
dental arrangement may be sufficient to indicate modifica-
tions or differences in the regimen or feeding of these ani-
mals, but cannot of themselves suffice to establish generic
distinctions, when the external characters and habits of the
animals are so strikingly similar to the genus arvicola. The
wood -rat certainly is closely related to the genus mus, and

* sigmodon Hispidum of Say and Ord.

f Neotoma Floridana of Say and Ord. AVe have, as in all similar in=
stances, refeired the species to the original proprietors or describersj
notwithstanding the changes produced by arranging them under other
genera.

V

CHAPTER V.

Genus XXIII. — Lemming; Lemmus^ Link, Cuv.

This genus is closely allied to the preceding, and
differs from it principally in the conformation of the
fore feet and the shortness of the tail. The fore
feet are five toed in some instances, and four toed in
others, being provided "with nails fit for burrowing;
the hind feet are five toed. The tail is not very
acute at its extremity, is shorter than the body, and
covered by a velvety integument.

The dental system is the same as that of the genus
Arvicola.

Species I. — The Hudson^ Bay Lemming,

Lemmus Hudsonius.

Lemnius Hudsonius: Sabine, App. p. €61.

Mus Hudsonius; Pallas, Glires, p. 208. pi. 26.

Rat de Labrador: Enctcl. pi. 69, fig. 6.

Lemming de la Bait d’ Hudson.- Desm. Mammal, p. 289.

The Hair Tailed Mouse.- Hearne, 8vo. ed. p. 385.

The Hudson’s Bay Lemming is covered by a very
fine, soft and long hair, which is of an ash colour,

might with great propriety be considered as a distinct sub-
genus of arvicola, as Say and Ord suggest that some natu-
ralists may consider it. The arrangement proposed by them
VOL. IJ.— K

74 Tii£ Hudson’s bay lemming.

with a tinge of tawny on the back, having along its
middle a dusky stripe, and on each side a pale tawny
line. The limbs are quite short, and the fore feet
being formed for burrowing, are very strong. The
two middle claws of the male, which are compressed,
thick and strong, appear to be bifid or double, be-
cause the skin of these toes is callous, and projects
from beneath the nail.

The mode of life peculiar to this species is but
little known; the Lapland lemming is very notori-
ous for its extensive migrations, but nothing of the
same kind has been observed of the Hudson’s Bay
species.

^^The hair-tailed mouse, (says Hearne) is the
largest in the northern parts of the bay, being little
inferior in size to a common rat. They always bur-
row under stones on dry ridges, are very inoffensive,
and so easily tamed, that, if taken when full grown,’
some of them will in a day or two be perfectly re-
conciled, and are so fond of being handled that they
will creep about your neck or into your bosom. In
summer they are gray, and in winter change to white,
but are by no means so beautiful as a white ermine.
At that season they are infested with multitudes o
small lice, not a sixth part so large as the mites in a
cheese; in fact, they are so small that at first sight
they only appear like reddish brown dust,, but on
closer examination are all perceived in motioii. In

we esteem to be in the highest degree artificial, unnatural,
and by consequence unnecessary, and therefore not to be
adopted; at least in a work in which nature and useful-
ness are the supreme objects of regard.

THE HUDSON^S BAY LEMMING. 7o

one large and beautiful animal of this kind, caught
in the depth of winter, I found those little vermin
so numerous about it, that almost every hair was co-
vered with them as thick as i*opes with onions, and
when they approached near the ends of the hair
they may be said to change the mouse from white to
a faint brown. At that time I had an excellent mi-
croscope, and endeavoured to examine them, and to
ascertain their form, hut the weather was so exceed-
ingly cold that the glasses became damp with the
moisture of my breath before I could get a single
sight. The hind feet of these mice are exactly like
those of a bear, and the fore feet are armed with a
horny substance,^' (that I never saw in any other
species of the mouse,) which is wonderfully adapted
for scraping away the ground where they wish to
take up their abode. They are plentiful on some of
the stony ridges near Churchill factory, but never
approach the house or any of the out- offices. From
appearances they are very local, and seldom stray far
from their habitations, even in summer, and in win-
ter they are seldom seen on' the surface of the snow —
a great proof of their being provident in summer to
layup a stock for that season. f”

* The description given of this “ horny substance,” which
Is a mere induration of the cuticle covering the palms,
and caused by the act of scraping among the stones, &c.
sufficiently indicates the species.

t “ I observed with astonishment long ridges of mouse-
dung, several inches deep, extending for above two miles. By
what means this could have arrived here I was at a loss to
conceive, as I did not see any mouse-holes or other traces
of these animals? besides which they live in stony dry

CHAPTER VI.

Genus XXIV. — Rat; Mm; L.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The head is conical, more or less short, having a
pointed snout, rather large eyes, and almost naked
ears. There are no cheek pouches; the neck is short
and the body thick, having from ten to twelve teats,
part situated upon the chest and part upon the belly.
The toes are free, or unconnected by membrane, and
provided with hooked nails. The anterior feet have
four digits and a rudimental thumb, covered by a
blunt nail. The tail is naked, scaly and tapering;
the body is covered by long, stiff hairs, intermingled
with a close fine fur.

Dental System.

2 Incisive.

6 Molar.

2 Incisive
6 Molar.

In the UPPER JAW the incisors are smooth and
fiat, and rise from the sides of the anterior part of

places, and this was a swamp. It is possible, however, that
this accumulation of the excrements of mice may be from
the mus (Lemmus,) Hudsonius, occasionally migrating in
the same wonderful manner as the lemmer of I.apland.”— <
Lyon's Private Journal, p. 432.

^ r 8 Upper,
o 8 Lower.

OF THE EAT.

77

the maxillary bone. The three molars diminish in
size from the first to the last; they are very remarka-
ble for being inclined from before backwards. The
first molar is composed of six tubercles, which, con-
sidered in a transverse order, present themselves
thus: — two in front, one larger corresponding to the
middle of the tooth, and the other at the inside;
then three, two small ones on the edges, the largest
in the middle, and finally one at the 'posterior part
of the tooth, and of the size of the middle tubercle
of the three preceding. This arrangement of the
great tubercles in the middle, and of the small
ones on the edge, gives the form of a trefoil to the
undulating line they produce. The second molar is
formed of four tubercles, one in front on the inside,
two in the middle, arranged obliquely from without
inwards, and from before backwards, and the fourth
at the posterior part on the outside. The last has
also four tubercles arranged like those of the second
molar.

In the lower jaw the incisors are similar to those
of the upper jaw; they arise far behind and above
the molars, from the middle of the ascending branch
of the jaw-bone, where its bulb produces a little
projection. The molars diminish in size from the
first to the third, and are inclined. in a direction op-
posite to those of the upper jaw; that is, they lean for-
wards and are equally formed of tubercles. The first
has five, one small anterior, two middle, and two pos-
terior; the second has four, also arranged in pairs, two
before and two behind. The last has but three, a
single one in front, followed by a pair.

78

THE BROWN RAT.

Species I. — The Common, Brown or JYoi'way Bat,
Mus Decuinauiis; Pall. ’ ■

Mils Sylvestris: Biiis.s. Reff. An. 170, No. 3; 3Ius iVorvesicus.- ibid.

p. 173, No. 8.

Mus Dccumanus; L. Gmkl. SriinEB. pi. 178, Encycl. p). 67, fig. 9.

Le Surmulot: Burr. 8, pi. 27.

Brown-Ral: Penk. Quad. No. 298, Arct. Zool. i. .151, No. 57.

It must be confessed that this rat is one of the
veriest scoundrels in the brute creation, though it
is a misfortune in him rather than a fault, since he
acts solely in obedience to the impulses of nature, is
guided by no other law than his own will, and sub-
mits to no restraints except such as are imposed by
force.. He is, therefore, by no means as bad as the
scoundrels of a higher order of beings, who, endowed
with superior powers of intelligence, and enjoying
the advantages of education, do still act as if they
possessed all the villainous qualities of the rat, with-
out being able to offer a similar apology for their
conduct.

Among quadrupeds this rat may be considered as
occupying the same rank as the crow does among
birds. He is one of the most impudent, troublesome,
mischievous, wicked wretches that ever infested the
habitations of man. To the most wily cunning he
adds a fierceness and malignancy of disposition that
frequently renders him a dangerous enemy, and a
destroyer of every living creature he can master.
He is a pure thief, stealing not merely articles of
food, for which his hunger would be a sufficient jus-
tification, but substances which can be of no possible

THE BROWN RAT.

79

Utility to him. When he gains access to the library
he does not hesitate to translate and appropriate to
his own use the works of the most learned authors,
and is not so readily detected as some of his brother
pirates of the human kind, since he does not carry
off his prize entire, but cuts it into pieces before he
conveys it to his den. He is, in short, possessed of
no one quality to save him from being universally
despised, and his character inspires no stronger feel-
ing than contempt^ even in those who are under the
necessity of putting him to death.

The common, brown, or Norway rat, now so ex-
tensively diffused over this country, is not indigenous
to our soil, but was introduced from Europe, which
received it from Asia in .the eighteenth century, as
late as the year 1750. There are few parts of the
world now visited by navigators, where this animal
lias not been introduced, and the immediate conse-
quence of its introduction has been, that all the na-
tive rats have been destroyed, or obliged to withdraw
beyond the reach of this subtle and implacable ene-
my. ^ .■

Prior to the year above mentioned this rat, now so
notorious for its ravages^ was almost, if not wholly,
unknown in Europe.^ It was conveyed to England,

Specie ob hoc [ratio) diversus, mus decumanus., Persia
ut videtur et vicini oiientis indigena, vix ante alterutn ter-
tiumve sjeculi praeterid decennium Europ.T invasisse fertur ■
et ubi agmina eorum consedere, domesticum contra, ratucm
sensim defecisse constat. Norvegicum plares nuperorum
zoologicorum vocant quam vero appeilationem Zimmerma-
nus id improbat quod Ihun^ scandinavicae nullam ejus men
* R. Smith’s It o.t 'Catcher; p, 5,

80

THE BROWN RAT.

about the period above mentioned, in the timber-ships
from Norway, and hence it has received one of its
common names. Many years subsequently it was
brought to this country in European ships, and has
been gradually propagated from the sea-ports over
the greater part of the continent.

The brown rat takes up its residence about
wharves, store-houses, cellars, granaries; &c. and
destroys the common black rat and mouse, or en-
tirely expels them from the vicinities it frequents.
To chickens, rabbits, young pigeons, ducks, and vari-
ous other domestic animals, it is equally destructive
when urged by hunger and opportunity. Eggs are
also a very favourite article of food with this species,
and are sought with great avidity; in fact, every
thing that is edible falls a prey to their voracity,
and can scarcely be secured from their persever-
ing and audacious inroads. In the country they
take up their abodes according to convenience and
the abundance of provision, infesting especially mills,

tionem faciant. At cnim vero hoc sane idoneis testibus
evictum est ipsissimum hunc Rattum decumanum ante an-
num MDCCXXX, Anglis plane ignotum, turn temporis pri-
inum et quidem quod expresse asserunt, ex Norvegia navibus
onerariis quae lignorum inateriam inde advehebant illatum
esse.* Cumque turn temporis in universa Germania boreali
nullibi adluic visus fuerat inficetum, corruit asseclarum poti-
toris quondam regni Anglici figmentum quo ilium murem
ex Hanoverianis terris in Brittanniam translatum esse fabu-
labantur. — Jo. Frid. Blumenbaclu Com, Soc. Goett. 1283.
vol. i,

* Espriella’s (Southey’s) Letters, i._p. 285, ed. 3.

THE BROWN RAT.

barns and out-houses, or residing in holes along the
‘banks of races or other water-courses.

The brown rat swims with great facility, and dives
with vigor, remaining under water for a considerable
time, and swimming thus to some distance. When
attacked and not allowed an opportunity of escaping,
he becomes a dangerous antagonist, leaping at his
enemy and inflicting severe and dangerous wounds
with his teeth. The most eager cat becomes imme-
diately intimidated in the presence of one of these
rats thus penned up, and is very willing to escape
the dangers of an encounter. '

The brown rat is amazingly prolific, and but for
its numerous enemies, and its own rapacious disposi-
tion, would, become an intolerable pest. Happily
for the world, in addition to man, to the weazel, cat,
some species of dog, &c. rats frequently find de-
structive enemies in each other, both in the adult and
young state, their numbers thus being prevented from
becoming such an intolerable grievance as they other-
wise necessarily would. The strongest of the species
prey upon the weaker, and are the most merciless
destroyers of their own kind.^ The weazel and the
terrier are the most eflicient rat-killers, as the first

* “ It is a singular fact in tlie history of these animals
that the skins of such of them as have been devoured in
their holes have frequently been found curiously turned in-
side out, every part being completely inverted to the ends
of the toes. How the operation is performed it would be
difficult to ascertain; but it appears to be effected in some
peculiar mode of eating out the contents.’’— A-, His!
of Quadrupeds.

YOL, II. — L

82

THE BROWN RAT.

can pursue the enemy to liis most secret retreat, and
the second derives from his superior strength and
activity a very decided advantage in the contest.
The cat, though in general a very useful auxiliary
in lessening the number of this species, is very lia-
ble both to be foiled and worsted in her attempts.
Bringing forth from twelve to eighteen at a lit-
ter, we have good reason to rejoice that so many
animals have an instinctive animosity against so noxi-
ous a marauder.*

The cunning of these rats is not less than their im-
pudence; it is almost impossible to take them in traps
after one or two have been thus caught, as the rest
appear perfectly to understand the object of the
machine, and afterwards avoid it with scrupulous
care, however tempting may be the bait it contains.
The surest way to remove them is by poison, which,
however, they frequently detect and avoid. The
powder of nux vomica, mixed with some Indian corn
or oat-meal, and scented with oil of rhodium, is
found very effectual in destroying them. Arsenic is
very commonly used in the same way for this purpose,
but the fatal accidents which frequently occur when
this poison is kept about the house, in consequence
of the label being removed or changed, and the arse-
nic administered to members of a family instead of
some other medicine, render it a very objectionable
resource.

*Thc name of this species, decumanus, was given on ac-
count of its great size, and is equally applicable to its great
mischievousness. The word originally was decimanus, and
eventually by custom became synonymous with magnits or
great. See Callipcenus, Litleton, &c.

THE BLACK RAT.

83

The brown rat measures about nine inches, and is
of a light brown colour, intermingled with ash and
tawny. The colour of the throat and belly is of a
dirty white, inclining to gray. It has pale, flesh-co*
loured, naked feet, with a tail of the same length
as the body, and covered with small dusky scales,
with short hairs thinly scattered between.

Species II. — The Black Rat.

Mus Rattusj L.

Mus Rallus; Pall. Schreb. &c.

Mus Domesticus Major; Rai, Quad. Sp. 217.

Le Rat: Buff. 7, pi. 36.

Black Rat: Pens. Quad. ii. p. 176. Arct. Zool. i. p. 150.

This rat was much more common previous to the
introduction of the brown rat than at present. It
is now found only in situations to which the brown
rat has not extended its emigrations, and is almost as
injurious and destructive, resembling it closely in
manners and habits. It is of a deep iron gray, and
indeed nearly of a black colour above, and of an ash
colour on the lower parts of its body. Its legs are
nearly naked, and on its fore feet instead of the ru-
dimental thumb it has a elaw. The length from the
nose to the root of the tail is seven inches; the tail
itself is almost eight inches long.

It has been a matter of dispute, whether this ani-
mal was received here from Europe, or was original-
ly taken hence to that quarter of the world. Blu-
menbach, who has devoted much attention to the sub-
ject, states it as his opinion that the black rat was

84

rUE COMMON MOUSE.

carried from Europe to America.^ Garcilasso de la
Vega states, that it was first introduced into Soutli
America by the Europeans, about tbe year 1544, and
Geraldus Cambrensis speaks of them in Europe pre-
vious to the discovery of America.

Species III. — The Common Mouse.

• Mus Musculus; L.

Mus Musculus: Ei'xl. Hod. Sclu-eb. Ac.

3fits DomesUcus Vulgaris.- Uay, Quad.

Mus Sorex: Bitiss. p. 169, Sp. 2.

-La Souris: Buff. viii. pi. 39, id. suppl- viii. pi. 20.

Like the two preceding species the Common
Mouse is not an original inliabitant of this country,

* De primigenio et patrio Ratti vulgariter domestici habi-
taculo, diversimodi disputatum est. Mirum videtur para-
doxam Linnei opinionem, qui eum ex Indis occidentalibus
in Europam advectum fuisse putarat, vel ipsi Pallasio ideo
11011 irnprobabilem visam esse quod apud antiquos licet Mus-
culi frequens, nientio nulla occurrat Ratti. Etsi enim nul-
lus veterum, sive Grascorum sive Romanorum Rattum niemo-
ret, inedii tamen sevi scriptures, iique de liistoria naturali
perbenp meriti, diu ante orbem novum detectum de Ratio
nostrate agunt, in quibus egregius Silvester Geraldus anno
MCLXXXVIII expresse mures majores nominat qui yulga-
riter Ratti dicuiitur.* Probabile vero videtur huic Rattum
primitus Europam medium incoluisse donee occasione com-
merciorum et prsesertim navigationem per universum quae
Europaeis patet orbem adeo propagatus est ut quondam inter
prodigia relatum sit nonnullos Germanicae urbes eo plane
caruisse.~.S/Mme«6ffc/j, .dct. Soc. Gmtting. v. 1823.

* Itinerar. Cambris;.

THE COMMON MOUSE.

85

but was brought here from Europe, and has long
since become perfectly naturalized throughout the
continent, having been conveyed in every direction
by persons moving their household goods, even to the
most remote frontier settlements.

The common mouse, from its size and feebleness,
is to be regarded rather as a troublesome than a very
injurious inmate of our dwellings, but always likely
to effect much mischief on account of its fecundity,
which is full as remarkable as that of any of its
kindred species.* It is a timid and vigilant crea-
ture, yet confides to a considerable extent in its
swiftness and watchfulness, coming out after various
trials, and stealing about a room even when there are
several persons present, provided they are silent and
do not move.

The mouse makes a nest very similar to that of a
bird, having the inside lined with some soft material,
such as wool, cotton, &c. and brings forth her young
several times during a year, generally from six to
ten at each litter. At birth her offspring are nak-
ed and helpless, but in about fifteen days they are
able to shift for themselves, and the mother is soon
at liberty to prepare for another family.

The mouse is a very beautiful little animal, when
seen not alarmed and at perfect liberty. Its long and

* “ The pi'opagation of mice, {j4,vt<r) in comparison with
that of other animals, is very remarkable both for quick-
ness and profuseness. A pregnant female was shut up in a
chest of grain; in a short time a hundred and twenty indi-
viduals were counted.”— of ^^nhmls, Book
vi. chap. ST.

86

THE COMMON MOUSE.

slender whiskers, which extend in numerous and
graceful lines from around the fore part of the head,
its bright prominent eyes, delicate ears, and slight
limbs, with its peculiar movements in search of food,
or while sporting with its companions, are all such as
to render it a pleasing and interesting animal. It is
generally, however, viewed with great disgust on
account of prejudices connected with its mischievous-
ness, and the peculiar smell which is more or less
prevalent in the places where the species is most nu-
merous.

The common mouse has frequently been tamed,
and exhibits a considerable degree of attachment to
its feeder. Instances are on record of prisoners who
have amused themselves by feeding one of these lit-
tle animals, until it has become quite tame, and ap-
peared immediately, whenever called by its master.
Among other circumstances connected with the his-
tory of the mouse, it is generally rumoured that this
animal is peculiarly susceptible to impressions pro-
duced by music, and some very wonderful accounts
have been published on the subject. The following
story may serve as a specimen of the manner in which
facts may be stated with perfect accuracy, and yet
conclusions entirely unfounded be thence deduced. It
is related by a gentleman who heard it from another
of undoubted veracity.’’

One evening, in the month of December, as a
few officers on board of a British man of war, in the
harbour of Portsmouth, were seated around the fire,
one of them began to play a plaintive air on the vio-
lin. He had scarcely performed ten minutes when
a mouse, apparently frantic, made its appearance in

THE COMMON MOUSE.

87

the centre of the floor, near the large table which
usually stands in the ward-room, the residence of the
lieutenants in ships of the line. The strange ges-
tures of the little animal strongly excited the atten-
tion of the officers, who, with one consent, resolved
to suffer it to continue its singular actions unmolest-
ed. Its exertions now appeared to be greater every
moment. It shook its head, leaped about the table,
and exhibited signs of the most extatic delight. It
was observed that in proportion to the gradation of
tones to the soft point, the extacy of the animal ap-
peared to be increased, and vice versa. After per-
forming actions which an animal so diminutive would
at first sight seem incapable of, the little creature,
to the astonishment of the delighted spectators, sud-
denly ceased to move, fell down and expired, without
evincing any pain.’’^

Of the truth of this narration we are thoroughly sat-
isfied, but we should explain it differently. The
mouse, under the influence of disease, and almost in
the agonies of death, came out of its hole when the mu-
sician was performing, and after struggling for a time,
until exhausted by convulsions, died. The inferences
of its extacy,^’ &c. are, for any thing to the contrary
contained in the above account, entirely gratuitous,
and we are much mistaken if the filing of a saw, the
scraping of a gridiron, or the whetting of a scythe,
would not in this instance have been accompanied by
a similar degree of “ extacy” in proportion as the

^ Barton’s Medical and Physical Journal, i. p. 38.

88

THE RUSTIC MOUSE.

gradation of the tones’^ approached the “ soft
point.”

The common mouse is about three inches and a-
half long, and has a long, nearly naked tail. Its co-
lour varies considerably, but is generally of an ashy
brown. It has four digits on its anterior feet, and
a rudimental thumb, destitute of a claw; the hind
feet are five toed. The mouse is preyed on by cats,
weazels, owls, rats, &c. &c.

Species IV. — The Rustic Mouse,

/ •

Mus Agrarius; Gmel.

Mus Agrarius: Gmel, Pall. p. 341. Say, Long’s Exped.to the Rocky
Mountains, p. 369.

This little mouse is very common throughout this
country, and is found in great abundance in places
favourable to their multiplication. They are occa-
sionally very injurious to the farmers by the destruc-
tion of the small grain, the heads of which they cut
off and convey to their subterranean hoards, which
differ very little, if at all, from those made by the
meadow-mouse or campagnol.

The rustic mouse is about three inches long, and
has a streak of a mixed dusky and ferruginous colour
along the back: the spaces between the ears (which
are large, open and naked) and sides are of an orange
colour, while the whole of the under parts of the bo -
dy, legs and feet, are of a pure white; the tail is dus-
ky above and whitish beneath. The whiskers are
long, and some of the hairs are white, some black.

CHAPTER VII.

Genus XXV. — Pouched-Rat; Pseiidostoma; Say,

The head and body are large, giving to the ani-
nal a clumsy appearance; the cheek-pouches are very
extensive, situated outside of the mouth, separated
therefrom by the common integuments, and are pro-
foundly concave, opening downwards, towards the
mouth. The legs are short, the fore feet large and
armed with verj long claws; the hind feet are small.

In the upper jaw the incisors, always expos-
ed to view, are strong and truncated in their en-
tire width at tip, marked by a deep longitudinal
roove near the middle, and by a smaller one at the
inner margin. The molars, eight in number, pene-
trate to the base of their alveolae without separating
into roots, as in the genera Arvicola Lepus, ^c.
having simply discoidal, transversely oblong, oval
crowns, margined by enamel, resembling in general
form the molars of the genus Lepus, but without

VOL. II. —M

GENERIC CHARACTERS

Dental System

90

THE POUCHED-RAT.

the appearance of either a groove at their ends or
of a dividing crest of enamel. The posterior tooth
is rather more rounded than the others, and that of
the upper jaw has a small prominent angle on its '
posterior face; the anterior tooth is double, in conse-
quence of a profound duplicature in its side, so that
its crown presents two oval disks, of which the an-
terior one is smaller, and the lower one somewhat
angulated. All these teeth incline obliquely back-
ward, thus resembling those of the preceding genus.

In the lower jaw the teeth are similar to those
in the upper, except that the molars are inclined
forwards.'^'

Species I. — The Pouched- Rat.
Pseudostoma Bursariumj S^vy.

^seudostoma Bursaria: Say, Long’s Exped. to the Rocky Mountains,
i. 406.

Canada Rat: Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. part i. p. 100.

Mas Bursarius: Linn. Trans, v. p. 227, pi. 8.

Mas Saccatus: Mitchill, New York Med. Hep. .Tan. 1821. Lewis and
Clark, ii. 180.

Cricetus Bursareus: Desm. Mammal. 312.

[Vulgarly called Salamander; Pouched-Rat; Sand-
Rat;

The pouched-rat, though long since noted by
various observers, is still but little known, even in
the vicinities where it is most common. Its pecu-
liar mode of life, its nocturnal habits and vigilance.

'* This dental system, &c. is from Say. See Long’s Ex-
pedition to the Rocky Mountains, i. p. 407,

THE POUCHED-RAT.

91

unite to secure it from the view of incidental ob-
servers, and those who are desirous of becoming ac-
quainted with this rat in a state of nature, must be
prepared to exercise tlie most untiring patience as
well as the most assiduous attention.

In Florida, Georgia, &c., and the plains adjacent
to the Missouri, the pouched-rat is to be found in
great numbers; their burrows are exceedingly nu-
merous in various places, and give an appearance to
the plains similar to that produced by ploughing.
Over their burrows, hillocks of loose earth are raised,
resembling in some respects those thrown up by the
shrew-mole. These hillocks consist of about ten or
twelve pounds of loose earth, which appears as if it
had been emptied out of a flower-pot on the spot;
no hole is to be discovered under this mass of loose
soil, but if it be carefully removed, it is seen that
the earth has been broken in a circle of an inch and
a-half in diameter, within which space the ground
is loose, but still without any distinct opening.

This species is rendered peculiar in its appear-
ance by the cheek-pouches exterior to the mouth,
its short fore legs and long claws. By the aid of
the latter the animal is enabled in a light soil to bur-
row with great rapidity, and is seldom or never dug
out, since it can escape through the ground as fast
as one person can dig in pursuit.

As the pouched-rat is so entirely subterranean in
its mode of life, it is not surprising that very little
should have been learned of its history; neither can
we hope that our knowledge will be much increased
on the subject until some one, who is sufficiently ac-
quainted with natural history, will devote himself

92

THE POUCHED-RAT.

assiduously to the investigation of the manners .of
this animal in its native haunts. Except the slight
notices given by Bartrani, Lewis & Clark, and Say,
nothing satisfactory on the habits of the pouched-rat
has yet been published.*^

The pouched-rat is covered by a reddish brown
hair, which is lead-coloured at base; on the under
parts of the body the colour is somewhat paler; the
feet are white. The eyes are black; the ears scarcely
prominent, and the cheek- pouches, which are hairy
internally and externally, are very capacious. The
whiskers are numerous, slender and whitish. The
feet are five-toed, the anterior pair being robust,
with large, elongated, somewhat compressed nails,
exposing the bone on the inner side; the middle nai!
is much the longest, then the fourth, then the second,
then the fifth, the first being very short. The hind
feet are very slender, with nails concave beneath
and rounded at tip, the exterior one being very small;
the tail is short, hairy at base, and nearly naked at
its tip.f

* The figures which are given of this animal most com-
monly represent it with the cheek-pouches inverted in a most
unnatural manner.

t Say, as above quoted.

VtN ; '-

. ;. :;■,*?? : ,

■‘i- A. ?*• ‘ U‘-'-

■t-

V ■^ •<' . r,

'’- ^-‘;i ■> .

■ •>.■

:-^.‘

W-: V

• r

d

r.

W ’ ^■■

-I

■f' ' ’' '

‘.\- *• ' ,X‘.r'.

flT

V .

'. 'Vftj''''

■' ':’d.

‘.Ji'j

,'.' yi) t-

CHAPTER VIII.

Genus XXVI. — Jumping-Mouse; Gerbillus; Desm.

The head is elongated, and the ears are rounded
and of moderate size. The anterior extremities are
short, have four digits, furnished with small nails and
a rudimental thumb; the posterior limbs are either
long or very long, have five digits, each of which is
supported by a distinct metatarsal bone, and provided
with a nail. The tail is long and covered by hair.

In the upper jaw the incisor, which arises from
the middle part of the maxillary bone, is divided
into equal parts by a longitudinal furrow. The mo-
lars diminish in size from the first to the last. The
first is composed of three transverse prominences,
formed by two intervening furrows, not so deep in
the middle as at their extremities; these prominences
are slightly depressed in the middle, but the anterior
and posterior are narrower than the middle. The
second molar is composed of two prominences, form-
ed. by an intervening depression, the posterior being

GENERIC characters

Dental System

2 Incisive
6 Molar.

2 Incisive
6 Molar.

94

THE JUMPlNG-MOUSE.

the miri’ovvest. The third molar is similar to the
second, but smaller, especially its posterior promi-
nence. Hence these teeth difier from those of the
Hamster (Cricetus) principally in the breadth of
their prominences. When worn down these teeth
are remarkably like those of the Hamster in the same
condition. They present an even surface, with de-
pressions on the internal and external edges, which
are traces of the extremities of the furrows; the dif-
ference in the breadth of the prominences may still
be recognized.

In the loweu jaw the incisor is even; the molars
diminish in breadth from the first to the last, the
reverse of what we find in the hamster. The first
molar has three prominences and two furrows, but
the first is very narrow and almost circular. The
second has two prominences and a furrow, and the
third is so small as to be scarcely more than rudi-
mental.

Species I. — The Jumping- Mouse,

Gerbilhis Canadensis; Desm.

Dipus Canadensis: Daviks, Linn. Trans, iv. 155.

Dipus Jlniericanus: IJAnTON, An. Philos. Trans, iv. 114.

Canadian Jerboa: Suaw, Gen. Zool. pi. 2d. i. 192.

Gerbille du Canada: Hksm. Mammal, p. 132.

This little animal is very remarkable for the great
length of its hind legs and its mode of progression,
in both of which it bears some resemblance to the
kanguroo of Australasia, and the jerboa of the old
continent. When not in motion the jumping-mouse

THE JUMPING-MOUSE.

95

might be mistaken for the common field-mouse, as
its general aspect is very similar. To rectify such
an erroneous view, it is sufficient that an attempt
be made to capture it, when the force and celerity
of its leaps soon remove it from danger, and the
pursuer is astonished at seeing so small a creature,
with very slight apparent effort, eluding his most
eager speed, by clearing five or six feet of ground
at every spring. When the jumping-mouse is pur-
sued by one or two persons, and permitted to advance
in one direction, its movements resemble those of a
bird rather than a quadruped, so high does it leap
into the air, so great is the distance it measures at
every bound, and so light and quick is its ascent and
descent. The jumping-mouse, however, does not.
exclusively move in this manner, but is capable of
running on all its feet with considerable speed; lienee
it frequently excites the wonder of the country peo-
ple, or gives them much labour in vain when they
attempt to run it down.

The jumping-mouse is found in this country from
Canada to Pennsylvania, and no doubt still farther
south. It is in size nearly the same as the common
mouse. The head, back, and upper parts of the body,
generally, are of a reddish brown colour, somewhat
approaching to yellow. On the back the brown is
darker than elsewhere. The under parts of the
body throughout are cream-colour, as \vell as the
inner parts of all the limbs. Near the lower part
of the nostrils there is a band or yellow streak, which
runs on each side along the whole length of the head
and the superior and inferior side of the fore limbs,
whence, passing along the body, it terminates at the

96

XHK JUiMl’ING-MOUSE.

joint of the thighs. The upper jaw projects considera-
bly beyond the lower, and the nostrils are open. The
ears are small, rather oval and hairy; the whiskers
are long. The fore limbs are short, and have four
digits, provided with long and very sharp nails; there
is also a minute tubercle instead of thumb, which is
entirely destitute of nail. The posterior extremi-
ties are very long, especially from the heel to the
ends of the toes, which are five in number, long,
slender, and the three middle ones nearly of equal
length. The external and internal toes are much
shorter; the inner one is shortest of all. The tail
considerably exceeds the body in length, and gradu-
ally decreases in size from its origin to its extremity,
being finely ciliated or clothed with hair throughout,
and terminating with a line pencil of hairs. On the
upper side it is of a slate-brown colour, beneath it
is of a yellowish cream-colour, and composed of very
numerous joints.

The jumping-mouse is found in the grain and grass
fields, like the other little plunderers heretofore
described, and feeds on the same substances. It
breeds very fast, and may occasionally. become injuri-
ous to the farmer. It is not usual, however, to find
them in great numbers in Pennsylvania, though in
some vicinities they are quite common.

At the commencement of cool weather, or about
the time the frost sets in, the jumping-mice go into
their winter-quarters, where they remain in a torpid
state until the last of May or first of June. They
are dug up sometimes during winter from a depth
of twenty inches, being curiously disposed in a ball
of clay about, an inch thick, and so completely coiled

THE LABRADOR JUMPING-MOUSE,

97

into a globular form as to conceal the figure of the
animal entirely.

Species 11.— The Labrador Jumping- Mouse.

Gerbillus Labradorius; Sac.

3Ius Labradorius: Sab. App. to Franklin’s Exped. p. 661.

Labrador Rat: Penn. Quad. ii. 173, Arct. 'Zool.

Gerbillus Hudsonius: Rafin. Prodr. de Somiol.

This species, which closely resembles the preced-
ing in its mode of living, is found in the Labrador
and Hudson’s Bay country. It is about four inches in
length, exclusive of the tail, which is two inches and
a-half long. The general colour of the superior
parts of the body is brown; of the inferior parts
white. The front is very much arched or project-
ing, so that the nostrils present towards the earth.
The mouth, which is far below, is small, with the
upper lip bifid, and long black whiskers projecting
in two tufts. The ears are rounded and situated
far back on the head. The hind legs are an inch
and a-half long, covered with short hair, and five-
toed, the inner one being the shortest, the others
nearly equal. The tail is covered with black hair
above and white below.

YOL. II.— N

CHAPTER IX.

(jENUS XXVII. — Marmot; Arciomys; Gmel.

The headj which is thick and flattened, lias a blunt
and somewhat compressed snout, with eyes of a
moderate size, and short ears. The trunk of the
body is thick, the limbs short, and the feet robust.
The fore feet have four digits, not united by mem-
brane, and a rudimental thumb. The posterior ex-
tremities have five digits, which are also free; all the
toes are furnished with strong, hooked, compressed
nails. The tail is short, or of moderate length, and
covered with hair,

In the upper jaw the incisive is rounded and
smooth in front, and rises from the anterior and in-
ferior part of the maxillary bone above the first mo-
lar. The first molar is a simple tubercle with one root;
the three following, which are of the same size, are

Germ. Muimeltliler. Fr. Marmotte.

Ital. Marmotto. Srued. Monnolcljuret.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

Dental System

THE MARMOT.

99

divided transversely by two depressions, which pro-
duce three prominences; the first of these depres-
sions traverses the tooth entirely, but- the second is
obstructed by a spine or internal spur, which unites
the two posterior prominences. These teeth have
three roots, two external and one internal. The
last, or fifth, resembles the others, except in its pos-
terior prominence, which is extended posteriorly in
a sort of spur, which corresponds to the root analo-
gous to the second external root of the preceding
molars.

Ix THE LOWER JAW the incisive is similar to that
of the upper jaw, and rises below the last molar. The
four molars are of equal size and entirely similar in
form. They present a groove on their outside, on
the inside a depression which comprises the whole
width of the tooth, and at their antero-inferior edge
a narrow and very salient tubercle, which diminishes
in size from the first to the last. The first of these
teeth has, besides, at its neck and on its anterior
face, a hollow bordered by a small spine.

When these teeth are worn to a certain degree,
all their projections disappear, and their crowns be-
come entirely smooth; but both subsist during the
whole life of the animal.

Species of this genus are found in various parts
of the old continent, and in the Bahama islands. In
this country the greater number of species are found,
far to the north. The habits of the genus are de-
tailed at length in describing the following species;

100

THE MARYLAND MARMOT,

Species I. — The Maryland Marmot.

Arctomys Monax; Gmel,

Bahama Coney.- Catesby. Carolina, ii. 79. Murmota Americana: ibid.
App. 28.

Monax, or Marmoite of America: Edwards, Nat, Hist. ii. 104.

Clis Fuscus; Marmota Bahameiisis: Bniss, Reg. An. 4to. 163. Marmoia
Americana.- ibid. 164.

Maryland Marmot: Pejut. Synops. 270. Quad. ii. 398. Arc. Zool. i,
111. Shaw’s Zool. iii. 117.

Le Monax ou Marmoite du Canada: Buff. Hist. Nat. xiii. 136. Supp.
iii. 175. pi. 28. Ed. Sonnini. xx.xii. 22.

As the Maryland Marmot is no where more com-
mon than in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and indeed all the temperate parts of this country,
we state the fact in commencing the history of this
interesting species, to prevent readers from drawing
the erroneous conclusion that the name is a correct
indication of the place to which the animal exclu-
sively belongs. In doing this we cannot refrain from
once more expressing our unavailing regret that the
importance qf bestowing right names is still so little
felt or understood, and that in heedless haste an
original observer should be allowed permanently to
establish designations, which uniformly betray the
ignorant into error, and prove sources of vexation
to all who feel their inappropriateness. The abuse
of terms, however, has long been justly esteemed as
one of the most abundant sources of human mistake
and suffering, and if with all advantages of know-
ledge men persist in occasionally calling brutal rude-
ness by the name of candour and bluntness, — swag-
gering, courage, — and a destitution of good breed-
ing and honesty, imprudence, the student of natural

THE MARYLAND MARMOT.

101

Itistory can scarcely expect that much attention will
be paid to the evils he endures from the impediments
thrown in his way by the same prolific source of mis-
chief.

The scientific name of the genus to which the
Maryland marmot belongs, is excellent, if the species
now under consideration be taken in illustration, for
a first glance at the animal is sure to bring to mind
the idea of a bear and a rat, of both of which this
creature is a curious miniature resemblance. The
thickness of its body, entirely plantigrade walk,
posture when engaged in listening, and heavy gait,
are such as vividly to excite a recollection of the
bear, while the form of the head, teeth, position and
appearance of the eye, and general aspect, equally
remind the observer of the rat. In some of its ac-
tions it more nearly resembles the squirrel, especially
when in feeding it employs the fore paws, yet in
this it also exhibits a marked similitude to the bear,
as it frequently uses one paw at a time with the same
awkward facility that appears so singular in bruin.
Among the country people it bears the name of wood-
chuck and ground-hog, the latter being expressive of
its habit of burrowing and peculiar voracity.

This marmot is the cause of great injury, especi-
ally to the farmers engaged in the cultivation of clo-
ver, as their numbers become very considerable, and
the quantity of herbage they consume is really sur-
prising. They are the more capable of doing mis-
chief from the circumstance of their extreme vigi-
lance and acute sense of hearing, as well as from
the security afforded them by their extensive subter-
ranean dwellings.

102

THE MAUYLANl) MARMOT.

When about to make an inroad upon a elover-
Held, all the marmots resident in the vicinity ([uietly
and cautiously steal towards the spot, being favour-
ed in their march by their gray colour, which is not
easily distinguished. While the main body are ac-
tively engaged in cropping the clover-heads and
gorging their ample cheek-pouches, one or more in-
dividuals remain at some distance in tlie rear as sen-
tinels. These watchmen sit erect, with their fore-
paws held close to their breast, and their heads
slightly inclined to catch every sound which may
move the air. Their extreme sensibility of ear ena-
bles them to distinguish the approach of an enemy
long before he is sufficiently near to be dangerous,
and the instant the sentinel takes alarm he gives a
clear shrill whistle, which immediately disperses the
troop in every direction, and they speedily take re-
fuge in their deepest caves. The time at which
such incursions are made is generally about mid-day,
when they are less liable to be interrupted than at
any other period, either by human or brute enemies.

The habitations of this marmot are formed by bur-
rowing into banks, the sides of hills, or other similar
situations, and are generally inclined slightly up-
wards from the mouth, by which the access of w’ater
is prevented. In forming the burrow, where the
ground is soft, the fore paws are the principal agents;
the strength of the animal’s fore limbs is very
great. Where the soil is hard and compact the long-
cutting teeth are very freely and efficiently em-
ployed, and we have been surprised to see large
stones and lumps of hardened clay dug out in this
way. As the burrow is deepened the earth is

THE MARYLAND MARMOT.

103

broBght out ill the following manner: — The mar-
mot first throws the earth, with his fore paws, un-
der his belly, and when it has accumulated to a
certain degree, he rests on his fore paws and kicks
the dirt forcibly onwards with the hind ones, and
thus going backwards to the mouth of his den he
finally throws it to a considerable distance from the
entrance. It is very easy to determine when one of
these animals has been engaged in forming a new
burrow, as his whiskers are worn close to the head,
in proportion to the hardness of the soil in which he
has worked, and his teeth and the edges of his upper
lip show evident marks of the hard service they hav'e
performed. The paws are admirably adapted for
burrowing, both on account of the length of tlie toes
and nails, and the peculiar arrangement of the skin
of the palms and soles of the feet, which is extend-
ed between the toes so as to make them distinctly
semi-palmated or webbed, especially in the hind
feet. This circumstance is not commonly noted by the
writers on natural history, but we have repeatedly
examined the living animal, and find the character
uniformly present. That this structure has reference
to burrowing is evident, as the animal shows a great
repugnance to w'ater, very seldom drinking, and then
in but small cpiantity; he suirers exceedingly from
exposure to rain.

The burrows extend to great distances under
ground, and terminate in various cliambers, according
to the number of inhabitants. In these, very com-
fortable beds are made by the marmot, of dry leaves,
grass, or any soft dry rubbish to be collected. It is
really surprising to see the vast quantity of such ma-

104

THE MAllYLANU MAUMOT.

terial an individual will cram into his mouth to carry
off Tor this purpose. He first grasps with the teetli
as mucli as he possibly can; then sitting erect, with
both fore paws he stuffs the mass projecting on each
side deeper into the mouth, and having arranged it
satisfactorily, takes up successive portions, which are
treated in like manner; during the whole time,
the head is moved up and down to aid in filling
the mouth to the very utmost. This is repeated
until every fragment at hand is collected, and the
whole transferred to the sleeping apartment, into
which the marmot retires towards the decline of the
day, and remains there until the morning is far ad -
vanced. At some seasons of the year this marmot
is seen out on moonlight nights at a considerable dis-
tance from the burrow, either in search of better
pasture or looking for a mate; on such occasions, when
attacked by a dog, the marmot makes battle, and
when the individual is full grown, his bite is very
severe. The teeth of the dog give him vast supe-
riority in the combat, as when once he seizes, he is
sure of the hold until the parts bitten are torn,
through, while the marmot can merely pinch his fore
teeth together, and must renew his attempts very
frequently. The fight is also soon ended by the dog
seizing the marmot by the small of the back, and
crushing the spine so as to disable his antagonist ef-
fectually.

Tliere is no animal so perfectly cleanly in its ha-
bits as this marmot; not only the fragments of its
food and the litter of its bed are carefully removed,
but the loose earth about the mouth of the burrow
is carefully scraped away. However numerous they

THE MARYLAND MARMOT.

105

may be in any vicinity, their excrement is not seen,
nor any offensive odour perceived. Whenever
the calls of nature are felt, this animal seeks a spot
at some distance from his dwelling, and having dug
a hole of two or three inches in depth, and per-
formed his evacuations, he covers it up with extreme
care, and not content with placing a thick layer of
earth over it, he presses it, or rather rams it down
with the end of his nose^ striking with a force which
seems very extraordinary when thus applied.

The Maryland marmot, as we have already men-
tioned, eats with great greediness and large quantities.
To the wild animal red clover is a very favourite
food, and, when it can be obtained, lettuce, cabbage,
and various other garden vegetables. In captivity
it eats of almost every vegetable offered, is exceed-
ingly fond of bread and milk, and will display the
most violent anger, by erecting its hair, growling
and yelping, if it see a cat or other animal fed with
this substance. One which we kept for a long time
in a state of domestication, would, on such occasions,
become almost furious, and never desist from his
efforts until he had broken his chain, when he would
rush to the spot, drive off the cat by a severe bite,
or bite the person who attempted to withhold him
from the dish. Yet on other occasions he did not
interfere with the cats, even when feeding within
his reach, though he would at any time bite them if
they came immediately in his way. This marmot
would eat the parts about the joints of the legs of
fowls, when thrown to him, and occasionally a small
piece of salt-fish, — but, as a general rule, refused
animal food of every description.

VOL, IX,-— O

106

THK MARYLAND MARMOT.

This individual was very tame, playful and cun-
ning, having the freedom of the yard, and the privi-
lege of performing all his operations unmolested.
He was very fond of being handled and petted, and
would play with great good humour, though in a
clumsy and awkward manner. Every thing fit to
make a bed of, that he could get at, was sure to be
carried under ground, and when clothes were missed,
which had been hung out to dry, it was only neces-
sary to fasten a hook to a long stick and draw them
out of his burrow. When this was to be effected, it
was necessary to tie the marmot up short, as he ap-
peared to understand perfectly what was to be done,
and was by no means willing that his bed should be
rendered less comfortable. Although he would not
attempt to bite the person engaged in removing his
plunder, he would rush to the entrance and endeavour
to make his way in, as if to' secure his prize, or re-
move it to a still greater distance. On one occasion
he carried off and stowed at a distance of six feet
from the entrance, eight pairs of stockings, a towel,
and a girl’s frock, and had he not been discovered
in the act, would have made a still larger transfer of
materials to form a more luxurious bed.

In whatever action engaged, the vigilance of this
animal was unceasing, and his ear appeared the
sense almost exclusively relied on. By observing
him closely it was evident that every variation of
sound, however slight, or from whatever different
sources, was immediately perceived. While earnestly
engaged in eating, and making no inconsiderable
noise in munching lettuce, or other crisp vegetables,
the least noise would be sufficient to suspend his

THE MARYLAND MARMOT.

107

liunger and excite all his vigilance, and if it were
one to which he was unaccustomed, or loud enough
to alarm him, he would run with great precipita-
tion until he arrived at the edge of his hole, where
he would sit up for an instant in an attitude of the
profoundest attention, and either return to his food,
or take refuge in his hole, as he might feel satisfied
that there was or was not danger to be apprehended.

To look at the ear of this marmot without close ex-
amination, placed on the side of the head, high up and
fai’ back, with very little external cartilaginous pro-
jection, and a wide orifice leading to the internal
ear, it would seem very inappropriate to the subter-
ranean mode of life, since it appears to be so placed
as to allow the dirt ready access. But no such in-
convenience takes place, as the ear is provided with a
muscular apparatus, by which the upper portion is
brought down, and the sides of the lower portion are
so accurately pressed against each other, as effectually
to exclude the smallest particles of dirt or dust.

At the commencement of the cold weather the
marmot goes into winter quarters; having blocked up
the door from within, he there remains until the re-
turn of the warm season revives him again to renew
his accustomed mode of life. The female produces
five or six young at a litter.

The body of the Maryland marmot is about the
size of that of a rabbit, and covered by long rusty
brown hair, generally gray at the tips; the face is of
a pale bluish ash-colour. The ears are short, but
brohd, and as if they had been cropped at their su-
perior edges; the tail is about half the length of the
body, and covered with dark brown hairs, somewhat

1U8

THK QUEBEC MARMOT,

bushy at its extremity. The feet and claws are
black; the claws are long and. sharp.

All the figures which have been heretofore publish-
ed of this animal, (with the exception of one given
in the English translation of Cuvier, borrowed from
a drawing by Lesueur,) have been copied from
Edwards’, which is altogether unlike the anxmal.

Species II. — The Quebec Marmot,

Arctomys Empetraj Gm. Schreb.

Marmotte du Canada; Encycl. pi. 67, fig. 4.

Quebec Marmot; Penn. Synopsis, 270, pi. 24, fig. 2, Quad. ii. 397, pL
412, cd. 3, ii. 129, pi. 741. Arct. Zool. i. Ill, Shaw’s Zool. iii. il9.
Arctomys Empetra; Scureb. Quad. 743, pi. 210. Gmee. Syst. Nat. i.
143. Sabine, App. to Franklin, p. 662. ibid. Trans. Lin. Society,
xiii. 584.

Marmotte de Quebec; Desm. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat. xix. 314.

[Called Siffleur by the Canadians.']

The Quebec Marmot is found throughout the north-
ern parts of this country, and in its habits closely
resembles the preceding species. Its entire length,
from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail,
is about twenty-six inches, of which the tail forms
six inches.

The general colour of the upper part of the body
is grayish, the hairs being thus coloured; at the base
they are dark, in the middle yellowish, near their
tops black, and white at their tips; near the tail the
white is not so remarkable. On the cheeks and chin
the hair is short, and inclines to gray, on the nose
dark or blackish, the top of the head is dark brown;

franklin’s marmot.

169

She whiskers and long hairs growing over the eyes
are black. The throat, legs, and all the under parts
of the body are of a dark chestnut- colour. The hair
on the tail is dusky throughout, longer than on the
back and darker at the end. The toes are covered
with short hairs, which are black. The inner toes
on the hind feet and the outer on the fore feet,
are shorter than the others; there is a rudimental
fifth toe on the inside of the fore 'feet. All the toes
are provided with long and sharp claws, those on
the fore feet being longest and most arched.

Species III. — Franklin’s Marmot.

Arctomys Franklinii^ Sab.

Arclcfmys FrankUnii; Gray American Marmot: Sabiitje, Trans. Linn.!

Society, xiii. 587, App. to Franklin, p. 662.

This interesting animal was found near Fort En-
terprize, by the expedition under command of the
intrepid and adventurous Capt. Franklin, in honour
of whom the scientific designation was bestowed by
Sabine, whose own name is invariably associated by
scientific readers with profound and philosophical
research, illumined and adorned by a mind richly
imbued with the most valuable learning. As the
trivial name. Gray American Marmot, is equally ap-
plicable to other species, we have preferred to trans-
late the scientific appellation, which more definitely
refers to the species in question.

In size this animal equals a large rat, measuring
eleven inches from the nose to the insertion of the

110

franklin’s marmot.

tail; the latter, to the end of the hair at its extremity^
is five inches long. Its face is broad and nearly co-
vered with rigid black and white hairs, which give
it a gray colour; the nose is very blunt, and the ears
are broad and covered with short hairs. The whis-
kers on the cheeks are short and black, and similar
hairs thinly distributed grow above arid below the
eyes.* The upper part of the body is covered with
short hairs, dark at the base, dingy white in the
middle, then first black, next yellowish white, and
tipped with black, the whole forming a variegated
dark yellowish gray. On the sides the hair is longer,
not so black, and destitute of the yellow tinge; on
the belly it is dark at the base, and dingy white at
tip. The tail is covered with long hairs, banded with
black and white, and tipped with white, the whole
appearing indistinctly striped with black and white.
The feet are rather broad, the toes being thin and
covered with gray hairs. On the fore feet the se-
cond toe from the inside is longest; the outer short-
est and placed far back; the three centre hind toes
nearly of an equal length, the extremes shorter and
far back. The claws, .which are of a horn-colour,
are long and sharp on the fore feet, and on the hind
feet shorter.'t

* The upper fore teeth are short and reddish yellow; the
lower foreteeth are twice the length of the upper, and paler,
t See Sabine’s paper as above quoted.

THE TAWNY AMEIUCAN MARMOT.

Ill

Species IV. — Tawny Jlmerican Marmot.

Arctomys Richardsonii; Sab.

Arctomys Richardsonii: Sabike, Linn. Soc. Trans, xiii. 589.

This marmot was found by Franklin's expedition,
near Carlton-house, in the Hudson’s Bay country, and
was named in honour of Dr. John Richardson, who,
on that perilous journey, was so highly distinguished
for his scientific zeal, and his intrepid and philan-
thropic spirit.

The tawny American marmot, or Richardson’s
marmot, is nearly of the size of the foregoing spe-
cies, but more slender. The top of the head is co-
vered with short hairs, dark at the base and light at
their tips. The nose is tapering, sharp, bare at the
end, and covered above with short light brown hairs,
joining and mixing with those on the top of the
head. The ears are short and oval; the cheeks swol-
len and clothed with light brown hairs; the whiskers
are short, growing from the cheeks, and there are a
few rigid hairs above the eyes. The throat is of a
dirty white colour; the upper part of the body is
covered with short soft hairs, dark at the base and
fulvous at their extremities; in the middle of the back
the hairs are like those on the top of the head, but
lighter. The hair on the sides is longer, when raised
appearing dark at the base, the ends being of a smoky
white; the under parts are similar but dashed with
a little rust-colour. The tail is three inches and
a-half long to the end of the hair, slender and thinly
covered with long hairs, which, at the base, are of

112

hood’s mahmot.

the same colour as the body, but above of three dis-
tinct hues, — first black, next dark, and lastly light
at the upper extremity. The legs are rather long
and slender, with narrow feet, furnished with sharp,
arched, horn-coloured claws. The fore feet have on
the inside a small toe placed far back, with a blunt
claw, which gives it a character different from the
genera! character of the genus. The outer toe and
claw of the fore feet much shorter than the remain-
ing three, the middle one of which is the longest.
Of the hind toes the two extremes shorter and placed
back, the other three of nearly the same length.^"

Species \ . — Hood’s Marmot.

Arclomys Tiidecemllneatusj Mitohill.

Sciurtis Trideccmlineaius; Federation Squirrel: Mitchiei>, Med. llep.
1821.

Ecurcuil dc la Federation: Desm. Mammal, p. 339.

Arctomys Hoodii: Sab. Trans. Linn. Society, xiii. 590.

This beautiful marmot is an inhabitant of the
northern and western parts of this country, and when
first discovered was thought to be a squirrel, and
classed near the sciurus striatus, or ground-squirrel,
to which it exhibits considerable analogy in the ar-
rangement of its stripes. Though now properly re-
moved to the genus Arctomys, we retain the specific
name first proposed by our distinguished countryman
Professor Mitchill, derived from the number of
stripes on the back of the animal, being the same a^

* Sabine as above quoted.

113

hood’s marmot.

that displayed in the star spangled banner” of our
federation.^ For the trivial name we have adopted
a translation of the scientific appellation proposed by
Sabine, in honour of Lieut. Hood, so truly merito-
rious for his exertions on the expedition commanded
by Franklin, and remarkable for having been so
cruelly murdered by one of his fellow travellers.

From the no§e to the root of the tail Hood’s mar-
mot is about seven inches and a-half long, and the
tail itself two inches. The top of the head is broad,
flat, and obscurely marked with alternate stripes of
dark brown and dingy white. The nose is tapering
and very sharp, being covered with light brown
hairs. The ears are small and very short, the cheeks
tumid and clothed with dingy light, coloured hairs,
the throat being of the same colour; the whiskers
are rather long and grow from between the nose and
the eyes; some small rigid hairs, similar to the whis-
kers, also grow over the eyes. The whole of the
upper part of the body is marked on each side lon-
gitudinally with three alternate dark brown and
dingy white stripes, the dark being twice as broad
as the light, and dotted in the eentre, at equal dis-
tances throughout their whole length, with small
spots of dingy white. In the centre of the back
there is a dark stripe, rather broader than the others.
The lowest stripe on each side is not so well marked
or distinctly spotted. All the under parts are of a
dingy white or slightly tawny colour. The tail is

■*To the kindness of Dr. J. E. Dekay of New-York, we
are indebted for an opportunity of examining a fine speci-
men of this marmot.

VOL. II.. — P

I

114

THE PRAIRIE MARMOT.

indistinctly banded with dark brown and dingy whitc^
being of the latter colour at tip.

The fore legs, which are short and small, are co-
vered with light hairs; the outer toe and claw are
small and placed back, the centre toe is the longest
of the other three. On the inside there is also a
rudimental toe with a small obtuse claw, but this is
not so remarkable as in the tawny, marmot. The
hind legs are longer than the fore legs, and clothed
with light hairs; the extreme toes and claws are
nearly of equal length and placed far back; the three
others are also of equal length with each other. The
claws are dark horn-colour, small and light at their
ends, the fore ones being the longest.*

Species VI. — The Prairie Marmot,

Arctomys Ludovicianus; Ord.

Pdlt cMen; Lewis & Cearke, i. 67.

Wistonwisli: Pike, Exped. &c. 156.

Jlrctvmys Ludovicianus: Orb. in Guthrie, ii. 302. [1815.]

Arctomys Missouriensis: Warden, Descr. des Etats Unis. v. 567.
Arctomys Ludovicianus: Sat, Long’s Exped. to the Rocky Mountains,
i. 451.

\Le Petit chien des Voyageurs; commonly called Prai-
rie-dog.']

The vast solitudes of our remote territories, where
man has not yet established his abode, are generally
overshadowed by dense forests, which, during an un-
known lapse of ages, have there successively flour-

* See Sabine, as above quoted. .

Ii

. lUi-i'-niot . i (ntu>ui/> n ^ Ha rntel .

THE PRAIRIE MARMOT.

115

ashed and decayed; imparting to the landscape a
character of grand though sombre uniformity, broken
only by the courses of rivers, the ruggedness and
sterility of some portions of soil, or where the furi-
ous hurricane has swept along, prostrating the giant
sons of earth with a destructiveness proportioned to
their resistance. The traveller who, impelled by
curiosity, advances beyond the father of western
rivers,” with delighted admiration finds himself
gradually emerging from these apparently intermi-
nable shades, and entering upon a new world. Be-
fore him, spreading as far as vision can extend, he
beholds fields of richest verdure, interspersed with
clumps of slight and graceful trees, as if with an ex-
clusive view to ornament, and discovers the far dis-
tant windings of the river as it steals through the
plain, by the cottonwood and willows fringing its
banks. After traversing such scenes, enlivened by
numerous herds of browsing animals, that here find
a luxurious subsistence, and arriving at the higher
and more barren parts of the tract, he is startled by
a sudden shrill whistle, which he may fear to be the
signal of some ambushed savage; but on advancing
into a clearer space, the innocent cause of alarm is
found to be a little quadruped whose dwelling is
indicated by a small mound of earth, near which the
animal sits erect- in an attitude of profound atten-
tion. Similar mounds are now seen to be scattered
at intervals over many acres of ground, and the
whole forms one village or community, containing
thousands of inhabitants, whose various actions and
gambols awaken the most pleasing associations.

116 THE PRAIRIE MARMOT.

In some instances these villages are limited, or at
most occupy but a few acres, but still nearer to the
Rocky Mountains, where they are entirely undis-
turbed, they are found to extend even for miles.
We may form some idea of the number of these ani-
mals when we learn that each burrow contains seve-
ral occupants, and that frequently as many as seven
or eight are seen reposing upon one mound. Here
in pleasant weather they delight to sport, and enjoy
the warmth of the sun. On the approach of danger,
while it is yet too distant to be feared, they bark
defiance, and flourish their little tails with great in-
trepidity. But as soon as it appears to be drawing
rather nigh, the whole troop precipitately retire
into their subterranean cells, where they securely
remain until the peril be past. One by one they
then peep forth, and vigilantly scrutinize every sound
and object before they resume their wonted actions.
While thus near to their retreats they almost uni-
formly escape the hunter, and if killed they mostly
fall into their burrows, which are too deep to allow
their bodies to be obtained.

The villages found nearest the mountains, have
an appearance of greater antiquity than those ob-
served elsewhere. Some of the mounds in such
situations are several yards in diameter, though of
slight elevation. These, except about the entrance,
are overgrown by a scanty herbage, which is charac-
teristic of the vicinity of these villages. Say has
observed on this subject, that it is not easy to assign
a reason for the preference shown by the prairie
marmot, which lives on grassy and herbaceous plants.

THE PRAIRIE MARMOT.

117

in selecting the most barren places for its dwelling,
“ unless it be that he may enjoy an unobstructed
view of the surrounding country, in order to be sea-
sonably warned of the approach of wolves or o' her
enemies.’’ This roason may be sufficiently valid of
itself, but we would suggest another in the differ-
ence of soil, rendering such barren places fitter for
the burrows. It is by no means necessary to sup-
pose that this marmot obtains its food exclusively
near its own dwelling. We know that this is not
the case with the Maryland marmot, which so closely
resembles this species in every respect, and goes to
considerable distances in search of food, even in the
immediate vicinity of man.*

The. .mound thrown up by the prairie marmot
consists of the earth excavated in forming the bur-
row, and rarely rises higher than eighteen inches,
though measuring two or three feet in width at the
base. The form of the mound is* that of a truncated
cone, and the entrance, which is a comparatively
large hole, is at the summit or in the side, the whole
surface, but especially the top of the mound, being
well beaten down like a much used foot-path. From
the entrance the hole descends perpendicularly for a
foot or two, and then is continued obliquely or some-
what spirally downwards, to a depth which has not
been determined.

This marmot, like his kindred species, passes the
winter in a state of torpidity, and to secure himself
comfortably against the effects of the cold, he closes

Pike says of the prairie marmot, that “ they never extend
their excursions more than half a mile from their burrows.”

118

THE PUAIRIE MARMOT.

accurately the mouth of the burrow, and constructs
at the bottom of it a neat globular cell, of fine dry
grass, having an aperture at top sufficiently large to
admit a finger, and so compactly put together that it
might almost be rolled along the. ground uninjured.

This active and industrious community of quad-
rupeds (like every other society,) is infested by va-
rious depredators who subsist by plunder, or are
too ignorant or indolent to labour for themselves.
Hence a strange association is frequently observed
in their villages, for burrowing-owls {Stryx Hypugea
of Bonaparte,^) rattle-snakes, lizards and land-tor-
toises, are seen to take refuge in their habitations.
The burrowing-owl, however, appears to appropriate
an excavation to his own use, as is evinced by its
decayed and dilapidated condition, while those fre-
quented l)y the marmot are always neat and in
good repair. The young of the marmot most pro-
bably become the .prey of this singular bird. The
rattle-snakes also exact their tribute with great cer-
tainty, and without exciting alarm, as they can pene-
trate the inmost recesses of the burrow, and a slight
wound inflicted by their fangs is followed by the
immediate extinction of life.f

* See his splendid work on American Ornithology, vol. i.
t “ It is extremely dangerous to pass through their towns,
as they abound with rattle-snakes, both of the yellow and
black species; and strange as it may appear, I have seen the
wisfon-wiah (prairie marmot.) the horn-frog (orbicular lizard,)
and a land-tortoise all take refuge in the same hole. I do
not pretend to assert that it was their common place of re-
sort, but I have witnessed the above facts in more than one
instance, p. 156.

THE PRAIEIE MARMOT,

119

The prairie marmot is about sixteen inches long
from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail, which
is two inches and three-quarters in length. The
head is broad and depressed above with large eyes,
having dark brown irides. The ears are short
and truncated; the whiskers black and of moderate
length; there are a few bristles above the eye, and a
few also on the side of the cheek; the nose is rather
short and compressed. The general colour is a
light dingy reddish brown, intermingled with some
gray, and a few black hairs, which are dark or dusky
at base, then bluish white, then light reddish, and
finally gray at tip. The under parts of the body
are of a dirty white colour; the hair on the anterior
legs, that on the throat and on the neck, is not dusky
at base.*

All the feet are five-toed, clothed with very short
hair, and armed with rather long black nails; the
outer one on the fore feet reaches nearly to the base
of the next, and the middle one is nearly half an inch
long. The thumb has a conical nail, three-tenths of
an inch in length; the tail is banded with brown near
the tip, and the hair, except that next the body, is
not plumbeous at base.

* The description of this species is from Say, who has
given the best account of the habits of this animal hitherto
published

120

parry’s marmot.

Species- VII. — Parry^s Marmot.

Arctomys PaiTjii; Richardson.

.irctomys Parryii, (^ay Arctic Marmot: Richardson, App. to Frank*
liu.

Arctomys Alpina: Parry’s 2d Voyage, p. 61.

This species was brought in by the expedition
under Capt. Franklin, and was named by Dr. Rich-
ardson in honour of Capt. Parry. It is rather larger
than the Arctomys Franklinii, and measures to the
root of the tail twelve or fourteen inches;’ the tail
itself is four inches long, and the hair at its extremity
live inches and a-half in length.

Parry’s marmot has a broad and flattened body,
with thick legs; flattish head and blunt nose, cover-
ed with a close coat of short brown hairs. The mar-
gin of the mouth is hoary; the eyes are large and
black coloured. The ear is very short, consisting of
a flat semi-oval cartilage, projecting about the sixth
of an inch over a large auditory passage. The
cheek-pouches, which are very large, open into the
mouth anterior to the grinders.

The body is covered with a soft fur, consisting of
a soft down of a dark smoky gray at the roots, pale
clear gray in the middle, and yellowish gray at the
tip. This arrangement eauses a crowded assemblage
of ill defined, irregular, and confluent whitish spots,
margined and separated by black. The throat and
all the under parts of the body are brownish red and
brownish yellow, or rather an intermediate colour,
blending with the colours of the back. The tail is
flattish and subdistichous, and is at the will of the

PARRY^S .MARMOT

121

animal expanded like a feather; it is then brown
along the middle, tipped and margined for two- thirds
of its length with black. The feet are furnished
with five toes, having short flattened claws, which
are large, blackish, slightly arched and grooved un-
derneath. On the inside of the fore feet, and high
up, there is a small toe or thumb, armed with a small
nail; the palms are naked and have callous protu-
berances, three of them at the base of the toes,
from the largest of which the thumb rises. ^

Richardson, as cited above.

VOL. II. — o

CHAPTER X.

Genus XXVIII. — Squirrel; Sciurus; L.

Gr. 'Zx.m^oir. Germ. Eichorn.

Fr. Ecureuil. Ital. Scojattolo.

GENERIC CH^VRACTERS.

The head is somewhat elongated, with a sharp
muzzle, moderately long ears, and large eyes. The
upper lip is divided, and the clieeks destitute of
pouches, the neck of a middling length, and the
body rather slender. The teats are eight in num-
her, two being situated on the chest and six on the
belly. The posterior are much longer than the an-
terior extremities, which have four digits and a
rudimental thumb; the external digit is short, the
others are long. The posterior feet are five-toed,
with a short internal and external digit: the three
intermediate toes are long and slender. The next
to the external toe is the longest of all, both in the
anterior and posterior feet, the digits of which are
furnished with curved acute nails, with the excep-
tion of the rudimental thumb, which is blunt and
naked. The tail is long and clothed with long and
thickly set hairs.

THE SQUIRREL

]33

Dental System.^

2 Incisive
10 Molar.

2 Incisive
§ Molar.

In the upper jaw the incisive is smooth and
rounded in front, and rises from tlie sides of the ante-
rior part of the maxillary bone. The first molar is a
rudimental and cylindrical tooth, which falls out very
early, and which is placed against the aritero-internal
surface of the second; this latter, which is sometimes
a little smaller than the following, has, like them, a
central depression, and another smaller one at both
extremities: from these three depressions results a
small spine on the anterior edge of the tooth, then
two prominences, separated from each other by the
central depression, and, finally, another small crest
or spine on its posterior edge.

On the outside of these depressions prominences
and spines remain distinct, but on the inside they
are reunited by a large and circular crest. This
crest embraces the second molar rather less than the
others, which thus differs in being narrower inter-
nally than externally: the same is the case with the
last, which differs by the prolongation of its postero-
external part.

* Frederic Cuvier introduces this dental system by re-
marking that it is evidently similar to that of the marmot
and spennophili, all forming one and the same family,* they
difter, however, in some circumstances, which are uniform in
their recurrence, and by consequence are characteristic.

124

GENERAL HISTORY

In the lower jaw the incisor is like that of the
upper jaw, but is narrower, and i*ises from below
and behind the last molar. The third molar is a
third smaller than the others, which gradually in-
crease in size to the last, but all formed alike, pre-
senting in their middle a circular depression, and on
their periphery a crest divided by a groove at the
internal and at the external edge: from the centre
of each of these grooves a small tubercle arises. Age,
however, soon effaces these fugitive characters, and
then these teeth exhibit a nearly smooth surface.

The species comprised in this genus are in differ-
ent degrees remarkable for their sprightly agility
and graceful movements, as well as for their personal
beauty and neatness. The forest is their appropri-
ate residence, and nature has provided them not
only with the means . of rapidly ascending the loftiest
trees, but with teeth capable of opening the way to
food, which is effectually secured from almost every
other creature. The hardest nuts found in the
woods afford ample provision to the squirrels, and
the number of nuts destroyed by these animals,
though small when compared with the whole quan-
tity produced, must have some effect in preventing
the superabundant increase of forest trees.

The muscular strength displayed by these animals
is very great, when compared with their size. They
make astonishing leaps from branch to branch, and
from tree to tree, when engaged in sporting with
each other, or endeavouring to escape from pursuit.
At such times, when no tree is sufficiently near to

OF THE SQUIRREL.

125

be reached by a single spring, the squirrel unhesi-
tatingly drops from the greatest height to the ground,
and falls with a force apparently sufficient to crush
him; but no injury is experienced, and a few se-
conds are sufficient for his escape into the top of the
nearest tree.

The actions of most of these animals are marked
by a peculiar vivacity and playfulness. When mov-
ing on the ground, squirrels advance by a succession
of short leaps, while the long bushy tail, waving
in graceful undulations, renders their whole ap-
pearance very interesting. When engaged in lis-
tening, they sit erect on their hinder limbs, having
the tail beautifully raised against the back, and fall-
ing in an easy curve at its extremity towards the
ground. In eating, the position is much the same; the
food is held in the fore paws, principally between the
rudimental thumbs and the adjoining part of the
palms. The facility with which they cut through
the covering of the hardest nuts is very remarkable;
they first turn the nut about until they get it into
the most favourable position, and then examine it by
gnawing slightly in different places. If the nut be
withered or rotten it is speedily thrown aside and
another sought. When a good one is obtained, and
the proper place for opening it is selected, (which
is the tliinnest part, immediately over the kernel,) a
small linear opening is first made, which at length
admits the points of the lower front teeth. These
are now inserted, and the hole enlarged by break-
ing off successive pieces of the shell in the di-
rection of the kernel. A hickory-nut is thus fre-
quently cut down on four sides from end to end,

126

GENERAL HISTORY

leaving the intermediate thick portions untouched.
After satisfying his hunger the squirrel generally
buries the superfluous food; previous to the approach
of winter large hoards of nuts and grain are collected
and secured in the ground for future use. Their
nests are at no great distance from these store-houses,
and are built of small slicks and leaves in the top
branches of forest trees, or in hollows of their trunks,
except in the case of a few species whi(;h inhabit
burrows at all times. All the squirrels are pecu-
liarly cleanly, and are frequently seen to rub their
heads and faces with their fore paws as if for the
purpose of washing. When they accidentally step
into water they make use of their bushy tail for the
purpose of drying themselves, passing it several
times through their hands.

Like most of the animals belonging to this order,
they are very prolific, and multiply until from their
numbers large districts of country are injuriously
overrun by them. They then invade and literally
lay waste the cornfields, consuming vast quantities
of grain, and destroy nearly as much as they eat
by breaking it down and scattering it on the ground.
On such occasions the farmers in thinly settled dis-
tricts severely suffer, and are deprived of a large
share of the fruits of their industry. The efforts
of a whole family are occasionally insufhcient to drive
off or destroy these busy plunderers, as new crowds
appear to be continually arriving to renew the de-
predation.

While travelling through the state of Ohio, in
the autumn of 1822, we had an opportunity of wit-
nessing something of this sort. Parts of the country

OF THE SQUIRREL.

127

appeared to swarm with squirrels, which were so
numerous that, in travelling along the high road, they
might be seen scampering in every direction; the
woods and fields might be truly said, in the country
phrase, to be “ alive with them.’’ A farmer, who
had a large field of Indian corn near the road,
informed us, that notwithstanding the continued
exertions of himself and his two sons, he feared
he should lose the greater part of his crop, in ad-
dition to his time and the expense of ammunition
used in killing and scaring off the little robbers.
This man and his sons frequently took stations in
different parts of the field, and killed squirrels until
their guns became too dirty longer to be used with
safety; yet they always found, on returning, that the
squirrels had mustered as strongly as before. Dur-
ing this journey we frequently met squirrel-shooters
heavily laden with this game, which in many in-
stances they had only desisted from slaying from
want of ammunition or through mere fatigue.

Fortunately for the farmers these ammals are not
at the same time equally numerous in different parts
of the country. We found the squirrels in 1822,
most numerous throughout the country lying between
the Great and Little Miami rivers; they became
evidently fewer as we advanced towards Chillicothe,
and beyond that place were so rare as to be seldom
seen. During some seasons they appear to move in
mass, deserting certain districts entirely, and con-
centrating upon others. In such migrations vast
numbers are drowned in crossing the rivers, and
numbers are also destroyed by beasts and birds of
prey, and various other causes.

128

THE EOX SQUIRREL.

Species I. — The Fox Squirrel.

Sciurus Vulpinus: Gmel.

Sciurus Vulpinus: Gmf.i.. Turton’s L. i. 91.

The Fox Squirrel: Lawson’s Carolina, 124.

This line squirrel is found throughout the south-
ern states, where it frequents the pine forests in con-
siderable numbers, and derives its principle subsist-
ence from the seeds of the pine. In the tops of
these lofty trees it is almost out of the reach of
danger, except from the pine-marten or other climb-
ing beasts of prey, and possibly some large preda-
cious birds. The fox squirrel displays a conscious-
ness of his security by the fearless manner in which
he usually looks down upon those who pass under
the tree on which he is placed. When alarmed,
like many of his kindred species, he immediately
resorts to the artifice of spreading himself out, or
lying flat on the upper surface of a branch on the
side opposite to the apprehended danger, where he
patiently clings until he has no longer cause to fear.
Under such circumstances it is very difficult to dis-
cover his position, or to distinguish him from the
branch on which he lies.

The nest of this species is placed in the top of the
high pine trees, and is made of twigs and small sticks,
lined with leaves, or the long soft moss which is found
so commonly streaming from the branches. The
season of their sexual intercourse is the month of
January. The young, which are from five to seven
in number, are seen abroad as early as the month of
March.

THE CAT-SQUIRREL.

129

The fox squirrel measures about fourteen inches,
and the tail is sixteen inches in length. The colour
varies from white to pale gray and black; various
shades of red, mottled, (like the cats called tortoise
shell,”) and in short, of all the intermediate hues.
This is fully shown in the Philadelphia Museum,
where nearly all the varieties just mentioned may be
seen. It is therefore not surprising that those who
deem colour a sufficient indication of specific differ-
ence, should make a number of species of this one.
Perhaps many, at present considered well establish-
ed, will be found to rest on no better foundation, and
require to be stricken out of the catalogue.*

Species II. — The Cat- Squirrel.

Sciurus Cinereus; L. Gmel.

Cat-Squirrel, B Pens-. Arct. Zool. i. 137.

Sciurus Capistratus: Bose. An. du Mus. i. p. 205.

Ecureuil d Masque: C. Regne Anim. i. 205.

Ecureuil Capistrate.- Desm. Mammal, p. 332, Sp. 529,

The cat-squirrel is one of our largest species, and
is found in great abundance throughout the oak and
chestnut forests of this country. It is generally

* We have much pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of
a letter on the subject of the squirrels of this country, from
Capt. J. Le Conte, U. S. A. The time, we hope, will soon
arrive, when this accomplished naturalist wdll find leisure
to give the scientific wmrld the full benefit of his valuable
researches relative to American Natural Ilistorv.

VOL. II.—R

130

THE CAT-SQUIRREL.

about eleven inches long, having a tail fourteen
inches in length.

This squirrel is comparatively heavy and slow in
its movements, running up the trunks of trees and
among the branches with more apparent effort than
any of the other species; its appearance also is by
no means as pleasing as that of any of its kindred.
It is rarely seen to leap from tree to tree, or even
from branch to branch, except when closely pursued
or much alarmed. In building its nest, and in gene-
ral habits, it is very similar to the other species. The
size is the only circumstance which distinguishes it
positively from the fox-squirrel.

As to colour, it is impossible to state all the shades
and variegations exiiibited by this species. In the
Philadelphia Museum a great variety may be seen,
of almost every colour, from a light gray to black
and spotted, pale reddish brown and nearly white.
Three individuals, taken from the same nest, are so
differently coloured as to be entirely unlike, one
having all the marks attributed to the capistratus,
and the others strongly resembling the common
black squirrel.

THE COMMON GRAY SQUIRREL.

131

Species III. — The Common Gray Squirrel,

Sciurus Carolinensis; Gmel.

Sciurus CaroUnensis et Cinerem: Gji. Schheb. tab. 213.

Petit Gris: Buff. 10, pi. 25, Encycl. pi. 74, fig, 3.

Ecurtuil gris de la Carolina; Bose. ii. p. 96, pi. 29: F. Cuv. Mam. Li-
thog. livr. lie.

Gray Squirrel: Pens'. Arct. Zool. i. 135, Hist. Quad. No. 272.

This species, still exceedingly common throughout
the United States, was once so excessively mnlti-
plied as to be a scourge to the inhabitants, not only
consuming their grain, but exhausting the public
treasury by the amount of premiums given for their
destrnction. Pennsylvania (says Pennant,) paid
from January, 1749, to January, 1750, eight thou-
sand pounds currency; but on complaint being made
by the deputies that their treasuries were exhausted
by these rewards, they were reduced to one half; —
[from three pence to a penny and a- half.] How im-
proved must the state of the Americans then be, in
thirty-five years to wage an expensive and success-
ful war against its parent country, which before
could not bear the charges of clearing the provinces
from the ravages of these insignificant animals!*^
The gray squirrel prefers the oak, hickory and
chestnut woods, where it finds a copious supply of
nuts and mast, of which it provides large hoards for
the winter. Their nests are placed chiefly in tall
oak-trees at the forks of the branches; these nests
are very comfortable, being thickly covered and lined
with dried leaves. During cold weather the squir-
rels seldom leave these snug retreats, except for the
purpose of visiting their store-houses, and obtaining

132

THE COMMON GRAY SQUIRREL.

a supply of provisions. It has been observed that
the approach of uncommonly cold weather is fore-
told when these squirrels are seen out in unusual
numbers, gathering a larger stock of provisions,
lest their magazines should fail. This, however, is
not an infallible sign, at least in vicinities where
many hogs are allowed to roam at large, as these
keen-nosed . brutes are very expert at discovering the
winter hoards of the squirrel, which they immedi-
ately appropriate to their own use.

If the gray squirrels confined themselves to the
diet afforded by the forest trees, the farmers would
profit considerably thereby. But, having once tasted
the sweetness of Indian corn and other cultivated
grains, they leave acorns and such coarse fare to the
hogs, while they invade the corn-fields, and carry
off and destroy a very large quantity.

This species is remarkable among all our squirrels
for its beauty and activity. It is in captivity re-
markably playful and mischievous, and is more fre-
quently kept as a pet than any other. It becomes
very tame, and may be allowed to spend a great deal
of the time entirely at liberty, where there is nothing
exposed that can be injured by its teeth, which it is
sure to try upon every article of furniture, &c. in
its vicinity. This squirrel, when domesticated, drinks
frequently, and a considerable quantity of water at
each draught.

The gray squirrel varies considerably in colour,
but is most commonly of a fine bluish gray, mingled
with a slight golden hue. This golden colour is es-
pecially obvious on the head, along the sides, where
the white hair of the belly approaches the gray of

- T.Keam\-

Kicr.Dr!^

THE BLACK SQUIRREL.

133

the sides, and on the anterior part of the fore and
superior part of the hind feet, where it is very rich
and deep. This mark on the hind feet is very per-
manent, and evident even in those varieties which
differ most from the common colour. There is one
specimen in the Philadelphia Museum of a light
brownish red on all the superior parts of the body.

Species IV. — The Black Squirrel.

Sciurus Niger; L.

Black Squirrel; Pesit. Arct. Zool.i. 138. Hist. Quad. No. 273. Brown’s
Zool. tab. xvii.

Sciurus Mexicanus; Hernan. 582.

Black Squirrel: Catesby’s Carolina, ii. p. 73.

This species is very common, but is liable to be
confounded with the black varieties of the squirrels
heretofore described. From the black varieties of
the cat-squirrel, S. Cinereus, it maybe easily distin-
guished by its smaller size and the softness of its fur.
The proportional length of the tail, together with
•the difference in number of the jaw teeth, will dis-
tinguish it from the fox-squirrel, S. Vulpinus, which
has five above and four below, while the black squir-
rel has four above and four below.

The black squirrel very seldom varies; in the sum-
mer the pelage is rather gray on the back and sides,
though the whole colour of the body is a black, in-
termingled with a small quantity of gray, and of a
dark reddish brown on the under parts. In the win-

134

THE GUEAT TAILED SQUIKREL.

ter the colour is a pure black, varying slightly in in-
tensity on any part of the body.

Species V. — The Great Tailed Squirrel.

Sciurus Macroiireusj Say.

Hciurus Macrourus.-* Say. Long’s Exp. to the Rocky Mountains, i. 115.

This species, which is a fine one, is the most com-
mon on the Missouri, where it was first observed by
Say, who describes it as displaying all the graceful
activity so much admired in the common gray squir-
rel.

The total length of this species from the tip of the
nose to the end of the tail (exclusive of the hair)
is nineteen inches and three-quarters, of which the
tail makes nine inches and one-tenth. The follow-
ing description of its colouring, &c. is drawn up from
that given by Say, in the work above quoted:

The body above and on each side is of a mixed
gray and black; the fur is plumbeous, black at base,
then pale cinnamon colour, then black, and finally
cinereous, with a long black tip. The ears, three-

* As the term Macrourus was previously given to the Cey-
lon squirrel, (see Pennant’s History of Quadrupeds, ii. p.
140, No. 330,) we have taken the liberty to change the
name given to the present species, by the addition of a sin-
gle letter, which is suflicient to render further change un-
necessary.

THE GREAT TAILED SQUIRREL.

135

fourths of an inch long, are behind of a bright fer-
ruginous colour, extending to the base of the fur,
which, in the winter dress, is prominent beyond the
edge; on the inside of the ear the fur is of a dull
ferruginous hue, slightly tipped with black. The
sides of the head and orbits of the eyes are pale fer-
ruginous; beneath the ears and eyes the cheeks are
dusky. The whiskers are composed of about five
series of rather flattened hairs, the inferior ones are
more distinct. The mouth is margined with black;
the teeth are of a reddish yellow colour. The under
part of the head and neck, and the upper part of
the feet, are ferruginous; the belly is paler, the fur
being plumbeous at base. The tail is of a bright
ferruginous colour below, and this colour extends to
the base of the fur with a submarginal black line.
On its upper part it is ferruginous and black. The
fur within is of a pale cinnamon colour, with the base
and three bands black; the tip is ferruginous. The
palms of the fore feet are black, and the rudimental
thumb, which is very short, is covered by a broad
flat nail.

The fur of the back in the summer dress is from
threc'fifths to seven- tenths of an inch long; but in
the winter dress the longest hairs of the middle of
the back are from one inch to one and three -fourths
in length. This difference in the length of the
hairs, combined with a greater portion of fat, gives
to the animal a thicker and shorter appearance; but
the colours continue the same, and it is only in this
latter season that the ears are fringed, which is the
necessary consequence of the elongation of the hair.
The species w^as not an unfrequent article of food at

136

THE LINE-TAIL SQUIRREL.

our frugal yet social meals, at Engineer cantonment,
and we could always immediately distinguish the
bones from those of other animals by their remarka-
bly red colour. The tail is even more voluminous
than that of the S. Cinereiis;” (cat-squirrel.)

Species VI. — The Line- Tail Squirrel.

Sciurus Grammurusj Say.

This species is most remarkable for the peculiar
coarseness and flattened form of its fur, and by three
black lines on each side of the tail, which are united
over the surface of it, as in the Barbary squirrel, S.
Getulus.

The Line-Tail squirrel inhabits the Missouri coun-
try, about the naked parts of the sand-stone cliffs,
where there are but few bushes. Its nest is found
in holes and crevices of rocks, and it appears not to
be in the habit of ascending trees, unless driven. It
feeds on the buds, leaves, and fruits of the plants
growing in the situations we have mentioned.

The line-tail squirrel measures eleven inches
and a-half, and its tail is nine inches long. The
general colour of the body is cinereous, variously
tinged with rust-colour. The fur is very coarse,
much flattened, canaliculate above; it is lead colour-
ed or blackish at base, then whitish or ferruginous,
with a brownish tip. The whitish colour prevails
above the neck and shoulders, while the ferruginous
is in greatest quantity from the middle of the back,
sides, and exterior surface of the legs; above and be-

THE FOUR LINED SQUIRREL. 137

low the orbits of the eyes the fur is whitish, the
tail is whitish, being marked by three black lines, the
base and tip of each hair being whitish, beneath, the
colour is whitish, tinged with ferruginous.

Species VII. — The Four-Lined Squirrel.

Sciurus Quadrivittatusj.SAY.

Sciurus Quadrimttatus: Sat. Long’s Ex. to the Rocky Mountains, li. 45.

This handsome little squirrel is found on the Rocky
Mountains adjacent to the sources of the rivers Ar-
kansa and Platte. Of its habits we know nothing
but what is given in the following sentences, by Say,
in the work above quoted;

It does not seem to ascend trees by choice, but
nestles in holes and on the edge of the rocks. We
did not observe it to have cheek-pouches. Its nest
is composed of a most extraordinary quantity of the
burrs of the xanthium, branches and other portions
of the large upright cactus, small branches of pine
trees, and other vegetable productions, sufficient in
some instances to fill an ordinary cart. What the
object of so great, and apparently so superfluous, an
assemblage of rubbish may be, we are at a loss to
conjecture, we do not know what peculiarly danger-
ous enemy it may be intended to exclude by so much
labour. Their principal food, at least at this season,
is the seeds of the pine, which they readily extract
from the cones.’’

The four-lined squirrel is four inches and a-quar-
ter long, from the tip of the nose to the root of the

VOL. II. — s

138 IHb HUDSON'S JiAY SQUIKREL.

tail; the tail is three inches in length. The head is
of a brown colour, mixed with tawny, having four
white lines; the upper one on each side passes from
the tip of the nose immediately over the eye to the
superior base of the ear, and the lower one passes im-
mediately beneath the eye to the inferior base of the
ear. The ears are of a moderate size and half oval.
On the back there are four broad white lines, and
alternate, mixed black and ferruginous ones. The
sides are tawny; the under part of the body whitish.
The hair of the tail is black at base, then tawny, then
black in the middle, and paler tawny at tip. Beneath
it is fulvous, having a submarginal black line. On
the anterior feet there is a prominent tubercle in
place of a thumb. The striped head, less rounded
cars, and bushy tail, which is neither banded nor
striated, together with its smaller size and the
presence of the thumb warts, in Say’s opinion,
suflicicntly distinguish this species from the S. Getu-
lus, or Barbary squirrel of Linne.

Species VIII. — The Hudsori's Bay Squirrel.

Seturus Hitdsonius: Foster. Royal Soc. Trans. lxii<378.

Ilndson Sijuirrel: Penn. Arct. Zool. i. 134. No. 48. Hist. Quad. No. 274
Sciurus Hadsoniiis: Gmee. SciniEB.tab. 214,

The Common Squirrel: Heaune, 8vo. ed. 378.

\^Comrnonly called Chiclcaree.~\

This beautiful species is very common in the
northern and western parts of this country, and,
where seldom disturbed, are so fearless as to allow
themselves to be approached almost within reach.

THE Hudson’s bay squirrel.

13$

They resemble the European more closely than any
of our squirrels, and are remarkable for having
tufts on the ears like that species, S. Vulgaris.
This arrangement of the hair on the ears has
been hitherto regarded as peculiar to European
squirrels, and Pennant, in his Arctic Zoology, has
prefixed to his description of the Hudson’s Bay
squirrel the following; “ N. B. The ears of the
American squirrels have no tufts,’’ which is rather
unfortunately placed before an American species,
possessing these appendages in a very conspicuous
degree.*

The Hudson’s Bay squirrel is, perhaps, more re-
markable for its neatness and beauty than any of its
kindred species, which, in habits and manners, it
closely resembles. It is between seven and eight inches
long, having a tail five inches in length. Its whiskers
are very long and black; the superior parts of the body
are of a reddish brown colour, varying in intensity,
and shaded with black. On the inferior parts the
general colour is a tarnished or yellowish white. — ■
The under part of the head and front of the fore
limbs are reddish brown, like the back; thq insides
of the thighs are coloured like the belly; on each
flank there is a distinctly marked black line, sepa-
rating the colours of the back and belly. The tail
is of a reddish brown colour, and is very beautiful.

* Other American species of squirrels have tufts on their
ears, when in full pelage; none, however, so remarkably as
the Hudson’s Bay squirrel. Next to this species. Say’s
great tailed squirrel ( S. Macrourens.) has them longest

140 THE Hudson’s bay souiureu.

The common squirrels are plentiful in the woody
parts of this (the Hudson’s Bay) country, and are
caught by the natives in considerable numbers with
snares, while the boys kill many of them with blunt-
headed arrows. The method of snaring them is
rather curious, though very simple, as it consists of
nothing more than setting a number of snares all
around the body of the tree in which they are seen,
and arranging them in such a manner that it is
scarcely possible for the squirrels to descend without
being entangled in one of them. This is generally
the amusement of the boys. Though small, and sel-
dom fat, yet they are good eating.

‘‘The beauty and delicacy of this animal induced
me to attempt taming and domesticating some of
them, but without success; for though several of
them were so familiar as to take any thing out of my
hand, and sit on the table where I was writing, and
play with the pens, &c. yet they never would bear
to be handled, and were very mischievous, gnawing
the chair bottoms, window-curtains and sashes to
pieces. They are an article of trade in the com-
pany’s standard, but the greatest part of their skins,
being killed in summer, are of very little value.

* Hearne, as above cited.

THE RED-BELLY SQUIRREL.

141

Species IX. — The Red-Belly Squirrel.

. Sciurus Rufiventer; Geoff.

Sciurm Rufiventer: Geoff. Coll du Mus. Desm. Nouv. Diet. d’Hist,
Nat. ton. X. 103.

An individual of this species, brought from the
vicinity of New Orleans, belongs to the valuable
collection of the Philadelphia Museum. It is about
seven or eight inches long, having the tail shorter
than the body. Its general colour is dark grayish
brown above, with a bright yellowish red beneath.
The tail at its base is of the colour of the back,
about its middle it is of nearly the same colour as
the belly, and at the extremity it is yellowish.^

* The following is the description of this species, given
by Desmaiest, p. 333: — The pelage is of a reddish brown,
pricked with black on the head, neck, flanks and paws; all
the hairs covering these parts being of a gray slate-colour
at their bases, then clear brown or yellowish, and deep brown
at their tips; the lower jaw, under part of the neck, throat,
belly, and inner surface of the paws, of a nearly pure red.
The neck is as if marked with transverse brownish lines;
whiskers black and as long as the head; ears reddish and co-
vered with short hairs; extremities of the paws of a deep
brown, without mixture of yellow; tail bushy, brown at its
base and yellow at its extremity.

142

THE GKOUND-SQUIRREL.

Species X. — The Ground Squirrel.^

Sciurus Striatus; Klein.

Sciurus Striatus: Klein, Pall. Glires, 378. Gmel. Scureb. tab. 221.

Sciurus Lysteri: Rae, Lyn. Quad. 216.

Sciurus CaroUnensis: Briss. Keg. An. 155, No. 9.

Ecurcuil Suisse: Desm. 339, Sp. 547.

[^Commonly called Hacky, or Hackee, Ground, or
Slriped Squir7'el.]

Few persons have travelled through our delight-
ful country without becoming acquainted with the
pretty animal we are now to describe, — which, though
very different in its general appearance from its kin-
dred tenanting the lofty forest-trees, still approaches
to them so closely in personal beauty and activity, as
always to command the attention of the most inci-
dental observer.

This squirrel is most generally seen scudding along
the lower rails of the common zigzag or Virginia’^
fences, which afford him at once a pleasant and se-
cure path, as in a few turns he finds a safe hiding
place behind the projecting angles, or enters his bur-
row undiscovered. When no fence is near, or hii§^
retreat is cut off, after having been out in search of
food, he becomes exceedingly alarmed, and runs up
the nearest tree, uttering a very shrill cry or whistle,
indicative of his distress, and it is in this situation that

* This and the following species belong to the snbgenus
Tamias, of Illiger; having cheek-pouches.

THE ground-squirrel.

143

he is most frequently made captive by his persecuting
enemies, the mischievous school-boys.

The ground-squirrel makes his burrow generally
near the roots of trees, along the course of fences
and old walls, or in banks adjacent to forests, whence
he obtains his principal supplies of food. The bur-
rows frequently extend to very considerable, dis-
tances, having several galleries or lateral excavations,
in which provisions are stored for winter use. The
burrow has always two openings, which are usually
far distant from each other; it very rarely happens
that the animal is dug out, unless it be accidentally
during the winter season.

The ground-squirrel appears to suffer more when
made captive than any other squirrel with which we
are acquainted. We have several times endeavoured
to tame individuals of this species, but without suc-
cess. In losing its liberty, the ground-squirrel ap-
pears to lose all vivacity, becomes a dull and me-
lancholy animal, and can yield very little amusement
or satisfaction to its keeper, whom it always flies,
or bites severely, if not permitted to get out of
his reach.

The ground-squirrel is rather more than five
inches in length, from the nose to the root of the
tail; the last is about two inches and a-half long. —
The general colour of the head and upper parts of
the body is reddish brown, all the hairs on these
parts being gray at base. The eye-lids are whitish,
and from the external angle of each eye a black
line runs towards the ear, while on each cheek there
is a reddish brown line. The short rounded ears

144 THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN GROUND-SQUIRREL,

are covered with fine hairs, which are on the outside
of a reddish brown colour, and within of a whitish
gray. The upper part of the neck, shoulders, and
base of the hair on the back, are of a gray brown,
mingled with whitish.

On the back there are five longitudinal black
bands, which are at their posterior parts bordered
slightly with red. The middle one begins at the
back of the head, the two lateral ones on the shoul-
ders; they all terminate at the rump, whose colour is
reddish. On each side two white separate the la-
teral black bands. The lower part of the flanks and
sides of the neck are of a paler red; the exterior of
the fore feet is of a grayish yellow; the thighs and
hind feet are red above. The upper lip, the chin,
throat, belly, and internal face of the limbs, are of a
dirty brown. The tail is reddish at its base, black-
ish below, and has an edging of black.

Species XI. — The Rocky Mountain Ground- Squir-
rel.

Sciurus Lateralis; Say.

Sciums Lateralis: Sat, Long’s Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, ii. 46.

The Rocky Mountain ground-squirrel was first
seen by Lewis and Clark, while on their celebrated
expedition to the Pacific Ocean; they, however,
merely mention it in their journal, without append-
ing a particular description. Say has given a de-
scription of the species, but no account of its habits,

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN GROUND-SQUIRREL, 145

which we may infer to be generally similar to those
of the common ground-squirrel, to which this spe-
cies is nearly allied.

The Rocky Mountain ground-squirrel may be
distinguished from the common species by being of
rather larger size, entirely destitute of the line along
the middle of the back, by the lateral lines com-
mencing anterior to the humerus, where they are
broadest, by the longer nails on the fore feet, and
the broad nails on the thumb tubercles. It is, how-
ever, most closely allied to the S. Bilineatus of
Geolfroy.

The body is of a brownish ash colour, intermixed
with blackish above. On each side of the back
there is a dull yellowish-white dilated line, which is
broader before, and margined above and beneath
with black; these lines commence on the neck, ante-
rior to the fore limbs, and terminate before they reach
the tail. There is no vertebral line. The top of
the head, neck, anterior to the tip of the w'hite line,
and the thigh, are tinged with rust- colour; the orbit
is whitish. The sides are of a dull yellowish-white;
the colour beneath is pale mixed with blackish. The
tail is short and thin, having a submarginal black line
beneath. The nails on the fore feet are elongated,
and the thumb tubercles are furnished with broad
nails. ^

*■ Sayj loco citato.

VOL. II.

■T

CHAPTER XL

Genus XXIX. — Feying-Squirrel; Ptero?nys; III,

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The liead is .short and thick, having small or
moderate sized ears, large prominent eyes, a some^
what blunted snout, and the upper lip divided. The
trunk of the body is proportionally shorter and
thicker than in other squirrels, and the skin of the
sides is extended from the fore to the hind limbs, so
as to form a sort of sail, which, in most of the spe-
cies, is spread out by an additional bone on the an-
terior exti’emities, articulated with the wrist. The
tail is eitiicr long, or of moderate length, flattened
and disticlious.

The dental system of this genus is the same as the
preceding.

Species I. — The Common Flying- Squirrel.

Pterorajs Volucella.

Sciurus Volucella: L. Gmel. ?at.l. Schtieb. pi. 222.

Ptcromys Volucella: Desm. Mam. 343, Encycl. pi. 77- fig^. 4.

Le Polatouclic: Buff. x. pi. 21. Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 1, p. 155.

Assapannick; Smith’s Vivg'iiiia, p. 27.

.Isapan: Fhed. Cuv. Mammal. Litliog’. llvr. 8.

Nature has endowed this beautiful animal with an
instrument to facilitate its passage from place to

THE COMMON FLYING-SUUIRREL. 147

place in the easiest and most pleasant manner. Ca-
pable of moving on the bodies and limbs of trees^
like other squirrels, it does not require an equal de-
gree of muscular strength to leap from tree to tree,
or from great elevations to the ground, but launch-
ing itself from a lofty bough into the air, and extend-
ing its limbs and the intervening membranes, its bod}'’
is buoyed up as by a parachute, and sails swiftly and
obliquely downwards, passing over a very considera-
ble space. To aid in this sailing movement, we find
the whole body covered with a short and silky fur,
which lies elose to the skin, and the hairs on the
tail, which partake of the same quality, lie close, and
form a flattened and feather-shaped rudder.

During the day-light the flying-squirrel is rarely
to be met with abroad, unless it has been disturbed.
Occasionally large troops are seen together, and their
sailing leaps have been said to present to the inex-
perienced the appearance of a large number of leaves
blown off the trees. Their peculiar construction
and habit render them very unfit for living on the.
ground, and they speedily regain the nearest tree,
when at any time they fall short of the object to-
wards which they may have leaped. They always
take advantage of the wind, when about to leap to
any distance, and then they appear to deserve the
name of flying-squirrels, from the ease and velocity
of their movements.

This species is very common throughout the United
States, and individuals are frequently tamed as pets,
but are more admired on account of the softness of
their fur and the gentleness of their dispositions, than
for any of the frolicsome and amusing actions that

148 TUB COMMON BL VING-SQUIRREL,

characterize other squirrels. Their nocturnal habits,
more than their fondness for warmth, or the persons
of their keepers, make them always desirous to hide
themselves in the pockets, &c. When confined in
a cage with a reel appended, they continue running
almost uninterruptedly throughout the night.

The flying-squirrel makes its nest in hollow trees,
where it brings forth three or four young at a litter.
It is very easy to ascertain whether this squirrel has
a nest in any hollow tree, by knocking against the
trunk with a stone or stick; as soon as the jarring is
felt, the animal comes to the opening and endeavours
to escape. In this way the young are very com-
monly discovered and taken.

The flying-squirrel is quite small, being little
more than four inches and a-half long, the tail being
three inches and a-half in length.

The general colour is a brownish ash, with round-
ed, nearly naked ears, and large prominent black
eyes. The under parts of the body are white, with
a yellowish margin where the colour of the back and
belly approach each other.

CHAPTER XII.

SECTION n.— INCLAVICULATA.

The Clavicles incomplete, or entirelywanting.
Genus XXX. — Porcupine; Hystrix; L.

Germ. Staclielthier; Stachelschwein.

The head is rather short, with an obtuse and
somewhat compressed snout, long whiskers, short
rounded ears, and small eyes; the upper lip is cleft,
and the tongue set with scaly spines. The covering
of the body is partly of bristles and partly of prickles
or spines. The neck is thick, the belly large, and
the limbs of equal length; the anterior have four,
and the posterior five digits, armed with long, stout,
curved nails. The tail is either short or of mode-
rate length, and not prehensile.

GENERIC CHARACTERS

Dental System.

2 Incisive
8 Molar,

2 Incisive
8 Molar.

In the upper jaw the incisors are rounded and
even in front, and they arise from the anterior and
inferior part of the maxillary bone. The molars

150

THE CANADA PORCUPINE.

are of nearly the same size from the first to the last,
and they are especially remarkable for the elevation
of the crown above the neck of the root. The
outline they present is very irregular. In the young
animal they are traversed with various degrees of
irregularity, by grooves, which, after being worn to
a certain extent, begin to be interrupted, and then
they exhibit a depression in front on the inside, and
another at the back part on the outside; in front, as
at the back part, one or two ellipses are seen, the
remains of primitive grooves or tubercles. In old
animals we find teeth with only one depression, and
in the middle, three or four insulated figures, more
or less irregular.

In the lower jaw the incisors resemble those
in the upper, and take root some lines below the
condyles. The molars have a great general resem-
blance to those of the upper jaw, and a precise idea
can only be obtained by actual inspection, as descrip-
tion cannot convey a knowledge of such irregular
and variable forms as are presented at different
stages in the course of attrition.

Species I. — The Canada Porcupine.

Ilystrix Dorsataj L. Gmel.

Hyslrix Dorsata: Erxl. Schreb. pi. 169, Sab. App. 664.
Hystrix Hud^onis: Briss. 128.

Cavia Hudsonis: Klein, Quad. 51.

Hystrix Pilosus Americanus: Catesby, Car. App. 30.

Urson: Buef. xii. pi. 52.

The American porcupine exhibits none of the
long and large quills which are so conspicuous and
formidable in the European species, and the. short

THE CANADA PORCUPINE.

151

spines or prickles which are thickly set over all the
superior parts of its body are covered by a long
coarse hair, which almost entirely conceals them. —
These spines are not more than two inches and a- half
in length, yet form a very efficient protection to our
animal against every other enemy but man. Too
slow in its movements to escape by flight, on the ap-
proach of danger, the porcupine places his head be-
tween his legs, and folds his body into a globular
mass, erecting his pointed and barbed spines. The
cunning caution of the fox, the furious violence of
the wolf, and the persevering attacks of the domes-
tic dog, are alike fruitless. At every attempt to
bite the porcupine, the nose and month of the ag-
gressor is severely wounded, and the pain increased
by every renewed effort, as the quills of the porcu-
pine are left sticking in the wounds, and the death
of the assailant is frequently the consequence of the
violent irritation and inflammation thus produced.

In the remote and unsettled parts of Pennsylvania
the porcupine is still occasionally found, but south of
this state it is almost unknown. According to Catesby
it never was found in that direction beyond Virginia,
where it was quite rare. In the Hudson’s Bay coun-
try, Canada, and New England, as well as in some
parts of the western states, and throughout the coun-
try lying between the Rocky Mountains and the
great western rivers, they are found in great abun-
dance, and are highly prized by the aboriginals, both
for the sake of their flesh and their quills, which
are extensively employed as ornaments to their
dresses, pipes, weapons, &c.

152

THE CANADA PORCUPINE.

The porcupine passes a great part of its time in
sleep, and appears to be a solitary and sluggish ani-
mal, very seldom leaving its haunts, except in search
of food, and then going but to a short distance. The
bark and buds of trees, such as the willow, pine,
ash, &c. constitute its food during the winter season;
in summer, various wild fruits are also eaten by this
animal.

Dr. Best, of Lexington, Ky. in a letter to the au-
thor of this work, observes that the porcupine is
seldom found in the state of Ohio, south of Dayton;
but they are numerous on the river St. Mary. Dur-
ing winter they take up their residence in hollow
trees, whence it appeared to me in several instances,
from their tracks in the snow, they only travel to
the nearest ash-tree, whose branches serve them for
food. In every instance which came under my ob-
servation, there was no single track, but a plain
beaten path, from the tree in which they lodged to
the ash from which they obtained their food. I cut
down two trees for porcupine, and found but one in
each; one of the trees also contained four raccoons,
but in a separate hollow, they occupied the trunk,
the porcupine the limbs.”

The following are Hearne’s observations on this
species: — Porcupines are so scarce to the north of
Churchill river, that I do not recollect to have seen
more than six during almost three years residence
among the northern Indians. Mr. Pennant observes,
in his Arctic Zoology, that they always have two at
a time, one brought forth alive, and the other still-
born, but I never saw an instance of this kind,

THE CANADA PORCUPINE,

153

though in different parts of the country I have seen
them killed in all stages of pregnancy. The flesh
of the porcupine is very delicious, and so much es-
teemed by the Indians, that they think it the greatest
luxury their country affords. The quills are in great
request among the women, who make them into a va-
riety of ornaments, such as shot-bags, belts, garters,
bracelets, &c.* They are the most forlorn animals I
know; for in those parts of Hudson’s Bay where
they are most numerous, it is not common to see
more than one in a place. They are so remarkably
slow and stupid, that our Indians, going with packets
from fort to fort, often see them in the trees, but
not having occasion for them at that time, leave them
till their return, and should their absence be for a
week or ten days, they are sure to find them within
a mile of the place where they had seen them be-
fore.”

The patience and ingenuity displayed by the In-
dian women in ornamenting dresses, buffaloe robes,
moccasins, &c. can scarcely be appreciated by those
who have never seen any of the articles thus adorn-
ed. We have already mentioned that these quills
rarely exceed two inches and a-half, or at most three
inches in length, and are not larger in circumference
than a moderate sized wheat straw. Yet we find
large surfaces worked or embroidered in the neatest

■* Modus illis copulandi (test,ante Hearne,) profecto singu-
laris est. Femina super marem dorso recubaiitem, a capite
usque ad caudam ambulat, donee genitalia niutuo tangunt,
sic, spinis acutis evitatis, veneris suaviis, fruuntui’; aliquando
ambobus lateribus resupinatis, actum est.

VOE. II. U

154

THE CANADA PORCUPINE.

and most beautiful manner with these quills, which
are dyed of various rich and permanent colours.
In making this embroidery they have not the ad-
vantage of a needle, but use a straight awl. Some of
their work is done by passing the sinew of a deer or
other animal through a hole made with the awl, and
at every stitch wrapping this thread with one or more
turns of a porcupine-quill. When they wind the
quill near to its end, the extremity is turned into
the skin, or is concealed by the succeeding turn so
as to appear, when the whole is completed, as if but
a single strip had been used. In other instances
the ornament is wrought of the porcupine-quills ex-
clusively, and is frequently extremely beautiful,
from its neatness and the good taste of the figures
into which it is arranged. In general, however, the
strong contrast of colours is the most remarkable
effect aimed at. On some of the articles of dress
figures of animals, exhibiting much ingenuity, are
formed by embroidering with these quills. The
Philadelphia Museum, so rich in objects of natural
history, also boasts a most splendid and valuable col-
lection of articles of dress, and implements of peace
and war, peculiar to the various aboriginals of our
country. Whoever wishes to see to what extent the
quills of the porcupine are employed by these in-
teresting people, and also to form a better idea of
the number of porcupines that must be found in the
trans-Mississipian regions, may be fully gratified by
visiting this great institution.

CHAPTER XIII.

Gexus XXXI. — Hare; Lepus; L.

Fr. Lievre. Germ. Hase.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The head is narrow and compressed, having a
rather acute snout, large, prominent, laterally-placed
eyes, and long ears, situated close together. The
upper lip is cleft, and the inside of the cheeks cover-
ed with hair: in each groin there is a fold of the
skin that forms a sort of pouch. The fore limbs are
slender and short, and have five digits, which are
below, covered with a soft, velvety hair; the poste-
rior limbs are very long, and have four digits, the
soles being covered with hair similar to that in the
palms. The teats are from six to ten in number;
the tail is very short and turned upwards.

It is known how anomalous the hares are in the
order of gnawers, by the number and singular ar-
rangement of their upper incisor teeth. They are
equally so in the structure of the head, and in many

Dental System.

4 Incisive
12 Molar.

2 Incisive
10 Molar.

156

THE HAUE.

Other organic peculiarities, which do not allow them
to be naturally approximated to any other group of
this order.

In the upper jaw the anterior incisor is flat on
its anterior surface, and unequally divided by a lon-
gitudinal depression, nearer to its internal than its
external edge. Behind this tooth another small one
is found, divided at its extremity by a transverse
groove, and in very young individuals we find a
third tooth behind the second, but it soon falls out,
and the alveole disappears; these two last teeth are
placed in the intermaxillary bones. The molars have
nearly the same structure, but differ in size. They
are twice as long as their breadth; the first, smaller
than the succeeding one, exhibits two folds of ena-
mel on its anterior surface, but all the parts of these
rejoin, and are solidified together. The four fol-
lowing are of the same size, and divided longitudi-
nally in their middle by two folds of enamel, which
arise at their extremities and approach each other,
so that the laminae composing them, though entirely
reunited, leave no intervening vacancy proper to be
filled by the cortical matter. The internal fold is
the most profound. The last molar, which is ex-
tremely small, appears to have no fold, and to be of
a simple structure, — that is, it presents the form of a
very elongated ellipsis, surrounded by enamel.

* These animals have an exceedingly large coecum, which
has a spiral valve running though its whole length. Beneath
the orbit of the eye there is, in the skull, a space at the in -
ner angle, which is cribriform, or pierced by a great numbei
of small holes.

THE AMERICAN HARE.

157

In the lower jaw the incisor is smooth and flat.
The molars are formed after the same system as those
of the upper jaw, but differ slightly from each other.
The first, which is the largest, has three sides on its
external face, and a slight depression on its anterior
face, although it is only divided into two parts by a
deep fold of enamel, the plates of which reunite.
The three following are similar: they are of the same
size and divided by a deep fold of enamel, the plates
joining each other only on the outside, which leaves
a deep depression on their inner face. The fifth
is a third smaller than the preceding, and divided
into two unequal parts by two lateral grooves, the
anterior of which is the largest.

Species I. — The American Hare.

Lepus Americanus; L. Gmel.

Lepus Amtricarms; Schcepf. Natur. fig. 20, p. 20.

Lepus Hudsonius: Pall. Glir. pt. 1, p. 30.

.American Hare: Penn. Arct. Zool. i. 109, No. 38, Hist. Quad. No. 243;
Heakne, Journey, &c. 8vo. ed. 385; Sabine, App. to Franklin’s
Exped. 665.

{Commonly , but improperly called Rabbit.

The American Hare is found throughout this coun-
try to as far north as the vicinity of Carlton House^
in the Hudson’s Bay country. According to the
statement of Hearne “ they are not plentiful in
the eastern parts of the northern Indian country,
not even in those parts that are situated among the
woods; but to the westward , bordering on the south-

158

THE AMElilCAN HARE.

ern Indian country, they are in some places pretty
numerous, though by no means equal to what has
been reported of them at York Fort, and some other,
settlements in the Bay.^’ In various parts of the
Union this hare is exceedingly common, and large
numbers are annually destroyed for the sake of their
flesh and fur.

The timidity and defencelessness characteristic
of the genus, are well illustrated in this species,
which has no protection against^its numerous enemies,
and can escape by flight alone. Its peculiar colour
must, however, minister to its safety, as it is so simi-
lar to the general colour of the soil as to require a
close attention to distinguish the animal, which is
usually passed without being observed by such as
are not especially in search of it. Yet the swiftness
and other natural advantages of the hare, insuffi-
cient to secure it from the artifices of man, or from
being preyed upon by various beasts and birds,
would not prevent the species from soon being ex-
tinguished, were it not for its remarkable fecundity.

During the day time the hare remains crouched
within its form, which is a mere space, of the size
of the animal, upon the surface of the ground, clear-
ed of grass, and sheltered by some overarching plant;
or else its habitation is in the hollowed., trunk of a
tree, or under a collection of stones. Sc®.

It is commonly at the earliest dawn, while the
dew-drops still glitter on the herbage, or when the
fresh verdure is concealed beneath a mantle of glis-
tening frost, that the timorous hare ventures forth
in quest of food, or courses undisturbed over the
plains. Occasionally during the day, in retired and

THE AMERICAN HARE.

159

little frequented parts of the country, an individual
is seen to scud from the path, where it has been bask-
ing in the sun; but the best time for studying the
habits of the animal is during moon-light nights,
W’hen the hare is to be seen sporting with its com-
panions in unrestrained gambols, frisking with de-
lighted eagerness around its mate, or busily engaged
in cropping its food. On such occasions the turnip
and cabbage fields suffer severely, where these ani-
mals are numerous, though in general they are not
productive of serious injury. However, when food
is scarce they do much mischief to the farmers, by
destroying the bark on the young trees in the nur-
series, and by cutting valuable plants.

The flesh of the American hare, though of a dark
colour, is much esteemed as an article of food. Dur-
ing the summer season they are lean and tough, and
in many situations they are infested by a species of
oestrus, which lays its eggs in their skins, producing
worms of considerable size. But in the autumnal
season, and especially after the commencement of the
frost, when the wild berries, &c. are ripe, they be-
come very fat, and are a delicious article of food. In
the north, during winter, they feed on the twigs and
buds of the pine and fir, and are fit for the table
throughout the season. The Indians eat the contents
of their stomachs, notwithstanding the food is such as
we have just mentioned.

The American hare never burrows in the ground
like the common European rabbit; {L. Cuniculus.)

hen confined in a yard, our animal has been known
to attempt an escape by scratching a hole in the earth
near the fence or wall, but there are few wild ani-
mals, whatever may be their characters, that will not

160

THE AMERICAN HARE.

do the same, under similar circumstances, though in
their natural condition they may never attempt to
burrow. Such is the fact in relation to the Ameri-
can hare, which never burrows while it is a free
tenant of the fields and woods. It has been said
that this animal also occasionally ascends trees, which
must be understood solely of its going up within the
trunks of hollow trees, which it effects by pressing
with its back and feet against opposite sides of the
hollow, ascending somewhat in the same manner that
a sweep climbs a chimney.

The hare is not hunted in this country as in Eu-
rope, but is generally roused by a dog, and shot, or
is caught in various snares and traps. In its move-
ments our hare closely resembles the common hare of
Europe, bounding along with great celerity, and
would no doubt, when pursued, resort to the artifices
of doubling, &c. so well known to be used by the Eu-
ropean animal. The American hare breeds several
times during the year, and in the southern states
even during the winter months, having from two to
four or six at a litter.

In summer pelage the American hare is dark
brown on the upper part of its hegid, a lighter brown
on the sides, and of an ash colour below. The ears
are wide and edged with white, tipped with brown,
and very dark on their back parts; their sides ap-
proach to an ash colour. The inside of the neck is
slightly ferruginous; the belly and the tail is small,
dark above, and white below, having the inferior
surface turned up. The hind legs are covered with
more white than dark hairs, and both fore and hind
feet have sharp pointed, narrow, and nearly straight
nails.

THE AMERICAN HARE.

161

In winter the pelage is nearly twice the length of
what it is in summer, and is altogether, or very near-
ly, white. The weight of the animal is about seven
pounds.

This species is about fourteen inches in length.
The hind legs are ten inches long, by which circum-
stance it is most strongly distinguished from the
common rabbit of Europe.*

* The liare and rabbit so nearly resemble each other in
form and structure, that it has puzzled the most experienced
zoologists to assign definite distinguisliing marks. Yet there
are many circumstances in which they dift'er (besides the
colour of their flesh when boiled^ and their manner of es-
caping from their foes) in reference to their reproductive
system. The nest of the hare is open, constructed with-
out care, and destitute of a lining of fur. The nest of the
rabbit is concealed in a hole of the earth, constructed of
dried plants, and lined with fur, which is pulled from its
own body. The young of the hare, at birth, have their eyes
and ears perfect, their legs in a condition for running, and
their bodies covered with fur. The young of the rabbit,
at birth, have their eyes and ears closed, are unable to
travel, and are naked. The maternal duties of the hare
are few in number, and consist in licking the young dry at
first, and supplying them regularly with food. Those of the
rabbit are more numerous, and consist of the additional du-
ties of keeping the young in a state of suitable cleanliness
and warmth. The circumstances attending the birth of a
hare are analogous to those of a horse, while those of a
rabbit more nearly resemble the fox.” — Flem. Philosophy of
Zoology, ii. p. 140.

The rabbit is not a native of this country, but has fre-
quently been introduced in a domesticated state, from Eng-
land, &c. The species above described we have alreadv
stated to be improperly called “ the rabbit.”

VOL. II. X

162

THE POLAR HAKE,

Species II. — The Polar Hare.

Lepus Glacialis; Sab.

Lepus Glacialls; Leach. Miscel. Sabine, App. to Franklin, p. 664; Ib
App. to Parry’s Voyage of 1819, 1820.

The Polar Hare is found in greatest abundance at
the extreme northern part of this continent, along the
southern coast of Barrow’s strait, and in the North
Georgian islands, Capt. Sabine, who found the ani-
mal in considerable numbers on Melville island, has
pointed out, in the Appendix above quoted, (whence
the following description is taken) the differences
existing betw’een this species and the L. Vaj'iahilis,
with which it had been previously confounded.

The polar hare is larger than the alpine or vary-
ing hare, next to be described, and weighs about
eight pounds. Its colour, in winter dress, is white,
having the ears black at tlieir tips and longer than
the head. The nails are strong, broad and depressed.

The ears are longer, in proportion to the head,
than those of the common hare, {L. Timidus) and
much longer than those of the alpine hare [L. Va-
riabilis.) The ears of the common hare are usually
considered one-tenth longer than the head, those of
the present species are from one-fifth to one-seventh.
The fore teeth are curves of a much larger circle,
and the orbits of the eye project much more than
those of either of the other species; the claws are
broad, depressed and strong: those of the L. Timi-
dus and Vat'iahilis being, on the contrary, compress-
ed and weak; the hind leg is shorter, in proportion

THE VARYING HARE?

163

to the size of the animal, than in the alpine, {Va-
riabilis;) the fur is exceedingly thick and woolly, of
the purest white in the spring and autumn, except-
ing a tuft of long black hair at the tip of the ears,
which is reddish brown at base; the whiskers are
also black at the base for half their length. In some
of the full grown specimens, killed in the height of
summer, the hair of the back and sides was a gray-
ish brown towards the points, but’ the mass of fur
beneath still remained white. The face and the
front of the ears were a deeper gray; the fur is in-
terspersed with long, solitary hairs, which in many
individuals were, in the middle of summer, banded
with brown and white. The hares which Mr.
Hearne describes, in his northern voyage, as in-
habiting the continent of America, as high as the
seventy-second degree of latitude, are stated to
weigh fourteen or fifteen pounds when full grown
and in good condition. The largest hare killed at
Melville island did not weigh nine pounds; were it
not for this difference in size, they might be sup-
posed, from other parts of their description, to be
the same species.’*'^

Through the kindness of that zealous friend of
science, Charles L. Bonaparte, we have had an
opportunity of examining and preparing a desci iption

* In the Appendix to Franklin’s Journey, p. 665, we have
the following observations oivthis species: — “ The polar hare
appears to vary much in size, and consequently in Weight;

164

THE VAinriNG HAKE?

of a hare, from specimens in winter and summer pe-
lage, belonging to his valuable collection. This spe-
cies, which appears to be the same with that indi-
cated by Lewis and Clarke, and after them by War-
den, has also been proposed as a new species, under
the name of Lepus Virginicmus. That it is a spe-
cies distinct from the L. Glacialis and Variabilis,
remains yet to be established, since differential cha-
racters have not been adduced to prove the fact. — ■
We shall first give a description of the animal in
summer and winter dress, and then examine whether
any differential characters have been given, or, under
existing circumstances, can be offered, to entitle it to
rank as a new species.

The general colour of this hare, in summer dress,
is a light reddish brown, which is lighter on the
breast and head, becoming darker from the superior
parts of the shoulders to the posterior parts of the
body. The hairs are coloured in the following man-
ner:— They are plumbeous at base, then light yel-
lowish, then dusky, then reddish brown, and finally
black at tip. The under jaw is white, and this co-
lour extends backwards until opposite the bases of
the ears. The belly and legs are white, faintly

tliis, perhaps, may be caused by the quantity and quality of
the food it can command. Dr. Richardson observed that
the polar hare is never seen in w'oods; it frequents the bar-
ren grounds, living chiefly on the berries of i\vQ arbutus al-
pina and the bark of a dwarf birch. It sits, like the com-
mon hare, on the whole length of the metatarsal bones, but
in running its hind feet make a round print in the snow,
similar to that made by the fore ones."

THE VARYING HARE?

165

tinged with light reddish brown; the tail is whitish,
which colour is superiorly mingled with bluish or
lead colour. The ears are externally bluish white,
and darker at tip; internally they are of a faint red-
dish white.

The following measurements of a recent specimen
of this animal, were carefully made by the distin-
guished individual before mentioned:

Total length, ... -

2 ft.

7 in.

Height to the top of the fore shoulder.

<< 10

to the top of the thigh,

1

2

Length of the head.

a •

4

of the ears.

a

4

Distance from the eyes to the end of

the nose, ....

a

4

Length of the fore arm,

((

4

of the fore paw,

((

21

*^4

of the thigh.

((

6

of the hind foot,

i(

6

of the tail, -

a

If

In winter dress the general colour is

pure

white.

the fur being long, soft, fine, and in greatest quan-
tity upon the breast. The hairs in the summer, as
in winter pelage, are plumbeous at base, but are then
reddish, and at tip of a snowy whiteness. The ears
are slightly tipped with dark lead colour, and edged
within by brown and white hairs intermixed. The
whiskers are entirely white, or black at base and
white at tip. The feet are thickly clothed with
hair, which conceals the slightly curved nails, which
are long and narrow at base.

When we compare this animal with the polar hare,
L. Glacialis of Sabine, and with the L, Vaf'iabilis,

166 THE VARYING HARE?

or alpine hare, we shall be convinced that distinctive
characters have not yet been given to establish the
supposed new species, as well as that such distinctive
characters are very few and difficult of discovery.

The essential or distinctive characters ascribed
by Sabine to the polar hare, are as follows: — Colour
white, ears black at tip, longer than the head; nails
robust, broad and depressed.

The essential characters of the L. Variahilis, as
given by Desmarest, are, — pelage grayish yellow in
summer, white in winter; ears shorter than the head,
and black at all times; tail white in winter and gray
in summer.

The “characters essential” given of the animal un-
der consideration as a new species, entitled Lepus
Virginianus, are as follows: — “ Grayish brown in
summer; the orbits of the eyes surrounded by a
reddish fawn colour at all times; ears and head of
nearly equal length; tail very short.”

As the colour of the pelage is common to several
species, both in summer and winter, it is peculiarly
insufficient as a differential character in the estab-
lishment of the proposed new species. The second
character laid down in the last definition, concern-
ing the permanent fawn colour surrounding the orbit,
is incorrect. One of the specimens above described
has the orbits of the eyes surrounded by a very dif-
ferent colour; neither is the statement, that the ears
are nearly equal in length to the head, of any avail
in establishing the specific difference, since the ears
of the Variabilis are also nearly equal in length to
the head, being somewhat shorter. If it be meant
that the ears of the supposed new species are, in the

THE VARYING HARE? 167

same sense, nearly of the length of the head, it is
incorrect, since the head of the animal in its recent
state measured four inches, and the ears were of the
same length. The shortness of the tail is as charac-
teristic of the Variabilis, in which it is but one inch
and three-quarters, while the proposed new species
has a tail one inch and a-half long.

In the present state of our knowledge, the only
truly differential character that can be given is the
equality existing between the length of the ears and
head. The toe-nails differ from those of the polar
hare described by Sabine, but they are very simi-
lar to those of the common hare, and may also be
similar to those of the Variabilis, which are not mi-
nutely described, even by Desmarest; hence no po-
sitive conclusion can be deduced. Neither can the
relative height of the hind and fore parts aid in dis-
tinguishing this hare from the alpine, {L. Variabilis)
in which the hind are to the fore parts as fourteen
to twelve, while in the proposed new species the
proportion is the same, being as twelve to ten; the
polar hare {L. Glacialis) has the hind limbs pro-
portionally siiorter than the Variabilis, though their
actual length is not given: this being equally true of
the supposed new species, we cannot infer any spe-
cific difference therefrom. The weight of these
hares is a circumstance equally inefficient in decid-
ing this doubtful matter; the polar hare weighs from
seven to nine pounds, {Sab.) — the alpine seven to
seven and a-half, {Penn.) — the hare described by
Lewis and Clarke, seven to eleven pounds. The
weight given by the latter observers inclines us to

168 •

THE VARYING HARE?

believe that this animal is the same as that described
by Hearne, as the varying hare, which Sabine says
differs from the polar hare only in weight.*

* The following is Hearne’s account of this animal: —
“ The varying hares are numerous, and extend as far as
latitude 72° N., probably farther. They delight most in rocky
and stony places, near the borders of woods, though many
of them brave the coldest winters on entirely barren ground.
In summer they are nearly of the colour of our English wild
rabbit, but in winter assume a most delicate white all over,
except the tips of the ears, wliich are black. They are, when
full grown and in good condition, very large, many of them
weighing fourteen or fifteen pounds; and, if not too old, are
good eating. In winter they feed on long rye grass and the
tops of dwarf willows, but in summer eat berries and dif-
ferent sorts of small herbage. They are frequently killed
on the south side of Churchill river, and several have been
known to breed ne.!!' the settlement at that place. They
must breed very fast, for, when we evacuated Prince of
Wales’ fort, in 1783, it was common for one man to kill
two or three in a day, within three miles of the neVr settle-
ment. But partly, perhaps, from so many being killed, and
partly from the survivors being so frequently disturbed, they
have shifted their situation, and at present are as scarce near
the settlement as ever. The northern Indians pursue a sin-
gular method of shooting those hares; finding, by long expe-
rience, that these animals will not bear a direct approach,
when the Indians see a hare sitting, they walk round it in
circles, always drawing nearer at every revolution,- till by
degrees they get within gun-shot. The middle of the day,
if it be clear weather, is the best time to kill them in this
manner; for before and after noon the sun’s altitude being
so small makes a man’s shadow so long on the snow as to
frighten the hare before he can approach near enough to kill
it.” — 8vo. ed. p. 385.

THE VARYING HARE?

169

In the specimen in summer dress (which we have
described in beginning this article) the tail is nearly
white, and in the hares observed by Lewis and
Clarke, presently to be quoted, the tail was likewise
white during the summer. Should this colour of
the tail prove to be uniformly permanent, it may be
added to the only other differential character, drawn
from the ears. But until more decisive evidence can
be adduced, it will be safest to consider this hare as at
most a variety of the alpine hare, the Lepus Varia-
bills of authors.

It is found throughout the mountainous regions of
the Union, and on the plains and in the woods of the
western territories. To the north it is known as
far as observation has yet extended. Lewis and
Clarke, in the second volume, p. 178, of their ex-
tremely interesting journal, give the following ac-
count of this animal: — The hare on the western
side of the Rocky Mountains inhabits the great
plains of the Columbia. On the eastward of those
mountains they inhabit the plains of the Missouri.
They weigh from seven to eleven pounds: the eye
is large and prominent, the pupil of a deep sea-
green, occupying one-third of the diameter of the
eye; the iris is of a bright yellow and silver-colour;
the ears are placed far back and near each other,
wdiich the animal can, with surprising ease and quick-
ness, dilate and throw forward, or contract and hold
upon his back at pleasure; the head, neck, back,
shoulders, thighs, and outer parts of the legs and
thighs, are of a lead colour; the sides, as they ap-
proach the belly, become gradually more white: the
belly, breast, and inner parts of the legs and thighs

VOL. Il.~— Y

170

THE VARYING HARE?

are white, with a light shade of lead-colour; the tail
is round and bluntly pointed, covered with white
soft fur, not quite so long as on the other parts of
the body; the body is covered with a deep, fine, soft,
close fur. The colours here described are those
which the animal assumes from the middle of April
to the middle of November; the rest of the year he
is of a pure white, except the black and reddish
brown of the ears, which never changes. A few
reddish brown spots are sometimes mixed with the
white, at this season, (February 26) on their heads
and the upper parts of their necks and shoulders;
the body of the animal is smaller and longer, in pro-
portion to its height, than the rabbit; when he runs
he conveys his tail straight behind, in the direction
of his body. He appears to run and bound with
surprising agility and ease: he is extremely fleet, and
never burrows nor takes shelter in the ground when
pursued. His teeth are like those of a rabbit, {L.
Americanm) as is also his upper lip, which is di-
vided as high as the nose. His food is grass, herbs,
and in the winter he feeds much on the bark of se-
veral aromatic herbs growing on the plains. Capt.
Lewis measured the leaps of this animal, and found
them commonly from eighteen to twenty-one feet;
they are generally found separate, and never seen to
associate in greater numbers than two or three.’’
Warden, in a note to his Description des Etats
Unis,” p. 632, says, the varying hare of the south-
ern parts of the United States is distinguished from
the American rabbit [Lepus Amerimnus) by chang-
ing from a gray brown, which is its colour in spring
and summer, to a full white in winter. Its ears are

THE VARYING HARE?

17i

also shorter and marked with black, and its legs more
slender. The largest varying hares are about eighteen
inches long, and weigh from seven to eight pounds.
They are very prolific, as the female litters several
times a year, having three or four young each time.
The flesh of this animal is represented to be agreea-
ble and nutritious. It frequents the marshes and
prairies, but never burrows; its colour is similar to
that of the European rabbit, and the female equally
conceals her young from the male. When pursued,
they mount as high as possible within a hollow tree.’’

CHAPTER XIV.

Order IV. — Bruta;* L. Jlnimah destitute of Cut-
ting- Teeth.

In North America no living animal belonging to
this order has yet been found, but gigantic fossil re-
mains of extinct species have been occasionally dis-
interred in different parts of the Union. The cir-
cumstance first stated may appear the more singular
when the fact is recollected, that the greater num-

* Brisson first established an order, under the title of
Edentata, which comprised the animals having no teeth; he
made a second order, of Dentata, embracing those possessed
of molars: which division was adopted bj Lacepede. Stori^
disapproving this arrangement, formed a sihgle order of all
these animals, which he called Miitici, and Boddaert sub-
serpientlj changed the name to that of Edentes, which was
afterwards changed to Edentata by Cuvier. Various
changes have been proposed by other writers, founded on
their peculiar views, (of the structure, &c. of these animals)
which it is needless to detail. We have adopted the Lin-
nean name for the order, as it conveys no incorrect idea,
which all the others do, by calling the order Toothless, when
only one genus is in that predicament. The place in the
system of classification is that given to the order by Cuvier,
because these beings have some analogy to the digitigrade
animals, in the circumstance of their toes being terminated
by large and long claws, &c.*

* Vedi Rakzani; Elementi di Zoologia, tomo. Ilclo, parte Ilda. p. 473.

EXTINCT GIANT SLOTH.

173

ber of the living genera and species, comprised by this
order, are, at present, inhabitants of the southern
division of this continent.

The animals of this order are characterized by
the exceeding slowness of their movements, depend-
ant on the singular structure and proportions of their
limbs. They have the orbits of the eyes and the
temporal cavities opening into each other, so as to
form one cavity in the skeleton; and their limbs are
terminated by digits, (varying in number in different
genera and species) armed with large and hoof-like
claws. Such of the genera as have molar or jaw-
teeth, feed on bark of trees, &c. others, entirely des-
titute of teeth, feed exclusively on insects. Some
of them use their claws for climbing and clinging to
the branches of trees; others for the purpose of bur-
rowing.

Family I. — Tardigrada; Sloths.

Ctenus L— Megatherium; C. Extinct Giant Sloth.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

Unlike the living members of this family, the
present genus has complete zygomatic arches, yet it
again closely resembles the existing genera in having
at the anterior basis of the zygoma, a large descend-
ing process. The bones of the upper jaw are much
prolonged; the nasal bones are very short: the lower
jaw has very large ascending branches, and at its
anterior extremity, or chin, it is salient, and hollow-

174

EXTINCT GIANT SLOTH.

ed within. The spine, composed of twenty-six ver-
tebrae, has seven belonging to the neck, sixteen to
the back, and three to the loins. It cannot be posi-
tively stated that these animals had no tail, though
it is probable; — if it did exist, it is presumed to have
been very short. The posterior limbs exceed the
anterior in size considerably; all the feet have five
toes, yet three only on the fore feet are provided
with large claws, the other two being rudimental. On
the hind feet but one toe is furnished with an enor-
mous claw; the other four are nearly rudimental.

The twelve posterior teeth are larger than the
others, each of them being nearly two inches square;
they present rounded angles, and between each of
these angles there is a small canal. Each tooth has
four angles, two internal and two external. The
lower part, which is imbedded in the alveolar pro-
cess, diminishes gradually, becoming only two inches
broad, of a square form, having beneath a pyramidal
cavity separated by four points, which buries it-
self sufficiently forward in the tooth. The four first
teeth weighed exactly twenty ounces; the others as
much as twenty-six.

* Don Juan B. Bru; description of the skeleton from
Paraguay, in the Madrid Museum; translated by Bonpland
in Cuv. OSS. foss. tom. iv.

Dental System.

{8 Upper
8 Lower

EXTINCT GIANT SLOTH.

175

Their remarkable structure, so much unlike any
before observed, is still more deserving of particular
description. The tooth is covered externally with
a coating of enamel, extremely thin, and uniformly
so on all sides, and which does not extend over any
part of the crown. Within is a coating of bone or
ivory, which, at the sides of the tooth, is as thin as
the enamel; but where it is parallel to the cutting
edges, is nearly a-quarter the thickness of the whole
tooth. Enclosed within this is a second coating of
enamel, which, like the first two, has two sides very
thin. The other two sides are more than a line
thick, and terminate in the cutting process, which
by this means are kept constantly sharp and promi-
nent, by the wearing away of the softer ivory on
each side of them. Where these laminae of enamel
terminate on the anterior side of the higher process,
may be observed a semil unate truncation, which is
not seen on the lower process, although terminated
in a similar manner. The wdiole solid part of the
tooth thus represents a prism of bone, enveloped
within three cases, two of enamel, and the third of
a substance similar to itself.’’^

[That the reader may be better prepared to
understand the peculiar character of these fossil
remains, w’e subjoin Cuvier’s observations on the
construction of the existing animals, to which these
extinct species were closely allied, and which they
must have resembled in all their general habits,

* Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York,
vol. i. p. 114. A highl}^ interesting paper b}' W. Cooper on
the Megatherium found in Georgia.

176

[ SLOTH. ]

as well as in conformation. This comparison may
also prove of advantage to the inquirer, (inde-
pendent of satisfying him of the correctness of the
opinions advanced, relative to the similarity of these
animals) should it awaken his curiosity to become bet-
ter acquainted with the works of the great naturalist
quoted. His writings, though principally occupied
with the relics of former worlds — with animals that
ceased to be before the fouiKlations of human society
were laid, nevertheless overflow with the energies of
an immortal intellect, and expand the mind of the stu-
dent with those sublime ideas of the God of Nature,
which are not to be equalled by any mere effort of
imagination, since they are inspired by the most ex-
traordinary facts, beheld under the powerful illumi-
nation of disciplined genius.

In considering these beings, we find so few re-
lations with ordinary animals — the general laws of
existing organizations apply so little to them — the
diflerent parts of their bodies are so much in con-
tradiction to the rules of co-existence established
throughout the animal kingdom, that we might really
believe them to be the remains of another order of
beings, the living fragments of that antecedent na-
ture, whose other ruins we are obliged to seek in the
bosom of the earth, which by some miracle have
escaped the catastrophies that destroyed their cotem-
porary species.

With the solitary exception of the elephant,
there is not, perhaps, among all the quadrupeds, an
animal which so widely departs from the general plan
of nature, in the formation of that class, as the sloths;
still, the deviations from that plan correspond with

177

[ SLOTH. ]

each other so reciprocally as to correct their bad ef'
fects, and produce a concordant whole; but in the
sloths, each singularity of organization appears to
have no other result but weakness and imperfection^
and the inconveniences they cause the animal are not
compensated by any advantage.

The mere aspect of the skeleton of the ae, (three-
toed sloth) in some sort indicates deficiencies of
proportion. The arms and forearms taken together
are almost twice as long as the thigh and leg, so that
when the animal moves on all four limbs it is oblig-
ed to crawl upon its elbows, and when it raises itself
upon its claws, the entire hand may still be placed
against the ground. There are some apes alone
which approach this disproportion; but they often
keep themselves erect, or walk with the aid of a staif,
which cannot be done by the ai, since its hind feet
are so peculiarly articulated that they cannot sustain
the body. The pelvis, moreover, is so large^ and
the cotyloid cavities (or sockets for the heads of
the thigh bones) are turned so far backwards, that
the knees cannot be brought together, and the thighs
are kept forcibly separate.

‘‘ Animals, when they run, receive their principal
impulsion from their hind feet; hence, the best run-
ners have the longest hind legs, as the hares, jer-
boas, &c. The length of the fore legs serve merely
to embarrass, and hence crabs are forced to move
backward. Sloths can scarcely employ their fore
limbs, except for the purpose of clinging to objects
and then dragging forwards their hinder parts.

“ In the other quadrupeds, the as sacrum is only
attached to the ossa ilia, or haunch bones, by a small

VOL. II. — z

178

[ SLOTH. ]

portion of its sides in front; all the rest is free, and
the interval between the posterior part of the sa-
crum and ossa innominata is vacant, for the reception
of the muscles and other soft parts, bearing the name
of the great ischiatic notch. In the sloth there is a
second posterior union between the sacrum and tu-
berosity of the ischium, and instead of the ischiatic
notch there is nothing but an opening like a second
obturator foramen.

The joint which attaches the hind foot and leg,

appears to be expressly arranged to deprive the
animal of the use of the foot.” In other animals
the articulation is such as to allow the foot to be
flexed upon the leg, but the foot of the sloth turns
upon the bones of the leg like a weathercock
upon its pin, but cannot be flexed. Hence it results
that the body of the foot is nearly vertical when the
leg is so, and that the animal cannot place the sole
of the foot on the ground unless by separating the
leg so far as to render it almost horizontal. From
these two peculiarities the absolute weakness of the
foot is derived, and the total impossibility of its af-
fording a solid point of support to the body.” On
the fore and hind feet the skin envelopes all the
parts except the nails, which are separate, and the
whole of the remainder of the digits is united, being
without interval or mobility between them; they,
therefore, can only be flexed or extended together.

The nails of the sloth are of an enormous length,
and the dreadful weapon they furnish is doubtless
tbe mean by which these animals defend themselves
with sufficient success to compensate for all the dis-
advantage of the rest of their organization. Nearly

179

[ SLOTH. ]

as sharp as those of the cat, it is necessary for their
preservation in that condition that they should be
protected from friction against the ground. It
is by withdrawing them between their toes, having
the points turned upwards, that those of the cat are
preserved. The sloths cannot do the same, because
their digits, being united by the integument, leave
no interval; besides, these long reverted points would
be very inconvenient, and might wound the throat
and belly. When not in use they are kept re-
curved, and placed with their convexity on the
ground; this, as in the cat, is effected without fa-
tigue to their muscles, and by the simple elastic ac-
tion of the ligaments; the muscles have only to act
to extend them.

From this difference, another results in the form
of the articulation. The la.st phalanges of the cat,
like those of the sloth, are at the back part hollowed
into an arc of a circle, since they must move as
pullies upon the next to the last bone. But in those
of the cat the most salient part of the arc is below;
in the sloth it is above, always on the side towards
which the nail is not carried. By this circumstance
we may distinguish, at the first glance, even a single
phalanx of either of these genera. We may also
distinguish them by the osseous sheath which retains
and overlaps the base of the nail. Both genera
equally have them, because both require solidity in
so long a weapon; but in the sloth it is the lower
part of this sheath which is the most prolonged,
while in the cat it is rather the superior part.”^j

Recherches sur les Oss; Foss. tom. iv.

180

Cuvier’s giant sloth.

Species I. — Cuviei^’s Giant iSloth,

Megatherium Cuvieri.

Megaihere; C. Ann. du Mus. v. 176, pi. 24, 25. Recherclies siir les
Ossem. Foss. tom. iv. Bnu, llescr. &c. trad, par Bonpland, Ejusdem,
tom. iv. Descr. d’un squelette conserve dans le Mus. de Madrid;
trad, de Gan’iga. Mitchiil; Ann. of the Lyceum of Nat. History of
New York, vol. i. Cooper on the Megatherium of Georgia, Ann,
Lyceum, vol. i.

Megatherium Cuvieri: Desm, Mammal. 365.

The first discovered skeleton of this extraordi-
nary animal was obtained from some excavations
made on the banks of the river Luxan, near a town
of the same name, situated about three leagues
W. S. W. of Buenos Ayres. It was found at the
depth of a hundred feet from the surface, in a sandy
soil, and is the most perfect specimen of this animal
yet procured. It was sent to Spain by the viceroy
of Buenos Ayres, the Marquis of Loretto, where it
was mounted in the museum of Madrid by Don. J.
B. Bru, who first published a description of it. An-
other specimen was sent to the same cabinet in 1795,
from Lima, and a third was discovered in Paraguay.*
The only skeleton yet found in Nortli America was
first indicated by our celebrated countryman, Dr.
Mitchill, and subsequently more fully detailed by
that ardent votary of natural science, W. Cooper,
of New York, in the work above quoted. Having
but a few mutilated fragments of this skeleton in the
cabinets of this country, it is impossible, by describ-
ing them alone, to give the reader any proper idea

* Garriga, as quoted by Cuvier.

CUVIEU’S GIANT SLOTH. I8l

of the animal. We shall therefore introduce Cu-
vier’s account of the species, drawn up principally
from the work of Garriga, and add thereto the ob-
servations made on the American specimen recently
discovered in Georgia.

“ A first glance at the head of the megatherium
gives us the most marked relations with that of the
sloth, especially the ai (three-toed sloth.) The
most striking feature of resemblance is the long de-
scending apophysis placed at the anterior base of
the zygomatic arch. It is proportionally as long in
the ai as in the megatherium; but the latter has the
zygomatic arch entire, while in both species of sloth,
even when adult, it is not continuous.

The ascending branch of the lower jaw suffi-
ciently resembles that of the sloth, but its inferior
part forms a convexity, to which we find but a slight
resemblance even in that of the elephant. The
osseous snout is more salient iu the megatherium
than in the ai; this arises from an advance of the
symphisis of the lower jaw, (chin) which is also
found in the two-toed sloth, (unau) and from a cor-
responding advance of the intermaxillary bones. —
The bones of the nose are very short, which, after
the example of the elephant and tapir, might lead
us to suspect that this animal had a trunk.

‘‘ This might also be inferred from the multitude
of holes and small canals with which the anterior
part of the snout is pierced, which must have served
to give passage to vessels and nerves destined to
nourish some organ of considerable size. However,
if such a trunk existed, it was doubtless very short,
judging by the length of the neck, which appears

182

Cuvier’s giant sloth.

very natural, and not owing to the introduction of
vertebrae, belonging to larger individuals in forming
the skeleton. The head not being disproportionately
large, and especially being without tusks, a long
neck would not be as prejudicial as it would have
been in the elephant.

The molar teeth are four in number, on each
side, both above and below, as in the m, and, like the
teeth of that species, of a prismatic form, and the
crown traversed by a groove. They are only closer
together, and have no pointed canine in front, as the
ai has one at least in the upper jaw, and the unau
in both upper and lower. Yet that is scarcely suffi-
cient to distinguish a genus, for in the unau itself
the canines differ little from the molars, which are as
pointed as in that species.

If the number of seven eervical vertebrae, seen
in this skeleton, be correct, as analogy with other
animals induces us readily to believe, the megathe-
rium differs much in this respect from the three-
toed sloth, which itself is separated from all known
quadrupeds by the length of its neck. The mega-
therium has sixteen dorsal vertebrae, and by conse-
quence sixteen ribs on each side, and three lumbar
vertebrae. The number is exactly the same in the ai.

The relative proportion of the extremities is
not the same as in the sloth, where the anterior have
nearly double the length of the posterior limbs: in
this animal the inequality is much less. But in re-
turn, the disproportionate thickness of the thigh and
leg hones (indications of which are found in the
sloths, tatous, and especially the pangolins) is carried
here to an excessive degree, the thigh-bone being

CUVIER^S GIANT SLOTH.

183

in height only double its greatest thickness, which
renders it larger than that of any other animal known,
not excepting the mastodon.

“ This general disposition of the extremities
leads to the conclusion that this animal had a slow
and equal gait, and advanced neither by running nor
leaping, like animals having the fore limbs shorter,
nor in crawling, like those which have them longer,
and especially the sloths, to which they otherwise
are so closely similar. The shoulder-blade has gene-
rally the same proportions as those of the sloths. —
It has a clavicle, as in one of them, (the two-iinger-
ed or unau) which, together with the length of the
phalanges supporting the nails, proves that this ani-
mal also employed its fore feet to seize and even to
climb with. The presence of clavicles separates our
giant sloth from all the animals which might be con-
founded with it on account of their size, as the
elephant, rhinoceros, and all the large ruminants,
none of which have these bones.

‘‘ The arm of the megatherium is very remarkable
for the breadth of its inferior part, which is owing
to the great surface of the spines placed above its
condyles. Hence, the muscles which originate there,
and serve, as is known, to move the hand and fingers,
must have been very considerable; this is another proof
of the great use made by our animal of its inferior ex-
tremities. This great breadth of the lower part of
the humerus is peculiarly found in the ant-eater,
which is known to employ its powerful claws to sus-
pend itself from trees, or to tear open the solid nests
of the termites. It is in the ant-eater three-fifths
of its length — while in our animal the breadth is

184

Cuvier’s giant sloth.

one- half; which is also the proportion in the long-
tailed scaly ant-eater, or phatagin. In the rhino-
ceros this breadth is only a third, and in the ele-
phant a fourth, of the length. Ruminant animals,
which scarcely make any use of their toes, have
hardly any thing of these spines.

The length of the olecranon (point of the el-
bow) must have given to the extensor muscles of
the forearm, an advantage which they have not in
the sloths, whose olecranon is extremely short, which
contributes not a little to the imperfection of their
movements. The radius turns freely upon the ulna;
but it should be remarked that this bone has been
inverted in the skeleton, and the figures published
represent it in this erroneous manner. The short-
ness of the metacarpus shows that the palm was en-
tirely placed on the ground in walking. The digits,
which were apparent and armed with nails, were
three in number, and the two others concealed under
tbe skin, as there are two in the ai, three in the
unau and two fingered ant-eater.

The last phalanges were composed of an axis,
which carried the claw, and of a sheath which en-
closed its base absolutely, as in the great clawed ani-
mals compared with this. But the bones of the
metacarpus were not solidified together, as they
are in the ai. The proportion of these bones, as well
as those of the mcgalonyx, {Jeffei'son'^s giant sloth)
are very different from those of the sloths, being
the same as in the ant-eaters.

“The pelvic bones are very different in our ani-
mal from those of the kindred species. The haunch
bones are the only ones preserved in the Madrid

r

CUVlEli’s GIANT SLOTH. 185

skeleton; they form a half pelvis, broad and hollowed
out, the mid-plane of which is perpendicular to the
spine, resembling somewhat that of the elephant, and
especially of the rhinoceros. The broad ]>art of these
bones have a peculiarly striking analogy with that of
the latter animal, by the proportion of its three lines;
but their narrow part, and near the cotyloid cavity,
is much shorter. This form of pelvis indicates that
the megatherium had a large belly, and accords, with
the form of the teeth, to indicate that its subsistence
was vegetable matter.

The pubis and ischium are wanting in the Mad-
rid skeleton, but, in my opinion, these were lost at
the time of the exhumation. However, if this de-
fect be natural to the species, it is still in an edent-
ous animal (the two-toed ant-eater) that we find
the first, though a slight indication of it. The ossa
pubis and ischium of this ant-eater do not unite in
Iront, and remain always separate.

'^'^The tibia and fibula are united by bony matter
at their two extremities, a circumstance absolutely
peculiar to this animal; they present also by their
union a disproportionately broad surface. In this
respect the leg of the megatherium resembles con-
siderably that of the ai, which is very broad, be-
cause its two bones each form a convexity on their
sides, thus separating from each other. The figures
lead to the belief that the articulation of the leg and
foot is not so singular as it is in the ai, and that it
is much more solid.

^•The megatherium having a broad astragalus, ar-
ticulated with a tibia equally so, and strengthened
farther by the lateral position of the fibula, stood

VOL. II.-— A a

186

CUVIEli’s GIANT SLOTH.

more solidly than the sloths, and in this respect must
have resembled most other quadrupeds.

We find but a single toe on the hind feet of
the Madrid skeleton, wliich was armed with claws;
but in this respect I think there is less certainty
than relative to the fore feet; especially as the figures
represent hut two other toes, which have no claws;
and my researches have uniformly established as
a rule without exception, that all unguiculated
animals have five digits, whether externally visible,
concealed beneath the skin, or reduced to simple
osseous rudiments.

The tail is wanting in the Madrid skeleton, and
the smallness of the posterior face of the body of
the sacrum, leads to the conclusion, that it was very
short in this animal.

<‘The comparison of the bones of the megathe-
rium and megalonyx, (Jefferson’s giant sloth) re-
sults in establishing almost the absolute identity of
forms, at least in the parts yet discovered of the
latter; but the size is different. The bones of the
megatherium are a third larger than those of the
megalonyx, and as the latter bear all the characters
of the adult age, we can only attribute the difference
of size to difference of species: we may add that the
claw-sheaths are longer and more complete in the
last phalanges of the megatherium. These two ani-
mals then should form two species of the same ge-
nus, belonging to the Edcntous family, being inter-
mediate to the sloths and ant-eaters, though nearer
the former than the latter.”*

Oss. Foss. tom. iv.

Cuvier's giant sloth.

187

After this long extract from Cuvier, we deem it
most advantageous to the reader to present the ac-
count of the fragments of the North American spe-
cimen described in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natu-
ral History of New York, in a paper entititled “ On
the Remains of the Megatherium recently discover-
ed in Georgia, by William Cooper.’^ In giving this
paper nearly entire,* we feel satislied that its zealous
and scientific author will lose nothing by having his
researches on this subject immediately contrasted
with those of the illustrious zoologist above quoted.

It has been already announced that remains of
the great fossil animal of Paraguay exist within the
limits of the United States, and under a latitude
nearly as far north, as they have hitherto been found
south of the Equator. We are indebted for the
first intelligence of this discovery, which possesses
so much interest for the lovers of natural science, to
our learned associate, professor Mitchill, distin-
guished by his previous contributions to the know-
ledge of the fossil productions of this country. In a
paper contained in the present volume of these An-
nals, that gentleman has given an account of two frag-
ments of teeth brought to him from an island on the
sea-coast of Georgia, which, at the same time that they
differed totally from those of any quadruped now
known to exist, presented the most striking resem-
blance to those of the Megatherium. To an animal

* We have already quoted, in the dental system of this
species, a part of this paper. The comparison with Bru’s
description, &c. not being necessary at present, is also
omitted.

188

Cuvier’s giant sloth.

of this very extraordinary, and now extinct, species,
he accordingly does not hesitate to refer them.

‘‘ The information thus given, however, was calcu-
lated rather to stimulate than to satisfy the curiosity
of naturalists. Although the fact of these remains
existing in North America might perhaps be con-
sidered as thereby established, yet its connexion with
the most dilficult problems in zoology and geology
rendered it highly desirable to obtain other and
more entire parts of the skeleton, and with them to
institute a more extensive comparison. By means
of this we might expect to discover any difference
possibly existing between them, or else to determine,
in the most unquestionable manner, the specific iden-
tity of the animal of Georgia with that of Paraguay.

These considerations induced me to address a
letter to my friend. Dr. Wm. R. Warmg, of Sa-
vannah, begging him to make inquiry whether any
more of these relics had been found, and, if possible,
to procure me some of them. His answer informed
me that his friend. Dr. Joseph C. Habersham, of the
same place, had, with much trouble, and at some
expense, assembled a collection of the bones found
in the marshes of Skidaway Island, and at his re-
quest consented to allow them to be sent to this city,
under the condition that they should be placed where
they might be publicly viewed. They were trans-
mitted to me in the month of March last, and in
compliance with the wishes of the owner, are now
deposited in the cabinet of the Lyceum.

The collection was found to consist of parts of
several members of the skeleton, which, as nearly as

Cuvier’s giant sloth. 189

their very mutilated and disconnected state would
enable me to determine, were as follows:

“ A portion of the posterior part of the side
of the lower jaw.

Another portion which had been continuous
with the preceding.

A considerable portion of the anterior part of
the same jaw.

A fragment of the /e// side of the same jaw,
about three inches square.

Five fragments belonging to three different
teeth.

The vertebra dentata, with nearly one half
broken off.

Three other vertebrie, two of which appear to
be dorsal, and the third either the last dorsal or the
first lumbar. None of these are entire.

A fragment undetermined, but supposed to be
of the ilium.

Eight pieces belonging to three or four different
ribs. Three of these pieces have the heads attach-
ed to them, and two seem to have belonged to the
left side, and the remainder to the right.

'^^The head of the lower extremity of the hume-
rus, with both condyles nearly entire.

Two pieces with a concavity at one end, per-
haps the superior parts of a radius and ulna.

A bone supposed to be tarsal, much broken.

Two carpal bones adapted to each other.

The heads of both femora; and a fragment, ap-
parently the lower condyle of a femur.

‘‘ Part of a bone about seven inches long, sup-
posed to be part of a fibula.

190

cuvier’s giant sloth.

“ Besides these were four or five other small
pieees of bone, but so imperfect as not to be easily
referred to their proper places in the skeleton.

“ In addition to the foregoing should be enumerat-
ed the two fragments of teeth from which professor
Mitchill drew up his description. On being com-
pared with Dr. Habersham’s collection, one of them
was found to correspond with a fragment supposed
to be of a fourth molar, of which it formed the pos-
terior process. The other, as it fitted with great
exactness into what remained of the socket of the
third molar, appeared to have occupied that place in
the jaw. Thus it is rendered extremely probable
that ail the relics of the Megatherium yet discovered,
as far as we know, in North America, have belonged
to a single individual.

I shall first endeavour to bring together some
of these fragments so as to show what has been their
original state; after which they may be compared
with the figure and description of the animal of
Paraguay, as given by M. Cuvier in the Jlnnates du
Museum, vol. v., and in the Kecherches sur les Os-
semens Fossiles, vol. iv. first edition.

Restoration of part of the lower jaw. — A and
B (see plate) formed one continuous piece. Of this
there can be no doubt, as the edges of the frac-
ture, though very irregular, correspond perfectly
with each other. These two portions compose the
greater part of the right side of the lower jaw, and
contain parts of the sockets of all the four molar
teeth.

The plate represents two views of the jaw as
partly restored, reduced to one-fifth their natural

guvier’s giant sloth.

191

size. Fig. 1, is an oblique view of the inside of the
jaw. Fig. 2, a profile of the outside. The dotted
line represents the part supposed to be broken olf.

C also belongs to the lower jaw. It consists of
the anterior part, comprising the symphysis, vvith
part of the elongation, and parts of the sockets of
the two first molars. It has been continuous vvith B.

D (not in the plate) is a fragment of the left
side of the same jaw. This is evident from its con-
taining parts of the sockets of the two last molars,
part of the opening for the passage of the maxillary
vessels, and the origin of the ascending branch of
the jaw.

The teeth had fallen out of all the sockets ex-
cept one, which contained the body of the second
molar with the crown and fangs broken off, appa-
rently by recent violence. I attempted, therefore,
to find the places of the four remaning teeth. Two
of them I perceived to be alike in all respects, and
therefore concluded that they had occupied corres-
ponding situations in opposite sides of the jaw. Roth
are broken in two across, and consist of the crown
and part of the body, as far down as below the com-
mencement of the internal pyramidal cavity. The
longer of the two is about four inches, the other
somewhat less. On trying the first of these, it was
found to fit with great exactness into the socket, of
which part remains in B, and part in C, that is, the
socket of the fit'st molar. This, it may be observed,
corroborates the approximation of these two frag-
ments. Its form also showed this to have been its
place; its diameter in the direction of its cutting
edges being less than the contrary diameter, and its

19a CUVlER^S GIANT SLOTH.

being narrowed anteriorly, proved its situation to
have been in the thinner and more tapering part of
the maxillary bone.

The second molar of the same (that is, the ?'ight)
side, remained in its socket as already mentioned. It
is remarkable for its rhomboidal form, the diagonal
through its left anterior internal, and right posterior
external angle, being the greatest.

“ The remaining two teeth appeared to belong to
the left side of the same jaw. One of them I con-
jectured to be the third; 1st, from its fitting into a
part of this socket remaining in D; and 2dly, from
its form, whieh shows the passage between the rhom-
boidal figure of the second molar, and the flattened
shape of that whieh I suppose to be the fourth. This
last is more flattened, that is, broader in the direc-
tion of its cutting edges than any of the others; and
from this, as well as from its agreeing with the form
of the fourth socket, partly remaining in D, I have
referred it hither. This tooth may, however, have
belonged to the upper jaw.

The fragments of teeth in Dr. Habersham’s col-
lection, for there is not one entire, agree with Bru’s
description of those in the skeleton of Madrid, so
far, at least, as it is given in the French abridgment.
There are the sockets of four in the right lower side,
and consequently eight teeth in all, in the lower jaw,
the six posterior being the greatest. They are square,
with rounded angles, and a groove between on the
inner and outer sides, and are longitudinally striated.
The inferior pyramidal cavity may be observed with
advantage in the right second molar, which remains
in the socket: but the terminating points are broken

CUVIEll’s GIANT SLOTH. 193

off from this as well as from all the others. Conse-
quently, we are not enabled to ascertain their pre-
cise length, but it appears to have been at least seven
inches, and probably more.

The heaviest of our teeth, which is the first of
the right side, weighs nine and a-quarter ounces.
The fourth of the left side weighs nine ounces. To
make them agree with the weights of the corres-
ponding teeth, as stated by Bru, we must suppose
that more than half has been broken off the former,
and from the latter nearly two-thirds. This, from
a comparison with the sockets, I should hardly sup-
pose to be the case, at least with the latter.

The peculiar form of the crown of these teeth
is not well represented in any figure I have seen,
excepting that given by Professor Mitchill, to which
the reader is referred. Their posterior crest is
higher than the anterior. The posterior crest is
known by the curvature of the tooth corresponding
with that of the socket. This peculiarity does not
appear in the figure in the ^ Ossemens Fossiles/
but rather the contrary.

^‘Fig. 3 represents a transverse section, natural
size, of one of the first molars, showing the arrange-
ment and relative thickness of the coats.

Fig. 4, a longitudinal section of part of a larger
tooth, showing the manner in which the interior
enamel terminates the cutting process.

Of the four vertebrae, three have little remain-
ing besides the body, the processes being almost all
entirely broken off. The other, which appears to
be one of the dorsal, perhaps the third, is tolerably
entire. It agrees with Em’s description of those of

VOL. II.— -B b

194

CUVlEli's GIANT SLOTH,

the megatherium^ excepting that I am not able to
find the two holes which he describes in the atlas,
and which, he says,- are common to all the other ver-
tebra?. As, however, this bone is much incrusted
with various shells, they may possibly be covered or
filled up.

The ribs, also, are too much injured to afibrd
any very distinctive characters. Neither can I ob-
serve any thing peculiar in the condyles of the hu-
merus, as we have supposed them to be, for nothing
more of this bone remains besides the inferior articu-
lating extremity. The remarkable enlargement de-
scribed in the Madrid skeleton is entirely wanting.
The two fragments, conjectured to be the superior
extremities of the radius and ulna, are in the same
state, and present nothing but smooth and even con-
cavities, with their edges partly broken. That sup-
posed to be the radius exhibits on one side a smooth
facet, where it may have played upon the ulna. —
One of these pieces is six, the other four inches
long; the diameter of their cavities about four inches.

Of the two supposed to be carpal bones, the
first, which is of a triangular figure, is the smaller.
One side is convex and the other concave, with a
slight elev ation crossing it about the middle, which
adapts itself to a corresponding depression in the
other bone. It measures nearly five inches in length,
and nearly three and a-half in breadth, and is about
an inch thick. The second is of a singular figure:
one side is convex, as in the first; the other side has
one half concave, while the other half swells out
into a hemispherical knob. Its outline is quadrangu-
lar, and it is a little longer and broader than the

CU VIERAS GIANT SLOTH. 195

iirst, with its concave end about as thick, and the
other nearly three times that thickness, measuring
through the knob.

Tlie heads of the two femora are both nearly
entire, and would perhaps be sufficient of themselves
to prove the identity of our animal with the South
American species. They are, as observed by M.
Bru, ^ perfectly spherical, and with a superficies
very smooth,’ and measure full twenty-three inches
in circumference. The dimensions of the skeleton
of Madrid are not given in detail in the French
abridged description. Even if we had not the evi-
dence afforded by the teeth, these huge condyles
would indicate an animal of much superior bulk to
the megalonyxi for we can hardly imagine that a
creature not larger than an ox, which is conjectured
to have been the size of this quadruped of Virginia,
could be furnished with thigh-bones of such dispro-
portionate bigness. Indeed, they would seem cal-
culated to encumber rather than support even the
megatherium, whose size is supposed by M. Cuvier
to have equalled that of the rhinoceros.

The other fragments being small and mucfi
broken, nothing satisfactory could be determined
with respect to them.

My inquiries have not, as yet, enabled me to
give any very precise information respecting the
locality of these bones, or the character of the for-
mation in which they were found. Their appear-
ance, however, indicates that they have been over-
flowed by the sea; and they seem to have had one
side imbedded in the earth or mud, while the other
was washed by the salt water They are thinlv in

.196

jeffekson’s giant sloth.

crusted in some places with Flustrse and other zoo-
phytes, and have recent shells of the genera Balanus,
Ostrca and others, adhering to them. All are re-
markably hard and heavy, and of a deep black co-
lour. They do not retain any part of their animal
matter.

^‘Drs. Waring and Habersham state that these
bones are still to be procured in great quantity, by
some labour and expense, at the same place. They
add, that bones of the same kind may be obtained
at two other places, one called Whitebluff, said to be
also on the seacoast; the other is at some distance up
the Savannah river. We may hope, through the
zeal and exertions of the same gentleman, to whom
the scientific public generally is so much indebted
for the preservation of the remains which have form-
ed the subject of these remarks, to have these in-
teresting deposites further explored; and in a man-
ner worthy of the great questions, which a proper
examination of their contents would contribute so
much to elucidate.”

Species II. — Jefferson"’ s Giant Sioth.
Megatherium Jeffersonii.

Mcgalonyx;. Jefferson, Transact, of the Am. Philos. Society, iv. 246.
Megalonyx: C. Annals du. Museum, v. 358, pi. 23; Recherches sur les
Ossemens Fossiles, iv.

Megatherium Jeffersonii: Desm. Mammal. 36^ Sp. 580.

•

To the author of the Declaration of American In-
dependence the scientific world is indebted for the
first account of the extraordinary and interesting re-.

Jefferson’s giant sloth. 197

lies, which indubitably establish the fact, that at
some very early period this country contained a
second species of quadruped of gigantic size, re-
sembling the sloths in structure and manners. The
only fragments yet obtained of the skeleton of this
extinct species were discovered in a saltpetre-cave,
belonging to Mr. Frederic Cromer, in Green Briar
county, Va. where they were found about three feet
below the surface of the cave’s floor. “ The im-
portance of the discovery (says the distinguished
author first above cited) was not known to those
who made it, yet it excited conversation in the
neighbourhood, and led persons of vague curiosity
to seek and take away the bones. It was fortunate
for science that one of its zealous and well informed
friends. Col. John Stewart, of that neighbourhood,
heard of the discovery,' and, sensible from the de-
scription that they were not of any animal known,
took measures without delay for saving those which
still remained. He was kind enough to inform me
of the incident, and to forward me the bones from
time to time as they were recovered. To these I
was enabled accidentally to add some others, by the
kindness of Mr. Hopkins, of New York, who had
visited the cave.”

The bones thus obtained consisted of a fragment
of an arm or thigh-bone, a complete radius, and an
ulna, which was broken in two, but not otherwise in-
jured; three of the phalanges on which the claws
were sustained, and several bones belonging to the
fore or hind feet.

In the absence of every opportunity for making a
proper comparison of these bones, we are not sur-

198 JEFFERtsOK's GIANT SLOTH.

prised that Jefferson should, in the first instance,
have compared them with the skeleton of the lion,
as described by Daubenton; or that he should come
to the conclusion that this unknown species was

more than three times as large as the lion; that he
stood pre-eminently at the head of the column of
clawed animals, as the mammoth stood at that of
the elephant, rhinoceros and hippopotamus; and that
he may have been as formidable an antagonist to the
mammoth as the lion to the elephant.^’ In a post-
script to the same memoir, the author makes some
observations on a very imperfect account of the me-
gatherium, which prove that nothing but the want
of proper materials for comparison prevented him
from referring his megalonyx, or great claw, to its
proper place.*

The late professor Wist a”r, so justly distinguished
for his zeal in the cause of science, drew correct,
though not altogether positive conclusions in relation
to these bones. After giving a detailed description

* “ P. S. Marcli 10, 1797. After the preceding commu-
nication was ready to be delivered in to the society, in a
periodical publication from London, (Monthly Magazine,
Sept. 1796) I met with an account and drawing of the
skeleton of an animal dug up near the river La Plata, in
Paraguay, and now mounted in the cabinet of Natural His-
tory of Madrid. The figure is not so done as to be relied
on, and the account is only an abstract from that of Cuvier
and Roume. This skeleton is also of the clawed kind, and
having only four teeth on each side, above and below, all
grinders is, on this account, classed in the family of the un-
guiculated quadrupeds destitute of cutting teeth, and re-
ceives the new denomination of megatherhmi: having nothing

Jefferson’s giant sloth.

199

of them, he makes the following observations; — ■
from the shortness of the metacarpal bone, and
the form and arrangement of the other bones of the
paw, and also from the form of the solitary metatar-
sal bone, it seems probable that the animal did not
walk on the toes; it is also evident that the last pha-
lanx was not retracted. The particular form of the
second bone, and its connexion with the first and
third, must have produced a peculiar species of flex-
ion in the toes, which, combined with the greater
flexion of the last phalanx upon the second, must

of our animal but the leg and foot-bones, we have few points
of comparison between them. They resemble in their sta-
ture, that being twelve feet nine inches long, and six feet
four and a-half inches high, and ours by computation, five
feet 1.75 inches high: they are alike in the colossal thickness
of the thigh and leg-bones also. They resemble, too, in hav-
ing claws: but those of the figure appear very small, and
the verbal description does not satisfy us, whether the claw-
bone, or only its horny cover, be large. They agree too in
the circumstance of the two bones of the forearm being dis-
tinct and moveable on each other; which, however, is believed
to be so usual as to form no mark of distinction. They dif-
fer in the’ following circumstances, if our relations are to be
trusted: — The megatherium, is not of the cat-form, as are
the lion, tiger and panther, but is said to have striking re-
lations in all parts of its body with the bradypus, darypus,
pangolin, &c. According to analogy, then, it had not the phos-
phoric eye nor leonine roar. But to solve satisfactorily the
question of identity, the discovery of fore teeth, or a jaw-
bone, showing it [the megalonyx, or Jefferson’s animal, both
jaws of the megatherium having been figured] had, or had
not such teeth, must be waited for and hoped with patience.
It may be better in the mean time to keep up the difterence
of name.” — Phil. Soc. Trans, p. 959.

200

Jefferson’s giant sloth.

have enabled the animal to turn the claws under the
soles of the feet; from this view of the subject there
seems to be some analogy between the foot of this
animal and that of the Bradypus [Sloth] — having
no specimens of that animal, I derive this conclusion
from the description of its feet given by M. Dau-
BENTON.”*

Cuvier was the first to establish, from sufficient
data, the true place and character of this animal;
from all his comparisons and investigations he lays
down the following positions:

1st, That the animals which furnish these fossil
bones were not carnivorous; — 2d, that they had, in
large, all the forms and all the details of organiza-
tion that the sloths exhibit in small, and that the de-
tails of these organizations must have been similar; —
3d, that if they are separated from them in some
unimportant particulars, it is only in approaching the
nearest allied genus, that of the ant-eaters; — 4th, that
the approximation of these fossil animals to the
sloths, and their classification in the Edentous family,
in general, are not arbitrary, nor founded on artificial
characters, but that they are the necessary result of
the intimate identity in the nature of both.”

The great size of this animal precludes the idea
of its living upon trees, exactly in the manner of living-
sloths, but every thing discovered of its structure
forbids us from thinking that its mode of life was
widely different. A sloth of the size of an ox, would
find few trees whose branches would be capable of

* Am. Phil. Trans, vol. iv. 530.

Jefferson’s giant sloth. 201

sustaining so great a weight; but in not climbing if
would not differ more from the sloth than species of
other genera do from each other.

We subjoin the measurements of these bones, and
deem it unnecessary to describe them individually
with minuteness. The figures given in the plate will
convey a better idea of them than we possibly could

by words.

Inches.

Length of the ulna, . . . . 20.I

Breadth to tip of its coronoid process, - 9.55

in the middle of the bone, - - 3.8

Length of the radius, ... 17.75

at its head, - - - - 2.65

Breadth near the carpal extremity, - 4.5^

Length of the metacarpal bone, a - - 3.5

of the first phalanx, b - 1.25

of the second, c - - 2.25

of the third, d - 7.

^Jefterson. in Philos. Trans, nt supra.

VOL. II. — C c

CHAPTER XV.

Order V. — Bellu^; h. Dense Skinned Animals; C.

The animals pertaining to this order cannot flex
their digits, nor lay hold of objects, their feet being
exclusively destined to support their weight: they
are, therefore, not provided with clavicles; (collar-
bones.) The fore arm always remains in a state of pro-
nation; (with the palm against the earth.) They feed
on vegetable matters, and do not ruminate; the sto-
mach is membranous and simple, or merely divided
by membranous bands.*

I'AMiLY I. — Proboscidia; Having a Trunk and
Tusks.

In the skeleton all the feet are distinctly five-toed,
but in the living animal these are entirely concealed
by thick and callous integument, which shows no ex-
ternal mark of their existence, except by the nails,
which border this sort of hoof. There are no true
incisive nor canine teeth in the upper jaw, but

* The term used by Linne as the name of this order, is
applicable to every wild beast of great size, strength, &c.
Cuvier calls the order Pachydermata, the translation of
■which we use as a trivial name for the order, instead of a

PROBOSCIDIA.

203

two great tusks, growing from the intermaxillary
bones, project externally and increase to a vast size.
The magnitude of the sockets required for these
tusks renders the upper jaw so high, and shortens
the bones of the nose so much, that in the skeleton
the nostrils are found near the upper part of the
face; but in the living animal they are prolonged into
a cylindrical trunk, composed of thousands of small
muscles, variously interlaced, moveable in every di-
rection, endowed with an exquisite sensibility, and
terminating by an appendix somewhat in form of a
finger. The skull has large vacant spaces between
its plates, by which a greater extent is given for the
origin of muscles, without unnecessary increase of
weight to the head. The lower jaw has no incisive
teeth: the intestines are very large; the ccecum enor-
mous; the teats, two in number, are placed upon the
chest. The young of the elephant, the only living
animal of this family, sucks with the mouth and not
with the trunk.*

better, which cannot well be obtained, however much it is
to be desired. Other animals, meriting either of the names
used for the order, may be found, yet by no means corres-
ponding with the definition above given. The name, there-
foi’e, in this case, as in numerous others, must be associa-
ted with the characters of the order, as laid down, without
reference to its own etymological signification.

• Cuvier Regne Animal, i. 228.

204

MASTODON.

Genus II. — Mastodon; Mastodon; C.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The form of the superior part of the head still
remains unknown, the whole mass above the level of
the zygomatic process being destroyed. The inter-
maxillary bones are long, and have at their extremi-
ties the openings of very large sockets for the tusks,
which are very large and long. The lower jaw, ending
in a point at the symphisis, is hollowed into a sort of
canal; the neck is very short, the limbs long and five
toed, and the ribs nineteen in number. The tail
was moderately long.

The incisive teetli, very analogous to those of the
elephant, are formed of ivory, which, when trans-
versely cut, exhibits curvilinear lozenges, produced
by the intersection of lines of a harder bony sub-
,stance. The molars have rectangular crowns, some-
what straighter in the hind than in the fore teeth.
They are composed of but two substances, the ex-
ternal being a thick enamel, and the internal bony
matter, without cement or cortical substance, each
tooth weighing about twelve pounds.

The crowns of these teeth are divided by very
open trenches into transverse eminences, and each
eminence is itself divided into two great, obtuse, ir-

Dental System.

6 Upper

2 Incisive, (in form of tusks)
4 Molar.

4 Molar.

4 Lower

•. /. fi.-

.'.• -f '•• • ■ *.

... ■ '^5

■ ••• ;■ i. . ■••:'■

■ • ■ • . ' '

'i.. :^;'V ••■• .■■':_■■ ;,

'•IS

tf

V ■'

.i-

f

%

r

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON,

205

i*egularly formed points, constituting slightly round-
ed quadrangular pyramids. When the crown is
not w orn it is studded with knobs, or points disposed
in pairs, from six to ten in number.

Species I. — The Gigantic Mastodon.

Mastodon Giganteumj C.

Animal Incognitum: Remb. Peaie, Account of the Skeleton of the
Mammoth, 4to. 2d. ed. Lend. 1806.

Mastodon Giganteum: C. An. du Mus. Recherches Sur less Oss. Foss,
ed 2, i. p. 206.

Mastodon Giganteum: Account of the Discovery of the Skeleton of the
Mastodon Gig'anteum Extracted from the Report made to the Ly-
ceum of Natural History, by Messrs. Dekay, Van Rensselaer, and
Cooper, Annals Lyceum of Nat. Hist, of N. York, v. i. p. 143.

[Improperly called Mammoth.']

In various parts of North America single bones of
extraordinary size had been occasionally disinterred,
without exciting more than temporary curiosity, or
leading to any thing better than wild and unsatisfac-
tory speculation. Some persons regarded them as the
relics of a gigantic race of men, of whose existence
no other traces remained; others, who appeared
willing to surpass all absurdity, suggested that they
might have belonged to the angels who were ex-
pelled their celestial habitations; while a third, and
more rational party, concluded that they were the
bones of an animal still in existence, or belonged to a
larger variety of the well known elephant species. —
The inquiry generally ceased when the novelty of
their discovery passed away; those by whom they
were found were in pursuit of other objects, and very:

206

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

frequently neglected to preserve the fragments already
obtained. But when situations were explored where
they were procured in greater abundance, and the
curiosity of European naturalists was awakened, these
relies were eagerly sought for, until nearly a whole
skeleton was obtained, the fact satisfactorily estab-
lished, that these bones belonged to a peculiar race
never before known, and, what was still more sur-
prising, that the whole race was utterly extinct.

We find, as early as the year 1712, a letter from
Dr. Mather to Dr. Woodward, publislied in the Phi-
losophical Transactions, announcing that some bones
and teeth of a monstrous size had been discovered
at Albany, in New Yoi‘k.

In the year 1739, some savages belonging to the
company of a French officer named Longueil, who
was descending the Ohio to the Mississipi, found, at
a short distance from the river, at the edge of a
marsh, some bones, grinders, and tusks, belonging to
this unknown animal. The year after Longueil took
to Paris a thigh-bone, the extremity of a tusk, and
three grinders, which are still preserved there. Since
that time these bones have been discovered in many
places; though, in consequence of the notice first at-
tracted by the specimens found on the Ohio river,
the name of Animal of the Ohio had been bestowed
on this creature, yet this name, and that of Mam-
moth, have at length been entirely superseded by
that proposed by Cuvier.

About the year 1740, vast numbers of these bones,
which had been washed up by the current of the
Ohio, or were purposely digged for, were found in
Kentucky. The eagerness to procure them, and the

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

207

haste with which they were sent to Europe, retarded
the knowledge of the true character of the animal — as
it became impossible to procure or recognize the bones
belonging to different skeletons, or to determine their
exact numbers and proportions. Over France, Eng-
land and Germany, they were in this manner scattered
in confusion; and we need not be surprised that natu-
ralists were long in forming just ideas of the character
of the animal, or indulged so much the disposition
to maintain theories established on such slight founda-
tions.

The force of prejudice may be clearly seen in the
perseverance with which Buffon, and some other
scientific men, maintained that these bones belonged
to a variety of the elephant race; for if he admitted
that they did not belong to that kind, he must have
acknowledged that they were the bones of an extinct
genus, which was an idea not then proposed, but has
since most amply been proved true, and a vast num-
ber of extinct species discovered.

In consequence of some large bones having been
previously found in Siberia, that were really ele-
phantine^ the idea readily became prevalent that the
great bones of the Ohio and other parts of North
America were similar. Hence the name mammoth
(said to be a corruption of the Hebrew word Behe-
moth) was applied to the American animal, and con-
tinued to be generally used, until the extreme dif-
ference of its structure induced naturalists to con-
sider it properly, raise it to the rank of a distinct
genus, and bestow on it a name expressive of its
most striking characteristic, the form of the teeth.

It was not until the year 1801, a period of eighty-

208 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

nine years from the first discovery of the bones at
Albany, that any hopes were entertained of finding
an entire skeleton of this wonderful and interesting
animal.

In the year 1824 a considerable part of a skeleton
was raised in New Jersey by some scientific gentle-
men of New York; but they have not discovered
any thing more than was previously made known by
the exertions of Messrs. Peale; the head, which is
the only important part wanting, was too much de-
composed to enable them to form any idea of its
figure.

The emotions experienced, when for the first time
we behold the giant relics of this great animal, are
those of unmingled awe. We cannot avoid reflecting
on the time when this huge frame was clothed with
its peculiar integuments, and moved by appropriate
muscles; when the mighty heart dashed forth its tor-
rents of blood through vessels of enormous caliber,
and the mastodon strode along in supreme dominion
over every other tenant of the wilderness. How-
ever we examine what is left to us, we cannot help
feeling that this animal must have been endowed
with a strength exceeding that of other quadrupeds,
as much as it exceeded them in size; and, looking at
its ponderous jaws, armed with teeth peculiarly
formed for the most effectual crushing of the firmest
substances, we are assured that its life could only
be supported by the destruction of vast quantities
of food.

Enormous as were these creatures during life, and
endowed with faculties proportioned to the bulk of
their frames, the whale race has been extinct for

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

209

ages. No tradition nor human record of their ex-
istence has been saved, and but for the accidental
preservation of a comparatively few bones, we should
never have dreamed that a creature of such vast size
and strength once existed, — nor could we have be-
lieved that such a race had been extinguished for-
ever. Such, however, is the fact — ages after ages
have rolled away — empires and nations have arisen,
flourished, and sunk into irretrievable oblivion, while
the bones of the mastodon, which perished long be-
fore the periods of their origin, have been discover-
ed, scarcely changed in colour, and exhibiting all
the marks of perfection and durability.

That a race of animals so large, and consisting of
so many species, should become entirely and univer-
sally extinct, is a circumstance of high interest; —
for it is not with the mastodon as with the elephant,
which still continues to be a living genus, although
many of its species have become extinct: — the entire
race of the mastodon has been utterly destroyed, leav-
ing nothing but the mighty wreck" of their skele-
tons, to testify that they once were among the living
occupants of this land. Into the probable causes erf
this extinction we shall hereafter make a fuller in-
quiry.

The situations whence these bones have been most
commonly obtained, appear to have greatly con-
tributed to their preservation. They have gene-
rally been dug from beneath a considerable mass of
mud, or marie, where they have long soaked in fluids
charged with saline and other impregnations. Thus
they have been equally protected against the effects
of detrition and vicissitudes of weather, artd most

VOL. IT.— D d

210

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

of the bones found are in every respect perfect, with
the exception of an unimportant change in colour.
This circumstance is almost universally observed of
the bones contained in the different cabinets of this
country; when scraped or cut they exhale an odour
remarkably similar to that produced by the same
treatment of a recent bone.

There are several circumstances leading us almost
to despair of ever procuring the upper part of the
skull, which, on account of its comparative thinness
and weakness, as well as the fact of its being always
found much nearer the surface, must be among the
first parts to decay, and be irrecoverably lost. No
speciriien has yet been obtained more perfect than
the one in the Philadelphia Museum, and this has no
part of the skull above the level of the zygomatic
arches. In this, as in all the individuals discovered,
the top of the head was so far decayed and destroyed
as to prevent the least idea being formed as to its
fjgui’e or elevation.

Enough of the head has fortunately been preserv-
ed to make us fully acquainted with the dentition
of this great animal, and enable us to decide on the
general nature of its food and habits of living. With-
out the aid derived from this source we should still
be in doubt, and have nothing to guide us to a satis-
factory conclusion, although the analogy in size and
general configuration might have served to produce
the inference, that the animal was, in other respects,
most nearly allied to the elephant, rhinoceros, or
hippopotamus.

The circumstances attending the exhumation of
the most perfect skeleton ever obtained of this great

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

211

animal, are deeply interesting to every votary of
natural science; and the author believes that he can-
not more effectually minister to the gratification of
his readers, than by introducing in this place the
account written by his father-in-law, an eye-witness
and enthusiatic co-operator in that enterprise, which
has secured to the scientific world one of its most
interesting and instructive possessions. In addition
to the authenticity of this record, (prepared almost
on the spot, by so competent a hand) it is drawn
up with a raciness and vigour which imparts to the
reader’s mind an excitement, not to be awakened by
any cause, short of truth, breathed forth with the
vivid energy of enthusiasm.

J^arraiive of the discovery and exhumation of the
skeleton of the Mastodon; by Rembrandt Peale.

In the spring of 1801, receiving information from
a scientific correspondent in the state of New York,
that in the autumn of 1799 many bones of the Mam-
moth had been found in digging a marle-pit in the
vicinity of Newburgh, which is situated on the river
Hudson, sixty-seven miles from the city of New York,
my hither, Charles Wilson Peale, immediately pro-
ceeded to the spot, and through the politeness of
Dr. Graham, whose residence on the banks of the
Wall-kill enabled him to be present when most of
the bones were dug up, received every information
with respect to what had been done, and the most
probable means of future success. The bones that
had been found were then in the possession of the
.farmer who discovered them, heaped on the floor of

TUB GIGANTIC MASTODON.

2V^

his garret or granary, where they were occasionally
visited by tli« curious. These my father was for-
tunate to make a purchase of,* together with the
right of digging for the remainder, and, immediately
packing them up, sent them on to Philadelphia. But
as the farmer’s fields were then in grain, the enter-
prise of further investigation was postponed for a
short time.

The whole of this part of the country abounding
with morasses, solid enough for cattle to walk over,
containing peat, or turf and shell-marle, it is the
custom of the farmers to assist each other, in order
to obtain a quantity of the marie for manure. Pits
are dug generally twelve feet long and five feet wide
at the top, lessening to three feet at the bottom^ —
The peat or turf is thrown on lands not immediately
in use; and the marie, after mellowing through the
winter, is in the spring scattered over the cultivated
fields — the most luxuriant crops are the consequence.
It was in digging otie of these, on the farm of John
Masten, that one of the men, thrusting i his spade
deeper than usual, struck what he supposed to be a.

" They consisted of all the neck, most of the vertebra! of
the back, and some of the tail ; most of the ribs, in greater
part broken; both scapulae; both humeri, with the radii and
ulnae; one femur; a tibia of one leg, and, a fibula of the other;
some large fragments of the head; many of the fore and hind
feet bones; the pelvis, somewhat broken; and a large frag-
ment, five feet long, of one tusk, about mid-way. He
therefore was in want of some of the back and tail bones,
some of the ribs, the under jaw, one whole tusk and part of
the other, the breast bone, one thigh, and a tibia and fibula,
and many of the feet bones.

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

213

log of wood, but on cutting it to ascertain the kind,
to his astonishment, he found it was a bone: it was
quickly cleared from the surrounding earth, and
proved to be that of the thigh, three feet nine inches
in length, and eighteen inches in eircumference, in
the smallest part. The search was continued, and the
same evening several other bones were discovered.
The fame of it soon spread through the neighbour-
hood, and excited a general interest in the pursuit:
all were eager, at the expense of some exertions, to
gratify their curiosity in seeing the ruins of an ani-
mal so gigantic, of whose bones very few among them
had ever heard, and over which they had so often
unconsciously trod. For the two succeeding days
upwards of an hundred men were actively engaged,
encouraged by several gentleman, chiefly physicians,
of the neighbourhood, and success the most sanguine
attended their labours: but, unfortunately, the habits
of the men requiring the use of spirits, it was af-
forded them in too great profusion, and they quickly
became so impatient and unruly, that they had nearly
destroyed the skeleton; and, in one or two instances^
using oxen and chains to drag them from the clay
and marie, the head, hips, and tusks were much
broken; some parts being drawn out, and others left
behind. So great a quantity of water, from copious
springs, bursting from the bottom, rose upon the
men, that it required several score of hands to lade
it out, with all the milk-pails, buckets and bowls,
they could collect in the neighbourhood. All their
ingenuity was exerted to conquer difficulties that
every hour increased upon their hands; they even
made and sunk a large coffer-dam, and within it found

214

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

many valuable small bones. The fourth day so much
water had risen in the pit, that they had not courage
to attack it again. In this state we found it in 1801.

It was a curious circumstance attending the pur-
chase of these bones, that the sum which was paid
for them was little more than one-third of what had
been offered to the farmer for them by another, and
refused, not long before. This anecdote may not be
uninteresting to the moralist, and I shall explain it.
The farmer, of German extraction — and like many
others in America, speaking the language of his fa-
thers better than that of his country — was born on
his farm; he was brought up to it as a business, and
it continued to be his pleasure in old age; not be-
cause it was likely to free him from labour, but be-
cause profit, and the prospect of profit, cheered him
in it, until the end was forgotten in the means. —
Intent upon manuring his lands to increase its pro-
duction, (always laudable) he felt no interest in the
foSsil-shells contained in his morass; and had it not
been for the men who dug with him, and those whose
casual attention was arrested, dr who were drawn by
report to the spot, for him the bones might have
rotted in the hole in which he discovered them; this
he confessed to me would have been his conduct, cer-
tain that after the surprise of the moment they were
good for nothing but to rot as manure. But the
learned physician, the reverend divine, to whom he
had been accustomed to look upwards, gave impor-
tance to the objects which excited the vulgar stare
of his more inquisitive neighbours: he therefore join-
ed his exertions to theirs, to recover as many of the
bones as possible. With him, hope was every thing;

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

215

with the men, curiosity did much, but rum did more,
and some little was owing to certain prospects which
they had of sharing in the future possible profit. It
is possible he might have encouraged this idea; his
fear of it, however, seems to have given him some
uneasiness; for when he was offered a small sum for
the bones, it appeared too little to divide; and when
a larger sum, he fain would have engrossed the
whole of it, or persuade himself that the real value
might be something greater. Ignorant of what had
been offered him, my father’s application was in a
critical moment, and the farmer accepted his price,
on condition that he should receive a new gun for
his son, and new gowns for his wife and daughters,
with some other articles of the same class. The
farmer was glad they were out of his granary, and
that they were in a few days to be two hundred miles
distant; and my father was no less pleased with the
consciousness, and on which every one complimented
him, that they were in the hands of one who would
spare no exertions to make the best use of them.
The neighbours, who had assisted the farmer in this
discovery, envious of his good fortune, sued him for
a share in the profit; but they gained nothing more
than a dividend of the costs; it appearing that they
had been satisfied with the gratification of their cu-
riosity, and the quality and quantity of the rum; no
one could prove that he had given them reason to
hope for a share in the price of any thing his land
might happen to produce.

Not willing to lose the advantage of an uncom-
monly dry season, when the springs in the morass
were low, we proceeded on the arduous enterprize.

216

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

In New York every article was provided which
might be necessary in surmounting expected difli-
culties; such as a pump, ropes, pullies, augers, &.c.;
boards and plank were provided in the neighbour-
hood, and timber was in sufficient plenty on the spot.

Confident that nothing could be done without hav-
ing a perfect command of the water, the first idea
was to drain it by a ditch; but the necessary distance
of perhaps half a mile, presented a length of labour
that appeared immense. It was therefore resolved
to throw the water into a natural baSon, about sixty
feet distant, the upper edge of which was about ten
feet above the level of the water. An ingenious mill-
wright constructed the machinery, and, after a week
of close labour, completed a large scaffolding and a
wheel twenty feet diameter, wide enough for three
or four men to w^alk a-breast in; a rope round this
turned a small spindle, which worked a chain of
buckets regulated by a floating cylinder; the water,
thus raised, was emptied into a trough, which con-
veyed it to the bason; a ship’s pump assisted, and,
towards the latter part of the operation a pair of
half barrels, in removing the mud. This machine
W'orked so powerfully, that in the second day the
w^aterwas lowered so much as to enable them to dig,
and in a few hours they were rewarded with several
small bones.

The road which passed through this farm was a
highway, and the attention of every traveller was
arrested by the coaches, wagons, chaises, and horses,
which animated the road, or were collected at the
entrance of the field: rich and poor, men, women and
children, all flocked to see the operation; and a swamp

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

217

always noted as the solitary abode of snakes and frogs,
became the active scene of cariosity and bustle: most
of the spectators were astonished at the purpose which
could prompt such vigorous and expensive exertions,
in a manner so unprecedented, and so foreign to
the pursuits for which they were noted. — But the
amusement was not wholly on their side; and the
variety of company not only amused us, but tended
to encourage the workmen, each of whom, before so
many spectators, was ambitious of signalizing him-
self by the number of his discoveries.

For several weeks no exertions were spared, and
the most unremitting were required to insure suc-
cess; bank after bank fell- in; the increase of water
w'as a constant impediment, the extreme coldness of
which benumbed the workmen. Eacli day required
some new expedient, and the carpenter w^as alw^ays
making additions to the machinery; every day bones
and pieces of bones were found between six and
seven feet deep, but none of the most important
ones. But the greatest obstacle to the search was
occasioned by the shell marie which formed the lower
stratum; this, rendered thin by the springs at the
bottom, w’as, by the weight of the whole morass, al-
ways pressed upw'ards on the workmen to a certain
height, which, without an incalculable expense, it
was impossible to prevent. Twenty-five hands at
high w^ages were almost constantly employed at work
which was so uncomfortable and severe, that nothing
but their anxiety to see the head, and particularly
the under jaw, could have kept up their resolution.
The patience of employer and workmen was at length
exhausted, and the work relinquished without ob-

VOL. II. — E e

218

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON,

taining those interesting parts, the want of which
rendered it impossible to form a complete skeleton.

It would not have been a very difficult matter to
put these bones together, and they would have pre-
sented the general appearance of the skeleton; but
the under jaw was broken to pieces in the first at-
tempt to get out the bones, and nothing but the teeth
and a few fragments of it were now found; the tail was
mostly wanting, and some toe-bones. It was, there-
fore, a desirable object not only to procure some
knowledge of these deficient parts, but if possible
to find some other skeleton in such order as to see
the position, and correctly to ascertain the number
of the bones. In the course of eighteen years there
had been found within twelve miles of this spot, a
bone or two in several different places; concerning
these we made particular inquiries, but found that
most of the morasses had been since drained, and
consequently either the bones had been exposed to
a certain decay; or else so deep, that a fortune might
have been spent in the fruitless pursuit. But through
the polite attention of Dr. Galatan, we were induced
to examine a small morass, pleven miles distant from
the former, belonging to Capt, J. Barber, where,
eight years before, four ribs had been found in dig-
ging a pit. From the description which was given
of their position, and the appearance of the morass,
we began our operations with all the vigour a cer-
tainty of success could inspire. Nearly a week was
consumed in making a ditch, by which all the water
was carried off, except what a hand-pump could oc-
casionally empty: the digging, therefore, was less
difficult than that at Masten’s, though still tedious

THE GIGA>TTIC MASTODON.

•219

and unpleasant; particularly as the sun, unclouded as
it had been for seven weeks, poured its scorching
rays on the morass, so circumscribed by trees, that
the western breeze afforded no refreshment; yet no-
thing could exceed the ardour of the men, particu-
larly of one, a gigantic and athletic negro, who ex-
ulted in choosing the most laborious tasks, although he
seemed melting with the heat. Almost an entire
set of ribs were found, lying nearly together, and
very entire; but as none of the back bones were
found near them (a sufficient proof of their having
been scattered) our latitude for search was extend-
ed to very uncertain limits; therefore, after working
about two weeks, and finding nothing belonging to
the head but two rotten tusks, (part of one of them
is with the skeleton here) three or four small
grinders, a few vertebrse of the back and tail, a
broten scapula, some toe- bones, and the ribs, found
between four and seven feet deep — a reluctant ter-
minating pause ensued.

These bones were kept distinct from those found
at Masten’s, as it would not be proper to incorpo-
rate into one skeleton any other than the bones be-
longing to it; and nothing more was intended than
to collate the corresponding parts. These bones
were chiefly valuable as specimens af the individual
parts; but no bones were found among them which
were deficient in the former collection, and therefore
our chief object was defeated. To have failed in so
small a morass was rather discouraging to the idea
of making another attempt; and yet the smallness of
the morass was, perhaps, the cause of our failure, as
it was extremely probable the bones we could not

220

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

find were long since decayed, from being situated on
the rising slope at no considerable depth, unprotect-
ed by the shell-marle, which lay only in the lower
part of the bason forming the morass. When every
exertion was given over, we could not but look at
the surrounding unexplored parts with some concern,
uncertain how near we might have been to the dis-
covery of all that we wanted, and regretting the
probability that, in consequence of the drain we had
made, a few years would wholly destroy the venera-
ble objects of our research.

Almost in despair at our failure in the last place,
where so much was expected, it was with very little
spirit we mounted our horses, on another inquiry.
Crossing the Walkill at the falls, we ascended over
a double swelling hill into a rudely cultivated coun-
try, about twenty miles west from the Hudson,
where, in a thinly settled neighbourhood, lived the
honest farmer Peter Millspaw, who, three years be-
fore, had discovered several bones: from his log-hut
he accompanied us to the morass.- — It was impossible
to resist the solemnity of the approach to this vene-
rable spot, which was^surrounded by a fence of safety
to the cattle without. Here we fastened our horses,
and followed our guide into the centre of the mo-
rass, or rather marshy forest, where every step was
taken on rotten timber and the spreading roots of
tall trees, the luxuriant growth of a few years, half
of which were tottering over our heads. Breathless
silence had here taken her reign amid unhealthy
fogs, and nothing was heard but the fearful crash of
some mouldering branch or towering beach. It was
almost a dead level, and the holes dug for the purpose

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

221

of obtaining manure, out of which a few bones had
been taken six or seven years before, were full of wa-
ter, and connected with others containing a vast quan-
tity; so that to empty one was to empty them all;
yet a last effort might be crowned with success;
and, since so many difficulties had been conquered,
it was resolved to embrace the only opportunity
that now offered for any farther discovery. Ma-
chinery was accordingly erected, pumps and buckets
were employed, and a long course of troughs con-
ducted the water 'among the distant roots to a fall
of a few inches, by which the men were enabled,
unmolested, unless by the caving in of the banks, to
dig on every side from the spot where the first dis-
covery of the bones had been made.

Here alternate success and disappointment amused
and fatigued us for a long while; until, with empty
pockets, low spirits, and languid workmen, we were
about to quit the morass with but a small collection,
though in good preservation, of ribs, toe and leg-
bones, &c. In the meanwhile, to leave no means
untried, the ground was searched in various direc-
tions with long- pointed rods and cross-handles: after
some practice we were able to distinguish by feel-
ing, whatever substances we touched harder than the
soil; and by this means, in a very unexpected direc-
tion, though not more than twenty feet from the first
bones that were discovered, struck upon a large col-
lection of bones, which were dug to and taken up,
with every possible care. They proved to be a hu-
merus, or large bone of the right leg, with the ra-
dius and ulna of the left, the right scapula, the atlas.

222

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

several toe-bones, and the great object of our pur
suit, a complete under jaw!

After such a variety of labour and length of fruit-
less expectation, this success was extremely grateful
to all parties, and the unconscious woods echoed with
repeated huzzas, which could not have been more
animated if every tree had participated in the joy.

Gracious God, what a jaw! how many animals
have been crushed by it!” was the exclamation of
all; a fresh supply of grog went round, and the
hearty fellows, covered with mud, continued the
search with increasing vigour. The upper part of
the head was found twelve feet distant, but so ex-
tremely rotten that we could only preserve the. teeth
and a few fragments. In its form it exactly resem-
bled the head found at Masten’s; but, as that was
much injured by rough usage, this, from its small
depth beneath the surface, had the cranium so rotted
away as only to show the form around the teeth, and
thence extending to the condyles of the neck; the rot-
ten bone formed a black and greasy mould above that
part which was still entire, yet so tender as to break
to pieces on lifting it from its bed.

This collection was rendered still more complete
by the addition of those formerly taken up, and pre-
sented to us by Drs. Graham and Post, They were
a rib, the sternum, a femur, tibia and fibula, and a
patella or knee-pan. One of the ribs had found its
way into an obscure farm-house, ten miles distant, to
which we fortunately traced it.

Thus terminated this strange and laborious cam-
paign of three months, during which we were won-

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

223

derfiilly favoured, although vegetation suffered, by
the driest season which had occurred within eight
years. Our venerable relics were carefully packed
up in distinct cases; and, loading two wagons with
them, we bade adieu to the vallies and stupendous
mountains of Shawangunk: so called by their former
inhabitants, the Indians of the Lenape tribe. The
three sets of bones were kept distinct: with the two
collections which were most numerous it was intend-
ed to form two skeletons, by still keeping them sepa-
rate, and filling up the deficiencies in each by arti-
ficial imitations from the other, and from counter-
parts in themselves. For instance, in order to com-
plete the first skeleton, which was found at Masten’s,
the under jaw was to be modelled from this, which
is the only intire one that has yet been discovered,
although we have seen considerable fragments of at
least ten different jaws: while, on the other hand, in
the skeleton just discovered at Barber’s, the upper
jaw, which was found in the extreme of decay, was
to be completed, so far as it goes, from the more
solid fragment of the head belonging to the skeleton
found at Masten’s. Several feet-bones in this skele-
ton were to be made from that; and a few in that
were to be made from this. In this the right hu-
merus being real, the imitation for the left one could
be made with the utmost certainty; and the radius
and ulna of the left leg being real, those on the right
side would follow, of course, &c. The collection of
ribs in both cases was almost entire; therefore, hav-
ing discovered from a correspondence between the
number of vertebrae and ribs in both animals, that
there were nineteen pair of the latter, it was neces-

f

' 224 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

saiy in only four or five instances to supply the
counterparts, by correct models from the real bones.
In this manner the two skeletons were formed, and
are in both instances composed of the appropriate
bones of the animal, or exact imitations from the
real bones in the same skeleton, or from those of the
same proportion in the other. Nothing in either
skeleton is imaginary; and what we have not unques-
tionable authority for, we leave deficient; which hap-
pens in only two instances, the summit of the head,
and the end of the tail.

We now proceed to describe the parts composing
the skeleton of the mastodon, and give in detail the
measurements we have very carefully made on the
excellent specimen in the Philadelphia Museum. To
naturalists this will be the more acceptable as it has
not heretofore been done throughout; and it will
enable the general reader to form more definite con-
clusions relative to the animal, by furnishing positive
data for the basis of an accurate comparison between
the bones- of this skeleton and those belonging to
other large quadrupeds.

The Shull. — The upper parts of the skull are en-
tirely lost, as already stated, down to the level of the
anterior part of the zygomatic arch, except at the
back of the skull, where the occipital bone rises
above the level stated, and is eleven inches and a
quarter high. The lower halves (or rather more)
of the intermaxillary bones, and nearly the whole of
the superior maxillary and cheek bones, are also pre-
served. The zygomatic arches are complete, and

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

225

the junction between the jugal process of the tem-
poral and that of the malar bone is very strong, the
process of the temporal bone forming little more than
one-third of the arch.

The posterior part of the skull is the broadest
portion, being thirty- two inches across. When the
skull is placed on the ground inverted, and we look
upon its inferior surface, (as exhibited in Mr. Le-
suEun’s very accurate drawing) from the extreme
points of this widest part of the head, the outlines
of the sides of the skull speedily converge so as to
run within the zygomatic arches, and continue to
become narrower until traced to the posterior sur-
face of the facial bases of the zygomatic arch, where
the skull is narrowest. The outline formed by the
external surface of the zygomatic arches, from the
origin to the angles of the occipital bone, give the
whole inferior and posterior surface of the skull a pe-
culiarly square form. All the parts of the skull are
exceedingly massive and hard, appearing to have
undergone very little change.

The intermaxillary, or incisive bones, are nearly
entire in their inferior portions, and on the left side,
were most perfect, the part forming the sockets for
the tusk measures thirteen inches and a-half in cir-
cumference, beginning opposite to the ante-orbitar
foramen, and extending to a line continuous with the
centre of the palate.

The maxillary, or upper jaw-bones, are entire, and
the palate plate remarkably strong and compact in
texture. The alveolar processes are situated very
near the outer edge, and rise very slightly above the
plane of the roof of the mouth, and diverge consi-

A OL. II. F f

226

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

derably from the posterior to the anterior part of the
range. Hence, at the back of the mouth the dis-
tance from the inside of the last molar to the same
place on the opposite side, is six inches and one-eighth,
while from the inside of the first molar to the cor-
respondent tooth on the other side the space is eight
inches. Immediately in front of the first molar,
measuring from the external edge of its alveolar pro-
cess to the same on the opposite side, the width of
the palate plate is fifteen inches and four-eighths.
Behind the last molar, and midway to the ptery-
goid processes of the sphenoid, the palate-bone is
seven and a-half inches wide. The length of the
pterygoid process, to the base of the skull, is seven
inches.

The malar or cheek-bones, forming the promi-
nences at the superior and external part of the face,
are nearly entire. From the edge of the infra, or
ante-orbitar foramen, to the zygomatic or temporal
fossa, its width is five inches and an eighth; its height,
measured within the fossa, is eight; its greatest
breadth externally is six inches, and the narrowest
portion of its zygomatic process three-quarters of an
inch. Its length, from the foramen to the extremity
of the zygomatic process, is seventeen inches and
seven eighths.

The temporal bone is -entire, except in its thin
superior portion. The length of its zygomatic pro-
cess is seven and a-half inches. The distance of the
auditory foramen, from the cavity for the articulation
of the lower jaw, is one inch. The cavity for the
reception of the condyles of the lower jaw is one
inch and seven-eighths, measured through the centre
transversely.

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

227

The occipital bone is remarkably square on its
posterior surface, which is thirty-two inches broad,
and eleven inches and a-quarter high. How much
higher the bone ascended cannot now be determined.
The distance between the posterior extremities of
the occipital condyles is two inches and one-sixteenth;
the breadth of the condyle is three inches and one-
eighth. The foramen magnum (for the exit of the
spinal marrow) is two and a-half inches in diameter.

The first vertebrae of the neck, or atlas, receiv-
ing the condyles of the occipital bone, is eleven inches
broad. Its length from the tip of one transverse
process to the other is eighteen inches.

The most remarkable peculiarities of the masto-
don skull are summed up by Cuvier in the fol-
lowing manner:*

1st. The molars of the mastodon diverge in front,
while those of the living elephant converge, more
or less, and those of the fossil elephant (the true
mammoth of Siberia) are nearly parallel. The hog
and hippopotamus are the only animals which, in this
respect, resemble our animal.

2d. The bony palate extends far beyond the last
tooth; among herbivorous animals the Ethiopian boar
[Phacochserus) alone possesses this character.

3d. The pterygoid apophysis of the palate bones
have a size unexampled among quadrupeds.

4th. The depression anterior to this apophysis
has some relation with that of the hippopotamus,
which, however, is straighter.

See R. Prale’s Disquisition, heretofore cited.

228

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

5th. There is no visible trace of the orbit at the
anterior part of the zygomatic arch, whence the eye
must have been much higher than in the elephant.

6th. The maxillary bones have much less vertical
elevation than in the elephant, and resemble ordi-
nary anirnals more strongly.

7th. The zygomatic arch, for the same reason, is
much less elevated in front, which corresponds with
the form of the lower jaw. The position of the ear
depends on that of this arch.

8th. This position has much influence on the po-
sition of the occipital condyles, which are, in the
elephant, considerably elevated above the levebof
the palate; in the mastodon they are nearly on the
same level.

The Tusks. — As the bones of various other ani-
mals were discovered in the same place where the
first tusks of this animal were found, some doubt was
entertained of their belonging to 'the same skeleton,
which contained the tuberculated molar teeth. Dr.
W. Hunter stated in the Philosophical Transac-
tions, his belief that they pertained to the same ani-
mal. But all doubt was dispersed by the discovery
of the great skeleton obtained in New York by
Messrs. Peale, which was entirely alone, or separat-
ed from the bones of all other quadrupeds.

The tusks of the mastodon bear a considerable
resemblance to those of the elephant, but present
some appearances dilferent from those observed in
the generality of tusks of that animal; though these
are by no means greater than may be found in dif-
ferent individuals of that genus.

These tusks are rooted in the intermaxillary bones,

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

229

the sockets being eight inches in depth. The tusk
belonging to the skeleton we are describing is ten
feet seven inches long, measuring from the base to
the tip, following the outside of the curvature; the
point is not exactly in the same plane with the base,
owing to the peculiar spiral twist of the anterior por-
tion of the tusk. The direction of the tusk in leav-
ing the socket is rather more oblique in front than
in the elephant. The diameter of the tusks at base
is seven inches and three-quarters; in the middle their
substance is very similar to that of the elephant tusk,
composed of an ivory, the grain of which is arranged
in curvilinear lozenges. The external part of the tusk
is hard, and diifers considerably in appearance from
common ivory; the internal is of the texture of ivory,
but is of much softer consistence.

R. Peale dwells with much force on these cir-
cumstances, as well as on the roundness and peculiar
curve of the mastodon tusk, in forming his conclu-
sions relative to their position in the head, (which he
believed to be with the convexity forwards, and the
point turning downwards and backward) as well as
in deciding on the mode of living of the animal.
Cuvier has, however, satisfactorily shown that the
differences are neither so uniform nor so remarkable
as was believed, and that the difference in. consistence
of the ivory is accidental, or attributable to the cir-
cumstances under which these remains, during so great
a lapse of time, were situated. As an immediate con-
sequence of the great similarity existing betw'een the
skeletons and tusks of the elephant and mastodon,
we form the inference that they w^ere as analogous
in their modes of living as in their conformation.

230

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

The tusks of our animal were placed with their
convexity in front, and their points curving down-
wards and backwards, in the specimen mounted in
the Philadelphia Museum. This position is certainly
unnatural, asCuviEU has clearly shown, by reference
to the length of limb of this animal, the impossi-
bility of its using the tusks, thus arranged; and from
the fact that the Siberian mammoth (elephant) has
tusks equally curved, and their points unequivocally
turned upwards.

The morse, which has tusks pointing downwards,
(see vol. i. p. 35] ) is an animal possessing very short
limbs, and destined to an aquatic life. A conclusion
drawn from the tusks of this animal is inapplicable,
since we must believe the mastodon (like the ele-
phant) to have been a terrestrial animal. Nothing
therefore can justify us in placing these tusks other-
wise than in the elephant, unless we find a skull
which has them actually implanted in a different
manner.*

The Under Jaw of the mastodon is remarkable for
its massiveness and solidity, and the form of it is
peculiar to this animal. It is two feet ten inches
long, and weighs sixty three and a-half pounds. The
anterior part or chin is inclined so as to terminate
conically, being marked by numerous rough promi-
nences; where the two sides of the jaw unite in
front, there is an intervening furrow or depression.
The outline of the lower jaw is formed by three
lines touching each other so as to form three different

* See Cuvier; Oss. Foss. tom. ii.

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

231

angles; the first extends from the top of the condy-
loid process for twelve inches towards the angle of
the jaw: — the second, commencing at this point and.
terminating in a protuberance, which is at the infe-
rior and anterior part of the angle, and the third pass-
ing thence almost horizontally, terminates with the
anterior extremity of the jaw.

The condyloid or articulating surfaces are five and
a-halfinches wide, and stand on very strong processes;
the coronoid processes for the insertion of the tem-
poral muscles are nearly on a level with the condyles,
and are separated from them by a semilunar notch, six
and a- quarter inches in width. The general figure of
the lower jaw, at the posterior part extend ing forwards
to the base of the coronoid process, bears considera-
ble resemblance to the same parts in the human jaw.

The teeth in the lower jaw are arranged so as to
be very nearly parallel to those in the upper jaw,
and the two ranges are most widely separate at the
fore part. They are not disposed parallel to the di-
rection of the sides of the jaw, but diagonally, from
the inner to the outer part. Thus these teeth do
not meet the superior teeth fully crown to crown,
but obliquely crossing each other, the lower teeth
being worn most at the anterior part and on the out-
side, while the superior teeth are most worn on the
inside and fore part of the mouth, as shown in the
plate, figure 2.

From the size of the head, the thickness and so-
lidity of the teeth, and the enormous magnitude of
the tusks, we can at once perceive that the neck of
the animal must of necessity have been short, in or-
der to sustain so great a weight. These circum-

232 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

stances, considered in connexion with the length of
the limbs, presently to be described, clearly indi-
cate that the mastodon, like the elephant, had a long
and flexible trunk for the purpose of conveying its
aliment to the mouth; the shortness of the neck, and
the projection and curvature of the tusks, would equal-
ly have prevented the approach of the mouth to the
ground.

Bones of the Trunk. — The bones of the neck are
similar in character to those of the elephant, and
thus far support the opinion drawn from the preced-
ing circumstances. According to the observation of
R. Peale the spinous processes of the three last
vertebrae of the neck are not so long in the elephant.

The spinous processes of the second, third and
fourth dorsal vertebrae, are exceedingly long. The
longest of them measures eighteen or twenty inches,
the whole length of the vertebrae being twenty-seven.
The spinous processes of the back then rapidly di-
minish to the twelfth, and become so small as scarcely
to be remarked, thence to the sacrum. This con-
formation, as Mr. Peale has well pointed out, dif-
fers remarkably from that of the elephant, in which
the processes are more uniform in their length:-—
those over the shoulders being shorter, and those of
the back and loins much longer; hence the form of
the back in the elephant is more arched. There
are seventeen cervical, nineteen dorsal, and three
lumbar vertebra. Cuvier remarks that the elephant
has one more dorsal vertebra, and one more pair of
ribs; but suggests that the corresponding parts in
the mastodon have been destroyed.

The ribs are not similar to those of the elephant,

T/i>yii.\- ti/fi/ A/z’/y/Zz/y-W.'-

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

233

small near the head, broad as they approach the car-
tilage, and bent sidewise in an undulating manner;
but they are slender near the cartilage, and thick
and strong towards the back. The difference is pe-
culiarly observable in the first rib. T!ie six first
pairs are remarkably strong, when compared with
the remainder, which are proportionally short. This,
joined to the flatness of the pelvis, shows the belly
to have been less in the mastodon than in the ele-
phant.

Scapula, or Shoulder-blade. — This bone has the
characters peculiar to that belonging to the elephant;
particularly the recurrent process, which is only
found in the elephant and some of the gnawing ani-
mals. The length of the whole bone is thirty-seven
inches. The acromion process is very long and
pointed.

Arm, Forearm, ^c. — The arm-bone, or humei'us,
is very thick, and, in proportion, much thicker than
the thigh-bone: this difference, in proportion, is much
more remarkable than in the elephant.* In length
the humerus is two feet ten inches; its greatest cir-
cumference is three feet two inches and a-half, and
its smallest part measures one foot five inches around.

‘ The ulna is proportionally as massive as the hu-
merus, and the olecranon (process forming the point
of the elbow) is strong and knobbed at the end, being
eight inches and a-quarter in circumference at base.
The ulna is two feet five inches and a-half long,
while its circumference around the elbow is three
feet eight inches.

* Peale, Hist. Disquis. 8vo. 56.
TOL. n. — G g

234 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON,

The radius is a comparativ’ely small bone, two feet
four inches long, and is placed in such a manner as to
cross obliquely from the outside above to the inside
below, forming thus a greater angle than if the bones
were slender, in which case the crossing would be
scarcely observable; perhaps it is more remarkable in
the mammoth than in any other animal.* Its carpal ar-
ticulating surface is four inches and five-eighths broad.

The bones of the carpus, in the skeleton belong-
ing to the Philadelphia Museum, are seven in num-
ber; the forms of those in the first row generally
agree with those of the elephant, as figured by Cu-
viER.f The external faces of those belonging to the
second row appear to differ by being proportionally
larger and squarer than in the elephant. The meta-
carpal bones are strong and massive; their surfaces
for articulation with the digital phalanges are exten-
sive, and indicate that the toes were capable of very
considerable flexion. The metacarpal of the first
digit, or thumb, is two inches and a-quarter in length,
of the second digit three inches; of the third and
fourth four inches and a-half; and of the fifth ex-
ternal, or smallest, three inches.

The Pelvis. — This part of the skeleton has sus-
tained a considerable degree of injury. The iliac
or haunch bones at their superior parts being in a
great degree lost. Still the quantity of sound bone
remaining is quite sufficient to show the general
form and dimensions of this part of the animal. On

*Peale, Hist. Disquis, 4to. 56.
t Ossemens Fossiles, vol. ii, ed. 1.

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

233

the left side the bone is uninjured, except along the
border, from above the anterior superior spine. The
width of the pelvis, measuring from this spine to
the edge of the pubis at the symphysis, is two feet
eleven inches, which gives a total breadth of the
pelvis of five feet ten inches, without allowing
for the cartilage, which must, in the living condi-
tion, have intervened at the pubic and sacro iliac
symphyses. The pubis, from the anterior to the
posterior edge, is six inches in extent. The longest
diameter of the foramen thyroideum is eight inchest
the transverse diameter five inches.

We were led to make this measurement of the
pelvis with the greater care, because Cuvier makes
the following remarks on the subject of its width: —

Mr. Peale states that the width of the pelvis of
his skeleton is five feet eight inches, (Engl.) but
I fear that this is a typographical error, or that he
meant it for the measure of the circumference.”^

The difference between the measurement of the
pelvis stated by R. Peale, and that given by us, is
owing to the circumstance of our having measured
different skeletons. His measurements were made
on the skeleton now in Baltimore; ours were care-
fully taken from that in the Philadelphia Museum.

It was first stated by R. Peale, and subsequently
confirmed by Cuvier, that these bones are more
depressed than in the elephant. This indicates,
says this Zoologist, that the belly must have been
smaller, and consequently the intestines less volu-

'■ Oss. Foss. tom. 2,

236

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

minoiis, than in the elephant; this, together with
the structure of its teeth, concurs in causing the
mastodon to be regarded as less exclusively herbivo-
rous than from other circumstances is commonly in-
ferred.

The Femur ^ or Thigh-Bone. — This bone is per-
fectly preserved, and is a fit column for the support
of so large a superstructure. It is three feet seven
inches long, and eight inches in diameter at the
middle of its shaft; the whole of the middle part of
the bone is peculiarly flattened. The neck of this thigh-
bone, which is six inches and three-fourths in diame-
ter, on a level with the top of the trochanter, is a very
strong process, and is surmounted by a head seven
inches in diameter. The great or external tro-
chanter, projecting below and opposite the neck
of the bone, is a strong and massive process, hav-
ing a large depression at its basis on the poste-
rior surface of the bone. The lesser or inter-
nal trochanter does not exist, except as a slightly
extended roughness on the inner edge of the bone.
The transverse diameter of the articulating surfaces
or condyles of the femur is nine inches and five-
eighths; of each condyle, four inches and a-half.

The Tibia and Fibula^ or Leg-Bones. — The tibia
is two feet long, and in strength and solidity is well
proportioned to the femur; it is ten inches broad at its
superior portion, and seven inches and seven-eighths
at the inferior part. Its diameter in the middle is
four inches and five-eighths.

The fibula is comparatively slight and slender, and
occupies the same relative position in the mastodon
as in the human subject. Its superior extremity is

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THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

237

closely united to the superior and posterior part of
the tibia; its inferior extremity passes below that of
the tibia for three inches and a-half, constituting the
support of the outer part of the ankle joint. The
whole length of the bone is twenty-six inches.

The bones of the tarsus are very analogous to the
same bones in the elephant, but appear flatter and
thinner in proportion. The articulating surface of
the astragalus is remarkably flat, and is five inches
broad from the anterior to the posterior edge; the
thickness of the bone, measured on the anterior
surface, is two inches and three-quarters. The os
calcis, measured on its inferior surface, is six inches
long, and is a very large and strong bone. Its
surface for articulation with the extremity of the
fibula, is four inches and a-half in length, from its
anterior to the posterior edge. The os naviculare
is five inches long; its breadth in the middle is one
inch and three-quarters. The internal cuneiform
bone sustains the metatarsal of the internal or first
toe; the middle and external cuneiform sustain a part
of the second and medial metatarsal bones, while the
cuboid receives both the external, or the fourth, and
little toe. The length of the first metatarsal is three
inches; of the second three and three-fourths; of the
third five; of the fourth four and a-half; of the fifth
four.

Localities whence Mastodon hones have been oh
tained in greatest abundance.

Among the earliest localities discovered was Big-
bone Lick, in Kentucky, which derived its name

238

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

from the great number of fossil bones there found.
This celebrated lick is a morass, or marsh-like valley,
surrounded by considerable hills, and is about four
miles south east of the Ohio, and nearly opposite
to the mouth of the Great Miami river. The
basis of this morass is a black and fetid mud, and
the water that oozes through it is impregnated
with saline matter. At present this spot is much
frequented by inhabitants of the western country, on
account of its excellent mineral springs, which are
found useful in relieving the system from various
states of disease, but more especially from the pe-
culiar affections caused by the common autumnal fe-
vers of the country. The p.nncipal spring yields
large quantities of very limpid water, which is
highly charged with sulphuretted hydrogen gas, im-
mediately blackening silver vessels, or implements
plated with that metal.

From the vast number of bones of various ex-
tinct and recent species obtained from this locality,
it is evident that, previous to the peopling of the
surrounding country, it was resorted to by animals
for the purpose of gratifying thejr appetite for salt,
so abundantly contained in the waters oozing from
such places. From the position in which many of
the bones, especially of the larger quadrupeds, have
been found, it is highly probable that they may
have perished in consequence of the peculiar soft-
ness of the soil: — their great weight causing them
to sink deeply, while their strength was rendered
entirely unavailing for want of firm materials, against
which exertions could be effectually made.

In the year 1807, Thomas Jefferson, then pre*

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

239

sident of the United States, requested governor
Clarke, previously so justly distinguished by his
travels in company with Capt. Lewis to the Pacific
Ocean, carefully to explore the ground at Bigbone
Lick. His researches were rewarded by a large
collection of bones belonging to various species, which
were sent to the city of Washington, and by the
philanthropist and sage then at the head of our
government, they were afterwards divided between
the American Philosophical Society, the National
Institute of France, &c.

Mitchill informs us that bones of the mastodon

were found in July, 1817, in the east branch of
the White River, a stream emptying into the Wa-
bash, at a point distant forty -four miles in a right
line from the mouth of the Wabash. This east
branch unites with the west branch at a point twenty-
nine miles in a direct line from the mouth of the
White River. The intelligence was communicated
l)y Josiah Meigs, Esq. commissioner of the general
land office, in the treasury department of the United
States, who received it from Mr. Spotts, living near
the falls of the east branch. These consisted, it is
stated, among others, of the upper jaw, whose width
from outside to outside was twenty and a-half inches;
length twenty-five inches; length of the posterior
grinder (composed of five divisions in three rows)
seven and three-fourths inches; breadth of the same
across, five and a-half.”*

* See the interesting observations on the Geology of North
America, by this zealous and distinguished votary of science,
appended to his edition of Cuvier’s Theory of the Earth, p,
S68.

240 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

According to J effeuson, these bones are also found
on the North-Holston, (36° N. Lat.) a branch of
the Tennessee river, west of the Alleghanies in Caro-
lina, and were also obtained from a morass similar to
those containing these bones in other places.*

Subsequently, bones of the mastodon were found
still farther south in different parts of Louisiana west
of the Mississippi, but always in the river Alluvions. f

In Wythe county, Virginia, near Green Briar
county, whence the bones of the megatherium were
obtained, a large number of bones, probably almost
an entire skeleton, was obtained. This interesting
discovery was first made known by Bishop Madi-
son, in a letter to the late professor B. S. Barton,
who published an account of it in his Medical and
Physical Journal. “But what renders this disco-
very unique among others, (says Cuvier, vol. ii.
ed. 1, Oss. Foss.) is that in the midst of the bones
was found a half triturated mass of small branches,
of gramina, and of leaves among which it was be-
lieved that a species of reed still common in Vir-
ginia could be recognized, and that the whole seem-
ed to be enveloped in a sort of sac, which was con-
sidered as the stomach of the animal; so that there
was no doubt but that these were the very substances
upon which the animal had fed/’

This information was communicated to the Zoolo-
gist by Dr. B. S. Barton in a letter which runs
thus: — “ Without further delay, I hasten to inform
you of a recent discovery relative to the mammoth,

* Notes on Virginia,
t Am. Phil. Trans, vi. 40.

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

241

or American elephant. If the facts be as I state
them, I think you will not hesitate to consider the
discovery one of the most interesting that has been
made for a long time. I may add that such a dis-
covery was hardly to be expected by the most san-
guine or enthusiastic zoologist. Very lately, in dig-
ging a well near a salt-lick in the county of Wythe,
in Virginia, after penetrating about five feet below
the surface of the soil, the workmen struck upon
the stomach of one of those huge animals, best known
in the United States by the name of the mammoth.
The contents of the viscus were carefully examined,
and were found to be ‘ in a state of perfect preser-
vation.’ They consisted of half-masticated reeds,
(a species of Arundo or Arundinaria, still common in
Virginia and other parts of the United States,) of
twigs of trees, and of grass or leaves.”^

The best comment that can be offered on this dis-
covery is the original letter of the learned and ex-
cellent Bishop Madison, from which it will appear
that he never saw the place nor the thing which
was supposed to be the stomach, neither is the evi-
dence given with sufficient conclusiveness to estab-
lish any opinion on the subject. We take the liberty
of proving this by italicising some parts of the bish-
op’s letter:

One of those facts has lately occurred, which
the naturalist knows best how to appreciate, and
which I, therefore, take a pleasure in communicating
to you. It is now no longer a question whether the

* Barton’s Med. & Phys. Journal, vol. iii. p. 23 of first
supplement.

VOL. II. H h

242

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

mammoth was a herbivorous or carnivorous animaL
Human industry has revealed a secret, which the
bosom of the earth had, in vain, attempted to con-
ceal. In digging a well near a Salt-Lick, in Wythe
county, Virginia, after penetrating about five feet
and a-half from the surface, the labourers struck up-
on the stomach of a rnammoth. The contents were
in a state of perfect preservation, consisting of half-
masticated reeds, twigs, and grass, or leaves. There
could be no deception; the substances were desig-
nated by obvious characters, which could not he mis-
taken, and of which every one could judge; besides,
the bones of the animal lay around, and added a
silent, but sure confirmation. The whole rested upon
a lime-stone rock. I have not seen, as yet, any part
of those contents; for, though I was within two
days* journey of the place where they were found, /
was so well satisfied with the narration of gentle
men who had seen them, and upon whose veracity,
as ivell as accuracy, I could rely, that I thought
the journey unnecessary; especially as I took mea-
sures to ensure the transmission of a sufficient quan-
tity of the contents, together with all the bones, to
Williamsburgh. When the contents arrive, a part
shall be forwarded to you. I hope to form a com-
plete skeleton of this vast animal, having given di-
rections to spare no labour in digging up every
bone.

[ Then follows a sentence cited from Blumenbach,
showing how the soft parts of animals may be pre-
served, after which the letter concludes in the fol
lowing manner:]

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON. 243

Whether this first kind of petrifaction, of which
Blumenbach speaks, and which he calls simplement
calcines, has been the cause of the preservation of
these substances, or whether it be the effect of the
marine salt, with which the earth, where they were
buried, has been constantly charged, must be left to
future investigation. I pretend not to decide. Had
they been buried deep in the earth, that circumstance
alone might have prevented a decomposition; but the
depth of five or six feet seems insufficient to arrest
that chemical action, which changes the appearances
of organized bodies. The faet, however, is decisive,
as to the principal question. It has summoned the
discordant opinions of philosophers before a tribunal
from whieh there is no appeal.”^

Such is the letter of Bishop Madison; and thus
the discovery remains at the present day. Dr. Bar-
ton’s letter, first quoted, consists of little more than
the same matter in other words. It is much to be
regretted that the worthy prelate did not inspect
this locality, and ascertain for himself, by scrutinizing
all the collateral circumstances, whether \\iis, stomach,
so confidently pronounced to be that of the masto-
don, might not have belonged to some domestic ani-
mal, which had perished from disease, and been in-
terred at a depth of five or six feet,” and by ac-
cident, in the immediate vicinity of mastodon bones.
Neither the dimensions, figure, nor peculiar nature

* Bishop Madison subsequently corrected the impression
made by this letter, acknowledging that his information was
inaccurate, and his conclusions too hastily adopted.

244 THE. GIGANTIC MASTODON,

of this stomach is described, nor do we know that
it was such, except upon the hearsay evidence con-
tained in the bishop’s letter. Dr. Barton tells us of
the specific nature of part of the matter, but does
not say whether he had examined it himself or not,
though it is probable he had received a specimen.
We think but one opinion can be formed on the sub-
ject— whatever this stomach may have been, or what-
ever was the nature of its contents, its connexion
with the bones of the mastodon was altogether ac-
cidental. It would be something very singular in-
deed, when the strongest animal fibres, the liga-
ments, tendons, muscles^ &c. had all disappeared,
that the stomach alone at a depth of five or six
feet,” should escape almost uninjured!

In the year 1817 Professor Mitchill, in company
with Dr. Peteii S. Townsend and several other
gentlemen, explored a small meadow in the vicinity
of Chester, near Goshen, in Orange County, New
York. Ten years previously some bones had been
disinterred at that place, and some of them still re-
mained at the bottom of a ditch. '

This ground had been successfully drained and
converted into a meadow. The surface was covered
by a fine grassy sward, beneath which was a soil
composed of a bed of black peat turf, six feet in
thickness. The soil and sward v/ere about four
feet thick over the bones; beneath them, and imme-
diately around them, was a stratum of coarse vege-
table stems and films, resembling chopped straw, or
rather drift stuff of the sea, for it seemed to be mix-
ed with broken films of conferva, like those of the
Atlantic shore.”

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

245

As these bones were found in a peat-bog containing
no marl, the bones were far more rotten than those
obtained from the marl pits by Messrs. Peace. It
was impossible to extract them entire, and it was
equally so to reunite the fragments after their exhu-
mation. The bones discovered consisted of parts of
the feet, legs, shoulder-blade, back-bone, rump,
lower jaw, upper jaw, teeth and tusks.

The teeth were uninjured, and more than half of
the lower jaw was preserved; but the condyles and
angles of the other side broke in pieces when han-
dled. The upper jaw, with its teeth and tusks, were
found retaining their natural connexions. When
the mud was carefully removed from them, the palate
bones and teeth were found to be uppermost, as if
the animal had perished on its back. The tusks dif-
fered in size, length and curvature; the right one
measured seven feet in length, and was thicker and
blunter than the left, which was nearly nine feet
long, more regular tapered and pointed.

Dr. Mitchill concludes his account of this in-
teresting research, by stating that the flatness of
the cranium, the connexion of the tusks with the
head by exsertion and not by gomphosis, and the in-
sertion of the grinders into them at their origin,
will not fail to attract the attention of zoologists.*’*

These circumstances do not, however, appear to
us very extraordinary, when taken in connexion
with the facts previously stated. The bog was one
containing no marl, or other antiseptic agent, and

* Mitchill’s Geological Appendix to Cuvier’s Theory of
the Earth, p. 379.

246 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

the soil covering these bones was a bed of black peat-
turf, soaked in a large quantity of fluid. These Wes
were very rotten^ and doubtless much decayed before
the draining was begun. As the whole superincum-
bent soil settled, in consequence of the removal of
the water, k appears highly probable that at the
same time the water was withdrawn from the mud
within tlie decayed skull, and the whole mass of de-
cayed bone was flattened by the general pressure
caused by the subsiding soil. Thus we would ac-
count for the appearances so faithfully noted in the
above mentioned instance. In a recent conversation
with Dr. Townsend, who aided professor Mitchill
on that occasion, and made accurate drawings of the
bones as. they were found, he expressed his entire
belief in the probability of the explanation here
given.

The apparent exsertion of the tusks we would
attribute to the entire destruction and removal of the
inferior portions of their sockets, formed by the in-
termaxillary bones. To the causes above stated, we
attribute the apparent insertion of the grinders into
the roots of the tusks, producing the softening and
subsequent compression of the alveolar processes,
together with the approximation of all the inferior
and superior walls of the skull. We are fully con-
vinced that these bones were in the relative positions
so well described by Mitchill. But that such was
the relation of parts in the living animal, or in the
sound skeleton, is forcibly denied by the two nearly
entire skeletons of Philadelphia and Baltimore, as
well as by fragments preserved in various cabinets of
natural history.

In Rockland county, N. Y. eleven miles west of

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

247

a spot where fragments of bones belonging to land-
animals were found imbedded in sand-stone, by Dr.
Mitchill, at a distance of tbirty-two miles from the
city of New York, the remains of a mastodon were
found in July 1817. They consisted of a set of
grinders, which were accidentally discovered by a
ditcher, in mud only three feet below the surface.
They were large, having remarkably white and glossy
surfaces; the roots were much decayed. Mr. Edwaud
SuFFERN, Jr. who presented these teeth to Pro-
fessor Mitchill, informed him that the cavities of
these teeth contained a fatty substance when they
were first discovered. This, however, had entirely
disappeared before they were received by Dr.
Mitchill.

In the year 1811, the remains of a mastodon of
the species we have been describing was found oh
the banks of York river, about six miles east of Wil-
liamsburgh, in Virginia. They lay upon marsh-mud,
or buried a few feet within it, and were surrounded
by the roots of cypress trees. The trees which these
roots once supported had long been removed, and
the difference between the level where the bones and
roots are found and the top of the adjacent bank, is
more than twenty feet. This locality was carefully
examined by the Rev. Bishop Madison, then presi-
dent of William and Mary College, Va. who gave
the details of the discovery to Dr. Mitchill.'^ The
parts of the skeleton obtained were the pelvis bones,
a thigh-bone, two vertebrae, two ribs, nearly perfect,

-Seethe Medical Repository, (N. Y.) xv. 388.

248

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

two tusks, not greatly injured, and seven molar teeth,
four of which were in their sockets, apparently part
of the lower jaw. The largest tooth weighed seven
and a- quarter, the smallest three to four pounds.

Various other localities have been mentioned,
where bones of the mastodon and other large quad-
rupeds have been disinterred. At the Salines of
Great Osage river they are said to be very abundant,
as much so as at Bigbone Lick, or in the vicinity of the '
Waalkill.* Darby, the geographer, states in a letter
to Dr. Mitchill, that while in Louisiana, in 1804, he
visited Opelousas, within a few days after the exhu-
mation pf part of an under jaw and teeth of a mas-
todon.f We have been informed by our friend Dr,
Griffin, of Virginia, that the greater part of a skele-
ton of this animal was disinterred a few years since,
in Bottetourt county, Va. These bones were in very
good preservation.

There is every reason to believe that the bones of
this gigantic animal, as well as the relics of various
other extinct species, will be procured in great abun-
dance as the internal improvement of our happy
country advances. The magnificent works already
completed have given no inconsiderable earnest of
what may be expected from numerous others now in
progress, and the means which are intended to facili-
tate the intercourse of our citizens, and bind them
more firmly together by mutual interests, may also
contribute in a powerful degree to shed light on some
of the most obscure and interesting topics connected

Vide Breckeurklge’s View of Louisiana.
I Mitchill’s Geological Appendix.

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

249

with the history of the globe. It should, therefore,
be deeply impressed upon the minds of those who
superintend the construction of canals, tunnels,
roads, &c. that the fragments of organic remains
which they might feel inclined to neglect as insigni-
ficant, may prove of the highest importance to sci-
ence, when viewed in connexion with all the cir-
cumstances of their characters apd positions, the pe-
culiar nature of the superincumbent soil, and the
general aspect of the surrounding country. When
opportunities are presented, no pains should be spar-
ed, in order to procure bones, or other relics of ani-
mal bodies, with the least possible delay; and every
attendant circumstance should be noted with the
most scrupulous accuracy.

The last mastodon skeleton disinterred, was found,
in Monmouth county. New Jersey, three miles south-
west of Long Branch. A grinder was presented by
Mr. William Moore to the Lyceum of Natural His-
tory of New York, accompanied by information that
the whole skeleton lay buried near the spot whence
this tooth was obtained.'^'

This skeleton was accidentally discovered on Pop-
lar farm, which is about two miles distant from the
sea-beach, in 1823, fourteen months previous to the
researches of Messrs. Cooper, Dekay aind Van Rens-
selaer. The proprietor of the farm walking over a
reclaimed marsh, observed ^ something projecting

* See the Report of ISIessi’S. Dekay, Van Rensselaer and
Cooper, vol. i. p. 143 of the Annals of the Lyceum, whence
this account is derived.

VOL. II. 1 i

230 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

through the turf, which he struck loose with his foot
and found to be a grinder tooth. Two other teeth,
some pieces of the skull, the spine, humeri, and
other bones, were afterwards exhumed.

The country adjacent to this farm is generally
level, but a low and broad ridge, running parallel
with the sea-coast, lies between it and the sea. At
Poplar this high ground very gradually slopes on
its western side, now disencumbered of its forests,
and intersected by ditches, so that at some seasons
it is nearly dry. It is stated to have been watery
at a former period, and abounded in a species of pop-
lar, whence the place obtained its name. Near the
border of this marsh there was a shallow cavity con-
taining a little water; the left foreleg had been re-
moved therefrom, and several broken vertebrae and
fragments of other bones were scattered on the sur-
rounding turf. Having obtained permission to make
farther explorations, these zealous inquirers com-
menced operations, and during two days, with the
aid of some gentlemen who accompanied them, suc-
ceeded in obtaining all the bones of this skeleton
which remain undecomposed. This valuable col-
lection was added to the cabinet of the Lyceum,
previously enriched by the specimens obtained at
Chester county in New York.

The following is the account given by these gen-
tlemen of the position in which the animal appeared
to have been placed at the time of its extinction,
whatever may have been the catastrophe which de-
stroyed the whole of its race:

The surrounding soil was a stratum of what is,
by the German geologists, called geest, that is, a
black, soft, shining earth, abounding near the sur-

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

251

face in vegetable roots and fibres. Before the time
of our visit, the skull, broken into many fragments,
as well as the greater part of the spine, most of the
ribs, both scapula, the left radius, ulna, and the hu-
merus of the right arm, had been removed. Of the
situation of these, therefore, we cannot speak from
our own observation; but Mr. Croxson informed us,
that, as before mentioned, part of the head had pro-
truded itself through the surface of the ground. In
consequence probably of this, it was so much de-
cayed that he could find but three of the teeth, and
no trace whatever of the tusks, nor was the search
we afterwards made for these latter more effectual.
The vertebral column, with all its joints, and the
ribs attached to them in their natural position, lay
about eight or ten inches below the surface. The
scapulae rested upon the heads of the humeri, and
these in a vertical position upon the bones of the
fore arm, as in life. We found the right fore arm
still buried. It inclined a little backwards, and
the foot, which was immediately below it, was placed
a little in advance of the other, as it would be if the
animal had been walking.

At the depth of about ten inches, and immedi-
ately below the matting of turf, which forms the
surface of the meadow, we came to the sacrum, with
the pelvis remaining united to it, though in a very
decayed state. The femora lay adjoining, but, un-
like the bones of the fore legs, in a position nearly
horizontal, the right less so than the left, and both
at right angles with the spine. These were also,
from their proximity to the surface, much decayed,
so that the left fell to pieces on being lifted from its
bed. Both tibise, each with its fibula, stood nearly

252

THE GIGANTIC MASTODON.

erect under the extremities of the femora, and under
them the bones of both hind feet in their proper re-
lative position. We found no caudal vertebrae. The
marsh had been cleared and drained about three
years, and during that period, as the proprietor in-
formed us, the level of its surface had lowered about
two feet. To this may have, perhaps, been owing
the horizontal position of the thigh bones, which
would naturally be forced out of their originally
erect position by the pressure of the heavy superin-
cumbent bed of turf. The bones of the fore leg,
however, do not appear to have been thus acted
upon.

The deeper we penetrated the sounder we found
the bones, so that those of the foot, lying lowest, were
obtained in a state of perfeet preservation. The
greater part of the bones had, adhering to their sur-
face and in their cavities, the phosphats of iron
and lime, and the sulphat of lime in very small
quantities, the last in minute crystals. There
were also considerable masses of oxyd of iron or
bog-ore, which, however, abounded in various
places in the marsh. Immediately underlying the
stratum of black earth, we came to another of sand,
having a ferruginous tinge, and containing numerous
rolled quartz pebbles. Upon this sandy stratum the
skeleton seemed to stand, so that the upper side of
the foot was covered by the black earth; the sole
rested immediately upon the sand. We found all
the feet placed thus, the surface of the sandy stra-
tum being apparently quite level.’’*

* Annals of the Lyceum, &c. vol. i. p. 145.

CHAPTER XVI.

Genus III. — Elephant; Elephas; L,

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The head is of great size, supported upon a sin-
gularly short neck; the eyes are small, the ears of
great extent, and, like the eyes, placed laterally.
The snout is drawn out or extended to form the
flexible trunk, through which is continued two ca-
nals leading from the nostrils: the extremity of the
trunk is furnished with a small process, which both
from its figure and mobility appears to perform the
duties of a finger. The openings to the true nasal
cavities are situated very high upon the head, and
the bones of the nose are very thick, small, and tri-
angular. The sinuses or cavities between the plates
of the frontal and maxillary bones are enormously
large, and increase to a great degree the volume of
the skull. The lower jaw is massive and rounded
at its angle: its branches terminate at the chin in a
pointed extremity, between the sides of which there
is a deep gutter or furrow.

The body is very large, and sustained at a consi-
derable height from the ground by long and strong
bones, whose articular surfaces are arranged upon a
vertical line. The head of the thigh bone is in the
axis of its shaft, and the cotyloid cavity for its re-

254

THE ELEPHANT.

ception is situated far for'' ard, or rather on the in-
ferior surface of the pelvis. The limbs are five-
toed, but the digits are entirely concealed by the
integuments, though their situations are designated
externally by an equal number of horny plates, or
small hoofs, on the inferior surfaces of the feet. On
the hind feet one or two of these plates are some-
times deficient. The tail is of moderate length, and
terminated by a brush or tuft of coarse hairs. The
stomach is simple, the intestines of great volume, and
the ccEcum of vast magnitude: the liver has two
lobes, but no gall-bladder. The teats, two in number,
are situated upon the chest between the fore limbs.

Dental System.

■S r 6

Q 4 Lower

Upper ^

£ Incisive, (in the form of great tusks)
4 Molar.

4 Molar.

The superior incisive teeth are, in this genus, re-
presented by tusks of ivory, which are frequently of
great length and thickness. They are cylindrical,
arcuated downwards, and turned up at the point.
Their texture consists of a peculiar osseous matter
of a fine grain, which is intermingled with a harder
and more compact substance, arranged in convergent
curved lines, which cross each other so as to form
very regular curvilinear lozenges. There is, more-
over, a slight covering of true enamel to these tusks.

Tfie molar teeth are made up of vertical and
transverse layers, each of which is formed of osse-
ous matter, surrounded by a plate of enamel, and

THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT.

255

the whole connected together by a solid inorganic
substance or cement. These teeth grow obliquely
from the posterior to the anterior part of the jaw.*

Species I. — The Fossil Elephant,

Elephas Primogeniusj Blumenb.

Elephant Fossile, ou du Mammouth des Russes: C. Ossem. Foss. Nouv.
ed. i. 75. Mitchile, Geological Appendix to Cuvier’s Theory of
the Earth.

The discovery of elephant bones in North Ame-
rica is a curious fact, which forcibly arrests attention
and invokes a train of far-extending reflections rela-
tive to the mutations produced in the animal world,
by the irresistible causes which, at various periods,
have entirely changed the condition of the earth’s
surface. In the early ages of the world the fossil
elephant, now utterly extinct, must have been ex-
tensively and abundantly distributed over the earth,
as fragments' of its skeleton have been disinterred
not only in Asia, and throughout Europe, but in va-

* See Desmarest, Mammalogie,-^. 381. F. Cuvier, Des-
dents, etc. p. £21, and for a most luminous and ample ac-
count of the dentition of this genus, the reader may with
great profit refer to the paper on Living and Fossil Ele-
phants, contained in the first volume (new edition) of Cu-
vier’s Recherches sur les Ossemens Fossiles. Corse, in the
Philosophical Transactions, 1799, has given a great number
of interesting details. Blake’s work on the structure and
formation of the teeth in man and various animals, is also
of great value, in relation to these teeth.

256

THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT.

rious parts of North America. From the greater
numbers of bones which have been discovered, and
the fortunate preservation of the entire animal, in
the almost eternal ice of Siberia, less doubt is felt
concerning the peculiar characters of this than any
other extinct species.

Two living species of elephant are well known
as inhabitants of Asia and Africa, whence they are
named; the varieties of these species are neither nu-
merous nor remarkable. The Asiatic is distinguish-
ed from the African by superior size and other pe-
culiarities, the most striking of which is the arrange-
ment of the perpendicular plates in the huge grind-
ers; these in the first named species exhibit trans-
verse undulating ribbons of enamel, while those of
the African display on their crowns a succession of
lozenge-shaped lines. The teeth of the fossil ele-
phant resemble the Asiatic, but have straighter and
narrower ribbons of enamel.

The localities whence the fossil elephant bones
have been generally procured in this country, have
in numerous instances been the same as those indi-
cated in speaking of the mastodon. Scarcely any
remains, except the teeth, have been discovered in
these situations; the other bones having altogether
decayed, would indicate that this elephant must have
perished anterior to the remote period in which the
mastodon bones were deposited in the same places.
Kentucky, so remarkable for containing great num-
bers of the mastodon, has furnished the largest num-
ber of the teeth of the fossil elephant, but the state
of South Carolina has thus far been found to contain
the greatest quantity of other parts of the skeleton.

THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT,

257

Mitchill has given a figure of a fossil elephant-toothj,
obtained in Monmouth Co. N.

Drayton informs us, in his views of South CarO'
lina, that Col. Senf, in 1794, discovered teeth of
the elephant in Biggin Swamp, not far from the head
of the west branch of Cooper river. They were found
at a depth of eight or nine feet. A good figure of
one of these grinders is given in Drayton’s work.

According to Catesby, teeth of an elephant were
found at Stono in Carolina, which were recognized
by the Negroes (natives of Africa) as the grinders
of that animal. This statement of Catesby is unne-
cessarily criticised by Cuvier, after Dr. B. S. Bar-
ton, since Catesby docs not say that the Negroes re-
cognized them as teeth of the African species of ele-
phant, but merely that they were teeth of an ele-
phant.

Dr. H. Hayden, of Baltimore, in his Geological
Essays, gives an account of an elephant-tooth, which
was found on the eastern shore of Maryland, in
Queen Ann’s county. This tooth differs considera-
bly from the tooth either of the living or fossil spe-
cies, resembling each in a certain degree. The dis-
tance from the crown to the roots of the tooth is
nine inches; the grinding surface is also nine inches
long, and the breadth four inches and a-half. Its
present weight is ten pounds, and from the convexity
of its outer surface, it is thought to be a grinder of
the upper jaw.

The collection of the Philadelphia Museum is en-
riched with various specimens of fossil elephant-

* Mitchill, Ubro. citato.

VOL. II.- — K k

258

THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT.

teetli; and the cabinets of the American Philosophi-
cal Society, and of the Academy of Natural Sci-
ences, contain numerous fragments of the skeleton of
this animal.^

The characters by which the skeleton of this
elephant is to be distinguished from the others, have
been laid down by Cuvier, after a very extended and
minute examination of vast numbers of perfect and
mutilated specimens. The head is oblong, the fore-
head concave; the sockets for the tusks very large,
and the molar teeth of great size. They are mark-
ed on the surface by parallel plates of enamel, very
closely approaching each other. The lower jaw is
obtuse in front. The tusks are exceedingly long,
more or less arcuated spirally, and directed up-
wards.

We cannot offer any facts from which a sufficiently
satisfactory conclusion can be drawn, relative to the
time or manner in which this species became extinct;
but the evidence afforded by the specimen obtained
from the Siberian ice, renders highly probable the
supposition that it was adapted to a much more
northern climate than either of the elephants now
known. The skin of this animal was covered with
a long and coarse hair,f and by a finer and woolly

* See Appendix, E.

t Cuvier, who received a piece of the skin of this animal,
states that there are two, and even three, sorts of hair. The
longest are from twelve to fifteen inches, of a brown colour,
and about the thickness of horse-hair. Others are nine or
ten inches long, rather more slender, and of a fawn colour.
The wool, which seems to have been placed at the roots of

THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT.

259

hair, which is shorter and applied more closely to the
surface.

The number of the relics of this animal found in
Siberia is very great, and it is highly probable that
the northern parts of this continent may hereafter
furnish us with sufficient proofs of its abundant dif-
fusion in the species. The explorations annually made
in different parts of our southern and western eoun-r
try will doubtless enlarge our knowledge of this spe-
cies, and afford data upon which opinions may here-
after be more advantageously based.

[We shall conclude this article by inserting a
translation of great part of Mr. Michael Adams^
account of his visit to the Siberian mammoth, or
extinct elephant, which was through his zealous ex-
ertions preserved from final destruction, and at pre-
sent belongs to the museum of St. Petersburg.

I was informed at Yakoutsk, by M. Popoff, who
is at the head of a company of merchants of that
town, that they had discovered upon the shores of
the Frozen Sea, near the mouth of the river Lena,
an animal of extraordinary size, having the flesh,
skin and hair in good preservation. It was believed
that the fossil production known as mammoth-horns
must have belonged to an animal similar to this. I
commenced my journey on the 7th of June, 1806; on
the 16th I arrived at the small town of Schigarsk,
and near the end of the month reached Kumak-surka,
whence my excursion was made to search for the

the long hairs, is four or five inches long, somewhat fine and
soft, and slightly curled, at its root especially: this is of a
clear fawn colour.

260

THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT.

mammoth. Accompanied by a Tonguse chief, Ossip
Schoumakoff, and by Bellkofl', a merchant of Schi-
garsk, together with my huntsman, three Cossacs,
and ten Tonguse, we set out upon our journey,
mounted upon reindeer.

On the third day of our journey we pitched our
tents a few hundred paces from the mammoth, upon
a hillock called Kembisugashaeta, signifying the
stone with a broad side. Schoumakoff related the
history of the discovery of the mammoth to me, in
nearly the following words;

The Tonguse, who are a wandering people,
seldom remain long in one place. Those who live
in the forests often spend ten years and more in
traversing the vast regions among the mountains —
during which period they never visit their homes.
Each family lives separated from the rest; the chief
takes care of them, and knows no other society. If,
after several years of absence, two friends casually
meet, they then mutually communicate their adven-
tures, the various success of their hunting, and the
quantity of peltry they have acquired. After spend-
ing some days together, and consuming their small
stock of provisions, they separate cheerfully, charge
each other with messages to their respective friends,
and trust to chance for their future meetings. The
Tonguse who inhabit the coast differ from the rest in
having more regularly built houses, and in assem-
bling at certain seasons for fishing and hunting. In
winter they inhabit cabins built close to each other,
so as to form small villages. It is to one of these
annual excursions of the Tonguse that we are in-
debted for the discovery of the mammoth.

THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT.

261

Towards the end of August, after the fishing in
the Lena is over, SchoumakofF is in the habit of go-
ing, along with his brothers, to the peninsula of Tur-
mut, where they employ themselves in hunting, and
where the fresh fish of the sea furnish them with
wholesome and agreeable nourishment.

In 1799 he built for his women some cabins upon
the shores of the lake Onroul; and he himself coasted
along the sea-shore in order to seek for mammoth-
horns. One day he observed, in the midst of a rock
of ice, an unformed block, which by no means resem-
bled the pieces of wood usually found there. He
clambered up the ice and examined the new object
on all sides. The ensuing year he found at the same
spot the carcase of a walrus, and remarked that the
mass he had formerly examined was freer from the
ice, and by the side of it he perceived two similar
pieces, which he afterwards found were the feet of
the animal. About the close of the next summer,
the entire flank of the animal, and one of the tusks,
had distinctly come out from under the ice. Upon
his return to the shores of the lake Onroul, he com-
municated this extraordinary discovery to his wife
and some of his friends; but their manner of regard-
ing the subject overwhelmed him with grief. The
old men related, on this occasion, that they had heard
their forefathers say that a similar monster had for-
merly shown itself in the same peninsula, and that
the whole family of the person who had discovered
it had become extinct in a very short time. In con-
sequence of this, the mammoth was regarded as au-
guring a future calamity, and the Tonguse chief felt
so much inquietude from it that he fell dangerously

262

THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT.

ill; but recovering again, liis first suggestions were
of the profit he might gain by selling the tusks ol
the animal, which were of extraordinary size and
beauty. He therefore gave orders that the place
where the animal was found should be carefully con-
cealed, and all strangers removed from it under va-
rious pretexts, charging at the same time some trusty
dependents not to suffer any part of this treasure to
be carried away.

The summer proved colder and more windy
than usual, and kept the mammoth sunk in the ice,
which scarcely melted all that season. At last, about
the end of the fifth year afterwards, the ardent de-
sires of Schoumakoff were happily accomplished: the
ice which enclosed the animal having partly melted,
the level became sloped, and this enormous mass,
pushed forward by its own weight, fell over upon
its side on a sand-bank. Of this, two Tonguse, who
accompanied me in my journey, were witnesses. In
the month of March, 1804, Schoumakoff came to his
mammoth, and having cut off the tusks, exchanged
them with the merchant Baltounoff for goods of the
value of fifty rubles. On this occasion a drawing of
the animal was made, but it was very incorrect; they
described it with pointed ears, very small eyes,
horse’s hoofs, and a bristly mane along the whole of
his back, so that the drawing represented something
between a pig and an elephant.

Two years afterwards, being the seventh from
its first being discovered, a fortunate circumstance
caused my visit to these distant and desert regions,
and I congratulate myself upon having had it in my
power to ascertain and verify a fact which would

THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT. 263

Otherwise be thought so improbable. I found the
animal still in the same place, but exceedingly mu-
tilated. The prejudices against it having been dis-
sipated by theTonguse chief’s recovery, the carcase
might be approached without dilSiculty: the ‘pi’0“
prietor was content with the profit he had derived
from it, and the Yakouts of the neighbourhood tore
off the flesh, WTth which they fed their dogs. Fe-
rocious animals, polar bears, gluttons, wolves, and
foxes, preyed upon it also, and their burrows were
seen in the neighbourhood. The skeleton, almost
unfleshed, was entire, with the exception of one of
the fore feet. The back-bone, from the head to the
os coccygis, the pelvis, and the remains of the three
extremities, were still firmly attached by the liga-
ments of the joints, and by strips of skin on the ex-
terior side of the carcase. The head was covered
with a dry skin; one of the ears, well preserved, was
furnished with a tuft of bristles. All these parts
must necessarily have suffered by a carriage of se-
veral thousand miles. The eyes, however, are pre-
served, and we can still distinguish the ball of the
left eye. The tip of the under lip has been eaten
away, and the upper part being destroyed, the teeth
were laid bare. The brain was still within the cra-
nium, but appeared dry.

“ The parts least damaged are a fore foot and a
hind one; they are covered with skin, and still have
the sole attached.* According to the assertion of the
Tonguse chief, the animal had been so large and
well fed that its belly hung down below the knee-
joints. This animal was a male with a long mane at

264

THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT.

his neck, but it has no tail and no trunk.* Three-
fourths of the skin were obtained; the whole is of a
dark gray, and covered with reddish hair and black
bristles. The humidity of the soil where the ani-
mal had lain so long has deprived the bristles of some
part of their elasticity. The entire skeleton is about
nine feet and a-half high,f and is fourteen feet in
length from the tip of the nose to the coccyx. J The
tusks are nine feet long, and weigh, each two hun-
dred pounds. §1 The head alone weighs four hun-
dred and sixty pounds.

The bones were separated and arranged with
scrupulous care; and I had the satisfaction of finding
the other shoulder-blade, which lay in a hole. I
afterwards caused the skin to be stripped from the
side upon which the animal had lain: it was in good
preservation. This skin was of such extraordinary
weight, that ten persons, who were employed to carry
it to the sea side, to stretch it upon floating wood,
moved it with great difficulty. After this was ac-
complished, I caused the ground to be dug in vari-
ous places, in order to see if there were any bones
around, but chiefly for the purpose of collecting all
the bristles, which the white bears might have trod-
den into the wet ground on devouring the flesh. This
operation was attended with difficulty, on account of
the deficiency of proper tools for digging; however,

* These parts were, doubtless, removed by the animals
which fed upon the carcase.

t Four archines. | Seven archines. § Each five poods.

THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT.

265

we succeeded in procuring more than forty pounds^
of bristles.

The place where I found this animal ‘ig sixty
paces distant from the sea shore, and about one hun-
dred paces distant from the ice, whence it had fallen
down. The fracture in the ice is exactly in the mid-
dle between the two points of the isthmus, and is
three wersts long, and in the place where the body
of the animal was situated, the rock of ice has a per-
pendicular elevation of one hundred and eighty or
one hundred and ninety feet. Its substance is a clear
ice, but of a nauseous taste; it slopes towards the sea.
Its summit is covered by a bed of moss and friable
earth, more than a foot in thickness. During the
heat of the month of July a part of this crust melts,
but the other remains frozen. Curiosity prompted
me to ascend two other hillocks equally distant from
the sea; they were of the same composition, and also
slightly covered with moss. At intervals I saw pieces
of wood of an enormous size and of all the species
produced in Siberia; and also mammoth horns (ele-
phant tusks) in great quantities frozen between the
fissures of the rocks. They appeared to be of an
astonishing freshness.”]

* More than one pood.

VOL. II. T. 1

CHAPTER XVII.

Order VI. — Pecora; Ruminant Animals.

These animals are peculiarly distinguished by
having no incisive teeth in the upper jaw. the in-
termaxillary bone, covered by a hardened gum, being
opposed to the incisors of the lower jaw, which are
almost universally eight in number. Between these
and the molar teeth there is a vacant space, except
in certain genera having one or two canines.' There
are very uniformly six molars on each side of both
jaws; these have their crowns marked by two dou-
ble crescents, the convexity of which in the upper
jaw is turned inwards, and in the lower jaw out-
wards.

The feet are all two toed, and these toes are co-
vered by two hoofs, which approach each other by
flat surfaces, whence they have the appearance of a
single hoof cleft in the middle, a circumstance which
has obtained for these animals, in various languages,
the designation of cloven footed, &c. In some ge-
nera, there are behind these hoofs two small ones or
rudimental hoofs, which are the only traces of late-
ral toes. The two bones of the metacarpus and me-
tatarsus are consolidated to form one bone, which is
called the cannon hone.

The most singular faculty possessed by these ani-
mals is that of rumination, or of returning the food
to the mouth to subject it to a second mastication af-

OF THE RUMINANT ANIMALS.

267

ler it has been once swallowed. This process de-
pends on the number and peculiar arrangement of
their complicated stomachs.

The first stomach is called rumen or paunch,
which is divided externally at its extremity into two
saccular appendices, and slightly separated into four
parts on the inside, having a vast number of flatten-
ed papillae over the internal surface.

The second is called reticulum or honeycomb, f
and is distinguished from the first by its small and
globular appearance, and by the beautiful arrange-
ment of its internal membrane, which forms poly-
gonal acute-angled cells.

The third stomach is the smallest of all, and is
termed omaswn or feck.f Its internal membrane is
arranged in longitudinal folds, varying in breadth, in
a regular alternate order.

The fourth stomach is called abomasum or reed,§>
is next in size to the paunch, and is of an elongated
pear-shape, having its internal membrane simply
wrinkled longitudinally like the human stomach.

The three first named stomachs are connected
with each other and a groove-like continuation of
the oesophagus in the following manner. The groove-
like continuation enters where the paunch, reticulum,
and omasum, approach each other, and thence it is
continued with the groove which ends in the third
stomach. The groove is therefore open to the first

* Alsoingluvies, magnus venter, penula.
t Ollula, bonnet, king’s hood, &c.

t Echinus, conclave, centipellis, manyplies, book, feuillet
§ Faliscus, ventriculus intestinalis.

268

GENERAL HISTORY

stomachs whicli lie to its right and left. The thick
and prominent margins of this groove allow them to
be drawn together, so as to form a complete tube,
and then the oesophagus' is continued direct into the
third stomach.^

The most generally received opinion on the act of
rumination is, that the food is coarsely broken at the
first mastication, and when swallowed passes into the
paunch. It is thence gradually passed into the se-
cond stomach, where it undergoes a certain degree of
maceration in the fluids of the organ, and is formed
into little balls, which by a sudden contraction of
this stomach are impelled through the oesophagus or
gullet to the mouth. It is then subjected to the se-
cond more effectual mastication, f is again swallowed
and passes directly into the third stomach, and after
remaining in this for a certain time it finally enters
the fourth, simple or true digestive stomach. This
account of the stages of the act of rumination is
adopted by Blumenbach, Cuvier, &c. ToggiaJ
in part following the doctrine of Buugnone, sustains
the opinion that the food, after the first mastication,
enters the paunch only, and not the reticulum or se-
cond stomach. In the paunch, moreover, by the
fluids which are poured out from its internal surface,
and by the structure and regular movements of its
parietes, the mass is softened, divided and formed into
small pellets, which are brought by the contractions

* See Blumenbach’s Comp. Anat. p. iS7.
t Vide Cuvier, Regne Animal, 247.
t Della ruminazione e digestione de’Ruminaiiti; Turino
1819, 8vo. op. cit. per Ranzani.

OF THE RUMINANT ANIMALS.

269

of the organ to its cardia, and ascend the CEsopha-
gus to the mouth for the second mastication. Then
the food is returned to the reticulum by means of
the groove-like continuation; there it remains for a
certain time, unless the matter be mixed or fluid, in
which case it passes at once into the third or fourth
stomach. Toggia is persuaded that it occurs in
this and in no other way, because, 1st, when he had
attentively examined the structure of the groove, he
was convinced that nothing but flnely comminuted
food could pass through it, and not herbage but once
and imperfectly masticated. 2d, When he examin-
ed the stomachs of ruminant animals killed either at
the commencement of the rumination, during this
process, or immediately after it, he found the food
which had been only once masticated, in the paunch
alone; the food reduced by the second mastication
was contained in the reticulum or second stomach;
that which was imbued with fluid in the omasum or
third, and finally, abundantly mixed with fluids or
in a semifluid state, in the abomasum or fourth sto-
mach.*

The rumen or paunch is comparatively small in
the young or suckling animal, and does not acquire
its enormous size, until it has been for some time the
receptacle of food. The intestinal canal is very long
in ruminant quadrupeds, but not voluminous in the
larger portion; the coecum itself, is long and rather
even. The teats are situated between the thighs.

The fat of these animals is remarkable for its

* Ranzani Elementi di Zoologia, tomo 2do. parte 3a.

270

GENERAL HISTORY, &C.

hardness when cooled; it may then be broken into
pieces. It is well known in commerce and the arts
under the name of tallow.

To this order of animals man is more largely in-
debted than to all the rest of animated nature. The
mass of his food, is obtained from their flesh, and
there is no part of their bodies from which he does
not derive additions to his comforts, and assistance
to his arts. Their hides, horns, bones, hair, flesh, fat,
milk, and even their blood are in hourly demand.
Many of them during their lives yield him valuable
services as beasts of draught and burthen, and con-
tribute amply to his sustenance and luxury when
they are finally slaughtered. Peaceful and patient
in their dispositions, they feed exclusively on the
verdure which is scattered over the earth, and pre-
pare this vegetable matter most efficiently for the
use of man and other creatures, by converting it into
their own flesh, which is edible throughout all the
members of the order, and in a large proportion is
delicious food. -

CHAPTER XVIII.

Genus IV. — Cervus; L. Beer.

Gr. Fr. Cerf.

Lat. Cervus, Germ. Hirsch.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The head, which is elongated, is not very large, and
most generally terminates by a smooth membranous
surface which is called the muzzle; the nostrils are
acutely oval and laterally situated; the eyes large
and well proportioned, having the pupils trans-
versely extended. At a short distance below the
inner angle of the eye a peculiar pouch or cavity is
found in most of the species, which secretes an unc-
tuous humour in small quantities; these cavities are
called larmiers by the French naturalist. The ears
are large and pointed; the neck is of moderate length,
the body plump, and the limbs slender, though
strongly knit. The teats are inguinal, and four in
number: the gall bladder does not exist in these ani-
mals. The tail is short.

The hair is very similar in colour throughout the
species of this genus, and is dry and harsh; the young
deer or fawns are mostly spotted with white upon a
brownish yellow ground.

The males of this genus are all provided with
horns, which are variously branched, or palmated,
and are annually caducous. These horns are re-
markable for being composed of hone, which is solid,

272

GENERAL HISTORY

throughout, and in its first or growing state is co*
vered by a velvet-like membrane, through which
blood circulates with great freedom. The horn com-
mences its growth from a basis or peduncle which
is attached to the frontal bone, having something of
the form of a truncated cone; a short distance above
this, on the level of the outer surface of the skin of
the head, the horn is expanded in the form of an
irregular tuberculous ring, which is called the burr,^
above which the solid part of the horn rises to form
the various branches or plantations, according to the
species. The blood-vessels going to the horn are
very large at the commencement and during its
growth, and the extension of the velvet-like mem-
brane is as rapid as the advance of the bone or horn.
As soon as the horn attains its full growth the blood-
vessels contract and diminish until they cease to
convey blood to the velvet membrane, which then
dries, loses its sensibility, and gradually flakes off.
After the rutting season a slight tumescence occurs
at the edge of the peduncle, and the whole horn is
at length detached and falls olf.

Dental System.

<V

c"5

r

1

Upper

<!

20 Lower

{

!

0 Incisive
0 Canine
12 Molars.
8 Incisive
0 Canine
12 Molars.

{6 False

6 True Molars.

{6 False

6 True Molars.

In the upper jaw the three first molars are bor*
dered by a thick crest at their internal edges; the

* The part commonly used for cane-heads, &c.

OF THE DEEK.

two following are formed of two parts, each of which
is composed of a single tubercle, having two crests
in front, one on the outside, terminating abruptly,
the other on the inside, which descends as far as the
middle of the height of the tooth, and then rises up-
wards to rejoin the anterior border of the principal
tubercle; between this crest and the tubercle there
is a hollow. When the tubercle begins to wear, it
exhibits a portion of a narrow circle, bordered by
enamel. The last molar differs from the two pre-
ceding solely in being somewhat narrower, and in
having thinner crescents.

In the lower jaw the first incisor is the largest,
the second and third are somewhat less than the
other, and the last is very small. They are all
trenchant, inclined forwards, and separate them-
selves slightly from the median line. The two first
false molars are simple, the third has a spur at its
posterior part, and the three last differ very slightly
from each other.

In their reciprocal position the inferior incisors
correspond to the superior maxillary bone; the
molars are alternate.

The writings of naturalists exhibit great confusion
relative to the North American species of deer. — =
Much of this evil is attributable to the loose manner
in w'hich species have been proposed upon the au-
thority of persons unqualified to distinguish between
accidental varieties, dependent upon sex or age, and
those permanent characteristics indicative of specific
constitution.

Cuvier, with his usual acumen and amplitude
of research, has turned his attention to this subject,

VOL. II. — M m

274

UENEUAL HISTORY, &C.

with great advantage to students of natural history.
Though he may not have been the first or only na-
turalist who knew and discriminated correctly the
North American Species, he is the first who has dis-
played his researches in such a manner as will ena-
ble every one to satisfy himself of the accuracy of
his deductions. He has admitted the following to
be the species now inhabiting this country, all the
others named as distinct in the books being mere va-
rieties: C. Alces, the Moose; C. Canadensis, the
American Elk; C. Tarandus, the Rein Deer; C,
Virginianus, the Common Deer.

To this list must be added the C. Macrotis, Mule
or Black-tail Deer, first indicated by Lewis and-
Clarke, and described by Say, under the name just
given, in Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains.

Species \.~The Moose.

CeiTus Alces; L.

.?/ccs, Addis; Plik. Aid. Gesn. Jonst.

Original: Cuariev. Nouv. France, iii. 126.

Elan: Bdff. Hist. Nat. xii. Supp. vii.

Elk: Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2. 174.

Moose Deer; Dddiet, Phil. Trans. No. 444. Warden, Descript, des
Etats Unis. v. p. 636.

Elk: Penn. Hist. Quad. No. 42. Moose.- In. Arct. Zool. i. No. 3. p. 18.

TheMoosef is perhaps the only deer whose gene-
ral appearance can be called ungraceful, or whose

* Ossemens Fossiles, nouv. etl. tome iv.
t This appellation is derived from Musi', the name given
to the animal by the Algonquins.

THE MOOSE,

275

proportions at first sight injpress the beholder un-
favorably. Its large head terminates in a square muz-
zle, having the nostrils curiously slouched over the
sides of the mouth; the neck, from vvFiich rises a short
thick nianf, is not longer than the liead, which in
males is rendered still more cumbrous and unwdeldy,
by wide palmated hornsr under the throat is found
an excrescence from which grows a tuft of long hair;
the body, which is short and thick, is mounted upon
tall legs, and the whole aspect is so unusual that inci-
dental observers are pardonable for considering it
ugly. Yet as these singularities of structure have
direct or indirect reference to peculiarities of use,
an inquiry into the mode of life led by this species,
may cause us to forget, in admiration of its adaptation
to circumstances, prejudices excited by the compara-
tive inelegance of its form.

The moose inhabits the northern parts of both con-
tinents;* on the American it has been found as far
north as the country has been fully explored; its
southern range, at former periods, extended to the
shores of the great lakes and throughout the New
England States. At present it is not heard of south
of the state of Maine, wliere it is becoming rare. In
Nova Scotia, the isle of Breton, the country adja-
cent to the bay of Fundy, and throughout the Hud-
son’s Bay possessions, the moose is found in conside-
rable numbers.

The dense forests and closely shaded sw’amps of

^ It is, in Europe, called Elk."

276

I'HE MOOSE.

tlicsc regions are the favorite resorts of this animal,
as there the most abundant supply of food is to be
obtained with the least inconvenience. The length
o*^ limb and shortness of neck, which in an open pas-
ture appear so disadvantageous, are here of essential
importance, in enabling the moose to crop the buds
and young twigs of the birch, maple, or poplar, or
should he prefer the aquatic plants, which grow most
luxuriantly where the soil is unfit to support other
animals, the same length of limb enables him to feed
with security and ease. We cannot avoid believing
that the peculiar lateral and slouching position of the
nostrils is immediately connected with the manner in
which the moose browses. Their construction is
very muscular, and seems well adapted for seizing
and tearing off the twigs and foliage of trees, and
conveying them to the mouth; it may also be design-
ed to prevent the sense of smell from being at any
time suspended by the prehension of food. The
probability of this last suggestion is strengthened by
the fact that the moose is endowed with an exquisite
sensibility of smell, and can discover the approach of
hunters at very great distances. When obliged to
feed on level ground, the animal must either kneel or
separate the legs very widely; in feeding on the sides
of acclivities, the moose does so with less inconveni-
ence by grazing from below upwards; the steeper
the ground may be, so much the easier is it for this
species to pasture. Yet, whenever food is to be pro-
cured from trees and shrubs, it is preferred to that
\vhich is only to be obtained by grazing.

The moose, like his kindred species, is a harmless

THE MOOSE,

277

and peaceful animal, except in the season when the
sexes seek each other. Then the males display a
fierceness and pugnacity which forms a strong con-
trast to their ordinary actions; were they examined
only during such seasons, the character of the spe-
eies would be entirely misconceived. Under the in-
fluence of this powerful, though temporary excite-
ment, the males battle furiously with each other, and
resist the aggressions of man himself with vigour and
effect.

In the summer the moose frequents swampy or
low grounds near the margins of lakes and rivers,
through which they delight to swim, as it frees them
for the time from the annoyance of insects. They
are also seen wading out from the shores, for the
purpose of feeding on the aquatic plants which rise
to the surface of the water. At this season they re-
gularly frequent the same place in order to drink, of
which circumstance the Indian hunter takes advan-
tage to lie in ambush, and secure the destruction of
the deer. At such drinking places as many as eight,
or ten pairs of moose horns have been picked up.

During the winter the moose, in families of fifteen
or twenty, seek the depths of the forest for shelter,
and food. Such a herd will range throughout an
extent of about five hundred acres, subsisting upon
the mosses attached to the trees, or browsing the
tender branches of saplings, especially of the tree
called moose-wood. The Indians name parts of the
forest thus occupied moose-yards.

In Nova-Scotia, New-Brunsvvick, and the island
of Grandmanan, the moose is generally hunted in the

278

I'llE MOOSE.

month of March, when the snow is deep, and sulli-
ciently crusted with ice to bear the weight of a dog,
not that of a moose, as has been stated. Five or six
men, provided with knapsacks, containing food for
as many days, and all necessary implements for build
ing their ‘‘camp” at night, set out in search of a
moose yard. When they have discovered one, they
collect their dogs and encamp for the night, in order
to be ready to commence the chase at an early hour,
before the sun softens the crust upon the snow, which
would be the means of retarding the dogs, and faci-
litating the escape of the deer. At daybreak the
dogs are laid on, and the hunters, wearing large snow
shoes, follow as closely as possible. As soon as the
dogs approach a moose, they assail him on all sides,
and force him to attempt his escape by flight. The
deer, however, does not run far, before the crust on
the snow, through which he breaks at every step,
cuts his legs so severely, that the poor animal stands
at bay and endeavours to defend himself against the
dogs by striking at them with his forefeet. The ar-
rival of the hunter within a convenient distance soon
terminates the combat, as a ball from his rifle rarely
fails to bring the moose down.

Judging by the rapid diminution of this species
within a comparatively few years, it is to be feared
that it will, at no great distance of time, be exter-
minated. The moose is easily tamed, although of a
wild and timid disposition; sometimes when taken
very young they are domesticated to a remarkable
degree. We arc informed by our friend Mr. Van-
buskirk. of New-Brunswick, that he knew of one

THE MOOSE.

279

which was taken, when two days old, by an Indian,
and presented to a gentleman in Nova-Scotia. The
proprietor allowed it to suck a cow for three months,
and afterwards fed it with different vegetables, until
it w’as a year old. This moose displayed a singular
animosity against one of the young ladies of the fa-
mily, and would chase her with fierceness into the
house. - When the door was closed in time to exclude
him, be would immediately turn round and kick vio-
lently against it.^

The. horns of the moose spread out almost imme-
diately from their base into a broad palmation: in old
animals they increase to a great size, and have been
knowMi to weigh fifty-six pounds, each horn being
thirty-two inches long. The horns are generally
cast in the month of November; the Indians employ

*“In the year 1777, an Indian had two young moose so
tame, that when on his passage to Prince of Wales’ fort in
a canoe, the moose always followed him along the bank of
the river, and at night, or on any other occasion, when the
Indians landed, the young moose generally came and fondled
on them in the same manner as the most domestic animal
would have done, and never offered to stray from the tents.
Unfortunately, in crossing a deep bay in one of the lakes, on
a tine day, all the Indians that were not interested in the
safe landing of those engaging creatures, paddled from point
to pointj and the man ihat owned them not caring to go so
far about by himself, accompanied the others in hopes they
would follow him round as usual. But at night the young
moose did not arrive, and as the howling ol some wolves was
heard in that quarter, it was supposed they had been devour-
ed by them, as thev w'ere never afterwards seen.’* IIeauxe,
8vo. Ed. p. 258.

280

lliE MOOSE.

them for various purposes, cutting them' into spoons,
scoops, &c.

When chased, the moose throws his horns towards
his neck, elevates his nose, and dashes swiftly into
the thickest of the forest; occasionally the horns prove
the means of his destruction, by being entangled
among vines, or caught between small trees. Where
the moose runs over a plain, he moves with great
celerity, although his gait is nothing better than a
sort of long shambling trot: this, however, is ren-
dered very efiicient, by the great length of his limbs.
While running in this manner the divisions of the
hoofs, which are very long, separate as they
press the ground, and close together as they are
raised, with a clattering sound, which may be heard
to some distance; this circumstance is also remarked
in the rein-deer.

Notwithstanding the ease and swiftness of their
movements, they would be easily captured, if pur-
sued by horsemen and hounds, in a'country adapted
to such a chase, as they are both short breathed and
tender footed.

The acuteness of their sense of hearing, thought to
be that which is possessed by the moose in the greatest
degree of perfection, together with the keenness of
their smell, renders it very difficult to approach
them. The Indians attempt it by creeping among the
trees and bushes, always keeping to leeward of the
deer. In summer, wiien they resort to the borders of
lakes and rivers, the Indians often kill them while
crossing the streams, or w'hen swimming from the shore
to the islands. ‘^They are,’’ says FIeaune, when
pursued in this manner, the most inOiTensivc of all ani-

THE MOOSE.

281

mals, never making any resistance; and the young
ones are so simple, that I remember to have seen an
Indian paddle his canoe up to one of them and take
it by the poll, without the least opposition: the poor
harmless animal seeming, at the same time, as con-
tented alongside the canoe as if swimming by the
side of its dam, and looking up in our faces with the
same fearless innocence that a house lamb would,
making use of its forefoot almost every instant to
clear its eyes of musquitoes, which at that time were
remarkably numerous/’

The flesh of the moose, though generally coarser
and tougher than other venison, is esteemed excel-
lent food, and the Indians, hunters and travellers,
all declare they can withstand more fatigue while
fed on this meat than when using any other. The
large and gristly extremity of the nose is accounted
an epicurean treat, and the tongue of the animal is
also highly praised, notwithstanding it is not com-
monly so fat and delicate as the tongue of the com-
mon deer. As the moose feeds upon the twigs,
buds and small branches of the willow, birch pop-
lar, mosses, aquatic plants, &c. its flesh must be
peculiarly flavoured. “ The fat of the intestines is
hard like suet, but all the external fat is soft like
that of a breast of mutton, and when put into a blad-
der is as fine as marrow. In this they differ from
all the other species of deer, of which the external
fat is as hard as that of the kidneys.”^ The female
moose never has any horns; they bring forth their

* Hearne,

VOL. II. — X n

282

THE MOOSE.

young, ‘^from one to three in number, in the latter
end of April or beginning of May.”*'

The male moose often exceeds the largest horse in
«ize and bulk; the females are much less than the
males, and differently coloured. The hair of the
male is long and soft like that of a common deer; it
is black at tip, but within it is of an ash colour, and
at the base pure white. The hair of the female is
of a sandy brown colour, and in some places, espe-
cially under the throat, belly and flank, is nearly
white at tip, and altogether so at base.

The skin of the moose is of great value to the In-
dians, as it is used for tent covers, clothing, &c. We
shall defer the account of the methods of dressing
these and other deer skins, until vye treat of the
common deer, when we shall describe the Indian
modes of currying proper to each of these skins.

The moose, like other deer inhabiting the northern
regions, is exceedingly annoyed by insects, which
not only feast upon its blood, but deposit their eggs
in different parts of its body, along the spine, within
the cavities of the nose, mouth, &c. These eggs
when hatched form large larvae or maggots, that feed
on the parts within which they are placed, until
ready to assume their perfect or winged condition,
when they perforate the skin and take flight. So
great a number of such perforations are made at cer-
tain seasons, that the skins of the moose are rendered
worthless to the hunter, unless it be for the purpose
of cutting them into thongs for nets and other uses.

* Hearne.

THE REIN-DEER,

283

Species II. — The Rein-Beer.

CERVUS TARANDUS; L.

Tarandus: Plin. Hist. Nat. viii. c. 34.

Tafa.yS<,a: .Dlian, Anim ii. c. 16.

Caribou: Charlet. Nouv. Prance, iii. p. 129; Dobbs, Hudson’s Bay, 20,
Greenland Deer: Catesbt’s Carolina, App. p. 28
Renne: Buff. Hist. Nat. xii.

Reinthier, Tharandthier: Gesn. Thierb. p. 206, 209.

Greenland Buck: Edw. Av. 1, tab. 51.

Rein-Deer: Penn. Arct. Zool. Ibid. Quad, p. 46.

This valuable animal is found in great abundance
in the northern parts of both continents, and consti-
tutes a very considerable part of the subsistence of
the tribes inhabiting the regions it frequents. In
the northern parts of Asia and Europe, the rein-
deer has been domesticated for a long time, and with
the exception of the dog, is the only beast of draught
or burthen possessed by the natives. The North
American Indians, however, have never profited by
the docility of this animal to aid them in transport-
ing their families or property, though they annually
destroy great numbers of them for the sake of their
flesh, hides, horns, &c.

During the winter they take shelter in the forests,
whence they are occasionally induced by the occur-
rence of a few fine days to pay a short visit to their
favourite pastures on the barren grounds, which are
covered with a profusion of mosses. Their great
movement to the northward commonly begins to-
w’ards the end of April, when the snow first melts
from the sides of the hills; they are found on the
banks of the Copper-Mine River early in May, at

284

THE KEIN.-HEEll,

which time a considerable extent of ground is free
from snow. In this spring migration the females take
the lead, and bring forth their young on the sea coast
about the end of May or beginning of June. They
retire from the sea coast in July and August, but
linger in the vicinity of the barren grounds as late
as October, whence they seek their winter retreats
in the woods.

In their migrations the whole herd frequently
amounts to one or two thousand, and is separated into
smaller herds, varying in number from ten to a hun-
dred, as chance or their fears may determine them
to unite or separate. The Indians have remarked
that there are certain places which the rein-deer in-
variably visit in their migrations to and from the
coast, and that they always travel against the wind.
In the barren grounds the principal food of this spe-
cies is the various lichens or mosses; the hay or dry
grass found in the swamps during autumn is also eaten,
and in the woods the mosses attached to the trees.

They are accustomed to gnaw their fallen antlers,
and are said also to devour mice.”

Some rein deer are never met with except in the
woody country, and they are much larger than those
which visit the coast. This variety is stated to weigh
from 200 to 240lbs., while the weight of the com-
mon rein-deer, exclusive of the offal, varies from 90
to 130lbs. The large variety are found to have
their skins as much perforated by the larvae of the
gadfly as the others, which is considered as a pre-
sumptive proof, by Capt. Franklin, that the smaller
deer are not driven to the sea coast and islands of

THE REIN-DEER.

285

the Polar sea by the attacks of that insect. A few
rein-deer killed in the spring are found to have their
skins uninjured, and these are always fat, though
all the other deer are lean at the same season.

As we have not had an opportunity either of be-
comijig acquainted with this species in its native wilds,
or of seeing any individuals in a state of captivity, we
shall here introduce an account from the accurate ob-
servations of Hearne, confirmed by the recent and
interesting remarks of Capt. Franklin, given in the
narrative of his first and memorable journey to the
shores of the Polar sea.

When the Indians design to impound deer, they
look out for one of the paths in which a number of
them have trod, and which is observed to be still
frequented by them. When these paths cross a lake,
a wide river, or a barren plain, they are found to
be much the best for the purpose; and if the path
run through a cluster of woods, capable of afibrding
materials for building the pound, it adds considera-
bly to the commodiousness of the situation. The
pound is built by making a strong fence of brushy
trees, without observing any degree of regularity,
and the work is continued to any extent, according
to the pleasure of the builders. I have seen some
that were not less than a mile round, and am inform-
ed that there are others still more extensive. The
door or entrance of the pound is not larger than a
common gate, and the inside is so crowded with small
counter hedges as very much to resemble a maze; in
every opening of which they set a snare made with
thongs of parchment, deer skins, &c. twisted toge-
ther, which are amazingly strong. One end of the

286

THE REIN-HEEK.

snare is usually made fast to a growing pole; but it
no one of sufficient size can be found near the place
where the snare is set, a loose pole is substituted,
which is always of such size and length, that a deer
cannot drag it far before it gets entangled among
the other w^oods which are all left standing, ex-
cept what is found necessary for making the fence,
hedges, &c.

The pound being thus prepared, a row of small
brushwood is stuck up in the snow on each side the
door or entrance, and these hedgerows are continued
along the open part of the lake, river or plain, where
neither stick nor stump besides is to be seep. These
poles or brushwood are generally placed at the dis-
tance of fifteen or twenty yards from each other, and
ranged in such a manner as to form two sides of a
long acute angle, growing gradually wider in pro-
portion to the dimensions of the pound, which is
sometimes not less than two or three miles, while the
deer path is exactly along the middle, between the
two rows of brushwood.

Indians employed on this service always pitch
their tent on or near to an eminence that affords a
commanding prospect of the path leading to a pound;
and when they see any deer going that w'ay, men,
women and children, walk along the lake or river
side, under cover of the woods, until they get be-
hind them, then step forth to open view, and pro-
ceed towards the pound in the form of a crescent.
The poor timorous deer finding themselves pursued,
and at the same time taking the two rows of bushy
poles to be twm ranks of people stationed to prevent
their passing on either side, run straight forward iii

THE HEIN-DEER.

287

the path till they get into the pound. The Indians
then close in, and block up the entrance with some
brushy trees that have been cut down and lie at hand
for that purpose. The deer being thus enclosed,
the women and children walk round the pound to
prevent them from jumping over the fence, while
the men are employed in spearing such as are entan-
gled in the snares, and shooting with bows and ar-
rows those which remain loose in the pound. This
method of hunting, if it deserves the name, is some-
time so successful that many families subsist by it
without having occasion to remove their tents above
once or twice during the whole course of a winter;
and when the spring advances both the deer and In-
dians draw out to the eastward, on the ground which
is entirely barren, or at least what is so called in
those parts, as it neither produces trees nor shrubs
of any kind, so that moss, and some little grass, is all
the herbage to be found on it.

“ The great destruction of the deer in the month
of August, for the sake of their skins, which are
then fittest for use, is almost incredible; and as they
are never known to have more than one fawn at a
time, it is wonderful they do not become scarce.
But so far is this from being the case, that the oldest
northern Indian will affirm, that the deer are as
plentiful now as they ever have been: and though
they are remarkably scarce some years near Church-
hill river, yet it is said, and v.uth great probability
of truth, that they are more numerous in other parts
of the country than they were formerly. The scar-
city or abundance of these animals in different places
at the same season, is caused in a great measure, by

288

THE REIN-DEEK.

the winds which prevail for some time before; for
the deer are supposed by the natives to walk always
in the direction from which the wind blows, except
when they migrate from east to west, or from west
to east, in search of the opposite sex.

It requires the prime parts of from eight to ten
deer skins to make a complete suit of warm clothing
for a grown person during the winter; all of which
should, if possible, be killed in the month of August
or early in September, for after that time the hair
is too long, and at the same time so loose in the pelt,
that it will drop off with the slightest injury. Be-
sides these skins, which must be in the hair, each
person requires several others to be dressed into
leather, for stockings and shoes and light summer
clothing. Several more are also wanted in a parch-
ment state to make clewla, as they call it, or thongs
for the nettings of snow-shoes, snares for deer, sew-
ing for their sledges, and in fact for every other use
where strings or lines of any kind are required; so
that each person on an average expends, in the course
of a year, upwards of twenty deer skins in clothing
and other domestic uses, exclusive of tent cloths,
bags, and many other things. All skins for the above-
mentioned purposes are, if possible, procured be-
tween the beginning of August and the middle of
October; for when’the rutting season is over, and the
winter sets in, the deer skins are not only very thin,
but in general full of worms and warbles, which ren-
der them of little use, except for thongs. Indeed,
the chief use that is made of them in winter is for
the purpose of food; and really, when the hair is
properly taken olf, and all the warbles are squeezed

THE REIN-DEER.

289

out, if they are well boiled they are far from being
disagreeable. The Indians, however, never could
persuade me to eat the warbles, (maggots of the gad-
fly,) of which some of them are remarkably fond,
particularly the children. They are always eaten
raw and alive out of the skin, and are said by those
who like them to be as fine as gooseberries. But
the very idea of eating such things, exclusive of their
appearance, (many of them being as large as the
first joint of the little finger,) was quite sufficient
to give me an unalterable disgust to such a repast.

The month of October is the rutting season with
these deer, and after the time of their courtship is
over the bucks separate from the does: the former
proceed to the westward, to take shelter in the woods
during the winter, and the does keep out in the bar-
ren ground the whole year. This, though a gene-
ral rule, is not without some exceptions, for I have
frequently seen many does in the woods, though they
bore no proportion to the bucks. This rule, there-
fore, only stands good respecting the deer to the
north of Churchill river, for the deer to the south-
ward live promiscuously among the woods as well
as in the plains, and along the banks of the rivers,
lakes, &c. the whole year.

The old buck’s horns are very large, with many
branches, and always drop off in the month of No-
vember, which is the time they begin to approach
the woods. This is undoubtedly wisely ordered by
Providence, the better to enable them to escape
from their enemies through the woods, otherwise
they would become an easy prey to wolves and other

VOL. II.— o 0

i90

TUB REIN-UEEK.

beasts, and be liable to get entangled among the
trees, even in ranging about in search of food. The
young bucks in those parts do not shed their horns
as soon as the old ones; I have frequently seen them
killed at or near Christmas, and could discover no
appearance of their horns being loose. The does
do not shed their horns till the summer, so that when
the buck’s horns are ready to drop off, the horns of
the doe are all hairy, and scarcely come to their full
growth.”*

The’haunches of the male rein-deer, in the be-
ginning of the month of October, are covered to the
depth of two inches or more with fat, which is be-
ginning to get red and high flavoured, and is consi-
dered as a sure indication of the commencement of
the rutting season. Their horns, which in the mid-
dle of August were yet tender, have now attained
their proper size, and are beginning to lose their
hairy covering, which hangs from them in ragged
filaments. The horns of the rein-deer vary not only
with its age and sex, but are otherwise so uncertain
in their growth, that they are never alike in any
two individuals. The old males shed theirs about
the end of December; the females retain them until
the disappearance of the snow enables them to fre-
quent the barren grounds, which may be stated to
be about the middle or end of May, sooii after which
period they proceed towards the sea coast and drop
their young. The young males lose their horns
about the same time with the females, or a little ear-
lier, some of them as early as April. The hair of

IIeaune, passim. 8vo. Ed.

THE REIN-DEER:

S91

the rein-deer falls in July, and is succeeded by a
short thick coat of mingled clove, deep reddish and
yellowish browns — the belly and under parts of the
neck, &c. remaining white. As the winter ap-
proaches, the hair becomes longer and lighter in its
colours, and it begins to loosen in May, being then
much worn on the sides from the animal rubbing it-
self against trees and stones. It becomes grayish and
almost white before it is completely shed. The In-
dians form their robes of the skins procured in au*
tumn, when the hair is short. Towards the spring
the larvae of the oestrus, attaining a large size, pro-
duce so many perforations in the skins that they are
good for nothing. The cicatrices only of these holes
are to be seen in August, but a fresh set of ova have
in the mean time been deposited.^

The herds of deer are attended in their migra-
tions by bands of wolves, which destroy a great many
of them. The Copper Indians kill the rein-deer in
summer with the gun, or taking advantage of a fa-
vourable disposition of the ground, they enclose a
herd upon a neck of land and drive them into a lake,
where they fall an easy prey; but in the rutting
season, and in the spring, when they are numerous
on the skirts of the woods, they catch them in snares.

* “ It is worthy of remark, that in the month of May a very
great number of large larvae exist under the mucous mem-
brane at the root of the tongue and posterior part of the
nares and pharynx. The Indians consider them to belong
to the same species with the cestrus that deposits its ova un-
der the skinj to us the larvse of the former appeared more
flattened than those of the latter. ‘’-—/Jr, T>ichctrdson's Jmtrna.l.

292

THE REIN-DEER.

The snares are simple nooses formed in a rope made
of twisted sinew, which are placed in the aperture
of a slight hedge, constructed of the branches of
trees. This hedge is disposed so as to form several
winding compartments, — and although it is by no
means strong, yet the deer seldom attempt to break
through it. The herd is led into the labyrinth by
two converging rows of poles, and one is generally
caught at each of the openings by the noose placed
there. The hunter, too, lying in ambush, stabs some
of them with his bayonet as they pass by, and the
whole herd frequently becomes his prey. Where
wood is scarce, a piece of turf turned up answers the
purpose of a pole to conduct them towards the snares.
The rein-deer has a quick eye, but the hunter, by
keeping to leeward, and using a little caution, may
approach very near, their apprehensions being much
more easily aroused by the smell than the sight of
any unusual object. Indeed, their curiosity often
causes them to come close up and wheel round the
hunter, thus affording him a good opportunity of
singling out the fattest of the herd, and upon these
occasions they often become so confused by the shouts
and gestures of their enemy, that they run back-
wards and forwards with great rapidity, but without
the power of making their escape. The Copper In-
dians find that a white dress attracts the most readi-
ly, and they often succeed in bringing them within
gun shot, by kneeling and vibrating the gun frou
side to side, in imitation of the motions of a deer’s
horns when he is in the act of rubbing his head against
a stone.

THE HEIN-DEEE.

293

The Dogrib Indians have a mode of killing these
animals which, though simple, is very successful. It
was thus described by Mr. Wentzel, who resided,
long amongst that people. The hunters go in pairs,
the foremost man carrying in one hand the horns <ind
part of the skin of the head of a deer, and in the
other a small bundle of twigs, against which he, from
time to time, rubs the horns, imitating the gestures
peculiar to the animal. His comrade follows, tread-
ing exactly in his footsteps, and holding the guns of
both in a horizontal position, so that the muzzles pro-
ject under the arms of him who carries the head.
Both hunters have a fillet of white skin round their
foreheads, and the foremost has a strip of the same
kind around his wrists. They approach the herd
by degrees, raising their legs very slowly, but set-
ting them down somewhat suddenly, after the man-
ner of a deer, and always taking care to lift their right
or left feet simultaneously. If any of the herd leave
off feeding to gaze upon this extraordinary pheno-
menon, it instantly stops, and the head begins to play
its part by licking its shoulders, and performing other
necessary movements. In this way the hunters at-
tain the very centre of the herd without exciting
suspicion, and have leisure to single out the fattest.
The hindmost man then pushes forward his com-
rade’s gun, the head is dropt, and they both fire
nearly at the same instant. The herd scampers off,
the hunters trot after them; in a short time the poor
animals halt to ascertain the cause of their terror,
their foes stop at the same instant, and having loaded
as they ran, greet the gazers with a second fatal dis-
charge. The consternation of the deer increases,

294

THE ELK.

they run to and fro in the utmost confusion, and some?
times a great part of the herd is destroyed within
the space of a few hundred yards.’’*

Species III. — The Elk.

Cervus Canadensis; Briss.

Cerf die Canada: Pebeauit, Mem. sur les Anim. ii. 45.

Cervus Major Americanus: Catesbt, Carol, app. ii. 28.

Cervus istrongyloceros: Schheb. Saeugthiere.

.dices Amertcanus, comibus teretibus: Jetfebson, Virginia, 96-
The Elk: Lawson, New Voyage; Carver, Travels, 417'.

The American Elk: Bewick, Quadrupeds, 112.

Cervus Wapiti: Barton, Med. and Physical Journ. iii. 36.

Wapiti: Warden, Descr. des Etats Unis, v. 368; Stag, Red Deer,
Ibid. 367. Wapiti, Mitchill, Leach. Fred Cuvier, Mammif. Lithogr.
liv. 21e.

Cerf Wapiti: Desm. Mamm. Sp. 664; Cerf Canadien, Ibid. Sp. 665.
Wewaskish [ Waskesse,- Wawashkeesko] Hearne, Journey, &c. 360.

{^Commonly called Stag, Red Deer, Gray Moose, Le
Biche, Wapiti, Jlmerican Elk, Round horn Elk,
Elk, 4-c.]

The stately and beautiful animal we are now to
describe has been until very recently confounded
with other species of deer, to which it bears but a
slight resemblance, and from which it is distinguish-
ed by the most striking characters. The English
name by which it is commonly known, and which we
•prefer to others, is the same as that given to the
moose in Europe; hence this species was for a long
time considered as a mere variety of the moose, if

* Franklin’s Narrative of a Journey to the shores of the
Polar Sea.

THE ELK.

295

not identically the same. A general resemblance to
the European stag caused the application of the
same name to our elk, and this circumstance led va-
rious writers into the error of considering our ani-
mal to be a variety of the Cervus Elaphus, or com-
mon stag of Europe. A reference to the synonymy
we have prefixed to this article, will amply suffice to
show how great a degree of confusion has hitherto
existed upon this subject; a confusion rather increas-
ed than diminished by those who have attempted its
removal by reconciling the discrepances of books in-
stead of appealing to the proper and infallible au-
thority, nature.

Hearne we believe to be justly entitled to the
credit of having insisted upon the specific distinct-
ness of this animal from the moose, by pointing out
the error into which Pennant had fallen, in stating
the Waskesse or Wewaskish to be of the same spe-
cies. The description he gives of the Wewaskish
sufficiently proves that it was our elk he described,
and the characters he enumerates satisfactorily esta-
blish the specific differences between this animal and
the moose.

Jefferson, in his valuable notes on Virginia, with
out being aware of Hearne’s observations, proves
very clearly that the elk of America ought to be re-
garded as identical neither with the moose nor stag
of Europe, and proposed for our animal the name of
Sices Smericanus. Subsequently Dr. E. H. Smith
published a very interesting paper in the New York
Medical Repository, in which he described three in-
dividuals of this species, and gave a still more con:.-

296

THE EEK.

plete enumeration of their distinctive characters
and history.

It wotdd be as unprofitable as irksome to enter more
extensively into the history of the different errors
and changes respecting the classification of this deer.
To us it appears sufficient to declare it to be now
fully established that there is but one species of
American Elk, upon which all the names prefixed,
scientific and trivial, have been bestowed; that this
species is second in size to the moose alone, and that
in beauty of form, grace and agility of movement,
and other attributes of its kind, it is not excelled by
any deer of the old or new world.

The size and appearance of the elk are imposing;
his air denotes confidence of great strength, while
his towering horns exhibit weapons capable of doing
much injury when offensively employed. The head
is beautifully formed, tapering to a narrow point;
the ears are large and rapidly moveable; the eyes
are full and dark; the horns rise loftily from the
front, with numerous sharp pointed branches, which
are curved forw'ards, and the head is sustained upon
a neck at once slender, vigorous and graceful. The
beauty of the male elk is still farther heightened by
the long forward-curling hair, w'hich forms a sort of
ruff or beard, extending from the head towards the
breast, where it grows short and is but little different
from the common covering. The body of the elk,
though large, is finely proportioned; the limbs are
small, and apparently delicate, but are strong, sinewy
and agile. The hair is of a blueish gray colour in
autumn; during winter it continues of a dark gray

THE ELK.

297

and at the approach of spring it assumes a reddish
or bright brown colour, which is permanent through-
out summer. The croupe is of a pale yellowish
white or clay colour, and this colour extends about
the tail for six or seven inches, and is almost uni-
formly found in both sexes. There is no very per-
ceptible difference of colour between the male and
female.

The female, however, does not participate in the

branching honours’’ of the male, which are found
to attain, in numerous instances, a surprizing magni-
tude. It is not uncommon to see them of four and
five feet in height, and it is said that they are some-
times still higher. Specimens of the largest size may
be seen in the cabinets of the Philadelphia Museum,
and of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York.
These horns are said to consist of three principal
divisions; 1st, The brow antlers, sometimes called

alters” by the hunters. 2d, The two middle
prongs, named ^‘fighting horns,” and, 3d, The shaft
or proper horns. The branches just mentioned
are always placed on the front, outside, or posterior
surface, never on the inner side of the horns, a cir-
cumstance which has been indicated as strikingly
different from the arrangement of the branches of
the horns of the common or Virginian deer, here-
after to be described.

The elk sheds his horns about the end of Feb-
ruary or beginning of March, and such is the rapidi-
ty with which the new horns shoot forth, that
in less than a month they are a foot in length. The
whole surface of the horn is covered by a soft hairy
membrane, which, from its resemblance to that sub-

VOL. II. — p p

298

THE ELK.

stance, is called velvet, and the horns are said to be
in the velvet” until the month of August, by
which time they have attained their full size. —
After the horns are entirely formed, the membrane
becomes gradually detached, and this separation
is hastened by the animal, who appears to suffer
some irritation, or itching, which causes him to rub
the horns against trees, &c.

Almost all those who have written on this speeies,
have dwelt upon the peculiar apparatus, situated
beneath the eye, at the internal angle, which the
French naturalists call larmiera, or sinus lacrymales.
This apparatus is a slit, or depression, obliquely
placed below the inner angle of each eye, and lined
with a naked membrane, which secretes an unctu-
ous matter, not unlike the cerumen or wax of the ear.
Dr. Smith, in the paper we have above referred
to, says that '^^the hunters assure us that the elk
possesses the power, by strictly closing the nostrils,
of forcing the air through these apertures in such a
manner as to make a noise which may be heard at
a great distance.” This, however, is inaccurate; it
is true that the elk, when alarmed, or his attention is
strongly excited, makes a whistling noise at the
moment that these lacrymal appendages are opened
and vibrated in a peculiar manner. But having
dissected these appendages in an elk, recently dead,
we are perfectly assured that there is no communi-
cation between the nostril of the animal and these
sacs. The bone behind these appendages is cribri-
form, or reticular, but we could discover no duct nor
passage by tvliicli air or any fluid could find its
ivay. The peculiar use and importance of this

THE ELK.

299

structure is still unknown; it exists in several spe-
cies of the genus, as already indicated in the generic
characters, and nothing but a close and careful
examination of these animals in a state of nature
will lead us to a correct understanding of their pur-
pose. Barton’s notion, that “ it seems in these
animals to serve the purposes of an auxiliary breath-
ing apparatus, and of an organ of smelling,” is alto-
gether speculation, founded upon a conjecture,” as
to the structure of the sac and its connexion with the
nostrils.

The elk has at one period ranged over the greater
part, if not the whole, of this continent. Jefferson
has stated that he could never learn that the round-
horned elk has been seen farther north than the
Hudson river.” But Hearne has described the
wewaskish in such a manner, as to leave no doubt of
its existence as far north as the vicinity of Cumber-
land House, in lat. 53° 56',*

'* “The we-was-kish, or as some (though improperly) call
it, the waskesse, is quite a dilFerent animal from the moose,
being by no means so large in size. The horns of the
wewaskish are something similar to those of the common
deer [the Rein Deer; he distinguishes the common deer
C. Virginianus (of the United States) as indian deer, 3 but
ire not pahnaled \n any part. They stand more upright,
have fewer branches, and want the brow antler. The head
of this animal is so far from being like that of the moose,
that the nose is sharp like that of a sheep. The hair is
usually of a sandy red, and they are frequently called by
tlie English ulio visit tl\e interior parts of the country, red
deer. — The person who informed Mr. Pennant that the
wewaskish and moose are the same animal, never saw one
of them; and the only reason he had to suppose it, was the
great resemblance of their skins.” p. 360-1-2.

300

THE ELK.

Elk are still occasionally found in the remote and
thinly settled parts of Pennsylvania, but the number
is small; it is only in the western wilds that they
are seen in considerable herds. They are fond of
the great forests, where a luxuriant vegetation
affords them an abundant supply of buds and tender
twigs; or of the great plains, where the solitude is
seldom interrupted, and all bounteous nature spreads
an immense field of verdure for their supports

The Elk is shy and retiring; having acute senses,
he receives early warning of the approach of any
human intruder. The moment the air is tainted by
the odour of his enemy, his head is erected with
spirit, his ears rapidly thrown in every direction to
catch the sounds, and his large dark glistening eye
expresses the most eager attention. Soon as the
approaching hunter is fairly discovered, the elk
bounds along for a few paces, as if trying his strength
for flight, stops, turns half round, and scans his pur-
suer with a steady gaze, then, throwing back his
lofty horns upon his neck, and projecting his taper
nose forwards, he springs from the ground and
advances with a velocity which soon leaves the
object of his dread far out of sight.

But in the season when sexual passion reigns
with its wonted influence over the animal crea-
tion, the elk, like various other creatures, assumes
a more warlike and threatening character. He is
neither so easily put to flight, nor can he be
approached with impunity, although he may have
been wounded. His horns and hoofs are then
employed with great effect, and the lives of men and
dogs are endangered by coming within his reach.
This season is during August and September, when

THE ELK.

301

the horns are in perfect order, and the males appear
filled with rage, and wage the fiercest war with
each other for the possession of the females. Dur-
ing this season the males are said to make a loud
and unpleasant noise, which is compared to a
sound between the neighing of a stallion and the
bellowing of a bull. Towards the end of May or
the beginning of June, the female brings forth her
young, commonly one, but very frequently two in
number, which are generally male and female.

The flesh of the elk is highly esteemed by the
Indians and hunters as food, and the horns, while in
their soft state, are also considered a delicacy: of
their hides a great variety of articles of dress and
usefulness are prepared. The solid portion or
shaft of the perfect horn is wrought by the Indians
into a bow, which is highly serviceable from its elas
ticity, as well as susceptible of beauty of polish and
form. Several of these bows may be seen in the
extensive collection of Indian implements belonging
to the Philadelphia Museum.*

* In a work devoted to the natural history of our country,
a passing tribute to the memory of one who has done much
for natural science, will not, we hope, be regarded as ob-
trusive.

But a few weeks have elapsed since the great debt of na-
ture was paid by Charles WilsOxV Peale, the founder of
the Philadelphia Museum. If a long life, devoted with sin-
gular enthusiasm to the advancement of natural history, by
the collection of objects in all the departments of natural
science, be meritorious; if the establishment of an institution
which has long been the pride, and promises hereafter to be
an honour and ornament to our country, be valuable; if eigh

302

I'HE ELlv.

The elk has occasionally been to a certain degree
domesticated, and might possibly, be rendered as
serviceable as the rein-deer. A pair of these
animals, represented in London under the name of
Wapiti, were trained to draw in harness, or to bear
the saddle, for the amusement of visitors. But
these experiments are not sufficient to lead us to
conclude, that the elk could be readily substituted
for the rein-deer or horse.

With what little is known of this species from
actual observation, several writers have mingled
a great deal of fable, and have repeated the stories
of “hunters” until they have at length passed for
the truth. Thus we are told of “a small vesicle (on
the outside of the elk’s hind legs) that contains

tj six years spent with unblemished integrity and consisten-
cy of character in the service of his friends and country, be
worthy of respect, the memory of this good man will long
continue to be dear to those who are capable of admiring un-
ostentatious virtue, and appreciating the benefits which have
already resulted, and will continue to flow from his labours.
To the last moment of his existence he exemplified in the
fullest degree the excellent effects of a temperate and indus-
trious lifej and in the benevolence of his disposition, the un-
disturbed serenity of his mind, and the unimpaired vigour of
his intellect, showed how far the study of nature, in her curi-
ous and wonderful works, had refined and ennobled a mind
which owed nothing to early education. To him death pre-
sented no terrors, for he had long considered it as the ter-
mination of his toils; he looked upon the grave but-as the
place in which he might yield his mortality to the beneficent
source whence he sprung; and at peace with all mankind,
he gently breathed his last, in cheering confidence of the
mercy of the Most High. May he rest in peace!

THE ELK.

303

a thin unctuous matter, which some of our hunters
call the oil.” Various improbable uses are assigned
to this unique and wonderful “ oil spring,” which it
would be lost time to repeat or refute. We have
inquired of those who have dissected several of these
animals, and have been present at the dissection of
one ourselves, but have never been able to discover
any thing of this “ vesicle.”' A friend who had one
of these animals for several years living in his pos-
session, states, that he never detected the presence of
any such apparatus or oil. Until better proof be
given than has yet been offered, we shall feel will-
ing to rank this story among the “ conjectures”
which have been too often resorted to when there
was a scarcity or difficulty of obtaining facts.”

We have already adverted to the warlike disposi-
tioii of the elk during a particular season, but it
may not be amiss to add, that at all times this animal
appears to be more ready to attack with his horns than
any other species of deer we have examined. When
at bay, and especially if slightly wounded, he fights
with great eagerness, as if resolved to be revenged.
The following instance from Long’s Expedition to the
Rocky Mountains will, in some degree, illustrate this
statement.

A herd of twenty or thirty elk were seen at no
great distance from the party, standing in the water
or lying upon the sand beach. One of the finest
bucks was singled out by a hunter, who fired upon
him, whereupon the whole herd plunged into the
thicket and disappeared. Relying upon the skill
of the hunter, and confident that his shot was fatal,
several of the party dismounted and pursued the elk

304

THE BLACK-TAIL UEEIL

into the woods, where the wounded buck was soo»?
overtaken. Finding his pursuers close upon him,
the elk turned furiously upon the foremost, who only
saved himself by springing into a thicket, which was
impassable to the elk, whose enormous antlers becom-
ing so entangled in the vines as to be covered to
their tips, he was held fast and blindfolded, and was
despatched by repeated bullets and stabs.

Species IV. — Tlie Black-tail Deer-
Cervus Macrotis; Say.

The Black-tailed Fallow Deer: Lewis and Ceahke,!. p. 30. Mule Deer
Ibid, ii 166.

Cervus Auritus: Warden, Ilescr. des Etats'Unis, v. 640.

Cervus Macrotis: Sai, Long-’s Exped. to the Kocky Mountains, ii. 88.

[ Commonly called Mule DeerJ^~\

The first indication of this fine deer was given
by Lewis and Clarke, who found it upon the sea
coast and the plains of the Missouri, as well as upon
the borders of the Kooskoose river, in the vicinity
of the rocky mountains. They inform us that the
habits of this animal are similar to those of its kin-
dred species, except that it does not run at full speed,
but bounds along, raising every foot from the ground
at the same time. It is found sometimes in the wood-
lands, but most frequently is met with in prairies and

* We avoid this name because it leads to an incorrect no-
tion of the animal. The resemblance of its ears to those
of the mule gave origin to the name.

THE BLACK-TAIL DEER.

3Q5

in open grounds. Its size is rather greater than that
of the common deer, (C. Virginianm) but its flesh is
considered inferior to the flesh of that species.

According to Say’s description, the horns are
slightly grooved and tuberculated at base, having a
small branch near thereto, resembling in situation
and direction the first branch on the horn of the
common deer. The front line of the antler is curv-
ed like that of the common deer, but not to so great
a degree, and at about the middle of the entire length
of the antlers they bifurcate equally, each of these
processes again dividing near the extremity, the pos-
terior being somewhat the shortest.

The ears are very long, being half the length of
the whole antler, and extending to its principal bi-
furcation. The eye is larger than that of the com-
mon deer, and the subocular sinus is much larger.
The hair is coarser, undulated and compressed, re-
sembling that of the elk, f C. Canadensis J and is of
a light reddish brown colour above. The sides of
the hair on the front of the nose is of a dull ash co-
lour; that on the back is intermixed with blackish
tipped hairs, which form a distinct line on the neck,
near the head. The tail is of a pale reddish ash co-
lour, except at the extremity on its superior surface,
where it is of a jetty black; beneath it is white, yet
nearly destitute of hair. The hoofs are shorter and
wider than those of the common deer, and more like
.those of the elk.*

* The following measurements are given by Say in the
W'ork above quoted.

Length from the base of the antlers to the origin of the na-
VOL. II, Q q

306

nib COMMOJ^ LlEER.

Species V. — The Common Deer,

Cervus Virgiuianus.

Fallow Deer: Catesbt, App.ii. 28; Lawson, Carol. 123.

Caricon Femelk; Buff. 12, pi. 44.

Cerf dt la Louisiant: C. Ossem. Foss, et .Ilegiie Anim. Fred. Cut.

Mammif. Lithogr. 4 fig.

Virginian Beer; Pennant, Quad.

Cerf de Virginie; Desm. Mammal, sp. 679, p. 442.

The Common Deer is the smallest American spe-
cies at present known, and is found throughout the
country between Canada in the north and the banks
of the Orinoco in South America. In various parts
of this extensive range, considerable varieties in
size and colouring are presented by this species,
though these being accidental and mutable, require
no especial description.

The common deer is more remarkable for general
slenderness and delicacy of form, than for size and
vigour. The slightness and length of its limbs, small
body, long and slim neck, sustaining a narrow and

sal process, two inches. Of the nasal process, two and a-
half. From the nasal process to the principal bifurcation,
four to five. Thence to the other two bifurcations, respec-
tively, four and a-half to five and a-half. Terminal prongs
of the anterior branch, four to four and a-half. Of the pos-
terior branch, two and a-half to three. From the anterior
base of the antlers to the tip of the upper jaw, nine and a
quarter. From the anterior canthus of the eye to the tip of
the jaw, six and a quarter. From the base of the antler to
the anterior canthus, three. Of the ears, more than seven
and a-half. Of the trunk of the tail, four. Of the hair at
the tip of the tail, from three to four.

^ /■/-/', ' ///?/f .

//

THE COMMON DEER,

307

almost pointed head, give the animal an air of fee*
bleness, the impression of which is only to be coun-
teracted by observing the animated eye, the agile
and playful movements, and admirable celerity of its
course when its full speed is exerted. Then all that
can be imagined of grace and swiftness of motion,
joined with strength sufficient to continue a long ca-
reer, may be realized.

The common deer has always been of great impor-
tance to the aborigines of America, as an abundant
source of food and raiment, nor has its value been
less to the pioneers of civilization in their advances
into the untrodden solitudes of the west. The im-
provements in agriculture have long since rendered
this supply of food of comparatively little value to
the white man, yet vast numbers of this species are
annually destroyed, equally for the sake of their flesh,
hides and horns. Judging by the quantity of skins
brought to our markets, and calculating the average
number of common deer destroyed during the time
which has elapsed since the settlement of the country,
we may form an imperfect notion of the aggregate
number and productiveness of this species; which,
notwithstanding this extensive consumption, does not
appear to be very rapidly diminishing, if we except
the immediate vicinities of very thickly peopled dis-
tricts. Even in these, where the destruction of deer
during the breeding season is prevented by law, the
increase seems quite equal to the demand, and such
humane and judicious provisions will probably pre-
serve this beautiful race to adorn the forest long after
the species is exterminated in situations where it is
not thus protected.

308

THE COMMON DEER.

The common deer is possessed of keen senses, es-
pecially of hearing and smelling; the sight, though
good, does not appear to equal in power the senses
just named, upon which the safety of the animal most
immediately depends.

It is therefore necessary for the hunter to approach
the deer against the wind, otherwise he is discover-
ed by the scent, at a great distance, and his objects
are entirely frustrated. The slightest noise excites
the attention of the deer, and his fears appear to be
m'lre readily awakened by this cause than any other;
while, on the contrary, the sight of unaccustomed ob -
jects seems rather to arouse curiosity than to pro-
duce terror, as the animal will frequently approach,
or stand gazing intently, until the hunter steals close
enough to lire with fatal aim.

The deer, in herds of various numbers, frequent
the forests and plains adjacent to the rivers, feed-
ing principally upon the buds and twigs of trees
and shrubs, though they are fond of grass when
their favourite food is not more convenient. The
herd is led by one of the largest and strongest bucks,
who appears to watch over the general safety, and
leads the way on all occasions. When any cause of
alarm checks their progress, the leader stamps with
his feet, threatens with his horns, and snorts so loud-
ly as to be heard for a very considerable distance.
So long as he stands fast, or prepares for combat, the
rest of the herd appear to feel secure; but when
he gives way they all follow with precipitation, and
vie with each other in the race.

The salines, or licks, as they are commonly called,
are eagerly sought for by these deer, as they have

THE COMMON DEER.

309

an equal fondness for salt with most other animals
belonging to the same order. In licking the soil,
through which the saline matter oozes to the sur-
face, they take up very considerable quantities of
the earthy matter, and this enables the hunter to
discover when the deer have recently visited the
spot, or that one of these places is not far distant, as
the excrement of the animal then resembles small
balls or pellets of hardened clay. The watchfulness
of the leader of the herd, as above mentioned, has led
the hunters to form an opinion, to which they perti-
naciously adhere, that the deer, when they visit a
salt lick, always post one of their number as a senti-
nel, who is to give the alarm in case of the approach
of an enemy.

The common deer when startled from a resting
place without being much alarmed, moves at first in
a singular and amusing manner. With an apparent
awkwardness, two or three springs are made, from
which the animal alights on three feet, drawing up
and extending the limbs in a stiff and peculiar man-
ner. As the tail is erected this alternate resting
upon the feet of opposite sides, causes the tail to de-
scribe a semicircle from side to side; a few high
bounds are next made forwards, as if with a view to
prepare for subsequent exertion, and then, if the
cause of alarm be continued, the deer exerts his
strength and dashes off in his swiftest career.

Although the common deer is generally a .very
shy and timid animal, the males are very much dis-
posed to war with each other during the season of
their sexual passion, and they are almost always in-
clined to fight when vvounded or brought to bay.

310

THE COMMON DEER.

At this time they fight with their forefeet as well as
their horns, and inflict severe wounds by leaping
forward and striking with the edges of their hoofs
held together. If a hunter falls on the ground in
attempting to close in and despatch a wounded deer
with his knife, he is in great danger of being killed
by such blows as we have described. This deer is
also said by the hunters to evince a very strong de-
gree of animosity towards serpents, and especially to
the rattlesnake, of which it has an instinctive hor-
ror. In order to destroy one of these creatures, the
deer makes a bound into the air, and alights upon
the snake with all four feet brought together in a
square, and these violent blows are rapidly repeated
until the hated reptile is destroyed. The combats
in which the males engage with each other are fre-
quently destructive of the lives of both, in a way that
would not readily be anticipated. In assaulting each
other furiously, their horns come into contact, and
being elastic, they yield mutually to the shock, so
that the horns of one animal pass within those of the
other and thus secure them, front to front, in such a
manner that neither can escape, and they torment
themselves in fruitless struggles until worn down by
hunger, they perish, or become the prey of wolves
or other animals. Heads of deer which have thus
perished are frequently found, and there is scarcely a
museum in this country which has not one or more
specimens. The following instance is given by Say
in Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains.
the party were descending a ridge, their attention
was called to an unusual noise proceeding from a
copse of low bushes, a few rods from the path. On

THE COMMON DEER.

311

arriving at the spot they found two buck deer, their
horns fast interlocked with each other, and both
much spent with fatigue, one in particular being so
much exhausted as to be unable to stand. Perceiving
that it would be impossible that they should extri-
cate themselves, and must either linger in their pre-
sent situations or die of hunger, or be destroyed by
the wolves, they despatched them with their knives,
after having made an unavailing attempt to disen-
tangle them. Beyond doubt many of these animals
must annually thus perish.’’

The common deer is fattest and in best condition
in the months of October and November, when the
rutting season commences, and continues about a
month, terminating commonly about the middle of
December. While this season continues, the neck
of the male is enlarged or dilated.

The female commonly has one or two, and some-
times three* fawns, which are of a light cinnamon
colour, spotted with white. While the fawns are
still young, or from May until July, the doe very
carefully conceals her offspring while she goes to
feed; and this act of maternal fondness is not only
done in a state of nature, but even when the com-
mon deer have been captive for some time and breed
in parks. The hunters, however, turn this fondness
to their own account, by imitating the cry of the fawn,
either by the voice alone, or by a sort of pipe or

* “ About the middle of March Mr. Peale shot a laraie

o

doe , in the matrix of which were three perfectly formed
young, of the size of rabbits.” Long’s Exped. to the Rocky
Mountains, i.

312

THE COMMON DEER.

reed which closely resembles the bleating of the ani-
mal. The parent soon relinquishes all fears for her
own safety, in her desire to assist her offspring, and
following the sound, approaches the ambush of the
hunter, where a deadly shot insures her immediate
destruction. When a doe is killed in company with
her fawn, or the mother has been removed as above
mentioned, the little animal is at once tamed, or ex-
hibits no apprehension at the approach of man, but
follows his captor with the most confiding simplicity^
and soon becomes so attached to his feeder as to at-
tend his steps at all times, and obey his voice.*

In the latter part of the summer the fawn loses
the white spots, and in winter the hair grows longer
and grayish, when the animal is said by the hunters to
be in the gray. To this coat one of a reddish colour
succeeds about the end of May and beginning of
June; the deer is then said to be in the red. To-
wards the end of August, the old bucks begin to
change to the dark bluish colour; the doe begins this
change a week or two later, when they are said to
be in the blue. This coat gradually lengthens until
it finally returns to the gray. The skin is said to

* From Capt. Parry I learned an interesting anecdote of
a doe and her fawn, which he had pursued across a small in-
let. The mother, finding her young one could not swim so
fast as herself, was observed to stop repeatedly, so as to al-
low the fawn to come up with her, and having landed first,
stood watching it with trembling anxiety as the boat chased
it to the shore. She was repeatedly fired at, but remained
immoveable, until her offspring landed in safety when they
both cantered out of sight. ’^—Lyon’s Narrative, p. 80,

THE COMMON DEER.

313

be toughest in the red, thickest in the blue, and
thinnest in the gray; . the blue skin is most valua-
ble.^

In the month of January the males cast their horns;
the new horns soon after commence their growth.
They continue in the velvet until the end of Sep-
tember or beginning of October, so as to be in full
condition for battle during their season of love and
war. These horns are not very large, but are curv-
ed forwards in a peculiar manner. They have an
antler placed high up on the inside of each shaft,
which presents downwards, and two or three others
on the posterior surface, turning backwards. In the
fifth year, the horns consist of two cylindrical, whit-
ish, and moderately smooth, shafts, separating at first
slightly outwards and backwards, and then strongly
curving forwards and downwards. From the second
to the fifth year the variations of the horns consist in
their gradual advance from single, slightly curved
shoots, to three and four antlers.

From what has been already said of the changes
occurring at different seasons, it will be perceived
that no description of the pelage of any one can be
generally applicable. It may be stated that the co-
lour of the adults in summer is a fine fawn or yel-
lowish brown above, with the under part of the low-
er jaw, throat, belly, lower part of the limbs, poste-
rior edges of the fore-limbs, anterior part of the

* See Say, in Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains,
i. p. 104.

VoL. ii.—R r

314

THE COMMON DEEK.

thighs, and interior surface of the tail, white. The
front is rather gray, while the end of the muzzle is
of a deep brown, with two white spots upon the
upper lip; on the sides of the lower jaw, at the
angles of the mouth, two triangular black spots
are very generally found. Two-thirds of the up-
per surface of the tail is light brown, the outer third
is black.

The total length of the common deer, exclusive
of the hair at the tip of the tail, is five feet four or
live inches. The tail, exclusive of the hair, is nine
inches and a-half long. The hind foot, from the tip
of the os calcis to the extremity of the toe, is sixteen
inches and a-quarter. The fore arm eleven inches and
seven-eighths. The weight, in the month of Feb-
ruary, was 115 lbs.*

During the stay of Long’s Expedition at Engineer
Cantonment, three specimens of a variety of the com-
mon deer were brought in, having all the feet white
near the hoofs, and extending to them on the hind
part from a little above the spurious hoofs. This
white extremity was divided upon the sides of the
foot by the general colour of the leg, which extends
down near ta the hoof, leaving a white triangle in
front, of which the point was elevated rather higher
than the spurious hoofs. The black mark upon the
lower lip, rather behind the middle of the sides, was
strongly marked.

* Say. Lewis and Clarke state that they saw common
(leer with tails seventeen inches in length.

THE COMMON DEER.

315

The flesh of the common deer is justly esteemed
as an excellent article of food, when killed in the
proper season, which is the autumn. The Indians
and hunters, whose necessities do not permit them
to choose, feed upon these deer at all seasons. The
markets of our large cities are supplied very abun-
dantly with venison from this species every winter,
and at so cheap a rate as to bring it within the means
of almost every housekeeper.

The whole of the deer is used by the Indians, and,
on pressing occasions, without the previous employ-
ment of fire. If a hunter kill a deer after a long and
exhausting chase, he applies his mouth to the wound
by which the animal was killed, in order to refresh
himself by sucking some of the blood. When very
hungry, they cut a hole in the side of the animal,
thrust in their hands and tear out the kidneys, which
are instantly devoured, though still quivering with
life.^

* “After the hunters had been gone for about an hour,
captain Lewis again mounted with one of the Indians behind
him, and the whole party set outj but just as they passed
through the narrows they saw one of the spies coming back
at full speed across the plain, &c. The young Indian had
scarcely breath to say a few words as he came up, and the
whole troop dashed forward as fast as their horses could car-
ry them; and captain Lewis, astonished at this movement, was
borne along for nearly a mile, before he learned, with great
satisfaction, that it was all caused by the spy’s having come
to announce that one of the white men had killed a deer.
Relieved from his anxiety he newfound the jolting very un-
comfortable; for the Indian behind him, being afraid of not
getting his share of the feast, had lashed the horse at every
step since thej set oft; he therefore reined him in, and or-

316

THE COMMON DEEK.

The storaacli of the deer, with its half digested
contents, is a very favourite dish with almost all the
savages, especially towards the north, where deer

dered the Indian to stop beating him. The fellow had no
idea of losing time in disputing the point, and jumping off
the horse, ran for a mile at full speed. Capt. Lewis slack-
ened his pace, and followed at a sufficient distance to observe
them. When they reached the place where Drewyer had
thrown out the intestines, they all dismounted in confusion,
and ran tumbling over each other like famished dogs: each
tore away whatever part he could and instantly began to
eat it; some had the liver, and some the kidneys; in short, no
part on which we are accustomed to look with disgust escap-
ed them. One of them who had seized about nine feet of
the entrails, was chewing at one end, while with his hand
he was diligently clearing his way by discharging the con-
tents at the other. It was indeed impossible to see these
wretches ravenously feeding on the filth of animals, and the
blood streaming from their mouths, without deploring how
nearly the condition of savages approaches that of the brute
creation: yet, though suffering with hunger, they did not at-
tempt, as they might have done, to take by force the whole
deer, but contented themselves with what had been thrown
away by the hunter. Capt. Lewis now had the deer skinned,
and after reserving a quarter of it, gave the rest of the animal
to the chief, to be divided among the Indians, who immedi-
ately devoured nearly the whole of it without cooking. They
now went forwards towards the creek, where there was some
brushwood to make a fire, and found Drewyer, who had killed
a second deer: the same struggle for the entrails was renew-
ed here, and on giving nearly the whole deer to the Indians,
they devoured it, even to the soft parts of the hoofs. A fire
being made, captain Lewis had his breakfast, during which
Drewyer brought in a third deer; this, too, after reserving
one-quarter, was given to the Indians, who now seemed com-
pletely satisfied and in good humour.”^ — Lewis and Clarke, i.
575.

THE COMMON DEES.

317

feed in great degree on mosses and buds.* Euro-
pean travellers who have tasted of this substance have
not found it disagreeable: the Indians eat it altogeth-
er, or with a very slight degree of preparation.!
However shocking it may appear to us, the preju-
dice against raw meat is overcome with great ease
when hunger pinches severely; and when once the
prejudice is removed, a fondness for raw food is very
readily acquired, even by those who have previously
been fastidious in their tastes. J

* “ The stomach of no other large animal beside the deer
is eaten by any of the Indians that border on Hudson’s Bay.
In winter, when the deer feed upon fine white moss, the con-
tents of the stomachs are so much esteemed by the Indians,
that I have often seen them sit round a deer where it was
killed, and eat it warm out of the paunch. In summer the
deer feed more coarsely, and therefore this dish, if it deserve
that appellation, is then not so much in favour.” — Hearne,
S18.

t “Of the nerooka [the contents of the deer’s stomach]
I also tasted a small portion, considering that no man who
wishes to conciliate or inquire into the manners of savages
should scruple to fare as they do while in their company. I
found this substance acid and rather pungent, resembling, as
near as I could judge, a mixture of sorrel and radish leaves.
The smell reminded me of fresh browser’s grains; and the
voung grasses and delicate white lichens on which the deer
feed were very apparent.” — Lyon’s Narrative, 242.

% “ Dunn and myself, as an experiment, made our break-
fast on a choice slice cut [raw'] from the spine, and found it
so good, that at dinner time we preferred the same food to
our share of preserved meat, which we had saved from the
preceding night. The windpipe is exceedingly good; and I

318

THE COMMON DEER„

The skins of the common deer continue to form a
very valuable article of commerce, and furnish a ma-
terial better suited for the manufacture of gloves and
various articles of dress, than the skin of any other
animal with which we are acquainted. The Indian
fashion of dressing these skins consists in depriving
them of the hair and fleshy matter, and rubbing them
sedulously with a lather made of the brains of the
animal until they become uniformly soft, spongy and
flexible. In this condition they impart to the touch
a sensation of greater softness than that derived from
the finest cloth. — Deer skins dressed in this way,
however, are very liable to be spoiled by moisture,
and rot with great rapidity if they continue for some
time exposed to rain.

The buck-skin, as dressed for the use of our glovers,
is remarkable for its thickness, softness and pliability,

am confident, that were it not from prejudice, raw venison
might be considered a dainty.”— Lyon, 242.

“The most remarkable dish among them, as well as all
the other tribes of Indians in those parts, both northern and
southern, is blood, mixed with the half digested food found
in the deer’s stomach or paunch, and boiled up with a sufli-
cient quantity of water to make it of the consistence of pease
pottage. Some fat and scraps of tender flesh are also shred
small and boiled with it. To render this dish more palata-
ble, they have a method of mixing the blood with the con-
tents of the stomach in the paunch itself, and hanging it up
in the heat and smoke of the fire for several days, which puts
the whole mass into a state of fermentation, and gives it such
an agreeable acid taste, that, were it not for prejudice, it might
be eaten by those who have the nicest palates.” — Heaune,
317.

THE COMMON DEER.

319

and with these advantages it has the great superi-
ority of not being liable to injury from moisture,
as tannin is made use of in its preparation. In re-
lation to its warmth, durability and agreeableness to
the wearer, it appears to be much preferred to simi-
lar leather made from any other skins, whether of
European or American deer. Within a few years
past the use of buckskin shirts has very much increas-
ed among invalids, and often with great advantage.
But it is generally believed that these shirts render
the body extremely susceptible to changes of tem-
perature, and, all things considered, do more injury
than shirts made of flannel or other commonly used
materials.

CHAPTER XIX.

Genus V. Antelope; Antelope. Pall. &c. &c.

Ft. Antelope. Ger. Antelope.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The body, ears, eyes and lachrymal or sub-
ocular sinuses, are very similar to those of the deer,
and the limbs bear an equal resemblance thereto, ex-
cept that some species of Antelope have tufts or
brushes of long hair pending from the carpus. The
outline of the front or face is nearly straight, and
terminates in a muzzle, or half muzzle, though in some
species this is absent. The teats are four or two in
number, being sometimes two in one sex and four
in the other. The gall bladder is uniformly present,
a circumstance in which this genus differs remarka-
bly from the deer.

The horns of both sexes (though in some species
the horns are confined to the male) are placed upon
a solid bony process of the os frontis. The horns
are curved in various directions, being often marked
with transverse bands, have a salient spiral line, or
are bifurcated.

Dental System,

[”l2 Upper

32 Teeth:

^20 Lower

0 Incisive
12 Molar.

8 Incisive
12 Molar.

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THE ANtELOPE.

Species I, — -The Prong- Horn Antelope,

Antilope Americanaj Ord.

Antthpe: Lewis and Ceabke, i. 75, 208,369; ii. 169.

Antilope Americana^ Ord. Guthrie’s Geography, Ph’ilad. ed. 1815.
Antilocapra Americana; ibid. Journal de Physique; 1818. Sax,
Long’s Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, i. 363, 485.

Antilope Furciftr: Smith. Trans, of Linmean Society, xiii. pi. 2,
Prong-Horned Antelope: Sab. App. p. 667.

Our adventurous countrymen who led the first ex-
pedition across the Rocky Mountains, were the first
to call attention to this beautiful animal, and the first
to call it by its true name. Notwithstanding the
obviousness of all the other characters, the circum=
stance of its having an offset, or prong to its horns,
kept nomenclators for years undecided as to what
place it should occupy in their arrangements, and
gave them an opportunity, by which they have not
failed to profit, of multiplying words and tepvhlish-
ing their own names, if they made no addition to our
information on the subject. All that has been rela-
ted concerning this animal which is worth repeating
or remembering, was published in Lewis and Clarke’s
narrative, above quoted, and has since been confirm-
ed by the observations of Dr. Richardson, appended
to Franklin’s Journey to the shores of the Polar Sea,
Leaving to the nomenclators their disputations about
what Dekay has happily called the barren honours
of a synonyine,” we shall glean the few facts contain-
ed in the narrations of the above-mentioned accu-
rate observers of nature.

The prong-horn antelope is an animal of wonder-
ful fleetness, and so shy and timorous as but seldom

322

THE ANTELOtE,

to repose, except on ridges which command a view ol
the surroundingcountry. The acutenessof theirsight,
and the exquisite delicacy of their smell, render it
exceedingly difficult to approach them; and when
once danger is perceived, the celerity with which the
ground is passed over appears to the spectator to re-
semble the flight of a bird rather than the motion of
a quadruped.

In one instance Captain Lewis, after various fruit-
less attempts, by winding around the ridges, succeed-
ed in approaching a party of seven that stood upon
an eminence towards which the wind was unfortu-
nately blowing. The only male of the party fre-
quently encircled the summit of the hill, as if to an-
nounce any danger to the group of females which
stood upon the top. Before they saw Capt. Lewis
they became alarmed by the scent, and fled while
he was at the distance of two hundred yards. He
immediately ran to the spot where they had stood;
a ravine concealed them from him, but at the next
moment they appeared on a second ridge, at the dis-
tance of three miles. He could not but doubt wheth-
er these were the same he had alarmed, but their
number and continued speed convinced him they
were so, and he justly infers that they must have-
run with a rapidity equal to that of the most cele-
brated race horse.

Yet, notwithstanding the keenness of their senses,
and surprising velocity of their course, the prong-
horn antelope is often betrayed to his destruction by
curiosity. When the hunter first comes in sight,
his whole speed is exerted, but if his pursuer lies
down, and lifts up his hat, arm or foot, the antelope

THE ANTELOPE.

323

trots back to gaze at the object, and sometimes goes
and returns two or three times, until it comes within
the reach of the rifle. This same curiosity occa-
sionally enables the wolves to make them a prey; for
sometimes one of them will leave his companions to go
and look at the wolves, which, should the antelope
be frightened at first, crouch down, repeating the
manoeuvre, sometimes relieving each other, until they
succeed in decoying it within their power, when it is
pulled down and devoured. But the wolves more
frequently succeed in taking the antelopes v.'hen they
are crossing the rivers, as they are not good swimmers.

The chief game of ' the Shoshonees,^’ say Lewis
and Clarke, ^‘is the antelope, which when pursued
retreats to the open plains, where the horses have
full room for the chase. But such is its extraordi-
nary fleetness and wind, that a single horse has no
possible chance of outrunning it, or tiring it down;
and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to
stratagem. About twenty Indians, mounted on fine
horses, armed with bows and arrows, left the camp;
in a short time they descried a herd of ten antelopes:
they immediately separated into squads of two or
three, and formed a scattered circle round the herd
for five or six miles, keeping at a w^ary distance, so
as not to alarm them till they were perfectly inclo-
sed, and usually selecting some commanding emi-
nence as a stand. Having gained their positions, a
small party rode towards the herd, and with won-
derful dexterity the huntsman preserved his seat,
and the horse his footing, as he ran at full speed over
the hills and down the steep ravines, and along the
borders of the precipices. They were soon out-
stripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining the

324

THE ANTELOPE.

Other extremity of the circle, were driven back
and pursued by the fresh hunters. They turned
and flew, rather than ran, in another direction; but
there too they found new enemies. In this way they
ivere alternately pursued backwards and forwards,
till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hun^
ters, (who were merely armed with bows and arrows)
they all escaped; and the party, after running for
two hours, returned without having caughtany thing,
and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase,
the greater part of which was seen from the camp,
formed a beautiful scene, but to the hunters is ex-
ceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even wheii
they are able to worry the animal down and shoot
him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be
engaged for more than half a day, without obtaining
more than two or three antelopes.’^

Ti)e prong-horn is found in the vicinity of Carl-
ton House during the summer, and is usually called
Si goat by the Canadians. The Creek Indians call
them apestachoekoos. Lewis and Clarke saw the
animal very frequently during their journey to the
mouth of the Columbia River, though they were
fewer on the plains of Columbia than on the eastern
side of the Rocky Mountains.

Great numbers of these animals were seen by
Lewis and Clarke in the month of October, near
Carp Island, in the Missouri, where large flocks of
them were driven into the water by the Indians.—
The men were ranged along the shore so as to pre-
vent the escape of the antelopes, and fired upon
them, and sometimes the boys went into the river
and killed them with sticks. Fiftyrcight of the an-
telopes were killed by the Indians during the time

THE ANTELOPE.

325

they were observed by our travellers. They were
then migrating from the plains east of the Missouri,
where they spend the summer, towards the moun-
tains, where they subsist on leaves and shrubbery
during the winter: in the spring they resume their
migrations.

The Mandan Indians capture the prong-horn an-
telopes by means of a pound similar to that descri-
bed in the account of the rein-deer.

The following description is given by Dr. Rich-
ardson, from a recent specimen: — ^‘The male is fur-
nished with short, black, roundish, tapering horns,
arched inwards, turning towards each other, with their
points directed backwards, each horn having a sin-
gle short branchlet projecting from the middle. The
winter coat consists of coarse, round, hollow hairs,
like those of the moose. The neck, back and legs
are yellowish brown; the sides are reddish white;
the belly and chest is white, with three white bands
across the throat. The hairs on the occiput and back
of the neck are long and tipped with black, forming
a short erect mane. There is a black spot behind
each cheek which exhales a strong goat-like odour.
Tlie tail is short; on the rump there is a large spot
of pure white. The dimensions of the animal were
as follows: — from the nose to the root of the tail four
feet; height of the fore shoulder three feet; that of
the hind quarter the same. Girth behind the fore-
legs three feet; girth before the fore-legs two feet
ten inches. The female is smaller than the male,
having straighter horns, with rather a protuberance
than a prong. She is also deficient in the black
about the neck.

326

llOCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT.

Genus VI, Goat; Capra, L.

Fr. Che vre.

Germ. Zleg'e.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The outline of the front is rather straight, or slight-
ly concave; there is no muzzle nor sub-ocular sinuses;
the interspace of the nostrils is naked; the horns are
turned upwards and outwards. The body is slender,
the tail short, and tlie limbs somewhat robust. The
teats are tVv’o in number. The hair is of two sorts;
the exterior is long, or very long and smooth, forming
a beard beneath the chin. Sometimes there are cuti-
cular appendages hanging from the inferior surface
of the neck. The testes are contained in a very
large scrotum.

Ovk Montana; Oku. Guthrie’s Geography, Philad. cd. 292, 309. ibid.

Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, i, part 1. p. 8.
llupkapra .Hmerkana: Blainvilie. Antilope Americana: ibid. Bullet
de la Societe Philomathique, p. 80.

Antilope Lanigera; Smith, Trans. Liniiaean Society, xlii. pi. 4.

{^Commonly culled Bocky Mountain Sheep.~\

This animal, concerning which very little is known,
is stated by Major Long, in his communication to

Dental System,

2 Teeth:

Species I. — Rocky Mountain Goat.
Capra Moiitaiiaj Ord.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT.

327

the Philadelphia Agricultural Society, to inhabit the
'portion of the Rocky Mountains- situated between
the forty-eighth and sixty-eighth parallels of north
latitude. By Lewis and Clarke it was observed as low
as forty-five degrees north. Tiiey are in great num-
bers about the head waters of the north fork of Co-
lumbia river, where they furnish a principal part of
the food of the natives. They also inhabit the coun-
try about the sources of Marais or Muddy River, the
Saskatchawan and Athabasca. They are more nu-
merous on the western tlian on the eastern slope of
the Rocky Mountains, but are very rarely seen at
any distance from the mountains, where they appear
to be better suited to live than elsewhere. They
frequent the peaks and ridges during summer, and
occupy the valleys in winter. They are easily ob-
tained by the hunters, but their flesh is not much
valued, as it is musty and unpleasant; neither do the
traders considers their fleece of much worth. The
skin is very thick and spongy, and is principally
used for the purpose of making moccasins.

The Rocky Mountain goat is nearly of the size of
a common sheep, and has a shaggy appearance in
consequence of the protrusion of the long hair be-
yond the wool, which is white and soft. Their horns
are five inches long and one in diameter, conical,
slightly curved backward, and projecting but little
beyond the wool of the head. The horns and hoofs
are black.

The first indication of this animal was given by
Lewis and Clarke, and it is much to be regi-etted that
so little is still known of the manners and habits of
this species. The only specimen preserved entire.

328

THE SHEET.

that we know of, is that figured by Smith iii the
Limise in Transactions, from which the figure in our
plate is taken. The fineness of the wool of this an-
imal may possibly hereafter induce persons who have
it in their power to make some exertions to intro-
duce this species among oui- domestic animals. It is
said that the fleece of this goat is as fine as that of
the celebrated shawl goat of Cashmere.

Genus VII. Sheep; Ovis, L.

GENERIC CHARACTERS.

The outline of the face is arched, or convex, and
the mouth has no muzzle; the ears are pointed, and
of middling length; the horns, which are transverse-
ly wrinkled, large and triangular, are twisted lateral-
ly into a spiral, and have an osseous core, of a cellu-
lar or cancellar structure. The limbs are slender^
and covered with uniform short hair; the tail is short,
curved downwards, or pendulous. Neither subocu-
lar sinus, beard, nor inguinal pores, exist in this
genus.

Dental System.

P ] 2 Upper

Teeth:

j^20 Lower

12 Molar.

8 Incisive
12 Molar.

THE AEGALI.

329

Species I. The ^^rgcdi.

Ovis Atiunoii: L.

I

0ms fera Sibiricx: vnilg'o, Argtili dicta; Pail. Spied. Zool. fasc. xi. pi. 1,
Monfior Argali: Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii.part 2. pi. 201.

Ovis Montana: Geoff. Ann, dii Mus. ii. pi. 60.

Big Horn: Lewis and Cearke, i. 144.

Monfior jy Amerique: Desm. Mam.

The Argali is found in Northern Asia, and East-
ern Siberia, whence it appears gradually to have
passed into North America by crossing the ice,
where the continents are separated but by a narrow
strait. In America it inhabits the Rocky Mountains,
in about the fiftieth degree of north latitude, and ex-
tends along the Rocky Mountain range into Califor-
nia. In these mountains the argali are seen in troops
containing twenty or thirty, feeding upon the most
precipitous parts of the ground, and leaping with
wonderful activity, and at great distances, from roek
to rock.

The spring of the year and autumn are said to be
the sexual seasons of this species, during which pe-
riod the males acquire the same disposition to fight
with each other as we have described in. treating of
the deer.

Two specimens of the argali, a male and female,
were brought in by Lewis and Clarke, and may be
seen in the Philadelphia Museum, where they are
preserved. The engraving Avill give a good idea
of these animals, though the specimens just mention-
ed, from which the drawing was made, are much
injured by time and exposure to the dust,

YOL. ii.^ — T t

330

TRE ARGALI.

The male has very large horns, which arise quite
near to the eyes, curve at first backwards, then bend
forwards, and have their points turning upwards and
outwards. These horns are triangular at the lower
part, have their broadest surface forwards, and are
deeply wrinkled thence for the half of their length;
the superior part is smoother. The ears are straight,
broad and pointed. The tail is quite short.

The colour of the argali, during summer, is of a
grayish fawn, generally having along the back a
deeper yellow or reddish line. Around the root of
the tail, upon the buttocks, there is a spot of the same
colour. The belly and inner surface of the limbs
have a pale brownish or dirty white colour. The
winter pelage is of a deeper reddish tint above, while
the mouth, under part of the throat and belly, are
nearly white.

The horns of the female are slender, when com-
pared with those of the male, being almost straight
and little wrinkled.

The dimensions of a large male killed by Mr.
M‘Gillivray in 1800 were these:* — from the nose
to the base of the tail five feet; length of the tail four
inches; girth of the body four feet; height of the
body three feet eight inches. The horn was three
feet and a-half long, and was one foot three inches
in circumference at base.

It is much to be regretted that we are not better

* See his paper in the New York Medical Repository, vol
Vi. 238.

THE ARGALI.

33i

acquainted with the peculiar history of this animal
drawn up by some one who has studied it in its na-
tive wilds; more especially as this species is said to
be the source whence all the varieties of our domestic
sheep are descended, an opinion which the form and
proportions of its body seem to confirm, but one
which would scarcely be imagined, if we relied upon
the condition of the hair or wool by which the wild
animal is covered.

END OF VOLUME II.

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