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There are eleven species enumerated by authors, inhabiting the follow- VOL. II. 1 ^ 2 CANADA OTTKR. ing countries: Europe 1, Island of Trinidad 1, Guyana 1, Brazil 1, Kaint- schatka 1, Java 1, Malay 1. Pondicherry 1, The Cape of Good Hope 1, and North America a. LUTRA CANADENSIS.— Sabine. Canada Otter. PLATE LI. — Male. L. vellore nitido, saturate fusco ; mento gulSque fusco albis ; L. vii]. ^are major. CHARACTERS. Larger than the European Otter, L. Vulgaris. Dark glossy brown • chin and 'hroai dusky white ; five feet in length. SYNONYMES. LouTRE DE Canada, Buffon, vol. xiii., p. .326, t. 44. Common OnEn, Pfiinniit, Arctic Zoolog., vol. i., p. 053. Land Oiter, Waidun's Hist. U. S., p. 200. LuTiii Canadensis, Siibine, Franklin's Journ., p. 653. " Brasiliensis, Hiirlan, Fauna, p. 72. " " Godinan, Ivat. llist., vol. i., p. 222. " Canadensis, Dekay, Zool., p. 1., p. 30. DESCRIPTION. Head, large and nearly of a globular form ; nose, blunt and naked ; lips, thick ; ears, round, slightly ovate, and closer together than in L. Vulgaris, clothed densely with short hair on both surfaces ; bodj', long, cylindrical; neck, long; legs, short and stout; moustaches, very rigid, like bristles ; soles of the feet, thinly clothed with hair between the toes, tubercles at the roots of the -law.s, naked ; feet, webbed to the nails ; Tail, stout, gradually tapering toward the extremity, de|)resi';ed at the base, continuing flattened through half its length ; at the base there are two oval glands. The longer hairs covering the fur, are glossy and rigid ; fur, soft, dense, and nearly as fine as that of the Beaver, continuing through the whole extc'.. of the body even to the extremity of the tail, but shorter on the forehead and extremities. H- -^_.*-^^^ -riiv?* CANADA OTTER. 8 We overlookrd the opportunity of iiistitiifinj,' j, cnrcful oomparison lir- tvveen the skulls and tcctli of tlw European and American Otters, and have now no aeeess to specimens of the former. We therefore tjuoto the Ixnjj^iuu'e of Dr. Dekav, whose ohservations in this respect corresnond with our recollections of a {roner;il com|)arison made at the Berlin Museum, eleven years ago. "In their dentition the Otters are eminently charaeteri/.ed hy the enormous dilation of the two posterior cheek teeth in the upiuTJaw. Our species, in this particular, oflors Swuie variations from the Euro|)ean Otter. The pemiltimale, jaw tooth, in our species, has a broad internal heel directed o!)li(iuely forward, with a deep fissure dividing the surface into two rounded and elevated portions ; and the ])ointed tubercle is broad, with a high shoulder posteriorly, and comparatively little elevated. The last tubercula- tooth sul)(|uadrate, nearly as large as the preceding, and its greater axis directed obliiiuclj backwards with four or rather six distinct elevated points; but the outer raised margin, which is so conspicuous in the European Otter, appears to be indistinct or simply elevated into two pointed tubercles, or wanting entirely, in the American." In age, tlie canine as well as tlie anterior molars becDme much worn. In a specimen from Carolina, the incisors are worn down to the upjjcr surface of the jaw teeth; in another from. Georgia, all tlie teeth are worn down to the gums. A specimen from Canada and another from Texas have the teeth very j)ointed, and the canine projecting beyond the lips. These were evidently younger animals. In older specimens we liave on .several occasions found the two anterior jaw teeth entirely wanting, as well as some of the incisors, the former appearing to have dropped out at about the fourth year. COLOUR. A specimen from Lower Canada. Moustaches very Hght brown, mnnv being white, those on the sides of the face diiiiry white ; up|)er lip anil chin light grayish brown, a shade darker under the throat ; the long hairs covering the fur are in one half of their length from their roots (liiit;v white, gradually deepening into brown. The general colour on the upper surface is that of a rich dark chcsnut brown, a shade lightcT on the whole of tlie under surfnce. Richardson states: "The Can.ida Otter may be distinguisiied from the European species by the fur of its belly being of the same shining brown colour with that of the back." In this particular our obscM-vations do not correspond with those of our distinguished friend. Out of more than a hundriul speci- mens of American Otters which wc have examined, many of which ca me wm > 4 "ANA DA OTTER. trom Canada and the Rocky Mr.iinfains, we have but with one or two ex ceptions found the colour on the under surface lighter than on the back. A specimen from Caroiiim, an old male, teeth much worn. Upper lip from the nostrils, chin and throat to near the chest, -rayish whife ; the fur on the back, although tiot quite so long as that of snec i- mens fron. Canada, is (,uitf, dense and silky, and very nearly equal in 'fine- ness. It is whitish at the roots, with a bluish tinge lowards the extremities The longer hairs which conceal the fur and present the external colouring are very nearly of the same tint as in those procured in Canada, so that the specimens from these widely separated localities can scarcely be re- garded even as varieties. A specimen from Colorado, Te: :..^. (Tl.e form 's, precisely similar to the Otters of Canada anJ those existing :n various intermediate States. The palms are naked, with a little less uair between the toes on the upper and under surlaces.) The colour is throughout two shades lighter than that of specimens from Cana-la. but the markings are similarly distributed. Fur on the back from the roots soiled white, inclining .o brown at the tips. The long and rigid hairs on the upper surface lightish brown at the roots, then dark brown, tipped with lightish brown. DIMENSIONS. Specimen from Canada. — Adult male. From point of nose to root of tail, Tail, From point of nose to eye, - From point of nose to ear, Height of ear, - - . . Breadth of ear at base, Specimen from Carolina. From point of nose to root of tail. Tail, Point of nose to eye, - . . . " to ear, - . . . Height of ear, Breadth at base, Weight, 23 lbs. »eet. incnes 2 5 ! 7 0 11 0 4 0 Of 0 01 2 7 1 5 0 1| 0 3? 0 Of 0 "1 PMt InohM. 2 7 1 (t 0 u 0 3? 0 3J. 0 10 1 n 1 H CANADA OTTF3R. Specimen frum the Colorado, in Texas. From nose to root of aiil, Leny:th of fail, From p. iiit oliiose to eye, to ear, - - - . . Between the ears, ---... Height, Aroiiiul th<- body beliind the shoulder, Around the body, (middle,) Weight 20 lbs. IIADITS. ^Ye concludecl our first voltm.e svi.h a brief account of Sprrmo,.,,;/„s liuhordsonn, the last animal figured in plates I to .".u inHusive of our Illustrations of the Quad u,,eds of North A.neriea. Jl.vin.^ si,,;,, th-.t volume was written, published about 00 more plates, wo nou'^.k/u,. ,.,u- pen to portray the habits and describe ,h. forms and colours of tl e specie, figured .a p ates .51 to 100 inclusive, and shall, we hope, be able to give our readers tolerably goo.l accounts of them; aWhough, alas- the days o, 0U-. youth are gone, when, full of enthusi.-.sn, and anxious to exa,nu.e every ob,ect m nature within our .-eaeh. the rising sun never found us slumbenng away the f^esh hours of the morning but beamed upon our path through the deep forest, or lighted up to ^ ndTa^^^ ness the hd. s.de or mountain top, which we had alrea.ly gainH , quest of the birds or the beasts that were to be met with; an L we often prolonged our rambles until the shades of even ni tZ us yet at a distance from our cau.p, ,„.ded with wild turC du geese, and perchance an Otter. turKcjs, ducks, Fresh and pleasant in our mind i^ the recollection of our earlv exne tzr^rT^'^^r' ^'""^^^^ -visited shor.:::;!:: country , and although more than forty years of varied r.nd busv l.T. K passed since the Otter was shot and dr.-'.wn, whose -"1' '" ^ Will try to t^. you wi.h us to a spot o-i' the ^^^ Z^^^Z^l Omo It .s a cod .vmtry morning : the earth concealed bv a slight <., «ng of snow, and the landscape in all its ori^^innl wildness IT . •impid charact-^r and h....^ " '"''^^'"^•r clear and , y*- see a ciai k ohjcrf making its way > 0 CANADA OTTER. cowards the spot on which we stand, through the swiftly dividing ele ment. It has not observed us : we remain perfectly still, and presently It IS distinctly visible ; it is an Otter, and now witluii the ran-o ot our old rm "T.'ar Jacket," we take but one moment to raise our piece and fire ; ti.e water is agitated by a violent convulsive movement of the animal our dog plunges into the river, and swimming eagerly to the Otter, seizes It, bui the latter dives, dragging the dog with it beneath the surface and when they reappear, the Otter has caught the dog by the nose and Js struggling violently. The brave dog, however, does not give up but in a few moments drags the wounded Otter to the shore, and we imme- diately despatch it. Being anxious to figure the animal, we smooth its disordered fur and proceed homewards with it, where, although at that time we had not drawn many quadrupeds, we soon select a position ir which to figure the Otter, and accordi.igly draw it with one Ibot in a steel-trap, and endeavour to represent the pain and terror felt bv the creature when its foot is caught by the sharp saw-like teeth of the tr'ap. .,^"t^?:''*!:r'^*' town of Henderson, (Kentucky), but on the opposite sue of the Olno river, in the State of Indiana, there is a pon.l nearly one mile in length, with a depth of water varying from twelve to fifteen feet. Its shores are thickly lined with cane, and on the edge of the water stand many large and lofty cypress trees. We often used to seat ourselves on a lallen trunk, and watch in this secluded spot the actions of the birds .nd animals which resorted to it, and here we several times observed Otters engaged in catching fishes and d.-vouring them. When pursuing a fish they dn-ed expertly and occasionally remained for more than a minute' below th, surface. They generally held their prey when they came to the opofthewater,bythe head, and almost invariably swatn with it to a half-sunken log. or to the margin of the pond, to eat the fish at their ease havn.g dotie which, they returned agai.i to the deep water to obtain' more. One mornhigwe observed that sotne of these animals resorted to the neighbourhood of the root of a large tree which stood o.i the side of the pond opposite to us, and with its overhanging branches shaded the water After a at.gumg walk through the tanghd cane-brake and thick under- yoodwluch bordered the sides of this lonely place, we reached the oppo- te SHleofthe pond near the large tree, a.ul u.oved cautiouslv thr 'u' ^l. the mud and water towards its roots: but th. hoMring or si-^ht of ,)„. Otters was attracted to us, and we saw several ..Itlu.n. hastily^make ojf at our approach. On sounding the free with the but. of onr gun we d^- covered that it was hollow, and then having placed a large stick in a slanting position against the trunk, mc succeeded in reaehin.. the lowest -?!-»- lividing ele nd presently ro of our old cc and fire ; the animal, Otter, seizes he surCace, le nose and ive up, but I we imme- i smooth its igh at that position in * loot in a felt by the the trap. 10 opposite nearly one lifteen feet, rater stand selves on a i birds uiid •ved Otters nine; a fish, a minute ame to the ith it to a their ease, to obtain rted to the ^ide of ihc the water, ick under- the oppo- ly thrnii^iJi inlit of ili(> make oJf 11, we d'v- ■iliek in ,i he lowest CANADA OTTER. 7 t)ough, and thence climbed up to a broken branch from which an aperture into the upper part of the hollow enabled us to examine the interior. At the bottom there was quite a large space or chamber to which the Otters retired, but whether for security or to sleep we could not decide Next morning we returned to the spot, accompanied by one of our neighbours, and having approached, and stopped uo the entrance under water as noiselessly as possible, we cut a hole in the side of the tree four or hve feet from the ground, and as soon as it was large enough to admit onr heads, we peeped in and discovered three Otters on a sort of bet' composed of the inner bark of trees and other soft substances such .s water grasses. We continued cutting the hole we had made, larger and when sufficiently widened, took some green saplings, split them at the I'ut-end, and managed to fix the head of each animal firmly to the ground by passing one of these split pieces over his neck, and then press- ing the stick forcibly downwards. Our companion then crept into the hollow, and soon killed the Otters, with which we returned home The American Otter frequents running streams, large ponds, and more .sparingly the shores of some of our great lakes. It prefers those waters which are clear, and makes a hole or burrow in the banks, the entrance to which is under water. This species has a singular habit of sliding off the wet slopin- banks into the water, and the trappers take advantage of this habit to ca'tch the an.mal by placing a steel-trap near the bottom of their sliding place. -. that the Otters occasionally put their foot into it as they are swiftly gliding toward the water. ^ In Carolina, a very common mode of capturing the Otter is by tyinc^ a pretty large fish on the pan of a steel-trap, which is sunk in the w^ter where It is Irom five to ten feet deep. The Otter dives to the bottom to seize the f.sh is caught either by the nose or foot, and is generally lound drowned. At other times the trap is set under the water without bau, on a log, one end of which projects into the water, whilst he othe rest on he banks of a pond or river ; the Otter, in endeavouring to moun the log, IS caught in the trap. _ Mr. GcoMAN, in his account of these singular quadrupeds, states that their avounte sport is sliding, and for this purpose in winter the hi-H.esL ndge ot snow .s selected, to the top of which the Otters scramble, where lying on the beily wi,h the fore-feet bent backwards, they giv them.' -H- an nn,.lsewi,h .heir hind legs aiK. swi.ly glide he'l-fbreZt <.oxvn tiu. decl.vi.y, sometimes for the distance of twenty yards This spor they continue apparently with the keenest enjoyment until fatigue or hunger induces them to desist." '"."Bue Tf- CANADA OTTER. This statement is confirmed by Cartwright. Hearne, Richardbon, and more recent writers who have given the history of this species, and is in accordance with our own personal observations. The Otters ascend the bank at a place suitable for their diversion, and sometimes where it is very steep, so that they are obliged to make quite an effort to gain the top ; they slide down in rapid succession where there arc many at a sliding place. On one occasion we were resting ourself on the bank of Canoe Creek, a small stream near Henderson, which empties into the Ohio, when a pair of Otters made their appearance, and not observing our proximity, began to enjoy their sliding pastime. They glided down the soap-like muddy surface of the slide with the rapidity of an arrow from a bow, and we counted each one making twenty-two slides before we disturbed their sportive occupation. This habil of the Otter of sliding down from elevated places to the borders of streams, is not confined to cold countries, or to slides on the snow or ice, but is pursued in the Southern States, where the earth is seldom covered with snow% or the waters frozen over. Along the reserve- dams of the rice fields of Carolina and Georgia, these slides are very common. From the fact that this occurs in most cases during winter, about the period of the rutting season, we are inclined to the belief that this propensity may be traced to those instincts which lead the sexes to their periodica! associations. Richardson says that this species has the habit of travelling to a great distance through the snow in search of some rapid that has resisted the severity of the winter frosts, and that if seen and pursued by hunters on these journeys, it will throw itself forward on its belly and slide through the snow for several yards, leaving a deep furrow behind it, which move- ment is repeated with so much rapidity, that even a swift runner on snow shoes has some difficulty in overtaking it. He also remarks that it dou- bles on its track with much cunning, and dives under the snow to elude its pursuers. The Otter is a very expert swimmer, and can overtake almost any fish, and as it is a voracious animal, it doubtless destroys a great number of fresh water fishes annually. We are not aware of its having a preference for any particular species, although it is highly probable that it hits. About twenty-five years ago we went early one autumnal morning to study the habits of the Otter at Gordon and Spring's Ferry, on the Cooper River, six miles abovi; Charleston, where they were represented as being quite al)undant. They came down with the receding tide in groups or families of five or six together. In the space of two hours we counted forty-six. They soon separated, ascended the diflerent creeks in tiie salt CANADA OTTER. ARD80N, and ;s, and is in version, and ikc quite an ■re there are rself on the ich empties 3e, and not me. They rapidity of twenty-two aces to the ides on the the earth is the reserve- es are very ing winter, belief that he sexes to ? to a great resisted the hunters on ide through 'hich move- ler on snow that it dou- o\v to elude ost any fish, number of I prolerenee hat it hiis. morning to the Cooper ed as being 1 groups or ve counted in liie salt 9 marshes, and engaged in capturing mullets (Mugrl). In most cases they carne to the bank with a fish in their mouth, despatching it in a minute, and then hastened again after more prey. They returned up the river to .heir more secure retreats with the rising tide. In the small lakesand ponds of the mterior of Carolina, there is found a favourite fish with the Ot- ter, called the fresh-water trout {Gn/stes sahmides Although the food ofthe Otter in genera! is fish, yet when hard pres d by hunger, it will not reject animal food of any kind. Those we had in confinement, when no fish could be obtained were fed on beef, which they always preferred boiled. During the last winter we ascertained that the skeleton and feathers of a wild duck were taken from an Otter', nest on the banks of a rice field reserve-dam. It was conjectured that the duck had either been killed or wounded by the hunters, and ua. in this state seized by the Otter. This species can be kept in confinement easily m a pond surrounded by a proper fence where a good supply of fish is procurable. On throwing some live fishes into a small pond in the Zoological Gardens m London, where an Otter was kept alive, it immediately plunged off- the bank after them, and soon securing one, rose to the sui-- face holding its prize in its teeth, and ascending the bank, rapidly ate it by large mouthfuls, and dived into the water again for another This it repeated until it had caught and eaten all the fish which had been thrown mlo the water for its use. When thus engaged in devouring the luckless fishes the Otter bit through them, crushing the bones, which we could hear snapping under the pressure of its powerful jaws. When an Otter is .shot and killed in the water, it sinks from the wei-ht of Its skeleton, the bones being nearly solid and therefore heavy, and the hunter consequently is apt to lose the game if the water be deep ■ this annn.al is, however, usually caught in strong steel-traps placed and baited in Its haunts ; if caught by one of the fore-feet, it will sometimes gnaw the foot off, in order to make its escape. Otters when caught young are easily tamed, and althou-h their gait is ungainly, will follow their owner about, and at times are quite plavful We have on two occasions domesticated the Otter. The individuals 'had been captured when quite young, and in the space of two or threo davs necame as tame and gentle as the young of the domestic do-^ Thin- preferred mil'.: and boiled corn meal, and refused to eat fish or^ meat of any kind, until they were several months old. They became so attached to us that at the moment of their entrance into our studv they commenced crawling into our lafv-mounting our table, romping am'ong our books and VOL. II. — 2 ;^ ^ , 10 CANADA OTTER, writing materials, and not unlrequently upsetting our ink-stano and de- ranging our papers. The American Otter has one litter annually, and the young, usually two and occasionally three in number, are brought forth aijout the mid- dle of April, according to Dr. Kuiiardson, in high northern latitudes. In the Middle and Southern States they are about a month earlier, and probably litter in Texas and Mexico about the end of February. The nest, in which the Otter spends a great portion of the day and in which the young are deposited, we have had opportunities of exam- ining on several occasions. One we observed in an excavation three leet in diameter, in the bank of a rice field ; one in the hollow of a fallen tree, and a third under the root of a cypress, on the banks of Cooper river, in South Carolina ; the materials— slicks, grasses and leaves— were abun- dant ; the nest was large, in all cases protected from the rains, and above and beyond fhe influence of high water or freshets. J. W. Audubon procured a fine specimen of the Otter, near Lagrange in Texas, on the twenty-third of February, 1810. It was shot whilst play- ing or sporting in apiece of swampy and partially flooded ground, about sunset, — its dimensions we have already given. Early writers have told us that the common Otter of Europe had long been taught to catch fish tor its owners, and that in the houses of the great in Sweden, these animals were kept lor thnt purpose, and would go out at a signal from the cook, catch fish ^nd bring it into the kitchen in order to be dressed for dinner. This, however improbable it may at first appear, is by no means un- likely, except that we doubt the fact of the animal's going by itself for the fish. Bewick relates some anecdotes of Otters which captured salmon and other fish for their owners, for particulars of which we must refer our readers to his History of Quadrupeds. Our late relative and friend, N. Bertiioud, Esq., of St. Louis, told us some time since, that while travelling through the interior of the State of Ohio, he stopped at a house where the landlord had four Otters alive which were so jrentle that they never fnilod to come when he whistled for them, and that when they approached their master they crawled along slowly and with much apparent humility towards him, and looked somewhat like enormous thick and short snakes. GEOGRAPIMCAI, DISTRinUTIOV. The geographical range of this species includes almost the whole con CANADA OTTER. 11 na and de- ig, usually at the mid- it udes. In arlier, and y- day and in 1 of exam- 1 three feet falhm tree, er river, in .vere abun- and above Lagrange .'hilst play- und, about B had long i?es of the I would go kitchen in means un- y itself for ilmon and t refer our is, told us the State tters alive B whistled f crawled nd looked hole con tineni of North America, and possibly a portion of South America. It has, however, been nearly extirpated in our Atlantic States east of Maryland, and is no longer found abundantly in many parts of the country in which it formerly was numerously distributed. It is now procured most readily, in the western portions of the Uni- ted States and on the Eastern shore of Maryland. It is still abundant on the rivers and the reserve-dams of the rice fields of Carolina, and is not rare in Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. A considerable number are also annually obtamed in the British pro- vinces. We did not capture any Otters during our journey up the Missouri to the Yellow Stone River, but observed traces of them in the small water courses in that direction. GENERAL REMARKS. Much perplexity exists in regard to the number of species of American Otters, and consequently in determining their nomenclature. Ray, in 1()!>3, described a specimen from Brazil under the name of Braziliensis. It was subsequently noticed by Brisson, Blumexbach, D'azara, Marcorave, ScriREBER, SiiAW, and others. We have not had an opportunity of com- paring our North American species with any specimen obtained from Brazil. The loose and unscientific descriptions ve have met with of the Brazilian Otter, do not agree in several particulars with any variety of the species found in North America ; there is, however, a general resem- blance in size and colour. Should it hereafter be ascertained by closer investigations that the species existing in these widely removed localities are mere varieties, then the previous name of Braziliensis (Rav) must be substituted for that of L. Canadensis, Fr. Cuvier. In addition to the yet undecided species of Ray, Fp. Cuvier has sepa- rated the Canada from the Carolina species, bestowing on the former the name of L. Canadensis, and on the latter that of L. Lafa.vina. Gray has published a specimen from the more northern jmrtions of North America mider the name Lataxina Mollis ; and a specimen which we obtained in Carolina, and presented to our friend .Air. Watrrhouse of London, was, we believe, published by him under another name. Notwithstanding these high authorities, we confess we have not heon able to regard them in any other li-ht than varieties, some more strongly marked tlian others, of the same species. The /.. Lataxina of Fr. Cuvier, and the specimen published by Wateriiocse. do not present such distinctive' characters as to .justify us in separating the species from each other or from L Canadensis. The specimen published by Richardson under the name TT 12 CANADA OTTER of Z. Canadensis, (Fauna Boreali Americana,) was that of a large animal, and the Mollis of Gray was, we think, a tine si)eciinen of the Canada Otter, with fur of a particular soilness. Wc have, after much deliberation, come to the conclusion that ail these must he regarded as varieties of one! species. In dentition, in general form, in markings and in habits, they are very similar. The specimen from Texas, on account of its lighter colour and somewhat coarser fur, differs most from the other varieties ; but it does not on the whole present greater differences than are often seen in the common mink of the salt marshes of Carolina, when compared with speci- mens obtained from the streams and ponds in the interior of the Middle States. Indeed, in colour it much resembles the rusty brown of the Caro- lina mink. In the many specimens we have examined, we have disco- vered shades of difference in colour as well as in the pelage among indivi- duals obtained from the same neighbourhood. In many individuals which were obtained from the South and North, in localities removed a thousand miles from each other, we could not discover that they were even varieties. In other cases these differences may be accounted for from the known effects of climate on other nearly allied species, as evidenced in the common mink. On the whole we may observe, that the Otters of the North areof a darker colour and have the fur longer and more dense than (hose of the South. As we proceed southward the hair gradunlly becomes a little lighter in colour and the fur less dense, shorter, and coarser. These changes, however, are not peculiar to the Otter. They are not only observed in the mink, but in the raccoon, the common American rabbit, the Virginian deer, and nearly all the species that exist both in the northern and southern portions of our continent. We shall give a figure of L. Mollis of Gbay, in our third volume. 13 VULPES VELOX.— Say. Swift Fox. Kit Fox. PLATE LII,— Male. V. gracilis, supra cano fulvaque varices, infra albus ; v. fnlvo in^ior. CHARACTERS. Smaller than the American red fox, body slender, gray above, varied with fulvous; beneath, white. SYNONYMES. Kit Fox, or small burrowing fox of the plains. Lewis and Clark, vol. i. p 400 Vol. iii., pp. 28. 29. *^ Canis Vklo.\, Say. Long's Expedition, vol. ii., p. 330. " " Harlan's Fauna, 91. " Godman's Nat. Hist., vol. i., p. 282. Canis Cinereo Aroentatl-s, Sabine, Franklin's Journey, p. 058. " (vulpes) Cinereo Aroentatus, Richardson, Fa. B. Ame. p. 98. DESCRIPTION. This little species of Fox bears a great resemblance to our American red fox, in shape, but has a broader face and shorter nose than the latter species ; in colour it approaches nearer to the gray fox. Its form is h^nt and slender, and gives indication of a considerable capacity for sp-ed ; the tail is long, cylindrical, bushy, and taperinp; at the end. The entire length from the insertion of the .superior inci.sors to the tip of the occipital crest, is rather more than four inches and three-tenths- the lea,st distance between the orbital cavities rine-tenths of an inch ; between the insertion of the lateral muscles at the junction of the frontal and pi rietal bones, half an inch. The greatest breadth of this space on the parietal bones, thirteen-twentieths of an inch."— (Say.) The hair is of two kinds, a soft dense and rather woolly fur beneath, intermixed with longer and stronger hairs. COLOUR. The fur on the back, when the hairs are separately examined, Is from ^ 14 SWIFT FOX. the roots, for three-fourlTis of its length, of a light hrownish gray colour, then yellowish brown, then a narrow rin^ of hhu-k, then a hir-er rin? of pure white, siijihtiy tii)pe(l at (he apical part with hlaelv. Tl,.. up[M-r part of the nose is pale yellowish brown, on each sid,, of whi.l. ihcre is a patch of brownish, givin- It a hoary appearance in consequence of some of the h.-.irs being tipped wilh white; mouslncjies black; „pp,,p lij) margined by a stripe of while hairs. There is a narrow blackish brown line between the white of the posterior angle of the mouth, which is prolonged around the margin of the lower lip. The upper j)art of the head, the orbits of the eyes, the cheeks and superior surface of tne neck, back, and hips, covered with intermixed hairs, tipped with brown, black, and white, giving those parts a grizzled colour. Towards the pos- terior parts of the back there are many lon nsc'({ii('iice of lack ; upper 'ow hlackisli iioutli, wliicli |)pcr part of irl'acf of tne with brown, ards llio po.s- s|)crsc(l, tliac ik. the cnesi, I" ; fiK' lower ; the throat, white. Tile , are brown- lie toes are with a mix- is brownish SWIFT FOX. HABITS. 15 Inchak. 8 9| 0 21 H 2? If Tlie First Swift Fox we ever saw alive was at Fort Clark on the upper Missouri riv;'r, at whieh place we arrived on the 7th of June, 18i;j. |t had been cauj,'ht in a steel-trap by one of its fore-leet, and beh.nired 1o Mr. CiiARnoN, the principal at the Fort, who with great kindness an.l politeness presented it to us ; assuring us that good care would be taken of it during our abs,M,ce, (as we were then ascending the river to proceed to the base of the Kocky Mountains,) and that on our return to th« Mandan village, we might easily take it with us to New- York. Mr. Charuon informed us that this Fox was a most expert rat catcher and that it had been kept in a loft without any other food than the rats' and mice that it caugl t there. It was a beautiful ani.nal, and ran will,- great rapidity from one side of the loft to anoth.M-, to avoid us. On our approaching, it showed its teeth and growled much like the conunon red fox. Soon after we left Fort Clark, between the western shore of the Mis- souri river and the hills called the " Trols mamelles" by the Canadian and French trappers, on an open prairie, we saw the second Swift Fox we met with on this Journey. Our party had been shooting several bulfaloes and our tnend En. H.ku.s, Esq., and ourself, were approaching the hu'n-ers apace. We were on foot, and Mr. H.rh.s was mou.ited on his buffalo horse, when a Swift Fox darted from a concealed hole in the prairie almost under the hoofs of my friend's steed. My gun was unfortunately loaded wPh ball but the Fox was chased by Mr. Harris, who tookaimat i, seve- ral t.mes but could not draw sight on the animal ; and the cunning fellow doubled and turned about and around in such a rotundata, icque lata ad basin caudae usque continuata, hac fota alba. CHARACTERS. The whole hack, from the forehead to the tail, and the tail, white ; not covered ivith hair. noxp SyNONYMES. Mephitis Me80leuca, Lichtenstein. Darstellung neuer oder wenig bekannter Sau- gethiere. Berlin, 1827, 18.34. Tab. 44, Fig. 2. Mephitis Nasuta, Bennett. Proceedings of the Zoological Societv, 18.S.1. p. 89 M. Mksoleuca, Licht. Ueber die Quttung Mephitis. Berlin, 18.38, p. 23. DESCRIPTION. In form, this species bears a considerable resemblance to the common Am-rican skunk, {Mrphifis chhiga.) Like all the other species of skunl: this animal has a broad and fleshy body ; it is wider at the hips than at the shoulders, and when walking, the head is carried near the gmnnd whilst the back is obliquely raised six or seven inches higher; it stands low on its legs, and progresses rather slowly. Forehea.l, slisrhlly rounded ■ eyes, small ; ear.s, short and rounded ; hair, coarse and Ion- ; 'under fur' sparse, won!!y, ai.d not very fine; tail, of moderate len-th and bushy;' nose, for thre^-lburths of an inch above the snout, naked. This is a char- a/;feristic rr,u. k, by -.vL-ch it may always be distinguished from the common American skunk, the latter being covered with short hair to the snout. Palms naked. COLOUR. The whole of the long hair, including the under fur on the back, and the tail on both surfaces, is white. This broad stripe commences on the fore- head about two inches from the point of the nose, running near th^ ears, que lata ad white; nose kannter Sftii- 83.1, p. 89. ). 23. ^he common ^s of skuRl;. lips than at the gr'iini(j^ ' ; it stands ly rounded ; under fur, md bushy ; s is a char- he common ) the suout. ck, and the oth surfaces quite i)l;ick. In some spe- cimens there is under the chest and on the abdomen, n loiigitudiMal white stripe similar to those of the mink. The specimens, .-irtcr being preserved for a year or two, lose their intense black colour, which gradually assumes a more brownish hue. We examined a nest of 1 lie common brown rat containing 8 young, .'> of which were of the usual colour, and 3 black. The specimen obtained by Mr. Bfj.l of New- York and published by Dr. Dekav, New-York Fauna, p. 81, under the name of .1///.9 Americanus, undoubtedly belonged to this variety, which appears to have of late years become more common in the Southern than in the Northern Sliites. This is evidently not a hybrid produced between Miis Dvcumanus and Mus Rattiis, as those we have seen present the shape and size of the former, only differing in colour. DIMENSIONS. From point of nose to root of tail, Tail, From point of nose to ear, Height of ear - . . . laehN. 10 9 I ^ 34 BROWN OR NORWAY RAT. HABITS. The brown rat is unfortunately but too well known almost in ev« t" portion of our country, and in fact throughout the world, to requiic an elaborate account of its habits, but we will give such pnrticiilars as may we hope be interesting. It is one of the most prolific and destructive little quadrupeds about the residences of man, and is as fierce !is voracious. Some cases are on record where this rat has attacked a man when he was asleep, and we have seen both adults and children who, by their wanting a piece of the ear, or a bit of the end of the nose, bore painful testimony to its having attacked them while they were in bed ; it has >ieen known to nibble at an exposed toe or finger, and sometimes to have bitten even the remains of the shrouded dead who may have been exposed to its attacks. The Norway Rat is very pugnacious, and several individuals may often be seen fighting together, squealing, biting, and indicting severe wounds on each other. On one occasion, we saw two of these r.its in furious combat, and so enraged were they, that one of them whose tail was turned towards us, allowed us to seize him, which we did, giving him at the same time such a swing against a gate post which was near, that the blow killed him instantly — his antagonist making his escape. During the great floods or freshets which almost annually submerge the flat bottom-lands on the Ohio river at various places, the rats are driven out irom their holes and seek shelter under the barns, stables, and houses in the vicinity, and as the increasing waters cover the low grounds, may be seen taking to pieces of drift wood and floating logs, &c., on which they sometimes remain driving along with the currents for some distance. They also at such times climb up into the lofts of l)arns, smokehouses, &c., or betake themselves to the trees in the orchards or gardens. We once, at Shippingport, near the foot of the falls of the Ohio river, whilst residing with our brother-in-law, the late N. Bertiioiid, went out in a skifl", during a freshet which had exceeded those of many previous years in its altitude, and after rowing about over the tops of fences that were secured from rising with the waters by being anchored by large cross-timbers placed when they were put up, under the ground, to which the posts were dove- tailed, !ind occasionally rowing through floating worm-ti-nces which had broken away from their proper locations and were lying flat upon the sur- face of the flowing tide, we came to the orchard attached to the garden. and found the peach and apple trees full of rats, which seemed almost as active in running among the brandies as squirrels. We had our gun with f BROWN OR NORWAY RA'l. 2b in evf" requiit an irs as may ctive little voracious. 1 when he 0, by their Drc painful it has been lave bitten wsed to its rnay often !re wounds in furious was turned it the same , the blow bmerge the are driven and houses iunds, may , on which le distance. lOuses, &c., We once, ilst residing kifl", durins its altitude, cured from lers placed were dove- which had )on the sur- the ;rarden, i5 almost as ir gun with -M us and tried to shoot some of them, but the cunning rogues dived into the water whenever we approached, and swam off in various directions, some to one tree and some to another, so that we were puzzled which to follow. The rats swam and dived with eciua! facility and made raj)id |)rogresN through the water. Many of them remained in the orchard until the Ireshet subsided, which was in the course of a few days. Whether they caught any lish or not during this time we cannot say, but most of thtin found food enough to keep them alive until they were able once more to occupy their customary holes and burrows. During these occasional floods on our western rivers, immense numbers of spiders and other in- sects take refuge in the upper stories of the houses, and the inhabitants find themselves much incommoded by them as well as by the turbulent waters around their dwellings. Such times are, however, quite holidays to the young folks, and skiffs and batteaux of every description are in re- quisition, while some go about on a couple of boards, or paddle from street to street on large square pine logs. When the flats are thus coversd, there is generally but little current running on them, although the main channel of the river flows majestically onward, covered with floating logs and the fragments of sheds, haystacks, &;c., which have left their quiet homes on the sides of the river many miles above, to float on a voyage of discov- ery down to the great Mississippi, unless stopped by the way by the exer- tions of some fortunate discoverer of their value, who rowing out among the drifting logs, roots and branches, ties a rope to the frail floating tene- ment, and tows it to the trunk of a tree, where he makes it fast, for the water to leave it ready for his service, when the river has again returned to its quiet and customary channel. Stray flat boats loaded with produce, flour, corn and tobacco, &c., are often thus taken up, and are generally found and claimed afterwards by their owners. The sight of the beautiful Ohio thus swplling proudly along, and sometimes embracing the country with its watery margin extended for miles beyond its ordinary limits, is well worth a trip to the West in February or March. But these high freshets do not occur every year, and depend on the melting of the snows, which are generally dissolved so gradually that the channel of the river is suffi. cient to carry them ofl^ In a former work, (Ornithological Biography, vol. 1, p. 155,) we have given a more detailed account of one of the booming floods of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, to which we beg now to refer such of our readers as have never witnessed one of those remarkable periodical inundations. Mr. Ogden Hammond, formerly of Throg's Neck, near New- York, furnished us with the following account of the mode in which the Norway Rat cap- tures and feeds upon the small sand clams which abound on the sandy vol.. n. — 4 26 BROWN OR NORWAY RAT. places along the East river below high water mark. lie repaired to a wharf on his farm with one of his men at low water: in a few moments a rat was seen issuing from the lower jjart of the whari", j)eeping cautiously around before he ventured from his hiding place. Presently one of the small clams I Jiied in the soft mud and sand which they inhabit, threw up a thin jet of water about a foot above the surface of the ground, uiM)n M^.'ing which, the rat leaped quickly to the spot, and digging with its ton- paws, in a few moments was seen bringing the clam towards his retreat vhere he immediately devoured it. When any of these clams lie too deep to be dug up by the rats, they con- ..nue on the watch and di^ after the next which may make known Us wherealiouts by the customary jet ot water. These clams are about J oi an inch long and not more tli;in t of an inch wide ; their shells are slight, and they are sometimes used as bait by fishermen. The Brown or Norway Hat was first introduced in the neighbourhood of Henderson, Kentucky, our old and hapi)y residence for several years, with- in our recollection. One day a barge arrived from New-Orleans (we think in 1811) loaded with sugar and other goods ; some of the cargo belonged to us. During the landing of the packages we saw se'eral of these rats make their escape from the vessel to the shore, and run off in diti'crent directi<)ns. In a year from this time they bad become quite a imisance ; whether they had been re- inforced by other importations, or had multiplied to an incredible extent, wo know not. Shortly after this period we had our .- jkehousc floor taken up on account of their having burrowed under it in nearly every direction. We killed at that time a great many of them with the aid of our dogs, but they continued to annoy us, and the readers of our Ornithological Biography are aware, that ere we lefl Henderson some rats destroyed many of our valued drawings. This species migrates either in troops or singly, and for this purpose takes passage in any conveyance that may offer, or it plods along on foot. It swims and dives well, as we have already remarked, so that rivers or water-courses do not obstruct its progress. We once knew a female to secrete herself in a wagon, loaded with bale rope, sent from Lexington, (Ky.) to Louisville, and on the wagon reaching its destination, when the coils of rope were turned out, it was discovered that the animal had a lit- ter of several young ones : she darted into the warehouse through the iron bars which were placed like a grating in front of the cellar windows. Some of the young escaped also, but several of them were killed by the wagoner How this rat was fed during the journey we do not know, but a.s the wagons BROWN OR NORWAY RAT. 87 aired to a moments a ciiutiously one of the iibit, threw ounil, upon ith its l'or»» his retreat S they con- known ItH about J oi are sliglit, ourhood of rears, with- ni) loaded s. During heir escape In a year lad been re- ! extent, we or taken up y direction, ir dogs, but Biography lany of our lis purpose ng on foot, at rivers or a female to Lexington, , when the ,1 had a lit- igh the iron iws. Some le wagoner the wagons stop every evening at some tavern, the probability is that she procured food for herself by getting out during the night and picking up corn, &c. The Norwiiy Rat freejuently deserts a locality in which it ims for some tifne remaini'd and provfd a great pest. When this is the case, the whole tribe Journey to other (piarfers, keeping together and generally appearing in numbers i:i their new locality without any previous warning to the un- lucky farmer or housekeeper to who;, -^remises they have taken o fancy. When we first moved to our ret rear, nine miles above the city of New- York, we had no rats to annoy us, and we .)oped it woi:'; be some time b.'- fore they discovered the spot where we > ' '^caf^d i jr jlves. But in the course of a few months a great many ot i... 1.1 appeared, and we have occasionally had eggs, chickens and ducklings carrieu > /^by them to the number of six or more in a night. We have never been able to get rid of this colony of rats, and they have even mjide large barrows in the banks on the water side, where they can hardly be extirpated. The Norway Rat is quite abundant in New-York and mosc other mari- time cities, along the wharves and docks, and becomes very large. These animals are frequently destroyed in great numbers, while a ship is in port, after her cargo has been discharged, by smoking them ; the fumes '•'.' sul- phur and other suffocating materials, being confined to the hold by closing all parts, windows and hatches. After a thorough cleaning out, a large ship has been Unown to have had many thousands on board. Our old friend, Capt. Ciimingh, who in early life made many voyages to the E?'st Indies, relates to us, that one of his captains used to have rats caugh., when on long voyages, and had them cooked and served up at his table as a luxury. lie allowed his sailors a glass of grog for every rat thev caught, and as the supply was generally ample, he used to invite his mates and passengers to partake of them with vlue hospitality. Our friend, who was a mate, had a great horror of the captain's invitations, for it was some- times difficult to ascertain in what form the delic;ite animals would appear, and to avoid eating them. Not having ourselves eaten rats, (as far as we know,) we cannot say whether the old India captain's fondness for them was justified by their possessing a fine flavour, but we do think prejudices are entertained against many animals and reptiles that are, after all, pretty good eating. In the account of the black rat in our first volume, {Mus rattu.i,) pp. 190, 191, and 192, we gave some details of the habits of the present species, and stated our opinion in regard to its destroying the black rat. Dr. God- man considered the Norway Rat so thorough an enemy of the black rat, that he says, (vol. 2, p. 83,) in speaking of the latter, that it is now found only in situations to which the Brown Rat has not extended its migrations. 11 I Jf. 98 BROWN OR NORWAY RAl According to the same author, who (|Uotes 11. Smith, Uat Catcher, p. 5, 17(18, (sei! GouMAN, vol. 2, p. 77,) the Urowr> Hat was not known evrthern gray ly specimen i'enty teeth ; jrthern gray ;ly wanting. ibeous. suc- tippcd with fion ; on the reddish-buff red through , are reddish ilack ; ears, legs, ujiper The specimen from which our drawing was made, was procured in the State of Illinois. This squirrel is also found in the barrens of Kentucky: vvc possess a skin sent to us by our good friend Dr. Crogiian, procured we Dciieve near the celebrated Mammoth cave, of which he is proprietor. Mr. Cabot, of Boston, likewise has one, as well as we can recollect, in his collection. We sought in vain, while on our journey in the wilds of the Upper Missouri country, for this species, which apparently does not extend its range west of the well-wooded districts lying to the east of the great prairies. It will probably be found abundant in Indiana, although it has been hitherto most frequently observed in Illinois. Of its northern and southern limits, we know nothing, and it may have a much more extended distribution than is at present supposed. 32 GENUS BISON.— PuNv DENTAL FORMULA. ^ Incisive -; Canine — ; Molar — =32. " 0—0 6—6 Head, large and broad ; forehead, slightly arched; h.rns, placed before the salient line of the frontal crest; tail, short; shoulders, elevated ; hair, soft and woolly. The generic name is derived from Pliny, who applied the word Bison, wild ox, to one of the species on the Eastern continent. There are five species of Buffalo that may be conveniently arranged under this genus : one existing in the forests of Southern Russia in Asia, in the Circassian mountains, and the desert of Kobi ; one in Ethiopia and the forests of India, one on the mountains of Central Asia, one in Ceylon and one in America. In addition to this, the genus Bos, which formerly included the present, contains five well determined species, one inhabiting the coun.ry near the Cape of Good Hope, one in Central Africa, one in the Himalaya mountains and the Birman Empire, one in India, antl one m the forests of Middle Europe. BISON AMERICANUS.— Gmkt., American Bison. — Boffalo. PLATE LVI. Male. PLATE LVII. Female, Male and Youno. B. capite magno, lato, fronte levifer arcuata; cornibus parvis, b-evi- bus, teretibus, extrorsum dein sursum versis ; cauda breve, crurib'us gra- cilibus armis excelsis, villo molli, lanoso. CHARACTERS. Forehead, broad, slightly arched ; horns, small; short, directed lateral;,, and upwards ; tail, short • legs, slender ; shoulders, elevated ■ hair, soft rtnd woolly. BUFFALO 88 BYNONYMES. Taurus Mexicanus, Hernandez, Mex., p. 587, Fig. male, 1651, Taureau Sauvaoe, Hennepin, Nouv. Discov., vol. i., p. 186, 1090. 'I'iiK Buffalo, Law.son's Carolina, p. llo, fV. " Catesby's Carolina, Appendi.x .\x.\ii., tab. 20. " " Hearne's Journej', p. 412. " " Franklin's Finst Voy., p. 113. " " Pennant's Arctic Zool, vol. i., p. l. Long's Expedition, vol. iii., p. 68. " Warden's U. S., vol. i.. p. 248. Bos Amekioams, Linn., S. N., ed Gmel. 1, p. 204. Cuv., Regno an 1, p. 270. Bos Amekic'anijj, Harlan, 268. " " Godman, vol. iii., 4. Richardson, Fa., p. 79. Buffalo, Hudson's Bay Traders, Le Boeuf, Canadian Voyagers. Ameuican Ox, Dobs, Hudson's Bay, 41. |lj ! BESCRIl'TIOJJ. Male, killed on the Yellow Stone river, July IGth, 1843. The form beans a consid.i able re-semblance to that of an overgrown dri- mestic bull, the top of the hump on the shoulders being considerably higher than the rump, although the fore-legs are very short ; horns, short, stout, curved upward and inward, one foot one inch and a half around the curve ; ears, short and slightly triangular towards the point ; nose, bare •, nostrils, covered internally with hairs ; eyes, rather small in proportion to the size of the animal, sunk into the prominent projection of the skull ; neck, and forehead to near the nose, covered with a dense mass of shagg J hair fourteen inches long between the h ^irns, which, as well as the eyes and ears, are thereby partially concealed, these hairs become gradually shorter and more woolly towards the muzzle. Under the chin and lower jaw there is an immense beard, a foot or upwards in length Neck, short ; hairs along the shoulder and fore-legs about four inches long, rhe beard around the muzzlt; resembles that of the common bull. A mass of hair rises on the hind part of the fore-leg, considerably below the knee. A ridge of hairs commences on the back and runs to a point near the in- sertion of the tail. On the flank.s, rump and fore-legs the hairs are very short and fine. On the hind-legs there are .straggling long hairs extending to the kner, and a (i-w tufts extending six inches below the knee ; hind-legs, an] tail, covered with short hairs; within a few inches of the tip of the tail ther.- is a tuft of hair nearly a foot in length. The pelage on the head vol. II. .") :*^ir 34 BUFFALO. has scarcely any of the soft woolly hair which covers other parts of the body, and approaches nearer to hair than to wool. A winter killed specimen. From the neck, around the shoulder and sides, the hody is covered with a dense lieavy coat of woolly hair, with much longer and coarser hairs in- termixed. There is a fleshy niend)rane between the forelegs, like that in the common domestic bull, but not so pendulous. Female. In form and colour ihe female bears a strong resemblance to the male; she is, howevei-, considerably smaller, and of a more delicate structure. Iler horns are of ihe same length and shape as those of the male, but are lliinner and more perfect, in consequence of the cows engaging less in combat than the bulls. The hump is less elevated ; the hair on the lore- head shorter and less bushy ; the rings on the horns are more corrugated than on those oi'our domestic cattle. Spinous processes rising from the back bone or vertebra; of the bull, and forming the hump : they are flat, with sharp edges both anteriorly and posteriorly; the two longest are eigliteen and a quarter inches long, three inches at the end which is the widest, and two inches at the narrowest ; the first, fifteen inches ; second, (largest,) eighteen and a quar- ter inches in length ; third, sixuen and a half; fourth, sixteen ; the fifth, fif- teen inches, and the rest gradually diminishing in size ; the fifteenth spinous process being three and a half inches long; the remainder are wanting in our specimen. The whole of the processes are jjlaced almost touching each other at the insertion and at the end, and their breadlh is parallel to the course of the back-bone. In the centre or about half the distance from the insertion to the outer end of them, they are {ihv bone being narrower in that part) Irom a quarter to one inch ai)art. The ribs originate and in- cline outward backward and downward Irom between these upright spinous bones. COLOUR, A summer specimen. Head, neck, throat, fore-legs, tail and beard, dark l)rownish-black ; hoofs, brown ; rum]). Hanks, line on the back, blackish brown ; horns nearly Llack. Up])er surface of body light-brown; the hairs uniform in colour from the roois, the whole; under surl'ace blackish-brown. Tiie colour of the female is similar o thai of the male. At the close ol' the summer when the new coat of hair has been obtairedj BUFFAIjO. 85 tht! Buffalo is in colour between a dark umber, and liver-shining brown ; as the hair lengthens during winter, the tips become paler. Young male, twelve months old. A uniform dingy brown colour, with a dark brown stripe of twisted woolly upright hairs, extending I'roni the head over the neck slioulders and back to the insertion of the tail. . The hairs on the forehead, which form the enormous mass on the head of the adult, are just beginning to be deve- loped. Under the throat and along the chest the hairs extend in a narrow line of about three inches in length ; the bush at the end of the tail is tolerably well developed. Hairs on the whole body short and woolly. A calf, six weeks old, presents the same general appearance, but is more woolly. The legs, especially near the hoofs, are of a lighter colour than the adult. A calf taken from the body of a cow, in September, was covered with woolly hair ; the uniform brownish, or dim yellow, strongly resembling the young of a domesticated cow. i*" ' t i HABITS. Whether we consider this noble animal as an object of the chase, or as an article of food for man, it is decidedly the most important of all our con- temporary American quadrupeds ; and as we can no longer see the gi- gantic mastodon passing over the broad savannas, or laving his enormous sides in the deep rivers of our wide-spread land, we will consider the Hudiilo as a link, (perhnps sooner to be forever lost than is generally sup- posed.) which to a slight degree yet connects us with larger American ani- ■iials, i)elonging to extinct creations. But ere we endeavour to place before you the living and breathing herds of Buffaloes, you must journey with us in imaginalion to the vast west- ern prairies, th,- sechided and almost inaccessil)le valleys of the Rocky Mountain chain, and the arid and nearly impassable deserts of the western tai)le lands of our country; and here we may be allowed to express our deep, though unavailing regret, that the world now contains only few and imporfcot remains of the lost races, of which we have our sole knowledge through the rcsearciies and profound deductions of geologists ; and even fhousrh our knowledge of the osteolo the stream, to gain a san.l-bar .• .hoal n,i,I va e r.ver. that affords them a resting place, from which, af,er a Mule L hey can d.rect their course to the opposite shore, when, having rea h d i * |M- just scramble up the bank, ere they can gain the ^.en pl^rle There we may also witness severe combats between ihe valiant bulls - the rutt.ng season, hear their angry bellowing, and observe t u ' ! . 1 city as well as courage, when disturbed by the approach of man ' ^ The An.enoan Bison is much a.ldiced to wandering, an.l the v-.rious herds annual^- remove from the Nor.h, at the approach o vint . |-y n^., be f und, during that season, remaining in high la^lud M n, c.i ly. Durmg a s.-ve. ,■ winter, however, numbers of the.n ppr^sb especally the old. and the very young ones. The breedn.g .ealn 'gel BUFFALO, 37 emlly the months of June and July, and the calves are brousht forth in April and May ; although occasionally they are produced as early as March or as late as July The BulFalo most frequently has hut one calf at a time, hut instances occur of their having two. The females usually re. tire fi-om the herd either singly or several in companv, select as solitary a spot as can he found, remote from the haunt of wolves, bears, or other enemies that would he most likely to molest them, and there produce their young. Occasionally, however, they bring fort', their ofTspring when the herd IS migrating, and at such times they are left by the main body, which they rejoin as soon as possible. The young usuallv follow the mother until she IS nearly ready to have a calf again. The Bulfalo seldom produces young until the third year, but will continue breeding until very old When a cow and her very young calf are attacked by wolves, the cow bellows and sometimes runs at the enemy, and not unfrequentiv fri-htens him away; this, however, is more generally the ease x^lwn srVeivdcous are together, as the wolf, ever on the watch, is sometimes able to secure a calf when it is only protected by its mother. The BulTalo begins to shed its hair as .-arly as Pebruarv. This l\x\\u'rs follow the hapi)y pair at such a re- spectful distance, as will ensure to them a chance to make their eseap... if they should again become obnoxious to the victor, and .at the same time nil mx I I: '' I i 88 BUFFALO. enable them to take advantage of any accident that might happen in theii favour. But should the light have been caused by a female who is in a large herd of cows, the (iiscomfitcd bull soon finds a sul)sf itute for his lirst passion. It frequently linpi)ons, that a bull lends oil' a cow, !ind remains with her separated (ln'-ng the season from all oliiers, either male or female. When the i^uti'alo hull is working himself up to a heiligerent state, lie |)aws the ground, bellows loudly, and goes through nearly all the actions we may see performed by the domesticated bull under similar circumstances, and finally ruslies at his fi.e head foremost, with all his speed and strength. Notwithstanding the violent shock with which two bidls thus meet in mad career, these encounters have never been known to result fatally, probably owing to the strength of the spinous [)rocess commonly called the hump, the shortness of their horns, and the (juan- tiry of hair about all their fore-parts. When congregated together in fair weather, calm or nearly so, the bellowing of a large herd (which sometimes contains a thousand) mav be heard at the extraordinary distance often miles at least. During the rutting season, or while lighting, (we are not sure which,) the bulls scrape or paw up the grass in a circle, sometimes ten feet in di- ameter, and these places being resorted to, from time to time, by other fighting bulls, become larger and deeper, and are easily recognised even afler rains have filled them with water. In winter, when the ice has l)ccome strong enou, but the majority peri.^h from cold and want of food rather than trust tliemselves boldly to the turbulent waters. Buflalo calves are often drowned, from being unable to ascend the steep banks of the rivers across which they linve just swam, as the cows cannot help them, althougli they stand near the bank, and will not leave them to their fate unless something alarms them. bl/FFALO. 89 On one occasion Mr. Kipp, of the American Pur Company, caught eleven calves, their dams all the time standing near the top of the bank. Fre quentiy, however, the cows leave the young to their fate, when most ol them |)erish. In connection wifh Ihis part of the subject, we may add, that we were informed when on the Fppe. Missouri river, that v/hen tlie' banks of tliat river were practicable lor cows, and their calves could not Ibllow tliem, they went down again, after having gained the to{), and would remain by them until forced away by the cravings of hunger. When thus forced by the necessity of saving themselves to quit their young, they seldom, if ever, returned to them. When a large herd of these wild animals are crossing a river, the calves or yearlings manage to get on the backs of the cows, and are' thus con- v.'ved safely over ; l)ut when the heavy animals, old and young, reach the slion-, I hey sometimes find it muddy or even deeply miry ; the strength of the old ones struggling in such cases to gain a solid footing, enables I hem to work their w.ay out of danger in a wonderfully short time. Old bulls, indeed, have been known to extricate themselves when .hey had got into the mire so deep that but little more than their heads a!id backs could be K 11. On one occasion we saw an unfortunate cow that had fallen into, or rather sank into a quicksand only seven or eight Ibet wide ; she was quite dead, jmd we walked on her still fresh carcase safely across the ra vine which had buried her in its treacherous and shifting sands. Tlu! gaits of the Bison are walking, cantering, and galloning, and when .•It full speed, he can get over the ground nearly as fast as the b(!st horses found in the Indian country. In lying down, this species bends the fore legs first, and its movements are almost exactly the same as those of th. eonunoii cow. It also rises with the same kind of action as cattle When surprised in a recumbent posture by the sudden appro.aehofa hunter, who has succeeded in nearing it under the cover of a hill, clump of trees or other interposing object, the Bison springs from the groimd and is in lull race almost as quick as thought, and is so very alert, that one can scarcely perceive his m.nnner of rising on such occasions. The bulls never grow as fat as the cows, the latter having been oeen- sionally killed with as much as two inches of fat on (he boss or hump and along the back to the tail. The fat rarely exceeds half an inch on the sides or ribs, but is thicker on the belly. Tlie males have only one inet of fat, nnd their flesh is never considered equ.al to that of the females in de- licacy or flavour. In a, herd of Bullaloes many .-.re poor, and even at the best se.ison it is not likely th.at all will be found in good condition ; and we bnve occasionally known a hunting party, when Bullalo wus scnrce, con.- peiled to feed on a straggling old bull .as tough as leather. For ourselves, mis III ''9 40 BliFFAI.O. 'Mi ft! was rather uncn.forfablo, as we had lu.ibrtunately lost our molars Ions nfro. Tlu> 15is,„. is sonu.fimrs moro al)uiulavt in particular districts one yeai thai.un<.thcr. .-..ul is ,„„lMl,ly ii.liucnc.i i,. its vvund.-rin-s l,v the mil.lness or scvcrily ..I. he w.a.h.T. as well as l,y the choice it makes of (he best pasturafic and most quiet portions of the prairies. While we were at Fort Union, th.. hunters were durinfr tl.e month of Jun.- ohiit^od to go out twenty- hve or thutyuiih-s to procure IJuliaio meat, aithou-h at other times the animal was quite ahun.h.nt in sight of, he (bri. The tran.ping ola large herd, in wet weather, cuts up the soft clayey soil ofth.. river bottoms (ue «Io not not .Mean tlu- bottom of rivers,) into a complete mush. One' day. wlu-n on ourjourn.-y up the Missouri river, we landed on one oCthe nar- row stnps of h.ndealle,! bottoms, which Ibrmed the margin of the river nnd was back,.! by hills of consi.lerabh- height at a short dislanee At this spot the tracks of these animals were literally innumerable, as lar as the eye could rea.-h in ev.-ry direction, the plain was covered wi.h them; and in s.ane places the soil had been so tran>ph-d as to rrscmble nm rubbed by these bulfaloes, and their hair and v.'ool were hangin-^ on t u- rough bark or lying at tluMr roots. We collected soua- ..f this wool? we tinnk.t .uight be usefully worked up into coarse cloth, an.l consider it worth att.M.tion. The road • that are made by th.-se animals, so umch re- semble the tracks left b, a large wagon-t rain, that the in..xperienced traveller may occasionally imagine hims,.|C (i,|i„,ving the course of an or- dinary wagon-road. These great tracks run for hundreds of miles across the prairies, and are usually found to lead to s„me salt-spri„g, „r some river or creek, where tiie animals can allay their thirst. The captain of the .steamboat on which we'asc.Mul-d the Missouri inform- ed us. that on his last annual v,.\ Mi,e up that river, he had caught' .several Bullaloes. that were swimming the river. The boat was run elo.se upon hem th,.y were lassoed by a Spaniar.l, who happene.l to be on board, an.l then hoisted on the deck, where they were butchered secun.knn arlem One day we saw.several that had taken to the water, and were .•oMmr^ towards our boat. We passed so near them, that we fired at them, but did not nro'- cure a single one. On another occasion, one was killed from the shore and brought ;-.; .nard, when it was imme.liately divided among the m.Mi ' W were greatly surprised to see some of the In.lians, that wen- goin-^ up witl us, ask (or certain portions of the entrails, which they devoured with the greatest voracity. This gluttony excited our curiosity, and being alwav- Willing to ascertain the quality of any sort of meat, we tasted some of tius BUf'FALO. 41 Bort of tripe, ,i.n. loi.n.l it very good, altl.oiiRh at first its appearance was rather revolliiiy. 'J'he Indians soinetitnes eat the carcasses of Ruiraloes that iiave been drowned, and some of those on lu.ard the; Onw^ii one day asked the cap- lain most earnestly to allow t!,eni to land and got at the bodies ol ihren J{t'lial<.es which w.. passed, that had lo.lfred among the drift-logs and were pi-ohably hair putrid. In this extraonlinary rcpiest some of the sipiaws joined. That, when sfimnlal.'d by the gnawings of l.ung.-r, Indians, or even Whites, should fe(!d upon carrion, is not to be wondered at, since we have many instances of caimi alism and other horrors, when men are in a state of starvation, but th(!s.; Indians were in the midst of plenty of wholesome Ibod and we are inclined to think their hankering afteV tliis disgusting flesh must be attributed to a natun.1 taste for it, pro»)ably acciuired" when young, as tliey are no doubt sometimes obliged in their wanderings over the pr.iiries in wint<-r, to devour carrion and even l)ones and hides, to pr.-serve their lives. In the height of the rutting-se.-.son, the flesh of the Buffalo bull is quite rank, and unfit to be eaten, except from necessity, and at this time the animal can be scented at a consi(''jrable distance. Wlu^n a lierd of Bisons is chased, although the bulls run with great swift- ness their sj)eed cannot be compared with thatoftlie cows and yearling calves. These, in a few momejits leave the hulls behind them, but as they are greatly preferred by the hunter, ^e always (if well mounted) pursues them and allows the bulls to escape. During the winter of 1812 and 43, as we were told. Buffaloes were abundant around Fort Union, and dur' ig the night picked up straggling handfuls of hay that happened to be scattered about the place. An attempt was made u> secure some of them alive, by strewing hay as a bait, from the interior of the old fort, which is about two hundred yards off, to .:■-" Jistance from the gateway,' hoping the animals would feed along into tlic enclosure- They ate the hay to the very gate ; but as the hogs and common cattle were regularly placed there, for security, during the night, the Buffaloes would not enter, probably on account of the various odours issuing from the interior. As the Rufi'aloes generally found some hay scattered around, they soon became accustomed to sleep in the vicinity of the fort, but went off every morning, and dis ajjpeared behin.'. the hills, al)out a mile off". One night they were fired at, from a four-pounder loaded with musket- balls. Three were killed, and several were wounded, but this disaster did not prevent them from returning frequently to the fort at nighr, and they were occasionally shot, during the whole wi.iter, quite near the fort. As various accounts of Buffalo-hunts have been already written, we will pass over our eariiest adventures in that way, which occurred many VO!,. II. — 0 ri I 4i BUFFALO. >eaM H'^o, iind ffivv. you mcroly ii Nki-tcii i)f the mode in wliiilj we killec? them ,'on carried Mr. Kakkih, IJr.i.i,, and ourselves, and we were followed hy two carls, which lained the rest „r the party, while hehind came the rmmin« horses or himlers, led carelully alonir. After crossing' the lower prairie, we ascended hetween ;lie sK'cp hanks of iho nitrxed ravines, imlil we reached the hi«h nndnlalin^r plains above. On turnins: to take a retrospective vi.-w, we beheld ih,' fort and a e(.nsid,.r. nbic expanse of broken and prairie-land l)eliin(l us, and the course- of tlie river was seen as it wound alonjj, li.r some distance. Uesumin^r „ur ad- vance we soon saw a nund.cr of anielopes. some of which had youn-? ones Willi them. Alh-r travelling,' about len miles farther we approached the Fox river, and at this point one of the party espied a small herd of jjisons at a considerable distance olf. Mr. Ciii.nKRrsoN, after seanrhin;,' for them with the telescope, handed it to un and showed us where ihey were. They verc! all lyinj; down and apjx-ar.-d perfectly unconscious of the cxisf.Mico of our party. Our vehicles and horses were now turned towards them and wc travelled cautiously to witiiin about a (piarter of a mile of the herd, covered by a hi-li ridjr.' of land which concealed us from their view.' 'I'he wind was favourable, (blowini,' towards us.) and now the hunlers threw aside their coats, tied ' Midkercliicfs around their heads, looked to their guns, mounted their siei as, and moved slowly and cautiously towards the f;iimc. The rest of the party crawled carefully to the top of the ri(Ir jioiny; a little way and stood with its head han-,'infr down and its nose near the j;round. Tiie blood appeared to be pourin- from its mouth and nostrils, and its droopin- tail showed the anv oi tnc rnai took I'lr.ict in the \mtU,vks of tlie animal. At this moment Mr. Suimrk'.s horse threw him over his head Inlly ten leet : he fell <.n his powder-horn an I was sevendy »)ruised ; he '!a!!ed to some on,^ to stop liis In.rse and was soon on his le^^s, hut felt siek for a few mom.Mits. Friend IFarrls, who was perfectly eool, nrared his bull, shot it throu-h (lu; lnns,'s, and it fell dead on tlu^ spot. Mr. »km. was still in pursuit of his wonn'ded ani- mal and Mr. Harris and Mr. Sd./iRi: joine.l and lollowed the fourth, whinh, however, was soon out ofsi-ht. We saw Mr. Hi-.m. shoot two or thrnn titn.-s, an.l heard -uns (in..l, either by Mr. Harris or Mr. Suihrk, but thn weather was so hot that fearful of injuria- their horses they were obli-ed to allow the bull they pursued to osoapc. The one shot by Mr. Hkm,. tumbled upon his knees, jrot up a<,'ain, and rushed on one of the lumters, who shot it oneo mor anianls all h..u-h we watched far sometime in hopes of doinjr so. T'-ey probably scented our party and would not ap- proach. The hunters on the prairies, either from hun-.'r or bv!cause they hav.' not a very dc-licate appetite, sometimes break in the skull of a b- ffalo and eat the brains raw. At siuirise we were all up, and soon had our coffee, after which a nuilatto man called Lai-lehr, an excell m t hunter at- tached to the American Fur-Compat.y, acc^ompanied Mr. L., .h and Mr. IhuA. on a hunt for antelopes, as wv. wanted no mon; Bulfalocs. After waitin- the return of the party, who came back unsuccessful, we broke up our eanij) and turned our steps homeward. The hulfalo bulls which have be.-n with their fair ones are at this season wretchedly jx.or, but some of them, which appear not to have much fondness for the latter, or may have been driven off by their riv.-Us, are ill |)retty -ood condition. The prairies are in some places whitened with the. skulls of the Buiralo, dri,.,! and bleached by the summer's sun and the frosts and snows of those severe latitudes in winter. Thousands are killed Si If ' 44 BUFFALO merely for their tongues, and their large carcasses remain to feed the wolves and other rapacious prowlers on the grassy wastes A large Bison bull will generally weigh nearly two thousand pounds and a fat cow, abour twHvc hundred. VVe wdghcd one of the bul.rk" led by our party and lound it to reach sevont...n hundred and twenty s , pounds although it had already lost a good deal of blood. This U 1 old bull ..u„l was not fat ; it ha.l probably weighed n.o.-e at .o.ne p el period. We were told that at ,his season a great n.any half-breed In uironT ^"'''"' "'k'"""^" ^''^"'' •""" ^"""^' ^""'^ «-h ^- ^ use, on Moose river, about 200 miles north of us. When these animals are shot at a distance of fifty or sixty yards thev rarely, , ever, charge on the hunters. Mr. Cu...™,. told us h; S killed as many as nine bulls from the same spot, unse.M^ by these terrible animals. 1 here are times, however, when they have been known to gore both horse and nder, after being severely wounded, and have dropped down dnn,! but a few minutes afterwards. There are indeed instances of bulls rece.vnig many balls without being immediately killed, and we saw one which during one of our hunts was shot no less than twenty-four times be- tore It dropped. A bull that our party had wounded in the shoulder, and which was thought too badly hurt to do much harm to any one, was Ibund rith r d"" gerous when we approached him, as he would dart forward at the nearest 01 his foes, and but that his wound prevents him from wheeling and turn- uig rapidly, he would certainly have done some mischief We fired af him rom our six-barrelled revolving pistol, which, however, seemed to have bttle other ellect than to render him more savage and furious. His an- pearance was well calculated to appal ,he bravest, had we not felt assured that his strength was fast diminishing. We ourselves were a little too con dent, and narrowly escaped being overtaken F>y hi,„ „,,„,,,, ,„, J, pru ence We placed ourselves directly in his front, and as he adva. ced •red at his hea.l an.I ran back, not supposing that he could overtake s-' but he soon got within a few feet of our rear, with head lowered and' t'veo' preparation made for giving us a hoist ; the next instant, however we had .jumped aside, and the animal was unable to alter his headlon.^ course quick enough to avenge himself on us. Mr. Hku. „ow put a ball rect y t roug his lungs, and with a gush of bloos in the vicinity The service berry was abun.lant and we ate a good many of them, and after a hasty prepiiration in the morning, started again after the Bullaloes we had seen the pre vio,.s even ng. Having rode for some time, one of our part v who waa Ml advance as a scout, made the customary signal irom the top ..f a *s i ■3.M 46 BUFFALO. i 'I if i| i '1 -:tm ll h.gh h,Il. that Buffaloe^ were in sight ; this is doneby walking the hunter's horse backward and forward several tinges. We hurried !»!„': d oj^ seo^t ,3-.ng close to Us horse's neck, as it^.sleep on the back on^^^^^^^^^ .-nal. He ponited out where he had discovered the jrame but fh., . ■ .oneoutofsight,and(as he said) were traveHin; , Hhe h Jd 1 t! composed ofboth bulls and cows. The hunters .no^nted'at once and l," lopod on n, rapul pursuit, while we Ibllovved n,ore leisurely over hills: d phuns and across ravH.es and broken ground, at the riLf our ne ks vh-Vr. T "" '""" "^ '''' ^""^^''•^' -"^ occasionally the BuIf"; e ' vh.ch had ta en a direction toward the Fort. At last we Cached nn^^^^^ nence fron, wh.ch we saw the hunters approaching the BuUaloes in ord • U>eg,n the chase ,n earnest. It scenes that there is no e,i,uette a.non! Buffalo hunters, and this not being understood beforehand Ly our friend Harhis he was disappointed in his wish to kill a cow The country w" not as favourable to the hunters as it was to the flying herd. The nde .separated iron, the n,ales, and the latter turned in our direction and pled' V lun a few undred yards of us without our being able to fire at't^.el Indeed we wdhngly suffered them to pass unmolested, as they are always very dangerous when they have been parted from the cows. Only one female was killed on this occasion. On our way homeward we made towards toe coupee, an opening in the hills, where we expected to find water for our horses and „u,les. as our supply of Missouri water was only enough lor ourselves. •* The water found on these prairies is generally unfit to drink, (unless as a matter of necessity,) and we most frequently carried eight or ten gallons from (he nver, on our journey through the plains. We did not find water where vye expected, and were obliged to proceed about two miles to the eastward, where we luckily found a puddle suliicient for th<. wants of our horses and mutes. There was not a bush in sight at this place, an.l we collected Buffalo dung to make a fire to cook with. In the winter this prmneiuel is often too wet to bun. and the hunters and Indians have to eat their meat raw. It can hosvev.T hunilv I... now to our readers to hear that they are often glad to get any thing, either raw or cooked, when in this desolate region. Young Buffalo bulls are sometimes castrated by the Indians, as we were told, lor the ,,urpose of rendering ,hem larger and falter ; and we were in-^ formed, that when full grown they have been shot, an"th of daTb 's ; he-;'y '-'-'. iH^ I'a.ssed through herds ol-flufialo for six da m su ce.s.on. At another time he saw the great prairie near Fo CU on the M.ssour. river, aln.ost blackened by these animals, which I ^X I'n ;;:.t r ' ''-' '-'-' ''- '- ^" ^" '"----- -^ p-^- Wl...„ ih. Hi.sons first see a person, whether white or red, they trot or .aze on h^ur loe lor a lew „,ome„,s, then take a course and go off at full .speed untd out of night, a.ul beyond the scent of man. h H 48 BUFFALO. Although large, heavy, and comparativelj clumsy, the Bison is at times hrisk and fVolicksome, and these huge iuiimals often play and gambol about, kicking their heels in the air with surprising agility, and throwing their hinder parts to the right and left alternately, or I'rom one side to the other, their heels the while flying about and their tails whisking in the air. They are very impatient in the fly and mosquito season, and are often seen kick- ing and running against the wind to rid themselves of these tormentors. The different Indian tribes hunt the Buffalo in various ways: some pur- sue them on horseback and shoot them with arrows, which they point with old bits of iron, or old knife blades. They are rarely expert in loading or re- loading guns, (even if they have them,) but in the closely contested race between their horse and the animal, they prefer the rifle to the bow and arrow. Other tribes follow them with patient perseverance on foot, until they come within shooting distance, or kill them by stratagem. The Mandan Indians chase the Buffalo in parties of from twenty to fifty, and each man is provided with two horses, one of which he rides, and the other being trained expressly for the chase, is led to the place where the Buffaloes are started. The hunters are armed with bows and arrows, their quivers containing from thirty to fifty arrows according to the wealth of the owner. When they come in sight of their game, they quit the )iorses on which they have ridden, mount those led for them, ply the whip, soon gaiu the flank or even the centre of the herd, Jind shoot their arrows into the fattest, according to their fancy. When a Buffalo has been shot, if the blood flows from the nose or mouth, he is considered mortally wounded j if not, they shoot a second or a third arrow into the wounded animal. The Buffalo, when first started by the hunters, carries his tail close • down between the legs ; but when wounded, he switches his tail about, espe- cially if intending to fight his pursuer, and it behooves the hunter to watch these movements closely, as the horse will often shy, and without due care the rider may be thrown, which when in a herd of Buffalo is almost certain death. An arrow will kill a Buffalo instantly if it takes effect in the heart, but if it does not reach the right spot, a dozen arrows will not even arrest one in his course, and of the wounded, many run out of sight and are lost to the hunter. At times the wounded Bison turns so quickly and makes such a sudden rush ujjon the huuter, that if the steed is not a good one and the rider per fectly cool, they are overtaken, the horse gored and knocked down, ana the hunter thrown off and either gored or trampled to death. But if the horse is a fleet one, and the hunter expert, the Bison is easily outrun and (hey escape. At best it may be said that this mode of Buffalo hunting is ^ -r-- BUFFALO. 49 riangcrous sport, and one requires both skill and nerve to come off success fully. The Gros Ventres, Blaekfeetand Assinaboines often take the Buffalo in large pens, usually called parks, constructed in the following manner. Two converging fences built of sticks logs and brushwood are made, leading to the mouth of a pen somewhat in the shape of a funnel. The pen itself is either square or round, according to the nature of the ground where it is to be placed, at the narrow end of the funnel, which is always on the verge of a sudden break or precipice in the prairie ten or fifteen feet deep, and is made as strong as possible. When this trap is completed, a young man very swift of foot starts at daylight, provided with a Bison's hide and head, to cover his body and head when he approaches the herd that is to be taken, on nearing which he bleats like a young Buffalo calf, and makes his way slowly towards the mouth of the converging fences leading to the pen. He repeats this cry at intervals, the Buffaloes follow the decoy, and a dozen or move of mounted Indians at some distance behind the herd gallop from one side to the other on both their flanks, urging them by this means to enter the funnel, which having done, a crowd of men wo- men and children come and assist in frightening them, and as soon as they have fairly entered the road to the pen beneath the precipice, the disguised Indian, still bleating occasionally, runs to the edge of the precipice, quickly descends, and makes his escape, climbing over the barricade or fence of the pen beneath, while the herd follow on till the leader (probably an old bull) is forced to leap down into the pen, and is followed by the whole herd, which is thus ensnared, and easily destroyed even by the women and children, as there is no means of escape for them. This method of capturing the Bison is especially resorted to in October and November, as the hide is at that season in good condition and saleable, and the meat can be preserved for the winter supply. When the Indians have thus driven a herd of Buffalo into a pen, the warriors all assemble by the side of the enclosure, the pipe is lighted, and the chiefs smoke to the honour of the Great Spirit, to the four points of the compass, and to the herd of Bisons. As soon as this ceremony has ended, the destruction com- mences, guns are fired and arrows shot from every direction at the devot- ed animals, and the whole herd is slaughtered before the Indians enter the space where the Buffaloes have become their victims. Even the children shoot tiny arrows at them when thus captured, and try the strength of theii young arms upon them. It sometimes happens, however, that the leader of the herd becomes alarm ed and restless while driving to the precipice, and should the fence be weak, breaks through, and the whole drove follow and escape. It also some- VOL. n. — 7. If! 50 BUFFALO times occurs, that after the Bisons are in the pen, which is often so lill ed that they touch each other, the terrified crowd swaying to and fro, their weight against the fence breaks it down, and if the smallest gap is made, it is immediately widened, when they dash through and scamper off, leaving the Indians in dismay and disappointment. The side fences for the purpose of leading the Buffaloes to the pens extend a«t times nearly half a mile, and some of the pens cover two or three hun- dred yards of ground. It takes much time and labour to construct one of these great traps or snares, as the Indians sometimes have to bring timber from a considerable distance to make the fences and render them strong and efficient. The Bison has several enemies : the worst is, of course, man ; then comes the grizzly bear ; and next, the wolf. The bear follows them and succeeds in destroying a^ood many ; the wolf hunts them in packs, and commits great havoc among them, especially among the calves and the cows when calving. Many Buffaloes are killed when they are struggling in the mire on the shores of rivers where they sometimes stick fast, so that the wolves or bears can attack them to advantage ; eating out their eyes and devouring the unresisting animals by piecemeal. When we were ascending the Missouri river, the first Buffaloes were heard of near Fort Leavenworth, some having a short time before been killed within forty miles of that place. We did not, however, see any of these animals until we had passed Fort Croghan, but above this point we met with them almost daily, either floating dead on the river, or gazino- at our steamboat from the shore. Every part of the Bison is useful to the Indians, and their method of making boats, by stretching the raw hide over a sort of bowl-shaped frame work, is well known. These boats are generally made by the wo- men, and we saw some of them at the Mandan village. The horns are made into drinking vessels, ladles, and spoons. The skins form a good bed, or admirable covering from the cold, and the flesh is excellent food, whether fresh or dried or made into pemmican ; the fat is reduced and put up in bladdnrs, and in some caset. used for frv'ng fish, &c. The hide of the Buffalo is tanned or dressed altogether by the women, or squaws, and the children ; the process is as follows : The skin is first hung on a post, and all the adhering flesh taken off with a bone, toothed somewhat like a saw; this is performed by scraping the skin dov/n- wards, and requires considerable labour. The hide is then stretched on the ground and fastened down with pegs ; it is then allowed to remain till dry, which is usually the case in a day or two. After it is dry- thc flesh side is pared down with the blade of <» knife fastened in a BUFFALO. 51 bone, called a grate, which renders the skin even and takes off about a quarter of its thickness. The hair is taken off with the same instrument and these operations being pcribrmed, and the skin reduced to a proper thickness, it is covered over cither with brains, liver or grease, and left for a night. The next day the skin is rubbed and scraped either in the sun or by a fire, until the greasy matter has been worked into it, and it is nearly dry ; then a cord is fastened to two poles and over this the skin is thrown, and pulled, rubbed and worked until quite dry ; after which it is sewed to- gether around the edges excepting at one end ; a smoke is made with rot- ten wood in a hole dug in the earth, and the skin is suspended over it, on sticks set up like a tripod, and thoroughly smoked, which completes the tan- ning and renders the skin able to bear wet without losing its softness or pliability afterwards. Buffalo robes are dressed in the same manner, only that the hair is not removed and they are not smoked. They are generally divided into two parts : a strip is taken from each half on the back of the skin where the hump was, and the two halves, or sides, are sewed together after they are dressed, with thread made of the sinews of the animal ; which process be- ing finished, the robe is complete and ready for market The scrapings of the skins, we were informed, are sometimes boiled with berries, and make a kind of jelly which is considered good food in some cases by the Indians. The strips cut off from the skins are sewed togeth- er and make robes for the children, or caps, mittens, shoes, «kc. The bones are pounded fine with a large stone and boiled, the grease which rises to the top is skimmed off and put into bladders. This is the favourite and famous marrow grease, which is equal to butter. The sinews are used for stringing their bows, and are a substitute for thread ; the intestines are eaten, the shoulder-blades made into hoes, and in fact (as Wd have al- ready stated) nothing is lost or wasted, but every portion of the animal, by the skill and industry of the Indians, is rendered useful. Balls are found in the stomach of the Buffalo, as in our common domes- tic cattle. Having heard frequent discussions respecting the breeding of the Bison in a domesticated state, and knowing that Robert Wickliffe, Esq., of Ken tucky, had raised some of these animals, we requested his son, then on his way to Europe, to ask that gentleman to give us some account of their ha- bits under his care, and shortly afterwards received a letter from him, da- ted Lexington Nov. Oth, 1843, in which he gives an interesting account of the Bison breeding with the common cow, and other particulars con- nected with this animal. After expressing his desire to comply with our request intimated to him by his son, he proceeds to give us the following I :i| ! ' ; i 1 ':•: r)2 BUFFALO. I' information : "as far," he writes, " as his limited know^f tl^eofnatural history uiul his attention to these nninials .vill permit him to do." He proceeds: 'The herd orBiitihlo I iiowpossess havedeseeiid<'d from oncor twocows that I purchased Iroin a niiin who broujilit them I'roin the country called the Up- ]ier Missouri ; I have had them lor about thirty years, hut Irom giviny them away and the occasional killing ol' them by mischievous persons, as well as other causes, my whole stock at this time does not exceed tenor twelve. 1 have sometimes conlined them in separate parks I'rorn other cattle, but generally they herd and feed with my stock of farm cattle. They graze in coinpany with them as gently as the others. The Buifalo cows, I think, go with young about the same time the common cow does, and produce once a year ; none of mine have ever had more than one at a birth. The approach of the sexes is similar to that of the common bull and cow under similar circumstances at all times when the cow is in heat, a period which seems, as with the common cow, confined neither to day, nor night, nor any particular season, and the cows bring ibrth their young of course at dilferent times iind seasons of the year, the same as our domesticated cattle. I do not find my Bufl'aloes more i'urious or wild than the common cattle of the same age that graze with them. "Although the Bufl'alo, like the domestic cow, brings fonh its young at different seasons of the year, this I attribute « "le eifect of domestication, as it is different with all animals in a state of nature. I have always heard their time for calving in our latitude w\as from March until .Tuly, and it is very obviously the season which nature assigns lor the increase of both races, as most of my calves were from the Buffaloes and conmion cows at this season. On getting possession of the tame Buifalo, I endeavoured to cross them as much as I could with my common cows, to which experi- ment I found the tame or conmion bull unwilling to accede, and he was al- ways shy of a Buffalo cow, but the Buifalo bull was willing to breed with the connnon cow. " From the domestic cow I have several half breeds, one of which was h heifer ; this I jiut with a domestic bull, and it produced ahull calf. This I castrated, and it made a very fine steer, and when kilh>d produced very fine beef. I bred from the same heifer several calves, and then, that the experi- ment might be perfect, I put one of them to the Buffalo bull, and she brought me ahull calf which I raised to be a very fim^ large animal, per- Iifips the only one to be met with in the world of his blood, viz., a three quar- ter, half (juarter, and half (luarter of the common blood. After makin" these experiments, 1 have left them to propagate their breed themselves, so that I have only had a few half breeds, and tliey always prove the same, even bv a Buffalo bull. The full blood is not as large as the improved BUFFALO. £8 stock, but as large as the ordinary cattle of the country. The crossed or half blood are larger than either the Buffalo or common cow. The hump brisket, ribs and tongue of the full and half blooded are prclerable to thosu ol the common beef, but the round and other parts arc nmch inferior. The udder or bag of the Buffalo is smaller than that of the common cow, but 1 have allowed the calves of both to run with their dams upon the same pas- ture, and those of the Buffalo were always the fattest ; and old hunters have told me, that when a young Buffalo calf is taken, it recjuires the mijk of two common cows to raise it. Of this I have no doubt, having received the same information from hunters of the greatest veracity. The bag or ud- der of the half breed is larger than that of full blooded animals, and they would, I have no doubt, make good milkers. " The wool of the wild Buffalo grows on their descendants when domesti- cated, but I thiidc they have less of wool than their progenitors. The do- mesticated Buffalo still retains the grunt of the wild animal, and is incapa- ble of making any other noise, and they still observe the habit of having select places within their feeding grounds to wallow in. " The Buffalo has a much deeper shoulder than the tame ox, but is light- er behind, lie walks more actively than the latter, and I think has more strength than a common ox of the same weight. I have broke them to the yoke, and found them capable of making excellent oxen ; and for draw- ing wagons, carts, or other heavily laden vehicles on long journeys, they would, I think, be greatly preferable to the common ox. I have as yet had no opportunity of testing the longevity of the Buffalo, as all mine that have died, did so from accident or were killed because they became aged. I have some cows that are nearly twenty years old, that are healthy and vigorous, and one of them has now a sucking calf. " The young Buffalo calf is of a sandy red or rufous colour, and com- mences changing to a dark brown at about six months old, which last colour it always retains. The mixed breeds are of various colours ; I have had them striped with black, on a gray ground like the zebra, some of them brindled red, some pure red with white faces, and others red without any markings of white. The mixed bloods have not only produced in my stock from the tame and the Buffalo bull, but I have seen the half bloods repro- ducing ; viz. : those that were the product of the common eovv and wild Buffalo bull. I was informed that at the first settlement of the country, cows that were considered the best for milking, were from the half blood, down to the quarter, and even eighth of the Buffalo biood. But my experi- ments have not satisfied me that the half Buffalo bull will prosluce again. That the half breed heifer will be productive I'rom either race, as I have before atated, I have tested bej'ond the possibility of a doubt. 54 BUFFALO. "The domesticated BufTalo retains the same haughty bearing that dis- tinguishes him in his natural state, lie will, however, feed or fatten on whatever suits the tame cow, and requires about the same amount of food. I have never milked either the full blood or mixed breed, but have no doubt they might be made good milkers, although .' <'ir bags or udders are less I ban those of the common cow; yet from the Htrength of the calf, the dam must yield as much or even more milk than the conuiion cow." Since reading the above letter, we recollect tha* tlie Buffalo calves that wert> kept at Fort Union, though well fed every day, were in the habit of su(!king each other's ears for hours together. There exists a singular variety of the Bison, which is however ve-y scarce, and the skin of which is called by both the hunters and I'ur traders fi " l)caver robe." These are valued so highly that some have sold for more than three hundred dollars. Of this variety Mr. Cui,- iiERTsoN had the goodness to ])resent us with n superb specimen, which we had lined with cloth, and find a most excellent del'ence against the cold, whilst driving in our wagon during the severity of our northern winters. GEOGRAPIIICAL DISTRIBUTION. I The range of the l]ison is still very extensive ; but although it was once met with on the Atlantic coast, it has, like many others, receded and gone west and south, driven onward by the march of civilization and the advance of the axe and plough. His habits, as we have seen, are migrator,, iv.u the extreme northern and southern limits of the wan- dering herds not exactly defined. Authors state, that at the time of the first settlement of Canada it was not known in that country, and Sagabd TiiEODAT mentions having heard that bulls existed in the far west, but saw none himself According to Dr. Uichardsom, Great Slave Lake, latitude 00°, was at one time the northern boundary of their range; but of late years, according to the Ic^stimony of the natives, they have taken possession of the flat limestone district of Slave Point on the north side ot' that lake, and have wandered to the vicinity of Great Marten Lake, in Latitude 03° or 04°. The Bison was not known formerly to the north of the Columbia river on the Pacific coast, and Lewis and Ci.ARK foniui Btillalo robes were an important article of traffic between the inhabit.'mts of the east side and those w^est of the Iloeky mountains. The Bison is spoken of by Hernandez as being found in New Spain or Mexico, and it probably extended farther south. Lawson speaks of BUFFALO. 65 two Buffalops that, were killed in one sea^■.<)n on Cape Fear river, In North Carolina. The Bison formerly existed in South Carolina on the seaboard, and we wore informed that from the last herd seen in that State two we ; kill.id in the vicinity of Columbia. It thus appears that at one period this animal ranged over nearly the whole of North America. At the present time, the Buiraio is found in vast herds i.i some of the great prairies, and scattered more sparsely nearly over the whole length and breadth of the valleys east and .vest that adjoin the Rocky Moun- tain chain Ki- 56 PUTOIIIUS ERMINEA.— Linn White Weasel. — Stoat. PLATE LIX— Male and Fbmale in summer peliige. P Hycmc alba ; aistate supra rutila, infra alba caudae apice nigro. CHARACTERS. White, in winter ; in summer, brown above, white beneath ; tip of the tail, black. H « « tl SYIiONyMES. MusTELA Erminea, Briss. R^gne An., p. 243, 2. " Linn., Syst. Nat., 12. i., p. 08. 7. " Schrch., Stiugtli., p. 4i»0, 11 t. 137. " " Er.xlobon Syst., p. 474, 13. ViVEKA EuMiNEA, Sliiiw, Gen. Zool., i., 2 p. 4i;C t. 9!>. " " Pcnniint, Arctic Zooloiry, i., p. 7;,, Hermine, Buffon, C. C, p. 240, t. MusTELA Erminea, Parry's First Voyage, Sup. 135. " " Parry's Second Voy., App. 294. " Franlvlin's Fir.'^t Journey, p. 052. Godman, Ame. Nat. Hist., vol. i., p. 103, fig. 1. " Harlan, p. 02. PuTORius N0VEBORACEN8IS, Dekay, Nat. Hist. New-Yorl;, p. 36. description. Body, long and .slender, with a convex nose and forehead ; limbs, short, and rather stout ; tail, long and cylindrical ; moustaches, long, extending beyond the ears; ears, low, br.)ad and round, do not entirely surround the auditory opening, sparingly covered with short hairs on both surfaces. There are five toes on each foot, the inner toe much the shortest ; the toes are clothed with hairs, covering the nails ; fur, soft and short ; tail, hnir)-, and bushy at the end. There are two glands situated on each side ofthe under surface ofthe tail, which contain an offensive white muskv fluid. WHITE WEASEL •5? COLOUR. In winter, in fl.e latitude of Pennsylvania and Now- York, a 1 iho hairs are snowy white Iron. th,> roots, exeept those on the end of the tail, which forahout one and three-fourth inches is black. We received specimens irom Vn-ginia obtained in Jaiiuary, in which the colours on the back had inirtcr- poiH! no chanfT.', and re.nain.ul brown ; rtnd from the upper and michlle iis- tricls of South Carolina kilh-.l at the same period, when no change had taken place, and it was stated that this, the only species of Weasel touted theie remaine.1 brown through the whole year. These specimens are now in our' possession, and we have arrived at the conclusion that the farther South wo Jidv,in.;e, (he less perfect is the chan-e from brown to white. We hive spe- cimens from Lonj? Island, obtained in winter, which retain shades of brown on the head and dorsal line. Those liom the valleys of the Vir^-inia mountains have broad stripes of brown on Ihe back, and specimens Irom Ab- bcnilh; and I.exington, S. Carolina, have not undergone the slightest change. We wore informed by our friend Mr. BRoMPiELn an eminent botanist of England, that in the Isle of Wight, the place of his residence, the Ermine underwent only a partial change in winter. In summei, the upper surlace of the body is of a chesnut-browii colour, a little darker on th.; dorsal line ; under surface, the upper lips to the nose, chin, throat, inner surfr.ces of legs, and belly, whice ; the line sepa- rating the colour ofthe back from that on the under surface, is very dis- tinct, but irregular, and in some specimens, the white on the belly extends further up along the sides than in others. Whiskers white and black j the former preponderating: end of tail, as in winter, black. DIMENSIONS. Old male. Nose to root of tail, - - . . Tail (vertebnr), - - . . . " to end of hair, .... Breadth between the ears, ... Length of head. .... Stretch of legs from end, to end of claws, Length of hind foot, to end of nails, " lore-foot, to " » Black tip of tail, - - . . VOL II. — S InehiM, 7 1* 14 14 3 b IHi I* ' 1 1 ' 11 ^',(« 58 WHITE WEASEL. » IfADITS. The name of Ermine is associated with the pride of state and Inxurj' its fur liaving from lime immemorial been the favourite ornament of the robes of princes, judges and prelates. From its snowy whiteness it is emblematic of the purity which they ought to possess. To us the Ermine, in its winter dress, has always appeared strikingly beautiful. On a wintry day, when the earth was covered with a broad sheet of snow, our attention has sometimes been arrested by this little ani- mal peering out from a log heap, or the crevices of a stone fence ; its eyes in certain sh:ides of light appearing like sapphires, its colour vicing in white- ness and brilliancy with the snowy mantle of the surrounding landscape. Graceful in form, rapid in his movements, and of untiring industry, he is withal a brave and fearless little fellow; conscious of security within the windings of his retreat among the logs, or heap of stones, he permits us to approach him to within a few feet, then suddenly with- draws his head ; we remain still lor a moment, and he once more re- turns to his post of observation, watching curiously our every motion, seeming willing to claim association so long as we abstain from becoming his persecutor. Yet with all these external attractions, this little Weasel is fierce and bloodthirsty, possessing an intuitive propensity to destroy every animaJ and bird within its reach, some of which, such as the American rabbit, the ruded grouse, and domestic fowl, are ten times its own size. It is u notorious and hated depredator of the poultry house, and we have known forty well grown fowls to have been killed in on<; night by a single Er- mine. Satiated with the blood of probablj- a single fowl, the rest, like the flock slaughtered by the wolf in thr; shcepfold, were destroyed in obe- dience to a law of nature, an instinctive propniisify to kill. We have traced the footsteps of this bloodsucking little animal on the snow, pur- suing the trail of the American rabbit, and although it could not overtake its prey by superior speed, yet the timid hare soon took refug<' in the hoi low of a tree, or in a hole dug by the marmot, or skunk. Thither it was pursued by the Ermine, and destroyed, the skin and other remains at the mouth of the burrow bearing evidence of the fact. W<' observed an Er- mine, after liiivinn' captured a hare of the above spcM-ies, first behead it and then drag the body some twenty yards over the fresh fallen snow, be- neath whi(-h it w;is coneeah'd, and the snow tiiihtly pressed over it; the little prowler displaying thereby a habit of which we became aware for the first time on that occasion. To .avoid a dog that was in close pursuit, 1^?^ WmTE WEASEl.. o9 .t mounted a tree and kid itself flat on a limb '^bout twenty x''eet from the ground, from which it was finally shot. We have ascertained by successful expcrirnonts, repeated more than a hundred times, that the Ermine can be employed, in the manner of the ferret of Europe, in driving our American ral)l)it from the burrow into which it has retreat- ed. In one instance, the Ermine employed had been captured only a few days before, and its canine teeth were filed in order to prevent its destroying the rabbit ; a cord was placed around its neck to secure its return. It pursued fhe hare tlirough all the windings of its burrow and forced it to the moutli, where it could be taken in a net, or by the hand. In winter, after a snow storm, the rufi'ed grouse has a habit of plunging into the loose snow where it remains at times lor one or two days. In this passive state the Ermine sometimes detects and de- .stroys it. In an unsuccessful attempt at domesticating this grouse by fastening its feet to a board in the mode adopted with the stool pigeon, and placing it high on a shelf, an Ermine which we had kept as a i)ct,' I'oinid its way by the curtains of the window and put an end to our experiment by eating off the head of our grouse. Notwithstanding all these mischievous .and destructive habits, it is doubtful whether the Ermine is not rather a benefactor than an enemy to the farmer, ridding his granaries and fields of many depredators on the product of his labour, that would devour ten times the value of the poultry and eggs which, at long and uncertain intervals, it occasionally destroys. A mission appears to have been assigned it by Providence to lessen the rapidly multiplying number of mice of various species and the smaller rodentia. The white-tooted mouse is destructive to the grains in the wheal fields ai d in the stacks, as w ell as the nurseries of fruit trees. Le Co.nte's pine-mouse is injurious io the Irish and sweet potato crops, causing more to rot by nibbling holes into them than it consumes, and Wilson's meadow-mouse lessens om- animal product of hay by f.M'ding on the grasses, and by its long and tortuous gaUeries among their roots. Wherever an Ermine has taken up its n^sidence, the mice in its vicin- ity for half a, mile round have been found rapidly to diminish in nmn- ber. Their active little enemy is able to force its thin vermiform body into the burrows, it tollows them to the end of their galleries, and destroys whole families. We have on several occasions, r.fler a light snow, fol- lowed the trail of this weasel thnuigh li.-lds and .uendows, and witnessed the immense destruction which it occasioned ir. a shigle night. It enters every hole under stumps, logs, stone heaps j-nd fences, and evidences of its bloody deeds are seen in the mutilated rcm.ains nf the mice scattered I •■ > I bO WHITE WEASEK on the snow. The little chipping or ground s(,uirre!, Tamias Lysteri, takes up its residence in the vicinity of the grain fields, and is known to car- ry off in its cheek pouches vast quantities of wheat and buckwheat, to serve as winter stores. The Ermine instinctively discovers tliese snug'rc- treats, and in (he space of a few minutes destroys a whole family ol these beautiful little TniniiB ; without even resting awhile until it has con- sumed its now abundant food its appetite craving for more blood, as if impelled by an irresistible destiny it proceeds in search of other objects on which it may glut its insatiable vampire-like thirst. The Norway rat and the common house-mouse take possession of our barns, wheat stacks, and granaries, and destroy vast (juantities of grain. In some instances the farmer is reluctantly compelled to pay even more than a tithe in con- tributions towards the support of these pests. Let however an Ermine find its way into these barns and granaries, and there take up its winter resi- dence, and the havoc which is made among the rats and mice will soon be observable. The Ermine pursues them to their farthest retreats, and in a few weeks the premises are entirely free from their depredations We once placed a half domesticated Ermine in an outhouse infested with rats, shutting up the holes on the outside to prevent their escape. The little animal soon commenced his work of destruction. The squeakin" of the rats was heard throughout the day. In the evening, it came out hcking its mouth, and seeming like a hound after a long chase much fatigued. Aboard of the lloor was raised to enable us to ascer- tain the result of our experiment, and an immense number of rats were observed, which, although they had been killed on different parts of the l)uil(ling, had been dragged together, forming a compact heap. The Ermine is then of immense benefit to the farmer. We are of the opinion that it has been over-hated and too indiscriminately perse- cut(-(l. If detected in the poultry house, there is som.. excuse for de- stroying it. as, like the dog that has once been caught in the sheepH.ld, It may return to connnit farther depredations; but when it has taken up its residence under stone heaps audiences, in his fields, or his barns the farmer would consult his interest by suffering it to remain as by thus inviting it to a home, it will probably destroy more forinidable enemies, relieve him from many petty annoyances, and save him many a bushel of grain. Let us not too hastily condemn the little Ermine lor it;^ bloodthirsty propensities. It possesses well-developed canine teeth, and obeys an in'- stinet of nature. Man, with organs not so decidedly carnivorous, and possessed ol the restraining powers of reason and conscience, often com- mits a wanton havoc on the interior animal*, not so much from want of WHITE WEASEL. 61 food, as from a mere love of sport. The bufTalo and the elk he has driven across the Mississippi, and their haunts are now restricted to the prairies of the far West. Even now thousands are slaughtered for amusement, and their tongues only are used, whilst their carcasses are left to the wolves. Iln fills his g;imo bag with more woodcock, par- tridges and snipe, tlian he requires; his lishing-rod does not remain idle even after he has provided a full meal for his whole family ; and our youngsters are taught to shoot the little warbler and the sparrow as a preparatory training for the destruction of larger game. The Ermine is far from being shy in its habits. It is not easily alarmed, and becomes tolerably tame when taken young, for we have on several occasions succeeded in our attempts at domesticating it, but; it appeared to us that these pets were not quite as gentle as many ferrets that we have seen in Eurojjc. When not kept in confinement, they were apt to stray ofl' into the fields and woods, and finally be- came wild. The tracks of this species on the snow are peculiar, exhibit- ing only two footprints, placed near each other, the succeeding tracks being far removed, giving evidences of long leaps. We have frequenti} observed where it had made long galleries in the deep snow for tw(Mitv or thirty yards, and thus in going from one burrow to another, instead ot travelling over the surface, it had constructed for itself a kind of tunnel beneath. The Ermine is easily taken in any kind of trap. We have on seve- ral occasions, when observing one peeping at us from its secure hole in the wall, kept it gazing until a servant brought a box trap baited with a bird or piece of meat, which was placed within a few feet of its retreat. The Ermine, after eyeing the trap for a few moments, gradujilly approached it, then after two or three hasty springs backwirds returned stealthily into the trap, seized the bait, and was caught. We find in our note-book the following memorandum : "On the lOlh .Tune, 18 Ki, we baited a large wire trap with maize : on visiting the trap on the following day we found it had caught seven young rats and a Weasel ; the throats of the former had all been cut by the Weasel, and their blood sucked ; but what appeared strange to us, the Weasel itself was also dead. Th( .-Mts had been attracted by the bait : the Weasel went into the trap and killed them ; and whether it met its death by excessive gluttony, or from a wound inflicted by its host of enemies, we are unable to determine. This s])eoies does not appear to be very abundant any where. We have seldom found mori" than two or three on any farm in the Northern or Eastern States, We have ascertained that the immense number of tracks often seen in the snow in particuhir localities were made by a single ani- •! liil 65^ WHITE WEASEl.. Hi m mal, as by capturing one, no signs of other individuals .vere afterwards seen. We have observed it most Jibundant in stony regions : in Dutchess and Ontario counties in New-Yoriv, on the iiills of Connecticut and Ver- mont, and at the foot of the AHeghanies in Pennsylvania and Virginia. It is solitiiry in its habits. ;.s w(> have seldom seen a ]r.m togi'ther except in the rutting season. A family of yoUng, however, are aj,t"to n-main in the same locality till autumn. In winter they separate, and we are in- clined to think that they do not hunt in couples or in packs like the wolf, but that, like the bat and the mink, each individual pursues its prey with- out copartnership, and hunts ibr its own benelit. The only note we have ever heard uttere.l by the Ermine is a shrill •luerulous cry: this ^v as heard only when it was suddenly alarmed or received a hurt, when its sharp scream was always alt.Muled with' an emission of the offensive odour with which nature has furnished it a^' a means of defence. Although nocturnal in its habits, the Ermine is fre- ornings and evenings, than at mid-day. April. — t »!! |)aying our accustomed visit to our Weasel this evening, we i'ound it d' ad, which put a stop to any further observation of its habits Its measurements nro as follows : WHITE WEASEL. g^ From point of nose to end of tail, .... lyi Tail (vertebrae), --..... 5 Tail to end of hair, .-.-... g Height of ear, 1 Breadth of ear, • Fore claws and hind claws stretching out to the black hair of the tail, j^i OBOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION If, as we feel confident after having examined more than a hundred specimens from both continents, the American Ermine is identical with that of Europe, it will be found un have the widest range of any quadruped at present known. It exists in ihe colder portions of Asia, and in the temperate, as well as in all the Northern States of Europe. We have seen specimens from England and Scotland, from France, Germany, Switzer- land, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. In America, its geographical range is also very extensive. Dr. Dekav (see Fauna, N. Y., p. 37) supposes it to be a northern animal, found as far south as Pennsylvania. We agree with him in his supposition that it is a northern animal, as it is only found in the Southern States where the country is mountainous or considerably elevated. It exists in the polar re- gions of Ama-ica as far north as Franklin, Parry, UicHARDsoy, Lyon and other explorers were able to penetrate. It is found in Nova Scotia and Canada, and in all the Eastern and Northern States. We observed it along the whole chain of mountains in Virginia and North Carolina. We obtained a specimen from Abbeville in South Carolina, from our friend Dr. Barrett, a close observer and a good naturalist ; and another from Mr. Fisher, from Orangeburg District. We have ascertained that it exists in the mountains of Georgia, where we are penning this article. We saw a specimen procured by To^nsend in Oregon, and have heard of its existence in North Calif-:. ua. It is, however, not found in the maritime districts of any of the Southern States, and in Carolina and Georgia does not approach within fifty miles of the seaboard ; and even when it exists on the most elevated portions of country, it is, like the ruffed grouse in similar localities, a rare species. 11 II tit' I GENERAL REMARK8. Writers on Natural History, up to the time of Harlan, Godman and Richardson, without having instituted very close comparisons, considered VOL. 11. i ! II ee WHITE WEASEL. the spec.es existing in Asia. Europe and America, to be identical. Al a somewhat later period, however, naturalists, discovering on patient and close mv'estigation that nearly all our species of quadrupeds as well as birds differed from the closely allied species on the eastern continent began to doubt the identity of the Ermine existing in Europe and Ameri-' ca. We have been unable to ascertai.i whether these doubts ori-^i- nated from any difference in specimens from these countries, or from% bel.ef that so small an animal could scarcely be found on both con- tments, and thus prove an exception to a general rule. We admit that were an animal restricted to the temperate climates on cither continent and not found in the polar regions, there would be a strong presump-' tive argument against the identity of closely allied species existing in Europe and America. The Ennlne of the eastern continent is known to exist where the two continents nearly approach each other, perhaps occasmnally have been united by a solid bridge of ice, and probably may be so again during some of the coldest seasons of the polar winters aPd being capable of travelling on the snow, and resisting the severest cold, this animal is fully able to cross from one continent to the other, like the white bear, or Arctic fox, species which are admitted as Identical on both continents. Our species, moreover, is kn ^n to exist equally far north, and has been traced nearer to the poles than even the musk-ox. We observed, in the Museum of the Zoological Society, that the speci- men brought by Richardson was regarded as a new species by C. L Bonaparte, Esq., (now Prince of Muisignano.) In the recent work of Dr. Dekav, we perceive it has been described as a new specie^ under the Uixme of Putorius Novcboracensis. In a spirit of great fairness and candour, however, he states: " I have never seen the true Ermine in its summer dress, and only know it from Pennant's description : ears edged with white ; head, back, sides and legs, pale taw- ny brown; under side of the body white; lower part of the tail brown end black." The only point of difference, then, is in the ears .nlged with white. Pennant's specimen unquestionably was obtained at the period of time when the animal had only partially changed colour, as in all these cases the specimens before us, both from Europe and America, have Iheir ears edged with white. We have compared a great number of spe- cimens from both continents, and have several of each lying before us ; the edges of the ears in summer colour are all brown, and neither in size, den tition, nor colour, can we observe a shade of diffirence. Li m 1 m 1 ■i - 1 A.L i'iiiL(< l.\lll I! S iV. .■'Kini- IwWK llil-ticork ( /-.///(/r / , ///,f/- ////,//,, r ''wwi; 'i\- is an easy prev: or, on a warm d^y, a snake, called the " Wiitcr moccasin," cm-led up in his way, might swallow him, "t.'til and all." Hut good fun it nuist be to see the sportsman following in pursuit, splashing and floundering through the water, sometimes half-leg deej), and at others only up to the ankles, but stumbling occasionally, and n)aking the "water fly;" 70 ORANGE-BELUED S(iUIRREL so that when he has a chance to pull trigger, he is certain to snap both barrels ! Of the breeding of this species we know nothing, nor can we say more of its habits, which are yet to be farther investigated. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. We have not heard of the occurrence of this species farther north than Louisiana, and think it probable its range will be found to ex- fend west and south of that state into Teixas, and perhaps Mexico. 71 PUTOEIUS FRENATA.-LioiEr. Bridled Weasel. PLATE LX.— Males. P. magnitudine P. erminefB, supra fulvus, infra ex flavicante alDU8 • naso, dorso, majore capitis parte, auribusque nigris; macula inter aures et vitta frontali albis. CHARACTERS. Size of the ermine ; none, back part of the head, and ears, black ; a white spot between the ears, and a band over the forehead, ivhite ; yellowish-brown above, yellowish-white beneath. SYNONYMS. MusTELA Fre-ata Lichtenstein. Dar.tellung neuer oder wenig bekanntcr Seluge- thiere XLIL, Tafel. Berlin, 1827-1834. " DESCRIPTION. This species in form bears a considerable resemblance to the Ermine of the more northern parts of America. It is however rather stouter, the nock shorter, the ears narrower and higher, and the tail a little longer. In its dentition it is also similar to the common weasel, being a true pw- torius, with thirty.four teeth, having only four molars on each side of the upper jaw, and five beneath, whilst the genus Mustela is characterized by having thirty-eight teeth, five on each side of the upper jaw, and six beneath. The ears and tail are clothed with hair, the fur is a little shorter and slightly coarser than that of the Ermine. COLOUR. Moustaches, ears on both urfaces, nose, and around the eyes black • a broa.l band of white rises in the forehead above the nose, extending aroun.1 the head between the eyes and ears, reaching the neck and throat .neluilinsi the .-hin, the colours of which as well as the inner surfaces of the l«re.|egs are white ; there is also a white spot on the back of the head between the ears. The colour is dark brownish !!!a<^k from the 72 DRIDLED WRASEL. neck, reaching the white bund on the forehead, where the lines of scptb ration are distinctly but irregularly j)reserved. On the under surface from the chest fo the tail including tlu^ inner surface of the thighs, a light fawn colour; tail, the colour of the back till within an inch of the tip, where it gradually darkens into black. The black at the end of the tail id not only shorter but less distinct than the corresponding parts on the ermine in summer colour. 'J'lie colour of the l)ack and outer surfaces of the legs is light yel- lowish brown, gradually darkening on the neck till it reaches and blends with the dark brown colours on the hind head. DIMENSIONS. From point of nose to root of tail, Tail (vertebra'), Do. to end of hair, ... Height of ear, ... Breadth of skull, ... From heel to end of longest nail, Incbaa. 11 ft 6 H 1? HABITS. We have personally no knowledge of the habits of this rare and com- paratively new species. The specimen from which Dr. Liciitknstkin made his description and figur(>, was obtiiined by F. DnnTE, Fisq., in the vicinity of the city of INTexico, where the animal was indiscriminately called Conifidrrja, Oroinilo and Omito. He was unable fo collect n?i\ inlbrmation in regard to its liabits. The specimen from which our de- scription and figure were mad(\ was ca])tured by Mr. .Tohn K. Town- send. We conversed with an American olUcer, who inlbrmed us that he h.ad occasionally seen it near iMonterey in Mexico, that it there bore no b(^tter character than its congener the Ermine in the more northern parts of America; that it was destructive to poultry and eggs, and very com- monly took up its residence in the outhouses on plantations, and under such circumstances was regarded as a great nuisance. Fortunately lor them, the species was considered as (]uite rare in the northern M^rifi of Mexico, as the Mexican who pointed out this animal to our oflici r stated, this was the first CoiiKKlnja he had seen in five years. <;l'.0(iHM'HH.'AI, IM.srHUIl TION. As we have not heard ot' llie existence of our Ermine in Mexico, we are inclined to the belief that this species takes the place of the BIIIDIJII) WKAWEL. 78 Eniimc ill Ukj Soulli, uiid that, willi similar roviiifj; and predacious habits it lias a more i-xtnid.-d Kcogiaphioal rari^'e than is at present known. The field of natnral history in Texas, Caliibini.i, and Mexico, has l)..,-n as yet very iiuperlectly explored. We have (.niy heard of the llridled W(N-iscl as l)einj,' fouiid in Cour widely separated localities— in Texas bt^tweeii the Colorado and liio Grande, in iMexico in the vicini- ty oC the capital, and in thi; northern parts near Monterey, and in the valh^ys of the n)oui;tains south-west oC that city. (JENERAL REMARKS. In ooin|)arin« this sin^'ularly marked species with others from the Kast(;rn and VVesteru hemispheres, we have been struck with thc^ uni- formity existing on l)oth continents in the nearly equal distribution of predacious animals, and in their close r(;semblance to each other, in size, form and habits. The badjrer in Europe {Mdcs vulgaris) L in Ameri(;a replaced by M. I.ahnnlnria. T\w. i-'.uropean Otter {Lulra vul- gari.-;) has its representative in America in our Canada otter {Lulra Canmlcnsis). The; European mink {P. lutreola) is replaced by our near- ly similar (/'. vison). The Europeaji ferret {P. furo) by our western l)laek-footed ferret {l\ nigrl/us). The ermine and common weasel of (lie north of Europe (/'. aminca) and (/>. mlgaris) by our ermine and brown weasel (/'. rrmhim) ami (P. fusca) in the Northern and Middle States of America, and tli(. Jav-i ferret (P. nudipc.s) has its represent- ative near the tropics m America in our {P. frcnnla), nearly of the same size, and wilf. simil.-.r habits. There is evidently great wisdom ill this arrang.Mnent of Providence. Countries under similar latitudes producing larg.. n.mib,-rs of the smaller rodentia, require a certain num- l)er of carnivorous animals to prevent their too rapid multiplication, which m the ai.sence of such a provision of nature would be destructive of the interests of the liusbandman. 'i ' ri! VOi,. If. -IC 74 GENUS PllOCYON.—SroRR. DENTAL FORMULA. Incisive-; Canine —; Motor — = 40 6 •— 1 6—6 Muzzlo, pointed and projecting beyond the lower jaw; ears, short .-uul oval ; tail, l)iishy, and lony;. Feet, live toed, with Htronjr nails not retrac- tile; soles of I'eet, (posterior^ naked; the species rest on the heel, but walk on the toes. Mammae, six ventral ; there is a gland on each side of the anus which secretes a slightly olTensive fluid. The generic name is derived Ironi (he Greek t^», before, and xvjit, a dog. Two species only have been noticed : one in the northern, and the other in the southern parts of North America. P R C) C Y O N L O T O R.— Linn. Raccoon. PLATE LXI.— Male and Young. P. corpore supra canescente plus minus in nigrum vevgentc, infra, au- riculis pedibusque alhicantihus ; facie albida, fascia sub oculari obliqua nigra, cauda rufescente annulis 4-5 nigris. CHARACTERS. Body above, grayish mixed irith hiarh ; cars, and hcneafh, wki/ish ; a hliirh patch across the eye. Tail with 4 or 5 annulations of black and gray. SYNONVMES. AuKCON, Smith's Voyages, xiii., p. 31. Ukscs Lotoh, Linn., 12th ed., p. 7(). Er.xlrlKMi, Syst., p. l(ir)-4. Schreber Siiugth,, p. 521, 3 t. 143. Lk Raton, Bufl'on. vol. viii., p. ji. .'!;i7, t. xliii. RACCOON. Y5 Raccoon Bear, Pennant's Arct. Zool., vol. i., p. 69. PnocYON LoTOu, Cuv., Rrgne Animal, vol. i., p. U3. " " Siibine, Jotinifil, p. G49. " Hiirliin, p. 53. " " Godman, vol. i., p. ,5.'). " " Dekay, New- York Fauna, p. 20. PuocYON NiVEA, Gray, Magazine of Nat. Hist., vol. i., 18.37, p. r)80. DESCRIPTION. The body is rather stout, the legs of moderate length, and the appear- ance of the animal would indicate that although he is not intended for great speed, he is still by his compact and well org.anized structure, his strong and muscular limbs and short and stout claw.s, capable of a tolera- bly rapid race, and is able to climb, although not with the agility of the scpiin-el, still with greater alacrity than his near relative the bear. Head, rather round nose, tapering, sharp, and the snout moveable; point oCihe nose, naked ; eyes, round, and of moderate size : moustaches, H'W, very rigid, resembling bristles, extending to the chin ; ears, low, erect. ellil)lical, with their tips much rounded, clothed with hair on both sides ; on the inner surface the hairs are longer and less dense ; tail, of moderate length and bushy. In its feet the Raccoon is partially plantigrade, hence it was classed by Linn^mjs among the bears, under the genus (Irs us ; soles of feet, naked. When it sits, it often brings the whole, hind sole to the ground, resting in the manner of the bear. The canine teeth are large -•ind extend beyond the lips. The nails are strong, hooked and sharp, not covered with hair. The body is densely clothed with two kinds of hair ; tlH! outer and longer, long and coarse ; the inner, .sorter and more like wool. COLOUR. Point of nose, and soles of feet, black ; nails, dark brown ; moustaches, nearly all white ; ear.^ lips, above the snout and chin, dingy white ; above the eyes, and around the forehead, light gray. A dark brown patch ex- tends from each side of tiie neck and passes the eyes, over the nose nearly reaching the snout, and gradually fading on the loreliead into the colours of the hack ; eyes, black ; the longer liairs on the back are dark brown at the roots, tliiMi yello^\■ish-white for half their length, iiiid are broadly tijtped with black; the softer fur benealli, pale brown throughout the wliole body; on tlu; sides and belly, the longer hairs are diiigv white from the roots ; t lie tail has about six distinct black rings, and is tipped with black; these rings alternate with five light yellowish-brown un- nulations. 7e RACCOON. DIMENSIONS. nid male, received from Dr. John Wright. Nose to anterior canthus, " " corner of mouth, *' " root of ear, " " " of tail. Tail, (vertebra^), .... " to end of hair, - - . , Length of head, - . . , Breadth of head, - . . . Weight, 22 lbs. lachoo. 2«)i 8 91 ^ HABITS. The Raccoon is a cunning animal, is easily tamed, and makes a plea- sant monkey-like pet. It is quite dexterous in the use of its fore-feet, and will amble after its master in the m;inner of a bear, and even lollow him into the streets. It is fond of eggs, and devours them raw or cooked wiih avidity, but prefers them raw of course, and if it finds a nest will feast on them morninff, noon and night without being satiated. It will adroitiv pick its keeper's pockets of anything it likes to eat, and is alw.tys on flif watch for dainties. The habits of the muscles (iiiiios) that inhabit our fresh water rivers are better known to tlii. Raccoon tlian to most cone ,oI- ogists, and their flavour is as highly relished by this animal as is that of the best bowl of clam soup by the epicure in that condiment. Reing an expert climber, the Raccoon ascends trees with facility and frequently invades tlie nest of th( woodpecker, although it may be secure against ordinary thieves, by means of his fore-feet getting hold of the eirgs or the younir birds. He watches too the sol't-shelled turtle when she is about to deposit her eggs, for which purpose she leaves the wat(>r and crawlinii- on to the white sand-bar, di-rs a hole and places them under- neath the heated surface. Quickly does the rogue dig up the elastic ova although ever so carefully covered, and appropriate them to his own use notwithstanding the efforts of the luckless turtle to conceal them. Sometimes, by the margin of a pond, shrouded, or crouched amonir tall reeds and -rasses. Grimalkii.-iike. the Raceoon lies still as death, waitiu" with patii nee for some ill-fated duck that may come within his reaeh. No negro on a pJantalion knows witli more aeeiu-acy when the corn (maize) is juicy and ready for the connoisseur in roastinsr ears, and he does not require the aid of fire to improve (ts flavour, but attacks if mor,' RACCOON. 77 voraciously (han the squirrel or the blackbird, and is the last to quit iho cornfield. The favourite resorts of tlio Raccoon are retired swampy lands well covered with lofty trees, and throu-h which are small water-courses. In such places its tracks may be seen lollowin- the margins of the bayous and creeks, which it occasionally crosses in search ol' frogs and nuiscles which are found on their banks. It also follows the margins of rivers for the same purpose, and is dexterous in getting at the shell-fish, notwith- standing the hardness of the siliceous covering witli wlncii nature has provided them. In dry seasons, the re.!.;ding waters sometimes leave the mn.scles exposed to the heat of the sun, which destroys their life and causes their shells to open, leaving them accessible to the first animal or bird that approaches. In the drnary montlis of winter should you be encamped in any of the great Western forests, obii-ed by the pifil.-ss storm to remuin for some days, as we have been, you will not be un'haiikful if y,,., have a fat Raccoon suspended on a tree above your camp, for whim kept awhile, the Hesh of this species is both tender ami well-flavoured. The Raccoon when lull grown and in good condition we consider auite a handsome animal. We have often watched him with interest, can- tiously moving from one trunk to another to escap," his view. His briirht eye, however, almost invariably detect.'.l ns ere we could take aim at hiin. and he adroitly fli-d into a hollow tree and escaped from us. We once met with one of these animals whilst we were travelling on horseback from Henderson to Vinceimes, on the edge of a large praii-ie in a copse, and on approaching it ran up a small sapling from which we shook it otr with ease ; but as soon as it reached the ground it opened its mouth and made directly towards us, and looked so fierce, that drawing a pistol from our holster.s, we shot it dead when it was only a few fee't frotn us. The young are at llieir birth quite small ; (about the size of a liahl grown rat ;) some that we saw in Texas were not more; than two days old and were kept in a barrel. They uttered a plaintive cry not uidikc the wail of an infant. The Raccoon usually produces from four !o six young at a time, wlii.di are generally brought forth enrly in May, although the period of their littering varies in dilferent latitudes. When the Indian corn is ripening, the Raccoons invade the fields to feast on the rich milky grain, as w.; have just stated, and a." the stalks are too weak to bear th.; weight of these marauders, thev generally break them down with their fore-paws, tear olf the husks from the ears, and 78 RACCOON. witing season, the ut various aniii lis II the merry school- iig 1(11" his iiidultfi ncfi then munch them at their leisure. During Raccoon is not the only trespas-ser on the corn i. are attracted thither to receive their portion, iind boy .shares the feast with f hem, at the riisk of p by incurring the necessity of a physician's pi >cri|)tion th< next day. Th< havoc committed in the Western States by.yqui.rel8 and other animals is almost incalcidable, and no vigilance of the farmer can guard ;igain»t the depredations of these hungry intruders, which extenu Iron rm to farm, and even penetrate to tho.se embosomed in the foresis, vvheiu settle- ments are few and far between. The Raccoon is not strictly a nocturnal animal ; and although it gene- rally visits the corn fields at night, sometimes feeds on the green corn during the day ; we have seen it thus employed during the heat of sum- mer, and it will occasionally enter a poultry house at mid-day, and destroy many of the feathered inhabitants, contenting itself with the head and blood of the fowls it kills. The nest or lair of the Raccoon is usually made in the hollow of some broken branch of a tree When tamed, these animals are seldom induced to lie or sleep on a layer of straw. There exists a species of oy.ster in the Southern States of inferior quality which bears the name of Raccoon Oyster: it lies imbedded in masses in the shallow waters of the rivers. These oysters are covered !)>■ high tides, but are exposed at low water. On these the Uaccoons are fond of feedins, and we have on several occasions seen them on the oyster banks. We have however never had an opportunity of ascertaining by personal observalion the accuracy of a statement which we have fre- quently heard made with great confidence, viz., that the Raccoon at low tide in endeavouring to extricate these oysters from the shell, is occasion- ally caught by the foot in consequence of the closing of the valve of the shell fish, when numbers of these being clustered and indicdded together, the Raccoon cannot drag them from their bed, and the returning tide drowns him. The naturalist has many difficulties to encounter when inquiring into facts connected with his pursuit : every one acquainted with the habits of even our common species must know, that the information gained from most of those who reside near fheir localities, from their want of particular observation, is generally very limited, and probably the most mteresting knowledge gained by such queries, would be the result of a comparison cf the accounts given at different places. From the Alle- ghany mountains, thr vwamps of Louisiana, and (he marshes of Carolini^ RACCOON. 79 uad sly tricks thp i. co... procuring food. We add the tbil.nviu,. no. „„ a Ruccoou kept ibr a considerable time in a tame state or pa.iially domesticated. Whoa it first came into our possession it was about one-third grown. Bykmd treatment it soon beean.e very docih, but from its well known mischievous propensities we always kept it chained It was truly omnivorous : never relusing any thing eatable, vegetable or anmial. cooked or uncooked, all was devoured with e,,ual avidiry Of some art.cles however it seemed particularly (bad : as sugar, honey, chest- nu s, ,,h and poultry. The ...nin.al would beco.ne almost frantic when either of the two first was placed near it. but beyond its reach. No means would be left untried to obtain the dainty n.orsel. It woul.l ruer drink- ing would examine the contents to the bottom with the fore-paws s.-emin- ly expecting to find some fish or frog. If any thing was Ibui'id it w.as speedily brought to the surface and scrutinized. We have seen it throw chips, bits of china and pebbles, &c., into the pail, and then fish them out tor amusement, but never saw it put a particle of its fbod in to soak ex- cept in a few instances when it threw in hard corn, but we do not think It was for this purpose. After pla. Mg fbr a short time in the water it would commonly urinate in It and then upset the pail. We gave it a fish weighing two pounds. The Raccoon turned it in all di- rect.ons in search of a convenient point of attack. The mouth, nos^ fins ^ ent, &c., were tried. At length an opening was made at the vent, into whi..h a paw was deeply inserted ; the intestines were withdrawn and eaten with HVKlify. At the same time an attempt was made to insert the other paw into 'i».^ niout h of the fish to meet its fellow. This disposition to use the paws in concert, was shown in ahnost every action, sometimes i very icrous IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 ^ Ir lllllM £ lii 112.0 ||i8. U 111,6 'V %. O^A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WESSTER.N.Y. 14580 (7i6) 872-4503 V ■'S< ^ O 80 RACCCXJN i m manner. On giving the animal a jug, one paw would be inserted in the ajKT- ture, and a hundred twists and turns would be made to join its fellow on the outside. After devouring as much of the fish as it wished, it placed the paws on the remainder and lay down to doze, until hunger returned, watching tbp favourit« food, and growling at any animal which happened to pass near it.. By degrees this propensil} to del'end its food passed oil" and it would al- low the dog or fox to partake of it freely. We placed a half-grown fox within its reach : the Raccoon instantly grasped it with its legs and paws and commenced a close examination. It thrust its poMited nose in the ear of the tbx to the very bottom, smelling and snuffing as if determined to find out the nature of the animal. During this time it showed no dispo- sition to injure the fox. The Raccoon can scent an object for some distance .vith accuracy. We suffered ours to go loose on one occasion, when it made directly for some small marmots confined in a cage in another room. Our pet Raccoon whose habits vv-e arc relating evinced a singular pro- pensity to listen to things at a distance, ho\\^ever many persons were around him, even though he might be at the moment eating a I'rog, of which food he was very Ibnd. He would apparently hear some distant noise, then raise his head and continue listening, seeming every moment more ab- sorbed ; at last he would suddenly run and I;lde himself in his burrow. This seems to be connected with some instinct of the animal in his wild state, probably whilst sitting on a tree sunning himself, when he is in the habit of listening to hear the approach of an enemy, and then hurrying to his hole in the tree. Enjoying the hospitality of a friend one night at his plantation, the con- versation turned on the habits of animals : and m speaking of the Raccoon he mentioned that it fed on birds and rabbits generally, but in winter robbed the poultry houses. The negroes on his plantation he said kept good dogs, and relied on them tor hunting the Raccoon. VVhonever a Raccoon was about to attack the poultry house, the dogs scenting him give a shrill cry, which is the signal for his owner to com- mence the hunt. He comes out armed with an axe, with a companion or two, resolved on a Raccoon hum. The dog soon gives chase with such rapidity, that the Raccoon, hard pressed, takes to a tree. The dog, close >\i his heels, changes his whining cry while running to a shrill short sharp ')iirk. If th(! tree is small or has limbs near the ground so that it can be easily ascended, the eager hunters' climb up afier the " coon." lie per- ceives his danger, endeavours (o avoid his pursuers by ascending to thefar- 'hcst topmost branch, or the extremity of a limb ; but all his elForts are in v,un, his ri'lentless pursuers shake the limb until he is compelled toletgohi:> RACCOON. 8] hold, and he comes toppling heavily to the ground, and is instantly seized by the dogs. It frequently happens however that the trees are tall and destitute of lower branches so that they cannot be climbed without tlie risk of life or limb. The negroes survey for a few moments in the bright moon- light the tall and formidable tree that shelters the coon, grumble a little at the beast for not having saved them trouble by mounting an easier tree, and then the ringing of their axes resounds through the still woods, awakening echoes of the solitude previously disturbed only by the hooting of the owl, or the impatient barking of the dogs. In half an hour the tree, is brought to the ground and with it the Raccoon, stunned by the fall : his foes give him no time to define his position, and after a short and bloody contest with the dogs, he is despatched, and the sable hunters remunerated, —for his skin they will sell to the hatters in the nearest town, and his flesh they will hang up in a tree to freeze and furnish them with many a savoury meal. The greatest number of Raccoons, however, are killed by log-traps set with a figure of 4 trigger, and baited with a bird or squirrel, an ear of corn, or a fish : either the appetite or curiosity of these animals will entice them into a trap or entangle them m a snare. Another mode of destroying this species is by fire-hunting, which requires good shooting, as the animal only shows one eye from behind the branch of a tree, which reflecting the light of the fire-hunter's torch, shines like .-i ball of phosphorus, and is generally knocked out at twenty-five or thirty yards by a good marksman. The Raccoon, like the bear, hibernates for several months during winter in the latitude of New- York, and only occasionally and in a warm day leaves its retreat, which is found in the hollow of some large tree. We once how- evei tracked in deep snow the footsteps of a pair of this species in the northern parts of New- York, and obtained them by having the tree in which they lay concealed cut down. They had made a circle in company of about a mile, and then returned ♦:o their winter domicil. The specimen from which the large figure on our plate was taken was a remarkably fine male, and was sent to us alive by our friend, the late Dr. John Wright of Troy, New- York. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Raccoon has a very extensive geographical range. Captain Cook saw skins at Nootka Sound which were supposed to be those of the Raccoon. Dixon and Pari/fock obtained Raccoon skins from the natives of Cook'.s River in latitude 00°. It is supposed by Richardson that this animal extends IIACCOON. farther north on the shores of th^ Pacific, than it does on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. He farther states, that the Hudson's Bay Com- pany procured about one hundred skini from the southern ])arts of the fur districts as far north as Red River, latitude 50". We have not been able to trace it on the Atlantic coast farther north than Newfoundland. It is 'bund in the Eastern, Northern and Middle States, and seems to become more ibundant as we proceed southwardly. In some of the older States its num- bers have greatly diminished, in consequence of the clearing of the forests, and the incessant wars waged against it by the hunters. In South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, it is still found in great num- bers, is regarded as a nuisance to the corn fields, and is at particular sea- sons hunted at night by sportsmen and negroes. We have been informed by our friend Daniel Morrison, Esq., of Madison Springs in Georgia, that in his frequent visits to Arkansas between the Washita and Red Rivers, the Raccoons are very plentiful and are frequently seen travelling about in open day, and that many corn fields are nearly destroyed by the Raccoon and the bear. It was seen by Lewis and Clark at the rvi^h of the Columbia river. We possess several specimens obtained in Texas, and were informed by a friend, that although he had not seen it in California, he had heard of its existence in the northern parts of that State. GENERAL REMARKS. As might be expected, an occasional variety is found in this species. We possess a specimen nearly black ; another yellov/ish white, with the annulations in the tail faint and indistinct. A nest of young was found in Christ Church parish in South Carolina, two of which were of the usual colour, the other tvvo were white ; one of them was sent to us ; it was an albino, with red eyes, and all the hairs were perfectly white with the exception of Riint traces of rings on the tail. We have no doubt that a similar variety was described by Gray, under the name of Procyon nivea. We have accordingly added his name as a synonyme. Our friend Dr. Samuel George Morton of Philadelphia kept one for some time alive which was of a yellowish cream colour, and was also an albino. 83 GENUS ELAPHUS. — Grippitb DENTAL FORMULA. Incisive - : Canine — ; Molar — = 34. 0-0 «-d Horns, (existing only in the male,) round ; verj' large ; antlers termi- natin^< in a fork or in snags from a common centre, suborbital sinus j canine teeth in the male, in the upper jaw ; a muzzle. The generic na ne in derived from the Greek £A«^#(, a Stag, or Elk ; the name was applied by Pliny, Llvn^eus, and other naturalists, to designate a particular species existing in Europe, Cervus Elaphus. Three well-determined species may be arranged under this genus- one existing in Europe, one in Walhihii, (the Nepaul Stag,) and one in America. ELAPHUS CANADENSIS. — Rat. American Elk. — Wapite Deer. PLATE LXII._Male and Femaik. E. Cervus Virginianus robustior cornibus amplissimis ramosis tere- tibus, frontal ibus amplis ; cauda brevissima. Color rufescens, hieme fus cescens, uropygio flavicante stria nigra circumscripto. characters. Larger than the Virginian deer. Horns, large, not palmated, with brow antlers ; a naked space round the lachrymal opening. Tail, short. Colour yellowish brown above, a black mark extending from the angh of the mouth along the sides of the lower jaw. A broad pale yellowish spot on the buttocks. 84 ELK. BYHONYMES. Stag, Pennant, Arctic Zool., vol. i., p. 27. Wkwaskiss, Hearne, Journal, p. 360. Rkd Deer, Umfreville. Do. do. Ray, Synops. Quad., p. 84. C. SiitoNGyi.ofEFios, Schreber. Silugetiiiere, vol. ii., p. 1074, pi. 247, F. q. G. Alces Ameuicanls, Jefl'erson's Notes on Virginia, p. 77. The Elk, Lewis and Clark, vol. ii., p. 107. C. Waptite, Ijarton, Med. and Phys. Journal, vol. i., p. 36. Elk, Sniiili, Med. Reports, vol. ii., p. 157, fig. Male, Female, and Young. Cervus (Elai'iius) Canadensis, (The Wapite,) Synopsis of the Species of Mam nialia, Griffith's Cuvier, p. 776. C. Canadensis, Harlan, p. 236. Do. do. Godman, vol. ii., p. 294, fig. Male. Cervis Strongyloceros, Richardson, (The Wapite.) p. 251. Elai'hus Canadensis, Dekay, New- York Fauna, p. 118, plate 28, fig. 2. mn DESCRIPTION The Elk is of an elegant, stately and majestic form, and the wholo animal is in admirable proportion. It bears so strong a resemblance to the red deer of Europe, tliat it was for a long time regarded as a mere variety of the same species. It is, however, much larger in size, and on closer examination differs from it in many particulars. Head, of moderate size ; muzzle, broad and long, rather small, not very prominent ; ears, large ; legs, rather .stout, finely proportioned ; hoofs, rather small. From between the horns to the end of the frontal bone, beyond the nasal opening sixteen inches, length of horns following the curvature of the main branch four feet ; with all the roots three and a quarter inches, by two and a quarter thick. There are six points on each horn, irregularly dis- posed, varying in length from nine to sixteen inches, excepting one which is two and a half inches only in length. At their points the horns curve backward and upward, and are about three feet five inches :ipart, at about half the distance from their roots to the extreme tip of the longest point or main branch. The horns at the insertion are three and three-quarter inches apart from the ring or crown at their roots. In examining a number of elk horns we find a very remarkable variety no two antlers being exactly alike on the same animal. We possess one pair which has a blunt prong extending downward on the right side of the face about nine inches, whilst the corresponding prong on the opposite side ts turned upwards. The horns of this individual have five prongs on ona ELK. 8^ horn and seven on the other. The horns are longitudinally channelled most of the prongs inclining forward and upward, especially those nearest the roots of the main horn. All the horns are large and round, with brow antlers. The weight of the horns on full grown animals, as we have as- certained by weighing about a dozen of large size, is from thirty to forty five pounds. The three hindermost teeth in the upper jaw are double ; the remainder smgle. There are in the upper jaw of the male two very small canine teeth inclining forward almost on a line with the jaw. There is a short rudimentary mane on the fore-shoulder, and under the throat during the winter there are long black hairs. There is a space on the outer side of the hind legs covered by a tuft which is of an irregular oval ^hape, of about one and a half inch in length] the hairs which cover it being an inch long, lying flat and backwards, with shorter hairs extending down the leg several inches below the space. The hairs on the body generally are very coarse, rather short ; longest on the back of the ham, where the whitish patch and the black line on the latter unite. The tail, which in summer is not bushy, is thinly clothed with hair run- ning to a point. A young male has its horns which are in velvet, nearly perpendicular, running but slightly backwards to the length of fburtcn inches, where they divide into three .short prongs. ; il J.i-i,. Isifc ■ COLOUR. Male. Muzzle, nostrils, and hoofs, black ; head, dark brown ; neck, rather darker, being nearly black; on each side of the tinder jaw there is a longitudinal white patch, between which there is a large black stripe extending along the lines of the under jaw, dividing about four inches from the mout i, and continuing downward to the throat, where it unites again and is diffused in the general black colour of the tliroat and neck, leaving in its course a white space between the bone of the lower jaw] nearly as large as a man's hand. There is no light-coloured ring, or space, around the eyes as in the Euro- pean red deer, but in the present species the space arout.d the socket of Ihe eye is scarcely a shade lighter than the surrounding parts of the h-ad. Under surface of the ear, yellowish white, with a hue of dark brown on the margin; on the outer surface of the ear, there is a white patch nhout four inches in length and nearly two inches wide, covering about aih.rd of the ear, and running from near the root of the ear upwards at the lower edge ■! ;!: t m 8H ELK ii^i In the younger males the hoad, (Jicc and hack of the neck are not near- ly as d.irk as in spooimens of old animals ; the under jaw and throat how- ever as well as as|).i(<»' above the nostrils are hlack as in flie lattir. The upper and under snrfaees of hody and legs arc ii^lit brownish gray, I ho legs being rather darker than tlie body. On the rump there is u broad patch of light grayish white conuneneing nine inches a'bovc^ the root of the tail, spreading downward on each side to a point in the ham, ten inches below the tail. It is fourteen inches across oi)posite the root of the tail, (from one ham to the other,) and twenty-two inches in length from the back to the termination on the thigh or ham below the tail. This grayish white patch is bordered on the thigha by a strongly marked black space which also separates it all around, al- though less conspicuously from the general colour of the body. We have observed that in young specimens this jiale mark on the rump is less conspicuous, and in one specimen is not even perceptible, and this peculi- arity has most probably misled some of our authors in regard to the spe- cii*s. In specimens of about two years old the light but scarcely perce|)tible markings on the rump gradually change to jvmyish brown between the hind legs. In a still younger sjiecimen of a male about eighteen months old which has the horns three inches in height, (which are comi)leteIy clothed with sod brownish hairs to their summits,) there is scarcely any black on the neck, and the white on the rump is not visible. Female in summer colour. We possess this animal in a state of conlinemont : slie has like all the females of this species no horns. She bears a strong resemblance in form and colour to the male. Her neck is rather thinner and longer, and her legs and body more slender. Her eyes are mild, and she is in her dispo- sition very gentle and docile. The hair in summer is like that of the male, uniform in colour from the roots to the surface. Winter colour. Hoth males and females in winter assume a very heavy coat of dark gray hair all over the body. These hairs are about two and a half inches to three long and are moderately coarse and strong. When examined separately they have a wavy or crimped appearance. The white patch on the rump is strongly developed m contrast with the dark iron-gray colour of the winter coat. At this season the male has a i-emarkable growth of hairs on the throat as well as on the back of the neck, which increase considerably in length, so that the latter Tiight easily be mistaken for the rudiment of a mane. ELK. 8Y DiMENHIUNB. Adult male (Ivilled on the Upper Missouri River). From nose to root of tail, Leiiylh of tail, " ofoye, - . . . From tip of nose to root of ear, L(!njj;th of ear, lloi^'lit to .shoulders, iluiiip, Girth l)ack of fore-legs. Fast. 7 0 0 1 0 4 6 5 iDohci, ll 8 y* 10 a 6* I ho fomales we measured were rather smaller than the above : one I^>1 <'d on the Yellow Stone Uiver measured seven feet six an.l a half u.ch,.s from no.se to root of tail, and four feet seven inches from top of shoulder to the ground. HABITS. On our plate we have represented a pair of Elks in the foreground of aprMTie scene, with a group of small figm-os in the distance; it gives but a famt u lea of this animal in its wild an.l glorious prairie home : Ob- serve the splendid buck, as he walks lightly, proudly, and gracefully along, t ,s the season of love : his head is raised above the willows bor- denng the large sand-bar on the shores of the Missouri, his spreadin.. ant^lers have ac.,uired their full growth, the velvet has been rubbed off and they are hard and polished. His large amber-coloured eyes arJ bnghtened by the sun, his neck is arched, and every vein is cMstended.' He looks aroMud and snufTs the morning air with dilated no.strils : anon he stamps the earth with his fore-feet and utters a shrill erv somewhat hke the noise made by the loon. When he discovers a group of females he ra.ses h.s head, inclines it backward., and giving another trumpet-like wln.tle, dashes off to meet them, making the willows and other small trees yield and crack as he rushes by. He soon reaches the group, but proba- bly finds as large and brave a buck as himself gallanting tV- \ir objects ot h.s pursui^t, and now his eyes glow with rage and jealousy, his teeth are (.ercely champed together making a loud harsh noise, his hair stands .>rect and with the points of his immense horns lowered like the lance of a doughty knight in times of yore, he leaps towards his rival and im^ 88 J3LK. m it 4i mediately a desperate battle endues. The furious combatants sway back Wards and forwards, sideways or in circles, each struj^gling to get with in the otlitr.s point, twisting their brawny ne-ks, and writiiing as they endeavour to throw their opponent otf the ground. At length our valorous Elk triumphs and gores the other, so (hat he is worsted in the Hght, and turns ingloriously and flics, leaving the field and the females in posses- sion of the victor : for should there bo any young Elks present during such a combat, they generally run oif. The victorious buck now ranges the tangled woods or leads the does to the sand-bars or the willow-covered points along the broad stream. After a certain period, hf)vvever, he leaves them to other bucks, and to- wards the latter part of February his antlers drop off, his body is much emaciated, and iie retires to some secluded spot, where he hopes no ene- mies will discover him, as he is no longer vigorous and bold, and would dread to encounter even a single wolf. When we first settled (as it is termed) in ths State of Kentucky, some of these animals were still to be met with ; but at present we believe none are to be found within hundreds of miles of our then residence. During a journey we made through the lower part of the State, armed as usual with our double-barrelled gun, whilst passing through a heavy-timbered ',ract not far from Sinithland ;it the ose soil with iiis hoofs, j,'al!ope(l olF umoiiii th< sviUows towai'ds the river, mahiuK a clear path throu>;h the small trees and jrrass. We ran to intercept him, but were too late, and on reachinfi the bank the F,lk was already far out. in the stream, 8\vinuninK rapidly with its shoulders and part of it« back abov(! water. On the oppoHile shore there was a narrow beach, and the moment the Elk lou.'hed the bottom, it spranjj; forward and in a bound or two was out of sif^ht behind the fri'i^inK mirtfin of trees o!i the shore. This, wo are sorry to f.ay, \\,\a the only Elk we had an opportunity of lirini; at whilst on o'.ir last western expedition. The pair from which the ti>.'ure:' on our plate were taken we purcluised at Philadelphia: they had been caujrht when young in the western partoi Pennsylvania; the male was supjjosed to be four or five years old, and the female also was full j;rown. These T'jlUs were transported from IMul- adelphia to our place near New- York- and we had a capacious and hij^h enclosure made for them. Ti;e mnl«; retained much of its savage habits when at liberty, but the female was quite gentle. When she was first put in the pen, where the buck Wijs already pacing round seeking for a weak ])oint in tlie enclosure, he rushed towards her, and so terrified her that she made violent exertions to escape, and ran at full spetul with her head up and her nostrils distended, round and round, until we had the Ifi.rge box in which she had been brought up from Philadelphia p'aced in the enclosure, when she entered it as a pi, ice of refuge, and with her head towards the opening stood on her deleuce, on which the male gave u]) the pursuit, and this box was afterwards resorted to wlienever she wished to be undisturbed. We had some difiiculty in taking the bridle ofT from the head of the buck, as he kicked and pranced fiu-iously whenever anyone approached for tliat purpose, and we were forced to secure his head by ; leans of a lasso over his horr.s, and drawing him by main force to a strong post, when one of our men cut the leather with a knife. While these two Elks were kept by us they were fed on green oats, hay, Indian corn, and all such food as generally is given to the cow, excepting nrnips. which they would not touch. We found that the pair daily ate as much food as would have sufficed for two horses. They often whistled (as the hunters call this remarka- ble noise, which in calm weather can be heard nearly u mile) ; this shrill sound ippears to be produced by an almost spasmodic effort, during which ELK. 91 the animal turns its head .ipwards and then i)arltwar(I.s. While we worf outlining? thn m.I,., w •■..„ .,!.s,tv.-.I ln,„ r« dilat., .!.,, iarhrymal spac... or o|u.nin«s ...I joining the cyrs, s;. timt thry ^^■vu■ ahnoNf as wi,|,. as I„„^r Wh«-n w,. ,lnnv near \w wonhl inclin.. his h.-a.i ,si(i,.\v!,vs, .•ml hack hi. uppT lip. and show a poilion <.t his t..Mmi(. .md .'in.. wliU, which last h.. ground orfrrat.Mlu.jjHlH.r. lurni.u: his h„ad the while Cron, side to si.lo, f r.d ey.'in^' us with a i<).>k .)(• an^'ry Huspicion. Ills eyes enlarRed and his' v/hole fitfure part.xik (d'thc .x.-itciMciit he Iclt. The process of ruhhin« otl' the velvet from the horns was soon ac- ompl.she.l hy this animal ; he hc-an the moment he had h..cn taken outof liishox, fo rub .-ifrainst the small d.ig-wood and other trees that .sto..d within tl... en.-losnre. At a later period of the year we have obs,.rv,.,l the Elk ruhhin- his antl.-rs against small trees, and actinj. as if rn-aKcd in fiKht ; whether this mancruvr.. h-i performed for the p-npose o! looMMun- th,- horns, town:ds the p,.rio.I wh.-n they annually drop off we, in parliamentary Ian' . , are not i)ivpar. d \o say. Elks at tiTies con-re,:;,,*, from th., numh.M- oflifty to sev.-ral luindn.ds and in tl -se cases the whole herd follow the movements of their U-.uU-v which is -..nerally th.- lar-cst and the strongest ma!.- of the party. They all st<.p when he stops, and at tiuK-s th.'y will nil fnrn about with as nmch ord.-r an.l with far greater c.-lority than a troop ol" horse, of which, when thus seen in array, they forcibly remind us. Fromacchlentor otherwis.. great diderences exist in the formation of the antlers of the Elk, although the horns of all the American Ccrvii are so specifically .listinct as to enable the cl.,se observer to tell al- most at a glance to what species any shown to him belonged. The ease with which these animals pass, encumber.etween vines or tluck growing trees, but such cases are rare. The ma!.. Elk drops his h,n-ns in Fc n-uary or March. The one we ha.1 .lropp,.d one on tl... ninth of March, an.l ns the o(her horn hcl.i on for adayortwobnger, the animal in this situation hnd quite an awkward appearance. After th,. horns fall, the head looks sore, and sometimes f... placs Iro.n which they have been detached are tinged with blood As soon as the hug,, antlers drop off, the Elks lose their fierce and pu- nae.ous character, and the lemaie^ are n„ longer afraid of them ; whiL on the other hand, the males show thera no farther attentions whatever I 92 ELK. The young, sometimes one, but usually two m number, are brought forth in the latter end of May or June. It is stated by Godman, we know not on what authority, that when twins are produced they are generally male iird female. A friend of ours related to us some time ago the following anecdote. A gentleman in the interior of Pennsylvania who kept a pair of Elks in a large woodland pasture, was in the habit of taking pieces of broad or a few handluls of corn with him wlien he walked in the enclosure, to feed these animals, calling them up for the amusement of his friends. Having occasion to pass through his park one day, and not having provi- ded himself with bread or corn for his pets, he was followed by the buck, who expected his usual gratification : the gentleman, irritated by the per- tinacity with which he was accompanied, turned round, and picking up a small stick, hit the animal a smart blow, upon which, to his astonish- ment and alarm, the buck, lowering his head, rushed at him and made a furious pass with his horns : luckily the gentleman stumbled as he at- tempted to fly, and iell over the prostrate trunk of a tree, near which lay another log, and being able to throw his body between the two trunks, the Elk was unable to injure him, although it butted at him repeatedly and kept him prisoner for more than an hour. Not relishing this pro- ceeding, the gentleman, as soon as he escaped, gave orders lo have the unruly animal destroyed. The teeth of the Elk are much prized by the Indians to ornament their dresses ; a " queen's robe " presented to us is decorated with the teeth of fifty-six Elks. This splendid garment, which is made of antelope skins, was valued at no less than thirty horses ! The droppings of the Elk resemble those of other deer, but are much :arger. The Elk, like other deer, lie down during the middle of the day, and feed principally at er-'ly morning, and late in the evening. They drink a good deal of water. This species can be easily domesticated, as we have observed it in menageries and in parks both of Europe and America. The males, like those of the Virginian deer, as they advance in age, by their pugna cious habits are apt to become troublesome and dangerous. The Elk lives to a great age, one having been kept in the possession of the elder Peale of Philadelphia for thirteen years; we observed one in the Park oi' a nobleman in Austria that had been received from America twenty five years belbre. ELFL !);» GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRrBUTION. .lu^E k st.ll exists, .n s.nall and decreasi.., „u„,ho..s, .asr ,>C„. Mi o " and these remnants probably „,• la.^e herds would un.lonbtediv i- ,o ^.where were they not restricted to their present wild n.ounta w ^^ ^ haully accessible range, by the extensive settlements on the wel lid Mr Pka,,k of Philadelphia mentioned to us some .'ifieen vears a.., that te only region in the Atlantic States where he oonid pn.ure sp.;im'^ o the E!k was the highest and most sterile mountains in ,he , orth e of PennsylvanIJ^ w.c-e he had on several occasions gone ,o hunt ,1 Beach and \ au,;„an, two hunters in whoso statements eonli.len.-e e^uld be placed that as late as 1826, Elks were seen and killed on th >.-aneh o the Saranac. On a visit to Western A'irginia in 11 heard ol the existence of a small herd of Elk that had been kno v n ' many years to range along the high and sterile mountains a ! rndestothewestofthe Red Sulphur Springs. The herd was eo X of eight males, whose number was ascertained bv .l,eir tracks i e «now. One of these had been killed 1, a hun.er/and ,l,e num l w reduced to seven. Our inibrmant, a friend in who„. ,he hi.hest eo ; " could be placed, snpp„«ed, as all the individuals in ,|,e herd ha.l h..r ! e race would soon disappear from the mountains. As, h,.w,.ver, the mal.'s -.t certam seasons ke,.p in separate groups, we have n,. doubt there was • .undar or larger enl of .Wnales in the same range ; but the ni;:.:ri: doubtless a.mually lessening, and in all probability it will not be many years before the Elk wHl be entirely extirpated, to beyond seve a hun ■Jred miles west of the Mississippi. " WP^ Oi ELK. fo I ^r.t ' *"r "^ *' T^tc„.Rasn., does not extend its range farther to the north than the 56th or 57th parallel of latitude, nor is if found he sT^tT ' "l'"'^" ''"" ^'^ ^""'^ '^'"' «^ Lake Winnep.:: . h Saskatchewan .n the 103d degree of longitude, and from thenc till it strikes the Elk nver ,n ,he IHth degree. It is found on the western prair.es, and ranges along the eastern sides of the mountains in Texas and New Mexico It is also ibund in Oregon and California. Its mos southern geographical range still remains undetermined. GENERAI, REMARKS. with the true deer (Ce..«.v,) to which they are very closely allied in their character and habUs. As that ge^ms however has been greatly enlarged m consequence of the discovery of new species, the deer have been conve n.ently d.v,dedmto several sub-genera, of which our species is the lar- gest and most interesting among the true Elks {Elophus) The Amencan Elk, Wappite, or Stag, was for a long period consi.lered Klent.cal with the European red deer, (C. Ehrphus,) and was, we believe first treated as a distinct species by lUv. It was subsequently noticed by' Jefferson and described and figured in the Medical Repository. The dill lerence between these two species is so great that they may be distin guished at a glance. Our Elk is fully a foot higher at the shoulders than the European red stag. The common stag or red deer is of a uniform blackish brown, whilst the Elk has all its upper parts and lower jaw yel- lowish brown. It has also a black mark on the angle of the mout h which IS wanting in the other. In the European pecies the circle around the eye is white, in the American it is brown. There are other marks of dif- ference which it is unnecessary to point out, as the species are now re- garded by all naturalists as distinct. Our esteemed friend Dr. R.ctahdsc^v has applied to this species the name oi Cermts strongyloceros of Sohremer, because the figure of Perrault (Mem. sur les an. vol. 2, p. 45) did not exhibit the pale mark on the rump and he thought it not improbable that Perrault's figure was that of the black-tailed deer {Ccrvus rnacrolis). We do not believe that the latter spe- cies ever reaches the latitude where Perrault'h specimen was procured • but as we have already stated in this article, younger specimens ofou; Elk exhibit only faint traces of this pale mark on the rump, and in some they are entirely wanting. We have scarcely a doubi that Rav's de- script.onwas intended to apply to our American Elk, and we have there- fore adoj)ted his specific name. '.I w- ^ V l^.A nV ^, V l^.A nV r m ■ ,ji,. U/' LEPUS CALLOTIS.-WAOLKB. Black Tailed Hare. PLATE LXIII.-.MALB. I., magnitudine, L. glaciafem adaequans, supra flavescente fusco que varius, subtus albus; auribus pedibusque pr^longis, Cauda longa nigra. ° ' cano i 'I CHARACTERS. Size Of the polar hare ; ears and legs, very long ; tail, long and black; mottled with gray and yellowish-brown above, beneath, while. SYNONYMES. Lkpu8 Caliotih, Wagler, 1832. " ,g3^;'"'"^,^"''^^'^,^' B«7«- P'-o^^edi^g^ of the Zoological Society of London. 1 833, p. 4 1 , marked ,n tlie Catalogue of the Zoological Society, 582 LEPue ^IOKICAUDATus, Bachman. Journal of the Academy Nat. Sciences, PhUadel- plua, vol. vm., pt. 1, p. 84, an. 1839. ^nuaaei DESCRIPTION. This interesting species is similar to others composing a certain group of hares found in America, characterized by being large, and havin- very long ears, and long and slender legs and bodies, the whole form indicatinL' capacity frr long leaps and rapid locomotion. In all these characteristics Lepus Callotts approaches nearest to Townsexd's hare, {Lepus Town- sendn,) which may be considered the type of this group. COLOUR. The whole of the upper surface, fawn colour, tipped with black ; hair^ on the back, silvery gray for one-third of their length, then pale fawn then black, then fawn, tipped with black. Back of the neck, brownish black, slightly tipped with lawn. A number of hairs of unusuai len-^th (two and one-fourth inches,) and delicately interspersed along the sides •n the greatest abundance along the shoulders. These hairs are black from the base for two-thirds of their length, the remainder pale fawn • 96 BL\CK TAILED HARE I III' -f sides, and under parts of the neck, dingy pule fawn, gradually becoming white on the chest ; haunches, lcf,'s and under surface white ; the hairs on the rump annuiated with black, and near the root of the tail almost entirely black; t'le wliole of the tail on the upper surface to the extrem ity black ; on the under surface the hairs are black from the roots, slightly tipped with grayish brown. Hairs on the under surface of the feet, in some specimens red, in others a soiled yellowish-brown. Ears, posteriorly for two-thirds of their breadth black at the roots, gradually blending into fawn, and on the inner third the longitudinal line of demarcation beins? very distinct; this fawn colour is mixed with black hairs, edged at the tip with black, the remainder if the edge fawn ; the outer margin of the pos- terior surface to its apex pure white. Inner surface of the ears nearly naked, except at the outer edge, where they are clothed with short griz- zled brown hairs. Whiskers white and black, the former predominating ; chin and throat, white. The marginal line of demarcation between t.xe colour of the back and that of the under surface, is somewhat abrupt across the upper portion of the thighs, and very distinctly marked. DIMENSIONS. Length from point of nose to root oftsil, Tail (vertebra?), - - - - . " including fur, .... From heel to longest nail, - - . Head over the curve, .... From eye to nose, - . - . Ears posteriorly, .... Greatest breadth, .... InehM. 20 H 4? 1| 4f 2i HABITS. (>ur account of this species is principally derived from the journals ot T. W. Audubon, kept during his journey through pait of Texas, made for I he Durpose of procuring the animals of that State, and obtaining some knowl- edge of their habits for our present work, in 1845 and 1846, with an ex- tract from which we now present our readers. "One fine morning in January, 1845, at San Anionio de Bexar, as 1 mounted my faithful one-eyed chesnut horse, admiring his thin neck and bony legs, his delicate head and flowing flaxen tail and mane, I was saluted with a friendly good morning by Mr. Calaiian, then holding the important office of mayor of the little village ; and on his ascertainiii^ that my purpose was to have a morning hunt on the prairies and through BLACK TAILED HARE. 97 ±c chapparal, which I did day after day, he agreed lo accompany me in search of the animals I was anxiously trying to obtain, and in quest of which I rode over miles of prairie with my bridle on the knobbed pum- mel of my Texan saddle, the most comfortable saddle I have ever tried (Semg a sort of half Spanish, half English build,) my horse with his neck btretchod out and his head about on a level with his shoulders, walking between four and five miles an hour, turning to the right or to the left agreeably to the slightest movement of my body, so well was he trained leavmg both hands and eyes free, so that I could search with the latter every twig, tussock or thicket, and part the thick branches of the chap- paral of musquit, prickly holly, and other shmbs, which I am inclined to thnik quite equal to any East-Indian jungle in offering obstructions to the progress of either horse or man. Mr. Calahan having mounted, we set out, and after about an hour's hard work, occupied in crossing one of the thickest covers near the town, gamed ^he broad and nearly level prairie beyond, across which to the west we could see varied swelliiig undulations, gradually fading into the famt outline of a distant spur, perhaps of the rocky chain of mountains that m this latitude lie between the wp.ter courses flowing toward the Gulf of Mexico, and the streams that empty into the Gulf of California : so far away indeed seemed these faint blue peaks that it required but a little stretch of the imagination to fancy the plains of California but just at the other side. I was enchanted with the scene, scarcely knowing whether the brilliant fore-ground of cacti and tropica] plants, the soft indefinite dis- tance, or the clear summer blue sky, was most beautiful. My compan- ion observing my enthusiasm, warmed into praises of his adopted country he had, he >aid, fought hard for it, and exclaimed, it is a country worth fighting for ; when my reply, of whatever nature it might nave been, was prevented, and all ideas of blue mountains, vast rolling prairies, «fec., were cut short by a jackass rabbit bounding from under our horses' feet ; he was instantly followed by my worthy friend the mayofnt full speed on hi- white pony, to my great annoyance, for otherwise he would have stoppel in a hundred yards or so. Away they went, and as my friend's horse was a running nag, he doubtless expected to overtake the Hare, which had only gained about fifty yards start during our momentary surprise. The Hare, as I quickly observed, did not make much shorter leaps than the horse. I could see it at each bound appear like a jack-o'-lantern floating with the breeze over a swamp, but in less time than I have t .ken to write •his, they had ran a mile, ihe Hare doubled and was a hundred yards in advance, but could not stop and look behind, for he had such a race that he knew well no time was to be lost in gaining some bod /OL n. — 13 1. ! iitnlli ;i Ifr"^ 1 r i 08 of BLACK TAILED HARE. cactus or chappaial. Now on came both Hare and hunter, and the race was oCfhe swiftest when anotlier double caused the rider tc pull up with such force that his stirrup leather broke, and the space be- tween tiie mayor and the object of his pursuit was widened to a quarter of a mile, and the chase ended ; our friend dismounting to relit. We hud not the good fortune to start another of these hares that day. Some time afterwards while at Castroville, a little place of about a dozen huts and one house, this Hare was procured by a party of Indians and brought to J. W. Audubon, who writes : " I chanced to be visited by some of th( Shawnee Indians who were in the neighbourhood on a hunt- ing expedition. They were highly astonished and pleased with my draw- ings, which I exhibited to them while trying to explain what animals ] wajited. 1 made a hasty sketch of a hare with immensely long ears, at which I pointed with an approving nod of the head, and then made anoth- er sketch smaller and with shorter ears, at which lust I shook my head and made wry faces ; the Indians laughed, and by their gutteral eugh, haugh, li, gave me to understand that they comprehended me ; and in a day or two, I had a beautiful specimen of the B|ack-tailed Hare brought to me but with the head snot off" by a rifle ball. The Indians were quite dis- appointed that it did not answer my purpose, and smoothed down the fur on the body, which is the only part of the skin they generally preserve, and what they thought I wanted. The specimen I drew from was shot by Powel, one of Colonel Hays' rangers, from whom I received many attentions and who acted most kindly while with me on one of my excursions from San Antonio. This Hare is so rare in those parts of Texas that I visited, t;»at I can say little of its habits. It appears to be solitary, or nearly so, fond of high open prairie with clumps of trees, or rather bushes and thickets about them, trusting to its speed for safety and only taking cover from hawks and eagles. Near San iVtruchio, as I was informed, this Hare is more abun- dant than in this vicinity, and two or three of them can occasionally be started in a morning's ride." The specimen from which Mr. Bennett described and named this Hare (Lepus nigricaudaUts, Bennett, Zoological Proceedings, 18.33, p. 4l), has a iT!'.re definitely marked line of" white along the sides and legs than the one I drew from ; but this species varies so much in its markings, tha '^oure with the characters given is probably as like thv? majority as j The line of white and black near the tip of the ears extende. .u- dinally, is by many considered a good specific character, but it does not. 1 think, hold out in respect to this animal. BLACK TAILED HARE. lect.ons of Europe ; I ..aw only two. and di.l not hear of the existence of any ,n the nu.eun. which I had not an opportunity of examininT om'r ^'w ;""" ;"'^•'^'''^«°"^ — ' '-ve been «ent kJe by our kt 1 r : "'"""" o^ -Xnowled^in, the receipt of a Hne sk.nirom L eutenunt Ab.rt. who also favoured us with some skins of quadrupeds from the vicinity of Santa Fe. which we shall ha""cls io" to no.ce elsewhere, and for which we return him our best thanks _ J^h. specxes ,s called the Jackass Rabbit in Texas, owing to the length of OEOORAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. !'«'• MusTELA PusiLLA, Dekay, Nat. Hist. N. Y.', p. 34. DEHCRIPTIOJf. This is much the smallest of all our species of Weasel, if we are to jud^e from two specimens tha, are in our possession, which appear to be full grown. The tail ,s about one-fourth the length of the body, and is a lit- tie longer than that of the common Weasel (M. Vulgaris) of Europe It .s. however, a still sn^nller animal, and differs from it in several other particulars: its ears a.e less broad., its feet smaller, the colour on the back IS a shade darker, the white on the under surface extends much far- ther along the sides, towards the back, and the dividing li„e between the colours on the upper and lower surface is more distinct. The head is man, neck slender, and the body vermiform. Whiskers the length of the head, ears very small, toes and nails slender, covered with hairs. COLOUR. wil?' w""l'"'' '" """''""' '''"' '^'' '''''''' '^"^^ "°^ b«««-« -hite in mn er We k.pt a small weasel alive throughout a winter in our boy hood, but cannot now decide whether it was this species or another, (P F«.c.«,,) which we will describe in our next volume. That specie underwent no change in winter. It is more glossy ,han the ermine in THE SMALL WEASEL. |^, summer pelade an.I a shacio paLr in colour. U is li^ht yellowish hrow. en he head, neck, ami the whole of , he upper HudUce ; this colour pre va.l8 on the outer portions oCfhe lore-legs to near the (bet. the oute face ol the hin.l-legs. the rump, and the whole of the tail, which is not Upped v..th black as in the ermine. The white on the under surface com- mencfs on the upper lips and extends alo„« the neck, inner surface ol the lec-s, rises high up along the sides, including the outer and inner surfaces of the feet. The moustaches are white and black, the former colour predotninating. t ! 'I tion DIMENSIONS. Length from point of nose to root of tail. Head and neck, . . . . Tail (vertebra)), - • . . " including fur, - . . HABITS InehM. 7 3 S 2i From theforni and structure of this species, we might naturally pre- sume that It possesses all the habits of the ermine. It feeds on insects, eggs of birds, and mice, but from its diminutive size we are led to sun- pose that It is not mischievous in the poultry house, and would scarcely venture to attack a full-grown Norway rat. GEOGRAPHIC.VL DISTRIBUTION. The jpecimens from which our descriptions were made, were obcained m the State of New-York, one at the Catskills, and the other at Long Island. If ,t should prove to be the species we once had in captivity it exists also in the northern part of New-York, where we captured it Richardson asserts that it exists as far to the North as the Saskatchewan river, and Captain Bayfield obtained specimens at Lake Superior. GENERAL REMARKS. Sir John Richardson states that this species, like the ermine, becomes white m winter in the fur countries. We are .lisposed to believe that this ,s not the case in the latitude of New- York. This fact, however .s no evidence that the species in those widely separated localities are different. The ermine in the northern part of Virginia seldom un- dergoes a perfect change, and in Carolina remains brown throughout the whole year. Sir John Richardson states (p. 4.5) that the specimens pre- sented to the Zoological Society by Capt. Bavpield, agreed in ail respects I i : 102 THE SMALL WEASEL. with the common weasel of Europe. We, however, examined ilusc specimens and compared them with the European weasel, and found nc difficulty in discovering characters by which the species are separated. We have an indistinct recollection that the prince of Musignano nanu;d the specimen in the Zoological Society ; but as he did not, as far iS we know, describe it, we have, according to our views on these subjects, assigned to Dr. Dekay the credit of the specific name. 103 MUS H U M I L I S.-BAOHMAK. Little Harvest Mouse. PLATE LXV.-MALE3 ato Females. M. corpore supra rutilo-cinereo, et quoad baccas et lineam in utrisque Jatenbus ferrugineo ; subt,;s flavo-albente. M. musculus minor. CHARACTERS, Smaller than the house mouse ; colour, reddish-gray ahore ; cheeks and line along the side, light ferruginous ,■ beneath, tohite with a yellowish tinge. SYNONYMES. Mus„.Mn.rs, Bach Read before the Academy of Nat. Sciences, 1837. Journal Acad., vol. vii. \IusHUMius,Bach., Acad. Nat. Sciences, Oct. 5th, 1841. DESCRIPTION. Incisors, small and sbort ; head, much more rounded, nose, less pointed and skull proportionably broader than the corresponding portions in the' common house-mouse ; legs, rather short, and slender ; there are four 'oes on the Ibre-leet, with a minute and almost imperceptible nail in the pince of a thumb ; on the hind-lbot there are five toes ; claws short weak sharp, and slightly hooked ; nose, short and pointed ; the moustaches are' composed of a few hairs, not rigid, of the length of the head ; the eyes are smaller and less prominent than those of the white-footed mouse re srmbling those of the common hou.se-mouse ; the ears are of mode'rate size, broatl at base, erect, ovate, clothed on both surfaces and around the niges with short adpres.ed hairs, extending a little beyond the fur • palms naked ; upper surface of feet covered with hairs to the end of niils- the tail IS round when the animal is in a living state, but after the speci' .nrns are dne,!, beconu-s s,,uare ; it is thinly clothed with short hairs ; the lur on the wholo body is slioil, glossy, and very fine. 104 UTTLIO HARVEST MOUSE. COLOUR. Teeth, yellow ; nails, white ; eyes, hliicli ; moustaches, mostly white a. few near the nostrils hiaek ; n()S(>, (rheeivs, ears on both surlaees, imd a line extending; I'roni the sides of tlie iieek nnniinj^ aioiiy; the siioulder and separating- the eolonrs of the l)acli; and under surface, dark hull"; on the back, the iiairs are plumbeous at the roots, tiien yellowish fawn colour; n|>|)cr lips, chin, and throat, white; neck and under surface of body white shaded with bull". DIMENSIONS. I'^oni point of nose to root of tail-, Tail. .... IJi'ight of car, . . _ Iiichoa HABITS. By the casual obs(>rver, this diminutive little species, on beiiiR started iVoiii its retreat in the ionfj ki'!»ns. or under some fence or pile of brushwood, ini<,dit be mistaken for the yeunj? of the white-footed mouse (^fus leitcopits), or that of the junipinL!: mouse {]rrri()iirx Amrrinnius). It however dillers widely tVoin either, and bears but a general lesemblance to any of our American species. About twenty years ajro. whilst we were (uideavouring to make our- selves iicciiiiiinted with the species of smaller rodentia existing in the Southern States, we discovered this little Mouse in the grass fields and along the fences of the plantations a few miles from Cliarleston. S. C. We procured it in the way in which Held mice and other small ijuadru- peds in all countries can be most easily obtained, by having what are denoMiinalcd tignreof t traps, set along fences and ditches in the evening, bailed with meat and seeds of various kinds. On tin; following morning we usually were rewarded witli a number of several interesting s|)ecies. We (in two occasions preserved this Afouse in a domestic stale, once for a yeiir, during which time it produced tsvo broods of young: the (irsi consisting of tour were born in May, the second of three in .Inly. Tliey reai'c| wh.ch it s.,hsists.th..,. .....„„ ,h. ,„...„ ,,.,,. ^ ;^;; observed 1.. ,ts ..est su.;.ll sto.-es of ...-ass se.'.ls .J, . . ,''''''' in.i Ti , ' u.is a Iciiiah; ciintured on th.. 1 XI. necembe,-, ,,nd containing four you... in its n.„..iv. 'e ,. therefore thnt this snecie. liie .1. r i. • • "'""'• ^^'' presume OEOr.RAPl.lCAr, IltSTRnitmON. Wo have met with this species sparingly in South O:,rolina -.lo..-. the -■•.Loard. and received i, lr.„u !),, M.„„,,„, .„■ Abbeville S C V cured a specimen in ri.e..,.,,.,. (c • v ^i '"cmik , .X 0. We pi-o- -■7'">- '■'■■ - '"„ « i" "•,,:■:: ;:;.', ''';';'• north-east as the St-.f,. ,.c v \- 1 i'-kui .is (ar to the '■'"^ '-w;:.,:,ti:;':;;,:x »"■—"'' VOL. II, It. iii !! m . f il i M l|l 106 UTTLE HARVEST MOUSE. GENERAL KEMARKS. We sent a minute description of this species to the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1837, which was read by our friend Dr. Morton ; although informed that it was published in the transactions of the Society, we have not seen it in print. A second description was published in the transac- tions of the same Society, October, 1841. We have not ascertained that the species has been noticed by any other naturalist. In examining the teeth of this species, we have found that the tuber- culous summits on the molars were less distinct than in those which le- gitimately belong to the genus Mus, and that there are angular ridges on the enamel by which it approaches the genus Arvicola ; it is in fact an intermediate species, but in the aggregate of its characteristics perhaps approaches nearest to Mus, where we for the present have concluded to leave it. 107 GENUS DIDELPHIS—LiNN^ofi. DENTAL FORMULA. Incisive '^., Canme^; Mo/ar ^^' or ^^ =48 or 50. ro-fn^H '"'"f T'^ ''"'?''' '' "'"'"''' P''^"*^^' «•*••«' l'^'-g«' membraneous, rounded, and almost naked ; tongue, acculeated ; internal toe of the hind foot, opposable to the fingers, and destitute of a .ail, pendactylous; nails 4';?::!::^"^^ '^ '^'^^' '^°™ ^'^^ ""'-'' ^^^^ -- - ^-^'e. and The interesting group of the Marsupi alia has recently been arranged by Owe. mto five tribes and families, and sixteen gener'a ; these „eS about seventy known species, to which additions are continually mak„, the Virgmxan Opossum being, however, the only species k„"wn in America north of Mexico. Most of the other species'of this genls (Is at present restricted,) inhabit tropical America. It is comp.«ed of fi V species, some of which are still doubtful ^ '^'" BIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA.-^HATv. Virginian Opossum. PLATE LXVI._Female, and Young Male seven month, old. D. pilis laneis basi albis, apice fuscis; sericeis longis albis- iacie rostro colloque pure albis; auriculis nigri. apice flaviLtibus •' cauS corpore breviore basi pilosa tota albicante. CHARACTERS. whilM hair. "' *^'' "'«■'"' ""■'* 108 VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. 8YNONYMES Virginian Opossum, Pennant, Hist. Q.ia.l., vol. ii., p. 18, pi. (J3. ., " " " Arctic ZouU>gy, vol. i., p. 73. ^ARiouK DEs Illinois, Bull'., sup. 0. Ofossiim Amkhicam's, D'A/ara, Quad, du I'aragtiuy. DiUKLPlllS \lli(ilMANA, Sluiw's Zool., Vol. i., p. 73. Mausuimall A.ME1UCANU.M, l>son, ill Phil. Trans., No. 23S> p 105 towpEit, hid., No. 290, j). l.-))!-). Opos.sLM, tatesby's f'an)lina, p. 120, fig. e. liurto.i's Facts, Ol.scvations and Conjectures relative to the j-on^ „ , '■"*'"" ^'* *''^' <^>l'"s«iini of N. Am., London, 180J> and 1813 - ossiiM, l.awson's Carolina, p. 120, (ig. c. J). V'iiujinjanus, Harlan, Fauna, p. 1 fj). (Todnian. vol. ii., p. 7^ fig, ViRG. Opo.ssl'm, (jriflith, vol. iii., j). 24. " " Dckay, Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 3, fig. 2, pi. 15. Opossum, Notes on the generation oftheVirginian Opossum. (Didelphis Virginiana ) J. Baehinan, D. i)., Transactions of the Acad, of Nat. Sciences. April 1818, p. 40. ' Letter from M. Michel, ?.r. D., on the same subject, Trans. Acad. Nat. tecieuces, April, 1848, p. 40. DESCRIPTION. Body, stout and clumsy ; head, long and conical ; snout, pointed : the nostrils at the extiviaity of the long muzzle open on the sides of a protru- berant naked and glandulous surface. Ears, large, thin, and membra- neous ; mouth, wide, and borders rounded ; jaws, weak ; eyes, placed high on the foreliead, small, and without external lids, oblique ; moustaches, on the sides of the lace, and a i'pw over the eye, strong and rigid. The tongue is covered with rough papilUe. Nails, of moderate length, curved ; inner toe on the posterior extremities destitute of a nail ami opposable to the other toes, thus forming a kind of hand. Tail, (which may be con- sidered a u.seful appendage to the legs in aiding the motions of the ani- mal), prehensile and very strong, but capable of involution only on the under side, long, round, and scaly, covered with a few coarse hairs for a few inches from the base, tiie remainder with here and there a hair scat- tered between. Soles of the hind feet, covered with large tubercles. The foiimle is lurnished with a pouch containing thirteen mamma; arranged in a circle, with one in the centre. The fur is of two kinds, a .soft woolly hair beneath, covered by much longer hairs, which are. howev.M-, not sufficiently dense to conocal the un. der coat. The woolly hair is of considerable xcngth and fineness, especi- ully ill winter. VIRGINIAN Opossum. 109 COLOUR. »-.'"r;;::^^:: :;^,;r::x"r r- "^" "'- »'"- '^ line or,la,.k brow,, u„dor the cha" 2 f ,, "''"""'''"■''-'I''"-'' « -I"" « i«l> blaok • w^ 1,.,„ ' '" "'"" *»»'""="» are brown. i.row„ ;,!:;,::;::' '="»"--''-' »- whe. .h=y „». ..d,* i, : '"''°'"' ""■ '""«' '"""S 'l-i'o whit,, wilh a v„ry ,li,„„c, b|„ck DIMENSIONS. laobet. 15i 12 I5i^ A Well grown female : From point of nose to root of tail, Length of tail, ---!.'*' Height of ear, . . , _ Breadth of ear, .... Orifice of the distended pouch in diameter, " ." Teats measured immediately after the young had been withdrawn, .... Weight, 121bs. Tail, --...".'"'" *^ Weight, 22 grains. HABITS. nature thif nw.I- V^ ^ '"'^ ""^"^ unheard-of objects in r I— ^.. :ii, v'pOiaUm WHS 5, ii ilO VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. m m regarded by Europeans when they first saw it. Scarcely any tiling was known of the marsupial animals, as New Holland had not as yet opened its unrivall.d stores of singulariti vs to astonish the world. Here was a strange animal, with .< he.-d and ears of the pig, sometimes hanirir.fe- on the limb of a tree, and occasionally swinging like the monkey ny cb? tail ' Around that prehensile appendage a dozen sharp-nosed, sicek-h.-ad-j yoimg, had entwined their own tails, and were sitting on the mother's back ! TIk •istonished traveller approaches this extraordinary compound of an animal and touches it cautiously with a stick. Instantly it seems to be struck with some mortal disease : its eyes close, it falls to the ground, ceases to move, and appears to be dead ! He turns it on its back, and perceives on its stomach a strange apparently artificial opening. He puts his fingers mto the extraordinary pocket, and lo ! another brood of a dozen or more; young, scarcely larger than a pea, are hanging in clusters on the teats. In pulling the creature about, in great amazement, he suddenly receives a gripe on the hand— the twinkling of the half-closed eye and the breathii.ir of the creature, evince that it is not dead, and he adds a new term to the vocabulary of his language, that of" playing possum." Like the great majority of predacious animals, the Opossum is nocturnal in its habits. It suits its nightly wanderings to the particular state of the weather. On a bright starlight or moonlight night, in autumn or winter when the weather is warm and the air calm, the Opossum may every where be found in the Southern States, prowling around the outskirts of the plantation, in old deserted rice fields, along water courses, and on the edges of low grounds and swamps ; but if the night should prove windy or very cold, th.! Ix-st nosed dog can scarcely strike a trail, and in such cases the hunt for that night is soon abandoned. The gait of the Opossum is slow, rather heavy, and awkward ; it is not a trot like that of the Ibx, but an amble or pace, moving the two legs on one side at a time. Its walk on the ground is plantigrade, resting the whole heel on the earth. When pursued, it by no means stops at once and feigns death, as has ollen been supposed, but goes forward at a rather slow sp,>ed, it is true, but as fast as it is able, never, that we are aware of. increasing it to a leap or canter, but striving to avoid its pursuers by sneaking off to some thicket or briar patch ; when, however, it discovers that the dog is in close pursuit, it fiies for safety to the nearest tree, usu- ally a sai)ling. and unle>s m„i,.sto(l does not ascend'to the top, but ;-eeks an easy resting plMn," in some crotch not twenty feet from the ground, where it waits silently and immoveably. till th<. dog, finding that his master will not .-ome to his aid. and becoming weary of barking -.a the foot of the tree, leaves tlw Opossum to follow the bent of his incll. VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. nations, and conclude his nijji.tly round in .search of foo,K AlthouH. . sbw traveller, the Opo.ssu.n, ,.y keepin. pcrseverin.ly on n 7: i^ he greater part of the ni.ht. hunts over much ground, and has b n known to make a circle of a mile or two in one ni,h,. l.s ran-.. W- ever, appear to be restricted or extended accor.lin. to its necersit'ies. as whenu has taken up i,s residence near a corn field, or a ciuu.p of ipc isfied, and U early and slowly carries its fat and heavy body ,„ its ouiet home, to spend the remainder of the night and the succeeding dav i le enjoyment of a quiet rest and sleep. " The whole structure of the Opossum is admirably adapted to the wans of a sluggish animal. It possesses strong powers of s no whlh a.d at m Us search after food ; its mouth is eapadous, and its j a Jl? sess.ng a greater number and variety of teeth than any othe 'ou; animals, evdencmg its omnivorous habits; its fore-paws, althon! „o to the mouth The construction of the hind-foot with its soft yllcHn.^ ubercles on the palms and its long nailless opposing thund,. enal^U to use hese feet as hands, and the prehensile taif aids it in ho din" \; the hmbs of trees whilst its body is swinging in the air; i„ thi mann we have observed it gathering persimmons with its mouth and for. pa " and devounng them whilst its head was downwards and its bodv su'^ ' ';' hT:^: 2„r " ^" -'-'''- -'' '- ^^"^-'■- -^ -^'. '^- <'^n We have observed in this species a habit which is not uncommon among a few other species of quadrupeds, as we have seen it ZZZ rh:utrr:;?b'"'^ ''°""'"" ''^- '-^-'-^ ^^^y^^^- ^^^^ .or hours m the sun, bemg apparently dozing, and seeming to enjoy this posmon as a change. Its usual posture, however, when asleep i eithe .ng a full length on the side, or sitting doubled up with its '^ TZ Loo: '' "' "": '""^'''''''^ ^'°'"'^^^"' "^^^^•' — of the The Opossum cannot be called a gregarious animal, j Au-in^ summer a brood composing a large family may be found together bu^Z he young are well grown, they usually separate, nnt.iie,u,i in Although not often «„ abroad in verycol.l weather in winter thi, ani mal „ far Iron, falling inU, that state of torpi.li.v to whicl t „ Z ' jumpmg nnoe. and several other specie, of ,„„.,r„peds are sol ec T J Southern .States, there .re not ,„a„y clear „i,hts of starlight „ n,„„„* 112 VIROINIAN OPOSSUM. in which they may not be found roaming about ; and although in I heir fur thest northern range they are seldom seen when the ground is covered with snow, yet we recollect having come upon the frank of one in snow a foot deep, in the month of March, in Pennsylvania ; we |)ursued it, and captured the Opossum- in its retreat— a hollow tree. It may be remarked, that ani- mals like the Opossum, raccoon, skunk, &c., that become very fat in autu.nn require but little food to support them through the winter, particularly when the weather is cold. The Opossum, although nocturnal in its general habits, is not unfrequent- ly, particularly in spring and summer, found moving about by day. We have on several occasions met with it in the woods at mid-day, in places where it was seldom molested. Nature has wisely provided this species with teeth and organs indi- cating its omnivtjrous character and its possessing an appetite for nearly all kinds of food ; and in this particular it exhibits many of the pro- pensities and tastes of the raccoon. It t-nters the corn fields (maize), crawls up the stalks, and sometim^-s breaks them down in the manner of the rac- coon, to feed on the young and tender grains ; it picks up chesnuts, acorns, chinquapins and beach nuts, and munches them in the manner of the bear. We have, on dissection, ascertained that it had devoured blackberries, whortleberries, and wild cherries, and :ts resort to the persimmon tree is pro- verbial. It is also insectivorous, ar.d is seen scratching up the leaves in search of worms, and the larvae of insects, of which it is very fond. In „arly spring it lays the vegetable kingdom under contribution for its support, and we have observed it digging up the roots of the small atama- masco lily, {Zepherinn atamasco,) and the young and tender shoots of the China brier, {Smilax rotundifolia,) as they shoot out of the ground like as- paragus. It is moreover decidedly carnivorous, eating young birds that it may detect on the ground, sucking the eggs in all the partridge, towhee- bunting and other nests, it can find in its persevering search. It destrovs mice and other rodentia, and devours whole broods of young rabbits scratching about the nest and scattering the hair and other materials of which it was composed. We have observed it squatting in the grass and brier thickets in Carolina, which are the common resort of the very abun- dant cotton rat, (Sigmodon hispidum,) and from patches of skin and other mutilated remains, we satisfied ourselves that the Opossum was one amoii" many other species designed by Providence to keep in check the too rap- id increase of these troublesome rats. We must admit that it sometimes makes a sly visit to the poultry house, killing a few of the hens and playing havoc among the eggs. The annoyances of the farmer, however, from this mischievous prooensity, are not as great as those sustained from VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. 113 some of the other species, and cannot for a moment be compared with the destruction caused by the weasel, the mink, or the skunk. 1 he domicile of the Opossun. in which it is concealed during the da> and where U brm,s forth its youn,, which we have often examiae ' ..un ,n vanous localities. This animal isatolerable di,,e, .^tho gh usua ly un.ler the roots of trees or stump., when the .round is so ele- .a ed as to secure it from rains and in.ndations. The hollow of a large .Hllen tree, or an opening at the roots of a standing one. also serve L a convement place for its nest. The material which w have u ually ».und e,>n.pc..„g this nest along the seaboard of Carolina is the , on' .aoss(/,/W.. .W.V); although we have sometimes found i com posed of a bushel or more of oak and other leaves On firing into a squirrel's nest which was situated in the fork of a tree some iorty feet Iron, the ground, we brought down an Opossum, which Le^i dently expelled its egitimate occupant. The Florida rat is nown to I e heaps o st.c s and leaves, and construct nests sometimes a yard in cia n er and two feet high : these are usually placed on the ground, bu Z requently .-n the entangled vines of the grape, smilax, and supple jaclf Zr~.,,ns .W„W,,) i„ these nests an Opossum may occasionally b found do mg as cozd. as if he had a better right than that of mere poLssion ' lun mg the Opossum is a very favourite amusement among domestics and field labourers on o„r Southern plantations, of lads broke loose from schoo, the hoiidav;. and even of gentlemen, who are sometL^mor" fond of th.s sport than of the less profitable and more dangerous and Z t.guu,g one o, hunting the gray fox by moonlight. Although w have never part.c.pated in an Opossum hunt, yet we have observed that it Tf ZlZ^l77T '" ''"^ ^^"^ ^""^ ^'"^^ '" ''^ '"^J-'^^' °^ •-nan- ces make up the huntmg party, and we have on two or three occasions been he ..lent and gratified observers of the preparations that were go'g on tbeant.c,patxons mdulged in. and the excitement apparent around us. On a bright autumnal .lay, when the abundant rice crop has yielded to li'hlwh^T 'V"'"^^ '"'^^"^^ ^''^^^ ^''^^'^^-^ »"' -h-on or two shght wh.te trosts have tinged the field, and woods with a yellowish hue npened the persimmon, and caused the acorns, ehesnuts an'd chinque s' (C.sna.ra jn.nvlJa) to rattle down from the trees and strewed them oter the ground, we hear arrangements en.ered into for the hunt. The Opossums aave been hvmg on the delicacies of the season, and are now in fine order end some are fiumd excessively fat ; a double enjoyment is anticipated Ihe^fian of eatchu,g and the pleasure of eating this excellent substitute fo,' vol.. !i 15. 114 VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. " C.mp, men." says one, " be lively, let us finish our tasks by four o'clock, a 1(1 after simdown we will have ;v 'possum hunt." " Done," says another, " and if an old eoon conwv* in the way of my smart do- I'im-her, I \h>. bound llir it, he will shi.kr d,. lif,, out of him." The labourers work with in- .•rea.s.nl alacrity, their fares are brif?htened with anticipated .■nioym,.ni, and ever un'^ Mon the old familiar son;,' of " 'Possum up thr ^'um tree '' is hummed, whilst the black driver can scarcely restrain the ulmle wan- from breaking: out into a h)ud chorus. The parapheniiilia belon-injr to this hunt arc neither showy nor cxpen sive. There are no horses caparisoned with elegant trappin-.^-ao costly Kin.s imported to order-no pack of hounds answering to the echoinjr horn ; two or th.re curs, half hound or terriers, each havin- his appropri- I'te name, and each regarded by his owner as the best do;r o„ ih,. plantation, are whistle.l up. They obey the call with alacrity, and ih.'ir looks and intel- ligent actions frive evidence that they too ,-.re well aware of th,- pirasuie that awaits them. One of these luunble rustic sportsu.en shouhh-rs an ax(; and another a torch, and the whol,. armn-cm<>r,t f.-r th(> hunt is com- plefed. The glarin- torch-light is soon m-en .lispcrsing the shadows of the forest, and like a jack o'lantern, gleaming along the skirts of the .liHtant meadows and copses. Here are no old .rails on which the cold- nosed hound tries his nose for half an hour to ci*f ,-h the scent. The tongues of the curs are by no means silent-cvcr an////vW/ cvrifcni). \t iemjth the mingled notes c-!" shrill and discordant tongues give evidence tlmt the game is up. The race, though rapid, is a long one, through the deep swajnp, crossing the muddy branch info the pine lands, where the dogs come to a halt, unite in conclav<', and set up an incessant b.-irking ;it the loot of a pine. "A coon, a coon ! din't I tell you," says Monday. " that iiPincher come across a cocn, he would do he work ?" An additional piece of split light- t I. ( I' ! r VJIUJIMAN (ll'O.SSUM. wock: is a,l.le.l t„ tl.o forch, and tho eo„„ is s,-.... .lo„l.l..,l up iu the 'Wnn of a horn.., s „..sr i,. „.e vn-y ,o,. of ,1... I,.n.-I...v..,l pi„... (,>. ,,.W/.) M I. 1 .■.!. 1... Klonous l.uttl. that .msu.-s, ,1... pn.v.ss of.h.clo.s, un.l he cptur. o( tl.o con. (ollow as a „.at,n- uf l-ourse. See our arfiJlc «„ th. raeeoun, pp. 80, HI. where we have briefly .ieseribe.l sueh a scone Another trail is soon struck, an.l the do^^s all open upon it ,o . rce ' in nn u.s,ant they rush, pell mell, with a lou.I burst ofmin,He,l tonjrues. upon some anunal aIon,r the ,..|,,e of an old field destitute of tree- h proves to be an Opossum, detecte.l in its ni.^htlv prowlin,^ e.p,.di. t.on At f.rst, it lei.nis death, an.I. rolling, i.self into a ball, lies still 0.1 the ,n-ound; but the do^s ,,re up to this -"possum pl,,vin,^" and sei.e upon .t at onee. It now leels that they are in earn/.s,. and are not to be decnved. It utters a low ,n-owl or two, shows no (i^ht, opens WKle US larjre mouth, an.I, with lew stru.^i,les. surrenders i.self ,', its iMle. 1 ut our hunters are not yet satisfied. eith.M- with the sport or the "x-Mt : Ihey have larire fan.ilies and a host of friends on the plantation, the «a.ne is ab.mdant. a,.d the labour in procuring' it not fatis,n,in.^ so tlu.v once^ more hie on the .lo^s. The Opossum, by its slow j,ait ^nd heav'y tread, leaves its foot-prints and scent behind it on the sof- ,nud and d,mn crass. Another is soon starte.l, and hastens up the first smnil .^um o.k or persunmon tree, within its reach ; it has clambered up to the hi'.rhest* Innl), and sits erouehin- up with eyes closed to avoid the li-ht. "Off jacket Jim. and shake him down ; show that you know more about 'possum than" your Koo,l-for-nutten fox-doj;." As the Ic How ascends, the animal .■ontinues "H.untu.jr hi.dier to j,^et beyond his reach; still he eonlim.es in pursuit until the ailriuhted Opossum has reached the farthest twitron the extreme branch.'s of the tree. Th,> ne-ro now commences shaking.' (he tall pliant tree top ; while with its hin.l hands rendere.l convenient and (lexible l,v its opi)osms thumb, and with its prehensile tail, the Opossum holds <,n with ffreat tenacity. But it cannot lonp: resist the rapidly accumulating jerks ami shocks: suddenly the feet slip from the smooth tinv limb, and it han-^s suspended fi,r a few moments only by its t,.il. i,- ihc"menntime trvin-^^o re-am its hold with its idn.l hands ; but another sudden jerk br.-",ks"lhe tw.s, and down comes the poor animal, doubled up like a ball into t.eopen,.d j.ws of ea-cr and relentless canine foes; the poor creature drops, and yields to fate without a struffffle. In this manner half a dozen or more Opossums arc som,.times captured before m.dnight. The sul,sequent boasts about the superior noses speed ind courage of the several dogs that compo.'*ed this small motley pack- ( •• 1 116 VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. nu the fat feast that succeeded on the following cveninj^, prolonged beyond the hour of midnight, the boisterous laugh and the merry song, we leavt to be detailed by others, although we confess we have not been uninter ested spectators of such scenes. " Lot iKit nnibitioii mwk their iisufiil toil, " Their homely joys and destiny ohscnre, " Nor grnndeur lieiir with a (hsdiiinful smile, " The siiiiplo pleiusures of the humhle jioor." The habit of feigning death to deceive an enemy is common to several species of (luadrupeds, and we on several occasions witnessed it in our com- mon red fox (V. Fuivus). But it is more strikingly exhibited in the Opos- sum than in any other animal with which we are actiuainted. When it is shaken from a tree and falls among grass and shubbery, or when detect- ed in such situations, it doubles itself into a heap and feigns death so artfu'ly, that we have known some schoolboys carrying home for a quarter of a mile an individual of this species, stating that when they first Haw it, it was running on the ground, and they could not tell what had killed it.' Wo would not, however, advise that the hand should on such occasions be suffered to come too familitirly in contact with the mouth, lest the too curious meddler should on a sudden be startled with an unexpected ami unwelcome gripe. This species has scarcely any note of recognition, and is remarkably silent ; when molested, it utters a low growl ; at other times its voice re- sembles the hissing of a cat. The Opossum displays no cunning in avoiding traps set to capture it, entering almost any kind of trap, very commonly being taken in a log traj) called a dead fall. From its very prolific nature it can afford to have many enemies. In addition to the incessant war waged against it by men and dogs, we have ascertained that its chief enemy among rap.-icious birds is the Virginian owl, (*V/vj,' Virginiana,) which ilying abroad at the same hour in which the Opossum is on foot, pounces on it, and kills it with great ease. We htive heard of an instance in which it was seen in the talons of the white-hetided eagle, {HtilieUi recollect no instancti of its having been killed by the wild cat or the fox. The wolf, it is said, seizes on every Opossum it can find, and we have heard of two instances where half-grown animals of this species were found to have been .,»val lowed by the rattlesnake. Although the dog hunts it so eagerly, yet wc have never been able to hscertain that it ever feeds upon its llesh ; indeed, we have witnessed the VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. 117 (loR passing hy the body of a frrsli killed Opos.sum, and goiii<,' ofTlialf n mile fhrtht!!' to Trod on soiiu- oH'ciisive caiTasc. TheOpossmn is easily (ioincsticatcd wlicii ciiptiircd yonii-^. \Vf liavo in cndcavourinfj: to invrsti>,'at(! oncol'the very extraordinary characteristics of this species, prcsiwved a considerahle ninnbcr in coulineiiieiit, and our experiments were continued ihrough a succession of years, 'i'iieir nocturnal habits were in a considerable degree relinquished, and they followed the servants about the premises, becoming troublesome by their familiarity and their mischievous habits. They associated familiarly with a dog on the premisec., which seemed to regard them as necessary api^'udages of the motley group that constituted the family of brutes in the yard. They devoured all kinds of food : vegetable's, boiled rice, hominy, meat both raw and boiled, and tlie scraps thrown from the kitchen ; giving the pre- ference to those that contained any fatty substance. On one occasion a brood of young with their mother mad(( their escape, concealed themselves under a stable, and became partially wild ; thev were, in the habit of coming out at night, and eating scraps of food, but we never discovered that they committed any depredations 0:1 the poultry or pigeons. They ap|)eared however to havt^ ell'eclually driven oil' the rats, as (luring the whole time they were occupants of the stable, we did not observe a single rat on the premis(!S. It was ascertaincid that they were in the habit of clambering over fences and visiting th(! neighbouring lots and gardens, and we occasionally found that we had repurchased one of our own vagrant animals. 'J'hey usually, hoW(;ver, returned towards daylight to their snug retreat, and we believe would have continued in the neighbourhood and multi|)lied the species had they not in their nightly prowlings been detected and destroyed by the niMglibouring dogs. A most interesting part olthe history of this animal, which has led to the adoption of many vulgar errors, remains to be considcreil, viz., the gene- ration of the Opossum. Our investigations on this subject were commenced in early life, and resumed as time and op|)ortunity were allbnled, at irregular, and some- times after long intervals, :ind were not satisfactorily concluded until with- in a month of the period of our writing this article, (June, IH 1!)). The process by which we were enabled to ol)laiii the facts and arrive at our conclusions is detailed in an article published in tht; Transactions of the Academy of Natural Sciences, April, IHIS, p. 10. Subscipient investiga- tions have enabled us to verify some of these facts, to re mo re some obsen- ritifis in which the subject was yet involved, and finally to be prepared to giv: a correct and detailed history of a peculiarity in the natural history of this quadruped, around which there has hitherto been thrown a cloud af mv-terv and doubt. 118 VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. riH Our early authors— Margrave, Pison, Valent[nk, Beverly, the Mao. auis or CiiAyTEi.Lux, Pennant, and others. ooiitoiKlcd that "the pourh wiis the matrix of tlif younj,' Opossum, and that the mainiiiir aro. wilh rcxiste(i a direct passage from the uterus to the teat, but this has been disproved by dissection. Another opinion is, that the embryo is excluded from the uterus in the usual manner and placed by the mother to the teat ; and a third, that the embryo is formed where it is first found. Whether this transfer actually takes place, and if so, the physiological considerations connected with it, still remain involved in great obscurity." The approaches to truth in these investigations have been very grad- ual, and the whole unusually slow. Cowper, Tyson, De Blainville, Home and others, by their examinations and descriptions of the organs of the MarsupialiiP. prepared the way for farther developments. A more judi- cious examination and scientific description by Owen and others, of the corresponding organs in the kangaroo, the largest of all the species com posing these genera, and the discovery of the f(Btus in utero, enabled natu- r.'ilists to conclude, that the similar structure in the Opossum would indicate a corresjjonding result. No one, however, was entill(> nights thirty-five Opossums, but of that number there was not a single female. A week afterwards, however when the young were contained in the pouch, we received more females tlian males. From this circumstance we came to the conclusion that during the short periml of gestation, the females, like those of some other species of quadrupeds, particulariy the American black bear, conceal themselves in th.-ir burrows and can seldom be found. We then changed our instructions for c-.pturing them, by recommending that they should be searched for in the day time, in hollow logs and trees and places where they had been previously known to burrow. 15y this means we were en- abled atdilFerent times to obtain a small nmnber in the state in which we were desirous of examining them. We feel under great obligations to several gentlemen of Carolina for aiding us in our investigation- U. ! M 120 VIIUJIMAN Ol'OSSUM. §u ll'I |'i-<'<-miM- s|),>ci,n,ii;s h'lsiir.u. I.:s,|.. a ,.|„s.> ,.l)s,.f\ .>r and inl.dlij^cnl naturalist. The Intlcr. !.y Lis p.-rsrv.Tin- rllorts, pursued lor sonic y.-ais at Jordan's lAlills.on 111,, upprr walrr,-. of lli.- I'Misfo. olitaincd iwo iVnialfs in ?.Iav, lNli>. in (li,< p;hMi.-Mlarslal..in win,.!, lu- knew we w.-re anxious to procinv .'"MM. and l.rou-l.l ilinnloiis wiilionl having been proviou.sly uwaro thai we liad piil)lishi'd (lie I'acls a year hrlbro. 'I"h.- Opossums w(- W(-rc .Mialilcd lo cxaininr were dissoctcd on the IKh, 1 Hh and ISih l'\l)ruar;;. IHIS, and on th.> l-Jlli and -J-Jd May, INM). Soum' ol'lh.-s,. hadadvan.-cd to near the timo of parlurilioii. The" yoiuiK oCtliosn hvou'j:Ut us by >lr. I'ishkr ra.-h w,M-hrd ^ frrains. Those of ono, snit iisl.yCol. llASKix.,.w.-ii;li,-d;?M:n,ins; and the youiiir of another which wo "I'taincd l)y a, Ca'sarian oix-ralion, at a moment when all (h.- rest liad l)t teats. Tla> lary:..st on,> wei-hed HI and another .'H jr,.,.,ins. Tlie weii^ht, then, of the yotmu: ()p,)ssum at the moment of hirth, is b, rweeii .•{ and Uniiins. xaryin- a little in did'erimt specimens as is (ho casein the younii' of all animals. Th,- diMir.'e of life and animation in youny: Opossums ;it tlie mo- iiK'iit of hirlli has l.een sreiitly underrat..d. Th.-y are neith.-r abortions, as Hi.eMK.NnA.-ii repiTsent..d llw-ni. nor as Dr. Uauto.n has .l.-serihed them— "nol f.eluses. bul iivlatinous l)odi.-s. W(-iirhinfr about a ^rnin more or less, seven of them to-i-th.-r w.-i-hiny; 10 grains "-but little creatures that are nearly as well develope.l at birth as the yuun- of the white-footed mouse and s,.vcral other sp.-cies of rodenlia. They an- covered by an infeuum«.nt. nourish,-(l by ih.Mnninina.. breathe lhroujihn.)strils,p,M-lorin"the<)perations of nature, are eapabl,. of a projiressive movement at the moment of their birth, and arc remarkably tenacious of lile. Tin- individual which was dissected from the parent in th.- manner abov,- detaih'd, moved several inches on the labh- by crawlin- and rollinir. and survived two hours ; the thermom.'ter in the room wasj.l (he time standinj; .at (iti° Fahrenheit. Th.- period of;r,.sta. tion is froju tift.M-n to sixl.M-n .lays. W.- recMv.-.l a liMiial,. Ih.m a s.-rvant who infor.n.Ml us. that h.. had that m..rninir s.-.-n it in inte.vours,> wi(h tlic male. \V,- (irst saw (he younj,' on (he mornini!; of (he 17(h day. Om- iViend Dr. ^ru.ni.r.TON Minu:i„ .a jrendeman of hi-h schMitilic attamments. •";'' ;'''"^ '"■"' '"'"-' " <>i^.'-,mI in iiivestijratin;; the charact..r8 an.l habits ul (his species, in a coimmmi.Mtion mail,- (,> us. (Trans, of ihe Aca.l. Xat Sci.Mi.vs. April. ISIS. p. I,;.) j.ssuivd us from his p,.rs..nal ol)s,.rva(i.m in which h.' was careful to nole the hour of th.. .lav, the exact i)crio.l is \m ViUMNIAN OPOSSUM. i2i 1 r, (liiys. As hv [.oss,.,ssfi:a(l .again, and both the small ones were attached, but the three larger ones still remained crawling about the pouch. On th<^ following morning, it was ascertained that tlu! mother had adopted the strangers, as the v.diole family of dili'erent sizes were deriving sustenance IVom her. On another occasion, a female Opossum had been sent to us enught by a dog and much wounded, in consecjuence of which she died a few days afterwards, hut first producing seven young which to every appearance had been still born, ^'ef they were in tne pouch, and it ai)|ieared to us that the mother's uncontrollnble attachment fo her young, induced her to place her o(lsprin>r in the pouch, even after they were deiid. An interesting: iiiipiiry remains to be answered: Is the 0|)ossum a placental or non-i)lacenfni animal '. Until we were favoured with a recent opportiinily of carefully examining a uterus, containiiiir nine VTRGINIAN OPOSSUM. 123 youn;^ o„ on,, side, an.l six ..n fl„. „tl.,.r, kin.lly Lrouj^ht to m l.y ou. n.-n.l Jamkh Flsuhk, w.. u..,-,. u.kU.I.. Cully „, unswnr this qm-stion <>".• .h.ss,.,.|,„ns ,„..! ,.x:n,nM.ti„„s wn-,, wit„..ss,.(l l,y Pn,|i.ss„rs M,vu. ruiK, [|..,,|.:, Drs. ll„K,,nK.K Min.r,,., Pu.u'i.kh i.n.l ..tlnTs Tho ()p„ssu,n is, as litr us w,. m-,- ul,N, ,o jn.lj^. Ir„m the s,M.ciM.n.s CXHUUM...I, a non-pla.M.nUil animal, inasmuch as there coui.i not he do tected.h,.sli:,.l„..st ,.,liH.sion hetween the exterior meml.rane ofthe fe- tus and the inh-rnal surface of Ihc mother. Th,- meml.rnnrs consisted of a Vitellme sac, (illcd with ramilieations of omphalo-mescntcrie vessels there was a sli^'ht appearance of an un.hilical cord and umhilieal v^s' •sels, eons.itut.n;,^ a tru,. allantois, l.ut no portions of ihe.n were attached to the uterus. Tlier.^ was no appearance of a placenta. The Krowd. of tne youn^r Opossum is suprisin^^jy p,,,,i,i. y;,, ^^j,,,^,,, the lar«:es. youn:; on,- at a week old an.l foun.l it ha,l in,-reas,.,l (Von, .T* fXr.uns to ;j,) jr,,,!,,.. l,,,,,.,), of h,.;,d an.l horly exclusive of (nil I ' inel,* tM.I, - uu-h. Th,. youni, at this a^e were v.-ry (..naeious oflilc.' al on re' n.ovM,jr,„,,,,h,.y n.nain,..! alive on the Moor .vilhou. .inv ..overin.Mhrou.'b a e,,o| n.j,d.l, n. a roon, containinif no fir,-, an,l still ,.xhil.it,.d a sli-^.t •"ot.on attwelve o'clock ,.n ih,. Il.llowinjr -lay. The teats of th,- mother aller they,.nn;,H.a,l l.,-,-,, ^M-ntly drawn off n.ea.sured an inch in len«,h, havin-^ .>een much distended, and appeared to have h,-en drawn into the stomach of the young. The pouch,.s of the younj,- Icmah-s were quite apparent ; thev used then- prehensile tails, which could now l,e frequently seen entwin,-d uroun.l (he necks of others. At twelve day.s old the eyes were still close.l alewha.rs had ma.Ie their app,-arance on the moustache ; the orifice of thv ears were beginning to be develop,-d, and the nails were quite visible and sharp. When the young are four weeks ol.I, they begin from time to time to relax the.r hold on the teats, and may now be seen with their heads occa- s.onally out of the pouch. A week later, ami they venture to steal occa sionallylrom their snug retreat in the pouch, an,l are often .seen on the mother's back .securing themselves by entwining their tails around hers In th,s situation she moves from place to place in search of foo,l, carry- ing her whole family along with her, to which .she is much attached an.l in whose delenc. she exhibits a con- iderable degree of courage, growlin- at any intruder, and ready to use her teeth with great .severity on man or Hog. In travelling, it is amusing to sc-e this large familv moving about. Some ol the young, n,-arly the size of rats, have their tails entwined around the legs ot the mother, and some around her neek. thus they are dra--ed along. They have a mild and imiocent look, and are sleek, and in-line coid.tion. an,I this is the only age in v,-hieh the word pretty can be ap- ! 1! 5' f I 4 S & i 124 VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. ve 'hf T, '^' ^TT ;"' '^"' " "'"^"' ^" '^"•^ half of her previous weght. The whole fam.Iy of yomigremaia with her about two months and cont.nue m the vicinity till autumn. In the meantime, a second and' often a th,rd brood is produced, and thus twoorn.ore broils of difiv".u ages may be seen, soinctimes with the mother, and at other times not ihr prlt'lr"'"' "f ^'^V^^^P^'- °f «"•• g'-ay rabbit, is one of the most prohhc of our quadrupeds. We consider the early parts of the thrPP months of March May and July, as the periods in LTcaro inl vh^ they successively brmg forth; it is even probable that they breed stU more frequently, as we have observed the young during aU the sprt and summer months. I„ ,he month of May, 1830, whilst searching! a the n.st of the Florida rat. we were startled on finding our boot uncere momously and rudely seized by ,.n animal which wc^ soon ascer led was a female Opossum. She had in her pouch five very small ^1 whilst. seven others, about the size of full grown rats were'dZ d^:; ing from under the rubbish. The females produce young at a year old but' haTth "^ '^'' '° ""^ '^^"^ ^""^ ^' ^^^'•>- - 'h-^- - Mar but have their young as soon as the middle ,.f the succeeding May There IS, of course, in this as wrll as in other species, some degree of irregularity in the time of their producing, as well as in the num'er of the r young We have reason to believe, also, that this species is more prolific in the southern than in the Middle States. REOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Hudson River may be regarded as the farthest eastern limit of the the east of the Hudson, m the southern counties of New-York as well as on Long-Island and the warmer parts of the Eastern States, as the living animals ai-e constantly carried there, and we have little doubt that if it was considered important it could be encouraged to multiply there It has been stated to us that in New-Jersey, within five or ten miles of New- York as many as ten or fourteen of these animals have within a few years past' been taken in an autumn by means of traps, but that their number is gradu- ally diminishing It is common in New-Jersey and Pennsylvania, becom- mg more abundant as we proceed southwardly through North Carolina. South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas, to Mexico ; inhabiting .n great numbers the inter-tropical regions. To the west we have traced VIRG; MAN OPOSSITAi. llio il in all the south-western states. It exists in Indiana, Mississippi Mis- sour., and Arkansas, and extends to the Pacific ; it is said to exist in Cali- fornm. It is somewhat singular, that in every part oi' America, as ih- as we have been able to observe. ,he geographical ran^e of the Opossum is very nearly the same as that of the persinmn tree, of whose fruit it is so tond. 1 h.s we rej^ard, however, as merely accidental, as this food is not essentml to ,ts support. The Opossum .either ceases to multiply or to thrive m seasons m which the persimon has failed. GENERAL REMARKS. In our plate, we gave Pennant as the originator of the scientific nan.. of this spec.es. We find, however, that he only calls it the Virginia Opossum, with a reference to the Didelp/n,s mnrsupialis, L.nnehs. Gmemn subsequently arranged it un^Ier DuMj.Iu,. nunsupMs. As Shaw, in 1800, as far as we have been able to ascertain, seems to have been the firs who applied the Latin specific name, D. Virginiano, we have, in ac- cordance with the rules laid down bj naturalists, given him the credit of trie sprcinc name. ! fl I Nl If; i 126 GENUS CAMS— LiNNiEus. DENTAL FORMULA. Incisive-; Canine—-; Molat =4). 0 1 — 1 6— C The three first in the upper jaw, and the four in the lower, trenchant but small, and called also false molars. The preat carnivorous tooth ah, ve bi-cuspid, with a small tubercle on the inner side, that bclo^v with the posterior lobe altogether tubercular, and two tuberculous teeth behind each of the great carnivorous teeth. Muzzle, elongate ; tongue, soft ; ears, erect, (sometimes pendant in the domestic varieties.) Fore feet, pendacty- lous • hmd feet, tetradactylous. Teats, both inguinal and vental. CANIS LUPUS.— Likn.—(Var. Ater.) Black American Wolf. PLATE LXVn. Male. C. niger, magnitudine, formaque C. lupi. »; li CHARACTERS. Size and shape of the Common American Wolf; Cams, lupus occidenta. lis ; colour black. SYNONYMES. Loup Noir de Canada, Buffon> vol. ix., p. 364-41. Black Wolf, Long's Expd., vol. i., p, 05. " Say, Frank). Jour., vol. i., p. 172. - " Griffith, Anim. King., vol. 2., p. 348 " Godman, Nat. Hi.st., vol. i., p. 267. Canis Lyacon, Harlan '.s Firana, p. 82. Vak. E. Lupus atek, Black Amor. Wolf, R.ichardson, Fauna Borcali Amer.. p. 70. BLACK AMIJIIICAN WOLF. DESCRIPTION. 127 We regard this animal us amen, variety of the Common .AM>ricai. Woll to be hereafter closeril,,.,!. un.l nvvd only h,-re observe, that all Wlute VVolt. the Red Texan Wolf and Ihe IJIaek Wolf, aiv of the same form. ullhou-1, in size the White Wolf is considerably the largest. COLOUR. Faee, loj^^s, point of tail and under jaw, black ; bodv, irrec.„|arly and transversely barred with blackish brown and greyish ; sides of the neck, greyish brown ; behind the shouhlers, under the belly and on the Ibrehead givyish brown. Some sj.ecimens are darker than others— we have ex- ammed several that were perfectly black on the whole surface of the body niMENPIONS. Length of head and body - Do. of tail vertebrjB Do. including fur Height of ear Fetl. Inchw. - 3 2 11 - 1 1 3 HABITS. Not an indi- "dual of the party saw a Black Wolf during our trip up the Missouri, on the prairies near Fort Union, or along the shores of that por- tion of the V,.llow Stone River that we visited. Mr. Sav speaks of its being the most common variety on the banks of the Missouri, but. unfor- tunafely, does not state precisely where. Wolves of this colour were abundant near Henderson, Kentucky, when we removed to that place, and we saw them frequently during our rambles through the woods after birds. We found a Black Wolf in one of our wild turkey pens, early one morn- ing. He observed us, as we approached, but instead of making his escape, scpiatted ciose down, like a dog which does not wish to be seen. We came' up within a few yards of the pen. and shot him dead, through an opening between the logs. This Wolf had killed sev<.ral fine turkeys, and was in the act of devouring one, which was, doul)tless, ihe reason he did not atlempt to make his escape when we approached him. There is a strong feeling of hostility entertained by the settlers of the I' i f K I \ i 128 ni.ACX AMKUUAN WOLF. wild poll ions of the coiiiilry, lowiinl tin- WoH", as Ium Nln'tiRlh, nKility, and cunninir, (in wliicli liisl (|Maliliciilion, lie is scarcci)' iul'crior to liis relative, tlie I'ox.) lend to render liini tlie most destnielive enemy of tlieir |ii;:s. slieep, or yoiuiK enlves, wliieh ran^e in tlie Hiresl ; liierelore, in our eoim try, he is not -e niereirnlly dealt with tlian in any otlier part ol' ihi world. Traps and snares of varions sorts are .set lor caloliinK iiirii in those dislriels in which lie still abounds. Heinj,' more (leet and perhaps lietler winded than the lox, the Woil" is .seldom pursued with hounds or any other do<;s in open chase, uidess Wounded. AIiIioukIi Wolves are hold iiini sHvaj;«', lew instances occur in oin- temperate re^:ions ol'lheir making an alt.ick on man ; and we have only had one such case conn' under our own notice. 'I'wo youn^? ney;roes, who resided near the hanks ol'tlu! Ohio, in the lower jjnrtorthe Stale of Kentucky, about thirty years af^o. had sweethearts livinj,' on another plantation, four nules distant. After the labours of the day were over, they frequently visited the fair ladies of their choice, llie nearest way to whose dw Miu},' lay directly across a lar more open spaces i.clwet>n the trees, or when the heavy drifting clouds p:irling at time- allowed a star to peej) forth on the desolate scene. Fear- fully, a long and frightful howl burst upon them, and they were instantly aware that it proceeded from a troop of Hungry and perhaps despente wolves. They paust-d lor a moment and a dismal silence succeeded. All was dark, save a lew feet of the snow-covered ground immediatel . in front of them. They resumed their pace hastily, wilh their axes in their hands prepared for an .attack. Suddenly, the foremost man was assailed by several wolves which seized on him, and inflicted terrible wounds with their fangs on his legs and arms, and as they were followed by many others as ravenous as themselves, several sprung at the breast of his companion, and dragged him to the ground. Hoth struggled manfully airainsf their foes, but in a pliort linn- one of the negvoes had ceased to move : and the (>ther. reduced in strength and perha])s despairing of aiding his mifortunate comrade or even savimr his o\\n\ life, threw down his axe. spning on to the branch of a tree, and speedily gainel.. honc-s of ..is lri..„,l lay s..H,t..n..l .r..un,I .,„ th. snow, whi.-h was and M-. M lu,. u ulatf, tli« t(,rrihl,, calust r.,,,1,,.. A ..ut -. , .. .. . ,,., t,.is ..,,oi,m,.n(3,.. as w« wore truvdlin^' br,twn,m • t:;.;.;- ""7"-; -7'""-' "^"'* '"■•"-.'«'.' Ao... .us S.U. ol .„,|.H„H.) Ar,erpu.,i„,.u,.our. ...os an.l rnrn.shin^„ur.dr .'.„- .;- mto ,M.nv,.rsa,ion with „„.. w<.rt..y host, and wore invited by ' U. u ■Mt.h.. vvol jmsuh.d. h.. had constn.ot.us. (.lad or tlH, o,,po,.tuni,y. w. a.oo,n,.aniod hi.n across ., (i.. M »..-. sk.rts ot the adjoini,,, fo,...s,. where he had three pits withi. ,. -ew -;; •" y-d. oreaC. oth.. rhey were about ei,.., L deep, broad I "' >'"' "»'oM. H<. as to render it i.npossihl. H.r the u.ost active animal to e cape ,rom ti.e.n. The ,nouth of .-aeh pit was cov.re.i with a revd n^ |.l.-^. .unu.g the second pit, we discovered three famous fel.ow If' lul m .. ^o black and one brio, ,., all of .^ood si/,. Tl, , ^ I-. e„,..h, wuh ch.. ea. e,.,. .!„„.„ wZlrhi., w;:;^;!:'^" (ear n>ore than anj^er. To our astonishm„n^ fi V '"'Ucati. u.r .„ .,„„,„„.„ With U,c wolvex, shouU y „„„e „.„ hiX,!' , " 4 ' >, 1 'li •? f ^A.' ii i;u) BLACK AMERICAN WOLF. and le.'iviiiR his rifie to our care. We were not a little .surprised at the cowardice of the wolves. The woolman stretched out their hind leys, in succession, and with a stroke of the ivnife cut the principal tendon above the joint, exliihitinj? as little fear, as if he had been marking lambs. As soon as he had thus disabled the wolves, he got out, but hud to return to the; house for a rope, which he had not thought of. lie returned quickly, and, whilst I secured the platform in a perpendicular position on its axis, he made a slip knot at one end of the rope, and thn^w it over the head of one of the wolves. We now hauled the terrified animal up ; and motionless with fright, half choked, and disabled in its hind legs, the farmer slipped the rope from its neck, and left it to the mercy of the dogs, who set u\ on it with great fury and worried it to death. The second was dealt with in the same manner ; but the third, which was probably oldest, showed some spirit the moment the dogs were set upon it, and scullled along on its forelegs, at a surprising rate, snapping all the while furiously at the dogs, several of which it bit severely ; and so well did the desjjerate animal defend itself, tli.-it the farmer, iipprchcnsivc of its killing some of his pack, ran u|) and knocked it on the head with his axe. This wolf was a female, and was blacker than the other dark-coloured one. Once, when we wen; travelling on foot not far from the southern boundary of Kentueky, we fell in with a Black Wolf, following a man with a ride on his shoulders. On speaking with him about this animal, he assured us that it was !is tame and as gentle as any dog, and that he had never met with a dog that could fr.-.Il a deer better. We were so much struck with this account and the noblti appearance of the wolt', that we offered him one hundred dollars for it; but the owner would not part with it for any price. Our plate Wiis drawn from a line specimen, although not so black a one as we have seen. We consider the Dusky Wolf and the Black Wolf as iden- tically the same. As we shall have occasion to refer to the characteristics of Wolves gener- ally agam, we shall not prolong this article ; the Black, as already stated, being, in fact, only a variety. In our account of the Conunon Gray Wolf of the North, and the While Wolf of the Prairies, which last is very common, we shall give farther and more specific details of their breeding and other matters. GEOCRAPniCAL DISTRinUTIOS All packs of American Wolves usually consist of various shades of colour and varieties, nearly black, have occasionally been found in every part of the United States. The varieties, with more oi' Ic^s of black, eontiinie to in- crease as we proceed fart her to the soutii.und in Florida the prevailing colour BLACK AMKRICAN WOLF. 131 of th wolves .s black. We have seen two or three skins procured in tclTTru ?? "k '''^""'" " ^^" ^"^'^""^ «^ ^h« Philosophical Socety ot Charleston, obtained at Goose Creek, a few years a^o, that is several shades darker than the specimen from which onr d.rwin. wa. made ; and u. a ^an>, of seventeen wolves, which existed in CUeton Di.s. tnct, S. C, a few years ago. (sixteen of whicli were killed by the hunters m ejghteen months), we were infonned that about one fif.h were Id and the others of every shade of colour-from black to dusky ,rey and ye r "'"^•. .^'^^ "^r '^*"' °' ^^'^ ^^"^^>^ - *•- -"'hern par f Missouri, Louisiana, and the northern parts of Texas. t. 182 SCIURUS CAPISTRATUS.-Bosc. Fox Squirrei-. PLATE LXVIII S. magnus. colorem variens ; naso auriculisque albis ; piUs crassis- Cauda corpore longiore. ' CHARACTERS. She, large; tail, longer than the body; hair, coarse; ears and nose white ; subject to great mriefy in colour. 8YN0NYMES. SciuRus Capistratus; Bosc, Ann. du Miis., vol. i., p. 281. " VuLPiNus? Linn. Ell. Gmel., 1788. " NioKii; Ciitesby. Hlack Squiruel; Bartram's Travels in North America. ticiuKLs Cai'isthatls; Desm. Mamninlogie, p. ;}82. Vakieoatls ; Desm. Manimalogie,. p. 303. Capistuatus; Cuv., Regne Animal, vol. i., p. 189. Fo.x SijimuEi., Lawson's Carolina, p. 124. SciiJKus Capistratus ; Harlan. SciURus VuLPiNus ; Godman. DESCRIPTION. This is the large.st and most interesting species of the eenus, found in the United States. Although it is subject to great varieties of colour occasioning no little confusion by the creation of several nominal species, yet it possesses several striking and uniform markings by wliich It may, through all its varieties, be distinguished at a glance from any other. •' The Fo.x Squirrel is furnisb.ed with the following teeth, viz :— r • • • ^ . 00 4-4 Incmve Cavme -; Molar —~ 20. ' 00 |_4 But although we have thus given to this species but four grinders in (he upper jaw. which peculiarity applies to nearly all (he .specimens that may is; ^ic.sua.apu„^^^^^ .hich such soils produce. In' some a J . : .' o llo t:r •" ' ?'f •"'^"' '"''' ^ '^'^' ^^^-^* '•- •'-"• -d mate a hollow tree of any kmd is sufficient lor its purpose if Nature has prepared a hole, a . occupied, if otherwise, the animal finds no difiicu.ty ingZ .nj,^ one or several, for its accommodation. The tree selected is in n ^jMUfiA .sponsu) too, IS irequent V a comnefitor fnt- fk„ .ts rsgs or young i„ such silualinns ■» scl.lom oiecte,] -r, "^ '"" f«™.;.,e ,„.„„.„„, „„, ,„ cha.„,a„.n,ea;;^: h j,:":.r„t:;; N,„„.,Tl ,hai may approach .heir „e«, nor ar, they id,c ,v h "l bTk ".1 .o„.nc, b„. co„,inuc hi.in,, his,,.,,. „„„ clapping , hoi ;„':„ 'l"'",lr„dcr,.,<,xpcllc,l. On ,he other han.l, when ,he Souirre]! youa, in ,he hoic of a .ree, and i. in.rn.ie. „ „ oi.hor 4^- , ^ L°r f „ro,:r ^r;:. "-" --■•■■*:-«--" :i: .;.;. an. vi.o„r ■:x.::::j^-!z: :Z rr ::r m.ler on the p„,«.„ion, of o.her,, as if conscious „f ,he iujSe „f i" ae s, cv,nce» a .Icgree of pusillanimity and cowardice 111 the vi(-ni!ty of the permanent residence of the P,.v «„ • 1 r"=r:''::t'=r:-a~^^ '"-««..„diu.onthe„the.„;.n::rsr.;r:;r::z::* IIINB!:^ 130 FOX .scillliUEL that scnrcely bears any rosemhlaiicc, to the l)arkiii<; which they utter or other occasions. The young are produced from the beginning of Mnrcfi, and soMictinies earlier, to April. The nests containing I lien), whicti we have had iipj)orlunlties of examining, \V(M'e always in liollow trees. They receive the nonrislmient of the mother for four or live weeks, when they are leil to shift lor tliemseh'es, but continue to reside in t..e vicinity of, and even to ->ccupy the same wests with, their parents till autumn. It has been asserted .)_, several planters of Carolina, that this species has two broods (luring the season. The food of the Fox Scjuirrel is various ; besides acorns, and differ- ent kinds of nuts, its principal subsistence ibr many weeks in autumn is the fruit extracted from the cones of the pine, especially the long-leaved pitch pine, (l^inus paluxtris.) Whilst the green corn is yet in its milky state, this Squirrel makes long journeys to visit the (ields, and for the sake of convenience frequently builds a tempo- rary summer-house in the vicinity, in order to share with the little Caro- lina siiuirrol and the crow a portion of the delicacies and treasures of Ihf husbandman ; whore he is also exposed to the risks incurred by the thief and plunderer: for these fields are usually guarded by a gunner, and in this way thousands of squirrels are destroyed during the green corn season. The Fox Stjuirrel does not appear to lay up any winter stores there appears to be no Ibod in any of his nests, nor does he, like the red scjuirrel, {Sciurns hiidsonius), resort to any hoards which in the season of abundance were buried in the earth, or concealed under logs and leaves. During the winter season he leaves his retreat but seldom, and then only ibr a little wliile and in line weather in the middle of the day. He has evidently the power, like the marmot and racoon, of being sustained for a consider- able length of time without much suffering in the absence of food. When this animal makes his appearance in winter, he is seen searching among the leaves where the wild turkey has been busy at work, and gleaning the refuse acorns which have escaped its search ; at such times, also, this squirrel does not reject worms and insects which he may detect beneath the bark of fallen or decayed trees. Towards spring, he feeds on the buds of hickory, oak, and various other trees, as well as on several kinds of roots, especially the wild potato, {A/tios luherosu.) As the spring advances farther, he is a constant visitor to the black mulberry tn .•, {\forus rubra,) where he finds a supply for several weeks. From this tunc till winter, the fruits of the field and forest enable him to revel in .■tbiindance. Most other species of this genus when alarmed in the woods innufdiately betake themselves to the first convenient tree that presents itselli — not so FOX SQUIRRKL. wifh rho F„x Scnirrel. When ho is awaro ol' l.Hn, ..iscovered whilst 1 ho «ro„nc he push.s ,,i....„y for a hollow tree, which i.s oOen a quart of a m.le chstanf, and it n^iuire. a .^ood do., a man on hors.-l,,.' ,, . very.sw.(t runnn-, to induce him to alter his eourse. or co.np.d hi.n to a cen any other tree. When he i.s silently seated on a tree and in.a.i.'s ..mse unperee.ved ly the p,.rson approaching hin., he sud.lenly spreads un.se .„y on the liu.l. ,en.ly n.ovin. to the opposite sid.- o.L by th. stratagem escapes detection. When, however, he is on a small tree and IS made aware of being observed, he utters a few querulous barkin^^ notes, and uumediately leaps to the ground, and hastens to a more secure retreat. If overtaken by a dog, he defends himself with great spirit, and IS often an overuuttch for the small terriers which are used for the purpose 01 treemg hmi. ' ^ ' He is very tenacious of life, and an ordinary shot gun, although it ma- wound hun repeatedly, will seldom bring him down from the tops „ th; h gh PUJ.S to wh,ch he retreats when pursued, and in such situation nfle IS the only certain enemy he has to dread. This Squirrel is seldom seen out of its retreat early in the mornin^ and evemng. as ,s t e habit of other species. He seems to be a a'^ris and u.ua ly makes his appearance at 10 or ,1 o'clock, and retit^s to hi^ om,e e long before evening. He does not appear to indulge so n" en |y n> the barkuig propensities of the genus as the other and smalhr 'ped Th,.s note, when heard, is not very loud, but hoarse and gutteral i^ oasdy domesfc^Ued, and is occasionally seen in cages, but is less act ve and sprightly than the smaller species. As an article of food, the Fox Squirrel is apparently equallv good with any other species, although we have observed that'the litt e C^ o i . qu.rrel ts usually preferred, as being more tender and delicate. W 7 rkL7or""'''' are very abundant, men soon become surfeite.l with generally considered a great delicacy. This species, like all the rest of the squirrels, is infested durin^ the tiri":r^ i ;? ^""""-'-^ '^^^-^ ^''-"■-^' -'-•'> fastenm ;; ,'; on t neck or shoulders, must be very annoying, as those most a^-eeted i oweTler ""•'"?■ '7 '^"" ''-''' '■•• ^'''''- ^•"" -^" "'-"--' m the oZ; "'"t ? '"'•■•"'"" '■'"" birds of prey and wild beasts pau > of owls, so destructive to the Cnrolina squirrel. We have seen it >. defiance to the attacks of the red-shoulderil hawk (fVe wl ' VOL. ili^— lfi( ff^' las pox sgnuuKi. : It and opoH \vo()(!«, to vvliiohtlie liix mid wild «'at Mildoin n-sort, during (In iniddio of fho day, ho thiif iiiiiii is iiliiiost (lii> onlj- riuiny it \im to dnad. <;KO«IRAfllH',M, ItlMIHIIIHIION. This spocics IN sdid in ixist xpniitiKly in NfW Jcrsry. Wr linvc not oli- Hrr\«'d i( (iirtlii>r iiorlli tlmii ViiKiniii, n,' bestowed on it the earliest sjiecilie name. Gmei.mn, in 17SH, mimed it S. ntfpinu.s. The black squirrel orCATBDUv is the black variety of the present specios. 189 GENUS C01VI)YLl/llA.-I,,u«„. OKNTAI, KOIlMUr.A. Incmvr - ; Caninr. ^~-\; Molar^ - An Mm.;.,., I„n... „x.r,„„i.y ciliat.,1 ; ,.ar,, „„„,., ,„,„„„, „„„„ , !::L';;:;;;'.""'^ - '""•'""■ '"-«' «-'«.i.«-.K™„ Jhi;,.:::i' (M...IUS) ,,„,l W5, (ct.Kla) " luu.l.l,,.,! mil " There is Ua one wdl .l.tonni..., species of this .onus at present known. CONDYLUkA CKISTATA—LiNN. CoMMdN Star-IVoheii Mdlk, PLATK LXLV C. narihus c/iruncuiat..s ; chu.Iu .,« pc..»> breviore • v«II.., . dnereo, nigricans, suhtus clilutior. ' ^""' "'"*'="'''' CIi/.K/i(,-l'ERfl. SYNONYMES. Kouttx ruisTAT(T8, Linii., Ed. 1*2 p 7'{ I-N. .M.«„ MO..E. l^.„„a„t^s Hist Q..a.l., >.,) ..„ p. 2^2 t„ 90, f. 2 Pennant's Arct. Zo,,]., v.,i. i., „ 140 iALPA I-ONOICAUDATA KUX. Hyst., «.,>.. i, ,, 188 ' Lo.u.,..,„ Mo... a,„d,.ura a lo..,u..,,„..ue, .>.... Ma.am., f. i., p. ,58 ^ Undyiura cnstata, Harlun, p. y(}. ' '^ ''• " (Jodm. vol. i., |), 100. J " C. inacroura, Ifarlan, p. ;«). C longip^uduta, Uichiu-dsonFaiinn n 1^ r> - " C. cristata, Do K.,. N. Ilist N J.'p lb """"™' '^ "^ I: ' l.i' 140 STAR-NOSED MOLE. DESCRirnON. r\.4 In the upper j;i\v there are two larfje incisive teetli hollowed.in Ironr i.i tlie shaiK» ol' a spoon. The next tootli on each side is Ion-;:, |)oinfe(l, coni- eal, with two tubercles, one before and the other behind at the base, re- seinl)lins: in all its characters a canine tooth : these are succeeded by live small molars on each side, the posterior one heim; the larirest. There are three true molars on "ach side, with two acute tubercles on the inner side —the first or anterior of these molars is the largest, the second a little smaller, and the third or posterior one the smallest. In the lower jaw there are four large incisors, spoon shaped, and bear-ng a strong resem- blance to those in the upper jaw. The next on each side are tolerably long sharp, conical teeth, corresponding with those above which we have set down as canine. The four succei aing teeth on each side, which may be regarded as false molars, are lobed and increase in size as they approach the true molars; the throe molars on each sit! > resemble those above, hav- ing two folds of enamel forming a point. In the shape of its body this species bears a considerable resemblance to the Common Mole of Europe {Taljxi Eurojmi) and to Brewer's Shrew Mole {Scolops Brewcrii); in the indications on th(! nose, however, it dilfers widely from both. The body is cylindrical, about as stout as that of our Common Shrew Mole, and has the appearance of being attached to the head without any distinct neck. Muzzle, slender and elongated, termi nated with a cartilaginous fringe which originated its English name — 'he Star-nosed Mole. This circular disic is composed of twenty cartilaginous (ibres, two of which situated beneath the nostrils ;ire shortest. The eyes are very small. Moustaches, few and short. There is tin orifice in place of an external ear, which does not project beyond the skin. Fore feet, longer and narrower than those of the; Common Shrew, feet longer and narrower than those of the Common Mole; palms, naked, covered with scales ; claws, flattened, acute, channelled beneath ; hii d extremities lon- ger than the fore ones, placed far back ; feet nearly naked, scaly; tail, sub- cylindrical, sparingly covered with coarser hair. It is clothed v/ith dense soft fur. COLOUR. Eyes, black ; nose and feet, flesh colour ; point of nails and end of car- tilaginous fringe, roseate. The fnr on the whole body, dark plumbeous at the roots, and without nny amuilatiotis. (Ice|)ening towards the apex into a brownish black. In some shades of liyht the Star Nose appears perfectly black throughout. On the under surface it is a shade lighter. In the- I STAR-NOSED MOIA'.. Ul I i colour of the feet we have seen some variations: a specimen before us has dark brow.i feet, another pale ashy brown, and a third vdlowish whit^ ; the majority of specimens, however, have their feet brownish white. One specimen is marked under the chit,, throat and neck with light yellowish brown, the others arc darker in those parts. Inches, 5 3 i DIMENSIONS. From point of nose to root of tail Tail From heel to end of claw - - . . Breadth of palm HABITS. As far as we have been able to ascertain, the habits of this species do not differ very widely from those of our Common Shrew Mole. We doubt however, whether its galleries ever run to so great a distance as those oi the latter animal, nor does it appear to be in the habit of visiting hi-^h grounds. It burrows and forms galleries under ground, and appears "to be able to make rapid progress in soil earth. Its food is of the same na- ture as that of the Common M )le, and it appears to prefer the viciniry ot brooks or. swampy places, doubtless because in such localities earth worms and the larva; of various insects are generally abundant. The proper use of the radiating process at the end of the nose has not been fully ascertained, but as the animal has the power of inovin- these tendrils in various directions, they may be useful in its search after worms or otlier prey, as is the moveable snout of the Shrew Mole. When con- hned m a box, or on the floor of a room, this Mole feeds on meat of almost nnj kind. It is not as strong as the Common Mole, nor as injurious to the larmer, since it avoids cultivated fields, and conlines itself to mea^lows and low swampy places. During the rutting sr ason the tail of the Star-no«ed Mole is greatly en largeJ, which circumstance caused Dr. Harlan to describe a specimen taken at that season as a new species, uinler the name Condylura macrnitfd. J)r. CJouMAx'. account of the abundance of this species does not coincide with our own experience on this subject. He says, "In many places it IS seanvly p-ssibk- to advance a st,.p without breakin^^ down their -ralle- r'.'s. by which the surface is thrown into ridges an.! the .uriace of the green swani in no slight degree disliKured." Wo have sometimes sup- posed that he might have mistaken the galleries of the Common Shrew ^f i! 'Hi 142 STAR-NOSED MOLK. i ! . Mf.Ie for thos.> made, by tlu^ Star-Nose, as to us it has always appeared a rar(> species in every part of our Union. In a ti'w localities where wt^ were in the habit, many years a^o, of ob- taining the Star-nosed Mole, it was always found on "the banks '>f rich meadows near running streams. The galleries did not run so near the surface as those of the Connuon Shrew Mole. We caused one of the. gal leries to be dug out, and obtained a nest containing three young, appa- rently a week old. The radiations on the nose were so slightly developed that until we carefully examined them we supposed they were the young of the Common Shrew Mole. The nest was spacious, composed of withered grasses, and situated in a large excavation under a stump. The old ones had made their escape, and we endeavoured to [)reserve the young ; but the want of proper nourishment caused their death in a couple of days. The specimen of the Star-nosed Mole, from which our plate was drawn, was sent to us by our highly esteemed friend Jamks G. King, Esq., having l)een captured on a moist piece of ground at his country seat in New Jersey. opj)osite the city of New-York, GEOORAPinCAI, DISTRHJUTION. This species is Ibund sparingly in all the northern and eastern states. Dr. Richardson supposes it to exist as far north as Lake Su- perior. We obtained a specimen iive miles from the Falls of Niagara, on the Canada side, and have traced it in all the New-England States.' We received specimens from Dr. Brewc.r, obtained near Boston, .-nd from W. O. AvRES, Esq., from Long Island. We caught a lew of these animals near New- York, and obtained others from various parts of the state. We saw a specimen at ^'ork, Pennsylvania, and found another at Frankfort, east of I'hiladelphia. We captured one in the valleys of the Virginia' iMountains, near the lied Sulphur Springs, and received another from the valleys in the mounlains of North Carolina, near the borders of South Carolina, and presume it may follow the valleys of the Alleghany ndge as far to the soulh as those latitudes. We have never found it in South Ca- rolina or Georgia, but to the west we have traced it in Ohio and the northern parts of Tennessee. OENERAI, REMARKS. We have been induced to undertake a careful examination of the teeth of this species, which forms the type of the genus, in consequence of the wideiliti; reiices existing among authors in regard to the characters of the iccth. Dkmarkst ga\c six incisors above ;ind lour below in the under ja,w star.nosb:d mole. 143 cheek-teeth fourteen above and sixteen beneath. In this arrangement he IS followed by Harlan, Gudman, GRiFFrn., Db Ka7 and others. The de- scription of the teeth, by DrsMA,u«r, is very accurate, and so is the very recent one of Dr. Dk Kav. F. Cnvncu, on whose jud.anent, in regard to cliaracfers Ibunde.l on d.Mi.ition, we would sooner rely than on that of any other naturalist, has on th.. other hand, (/;..v dents dcs mmmifSrcs, 182.1 p. 5G,) g-ven descriptions and figures of th(^se teeth, there being two in- ciswe, two canine, and sixteen molar above, and two incisive, two canine and fourteen molar below. Our recent examination of a series of skulls IS m accordance with his views, and we have adopted his dental arrange- ment. The dilFerence, however, between these autiiors is more in appear- ance than in reality. The incisors, canine, an.l false molars, in their cha- racter so nearly approach each other, that it is exceedingly dilficult to assign to the several grades of teeth their true position in the dental system. LiNN^us described this species under the name of Sorex cristatm in 177(5, (12th edition, p. 73) ; Pk.xant, in 1771, gave a description and poor figure of what he called the Long-tailed Mole ; and in 1777, Euxlkiien bestowed on the animal thus figured, the name of S. longicandata. 1 knnant's specimen was received Irom New- York, and although it was badly figured it was correctly characterized " Long tailed Mole, with a radiated nose," and in his " Arctic Zoology " he describes it as " the nose long, the end radiated with short tendrils." The whole mistake we con- ceive was made by Desmarest, whose work we have found exceedingly inaccarate, misled, probably, by Pennant's figure, without looking at his description. He gives one of the characters '' point des crates namlcs» when Pennant had statedquite the reverse. Hence the error of Harlan ' whose article on Comlylura longicandata is a translation of Desmarest We leol confident that this supposetl species must be struck from the list of t.-ue species in our Fauna. The Condylura macroura of Harlan, {Fauna Americana, p. 30,) was re- garded as a new species, in consequence of a specimen with the tail greatly enlarged. It was a second time published by RrcnARi.soN, who adopted Harlan's name; Gouman first suggested the idea that this might be traced to a peculiarity in the animal at a ,,articular season. It IS known that a similar enlargement takes place annually in thfl neck ol the male deer during the rutting season. We have examined several specimens where the tail was only slightly enlarged, and the swelling was just commencing, and we possess one where one half of the tail from the root is of the usual large size of C. macroura and the other half towards the end is abruptly .liminished so as tJ I I t 144 8TAR-N()Si;i) MOLK. leavo one Imlf of Iho tail to ,l,.si>,M.,.(„ „, ,h>w sp.M.ics „n.l (1„. othrr nuir Ibrciiif,' it baolf to its l.-ili.M.dr plan, i.i tl.r systmi oC ..at.im. Tl.o singular rl.ani<-t.T (kn<,l,l.,.,l tail) on winch this (Jmns was , r- roni-ously lomKlrd should sii-rrsi, to the naturalist tho i.c-.-ssiiy „C cau- tion. 'l'h.< tails of ,,ua(lru|).Mls in drying ollrn assume a v.-ry dilllMvnt shajH' Iroui that which tlioy oii^Mnally possessed. This is "rspcciallv the cas„ anions the Shivws and u.ic.'. that an; dcscril.,.,! IV.. u. .iricd speoinii-ns, as square-tailed, angular or knobbed, whereas in nature tliii tails Were rouud. u.. ' . .Jtwwei.aii WW J GENUS SOREX.-L1NN OBNTAL FORMULA. lncm.,\, Utcralinc^s^ve or false Canmr, from'Jlt; Molar frrnn ? '^f . from ao to 34 leeth Fncisivo teeth in the upper Jaw in.lentcd at thoirba.se; in the lower pr..cee,h„. hor.onta.ly from their aveoii an,l turned up;ards owll' therp,„„ts where they are usually of a brown eolour/ lateral ^ or hUse can.ne. eonieal, s.nall, shorter than the cheek-teeth Muzzle and nos,-. much elongated ; snout, moveable. Ears an.I eves «mal; pendactylous; nails, hooked. A series of glands along the hnk' exu.hng u scented unctuous matter ' fiell'lt'"'" "'"" '•' '"■'"' '"'" ^^'^ '^^^^•" --' ^--' a Shrew. Authors have described about twenty-three species of Shrews twentv ex.su.g on the Eastern continent and thirteen in N. America. Z! ot th..se spec.es are not as y.-t determin,.!, we can scarcely doubt We know no genus in which the American naturalist has a greater prospect of success in adding new species than that of Sorex *l ll if. r 1! SOREX PARVUS.-.SAT Say's Least Shrew, PLATE LXX. vol.. II, -in. illi HAY\s ii;a.st SIIIUIW OIIAKAinKRH. /'()(/(/ ii/kmv biownish KIM. ' " Liiisl)}', Am. .Imii'iml, vol. xxmx., |». ;iH8. " Ilarliin. )). •.»«. '. In ll\t' npp(>r j.'wvs (ln> incisors juc miwiII. iiuicli hooked, iiiid Imvc !V posterior lulx ; llic siici't-i'dini: lMl("ri\l i'licisors, tii'c iiiimitc, coiiiciil. i\ot lohcd. till' 'wo imtcrior ones miiic!i llii' larjicsl. 'riic tirsl ^jriiidcr is siiiallor than tlic sccoiid .uid lliird, (lie fourth is lh(< sinallcsl. In fh«' hiwcr.jaw tlu' incisors arc a li1th> smaller llian those in tlie npper They nvv iniicli nior<' hooked and have eiicli a lar^e |)Osteri(;r hihe. The two hiteral incisors are small not lolied — tin- >,'rinder.«i have each i \V0 sharp points ri^in^j ahoxe tlic enamel. 'l"he second loolli is larnesl. and the third smallest. ,\(isc slender and lonir. l>iit less .so than that ot" inanv other species, es|)eciall\ that of N. /miiiinixlris i.nd N. I{irhry small, ears, noiu' ; the audi- forv oiit>i-\inii' heinsx covered hv a round lolie. wilhoul anv I'olds uhovo ; t'Tt spiirjely clothed with minute iiairs. palms naked ; tail thickly (dotlied with minute h.-iirs, tur, short, close, soft, and silky. eoi.oi'R. .Ml the teeth are nt their points inten.sely hl.aok ; \vnisker.«<, wliite :uid black; point of nose, feet, and nails, whitish; the hair is, on the upper surface pluMil)eous from the roots, and of an ashy-hrown at the tips; a shade lifrhter on the under surl'ace : under the chin it, i.s of an a-hv >;rey ^jraduallv bh-ndin;:; with the colours on ilic buck. HAVH IJOAHI- HUHKW 147 DIMKNMIONH. rnmi point, oC im.s»? to root of tail Tail. Inchiw 2 IIAniTH. TliiH littl(, (iiTiitiirc. to wliicli III). „1 VVilS lirsl. follic Iforky Mount i( \\fts I'oiiiiil ill ••ii|>liirc(l hy Mr. 'IV IAN l{. I •ovf niitrK- wjiH (itt(i(!|ic(| |,y Sav, 'I'.Ai.i;, (liirinii: \. l''M)k III, the pifilf. redder, ;u„| 'lins, lit lOiiKiiiccr (Juiilotunrnt on tli pilliill exmvdle.l lor (•ut.!llin^r wolves. 'ON'iM Hxpediiion M iN.Moini, wliere on ••xntninintr (lie pit, inieM.le.j (or llie d nii^ine tlie nstoni.slnoe,,! of ihe (, iintcr III pr.'il'-ies, when, iiislead of ll estrilelion oC (I,,. S.-lV/l'T provvlf pereeivrwl (lijs, ||,r |,easl SI 'I'll 'trill lialiils lo ll Illy lo wliiidi this Shrew I.eh We has orex, found I le mole seen a (i hill. "■ f,'.iine that he intended to enliap, ■|.V riiiiiiiiii,' (icrosH the holloni. 'ttKH. i.s .soinewhal, allied in (or,,, irew, liiiiii i"'iiiy speeie.s are now prohahly extinct. iiKiiK'iit oC a fossil icnninder of '' y our ytxiwtr fri,.„d |),.. [ nnnintr i-,.^ri„„ adjoining Lake S IIDll mist. h;i,ve !)(■( iipenor, fro,,, the X' tooth of a Mu,sri'., of New- York, in iho ■" '" l<-iist n, yard h.n^r, and no do„| size of whieh. thi uni- nnrnivoroiis te,.th, a ll.nnidahle, heu.st of )t w l.^ Wl th it!' mid winiiiH of a eorrespondii |>''<7 ; whether it hud nilioii, is a, mutter of of ;;,'e(do«;Js|,s have tin i/e to feed upon, in its d insf'cts inlial.iliinls of the aiieient mere eonjeeimc. us even the, wonderful d ■own liiil Mill,. Ijjriit „„ ,1 • y Utlfl ironc. iseovei-icH foi world. ultlioiiL'l If modes of life of tl ind '"••'III time to lim,. |,v | t,'h some; whole skidetons 10 uro 'I'lie Least Shrew fei'd.N leir res(.arelies. or uiiy deud hird or heust tliut 111)1)11 ins(-(!ts uiid lurvie. wor It ul «'!irth, hilt s( so cuts seeds und j,'ruins of ditf it muy ehanee to diseo lis und the IJesh ver. •■ront kinds, [t hurro ll 'k' nade, and rii •ks its food ,„„re upon the siirfuee of tl lis with euse scmir. birds of |,|-,.y |,„||| uroiind its In ws in tho 10 tcround tliun irrow about fenei^s und | m-ekiiiH: its food '•<■ upon tlie Shrew, whilst it is i»| o^'''l "P .•' Kood many of these liitl.. ,p,a,lru„ed H-aruncc hud b..,Mi killed by either cuts owl on tho (ijround. U.I a PI dl irises from a seereti I» s or hawk^ which tf ic sid(.s of the ai on .•xud..d from jr|ands whicl Tl MS INI.O), This secivtion, like that o| liii.il ((Jcolfroy, Mem. Mils. If I are pluocd ist. Nut., Vol. i.. au-e, the scuson. &c most uiu inimals, varies acconiuiKto tho I lirovuiJs more i.. fnal»H ,i,an fema -;i ' ^111 148 SAY'S LEAST SHREW. Of the mode in which the Least Shrew pa.s.ses the winter we have no very positive information. It is capable of sustaining a great degree of cold. We have never found one of these animals in a torpid state, when examining burrows, holes, or cavities in and under rocks or stones fee, for the purpose of ascertaining, if possible, the manner in which they passed the winter. We have seen minute tracks on the surface of the snow where it was lour feet in depth in the Northern parts of New- York, which we ascertained were the foot-prints of a Shrew which was afterwards captured, although we cannot be certain that it was this species. It had sought the dried stalks of the pig weed .{chenopo- (bum album) on which the ripened seeds were still hanging and upon which it had evidently been feeding. We are unacquainted with any other habits of this minute species: GEOGRAPIIICAI, DISTRIBUTION. If authors have made no mistake in the designation of this species as we strongly suspect, it has a wide geographical range : according to Richardson, it is found as far to the north as Behring's Straits. I'he specimens from which our figures were taken, were obLined in the im- mediate vicinity of New- York. Dr. Dekav, in his Nat. Hist, of Nrw- York, p. 20, mentions that although he had been unsuccessful in obtaining it in New- York, a specimen was found in Connecticut, by Mr. Lixslky'! We have not ascertained its southern range, all we know'of its exist- ence in the west, is from Say's short description of the only specimen obtained west of the Missouri. GENERAL REMARKS. All our authors seem anxious to obtain Say's Least Shrew, and we have seen dozens of specimens of young Shrews of several specie's, labeled in the cabinets "Sorex Parvus." Although there were few more accurate describers than Say, yet his description of S. parvus, is too imperfect, to enable us to feel confident of the species. There was no examination of its dental system, and his description would easily apply to half a dozen other species. ' The characters by which we may separate the different Shrews are not easily detected, they very much resemble each other in form, colour and habits ; they are minute nocturnal animals and not easily procured. There exist but few specimens in our cabinets to enable us to in- stitute comparisons, and a century will pass away before all our species ure discovered. We have very little doubt, that when the species which SAY'S LEAST SHREW. 149 was obtained in the far West and described by Sav and that nf R BO. from the far north, and ours from the 'vie n^ of NeJ Yt'"''" Ob amed and cornj.ared and their dental system caret M^"' ^ w.l. be ascertained that they are three diJti cTs^ec '.„d oT ' '' cessors will be surprised that the old authors gave o t^^ Shr '"" wide a geographical range. ^ '^^"'''^' -'^ Say's description is siihim'n r«- above b.„w„li„i„e.„„: £l„ '"IZZla TrT' " '^' ears concealed, whisker, 1„„, ,.'"'"'"""' '""^ elongated, eye, and imes. of tail rt ?(; " d . •'' inches lour Ho„; d„:t:;:;,H ^:raz: a^nLrTenrr'-r" :: "rr'^ a...l body .„, inches three liaea, tail one Lh '' "" °' """^ 150 if CANIS L. TUANS— Sat. Prairie Wok. — Hapkino Wo^r. PLATE LXXI.— Male. C, oano cinerous nigris et opace puivo-ciii imeo-variegatus ; lateri- bus pallidiori.us; fasciS taise Idta brevinigrS; cauda rectfi fusiformi cinfraceo-cinnameoquc variegata apice nigra. CHARACTERS. Hair cinereous grey, varied ivith black above and dull fulvous ciima- mon ; suhs pahr than the hack, obsoletel,/ fasciate, with black above the lesrs : fail straight, bushy, fusiform, varied with grey and cinnamon, Up black. y ^ SYNONYMEf Small Woi vks, Dr Praly, Louisiana, vol. ii., p. 54, Prairie Wolf, Gas-,. Journal, p. 50. Pkairie Wolf and Bukhowivo Doo, Lewis and Claik, vol, i., p. 102, 13, 203, vol. iii., pp. 102, 1.36, 20.3. " " Schor,!(.r,ift's Travels, 285. Cants Latravs, Say, Long's 'Ixped. i,, p. 108. '■ " Harl.m, p. 33. " God., 1 vol.. 26. " " Richardson, F. B. Ar. 76. Ltcisous Cajottis, Hamilton Smith, Nat. Lib., v iv., p. 164, p. 6. • DESCRIPTION. The Barking or Prairie Wolf is intermrdinfe in size, between the large American Wolf and the grey Pox {V. vinrinn/niis.) It is a more ' dy animal than the former, and possesses a cunning fox-llKr countp ,ince. In seeing it on the prairies, and also in menageries, in a state of domestication, \v,! have often been struck with its quick, restless manner, and with many traits o'' haracter that reminde.i ^ of sly reynard. The nose is sharp and pointed ; nostrils moderately dilated and naked —the upper si,, face to (he forehead covered with compact short hairs; eyelids placed obliquely on tlic sides of the head. Eyes rather small— I'KAIUIb: WOLF. 151 rr.mstaches few, very rigid, extending to the eyes, four or Hve stiff nairs rising on the sides of the neck I,, low the ears. Head rather I road ; Ears, erect, broad at base, ruanin- to an obtuse point, ciotJied with compact soft fur in which but few of the longer hairs exist ; body, toler- ablyst.M.t; legs, of moderate h-ngth, shorter in proportion frhan ihose ot the common Wolf; Tail, large and bushy, composed like the cover- mg ol the body of two ki.uls of hair, the inner soft and woolly, the outer longer and coarser and from two to three and a half inches in len-th Soles of tiie feet naked, nails rather stout, shaped Ilk- those of 'the' (log. The whole structure of the animal is indicative of spc.ul, but from Its compact shape and rather short legs we would be led to suppose that U was rather intended for a short race than a long heat. COLOUR. Nostrils, around the edges of the mouth, and moustaches, black ; upper surface of nose, and around the eyes, reddi«h brown ; upper lip, around the edges ot the mouth, and throat, white; eye-lids, yellowish ' white ; hairs on the forehead, at the roots reddish brown, then a line of yellowish wiute tipped with black, giving it a reddish grey appear- ance. Inner surface of the ears (which are thinly clothed with hair) wh^te; outer surface, yellowish brown; the fore legs reddish hrown with a stripe of blackish extending from the fore shoulder in an irreg- ular black line over the knee to near the pans. Outer surface of the huid legs, reddish brown, inner surface a little lighter. On the back the sort under fur is dingy yellow ; the longer hair from the roots to two-thirds of its length black, then a broad line of yellowish brown, broadly tipped with black. Neck, reddish brown • throat nnd all beneath, yellowish white, with bars under the throat and on the chest and belly of a reddish tinge. On the tail the softer hair IS plumbeous, the longer h;iirs are like those on the back, except on the tip of the tail where they are black for nearly their whole length. The description here given is from a very fine specimen obtained at San Antonio ir- Texas. There is not however a uniformity of colour m these animals, although they vary less than the large wolves. The specimen whicU Richardson described was obtained on the Saskatch- ewan. We examined it in the Zoological Museum of London : it differs in some shades " colours from ours -its ears are a little shorter Its nose h>ss pointed, and the skull less in breadth-but it was evi- dently the ..„.,. species, and could not even be regarded as a distinct variety. The m.uiy specimens we examined and compared in various tints of colour differed considerably, some wanting the brown '^' H Ei'**' 1 i > W^' J 162 PRAIRIE WOLF. lints, being nearly grey, whilr niiiny liiul \>\ii.cM niarkinfi!;. on 154 PRAIRIE WOLF. before we could interfere, had reached a point opposite a raised window and to our surprise, made a sudden spring at it and jumped into the warehouse without touching the edges of the sills, in the most admir able manner, while his foes were completely baffled. After this adventure the Wolf would no longer go out in the town and seemed to give up his wish to extend the circle of his acquaintance. The Barking or Prairie Wolf digs its burrows upon the prairies on some slight elevation, to prevent them fr^^m being filled wifh water. These dens have several entrances, like those of the red fox. The young, from five to seven and occasionally more in number, are brought forth in March and April. They associate in greater numbers than the larg. r Wolves, hunt in packs, and are said by Uiciiardson to be Hecter than the common Wolf. A gentleman, an experienced hunter on the Saskatchewan, informed him that the only animal on the plains which he could not overtake when mounted on a good horse, was the prong-horned antelope, and that the Prairie Wolf was next in speed. All our travellers have informed us, that on the report of a gun on the prairies, numbers of these Wolves start from the earth, and warily approach the hunter, under an expectation of obtaining the off^al of the animal he has killed. The skins of the Prairie Wolves are of some value, the fur being soft and warm ; they form a part of the Hudson Bay Company's exportations, to what extent we are not informed. RiciiA.iDsoN says they go under the name of cased-wolves skins, not split open like those of the large Wolf, but stripped off and inverted or cased, like the skin of a fox or rabbit. GEOGRAriUCAL DISTRIDUTION. According to Richardson, the northern rar ge of this .species is about the fifty-fifth degree of latitude. It is found abundantly on the plains of the western prairies and sparingly on the plains adjoining the wood' shores of the Columbia river. It exists in California, and is found in Texas and on the eastern side of the mountains in New Mexico. We have traced it to within the tropics, but are not aware that it reaches as far south as Panama. Th(> eastern branches of the Missouri river appear to be its farthest eastern ran|>;e. PRAIRIE WOLF 165 m. White Wolf, Frank. .lournal. p. ;ilJ. " Lyon's Private .lournal, p. 270. Li I'us Aluus Vak. B. Wiim: Woi.i-. llichardson, F. B. A., p. 68. nESCRIPTION. In shape, thi.s Wolf reseml.lr.s all the othor varieties of lar-e North American Wolves. (The prairi<. orharkin- Wolf, a .listinet and ditfere,,^ Mpeci.>.. excepted.) It is lar,H>. ,s,out. an.! eo.npaclly l,„i|, ; ,1„. ,ani„e te«^ ;,rr Inns ; others stout, lar-c rather short. Eyo.s, small. Ears vhorf, and^tnaru^nhr. Feet, stout. Nails, strong and trenchant. Tail, lon^ and l.nshy. Hairs en the l.ody. of two kin.ls ; the nnder coat composed of .short, solt and woolly hair. inters,„.r.sed with longer coar.se hair five inches • n length The hairs on the head and lejrs are short and sn.ooth, havinc^ none of t],e woolly appearance of iho^- on othn- portions of th,. body. '^ COLOUR. The short fur ber.eafh the lonir white ooaf, yellowish white, the whole outer surface white, there is a sli.^ht ti„«c «<' «r, yish on the nose. Nails black ; teeth white. Another Specimen.-Snow-wb.u on ev..n' parr of the body except th. fail, which IS slightly tipped with I ,ck. WHITE AMKRICAN WOLF. m Another — Lijrht grey on the sides legs and tail ; a dark brown stripe on the hack, through whicii many white hairs protrude, giving it th-e ap- pearance of being spotted wilh brown and white. This variety resem- bles the young Wolf noticed by Richaruson, (p. 08) which he deuimiinates the pied Wolf. DIMENSIONS. Prom point of nose to root of tail, ])o. tail, vertebrm, ... Do. do. end of hair, Height of ear, • - l''aet Inclioa. 4 (( I 2 1 8 34 HABITS. The White Wolf is far the. most common variety of the Wolf tribe to be met with around Fort Union, on the prairies, and on the pliii.s bor- dering the Y<'llow Stone river. When we first readied Fort Union we found Wolves in great abundance, of several different colours, white, trrey, and brindled. A ^jood numy were shot from the walls during our residence there, by Edwaro Harris, Esq., and Mr. .1. G. Bell. We ar- rived at this post on the l'2th of .lane, and although it might be supposed at that season the Wolves could procure food with ease, they seemed to be enticed to tlic vicinity of the Fort by the cravings of hunger. One day soon after our arrival, Mr. Culhertson told us that if a Wolf made its appearance on tlie prairie, near the Fort, he would give chase to it on horseback, and bring it to us alive or dead. Shortly after, a Wolf coming in view, he had his horse saddled and brought up, but in the meantime (he Wolf became frightened and began to make oft", and we thought Mr. CiiLnr.HTSON would never succeed in capturing him. We waited, how- ever, with our companions on the platform inside the walls, with our heads only projecting above the pickets, to observe the result. In a lew moments we saw Mr. Cilher tson on his prancing steed as he rode out of the gate of the Fort with gun in hand, attired only in his shirt, l)reeehes and boots. He put spurs to his horse and went off with the swiftness of a Jockey bent, upon winning a race. The Wolf trotted on and every now and then sto|)]) top of the grave they have thus made for their victim, until urg,.d again by hunger, they exume the body and feast upon it. Along the banks of the river, where oc- casionally many Hulfaloes perish, their weight and bulk preventing them from ascending where the sho.-e is precipitous, wolves are to be seen m e..nsi(I<>ral)lather when wolves go to the river, they usually walk in ii ! It; 160 WHITK AilERICAN WOLF. li' ' I up to tlieir sides, aad cool themselves while lapping the water, pre- cisely in the maimer ol' a dog. They do not cry out or howl when wounded or wlien suddenly surprised, but snarl, and snap their Jaws to- gether furiously. It is said when sutlering lor want of food, the strongest will lixll upon the young or weak ones, and kill and eat them. Whilst prowling over the prairies (and we had many opportunities of seeing them at such times) they travel slowly, look around them cauliously, and will not disdain even a chance bone that may I'all in their way; (hey bite so voraciously at the bones thus left by the hunter that in many cases their teeth are broken olF short, and wc have seen a number of speci- mens in which the jaws showed several teeth to have been fractured in this way. After a hearty meal, the wolf always lies down when he supposes himself in a place of safety. We were told that occasionally when they had gorged themselves, they slept so soundly that they eould be approached and knocked on the head. The connnon wolf is not unfre([uently met with in company with the Prairie woW {Cauls /alrfins.) On the afternoon of the llJth of .Tuly, as Mr. Bell and ourselves were returning to Fort Union, we counted eighteen wolves in one gang, which had been satiating themselves on the carcass of a JJutfalo on the river's bank, and were returning to the hills to spend the night. Some of them had their stomachs dis- tended with food and appeared rather lazy. We were assured at Fort Union tiiat wolves had not been known to attack men or horses in that vicinity, but they will ])ursue and kill mules and colts even near a trading post, always selecting \\w fattest. The number of tracks or rather patiis made by the wolves from among and around the hills to that station are almost beyond credibility, and it is curious to observe their sa<.;ae(ty in choosing the shortest course und the most favourable ground in travelling. We saw hylirids, th(' oli'spring of the wolf and the cur dog, and also their mixed l)roo(is : some of which resemble the wolf, and others the dog. M.'iny oi' the Assiniboin Indians who visited Fort Union during our stay there, had both wolves and their crosses with the common dog in their trains, and tlieir dog carts (if they may be so called) were drawn alike by both. The natural gait of the American wolf resembles that of the New- foundland dog, as it anihlcs, moving two of its legs on the same side at a time. When there is any appearance of danger, the wolf trots oil", and generally makes for unire j'lented hilly grounds, and if pursued, gallops at a quick pace, ;;liuost equal to that of a good horse, as the WHITE AMERICAN WOLF. 161 read.!!- will perceive from the following account. On the 10th of July 18i;j, whilst we were on ii liulFalo hunt near the banks of the Yel- low Stone river, and all eyes were bent upon the hills and the prairie, which is very broad, we saw a wolf about a quarter of a mile from our encampment, and Mr. Owkn McKe.vzie was sent after it. The wolf however ran very swiftly and was not overtaken and shot until it. had ran several miles. It dodged about in various directions, and at one time got out of sight behind the hills. Thi-: wolf was captured, and a piece of its flesh was boiled for supper; but as we had in the mean time caught about eighteen or twenty Cat-fish, we had an abundant meal and did not judge for ourselves whether the wolf was good eating or not, or if its flesh was like that of the Indian dogs, which we have liad several opportunities of tasting. Wolves are frequently deterred from feeding on animals shot by the hunters on the prairies, who, aware of the cautious and timid cha- racter of these rapacious beasts, attach to the game they are obliged to leave behind them a part of their clothing, a handkerchief, &c.,or scat- ter gun powder around the carcass, which the cowardly animals dare not approach although they will w^tch it for hours at a time, and as soon as the hunter returns and takes out the entrails of the game he had left thus protected, and carries off the pieces he wishes, leaving the coarser parts for the benefit of these hungry animals, they come forward and enjoy the feast. The hunters who occasionally assisted us when we were at Fort Union, related numerous stratagems of this kind to which they had resorted to keep ofl" the wolves when on a hunt. The wolves of the prairies form burrows, wherein they bring forth their young, and which hitve more than one entrance; they produce from six to eleven jit a birth, of which there are very seldom two alike in colour. The wolf lives to a great age and does not change its colour with increase of years. GEOGRAnifCAL DISTRIBUTION. This variety of wolf is found as far north in the Arctic regions of America as they have been traversed by man. The journals of Hearne. Frankliv, Sahinb Richardson, and others, abound with accounts of their presence amid the snows of the polar regions. They exist in the colder parts of Canada, in the Russian possessions on the western coast ol America, in Oregon, and along both sid, s of the Rocky Mountains, to California on the w.-st side and Arkansas on the east. We examined a specimen of the White Wolf killed in Erie county, N. Y., about forty VOL.11. 21. H'>' 162 VVIIITK A3IKRICAN WOLU compared wUh .hose .r M:,o.,.lIZ ij '^Xr "»' "'"" GENERAL REMARK8 Cold seems necessary to produce the Wolves of white varietv a , • regions from their alf;t,i,>„.. a- . .•_ variety. Alpme "» - . Lap.:: t:ir:::ranT. ts .!;:;:, 'ir are some of thpm «rl,;f„ t cl . '""o" giey colour — there An,..e„„, European, and A. ir wZ! alXr, 7""!"^ '"t'-^^ i^ociet}. We found specimens from the Norf-m nr.i ai • °'°°'<^'^' bo.h o„„U„e«, h„,e a s,r„„, re JbL;; „ 1^ 7;?'°''^ "[ .ize, their shades of eolour differed oalv i„ ^T . ™ "'"' either eountrv and we n„,ir„ . u ^ '"' 'f™'""!"' from who shouldTe able o Id^d! , ""r""'™'™ """ *' "»"-"« 'n,o differen. ;:1, h d "a; '^di XT '" """'" "" "*" possess. " ' '"' ■""' penetration than we although we Id not when A ty. Alpine ARD informs ilour — there ame colour, smpared to th countries ig the large lent British Zoological ■ regions of 1 form and Tiens from naturalist the Wolves n than we O- 'A IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) M/.^. /. :/ A, 1.0 I.I 11.25 2.5 ^ 1^ III 2.0 - 6" iA 11.6 -> Photographic Sciences Corporation ^ 4 V <^ \\ ^ ^\^ 'r»* 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 % ^^ >* 163 GENUS OVIS.— Linn., Briss., Erxleben, Cuv., Bodd., Geopp. DENTAL FORMULA. Incisive - ; Canine — ; Molar — = 32. 0-0 0-6 Horns common to both sexes, sometimes wanting in the females, they are voluminous, more or less angular, transversely wrinkled, turned laterally in spiral directions, and enveloping an osseous arch, cellu- lar in structure. They have no lachrymal sinus, no true beard to the chin, the fe- mnles have two mamma; ; tail, rather short ; ears, small, erect ; legs, rather slender ; h.iir, of two kinds, one hard and close, the other wool- ly; gregareous. Habit analogous to the goats. Inhabit the highest mountains of the four quarters of the globe. The generic name is derived from the latin Ovis — a sheep. There are four well determined species, one the Mouflon of Buffon, Atusmon {Ovis Musmon) is received as the parent of the domesticated races. It is found in Corsica, Sardinia, and the highest mountain chains of Europe. One inhabiting the mountains and steppes of northern Asia, Tartary, Siberia and the Kurile Islands, one the mountains of Egypt, and one America. OVIS MONTANA.— Desm. Rocky Mountain Sheep. PLATE LXXIII. Male and Femalk. O. cornibus crassissimis spiralibus ; corpore gracile ; artubus elevatis ; pilo brcvi rigido rudi badio ; clunibus albis o ariete major ; rufo cinereus. CHARACTERS. Longer than the domestic sheep, horns of the male long, itrong and tri- angular, those of the female compressed ; colour deep rufo\it grey, a large u)hite disk on the rump. I ' - i ! 1 ! i I :j i I ; 164 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP- SV\0NYME8. Akoali, Cook's third voyage in 1778. W iLD SuEKP OF California. Voncgus. Clavigoro. White Buffalo, McKcnzie voy. |i. 7(5. An. 1789. Mountain Goat, Uinfreville, Hudson's Bay. p. 104. Mountain Ham, McGillivary, N. York. Med. Her .sit. vol. G. p. 238. Bio Morn, Lewis and Clark, vol. 1. p. 144. 'isLim Sauvage d'AMERiQUE. Geofi; An. du. mu.-,. t. 2. pi. 00. UooKY Mountain Sheep. Warden. U. S. vol. 1. p. 217. MouFFtoN d'AMERiQUE. Desm. Mamm, p. 487. Bio Horned Sheep. (Ord.) " " Blainv. in Jour, do Physic. 1817. Ovis Amnion. Harlan. Fauna. j>. 250. The Argali, Godm. Nat. Hist. vol. 2. p. 329. Ovis Montana. Richardson. F. B. Ainer. p. 271. Ovis- PvoARjAs VAR OVIS AMMON. Griffith An. King. Spec. 873. description. Male. This is a much larger animal than any variety of our largest .sized sheep. It is also considerably larger than the Argali on the east- ern continent. The horns of the male are of immense size. They arise immediately above the eyes, and occupy nearly the whole head, they being only separated from each otljt;r l)y a space of throe-fourths of an inch at the base. They Ibrm a regular curve, lirst backwards, then downwards and outward— the extremities being eighteen inches apart. They are liattencd on the sides and deeply corrugated, the horns rising immedi- ately behind. The ears, are short and oval, clothed with hair on both surfaces. The general form of the animal is rather elegant, resembling the stag more than the Sheep. The tail is short. The hair bears no resemblance to wool, but is similar to that of the American Elk and Reindeer. It is coarse, but soft to the touch, and slightly crimped throughout its whole length ; the hairs on the back are about two inches in length, those on the sides one and a half inches. At the roots of these hairs, especially about the shoulders and .sides of the nock, a small quantity of short soft fur is per- ceptible. The legs are covered with short compact hairs. The female Rocky Mountain Sheep resembles some of the finest spe- cimens of the common Ram. Its neck is a little longer, as are also the head and legs, and in consequence it stands much higher. Its horns ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 16.! resemble more those of the goat than of the Sheep, in fact, whilpt the fino erect body of the male reminds us of a large deer with the head of a ram, the female looks like a fine specimen of tlie antelope. The horns bend backwards and a little outwards, and are corrugated from the roots to near the points. Tail very short and pointed, covered with short hairs. Mamma; tivo ventral. COLOUR. The whole upper surface of the body, outer surface of the thighs, legs, sides and under the throat, light greyish brown, forehead and ears .X little lighter. Rump, under the belly and inner siu-face of liiiid legs, greyish white ; the front legs, instead of being darker on the outside and lighter on the insiJe, are darker in front, the dark extending round to the inside of the legs, and cn'ering nearly a third of the inner sur- lace. Tail and hoofs black. A i.'tvrow dorsal line from the neck to near the rump, conspicuous in the male, but comparatively (juite ob- scure in the female. Richardson stt.tes that the old male > are almost totally white in spring. DIMENSIONS. Male figure in our plate. Length Height at shoulder .... Length of tail Girth of body behind the shoulders Height to rump ..... Length of horn around ilie curve Do. of eye Weight 344 lbs. including horns. Female figure in our plate. jNose to root of tail .... lail • . . • . . • Height of rump . . . . Girth back of shoulders Horns — 44^ lbs. (Killed July 3d, 1843.) Ft. Ir^.h?8. 6 3 .5 0 5 3 11 3 lOf 2 lOi • • If 4 7 0 a 3 4* 3 # Weiglit 240 lbs. HABITS. It was on the 12th of June, IS 13, that we first saw this remarkable animal ; we were near the confluence of the Yellow Stone river with i' i I ■ ■" 1 1 ! 1 m^ V Ti 1 106 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. I the Missouri, when a group of them, numbering twenty-two in all, came in siglit. This flock was composed of rams and ewes, with only one young one or lamb among them. Tliey scampered up and down the hills much in the manner of common sheep, but notwithstanding all our anxious efforts to get within gun-shot, we were unal)lo to do so, and were oblijrcd to content ourselves with this first sight of the Rocky Mountain Ram. The parts of the country usually chosen by these animals for their pastures, are the most extraordinary broken and precipitous clay hills or stony eminences that exist in the wild regions belonging to the Rocky Mountain chain. They never resort to the low lands or plains except when about to remove their quarters, or swim across rivers, which they do well and tolerably fast. Perhaps some idea of the country they inhabit (which is called by the French Canadians and hunters, "mauvaise terres") may be formed by imagining some hun- dreds of loaves of sugar of different sizes, irregularly broken and trun- cated at top, placed somewhat apart, and magnifying them into hills of considerable size. Over those hills and ravines the Rocky Moun- tain Sheep bound up and down among the sugar loaf shaped peaks, and you may estimaie the difficulty of approaching them, and con- ceive the great activity and sure-footedness of this species, which, together with their extreme wildness and keen sense of smell, enable them to baffle the most vigorous and agile hunter. They form paths around these irregular clay cones that are at times from six to eight hundred feet high, and in some situations are even fifteen hundred feet or more above the adjacent prairies, and along these they run at full speed, while to the eye of the spectator below, these tracks do not appear to be more than a few inches wide, although they are generally from a foot to eighteen inches in breadth. In many places columns or piles of clay, or hardened earth, are to be seen eight or ten feei. abc • the adjacent surface, covered or coped with a slaty flat rock, thus resernbling gigantic toad stools, and upon these singular places the big horns are frequently seen, gazing at the hunter who is winding about far below, looking like so many statues on their elevated pedestals. One cannot imagine how these animals reach these curious places, es- pecially with their young along with them, which are sometimes brought forth on these inaccessible points, beyond the reach of their greatest enemies, the wolves, which prey upon them whenever they stray into the plains below. The " mauvaise terres" are mostly formed of greyish white clay, very sparsely covered with small parches of thin grass, on which the Rocky Mountain Sheep feed. In vet weather it is almost impossible for any ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 16t man to climb up one of these extraordinary conical hills, as they are slip- pery, greasy and treacherous. Often when a big horn is seen on the top of a hill, the hunter has to ramble round three or four miles before he can reach a position within gun-shot of the game, and if perceived by the animal, it is useless for him to pursue him any further that day. The tops of some of the hills in the "mauvaise terres" are composed of a conglom.M-ated mass of stones, sand, clay and various coloured earths, frequently of the appearance and colour of bricks. We also observed in tliese masses a quantity of pumice stone, and these hills, wc are inclined to think are the result of volcanic action. Their bases ol'ten cover an area of twenty acres; there are regular horizontal strata running across the whole chain of these hills, composed of different coloured clay, coal and earth, more or less impregnated with salt and other minerals, and occasionally intermixed with lava, sulphur, oxide and sulphate of iron; and in the sandy parts at the top of the highest hills, we found shells, but so soft and crumbling as to fall to pieces when we attempted to pick them out. We found in the " mauvaise terres, " also, globular shaped masses of heavy stone and pieces of petrified wood, from frag- ments two or three inches wide, to stumps of three or four feet. thick, apparently cotton wood and cedar. On the sides of some of the hills at various heights, are shelf-like ledges or rock projecting from the surface in a level direction, from two to six and even ten feet, gene- rally square or flat. These ledges are much resorted to by the big horns dur- ing the heat of the day. Between these hills there is sometimes a growth of stunted cedar trees, underneath which there is a fine sweet grass, and on the summits in some cases a short dry wiry grass is found, and quanti- ties of that pest of the Upper Missouri country, the flat-broad-leaved Cac- tus, the spines of which often lame the hunter. Occasionally the hills in the "mauvaise terre> " are separated by numerous ravines, often not more than ten or fifteen feet wide, but sometimes from ten to fifty feet deep, and now and then the hunter comes to the brink of oiie so deep and wide as to make his head giddy as he looks down into the abyss below. The edges of the caSons (as these sort of channels are called in Mexico) are overgrown with bushes, wild cherries, &c., and here and there the Bison will manage to cut paths to cross them, descending in an oblique and zig- zag direction ; these paths however are rarely found except where the ra- vine is of great length, and in general the only mode of crossing the ravine IS to go along the margin of it until you come to the head, which is gen- erally at the base of some hill, and thus get round. These ravines exist between nearly every two neighbouring hills, al though there are occasionally places where three or more hills form only one " Iffpf 1 ! i 1 t n ti I! |i 168 ROCKV MOUNTAIN SHEEP. All of them houevor rui, to ,m-vt .-ud. ol Iut and cmnect -.vith the hu-est the Size ol which bears its proporliou to that ofjts trihutarie.s a.ul .h,.i,- „u,nl,er ..here these ravines have no outlet into a sprinjj or water course ,hev have subterranean drains, and in some of the valleys and even on the toj.s of the hdls, tla.re are cavities called "sinkholes;" the earth near thes. holes .s oceus.onally undermined by the water running, round in circles un- derneath, leavin^^ a erust insullicient to bear the wei,^ht of a man, and when an unfortunate hunter treads on the dec-itful s.u-face it gives way and he finds himself in an unpleasant and at times dangerous predican.ent.' Ihese holes sometimes gradually enlarge and run into ravines below them t IS almost imi.ossible to traverse the "mauvarse terres" with a horse, un- less with great care, and with a thorough knowledge of the country The chase or hunt after the big horn, owing to the character of the country (as we have described it,) is attended with much danger, as the least 'slip imght precipitate one headlong into the ravine below, the sides of the hills being destitute of every thing to hold on by excepting a projecting stone or tult ol worm wood, scattered here and there, without which even the most daring hunter could not ascend them. In some cases the water has washea out caves of different shapes and sizes, some ol which present the most fantastic forms and are naked and barren to a great degree. The water that is found in the springs in these broken lands is mostly impregnated with salts, sulphur, magnesia, &c • but unpleasant as it tastes, it is frequently the only beverage for the hunter and luckily is often almost as cold as ice, which renders it less disagree' able. In general this water has the eiiect very soon of a cathartic and emetic. Venomous snakes of various kinds inhabit the "mauvaise terres" but we saw only one coj)pcr-head. ' Conceiving that a more particular account of these countries may be interesting, we will here insert a notice of them given to us by Mr • Dewey, the principal clerk at Fort Union. He begins as follows : "This curious country is situated, or rather begins half way up White river, and runs from south east to north west for about sixty miles in length, and varying from fifteen to forty miles in width. It touches the- head of the Teton river and branches of Chicune, and joins tlie Black Hills at the south fork of the latter river. The hills are in some places five or SIX hundred yards high and upwards. They are composed of clay of va nous colours, arranged in layers or strata running nearly horiz'ontallv each layer being of a different colour, white, red, blue, green, black yellow, and almost every other colour, appearing at exactly the same height on every hill. "From the quantity of pumice stone and melted ores found throughout ROCKY MOUNTAIN 9 HEEP. 169 them, one nught suppose that they had been reduced to this state by vol- canic actK,n. From the head of the Teton river, to cro^s these hills to White r. ver is about fifteen miles ; there is but one place to descend, and the road 1 "I r? I ',°"'^ "^^^ *" P'^'"''' '^ *° SO round the erl of them on the banks of the White river, and following that stream ascend to the de- sired pomt. In four day', march a man will make about fifteen miles io crossing through the "mauvaise terres." At first sight these hills look like some ancient city in ruins, and but little imagination is necessary to give tliem the appearance of castles, walls, towers, steeples, &c. The descent is by a road about five feet broad, winding around and among the hills, made at first probably by the bisons and the big horn sheep, and now rendered practicable by the Indiansandothers who have occasion to use it. It is however too steep to travel dow. with a loaded horse or mule, say about one foot in three, for a mile or so, after which the bases of the hills are about level with each other, but the valleys between them are cut up by great ravines in almost every direction from five to twenty and even fifty feet deep." *'In going over this part of the country great precaution is necessary, for ' a slip of the foot would precipitate either man or horse into the gulf below. When I descended, the interpreter, B. Daumine, a half breed, (having his eyes bandaged) was led by the hand of an Indian." Something like cop- peras in taste and appearance is found in large quantities, as well as pumice stone, every where. This country is the principal residence of the big horn sheep, the panther and grizzly bear ; big horns especially are numerous, being in bands of from twenty to thirty, and are frequently seen at the tops of the highest peaks, completely inaccessible to any other animal. There is but one step from the prairie to the barren clay, and this step marks the difference for nearly its whole length. These "mauvaise terres" have no connexion or affinity to the surrounding country, but are, as it were, set apart for the habitation of the big horns and bears. The sight ot this barren country causes one to think that thousands of square miles of earth have been carried off, and nothing left behind but the ruins of what was once a beautiful range of mountains. The principal part of these hills is white clay, which when wet is soft and adhesive, but the coloured strata are quite hard and are never discoloured by the rain, at least not to any extent, for after a hard rain the streams of water are of a pure milk white colour, untinged by any other, and so thick that ten gallons when settled will only yield about two gallons of pure limpid water, which, how- ever, although clear when allowed to stand awhile, is scarcely drinkable being salt and sulphurous iu taste. The sediment has all the appearance' of the clay already mentioned, which is nearly as white as chalk. There VOL. u. — 22. Ml ' t ! w 170 llOCKV MOUNTAIN SHJBEP. is only one place where wood mid pure; swetst water can be found in the whole range, which in at a spring nearly in the centre of the tract, and one day's journey from the White river, towards theChicune. This apjiears a little singular, lor if it were not lor this the voyageur would be obliged to take a circuitous route of from four to live days. This spring is surrounded by a grove of ash trees, about two hundred yards in circumference. It innnediateiy loses itself in the clay at the edge of the timber, and near the spring the road descends al)out sixty feet and runs through a sort of avenue at least half a mile wide, on each side of which are walls of clay extending horizontally about lifteen miles, and eiglity feet high, for nearly the whole distance. Between these walls are small sugar-loaf slia|)ed hills, and deep ravines, such as I have already described. The colours of the strata are preserved throughout. The principal volcano is the -'Cdle de tomierre," from the mouth of which smoke and fire are seen to issue nearly at all times. In the neighbourhood and all around, an immense quan- tity of pumice stone is dej)osited, and from the noises to be heard, no doubt whatever exists that eruptions may Irom time to time be expected. There is another smaller hill which I saw giving forth heated vapours and smoke, but in generE.; if the weather is clear the summits of the Black hills are obscured by a mist, from which circumstance many superstitions of the Indians have a isen. The highest of the Black hills are fully as high aa the Alleghany mountains, and their remarkable shapes and singular cha- racters deserve the attention of our geologists, especially as it is chiefly among these hills that fossil petrefactions are abundantly met with. The Rocky Mountain Sheep are gregarious, and the males fight fiercely with each other in the manner of common rams. Their horns are exceed- ingly heavy and strong, and some that we have seen have a battered ap- pearance, showing that the animal to which they belonged must have but- ted against rocks or trees, or probably had fallen from some elevation on to the stony surface below. We have heard it said that the Rocky Mouu- tain Sheep descend the steepest hills head foremost, and they may thus come in contact with projecting rocks, or fall from a height on their enor- mous horns. As is the case with some animals of the deer tribe, the young rams of this species and the females herd together during the winter and spring, while the old rams form separate flocks, except during the rutting season in December. In the months of June and July the ewes bring forth, usually one, and occasionally, but rarely, two. Dr. Richardson, on the authority of Drummond, states that in the retired parts of the mountains where the hunters had seldom penetrated, he 1 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 171 (Drijmmonu) found no diflieulty in approaching the Ilocky Mountain Sheep, which there exhibited the simplicity of character so rernarkal)le in the domestic species ; but tliat where they had been often fired at, they were exceedingly wild, alarmed their companions on the approach of danger by a hissing noise, and scaled the rocks with a speed and agility that baffled pursuit. He lost several that he had mortally wounded, by their retir- ing to die among the secluded precipices." They are, we are farther in- formed on the authority of Drummond, in the habit of paying daily visits to oeitain caves in the mountains that are encrusted with saline efflorescence. Tlie same gentleman mentions that the horns of the old rams attain a size so enormous, and curve so much forwards and downwards, that they efiectually prevent the animal from feeding on the level ground. All our travellers who have tasted the flesh of the llccky Mountain Sheep, represent it as very delicious when in season, superior to that of an_, species of deer in the west, and even exceeding in flavour the finest mutton. We have often been surprised that no living specimen of this very in teresting animal has ever been carried to Europe, or any of our Atlantic cities, where it would be an object of great interest. OEOGRAnilCAL DISTRIBUTION. This animal is found, according to travellers, as far to the North as lat 08, and inhabits the whole chain of the Rocky Mountains on their highest peaks down to California. It does not exist at Hudson's Bay, nor has it been found to the eastward of the Rocky Mountain chain GENERAL REMARKS. The hif?tory of the early discovery of this species, of specimens transmitted to Europe from time to time, obtained in latitudes widely removed from each other, of its designation under various names, and of the figures, some of which were very unnatural, that have been given of it, are not only in- teresting but full of perplexity. It appears to have been known to Father PicoLO, the first Catholic missionary to California, as early as 1697, who represents it as large as a calf of one or two years old; its head much like that of a stag, and its horns, which are very large, are like those of a ram ; its tail and hair are speckled and shorter than a stag's, but its hoof is large, round, and cleft as an ox's. I have eaten of these i)easts ; their flesh^is very tender and delicious." The Californian Sheep is also mentioned by Hernandez, Ci,avi,jero, and other writers on California. Vanegas has given an imperfect figure of it, which was for a long time regarded as the *. ' 172 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP. Siberian Argali. Mr. David Doiiolass, m thn Zoological Journal, in Ap.il, 1820, describes a sprcics un'Ier the name of (hi^ Calif ornica, which he' supposed to be the sheep mentioned by Picoi.o. Cook, in liis thin! voyage evidently obtained the sii inches; greatest breadth at the root, (5^ inches; from the root to llie extremitj', measuring around the curve, 2 lieet 10 inches. The first branch or prong on the inner side of the horn commences nine inches from the base It here divides into two branches, one being ten and the other eleven in- ches in lensrth, measuring in a curve from the root to the largest point 2.'> inches. These two prongs on each side incline forward, are almost round, and are pointed like those of elk horns. The palms on tlie iriain branches of ij?ht of eiir, •---.. FVom point of nose to interior canthus of eye, - Weight of horns, 5(> pounds. Weight of the whole animal, from 800 to 1200 pounds. Dimensions of a Male procured in Ontario County, N. Y., in 1800. Feet. Inche«. Length from point of nose to root of tail, -••12 of tail, 11 Height at shoulder, ----... 5 00 Width of horns at tip, -•••-•28 Widest part, .-81 Weight of horns, 09 pounds. HABITS. We were favoured by Mr. Kkndau,, of the Literary Society of Quebec, with the following account of the Moose Deer, with which we will begin our article on this noble quadruped. " The Moose are abundant to the north of Quebec and in the northern parts of the state of Maine. In the neighbourhood of Moose River and thf lakes in its vicinity, they are very abundant. In the summer they are fond of frequenting lakes and rivers, not only to escape the attacks of in- sects which then molest them, but also to avoid injuring their antlers which during their growth are very sott and exquisitely sensitive, and besides, such situations atford theni abundance of food. •' They there feed on the water-plants, or browse upon the trees fringing the shores. In the winter they retire to the dry mountain ridges, and generally 'yard', as it is termed, on the side facing the south, where there are abundance of maple and other hard-wood trees upon which to feed, either by browsing on the tender twigs or peeling the bark from the stems of such as are only three or four inches in dinmeter. Their long, pendu- lous upper lip is admirably adapted for grasping and pulling down the branches, which are held between the fore legs until all the twigs are eaten. They peel oil' the bark by placing the hard pad on the roof of the MOOSE DKRR 188 mouth against the tree, and scraping upwards with their sharp, goiinrclikr teeth, c()ini)l(-l..ly denuding the tree to thn h.-ight of seven or eight feet from the surface of the snow. They reni.iin near tiie same spot as long as a«y food can l)e obtained, seldom breaking fresh snow, but keeping to the same tracks as long as possibh;. "The antlers begin to sprout in April, and at first appear like two blael knobs. They complete their growth in July, when the skin which coven them peels off and leaves them perfectly white ; exposure to the sun and air, however, soon renders them brown. When we consider the iiruncuiso size to which some of them grow in such a short period of time, it seems al- most incredible that two such enormous excrescences could be deposited from the circulating system alone; the daily growth is distinctly marked on the velvety covering by a light shade carried around them. The first year the antlers arc only about one inch long ; the second year four or five inches, with perhaps the rudiment of a point; the third year about nine inches, when each divides into a fork still round in form ; the fourth year they become palmated, with a brow antler and three or (bur points; the fifth season they have two crown antlers and perhaps five points j the points increasing in size each year, and one or two points J.eing addod animally, until the animal arrives at its greatest vigour : after which period they decrease in size and the points are not so fully thrown out. The longest pair I ever met with had eighteen points, (others have seen them with twenty-three points,) they expanded five feet nine inches to the outside of the tips; the breadth of palm, eleven inches without the points ; circumference of shaft, clear of the burr, nine inches ; weight, seventy pounds ! The old and vigorous animals invariably shed them in Decembers some of four and five jears old I have known to carry them as late as March, but this is not often the case. " The rutting season commences in September ; the males then become very furious, chasing away the younger and weaker ones. They run bel- lowing through the forest, and when two of equal strength meet, have dreadful conflicts, and do not separate until one or both are severely in- jured. I bought a pair of antlers from a Penobscot Indian, with one of the brow antlers and the adjoining prong broken short off. The parts were at least Ij inches in diameter, and nearly as hard as ivory. At that season they ure constantly on the move, swimming large lakes and crossing rivers in pursuit of the female. " The female brings forth in May. The first time she produces one fawn, but ever afterwards two. It is supposed by hunters that these twins are always one a male and the other a female. " In summer the hair of the Moose is short and glossy— in winter long and u' i' r 184 MOO?E DEER. ! I very coarse, attached to the skin by a very fine peliclo, and renderrti warn^ by a thick coat of short, iliie wool. The hiiir on the Inco ^'rovvs upwards from the nose, gradually turning and ending in a thick, bushy tuft under the jaws. The young males have generally a long, pendulous gland, growing Irom the centre of this tuft, and covered with long hnir, sometimes a foot h'Ug. " Their flesh is very coarse, though some people prefer it to any otlier it is apt to produce dysentery with persons unaccustomed to use it The nose or moitfle, as it is generally called, if properly cooked is a very delicious morsel. The tongue is also considered a delicacy ; the last entrail (called by hunters the bum-gut) is covered with round lumps of suely fat, which they strip off and devour as it comes warm from the animal, with- out any cooking. Also the marrow warm from the shanks is spread upon bread, and eaten as butter. I must confess that the disgusting luxury was rather too rich to tempt me to partake of it. I have seen some officers of th^ Guards enjoy it well enough ! " The seasons for hunting the Moose are March and September. In March, when the sun melts the snow on the surface and the nights are frosty, a crust is formed, which greatly impedes the animal's progress, as it has to lift its feet perpendicularly out of the snow or cut the skin from its shanks by coming in contact with the icy surface. "It would be useless to follow them when the snow is soft, as their great strength enables them to wade through it without any difficulty. If you wish to see them previous ;^ shooting them from their "yard," it is necessary to make your approach to leeward, as their sense of smelling and hearing is very acute: the crack of a breaking twig will start them, and they are seldom seen any more, until fatigue compels them to knock up, and thus ends the chase. Their pace is a long trot. It is neces- sary to have two or three small curs (the smaller the better), as they can run upon the snow without breaking through the crust ; their principal use is to annoy the Moose by barking and snapping at their heels, without taking hold. A large dog that would take hold would be instantly trampled to death. The males generally stop, if pressed, and fight with the dogs ; this enables the hunter to come up unobserved and dispatch them. Sometimes they are killed after a run of an hour, at other times you may run them all daj', and have to camp at night without a morsel of provisions or a cloak, as everything is let go the moment the Moose starts, and you are too much fatigued to retrace your steps to procure them. Your only resource is to make a huge fire, and comtbrt yourself upon the prospect of plenty of Moose-meat next day. As soon as the animal finds he is no longer pursued, he lies down, and the next morning MOOSE DEER. ISA he will l)e too stiff to travel far. Generally, a male, femule, and two lawns are found in a 'yard.' " When obliged to run, the male goes first, breaking the way, the others treading exactly in his tracks, so that you would think only one has passed. Often they run through other 'yards,' when all join together, still going in Indian file. Sometimes, when meeting with an obsta le they cannot overcome, they are obliged to branch off for some distance and again unite ; by connecting the different tracks at the place of separation you may judge pretty correctly of their number. I have seen twelve together, and killed seven of them. A method of hunting this animal is as follows : " In September, two persons in a bark canoe paddle by moonlight along the shore of the lake imitating the call of the male, which, jealous of the approach of a stranger, answers to the call and rushes down to the com- bat. The canoe is paddled by the man in the ster. with the most death- like silence, gliding along under the shade of the forest until within short shooting distance, as it is difficult to take a sure aim by moonlight ; the man in the bow generally fires, when if the animal is only wounded, he makes immediately fo- shore, dashing the water about him into foam; he is tracked by his blood the next day to where he has lain down, and where he is generally found unable to proceed any further. Many are killed in this manner in the neighbourhood of Moose River every season. Hunters sometimes find out the beaten tracks of the Moose (generally lead- ing to the water), and bend down a sapling and attach to it a strong hempen noose hanging across the path, while the tree is confined by another cord and a sort of trigger. Should the animal's head pass through the dangling snare, he generally makes a struggle which disengages the trigger, and the tree springing upward to its perpendicular, lifts the beast off his legs, and he is strangled !" Mr. John Martyn, of Quebec, favoured us with the following notes on the Moose deer : "This animal in the neighbourhood of this city (Quebec) is mostly found in the hard woods during the winter. At this season sev- eral associate together and Ibrm groups of two, three, or four, and make what is called ' a yard,' by beating down the snow ; and whilst in such places tliey feed on all the branches they can reach, and indeed even strip the trees c:^ their bark, after which they are forced to extend their 'yards,' or pel , (J -Tne ether place, but rather than leave the first, they will even b. jk ^w .ches as large as a man's thigh. In skinning off the bark, the animai piaces its upper lip firmly against it, whether upward, down- ward or sidewayd, and with its teeth, which are all on its lower jaw VOL. II. — 24. Irf 186 M(M)SK DEER. 9i tiikes a llim hold and tears it away in snips more or ess long n:\d broad, according to the nature of the bark of the tree. If is ascertained by the hunter whether a Mi>ose lias been lately or not in its yard, by removing the surface of the snow from around the foot of the trees already ' irked above, and if they have been barked belov the surface of the snow, the animal has left the spot lor sometime, and it is not worth while to follow any of its tracks. The contrary, of course, takes place wii'-i dif- ferent observations. At this season the female is generally accompanied by two of her calves, one two years old and generally a bull, the other the eaif ofthe preceding spring. These animals vary much in their colour, some being grayish brown, and others nearly bla 'k. The grayish Moose is generally ttie largest, often reaching the height of seven or eight feet. The females receive the males in the month of October, and at this period he latter are excessively vicious and dangerous when approached, whilst the females evince the same lierceness at the time of having calves. In some instances during the rutting season, when two males accidentally meet, they fight prodigiously hard, tearing up the earth beneath for yards around, and leaving marks of blood sufficient to prove that their encounter has been of the severest nature. Their usual mode of defence consists in striking at their enemies with their forefeet; but in fighting with each other the males use both feet and horns, and they have sometimes been killed with marks of old wounds about their head and other parts of the body. As an instance of the force with which the Moose strikes, the following an- ecdote may be related: a bull-terrier in attempting to seize one by he nose, was struck by the animal with its forefoot, and knocked olTto a dis- tance of twenty feet; the dog died next day. The Moose deer frequently turn against ilie hunters, even befon ' ing shot at or in the least wounded. They walk, trot, and gallop, and can kap a great distance at a single bound ; like other species of deer they bend their bodies verv liw rtt times, to pass beneath branches of fallen trees, not even half then b. ighi, from the earth. When pursued, they enter the most tangled tl r' i .ir pass ihrou^ii them as if not feeling the impediment.s the brushwood, lallen logs, &c., opposed to the huntcrV progress. The calves when born are about the size of a lew days old coit, but are more slender, and look very awkward on account of their apparent disproportionate long and iarge lege. When caught at three months old, they eat leaves, &c. ; but how long they are suckled by their dam we have not been able to ascertain. " During the summer they frequently resort to the shores of rivers, MOOSK DEER. jgi^ crBcks or lakes, on tliD mzirg.,is of which tlielr tracks are seen, like those of common cattle ; thpy enter thr water and immersn their bodies to save thriiisclvt's fniiii the hites of flies, &.c. In nil prohiilnliiy, where wolves are yet abundant, these are their most dangerous enemies besides man ; but at the present time, few of these rapacious animals are to be found in the neighbourhood of Quebec. The Moose deer are frequently killed while in the water, or on the shores of some pond, lake or river; but when their young are with them, they will run and chase the hunter, audit is sometimes difficult for him to escape, unless he is so fortunate as to shoot and bring them down. " The flesh is considered very good, especially the moitfflon, which forms the upper lip, and is very rich, juicy and livbitinous. Tins is cleaned and dressed in the same manner as ' calvps' iiead.' The hunters salt their meat for winter use. The steaks are as good as beef steaks ; but the Moose are not generally fat, although their flesh is juicy and at times tender. The joung at the age of twelve months are never toiigli. and their (lesli is prefer- able to that of the old beasts. The inside of the mouth above, or palate, is extremely hard, and lays in folds, giving this iinimal the powerof gripping ( seizing) the bark or the branches of trees, by which means it tears them off with ease. This pad is placed immediately beneath the extremity of the riKuifflon, and is about two inches long. " These animals feed principally on the birch, the moose-wood, the aspen, and various kinds of leaves and grasses ; in captivity they eat hay and other dry food, even hard ship-biscuit. The females are called • cows,' the males ' bulls,' and the young ' calves.' Their droppings resemble those of the deer kind. Although the Moose swim well they ar* not known to dive, they swim with the hend and part of the neck above water, like cattle. When pursued in boats they frequently attempt to upset them, and at times open their mouths and make a loud snorting noise, striking at the same time with their forefeet, and occasionally sink the canoes of the Indians or hun- ters. Upon one occasijn, a young man going fishing, and having his fowl- ing-piece along, on turning a point of a lake, saw a large Moose in the water and fired at it with shot, tickling it severely. The Moose at once made for the canoe ; and whilst the alarmed fisherman was attempting to escape, his boat became entangled in the branches of a fallen tree, when he was forced to give up the canoe and gf* away as he best could ; the animal on reaching the boat completely demolished it. Unfortunately, the females are sometimes killed when they are with calf. They do not gene- rally make any noise in the woods, unless when provoked, but in captivity they utter a plaintive sound, much resembling that made bv the black bear f I "i 188 MOOSE DEER. rl » They never are seen on the ice like the rein-deer ; it would seem by the formation of their hoofs that they might walk well on the rocks, or on the ice, but they keep in the woods, and when walking over snow their feet usually sink into it until they reach the earth. " A Mr. Bell, residing at Three Rivers, has a Moose which has been taught to draw water in a cart or in a sleig', during winter, but there is no possibility of working it during the rut»i g season. We have never heard of any attempt to ride on the Moose dei r. Their horns, which are large, palmated, and heavy, are dropped in the months of December and January, begin to show again in the latter part of March, and in two months or thereabouts attain their full size. When covered over with ' velvet,' as it is called, they are very curious. A pair of good Moose horns sells at the high price of twenty dollars ! The velvet is scraped off against trees and bushes in the manner employed by our Virginian deer. Horns have been measured when reversed and standing on the ground four feet seven inches, and ordinary pairs often measure five feet and up- wards. "It is said that the Moose can smell at a very great distance, and that the moment they scent a man or other enemy they make off and are not easily overtaken. On the first glimpse of man, if they are lying down they rise to their feet and are off at once, and often before they are observed by the hunter. When closely pursued, they turn and make a dash at the enemy, scarcely giving him time to escape, and the hunter's best plan in such cases is to keep cool a, 2 sV-oot the animal as it rushes towards him, or if unpre- pared, he had best ascend a tree with all convenient dispatch. Sometimes the hunter is obliged to save himself by dodging around a tree, or by throwing down some part of his dress, upon which the Moose expends his fury, trampling on it until torn to tatters. " Moose-hunting is followed by white or red skinned hunters in the same manner. He, however, who has been born in the woods, possesses many advantages over the 'civilized' man. The white hunters generally pro- vide themselves, previous to their starting, amply with provisions and ammunition to last them about three weeks, and sometimes go in a sleigh. The guns used are mostly single-barrelled, of ordinary size, but suited for shooting balls as well as shot,— rifles are rarely used in Canada. Afte: leaving the settlements, the first day's journey takes them ten or twelve miles, when they select a proper place in a snowy district, as near a stream as possible. " If the weather is fine, they cut down trees and make a camp, some of the party provide water, and others light the fires and clear off the snow for yards around, whilst evergret-.n trees are stripped of their branches tc J, MOOSE DEER. 189 make up a floor and covering for them in their temporary shelter. The hunters having made all snug, cook their meat and eat it before a fire that illuminates the woods around, and causes the party to appear like a set of goblins through the darkness of night. On muny such occasions the bedding is singed, and per chance a whisker ! The feet may be partially roasted, whilst the shoulders, the hands, and probably the nose, are suffer- ing greatly from the severity of the weather, for the thermometer may be occasionally thirty degrees below zero! The march to this spot is fre- quently made on snow-shoes, which are taken off, however, whilst the party are forming the encampment, clearing away the snow, and making a path to the water, which being covered with snow and ice, re- quires to be got at by means of shovels and axes. Before daylight, tk; kettles are put on the fires, tea and coffee are made, breakfast swallowed in a few moments, and the party on foot, ready to march toward the hunt- ing-ground. On the .y, every one anxiously looks out for tracks of the game, and whether hares or grouse come in the way they are shot and hung up on the trees; but if game of any kind has been thus hung up by others, whether Indians or white hunters, the party leaves it sacredly un- touched—for this is the etiquette of the chase throughout this portion of country. When they at last reach the ground, the party divide, and seek for the Moose in different directions. It is agreed that no one shall shoot after separating from the rest, unless it be at the proper game, and also that in case of meeting with Moose, or with fresh signs, they are. to return, and make ready to proceed to the spot together next day. Some- times, however, this rule is broken through by some one whose anxiety (excitement) at sight of a Moose makes him forget himself and his pro- mise. As soon as a 'yard' has been discovered, all hands sally forth, and the hunt is looked upon as fairly begun. If on approaching the ' yard,' their dogs, which are generally mongrels of all descriptions, start a Moose', the hunters, guided by their burking and the tracks of the pack and the Moose through the snow, follow with all possibi*; celerity. The dogs frequently fcake hold of the Moose by the hind legs, the animal turns, and stands at bay, aod the hunters thus have an opportunity to come up with the chase. "On approaching, when at the proper distance (about sixty to eighty yards) the nearest man takes a decided aim, .as nearly as possible under the forearm and through the neck, and fires, or, if fronting the beast, in the centre of the breast. " If wounded only, the second hunter fires also, and perhaps the third, and the animal succumbs at last, though it sometimes manages to run, stumble, .and scramble for miles. After skinning the j\Io<«e, i; hi I ^tu 190 MOOSE DEER. the heart and liver, and the mnrrow-bones, are taken out, and a good large piece of the flesh is taken to ' camp,' and is speedily well cooked and placed smoking hot before the hungry hunters. After killing alj the Moose of a 'yard' or that they can find near their camp, the party pack up :heir material, break up the camp, and return home. It not unfrequently happens, that a wounded Moose, or even one that has not been wounded, will turn upon the hunter, who then has to run for his life, and many instances of such incidents are related, including some hair-breadth escapes. One of these I will relate : Two Indians bei^g on a hunt and having met with the game, one of them shot, and missed; the Moose turned upon him, and he fled as (list as he could, but when about to reach a large tree, from behind which he could defy his opponent, his snow shoes hooked in some obstacle and threw him down. The Moose set upon him furiously and began trampling on him, but the Indian drew out a knife, and succeeded in cutting the sinews oC the forelegs of the animal, and finally stabbed him so repeatedly in the belly that he fell dead, but unluckily fell on the prostrate hunter, who would have been unable' to extricate himself, had not his companion come to his assistance. The poor man, however, had been so much injured that he never recovered en- tirely, and died about two years afterwards. During some seasons the snows are so deep, and at times so soft, that the Moose cannot go over the snow, but have to make their way through it, giving a great advantage to the hunters, who, on broad snow-shoes can stand or run on the surface without much difficulty. On one occasion of this nature a Moose was seen, and at once followed. The poor animal was compelled to plough the snow, as it were, and the hunters came up to it with ease, and actually placed their hands on its back. They then endeavoured to drive it towards their camp and secure it alive. The Moose, however, would not go in the proper direction, and they finally threw it down, and attempted to fasten its legs together; but as they had no ropes, and could not procure any better sub- stitute for them than withes, the beast got away, and after a long chase they, being very much fatigued, shot it dead. When the snow is thus soft, the Moose deer has been known to evade the hunters by pushing ahead through tangled thickets, more especially hachnctnck and briary places which no man can go through for any length of time; without extreme labour. The Indians, however, will follow the Moose in such cases day and night, provided the moon is shining, until the animal is so fatigued that it can be overtaken and killed with ease. Instances have been known where as many as i\\c have been killed in one day by two Indians. The Moose is not unfrequently caught in the following manner : A rope is passed over \ 3SE DEER. 191 a horizontal branch of a tree, with a large noose and slip-knot at one end, whilst a heavy log is attached to the other, hanging across the limb or branch, and touching the ground. The Moose, as it walks along, passes its head through the noose, and the farther it advances, the tighter it finds it- self fastened, and whilst it plunges terrified onwards, the log is raised from the ground until it reaches the branch, when it sticks, so that no mjitter in what manner the Moose moves, the log keeps a continued strain, rising and falling, but not giving the animal the least chance to escape, and at last the poor creature dies miserably. They are also ' pitted' at times, but their legs are so lor/, that this method of securing them seldom succeeds, as ihey generally manage to get out." The Moose is well known to travellers who have crossed the Rocky Mountains, where this animal is principally called by the French name, "L'Orinal." Whilst at Quebec, in 1842, ^"e procured the head and neck of a very large male, (handsomely mounted) ; whitih was shot in the state of Maine, where the Moose is still frequently found. Moose deer are abundant in Labrador, and even near the coast their tracks, or rather paths, may be seen, as distinctly marked as the eow-paths about a large stock-farm. In this sterile country, where the trees are so dwarfish that they only deserve the name of shrubs, and where innumerable barren hills arise, with cold clear-water ponds between, the Moose leeds luxuriously on the scanty herbage and the rank summer grasses that are found on their sides; but in winter the scene is awfullj desolate, after the snows have lallen to a great depth ; the whistling winds unimpeded by trees or forests, sweep over the country, carrying with them the li"ht snow from the tops and vi'indward sides of the hills in icy clouds, and soon forming tremendous drifts in the valleys. No man can face the storm- driven snows of this bleak, cold country ; the congealed particles are almost solid, and so sharp and fine that they strike upon the face or hands like small shot ; the tops of the hills are left quite bare and the straggling Moose or rein deer seek a precarious supply of mosses along their sides. At this season the Moose sometimes crosses the Gulf of St. Law- rence on the ice to Newfoundland, or follows t'he coast towards the shore opposite Nova Scotia, and there passes the Gulf and wanders into more woody and favoured regions for the winter. The following is from our friend S. W. Roiimav, Esq., of Boston, an excellent siioitsiuiin. and a lover of nature, to whom wo are indebted for many kindnesses. " O'lr party was rctmninsf from lake Miraniichi, aJioiit the midillo of'July, by the mai'sliy brook, wliieh couneets it with the Miianiiehi river. The canoe men were poling slowly and silently, in order not to disturb the numerous ducks which breed in those \ini P^.,l,:t(>(l soUtiulcs. as we woroanxiou-* to vary onroonstiint fish ,]\ I :almon ei ther boiled or " skinned" being set before us morning, noon and ■' I ■! i M 102 MOOSE DEER. night. Wc harl not fired ,i gun to disturb the siii'iico. My ofrn and my hrother's canoes were ch).se together, when I saw an animal suddenly spring on to its feet from the long marshy grass about forty yards in advance of us. I said quickly ' Caribou," " Cariboo," "stoop low ;" which wo all did and continued moving on. It was about the size of a yearling heifer, but taller, of a bright, light, red colour, with long cars pricked forward, and a large soft eye ; and stood perfectly still, looking it us. We had gone perhaps ten yards, when there apjjcared from the long grass i)y its side, first the ears, then the huge head and muffle of an old cow Moose, the first one being as I now knew her calf, of perhaps four or five months old. She gradually rose to her knees, then sat upon her haunches, and at last sprang to her feet, her eyes all the time intently fixed upon us. The calf in the meanwhile had moved slowly off. At this moment we both fired without any apparent effect, the shot ])eing too light to penetrate the thick hide. She turned instantly, showing a large and apparently well filled udder, struck into the tremendous trot, for which the Moose is so celebrated, crossed the deep brook almost at a stride, then the nar- row strip of meadow, and disappeared, crashing through the alders which inter, vened between the meadow and the dark evergreen forests beyond. Our oldest woodsman. Porter, assured us that she was one of the largest of her kind, and that it was rare good fortune to approach so near to this noblest denizen of our northern forests. We were much gratified, but our regret as sportsmen was still greater, at not having been prepared to take advantage of such an oppor- tunity as will probably never again occur to either of us. We constantly both bo fore and afterwards saw the tracks of cariboo and Moose about our camps." GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Capt. Franklin, in his last expedition, states that several Moose were seen at the mouth of Mackenzie River, on the shores of the Arctic Sea. in latitude (JO**. Farther to the eastward towards the Copper-mine River, we are informed by Richardson, they are not found in a higlier latitude than 05". Mackenzie saw them high up on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains, near the sources of the Elk River ; Lewis ami Clark saw tnem at the mouth of the Oregon. To the sast they abound in Labrador, Nova Scotia, New-Brunswick, and Lower Canada. In the United States they are found in very diminished number.s in the unsettled portions of Maine and at long intervals in New-Hampshire and Vermont. In the state ot New- York, according to the observations, made by Dr. Dekay, (Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 117), which we believe strictly correct, they yet exist in Herkimer, Hamilton, Franklin, Lewis and Warren counties, and their southern limit along the Atlantic coast is 43' 30'. GENERAL REMARKS. We have considerable doubts whether our Moose deer is identical with the Siandinavian elk {Ccrvus olrrs, of authors), and have therefore not quoteJ any of the synonymes of the latter, but having possessed no favourable oppcn-tuiiitics of deciding this point, wc have not ventured on the tidoi)tion of any of the specific names which have from time to tiiiif been propotscd for i]:r Annr'cjtn Moose. 19» GENUS ANTILOCAPRA.-ORr. 1 DENTAL, FORMULA. Incisive - ; Canine — ; Molar — = 32 0-0 ' 6-6 Horns common to both sexes ; small in the female ; horns persistent, greatly compressed, rough, pearled, slightly striated, with an anterior process, and the point inclining backwards ; eye large ; no suborbital sinus ; no inguinal pores ; no muzzle ; facial line, converse ; no canines ; no succentorial hoofs ; tail very short ; hair stiff, coarse, undulating, flattened ; female, mammse. Habit, peaceable, gregarious, herbivorous, confined to North- America. Only one well determined species belongs to this genus. The generic name Antilocapra, is derived from the two geneva. AntUope and Capra, Goat Antelope. i t 1 : ANTILOCAPRA AMERICANA.—Obd. PRONG-HORNED AnTELOPE. PLATE L XXVI I. Male and Female. Cornibus pedalibus compressis, intus planis, antife granulatis striatisque propucnaculo compresso procurvo cum cornum parte posteriore retrorsum uncinata furcam constitutiente ; colore russo fuscescente, gutture, cluni- umque disco albis : statura, Cervus Virginianus. CHARACTERS. Horns compressea, flat on the inner side, pearled and striated, with a com. pressed snag t„ the front ; colour, reddish dun ; throat and disk on the hut- tocks, white. Size of t/ie Virginia deer. vol.. II. — 25 i i. i. >^'\' 194 PRONC-IIORNKfi ANTKLOPE. 8VNONYMES. Tecthlamacam.*;. Ilcniaiidoz, N()v.-Ilis|)aii, p. '.Vi4, Hfj. J524. An. 1(551, Lk SlJlJKNDTON. 1 list. (I'.\lurli(|llc, |). 175. All. \1'2',i. Siji'iNAToN. l)lp's, lluilsiiii's ISav, |i. 'il. An. 1711. Antiloi'k, ('AiiiiK on . 75, "JOH, .'('.Mi; Vol. ii., p. KJO. Anth.oi'k ;\mi;kk'ana. Old, (iiitliiif's (icofiiiiiili} . KSlft. Ckuvus hamah's. Blainvillc, MouvlJiill. Socioty. ISlC. Antii.oc'AI'ua Amkkicana. Ord, .lour, do I'livs., |). HO. 1818. ;\niii.<)1'k Fi'iu'iKKit. ('. Ilanultc n Smith, Lin. 'IVans., N'ol. xiii., jilati' 2. An. 1823 Antilopk i'ai.ma'ia. Sniitli, (jiillitli, ("iiv., Vol. v., p. ;i2.'!. ANTii.orE Amkkicana. lla'Ian I'.uiiia. |i. "J'tO. ■" (lodnian, Nat. Hist., Vol. ii., p. ;}21 ANTiLorK FunciFKK. Kicliaidson, h\ ii. A,, d. 201, j)iatc 21. DESCRII'TION. Tlic Proiifr-liornrd Aiifelopo possesses a stately and clcj^ant ConTi. and resenihios more the antelope lluin tlie deer family. It is slioiter and more con-.paetly built tlian the Vir^jfinii deer ; its head and neek ai-e also shorter and the skull is broader at th(\ base. The horns of the male are curved upwards and baekwards with a short trianjriilar prony: about the centre, ineliiied inwards, not wriidded. Immediately above the pronn the horns of the male, two or three on each side. One si)eeinien has tv.'o on the inside of each horn and one on the outside irrejinlarly disposed. Nostrils larpe and opr^i, ])hiced rather tar back, eyes large and promi- nent, ears of moderate size, acuminate in .shape ; on the back of the neck in winter specimens there is a narrow ridge of coar.se hairs resembling a sliort mime. In summer there only remains of this mane a black stripe on the upper surf ice of the neck; eyelashes profuse; there i.s no under-fur. 'J'lie hairs are of a singular texture, being thick, soft, wavy and slightly crimped beneath the surface : they are brittle, and when bent do not return to their original straight form, interiorly they are white, spongy and pithy; scrotum pendulous. There is not the slightest vestige of any secondary hoofs on either of its fore or hind legs, such as are seen in deer and other animals. The hoofs are strong and compact, small and diminishing suddenly to a point. COLOUR. The nose is yellowish brown, eye lashes black, the orl)ils with a blackish brown border, outer edge and points of the ears brownish black. There i& PRONO-IIORNEn ANTEIX:)PE. 195 a white briiid about two itichos widriti front of and partly oncirclin-,' the throat, narrowing to a point on each side of the neck; Ix-ncath tliis is a brown i)an(i about tlic samo breath, unchinmath wiiich is a grayish white spot of nciirly a tri.iiii-iilar shape ; lliis is formed by a p.itdi on eaeii si(h; of the throal of yellowish brown. The ela^sl, belly, and sides to within live or six Inches of tiie back are t,'rayish white. A lar^'c light-eoloured patch of nine indn-s in breadtii exists on the runip, similar to that on the Rocky Mountain slieej) and the «"lk. This wliitish patch is separated l)y a brown- yellowisli line, running along tlu; vertebra' of the back to the tail. Legs, l)ale brownish yellow, approaching to dull buff colour, all the upper surface yellowish brown ; under.jaw and cheek, pale or grayish white ; lips, whitish, Fvinnlc. — The I'eniale is a size smaller than the male. The neck is shorter. The form is similar, except that tin markings are rather faint<"r; the brownish yellow which surrounds th(^ dillerent whitish or grayish white spots and bands being nundi paler than in \\m male. The horn is destitute of a prong; it is only three inches in length, nearly straight, and running to an acute point. The female possesses no mane DIMENSIONS. From point of m)se to root of tail, Height, to shoulder from end of hoof, Length of ear, .... Length of prong. F»T. Incuri. 4 2 3 1 4 6 HAniTS. Reader, let us carry you with us to the boundless plains over whicli the pnmg-horn speeds. Hurra for the prairies and the swift antelopes, as they (le(>t by the hunter like flashes or meteors, seen but for an instant, for (luiekly do they pass out of sight in the undulaling groimd, covered wilh t;ill rank grass. Observe now a flock of these beautiful animals; they are not aliii id of man— they pause in their rapid course to gaze on the hun- ter, and stand with head erect, their ears as well as eyes directed towards him, and make a loud noise by stamping with their forefeet on the hard earth ; but suddenly they btjcome aware that he is no friend of theirs, and away they bound like a (lock of frightened sheep— but far more swiftly do the gracefid antelopes gallop ofl", even the kids running with extraordinary speed by the side of their parents — and now they turn around a steep hill and disappear, then p(>rhaps again come in view, and once more stand and gaze at the intruder. Sometimes, eager with curiosity and anxious to ; , I 196 PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE. I),f examine the novel object wli ch astonislirs as well as alarmii them, (hi: antelopes on seeing a hunter, advance toward him, stopping at intervals, and then again advancing, and should the hunter partly conceal himself, and wave his handkerchief or a white or red rag on the end of his ramrod, he may draw the wondering animals (piite close to him and then (piickly seiz- ing his ride send a hall (lirough the fattest of the group, ere the timiv' „jea. tures have time to fly from the fatal spot. The Indians, we were told, sometimes bring the antelope to within ar- row-shot (bow-shot), by throwing themselves on their backs and kicking up their heels with a bit of a rag fastened to them, on seeing which mov- ing amid the grass the antelope draws near to satisfy his curiosity. The atmosphere on the western prairies is so pure and clear that an an- telope is easily seen whea fully one mile ofl', and you can tell whether it is feeding quietly or is alarmed ; but beautiful as the transparent thin air shews all distant objects, we have never found the great western prairies equal \\\v floucry descriptions of travellers. They lack the pure streamlet wherein the hunter may assuage his thirst— the delicious copses of dark, leafy trees ; and even the thousands of fragrant flowers, which tln^y are poet- icaliydescribedas possessing, aregenei-allyof the smaller varieties; and ihe Indian who roams over them is far from the ideal being — all grace, strength and nobleness, in his savage freedom— that we from these descriptions con- ceive him. Reader, do not expect to find any of the vast prairies that border the Upper Missouri, or the Yellow-Stone rivers, and extend to the Salt Lakes amid the Califbrnian range of the Rocky Mountains, verdant pastures ready for flocks and herds, and full of the soft perfume of the violet. No ; you will find an immense waste of stony, gravelly, barren soil stretched before you ; you will be tormented with thirst, half eaten up by stinging flies, and lucky will you be if at night you find wood and water enough to supply your tire and make your cup of coffee; and should you meet a band of Indians, you will find them wrapi)ed in old buffalo robes, their bodies filthy and covered with vermin, and by stealing or begging they will obtain from you perhaps more than you can. spare from your scanty store of necessaries, and armed with bows and arrows or firearms, they are not unfrequently ready to murder, or at least rob you of all your personal property, including your ammunition, gun and butcher knife! The Prong-horned Antelope brings forth its young about the same time as the common deer: from early in May to the middle of .Tune ; it has gen- erally two fawns at a birth. We have heard of no case in which more than that number has been dropped at a time, and probably in some cases only one is fawned by the dam. The young are not spotted like thf fawn of the common deer, but are of a uniform dun colour. The dam PRONG-IIORNED ANTELOPE. 197 remains by her yxang for some days after they are born, feeding immedi- ately around the spot, and afterwards Krarliially enlarjjinK lier range ; when the young are a I'orfiiigiit old ihey have gained strength and speed enough to escape with their llt'et-footed mother from wolves orotiier four-footed foes. Sometimes, however, the wolves discover find attack the young when they are too feeble to escape, and the mother then displays the most devoted courage in their defence. She rushes on tliem, butting and striking with her short horns, and sometimes tosses a wolf heels over head, she also uses her forefeet, with which she deals severe blows, and if the wolves are not in strong force, or desperate with iiunger, puts them to flight, and then seeks with her young a safer pasturage, or some al- most inaccessible rocky hill side. The rutting season of this species commences in September, the bucks run for about six weeks, and during this period fight with great courage and even a degree of ferocity. When" a male sees another approacli- ing, or accidentally comes upon one of his rivals, hofh parties run at each other with their heads lowered and their eyes flashing angrily, and while they strike with their horns they wheel and bound with prodigous activity and rapidity, giving and receiving severe wounds,— sometimes like fencers, getting within each others " points," and each hooking his antagonist with the recurv(!d branches of his horns, which bend considerably inwards and downwards. The Prong-horned Antelope usually inhabits the low prairies adjoining the covered woody bottoms during spring and autumn, but is also found on the high or upland prairies, or amid broken hills, and is to be seen along the margins of the rivers and streams : it swims very fast and well, and oc- casionally a herd when startled may be seen crossing a river in straggling files, but without disorder, and apparently with ease. Sometimes a few of these animals, or even only one or two by them- selves may be seen, whilst in other instances several hundreds are con- gregated in a herd. They are remarkably shy, are possessed of a fine sense of smell, and have large and beautiful eyes, which enable them to scan the surface of the undulating prairie and detect the lurking Indian or wolf, creep he ever so cautiously through the grasses, unless some inter- vening elevation or copsewood conceal his approach. It is. therefore, necessary for the hunter to keep well to kiicanl. and to use extraordinary caution in "sneaking" after this species; and he must also exercise a great deal of patience and move very slowly and only at intervals, when the animals with heads to the ground or averted from him, are feeding or attracted by some other object. When they discover a man thus stealthily moving near them, at first sight thej fly from him with great speed, and I i li • M |i Ill li 198 PRONG -HORNKF^ ANTE[,()ME. often retire to i'.,s brokon KioiiikLs of (he clay hills, from which which they are not oDcM tempfed to stray a -n-iit (lislaiicc at any (iitic. As we h.iv." ..ireiidy mrntionrd. there are ine;ms, however, to ••x<'ite the timid anlelope to draw near iIk- Imnler, l.y aroiisinfj; his eiiriosiiy nnd deeoyin;; liiii. lo his ruin. 'I'he antelopes of ih.^ Tpper Missouri eounlry are Imjuenlly shot hy the Indians whilst crossing; the river; and, as w.; were infortned, preCerreil the nor'' m side of the Missouri ; whieli. no doubt, arises from the pr<'va- •'•' . on that bank of the river of certain plants, trees or grasses, that Uiey are most fond of. Males and females are found together at all seasons of the year. We have been fold that probably a thousand or more of these animals have been seen in a single herd or llocU at one time, in the spring. It was supposed by the hunters at Fort Union, that the prong-horned antelope dropped its horns; but as no person had ever shot or killed one witliout thes(> ornamental and useful appendages, we managed to prove the contrary to the men at the fort by knocking off the bony part of the horn, and showing the hard, spongy membrane beneath, well attached to the skull and perfectly inmioveable. The Prong-horned Antelope is never found on the Missouri river below i:,(in f/iii voiirt ; but above that stream they are found along the great Missouri and its tributaries, in all the country east of the Rocky Moun- tains, and in many of the great valleys that are to be met with among these extraordinary " big hills." None of these antelopes are found on ihe shores of the Mississippi, although on the headwaters of the Saint Peter's river they have been tolerably abundant. Their walk is a slow and somewhat pompous guit, their trot elegant and graceful, ;d their gallop or " run" light and ii-conceivably swift ; they pass along, up or down hills, or along the level plai.' with the same apparent ease, while so ra[)i(Jly do their legs perform their graceful movements in projielling their bodies over the ground, that like the spokes of a fast turning wheel we cixn hardly see them, but instead, observe a gauzy or tilm-likc appearance where thev should be visible. In autumn, this species is fatter than at any other period. Their liver is much prized as a delicacy, and we have heard that many of these ani- mals are killed simply to procure this choice morsel. This antelope feeds on the short grass of the prairies, on mosses, buds, &,c. ; and sutlers greatly during the hard winters experienced in the north-west; especially when the snow is several feet in depth. At such times they can be caught bv hunters provided with snow shoes, and they are in this manner killed, even ill sight of Fort Union, irom time to time. It is exceedingly dillicult to rear the young of this species; and, although many attempts have been made at Fort Union, and even an old one caught I'llONG-llOKNKI) ANTKIiOl'K. lyo iind hiouK'lit within an enclosure to keep (be young eoinpany, ihey became furious, (vnd nui uiid butted ultermitely iigiiin.st th(! picket-wall or fence, until they were too inucb bruised and exhausted to recover William BuuLK/rrK, Esij., of St. I^ouis, Missouri, however, brouj^ht with hiin lo that cil/a leinale antelo|Ks caught when (|uite young on the prairies of the far west, which grew to maturity, and was ho very gentle, that it would go all over the house, mounting or descending the Btairs, and occasionally going on to the roof of th ■ building he lived in. This female was aiive when we lirst reached Nt. Louis, but ifot being aware of its existence, w<' never saw it. It was killed belbrj we lell by •. )uck-elk, belonging to the same gt^ntleman. Whilst (m our Journey in the fai u, in 1813, on one occasion, we had tli(! gratitieation of seeing an old female, in a h.,. '. of eight or ten antelopes, suckling its young. The little beauty performed this operation pnscisely in the manner of our common lambs, almost kneelir g down, bending its head upwards, its rump elevated, it thumped the bag of its molher, from time to tim<', and reminded us of far distant scenes, whciv peaceful flocks leed and repos(! under the saleguard of our race, and no prowling wolf or hungry Indian deleats the hopes of the good shepherd who nightly lolds his stock of the Leicester or Bakewell breed. Our wild antelojjes, h vvever, as we ap|)roached them, scampered away; and we were delighted to see that (irst, and in the van of all, was the young one ! On the 21st July, 1813, whilst in company with our frirnc", Edward Harris, Esq., during one of our hunting excursions, we came in sight of an antelope gazing at us, and determined to stop and try if we could bring him toward us by the trick we have already mentioned, of throwing our legs up in the air and kicking them about, whilst lying on our back in the grass. We kicked away (irst one foot and then the other, and sure enough, the antelope walked slowly toward us, apparently with great caution and suspicion. In about twenty minutes he had advanced towards us some two or three hundred yards. He was a superb male, and we looked at him tor several minutes when about sixty yards off. We could see his fine pro- truding eyes ; and being loaded with buck-shot, we took aim and pulled trigger. Off he went, as if pursued by a whole Black-foot Indian hunting partj'. Friend Harris sent a ball at him, but was as unsuccessful as our- selves, for he only ran the faster for several hundred yards, when ho stojjped for a few minutes, looked again at us, and then went ofl, without pausing as long as he was in sight. We have been informed by LArLKUR, a man employed by the Company, that antelopes will escape with great ease even when they have one limb broken, as they can run fast enough upon three legs to dely any pursuit. Whilst we were encamped at the > i ] ■ i f 1 Ih 1' ■ 1 1: 1 i i I \ 200 PRON(J.nOUNKI) ANTKIAPE. " Thn*p Miimolli's," about sixty miles wrst ol' Fort I iiion, eixrly one inorning im aiitelopti wiis lirunl .iiiurtiiig, and was sccti hy soiiu- ofoui |)arty for a few iiiiiuitcN only. Tliis siiortiiiy;. us it is ciillcd, res, mblcs a loud whistlinju' 8in;L?in;Li; sound proioiifjcd, and is very dilii-rcnt I'roin tlic loud and clear snorting ofoiir coinnion deer ; hut it has always appt'ared to us to he almost useless to attempt to describe it ; and idtliou^,'h at this moment we have the sound oi'the antelope's snort in oiirrdr.s, >ve feel quite ur de to give its etjuivalent in words or syllahlps. The antelope has no lachrymal pits under the eyes, as have deer and elks, nor has it any gland on the hind leg, so curious a feature in many ol those animals of the deer tribe which drop their horns aimually. and oidy wanting (so far as our knowledge extends) in the Crnui.s liivlKinlsonii, which we consider in eonse(ju<'nce as approacliing the genus AhIHojh; and in a small deer from Yucatan and Mexico, of which we had a living specimen for some time in our possession. The ])roiig-hornrd antelope often dies on the open prairies during severe winter weather, and the ri in.uns ofshockingly poor, st;irved, miserable indi- viduals of this species, in a state of the utmost emaciation, are now and then found dead in the winter, even near Fort Union and other trading posts. The present species is caught in pens in the same manner nearly as the bison, (which we have already descril)ed at p. 97) but is generally despatcn- ed with clubs, principally by the women. In the winter of 184(1, when the .snow was deep ir. ihe ravines, having drifted, Mr. I,\idlaw, who was then at Fort Union, caught some of them by following them on horse- back and forcing them into these drifts, which in places were as much as ten to twelve feet deep. They were brought to the fort in a sleigh, and let loose about the rooms ; they were to appearance so very gentle that the people suffered their children to handle them, although the animals were loose. They were placed in the carpenter's shop, one broke its neck by leaping over a turning-Iatlie, and the rest all died ; for as soon as they had appeased the cravings of hunger, they began to fret for their accustomed liberty, and regained all their original wildncss. They leaped, kicked and butted themselves against every obstacle,untiltoomuchexhaust- ed to recover. — These individuals were all captured by placing nooses, fixed on the end of long poles, round their necks, whilst they were embedded in the soft and deep snow drifts, to which they had been driven liy Mr. [jAmLAW There are some peculiarities in tiie gait of this species that we have not yet noticed. The moment they observe a man or other strange object producing an alarm, they l)oniid olf lor some thirty or forty yards, raising all their legs at the same time, and bouncing, at it were, from two to tiiree PRONG-IIORNED ANTELOPE. 901 fePt above tho ground • nfter this they stretch their bodies out and gallop at an extraordinary speed. Wo have seen some which, when started, would move off and run a space oCseveral miles, in what we thought did not exceed a greater number of minutes ! From what we have already said, it will be inferred that the wolf is one of the most formidable enemies of this species. We have, however, not yet mentioned that in some very cold and backward seasons the young,' when first born at such times, are destroyed by these marauders in such numbers that the hunters perceive the deficiency and call them scarce for the next season. Antelopes are remarkably fond of saline water or salt, and know well where the mlt-licks are found. They return to them daily] if near their grazing grounds, and lay down by them, after licMng the' salty earth or drinking the salt water. Here they will remain for hours at a time, in fact until hunger drives them to seek in other places the juicy and nourishing grasses of the prairie. This species is fond of taking its stand, when alone, on some knoll, from which it can watch the move- ments of all wanderers on the plains around, and from which a fair chance to run in any direction is secured, although the object of its fear may be con- cealed from view occasionally by a ravine, or by another projecting ridge like its own point of sight. We had in our employ a hunter on the Yello"- -Stone River, who killed two female antelopes and broke the leg of a ..: rd at one shot from an ordinary western rifle. The ball must have passed entirely through the two first of these animals. We have represented on our plate two males and a female in the fore ground, with a flock of these timid creatures running at full speed in the distance. We subjoin the following account of the Antelopes seen by J. W. Audubon and his party on their overland journey through Northern Mexico and Sonora to California. •' Leaving Altar, Sonora, the country was flat and uninteresting, except that large patches of coarse grass, sometimes miles in length, took the place of the naked clay plains we had been riding through. The tall cactus, described by Fremont and Emory, in its eccentric forms was remark- able enough even by daylight, but at night, a very little superstition, with the curved and curiously distorted forms, produced in some cases by dis- ease of the plant, or by the violent gales that periodically sweep those prairies, might make the traveller suppose this was a region in which beings supernatural stalked abroad. The shrill whistle of the Antelope, new to us all, added to the wild and unearthly character of the scene. The Maricapos Indians were said to be friendly, but we did not hiow it, and VOL. ir. — 2C) I:, i ^W Pi'' lif ! II ^ 202 PRONG-HORNED Ai'^TELOPE. after our long watchings against Camanche, Apatche.Wako and Paramanii, who among us, as we knew how Indians sometimes personate the animals of the section they live in, but listened with intense interest to the slightest noise foreign to our previous knowledge. The short quick stampings of" im- patience or nervousness, continually repeated by the animals, were, how- ever, soon distinguished in the stillness of our prairie camp at night, and feeling thus assured that only one of the deer tribe was the cause of our anxiety, blankets and tent soon covered us, and we left the beautiful and innocent creatures, now that we knew them, to their own reflections, if any they made, as to who and what we were, until morning. At day light, Khoades and Van Horn, two hunters good as ever ac- companied a train across the broad prairies ranged over by Bufl^alo, Elk, or Deer, looked out the trails, and reported Anteloj)es ; but brought none to camp ; not expecting to see any more of this herd, we started on our tramp towards the great Sonora Desert. Stevenson had a new horse, and as he had never ueen mounted with- out blindfolding him, after the Mexican fashion with young horses, being wild, his owner, by way of making him more gentle, commenced beat- ing; him with a stick that might havfe been selected to kill him ; before I had time to know what was going on and interfere for the poor horse, he had looked to his own interests, pulled away, and with a bounding gallop went off, like an escaped prisoner, leading four of our best men and horses some ten miles ahead of the train, and when the runaway was at length overtaken, Van Horn, Pennvpacker, Mc. Cusker, and myself were greatly in advance ; the curve we had made from the road was slight, and on reaching it again, no trail told that the company had passed, so we had time to look about us, and loitered to rest our tired horses, when simultaneously we saw the back of a deer or Antelope ; its head was hidden by the tall grass in which it was grazing on the soft juicy young shoots at the roots of the old tussocks: Van Horn, with his unerring nim and Mississippi rifle, the eccentric twist of which, no doubt taken from Wesson's patent, renders these guns superior to all we have tried, was told to kill it. For a few seconds he was lost to our sight, though only a hundred yards from us, so low did he squat in the sparse tufts of def\'l grass and stinking wormwood. How curious it is to stand waiting the result of the skill and caution of the well iried hunter, at such a time ; again and again we saw the back of the Antelope, as he passed one bunch of shrubbery after another, but never saw our hunter: at every moment we expected to see the wary animal with sense of smell so keen as nine times out often to save him from his enemies, bound away ; but how difle- rent was his bound when he did leap, not forward, but straight upward PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE. 20B And now we saw Van Horn, a quarter of a mile off, running to where the last leap was made by his prey, and then came on ihe sluggish air, the crack of his rifle, almost after we had forgotten to listen for it, as a rifle cracks nowhere except on prairies, where neither woods, rocks or hills send back the sound. When I saw this beautiful creature, a most magnificent male, the first I had ever seen in the flesh, thougb the drawing for the ' Quadrupeds ' had been long made and published, "how I wished to redraw it! delicate even to the descriptions of the gazelle, muscular and sinewy as the best bred grey hound that Scotland ever produced. I anticipated a treat, as Van Horn gave me a hind quartei for our men, which I tied doubly secure to my saddle. But when night came, afl;er ten hours' ride, although we enjoyed our steak .he deer of the Cordilleras was too fresh in our memories to permit us to say that this Antelope was the best meat we h.ad eaten." * * * " The eastern spurs of the coast range were just behind us ; the black-tailed deer was scarcely past, for a few miles back, high up on one of theconical velvety hills of this range, we had seen three, looking at us from under one of the dwarf oaks that grow at a certain altitude, in forms peculiar to this country; above or below, either a different formation or total absence of shrubbery occurring. We were winding along the base of a moderate line of hills of the Sierra Nevada, when what we took for a flock of sheep, the trail of which we had been following for three days on the way to the mines from Los Angeles, was discovered, and we hoped for nmtton, to say nothing of the company we anticipated ; but our flock of sheep was like the ' Phantom Bark,' for it ' seemed never the nigher,* au contraire, turning a hill went out of sight, and we never got another view ; we saw another flock some miles on, and at first, suppos- ing it the same, wondered how they could travel so fast. This was probably another portion of the one we had trailed for so many days. Wc were gratified by the whole flock running ne.-ir us, from which we argued we were in the chosen country of tlie Antelope, the broad Tule valley. The flock ran 'shearing' about, as the formation of the land com- pelled them to turn to the right or left, showing their sides alternately in light and shade. When they are on the mountain sides and discover a foe, or any object that frightens them, the whole flock rush headlong for the plains, whether the enemy is likely to intercept them or not, and they seem to fly with the single idea, that they are in a dangerous place, and must change it for some other, no matter what ; at times a whole flock would run to within shot of our company, determined as it were to go through the line, and I believe in one or two instances would have done so, if they had not been shot at by our too impatient party. When on ■\ 1 f 204 PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE. the plains, the same desire possesses them to get to the hills, and back they go a hundred or two in a flock, seldom slackening their speed, ex- cept for a few seconds to look again, and be more frightened than ever at what had first startled them. The rolling hills of the western line of the Sierra Nevada were their most favourite locality in this valley, as far as wc saw, but Layton and myself met an accidental individual or two, nearly up to Sacramento city, as we travelled through the beautiful, park-like scenes of this portion of California to the diggings of the head waters of the " American Fork." As to the shedding of the horns of this species, I never was able to as- certain it, but a fine buck we killed, late in November, had a soft space between the head and horn, over the bone, that looked as if it had grown that length in one season. A young Antelope is better eating than a deer, but an old one, is decidedly goaty. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Prong-horned Antelope is an inhabitant of the western portions of North America, being at no time found to the east of the Mississippi river. Its most northerly range is, flccording lo Richardson, latitude 53° on the banks of the north branch of the Saskatchewan. They range southerly on the plains east of the Rocky Mountains into New Mexico. The precise latitude we have not been able to ascertain, but we have seen specimens that were said to have been obtained along the eastern ridge of the mountains within the tropics in Mexico. The account given by Hernan- dez, as well as his bad figure of his Teuthlnmucame, can apply to no other species ; this was obtained in Mexico. Lewis and Clarke found it on the plains west of the Columbia River, and it is now known to be an inhabi- tant of California. It has, therefore, a very extensive geographical range. general remarks. We have after much reflection and careful examination, concluded to adopt Mr. Ord's genus Anlibcapra for this species. It diflfera in so many particulars from the true Antelopes, that naturalists will be compelled either to enlarge the character of that genus, or place it under one already formed. Its horns are branched, of which no instance occurs among all the species of Antelope ; it is destitute of crumens or lachrymal openings, and is entirely deficient in the posterior or accessory hoofs, there being only two on each foot. Major Hamilton Smith, (Cuv. Animal Kingdom, Vol. v., p. 321,) formed a genus under the name of Dicranocerua, under which he placed a second species which he named Apalmata. Although the generic name given by PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE. 205 Smith is m many respects preferable, as being more classically correct, still, if we were to be governed by the principle that we should reject a genus because the compoi I lul word from which it is derived is composed of two languages, or if it does not designate the precise character of the species, we would be compelled to abandon many familiar genera, estab- lished by Linnaeus himself. The specific name of Ord, we have also adopted in preference to the more characteristic one "furcifer" of Smith, under a rule which we have laid down in this work not to alter a specific name that has been legiti- mately given. We havo added the A palmata, palmated Antelope of Major Smith, as a synonyme. We have compared so many specimens differing from each other in shades of colour and size of horns, that we have scarcely a doubt of his having described a very old male of the Prong-horned Antelope. ^Hi' i ^^^v 1 t ^^^■ji ^HHH|^^|t '■ ^■f! i li'l'l ! I B 206 CEIIVUS MACROTIS.— Say. Mule Deer. ?LATE LXXVIII. Female— Summer Pelage. C. cornibus sub-dichotomo-rarnosis ; auriculis longissimis ; corpore supra pallide rufescente-fusco, cauda pallide rufescente cinere^, apice compresso subtus nudl-osculo nigro. CHARACTERS. , Horns cylindrical, twice forked ; ears very long ; body above, broivnisli grey ; tail short, above, pale reddish ash colour, except at the crircmity on its upper surface, where it is black. Hair on the body coarse, like that of the Elk ; very long glandular openings on the sides of hind legs. SYNONYMEa. « Jumping Deer. Umfreville, Hudson's Bay, p. 164. Black Tailed or Mule Deer. Gass Journ. p. 55. Black Tailed Deer, Mule Deer. Lewis and Clarke, Vol. 1, pp. 91, 92, 10(5, 152, 239, 2G4, 3-J8. Vol.2, p. 152. Vol. 3. p. 27, 125. Mule Deer, Warden's United States. Vol. 1, p. 245. Cekf Mulet. Desmarcst Mam., p. 43. Black Tailed or Mule Deer. James Long's Exped. Vol. 2, p, 276, Cervus Macrotis, Say, Long's Expedit. Vol, 2, p, 254, " Harlan Fauna, p, 243. " Sabine. Franklin's Journey, p. 667, «• Godman's Nat. Hist, Vol, 2, p, 305, Great Eared Deer. Griffith's An, King, Vol. 4, p, 133 ; Vol. 5, p. 794. description. In size this species is intermediate between the Elk and the Virginian Deer, and a little larger than the Columbian Black Tailed Deer, to be noticed hereafter. It is a fine formed animal, bearing a considerable re- semblance to the Elk, its long ears constitute its only apparent defor- mity. Male, — Antlers slightly grooved, tuberculated at base, a small branch near the base, corresponding to the situation and direction of those of the C. Virginianus. Thr curvature of the anterior line of the antlers, is similar in ^ ^^^M i i ; ■ i ■ .1 i ' I I I i ■ * i ' ; i I im >•, \ \^ I f It] ! i (' \ i 1 mm msmmm ! ■. m ^ 1 } i ' ' 'Si ' ' L. !' 1 MULE DEER. 207 direction but less in degree than in the Common Deer ; near the middle of the entire length of the antlers they bifurcate equally and each of these processes again divides near the extremity, the anterior of these smaller prongs being somewhat longer than the posterior ones. The lateral teeth are larger in proportion to the intermediate teeth than those of the Virginia- nus. The ears are very long, extending to the principal bifurcation, about half the length of the whole antler. The lachrymal aperture is longer than m the Virginian Deer, the hair is coarser and is undulated or crimped like that of the Elk ; the hoofs are shorter and wider than those of the common Deer, and more like those of the Elk, the tip of the trunk of the tail is some- what compressed and almost destitute of hair. Female. — Summer Pelage, — In the length and form of its ears, the animal from which we describe constantly reminds us of the mule, and in this parti- cular may noc have been inappropriately named the Mule Deer. The fe- male is considerably larger than the largest maleof the Virginian Deer we have ever examined. The head is much broader and longer from the eye to the point of the nose, the eye large and prominent, the legs stouter, and the tail shorter. The gland on the outer surface of the hind legs below the knee, covered by a tuft of hair, is of the unusura length of six inches, whilst in the common deer it is only one inch long. Around the throat, the hair is longer than in the corresponding parts of the Virginian Deer, and near the lower jaw under the throat, it has the appearance of a small tuft or beard. The tail of the summer-specimen is slightly tufted, indi- cating that in winter it might have a distinct tuft at the end. It is rounded and not broad and flat like that of the Virginian Deer. The hair on the body is coarse, and lies less compact and smooth, that on the thighs near the buttocks, resembles white cotton threads cut off ab- ruptly. COLOUR. Upper portion of nose and sides of face ashy grey ; the forehead is dark browo, and commences a line running along the vertebrae of the back, growing darker till it becomes nearly black. Eyebrows and a few streaks on and along the neck dark brown. Neck, and sides of body, yellowish brown. Outer surface of legs a shade lighter than the sides of the body. Under the chin, inner surface of legs, and belly, greyish white. Belly between the forelegs brownish or yellowish-brown, a line of which colour runs up to the neck. It differs from the Virginian Deer in being destitute of the dark markings under the chin, and has them less conspicuous around the nose. From the root of the tail extending downwards on both but- la 'T'"'~^S5*5iiS I in. 208 MULE DEER. tocks there is a lightish patch seven inches in diameter, making an ap- proach to the yellowish white spot on the buttocks, so characteristic in the elk, rocky mountain sheep, and pronged liorned antelojje. From the root of the tail to near the extreirrity the hairs are ashy white. Point of tail for two inches black. There are no annulations on the hair, which is uniform in colour from the roots. DIMENSIONS. Female. Nose to anterior canthus of eye Length of eye Nose to opening of ear « end " " Breadth of ear ... Nose to point of shoulder Nose to root of tail Tail vertebrae ... End of hair ... Tip of shoulder to elbow " " " to bottom of feet Height to rump Girth b.ick of sh' aider Round the neck Nose to angle of mouth Between eyes at anterior canthus Behind the eyes round the head Weight, 132 lbs. Dimensions of a Male, as given by Say. Length from base of antlers to origin of basal process, From basal process to principal bifurcations Posterior branch .... From anterior base of antlers to tip of superior jaw ^fthe ears - - . . - Trunk of the tail .... Hi'ir at thi tip of tail - • Inohat 6i li 1 i 1 «1 34 2 1 4 10 54 10 1 5 3 3 3 6i 3 li 1 2* H 4 I 6 Inohw. 44 to Ct 24 to 3 74 4 3 to 4 MULE DEER. HABITS. 20l> The first opportunity was afforded us of observing this magnificent animal, on the 12th of May as we were ascending the Missouri, about eleven hundred miles above Fort Leavenworth. On winding along the banks, bordering a long and wide prairie, intermingled with willows and other small brush wood, we suddenly can.e in sight of four Mule or black- taded Deer, which after standing a moment on the bank and looking at us trotted leisurely away, without appearing to be much alarmed. After they had retired a few hundred yards, the two largest, apparently males, ele- vated themselves on their hind legs and pawed each other in the manner ot the horse, ^hey occasionally stopped for a moment, then trotted off again, appearing and disappearing from time to time, when becoming suddenly alarmed, they bounde.l off at a swift pace, until out of sight Ihey did not trot or run as irregularly as our Virginian Deer, and they appeared at a distance darker in colour, as the common Deer at this season is red. On the 2.5th of the same month, we met with four others which m the present instance did not stop to be examined ; we saw them' at a distance rapidly and gracefully hurrying out of sight. On the evening ot the same day, one of our hunters brought to us a young Buck of this species, the horns of which, however, were yet too small to enable us to judge what would be their appearance in the adult animal. When on the Upper Missouri, near Fort Union, we obtained through the aid of our hun- ters, the female Black-tailed Deer, from which our figure, description and measurements have been made. We regret exceedingly that we were so unfortunate as not to havs been able to procure a male, the Jelineation of which wp must leave to our successors. The habits of this animal approach more nearly those of the Elk than of either the long-tailed or Virginian Deer. Like the former they remove far from the settlements, fi,, --^m the vicinity of the hunter's camp and when once fairly started, run lor a mile or two before they come to a pause. The female produces one or two young, in the month of June. We have figured a female an summer pelage, and have represented the animal in an exhausted state, wounded through the body, and about to drop down, whilst the hunter is seen approaching, through the tall grass, anticip_ ing the moment when she will reel and fall in her tracks. OEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIUUTION. The Mule Deer range along the eastern sides of the Rocky Mountains, through avast extent of country; and according to Lewis and Clauke vol 11.- --'.>/. '•mi i f t I i m 210 MULE DEER. are the only species on the mountnins in the vicinity of the (irst falls of the C()luml)iii llivcr. 'I'licir lii^licst nortlicrn riiny;c, fict-ordiiiy; to RiriiAUDHoN, is the banks of the Saskiifchewaii, in .-ilmiit latitude Ti 1° ; they do not come to the eastward of lonuiMide lOS in that parnllel. He represents them us numerous on the Guamash Hats, which border on the Kooskooskie River We found it a little to the east of Fort Union on the Missouri River, It rani^es north and south aloiii^ the eastern sides of the Rocky Mountains through many [)arallels of latitude until it reaches north-western Texas, where it has recently been killed. CSRNERAL RBMARKB. Since the days of Lewis and Clarke, an impression has existed among na- turalists that there were two species of black-tailed Deer; the one exist inj; to the east of the Rocky Mountains, and the other, bordcrin}? on the Pacilic, and extendi;^}^ through upper California. Although the descriptions of those, fearless and enterprising travellers are not scientific, yet their accounts of the v.irious species of animals, existing on the line of their travels, have in nearly every case been foun:n Deer, and less than the Mule Deer. The flesh is seldom fat, and in flavour is far inferior to any other of the species ! It will be seen from the above, that they regarded the Mule Deer of the plains of Western Missouri as a distinct species from the black-tailed Deer, which existed along the Pacific coast near the Columbia river. Say gave the first scientific description of the Mule Deer, which he named " Cervus Macrotis" which having the priority we have retained. Richard- son, whilst at the Saskatchewan, sought to obtain specimens of this animal for description, but it being a season of scarcity, the appetites of the hunters proved superior to their love of gain, and they devoured the Deer they had shot, even to their skins. When after his return to Europe, in 1829, he MULE DEER. 911 published the animals ohtair ed in the expedition, he very properly added such other species as had been c«»llected by th,- labours ol" Don.; ^ r- -i;„. MOM) and other njtfiiralists, who Iwid explored the norther- kI J porfions of Auieric;!. Findinyr in the Zoological Musecn- -jio i ,i black-tailed Deer, procured on the western coast of Am; lic i.> i; m, :ig, he concluded that it was the species described by Say, ( . '»■ utis ; at the close of his article, he refers to the animal mentioned by LEwir. and Ci.ARKK, as the black-tailed Deer of the western coast, of which he states, that he had seen nospeci-nen, designating it (F.B. Am. p. 2.57) C. marrotis, var. ColumhUinti. We have, however, come to , the conclusion tli.it the animal described by Richardson was the very western species to which Lewis and Clarkk refer, and that whilst his description of the specimen was correct, he erred in the name, he having described not the Mule Deer of Lewis and Ci,ark and Say, but the Columbian black-tailed Deer, oui drawing of which was made from the identical specimen described and figured by Richardson. We have named it, after its first describer, Cervux Rir/uirilso/iii. The following characters will serve to designate the species. C. Richiirdsonii, considerably smaller than C. macrotis, the male of the former species being smaller than the female of the latte-. The hair .if C. iiuicrofis is very coarse and spongy, like that of the elk, that of C. Richardsuniiis much finer and more resembles that of the Virginian Deer. The ('. Richurdsoiiii has no glandular opening on the outer surface of the hind leg below the knee joint, approaching in this particular the antelopes which are also without such openings, whilst the corresponding portion in C. macrotis is longer than that of any known species of Deer, being si\ inch- es in length. They difler in the shape of their horns, C. Richardsonii having the antlers more slender, much less knobbed, and leds covered with sharp points than those of the latter. They are also destitute of the basal pro- cess, so conspicuous in C. macrotis. We regret exceedingly that from cir- cumstances beyond our control, we have been enabled to give a figure of the female only of C. macrotis, and of the male ily of C. Ricliardxonii. The former was figured from the specimen we ined at F'ort Union, and for the latter we are indebted to the directors ol the Zool. Society of London, who very kindly permitted us to make a drawing from the spc- cinieii previously described and figured by Richardson. Note. — In connection with tliis subject, we arc deeply p.nined to be comiiellcd to notice the obstnu'timis thrown in the way of our pursiil;.' l>y the directors of the National InKtituto at Wasliinfjton, whiclt city we vi-- cured at considerable labour and expense, and sent to us without cost, knowing and belitv. ing that in benefitting the cause of natural stdence they w ould receive a sufficient reward 213 SPERMOPHILUS ANx\ULATUS.-Aud. and Bach. PLATE LXXIX.— Male. S. Super cervinus, pilis nigris, interspersis, subtus albido. CaudS cor- pore longiore, annulis, 17-20 nigris. CHARACTERS. Reddish-hrown ahow, speckled with black beneath. Tail, lohich is longer than the body, annulated, with from seventeen to twenty black bands. SYNONYME. Spekmophilus Annulatus. Aud. & Bach. Transactions of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Oct. 5th, 1841. DESCRIPTION. In size, this species is scarcely larger than the Hudson's Bay Squirrel OSf. Hudsonins.) I„ the shape of the head it resembles Spermophilus i'arryt. The ears are quite small, being scarcely visible above its short coat of rather coarse, adpressed hairs; they are thickly covered with hair on both surfaces. The nose is sharp ; whiskers, (which are numerous,) the ength of the head. Eyes of moderate size, situated on the sides of the head. The os-frontis is rounded between the orbits, as in S. Frauhlimi. The cheek pouches are pretty large, and open into the mouth immediately anterior to the grinders. The body is more slender than the spermophiles in general, and in this, and .several other peculiarities which will be men- tioned, this species approaches the genus Sciurus. On the fore-foot a slmrp, conical nail is inserted on the tubercle which represents th., thumb There are four toes, covered to the extremities with a close, smooth coat * \7' , 1' T' '""' '^" '''""'■'^ '"" ^'•^ "'' •"•l"''^' '^"'^^fh. The second and third, which are longest, are also uniform in length. The nails are short crooked and sharp, like those of the Squirrels, and not like those of the Marmots and Spermophili in general, which are long and slender and but slightly curved. The legs are long and slender. The hair on the back IS rather short, and lies close and smooth. The short fu, beneath this coarser hair is rather sparingly distributed. On the under M ( ! : t ^^iW I 214 ANNULATED MARMOT SQUIRREL. I!| surface, the hairs are longer, and so thinly and loosely scattered as to leave the skin visible in many places, especially on the abdomen, and inner surface ol the thighs. The hind feet, which are thiciciy covered with short, smooth hairs, have five toes. The soles, as well as palms, are naked. The tail, by its great length and singular markings, presents a distinguishing peculiarity in this species ; it is flattened, and the hairs admit of a distichous arrangement ; but the tail is narrower, and less bushy than those of the Squirrels. COLOUR. The incisors are deep orange ; nails, brown ; whiskers, black ; nose and sides of the face, chestnut-brown. There is a line of soiled white above and around the eyes. The hairs on the upper surface are yellowish- brown at the roots, barred about the middle with black ; then another line of yellowish-brown and tipped with black, giving it a dark, greyish- brown, and in some lights a speckled appearance. The small spots are, however, no where well defined ; upper surface of the feet and legs, yellowish-brown ; the under parts, chin, throat, belly, and inner surface of the legs and thighs are white. The tail is annulated with about nineteen black, and the same number of cream-coloured bands, giving it a very con- spicuous appearance. These annulations commence about three inches from the root of the tail, and continue to be well defined till near the extremity, where the colours become more blended, and the rings are scarcely visible. On the under surface, the tail is pale reddish-brown, irregularly, and not very distinctly barred with black. DIMENSIONS. Length from point of nose to root of tail, " tail vertebra?, --.... " to end of hair, ...... From heel to end of middle hind claw, .... Height of ear, posteriorly, ..... Length of longest fore-claw, ..... Length of longest hind claw, ..... HABITS. We po5;3ess no knowledge of the habits of this species, but presume from its form, that it possesses the burrowing propensities of the genus. All the SpcrmophiH avoid thickly wooded countries, and are either found in rocky localities, or burrowing in the prairies. ocbea. Linos- 8 2 8 0 9 4 1 10 0 H 0 2 0 2i ANNULATED MARMOT SQUIRREL. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 216 The specimen we have described above, was obtained on the Western Prairies, we believe on the east of the Mississippi river ; the locality was not particularly stated. It was politely presented to us by Professor Si'ENCER F. Baird, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a young Naturalist of emi- nent attainments. i general remarks. In every department of Natural History, a species is occasionally found which forms the connecting link between two genera, rendering it doubt- Ail under which genus it should properly be arranged. Under such cir- cumstances, the Naturalist is obliged to ascertain, by careful examination, the various predominating characteristics, and finally, place it under the genus to which it bears the closest affinity in all its details. The Sper- mophili are intermediate in character between the Squirrels and Mar- mots. They have the lightness of form of the former, and burrow in the ground like the latter. By their cheek pouches, of which the true Squir- rels and Marmots are destitute, they are distinguished from both. The second inner toe on the forefoot of the Spermophili is the longest, whilst in the Squirrels the third is longest. But in these closely-allied genera, there are species which approach those of another genus. Thus our Maryland Mnrmot, {A Monax,) has a rudimentary cheek-pouch, in which a pea might be inserted, yet in every other particular it is a true Arctomys. The downy Squirrel, {Sciurus lanuginosus, see Journal Acad. Nat. Science, Vol. 8th, part 1st, p. 07,) by its short ears, broad head, and not very distichous tail, approaches the Spermophili, yet by its being destitute of cheek-pouches, by its soft, downy fur, and its hooked, sharp claws, of which the third, as in the Squirrels, is longest, it is more allied to Sciurus. On the other hand, the species now under considera- tion has the long legs, slender form, and sharp, hooked claws ol" the Scjuirrel. The two middle toes of the fore-feet being of equal length, prove its affinity to both genera ; but in the general shape of its body, its cheek pouches, its short ears, and smooth, rigid hair, it must be regarded as belonging to the genus Spermophilus. We consider this species and the downy Squirrel as connecting links between Sciurus and Spermo- philus, as we regard Sciurus Hudsonius tlio connecting link between Tamias and Sciurus j; i- ! ! 216 ARVICOLA PINETORUM.— Leccnte. Leconte's Pine-Mouse. PLATE LXXX.— Male and Female. A. Capite crasso ; naso obtuso ; vellere curto ; molli bombycino, instar velleri Talpae ; supra I'usco-cana, subtus plumboo. characters. Head large, nose blunt ; fur short, soft, silhj and lustrous, like that of the mole. Colour, above, brown, beneath^ plumbeous. SYNONYMES. PsAMMOMv's PiNETORUM, Lo Coiitc, Annals of the Lyceum of Niitural History of New-York, Vol. III. p. 3, p. 2. Akvicola ScALOpsoiDES, Mole Arvicola. Aud, and Bach. Transactions Acad. Nat. Sciences, October, 184L Arvicola Oneida, De Kay, Nat. Hist., N. Y., p. 88. DESCRIPTION. This species bears some resemblance to Wilson's Meadow Mouse ; it is, however, less in size, and its fur is shorter, more compact and glossy ; body rather stout, short and cylindrical ; head large and short ; nose blunt, and hairy, except the nostrils, which arc naked; incisors of moderate size ; moustaches, fine, and nearly all sliort, a few reaching the ear ; eyes very small ; auditory openings large ; ears very short, not visi- ble beyond the fur, thin and membranous, with a few scattered hairs on the upper margin ; neck short and thick ; logs short and slender, covered with very short, adpressed hairs, not concealing the nails ; palms naked. There are four toes on the fore foot, of which the second, on the inner side, is the longest, the first and third nearly equal, and the fourth shortest ; in place of a thumb, there is a minute, straight, but not blunt, nail. The hind feet have five toes, the middle longest, the two next on each side being of equal length, and a little shorter than the middle one ; the inner toe is considerably shorter, and tlip fourth, placed far back, is the shortest. The nails are weak, nearly straight, sharp, but not hooked. Th(! fur on the whole body is short, compact and soft, and on the l)ack, glossy. PINE MOUSE. 217 COLOUR. The eyes are black ; nostrils flesh-colour ; incisors light yellowish • moustaches nearly all white, with a few interspersed of a dark brown colour. Hair from the root plumbeous, tipped on the upper surface with glossy brown. These tips are so broad that they conceal the ashygrey colours beneath ; cheeks chestnut-brown, upper surface of tail brown feet, hght-brown, nails, whitish. The hairs on the under surface are shorter than those on the back, and instead of being broadly tipped with brown, like those on the back, are very slightly tipped with very pale brown and whitish, giving the chin, throat, neck and inner surface of legs and whole under surface of body a pale ash colour. The line of demarc- ation between the colours of the back and under surface, is very distinct in most specimens, commencing on the edges of the mouth, running along the sides of the neck, thence along the shoulder, including the fore legs- along the sides, the two opposite lines meeting near the root of the tail We have observed in this species a considerable difference in different specimens, both in size and colour, having met some which were but little more than three inches long, whilst others were five. In some the colours on the back were of a much deeper brown than in others whilst in others, the blown markings on the cheeks were altogether wanting, It should be observed that in this species, as well as in all our field mice the colours are much lighter, and inclined to cinereous after the shedding of the hair in summer ; the colours gradually deepen and become brighter toward autumn and winter, and are most conspicuously dark brown in spring. DIMENSIONS. From point of nose to root of tail, - Tail, Another Specimen. Length of head and body, Tail iDchus. 34 4i 3 I HABITS. The manners of this species do not diff^er very widely from those exhibit- ed by many other field mice. They however, avoid low grounds, so much the resort of the meadow mice, and prefer higher and drier soils This mouse is rather an inhabitant of cultivated fields than of woods, and IS seldom found in the forest far removed from the vicinity of plantations, to which It resorts, not only to partake of the gleanings of the fields, but to lay Its contributions on the products of the husbandman's labours, claiming a share before the crops are gathered. In the Northern states, it is found • i oi,. ir. -28. II'. I I .-. 218 PINE MOUSE. in potato fields and in vegetable gardens, gnawing holes into the sides of llw potatoes, carrots, ruta-baga, and common turnips, following the rows whtsre fireen peas and corn have been planted, bringing down threats of ven- gcance I'rom the tarnicr on the poor ground mole, which, feeding only on worms, is mside a kind of cal's-{)aw by this mischievous little field mouse, which does the injury in most cases, wliilst the other is saddled with the blame. In the South it is, next to the Norway rat, the most troublesome visitant of the cellars and banks in which the sweet potato is stored, destroying more than it consumes, by gnawing holes into the tubers, and causing them to rot. Wherever a bed of Guinea corn, Egyptian millet, or Guinea grass is planted, there you will soon observe numerous holes and nests of this species. We have recently seen an instance where a large bed of kohlrabi was was nearly destroyed by it ; the bulbs appear ing above the surface were gnawed into holes, which, in some instances, penetrated to the centre. Our friend, the owner, had, as usual, laid the mischief on the broad shoulders of the hated and persecuted ground mole, of whose galleries not a trace could be seen in the vicinity. A number of small holes at the root of a stump, in the garden, indicated the true author of these depredations, ana on digging, about a dozen of Le- conte's field Mice were captured. This species is particularly fond of the pea or ground nut, (hypogea.) On examining the beds where this nut is cultivated, we have observed the rows on whole acres perforated in every direction by small holes, giving evidence that this troublesome little pest had been at work. In endeavouring to save and collect the seeds of the Gnma grass, {Tripsricinn (iarti/loidcs.) we generally found ourselves forestalled by this active and vorjicious liltle rat. This species has young three or foiu" times during the summer. One which we had in confinement, produce:! young three times, having three, seven, and four, in the difl'erent broods. The young were nearly all raised, but, when full-grown, became pugnacious and persecuted each other so much that we were obliged to separate them. They were almost exclu- sively fed on ground nuts, corn meal and sweet potatoes, but seemed to relish both boiled rice and bread. We have seen nine young taken from one nest. The nest of this species is generally found under ground, at the distance of about a foot from the surface ; it is small, and composed of light, loose materials, collected in the vicinity. This prolific field rnt possesses many enemies to diminish its numbers. The house cat not only watches for it about the fields and gardens, but is fond of devouring it, whilst the bodies of shrews and ground moles are not eaten. The very common Owl, (Si/niiiim luhulumtiii,) the Bam FIELD MOUSK. 219 Owl {StHx Americauf,,) the Weasel, Ermine, and Mink, all make this species a considerable part ol' their subsistence. The only note we iiave ever heard Irom this mouse is a low squeak, only uttered when it is eiliier struck suddenly or greatly alarmed. In a state of confinement it was remarkably silent, except when two were en- gaged in fighting. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Le Conte's Field Mouse has an extensive geographical range. We have received specimens Irom our friend. Dr. Brewer, obtained in Massa- chusetts. It is found in Conncolicut, is quite abundant on the farms in Rhode-Lsland, and in the immediat<" vicinity of New- York. We found it at Milestown, a few miles from Philadelphia. Mr. Hi. ffin sent us several specimens from Virginia. We procured it in North Carolina, and re- ceived a specimen from Dr. Barritt, Abbeville, South Carolina. It becomes more abundant as you approach the seaboard, in Carolina and Georgia; and we have specimens sent to us from Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. We have traced it no farther south, have not heard of it to the west of the Mississippi, and are inforgied that it does not exist in Texas. GENERAL REMARKS. From the diminutive figure in Wilson's Ornithology, we might be led to the conjecture that he had this little species in view. The accurate description given by Orh. applies, however, only to the Arijicola Penn- tijlvanicM. The first scientific description that appears of this species was given by Le Conte, (Annals of the Lyceum of Nat. Hist. N. Y., Vol. HI., p. 3.) Finding that there were some variations in the dentition from the long estai)lish('(l genus Armcohi. he formed for it a new genus, under the name of P.saiiwiiuis. As this name, however, had been p-e-occupicd by Riii'PEi. for an Arabian species, the American translator, (Dr. McMiiRTRiig of Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, proposed changing the genus to Pilyniis, Pine Mouse. The variations in the teeth, however, we have found by compari- son, do not allurd sufiicient cliaracters to warrant us in removing it from Ar- vicoh, to which, from its shape and hal)its, it seems legitimately to belong. We do not feel warranted in changing the specific name of Lb Conte bur, that name is not expressive of one of its characteristics, as, although it may have been found in the pine woods, we have never, in a single in- stance, detected it in such loealilies. We have auvays found it either in the open fields, or along fences, in llie vicinity of gardens and farms. This species is subject to many changes in coloin-, and is so variable in size, that it is easy to mistake it ; hence we have added as synonymes, our A, Scalupsoides, and the .1. Oneida oi" Dr. De Kay. i i\ 220 CERVUS VIRGIN I ANUS.— Pennaut. Common American Deer. PLATE LXXXI.— Fawn. PLATE CXXXVl.— Male and Female.— Winter pelage. C. cornibus mediocribus, ramosis, sub-complanatis, retrorsum valde in- clinati-s, dein antrorsum versLs ; ramo basali-interno retrorso ; ramis plurimis posticis, retrorsum et sur.sum spectantibus, sinubus .siiborbifalibus plicam cutaneam formaiitibus; vellere aestate fulvo, hyeme canescente- tusco. CHARACTERS. Horns middle sized, tending to jlatten, strongly bent hack and then for- wards ; a basal antler on the interval side, pointing baclarards ; several snags on the posterior edge, turned to the rear, and upwards ; suborbital sinus making a fold; colour, fulvous in sumt .; gray-brown in winter. SYNONYMES. VmaiNiAN Deer. Penii. Syn., p. .51 « «' Penn. Quadrupeds. Vol. 1, p. 104. " «« Shaw's General Zoology. Vol. 2, p. 284. Amkrikanischer Hirsch. Kalm Reisc. Vol. 2, p. 320. 3d p. 482. ViHGiNiscnER Hirsch. Zimmerm. Geogr. Gesch. Vol. 2, p. 129. Cekf de la Lol'isiane. Cuv. Regn. An., lere p. 256, Cervus Vjrginiancs. Gmel. Vol. 1, p. 179. Dama Americanos. Erxl. Syst., p. 312. C. ViRGiNiANus. Harlan. Fauna Am., p. 239. " Godm. Am. Nat. Hist. Vol. 2. p. 306. C. Mexicanus kt clavatus. Haniilton Smith, p. 315. Griff. Cuv. Vol. 4. p. 127. Vol. 5, p. 315. C. ViRGiNiANus. Dekay's N. Y. Fauna, p. 113. DESCRIPTION. Muzzle sharp ; head rather long ; eyes large and lustrous ; lachrymal pits covered by a fold of the skin. Tail moderately depressed. Legs VIRGINIAN DKER. 221 slender. A glandular pouch surrounded by a thick tut't of rigid hairs in- side of the hind legs. COLOUR. The Virginian Deer varies considerably in colour at different periods of the year. In the spring it is of a dusky reddish or fulvous colour above, extending over the whole head, back, upper surface of the tail and along the sides. In the autumn it is of a bluish or lead colour, and in winter the liairs on the upper surface are longer and more dense and of a brown- ish dark tint. Beneath the chin, throat, belly, inner surface of legs, and under side of tail, white. There is no perceptible difference in colour be- tween the sexes. The fawns are at first, bright reddish-brown, spotted with irregular lon- gitudinal rows of white. These spots become less visible as the animal grows older, and in the course of about four months the hairs are replaced by others, and it assumes the colour of the old ones. F 4 DIMENSrONS. Length from nose to root of tail, of tail, (vertebrte), " including hairs, " Height of ear, Feet, rnebea. 3 1 6 1 1 HABITS. Perhaps no species of wild animal inhabiting North- America, deserves to be regarded with more interest than the subject of our present article, the Common or Virginian Deer ; its symmetrical form, graceful curving leap or bound, and its rushing speed, when, flying before its pursuers, it passes like a meteor by the startled traveller in the forest, exciting admiration, though he be ever so dull an observer. The tender, juicy, savoury, and above all, digestible qualities of its flesh are well known ; and venison is held in highest esteem from the camp of the backwoodman to the luxurious tables of the opulent, and, when not kep^ too long ( a common error in our large cities by the way) a fat haunch with jelly and chafing dishes is almost as much relished, as a "hunter's steak," cooked in the open air on a frosty evening far away in the west The skin is of the greatest service to the wild man, and also useful to the ilweiler in towns ; dressed and smoked by the squaw, until soft and pliable r 222 VIRGINIAN DEER. it will not shrink with all the wettings to which it is exposed. In the form ol'mocasins, iejjgings, and hunting shirts, it is the most nmterial j)art ofthe dress of many Indian tribes, and in the civilized world is used for breeches, gloves, gaiters, and various other purposes. From the horns are made beautiful liandh's for various kinds of cutlery. The timidity ofthe Deer is such, tiiat it hurries away, even from the sight of a child, and it is but seldom that the hunter has ^ n' danger to ap- prehend, even I'rom a wounded buck ; il does but little injury to the fields ofthe j)lanter, and is a universal favourite with old and young of both sexes in our Southern States. The Viryiniiin, eras we wish to designate it, the Common Deer, is the only large animal, if we except the bear, that is not driven from the vici- nity of man by the report of the de'ir-driver's gun, or the crack of the hun- ter's rifle ; the bufTalo and the elk are now rarely seen east of the Mis- sissippi. Hunted by hounds and shot at from day to day, thc! Deer may re- treat from this persecution for a little while, but soon returns again to its original haunts. Although it scarcely ever occupies the same bed on suc- cessive nights, yet it is usually ibund in the same range, or drive as it is called, and often not fifty yards from the pla?e, where it was started before. It is fond of lingering around fences and old fields, that are partially over- spread with brush-wood, briar-patches and other cover, to screen it from observation. In the southern Stares the Deer, especially in summer when they are least disturbed, are fond of leaping the outer fences of plantations, lying through the day in some tangled thicket, overgrown with cane, vines and briars ; and in such places you may be so fortunate as to start an old buck in August or September, and many an overgrown denizen of the forest has bowed his huge antlers and fallen a sacrifice to his temerity in seeking t resting-place too near some pea-patch, where his hoofs left traces for many weeks of his nightly depredations. This habit of resting during the day in the near vicinity of their feed- ing ground, is however not universal. We during last summer were invited to visit a large cornfield in which a quantity of the Carolina cow- pea had been planted among the corn. This had been the nightly resort of the Deer during the whole summer — their tracks of various sizes cov- ered the ground, as if flocks of sheep had resorted to it, and scarcely a pod or even a leaf was remaining on the vines. The Deer, however, were not in the vicinity, where there were sc^veral favourable and extensive covers ; they were trailed to some small islands, ii^ a marsh nearly two miles off. We ascertained that the ] k-cr inhabiting the swamps on the east side of the Edisto river, where there are but few cultivated farms, were in the nightly habit of swimming the Edisto and visiting the pea- VIRGINIAN DEER. 228 fields in Barnwell, on the opposite side, returning before duy-light to theii customary haunts, some lour or live miles distant. The localities selected by Deer as places of rest and concealment dur- ing (he .lay are various, such as the season of the year and the nature of the country tni-l climate may su-rgest to the instincts of tin animal. Al- though we have occa.sioMally in mountainous regions, especially in the iiigher mountains of Virginia and the Green Mountains of V.-rniont, de- tected a Dec-r lying without concealment on an elevated ledge of bare roeli, iiite the ibex and chamois on the Alps, yet as a general habit, the annnal may be said to seek concealment, either among clumps of myrtle or laurel bushes, (Knhnia), in large fallen tree-tops, briar-patches, clus- ters of alder bushes, (ulnus), or in tall broom-grass, {Andropo^ron ]iissiti. floras). In cold weather it prefers seeking its repose in some sheltered dry situation, where it is protected from the wind, and w.-irmed by the rays of the sun; and on these occasions it may be found in briar-patches which face the south, or in tufts of broom-grass in old uncultivated liclds. In warm weather it retires during the day to shady swamps, and may of- ten be started from a clump of alder or myrtle bushels near some rivulet or cool stream. To avoid the persecution of moscheto,.s and ticks, it oc casionally, like the moose in Maine, resorts to some stream or pond and lies for a time immersed in the water, from which the nose and a part of the head only project. We recollect an occasion, when on sitting down to rest on the margin of the Santee river, we observ(Hl a pair of antlers on the surface of the water near an old tree, not ten steps from us. The half-closed eye of the buck was upon us; we were without a gun, and he was, therefore, safe from any injury we could inflict on him. Anxious to observe the cunning he would display, we turned our eyes another wav and commenced a careless whistle, as if for our own amusement, walkin- gradually towards him in a circuitous route, until we arrived within a few feet of him. He had now sunk so deep in the water that an inch only of his nose, and slight portions of his prongs were seen above the . surface. We again sat down on the bank for some minutes, pretendin- to read a book. At length we suddenly directed our eyes towards hi.n and raised our hand, when he rushed to the shore, and dashed through the' rattling canebrake, in rapid style. The food of the rominon Deer varies at difTerent periods of the year. In wmter, it feeds on buds of several kinds of shrubs, such as the wild rose the hawthorn, various species of bramble, {Rubux,) the winter green {P'/rolo,) the Partridge Berry, {MilckcUa repens,) the Deer Leaf, {Hopea tuictorm,) the bush Honeysuckle, (Azalea,) and many others. In sprino and summer it subsists on tender grasses, being very select in its choice I'i ; ( 224 VIRGINIAN DEER. hi- PI1 II, ' m^ h :«J: and dainty in its taste. At these seasons it frequently leaps fences, and visits the fields of the plai.ter, talting an occasional bite at his young wheat and oats, not overlooking the green corn, (Mtihr,) and givin^,' a decided |)refer(Mi .> to a field planted with cow-peas, which it divests of its joiiii:^ jiods and tender leaves ; nor does it pass lightly by berries of nl, kinds, such as the lluekleberry, Blackberry and 8!'>e, {Vihurniim piunifuliiim.) We are informed by a fric^nd that in th*? vicinity of Nashville, (Tenesse«s) ther(! is an extensive park containing about three hundred Deer, the prin- cij)al food of wiiicli is the luxuriant Kentucky blue-grass, {Pun pratcnsis.) In autumn it finds ii.i abundance of very choice food in the chestnuts, chin- quepins and beech-nuts strewn over tlie ground. The localities of the various oaks are resorted to, and we have seen its tracks most abundantly under the Live Oak, {Qiicrciis firrns,) the acorns of which it appears to prefer to all others. We once observed three deer fci,ding on these acorns, surrounded by a flock of wild turkeys, all eagerly engaged in claiming their share. The fruit of the Persimmon tree, after having been ripened by t!u! frosts of winter, falls to the ground, and also becomes a favourite food of the Deer. Possessing such a choice of food, we might suppose this animal would be always fat: this, however, is not the case, and, except at certain seasons of the year, the Deer is rather poor. The bucks are always in fine order from the month of August to November, when we have seen some that were very fat. One which we killed weighed one Imndred and seventy-five pounds. We have been informed that some have reached consideranly over two hundred pounds. In November, and sometimes a little earlier, the rutting season commences in Carolina, when the neck of the buck begins to dilate to a large size. lie is now con- stantly on foot, and nearly in a full run, in search of the does. On meet- ing with other males, tremendous battles ensue, when, in some rare in- stances, the weaker animal is gored to death ; generally, however, he flies from the vanquisher, and follows him, crest (alien, at a respectful and convenient distance, ready to turn on his heels and scamper off at the first threat of his victorious rival. In these rencontres, the horns of the com- batants sometimes become interlocked in such a manner that they cannot be separated, and the pugnacious bucks are consigned to a lingering and inevitable death by starvation. We have endeavoured to disengage these horns, but found them so completely entwined that no skill or strength of ours was successful. We have several times seen two, and on one occa- sion, three pairs of horns thus interlocked, and ascertained that the .skulls and skeletons of the Deer had always been found attached. These battles only take place di'.iing the rutting season, when the horns are too firmly VIRGINIAN DKER. 22A attached to be separated from the skull. Indeed, we have seta d horn shot «ir i,i the middle by a ball, whilst the stump still continued tirmly seated . , the skull. The rutting .season continues about tw- months, the largest and ol.lest does being enrliest sought for. and those of eighteen moi;fh8 at a later perio.l. About the month of January, the bucks drop their horns, when, as if conscious of having been .shorn of their strength and honours, they seem humbled, and congr.^gate peaceably with each other, seeking the concealment of the woods, until they can once more present their proud antlers to the admiring herd. Immediately aOer the rutting season, the bucks begin to grow lean. Their incessant travclhng during (he period of vencry-their fierce battles with their rivals, and the exhaustion consequent on shedding and replacing their horns by a remarkably rapid growth, render them emaciated and feeble for several months. About three weeks alter the old antlers have been shed, the elevated knobs of tlie young horns make their appeara.ice. I bey are at first soft and tender, eontaining numerous blood-vessels and the slightest injury causes them to blee.l IVeely. They possess a conside- rable degree of heat, grow rapidly, branch off into several ramifications and gradually hard.n. They are covered with a soft, downy skin, and are now in what is called " velvet." When the horns are fully grown which IS usually in .Tuly or August, the buck shows a restless pronen.sity to nd himself of the velvet covering, which has now lost its heat, and become dry : hence he is constantly engaged in rubbing his horns against bushes and saplings, often destroying the trees by wounding and tearing the bark, and by twisting and breaking off the tops. The system of bony development now ceases altogether, and the horns become smooth, hard, and solid. The does are fattest from November to January. They gradually get thinner as the season of parturition approaches, and grow lean whilst suckling their young. The young are, in Carolina, produced in the month of April ; young does, however, seldom yean till May or June. In the Northern States they bring forth a little Inter, whilst in Florida and Texas the period is earlier. It is a remarkable, but well ascertained fact, that in Alabama and Florida, a majo.ity of the fawns are produced in November. The doe conceals her young und, r t prostrate tree-top, or in a thick covert of grass, visiting them occasioiK.iiy during the day, especially in the morn- mg, evening, and at night. The young l-iwns, when only a few davs old. are often found in ho sound a sleep that we have, on several occasions, seen them taken up in the arms before they became conscious that they were captives. They are easily domesticated, and attach themselves to vf.t,, ft. — 29. ' I ifi .11' 22G VIRGINIAN DEER. their keepers in a few hours. A fric-^J possesses a young deer that, when captured, during the last summer, was placed with a she goat, which reared it, and the parties still live in habits of mutual attachment. We have seen others reared by a cow. A goat, however, becomes the best foster-mother. They breed in confinement, but we have found them troublesome pets. A pair that we had for several years, were in the habit of leaping into our study through the open window, and when the sashes were down they still bounced through, carrying along with them the shattered glasses. They also seemed to have imbibed a vitiated and morbid taste, licked and gnawed the covers of our books, and created con- fusion among our papers. No shrub in the garden, however valuable to us, was sacred to them; they gnawed our carriage harness, and finally pounced upon our young ducks and chickens, biting off their heads and feet, leaving the body untouched. The doe does not produce young until she is two years old, when she has one fawn. If in good order, she has two the following year. A very large and healthy doc often produces three, and we were present at Goose Creek when an immense one, killed by J. W. Audubon, was ascertained, on being opened, to contain four lat-ge and well formed fawns. The average number of fawns in Carolina is two, and the cases where three are produced are nearly as numerous as those in which young does pro- duce only one at a birth. The wild doe is attached to her young, and its bleat will soon bring her to its side, if she is within hearing. The Indians use a stratagem, by imitating the cry of the fawn, with a pipe made of a reed, to bring up the mother, which is easily killed by their arrows. We have twice observed the doe called up by this imitation of the voice of the young. She is, however, so timid that she makes no eflbrt in defence of her cap- tured offspring, and bounds off at the sight of man. The common Deer is a gregarious animal, being found on our western prairies in immense scattered herds of several hundred. After the rutting season the males, as we have before stated, herd together and it is only during the season of intercourse that both sexes are found in com- pany. The does, however, although congregating during a considerable portion of the year, are less gregarious than many species of African an- telopes, the buffalo, or our domestic sheep; as they are found during the summer separated from the rest of the gang or troop, and are only accom- panied by their young. The Deer is one of the most silent of animals, and scarcely possesses any notes of recognition. The fawn has a gentle bleat that might be heard by the keen ears of its mother at the distance probably of a hundred VIRGINIAN DEER. 227 j'ards. We have never heard the voice of the female beyond a mere murmur when calling her yoiins, except when shot, when she often bleats loudly like a calf in pain. The buck wh^n suddenly started sometimes utters a snort, and we have at night heard him emitting a shrill wliistliiig sound, not unlike that of the chamois of the Alps, that could be heard at the distance of half a mile. The keen sense of smr-ll the Deer possess enables them to follow each other's tracks. We have ob- served them smelling on the ground and thus following each other's trail for miles. We were on an autumnal morning seated on a log in the pine lands of Carolina when a doe came running past us. In the course often minutes we observed a buck in pursuit, with his nose near the ground, following in all the windings of her course. Half an hour afterwards came a second buck, and during another interval a third small buck pursued the same ^rail. The sense of sight appears imperfect— as we have often, when standing still, perceived the Deer passing within a few yards without observing us, but we have oiten noticed the alTrighted start when we moved our position or when they scented us by the wind. On one occasion we had tied our horse lor some time at a stand ;— on his becoming restless we removed him to a distance— a Deer pursued by dogs ran near the spot where the horse had originally stood, caught the scent, started suddenly back, and passed within a few feet of the spot where we were standing, without having observed us. Their sense of hearing is as keen as that of smell. In crawling towards them in an open wood, against the wind, you may approach within gun shot, but if you unfortunately break a stick, or create a rustling among the leaves, they start away in an instant. This animal cannot exist without water, being obliged nightly to visit some stream or spring for the purpose of drinking. During the present year (1850) a general drought prevailed throughout our southern country. On the Hunting Islands between Beaufort and Savannah, the Deer, we were informed, nearly all perished in consequence of the streams or these Islands having dried up. Deer are fond of salt, and like many other wild animals resort instinctively to salt-liciis or saline springs. The hunters, aware of this habit, watch at these " licks," as they are called, and destroy vast numbers of them. W'; have visited some of these pools, and seen the Deer resorting to them in the mornings and evenings iuid by moon light. They did not appear to visit them lor the mere purpose of drinkinsr. but after walking around the sides, commenced licking the stones and the earth on the edges, preferrinj; in this manner to obtain this' agreeable condiment, to taking a sudden draught and then retiring. On the contrary they lingered lor half an !iour around the spring, inwl after « 1 I |!i> 228 VIRGINIAN DEER, having strayed away for some distance, they often returned a second and even a third time to scrape the sides of it, and renew the licking process. Our common Deer may be said to be nocturnal in its habits, yet on the prairies, or in situations where seldom disturbed, herds of Deer may be seen feeding late in the morning and early in the afternoon. Their time for rest, in such situations, is genpraiiy ihe middle of the day. In the Atlantic States, where constantly molested by the hunters, they are seldom seen after sunrise, and do not rise from their bed until the dusk of the evening. The Deer is more frequently seen feeding in the day time during spring and summer, than in winter; a rainy day, and snowy wintery weather, also invite it to leave its uncomfortable hiding place and indulge in its roaming habits. We have no doubt, that in localities where Deer have been constantly hunted, they, from a sense of fear, allow you to approach much nearer to their place of concealment than -in situations where they are seldom disturbed. They continue lying still, not because they are asleep or unaware of your approach, but because they are afraid to expose themselves to view, and hope by close con- cealment to be passed without being observed. We have seen them lying with their hind legs drawn under them ready for a spring— their ears pressed flat on the sides of the neck, and their eyes keenly watch- ing every movement of the intruder. Under these circumstances your only chance of success is to ride slowly around the animal as if he was not observed, and suddenly (ire before he leaps from his bed. This effect of fear, on your near approach, is not confined to our Deer; it may be seen in the common partridge, the snipe, and other game birds. Before being hunted, they are restless — are unwilling to assume the crouching posture called setting, and rise at a distance from their pursuers; but after having been a few times disturbed and shot at, they, in the language of sportsmen, become tame, and permit themselves to be nearly trodden on before they can be induced to rise ; this apparent tameness is in reality wildness, and their squatting and hiding the effect of terror to which they are prompted by an instinct of self-preservation. The gait of this Deer is various. In walking it carries its head very low, and pursues its course cautiously and silently, occasionally moving its ears and whisking its tail ; the largest animal is usually the leader of the herd, which travel in what is called Indian file, there seldom being two abreast. Walking is the ordinary pace of the Deer unless frightened, or in some state of excitement. When first started, without being much Planned, it gives two or three springs, ali^rhting with apparent awk- wardness on three feet — and immediately afterwards resting on the oppo- site side, erecting its white tail and throwing it from side to side. A fe w VIRGINIAN DEEH. 229 high bounds succeed, whilst the head is turned in every direction to enable it to detect the cause of alarm. The leaps and high boundings of the Deer are so graceful, that we have never witnessed them without excite- ment and admiration. When, however, the Deer observes you before it is routed from its bed, it bolts off with a rush, running low to the ground, vyith its head and tail on a line with the body, and for a few hundred yards rivalling the speed of a race horse. But this rattling pace cannot be kept up for any length of time— after the first burst its speed slackens, it foams at the mouth, and exhibits other evidences of fatigue. We have some- times seen it overtaken and turned by an active rider in the open wood, and under other favourable circumstances, and on one occasion a fat buck was headed by a fearless driver, lashed with his whip, brought to bay, and finally knocked in the head and taken without having been shot. We have witnessed a few instances where a pack of hounds, after a four hours' chase, succeeded in running down a Deer. These cases are, how ever, rare, nor would we give any encouragement to this furious Sylvan race, in which the horse and his mad rider are momentarily exposed to the danger of a broken neck from the many holes in the pine lands. The Deer, after an attempt at bringing it to bay, frequently succeeds in escaping from the hunter and the hounds, by dashing into a swamp or crossing a river, and even should it be captured, after a long chase the venison is found to be insipid and of no value. In riding through the woods at night in the vicinity of Deer, we have often heard them stamp their feet, the bucks on such occasions giving a loud snort, then bounding off for a few yards and again repeating the stam.ping and snorting, which appear to be nocturnal habits. Deer take the water freely, and swim with considerablo rapidity ; their bodies are on such occasions submerged, th(>ir heads only being visible above the surface. We have witnessed them crossing broad rivers and swimming the distance of two miles. When thus under way, they cleave the water with such celerity that a boat can scarcely overtake them. Along our southern sea-board the Deer, when fatigued by the hounds, plunge into the surf and swim off for a mile or two, fioating or swim- ming back with the returning tide, when they ascend the beach near the same place where they entered the water. As already remarked, the llesh of our common Deer is the best flavoured and most easy of digestion of all tlH> spi^cics with which we are acquainted, except the black-tailed Deer; it is superior to the Elk or Moose of our country, or the red Deer or Roebuck of Eurojje. It is, however, only a delicacy when it is fat, which is generally the case (Vnm the beginning of I I i i 230 VIRGINIAN DEER. In I I !: August to the month of December. In Carolina, the haunch and loin only are served up on the tiibles of the ])lanters, tlie shoulders and skin are the perquisites of the driver, or negro huntsuian. The Indians eiit every part of the Deer, not omitting the entrails and the contents of the stomach — the latter many of the tribes devour raw, williout subjecting them to any cooking or roasting process. It is stated, even by white men, that the stomach, with all its half-digested ingredients, is very palatable. Hunger and hardships seldom fail to give a zest to the appetite. Vege- table food is scarce in the wilderness or on the prairies. The traveller who has long been obliged to sleep in a tent and make his toilet in the woods, soon becomes indilferent to the etiquette of civilized life, and does not inquire whether his dish has been prepared according to the recipe of the cookery-books. A Deer paunch contains a mixture of many ingre- dients, picked up I'rom various shrubs, seeds, and grasses, and m;iy become a sul)stitute for vegetables where the kitchen-garden has not yet been in- troduced. According to a northern traveller (Lyon's Narrative, p. ~'l'i), who referred, however, to another animal, the reindeer of our continent, it is " acid and rather pungent, resembling a mixture of sorrel and radish leaves," its smell like " I'resli brewer's grains." As we have never been subjected to the necessity of testing the virtues of this primitive chowder, we are unable to pronounce it a delicacy, find must leave the decision to those who may be disposed to make the experiment. The ca])ture of the common Deer exercised the ingenuity and patience of the Indian, ages before the pale faces intruded on his hunting-grounds, with their rifles, their horses, and hounds. lie combatted with the wolf and the cougar for their share of the prey, leaving on our minds a melan- choly impression of the near approach of the condition of savage life to that of the brute creation. Dilferent modes of hunting were suggest- ed by the peculiar face of the localities of the countrj', and the de- grees of intelligence or native cunning of the several tribes. The bow and arrow evinl ol' onrcounlry lore llicv accus , when nuin Imutnd for food, and he- toiued llieuiselves lo study tlieirease and couHort even in the ciiase. "still liiuitin;,%" as it is termed, was universally ptaclised. 'I'Im! wolves and oilier depreilatin^^ animals, l>y wlii<-li the colonists were siu'- rounil(Ml, as well as l!ie proxiniily ol' hosiilo Indians almost, preolucUid Iroin raisinii^ a snilicient, supply of slieep, l»o>?s, innl lliem lor manv vears poultry. 'riu" eullivatioii ol" a f^nia II Held I'ui-nislied lliem with hread, wh Idle for uu-al tliev were cliielly dependent on the ^un. Hence ii portion of their time was from a kind of necessity devoted to the chase 'I'l 10 passi we an for lumtin:; seems however lo Im' inaale with many person.s, and have observed thai il oflen rims in families and is transmilled lo their posterity, as is knowuto he the case with the descendiints of the hunters m ven now many persons in our country, who devote. the .\l| )S. Thei ■e are t Wt>t •ks and months to tin- precarious cmi)loymcnl of Deer lumlinj;, when half the iudnstrv ami faliuue ii\ re rular labour would allord t'aeir families everv m-cessary ami cond'ort. llnntinfi is a, ph-asant r<-cn-ation, hut a prolitahic trade ; il often leads to idleness, intempenince, and very un poverty. l'\)r ^uccess in slill-huntini;- it is essen tial that the individual who en- giif^es in it, sliould he actpi ainted with the almost imiH-nelrahle de|)ths ofihe forest, as w< the rille. possess a to endure iireat fatiijuc ■11 as the habits of the Deer. He umsl be expert in the use. of larj^e stock of patience, and be constitutionally Hda|)le,d Before the dawn of dav, he Ireads the \m\hH d. to th iiloni: which the animal strays in rcturninj;- from its na-litly rambles covert usually its restin illords him the chance of a, shot ; even if the animal hould keep on its course without a pause, he iVeipn-ntly takes a running, 'I or what is called a chance shot, and is often suceessfid. There is anot her mode of deer huntiufj; we saw practised many years ay;o in the Western parts o f Ihe Stale of New-York, which we ret^ard as still more fatisiuinu; unt'ortu.i.ite animal to ihelumttM', and as an unfair advantage taken of tho The parlies sally out on a deep snow, cove I'h rd by crust, w hicii sometimes succeeds a rain during winter. 1 hey u.s( light and s(>ek the Deer in situations where in the manner of I ho mouse of Nova Scotia, they hu\e trampled i)alhs through the snow it) suov. -shoes VIRGINIAN OEKIl. 28a thf> virinifyof fl„, slirubs on whicli f,l„,y food. When started from those re- tr.'i.ls ih.-y ar<^ lore.-d t<. phiiii,'.- iiKo thr. dr.-p snow ; imd hreakinj,' throutrJi t\w. eru.M leave at every leap traces of hlo,.,! Cnmi their wounded le«s ; thev are soon overtaken, sometimes hy(l(,>,'H, at other times hy the hunters, who advance fastctr on their snow-shoes than th.^ exhausted Deer, which '■•II an easy prey either to tlie Jinnler's knile or his ^un. In this manner thousands olDeer were Ibrnierly niassaercul in th(! Northern States. We have ascertained that our(!oirnnon Der-rniay he easily taken hy the grey-hound. A pair of the hitter, introduced into Carolina hy Col. CATTKr,, fnjsof friendship — the smil* inj? look ol welcome, the open hand, and the warm heart of hospitality. The usual invitation is sent to ji neij^hbdur. to lunch, ''ine, and meet a friend. The evening is spent in sociitl cduverse and r:osed with the family bible, and otlerings of gratitude and praise to theGiver of all good. The sleep of him. who lias < caped from the din of tl i' city to tlie quiet of the country, is always refreshing. The dawn of day invitr ; u.s to a substantial breakfast. The parties now load their double-barrelled guns, whilst the horses are being saddled. The horn i-i sounded, and the driver, full of glee, collects his impatient hounds. The party is unexpectedly augmented by several Welcome guests. Our intelligent friend Harris, from New-Jersey, has come to Carolina, to be initiated into 'r mysteries of Deer hunting. as a preparation to farther ex|doitson the Western praiiies, among the elk and the buifalo ; with iiirn coiaes ArorBox, lli< Nestoi if American ornithology, and his son, together with Ih. Wu.son. Alh-r the first greetings areover, we hasten to ;-,iddle addii onal horses forthose ofoup guests, who are disposed tojoin us, Tli old ornithologist, h iving no relish for such boyish sports, s"illiesto the swanrps in search of some rare species of woodpecker. We proceed to the drives, as fhey are called, viz., certain woods, separated by old fields and various openings, in some parts of which the Deer have their usual run, where the parties take their stands. These drives are designated by particular names, and we are familiar with Crane pond. Gum thicket, the Pasture, the Oak swamp, an 5 a number of bays, one of which we would be willing to Ibrgef, tor there we missed a Deer, and the bay was named after us, to our mortification. The driver is mounted on a hardy, active, and sure-footed horse, that he may be enabled to turn the course ol the Deer, ifhe attempts to run back, or to stop the dosrs. We were carrii il round to our st uids by our host, when a Deer bounced up before us; in an instant a loud report is heard waking the echoes of the forest — the animal leaps high into tl :ir, and tumbles to the ground. Thus, our venison is secured, and we carry on on • farther operations from the mere love of sport. Anxious to give our friend II \rris an opportunity of killing his I'rst Deer, we place him at the best stand. Our mutual wishes are soon gratified. He is stationed at the edge of a bay — a valley overgrown with bay-trees {Maifnolia glmii n) — which from that day received the cognomen of Harris' bay. The hounds aftef considerable trailing rouse two noble bucks, one of them bounds CT.t VIRGINIAN DEER. S87 near our friend. Ho is ohlisrfd fo be refidy in a moment, before the Deer comes in the line with another hunt..r. At the report of his {?im wo perceive that the buck is woutuh'd. "Miti.l," cries out (Viuiid VVii.so.v "your shot have whistled past me." Friend H. crows pain at the tliougiit of havin- endfu. .1 tlie life , another, but we comfort him by stating, that his shot liad not reached within (ifty yards of the nervous hunter, and moreover, thai >h,> old i,uek was womuled and would soon be his.' "We observed where he had laid down in the grass, and was starled up a^ain by the dogs. Now for a chase of a wounded buck. He takes through an old fi.dd once planted with , otton. now full of ruts and ditches, and grown up with tall broom-grass. We agree to h^t the boys have the pleasure of the chase whilst we are the silent spectators. They bound over ditches and old corn-ludds. (iring as they run. Suddenly the hounds become silent, and then the loud sounding of the horn is heard ming- led with the whoops of the hunters, which inform us, that the game is se<-ured ; it proves fo be a majestic buck. The successful hunter is now obliged to submit to the ordeal of all who have fleshed th«ir maid- en sword, and killed their first D.-er. "I submit," he said good na- turedly, " but spare my spectacles and whiskers." So his loieheadand cheeks were crossed with the red blood of the buck, and the tail was stuck in his cap. The hunt proceechnl merrily and successfully. Young Audubon, however, had not yet obtained a shot. At length a Deer was start'^ ed near our host. He would not shoot it, but strove to drive it to his neigh- bour. He ran after it, and shouted, stumbled over a root, and in the fall threw oir his spectacles : but as he was groping for them among the leaves, he ascertained that his generous eflbrts had been successful : the Deer had been turned to Mr. Aijoiibon. One barrel snapped— then came a sharp rep,, from the other— a loud whooj. su^'ceeded, and we soon ascertained th, another Deer had fallen. We now conceived that we had our wishes for a successful hunt fully gratified ; the dinner hour had arrived. P^ive nobh Deer were strung upon the old pecan- nut tree in sight of our festiv vll. The evening passed off in plea- sant fonver.-ition -some of tnos. present displayed their wit and poet- ical talents by givii,- the details of the hunt in an amusing ballad, which however has not yet found its way into print. Thus ended a Carolin.a Deer hunt. We regret t. he obliged to state, that the Deer are rapidly disaj.^ -aring from causes that ought not to exist. There are at present not one- fifth of the number of Deer in Oarnlina that existed twen*\ years ago. In the Northern and I\!iddle States, where the farms have been sub divided, and the forRsi necessarilj cleared, the Deer havt disappeared I ! ^.-. if s. »' i' " >," 288 VIRGINIAN DEER. ■! '^ I t because there was no cover to shelter them. In the Southern States, however, where there are immc-iise swamps sub'cct to constant inun- dations and pine barrens too poor lor cultivation, they wouhl rev ;ua undiminished in numbers were it not for the hlle and cruel practi'- • ol destroying; tlum by (irelijrht. and huntinj? them in the spring and sumincr seasons by overseers and idlers. There is a law of the State fori ''n - the killing of Deer during certain months in the year. It is, ho-vever. never enforced, and Deer are exposed for sale in the markets of Char!e., ton and Savannah at all seasons. In some neishbourhoods, wii^.o they were formerly abundant, now none exist, and the planters have given up their hounds. In New-.Iersey and Long Island, where tlie game laws are strictly enforced. Deer are said to be on the increase. In some parts of Carolina, where the woods are enclosed with fences, not sufficiently high to prevent the Deer from straying out, but sufficient to prevent the hunters from persecuting them in summer, they have greatly multiplied and stocked the surrounding neighbourhoods. If Judicious laws were framed and strictly enforced the Deer could be preserved for ages in all our Southern States, and we cannot refrain from submitting this subject to the consideration of our southern legislators. GEOGRAPFUCAI, DISTRIBUTION. . This animal is found in the State of Maine ; north of this it is replaced by larger species, the moose and reindeer. It exists sparingly in Upper Canada. In all the Atlantic States it is still found, although in diminish- ed numbers. Where care has been used to prevent its being hunted at unseasonable periods of the year, as in New- York and New-Jersey, it is said to be rather on the increase. In the mountainous portions of Virginia it is hunted with success. It is still rather common in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, especially in barren or swampy regions, of which vast tracts remain uncultivated. In Mississippi, Mis- souri, Arkansas, and Texas, it supplies many of the less industrious in- habitants with a considerable portion of their ftrod. It is very abundant in Texas and New Mexico, and is a common species in the northern parts of Mexico. We cannot say with confidence that it exists in Oregon, and in California it is replaced by the black tailed Deer. — C.llichardsonii. GENERAL REMARK9. This species has been given under different names, and we might have added a long list of synonymes. The specimens we saw in Maine and VIROINIAN DEER. 239 at N., «ara were nearly double the s.ze of those on the hunting islands .n Sou.h Carohna. The Deer that reside permanently in the swan,,s oi Caroma are taller and longer legged than those in the higher grounds I he deer of the mountains are larger than those on the sea-board, yet these diirerences. the result of food or climate, will not warrant ur in multiply, ing them into dilferent species. nil- 240 i . t CAN IS LUPU S.— Linn . V ar. Rufls. Red Texan Wolf. PLATE L X X X 1 1,— Malb. C. Colore supra inter fulvum nigrum variante, subtur dilutior ; cauda apice nigro. CHARACTEES. Varied with red and black above, lighter beneath. End of tail black. DESCRIPTION. In shape the Red Texan Wolf resennbles the common graj' variety'. It iri more slender and lighter than the white Wolf of the North West, and has a more cunning fox-like appearance. The hairs on the body are not woolly like those of the latter but lie smooth and flat. Its body and legs are .ong, nose po'nted, and ears erect. COLOUR. The body above is reddish-brown mixed up with irregular patches of black ; the shorter hairs being light yellowish-brown at the roots, deep- ening into reddiish at the tips ; many of the longer hairs interspersed are black from the roots through their whole extent. Nose, outer surface of ears, neck, and legs, chestnut-brown, a shade paler on the under surface. There is a brown ' ;,e on the fore-legs extending from the shoulders to near the pn* . Moustaches few and black ; inner surfaces of ears soil- ed-white; nails black ; along the upper lip, under the chin, and on the throat, grayish-white. Upper surface and end of tail, as well as a broad band across the middle portion, black. DIMENSIONS. From point of nose to root of tail, Tail, Ft tncl.us. 2 li 1 1 RED TEXAN WOLF. 341 HABITS. This variety is by no means the only one found in Texas, where Wolves, black, white and gray, are to be met with from time to time We do not think, however, that this Red Wolf is an inhabitant of the more northerly prairies, or even of the lower Mississippi bottoms, and h.ive, therefore, called him the Red Texan Wolf. The habits of this variety are nearly similar to those of the black and the white Wolf, which we have already described, differing somewhat owmg to local causes, but showing the same sneaking, cowardly, yet ferocious disposition. It is said that when visitin? battle-fields in Mexico, the Wolves preferred the slain Texans or Americans, to the Mexicans, and only ate the bodies ot the latter from necessity, as owing to the quantity of pepper used by tiie Mexicans in their food, their flesh is impregnated with that powerful stimulant. Not vouching for this story, however, the fact is well known that these animals follow the movements of armies, or at least are always at hand to prey upon the slain before their comrades can give them a sol- dier's burial, or even after that mournful rite ; and if anything cou'ld in- crease the horrors displayed by the gory ensanguined field, where man has slain his fellows by thousands, it would be the presence of packs of these ravenous beasts disputing for the carcasses of the brave, the young, and the patriotic, who have fallen for their country's honour ! No corpse of wounded straggler from his troop, or of unfortunate travel- ler, butchered by Camanches, is ever " neglected" by the prowling Wolf, and he quarrels in his fierce hunger in his turn over the victim of similar violent passions exhibited by man ! The Wolf is met on the prairies from time to time as the traveller slowly winds his way. We will here give an extract from the journal kept by J. W. Audubon while in Texas, which shows the audacity of this animal, and gives us a little bit of an adventure with a uungry one, related by Powell, one of the gallant Texan Rangers. " Like all travellers, the ranger rides over the wide prairie in long ■silences of either deep thought or listless musings. I have never been able to decide which ; but when, riding by the side of Walker or Havs, who would like to say that a vacant mind was ever in the broad brow or be- hind the sparkling eye either of him with the gray, or of him with the brown ? but at times when watching closely I have thought I could trace in the varying expression, castle after castle mounting higher and higher, till a creek ' to water at,' or a deer which had been sound asleep and to VOL. i[. — 31 - -omirngBMn 242 RED TEXAN WOLF, windward of us, started some 30 or 40 yards off our path to wake up tho dreamers of our party. No one is certain that liis queries will be wel- come to the backwoodsman on a march through a strange country, any more than would be those of a passenger, put to the captain of a vessel as ho leans over the weather-rail looking what the wind will be, or thinking of the disagreeable bustle he will have, when he gets into port, compared to his lazy luxury on shipboard : but as I rode by the side of Powell we started no deer, nor came to a ' water hole,' but a Red Wolf jumped up some two or three hundred yards from us, and took to the lazy gallop so common to this species ; ' Run you ,' cried Powell, and he sent a yell after him that would have done credit to red or white man for its shrill and startlinir effect, the Wolf's tail dropped lower than usual, and now it would ha-t taken a racer to have overtaken him in a mile ; a laugli from Powell, and another yell, which as the sound reached the Wolf made him Jump again, and Powell turned to me with a chuckle, and said, ' 1 had the nicest trick played me by one of those rascals you ever heard of.' The simple, how was it, or let's have it, was all that he wanted, and he began at the beginning. 'I was out on a survey about 15 miles west of Austin, in a range that we dkln't care about shooting in any more than we could help, for the Camanches were all over the country ; and having 1 Hied a deer in the morninj^, I took the ribs off one side and wrap- ping tluan in a piece of the skin, tied *♦ found of a rufous colour. In Louisiana, there are in the southern parts two species permanently black as well as the foxsquirrel, which in about half the specimens are found black, and the re.nainder reddish. The same may be said in regard to the Wolves. In the north there is a tendency towards white-hence great numbers are of that colour. Along the Atlantic coast, in the Middle and Northern States, the majority are gray. / To the south, ni Florida, the prevailing colour is black, and in Texas and the south- west the colour is generally reddish. It is difficult to account, on any principles of science, for this remarkable peculiarity, which forms a sub- ject of curious speculation. This variety of Wolf is traced from the northern parts of the State of Arkansas, southerly through Texas into Mexico ; we are not informed of its southern limits. GENERAL REMARKS. The Wolves present so many shades of colour that we have not ventur- cd to regard this as a distinct species ; ,nore especially as it breeds with those of other colours, gangs of Wolves being seen, :n which this variety is mixed up with both the gray and black. 244 GENUS LAGOMYS.— Geoff. DENTAL FORMULA. %^2 0 0 &— 8 Incisive — Canine — ; Molar — = 26, Teeth and toes similar to those of the genus Lepus, upper incisors iti pairs, two in front and two immediately behind them, the former large and the latter small. Ears moderate ; eyes, round ; hind legs not much longer than fore legs : fur under the feet ; no tail ; m'lmmoe four or six ; clavicles nearly perfect. Native of cold and Alpine regions. They lay up stores for winter pro- vision which is never done by the true hares. They have a call-note resem- bling that of some species of Tamice, The name of this sub-genus, Lagomys; is derived from the Greek words *«'/»(, {logos), a Hare, and /u/t, {mus), a Mouse. Four species of this genus are described ; one, tht, Pika, exists in the northern mountains of the Old World, one in Mongolian Tartary, one in the south eastern parts of Russia, and one in the Rocky Mountains of North America. LAGOMYS PRINC EPS. —Richardson. Little-Chief IIare. PLATE LXXXIIL— Males. L. Ecaudatus, fuscus, latere pallidior, subtus griseus, capite brevi ; auri- culis rotundatis. CHARACTERS. Taillesa ; colour blackish brown, beneath gray ; head short and thick ; ears rounded. ors III ?e and ; legs : erfect. 3r pro- resem- words in the one in North ; aun- ; ears i i •A- I I a \. '' v%- ^1 > "^ "m"WC .^mni-'immfmm LITTLE-CHIEF HARE. 245 8YNONYME8. Lepub (Laoomys Prinoeps). Rich. Fauna B. Ain. p. 227. Fischer's Mamaliutn. p. 503. DESCRIPTION. "On comparing the skull of this animal with that of a true Hare, there appears a larger cavity in proportion to its size, for the reception ol the brain. The breadth of the skull, too, behind, is increased by very large and spongy processes. The bone anterior to thr orbit is not cribriibrm as in the Hares, although it is thin, and there is no depression of the frontal bone between the orbits. The upper anterior incisors are marked with a deep furrow near their anterior margins, and have cutting edges which present conjointly three well m .'ked points, the middle one of which is common to both teeth, and is shorter than the exterior one. These incisiors are much thinner than the incisors of the Hare, and are scooped out like a gouge behind. The small round posterior or accessary upper incisors, have flat summits. The lower incisors are thinner than those of the Hares, and are chamfered away toward their summits, more in the form of a gouge than like the chisel-shap- ed-edge of the incisors of a Hare. Grinders. — The upper grinders are not very dissimilar to those of the Hare, on the crowns, but the transverse plates of enamel are more distinct. They differ in each tooth having a very deep furrow on its inner side, which separates the folds of enamel. This furrow is nearly obsolete in the Hares, whilst in the lagomys it is as conspicuous as the separation betwixt the teeth. The small posterior grinder which exists in the upper jaw of the adult Hare is entirely wanting in the different specimens of the Little- Chief Hare which I have examined. The lower grinders, from the depths of their lateral grooves, have at first sight a greater resemblance to the grind- ers of some animal belonging to the genus Arvicola than those of a Hare ; their crowns exhibit a single series of acute-triangles with hollow areas. The first grinder has three not very deep grooves on a side, and is not so unlike the corresponding tooth of a Hare as those which succeed it. The second, third, and fourth, have each a groove in both sides so deep as nearly to divide the tooth, and each of the crowns exhibits two triangular folds of enamel. The posterior grinder forms only one tnaiigle." — (Richardson). In size this species is a little smaller than the alpine /nViw of Siberia. The body is thick ; the head broad and short, and the forehead arched. The ears are ovate, and do not appear to have any incurvations on their inner margins. The eyes are small, re.sembling those of the arvicoluB ; there is a marked prominent tubercle at the root of each claw. _.^^. LITTLE-CHIEF HAUR. OOLOUB The Little-Chief Hare is, on the upper ii<' dark brown, varied with irregular bands of brownish-black runniiiL )m rlie sides aero the ' ek. There are slight variations in diftV' nt specimc s, some havitr blackish markings more distinct than )th( s. The lur is, for thrie-founris of its length, of store up h!.v tor winter - not, but is certain, that they "do not come al)road dui ig thai '\'isoi To the above account, d affords us pleasure to annex the extract of a letter, which we received from Mr. Nuttall on the same subject. Of tills curious species of Lepus, (L. princcps of IIiciiarumjn), we werp not fortunate enough to obtain any good specimens. I found its range to be in that latitude {12°) almost entirely alpine. I rirst discovered it by its peculiar cry, far up the mountain of the dividing ridge between the waters of the Columbia and Colorado, and the Missouri, hiding amongst loose piles of rocks, such as you generally see beneath broken clifTs. From this retreat I heard a slender, but very distinct bleat, so like that of a young kid or goat, that I at first concluded it to be such a cull ; but in vain trying to discover any large animal around me, at length I may almost literally say, the mountain brought forth nothing much larger than a mouse, as I discovered that this little animal was the real author of this unexpected note." GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. Dr. Richardson states, that this animal inhabits the Rocky Mountains from latitude 52° to (iO° The specimen of Mr. Townbend was procured in latitude 42°, and therefore within the limits of the United States. GENERAL REMARKS. Until recently it was not supposed, that we had in America any species of this genus. We have compared it with the Pika, {Lagomys alpinits), ol the Eastern continent, described by Pallas. Our animal is not only of smaller size, but diflers from it in the formation of the skull and several other particulars. A %>. ^ ^^^ .0. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V A c< 1.0 I.I 1.25 iM mil 2.0 12.2 lA IIII16 VQ ^ «j e ^ <^ ^ 248 SPERMOPHILUS FRANKLINII.— Sabink. Franklin's Marmot Souirrel. PLATE LXXXIV.— Male and Female. S. corpore super cervino ferrugineave creberrim6 nigro maculate subter albido, vultu ex nigro canescenti, Cauda elongata cylindricd pilis albis nigro ter quatorve torquatis vestita. characters. Cheek pouches, tht. upper surface of the body spotted thickly with black, on a yellowish-brown ground, under surface grayish-white ; face black and white, intimately and equally mixed ; tail long, cylindrical, and clothed with hairs which are ringed alternately with black and white. SYNONYMES. Arotomys Franhxinii. Sabine. Llnnean Transactions, Vol. 13, p. 19. « •• Fi .uklin's Journey, p. 6G2. " " Harlan's Fauna, p. 167. •• •* Godman, Nat. Hist. Vol. 2d p. i09. «* •• Richardson, F. B. Am. p. 108. pi. 12. DESCRIPTION. Franklin's Marmot is about the size of the Carolina Gray Squirrel, and resembles it in form, its ears however are shorter, and its tail, which is narrower, presents a less distichous appearance. The ears have an erect rounded flap, and although not as large as those of S. Douglassii, are pro- minent, rising above the fur considerably more than those of S, Richard- sonii or ?adensis et Labradorius. Harlan, Fauna, p. 155 and 157. " Godnian, vol. 2. p. 94 and 97. Meriones Labradorius. Richardson, Fau. Hore. Am., p, 144. " Americanus. De Kay. Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 71. pi. XXIV., fig. 2d, DE.'SCRIPTrON. Head, narrow and conical. Nose, tolerably sharp, with an obtuse tip projecting a little beyond the incisors. Nostrils small, facing sideways and protected anteriorly by a slight ventricose arching of their naked inner margins. The mouth is small and far back. Whiskers, long, extending to the shoulder ; eyes, small ; ears, semi-oval, rounded at the tips, clothed on both surfaces with short hair. Fore feet small, nail in place of a thumb ; hind legs long and slender ; there are five hind-toes, each with a long slender tarsal bone ; the toes, when expanded, res-embling those of some species of birds. The soles are naked to the heels ; upper surface of hind-feet covered with short adpressed hairs ; tail, long, ."^caly, has a velvety appearance, soft to the touch, is thinly covered with such soft short hairs, that without a close examination it would appear naked. The hair on the body is of moderate fineness, and lies smooth and compact. COLOUR. Upper surface of nose, forehead, neck, ears, and a broad line on tim back, dark-brown ; the hairs being plumbeous at their roots, tipped with yellowish-brown and black ; under the nose, along the sides of the face outer surface of the legs, and along the sides, yellowish ; lips, chin, and' all the under surface white ; as is also the under surface of the tail in some specimens, though in others brownish-white. The colours between the back and sides, as well as bcaveen the sides and belly, are in most speci- mens separated by a dislinct line of demarcation. This species is subject to considerable variations in colour. We have seen some young ani- mals, in which the dark reddish-brown stripe along the back was wholly wanting ; others where the line of demarcation between the colours was very indistinct ; nearly all are pure white on the under surface ; but we possess two specimens that are tinged on those parts with a yellowish hue. JUMPING MOUSE. 253 DIMENSIONS. Lenj^t h of head and body - do of tail Height of ear posteriorly - From heel to longest nail - Inches. i If HABITS. This species was familar to us in early life, and we possessed many op. portumties of studying its peculiar and very interesting habits. We doubt whether there is any quadruped in the world of its size, that can make its way over the ground as rapidly, or one that can in an open space so quickly evade the grasp .fits pursuers. The ploughman in the Northern and Mid'- dle .States, sometimes turns up this species from under a clod of e.rth when It immediately commences its long leaps. lie drops his reins and hurries alter it ; whilst the little creature darts off with grfeat agility pursu- ing an irregular zig-zag direction, and it requires an active runner' 'to keep pace with It, as it alternately rises and sinks lika the llving-fish at sea and ere the pursuer is aware, is out of sight, hidden probably behind some clod or concealed under a tuft of grass. We have frequenUy seen these mic' start from small stacks of wheat, where the bundles had been tempo- rarily collected previous to their being removed to the barn. In such cases they usually effect their escape among the grass and stubble A rapid movement seems natural to this animal, and is often exhi- bited when it ,s not under the induence of fear, and apparently for mere amusement. Our kind Iriend Maj. Le Contf., now of New- York informs us, that he has seen it in former times, near the northern end of the^ Island of New- York, springing from the ground and passing with the velocity of a bird, until its momentum being exhausted it dis^ appeared in the tall grass, apparently with ease and grace, again sprin-^. mg forth m the same manner. It must not, however, from hence be believed that the .Tumping Mouse walks on its hind H-ct only, and procuresses at all times by leaps, without using its fore-.'eet. We havj frequentry seen It walking leisurely on all its feet, in the manner of the white-footed mouse. It is chiedy when alarmed, or on sp.dal occasions, that it makes these unusual leaps; the construction of the body proves that this species could not for any length of time be sustained on its tarsi. In its leaps we have always observed that it falls on all its four feet. We experienced no difficulty in capturing thi. species in box-traps, and ■' 'ii «j 254 JUMPING MOUSE.. preserved a female in a cage from spring to autumn ; she produced ax young a few days after bring caught ; she reared both of them, and they had become nearly of full size before autumn, when by some accident our pets escaped. We placed a foot of earth at the bottom of the cage, in this they formed a burrow with two outlets. They used their feet and nails to advantage, as we observed them bury themselves in the earth, in a very short time. They were usually very silent, but when we placed a common mouse in the cage, squeaked with a loud chattering noise, like some young bird in pain. They skipped about the cage, wer^ anxious to make their escape from the mouse, and convinced us that thh species is very timid. They were in their habits strictly nocturnal, scarcely ever coming out of their holes during the day, but rattling about the wires of the cage throughout the night. Weobserv-d that every thing that was put into their cage, however great might be the quantity, was stored away in their holes before the next morning. We fed them on wheat, maize, and buckwheat. They gave the preference to the latter, and we observed that when they had filled their store-house with a quart of buckwheat, they immediately form- ed a new burrow in which they deposited the surplus. We are inclined to believe that this species produces several times dur- ing the summer, as we have seen the young on several occasions in May and August ; They are from two to four ; we have usually found three. The fact of the females being frequently seen -vith the young attached to their teats, carrying them along in their flight when disturbed, is well ascertained. We have also observed this in several other species ; in the white-footed mouse, the Florida rat, and even the common flying squirrel. We are not, however, to argue from this that the young immediately after birth become attached to the teats in the manner of the young opo'ssoms. and are incapable of relaxing their hold ; on the contrary the female we had in confinement, only dragged her young along with her, when she was suddenly disturbed, and when in the act of giving suck ; but when she came out, of her own accord, we observed that she had reliev..d herself from this incumbrance. This was also the case with the other species refer- red to. Dr. Dekay, regards it as a matter of course that in its long leaps, it is aidcL by the tail. We doubt whether the tail i;, used in the manner of the kangaru ; the under surface of it is never worn in the slightest manner, and exhibit.- no evidence of its having been used as a propeller. Its long heel and peculiarly long slender tarsal bones on each toe, seem in them°- sclves sufficieni to produce those very long leaps. We have often watch- ed this species, and although it moves with such celerity as to render an JUMPING MOUSE. S56 examination very difficult, we have been able to decide, as we think, that the tail is not used by the animal in its surprising leaps and rapid move- ments. The domicilof the Junsping Mouse in summer, in which her young are produced, we have always (bund near the surface, .seldom more than six inches under ground, sometimes under fences and brushwood, but more generally under clods of earth, where the sward had been turned over in early spring, leaving hollow spaces beneath, convenient for the summer residence of the animal. The nest is composed of tine grass, mixed with which we have sometimes seen feathers, wool, and hair. We are, however, under an impression that the Jumping Mouse in winter resorts to a burrow situated much deeper in the earth, and beyond the in- fluence of severe frosts, as when fields were ploughed late in autumn, we could never obtain any of this species. It may be stated as a gener- al observation, that this animal is a resident of fields and cultivated grounds ; we have, however, witnessed two or three exceptions to this hnbit, having caught some in traps set at night in the woods, and once having found a nest under the roots of a tree in the forest, occupied by an old female of this species with three young two-thirds grown ; this nest contained about a handful of chestnuts, which had fallen from the surrounding trees. !t is generally believed, that the Jumping Mouse, like the Hampster of Europe, (Cricetus vulgaris), and the Marmots, (Arctomys), hibernates, and passes the winter in a profound lethargy. Although we made some efforts many years ago, to place this matter beyond a doubt by personal observation, we regret that our residence, being in a region where this species does not exist, no favourable opportunity has since been afforded us. Naturalists residing in the Northern and Middle States could easily solve the whole matter, by preserving the animal in confinement through the winter. To us the Jumping Mouse has rot been an abundant species in any part of our country. Being, however, a nocturnal animal, rarely seen during the day unless disturbed, it is in reality more numerous than is generally supposed. We have frequently caught it in traps at night in localities where its existence was scarcely known. This species, feeding on small seeds, does very little injury to the farmer ; It serves, like the sparrow, to lessen the superabundance of grass seeds, which are injurious to the growth of wheat and other grains ; it is fond of the seeds of several species of Arnaranthus, the pigweed, (Ambrosia), burr-marygold, beggar or sheep ticks, (Bidens), all of which are regarded as pests, he therefore should noi grumble at the loss of a few grains of uW^ 256 JUMPING MOUSE. wheat or buckwheat. Its enemies are cats, owls, weasels, and foxes, which all devour it. OnOOKAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. if there is no mistake in regarding all the varieties of Jumping Mice in the northern parts of America as one species, this little animal has a range n»^arly as extensive as that of the white-footed Mouse. It exists, according to llicHAUDso.v, as far to the North as great Slave Lake, Lat. ««". It is found in Labrador and Nova Scotia, and in Upper and Lower Canada. We have seen it in the Eastern ana Middle States, and obtained a specimen on the mountains of Virginia, but have not traced it farther to the South ; although we are pretty sure that it may, like the Sciurus Hudsonius be found on the whole range of the Alleghanies. Say observed it on the base of the Rocky Mountains, and Mr. Townsend brought specimens from Oregon, near the mouth of the Columbia River. We can scarcely doubt, that it will yet be discovered on both sides of the mountains in California and New-Mexico. GENERAL REMARKS. On looking at our synonymes our readers will discover that this species has been described under an endless variety of names. We have omitted a reference to RAFiNEsauE, who indicated several new species in the Ame- rican Monthly Magazine. We have concluded, that a writer exhibiting such a want of accuracy, who gives no characters by which the species can be known, and who has involved the science in great confusion, and given such infinite trouble to his successors, does not deserve to be quoted. We had attached to our plate the specific name given by Dr. Bar- ton, (>/. ^/neWcrtrtM.v), this we would have preferred to either of the others, especially as it now seems probable, that this is the only si)ecies in Norlh America. The names Hu— 3 There are two conical teeth, or false molars, in the upper jaw, which are wanting in the genus Lijnx ; a large carnivorous tooth with three lobes ; the Iburth cheek-tooth in the iipper jaw nearly flat, and placed transversely ; the two anterior cheek-tenth in the lower jaw false. Head, round ; ears, short and generally triangular, not tut't.-d ; in many species a white spot on their outer surfaces ; no mane ; tail, long; tongue roughened with prickles ; anterior extremities with live toes, posterior, with four ; nails curved, acute, and retractile. Habit savage, feeding in a state of nature on living animals only, which they seize by surprise, and not by the chase, as is the habit of the dog woli; &c.; leaping and climbing with facility ; speed moderate ; .sense of sight good ; that of smell imperfect. There are 33 species of Long-tailed Cats described, inhabiting the lour quarters of the world. Four species only are positively known to exist north of the tropics in America. The generic nams is derived from the latin vrord Fclis — a cat. FELIS PARDALIS.— Linn. Ocelot, OR Leopara)-Cat. PLATELXXXVI .—Male.- Winter Pelage. F. Magnitudine. Lynx rufus. Cana. {s. potiits Jlava), mnculis ocellaribus magnis fulvis nigro-limbatis, in lateribus facias oblequas formantibus ; fronte striis 2 lateribus nigricantibus cauda corporis longitudine dimedia. CHARACTERS. Size of the Bay Lynx ; general colour grat/, marked with large fawn- coloured spots, bordered with black, forming oblique bands on thejlanks ; two black lines bordering the forehead laterally. II: OCELOT. 259 BYNONYMEB. F«Li8 Pardalis. Linn., p. 02. Iliirlaii'M Fuiina, p. 06. Ciiv. An. King, vol. 8, p. 470. GiilfitirH An. King., vol. 5, p. 107. Shaw's Zoology, vol. 2d, p. 350. N H •I «4 l« M DESCRIPTION. Head, short ; neck, long -incl thin ; body, long and slender; .ail. rather thick, and of moderate size ; hair, rather soli, and not very dense. COLOUR. The outer surface of the ear is bla.-k, 'itha^..: e patch beneath ; chin and throat white, with a black bar immediateiv beneath the chin, and another under the neck. On the chest and under surface, white, with ir- regular black patches. There are small black spots disposed on the head, surrounded by reddish-brown, a black line runs longitud.nally on the sides ol the head to the neck. The whole back is marked with oval figures, and in some specimens with longitudinal black stripes ed-ed with fawn-colour. Upper surface of the tail irregularly barred with black and whiif, the extremity black. Specimens vary much in their markings, and we have not found two precisely alike. DIMENSIONS. Male, procured by Col. Harsev in Texas, seven miles from San An. tonio, December, 1815, Frompointof nose to root of tail. ... Tail, Height from nails to shoulder, - - . . " of ear posteriorly, .... Female. Length of head and body - - - _ , •• tail ---.-.'. From nose to shoulder. - - - - . HABITS. Before describing the habits of this beautiful species, we must enterinto the difficult task of separating it from several other spotted, leopard-lik« Feet. Inches. 2 11 1 3 1 2 If PeeC IncbM 2 4 1 1 1 1 260 OCELOT. I I li i l\ cats, that have been confounded with it. Of these, the most similar in ap. pearance is perhaps the Felts mitis, which is found in the tropical portions of North America, and in the vvarmer parts of South America. The Fvlis mitis has in fact been figured, and described by SirAvv, Vol. ", p. 35t), (unless we deceive ourselves), as the Ocelot, (our present species) while liis figure of the Jaguar, (opposite p. 354), is probably drawn from the Ocelot, although, so poor a figure as to be hardly recognisable. The descriptions and figures of the Ocelot, that we find in old works on natural history, are so confusing, and unsatisfactory, that we are obliged to throw aside all reference to them in establishing any one of the feline tribe as our animal, and leave the reader to decide whether Buffon, speak- ing of the Ocelot, as two feet and a-half high and about four feet in length, meant the subject of our article, which is only two feet-six inches long from nose to root of tail, the Felis mitis, or the Jaguar ; and whether Pen- nant referred to the same anim-^l, which he de[,cribes, when speaking of the Ocelot, " as about four times the size of a large cat," (about the size of our specimen of the Ocelot). The description of this species in Linn^us is so short, that it is almost equally applicable to either the Jaguar, the Ocelot, or Felis mitis : "Felis Cauda elongata, corpore maculis supcrioribus virgatis, infcriorihus orhicula- tis.^^ Sys. Nat. Gmel. p. 78. Brisson is also very concise in giving the character of the Ocelot ; F. rufa, in ventre exalho Jiavicans, maculis nigris in dorso longis, in ventre orbiculntis variegata." Quadr. 109. We are on the whole inclined to consider the species described by Pennant as the Mexican Cat, the Ocelot or Leopard-Cat of the present article, and the lar- ger animal described by other authors, as the Felis mitis, as young of the Jaguar, or perhaps females of this last named species, and we have not yet met with the Felis mitis within our range, although we have seen such an animal alive in New- York, one having been brought by sea from Yucatan . Our animal is quite well known in Texas as the Leopard-Cat, and in Mexico is called the Tiger-Cat, it is in the habit of concealing itself in hol- lows in trees, and also by squatting upon the larger branches. It is rather nocturnal, and preys upon the smaller quadrupeds, and on birds, eggs, &c., when they can be seized on the ground. The activity and grace of the Leopard-Cat, are equal to the beauty of its fur, and it leaps with ease amid the branches of trees, or runs with swift- ness on the ground. These Cats seldom stray far from woods, or thickets bordering on rivers, streams, or ponds, very rarely lying on the hill-sides, or out on the plains. They run like foxes, or wild-cats, when chased by the hunters with hounds or other dogs, doubling frequently, and using all the stratagems of OCELOT. 261 the gray fox before they take a straight course, but when hard pressed and fatigued, they always ascend a tree, instead of running to earth Like a 1 the cat tribe, the Ocelot is spiteful when confined in a cage and snarls and spits at the spectator when he draws near; but we have never seen U stnke through the bars like the leopard, which sometimes inflicts severe wounds on the incautious or fool-hardy person, who. to see it better approaches too closely its prison. ' According to our information, the Ocelot only has two youn^. at a litter but we have not had an opportunity of ascertaining 'this Volt '::: The specimen from which our figure was drawn, was procured by Gen. H.HX.V, who sent it fresh killed to J. W. Acoubov, then at San An- ^n.o on an expedition in search of the quadrupeds of Texas, for our work We here give an extract from his journal. " But for the kindness of Col. Hah.vev, I might never have made the draw- mg of this most beautiful of all the North American feline race. Col. H 21 sent for my trunks, and while I waited the return of the sergeant's guTrd who went to fetch them, I saw him daily. He introduced me to M ' theTT T r\ "' ""'''■ ''^^''^' ^''"'"^^^^ ^y friend, boarded, aid the lady of the house made it a home to me. I was invited out to the camp, and as I talked of the animals I was most anxious to procure all seemed desirous to aid me. Col. H.h.bv, fond field sports, as active and industrious as he was tall and magnificent-look- ing, waked at day light the lone prairies and swamps with shouts of e. couragement to his small pack of well-chosen dogs, till they in turn bur t forth in full cry on the hot trail of a magnificent specimen of this most n cresting snecies. I had just returned from an examination of all my II raps ; some were sprung, yet nothing but fur was ieft, showing that a strong wolf or lynx had been caught, but had pulled away ; thus preventing perhaps, the capture of some smaller animal that I wanted ; and rats, mice skunks, or other little quadrupeds, were eaten nightly whilst fast in the teel teeth, by these prowlers. I «at down, to think of spring, guns, and Ion. for means to prevent this robbery of my traps, when a sergeant came in' with the result of Col. H.h.bv's morning-.s chase, the beautiftl Ocelot? rom which my drawing was made. This was a new animal to me, as, though I knew of its existence I had never se.n one, so that my delight was only equalled by my desire to paint a good figure of it. Its beautiful skin makes a most favourite bullet pouch, and Its variegated spots are only surpassed by the rich glossy coat nnd (ur of the far famed ' black ottc"' ^ In his many long hunts. Col. Hak.kv must have often and often past the I H f.''4 262 OCELOT. lurking Wako and Camanche, who quailed at his soldierly bearing, while any other man would have had perchance a dozen arrows shot at him. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. • We have heard of an occasional specimen of this cat having been ob- tained in the southern parts of Louisiana. Nuttall saw it in the State ol Arkansas ; our specimens were procured in Texas. It is common in Mexico ; its southern range has not been accurately determined. GENERAL REMARKS. Jfuch confusion still exists among writers in reference to the spotted cats of i^Iexico and South America, which can only be removed by the careful observations of naturalists in the native regions of these closely alii, ed species. 268 VULPES FULVUS.— Desm American Red F(ix. PLATE LXXX VII._Male. V. Rufo-fulvoque varius ; collo subtus ventreque imo albis ; pectore cano ; antibrachiis antice prodiisque nigris ; digiiis lulvis ; caudS apice alha. '^ CHARACTERS. Fur reddish or fuhous ; beneath the neck and helhj white ; chest gray front part of the fore legs and feet, black ; toes fulvous; tip of the tail white SYNONYMES. Canis Fulvus. Deam. Mamm. p. 203. " Fr. Cuvier, in Diet. des. Sc. Nat. VIII. p, 568. REyARD DE VmaiNiE. Palesotde BeauvoisMem. Sor. Le Rbnaud. Bullet, Soe. Phil. Kei) Fox. Sabine, Franklin's Journ. p. 65G. Canis Fulvus. Harlan, 89. " Godman, vol. 1, p. 280. VuLPEs Fulvus, Rich. Fauna, B. A.'p. 91. De Kay, Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 44, fig. 1, pi. 7. DESCRrPTION. Thfe animal bears so strong a resemblance to the European Fox (v vul gans), that it was regarded as the same species by early naturalists. No one, however, who will compare specimens from both countries, can have a doubt of their being very distinct. Our Red Fox is a little the largest its logs are less robust, its nose shorter and more pointed, the eyes nearer together, its feet and toes more thickly clothed with fur, its ears shorter It hits a finer and larger brush, and its fur is much softer, finer, and of a brighter colour. It stands higher on its legs than the Gray Fox, and its muzzle is not so lono- nnd acute, as in that species. It is formed for lightness and speed, and is more perfect in its proportions than any other species in the genus with wliich we are acquainted. The hair on the whole body is soft, silky, and lustrous ; the ears are cloth- ed with short hairs on both surfaces, and the feet and toes are so clothed rW 264 AMERICAN RED FOX. with hair, that the nails are concealed. The body of this species has a strong musky smell, far less disagreeable, however, than that of either the skunk or mink. It becomes less offensive in a state of domestication. COLOUR. Point of nose, outer extremity of ears, and outer surfaces of legs below the knees, black ; forehead, neck, flanks, and back, bright-reddish, and a little deeper tint on the back and fore-shoulders ; around the nostrils, margins of the upper jaw, and chin, pure white ; throat, breast andanar- row spsice on the under surface, dingy-white ; extreme end of brush slightly tipped with white ; inner surface of ears, and base of the outer sur- face, yellowish. The hair on the body is of two sorts : long hairs interspers- ed among a dense coat of softer, brighter, and more yellowish fur ; on the tail the longer interspersed hairs are more numerous, and many of them aro quite black, giving the tail a more dusky appearance than rest the of the body In addition to the distinct varieties of this species, the black and cross Fox, we have seen some shades of difference in colour in the red variety. In some the colours on the back are considerably darker than in others We have seen several with the nose and chin nearly black, and in others the white tip at the tail is replaced with black. DIMENSIONS. From point of nose to root of tail. Tail (vertebra;) *' to end of hair, - . - Height at shoulders, - - . •* of ears posteriori V - Feel. Inchei 2 fl 1 1 1 5 1 1 2f UADITS. This Fox, in times gone by, was comparatively rare in Virginia, and larther south was unknown. It is now seldom or never to be met with beyond Kentucky and Tennessee. Its early history is not ascertained, it was probably for a long time confounded with the Gray Fox, (which is in many parts of the country the most abundant species of the two,) and af- terwards was supposed to have been imported from England, by some Fox- hunting governor of one of the " colonies." It was first distinguishod from the Gray Fox and hunted, in Virginia; but now is known to exist in all the Kiirthcrn States, and we are somewhat surprised ttiat it should so long have been overlooked by our forefathers. No doubt, however, the culti- AMERICAN UED FOX. 265 vanon and improvement of the whole country, is the chief reason why the lied Pox has become more numerous than it was before the Revolution, and a wdl probab y be found going farther south and west, as the wood^ and forests give place to farms, with hens, chickens, tame turkeys, ducks «&c. in the barn-yards. , "u^">», The Red Fox is far more active and enduring than the Gray, and gene- rally runs in a more direct line, so that it always gives both dogs and hun- ters a good long chase, and where the hounds are not accustomed to follow It will frequently beat-out the whole pack, and the horses and huntsmen to boot. In some parts of the country, however, it is chased and killed with dogs .n fine style The following account of the mode of taking the Red Pox' at the , ,,^, i„ New-Jersey, near Cape May, is from an interesting letter wrmen to us m December. 1845, by oar friend Edward Hakr.s, Esq., of Moorestown, m the neighbourhood of Philadelphia ; it is quite different from the ordinary mode of hunting the Red Fox. He begins thus ■ " ^^T"^""^: t ''''''' ''^°' ^ "^'"^ '° ^"P^ ^^y Court-house, where I pent Monday and Tuesday among the quails, Q.rciri. .ir^Uucn^^s), which I found exceedingly abundant, but the ground so bad for shooting, that in both days two of us shot but thirty-three birds. On Wednesday my friend Mr. Holmes took me to Beasi.ey's Point at the northern extremity of the coun- y ; here I was sorry to learn that young Beaslbv, who was to have re- turned Irom Philadelphia on the Saturday previous, had not yet made his appearance ; his father, however, showed agreatdesire to forward my views ni regard to "Monsieur Reynard." The next day it rained cats anddogs, and Tom Beaslev did not arrive in the stage. In the afternoon it cleared oft sufficiently to make a " a drive" in the point, where we started a noble specimen m beautiful pelage, but alas! he would not come near the standers. The next morning, we drove the same ground, being the only place on the main land where there was any prospect of driving a Fox to standers with- out dogs, (of which there are none in the vicinity). This time we saw none. After dinner I took my pointer, and bagged eight brace and a half of quails, having this time found them on good ground. The next day Saturday, with three drivers, and three standers, we drove .he beach for five and a-half miles, without seeing a fox, and so ended ihis unsuccessful expedition I had great hopes of this beach. (PECK's),as it had not been hunt e_d since^the winter before the last, althc ..> some of the gunners told m. they had seen but few " signs" since that time. The mode of driving, which requires no dogs, is for the drivers to he fur nished with two boards, or shingles, which they strike together, or with VOL. II. — 34. 266 AMERICAN RED FOX. what is better, a rattle, similar to a watchman's. The standers are sent ahead to a narrow part of the beach, where the creeks of the salt-marshes approach nearest to the sand-hills : when they are supposed to have reach- ed their stands, the drivers enter, and walk abreast among the bushes, between the sand-hills and the marshes, making all the noise they can, w'ith their lungs, as well as their boards or rattles ; and these unusu- al noises are almost sure to drive the Foxes to the standers, where if they pass harmless, they have again to run the gauntlet to the end of the beach, at the inlet, where, Mr. Beasley assures me, he has known seven Red Foxes cornered, out of which four were killed, and three escaped from bad shooting. We made four drives in the five and a-half miles. The facts in regard to the history of the Red Fox on the Jersey coast that I have been able to collect, are few ; such as they are 1 will give them to you. Certain it is that they frequent the beaches in great numbers, and so far as 1 can learn, the Gray Fox is not found in the same places, nor is the raccoon, which we know to be po abundant on the sea islands and beaches of our southern coast. They pass to the beaches on the ice, in the winter season, when the " sounds" are frozen, and have frequently been seen in the day time, making their passage, though doubtless it is more frequently per- formed in the night. Their means of subsistence there ar« ample, consisting of wild fowl of various kinds, upon which they spring while they are asleep upon the ponds and creeks, but more particularly upon the wounded fowl which escape from the numerous gunners, also crabs and fish, which are thrown up dead by the surf, and rabbits and wading birds, in the summer. A marvellous story is told of their sagacity in selecting the food they like best, which is vouched for by Mr. Beasley, and all the gunners along f^hoie, but which 1 think i«:q"ires confirmation, at least so fur as to have the fish in question, seen by some naturalist in the state described by the narrators, in order to ascertain its name, or describe it, if new, before its publication is ventured on. The story is, that a certain fish, called the cramp- fish, from its supposed power of paralizing the hand which touches it while living, is thrown ashore dead, by the surf in the winter season, that every one of these fishes contains a bird, such as the coot, (either fuscu or per- spicillata), or a gull, which appears to have destroyed the fish, by its j)rov- ing rather hard to digest, without having been plucked. Mr. Fox finds the fish that has come to this deplorable end, and either in the vain hope of restoring animation to the unfortunate defunct, or for the gratification of a less noble impulse, he makes a longitudinal incision into the peritonai'um of the subject, and extracts the bird, oi' which he makes a meal ; but, n)ind AMERICAN RED FOX. 267 vou Mr. Fox has profited by the avvlb, examp-e before him-he picks the B to r '•'": •;■ '''''■^'— •• --">- what you cannoTL't But, to be serious, I do not mean to ridicule the f-iK wli.K t T cannot answer for it miirht in u^ ,,1 • • , wnicn l t,i lor, n migl.t in its plain, unvarni.siied form, without beincr wUhTm , I. ""■' '^''^ '" '''''^ '"'"^'''"^^ ♦he length of four-feot uith a mouth twenty-twa inches wide, they are sealed, and are said to re semb e, somewhat, the sea cat-fish, with which I am no't accuaintl^h The Fox on the beach when hunted by hounds, resorts to his usual trick of tak.ng he ^.ater, to throw the dogs off the scent, by followingthe r t ea "n Tb ,"/ "^ "i!"" " '^' ^"'^'^^ ""'' ^^^"' ♦h-^ '.V-^ ^own among the and hil s to rest, while the dogs are at fault. In the Lods on the ml n land bo h Red and Gray Foxes are abundant, the latter rather predomZ: u.g. 1 he Foxes are abundant on some of the beaches, and generally may be procured Mr. Slkxcp., of Mount IIollv, has been on a party when We have not been able to procure the fish which is alluded to in the foregoing, but have no doubt of the correctness of the account. The R.d Fox will eat fish as well as birds, and when hard pressed does not refuse even camon. It is, therefore, probable that the discovery of the bird withm the dead fish, may be the result of accident rather than of instin t reason, or keenness of smell on the part of the Fox ; for when he begins to devour a hsh he must soon find the more savoury bird in its stomach and being fonJer of fowl than offish, he would of course eat the bird Id eave the latter. A Fox aller having in this w.y discovered coots, gulls or any other bird, would undoubtedly examine any dead fish that he came' across, in hopes of similar good luck. Hence the foxes on the beaches have sTohTr";"'""'.?"'"''^'^'" '''"•'"'•"-" '^"■'■•^ '■'•"- ♦he stomachs oj uch fish as have swallowed them, and are cast ashore .lead by the storms on he coast; and they also at times get a plentiful meal from the dead birds that float ashore. We received a beautiful specimen of the Red Fox. m he flesh from our friend Mr. II.kris, not long af>er the foregoing letter and our figure was drawn from it. We represented the Limal jus; caught m a steel-trap. '' The Red Fox brings forth from four to six young at a litter, although t.me after they are born, with a soft woolly fnr.c,uite unlike the oat of the grown anima, and generally of a pale rufous colour. FrequenX ho " eve, the cubs in a litter are mixed in colour, there being some' edlnd sle £'68 AMERICAN RED POX. bipck-cross Foxes together: when this is the cane it is difficult to tell which are the red and which the cross Foxes until they are somewhat grown. In these cases the parents were probably different in colour. This animal feeds upon rats, rabbits, and othrr small quadrupeds, and catches birds, both by lying in wait for them, and by trailing them up in the manner of a pointer dog, until watching an ojjportunity he can pounce or spring upon them. In our article on the Gray Fox, (vol. 1., p. 164) we have described the manner in which this is done by that species, and the Red Fox hunts in the same way. The Red Fox also eats eggs, and we have watched it catching crickets in an open field near an old stone wall. It is diverting to witness this — the animal leaps about and whirls round so quickly as to be able to put his foot on the insect, and then gets hold of it with his mouth ; we did not see him snap-* at them ; his movements reminded us of a kitten playing with a mouse. We once knew a Red Fr-, that had been chased frequently, and always escaped at the same spot, by the hounds losing the track : the secret was at last found out, and proved to be a trick somewhat similar to the stratagem of the Gray Fox related in our first volume, p. 171 ; the Red Fox always took the same course, and being ahead of the dogs so far that they could not see him, leaped from a fallen log on to a very sloping tree, which he ascended until conce? "ed by the branches, and as soon as the dogs passed he ran down and leaping on to his old track ran back in his former path. So dexterously was this " tour " performed that he was not suspected by the hunters, who once or twice actually whipped their dogs off the trail, thinking they were only fol- lowing the " back track." The Red Fox is in the habit of following the same path, which enables the fox hunters to shoo„ this species from "stands," even in a country where the animal has room enough to take any course he may choose to run. The "hunters" who go out from the city of New- York, are a mixed set, probably including Germans, Frenchmen, Englishmen, and Irishmen, and each one generally takes his own dog along, (on the speed and prowess of which he is ready to bet largely,) and the hunt is organized on the height beyond Weehawken in " the Jerseys," where a good many Red Foxes are to he found, as well as more Gray ones. The men are all on foot, and station themselves along ridges, or in gaps in the rocky hilly country, now running to a point, to try and get a shot, now yelling to their dogs, and all excitement and hubbub. If the Fox doubles much, he is verj apt to get shot by some otio before he passes all the "standers," and the hunters then try to start another; AMERICAN RED POX 2G9 leal "of As' f ™ f " ""'"'• " ""= ""■'■'"'"'"' " '""k "1 a good «c yh.ll „ ,0 s,a„,l, i„ .ho Newark .ar,he,, fa„.i,i„.ly „„.,!„ ^ hol,l .h. Fox „ fte,„„„t|y „e„ l,y ,h„ whole company of hun.e , 'nd.he eha» ., Ie„,,„e„ed „„. ,„ a r„„ of ,„a„y mile' a, Rel, „," 1 aga,n toward the high ridge» nearer the Hudson River We wdl give an an aeeount of one of these hunts as related by some Z:iT • :t° """"^ *"° ""' '"'"=" <'» -"""""= their IrH Alter some beat.ng about among the thickets and ravine,, „-e Ibnnd the og, h. straye away down .he side of the hill, nearly t; .he e"" of the marshes, and raising our horn to call ,hem up. observed .ha. thev where ,n .hem; we ,mmed,a.ely gave a loud halloo, and ur-ed all he hound, to the chase. The eur turned .ail a. once, the w^e pact opened -after him in full cry, and all .he hun.ers ca^e running M Irom .he woods ,o the brow of ,!,„ hill, whence we had a v cT of th. most of the hunter, thought he was one •■ certain." he shewed good hot ^m. took several leap, over the stone walls and feaee,. and dodge, abo, and round patches of briars ,a„d rocks with extraordinary agiuly u„,i o tt T' """""^ '" """"• "'■™ "" "-^Wvely « strLed 1^= un rsLal, flTrT"':', "" ""?"• "' J"'""'" -" '» " «-" "-losing a stnal farm yard, and disappeared within, i.nmediately setting up a lou3 l.ark of deuance. while some of ,he hunlers who had expressed most eonfldenee. were loudly laughed at by their comrades. whoM ..eririy to '"ur, lllr'^-nilir "'• ^"' " ^° ™'^ "-^ ">^' " ^^ -"^»'. Dr. Richardson tells us that tho hp«t f,.v k * • , . -;hood.ii,egingthatZ::ret;:;'Lh7e:rre,"^ "■ "^ "^'^^• ouj't'hrrurhitLir-'"^*"* '"»'"'-"""' --- -^ '» -„ JtJurrir r''""^ "■'""""' '""■ ••■^ "onhem .o .he .South. species havmn; ecom(- tTiore numnrons than 270 AMERICAN RED FOX. 11 ; If ' \ % it was before the Revolution. This i(iea, however, wouhl seem to be over- thrown by the oontinuetl ahuiuiiiiice oi'Gmy Foxes in the Eastern States. In the early history of our country the Red Fox was unknown south of Pennsylvania, that State being its Southern limit. In process of time it was found in the mountains of V'irginia, where it has now become more abun- dant than the Grav Fox. A few years afterwards if appeared in the more elevated portions of North Carolina, then in the mountains of South l^arolina, and finally in Georgia ; where we have recently observed it. This species was first .seen in Lincoln County, Georgia, in the year 1810, ' since then it has spread over the less elevated parts of the country, and is not rare in the neighbourhood of Augusta. We are informed by Mr. BEri.E, an intelligent observer of the habits of animals, that on one occasion near Augusta, as he wf using a call for wild turkey.s, a little before sunrise, in the vicinity of Augusta, two Red Foxes came to the call, suppos- 'm\\ it to be that of a wild turkey, and were both killed by one discharge of his gun In order to ascertain whether the speed of me Red Fox was as great in the south as in the colder regions of the north, several gentlemen near Augusta, in the winter of 1844, resolved to test the question by a regular Fox chase. They congregated to the number of thirty, with one hun- dred hounds, many of them imported dogs, and all in fine running order. They started a Fox at two o'clock on a moonlight morning. He took to a pretty open country on the west bank of the Savannah river. A number of gentlemen were mounted on fleet horses. Mr. Bf.ile rode in succession three horses during the chase, two of which \t'ere good hunters. The pursuit of the flying beast was kept up till three o'clock in the " afternoon, having continued thirteen hours, when the horse ^ and the whole pack of hounds were broken down, and the hunt was abandoned. This accouni does not accord with that given by Richardson, who states (Fauna Boreali. Am. p. 93,) '* The Red Fox does not possess the wind of its English congener. It runs for about a hundred yards with great swiftness, but its strength is exhausted in the first burst, and it is soon overtaken by a wolf or a mounted huntsman." It is quite evident that our estimable friend never had an opportunity of participating in the chase of the American Red Fox. Whilst the Gray Fox seldom is known to dig a burrow, concealing its young usually beneath the ledges of rocks, under roots, or in the hollow of some fallen tree, the Red Fox on the contrary, digs an extensive burrow with two or three openings. To this retreat the Fox only flies afler a hard chase and as a last resort. If, as often happens, the burrow is on level ground it is not very difficult by ascertaining the direction of the AMERICAN RCn POX. 271 ?a lencs and sinking a hole at intervals of seven or eight feet to dig out and capture the animal. When thus taken he di.splays b'ut mt e eourage-.on.eti.e. like the Opossum. Cosing his eyes' aL Sgnlng It .s at this period, when the snows in the Northern States are still on In. Th ^"' ' ' ''' ^"'■"^'•^ '""* ^'^ P'-«^''^« '■-'^ <■- their lurni f 1 ^^IP'^'-*'^"'-'^ ^«-' «^ young lambs, which they carry off poultry, and have a bad reputation with the farmer. They likewise feed rS:::;:" '"'"'t* ^ ^^^" '- -- '^^^^^^ ^^--'^' -^ A^^^^-t " various species, as we have previously mentioned. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Red Fox exists in the fur countries to the North, is found in La- brador to the East, and in the Russian settlements on the West of tur contment. Its Southern limit at present is Abbeville, in Sourclrolina siatetT:; ""'rV ' '-'' ""'''''^^^^ ^^- ^«- seen i ose' S ates, near the sea-board. It also appears in Tennessee. Kentucky, and Missouri. We have not heard of its existence in Florida. Louisiana, o GENERAL, REMARKS. It is now so generaUy admitted that the Red Fox of America is a d.s- met spec.es from the European Fox ; that a comparison seems unneces- H^ary. We have seen no specimen in this country that can be referred tc 27-' LEPUS AllTRMISIA.— Bach. W()RM-wcM)i» Hark. P I, A T F. 1. X X X V 1 1 1— Malm and Pemalb. L. Parvus, cane.sccns,nuclia ct crurilms (lilutp foru^iiH'ls, cuikIii supra canescoiis, subtus albn, pula et ventre albis, vellore toto ad basin cano : auriculis lungiludine capiiis, tarsus dense vestitis. characters. Small ; of a gray colour, pale riifus on the back of the neck arid legs ; tail, above, the colour of the body ; beneath, white ; under parts of the neck, and lower .surface of the body, white ; all the fur gray at the base ; ears as long as the head ; tarsus, well clothed. aVNONYMEa. Lepus Artemisia. Pach, Worm-wood flare. Journal Acad. Nat. Sciences, vol. 8, p. 1, p. 04. description. This small Hare is a little less than our common gray Rabbit, the ears arc longer and more conspicuous. The head is much arched, and the upper incisors deeply grooved. colour. This species is grayish-black and brownish-white itbove ; the fur is soft, pale-gray at the base, shaded into brownish rxfernally, annulated with brownish-white near the apex, and black at the tips : under parts, and inner sides of the limbs, white ; the hairs pale-gray at the base ; neck, with the hairs on the sides, and under parts gray, tipped with brownish-white, having a faint yellow hue ; chin and throat grayish- white, the hairs being sray at their base, and white at their tips. The whole back of tlie nef;k .inc li r>bs exteriorly of a pale rusty-fawn colour; hairs on the neck unifora-. ^^. 'he base; soles of the feet, very pale soiled yellowish-brown; tail, ^'jioatd above as the back, with an admixture of grayish-black hairs, be.ieath, vi^hite , ears, externally on the anterior L^^ supra canor ' /, 'cgs, neck, : ears ciences. lit, the id, and fur is lulatrd parts, base ; with ■ayish- The !olour; soiled lixture iterior m ^ .* 'in n ! . li I E-i •-J LJ <« i "J 0, ^^, % WORM-WOOD HARE. 273 part, coloured as the crown of the head ; posteriorly, asny white ; at the apex margined with black ; internally, nearly naked, excepting the pos- terior part, where they are grizzled with grayish black and white; in the apical portion they are chiefly white. luches. 12 3 2 2 1 1 UoSb. 0 2 8 7 1 0 DIMENSIONS. Length from nose to root of tail. From heel to point of longest nail, - Height of ears externally, - From ear to point of nose, Tail (vertebrae) about. To end of fur, HABrrs. Mr. TowNSEND, who procured this species at Fort Walla-walla, re- marks, " it is here abundant but very s'w and retired, keeping constantly in the densest wormwood bushes, and leaping with singular speed from one to another when pursued. I have never seen it dart away and run to a g.-eat distance like other Hares. I found it very difficult to shoot this animal, for the reasons stated. I had been residing at Fort Walla- walla for two weeks, and had procured only two, when at the suggestion of Mr. Pambrun, I collected a party of a dozen Indians armed with bows and ar- rows, and sallied forth. We hunted through the wormwood within about a mile of the Fort, and in a few hours returned bringing eleven Hares. The keen eyes of the Indians discovered the little creatures squatting under the bushes, where to a white man they would have been totally in- visible. This Hare, when wounded and taken, screams like our common species. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUl'ION. "This small Hare," we are informed by Mr. Townsend, "inhabits the wormwood plains near the banks of the streams in the neighbourhood of Fort Walla-walla. I cannot define its range with any degree of cer- tainty, but I have every reason to believe that it is very contracted, never having met with it many miles from this locality." VOL. u. — 35 mLI m I 274 SCIURUS SAYI I.— Auo. and Bach. Say's Suuirrel. PLATE LXXXIX.— Males. S. Sciurus ciiiereus magnitudine sub a-quans. Corpore supra lateribus- que cario-nigroque variis ; capitis lateribus orbitis que pallide caiio-ferru- gineis ; genis auriculusque saturate fuscis ; cauda supra ferrugiueo-ni- groque varia, infra spleudide ierrugiiieii. characters. About, the size of the cnt-sqvirrel {S. cinereus) ; body above, and on the sides mixed with gray and black ; sides of the head and orbits, pale ferruginous ; check and under the eye, dusky ; tail, above, mixed with ferruginous and black, beneath^ bright ferruginous. 8YNONYMES. SriuRUS Maorodrus. Say, Long's Exped. vol. 1., p. 115. S. Maonicaudatus. Harlan, Fauna, p. 178. S. Mackoureus. Godman's Nat, Hist. vol. 2, p. 134. DESCRIPTION. In size and form this species bears a considerable resemblance to the Cat-Sqii iTpl (-S. cinereus). It is a little longer in body, not quite as stout, and has shorter ears. In length and breadth of tail, they are about equal. The first molar tooth in the upper jaw, which in some of the species is de- ciduous and in others permanent, was wanting in the six .specimens we ex- amined: we presume, however, it exists in very young animals ; mamma;, 8, placed equi-distant, on the sides of the belly ; palms, as is usual in this :enus, naked, the rudimental tliiunb protected by a short blunt nail ; tlie feet are covered with hair, which extends between the toes, half con- cealing the nails; hair on the body, of moderate length, not as coarse as that ol' the Fox-Stpiirrel, {S. capistratiis), but neither as fine or woolly as that of .S'. cinrrciis. Our specimens were obtained in summer. — Sav has remarked : " The i'ur of the back in the summer dress, is from liiree-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-fourtlis in length SATS SQUIRREL. 276 He also remarks that it is only in winter that the ears are fringed which IS the necessary consequence of the elongation of the hair ; in our summer specimens, the ears are thinly clothed with hair, not rising above the mar- gins. COLOUR. The fur on the back, is for one half its length from the base plumbeous, then pale cmnamon, then a narrow line of black, then cinereous, and broadly t.pped with black, giving it what is usually termed an iron-gray colour • the hairs on the under surface are of a iight-ash colour at base, and with- out any annulations brighten into ferruginous at apex, the paler colours beneath giving way to the broader markings on the extremities; the eyes anc moustaches are black ; nails, dark-brown ; sides of face, around the eyes both surfaces of ears, feet, chin, neck, inner surfaces of legs, and under sn'r- lgratorius,) but appears to possess more activity, and a-^ility than the Cat Squirrel. " • The forests on the rich bottom lands of the Wabash, the Illinois, and the Missouri rivers are ornamented with the stately pecan-tree {Can,n ■>ln'c.fonn,s), on the nuts of which these squirrels luxuriate ; thev also re- Hort to the hickory and oak trees, in the vicinity of their residene'e as well ns to the hazel bushes, on the fruits of which they feed They are becoming troublesome in the eorn-fiei*t voy(ij»«', Su|>|>., \>. Ih;{, luikhii s isi viivHjii', |i tUH. (li iirry s yiul v(»yiij;i«, /\|)|)i'ii(lix, p. •■iHS. Uicliiii'ilsoii, L''iiiiiiu, |). :io. Sa)iO!*l»y's Account dI' tlii) Arctic Ucgioiia, I i nKHCRIPTION. Ilciul and muzzle narrow, proloiiycd on a stniiKlit lino vvilli thd fore IumkI, which is (latltMU-d ; snout, naUcil ; <'ars, short; ni'ck, l(in« ; hoiiy, lon« in proportion to its hcitihl ; soles of the hind Icct ctiual to one-sixth of the length of the body; hair, rijfid, eoinpaet and lonj; on the liody and linihs, is from two to three inches in lentil', ^vilh a small (juaiitity of line niid woolly hair next the skin. The whole animal wears the appearance of great strength without much agility. COLOUR. The naked extremitj of the snout, the tongue, margins of the eyelids, and the claws, are black ; lips, purplish idaek ; eyes, dark-brown ; interior of the month pale violet. The hairs on every part of the body are of u yellowish-white colour. DIMENSIONS. Specimen in the Charleston Muscimi : — Head and body, - - - Tai!, (vcrtebra<), - . - - " to end of hair, . - - - Height of ear, ..... Height from shoulil'.M-, - - - - Girth around the body. - - - - " around the hind leg. Length of canine teeth, " of incisors, .... \Vt> api)ond tlie followini: measurements taken from specimens in the Hesh, by Capt. .1. C. Ross, R.N., F.U.8., &c. :— Ftst 6 3 U I Inclit'S. u 10 1 .'t 3 7 If (If Length from snout to end of tail, Snout to shoulder, Snout to occiput, Circumference bclbre the eyes, M.M.i;. InclU'K. ;!.■!..■) 1H.4 20.4 ki:mai.i;. InoliuM. 7S •jt;.;{ 1 :>A> 15.8 POl.AU HEAR. 283 At hrnadf^sf part of tUo. hcid, - At lar>,'«'st p.iil r.r 111,, jihdorncn, I-i'iiy;(li (»r (iljiiw 'iiry canal. VV.i-ht, Thr wri^l.t vari.^s vrry much av.couWuK to the season und condition of ton niiinial. Th.. larK-'st. nirasurrd 101.5 inches in length, and weighed 1028 lbs all hough in poor condition. ' MAI.K. IlichM. (I! OOOlhs. FEMAI.R. lneho« 2H rn.a 52 700|l)s. HABITS. We have .io„rneye,I together, friend reader, through many a deep dell and w.id woo,!, through swamp and over mountain; vve have stemmed' the current of the iMississippi. sail,.,| on our l.road lakes, and on the ex- tended sea coast, from [.ai.rador t„ Mexico ; we have coursed the hu-^e l.u lalo ov.T the wide prairies, hunted the lin.id .leer, trapped the beaveV .-n.d ..ughl ,!.,. fox ; we have, m short, already procured, (igured, an.l des- er.l.ed. many ol our animals; and now, with your permission, vve will send you wUh th,- adventurous navigators of the Polar Seas, ia search of the Wlute Bear, for we have not seen this remarkah!,. inhabitant of the ley regions of our northern coast ami.l his native fr../.en deserts; and can th..re(oreu,v..you little more than such information as may be found in the works of previous writers o„ l.is babits. D,„.i„. ,„p vj,), f„ ^..^.p,,,,,, in TN3.S, we coasted along to th,- north ;.s far as the Straits of n,.|b.islc l.m .t l..'ing midsummer, we saw no Polar Hears, although we heard from the settlers tl.tt these animals were someliu.es seen there; (on one occasion, in.lcd. we thought we perc,.ived three of them on an lce-berr, with a reinforcement, and the two pilots having fired three times without liitting the animal, the purser approached a little nearer, and shot the Bear in the head, close by the eye. This did not cause him to cjuit his jjrey, for, holding the body, which he was devouring, always by the neck, he car- ried it away as yet quite entire. Nevertheless, they then perceived that he began himself to totter, and the purser and a Scotchman going towards him, they gave him several sabre wounds, and cut him to pieces, without his abandoning his prey. In Barentz'e third voyage, a story is told of two Bears coining to the carcase of a third one that had been shot, when one of them, taking it by the throat, carried it to a considerable distance, over the most rugged ice, where they both began to eat it. They were scared from their re- past by the report of a musket, and a party of seamen going to the place, found that, in the little time they were about it, they had already de- voured half the carcase, which was of such a size that four men had great difliculty in lifting the remainder. In a manuscript account of Hudson's Bfty, written about the year 1780, by Mr. Andrew Craliam, one of Pennant's ablest correspondents, and preserved at the Ilndsoirs Bay house, an anecdote of a different d scription occurs. "One of the Company's servants who was tenting abroaf* to procure riil)l)its, (Lrpus POLAR BEAR. 285 Amencanus), having occasion to come to the factory for a few necessaries on his return to the tent passed througli a narrow thicket of willows and found himself close to a White Bear lyin- asleep. As he had nothing wherewith to defend himself, he took the ba- off his shouldor and held i"t before his breast, bet^veen the Bear and him. Tlie animal arose on see- ing the man, stretched himseif an 1 nibbed his nose, and having satisfied his curiosity by smelling at the bag, which contained a loaf of "bread and a rundlet of strong beer, walked quietly away, thereby relieving the man from his very disagreeable situation." Dr. Richardson says, "They swim and dive well, they hunt seals and other marine animals with great success. They are even said to wage war, though rather unequally, with the walrus. They feed likewise on land animals, birds, and eggs, nor do they disdain to prey on carrion, or, m the absence of this food, to seek the shore in quest of berries and roots. They scent their prey from a great distance, and are often at- tractea to the whale vessels by the smell of burning kreng, or the re- fuse of the whale blubber." The Dr. quotes Cai)tain Lyons, who thus describes the mode in which the Polar Bear surprises a seal :_"The Bear, on seeing his intended prey gets quietly into the water, and swims to tlie leeward of him, from' whence, by frequent short dives, he silently makes his approaches, and 80 arranges his distance, that, at the last dive, he comes to the spot where the seal is lying. If the poor animal attempts to escape bv rolling into the water, he falls into the bear's clutches ; if, on the con- trary, he lies still, his destroyer makes a powerful spring, kills him on the ice, and devours him at leisure." Captain Lyons describes the paee ot the Polar Bear, at full speed, as " a kind of shuffle, as quick as the sharp gallop of a horse." The Polar Bear is by no means confined to the land, on the contrary he JS seldom If ever seen far inland, but frequents the fields of ice, and swims ofl to floating ice or to ice-bergs, and is often seen miles from shore. It is said that these animals "are often carried from the coast of Green- land to Iceland, where they commit such ravages on the flocks that the inhabitants rise in a body to destroy them." Captain ^^abine saw one about midway between the north and south shores of Barrow's Straits which are forty miles apart, although ther.. was no ice in sight to which he could I- sort to rest himself upon. The Polar Bear is said to be able to make long leaps or springs in the water. This species is found farther to the north than any other quadruped, having been seen by Captain Parry in his adventurous boat-voyage be- yond HJ degrees of north latitude «i if'l :i w ;r ri ; I L'86 POLAR HEAR. Pevnant, who collected from s:oo(l authorities much information rela. tive to their ninge, states that th.>y are frequent on all the Asiatic coasts of the Frozen Ocean, from the monih of the Obi eastwarl, and abound iii Nova Zenihia, Cherry Island, Spitzb.^r-en, Creenland, Labrador, and the coi.sts of IJaliin's and Ilu.ison's Hays. Dr. l{r.i.Au„s„N says,— "They were seen by Captain Parry within Harrow's 8trails, as far as' Melville Island; and the Esquimaux to the westward of Mackenzie river, told Captain Franklin that they occasionally, though very rarely, visited that coast. The exact limit of their range to the westward is un- "'•rtain. but they are said not to be known on the islands in Behring's Straits, nor on the coast of Siberia to the eastward of Tchutskoinoss. They are not mentioned by LANnsDORFF and other visitors of the North- west Coast of America ; nor did Captain Bki-.-iiey meet with any in hi^ late voyage to ley Cape. None were seen on the coast between the Mackenzie and Copper-Mine River; and Penna /t informs us, that they are unknown along the shores of the White Sea, which is an inlet of a similar character." Dr. UieiiARi..«oN does not think that the Polar Pe.-ir is under the same necessity for hibernating that exists in the case of the Black Bear, which feeds chiefly on vegetable matters, and supposes that although they may all retire occasionally to caverns in the snow, the pregnant females alone svclude themselves for the entire winter. In conlirmation of this idea the Dr. mentions that "Polar Bears were seen in the course of the two winters that Capt. Parry remained on the coast (,f Melville Peninsula ; and the Esquimaux of that quarter derive a considerable portion of their subsistence, not only from tlie flesh of the female Bears, which they dig to- gether with their cul)s irom under the snow, but also iVom the males, "that they kill when roaming at large at all periods of the winter. To this statement is added IIearne's account ; he says :—'• The males leave the land in the winter time and go out on the ice to the edge of the open water in search of seals, whilst the females burrow in deep snow-drifts from the end of Deceml)er to the end of March, remaining without food, and bringing forth their young during that period ; that wlien they leave their dens in March, their young, which are generally two in number, are not larger than rabbits, and make a loot-mark in the snow no bigger than a crown piece." '• In winter." says Mr. (Irauam, "the White Bear sireps like other species ofthegeniis, but takes up its residence in a, dilferent situation, g(.|ierally under the declivities of rocks, or at the foot of a, bank, where the snow drifts over it, to a great d.'pth; a small hole, for the adrnissioa of fresh nir, is constantly observed in the dome of its den. This, however, has POl^R BEAR. 287 regard solely to the she Be-.r, which rc^tires to her" winter-quaiters in No- vember, where she lives without I'ood, l)riiigs forth two young about Christmas, and leaves the den in the month of March, when the cubs arc as large as a shepherd's dog. If, perchance, her ollVpring are tired, they iiscend the back of the dam, v/herc they ride secure either in water or ashore. Though they sometimes go nearly thirty miles from the sea in winter, they always come down to the shores in the spring with their cubs, where they subsist on seals and sea-weed. The he Bear wanders abouf the marshes and adjacent parts until November, and then goes out to the sea upon the ice, and preys upon seals." The Esffuimaux account of tiie hibernation of the Polar Bear is curious: it was related to Capt. Lyons by one of their most intelligent men, re- joicing in the euphonious name of (Mr.) Ooyarrakhioo ! and is as' fol- lows :— " At the commencement of winter the pregnant bears are very fat, and always solitary. When a heavy fall of snow sets in, the animal seeks' some hollow place in which she can lie down and remain quiet, while the snow covn-s her. Sometimes she will wait until a quantity of snow has fallen, and then digs herself a cave : at all events, it seems necessary tha. she should be covered by, and lie amongst, the snow. She now goes to sleep, and does not wake until the spring sun is pretty high, when she brings forth two cubs. The cave by this time has become much larger by the effect of the animal's warmth and breath, so that the culw have room to move, and they acquire considerable strength by continually suck- ing. The dam at length becomes so thin and weak, that it is with great dif- ficulty .she extricates herself, when the sun is powerful enough to throw a strong glare through the snow which roofs the den." The Esquimaux aflirm that during this long confinement the Bear has no evacuations, and is herself the means of preventing them by stopping all the natural'pas sages with moss, grass, or earth. The natives find and kill the Bears during their confinement by means of dogs, which scent them through the snow, and begin scratching and howling very eagerly. As it would be unsafe to make a large opening, a long trench is cut of sufficient width to enable a man to look down and see whore the bear's head lies, and he then selects a mortal part, into which he thrusts his spear. The old one neing killed, the hole is broken open, and the young cubs may be taken out by the hand, as, having tasted no blood, and never having been at liberty, they are then very harmless and quiet. Females, which are not pregnant, roam throughout the whole winter in the same manner as the males. The Polar Bear is at certain seasons and under peculiar circumstances d dangerous animal. Like tlar Grizzlv Bear it possesses both strength ii! iri ^ !* 288 POLAR BEAR. and activity enough to render it ai all times formidable. Although, like all Bears, it appears clumsy, can run with great swiftness either on the ground or on the ice, and it can easily ascend the slippery sides of ice- bergs by the assistance of its claws, being in the habit of mounting on their ridges and pinnacles to look out for food or survey the surrounding fields of ice. When in confinement, the great strength of this Bear is sometimes r.iani- fested to the terror of the spectators. One that was secured in a cage fronted with rods of inch iron, bolted into a horizontal flat plate of the same metal, several inches wide, near the bottom, and well fastened at top, in the stout oak boarding of which the cage was constructed, one day when we were present became enraged by the delay of his keeper in bringing his food, and seized two of the rods with such a furious grip that one of them bent and instantly came out, when the huge beast nearly made his escape, and was only prevented from succeeding by the prompt- ness of the attendants, who instantly placed the wooden front, used when travelling, on the open part of the broken cage and closed it effectually This Bear, like all others we have seen caged, was very restless, and would walk backwards and forwards in his prison-house for hours to- gether, always turning his head toward the bars in front, at each end of this alternating movement, and occasionally tossing his head up and down as he walked to and fro. Many anecdotes are related of accidents to the crews of boats detached from whaling vessels to kill the White Bear, and by all accounts it appears to be exceedingly dangerous to attack this animal on the ice. One of these accounts, with others of a different character, we will repeat here, although they have been published by several authors. Dr. ScoiiESBY tells us, that " a few years ago, when one of the Davis's Strait whalers was closely beset among the ice at the ' South-west,' or on the coast of Labrador, a Bear that had been for sometime seen near the ship, at length became so bold as to approach alongside, probably tempted by the offal of the provision thrown overboard by the cook. At this time the people were ail at dinner^ no one being required to keep the deck in the then immovable condition of the ship. A hardy fellow, who first looked out, perceiving the Bear so near, imprudently jumped upon the ice, armed only with a handspike, with a view, it is supposed, of gaining all the honour of the exploit of securing so fierce a visitor by him.self. But the bear, regardless ot" such weapons, and sharpened probably by hunger, disarmed his antagonist, and seizing him by the back with his powerful jaws, carried him off with such celerity, that on his dismayed comrades POLAR BEAR, 289 rising from their meal and looking abroad, he was so far beyond their reach as to defy pursuit." An equally imprudent attack made on a Bear by a seaman employed in one of the Hull whalers, was attended with a ludicrous result. "The ship was moored to a piece of ice, on which, at a considerable distance, a large Bear was observed prowling about for prey. One of the ship's com- pany, emboldened by an artificial courage derived from the free use of rum, which in his economy he had stored for special occasions, undertook to pursue and attack the Bear that was within view. Armed only with a whale-lance, he resolutely, and against all persuasion, set out on his ad- venturous exploit. A fatiguing journey of about a half a league, over a yielding surface of snow and rugged hummocks, brought him within a few yards of the enemy, which, to his surprise, undauntedly faced him, and seemed to invite him to the combat. His courage being by this time greatly subdued, partly by evaporation of the stimulus, and partly by the undismayed and even threatening aspect of the Bear, he levelled his lance in an attitude suited either for offensive or defensive action, and stopped.' The Bear also stood still ; in vain the adventurer tried to rally courage to make the attack ; his enemy was too formidable, and his appearance too imposing. In vain, also, he shouted, advanced his lance, and made feints of attack ; the enemy, either not understanding, or despising such unman- liness, obstinately stood his ground. Already the limbs of the sailor began to quiver ; but the fear of ridicule from his messmates had its influence, and he yet scarcely dared to retreat. Bruin, however, possessing less re- flection, or being regardless of consequences, began, with audacious bold- ness, to advance. His nigh approach and unshaken step subdued the spark of bravery, and that dread of ridicule that had hitherto upheld our adventurer ; he turned and fled. But now was the time of danger ; the sailor's flight encouraged the Bear in turn to pursue, and being better practised in snow travelling, and better provided for it, he rapidly gained upon the fugitive. The whale-lance, his only defence, encumbering him in his retreat, he threw it down, and kept on. This fortunately excited the Bear's attention ; he stopped, pawed, bit it, and then renewed the chase. Again he was at the heels of the panting seaman, who, conscious of the favourable effects of the lance, dropped one of his mittens ; the stratagem succeeded, and while Bruin again stopped to examine it, the fugitive improving the interval, made considerable progress ahead. Still the Bear resumed the pursuit with a most provoking perseverance, except when arrested by another mitten, and finally, by a hat, which he'tore to shreds between his teeth and paws, and would, no doubt, soon have made the i!!!^■uJtious adventurer his victim, who was now rapidly losing strength vol.. 1? — ni 290 POLAR BEAR. but for the prompt and well-timed assistance of hia shipmates— who, oh serving that the affair had assumed a dangerous aspect, sallied out to his rescue. The little phalanx opened him a passage, and then closed to re ceive the hold assailant. Though now beyond (he reach of his adversarj-, the dismayed fugitive continued onwards, impelled by his fears, and never relaxed his exertions, until he fairly reached the shelter of his .ship. The Bear once more came to a stand, and ibr a moment se > r ' • ;':rvey his enemies with all the consideration of an experienced g^iK len, find- ing them too numerous for a hope of success, he very \s .,oiy wheeled about, and succeeded in making a safe and honourable retreat." Several authors speak of the liver of the Polar Bear as being poisonous. This is an anomaly for which no reason has yet been assigned ; the tact seems, however, well ascertained. All the other parts of the animal are wholesome, and it forms a considerable article of food to the Indians of the maritime Arctic regions. The skin of the Polar Bear is n valuable covering to these tribes, end is dressed by merely stretching it out on the snow, pinning it down, and leaving it to freeze, after w'hich the fat is all scraped o(f. It is then gen- erally hung up in the open air, and " when the frost is intense, it dries most perfectly ; with a little more scraping it becomes entirely dry and supple, both skin and hair ^„-..g beautifully white." " The lime of the year at which the sexes seek each other is not positively known, but it is most probably in the month of .luly, or of August. IIkarni;, who is an excellent autliority, relates that he has seen them killed during this season, when the males exhibited an extreme degree of att.cchment to their com- panions. After a female was killed, the niiile placed his lore-paws over her, and allowed hiiTiself to be shot rather than relinquish her dead body." *• The pregnant females during winter seek shelter near the skirt of the woods, where they excavate dens in the deepest snow-drifts, and remain there in a state of torpid inaction, without ibod, from the latter part of December or early in January till about the end of March ; they then relinquish their dens to seek food on the sea-shore, accompanied by their cubs." — GuDMAN, Vol. I., pp. 152, 153. The affection of the female Polar Bear for her young is exemplified by several stories in the Polar voyages. Scoresby says, "a she Bear with her two cubs, were pursued on tlie ice by some of the men, and w«>re so closely approached, as to alarm the mother ibr the safety of her off- spring. Finding that they could not advance with the desired speed, she used various artifices to ur;;c them forward, but without success. Deter- mined to save them, if pos9il)le, she ran to one of the cubs, placed her nose under it, and threw it forward as far as possible ; tlien going to the other, POLAR BEAR. 29J sh. performed the same action, and repeated it frequently until she h.A thus conveyed them to a con.sideral.le distance The vol; n m.g . rece.ve ,l,e full H,lv„„„„e „r,l,e fore, ,xe«cd Cor ,h 'J « .."'^ Capt. J. C. Ross states in regard to this snecies • " n.,.; At that time we were fortunately in no winf ,.f n. • • u our party, tempted by the fine ^Ve^Z^: ^fZT:;^^' T ""' meal off the first one that was sho All th.t n 7 T r ^ ^''"'*^' plained of a violent headache vvh i'ch t ' '' """ "'^'^'" ''""• days, and was followed bv 'si ipl; ! 7;;;"'"^ T^" ^ ''^^^ and in some who had probably part!.:: m'o f , .^ ^t^;:" ' ^1 TT ' On a former occasion I witnessed a .somewha sfm .'.r o "'''• on Sir Edward Parry's Polar Journey. ^..^t^^lZ^r' "^7 .... two Bears that were shot, the skin Peeled off the f' T ' '^' many of the party. It was then attribute .1 .r* "' " T' "'" quality of the meat, and to our havin^tel" 1 -n , "" ' ''"" "" .hort allowance of provisions. Th E , T^ t7T'""r " ^'^^^' periencins any such inconvenience but tir iv "'"''°"' '^''■ do.s, and that may possibly be tL ^^ ' l''^ ^7;^"'-" ^ ^•- Boothia Felix killed several durin^ their stav i ' • f ^*^"™'^"^ «' 1830. all males." ^ '" '"'•" "^'ghboi'-rhood in CEOCRAPinCAL DISTRIBUTION. n..d Snitzberffen In Am...; ■/• . ' " ^ "'"'""'''^ '" ^«^'a Zembia the coLts oi^:fii„; t: r:; t: '"S'^^"-""^"' '^"^•^''^- -^^ «- the islands in Behring's Str!uts. ' ' "'"^ ""'' '"^ ^^ ''"""^ «" f 1j ^' V > 'I ^1 292 POLAR BiiAR. McKensib informs us that these animals are unknown in the White Sea, or on the coast of Siberia to the eastward of Tchutskoinoss. They have been seen on floating icebergs from fifty to a hundred miles at sea. Capt. Ross states that this species was found in greater numbers in the neigh- bourhood of Port Bowen and Batty Bay in Prince Regent's Inlet, than '<" any other part of the Polar Regions that were visited by the several ex- peditions of discovery. This he supposed was owing to the food thry were enabled to procure in that vicinity, Lancaste. Sound heing but sel- dom covered by permanently fixed ice, and therefore affording them means of subsistence during the severity of an arctic winter, and also from its being remote from the haunts of the Esquimaux. I 298 LYNX RUFUS-VAIl. MACULATUS.-Hqrspield and Vigors. Texan Lynx. PLATE X C 1 1 .—Feraalo.— Winter pelage. L. rufo-grisea, dorso saturatiore, corporis lateribus memberisque externe bruneo-maculatis, guiii, corpore infra, membrisque intern^ albis, bruneo latius maculuti auribus pencillatis. C»ARACTER8. Brownish-gray on the upper surface, sides of body and outer surface of legs, with small brown spots; under surface of body and inner surface of legs, white, broadly spotted with brown ; ears, pencilled. synonymes. Fklis Maoulatos. Ilorsfield and Vigors. " " Zoological Journal, vol. 4, p. 380. ** " Reichenbach, Regnum Animale, vol. 1, 0, pi. 37. DESCRIPTION. In size, in shape, in its naked soles— in the form of the skull— the dispo- sition and character of its teeth, and in all its habits, this species is so much like the Bay Lynx, (L. rufus,) that were it not for the different shades of colour, and the peculiar markings of some parts of the body, no naturalist would have ventured to describe it as a new species. One of the characters given to this supposed species by its original describers is that of pencilled ears ; this character, however, exists also in the Bay Lynx ; in both cases these hairs drop out when the other hairs are shed in spring, and are not replaced till the following autumn. The same pe- culiarity exists in many of our American squirrels. There is, as in L. ra/Ms, ashort ruff under the throat of the male. The hair is of two kinds : the inner, fine, and the outer and longer, not very coarse, and the fur, although much shorter, is fully as fine as that of specimens of th(! Bay Lynx obtained in Pennsylvania and New- York. JOLOUR. The hairs on the back are at their roots yellowish-white, gradually becoming light-yellow, which colour continues tor three-fourths' the lenglli, when they are barred with brownish-black, then yellowish-brown, tipped with black ; on the sides, the hairs are tipped with whitr • on the und -t > i| I"! 294 TEXAN LYNX. 11^ surface, they are white thron;,'houf, with a shade of pale-yellow at the base. Where black spots exist on the body, the hairs are less annuiatcd — are dark-browu at the roots, deepening into black ; and in some spots on the sides, and the bands on (he tail, the hairs are pure black from the roots. Moustaches, white ; around the nose, around the eye, and cheeks, pale lawn colour; lips white; forehead, obscurely and irregularly marked with longitudinal Mripes of dark-brown on a light-yellowish ground-colour. There are two black lines commencing at a point on a line with the articulation of the lower jaw, where they Ibrm an acute angle, div^-irging from thence to the sides of the neck, and unite with the rulf, where it is an inch broad. The ears are yellowish-white on the inner surface, black on the outer, with a broad white patch in the middle, including nearly their whole breadth. The slight pencil of hairs at the extremity of the ear is black ; on the back the colours are waved, and blended with obscure yellowish and brown spots — assuming on the dorsal line slight indications of narrow longitudinal stripes. The feet, on the uppt surface are dottod with small brown spots; on the under surface the ground colour is whitish with irregular patches of black. This is more especially the case on the inner surfaces of the thighs and fore legs, which present long stripes and patches of black, somewhat irregularly disposed. The tail is white on the under surface, barred above with rufous and black; towards the extremity there is first a bar of black about one-third of an inch wide, ther brownish-gray, then an inch of black ; the white on the under surface rises above the black, making the tip of the tail white. DIMENSIONS. Male.— Weiglif 2r> lb. Feet. Iiiuhei End of nose to eye, - - - 2 " " to burr of ear, - 4f BetAveen ears, ... - 3^ Nose to crown of head, - - 5j " to root of tail, - - - 2 9 Tail (vertebra') - . . 7 to end of hair, - 7^ Hind legs (stretched) beyond tail, 1 1^ Fore " " beyond nose, (S^ Height of shoulder from ground, 1 7^ Round body behind shoulder, 1 1^^ " at the loin, - 1 4j Female. — Weight ' F«)t. 20 lb. Inches, .i Si r> (> 10 c n TEXAN LYNX go.*) HABITS. TIlis variety of Lynx may be called the Common VVild-Caf of Texas, where it i.s occasionally found even on the prairies, althou-h it generally confines itself to the nei-hl.ourhood of woods and ctiaparal. The Trxan Wilrl-Cat is. like the Ay»r , •,;/■«., a wily and audacious depre- •iator-he steals the fowls from the ne« ly-estahlished raiidio, or petty liirm ; Ibllows the hares, rats, and birds, and springs upon them in th.. tall rank grass, or thick underbrush, and will sometimes even rob the ranker of a fine turkey ; for should the Wild-Cat be lurking in the dense thicket, when the crack of the rifle is heard, and the wild gobbler or hen fulls slanting to the earth, he will, instead of (lying with terror from the sfarllmg report of the gun, dart towards ti.e falling bird, seize it as it touches the ground, and bear it off at full speed, even if in sight of the enraged and disappointed marksman who brought down the prize. In general, howeve.-, the Southern Lynx (as this species is sometimes called) will fly from man's presence, and will only come abroad during the day when very hard pressed by hunger, when it may be occasionally seen near l.ttle thickets, on the edges of the prairies, or in the open ground, prowl- u.g with the stealthy sneaking gait observed in the domestic cat, when snnilarly employed. This species of Wild-Cat is better able to esci.pe from an ordinary pack of dogs, than the Common Lynx, being accust<.med to the great distances across the high dry prairies, which it must fre- <|uenfly cross at full speed. We have known one chased, from 1 1 o'.Ioek" in the morning till dark nigh), without being "treed." The animal, in fact, prefers running, to resorting to a tree at all times, and will not ascend one unless it be nearly exhausted, and hard pressed by the hounds GEOGRAPIltCAL DISTRIBaTION. This variety of the Bay Lynx is believed to exist throughout Mexico- we have seen specimens, obtained in that country, in several xMuseums of Carope. especially those of R.-rlin and Dresden ; in the latter, the specimen described and figured by Re.chf.nbac,, is preserved. His figure, however which we have compared with the original, is likely to mislead'; the le-s and tail being much too long. It exists in New Mexico, and we have heard that a Wild-Cat, supposed to be the present varierv, is found in California. The specimen from which our drawing was made, was pro. cured with several others by John W. A.dubon, in the vicinity of Castro, ville, on the head waterr. of the Medina, in Texas ; we possessa specimen li i>90 TEXAN LYNX. nearly of tlie same markings, procured by our deceased friend, the late lamcntoJ Dr. Wuruemann. OENERAI. REMARKS. W(! linve admitted this ns a variety of the Buy Lynx with some doubt and hesitation, iuul not without niist^ivinj,"< tiiat it might yet be proved to be a distinct species. The permanency of its colours, together with the smaller size of our specimens, and their sotYer fur, may afford sufficient characters to entitle it to the namt; of Muculatus, as given by HoRtiiEFiEM) and Vigors. Aware, however, of the many varieties in the Bay Lynx, we have not felt aiitliurised to regard it as positively distinct. I lend, the late >me doubt and •roved to bo ;i sh the smaller ;nt characters -I) and Vigors. ' have not felt 'fl ' '' m^ \ . \ \ ^' \ . \ \ ^' 297 PUTORIUS NIGRIPES.-AUD. and Bach. ' Black-Footed Ferret. PLATE XCIII. — Male. P. Magriitudine mustelam martem equans, fronte, caudse, apice, pedi- busque uigris; supra e flavido fuscus infra albus. CHARACTERS. Size of the pine marten; forehead, feet, and extremity of tail, black} yellowish-brown above, white beneath. SYNONYME. FuTORius NiORiPEs Aud. and Bach, Quadrupeds of North America, vol. 2 pi. 93. DESCRIPTION. In its dentition this species possesses all the characteristics belonging to putorius and from the number and disposition of the teeth, cannot be placed in the genus, mustela. The canine teeth are stout and rather long, extending beyond the lips; they are slightly arched and somewhat blunt; the two outer incisors in the upper jaw are largest, the remainder are smaller, but regular and conspicuous. The first false molar is small but distinctly visible, it is without a lobe ; the second is larger and has a slight lobe on each side. The great tuberculous tooth has two points and an external lobe ; the last molar is rather small. In the lower jaw the incisors are small, and much crowded together. The three false molars on each side increase in size from the first, which is smallest and simple, to the third, which is largest and tuberculated. The great internal tooth lias three lobes but no tubercle on the inner side, as is the case in the genus mustela ; the last, or back tooth, is small but simple. Body, very long; head, blunt; forehead, arched and broad; muzzle, short ; eyes, of medium size ; moustaches, few; ears, short, erect, broad at base, and triangular in shape, clothed on both surfaces with short hair ; neck, long • legs^, short and stout ; toes, armed with sharp nails, very slightly arched ; the feet on both surfaces covered with hair even to the soles, concealing the nails. vol.. ii.— .3f! 'Jl»6 «L\t"K K lorraniis miuI l„.||y :.,r llu- .•...•usrM ; ||u, ,„il is o> lin.lrir.il, and Irss vliMMinoiis ll.iu.lhal of (1... u.ink. .•onlaiuiri- .noro. roarso hair, and l,.,ss line fur, than in that aniiniil. «'01, (It'll, Thr Iouh: hairs on tho ha,-i< an- at tho roots ^^•l.itish, will, a vllowish t.nv:.-. broadly ti|.,„-d uitl. lo.l.lish-l.rovv.i ; tho soft uimNt fur "is uhitr Nvith a yrilowish liiif^^s oivini,' llu. animal on Iho hark a v.dlowish. !.roun ap|,..ura,i.-,., in son.o parts apj.roarhin^. 1., rufous; o„"tl,r suU'h ■•""'■■"•"l> lhiht of ear |)ost,-ri,)rly, I'roiii shoulder to end of lore leir. IIAHITS. f^Mt, lllcllM. 1 7 4 4 It IS with sreat pleasure that we intnuluee Ibis handsome new speeu-s; ,t was proeur,,! by Mr. C,„.,„.;ktson on llu- Iow,.r wat,.rs of ll"- I'latt,- |{iv,.r. a.ul inhabits the woo,l,.,| parts of th,- ,.oui.try to th,- Kocky Moi.ntains, and p,i-!.apsis Ihun,! b,-yon,l that ran-,., aitlu.unh ,u,t ohserve.l by any lrav,.||,.rs, fnun Lr.uis an,! Clakk to llu- pr,.s,.,^, day When we consi,I,.r the v.,.y r.^ inai.n,.r in whi,.), ev,.ry exp,.,liti,;u that ha. er,>s.,.,l the Roeky Mo.iMtains,haH h,.en push,.,! lorward, w,. ,-an- not wonder ihat many sp.-ci.-s hav,. h,.,-.. entiivly ov,.rl,.,.k,.d, an,! shoul,! rather be surpiis.,! at tla- nmnber notict,! by Lvvis and Clark, a..,l l,y ni,ACK.F()OTi;!) rKllRET. 299 NiiTAU,, TowNSiiNo. and ollicrs. Tlinv lins nrv.-r y(-t, hron a CJovrrmnciit rxpcdiiioii |,i„|„.,ly ()r«;iiiti/.c(l, and sent, lorlh lo ohiaii, all tli,. dctiiils, which Mich II jKirly, iillowcd limr <>ii(iiiy:h iWr (lioroiij^di iiivcsli«ali<,n,' would iiiid.ml.lfdly hriiijr |,.„.i(^ concciiiiMy; llic nafuml hinlory ;iiid' natural i-rsomvcs „r the rcKi.Mis oC the far west. '\\v. nearest, appn.acli to such an cxpcdiliop having Ium-u tliat. so well conducted hy Lkwis and Cakk. Nor do %v.' think it at all pnihal.Io that Clovernment, will attend to such inatL-rs lor a l.aiK ti,„„ (,<, ,,„„„.. We must, tlierelbre hope that, privalo enterpriNe will Kradually unlold tin, /.(HdoKicml, botanical, and mineral wealth of the iiniiKMise territorieH wo own but, do not, y.il, ocoui)y. 'i'h.^ habits of this speei.>s res.-niblc, as Car as w.^ have learned, tho.sc of llie ferret, „f lOurop,.. ||, (c.mIs <,i, birds, small reptib.s and animals, ,.g«H, and various insects, and is a bol.l an.l cunniuK foe to Iho rabbits, hares, grouse, and other f>:atiie of om- wc-stera rej^ions. 'i'he specimen from whicdi wo made our drawinj? was rcceivod by us IVom Mr. J. C. |{K.i.i,,to whom it was forwanhul from tlie outskirts «r out- posts of the fur traders on the IMatte river, by Mr. Cmikrthon. It was stuire^rey. The Cur on tin; hark is, lor three-fourths of its Ieii;,Mh from liie roots, phuiilx'ous, liien ii;;lit, ash mixed with hulf; and the long interspersed hairs are. all tippc'd with black. The ears are pretty well eiotiied, internally and <'xternally, with hairs of an ash colour, bordcu-ed with aline of black anteriorly, and edged with while. From behind the ears to the back, tlien; is a very broad patch of buir, and the same colour, mixed with rufus, pnsvails on the outer surface of the legs, extending to the thighs and shoulders, 'i'lie soles of the feet arc yellowish l)rown. The; claws, which are slightly arched, are light brown for tliree-fourths of their length, and are tii^ped with white ; under surface of the tail, white. DIMCNSIONH. Tjcngth from point of nose to insortion of tail, " of Ileiii, " Fur on the back, .... " of [lead, ...... Tleif^iit of ear, .-.-.. Tail vertcbraj, .--..• lucludiiig fur, - • . • • (iichn*. H 2 3 H 4 nAnrrs. The only information which we have been able to ol)tain of tlie habits of this diminutive species is contained in the following note from Mr. NiirrAi,, which accompanied the specimen. " This little Hare we met with west of the Rocky Mountains, inhabit- ing thickets by the banks of several small streams which flow into the Shoshonee and Columbia rivers. It was freiiuentiy seen, in the avcu- ing, about our encampment, and appeared to possess all the habHs of the Lcpus Si/lvuticus.^* nEOGRAnncAi, nisTRinuTioN. We have not heard of the existence of this Hare in any part of Cali- fornia, or New Mexico; and although it is doubtless found in other locali- ties than those mentioned above, we cannot venture to assert that it is widely distributed S.il 302 NUTTAL'S HARE. ORNERAt- REMARKS. We described this species from the only specimen we have had an op- portun.ty of examining. It would be satisfactory to be able to investi-^tte lurlher, as ,t needs more information than we have been able to obt^.in t.> pronounce decidedly upon its characters, and give its true geographical ujstnbution. o o r 308 MUS (CALOMYS) A U R E 0 L U S .— Aud. ano Bach Orange-Coloured Mouse. P L A T E X C V,— Male and Females. M. supra saturate lutcas infra pallide flavus ; auriculis longis, cauda corpore curtiore. CHARACTERS. Ears long; tail shorter than the body; bright orange-coloured above, light buff beneath. DESCRIPTION. This species bears a general resemblance in form to the white-footed Mouse, {Mas leucopiis.) It is, however, a little larger, and its ears rather shorter. Head, long ; nose, sharp ; whiskers, extending beyond the ears. Fur, very soft and lustrous. The legs, feet, and heels, clothed with short, closely adpressed hairs, which extend beyond the nails ; ears, thinly covered with hairs, which do not entirely conceal the colour of the skin ; mammae, four ; situated far back. COLOUR. Head, ears, and whole upper surface, bright orange ; the fur being for three-fonrths of its length from the roots, dark plumbeous ; whisLrs, nearly black, with a few white hairs interspersed ; tail, above and be- neath, dark brown ; throat, breast, and inner surface of the forelegs white ; belly, light buff. There are no very distinct lines of separation between these colours. i ii DIMENSIONS. Length of head and body, " Tail, - . • - " Head, . - . " Ear posteriorly, " Tarsus, including nail, Indies. 4 3 1 0 0 Lliius 3 1 3 3 9 I) ■ ll! 304 ORANGE-COLOUR KD MOUSE. HABITS. In symmetry of form and brightness of colour, this is the prettiest spe- cies of Mas iiihiibitins our country. It is at the same time a great climf)er. VVe have only observed it in a state of nature in three in- stances in the oak forests of South Carolina ; it ran up the tall trees with KH lit <'if>;ility, and on one occasion concealed itself in a hole (which ap- parently contained its nest,) at least thirty feet from the ground. The specimen we have described, was shot from the extreme branches of an oak, in the dusk of the evening, where it was busily engaged among the acorns. It is a rare species in Carolina, but appears to be more common in Ccorgia, as we received ii-om Major Lu C(jnte, three specimens obtain- ed in the latter State. GEOGRAPIUCAL DISTRIBUTION. Wo found this species in Carolina, where it is rather rare ; we also ob- tained specimens from C.orgia; we have no doubt but further investiga- tion will give it a more extensive geographical range. GENERAL REMARKS We have arranged this species under the sub-genus of Mr. Wateriiousb, proposed in the Zoological Society of London, Fcl*. 17th, 1837, (see their transactions.) It is thus characterized; "Sub-genus Cnlumtjs, (from K«A<.t bcaufifr.l and mas.) Fur. moderate, soft; tarsus almost entirely clothed beneatii the hair. Front molar, with threes indentations of enamel on the inner side, and two on the outer; and the last molar with one on each side. The type mus {ralomys,) himiivuJatus. Two other species hrm l)fen described, Irom South America; mus {culomys) ehgans, and m. 'jrifiiijies. 805 PELIS CONCOLOR.— Li«fl The Cougar. — Panther. PLATE XCVI.—Malk:— PLATE X C V 1 1 .— Female and youko. F. immaculata I'ulva; auriculis nigricantibus, cauda elongate, apice nigra neque floccosa. CHARACTERS. Uniformly tawny-yellow; ears, blackish behind; tail, elongated, apex black, without a tuft, BYN0NVME8. St ^l Felis Concolob, Linn. Syst. Nat., ed. Gmel., 1. p. 79. Schreb Saugth., p. 394. BufTon, Hist. Nat., t. 9. Gonazouara, D'Azara Anim. du Paraguay. " " Desmaiest in Nouv. Diet., p. 90, 2. Puma, Leo Americanus, Hernandez. F. CoNcoLOR, Cuv. Regne Animal, vol. 1, p. IGl BiiowN TiQEH, Pennant's Syn. p. 179. Black Tioer, " " 180. F. Concolob, Harlan, Fauna Am., p. 94. " " Godman, vol. 1, p. 2i»l. Dekay's Nat. Hist. N. Y.. p. 47. DESCRIPTION. Body, long and slender ; head, small ; neck, long ; ears, rounded ; legs, short and stout ; tail, long, slender and cylindrical, sometimes trailing ; fur, soft and short. COLOUR. II ill i Body and legs, of a uniform fulvous or tawny colour ; under surface, reddish- white; around the eyes, grayish-yellow; hairs within the ears, yellowish-white ; exterior of the ears, blackish ; lips, at the moustache, black ; throat, whitish ; tail of the male, longer than that of the female bcown at tip, not tufted. VOL [I. — 30. I.I r t ■ P: i l» If I 306 COUGAR. Wp have seen several specimens .lilTcring (rom the above in various shades of colour. These accidental variations, however, are not sufficient to warrant us in rejrardmsf these individuals as distinct species. The youn- are beautifully spotted and barred with biaciiish-brown, and their hair is soil and downy, DtMENBIONS. Male, shot by J. W. Audubon, at Castrovillc, Texas 28th Janur.ry, 1846. From point of nose to root of tail 'I'ail ....._ Height of ear posteriorly - - . . Length of canine teeth, frouj gums Female, killed 2(5th .January, 1840. Length of head and body - . . •' Tail ...... " Height of ear .... of canine teeth Weight, 149 lbs. Fe«l, 1 3 1 .'} • 11 4 11 2 8 . 3 1* HABITS. The Cougar is known all over the United States by the name of the panther or painter, and is another example of that ignorance or want of imagination, which was manifested by the " Colonists," who named nearly every quadruped, bird, and fish, which they found on our continent, after species belonging to the Old World, without regard to more than o' most slight resemblance, and generally with a total disregard of propriety. ^ This character of the "Colonists," is, we are sorry to say, kept up to a great extent by their descendants, to the present day, who' in designating towns and villages throughout the land, have seized upon the names o'f llomf, Carthage, Palmyra, Cairo, Athens, Sparta, Troy, Rabylon, .I.Micho, and many other ancient cities, as well as those of Boston, Port ^rnoufh, Plymouth, Bristol, Paris, Manchester, Berlin, Geneva, Portland, &c.. &c.', from which probably some of the founders of our country towns may have emigrated. We sincerely hope this system of nomenclature will hence- forth be discarded ; and now let us go back to the Cougar, ..liich is but lit- tle more like the true panther than an opossum is like the kangaroo! Before, however, entirely quitting this subject, we may mention that for a long time the Cougar was thought to be the lion ; the supp, .ition was that all the skins of the animal that were brought into the sctilements by the Indians were skins of females ; and the lioness, having sonethinp nil COUOAR. 807 the same colour and but ]\Uh mane, it occurred to the colonists that the skins they saw couhl brlihir •.<» no other animal ! Tiie Cougar is found sparsely distributed over the whole of \orlh America up to about latitude 45". In former times this animal was more alumdant than at present, and one was even seen a few miles from the city of New- York within tlie recollection of Dr. Dkkav who speaks of the consternation occasioned by its appearance in Westchester County, when he was a boy. The Cougar is generally found in the very wildest parts of the country, in d«ep wooded swamp;-i, or among the mountain cliffs and chasms of the Alleghany range. In Florida ' -; inhabits the miry swamps and the watery everglades; in Texas, he is so. etimes tbund on the open prairies, and his tracks maybe seen at almof^ every cattle-crossing place on the slug- gish bayous and creeks with their quick-sands and treacherous banks. At such places the Cougar sometimes (inch' an unfortunate calf, or perhaps a cow or bullock, that has become fast in the oozy, boggy earth, and from exhaustion has given up its strugglings, and been drowned or sullbcat- ed in the mire. This species at times attacks young cattle, and the male from which our drawing was made, was shot in the act < ( feeding upon a black heifer which he had seized, killed, and dragged into the edge of a thicket close adjoining the spot. The Cougar, is however, generally compelled to sub- sist on small animals, young deer, skunks, raccoons, &c., or birds, and will even eat carrion when hard pressed by hunger. His courage is not great, and unless very hungry, or when wounded and at bay, he f^eldom attacks man. .1. W. Audubon was informed, when in Texas, that the Cougar would remain in the vicinity of the carcase ot a dead horse or cow, retiring after gorging himself, to a patch of tall grasses, or brambles, close by, so as to keep off intruders, and from which lair he could return when his appetite again called liim to his dainty food. In other cases he returns, after catch- ing a pig or calf, or finding a dead animal large enough to satisfy his hun- gry stomach, to his accustomed haunts, frequently to the very place where he was whelped and suckled. Dr. Dekay mentions, that he was told of a Cougar in Warren County, ill the State of New-York, that resorted to a barn, from whence he was repeatedly dislodged, and finally killed. "He shew, d no fight whatever. His mouth was found to be filled with the spines of the Canada porcupine, which was probably the cause of his diminished wai'iness and ferocity, and would in all probability have finally caused his death." The panther, or " painter," as the Cougar is called, is a nocturnal am- S08 COUGAR. nml mor. hy choice than necessity, as it can see wel. during the day time ft steals upon .fs intended prey in the darkness of ni^ht with 'tsie^ caufous «tep and with great patience makes its noiseieis way 'h.:' the angled th.ckets of the deepest forest. When the benighted travel er or the weaned hunter „.ay be slumbering in his rudely and has.iiv con strueted b.vouac at the foot of a huge tree, amid the lonely forest his fire nearly out, and all around most dismal, dreary, and obscure, he ma^ p r! chance be roused to a state of terror by the stealthy tread of the prowWn. Cougar; or his frightened horse, by its snortings and struggles to getTo e will awaken h.m in time to see the glistening eyes of the dangerou Zll .larujg upon him like two burning coals. Lucky is he the' if ll coo ne.s does not desert him, if his trusty rifle does not n.is.s, thro gh s" • ^.on or snap for want of better flint ; or well off is he. if he c.Tn fri; l^tn avvav the savage beast by hurling at him a blazing brand from his nearly ox .ngu,s ed camp-iire. For, be sure the animal has not approached im v.hou. the gnawing hungcr-the desire for blood, engenclered by , " " nc"' h'r^ T' T , '""''^•'^ '''''' '"^ ""' ^-" -t'-n,ica ed in! tanc . have been recorded in our public prints, where the Cougar at such Mmeshas sprang upon the sleeper. At other times the horses are thrrwn mo .such a fr^ht, that they break al, fastenings and fly in every LeZn 1 he late Mr 1 ob^.t B.st of Cmcinnati, wrote to Dr. Go„m.., tha on of e e ammals had surprised a party of travellers, sprung upo. the ho Is ■nd .so lacerated w,th its claws and teeth their flanks and buttock htt' hey w.th the greatest difliculty .succeeded in driving the poor cr at r: brio e them next mornu^g, to a public house some miles ofl: This pam' nowe ver, had no fire, and were unarmed. ^ ^ ' A planter on the Yazoo river, some years ago, related the following anec- lote 01 the Cougar to us. As he was riding home alone one night thro" . he woods, along what is called a " bridle-path" (i. e. a horsr-trl ?„ r hese an.mals .sprang at him from a fallen log, hut owing to his h'^o ak„,g a sudden plunge forward, only struck the rump o^ the . steed w.,h one paw, and could not maintain his hold. The genH 1 „ was lor a moment unable to account for the furious start his h s h' d .nade, but presently turning his head saw the Cougar behind and Zt .purs u. his horse, galloped away. On examiJng U J 1^ ^ 2 were observed on his rump eorresponding with the Caws of 1 eV " COUGAR. 309 to quret fhcm, thinking somn p.-rson. perhaps a neighbour, had called to see him. Tho dogs could not be driven hack, but rushed into the house ; he seized his horsewhip, whieh hung inside the hall door, and whipped them all out, as he thouglit, except one, which ran under the table. He then took a candle and looking down, to his surprise and alarm discover- ed the supposed refractory dog (o be a Cougar. lie retreated instanier, the females and children of his family fled frightened half out of their senses. The Cougar sprang at him, he parried the blow with the candle- stick, but the animal flew at him again, leaping forward perpendicularly, striking at his face with the fore-feet, and at his body with the hind-!oet. These attacks he repelled by dealing the Cougar straight-forwarJ Mows on its belly with his fist, lightly turning a„.de and evading its claws, as he best could. The Cougar had nearly overpowered him, when luckily he backed toward the fire-place, and as the animal sprau- again at him, dodg- ed him, and the panther almost lell into (he fire ; at which he was so terd- fied that he endeavoured to escape, and darting out of the door was im- mediately attacked again by tho dogs, and with their help and a club was killed. Two raftsmen on the Yazoo river, one night encamped on the bank, under a small tent they carried with them, just large enough to cover two. They had a merry supper, and having made a large fire, retired. •' turned in " and were soon fast asleep. The night waned, and by degrees a drizzling rain succeeded by a heavy shower pattering on the leaved and on their canvas roof, which sheltered them from its fury, half awakened one of them, when on a sudden (he savage growl of a Cougar was heard, and in an instant the animal pounced upon the tent and overthrew it. Our raftsmen did not feel the full force of the blow, as the slight poles of the tent gave way, and the impetus of the spring carried the Panther over them : they started up and scuflled out of the tent without furt.ier notice "to quit," and by the dim light of their fire, which the rain had nearly ex- tinguished, saw the animal facing them and ready for another leap ; they hastily seized two of the burning sticks, and whirling (hem around (heir heads with loud whoops, scared away the midnitrht prowler. After this adventure they did not, however, try to sleep under (licir tent any more that night ! We have given these relations of others to show that at long intervals, an>>. ii; nsrui (o indulge in the marvellous. MIO COU(7AR. •If On. „ ,xporu.n.o ,„ rr«ar,I ,o ,1.. hnhits of tl.is spocioH is som.vvhat 1' >"«-Umh w.- aro o4,l„..,| „, s,at,. ,l.a, in ,I„. ,.m1v ll..v,. ins.a.Kvs i„ wind, w.- o»,s,.rv,-,I i, in i,s „a,iv.. IImvs.s. an inM-r^sion was iHi „„ ,.,„■ '■"".Is .l.a. ,r was ,1a. na.s, ....war.ll.y oC any sp,..-a.s ..f i,s si.. LHon-nn-^ N.•••"•< .vhvat; a small lorri,.,- ,ha. a.vo.npaaio.I ns ...v.. ohas,. ,o (ho ■•Humal. wlnoh. aftn- running al.ont a hnn.hvd yards, nioun,..! an oak an.l ivs...,l on on., of its lind.s ahont twonty foot iVun, thr «ronn,l. W. ap- l.r..a..h,-d and rais...l a lon.I whoop, wh.n h. spran,^ .o ihooarlh an.l s.,on ">">•", ol A'u-inia. r,.|al,.,l to us an auu.sin;,^ an.-,..h„.. of a r.-n.-onlr,. which he an.l a Kontuokian had in a vall,.y of,,,,,. „r ,h,. \i,f.,ni,, ,„„„„. taw.s with •. C.ujrar. This occurr,.nc.. t....k place about thirty y.ars a^o '1 l.,.y had no jinns. but .T'cctinfj l.i.n n.-ar ih,- n.a.l. (h.'v K.-n-.-'ciiasc with II...M- h,)rs..s, and al>cr a run of a (i-w hnndr.'.! yanls h,. as,.,.nd,.,l a tree KANnn,.rn clind„..l the tr,.,.. an.l the Cnw^^u- sprang d..wn. ay.,i,lin^r ,l,„ Kentuckian. wl... st.md r,.ady to attack him with his club. Th,- latter asain f,.II.,w,.,l. on his h..rs,.. when he tr,.,.,! him a s.-cond lim,.. Han,,.., v„ Hfiain elimb.d aft,.r him. but fo,u.,l the animal was comin- down an.l was wailineen ascerta.ned at the Zoological Society of London, (Proceedings, ^^l i.han abundance of foo.l, and not much inconunoded by the cold, the the young have in some instances been .liscov^.n-d in autu.nn. J W AuuuBo. found, in Texas, young Cougars nearly half grown in February.' OEOGRAPllICAL DISTRIUUTION. This species has a wide geographical range, ft was formerly found in all the Northern and Eastern States, and we have seen a speeLen pro- cured ,n Uppn- Canada. The climates of Lower Canada. New Toun,!. ;";;;;;' tt''T "V'''"'"' ''' '" ''" ""•' ''"• '^^ P™>-"^ residence n a 1 the Atlant.c States ,t was formerly found, and a fi-w still exist in 27-ly34. DESCRIPTION. The first impression made by this inimal on the observer is, :! rt Jie has met with a little fox ; its erect cars, sharp nose, and cuimmg loolf, are f'l h ; 1 i ■: ■( ■■ '■ ' Ifl .>Lmi\ BASSARIS ASTUTA. 315 all fox-like. It however, by its long and moveable muzzle approaches the civets, (uiverra,) the genets, (genneUa,) and 'he coatis (/> '■(/rv.) The head is small ; skull, not much flatteni i ; nose, long ; muzzle, point- ed, naked; moustaches, numerous, long and ri;;id ; cars, long, erect, ova!e, clothed with shorf hair on the outer surface; spari.igly within; neck and body, long ; legs, longer than those of the martens, but shorter llian tho>? of the fox ; niiils, sharp and much hooked; to i, gov. red with ha'rs con- cealing them ; pilms, nnked ; tail, with long con>se h,, s, containing scarcely any under fur ; the inner hair on the back, is of moderate fine- ness, int'Tspei^ed with rather coar jer and longer hairs. The longer hairs on the back are about an inch in length, those on the tail, two inches, and the under-fur, on the back, half an inch. coloi;r. Thr hair on the back grayi.ii, for three-fourths of its K ngth from the roots, thiMi pale yellowish-white, then i-Uowish-l vn, deepening into black ai the tips ; the under-fur is first plumbeous, , n<-n yellowish-white : this disposition of o(7lours gives it a brindled brownish-black appearance on the head and upper surface. Moustaches, black ; point of nose, dark brown. Thitre is a light grayish spot above the eye ; ears, chin, throat, neck and I'lly, yellowish-white The tail is regularly and conspicuously ringed with bars of vhito and bhu k, alternately ; the upper white one very indistinct , the n. xt blaek-obscure and increasing in more conspicu- ous bands of white an! black to the end, which is broadly tipped with black : on the upper surface of tail, the black colours pedominate, and on the under surface, the white. DIMENSIONS. From pt lit r^ no'^e to root of tail. Tail, (vertebraj), . . - " to end of hair, From point of nose to head, between the Height of ear, posteriorly, Breadth of eai it base. From shoulder to end of toes, Length of longest mt istache, irs, FM. loehea. 1 G 1 2 1 4 • H - ■ If - 1 • 6 • ■ 8i H yio liASSARIS ASTUTA. iiABrr^. The smafer porrion of Texas is prairio-Iand. and it is chiofly along the water course., that trees are found ,rovvi„, to,.rher in nun.be's su( ei n to constitute a "wood." On certain level and el,,yey portions tt . pran.e, however, the land is swan.py. and .s covered with several ki of oaks and a few other trees. The well-known „,us,uit tree o u , found generally distributed in the western parts of the State It r «en.bes the acacia in leaf, and has a small .vhite pea-shaped blossom: a a distance ,t looks something like an old peach tree. Its wood is .imi- I.trto coarse mahogany in app.-arance, and burns well, in fact beaut i- r oi: rth'''^'^ ''"'::" '--' "^"''-' ^^-e wood'givesl'Til o no smoke The musqu.t bolton.s are furnished with these trees they are small, about the size of the alder, and grow much in the same Z7- e musqu.t as sharp thorns. The musquit ,r.ss, iHolcus lanntns), H sembles what .s called, guinea grass, it is broader, shorter, softer.'and The general features of ihe State of Texas, as it will be seen bv the forej^o.ng do not indicate a country where many tree-climbing animals could be found, and the present beautiful species, which ProfeLor L ! jxp.,. rnost appropriatelynamedBassnris ..,„,., is by nomeans common. It .s a hveiy. playful, and nimble creature, leaps about on the tree. Z has very much the same actions as the squirrel, which it resembles in a'^i'litv and gPHce, always havin.: a hole in the tree -ipon which it resides^.,nd betaking itself to that secure retreat at once if alarmed. The Bassaris Astuta is shy and retired in its habits, and in the daytime often stays in its hole in some tree, so that we were only able to procure about half a-dozen of these animals during our stay in Texas; among which, to our regret, there was not a single female. The food of this sp. ies is chiefly small animals, birds, and insects ; they also eat nuts, as Me w.re told, descending from their hidin" place and travelling to the pecan and other trees, for the purpose of Ivedhvr on the nuts which, if true, is singular, as they are decidedly carnivorous in their dentition. They are much attached to the tree on which they live, which is gene- rally a post-oak, a live-oak, or other large tree, and they seldom quit the immediate vicinity of their hole, unless when driven out by thrustin^^ a stick at them, when they ascend the trunk of the tree, and jump about among the higher branches so long as the pole is held close to their nest • as soon ns this is withdrawn, they descend and at once re-enter their .lw,.i!- ing-nlace an.) hi le themselves. These animals have a singular h.ibit nt I'^/y BASSARIS ASTUTA. 817 patinp or pnawing off tSr hark nround the mouth of thrr holes, and -.vhero the bark does no' -ip,,, ,-,,• Ih-^hly peeled olFut Iheir hole, y')i,' may be cerlaia the animal is ..o' at home, or has deserted the place. Their holes are gener. I - the t^ ilt of natunU deeay, am. are situated mi knobs, or at the ends o-' bran' ..^ broken short off clos.. to the main trunk. They RiMierally select r h, . of this kind on the lower side of a leaning tree, probably for better {.ici.uion from the rain ; th<-irhu!es vsry mi deptl,, but are seldom more than almut a foot or eighteen inches to the bottom;' they are usually furnished with moss or grass, for bedding. .Sometimes pecan shells are found in these holes, which no doubt alfords presumptive evidence that the Bassaris (eeds upon this nut. When scolding or barking at a , intruder, the ring-tailed Raccoon (as this animal is called by the Texan.,, holds the tail over its bnc!-. bendin- it squirrel fashion ; this animal, however, does not stand upon his hind feer like a s.piirrel, and cannot jump or leap so tar. We have not heard ol their springing from one branch to another beyond the distance of about ten feet, and when frightened at the presence of a man, 'hey v.ill some- times run along a branch even toward him, in order to get within jumping distance of another, evincing more timidity than a squirrel exhibits in springing among the boughs, although they run up the bark with ease holding on with their claws, ' Sometimes the Ring-tailed Bassaris may be seen squatted on the top of a branch, basking in the sun, and half rolled up, appearing almost asleep. On the slightest manifestation of danger, however, he darts into his hole (which IS always within a foot or tw., of his basking plac(-), and he is seen no more. W" have the impression that only one of these singular ani- mals IS to be found on a tree at a timc-they, therefore, are not verv social in their habits, and, as the live-oak and other trees are generally very much scattered, and many of ihem have no holes suitable foi residences lor the Bassaris, it is very diincult to procure one. At the foot of manr of the trees whereon they dwell, the cactus, brush-wood, and chapperal generally are so thick and tangled, that a man would be pretty well scratched should he attempt to penetrate the thorny, prickly thicket which surrounds the dwelling-place of this solitary and singnba- animal. NotwithstiUKling the shyness and retireci habits o.' this species, it is easily tame. were informed that one was kept as a great pet in a Camanche camp, visited by the Indian who hunted for uh duiin^r Mi 318 ''•i I '•!' i M BASSARIS ASTUTA. our explorat ons o the western part of Texas. As far as we could ascer- tan the northern Lrrut of the range of this species is somewhere in the ne^hbourhood of the southern frv », -s of Red river. As you travel south thej are more abundant, a biy are found throughout all Mexico ; we were informed by o. .J, the celebrated Col. IIavs ,he ianger that he saw them more r'. ..uant in the mountainous region ^ear the head-waters of the San Saba river than at any other place The Bassans produces three or four young at a birth, as has been as- certauied from the animal kept in confinement. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. This animal exists in Mexico, and is common in the immediate vicinity of the capital of that name ; our specimens were obtained in Texas, which appears to be its northern limit. ^! i^ t t GENERAL REMARKS. This species is called by the Mexicans caco-mixtle. It is mentioned no less than four times by Hernanpe. under the n.-.mes of Cacamiztii and Tepe-Maxtlaton. The first specimens were sent to Berlin in 1820 by Mr Deppe. and the earliest scientific description was given by L.chtenstein'. wjio named it as above. 819 SPERMOPHILUS LU DO V ICI A NUS.-Qrd. Prairie Marmot-Squirrel— Wishtonwish.— Prairie Dog. PLATE XCIX.-1. M^LE. 2. P^malk. 8. Yovm. S. super cervinuspilisnigris interspersis ; subtus sordide albus, ungue pollican conico majusculu, caudSbrevi apicem versus fusco torquatfi. CHARACTERS. Back, reddish brown, mixed with grey and black ; belly, soiled white ; tail ^hort, banded wUh brown near the tip ; thumb-nail, rather large, and conical. 8VN0NYMES Prairie Dog, Lewis and Qark's Exp., 1st vol., p. 67. WisHTONWisii, Pike's Expedition, &;o., p. 15G. Arotomvs Ludovicianus, Ord, in Guthrio, Geog., 2d, 302, 1815 AucTOMvs MissouBiENsis, Warden, Descr dos Etats Unis, vol. 5 , p 507 Abctomvs LuDoviciANus, Say, Long's Exped., 1st vol., p. 451. Arot. LuDoviciANUs, Hailan, p. 100. " " Godman, vol. 2, p. 114. DESCRIPTION. This animal in its external form has more tne appearance of a mar- mot, than of a spermophile. It is short, thick, and clumsy, and is not possessed «f the light, squirrel-like shape, which characterizes the spermo- phth. In its small cheek-pouches, however, being three-fourths of an inch in depth, and in the structure of its teeth, it approaches nearer he sprrmophil,, and we have accordingly arranged it under that genus. The head is broad and depressed; nose short and blunt, hairy to the nostrils. Incisors, large, protruding beyond the lips ; eyes, large ; ears placed far backwards, short, and oblong, being a mere flap nearly covered by the short fur ; neck, short and thick ; legs, short and stout. 1 his species is pendactylous ; the rudimental thumb on the fore-feet pro- tecfed by a sharp, conical nail ; nails, of medium size, scarcely channelled beneath, nearly straight, and sharp, extending beyond the h^ir ; tail, shorl 320 PRAIRIE DOG. and bushy ; hair on the body, rather coarse ; under-fur, of moderate fine- ness. The female has ten mamma? arranged along the sides of the belly. COLOUR. Tho hair on the back is, from the roots, for one-third of its length, bluisli- black, then soiled-white— then light-brown ; some of the hairs having yellowish-white, and others black, tips. The hairs on the under-surlace'! are at the roots bluish, and lor nearly their whole length yellowish-white, giving the sides of face, cheeks, chin, and throat, legs, belly, and uiider- surtace of tail a yellowish-white colour. Teeth, white ; moustaches and eyes, black ; nails, brown. The tail partakes of the colour of the back for three-fourths of its length, but is tipped with black, extending one inch Irom the end. DIMENSIONS. MALE. f'EMALE. • 13 inches 12| inches • ■ 161 do IT)! do - 21 d,, 2i do - 34 do . 1* do 14 do • « tV do r\ do - la do W^ do • Vjdo li do . 24 do 2 do • 1 do e. 1 do HABITS. Nose to root of tail, " to end of tail. Tail, vertebrae, " to end of hair, Nose to anterior canthus, Height of ear, Width between eyes. Length of fore-hand, " of heel and hind-foot Depth of pouch, Diameter of ditto. Feet slightly webbed at base. The general impression of those persons who have never seen the 'Prairie Dog" called by the French Canadians " petit chien," would be far from correct in respect to this little animal, should they incline to con- sider it as a small " dog." It was probably only owing to the sort of yelp, chip, chip, chip, uttered by these marmots, that they were called Prairie Uogs, for they do not resemble the genus Cams much more than does a common gray squirrel ! This noisy spermophile, or marmot, is found in numbers, sometimes hundreds of families together, living in burrows on the prairies ; and their galleries are so extensive as to render riding among them quite unsafe in oderate fine- of the belly. sngth, bluisli- laiis having ider-surl'acc, )wish-white, , and under- istaches and the back for ing one inch f'EMALE. 2i inches 51 do 2i do li do 7 do 'iV do 14 do 2 do ?r seen the " wouhl be line to con- sort of'ycip, lied Prairie ;han does a sometimes ; and their e unsafe in PRAIRIE DOG. 321 many places. Their habitations are generally called •' dog-towns," or villages, by the Indians and trappers, and are described as being inter- sected by streets (pathways) for their accommodation, and a deVee ol neatness and cleanliness is preserved. These villages, or communities, are. however, sometimes infested with rattle-snakes and other reptiles, which feed upon the marmots. The burrowing owl, {Surnia citnicularia,) IS also found among them, and probably devours a great number of the defenceless animals. The first of these villages observed by our party, when we were as- cending the Missouri river in 1843, was near the "Great bend " of that stream. The mounds were verv low, the holes mostly open, and but few of the animals to be seen. Our friend Edward Harris, Mr. Bell and Michaux, shot at them, but we could not procure any, and were obliged to proceed, being somewhat anxious to pitch our camp for the night, before dark. Near Fort George, (a little farther up the river,) we again found a village of these marmots,' and saw great numbers of them. They do not Ixn-k, but utter a chip ch.p, chip, loud and shrill enough, and ai each cry jerk their tail, not erecting it, however, to a perpendicular. Their holes are not straight down, but incline downwards, at an angle #f about forty degrees for a little distance and then diverge sideways or upwards. We shot at two of these marmots which were not standing across their lioles apparently, but in front of them, the first one we never saw after the shot; the second we found dying at the entrance oi the burrow, but at our approach it worked itself backward-we drew our ramr<^ ,,r^ put the screw in its mouth, it bit sharply at this but not- wMhstanding cur screwing, it kept working backward, and was soon out oi sight and beyond the reach of our ramrod. Mr. Bki.l saw two enter the «ame hole, and Mr. Harris observed three Occasionally these marmots stood quite erect, and watched our move- ments, and then leaped into the air, all the time keeping an eve on us. We found that by lying down within twenty w thirty steps of their holes and remaining silent, the animals re-appeared in fiftert, or twenty minutes' Now and then one of them, after coming out of its hob-, issued a lonjj and somewhat whistling note, perhaps a call, or invitation to his neigh- bours, as several came out in a few moments. T^^ cri^s of this species are probably uttered for their amusem^-nt, or nt, h m*^s of recognition and not, especially, at the appearance ol -^anger. Thev are, as we think' more in the habit of feeding b> night than m tb. day time ; their drop- pings are scattered plentifully in the neighbourhooo ,i.„r. w,. Idlln.l ,„•„ I'lairi,, Do , ,|„. -U, ° : " '"""""" » ""' >■""■'"-'■: I"" » 0„, „l, „,„.„, ,, lively Jir pert us on .iiiy .siiiiiiiu'r day." ^ Tliis is not in accordance wi.J, the accounts of authors who have if ,h..f «'- -. >w.^oh, :;,;:;:, i;,,:':;:',.^:::;,,;^;;::;; or ac(iu,iiMfs us wiili a I'let ni'v,..,, • . '""^ "« ' M\e(l <>iror, H.an.es of e.iu.a.e .i, ;,;::,:: :'::•;:;;;: ':':"t' "'"•^-""" sion ofnanuv. heM<..-e ""-'•'"i'"'^' '" ^^ Warmer re-ion ^ p. « ...s th. t wonhl, n, h,,^h latitudes he cou.pelled to sleep out half Th,. r hves eoul e„oy the air and ,i,ht. and luxuriate in the ' use f ' , , l.v. all the envlin. ye.r ! We have not heen able to «at e -. v in ;=:::*;;;::;;::t::::r :••-- ; • ^"■""■■''- "• '' -,...i ....... :, -ir , :: r: : temporary ani.nation ; thus shewi,,.. thit •. ...t ■ . :rT""'' '>•• --■ X::r ™ :r ;;i:;t:; l..wi« ,„„| Ch.ri< give a v,.ry ,.„„, .,,.„,,p,,,„ „r „,e p„i„, „„^, ,„ i'lUIUIH DOG, page ai, vol. 1. They pomrd five barrels of without fill after di>i;,'in which had swallowed one; of the Prairi.' Do-,'s. Our friend Dr., now Sir .Io„n R.cnAunsoN^dn the Fauna Boreali Ameri- cana,) has well eluei.lated the notices of -his and othe^ species w scattering dogs were so,.n scampering in, their short, sh.rp .yelps g.vmg a general alarm to the whole community. The first brief cry ..t dang,.r from the ..u.skir.s was soon taken up in the centre of the e.ry andnow nothing was to be heard or seen in any direction but a bark.ng dashing, an.l s<.amp,.ring of the m.Tcurial and excitable denizens ol lli(> place, each to his burrow. Far as the eye coul.l reach the city extended, and all over it the scene was the same. We r,,,!,- h-isurely along until we had reached the mor,^ flu,.kly setfh.,1 portion of the place. H.-re we halte.I. an,' alter takin^. the bndles from our horses to allow iU,u to graze, we prepared for I regular attack up, ,, th- i .hal.itants. Th,- bnrrows were not more than ten or fifteen yanis ap rt. with well trodden paths leading in different duTct.ons, and I even fa.,ci,.,I 1 could discover something like reg.daritv in the laying out of the stre,.|s. " We sat ,lown upon a ba.dc .mdcr the sha,le of a nu.s.put, and leisurely survey,.,l the scene before us. Our approach had driven every one t„ his home u. our imm,.diate vicinity, but at the distance of some hundred yanls 3-'4 PRAIRIE DOG. the small mound of earth in front of each burrow was occupied by a Doj; sitting erect on his hinder legs, and coolly looking about for tie cause ol the recent commotion. Every now and then some. citiz<-n, more adven- turous than his neighbour, would leave his lodgings on a flying visit to a friend, apparently exchange a few words, and then scamper back as fast as his legs would carry him. By-and-by, as we kept perfectly sHll, some of our near neighbours were seen cautiously poking their heads Irom out their holes, and looking crafti- ly, and, at the same time, inquisitively about them. Gradually a citizen would emerge from the entrance of his domicil, come out upon his obser- vatory, perk his head cunningly, and then commence yelping somewhat after the manner of a young puppy— a ciuick jerk of the tail accompany- ing each yelp. It is this; short bark alone that has given them the name of Dogs, as they bear no more resemblance to that animal, either in appear- ance, action, or manner of living, than they do to the hyena. We were armed, one w ith a dou!)le-barrelled shot-gun, and another with one of Colt's repeating-rifles o( small bore, while I had my short heavy rille, throwing a large ball, and acknowledged l)y ;tll to be the best wea- pon in the command. It would drive a ball comjdetely through a buffalo at the distance of a hundred and fifty-yards, and there was no jumping off or running away by a deer when struck in the right place ; to use a com- mon expression, "he would never know what had hurt him." Hit one of the Dogs where we would, with a small ball, he would almost invariablv turn a peculiar somerset, and get into his hole, but by a ball, from my rifle, the entin^ head of the animal would be knocked off, and after this, there was no escape. With the shot-gun again, we could do nothing I.nit waste ammuni- tion. I fired it at one Dog not ten ste|>s off, having in a good charge of buck- shot, and thought I must cut him into fragments. I wounded him severely, but with perhaps three or four shot through him, he was still able to wriirgle and tumble into his hole. For three hours we remained in this commonwealth, watching the movements of the inhabitants and occasionally picking off one of the more unwary. No less than nine were got by the party ; and one circumstance I would mention as singular in the extreme, and shewing the social rela- tionship which exists among these animals, as well as the kind regard they have for one another. One of them had perched himself upon the pile of earth in front of his hole, sitting up and exposing a fair mark, whik a compa.iion's head was seen poking out of the entrance, too timid, perhaps, to trust himself farther. A well-directed ball Iroui my rifle carried away the entire top ol' the (brmer's head, and knocked him some two or three feet from his post perfectly dead. While reloading, the other i)ol(ily came PRAIRIE 1)00. 325 out, seized his companion hy one of Jiis ie<,'s, and before we could reach the liole had drawn him completely out of sight. There was a touch of feeling in the little incident, a something human, which raised the animals in my estimation, and ever alter I did not attempt to kill one of them, except when driven by extreme liungor.'' Mr. Kenpai-l says, further on, of llu'.-^e animals: — "They area wild, frolicsome, madcap set of fellows when undisturbed, uneasy and ever on the move, and appear to take especial delight in chattering away the time, and visiting from hole to hole to gossip and talk over each other's affairs at least, so their actions would indicate. When they find a good location for a village, and there is no water in the immediate vicinity, old hunters say, they dig a well to supply the wants of the community. On several occasions I crept close to their villages, without being observed, to watch their movements. Directly in the centre of one of them I particularly noticed a very large Dog, sitting in front of the door or entrance to his burrow, and by his own actions and those of his neighbours, it really seemed as though he was the president, mayor, or chief— at all events, he was the " big dog" of the place. For at least an hour I secretly watched the operations in this comnmnity. During that time the large Dog I have mentioned received at least a dozen visits from his fellow-dogs, which would stop and chat with him a few moments, and then run off to their doir.4cils. All this while he never left his post for a moment, and I thought I could discover a gravity in his deportment not discernible in those by which he was surrounded. Far is it from me to say, that the visits he received were upon business, or had anyfhing to do with the local government of the village ; but it certainly appeared so. If any animal has a system of laws regulating t'ae body politic, it is certainly th(! Prairie Dog." This marmot tumbles, or rolls over, when he enters his hole, " with an eccentric bound and half-somerset, his hind-feet knocking together as he pitches headlong into the darkness below ; and before the spectator has recovered from the half-laugh caused by the drollery of the movement, he will see the Dog slowly thrust his head from his burrow, and with a pert and impudent expression of countenance, peer cunningly about, as if to ascertain the effect his recent antic had caused." Mr. KuNDALL thinks that the burrowing owl, which he mentions as " a singular species of owl, invariably found residing in and about the dog towns," is on the best of terms with these marmots, and says, "as he is frequently seen entering and emerging from the same hole, this singular bird may be looked upon as a member of the same family, or at least, as a retainer whose services are in some way necessary to the comlbrt and l\ 326 PRAIRIE DOG, J m vvell-boing of the animal whoso hospitaliiy he shares." This idea is doubtless incorrect, and we vv„„l,l uitnost hazard the assertion that thf se owls prey upon the yonnfr, or evn. the adults, of these marmots; theJ also, proi,ahly, devour tiie bodies of those which die in tlieir holes and thus may stand toward the animals in the light of sexton an.l undertaker > Mr. Kendall is entirely correct in what he says about the rattle-snaice. ^vlnch dwell in the same lodges with the Dogs. « The snakes I look upon as loafers, not easily shaken off by the regular inhabitants, and they make use of the dwellings of the Dogs as more comfortable quarters than they can find elsewhere. We killed one a short distance frotn a burrow which had made a meal of a half:.grown Dog ; and although I do not think they can master the larger animals, the latter are still compelled to let thetn pass in and out without molestation-a nuisance, like many in more ele- vated society, that cannot be got rid of." Mr. KiCNPA,,!, and his companions found the moat of this species "ex- eeedmgly sweet, tender, and juicy-resembling that of the squirrel only that it was much fatter." ' '' None of these animals were seen by J. W. Audubon in his journey through that part of Texas lying between Galyeston and San Antonio and he only heard of one village, to the northward and westward of Tor'rey's Lodge; they do not approach the coast apparently, being found only on the prairies beyond, or to the westward of the wooded portions of that htate. A collector of animals and birds, who has passed the last three years m various parts of Mexico, and who showed us his whole col- lectioTi, had none of these marmots, and Nve suppose their range does not extend as far south as the middle portions of that country. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. This species is found on the banks of the Missouri and its tributaries It also exists near the Platte river in great abundance, [t was seen by J. W. Audubon in limited numbers in Sonora and on the sandy hills -J .lom.ng the Tulare Valley, and in other parts of California. We do not know whether it is an inhabitant of Oregon or nr t. 327 MUS MISSOURIEx^^SIS.-Auo.A^nBAcu. Missouri Mouse. PLATE C._Female8. albidis, cauda curta. M. capife aniplo, cruribus robustis. auriculis sub corpore supra dilute lusca, infra alba. Head, broad; legs, stout; iif/ovc, white beneath. CHARACTERS. ears, ichhish ; tail, short, light fawn colour SYNONYME. AIusM.ssouaiE.sis, Aud. and Bach., Quads. North America, vol. 2. plate. DESCRIPTION. At first sight we might be tempted to regard this animal, as one of the endless varieties of the white-footed mouse. It is. however a verv if 11, |"'iiirta , e3es, huge ; ears, short broad -it .aches, numerous. Ions, heading Ibrwanb an,l u,nv„r,l, ■ lei I,;, T .00, on ,he fore reet, „„h .he rndi.en. ola =h„,n'h, t'c. Jh; t e nt " euous na,l , na,l,, rather bn^, slightly hen,, bu, no. h„„l,e,l. The hi ,1,10 are pcnclacylons , the pahns are naked ; ,he „,her portions o, the , nd oes,eoveredw,,h short hairs, which do no,, however, conceal the ,1 rhe ,a,l „ short, round, stout a. base, grudnally d.minishing to a po^, ! :z:z'i^z' "'* '"' *"' '^"■■' "■' '- °" ""^ -*- ;• COLOUR. Teeth, yellowish ; whi.sker.s. nearly all white a few hl.,.l. u • • snersed The fur ,.„ tK i , • , ^ " ^ ""«• a lew black hairs inter- persed. The fur on the back ,s plumbeous at the roots to near the points, 32S MISSOURI MOUSE. the hairs on the sides are broadly tipped with yellowish-fawn, and on the back, are first fawn, and then slightly tipped with black ; on the under surface, the hairs are at the roots plumbeous, broadly tipped with white. The ears are nearly white, having a slight tinge of buff on the outer and inner surlaces, edged with pure white; on the r-ides of the checks, and an irregular and indistinct line along the aides, the colours are brighter than those on the flanks, and may be described as light yel- lowish-brown. The feet, on both surfaces, belly, and under surface of tail, white ; from this admixture, this species is on the back, light fawn, with an indistinct line on the back, and upper surface of tail, of a shade' dark- er colour. DTMEMSIONS. From point of nose to root of fail, tail. Height of ear, posteriorly, tncbes. 4i HABITS. We close our second volume with this new species of mouse, of which we have given three figures. This pretty little animal was discovered for us by Mr Demg, during our sojourn at, and in the neigiibourhood of Fort Union in 1813. It was in full summer pelage, having been killed on the 14th of July. At that time being in quest of antelopes and large annuals, we did not give it that close attention, which we should have done. A glance at our plate, or an examination of our description, will suffice to convince any one of its being entirely new. This species is much larger, and has a thicker and shorter tail than ?nus Icucopus. Expecting to get more of them we did not make any notes of the habits of those killed at that time, and which had doubtless been observed by the hunters, who procured them. The next day after they were brought in, we left the fort on an expedition to the Yellow-Stone river, from which we did not return for some time. As a short description of our mode of travelling, &c., the first day's journal is here given. "July 1.5. Saturday, we were all up pretty early, making preparations for our trip to the Yellow-Stone river. After break- fast all the party who were going, announced themselves as ready, and with a wagon, a cart, and two extra men from the fort, we crossed the Missouri, and at 7 o'clock, were fairly under way; Harris, Beli,, Cul- BERTsoN, and ourself in the wagon, Suuires, Provcst, and Owen on horse- back, while the cart brought a skifi", to be launched on the Yeliow-Stone, MISSOURI MOUSE. '529 U 3 itU w should arn. cut I „ river. We travelled rather stowly ui, 1 e hftd crossed a point and licude.l tho ponds on the prairie at the loot o^ the ialls opposite the f. W . one sharp-tailed grouse, but al- though Mr. Harris scare d.hgently, it could not be started. >oon after this we t^,,t one of th.- wheels of our wagon fast in a crack or crevu-e m (ho . C/a ^ '^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 IfiM IIM 12.2 M Hill 2.0 1.4 1.6 <^ /} '^1 *» '^' V ^ C/l Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 8/2-4503 nl 830 MISSOURI MOUSE. the wind arose and blew a gale; all of us were a-foot in a few moments, and amid some confusion, our guns, loaded with ball, and our ammunition, were placed under the best covering we could provide, our beds huddled together under the tent along with them, and some of us crawied in on top of all, while others sought shelter under the shelving bank of the river. This storm benefitted us, however, by driving before the gale the mosquitoes, to keep off which we had in vain made a large flre, before we laid ourselves down for the night." As there is little grain of any kind grown in this part of the country, the Missouri Mouse no doubt exists en the seeds and roots of wild plants entirely, of which it is able to lay up a store for the winter in holes in the ground. It may, however, possibly resort to the patches of corn planted by the squaws of some of the Indian tribes, at the time that grain is ripe We brought with us from this country, when we returned home, some ears of a very small corn, (maize,) which ripens early, and bears its fruit near the ground. Having planted it on our place, we found that it was ad- vanced enough to be eaten at table as a vegetable, several weeks before the ordinary kinds of corn known about New- York. We, therefore, dis- tributed some of the seed among our farming neighbours, and likewise sent some to England to Lord Derby and other friends, but this was unfortu- nately lost. We incline to believe that this corn would ripen well in the climate of England or Scotland. Unluckily, ours has become mixed by having been planted too near common corn, and is now depreciated or re duced to nearly the same thing as the latter. GEOGRAPinCAL DISTRIBUTION. This species was discovered in the State of Missouri. GENERAL REMARKiJ. The Missouri Mouse bears some resemblance to the common and very widely distributed White-footed Mouse. Its comparatively heavy and clumt;y form — its large head and short tail have induced us to regard it as a distinct species. In the mice, shrews, and bats, we have no doubt several interesting species m ill yet be detected in our country INDEX. American Eison, . • Elk, Deer, Black Wolf, . White do., . Red Fo)c, Antelope, Prong-horned, Annuliited Marmot Squirrel, Antilocapra, Genus, Americana, . Arvicola Pinetorum, Barking', or Prairie Wolf, Bassaris, Genus, Astuta, Ring-tailed, Bear, Polar, or white, . Bison, Genus, — — — AmerieanxiB, . , Anicrican, Black American Wolf, . Black-tailed Hnre, . Black-footed Ferret, , Brewers Shrew Mole, . Brown or Norway Rat, . Bridled Weasel,' . BulFalo, , . , Canada Otter, . . Canis, Genus, Lupus (var. Rufus), Lupus, (var. Ater), Lupus (var. Albus), • Latraus, Cart)lina Shrew, . , Cervus Genus, Page. . 32 . 83 . 220 . 126 . 156 . 263 . 193 . 213 . 193 . 193 . 216 . 150 . 314 . 314 . 314 . 281 . 32 . 32 . 32 . 126 . 95 . S97 . 173 . 22 . 71 . 32 Cervus Macrotis, Virginianus, Alces, Condylura, Genus, Cristata, Common Mouse, American Deer, Cougar, Deer, Wapite, . Moose, . . Mule. Common American, Didelphis, Genua, Virginiana, Eliiphus, Genus, . Canadenrfs, Elk, American, Ermine, . , Fells, Genus, . . Pardalis, , -Concolor, or Virginian, 831 126 240 126 156 150 176 179 Ferret, Black-footod, Fox, Swift, Kit, . Red, . , Fo.\ Squirrel, . , Franklin's Marmot Squirrel, Genus Lutra, . , Bison, . , Procyon, . , Elajihus, , , Didelphis, . , Canis, . , Poire. . 206 220 179 . 139 . 139 277 220 . 305 . 83 179 20'' 220 lor lOT . A8 . 83 . S3 . 56 258 258 305 297 . 13 . 13 263 133 243 1 S3 74 88 10? liiO M h \im 332 Genus Comljluni, Sorex, Ovis, . ■ Cervus, . . • Aiitilocnpra, ■ Liigomys, Mei-iones, . FeliE, Ursus, Bassaris, Golden-bellied Squirrel, Hare, 'lack-tailed, - ■ Little-chief, . Wormwood, Nuttall's, . Texan, . . Jumping Mouse, . Lagomys, Genus, . Princeps, Lccontc's Pine Mouse, . Leopard-Cat, Lcpus Artemisia, Calloti.s, . Nuttallii, . Little-chief Hare, . Harvest Mouse, . Lutra, Genus, ■ Canaden««, Lynx, Rufus (var. Maculatus), Texan, Marmot Squirrel, Franklin's Annulated Prairie, ili'phitis Mesoleuca, Meriones, Genus, . HuJsonicus, Mole, Starnose, . , — — — Brewers, . Mouse, Lccontc's Pino, . Jumping, . Little Harvest, . Common, . Orange Coloured, ■ Missouri, Missouri Mouse, . LNDRX. Page. . 139 . nr; ifi:! . 17!) . 19S 214 9M -i-8 281 . 314 (J7 . 95 . 241 272 . 3U0 . 95 . 251 244 244 2IG 258 272 95 300 5'.44 103 1 Moose Deer, Mus iMissouriensls, Dccumanus, , — - Huniilis, . , Museulus, . , (Calomys) Aui^.ius, Mule Deer, . Nuitall > Hare, . Ocelot, Opossum, Virginian, Orange Coloured Mouse, Orange-bellied Squirrel, Otter, Canada, Ovis, Genus, Montana, Panther, , Polar Bear, Procyon, Genus, . • Lotor, . Prairie Wolf, Marmot Squirrel, Dog, . . Prong-horned Antelope, Putorius Erminea, — Frenata, Nigripcs, Pusillus, . 293 . 293 . 243 . 213 319 . 18 251 251 . 139 . 173 210 251 . 103 277 303 327 327 Rat, Brown or Norway, Raccoon, Red-tailed Squirrel, Red Texan Wolf, Red Fox, . Ring-tailed Bassaris, . Rocky-Mountain Sheep, Say's, S(juirrel, . Least Shrew, , Scalops Breweri, . Sciurus, RubricaudatuB, Sub-Auratus, - Caj)istratus, Sayii, Shrew, Carolina, Say's Least, Page . 179 . 32: . 22 103 . 277 . 303 206 . 300 . 858 . 107 303 . 67 2 . 163 . 163 . 305 . S&l . 74 . 74 . 150 . 319 . 319 . )93 66 . 71 . 29", 100 S3 74 30 840 263 314 1G3 274 145 173 30 67 132 274 17»i MS PllgO . 179 . 32: . 22 103 . 277 . 303 206 . 300 . 858 . 107 303 . 67 2 . 163 . 163 . 305 . S&l . 74 . 74 . 150 . 319 . 319 . 193 . S6 71 89: 100 Slicep, Rocky Moiiiitiir', Skunk, Texiiii, Small Weasel, . . Sorcx, Genus, — — — Parvus, — — Carolinensia, . Spcfiuophilus, FrankKnii, Annulatua, Ludoviclanus, Sqiiirrel, Red-tailed, Oiange-bellied, — Golden-bellied, — Fox, — Say's, . . Star-iiosc Mole, Stoat, . Swift Fox, . Texan Skunk, Lynx, Hare, INDEX. Pag'O. 113 Id . loa 145 145 no 2*8 :ti9 30 67 ft7 132 274 139 66 13 18 293 05 Ursus, Genna, . Maritinius, Virginian Opossum, Deer, Vulpes, Vclox, Fulvus, . VVapite Deer, Weasel, White, . Bridled, . Small, VVislitonul'i, White Weasc;, . 1!, a-, American Wolf, Wormwood Hare, Wolf, Black American, Prairie, or Barking, White, American, Red, Texan, Pago . 281 . 281 . 107 . 220 . 13 . 203 . 83 . 56 . 71 . 100 . 319 . 56 . 281 . 156 . 27L . 126 . 150 . 156 . 240 23 74 30 840 263 314 163 274 145 173 30 67 132 274 176 MS TABLE OF CONTENTS. I>utra Canadensis, . Vulpes Velox, • . Mephitis Mesoleuca, • Mus Decumanus, Sciurus RubricaudatU8. Bison Americanus, . Scuirus Sub-auratus, . Putorius Errainea, Putorius Frenat;!, Procyon Lotor, Elaphus Canadensis, . Lepus Nigrieaudatus, . Putouius Pusillus, Mils iliimilis, Didelpliis Vii'giuiaiia, , Canada Otter, Swi/l Fox, Texan Skunk, Brown, or Norway, Rat, Red-tailed Squirrel, Avierican Bison, or Buffalo, Orange-bellied Squirrel, White Weasel, Sloai, Bridled Weasel, Raccoon, American Etn, Wajiiti Deer, Black-laUed Hare, Small Weasel, . Little tlirvest Mous-!, Virginian Ojiossum, Page. 2 13 18 22 30 33 67 56 71 74 83 95 100 103 ^^R T 1 i*; ii 1 '' ! 834 Canis Lupus, (var. Ater.), Sciurus Capistratua, . Condylura Cristata . Sorex Parvus, . Canis Latrans, . Canis Lupus (var. Albus), Ovis Montana, . Stalops Brewerii, Sorex Carolinensis, . Cervus Alces, . Antilocapra Americana, Cervus Macrotis, Spermophilus Annulatus, Arvieola Pinetoruni, Cervus Virginianus, Canis Lupus (var. Rufas), Lagoniys Princeps, Spermophilus Franklinii, Meriones Hudsonicua, Felis Pardalis, , Vulpes Fulvus, Lepus Artcmesia, , Sciurus Sayi, Mus Musculus, Ursus Maritimus, Lynx Rufus (var. Maculatus), Putorius Nigripes, Lepus Nuttallii, llus (Calomys) Aureolus, Felis Concolor, Bassaris Astuta, Spermophilus Ludovieianus, Mus MLssouriensis, . , TABLE OF CONTENTS. . Black American Wolf, . . Fox Squirrel, . Common Star-nose Mole, . Say's Least Shrew, . . . Prairie Wolf, . White American Wolf, . Rocky Mountain Sheep, , , Brewer's Shrew-Mole, , . Carolina Shrew, . Moose Deer, . Prong-homed Antelope, Mule Deer, Annulated Marmot- Squirrel, Leconte's Pine Mouse, Common American Deer (fawn). Red Texan Wolf, Little-chief Hare, Franklin's Marmot- Squirrel, Jumping Mouse, Ocelot, or Leopard Cat, American Red Fox, Wormwood Hare, Say's Squirrel, , . . Common Mouse, . . Polar Bfar, Texan Lynx, Black-footed Ferret, Nuttall's Hare, . Orange Coloured Mouse, Cougar, .... Ring-tailed Bassaris, . Prairie Dog, Prairie Marmot- Squirrel, Missouri Mouse, , . , Page . lat 133 139 , 145 , 150 15() 163 173 176 179 193 206 213 216 220 240 244 248 251 258 263 272 274 277 281 293 297 300 303 305 314 319 TABLE OF GENERA DESCRIBED m THIS VOLUME. 'Jenus Lutra, Page. 1 Genus Ovis, Pom. 163 " Bison, 32 Cervus 179 " Procyon, 74 Antilocapra, 193 « Ehipliu.s 83 Lngoniys, 244 " Didelpliis, 107 lleriones, 251 " C:inis, 126 Felis, 258 " Condylura, 139 Ursus, 281 " Sorex, 145 (( Bassaris, . . . 314 Page. . lit 133 139 . 145 . 150 . 150 . 163 , 173 , 176 , 179 . 193 206 213 216 220 210 244 248 251 258 263 272 S74 877 281 293 297 300 303 305 314 319 897 \ Pwre. 163 179 193 244 251 258 281 314