Full text of "American animals; a popular guide to the mammals of North America north of Mexico, with intimate biographies of the more familiar species"

See other formats

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HiSTORY
77TH STREET & CENTRAL PARK WEST
NEW YORK CITY

A
=u
arty
he ‘4
am
Vy v' >
: » are BP
ian a7 Re ie -
ati Mae Ay B
4 ee) 1 * ;

oie
% i
4 +
f ‘ ¥ ge
4 , age iSt
b y Ne a
. } i
I i
bh ‘
a
i
j
;
hae
he, f
4 i
a4
; ;
y ,
A
% at
.
ate e
~

AMERICAN ANIMALS

" ihe ¥

By A. Radclyffe Dugmore

BIGHORN, OR MOUNTAIN SHEEP (Ovis cervina)

AMERICAN ANIMALS

Mone i AORN GULDE TNO (|THE
MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA
Nom hn Or MEXTCO,. WITH
INTIMATE BIOGRAPHIES OF THE
MORE FAMILIAR SPECIES

BY
WITMER STONE
AND

WILLIAM EVERETT CRAM

GARDEN CIty NEw YorkK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1920 |

ARs ©
rsd : i;
i \
j
t
rt aN
uf i
“
H
ts
1 '
i
ony
‘
j
Th )
ray
} ,

‘
41 ~ #50286 -Tuly 25
:
u ¢
Ue Fee eeig
1 ‘

PREFACE

N PREPARING the present volume the aim has been to produce
| a work sufficiently free from technicalities to appeal to the
general reader and at the same time to include such scientific
information relative to our North American mammals as would be
desired by one beginning their study. The key at the end
of the volume will be found of service in indentifying unfamiliar
mammals, and includes certain characters omitted from the body
cf the book. As a guide to further study there has been appended
a bibliography of the principal works on North American
mammals.

To many of these 1 would express my indebtedness, especially
to the writings of Allen, Merriam, Miller, Bangs and Rhoads,
and also my acknowledgments to the Academy of Natural
Sciences of Philadelphia and Mr. Samuel N. Rhoads for the privi-
lege of studying the specimens contained in their collections.

The text figures are all reproduced from standard works,
while the plates are largely from the brush or camera of Mr.
A. Radclyffe Dugmore, whose name is so intimately connected
with illustrations of nature.

The publishers wish to acknowledge the many courtesies and
the helpful codperation of the New York Zoological Society and its
Director, Wm. T. Hornaday, Esq.; many of the photographs made
at the Zoological Park could not have been secured elsewhere.
The same is true of the Washington Zoological Park, in which
Mr. Dugmore made a number of pictures.

WITMER STONE.
September 7, 1902.

THANKS ARE DUE TO THE NEW YORK
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND THE DIREC-
TOR, MR. WILLIAM T. HORNADAY, FOR
THEIR COOPERATION IN SECURING MANY
OF THE ILLUSTRATIONS : : : : ?

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface
Introduction ;
Edentates or Toothless Animals
The Armadillos
Cetaceans
Whales
Dolphins : : : “
Porpoises
Manatees and Dugongs
Ungulates or Hoofed Animals
Peccaries , :
Deer and Their Allies
Pronghorns
The Cattle
Rodents or Gnawing Animals
Rabbits and Hares
Pikas
Porcupines . : :
Pocket Gophers
Pocket Mice
Jumping Mice
Rats, Mice and Lemmings
Meadow Mice, Lemmings and Muskrats
American Long-tailed Mice and Rats
Introduced Rats and Mice

Vii

Table of Contents

Rodents or Gnawing Animals —Continued.

Beavers
Sewellel
Squirrels and Marmots .
Moles and Shrews

Bats

Carnivorous or Flesh-eating Animals .
Eared Seals
Walruses
Seals
Weasels, Otters etc.
Raccoons and Their Allies
Bears
Wolves and Foxes
Cats : ‘ ; : ;

viii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

COLORED PLATES AND HALF=TONES

Bighorn or Mountain Sheep (Ovis cervina) ; . Frontispiece
FACING PAGS

Possum Hiding in Palmetto, where he has been chased by

a dog (Didelphis virginiana ) 5
A Scared ’Possum . : ; : : ‘ . 7
‘Possum Climbing : : : : - : : ° 8
‘Possum Looking Out of Nest . : : : 8
A New Jersey Possum (Didelphis virginiana) . 8
A Florida ’Possum : 10
Opossum ( Didelphis pe Showing veung at the

Mouth of the Pouch. ; : : 10
Six-banded Armadillo (Dasypus eS : y : 12
Manatees Under Water (Trichechus latirostris) . sueniite 20
Collared Peccary (Tayassu tayassu) . : f : : 30
Bull Elk or Stag (Cervus canadensis ) ‘ ; : : 33
An Elk (Cervus canadensis) Getting His Antlers sf ‘ 35
The Rapid Growth of an Elk’s Antlers ‘ : 2 ; 37
Elk Stag and Herd (Cervus canadensis) . , é 39
A Startled Doe; she hears a whistle across the creek : 40
White-tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) . “ ‘ “ 40
Virginia Deer in the Maine Woods at Night. : - 42
Deer, in Moose Creek, Idaho . : 3 44
Western White-tail, or Virginia Deer ( OS locatn virgin-

ianus macrourus) in the Bitter Root Valley, Montana 44

A Young White-tail Buck (Odocoileus virginianus) . ; 40
A Bunch of Mule-deer Does (Odocoileus hemionus) . é 48
Young Bull Moose (Alces americanus) : ‘ a : 51
A Pair of Bull Moose (Alces americanus) . : 3 ° 53

List of Illustrations

Young Woodland Caribou (Rangifer caribou) . :
Typical Heads and Antlers of Cervide

Pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) . ; : . °
Young Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) at’ Pie
Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana) : ‘ .

Male Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana )
Mountain Goat (Oreamnos montanus )

Young Cow Musk Ox, about 16 months old ( Ovibos mos~
chatus )

Bull Bison (Bison bison) . ; ‘ : : : .

A Herd of American Bison (Bison bison)

Nest of Young Cottontails d .

Young Cottontail Among the Cabbage ( teak Soridanus
mallurus ) : ; : °

Varying Hare (Lepus americanus virginianus ) : .

Little Chief Hare, or Pika (Ochotona princeps) ‘ ‘

Canada Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatus), with quills thrown
forward. In wild state

American Porcupine Swimming, with oN aici ae.
thizon dorsatus ) .

Western Pocket Gopher ( Thomomys )

Western Long -tail Mouse, caught in the Bitter Root
Mountains

Long-tailed Jumping Kiouse ( Zapus donne , ‘
Mice and Shrews of the Eastern States ‘ A : 5
Western and Southern Mice and Rats $ - : °

Muskrat (Fiber zibethicus ) : . ° ° e
Western Wood Rat, female ( ici : A ° °
Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus littoralis) . ° °

Western Bushy-tailed Wood Rat (Neotoma) . . °
White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus), enlarged ‘ A A
White-footed Mouse and Young (Peromyscus leucopus) .

House Mouse on Trap (Mus musculus) . ‘ . °
Common,or Norway Rat (Mus norvegicus ) : ° °
Canadian Beaver (Castor canadensis ) ; . ° °

List of Illustrations

PACING PAGE
weaver Lodges and a Dam , : 149
A Pair of Woodchucks by their Baron ( ecbonis eas) 151
Woodchuck (Arctomys monax) : : , : : 154
Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus ) ‘: ‘ 4 156
Western Spermophile (Spermophilus ), photograph in
Colorado : : ; : : 158
Say’s Spermophile ( Saab an phitics vache: 4) : . : 161
White-tailed Spermophile (Spermophilus leucurus) . é 103
Young of Columbia Spermophile (Spermophilus columbianus) 103
Say’s Spermophile in Snow (Spermophilus lateralis ) ‘ 105
Young Prairie Dog (Cynomys ludovicianus), about one-third
grown : , ‘ ; 105
Western Chipmunk ( Tiviias dsoameitanis) : : 4 107
Chipmunk (Tamias striatus ) ; : ‘ : : - 168
Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) . ; , : A 170
Red Squirrels (Scturus hudsonicus gymnicus) : : 172
Young Red Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus) 2 174
Hoary Marmot (Arctomys Pruinosus ) : : 4 : 174
Pine Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus richardsont) ‘ : 176
Flying Squirrel (Sciuropterus volans) ‘ : - . 179
Common Mole (Scalops aquaticus ) ; 5 : ° 190
Star-nosed Mole (Condylura cristata) 2 a , 190
Marsh Shrew (Sorex palustris) : : ; - . 190
Four Common Eastern Bats : , é : : 198
Sea-lion (Zalophus californianus) . : : : 2 208
Sea-lion (Zalophus californianus), barking : : : 211
Walrus Bulls and Cows (Odobenus rosmarus) . F 4 212
Fur Seals (Otoes alascanus) : : F : ‘ : 216
Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) . ‘ : . : 216
Otter (Lutra canadensis) . 4 : ; ; : 222
Skunk (Mephitis putida), crossing a stream. ASE 231
Mink (Putorius vison) : : : : ; : : 234
Weasel (Putorius noveboracensis) ‘ : 4 : . 234
American Sable or Pine Marten (Mustela americana). ° 244

Wolverine or Carcajou (Gulo luscus) . ; ° . 246

Liet of Illustrations

BaciaGe PAGE
Raccoon (Procyon lotor) . ‘ A A 3 - ° 250
Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) . ° ° ° . 254
Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus) . 5 s ° . 2506
Florida Black Bear (Ursus floridanus ) , ; : 259
Silver Tip; variety of the Grizzly Bear (Ursus horribilis) . 261
Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorffi) . : ; : : 263
Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorfi) . : : ; : 266
Red Fox (Vulpes fulvus) - : ° ° : : 268
A Young Red Fox (Vulpes fulvus) . . d ; ° 270
Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus ) : : ; . 277
Timber or Gray Wolf (Canis occidentalis ) : ow 279
Coyote (Cants latrans) d ‘ , . $ A 282
Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensts ) : : ‘ 284
Cougar, or Mountain Lion (Felis oregonus hippolestes ) : 290

Jaguar (Felis onca) . : : . . ° : 292

INTRODUCTION

Mammals and their Study

THE first questions that present themselves in the study of
mammals are: What is a mammal and what is an animal? An
animal we are told is anything endowed with life, that is not
a plant. Very true, but popularly we use the word in another
sense, meaning a beast as opposed to a bird, a fish or a rep-
tile—that is to say we mean one of the classes of back-boned
animals.

Unfortunately we have no English name for this group.
The term ‘‘quadruped,” it is true, applies to a great majority
of its members, but does not fit the whales or bats which
belong here just as much as the four-footed beasts; nor does
‘‘quadruped” apply te man who stands at the head of the
group. Therefore we have to adopt an abbreviation of the Latin
name for this class of animals and call them mammals. A mam-
mal then is characterized by having a more or less hairy body,
and in suckling its young, while it has warm blood like the
birds.

The relations between man and the lower mammals have
always been most important. He depends upon them for meat
and clothing, he uses them as beasts of burden, he hunts them
and trains them to hunt each other. With the exception of the
beasts of burden and those which aid him in the chase, man’s
attitude toward mammals has always been that of a destroyer;
in whatever field he may meet them his object is always to kill.

Those which furnish good meat are slaughtered for food or
are pursued from pure love of the chase; those which furnish
valuable skins are killed by the trappers as a means of liveli-
hood; fierce beasts are everywhere shot on sight, while a relent-
less war is being perpetually carried on against the great army
of rats, mice and other despoilers of our crops.

Much of this slaughter is justified, but much is unwarranted
and is speedily effecting the extermination of all the large and
especially desirable mammals of the world.

Pure greed and wantonness are destroying many of the most

Introduction

valuable and interesting mammals where moderation and proper
protection would ensure their preservation for an indefinite time.
In long past ages man learned the importance of protecting the
most useful mammals of the Old World—the ancestors of the
so-called domestic animals—and this he continues to do to-day,
but in the case of wild animals, which he finds in other coun-
tries, he seems blind to the importance of similar care.

In our own country the buffalo is gone, the moose and
elk are rapidly decreasing, and the fur seals are threatened with
extermination in spite of all laws and regulations. In Africa all
the large ‘‘game” is being shot off by adventure-loving ex-
plorers and many species are even now nearing extinction; and
so it is elsewhere.

While the value of mammals from a purely economic point
constitutes their main importance to the world at large, their
scientific characters and the study of their life and habits are
most absorbing, and with the spreading interest in nature study we
can well afford to give them a share of our attention.

From their high position in the animal kingdom it seems
strange at first thought that we do not see more of mammals
in our woods and fields. It is only the most common species
that we are at all familiar with and though the country may be
teeming with bird and insect life we are not likely on an ordinary
ramble to see more of the mammals than a few squirrels, a mouse
or two and perhaps a rabbit, muskrat or woodchuck.

Mammals are, however, much. more plentiful than we suppose.
Go out after a snowfall and see what a record of foot-prints is
presented. Evidently our four-footed friends are largely nocturnal
in habits, and it is this fact together with their general wariness
and extremely acute sense of hearing, smell and sight that render
them so hard to see.

The very difficulties which beset the study of mammals in the
field render it all the more attractive, and we envy the woodsman
whose long practice renders conspicuous to him signs that to the
beginner are passed again and again unnoticed. As we follow a
trail through the forest, his quick eye notes that a bear has pre-
ceded us. Here are some herbs that he has grubbed up, there
are his muddy footprints on a log and the rotten bark has peeled
off with his weight as he jumped down, and here again he
has risen on his hind feet to claw and bite the bark of a tree. '

xiv

Introduetion

How clear the story is when once it has been pointed out!
And we feel that in studying the marks of his presence we
have learned something of the bear himself.

Tracks on the snow are much easier hieroglyphs to decipher;
to use Burrough’s words: ‘‘The snow is a great tell-tale and
blabs as effectually as it obliterates. I go into the woods and
know all that has happened. I cross the field, and if only a
mouse has visited his neighbour, the fact is chronicled.” It is,
indeed, a fascinating task to read the story of the mammals in
the snow, to learn to know the sharp clear-cut trail of the fox,
the blurred mark of the rabbit’s hairy foot, the nervous tread
of the squirrels and the dainty traceries of the mice and shrews.

A knowledge of mammals doubles the interest of an ordinary
ramble to the lover of nature. Even though we see but few,
we learn to know their presence and see their work on every
side, and the more we learn of their ways the more frequent
glimpses we get of them.

The pleasure of seeing and studying a wild animal in life
to me far outranks the gratification of making a good shot and
‘‘bagging my game,” and | think that if the pleasure men feel in
hunting were carefully analyzed it will be found that besides
being close to nature it rests largely in the contest of skill and
craft between hunter and game and that the mere killing is any-
thing but a gratification.

Structure and Classification

Mammals form one of the great classes of vertebrate animals.
The most important character which they have in common, but
which is not possessed by any other animals, is that the young
are nourished for some time after birth on milk secreted by the
mother. Furthermore, all mammals are covered with more or less
hair* in distinction to the feathers of birds, and the scales of fishes
and reptiles.

Mammals are supposed to have originated from some early
reptilian animal and branched off long before the birds were
evolved. They first became abundantly distributed over the Ter-
tiary period though the earliest remains occur in the Triassic.

* Entirely disappears in adult whales.

Introduction

In the ages since then one type of mammal after another
has arisen, some being modified step by step into the forms
that inhabit the earth to-day while others have been entirely
exterminated.

In some cases the series of fossil remains are so complete
that we can easily trace the ancestry of several of our modern
mammals, as, for instance, the horse, which is shown to be
originally descended froma five-toed beast, while successive ages
show the specialization of the feet, first with four toes and then
with three, until finally we have the existing horse with his one
large toe or hoof on each foot.

At the present time the great bulk of mammals belong to
one group known as the Eutheria—modern mammals—though
we have remnants of two other more primitive groups which
were much more extensively developed in the past. These are
now almost entirely restricted to Australia and the neighbouring
islands where they have been cut off from their mainland rela-
tives at the time that Australia became separated from the Asia-
tic continent, and have there been preserved to the present day,
free from the inroad of the higher forms of mammals which
spread over the continents and, being better adapted to existing
conditions, crowded the earlier forms out of existence.

The most primitive of the older mammals are the Prototheria
—early mammals—comprising the duck bill and spiny ant-eater of
Australia, animals which resemble in skeletal characters the earliest
known fossil mammals, and “which lay eggs somewhat like
those of the reptiles.

The second group, the Marsupialia—pouched mammals—in-
cludes a large number of species in Australia and the opossums
of America. One of the leading peculiarities of these animals is
that their young are born at a very early stage of development
in a perfectly helpless condition and are then placed in an ex-
ternal pouch on the belly of the female where they continue
their development.

The modern mammals—Eutheria—comprise a number of dis-
tinct types the relationship of which is not always clear, though
they are all derived from a common origin and are more closely
related to one another than to either of the preceding groups.

The aquatic whales and manatees, while not closely related to
one another, differ so much from the land mammals that itis very

Xvi

Introduction

uncertain just where they branched off from the “family tree”
and it is convenient to consider them first, though they are
without doubt degenerate animals derived from some ancient ter-
restrial forms and are not themselves primitive. The remaining
orders fall naturally into two series, those with compressed,
hooked “claws’’ on the feet and those with flat nails or hoofs.

We will have then the following table of “orders”? of mod-
ern mammals:

Aquatic, with no hind legs and with fore legs modified into
flippers for swimming, tail broad and flat; hair little or none.
Nostrils opening on top of the head in a “blow hole,”
teeth, if any, simple and all alike, not tuberculate.
Cetacea, whales.
Nostrils at the end of the nose as_ usual, tuberculate
teeth in the back part of the jaws. Sirenia, manatees.
Terrestrial (except seals and bats) with all four limbs well devel-
oped, and body covered with hair.
Nails of feet compressed and hooked forming claws.
No incisor teeth; teeth without enamel.
Edentata, sloths, armadillos, etc.
With incisor teeth; enamel present.
Incisors large and prominent, two in each jaw, concealed
portion curved and reaching far back in the skull, canines
wanting, leaving a broad gap on each side of the mouth.
Glires, rats, etc.
Incisors small, generally more than two, canines present
leaving no gap at the side of the jaws.
Anterior limbs modified into wings....Chiroptera, bats.
Anterior limbs normal.
Canines not prominent........ Insectivora, shrews, etc.
Canines) prominent .))0)02)00 5) Carnivora, cats, dogs, etc.
Nails flat or developed into hoofs.
Nose modified into a trunk, toes 5.
Proboscidea, elephants.
Nose normal, feet never 5-toed, always armed with hoofs.
Ungulata, horses, cows, etc.
Nose normal, feet always 5-toed.
Primates, monkeys and man.

There are a few more or less obscure foreign mammals that
are not accommodated in the scheme given above, and which are
intermediate in their characters.

In North America we lack representatives of several orders.
The Prototheria are entirely wanting and of the Marsupialia we

XVii

Introduction

have only the opossum. Of the higher orders, the Sirenia are
represented by the few remaining manatees of Florida, the Eden-
tata only by a species of armadillo which crosses into Texas from
farther south. Proboscidea (elephants) are entirely lacking, and
of Primates our only native representatives are the Indian and
Eskimo. Of the remaining orders we have an abundance of species.

In the scientific study of mammals we are compelled to
make use of more or less obscure characters, and when separa-
ting species, we are unable to base descriptions entirely upon
the external appearance, as is possible in the case of birds.

Some mammals, especially among the mice, exhibit scarcely
any external differences, while an examination of their skulls
and teeth shows that they belong to quite different gencra.

Indeed, few mammals are very brightly marked, doubtless
due to their general nocturnal habits and their need of protec-
tive colouration.

The necessity of studying some of the skeletal characters in
identifying mammals makes it desirable to have an idea of the
more important portions of their bony structure. While there is
no reason why the structure of any particular portion of an
animal’s anatomy should be regarded as of more importance than
another in studying its relationship, it is nevertheless a fact that
in every group of animals certain organs or parts of the skeleton
show a greater susceptibility to modification, and thus furnish a
much easier clue to the origin and development of the species,
than is offered by those parts in which there is very slight
modification. Thus in the mammals it is the structure of the
skull, the teeth and the lower leg and foot bones that furnish
the basis for most of our classification.

The Skull.—The skull is really composed of a large number
of bones, each of which has a distinctive name, but in the
adult animal they have become so firmly joined together that
even the lines of juncture are nearly obliterated, and we may
therefore say that the adult skull consists of two parts—the
skull proper and the lower jaw or mandible, the latter being
separable into two symmetrical halves. The skull proper consists
of the bony box or brain case, the back of which is known as
the occipital bone, and in it is the round hole or foramen through
which the spinal chord joins the brain. The forward part of

XViii

Introduction

the skull comprises the upper jaw, the nasal bones, surrounding
the nostrils, and the large eye sockets. The bones forming the
roof of the mouth constitute the palate and those forming the

Skull and one side of mandible of Musk Rat.

N nasal. F frontal. P parietal. O occipital. Z zygomatic arch, B audital bulla
Mx maxillary PMx premaxillary. I incisors. M molars.
CP coronoid process. CD condyle. A angle.

forehead are the frontals, while on the posterior portion of the
lower part of the skull are two rounded ‘‘ear bones” known
as the audital bulle.

The Teeth.—The teeth of mammals are divided into four
groups, the zucisors or cutting teeth placed across the front of
the jaws, the canines, four rather elongated teeth placed at the
front corners of the jaws, two above and two below, the pre-
molars placed immediately behind the canines, and back of these
the molars or grinders. Most mammals have two sets of teeth;
the milk teeth and the permanent teeth. The former are weaker
and are only retained during the early years of the animal’s life
when they are succeeded by the permanent set. The premolars
are represented in the milk dentition, but the molars are not, and
that is the reason for separating them. In structure, however, they
are quite similar and it is often impossible to distinguish them.

The simplest form of tooth is a_ single-pointed cone,
such as we see in the toothed whales; all canine teeth are
similar to this in structure, while the incisors are generally
more flattened and sometimes slightly lobed.

xix

”

Introduction

Next we have ituberculate teeth, with a flat crown from
which arise rounded or pointed tubercles; such are many molars
and premolars. Besides these there are the flat-topped teeth of
horses, cows, elephants and many mice with tortuous ridges
across their surface, these being the most complicated teeth known.

Sections of Teeth.
1 An incisor or tusk of Elephant, with open pulp cavity at base. 2 Human
molar with broad crown and two roots. 3 Molar of Ox, showing deeply folded enamel
surface with cement filling up the depressions. (After LYDEKKER).

A tooth grows from a soft “pulp” and in its early stage
is open at the base, the cavity being occupied by the pulp.
Some teeth remain this way and continue to grow on_ indefi-
nitely while they wear away more or less at their tips. Such
are the tusks of elephants and the incisor teeth of rats and other
gnawing animals. Other teeth, on the contrary, gradually close
up at the base, forming one or more roots or fangs, the rem-
nant of the pulp being contained in the inside of the tooth. Such
teeth do not increase in growth after the roots are formed.

The substances that make up teeth are three: (1) dentine
or ivory which forms the bulk of the tooth, (2) enamel, a very
hard bluish-white substance which covers the outer surface,
and (3) cement, a bone-like substance which fills up the cavities

Introductior

between the ridges on the large teeth of the horse, cow, and
other similar animals.

The number of teeth varies greatly in different animals and
furnishes us with an excellent aid to classification. Sometimes
teeth are entirely wanting, as in certain whales, and again we
find one or other of the groups of teeth lacking, as the canines
in the gnawing mammals, or the incisors in the upper jaw or
the cattle and deer.

In other families of mammals special names are used fo:
some of the teeth; thus it will be noticed that in all carnivorous
mammals one of the back teeth on each side of the jaw is much.
larger than the others, sometimes it is a molar, sometimes a
premolar, but from its peculiar prominence it is called the car-
nasal tooth. Again, in the insectivorous mammals, the incisors,
canines and some of the premolars are all simple in structure
and so much alike that they cannot be separated by their struc-
ture; they are therefore for convenience known collectively as
the unicuspid teeth.

In many mammals some of the teeth become immensely
developed and are termed tusks as, for example, in the elephant,
walrus, narwhal, etc.

Legs and Feet.—Next to the variations in their skulls and
teeth mammals exhibit most diversity in the structure of their
limbs. The limb of a mammal consists of four parts, and the
bones which compose the fore limb have different names from
those of the hind limb; thus we have

FORE LIMB HIND LIMB

I. Humerus (upper arm). Femur (thigh).

Il. Ulna and radius (fore-arm). Tibia and fibula (lower leg).
Ill. Bones of the carpus (wrist). Bones of the tarsus (ankle).
IV. Phalanges (fingers). Phalanges (toes).

The two bones composing the lower leg or calf which lie
side by side are frequently joined together, or else the fibula is
only partially developed.

It is in the bones of the hands and feet, however, that we
find the greatest variation, especially in the long bones that form
the back of our hand (metacarpals) and the instep of our foot
(metatarsals) and which support the fingers and toes. These

xx1

Introduction

are sometimes immensely developed so as to form apparently
another section to the leg, as we see in the horse and cow
Where these bones are so long that the heels on the hind feet
are elevated a foot or more in the air. In these animals there
is also a reduction in the number of toes and we find that such
of these metacarpal and metatarsal bones as remain are fused to-
gether, while those belonging to the missing toes are mere abor-
tive splints.

With these brief explanations we shall be better able to un-
derstand the preceding table of the mammalian orders and the
further classification which follows.

Limits of the Work

So easily are mammals affected by their surroundings that
we find that differences in climate, temperature, humidity, food, etc.,
are immediately reflected in a difference in the size, colour, or
skeletal characters of the individuals of a certain region. This re-
sults in an immense number of geographic varieties of nearly all
kinds of mammals which have been carefully studied and sepa-
rated by systematic zoologists.

The differences which distinguish these varieties are not al-
ways perceptible to the popular eye, but as everyone wishes to be
as nearly accurate as possible, we have mentioned in the following
pages every species and variety of mammal found in North Amer-
ica east of the Mississippi, and all the varieties of big game animals
north of Mexico. Of other mammals from the West, however, only
the most important species are described.

The scientific names used are those adopted in the most
reliable systematic monographs of the day and no attempt has
been made to solve the vexed question of what constitutes a
species and what a subspecies. Those animals which would be
most readily recognized as different by one beginning the study
of our mammals are separately described, while geographical races
and closely allied species are grouped together at the end of the
account with their range and a few of their most obvious dif-
ferential characters. It will therefore be understood that in so
grouping them there is no intention to reduce their taxonomic
rank, but simply to arrange them so that the general reader, who
does not wish to study in detail the structure of every form,

XXti

Introduction

may more easily obtain the information that he desires. Those
who do desire to go deeper into the subject and study the cra-
nial peculiarities and minute differences between the numerous sub-
species are referred to the technical works quoted in the appended
bibliography.

Bxiii

bat i

Ck kere
Covad bey

a
iy Nass
mat

ial
a

: ¥ is
oe

ae
i
i

AMERICAN ANIMALS

ray

MARSUPIALS OR POUCHED ANIMALS

(Marsupialia)

THE marsupials stand apart from all the other groups of Ameri-
can mammals having many peculiarities of structure and habit
not possessed by any other family. They are in fact the sur-
vivors of an ancient population which was spread over the earth
before the superior beasts of to-day made their appearance. At
about the time that the marsupials had reached the height of
their development Australia became separated from the mainland
of Asia, and until the present time these curious primitive ani-
mals have flourished on this isolated continent, while almost every-
where else they have been superseded by more highly developed
and more aggressive beasts.

Outside of Australia the only known marsupials are the opos-
sums, which are restricted to South and Middle America, with
the single exception of the well-known Virginia opossum of our
Southern and Middle States.

The variety of Australian marsupials is very great; the largest
and best-known are the peculiar kangaroos; others resemble in
general form our smaller carnivora, still others recall the squirrels,
while the flying phalangers are the counterpart of our flying
squirrels and there is even a ‘‘marsupial mole!”

Among the many peculiarities of structure exhibited by these
animals may be mentioned especially the mode of nourishment
of the young. Birth takes place when they are extremely small,
very much earlier than in the higher mammals, and they are
immediately placed in a peculiar pouch situated on the belly of
the female where, attached to the nipples, they continue their
development until able to shift for themselves. Even then they
return to the pouch for shelter, for a considerable period after
they can run about.

The teeth of the marsupials are more primitive than those
of most of the other mammals and are generally more numerous.
As might be supposed from the variation in form and size ex-
hibited by the marsupials their diet is likewise varied, some being

The Opossums

carnivorous, others herbivorous and still others like our opossum
omnivorous.

As before stated we have only one group of marsupials in
America, the opossums (Family Didelphide) .

THE OPOSSUMS
Family Didelphide
Virginia Opossum
Didelphis virginiana Kerr

Length. 27 inches.

Description. Hair long and rather coarse; general colour grayish
white, caused by a mingling of black-tipped white under fur
with long white overlying hairs; legs brownish black, feet
black, toes white; head, throat and middle of lower parts
white; ears naked, black with white tips; tail prehensile,
nearly naked, black at the base, shading into dull flesh colour.

Range. Southern and Middle States, except in the mountains, north
to the Hudson and Connecticut valleys and to southern
Illinois, not ranging north of what is known as the ‘‘ Caro-
linian’ Fauna.” In Florida and Texas slightly different
varieties occur.

The opossum is our only representative of that remarkable
class of beasts in which the young are born at such an early
and undeveloped stage that the mother is obliged to carry them
about in her pocket for several weeks; when first born a kan-
garoo, an opossum and a mouse are of very nearly the same
size, about half an inch in length,

A mother opossum takes her half-dozen or more infants as
fast as they are born and drops them into her pouch, where
each seizes a teat and holds on; its mouth, which at first is open
almost to the angle of the jaws, rapidly contracts and grows
together when once it has taken hold of that which it is in-
stinctively feeling for from the very first, and for the next few
weeks the little family of brothers and sisters do nothing but
sleep and grow, the old one forcing her milk into their mouths.

mur aM Aq (DUDA srydjep1d) DOA VW AM GCASVHO NAGA SVH AH AAAHM ‘OLLANTVd NI DNIGIH WNSSOd

FURS waa

The Opossums

In the meantime she is obliged to forage the woods for food
and protect herself and her family as best she may.

At first thought one might very naturally infer that she
would be at a decided disadvantage in being so very literally
burdened with a family, yet on the whole she carries them but
little longer than most other creatures of her size, the chief
difference being that she has them where she can do pretty
much as she pleases with them, and in case of injury is much
less liable to incur serious results.

Through the day she sleeps hidden in a _ hollow tree or
stump, or dozes half in sunshine and half in shade among the
branches.

But as daylight fades and the shadows creep through the
undergrowth she goes forth to see what the night has to offer
her, shuffling along among the dew wet leaves, pouncing on a
lizard here or a blundering dorbug that has chanced to upset
itself in midflight, or else she follows up the shrill throbbing of
a cricket and digs him out from his hiding place. If luck happens
to be with her she may discover a nest full of eggs or young
birds or mice, it is all one to her.

She can also climb to the top of the tallest tree in the
woods using her tail and hand-shaped feet almost like a monkey,
even hanging head down by her tail and one hind foot if nec-
essary from a branch just over a bird’s nest in order to reach
whatever it contains. Her prehensile tail moreover often proves
useful in supporting her while she gathers grapes and persimmons
and other wild fruits of the forest, and it is said that the young
ones when they first come out to see what the world is like,
have a way of taking a couple of turns of their own tails about
that of their parent and so anchored ride safely on her back.
It would seem that these youngsters are not in the habit of
occupying the pouch as long as do the young kangaroos, which
it. is said, remain there for a space of something like eight
months, growing in that time from diminutive beings less than
an inch long to fairly well-formed kangaroos of ten pounds
weight which thrust out their necks when their parent is graz-
ing and crop the grass beneath them. Even after they have
learned to go alone they often climb back into the pouch again
to ride whenever they are tired out.

Opossums are anything but attractive or intelligent beasts.

The Opessums

About the most marked exhibition of intelligence that they ever
appear to display is their well-known trick of feigning death or
playing possum as a last resort in danger. Even this has become
so habitual with the species as to be almost or quite instinctive
and it is doubtful if they ever knowingly pretend to be dead
any more than the numerous beetles and spiders which possess
the same _ habit.

Nature most effectually assists the possum in making the
ruse successful, as anyone who has ever seen it tried is bound
to admit, for the long lean dull white jaws and black withered
ears and skinny tail bear in themselves the very semblance of
death. And when the possum plays possum he invariably draws
back the gums from his glittering white teeth until he looks as
if he might have been dead for a mvnth; especially as his fur
has at all times the faded, colourless look and loose wind-blown
texture of hair that has been exposed to wind and weather for
an entire season.

In cold weather opossums retire to their dens and only
occasionally venture abroad wh»n there is snow on the ground.
They are members of an almost tropical race that hates the
cold, and wherever winter is an actual fact they are rarely found.

‘‘Opossums are very prolific, haviny two or three litters each
year, each litter composed of from six to thirteen, in rare in-
stances as many as fourteen our fifteen. The young remain with
their mother about two months, :nd at times a brood of suck-
lings may be found in the pouch, while a second brood the size
of rats may be seen on her back, clinging to her fur with their
hands and steadying themselves by winding their tails around her
tail and legs.

‘‘The opossum somewhat resembles a little pig in his flexible
snout, small black eyes, and erect ears; but he resembles the pig
much more in his fondness for eating and the great variety of
food that suits his taste.

‘‘His principal diet consists of insects, wild fruits, nuts and
berries, varied with roots, reptiles, crayfish, carrion, eggs, small
rats and mice, with additions of poultry, corn, sweet potatoes, and
other farmyard delicacies.” ‘‘He is the natural enemy of the cotton
rat, a destructive rodent living in vast numbers in the seaboard
marshes of the Southern States. If all the food eaten by a possum
during the year were divided into two piles according to its

By W. E. Carlin

"POSSUM

duced to feed in the forenoon instead of before daybreak.

A SCARED

Mr. Carlin, concealed a few feet
ery alarm was caught admirably.

of an

1 expression

s comica

s camera: and the ’possum’

th crabs and fish, and gradually
th a shout as he pressed the bulb of h

Es
a
C=
Us
sir
av
oF
Do
2s
3
ae
Ce
a
=
35
Ee
a
3 -
>
2
Hig

The Opossums

economic status in relation to the interests of mankind, there
can be little doubt that the pile containing the matter, animate and
inanimate, whose destruction is an advantage to us would be
notably the larger.”

The Negroes of the Southern States feel that the possum
was especially created for their benefit and delight. They say,
perhaps with truth, that no white man can ever fully appreciate
the delicious joy of a moonlight possum hunt, or the delicate
flavour of roasted possum. There are plenty of white people
who do enjoy hunting possums by the light of the moon, and
eating their game the next day; but the varying degrees of
happiness are not to be measured, and the exquisite enjoyment
that the possum yields the darkey may only be guessed at.
There is considerable similarity between a possum hunt and a
coon hunt, so far as method is concerned. The Negroes like
best to go in parties with two or three cur dogs along. Besides these
there must be an axe, at least one antiquated fowling-piece and
a sack for carrying the game. When the dogs start off on a
hot trail, the darkies follow as best they may, stumbling along
over rocks and stumps among the shadows. The possum
frightened by the racket behind him soon takes to a tree for
safety and flattens himself down on a branch or snuggles up in
a crutch, trusting to remain unobserved.

But the Negroes flourishing their pitch-pine torches endeavour
to locate their game by the glitter of its eyes in the flickering
light, and if the tree is too big to cut down and difficult to
climb, the rusty old firearm is brought into play. But as a
general thing they much prefer capturing their possum alive if
possible, either knocking him from his perch with a pole or chopping
down the tree.

As soon as he strikes the ground, dogs and niggers fall up-
on him in one struggling, yelling heap, the dogs eager to kill
the possum and their masters to get it away from them un-
injured, and it is most astonishing how much rough handling an
opossum can put up with without serious injury.

Sometimes he is carried home swinging by his tail from the
end of a stick which has been split and snapped onto that
member in such a manner as to hold him perfectly helpless.

The darkies’ idea in taking him home alive, is to fatten for
a few weeks in captivity, joyfully overlooking the mere question

The Opossums

of economy in the matter; for the quantity of bread, yams and
apples consumed by the greedy little beast in laying up a few
additional ounces of fat is a thing to be marvelled at.

Varieties of the Opossum

The opossums of North America show but little variation,

but naturalists have recognized three varieties as follows, the last
being allied to the opossum of Mexico.

Virginia Opossum. Didelphis virginiana Kerr. Range and
description as above.

Florida Opossum. Didelphis virginiana pigra Bangs. Similar
but smaller with longer and more slender tail.

Range. Florida and lowland of Georgia along the Gulf Coast
to Texas.

Texas Opossum. Didelphis marsuptalis texensis Allen. Similar
but tail longer than in either of the above, equal to nine-
tenths instead of three-fifths the length of head and body
and black at base for one-third of its length.

Range. Texas.

A WEW JERSEY ’POSSUM (Didelphis virginiana) By A. R. Dugmore

“Playing 'Possum.” This vaim..1is actually alive. The picture of the animal climbing is the same individual photographee s
hour or so later.

EDENTATES OR TOOTHLESS ANIMALS

(Edentata)

THE edentates stand at the bottom of the series of the non-
marsupial mammals. In distribution they are almost entirely re-
stricted to South America, the best-known members of the group
being the ant-eaters, sloths and armadillos. Of these only the
ant-eaters are strictly ‘‘edentate’”’ or without teeth; so the name
is somewhat misleading, although none of them have any front
teeth (incisors) and such teeth as they do possess are often rudi-
mentary and decidedly primitive in character.

In former ages we had in North America gigantic beasts of
this order, as is shown by the fossil remains of the megalonyx
and mylodon, huge sloth-like animals, which existed along with
the mastodon and _ sabre-toothed tigers and doubtless served as
the chief source of food supply for the latter.

When we think of these former giants it is disappointing to
find that our only representative of the edentates within the
limits of the United States to-day is a single species of arma-
dillo which crosses the Mexican boundary into the state of Texas.

This curious beast, representing the family Dasypodide, is
by no means without interest.

THE ARMADILLOS
Family Dasypodide
Nine-banded Armadillo
Tatu novemcinctum Linnzus
Also known as Peba Armadillo, Mulita.

Length. 30 inches.
Description. Body covered by a bony shell, consisting of two
larger portions connected in the middle by eight bony rings

The Armadillos

(nine on the sides), which hinge one to the other so as to
permit of the animal rolling itself into a ball. Front of the
head, fore-feet and tail similarly armoured, toes of fore-feet
with large claws for digging. Colour brownish-black above,
somewhat varied with yellow, below yellowish white, skin
on sides of face flesh colour with a few scattered yellow

hairs.
Range. Southern Texas and Mexico southward to Paraguay.

Covered from end to end with his bony armament the ar-
madillo at once recalls the box tortoise; and his sudden transfor-
mation, when harassed, into a round ball of horny plates reminds
one not a little of the snapping shut of the shell of the turtle.

The armadillo is an habitual digger, making his burrows in
the dry soil of the arid regions in which he lives and ventur-
ing forth mainly by night. In the matter of food he is not parti-
cular, vegetable and animal matter both appear on his bill of
fare and carrion forms no small part of his diet, while the insects
and maggots which it attracts are not overlooked.

The range of the armadillo within our borders is restricted
and he is really more of a Mexican than an American, being
one of a number of curious animals that push their way over
our south-western boundary from that interesting country.

ee QA

cnet

By W. E. Carlin

OPOSSUM (Didelphis virginiana) By David McCadden
Showing young at the mouth of the pouch

CETACEANS
WHALES, DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES

. (Cetacea)

Few persons associate whales with the four-footed beasts of
the land. So modified are they for the peculiar life that they
lead that practically no external resemblance to their true kindred
remains, and it is not surprising that the popular mind classes
them as fish, to which, however, they bear no relationship.

Whales are practically devoid of hair, which is characteristic
of most mammals, its place in retaining the heat of the body
being taken by the thick coating of fat or ‘‘blubber’’ lying just
beneath the skin. There is no external trace of hind limbs and
the fore-limbs are modified into flat flippers for swimming, while
the tail is flat and forked like that of a fish, but it is flattened
horizontally instead of vertically. There is practically no neck
and the head, which is often very large, joins directly with the
body. It is but natural, therefore, that the bones of the neck are
very short and often joined solidly together. Whales have no
close relationship with any other group of mammals and even
the oldest fossil whales that have been discovered present much
the same structure as the living species. Though they were
undoubtedly descended from some form of land mammal, the
change to an aquatic life must have taken place at a very remote
period. As has been suggested, the immediate ancestors of the
whales probably became adapted to a life on the shores of rivers
and acquiring the habit of swimming were eventually carried out
to sea, where peculiar environment has brought about their pre-
sent structure.

The cetaceans are entirely carnivorous, and their food
generally consists of small mollusks, shrimps and fishes. They
frequently associate in companies or ‘‘schools” and are for the
most part inoffensive and rather timid. In size they vary from
the smallest porpoises, somewhat less than ten feet long, to the
largest whales which reach a length of sixty to eighty-five feet

Whalebone Whales

and constitute the largest known animals. The whales and their
allies are grouped in several families as follows:

|. Whalebone whales (Family Balanida). Size very large
(length 30-85 feet), mouth enormous, no teeth, but the
upper jaw provided with long strips of whalebone.

Il. Sperm whales (Family Physeteride). Teeth all along the
lower jaw, but absent entirely from the upper. Length
10-80 feet.

III. Bottle-nosed whales (Family Zzphitd@v). One tooth on each
side of the lower jaw or with no visible teeth at all;
a narrow projecting snout. Length 20-30 feet.

IV. Dolphins and porpoises (Family Delphinide). Teeth nume-
rous in both jaws (or with one long horizontal tusk in
the narwhal). Head in some species rounded in front
while others have a projecting snout. Length 5-15 feet.

WHALEBONE WHALES
Family Balenide

This family includes all of the true whales or toothless whales,
as they are variously called, and the onl, large ‘‘ whale” not
included here is the sperm whale which is really more closely
allied to the porpoises and dolphins. The whales are charac-
terized by their immense size, enormous head, and total absence
of teeth. Small teeth are, it is true, formed very early in their
development, but they are entirely absorbed before birth.

Another peculiarity of the family is the presence in the mouth
of ‘‘baleen” or whalebone. This consists of thin, flexible, horny
plates, somewhat triangular in outline, which are attached cross-
wise down each side of the roof of the mouth. The inner
edges of these plates are much split up and frayed so that the
slender filaments form a sieve reaching from the top to the bot-
tom of the mouth, by which the water is strained away from
the small marine animals that are scooped up by the whale and
which constitute its food. By raising the tongue in the nearly
closed mouth the water is expelled from the lips and the food
remains.

There is a popular idea that the water taken into the mouth
is discharged through the nostril or “blow hole’ situated on

By C. William Beebe

ix rings.

shorter ears and tailand only s

@
&
“a
S
rs
7
=
Q
al
a
3
S
(e)
4
iS
AQ
<a
=
fad
xq
AQ
Q
Q
Z
0)
im
si
WM

A tropical species allied to our nine-banded Armadillo, but w

Right Whale

top of the head, and forms the well-known ‘‘spout” of the
whale. This is quite a mistake, however, as the spout is simply
the discharge of air from the lungs when the animal rises to the

Longitudinal section through head of whale, showing position of
whalebone and nasal opening. (After Lydekker.)

surface to take a new breath, and the watery appearance of the
spout is due to the condensation of moisture in the discharged
breath and also to the fact that some water is thrown up if

Skeleton of whale (Balena), showing contour of body, (After Lydekker.)

the breath is expelled before the whale quite reaches the surface.
We have three quite different types of whalebone whales on
our coast, and from one to three species of each.

Right Whale
Balaena glactalis Bonnaterre
Length. 50 to 60 feet. .
Description. Head enormous, equal to one-third of the total
length; highly arched above the level of the back; mouth
cavity consequently large and whalebone very long. Bones

Right Whale

of the neck always fused together, no fin on the back and
no longitudinal groves on the throat. Colour black, some-
times slightly varied with white below.

Range. North Atlantic Ocean.

Few persons have opportunities to study the habits of the
large whales and those who follow the business of whaling do
not, as a rule, record the facts that they may discover regarding
the lives of these interesting creatures. The experience of most
of us is limited to the glimpse of an occasional spout far out to
sea or perhaps the sight of a stranded whale washed up on the
beach, a great shapeless mass partially imbedded in the sand and
often advanced in decay. It is not always easy to identify such
specimens until the skeleton is laid bare, and it is not surprising,
since much of our knowledge of whales is based upon skeletons
and stranded specimens cast up at widely distant points, that
zoologists are still in considerable doubt as to just how many
kinds of whales exist.

From the accounts of those who have studied these gigantic
animals in life we learn that when not frightened they remain at
the surface to breathe from one and a half to two and a
half minutes during which time they spout from six to nine times
and then disappear for ten to twenty minutes. When at the sur-
face the top of the arched head and the middle of the back are
the only parts which project from the water.

This whale and the allied bowhead (Ba/ana mysticetus) of
the Arctic regions are especially prized by the whalers on account
of the great length of their whale-bone.

Speaking of the right whale of the Pacific, which is closely
allied to the Atlantic animal, Captain Scammon says: ‘‘ We find
the habits of these animals when roaming over the ocean full of
interest. They are often met with singly in their wanderings,
at other times in pairs or triplets and scattered over the surface
of the water as far as the eye can discern from the mast head.
Toward the last of the season they are seen in large numbers
crowded together. These herds are called ‘gams’ and they are
regarded by experienced whalers as an indication that the whales
will soon leave the grounds.” It is their habit, he states, to
blow seven to nine times at a “‘rising’’ and then ‘‘turning
flukes,” as the whalemen say, and elevating the tail from six to

Right Whale

eight feet clear of the water, they go down for periods of twelve
to fifteen minutes.

Whales of all sorts have been so persistently pursued and
killed that they are to-day very much reduced in numbers and
the survivors have become so wary that it is much more difficult
to hunt them than it was in former years.

Originally whales came regularly along the New England coast
and were hunted from shore, the boats putting out after them
as soon as they were sighted, but as years passed they learned to
keep farther out to sea and vessels had to be especially equipped
for their pursuit. In his account of whale-hunting Scammon
states that when the whale has been sighted the whale boats
with their full equipment and manned by their regular crews are
lowered from the vessel and start upon the chase. ‘‘ The whale
is approached in the most cautious manner to avoid exciting it.
If necessary, the oars are used, but in calm weather the paddles
are resorted to. When within darting distance, which is about
three fathoms, the order is given to the boat steerer to stand up.
He instantly springs to his feet and, seizing the harpoon (to
which a long rope is attached), he darts it into the whale. If
opportunity offers a second iron is also thrown before the animal
gets out of reach. When the harpoons are darted the order is
given to ‘stern all’ and the oarsmen make every effort to force
the boat astern in order to be well clear of the animal in its
painful convulsions from the first wounds received.

‘“When struck the whale may attempt to escape by running,
if so, every exertion is made by the boat’s crew to haul up the
animal so as to shoot a bomb into it or work upon it with a
hand lance or, if the creature descends to the depths below,
which is called ‘sounding,’ every effort is made to check the
movement by holding on to the line or by slowly slacking it.
In this manceuvre the boat is occasionally hauled bow under water.
Sometimes all the line is taken out almost instantly, when it is
cut to prevent the boat from being taken down and the whale
escapes.

‘‘The whale after being struck often runs to windward, thrash-
ing its flukes in every direction. After going a short distance
- it frequently stops or brings to, at the same time making a ter-
rible noise called ‘bellowing,’ this sound is compared to that of a
mammoth bull and adds much to the excitement of the chase and

Finback Whale

capture. Other whales will not stop until they are hamstrung, as
it were, by ‘spading.’ The spading process is performed by haul-
ing the boat near enough to cut the cords that connect the body
and the flukes either on top or underneath. A large vein runs
along the side of the back, terminating at the juncture of the
caudal fin which, if cut, will give the creature its death wound.”
Another method of bringing the animal to a stop is by lacerating it
with numerous harpoons detached from the ropes. ‘‘ When brought
to, it usually remains quite stationary for a few minutes or will
roll from side to side, giving the officer of the boat a good
opportunity to shoot a bomb lance or use the hand lance with
good effect, which soon dispatches it.”

The ship is then brought alongside or, in calm weather, the
whale is towed to it and the ‘‘cutting in,’ as it is termed,
begins. A cutting stage is lowered down over the animal upon
which the men may stand, the tackles are fastened to the carcass
and the head is severed and hoisted on deck while the remainder
is cut according to a regular system so that the blubber is re-
moved in several great masses while the mutilated remnant of
the monster floats away or sinks to the bottom. The blubber
and baleen are removed from the head later.

Scammon states that the great bowhead whale will sometimes
yield as much as 275 barrels of oil and the right whale 130 bar-
rels, while the whalebone of the two may amount to 3,000 and
1,550 pounds respectively.

Whaling has been engaged in since 1712 by vessels from
New England ports, especially Nantucket and New Bedford, and
in England and Scotland it has been carried on for over a century.

Guns for shooting the harpoons have superseded the hand-
throwing process and improved harpoons have been introduced
carrying explosive bombs which are calculated to kill the whale
as soon as they strike, but so wary have the survivors become
that in this instance modern improvements will have little effect
in hastening extermination already so far advanced.

Finback Whale
Batenoptera physalis (Linnzus)

Called also Rorqgual, Finner.

Length. 40-50 feet.

Humpback Whale; Sperm Whale

Description. ead equal to or rather less than one-quarter the
total length. Not arched, but broad and flat above. A fleshy
fin is present on the back, and the throat is longitudinally
furrowed while the bones of the neck are separate. Colour
jet black above, including the flippers, white below, marbled
on the sides by a combination of the two colours.

Range. North Atlantic Ocean.

The fin-back is said to be a more active and rapid swimmer
than the right whale, but its general habits are much the same.
Judging by stranded examples fin-back whales are the most com-
mon of the large whales on our Atlantic Coast.

Besides the common fin-back we have the blue whale (Balan-
optera musculus), a larger species of a purplish slate colour, while
other closely allied varieties occur in other parts of the ocean.

Humpback Whale

Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre)

Length. 50 feet.

Description. Similar to the finback whales, but with the back
strongly convex and the flippers very long and scalloped on
the edges. Sooty-black above, white beneath

Range. North Atlantic Ocean, represented elsewhere by closely
allied species.

THE SPERM WHALES

Family Physeteride

Here belong two whales, one large and one small, but both
recognized by their regularly toothed lower jaw, toothless upper
jaw and high vertical forehead.

Sperm Whale

Physeter macrocephalus Linnzeus

Also called Cachalot.
Length. 60-80 feet.

Pigmy Sperm Whale

Description. Head oblong, level with the back on top and square
and truncate in front, forming nearly one-third of the total
length of the animal; lower jaw hallow and very narrow in
front, armed with 22 to 24 large teeth on each side. Back
with a hump on the neck and several humps farther back, but
no dorsal fin. Colour black or blackish brown, lighter below,
sometimes marbled.

Range. Tropical and subtropical oceans, now very rare in the North
Atlantic.

The sperm whale or Cachalot is the largest of the toothed
cetaceans, and in its great bulk recalls the whalebone whales,
though the peculiar truncated head and narrow, shallow lower
jaw, with its formidable array of teeth, serve easily to distinguish
it. The nostrils of the sperm whale open at the extreme front
of the head instead of farther back, as in the whalebone whales,
and its ‘‘spout” issues diagonally forward instead of vertically up-
ward. This peculiarity enables whalers to identify the sperm
whale at very great distances.

This animal seems to feed at great depths and is able to
remain under water longer than any other species—sometimes for
over an hour at a time, according to Captain Scammon. When
at the surface it respires thirty to sixty times at short intervals
with great regularity and then, ‘‘pitching head-foremost down-
ward, turns his flukes high in the air and when gaining nearly
a perpendicular attitude descends to a great depth.”

The food of the sperm whale consists of various ‘‘squids”
or cuttlefish. The ‘‘ambergris” discharged from its intestines is
a valued article of perfume. -

Pigmy Sperm Whale
Kogia breviceps (Blainville)

Length. 10-15 feet.

Description. In a general way much like the preceding, but differs
in its small size, slender curved teeth, and in the presence
of a fin on the back.

Range. North Atlantic and other oceans. Several specimens have
been taken on our shores of late years, although it is a rare
animal.

BOTTLE-NOSED WHALES
Family Ziphiide

These whales are rare on our coasts and comparatively little
is known of their habits. They are intermediate between the
sperm whales and dolphins, both in size and structure. They
all possess protruding snouts and have never more than two
teeth. The front of the skull enlarges with age, the forehead be-
coming vertical or even projecting in very old individuals. Three
species are known on our coast.

Bottle-nosed Whale

Hyperovdon rostratus (Miller)

Length. 20 feet.

Description. Forehead more or less vertical, as described above,
beak prominent, a depression on the head around the blowhole,
flippers and dorsal fin moderate. No teeth visible, though
two can be found at the front of the lower jaw loosely bur-
ied in the gums. Colour blackish lead, somewhat lighter
below.

Range. North Atlantic and doubtless other oceans.

Ziphius Whale

Ziphius cavirostris Cuvier

Length. 15-20 feet.

Description. Similar to the preceding, but with the teeth at the
front of the lower jaw usually visible. Three of the neck
vertebral bones are also separate, while in the bottle-nose
all are united. Colour light stone-gray, darker on the belly.

Range. Pelagic.
Cow-fish
Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby)

Length. 16 feet.
Description. Similar to the preceding species, but the male with

Bottle-nosed Dolphin

a tooth on each side of the lower jaw at about the middle,
female toothless. Skin very smooth and polished, uniform
black all over with occasional lighter blotches.

Range. North Atlantic, apparently a deep-water species.

DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES
Family Delphinide

The smaller cetaceans, popularly known as dolphins and por-
poises, compose this family. Properly speaking, the name dolphin
belongs to those species which have a projecting snout, while
porpoise refers to those with uniformly rounded head. With
their usual perversity, however, our earliest settlers christened the
commonest of these animals on our Atlantic Coast the ‘‘ porpoise,’
while in reality it is a true dolphin, the same as the ‘‘bottle-
nose” of the coasts of Europe.

Both dolphins and porpoises have a well-developed fin on the
back and with one exception (the Grampus) have a large number
of sharp teeth in both jaws.

The other members of the family, the white whale and the
narwhal are found only in the Arctic regions and are peculiar in
many ways. Both lack the dorsal fin and the narwhal is devoid
of teeth except for the single long protruding tusk.

Bottle-nosed Dolphin

Tursiops tursio (Fabricius)

Called also Porpoise on our Atlantic Coast.

Length. 9 feet.

Description. Stout, forehead sloping, beak short and depressed,
back fin about midway between the nose and the tip of the
tail. Colour plumbeous gray above, lighter on the sides,
shading gradually into pure white on the under surface. Teeth
22 in each jaw.

Range. North Atlantic coasts from Maine to Florida and through
the Gulf to Texas, also coasts of Europe.

This is the most familiar cetacean of our Atlantic seaboard,

Common Dolphin ; Spotted Dolphin

and few are the visitors to our seaside resorts who have not
seen a school of ‘‘porpoises” passing up or down the coast just
beyond the breakers, their arched backs and pointed fins rising
at regular intervals above the surface of the waves and disap-
pearing again, as the animal continues on its undulating course.
Occasionally with a stronger leap than usual the powerful fluked
tail is seen above the water and sometimes the entire body is
exposed.

Like other members of the family, porpoises are sociable and
always gather in herds or ‘‘schools” of varying size and in
this way no doubt they pursue with better effect the mackerel,
herring and other fishes upon which they feed,

Often at sea porpoises will associate themselves with some
passing ship and for miles at a time plunge along close to her
side, perhaps taking the vessel for some gigantic member of their
own tribe. I have watched them travelling in this manner for
long intervals and they kept close to the prow, as if piloting
the ship on its way and apparently with no thought of the
scraps or refuse which they might have secured had they been
following in our wake.

Several species of similar habits occur in the north Atlantic
which are described below, while others are found in the other seas.

Common Dolphin
Delphinus delphis Linnzeus

Length. 7 feet.

Description. Beak longer and narrower than in the preceding.
Colour variable; back, fin and tail black, under parts white,
sides gray. The black descends on the sides to about the
middle, and there is a black ring around the eye and a black
line to the beak. There is usually a dusky band from the jaw
to the flipper and one or two stripes on the sides. Teeth 47
to 50 above, and 46 to 51 below.

Range. Pelagic. Apparently not common on our coasts, but has
been taken in New York Harbour, Wood’s Hole, etc.

Spotted Dolphin
Prodelphinus plagiodon (Cope)

Length. 7 feet.

Striped Dolphin; Harbour Porpoise

Description. Very similar in shape to the last. Purplish gray
above, white below, upper parts spotted with white, lower
with dark gray. Teeth 37 above, 34 below.

Range. Atlantic and Gulf coasts north to Cape Hatteras.

Striped Dolphin

Lagenorhynchus acutus (Gray)

Length. 8 feet.

Description. Beak very short, a mere rim with a depression
between it and the forehead on each side. Colour black on
back, rest of body gray, sides with white and yellowish
patches; a narrrow black stripe from the base of the tail half-
way to the middle of the body; eye surrounded with black
and black lines from it to the snout and flipper; flippers black.
Teeth 35 above, 37 below.

Range. North Atlantic, southward to Cape Cod.

Harbour Porpoise

Phocena phocena (Linnzus)

Length. 5 feet.

Description. Head rounded in front, no beak or snout. Fin of
the back more triangular than in the dolphins. Colour dark
slate or blackish, shading gradually to white on the belly,
sides somewhat tinged with pink or yellowish, and a dark
band from the lower jaw half way to the flipper. Teeth 26
in each jaw.

Range. North Atlantic south to New Jersey; also on coasts of
Europe and in the Pacific.

As the bottle-nose (7ursiops tursio) is the commonest of the
dolphins on our coast, this is the best known of the round-headed
or porpoise group. It is apparently more common on European
coasts than with us and, being more northern in its range, is
not so familiar as the common boitle-nose to our sea-shore
visitors.

The five species which follow are all allied to the harbour
porpoise, but have striking peculiarities which have earned for
them distinctive popular names.

Blackfish; Grampus; Killer

Blackfish
Globtocephala melas (Traill)

Called also Pilot Whale, Ca’ing Whale.

Length. 15 feet.

Description. Size large, forehead vertical, high, sometimes even
overhanging the lips which are slightly protruding; flippers
very long (4 feet); back fin situated in front of the middle,
and sloping backward. Colour uniform black with a V-shaped
white mark on the breast connecting with a white stripe down
the belly. Teeth 10 in each jaw.

Range. North Atlantic, south to Long Island on the American
side. Further south it is replaced by the southern blackfish
G. brachypterus, Cope), entirely black, with much_ shorter

ippers and only 8 teeth in each jaw.

This large animal resembles somewhat the bottle-nosed whale
(Hyperoddon), but is recognized at once by its long flippers and
numerous teeth. It is said to be more gregarious than other
species, associating in herds of two or three hundred individuals
which blindly follow their leader like a flock of sheep.

Grampus
Grampus griseus (Cuvier)

Length. 10 feet.

Description. Similar to the blackfish, with the same high fore-
head, but recognized by the higher back-fin, and the absence
of teeth in the upper jaw. Colour dark gray above, lighter
below and on the head, sides with irregular lighter stripes,
flippers black mottled with gray. Teeth absent above, 6 to
14 in the lower jaw.

Range. North Atlantic southward to New Jersey, also coasts of
Europe and north Pacific.

Killer
Orca orca (Linnzus)

Length. 20 feet.
Description. Size large, forehead flat, back-fin enormous (6 feet

White Whale; Narwhal

high in the male), flippers short and rounded. Colours black
above and white below in strong contrast; the white extends
upward on the sides in two stripes and there is a white
spot above each eye and a purplish area behind the back
fin. Teeth to to 13 in each jaw, large and sharp.

Range. Oceans, generally distributed.

The other members of the dolphin family are easy going,
rather timid animals subsisting on fish and smaller marine animals,
but in the killer we find all the fierce predatory characteristics
of our carnivorous land animals or the sharks among the fishes.
They kill and devour the blackfish and larger whales‘ as well as
seals and large fishes. Captain Scammon says: ‘‘ The attack of
these wolves of the ocean upon their gigantic prey may be
likened to a pack of hounds holding the stricken deer at bay.
They cluster about the animal's head, some of their number
leaping over it, while others seize it by the lips and haul the
bleeding monster under the water and, when captured, should
the mouth be open they eat out the tongue.”

White Whale
Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas)

Length. 11 feet.

Description. Head rounded, neck slightly narrowed, flippers small
and rounded, no fin on the back. Colour entirely white.
Teeth g in each jaw.

Range. Arctic seas, straying southward rarely as far as Cape Cod.

The white whale is one of the characteristic animals of the
frozen north and though forced a little southward by the ice of
winter it rarely reaches the boundary of the United States. In
early summer when the ice breaks up and the herring and
other fishes throng the bays to spawn, the white whales pursue
them and large numbers of the cetaceans are frequently stranded
in shallow water where the Eskimos kill them with ease.

Narwhal
Monodon monoceras Linnzus
Length. 12 feet.
Description. Head short and rounded, flippers short and broad.

Narwha

no fin on the back. Colour dark gray above, white below.
sides and back with darker spots. No teeth in the lower
jaw and but one above—a long horizontal twisted tusk, 5
to 6 feet in length. (A short rudimentary tusk is imbedded
in the skull on the opposite side.)

Range. Arctic seas, accidental farther south.

This curious ‘‘sea unicorn” is another inhabitant of the far
north, and its immense tusk plays an important part in the
weapons and tools of the Eskimo. This tusk is really one of the
front teeth, and while it appears to protrude from the middle
line of the head, an examination of the skull will show that it:
belongs wholly to one side, which is greatly developed at the
expense of the corresponding portion of the other side. A second
rudimentary tusk will also be found imbedded in the bone of the
skull.

MANATEES AND DUGONGS
( Strenia)

THESE animals on account of their aquatic habits have been
frequently associated with the whales, but there seems no real
relationship between them and it is probable that each has departed
from the stock of the terrestrial mammals at a different point.
Just what the affinities of the manatees are we have no more
definite knowledge than in the case of the whales, nor doe:
paleontology throw any light on the question.

The resemblance between the manatees and whales is prac:
tically limited to the flipper-like fore limbs, flat tail and scarcity
or absence of hair on the skin. The tail of our manatee, how-
ever, is not forked like that of the whales and the head is wholly
different, relatively small and provided with a series of square-
topped molar teeth, while some species have incisors as well.
Only about eight species of these curious animals are known.

THE MANATEES
Family Trichechide

This family includes only the manatees. The dugongs of
the Old World and the peculiar Steller’s sea cow which formerly
inhabited the north Pacific, being arranged in separate groups.

Florida Manatee

Trichechus latirostris (Harlan)

Called also Sea Cow.

Length. 9 feet.

Description. General shape cylindrical, neck short, not much con-
tracted, forehead oblique, nose, as seen from the front, trian-
gular, lips thick, upper one clothed with bristles and capable

SUALIU] - . M as JSALVNV i

Florida Manatee

of much expansion. Tail flat and widened, then tapering
to a point, flipper rather long (1 foot), eyes small, skin with
a few scattered hairs. Colour bluish black, somewhat paler
below and gray on the muzzle.

Range. Formerly the Gulf and South Atlantic coasts of the United
States, now restricted to rivers and lagoons of south-eastern
Florida and becoming very scarce.

The exact number of species of manatee which occur on the
coasts of the New World is a matter of some doubt, but it is pretty
certain that the Florida manatee is different from the Trichechus
americanus of South America.

Unlike the whales, manatees are not lovers of the open ocean,
but remain close along shore, feeding in the bays and lagoons
on the various water plants and grasses. From the meagre accounts
that we have of these animals in their native haunts they seem to
spend their time lazily floating or wallowing about with the upper
part of the head generally exposed. Those kept in captivity usually
rest on the bottom of their tanks and rise to the surface for air
at periods of from two to six minutes. They accomplish this
‘‘with the least perceptible movement of the tail and flapping
motion of the paddles, raising the upper part of the body until
the head reaches the surface, when the air is admitted through
the nostril flap valves which are closely shut after the operation.” *
They seemed ill at ease when the water was drawn off and were
apparently unable to progress on land. When feeding they seemed
to fan the strands of grass and sea weed into the mouth by means
of the copious bristles which surround it.

It is sad to contemplate the extinction of these curious beasts
which present so many interesting peculiarities to the naturalist,
and problems in evolution which he has yet to solve. Their
harmlessness would seem to warrant their preservation, but it
seems on the other hand to aid in their destruction. As fast as
the settlement of the country makes their haunts more accessible
their numbers lessen and, being tropical in their nature, the frosts
and cold spells which have of recent years prevailed in Florida
with such ruin to the orange groves have also played sad havoc
with the remaining small band of manatees.

* Crane. “ Proc. Zool. Soc.,’’ London, 1880, p. 456.

UNGULATES OR HOOFED ANIMALS

( Ungulata )

To this order belong most of the largest mammals. Repre-
sentatives occur in all parts of the world except Australia and
Madagascar, but they are most abundant in the tropics of the Old
World.

Nearly all the ‘‘game’’ mammals belong to this order and
through the persistent efforts of the hunters quite a number of
species are rapidly approaching extinction. Here too belong the
domestic animals which have served man as beasts of burden
and as a source of food and clothing from time immemorial—the
horse, ass, cow, sheep, goat and hog.

The ungulates are herbivorous, and many of them are gre-
garious, associating in large herds.

In structure they differ from all the other orders in the pos-
session of rounded horny hoofs which terminate the toes and cor-
respond to the claws of the rodents and carnivores. All ungulates
are also digitigrade, walking on the tips of the toes with the heel
much elevated. In most species the legs are decidedly long, and
the feet much elongated, while there is always a reduction in
the number of toes. This reaches its extreme in the horse which
has but one toe on each foot, though the remnants of two others
still remain in the slender bones known as ‘“‘splints.”

The smallest ungulates are the chevrotains and some of the
antelopes of Asia and Africa which scarcely reach a height of
twelve inches at the shoulder, from these they range all the way to
the gigantic rhinoceros and Indian buffalo, and the slender giraffe.

The order is divisible into two groups—the Perissodactyli or
odd-toed ungulates, including the horse and zebra (one toe); the
rhinoceros and tapir* (three toes), and the Artiodactyli or even-toed
ungulates; the hippopotamus (four toes); camel and giraffe (two
toes), and the pig, deer, sheep, ox, etc. (four toes, two of which
are rudimentary).

The deer and their allies constitute the section of ruminants to
which all the domestic cattle belong and which are characterized by a

* The tapir has four toes on the front feet.

= )
HS)

Ungulates

peculiar four-parted stomach and the habit of casting up the
hastily cropped grass for further mastication when resting later
on. This operation is called ‘‘chewing the cud,” and one of the
compartments of the stomach serves as
a receptacle for the food, while it awaits
this supplementary chewing. The canine
teeth are often wanting in the hoofed
animals and in the ruminant group the
front teeth or incisors of the upper jaw
are also lacking. The large grinders or
molar teeth are always present and exhibit
the most complicated type of tooth known.
Most of the ruminants are further peculiar
in the possession of horns or bony ant-
lers growing out from the top of the
skull.

Great numbers of fossil ungulates
have been discovered and it has been
Foot of a ruminant (sheep) Possible to show the gradual evolution
eM eal osc of the living species through a_ long
(SEI See SY Seales of extinct ancestors.
ponding toe Danes ote eee ee Remains of extinct horses and rhi-

noceroses have been found abundantly
within the United States as well as animals for which we have
no familiar names. To-day, however, our native ungulates are
comparatively few in number and are grouped in four families,
all of them belonging to the even-toed division.

I. Peccaries (Family Dicotylide@). Pig-like animals, not ruminant
and without horns. Canine teeth large and prominent,
front teeth (incisors) in both jaws.

Il. Deer, elk, etc. (Family Cervid@). Ruminant animals with
bony branching antlers on the head of the males (and
females also in the caribou), which are shed every year.
Rudimentary canines generally present but front teeth
(incisors) only in the lower jaw. ;

Ill. Prong horn (Family Antilocapride). Allied to the cattle
(Bovide), but the hollow horns are forked and are shed
as in the deer.

IV. Cattle and their allies (Family Bovide). Ruminant animals
with hollow horns fitting over bony prominences on
the skull in both males and females. These horns are

Texas Peecary

straight or curved, but mever branched, and are not
shed annually. Teeth as in the deer, but the canines
are entirely lacking.

PECCARIES
Family Dicotylide
Texas Peccary

Tayassu angulatum (Cope)

Length. 34 inches.

Description. Pig-like, with short erect ears, no tail, bristly hair
and a scent gland on the back. Individual hairs banded black
and white, producing a mottled appearance, the face, mane
of the back, throat, legs, underparts, ears and hoofs are black,
while a white collar-like band reaches from the sides of the
neck over the shoulders.

Range. Texas and south-western Arkansas. The closely related
collared peccary is found in Mexico.

Peccaries are the American representatives of the pig family
and take the place of the wild boars of Europe. Like many
other products of the western hemisphere, they are an improve-
ment upon their like in the Old World inasmuch as they are
distinctly more advanced in development. They have a compli-
cated stomach, somewhat like that of the ruminant mammals, and
have three instead of four toes on the hind feet.

In general appearance the peccary resembles a small black
pig, with a mane and slender legs, and he is said to root and
wallow in a truly pig-like fashion.

The home of the Texas peccary is low river bottoms with
dense thickets and overgrown swamps. Here he may be found
singly or in small droves feeding on the acorns, pecans and wal-
nuts or grubbing up roots. Spots which are particularly fre-
quented by them usually smell strongly of the peculiar skunk-like
odor which they emit.

Whatever there may be in the stories of the fierceness 0»
the South American peccaries, our species seems to be a harmless

souIsnC “YW Ag

(isspiv, nsspdo—) KAVOOUd GAYVIIOIN

7
7
2
a
_)
7 7
- ‘We :
; ;
vee
ee ae
ray
= |
Vs ‘]
1
4
an
“ a
Sy
ia
oe
ad re sd
e 7.
St

=
= or

oa)

2p
4

eatin
.
™

i
A
Seria ¢
.
ak
2.
: P
,
:
rT §
~

_ ¥ — J
aay

Low
a

7 —
eo
po

American Elk

beast, preferring to escape by flight rather than turn upon its pur-
suers, though its sharp teeth and well-developed tusks would make
it a iather formidable enemy.

DEER AND THEIR ALLIES
Family Cervide

To this family belong the majority of our American hoofed
animals. As has already been explained, their most distinctive
characteristic lies in their solid horns or antlers, which are shed
once a year. The new horn grows rapidly and is for a time soft,
full of blood vessels and provided with a downy covering known
as the ‘‘velvet.’”’ When the full growth is attained the horn
becomes hard and the velvet wears off. The first antlers are
very simple, but each succeeding pair is, as a rule, more and
more branched, so that a large number of ‘‘ points” indicates to
the hunter an old individual.

American Elk

Cervus canadensis (Erxleben)

Also called Wapiit.

Length. 8 feet. Height at shoulder, 5 feet 4 inches. Length of
antler, 50-65 inches.

Description. Body above yellowish brown, beneath nearly black,
head, chest and neck dark brown, legs clove brown, a yel-
lowish white area on the rump about the base of the tail.
Female rather lighter coloured. The antlers borne only by the
male curve outward and backward with curved branches or
tines projecting forward at nearly uniform distances, the lowest
pair directly over the forehead.

Range. Formerly throughout the Northern states and Canada, ex-
tending southward in the mountains. Now nearly extinct in the
East. In the Northwest its place is taken by the closely related
Roosevelt’s elk and in the Arizona Mountains by Merriam’s elk.

This splendid game animal is now all but extinct east of the
Mississippi river; a victim to the advance of civilization and the

American Elk

greed of the hunter. But over the miles and miles of country
which he formerly roamed at will his memory will be preserved
for all time in the names of towns, counties, rivers, lakes and
mountains. Any locality where elk were particularly abundant
or where perhaps the last one was killed has been christened in
honour of the noble beast, and apparently there is not a State
lying within the former range of the species that has not its
Elk county or Elk township. The name, like many another be-
stowed by our early settlers, is unfortunate, as the elk of the
Old World is practically identical with our moose, while the Ame-
rican elk is a true stag, having its counterpart in the red
deer of Europe. Wapiti, the Indian name, is distinctive and
preferable, but, of course, a change in a name so well established
is out of the question, and all we can do is to remember that
elk in America and Europe refers to very different animals.

In parts of Quebec the elk may possibly still exist or, at any
rate did, not so many years ago and here are often found the cast-off
horns buried in moss and loam or washed from the bed of a
river. In northern Michigan and Wisconsin a few may still persist.

In the Eastern States the elk seems to have lingered
longest in the wilds of central Pennsylvania and men are still
living who can remember the killing of the ‘‘last elk” of their
several localities about fifty years ago.

The Rocky Mountains and ranges to the westward now con-
tain all the elk that are left and at the present rate of killing
their extermination would seem to be not far distant.

Like many of the Cervide, elk are gregarious and polygamous,
associating in moderate-sized herds, the strongest bull acting as
master of the cows and driving the other aspirants off by them-
selves until such time as they can prove their superiority and
acquire a herd of their own.

At the pairing season frequent savage encounters take place
between the bulls, which charge one another with lowered heads in
the manner of all the deer tribe. Occasionally two individuals have
been found with their great branching antlers locked inextricably to-
gether or perhaps merely the antlers themselves are discovered, silent
witnesses of a tragedy of former years, ending in starvation or
an attack by wolves, the elk in their unfortunate predicament being
unable to save themselves from either one fate or the other.

“After the pairing season,” writes Lydekker, ‘“wapiti collect in

BULL ELK, OR STAG (Cervus canadensis) By A. R. Dugmore

American Ele

large herds, which used formerly to number several hundred
individuals, and wander about for a time till they finally select their
winter feeding grounds. These are usually open hills where the
ground is kept more or less free of snow by the wind, so that such
food as there is at this season may be obtained with the least
difficulty. During the hot weather, when they are much persecuted
by flies and mosquitoes, wapiti resort to water, in which they will
stand for hours ; and, in the pairing season at least, the old stags are
fond of wallowing in mud-holes from which they emerge coated with
dirt and presenting anything but a prepossessing appearance. The
antlers are shed in March and the new pair free from the velvet by the
end of August or beginning of September. Saplings of aspen or pine
appear to afford the favourite rubbing posts for freeing the antlers
from the last remnants of the velvet. In a wild state the hind breeds
when two or three years old ; the number of fawns at a birth being
sometimes two, or rarely three, although one is the most common.”
As to food the elk is not particular. Mr. Caton says: ‘“ All
the grasses and most of the weeds within his reach are taken freely
and the leaves and twigs of all the deciduous trees are alike enjoyed.
A considerable proportion of his daily food he desires to be arboreous,
yet if deprived of it he will keep in good condition on herbaceous
food alone. In winter he will take the coarsest food, and will eat
freely even that which the ox and the horse reject.” Elk feed
leisurely during the morning and afternoon, usually resting at mid-
day, and unlike most deer they are not active during the night.
George Bird Grinnell has recently given us an excellent pen
picture of a herd of elk which we cannot do better than quote. He
writes : ‘* From a distant ravine comes the shrill sweet whistle of a
great bull elk as he utters his bold challenge to all rivals far and near.
You can see him plainly as he walks out from the timber and slowly
climbs the hill, followed by the group of watchful cows; and he is a
splendid picture. Short-bodied, strong-limbed, round and_ sleek-
coated, he is a marvel of strength if not of grace. His yellow body is
in sharp contrast with the dark brown head and mane, and the hugely
branching antlers, wide spread and reaching far back over his
shoulders, seem almost too much for him to carry; so that as he
marches along with ponderous tread each step seems to shake the
earth. At intervals he throws back his head and utters his wild call,
and before its first notes reach the ear you can see the white steam of
his breath as it pours forth into the frosty air, His cows feed near to

Varieties of the Elk

him as he steps along or if one straggles too far he moves slowly
toward her, and shaking his mighty horns warns her to return. If
you fire a shot at one of that band, speedily the old bull will show
himself the herder and protector of his family. Rushing about from
point to point he will gather up cows and calves into a close bunch
and will drive them off over the hills, threatening the laggards with his
horns and using them too with cruel effect if the cows do not hurry.
No chivalry this on the part of the old bull. . |. He drives them for-
ward not because he wishes to protect them from death, but because
the cows are his and he does not intend to be robbed of his wives and
children.”’

Varieties of the Elk

As with most animals of wide range the elk varies in different
parts of its habitat. Three varieties have been described and it
is probable that the animals formerly inhabiting the Eastern States
differed somewhat from the Rocky Mountain elk. Lack of specimens
will however probably leave this question forever in doubt.

1. American Elk. Cervus canadensis (Erxl.) Described above,
range west to and including the Rocky Mountains.

2. Roosevelt's Elk. Cervus occidentalis Smith. Larger and darker
coloured, with heavier horns.

Range. Coast range of Washington, Oregon and Northern
California.

3. Merriam’s Elk. Cervus merriami Nelson. Nose darker and head
and legs redder than C. canadensis, but not so dark as C.
occidentalis. Skull very massive, broader than either of the
above. Antlers straighter at the tips.

Range. White Mountains of Arizona and Mogollon Mountains,
New Mexico.

Virginia Deer

Odocotleus virginianus (Boddaert)

Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder. 3 feet 1 inch. Length of
Antler. 20-24 inches.

Description. Bright rufous chestnut above in summer with a black
band on the chin, throat, under parts and inside of legs white,
tail brownish above, white beneath. In winter the upper parts
are yellowish gray with white about the eye. Antlers curving

: “poys suleq sf srey
auiuins oy} UayM Butids ut zyeod jo UOTPIPUOoS pulmoys ‘2 SI “4 ABT ‘Big coz judy ‘f sy Ol Judy ‘rv sy 2 judy ‘Sag

SUGLINY SIMA ONIDLaESD Gisveponne snn4a)) MTA NV

ToJuImM 94 pue ut pajegneevere) st trey J

Virginia Deer

outward and then upward, the tips curving in again toward
one another, there is a short upright spike near the base, beyond
which the beam gives off two upright branches making three
nearly equal prongs. At no point does the antler branch
dichotomously.

Range. Eastern North America, separable into several geographical
varieties and represented westward to the Pacific by other closely
related races. (See below.)

The Virginia deer in one or other of its varieties was originally
spread abundantly over our entire country, but the encroachments of
agriculture upon the wilderness, the inroad of the lumberman, the fire
which ever travels in his wake and the spread of towns and cities
have driven the deer from a large portion of their former range and
sadly decreased their numbers elsewhere. Such conditions now pre-
vail through many parts of Pennsylvania where the devastation of the
lumbermen and the ruin of the magnificent primeval forest are
occurrences of yesterday. Farther north and south, in wilds as yet
untouched, the deer still hold their own, and in New Jersey a few
remain, thanks to the inhospitable pine barrens and impenetrable
swamps, as well as to wise legislation properly enforced.

In New England within the last few years these beautiful
creatures have ventured to return and dwell again in the haunts
of their ancestors, wherever the destruction worked by civilization has
not been too severe. Wise !aws passed for their protection have
yielded good results more quickly than the most sanguine could
have hoped.

In 1853 Thoreau wrote: ‘‘Minot says his mother told him
she had seen a deer come down the hill behind her house and cross
the road and meadow in front. Thinks it may have been eighty years
ago.” Evidently Thoreau supposed that that wild deer seen in
Concord about 1770 was one of the last of its race ever to visit
that part of the country. Yet if he had lived to be an old man
he might frequently have seen them, if not at Concord, at least
at other spots in New England from which they were supposed
to have been driven forever. Not the pampered stock bred in game
preserves, but the sturdy descendants of the native wild deer that the
red men hunted throush rough forests when the whole country be-
longed to them alone.

Now they may be Seen in quiet country places in various parts of
New England, browsing at the edge of leafy woodlands or resting in

Virginia Deer

the shade of wide-topped elms in high windy pastures along with the
larmer’s cattle. It would certainly be difficult to find a creature lead-
ing a happier, more carefree life than our wild deer of the present
day. After generations of persecution and terror, reduced to lonely
individuals hiding afraid in distant forests, chased by dogs and shot at
by man, fearful of greeting one of their own kind even, lest it prove
an enemy in disguise, they are allowed once more to enjoy the land
in safety. True to their name they have already forgiven man his
savage treatment and show but slight alarm at his presence, taking
retribution only in an occasional visit to his growing corn and fields
of herd grass and clover.

They may now call to each other in the twilight without fear of
betraying themselves to the hunter and roam the conntry over in
families or alone as suits each one the best.

If a dog so much as chases them he may be shot lawfully and _ his
owner fined or imprisoned. What does it matter to them that in
certain counties they may be hunted for a few weeks each year;
who would not be willing to be shot at occasionally during so short a
period with the chances in favour each time of getting away
untouched, if in return he could enjoy such splendid health
throughout the year?

They now have probably fewer natural foes to contend with than
almost any other creature.

Foxes, it is likely, get afew of the fawns in early summer, but the
danger from them must be insignificant as compared with that the
deer were compelled to face or avoid when the land was wild and
Indians, panthers, wolves and lynxes hunted them winter and summer
alike.

It is said that in some parts deer are already making decided
nuisances of themselves by foraging on the farmer’s crops; I trust it is
not a far look ahead to the time when it will be true of them where
! live in New Hampshire.

Only last August a full-grown buck with goodly antlers came
‘nto our field at noon, and, walking about in the tall grass, probably
made as good a meal of English grass and alsike clover as his fore-
bears were in the way of getting when they had only the wild
growths of the forest and wild meadows to choose from.

When | see them enjoying all the splendid freedom of wind and
sky over the brown pastures, or bounding away with tails in the air,
| feel that of all the creatures driven away by the early settlers, no

THE RAPID GROWTH OF AN ELK’S ANTLERS
ig t..photographed April a. Fig. 2, Aprilio. Fig. 3, April2o. Fig. 4, May 7.

Virginia Deer

other could be so welcome a returner as the wild deer, even if he
does prove in a way destructive.

The deep snows and severe weather of 1898-9 yielded good
opportunities for noting their custom of yarding.

In February when out on my snow-shoes | came upon one of
these yards in the birch woods within a mile of the farm house where
{ write; a series of deep irregular paths marking out a loose net-work
over about an acre of buried stumps and blackberry bushes. It had
already been abandoned a day or two when | found it, a straight path
leading off toward the northwest showing the most recent tracks.
The yard had evidently been made and inhabited by a lone doe,
possibly two or three with their fawns, the tracks all being alike and
of small size.

In many places where the snow was only two or three feet deep
they had tunnelled along beneath the heavy laden undergrowth for
short distances. Again I found narrow open paths, five feet or more
in depth, with almost perpendicular sides. Apparently they had fed
almost altogether upon the ground growths under the snow, the
twigs beside the paths showing little signs of having been
browsed upon.

Four strands of barbed wire proved no obstacle to them, they
passed under the bottom wire as freely as a fox or dog would do.
Once or twice during the winter | found the trail of what must have
been an unusually large stag in the swamps and young pine growths
near there and along the borders of cultivated fields; his big hoof-
prints with their widespread dew claws were separated by astonish-
ingly long intervals at times.

To go out into the forest with the fixed intention of killing
anything so beautiful and harmless as a deer seems brutal and heart-
less enough any way you care to look at the matter. Yet the kindest
hearted of men do so every fall, and though they may learn to hate
themselves for every deer they have shot, they cannot give it up, and
look forward just as eagerly to the next year’s shooting, for there is no
other sport to be compared to deer-stalking in the autumn woods just
after a rain in the night, when the west wind is rising to dry
the leaves and prevent the sound of a breaking twig from carrying too
far. Deer-stalking is leisurely work. You move quietly along among
the trees, keeping your face to the wind and watching the ground for
fresh tracks. When you find tracks that lead you toward the
wind you follow them as noiselessly as possible, endeavoring to

Virginia Deer

learn from their appearance just how long since the deer tha‘
made them preceded you; when in wet places the water has
not yet settled in the foot-prints, it is time to look sharply ahead
among the trees for a glimpse of your quarry. Deer usually wander
about feeding all the morning, following a more or less direct
course according to the lay of the land. Along the foot of a ridge by
the edge of a swamp is a favourite feeding ground of theirs, and
they like to trace the windings of a trout brook between low hills.
in the middle of the day they lie down to rest in the lee of
a thick clump of evergreen, where they can watch their tracks for
any enemy that may be following them. Before lying down they
make a practice of going back a little distance on their tracks
to make sure that they are not followed. So when you have
been tracking them all the morning and toward noon _ perceive
three tracks ahead of you in place of ome, you may feel pretty
certain the deer you are after is resting in some thick clump not
many rods ahead. But unless there is snow on the ground to
enable you to see the tracks a long way in front of you, you
will hardly notice the back tracks before you have come so close
as to alarm your game and send it flying off among the trees,
showing you just the white flash of his tail as he disappears.
If not badly frightened, however, he will probably not run very
far before stopping to look back at you, choosing, if possible, a
thickly wooded knoll or a hummock at the edge of the swamp
and here you may perhaps get a shot at him if you will make
a slight detour and approach him from one side; to follow him
directly would be useless, for he is earnestly watching his back
tracks, and is certain to see you long before you can possibly see him.

Varieties of the Virginia Deer

One or other form of Virginia or white-tailed deer is found
in nearly every part of the United Sates. They are all geographic
variations of the same stock and they exhibit differences in direct pro-
portion to the effect produced by the peculiar climate and surround-
ings in which they live. Whether they shade gradually into one
another as their ranges approach, or whether differentiation has gone
further and they are to be regarded as different ‘‘ species” are ques-
tions that have not yet been definitely settled in many cases. Without

(sisuappuns snaa9) GUAH UNV OVIS ATH

wowsng ‘yy Aq

Mule Dee

considering the fine technical points of difference, the described
forms are as follows.

1. Virginia Deer. Odocoileus virginianus (Boddaert). Southern
States north of Florida and Louisiana to the Middle States.
2. Northern Deer. O. virginianus borealis Miller. Rather larger
and grayer.
Range. New England States and Canada to northern New York.
j. Banner-tatled Deer. O. virginianus macrourus (Rafinesque).
Smaller and paler coloured.
Range. Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas, etc.
4. Florida Deer. O. osceola Bangs. Very small, and exceedingly
dark coloured, about one quarter smaller than the Virginia deer.
Range. Florida.
Louisiana Deer. O. louisiane G. Allen. Similar but larger.
Range. Louisiana.
Texan or Fan-tailed Deer. O. texensis (Mearns). A small very
pale deer with small antiers.
Range. Texas and northern Mexico.
7. Arizona Deer. O. couesi (Rothrock). Small and pale in colour
but with no black edgings to the ears.
Range. Arizona and Northern Mexico.
8. White-tailed Deer. O. leucurus (Douglass). Similar to the
banner-tail.
Range. California to Washington.

Mule Deer
Odocotleus hemtonus (Rafinesque)

Also called Black-tatled deer.

Length. 6to7 feet. Height at shoulder. 3 feet 4 inches. Length
of antlers. 25-30 inches.

Description. Body heavy, ears very large, thickly haired, tail white with
black tip, naked below at the base. Pale dull yellowish in summer,
bluish-gray in autumn, front of the face between the eyes dusky,
rest of face, throat, abdomen and inside of legs white. Antlers
forking equally (dichotomous) and each prong again bifurcate.

Range. North Dakota to Texas and Colorado and west to Washing-
ton, Oregon and northern Californa. Closely allied varieties occur
in California south of San Francisco.

Unless we are familiar with an animal it is often difficult to know
the origin of the popular names that have been bestowed upon it. In
the present case we should on first thought picture a large heavy

Mule Deer

animal approaching the moose in build, but such a conception is
erroneous. The mule deer, like the jack-ass rabbit, owes its name
not to its shape but to its enormous ears, which as we know are the
most characeristic feature of the mule.

Though but little exceeding the Virginia deer in height, the
present species is a heavier, more coarsly built animal with shorter
legs and with very different antlers.

It inhabits usually the rough broken country but often ascends to
the higher valleys and plateaus of the mountains. Besides its peculiar-
ities of structure the mule deer has a distinctive gait. Instead of the
continuous easy springs of the Virginia deer it proceeds by a jerky
series of bounds, all four legs apparently touching the ground
together, or to quote from Lewis and Clarke who first discovered the
species: ‘‘It does not lope but jumps.”

The range of the mule deer is quite extensive through the West,
and as will be seen below, the Southern representatives form distinct
varieties.

The mule deer was one of those many Western novelties which
Audubon and his companions met with on their memorable journey
up the Missouri River in 1843. He says of his first sight of it: ‘‘On
winding along the banks, bordering a long and wide prairie,
intermingled with willows and other small brushwood, we suddenly
came in sight of four mule deer which, after standing a moment on
the bank and looking at us, trotted leisurely away, without appear-
ing to be much alarmed. After they had retired a few hundred yards,
the two largest, apparently males, elevated themselves on their hind
legs and pawed each other in the manner of the horse. They
occasionally stopped for a moment, then trotted off again, appearing
and disappearing from time to time, when becoming suddenly
alarmed they bounded off at a swift pace until out of sight. They
did not trot or run as irregularly as our Virginia deer, and they
appeared at a distance darker in cglour.”

As time went on and settlers and hunters spread over the great
West the mule deer became a familiar animal, distinguished by all
from the Virginia deer by its curious gait, its equally forking antlers
and its black tail; the latter giving rise over a large part of its range to
the name “‘black-tailed deer,’’ an appellation belonging more strictly
to the animal of the Columbia River region of the Pacific Coast. As
a game animal it is held by many to be unsurpassed. Mr. A. G.
Wallihan says of this species: ‘‘ For me, at least, there is a charm

4°

SHE HEARS A WHISTLE ACROSS THE CREEK

A STARTLED DOE;

< &

“.. “
; + ee
PSEA. came ed

E Carlin

By W

WHITE-TAIL DEER (Odocoteus virginzanus)

Ans ep
i Oh - :
te ea tae
: vie ~
Df) i er ee bok

varieties of Mule Deer and Allied Species

about the blacktail or mule deer, that no other game possesses.
Barring the bighorn, their meat is the best, their hide tans into the
best buckskin, and you turn from the large elk or the agile antelope to
the graceful beauty of the blacktail buck, and find there the greatest
satisfaction. The head of the bighorn is a finer trophy, no doubt,
and you are led to grand scenery in the pursuit of him, but it is heart-
breaking work. Where you find the blacktail you will find other
pleasures, for he delights in the most charming bits of country to be
found. He will jump up from the tall weeds and grass among the
aspens, so close as to startle you as you ride through them, or will
leap into view from the shade of a deep washout far in the desert,
where he finds in the feed and surroundings something to suit his
taste. He is crafty also, for if he thinks he is hidden I have known
him to lie in thick bush until almost kicked out after all sorts of
expedients to drive him out have failed. He, has perhaps the keenest
scent and the best hearing of all the deer tribe . . . but cannot see as
well as the antelope, for I have stood within ten or twenty feet
of several passing bands which failed to distinguish me from a stump
or rock. Antelope will approach very closely occasionally, out of
pure inquisitiveness, but never a deer. If anything moves a deer sees
it instantly, but he cannot tell what a still object is.’’

Varieties of Mule Deer and Allied Species

1. Mule Deer. Odocotleus hemionus (Rafinesque). Description
and range as above.

2. Californian Mule Deer. O. hemionus californicus (Caton).
Similar, with smaller ears and with a dark median stripe on
the tail.

Range. Coast range of California south of San Francisco.

3. Desert Mule Deer. O. hemionus eremicus (Mearns). Paler
than any of the other varieties.

Range. Wesert areas of lower California and Sonora.

4. Cerros Island Deer. O. cerrosensis Merriam. Similar to the
Californian variety, but much smaller.

Range. Cerros Island off the Californian coast.

Crook’s Deer. O. crooki Mearns. Somewhat like the mule
deer, but reddish-fawn in colour, tail naked at base
beneath.

Range. New Mexico.

Al
.

Columbian Black-tailed Deer
Columbian Black-tailed Deer

Odocoileus columbianus (Richardson)

Length. 6 feet.

Description. Smaller than the mule deer, with relatively shorter
ears and finer hair; especially distinguished by the shorter
metatarsal gland and tuft which occupy a considerable part
of the upper half of the cannon bone segment. General colour
brownish gray, darkest along the back, with a tinge of reddish
brown on the head; chin, upper throat and posterior portion
of underparts white, rest as above. Tail black above, basal
third beneath white. Antlers similar to those of the mule
deer. Summer coat redder than winter.

Range. British Columbia, through Washington and Oregon, west
of the Cascade Mountains. Closely related varieties to the
north and south, in Alaska and Northern, California.

Our Pacific coast region is favoured with more distinct kinds
of deer than any other part of the Union. Besides a _ represen-
tative of the widespread Virginia deer group, we find there also
the larger heavier mule deer and the smaller darker species above
described. The black-tailed deer, as seen above, has a very re-
stricted distribution and was unknown to naturalists until the
famous expedition of Lewis and Clarke across the Rocky Moun-
tains and into our northwestern territory. These observant natu-
ralists recognized in both this and the mule deer species which
were unknown to them and have given in the account of their
travels excellent descriptions of both. The blacktail is in many
ways intermediate between the mule and the Virginia deer, but
has the same peculiarity of gait and much the same style of
antlers as the former.

Lydekker writes of this species: “In its general mode of
life the blacktail is in some respects unlike the mule deer, although
it resembles the latter in its bounding gait when _ frightened.
Such a fatiguing pace can, however, be maintained only for a
comparatively short distance, and the deer consequently soon be-
come blown when they start off in this manner. When starting
without being frightened, they run in a more ordinary way, and
are then able to hold out for a much longer time, as is also the
case with the mule deer. Unlike the latter, the present species is
a forest-loving animal, frequenting the dense woods of conifers
bordering the Pacific Coast, whose deep shade affords ample con-

VIRGINIA DEER IN THE MAINE WOODS AT NIGHT By W. E. Carlir

Carefully approaching in a canoe, this picture of the surprised doe was secured by flashlight.

ss — is) The ; a ; a ales 7
ii > 1 pe : eA © 3 wt agus o_o =
, ~ : a5 7 7
y ” g) Vas
7 7° = d @ -

)

Mooss

cealment. ... The fawns are usually born in May, their number
being generally two, although triplets have been recorded. They
are more fully spotted than those of the mule deer, the spots
themselves being more sharply defined and arranged in more
definite longitudinal lines. In these respects the fawns are more
like those of the Virginian deer.”

Varieties of Black-tailed Deer

1. Black-tailed Deer. Odocotleus columbianus (Richardson).
Description and range as above.

2. Sitkhan Black-tatled Deer. O. columbianus sithensts Merriam.
Similar, but ears shorter, and basal part of tail above fulvous
like the back.

Range. Southern Alaska.

3. Californian Black-tailed Deer. O. columbianus scaphiotus

Merriam. Colours paler and ears longer.
Range. Northern California.

Moose
Alces americanus Jardine

Length. 9 feet. Height at shoulder, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet 6
inches. Length of antler, 41 to 44 inches.

Description. A crest of stiff erect hairs on the neck, much elon-
gated and forming a hump on the shoulders, nose large, the
upper lip protruding well over the lower, ears large, tail
very short, legs long, a pendent mass of hair on the throat
called the ‘‘ bell.’”’ Colour blackish-brown above, grizzled with
gray on the rump, shoulders and sides of the neck, under
parts black, inside of legs and their entire lower portions
quite gray, feet black, ears gray. Antlers broadly palmate,
solid portion nearly two feet at the widest point, several tines
project forward and the outer edge of the flat portion is
fringed by an irregular series of points.

Nange. Eastern British America, Maine, Minnesota and Montana
and formerly northern New York. Replaced in Alaska by
the Alaskan moose (Alces gigas Miller), a still larger beast,
and the largest known member of the deer tribe.

The moose seems like some old pre-historic creature that has
lingered on into the present age, lonely and out of place, as if,

Moose

having outlived its age and generation, it must necessarily soon
become extinct irom natural causes.

His massive scoop-shaped antlers and monstrous muzzle, in fact,
his whole great ungainly carcass, looks as if it might well belong to
some of those forgotten creatures whose bones are found in the
river-drift, or dug up from beneath clay strata, buried in some
long past interglacial epoch.

Yet the moose lives and breeds in our Maine woods, its flesh
serves as an article of food among us and may be bought in the
market.

Furthermore, he seems perfectly well fitted to look out for
his own safety. His speed and endurance are astonishing, and he
carries his large bulk and spreading antlers easily and swiftly
through thickets where a man might well hesitate to force his way.

His long legs are very convenient when wading about after
water lilies and equally so in reaching upward to peel the bark
from the young trees or biting off the tender shoots. When
browsing, however, he not unfrequently brings his heavy body
also into play and rearing up rides the tree down by sheer force,
thus bringing the upper branches within reach. Feeding off the
ground is another matter, however, the neck being too short to
compensate for the great length of leg so that the beast is forced
to kneel with the front feet in order to reach the ground in a
level spot.

The moose is eminently an animal of the forest and is par-
ticularly at home in the dense thickets surrounding the shallow
lakes, bogs and watercourses of the north woods, where he may
be found wading through the water in search of the yellow
splatterdocks, the roots of which at certain seasons form one of
his choicest articles of diet. Most of the peculiarities of the moose
are undoubtedly due to his habits which are in many respects
different from those of other members of the deer tribe.

In running his movements are described as clumsy, never
galloping or jumping, but executing a curious shuffling or ambling
gait, tossing his head and shoulders as if about to break into a
gallop, but only increasing his speed by lengthening his stride,
spreading his hind feet in order to straddle the front ones
without stepping on them, his hoofs clacking noisily as he goes.

He holds his nose up and his antlers laid back on_ his
shoulders to avoid the branches. When he comes to a fallen

4
}
|
;
i

DEER, IN MOOSE CREEK,

IDAHO.

By W. E. Carlin

WESTERN WHITE-TAIL, OR VIRGINIA DEER (Odocoileus virginianus macrourus) By W. E. Carliv

1N THE BITTER ROOT VALLEY, MONTANA.
These photographs of wild deer

were made in the spring, when the animals are more easy to approach
camera

bunter lay in wait near the trail and caught the animals unawares.

In each case the

Moose

tree, as high as a man’s shoulder, he does not jump it, but
simply steps over without changing his gait.

In winter the moose keep to the hilly woods in the cover
of the evergreens and live by browsing on green wood and
moss and the resinous foliage of the evergreens. When the
snow gets so deep as to hinder their progress, they tramp
irregular paths, forming a sort of labyrinth over several acres,
making what is known as a ‘‘moose yard,” where they pass
the hardest part of the winter, sometimes several families together.

As food gets scarce and hard to reach, they extend their
yards by breaking new paths through the snow, but are often
reduced to short commons before the winter is over. At the
approach of warm weather they move down to the swamps and
lnke-side, where they browse on willow, striped maple, birch,
etc.; in order to get at the upper branches of a sapling they
will rear up against it and bend it down with their weight.
In summer they live largely on lily roots and succulent water-
plants, wading and running out into the lakes and feeding with
their heads partly immersed in the water. During the rutting
season, which occurs in the autumn, the old bulls become savage
and fearless, roaming the forest on moonlight nights, whistling
and calling fiercely and clashing their antlers against trees as a
challenge. The cow moose answers with a lower call, which
the hunters imitate through birch-bark trumpets, in order to call
the bull within gunshot.

When enticed in this manner, the bull is likely to come
upon the hunter with a blind rush, and in the darkness of the
wood the hunter, whose nerves are liable to fail him at a pinch,
may find this sort of sport exciting, but not altogether safe.

The fawns who are born in early summer stay with their
mothers for two or three years before they wander off to seek
mates for themselves. It is said that they do not get their full
growth until they are fourteen or fifteen years old and, if they
escape a violent death, live to a great age.

Of one of the strongholds of the moose in the East, Frederic
Irland writes: ‘‘The camp was on the Crooked Deadwater by
the side of a beautiful stream at the head of a great river. Just across
the narrow waterway one of the grandest mountains in New
Brunswick rises sheer and dark, a great pyramid of eternal ver-
dure, which in the winter is the feeding ground of hundreds of

Moose

moose. It was into this inviting camp that we stumbled long
after dark, scaring a little moose out of the very door-yard, not
two hundred feet from the cabin door. The frost came down
and cracked the trees that night till they popped with the cold
and the sound was like a skirmish of rifles. The next morning
when we awoke there was a thin glaze on the snow, and when
we walked abroad it was like treading on innumerable panes of
crackling window-glass. We heard three different moose get up
and run when we were a quarter of a mile off. . . . We
climbed the mountain for an hour. Then we came to the tracks
of two moose, fresh that very morning. The footprints were not
extra large, but the broken twigs on two trees showed where a
pair of antlers had scraped on either side and | could scarcely
touch the two trees at one time with my _ outstretched hands.
Moose with big horns do not always have large hoofs.

‘*«They lie down about this time in the morning’ said my
guide, . . . and after awhile, over the top of a fallen tree-
trunk I saw the mane of a great, black animal. The old fellow
has not seen us yet. He swings his great horns just a little.
The steam rises from his broad nostrils. Lazily he winks his
eye. I can see every hair on his back. Carefully I push the
camera above the prostrate tree-trunk first brushing the snow
away with my hand. Tick, goes the shutter and the great beast
is getting up. The antlers swing, he rises, two feet at a time,
like an ox, hesitates an instant, as a moose always does, shows
the little symptoms of fright so familiar to those who know the
habits of the moose, and then goes down the mountains like a
runaway locomotive.’

In the far Northwest moose were even more abundant, though
it is difficult to say how long they will withstand the sudden
flood of immigration which the gold fever has recently produced
in that direction. ‘‘The broad valley and mountain banks of the
Klondike” writes Tappan Adney, ‘‘are an admirable feeding ground
for the moose. The temperature in winter is exceedingly cold
and crisp, but the snowfall is light, and by reason of the intense
cold the snow does not settle or pack. There is so little wind,
especially through the early part of the winter, that the snow
accumulates on the trees in strange and often fantastic masses,
giving the landscape, especially on the mountain tops, the appear-
ance of having been chiselled out of pure white marble. On

SHUvIUIs4IA $N2720700P0) MONA TIVL-ALIHM DNNOA V

uI]JeD “AM Ag

— a
s - .
aa?
_ a r -
; > Oe
a : i
i. -
» = - -
_ 2 hy 7
* : :
aes t
_ -
Der : i
7 :
2 -
ra ; .
7 i
rr *
7 C . iad
: :
oF ay
; i 7
- - -
“'
i?
-
- D a
; a
oe 4
aq. i
s 8 -
on >t
= a :
a 7 =O
j .
. vi :
a “—
™ =)
aT a
sat ) Wet 5
_ :
7 - an -
ony
"yi
ei
1

Woodland Caribou

account of its lightness, the snow is no impediment to the long-
legged gaunt moose, which is not obliged to ‘yard,’ as in more
Southern deep-snow regions, but wanders at will from valley to
mountain top in search of the tender twigs of willow, white
birch and cotton wood. The Indians surround the moose in its
feeding grounds and as it runs one or more of them is tolerably
sure of a quick shot.” The moose in this section has long been
the main support of the Indians and in their household economy
no part of the beast is wasted. To quote further, ‘‘The hides
were brought indoors, the hair was shaved off, and all the sinew
and meat adhering was removed by means of a sort of chisel
madeoi,/4;moose’s!"shin’ Domes’) 5) \ 5), 33) 7 Dhe skin) was now
washed in a pan of hot water. The tanning, with a soup of
the liver and brains, is done the next summer. The various por-
tions of the moose were divided among the village. One family
got the head, another a slab of ribs, another the fore shoulders.
The shin bones were roasted and cracked for their marrow; the
ears, although nothing but cartilage, were roasted and chewed
up; the rubber-like ‘muffle,’ or nose, and every particle of flesh,
fat or gristle that could be scraped from head or hoofs were
disposed of. Even the stomach was emptied of its contents,
boiled and eaten.”

In the Old World there occurs a near relative of the moose
in the forests of the Scandinavian peninsula as well as parts of
Russia and Prussia. The animal is known to the English by the
name of elk, which term has unfortunately been applied in this
country to the wapiti.

Woodland Caribou
Rangifer caribou (Gmelin)

Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder 4 feet. Length of antler 30 to
40 inches.

‘Description. Differs from all the preceding members of the deer
family in the presence of antlers on the female as well as the
male, the muzzle is also entirely covered with hair and the feet are
more deeply cleft. Colour, dark dove-brown, lighter in the neck,
posterior part of the abdomen, and inside of legs as well as a

Woodland Caribou

band just above the hoofs white, muzzle and face dark except the
front of the upper lips. Grayer in winter with head and neck
nearly white. Antlers with one (rarely both) of the brow tines
flattened and palmate standing out vertically in front of the face,
above this is another branched tine more or less palmate and the
summit of the antler is again palmately expanded. The exact
pattern and extent of the palmation is exceedingly variable.

Range. Wooded parts of British America, northern Maine and
Montana.

The caribou’s hair in summer is brown to match the dun
coloured barrens and marshes. In the fall it grows longer and
thicker, the new growth being very much lighter so that in mid-
winter and early spring the general effect is smoky white—the
colour of a snowstorm in the woods, and the moss-hung, snow-
flecked spruce trees among which the caribou feed and seek pro-
tection during the cold weather. Their rough antlers looking like
dead, weather-beaten branches also help them in their everlasting
game of hide and seek.

It is evident to the most unscientific that the woodland caribou is
only a branch of the great reindeer family, which has either wandered
south into the woods of Canada and the northern United States, or
else lingered behind when the wide extended ice sheet of the glacial
period withdrew again to the Arctic regions thousands of years ago, at
the time the little alpine plants, still found on Mt. Washington, got
left behind by their kindred. In whichever case they certainly appear
to have found the conditions favourable and have increased in size
accordingly.

But the woodland caribou still feels at times the old inherited
desire for wide open stretches of treeless country, particularly in
summer, when they wander out over the extensive barrens and flat
bog lands to pasture on the coarse sedge-grass growing there.

Although perfectly at home in the thickets where they winter,
browsing on moss and lichens; their power for leaping over windfalls
and bush is as yet an acquired art, not instinctive and hereditary as it
is with the true deer of the wildwood. W.M.J. Long in his ‘‘ Wilder-
ness Ways” says: ‘‘Caribou are naturally poor jumpers. Beside a
deer who often goes out of his way to jump a fallen tree just for the
fun of it, they have no show whatever; though they can travel much
further in a day and much easier. Their gait is a swinging
trot from which it is impossible to jump; and if you frighten

(SnuoMmay snajvoc0vO) SHOd AAACd AINW AO HONDA ¥
aqeeg WITT “O Ad

an en
f
7
?
P
4
“
=
)
i
2 7 i
> : » a . ’
a 7 « _ o{ «
_ 7
Y
=)
at
3
a.
®
ae me
1
an
. to
>
- ive ay
ef i
‘ 7 ns "

at:

Woodland Caribou

them out of their trot into a gallop and keep them at it they
never grow exhausted.

‘‘Countless generations on the northern’ wastes, where
there is no need of jumping, have bred this habit, and modified
their muscles accordingly.

‘* But now a race of caribou has moved further into the woods,
where great trees lie fallen across the way, and where if there
is anybody behind them, or they are in a hurry, jumping is a
necessity. Still they do not like it and avoid jumping as much
as possible. The little ones, left to themselves, would always
crawl under a fallen tree, or trot round it. And this is another
thing to overcome, and another lesson to be taught in the caribou
Schoolies.

‘*One afternoon in late summer I was drifting down the Toledo
River, casting for trout, when a movement in the bushes caught
my attention. A great swampy tract of ground, covered with
grass and low bush, spread out on either side of the stream.

‘‘From the canoe I made out two or three waving lines of
bushes where some animals were making their way through the
swamp toward a strip of big timber which formed a kind of island
in the middle. Pushing my canoe into the grass | made for a point
just astern of the nearest quivering line of bushes. A glance at a
strip of soft ground showed me the trail of a mother caribou with her
calf. 1 followed carefully, the wind being ahead in my favour.

‘* They were not hurrying and | took good pains not to alarm
them.

‘When | reached the timbers and crept like a snake through
the underbush, there were the caribou, five or six mother animals,
and nearly twice as many little ones, well grown, which had
evidently just come in from all directions. They were gathered
in a natural opening, fairly clear of bushes, with a fallen tree
or two, which served a good purpose later. The sunlight fell
across it in great golden bars, making light and shadow to play
in; all around was the great marsh, giving protection from enemies;
dense underbush screened them from prying eyes—and this was
their school-room.

“The little ones were pushed out into the middle, away from
the mothers to whom they clung instinctively, and were left to
get acquainted with each other, which they did very shyly at
first, like so many strange children.

Woodland Caribou

‘It was all new and curious; this meeting of their kind; fox
till now they had lived in dense solitude, each one knowing
no living creature save its own mother. .

‘*Some were timid and backed away as far as possible into
the shadow, looking with wild, wide eyes from one to
another of the little caribou, and bolting to their mother’s side at
every unusual movement. Others were bold and took to butting
at the first encounter. 2.1

‘* As | watched them the mothers all came out from the shadows
and began trotting round the opening, the little ones keeping
close as possible, each one to its mother’s side.

‘‘Then the old ones went faster; the calves were left in a long line
stringing out behind.

‘* Suddenly the leader veered into the edge of the timber and went
over a fallen tree with a jump; the cows followed splendidly, rising
on one side and falling gracefully on the other, like gray waves
racing past the end of a jetty.

‘‘But the first little one dropped his head obstinately at the
tree and stopped short. The next one did the same thing; only
he ran his head into the first one’s legs and knocked them out from
under him. The others whirled with a ba-a-a-a-ah, and scampered
round the tree and up to their mothers, who had turned now
and stood watching anxiously to see the effect of their lesson.

‘‘Then it began over again. It was true kindergarten teaching;
for under guise of a frolic the calves were taught a needful lesson—
not only to jump, but far more important than that, to follow
their leader, and to go where he goes without question or hesitation.

‘‘For the leaders on the barrens are wise old bulls that make
410 mistakes.

‘‘Most of the little caribou took to the sport very well, and
presently followed their mothers over the low hurdles. But a
few were timid, and then came the most interesting bit of the
whole strange school, when a little one would be led to a tree
and butted from behind till he took the jump.

‘“There was no ‘consent of the governed’ in the governing.
The mothers knew, and the calf didn’t, just what was good for him.”

The caribou is such a restless wandering fellow that it is
little use to attempt hunting him by following his trail; you
may succeed in getting a shot at him in this manner, but the
chances are that he will see you first, or at all events become

5°

; (snupriuamp sa71V¥) ASOOW ITINA ONNOA
asoulsng *y °V Ad ‘

Woodland Caribou

aware of your presence in some way, and after that you might
as well be following the trail of a wood-nymph, as far as your
chances of success are concerned.

Still hunting is the most satisfactory method of getting caribou.
Keeping the wind in your face you wander silently through the
forest and along by the edge of the open barren and by the lake’s
margin, keenly searching the skirts of the spruce thickets and
birch clumps for a sight of your game. If you should chance
upon a trail very recently made, it is sometimes possible, if the
wind is in your favour, to follow it cautiously and get a shot;
or perhaps after following it a little way the direction of the trail
will tell you the caribou are in all probability heading for a certain
open feeding ground or lake shore that you know of, in which
case a cross cut will often enable you to intercept them.

Caribou are full of inquisitiveness and not very keen sighted,
and in winter, when the woods are white with snow, some
caribou hunters make a point of wearing a white flannel hunting
suit and a brilliant red cap; the caribou seeing this spot of bright
colour moving among the trees are tempted by curiosity to approach
within gunshot.

Varieties of the Woodland Caribou

There are seven kinds of caribou in North America which appear
to be quite distinct and geographically separated from one another,and
all of them certainly different from the reindeer of Europe. They fall
into two groups; the larger woodland caribou and the smaller Barren
Ground caribou. The most striking differences between the members
of the former group are given below, and of the latter beyond.

1. Woodland Caribou. Rangifer caribou (Gmelin). Description
and range as above.

2. Mountain Caribou. Rangifer montanus. Seton-Thompson.
Uniformly darker than the preceding with the white band
above the hoof very narrow. Size rather larger.

Range. Rocky Mountains of Idaho north into Southern Alaska.

3. Stone's Caribou. Rangtifer stonet Allen. Dark like the last but
with a heavy white fringe of hair on the front of the neck in
strong contrast.

Range. (Kenai Peninsula Alaska.

4. Newfoundland Caribou. Rangifer terre-nove Bangs. Uni-
formly whiter than the woodland caribou, with a white ring
around the eye. Antlers very massive and widespread with
numerous points.

Range. Newfoundland.

Barren Ground Caribou
Barren Ground Caribou

Rangifer arcticus (Richardson)

Size. Smaller than the preceding. Antlers longer, 50 inches.

Description. Smaller than the woodland caribou and allied species,
colours light, almost entirely white in winter. Antlers slender
with comparatively few points.

Range. Barren Grounds of Arctic America.

Recent explorations in the Northwest have discovered a much
greater variety of caribou than were formerly supposed to exist,
in fact, no less than seven different kinds are now known to
inhabit North America. It is impossible at present to de-
termine the exact relationship between these animals until their
range has been more carefully ascertained. It is quite likely that
all may prove to be perfectly distinct species or some of them
may be mere geographic races, shading imperceptibly one into
the other. However this may be, the Barren Ground caribou,
the smallest of the group, seems to be the most widely sepa-
rated both in appearance and habits from woodland caribou of
which we have just been treating. ‘‘Its range,” writes Warbur-
ton Pike, ‘‘appears to be from the islands in the Arctic Sea to
the southern part of Hudson’s Bay, while the Mackenzie River
is the limit of their western wandering. In the summer time
they keep to the true Barren Grounds, but in the autumn, when
their feeding-grounds are covered with snow, they seek the
hanging moss in the woods. . From what | could gather from
the Indians, and from my own personal experience, it was late
in October, immediately after the rutting season, that the great
bands of caribou, commonly known as La Foule, mass up on
the edge of the woods, and start for food and shelter afforded
by the stronger growth of pines farther southward. A month
afterward the males and females separate, the latter beginning to
work their way north again as early as the end of February;
they reach the edge of the woods in April, and drop their young
far out toward the sea-coast in June, by which time the snow
is melting rapidly and the ground showing in patches. The
males stay in the woods till May and never reach the coast,
but meet the females on their way inland at the end of July;

409} BAY-AjUeaas JNOQe JO doULYSIP B WOI] SUIT OJLYGEI9} B YIIM ‘UOS¥aS AY 94} SULINP "oulep! At poydvssozoud

SUPE ia (snupoi4amp 929717) ASOOW TING AO UlVd V

Dae Sr

Barren Ground Caribou

from this time they stay together tili the rutting season is over
and it is time to seek the woods once more.”

Of their curious migration he says, ‘‘They are extremely un-
certain in their movements, seldom taking the same course in
two consecutive years, ... this is in a great measure accounted
for by the fact that great stretches of the country have been
burnt, and so rendered incapable of growing the lichen so dearly
loved by these animals.” In the fall of 1889 he personally en-
countered one of the migrations. ‘‘ With the increasing depth of
the snow there was a noticeable migration of life, from the
Barren Grounds. Ptarmigan came literally in thousands, while the
tracks of wolves, wolverines and Arctic foxes made a continuous
network in the snow. Scattered bands of caribou were almost
always in sight from the top of the ridge behind the camp and
increased in numbers till the morning of October 20th, when we
were awakened before daylight by the cry of ‘‘La foule,” ‘‘La
foule,” and ever in the lodge we could hear the curious clatter
made by a band of travelling caribou. La Foule had really come
and during its passage of six days I was able to realize what
an extraordinary number of these animals still roam in the Barren
Grounds. From the ridge we had a splendid view of the migra-
tion; all the south side of Mackay Lake was alive with moving
beasts, while the ice seemed to be dotted all over with black
islands, and still away on the north shore, with the aid of the
glasses, we could see them coming like regiments on the march.
In every direction we could hear the grunting noise that the
caribou always make when travelling; the snow was broken into
broad roads and | found it useless to try to estimate the num-
ber that passed within a few miles of our encampment.
This passage of the caribou is the most remarkable thing that |
have ever seen in the course of many expeditions among the
big game of America. The buffalo were for the most part killed
out before my time, but I cannot believe that the herds on the
prairie ever surpassed in size La Foule of the caribou.”

Varieties of Barren Ground Caribou

1. Barren Ground Caribou. Rangifer arcticus (Richardson).
Description and range as above.

American Prong-Horn

2. Greenland Caribou. Rangifer graenlandicus (Gmelin). Some-
what like the last, a white ring around the eye and very
long slender antlers.

Range. Greenland.

3. Grant's Caribou. Rangifer granti Allen. _ Represents the
Barren Ground caribou in the extreme Northwest. Skull
characters quite different.

Range. Alaskan peninsula.

PRONG-HORNS
Family Antilocapride

This family contains only the curious prong-horn of our
Western plains, an animal intermediate in many ways between
the deer and the cattle.

American Prong-Horn

Antilocapra americana (Ord)
Also called Antelope, Prong-buck.

Length. 4 feet, 6 inches. Height at shoulder, 2 feet, 10 inches.

Description. Horns hollow, like those of the cattle, but regularly
deciduous, like the antlers of the deer, and forked. The
two small rudimentary hoofs, usually seen in ruminant animals
behind and above the large pair, are entirely absent. Muzzle
covered with hair except a narrow line down the middle,
eyes very large and a short mane on the back of the neck.
Golour above light yellowish-brown, throat, neck and under-
parts white; forehead, nose and spot below the ear dark
brown, sides of the head, spot behind the ear and triangular
patch on the shoulder joining the throat white.

Range. Saskatchewan to Mexico; Missouri River to the Rocky
Mountains, and the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Wash-
ington.

The prong-horn or prong-buck is to be found in diminished
numbers from the Missouri River to the Pacific and southward
into Mexico. They are roving creatures, their movements being
largely determined by the weather and the comparative abun-
dance or scarcity of water and pasturage. In winter they seek

YOUNG WOODLAND CARIBOU (Rangtfer caribou By A. R. Dugmora
In Washington Zoological Park.

American Prong-Horn

sheltered valleys among the hms and, as spring comes on, the
females separate from the rest of the herd and give birth to
their kids, usually two in number. These they keep in hiding
and watch jealously for a fortnight. At the end of a short
time they are strong and reliant on their legs and capable of
following their mothers wherever they go.

The herd now wanders out over the open plains and low
rolling foot-hills, where the wide free outlook makes it possible
for them to detect danger at an immense distance. When alarmed,
they crowd together and dash away like the wind and, being
easily the swiftest runners on the continent, are in little danger
of being overtaken. Their innate curiosity, however, often gets
them into trouble. A handkerchief on the end of a stick, or
anything, in fact, that excites their curious interest, will frequently
draw them within gunshot, unless they manage to get the
wind of their enemy, when, scenting danger, they are off and
away.

During the summer months the old bucks live apart from
the females and their families; towards autumn, however, they
become more sociable and friendly, and join their mates once
more, the herds constantly increasing in size until November.

In defending their kids the females use their sharp hoofs
with savage effectiveness, striking a quick downward blow with
their forefeet that might easily disable a wolf that came too close.
It is said that they will cut a rattlesnake to pieces before he
has a chance to strike.

Like other distinctively Western animals, the antelope attracted
much attention from Audubon on his famous expedition up the
Missouri, and all its peculiarities of habit were carefully observed.
In his account of the species he says:

‘‘Observe now a flock of these beautiful animals; they are
not afraid of man—they pause in their rapid course to gaze on
the hunter, and stand with heads erect, their ears as well as
eyes directed toward him, and make a loud noise by stamping
with their forefeet on the hard earth; but suddenly they become
aware that he is no friend of theirs, and away they bound like
a flock of frightened sheep—but far more swiftly, even the kids
running with extraordinary speed by the side of their parents—
and now they turn around a steep hill and disappear, then per:

55 4

American Prong-Horn

haps come in view, and once more stand and gaze at the in-
truder.”

The wonderful watchfulness of the antelope is due naturally
to its continual exposure in the open country in which it lives
and the necessity of being ever prepared to get a clear start of
the wolves or such other enemies as may harass it, against
which flight is its only safeguard.

Like many other animals that habitually associate in flocks,
the antelope has in its two white rump patches conspicuous
‘‘recognition marks,” as they have been termed, by which, ac-
cording to Wallace’s theory, individuals can at a glance recog-
nize their own kind, even though at a considerable distance. The
rump patches of the antelope, however, are different from those
of other ruminants and are of much more importance to the
animal. Ernest Seton-Thompson, writing of this matter in The
Century Magazine, says: ‘‘Some years ago, while riding across
the upland prairie of the Yellowstone, I noticed certain white
specks in the far distance. They showed and disappeared seve-
ral times and then began moving southward. Then, in another
direction, I discovered other white specks which also seemed to
flash and disappear. A glass showed them to be antelope, but
it did not wholly explain the flashing or the moving which ul-
timately united the two bands. I made note of the fact, but
found no explanation until the opportunity came to study the
antelope in the Washington Zoo.” He goes on to explain how
the approach of a dog to the enclosure of the captive animals
caused them to elevate the hair all over their rump _ patches.
‘‘The wild antelope habit is. to raise the head while grazing to
keep a sharp lookout for danger, and these captives kept up
the practice of the race. The first that did so saw''the dog. It
uttered no sound, but gazed at the wolfish-looking intruder and
all the long white hairs of the rump patch were raised with a
jerk that made the patch flash in the sun like a tin pan. Every-
one of the grazing antelopes saw the flash, repeated it instantly
and raised his head to gaze in the direction in which the first
was gazing. At the same time | noticed on the wind a_pecu-
liar musky smell—a smell that certainly came from the antelope.”’
Subsequent investigation showed the presence of a musk gland
in the centre of the rump patch and a mass of muscle connected
with it and with the bases of the white hairs. This completed

WdIAXdO JO SUATLNV GNV SGVAH IVOIdAL
noquey) pur[poom
J9aq 3n asooy[

190q PIUIBITA

Aepeuio py

“L ‘mM Aq poauroy ydris0joyg

*soyoul YES
“Ayneaq

jo pvaids ‘apelq yors uo sjurod
Spivdal se og -q ay ul peoy

Or ‘exsEly ‘UOTsaI IaAny Iaddoy
3Sauy 94} aq 03 sjiodxa Aq preg

oY} Ul Pa[Ey esooyy jo pray

Mountain Goat

the explanation of the whole matter. ‘‘As soon as the antelope
sees some strange or thrilling object this muscle acts and the
rump patch is changed in a flash to a great double disk or twin
chrysanthemum of white that shines afar like a patch of snow,
but in the middle of each bloom a dark brown spot, the musk
gland is exposed and a great quantity of the odor is set free
and the message is read by all those who have noses to read.
Of all animals man has the poorest nose, he has virtually lost
the sense of smell, while among the next animals in the scale
scent is their best faculty. Yet even man can distinguish the
danger scent for many yards down the wind and there is no
reason to doubt that antelope can detect it a mile away. Thus
the observations on the captive animals living under normal con-
ditions proved the key to those made on the plains and I know
now that the changing flashes in the Yellowstone upland were
made by the antelopes’ heliograph, while the two bands signalled
each other; and the smaller band on getting the musky message
‘Friend’ laid aside all precaution and fearlessly joined their rela-
tives.”

THE CATPREE

Family Bovide

To this family belong all the domestic cattle and their allies
the bisons and buffaloes, wild sheep and goats as well as the
great host of antelopes found in Africa and Asia. Our American
representatives are few in number, comprising only the mountain
goat, mountain sheep, musk ox and buffalo.

Mountain Goat
Oreamnos montanus (Ord)
Called also White Goat.
Length. 4 feet. Height at shoulder, 3 feet.
Description. Body covered with long hanging white hair and

a short woolly under-fur, entirely yellowish white. Shoulders

Mountain Goat

rather humped and head carried below their level, nose hairy,
a short beard on the chin. Horns slender in both sexes and
curving slightly backward, black, as are also the hoofs.

Range. Higher Rocky and Cascade Mountains to Alaska.

The higher, almost inaccessible slopes of the British Columbian
Mountains are the stronghold of the mountain goats. There usually
above the timber-line, amid the wildest scenery, and surrounded by
glaciers and precipices they live practically unmolested except by the
insatiable hunters. Living in such isolation they are in little need of
speed or agility and are said to be rather slow and stupid beasts, easily
secured if the surroundings admit of an approach.

The mountain goat presents many points of interest. In the
first place it is not a goat but rather an outlying member of the great
antelope tribe—to which by the way our American ‘‘antelope’”’ does
not belong. The nearest relatives of the goat are the serow of the
Himalayas and the chamois of the Alps, though the long fleecy coat
and goat-like beard give it a very different aspect.

In colour too it is peculiar, being the only pure white ruminant
animal known; this is an excellent protection, rendering it practically
invisible during the snows of winter, though at other seasons it would
seem to render it equally conspicuous.

In describing his experience in pursuit of this animal Frederic
Irland writes: ‘‘ The most charming innocent creatures that | met
in the Cascade Mountains were the white goats. What do you
think of a wild animal which, after he knows you are on _ his
track, will stop and turn back, to peer around the corner and see
what you are? These stately animals, with their long white aprons,
coal black eyes, and sharp little horns, really seem to me too
unsophisticated to shoot. At Ashcroft and Lillooet people had told
me to get my hand in by shooting a goat and then perhaps |
could improve by getting a sheep. As usual we were seeking what
we might destroy, though as a fact we let many chances go.
We had nearly burst our hearts by climbing for an hour or two
up the mansard roof of North America and high above the deer
pasture. The winter on the mountain tops had driven the game
down and sent the bears to their winter dens. We had found
sheep tracks and were following along to see where they led,
when suddenly we saw four white animals on the edge of an
abyss of the kind which Doré has portrayed in illustrating Dante.

eal

PRONGHORN (Antilocapra americana) By W. E. Carlin

With new horns just appearing. A telephoto picture from a distance of roo ci
Tae 100 yards, taken on the outskirts of the

Mountain Goat

The goats were not very far from us in a straight line, but it was
a long way around. They saw us and started on a rheumatic gallop,
but only went a little way, and as they reached a turn, huddled
up and looked back. We picked our way over toward their last
place of abode, reaching the opposite side of the canyon by means
wholly unsuited to nervous people. There was just snow enough to
show their tracks, which led along scandalous Precipices. The
fever of pursuit was on my guide, and he walked uprightly in places
where I became a quadruped. This was trying to his patience, for he
caught glimpses of the goats which | by reason of slower progress,
was denied. In about half an hour we came toa great chimney of
rock in the path, and clinging with fingers and moccasins, he went
around the face of it. . . . When I came out above him I saw he had
the goats in a sort of a natural trap, and they were all bunched up
against a rock which I thought could not be passed. The biggest
billy stood faced about, his long white beard and petticoats making
him look like the high priest of some heathen temple. ‘Don’t shoot;
he fall down’ yelled my guide. At the sound of the voice the goat
made a desperate attempt at the face of the rock, scrambling up at an
obtuse angle, then standing on his hind legs and throwing his fore
feet over, from right to left. | thought he surely would fall back but
he did not. The smaller goats followed and in a moment they were
gone. .. . We made a flank movement and perhaps a quarter of a
mile from the first round-up we saw those four fool goats again, the
big one and a small one looking back around the corner to see if we
were really coming. Then we did shoot and curiosity broke up that
family.”

Mr.Owen Wister, in one of the Boone and Crockett Club’s volumes,
gives an interesting account of ‘“The White Goat and his Country.”
Describing his first sight of the animal he says: ‘‘ We went cautiously
along the narrow top of crumbling slate, where the pines
were scarce and stunted, and had_ twisted themselves into
corkscrews so they might grip the ground against the tearing force of
storms. We came on a number of fresh goat-tracks in the snow or
the soft shale. These are the reverse of the mountain sheep, the V
which the hoofs make having its open end in the direction the animal
is going. There seemed to be several, large and small; and the
perverted animals invariably chose the sharpest slant they could find
to walk on, often with a decent level just beside it that we were glad
enough to have. If there was a precipice and a sound flat-top, they

Mountain Goat

took the precipice, and crossed its face on juts that did not look as if
your hat would hang on them. In this | think they are worse than
the mountain sheep, if that is possible. Certainly they do not seem
to come down into the high pastures and feed on the grass levels as
the sheep will. As we continued I saw a singular looking stone
lying on a little ledge some way down the mountain ahead. |
decided it must be a stone, and was going to speak of it, when the
stone moved and we crouched in the slanting gravel. . . . I climbed
or crawled out of sight, keeping any stone or little bush between me
and the goat, and so came cautiously to where I could peer over and
see the goat lying turned away from me, with his head commanding
the valley. He was ona tiny shelf of snow, beside him was one small
pine, and below that the rock fell away steeply into the gorge. He
looked white, and huge, and strange; and somehow I had a sense of
personality about him more vivid than any since | watched my first
silver-tip lift a rotten log, and, sitting on his hind legs, make a
breakfast on beetles, picking them off the log with one paw.”
“By eight the next morning,” he continues ‘“‘we had sighted
another large solitary billy. But he had seen us down in the path
from his ridge. He had come to the edge and was evidently watch-
ing the horses. If not quick witted, the goat is certainly wary; and
the next time we saw him he had taken himself away down the other
side of the mountain, along a spine of rocks where approach was
almost impossible. We watched his slow movements through the
glass, and were reminded of a bear. He felt safe and was stepping
deliberately along, often stopping, often walking up some small point
and surveying the scenery. He moved in an easy rolling fashion, and
turned his head importantly. Then he lay down in the sun, but saw
us on our way to him, and bounced off. We came to the place
where he had jumped down sheer twenty feet at least. His hoof-
tracks were on the edge, and in the gravel below, the heavy scatter
he made in landing; and then,—hasty tracks round a corner of rock
and no more goat that day.”

Mr. Wister says of the habits of the goat: ‘‘It has been stated
that in the winter season, like mountain sheep, he descends and comes
into the valleys. This does not seem to be the case. He does not
depend upon grass, if indeed he eats grass at all. His food seems to
be chiefly the short, almost lichen-like moss that grows on the faces
and at the base of the rocks and between them in the crevices. None
of the people in the Methon country spoke of seeing goats come out

YOUNG PRONGHORNS (Antilocapra americana) By A. R. Dugmore

Mountain Sheep

of the mountains during winter. I have not sufficient data to make
the assertion, but I am inclined to believe that the goat keeps consis-
tently to the hills, whatever the season may be, and in this differs
from the mountain sheep as he differs in appearance, temperament,
and in all characteristics, excepting the predilection for the inclined
plane; and in this habit he is more vertical than the sheep.” Of
hunting them he adds; ‘‘ There is no use in attempting to hunt them
from below. Their eyes are watchful and keen, and the chances are
that if you are working up from below and see a goat on the hill, he
will have been looking at you for some time. Once he is alarmed, ten
minutes will be enough for him to put a good many hours of climbing
between himself and you. His favourite trick is to remain stock-still,
watching you till you pass out of his sight behind something, and
then, he makes off so energetically that when you see him next he
will be on some totally new mountain. But his intelligence does not
seem to grasp more than the danger from below. While he is stead-
fastly on the alert against this, it apparently does not occur to him
that anything can come down upon him. Consequently from above
you may get very near before you are noticed.”’

From the Copper River Mountains, Alaska, Mr. D. G. Elliot has
described a goat with very different skull and more divergent horns
which seems to represent a different species or geographic race. He
calls it Kennedy’s mountain goat, Oreamnos khennedyt.

Mountain Sheep
Ovts cervina. Desmarest
Also called Bignorn.

Length. 4 feet 6 inches. Height at shoulder, 3 feet 4 inches.
Length of horn around curve, 50 inches. Circumference al
base, 14 inches.

Description. Body heavy, legs rather slender, hair everywhere
closely appressed, no mane or beard. Horns in female short,
in male very massive, curving backward and outward and
in old rams making a complete spiral circle. Colour grayish
brown, darkest on the back, under parts, inner side of legs,
upper throat and patch on rump and around the base of
the tail whitish; lighter and grayer in winter.

Range. Higher mountains from British Columbia to Arizona.
Nearly related varieties inhabit mountains to the North, South
and West. (See below)

Mountain Sheep

The bighorn might be called the chamois of our Western
mountains, scaling the rugged cliffs and plunging over precipices
with the same agility and confidence that mark the famous in-
habitant of the Alps.

The elastic spring of the animal when started and the easy
poise of the splendid head as it settles back on the shoulders
are exceedingly graceful, and the animal seems built and pro-
portioned to the finest detail for the life that it leads.

From the edges of the Alaskan glaciers to the dry, water-
less crags of the Mexican Sierras we find one variety or other
of the mountain sheep.

During the breeding season an old ram presides over the
flock of ewes and lambs, driving the younger rams off by them-
selves, as is usual among polygamous animals. The flocks are
exceedingly watchful and at the slightest alarm are off instantly,
selecting a course that few animals or men care to follow. In
early spring the sheep venture farther down into the mountain
valleys in search of food, but soon return to their rocky fastnesses
among the higher slopes.

In the ‘‘Bad Lands,” the easternmost part of their range,
Audubon made the acquaintance of these noble animals in 1843. He
says: ‘The parts of the country usually chosen by the sheep
for their pastures are the most extraordinary broken and pre-
cipitous clay hills or stony eminences that exist in the wild regions
belonging to the Rocky Mountain chain. Perhaps some idea of
the country they inhabit—which is called by the French Canad-
ians and hunters ‘mauvaise terres’—may be formed by imagin-
ing some hundreds of loaves of sugar of different sizes, irregularly
broken and truncated at top, placed somewhat apart and
magnifying them into hills of considerable size. Over these hills
and ravines the Rocky Mountain sheep bound up and down and
you may estimate the difficulty of approaching them and con-
ceive the great activity and sure-footedness of this species. They
form paths around these irregular clay cones that are at times
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 specta-
tor 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

“Gtunt ay} JO Tey ayy Buryeagja Aq ,, [Puss sty Surysey ,, st {Y4S11 oy} Uo [euIUR sayy

UIE “TT AA Aq OJoydojoy (DUDILAIULD Did DIO]UUY) SNYOHONOUd

Mountain Sheep

hardened earth, are to be seen eight or ten feet above the ad-
jacent surface, covered or coped with a slaty, flat rock, thus re-
sembling gigantic toadstools, and upon these singular places the
bighorns are frequently seen, gazing at the hunter who is wind-
ing about far below, looking like so many statues on their elevated
pedestals. One cannot imagine how these animals reach these
curious places, especially on these inaccessible points, beyond the
reach of their greatest enemies, the wolves, which prey upon
them whenever they stray into the plains below.”

Like all other big game the bighorn has been relentlessly
pursued by hunters and in many parts of its original range it
has been exterminated. In a number of localities, however, it
holds its own with remarkable persistency, thanks no doubt to
its agility, wariness and the inaccessibility of its favourite ranges.
The sheep furnishes not only good sport in the chase but ex-
cellent meat as well, and has the misfortune to possess a pair
of horns that are prized perhaps more than those of any of our
other big game. Hornaday truly says, ‘‘The head of the male
bighorn is a trophy which appeals to all sorts and conditions
of hunters, except indians. In the grandest head the noble red-
man sees nothing more than a pair of horn spoons for his soup-
kettle. Thousands of Ovis cervina have been hunted down and
killed for their heads alone and thousands more have met their
death before the rifles of sportsmen because they are grand game.”

‘‘Their ideal haunts,’ writes Hornaday, ‘‘are the slopes of
high mountains, above timber line, near the edge of the snow fields
that are perpetual.’’ These he states are often covered with luxu-
riant grass as well as gray moss. In winter they seek lower altitudes
and frequent the glades of the pine woods known as ‘‘ mountain
parks.” ‘‘It is essential, however, that one side of the mountain
sheep's home ranch should fall away abruptly in ragged lines of
perpendicular rim-rock, with acres of slide-rock below, in order
that the sheep may have the means of escape from their numerous
enemies, particularly hunters.”

**T once had an illustration of the mountain sheep’s tactics
on a mountain top where the rock seemed poorly provided for
means of escape. Two old rams were feeding at an elevation
of about 9,000 feet. The snow was fourteen inches in depth,
with a slight crust upon it. When first seen they were in a
fifteen-acre open meadow, near the edge of the rim-rock, bravely

Mountain Sheep

pawing through the snow to reach the longest of the dry, brown
stems of bunchgrass that thrust their heads half way up through it.
On finding themselves objects of a hunter's special notice the two
rams quietly dropped over the sharp edge of the plateau, ploughed
down a narrow cleft filled with slide-rock and disappeared. Pur-
suit on their trail led down to the foot of a 200-foot wall of
rim-rock, and close along its base for a long distance. At last
the trail went farther down and dropped over the next lower
wall of rim-rock in a manner that seemed deliberately calculated
to make pursuit more laborious. As a change of tactics the
hunt was kept up along the top of the rim-rock, but the quarry
hugged the wall so closely that not even once was it sighted.
It became evident that only by hours of patient work could
those animals be encountered again, if at all.”

Like the caribou the bighorns from different sections of the
country present a very different appearance not only in colour,
but in the size and shape of their horns, and instead of the one
species which was known to our early explorers we have now
seven species or varieties, all, however, animals of essentially similar
habits.

Varieties of Mountain Sheep

1. Mountain Sheep. Ovis cervina Desmarest. Description and
range as above.

2. Audubon’s Sheep. Ovis cervina auduboni Merriam. Slightly
different skull characters from the Rocky Mountain animal
to which it is very closely related.

Range. ‘‘Bad Lands.” Western South Dakota and Eastern
Wyoming.

3. Nelson’s Sheep. Ovis nelsoni Merriam. Similar, but much paler.

Range. Grapevine Mountains, between California and Nevada.

4. Mexican Sheep. Ovis mexicanus Merriam. Intermediate in
colour between the mountain and Nelson’s sheep. Ears
much longer than those of the former.

Range. Northwestern Mexico and (?) southern New Mexico.

5. Stone’s Sheep. Ovis stonei Allen. Darker than the mountain
sheep, with much more slender horns.

Range. Headwaters of Pease River, Rocky Mountains, and
Cassiar Mountains to Stikeen Mountains, Alaska.

6. Dall’s Sheep. Ovis dalli Nelson. White or yellowish-white
at all seasons.

Range. Alaskan Mountains, north of 60° to the Arctic coast.

MALE PRONGHORNS (Antioecapra americana) By A. R. Dugmore

}

os -

ee
Oe. /

Musk Ox

7. Fannin’s Sheep. Ovis fanninit Hornaday. Similar, but shoul-
ders, back and upper parts of legs gray.
Range. Rocky Mountains, about 75 miles east of Dawson,
Northwestern Territory.

Musk Ox
Ovibos moschatus (Zimmerman)

Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder, 3 feet 6 inches.

Description. Heavily built with rather short legs and horns of the
male very heavy, their bases meeting on top of the head
and curving downward and up again at the tip. Entire head
and body covered with a dense mane, matted and curly on
the shoulders, but hanging straight on the rest of the body
nearly to the ground. Colour very dark brown or blackish
on the head and sides; a saddle-shaped patch on the back
as well as short hair between the horns, muzzle and limbs
below the knees and hocks yellowish white.

Range. Arctic barrens of North America, east of the Mackenzie
River. In Greenland occurs the closely allied Peary’s musk
ox (O. wardi Lyddeker).

The herds of musk oxen, now confined to the Arctic regions
of North America, would seem to be the last lingering represen-
tatives of a diminishing race. Related species formerly inhabited
most of Siberia and parts of northern Europe, as well as Ger-
many, England and France; their fossil remains having been found
in all those countries.

Musk oxen are curious long-haired shaggy beasts, in appear-
ance half way between bison and sheep, and combining both in
structure and habits the characters of each. The old males are
rank of musk, especially in the rutting season, when their flesh
is practically uneatable. The females, as a general thing, are al-
most free from the musky odour to which the species owes its
name.

It has been observed by the musk ox hunters that when the
animals are fat the odour of musk is much less noticeable. The
long woolly coat of the musk ox is highly valued by the Esqui-
maux who use it for various purposes.

Musk oxen associate in herds numbering from about twenty or
thirty to as many as eighty or a hundred head. The herds ap-
pear to be largest in winter, the big bulls during the summer

American Buffalo

being for the most part solitary, and the herds consisting of
cows and calves which go about in small bands of from ten to
twenty. The movements of the herds are described by Colonel
Feilden as very sheep-like, the old bulls, when present, taking
the lead, and the whole assemblage crowding together when
alarmed, much after the manner of a flock of sheep. The single
calf is produced in May or June and the cows are reported by
the natives to breed only once in two years, so that the rate
of increase is slow. In summer, according to Mr. Pike, their
food consists almost exclusively of the leaves of the small wil-
lows scattered here and there over the Barren Grounds, but grass,
moss and lichens are also largely consumed, and in winter these
two last, with perhaps bark, must form their sole nutriment.
In spite of their comparatively short and massive limbs, musk oxen
can run with considerable speed; and when thoroughly alarmed
they are stated to take to hilly ground, where they display
marveilous agility in climbing precipitous cliffs. In spite of stories
to the opposite effect, Mr. Pike is of opinion that even old bulls
are by no means dangerous animals.” *

American Buffalo
Bison bison (Linnzus)

Length. 11 feet (adult bull). Height at shoulder, 5 feet, 8 inches.

Description. Hind quarters light and short haired, fore quarters very
heavy, with a high hump on the shoulders, and densely haired;
head held well down below the level of the shoulders; horns
curved outward, upward; tail with a terminal tassel. Colour,
body and hind quarters pale gray brown, lower parts dark brown,
shoulders, hump and upper neck covered with a dense mass
of yellowish hair; head, lower part of neck and fore legs to
the knees with dense shaggy hair, dark brown above and
black lower down.

Range. Originally Great Slave Lake to northern Mexico, New
Mexico and Nevada; eastward south of the Great Lakes to
central Pennsylvania, Virginia, Georgia and Mississippi.

In 1870. Great Slave Lake to Wyoming and central Texas,
eastward to central South Dakota, Kansas and Indian Territory.

In 1880. About 550 in the extreme Northwest; 250 in
Montana, Dakota and Wyoming, and 50 in Colorado and
Indian Territory.t

* Lydekker’s “ Wild Oxen, Sheep and Goats.”
+ From Hornasay.

SHUDJUOMU SOUMDIA
@2ry “T sapzeyo Aq ‘zo061 ‘yy S1hdoz ( } O) WA OFS) NIVINOOW

pees cee zs 3 3 ' re ea cial

SAOMAM0\54a sy) 4m) onan geese ang ae OM 9250s oR nyse:

i ceseastiamemabineanieanebitieniisinaaiteaiiniadulanuaiiaiidataaiiiiccna do tulotuaini: lol niu ether irre TR TTT coincide tee eC AT

by
q
b
a =
: re
i
5 a
' ~
?
= ia
= ’
fe
2
7 2
|
"
b
j
=
¥
ale
a by
n* :
- : 7
al
ine ©
;
1 ie

fei

: : : tee S
r . 1 ' ‘
-— x
ye i,
Tut 4
ts t 7 1
<i D6 ’
a ; ire
7 4 ”
E
4
“4 | ;
a

) | . -
yp) cad >
i
i
3
a ,2
Sy
a
we
- %
. -
road
4 o.
- =
.
ay, se
*
: i
=~ x
Ui 7 i
ae 4
x =
; z :
i
i
j 4
’
- '
a y4 " 4 M 2
"| ;
>
7 *
- ] “3
iv
'
, -
. y *
+
q 7 7 ¢
LM <<. ‘
i
q a
-
L :
i
s
wT =.
=,
+. a“ a
5 -
?
4
y i
' 4
1 5
“Ss 7 =|
a ‘s 5
ed
eed
ean] se =
Ve : a He

American Buffale

In 1890. Apparently restricted to Yellowstone Park and
other preserves.

To the northwest of its range occurred a related variety
known as the woodland buffalo (B. bison athabaske Rhoads).

The bison can scarcely be reckoned as a creature of our day,
already it has taken its place with the aurochs of Europe as a thing of
the past. Both species have probably reached the limit of their
decline in numbers, and the remaining herds, if properly protected and
cared for, may increase considerably in the years to come. But until
our present civilization has worn itself out and this part of the earth’s
surface returns to a state of nature, and the cities have grown
up through weeds and bushes to forests and woodland once more,
the North American bison must continue only in memory and
traditions.

For uncounted ages the bison held all the most fertile grazing
land in this country as their own. When the Europeans began
to form settlements in North America they occasionally found bisons
in small bands near the Atlantic Coast. They were decidedly rare
however, everywhere east of the Appalachian Mountains.

From Kentucky, all across the continent to Nevada, and from the
Great Slave Lake to Mexico and Georgia, they wandered in mighty
herds, migrating from one section to another as snowstorms and
drought cut down their pasturages.

The first Western pioneers witnessed such sights as probably no
other white men have ever seen or will ever see again.

Wide rolling plains blackened as far as even their hawk-like eyes
could see, with huge hump-backed shaggy beasts, the old bulls
bellowing and fighting and pawing up the earth which trembled
everywhere as at the approach of an earthquake.

Coyotes and timber wolves skulked here and there through
the herds watching for an opportunity to pull down an unprotected
calf, and dodging the charge of the enraged parent as best they could.

Contrast with this the few hundred more or less degenerate
representatives of this noble animal which now survive within the
confines of preserves and parks or in the paddocks of zoological
gardens, and all will agree that its extermination was one of the most
shameful examples of man’s greed and a nation’s lethargy that is
furnished in the history of our country.

The number of the buffalo that ranged over our Western States,
even in comparatively recent years is almost inconceivable. Some

American Buffalo

idea, however, may be obtained from the statement of Col. R. 1.
Dodge, who in 1871 passed through one of the immense herds while
travelling in Arkansas. For twenty-five miles he passed through a
continuous herd of buffalo. ‘‘ The whole country appeared one great
mass of buffalo, moving slowly to the northward; and it was only
when actually among them that it could be ascertained that the
apparently solid mass was an agglomeration of innumerable
small herds of from fifty to two hundred animals, separated from the
surrounding herds by greater or less space, but still separated. The
herds in the valley sullenly got out of my way, and turning, stared
stupidly at me, sometimes at only a few yards’ distance. When | had
reached a point where the hills were no longer more than a mile from
the road, the buffalo on the hills seeing an unusual object in their rear,
turned, stared an instant, then started at full speed directly toward
me, stampeding and bringing with them the numberless herds
through which they passed, and pouring down on me all the herds,
no longer separated, but one immense compact mass of plunging
animals, mad with fright, and as irresistible as an avalanche. Reining
in my horse I waited until the front of the mass was within fifty
yards, when a few well-directed shots split the herd, and sent it
pouring off in two streams to the right and left. When all had
passed they stopped, apparently perfectly satisfied, many within less
than one hundred yards. . . . From the top of Pawnee Rock | could
see from six to ten miles in almost every direction. This whole vast
space was covered with buffalo, looking at a distance like a compact
mass.” *

From careful information furnished him Mr. Hornaday estimated
this herd to comprise at lest four million buffalo. He adds: ‘‘Twenty
years hence, when not even a bone or buffalo-chip remains above
ground throughout the West to mark the presence of the buffalo, it
may be difficult for people to believe that the animals ever existed in
such numbers as to constitute not only a serious annoyance, but very
often a dangerous menace to waggon travel across the plains, and also
to stop railway trains and even throw them off the track.” f

Buffalo were indiscriminately polygamous, very much as are
domestic cattle, and at the breeding season collected in much more
compact herds. The combined bellowing of the bulls at such times

* ‘Plains of the Great West.”

+The Extermination of the American Bison.’’ Report U.S. Nat. Mus.
1886-7, an exhaustive treatise from which the substance of this account is taken.

iy ims) hemi gt byt

> a@, 4
er! me BLD be giv

we a mene
: " ‘ “in

PO net

YOUNG COW MUSK OX, about 16 months old (Ovibos moschatus) By A. R. Dugmore

This is the second or third ever seen in captivity in a temperate climat-

American Buffalo

made a roar that could be heard for several miles. In winter time the
herds migrated regularly to the Southern portion of their range.

After reaching their winter pastures in the South they separated
more or less and returned North in the spring in scattered herds,
making their migration much less conspicuous.

Their rate of travel was much faster than would naturally be
inferred from their lumbering appearance, and they seldom swerved
from their well-trodden ‘‘ buffalo paths” for any obstacles.

~ Rivers a mile wide, when free from ice, were plunged into and
crossed without hesitation; in winter, however, the combined weight
of the herd sometimes broke the ice beneath them and large numbers
were drowned at such times to feed the wolves and other prowlers
along the banks when the river broke up in spring freshets.

The mating season was in the fall when the bisons occupied
their Southern feeding grounds, the pairs remained in company until
the spring when the cows went off by themselves to the most
sheltered spots they could find and gave birth to their calves.

The latter grew rapidly and were soon able to follow the herd,
though still jealously guarded and defended from all dangers by their
mothers.

The old bulls in the meanwhile had associated in droves by
themselves.

In order to escape the attacks of the flies and other insects they
sought out muddy sloughs and shallow ponds where they could roll
and wallow to their hearts’ content and emerge with their coats filled
and plastered over with clay which soon baked in the sun and formed
a hideous but most effective armour which would last for days.

The mud-holes which the bisons made for themselves in this
manner have always been known as ‘‘buffalo wallows’” and are still to
be found in regions where the great beasts that made them have been
long extinct.

While during the last few years of their existence buffaloes
became wary and realized to some extent the danger of close contact
with man, they were normally stupid to a degree. As Hornaday says:
‘¢ The buffalo was an animal of a rather low order of intelligence, and
his dullness of intellect was one of the important factors in his
phenomenally swift extermination. He was provokingly slow in
comprehending the existence and nature of the dangers that
threatened his life, and like the stupid brute that he was, would very
often stand quietly and see two or three score or even a hundred of

American Buffalo

his relatives and companions shot down before his eyes with no
feeling than one of stupid wonder and curiosity. His stolid indiffer-
ence to everything he did not understand cost him his existence.”

In appearance the bull buffalo was easily the finest of our quad-
rupeds. ‘‘The magnificent dark-brown frontlet and beard of the
buffalo, the shaggy coat of hair upon the neck, hump and shoulders,
terminating at the knees in a thick mass of luxuriant black locks, to
say nothing of the dense coat of finer fur on the body and hind
quarters, give to our species a grandeur and nobility of presence, which
are beyond all comparison among ruminants.” *

* Hornaday op. cet.

mostarq *f prempy Ag

(uostq uostq) NOSTGA TTNG

RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS
(Ghres)

AniMALS of this group may be recognized at once by the
peculiar arrangement of their teeth. In the front of the mouth
are two large conspicuous teeth (incisors) in each jaw, which
meet vertically like two pairs of chisels, and form a very power-
ful apparatus for gnawing or cutting. The remaining teeth are
broad flat-topped grinders (molars) placed in the back of the
mouth while between the two, where the tearing teeth (canines)
of the carnivorous animals are situated, the jaws are quite bare.
The large gnawing teeth are further peculiar in being curved and

Longitudinal section through Beaver skull.
I Incisor tooth showing long curved base. M The four molars. (After Lydekker.)

deeply rooted in the jaws, while they also grow continuously
from the base as they wear away at the tip, so that they never
become ‘‘ worn out.”

Rodents range in size from the beaver to the mouse and in
habits they exhibit the greatest diversity; some are burrowers, as
the gophers and marmots, others are terrestrial as the rabbits,
still others like the muskrat are aquatic, while the flying squirrel
is even able to launch himself through the air.

Rodents or Gnawing Animals

Such diversity of habits naturally produces great differences
in structure, but no matter what individual peculiarities a rodent
may possess, the characteristic “gnawing teeth’? remain the same
in all, and serve at once as the “ear-mark”’ of the group.

Our rodents are grouped in the following families.

I. Rabbits and hares (Family Leporida). Hind legs very much
longer than the front pair, so that the animals progress by
leaps. Ears long, tail very short and up-turned, usually
white on the under or exposed side. Peculiar in having
a small pair of rudimentary front teeth at the base of the
upper pair of large ones.

Leg of Beaver Leg of Rat
Showing the Tibia (T) and Fibula (F) Showing Tibia and Fibula united.
separate for their entire length. (After Lydekker)

(After Lydekker)

It: Pikas (Family Ochotonida). Legs nearly equal, no_ tail,
otherwise like the rabbits although the general form is more
like a large rat. (Exclusively Western.)

Ill. Porcupines (Family FErethizontide). Skin with numerous
sharp spines interspersed among the hairs.

IV. Gophers (Family Geomyide). Rat-like animals, living in
subterranean burrows, eyes very small, fore legs modified
for digging like those of a mole. No projecting ear, curious
pouches on each side of the face, opening outside near the
mouth.

: 92

Rabbits and Hares

V. Pocket mice (Family Heteromyide). Slender mouse-like
animals, many with hind legs much elongated, but with
pouches on the sides of the face as in the gophers.
(Exclusively Western.)

VI. Jumping mice (Family Zapodid@). Mouse-like animals,
with hind legs much elongated, progressing by long leaps;
tail very long exceeding the head and body.

VII. Rats and mice (Family Murid@). Hind legs little if any
longer than the front pair, the latter never modified like
those of moles, tail never longer than the head and body.
To this family belong all the mouse and rat-like animals
not included in IV, V and VI.

“YI. Sewellels (Family Aplodontiida). Thick-set animals with
very short tail and short ears, and a peculiar fiat skull
somewhat like that of the beaver. (Exclusively Western.)

IX. Beavers (Family Castoride). Tail curiously modified into
a broad, flat, naked appendage.

X. Squirrels and marmots (Family Sciurid@). Here belong all
the squirrel-like animals including the spermophiles and
chipmunks. They differ from the mice and_ their
allies in their bushy tails and many peculiarities in their
anatomical structure, an important one being that the two
lower leg bones are separate and not fused together as
in the mice, thus allowing them to use their limbs more
freely in climbing, a habit which is characteristic of a
majority of the species. (See cuts page 72.)

RABBITS AND HARES
(Family Leporide)

Rabbits are perhaps the most widely known of any of our
wild animals. As our commonest ‘‘ game” they are familiar to
every gunner and equally so to those who are acquainted with
them only in the markets. Their distribution, too, is almost
universal and in America, from the polar regions to the tropics,
they exist in one form or another. Rabbits are also frequently
known as hares, and the careless usage of the two names has
given rise to much confusion in the popular mind as to just
what constitutes the difference between them.

As a matter of fact the European rabbit, the parent stock
of all the varicus domestic breeds, is the only one properly en-

Rabbits and Hares

titled to this name. It differs slightly in its proportions from the
other species and is habitually a burrowing animal. The rest of
the tribe, as a rule, make nests on the surface of the ground
and are, properly speaking, hares. It is useless, however, to try
to fix the application of names so firmly established and we must
therefore take them as we find them. The big hares of our
northern States are either varying hares or ‘‘snow-shoe rabbits,”
our little “hares are, *¢mabbitsy: jor) “cottontails’”’ and: the ’ large
hares of the plains are ‘‘ jackass rabbits.”

While rabbits fail to show much variation in structure among
themselves, differing for the most part in size and colour, they
are, however, sharply separated from all the rest of the gnaw-
ing tribe, and can be recognized at a glance. The popular eye
notes at once the long hind legs and consequent jumping gait,
the large ears, and the stumpy upturned tail. Look more closely
and we shall find other peculiarities. The soles of the feet are
not bare as in most rodents, but are covered with hair, which
accounts for the lack of sharp definition in their footprints. Open
the mouth and behind the two big front teeth of the upper jaw
—the sign of the rodent as it were—we shall find another pair
of little teeth which do not reach far enough down to aid in
the gnawing. These are obviously of no use to the rabbit of
to-day, but are none the less interesting since they show us that
the ancestral rabbits of the past had four large front teeth instead
of two, and the species now living form in this respect a sort of
connecting link between other mammals and the rest of the
rodents in which all trace of these teeth has been lost. Such
characters, apparently most trivial, often throw much light upon
the history and relationship of animals. Looking further into the
anatomical structure of the rabbits, we find another interesting
peculiarity in the arrangement of the bones of the fore legs,
which are placed so that they cannot be turned inward and used
as hands when the animal is feeding.

This habit is common to almost all other gnawing animals
and is most familiar in the case of the squirrels which hold their
food tightly in their fore paws as they sit upright upon their
haunches. Rabbits will often raise the fore part of the body
clear of the ground when reaching upward, but the fore feet
hang useless during such operation. In fact, beyond their use in
running the fore legs seem only to be brought into play in a

By Edward J. Davison

A HERD OF AMERICAN BISON (Bison bison)

Photographed in Texas

The Cottonteal

curious stamping which rabbits indulge in when angry or excited.
The most conspicuous species of rabbits in the East are described
beyond. In the West are many species and varieties more or
less closely allied to these, and one very distinct form, the Jack
rabbit.

The Cottontail

Lepus floridanus mallurus (Thomas)

Also known as Rabbit, Gray Rabbit.

Length. 17 inches.

Description. Above, a fine mixture of brown, cinnamon and
russet, grayer on the rump, dusky edgings to the ears and
an indistinct dusky spot between them; below, white with
a brown band across the breast; lower surface of the tail
pure white.

Range. Lowlands of the southern and middle States from
northern Florida to the Hudson Valley in the East, and to West
Virginia and Tennessee, west of the Alleghanies. Other
closely related varieties replace this form to the north and
south, and many allied species occur in the West.

For the last week I have been watching a rabbit that was
caught in a box trap. It quickly became tame enough to allow
itself to be stroked and patted without exhibiting much alarm,
and when it escaped from its cage, which it did several times,
offered but little resistance on being caught and replaced in
bondage, at last even allowing itself to be taken up without a
struggle.

It ate readily whatever was offered it—apples, raw cabbage,
and even the dry hay of which its bed was composed, besides
gnawing all the bark from the twigs of apple tree which I placed
in its cage, but never while I was watching and, | think, only
at night, apparently hardly changing its position while the day-
light lasted.

Yesterday morning I found that it had not only escaped from
its cage, a frequent enough occurrence, but that it had also
managed to make its way to the outside world, and the snow
on the lawn has since been thickly marked with its tracks lead-
ing off across the orchard finally, and I trust that by this time

The Cottontail

the little cotton-tailed chap is once more at home in the woods.

Like the white rabbit the cottontail has well-beaten paths,
which it follows winter and summer alike, but these are usually
not so extended and regular as those of its larger cousin.

In winter the goshawk has a habit of following these paths
on foot in a most unhawk-like manner, especially where they
are arched over by bushes that might prevent the hawks from
pouncing down from above, and I believe that it is done with
the intention of driving the rabbits out into the open woods
where, perchance, the hawk’s mate is waiting to seize them,
for goshawks usually hunt in pairs throughout the winter. Even
the common crow, unless I am very much mistaken, not in-
frequently manages to kill rabbits when the new snow is suf-
ficiently deep and light to prevent them from making full use
of their power of running.

The rabbit's custom of resorting to burrows perhaps as fre-
quently proves a menace to its safety as otherwise, particularly
where, as is often the case, there is only one place of exit, for
the mink, the skunk and the weasel can all easily enter any open-
ing that will admit a rabbit and undoubtedly often get their
dinner in that manner.

Last winter I saw what looked like a rabbit crouching among
the stems of a cluster of wild rose bushes, but on approaching
more closely I discovered that the animal had been dead for
several days, having evidently been killed by a weasel, and in
the struggle became so wedged between the briars that its captor
was unable to move it and must needs satisfy itself with suck-
ing its blood and leaving it in that position.

Later some white-footed mice and a blue jay had also been at
work nibbling and pecking here and there, but by the time they
had discovered it it had evidently become frozen so hard as to
prevent their making much impression on it, so that at a dis-
tance of a few yards it looked as if still alive.

The gray rabbit prefers above all things briar-grown berry
patches with a sprinkling of young pines and birches and nu-
merous rotting stumps of a former generation of trees, but readily
establishes itself in any kind of woods, high or low, while any
isolated clump of bushes a few rods in extent, whether it be by
the road-side or on the edge of a meadow is likely to harbour
a family of them.

NEST OF YOUNG COTTONTAILS

This nest was ina hay-field. The young when found were covered with soft fur from the mother, so that they were hardly visibh
‘his fur was removed in order that the little blind animals might be seen.

YOUNG COTTONTAIL AMONG THE CABBAGES (Lepus floridanus mailurus) By A. R. Dugmore

The Cottontail

Their food seems to be of much the same general character
as that of the white rabbit though perhaps a little more varied,
including fruit and all kinds of garden vegetables when convenient,
though the damage done in this way is hardly worth consider-
ing, in which respect it sets an example which the Old World
rabbit might profit by.

Like the other members of its race it often endeavours to
escape notice by crouching motionless wherever it may happen
to be, often allowing itself to be all but taken before it will
move, and at such times no amount of being stared at will
frighten it or put it out of countenance. There it will sit per-
fectly motioniess except for the trembling of its whiskers and
the motion of its breathing until you seem to be just on the
point of grasping it, when it quietly slips from beneath your
hands and races away.

[ have seen one sitting in plain sight on the snow among
the scattered sumachs not ten yards from a path along which
loads of hay were being hauled from the salt marsh to the upland.
Five or six teams must have passed it, some of them followed
by dogs, and still it sat there undisturbed in the sunlight, ap-
parently absorbed in its own thoughts.

‘The young ones, four or five inches long, are often met
with in summer all alone beneath the ferns and brambles and
very serious and reserved little chaps they are, too, with their
great black eyes and absurd looking triangular mouths forever in
motion, as if repeating over and over to themselves some lesson
which they fear they may forget.

Varieties of the Cottontail

1. Common or Southern Cottontail. Lepus floridanus mallurus
(Thomas). Range and description as above.

2. Florida Cottontail. Lepus floridanus Allen. Darker all over,
with no conspicuous black edgings to the ears nor black
spot between them.

Range. Southern Florida north to Micco.

3. Northern Cottontail. Lepus floridanus transitionalis (Bangs).
More richly coloured than the southern cottontail, with
emany long black hairs scattered over the back, black bor-
ders to ears and spot between them very distinct.

Range. Alleghany Mountains and northward east of the
Hudson to southern Vermont and New Hampshire. To

Varying Hare

the southward it merges gradually into the southern cotton-
tail and westward into the following.

4. Prairie Cottontail. Lepus floridanus mearnst (Allen). Much
lighter than any of the preceding, especially on the rump,
ears light, without black edgings, and no spot between
them. Size rather larger.

Range. Upper Mississippi Valley south to Indiana and east
to Central New York and Ontario.

Varying Hare

Lepus americanus virginianus (Harlan)

Called also Snow-shoe Rabbit, White Hare.

Length. 19 inches

Description. Summer. Upper parts russet to dull ferruginous,
lower parts white. Wanter. Entirely white, though in southern
part of its range some individuals remain partially brown through-
out the winter.

Range. Wooded regions of north-eastern North America south-
ward along the Alleghanies to West Virginia, becoming scarce
south of Maine.

Our northern hare or white rabbit is a perfectly typical hare
with the absurdly long hind legs characteristic of the tribe, dwelling
by preference in old growth evergreen forests on gently sloping
hillsides with here and there dense thickets of young spruce and
pine springing up between the trunks of the older trees.

Of all our wild animals: they are beyond question the most
helpless and incapable. It is evidently impossible for them to use
their paws for grasping as most of the smaller quadrupeds
habitually do, and I have never seen any evidence of their carry-
ing things with their mouths.

Winter and summer and in all kinds of weather they have
no better shelter than the drooping boughs of an_ evergreen,
beneath which each crouches alone for protection against the storm
and concealment from its enemies, never more than half asleep
apparently and always on the alert to dash away the instant it
catches the scent of fox or ermine to the windward, or the crackle
of a footstep in the distance. Whenever they feel hungry they

Varying Haro

venture forth and hop away to the nearest regular path or road-
way used in common by all the hares in the vicinity. These
paths are usually pretty straight and follow the same course the
year round, often extending in an interrupted sort of way for a quarter
of a mile or more with numerous side paths or cross roads of less
extent, leading off in the direction of their feeding grounds. After
following them for a little distance the hares usually strike off at
random into the undergrowth, nibbling and -browsing here and
there and nosing about for vagrant leaves of grass and clover
such as spring up at intervals even in the darkest forests.

Throughout the warmer months they have a large and varied
assortment of herbs to choose from, and it seems not wholly
improbable that they should also feed occasionally on berries and
mushrooms.

The young hares from‘the very first are provided with no
more adequate shelter than that furnished by the leaves above
them, and evidently must be left quite unprotected as often as
their mother is obliged to find food for herself, as the old males
are said not only to exhibit no feeling of responsibility in the
matter of bringing up their offsprings, but even to kill them
wantonly whenever the opportunity offers.

As soon as they are able to take care of themselves, or even
before, judging from outward appearances, the young ones are
turned adrift to support themselves as best they may. The matter
of finding food at that season is easy enough, but to avoid the
numerous enemies that beset them must be much more difficult
and I doubt if one out of a dozen ever attains its growth.

As winter approaches and the frosts cut off their supply of
food, they find themselves compelled to depend more and more
upon the bark of young trees and bushes, birch and soft maple
and wild apple trees.

When the buds of the gray birch begin to swell, as they
do late in the winter, the hares seem to prefer them to all other
food and often wander considerable distances in search of trees
with low growing branches, or clusters of young trees of last
season’s growth whose tops are still within their reach; and a
hare standing erect on its hind feet, as is their habit at such
times, is able to reach much higher than might at first be supposed.

The tall stalks of the blackberry and young trees a half inch
or less in diameter they cut off close to the ground or the sur

719

Varying Hare

face of the snow in order to get at the twigs and buds that
grow beyond their reach. But it never seems to occur to them
to carry any of it away to the cover of the evergreens where
they sleep, and in consequence they are obliged to be abroad in
all kinds of weather or go hungry until the storm is over.

They usually pass the day crouching motionless, half asleep
in the shadow, though not averse to sunning themselves at mid-
day, especially during the latter part of the winter.

Toward sunset they start out in search of food and are back
in their forms again soon after sunrise, but whether they spend
the entire night in feeding or only the hours of twilight is
not easy to determine; I am inclined to think that they are abroad
more or less at all hours of the night, especially when there -is
moonlight or in the winter when it seldom gets very dark, and
as they appear to depend at all times much more upon their
other senses than upon their eyesight they would hardly be in-
commoded by the most intense darkness, and it is hard to imagine
anything much blacker than the darkness beneath the hemlocks
on a summer evening, even while it is still twilight in the open
fields.

In spite of its size and the great strength of its hind legs
which it uses so vigorously as a final defence, kicking and strik-
ing savagely when seized, the Northern hare seems to be preyed
upon by all but the very smallest flesh-eating inhabitants of the
woods; in the North the sable is said to be one of its worst
enemies, and it is not at all unlikely that the mink in some of
his upland hunts manages now and again to seize one either by
stratagem or speed; for in spite of their short legs most of the
weasel tribe, of which the mink is a member, are able to beat
the hares at their own game, and although the latter have a
decided advantage at the start and quickly outdistance their
‘pursuers, the tireless muscles of the long-bodied hunters are pretty
sure to enable them to have their own way in the end.

Even the ermine and little weasel have been known to kill
full-grown hares, and though these cases are probably not very
frequent, they must find the young and half-grown ones the easiest
kind of victims.

Foxes are perhaps their most dangerous and persistent enemies,
and from what I have seen I am inclined to think that our Ameri-
can fcxes work in concert when hunting them just as the English

Varying Hare

foxes have been seen to do, one of them lying in ambush beside
the path followed by the hares in order to seize any that may
pass that way in their endeavours to escape from the other foxes
which are driving them from their cover. The henhawks and
goshawks, the great gray owl and the horned and snow owls
as well as the eagles either pounce upon them unawares from
the evergreens, or pursue them at full speed through the under-
brush, while in fall and winter men hunt them with dogs and
catch them with various kinds of traps and snares.

Although in the summer and early fall the dense undergrowth
of the forest assists the hares in their constant endeavours at con.
cealment, in the cold weather the leaves, with very few excep-
tions, either fall or, shrivelled to a fraction of their former dimensions
hang listless upon their stalks, allowing the eye to penetrate where
before everything was hidden, and, as if this were not enough,
the snow comes to flatten the ferns and grasses and lay on a
background of white against which all objects are conspicuous.

The Northern hare, however, like the ermine, has this advantage
over the other wood dwellers in that at the approach of winter its
fur, which from March to November is cinnamon or reddish brown
of a shade best suited to match its accustomed surroundings, becomes
in the course of a few weeks or even less perfectly white, and although
for a time the brown fur still shows in spots, the general effect
is such that of those that I have seen on the snow I should say
that at least one half appeared actually whiter than the snow over
which they ran, and this similarity of colouring with their surround-
ings makes it possible for them to crouch in safety practically
invisible to human eyes, and undoubtedly often baffling the keener
glances of the hawks.

Much has been written on the change of colour of the varying
nare and other mammals and birds, but there are few subjects
concerning which more mistakes have been made. We read of the
change taking place in a single night, coincident with the first fall of
snow and of the actual blanching of the the individual hairs; one
statement being quite as erroneous as the other. The change is really
very simple. All mammals, in northern climes at least, shed their coat
twice a year, acquiring a thicker fur in winter and a thinner one in
summer, and in the present species the winter coat is white while
the summer one is brown and the individual hairs never alter theit
colour from the time they appear until they fall out. The change

jon.
Department of Educatt

Varying Hare

from brown to white occurs in the autumn and for a short time the
animal is somewhat ‘ mottled.” Then in March as the weather gets
warmer the snow gradually disappears from the woods, the fur
of the Northern hare, probably by reason of the wearing away of the
tips and the shedding of the long hairs gets more and more mottled
with brown, the change in most cases that have come under my
notice commencing at the back of the neck, on the feet and the under
surface of the body, and in an astonishingly short time the dark
summer coat is fairly resumed. Although belated snowstorms must
often give them occasion to regret the loss of their winter coats,
taking one year and another, the change seems to be wonderfully
well timed, and at most they are really no worse off than those other
inhabitants of the woods that wear their dark coats throughout the
winter.

When the white people first made their homes in this part of the
country they found only these big, long-legged Northern hares
dwelling in the uncleared forest, never a very numerous race in
all probability in spite of the advantages of tremendous swiftness and
a coat which copied the colour of their surroundings at all times
of the year.

Preyed upon by Indians, wolves and lynxes and the various
members of the weasel tribe, which have since been exterminated, or
nearly so, because of the beauty of their fur, as well as their numer-
ous enemies which still survive in more or less reduced numbers, the
coming of the white man must have proved rather an advantage than
an added danger to this long suffering, thin-skinned defenceless race
of animals, and it seems probable that they did increase in numbers to
a certain extent for the first two hundred years or so. As recently as
fifty years ago they were still common and apparently the only species
in Southern New Hampshire, but somewhere about that time the little
gray rabbit or cotton-tail made its appearance; no one could tell from
whence, though it seems generally to have received the title of cony
at first to distinguish it from the other which had always been called
rabbit, and though hardly one half as large and much shorter of foot
and even more timid and helpless, it now became evident that the
larger Species was disappearing as the smaller increased in numbers.

| am told that at one time, something like thirty years ago, there
were no white rabbits to be found within miles of this place. Then
they appeared and even-seemed to slightly increase in numbers for a
few years only to vanish as before, and it has been that way ever

Varying Hare

since. At intervals of perhaps seven or eight years they came back in
scattered bands and endeavoured to establish themselves in their old
haunts but the result was always the same.

Rather more than twenty years ago they were quite numerous
for several successive seasons in a neighbour’s wood lot only half a
mile from here. I can just recall a cool afternoon, which I am quite
sure must have been sometime in the last of autumn, when my
cousin and | raced up the western slope of those woods with the sun-
light streaming in beneath the pines, and the one distinct thing in my
memory of that time is the image of a big, yellowish brown hare
hobbling up the hill before us. That must have been about the last
of their occupation of that place, and up to the present time I have
only on one occasion found as much as a track there.

Several years ago our cat caught a young hare of this species, and
I think it must have been the following winter that I heard of several
having been killed in the neighbourhood.

From that time until the fall of 1894 1 was unable to learn of the
existence of any of these animals for miles around, though it seems
that on the slope of a certain low pine-covered hill only three or four
miles distant a colony have dwelt uninterruptedly from all accounts
since the time of the red men. In the fall of 1894 a gunner
told me that only a day before he had been shooting grouse along the
edge of a swamp hardly a mile away, and in pushing into a thick
clump of hemlocks to secure a wounded bird had started a white
rabbit which he succeeded in shooting. In the course of the next few
weeks I heard of several that were killed in those woods and
there were doubtless many others which I failed to hear of, but all my
tramps in that direction for the purpose of finding them proved
unsuccessful—at least until the snow came.

Late in the winter I took a snow-shoe tramp in that direction, the
first time I had been there since the first snow-fall of the season, and
within two miles found the unmistakable track of a white rabbit;
there was no mistaking the broad oval foot-prints, even if the distance
between them had not served to distinguish them from those of the
gray rabbit which crossed their line of march at frequent intervals.

The track, which apparently had been made several days, led me
from the swamp into the low rolling birch land, and now other
and fresher ones of the same kind joined it until a well-beaten path
running east and west was formed and this presently joined anothes

Vatying Hare

at right angles. The latter proved to be the main highway with
several branch roads similar to the first.

But I was unable to catch sight of any of the members of the com-
munity which, judging from the tracks, must have numbered several
dozen at least, and as the snow was again falling rapidly and obliter-
ating the maze of tracks | was endeavouring to unravel, I was
obliged to give it up for the time being.

Several times in the course of the next month I visited those
woods, sometimes finding the tracks I was in search of and sometimes
not, for the colony was apparently an unsettled and roving one and
I seldora found it established twice in the same place, though at times
it must have stopped for several days or even weeks before starting
off in search of new feeding grounds and seldom moving any great
distance each time. I failed as at first, however, to see the hares
themselves, though a dog would undoubtedly have driven them into
sight for me had I chosen to take one along.

In March, with a companion, I was skirting the western border
of the swamp and while still half a mile or more to the south of where
I had seen any of their tracks, a white rabbit started out of the bushes
only a few yards away and after creeping rather slowly along under
cover of the ground laurel for a little distance, broke all at once into a
series of tremendous bounds that soon carried it out of sight among
the trees.

The snow was frozen hard, with patches of bare ground on the
southern slope, so that tracking was out of the question. We tramped
about there for some time and saw white rabbits running before us in
four or five different instances, and though we may have seen the
same rabbit twice, there were certainly more than one, and | believe
three or four that we saw.

At last on the very edge of the swamp, where the dry and frozen
swamp-gaass and bushes stood in clumps between the ice-bound
alders and maples, a big white fellow sprang out of the thick tussock
and in attemping to dash away over the ice got fairly caught between
the close-growing stems of a bunch of red willows and was easily
secured.

It proved to be a large male whose smooth white fur showed but
little sign of the spring shedding, only a spot here and there that
hardly showed at all when the animal was in motion.

A few days later there was no sign of them to be found at that place

Varying Hare

or in the woods near by, and I am convinced that purely by chance
we had intercepted the little band in its march southward and
that those killed in this and the neighbouring towns that season
where none had been seen for years, were wanderers from some-
where farther north, impelled southward by the same unreasoning
impulse that is said once in every seven or eight years to drive
the lemmings southward from the Arctic Ocean, and which, to a
lesser degree appears to affect most of the smaller fur-clad animals
of the North.

Only the winter before | had tramped through these same woods
after almost every tracking snow, and I am able to say positively that
the gray rabbit was the only species to be found there, and
three years later it was the same again; the only one that has visited
these woods since then, as far as I can learn, being a solitary
individual that the next winter passed within half a mile of the house
where I write, going due southeast without swerving more than a
few rods from a direct course at any time and crossing open fields
and meadows indifferently.

I followed its tracks closely for nearly two miles and saw
no evidence of its having stopped to eat or rest at any time.
Finally it struck off across a wind-swept field where the drifting snow
wholly obliterated its footprints, and | have often wondered what
eventually became of the solitary wanderer hopping away alone
towards the sea whose roar was already distinctly audible only
a few miles away.

From what I can learn I should say that the border land between
the countries of the white rabbit and the gray is somewhere between
forty and fifty miles to the north of this southeastern corner of New
Hampshire; beyond that I have been unable as yet to find the gray
rabbits, though for the first thirty miles they are as abundant as they
are here, and further west their range is said to extend well up into
Canada.

Mr. P. C. True writing from Pittsfield, New Hampshire, under
date of March Ist 1899, says: ‘‘I have consulted a number. of veteran
fox hunters here and gathered what information I could on the
subject.

“‘The white rabbits, or jacks, as they are called here, have
almost disappeared; what few are left are found only in the big
forests. I am told that the cause of the departure is that the conies
devour their young; conies are very numerous as were jacks previous

American Polar Hare

to the last decade. The first are said to have been brought here
from Massachusetts by an old fox hunter some thirty years ago.”

The earlier writers of the natural history of this country pretty
generally agree in giving the habitat of the northern hare as the whole
of the Eastern states south to Virginia, and scarcely allude to the gray
rabbit at all, some authors describing it as a Western species not
found east of the Mississippi. But Thoreau’s diary written in the
woods of Concord, Massachusetts, half a century ago and more,
makes no mention of the larger species, all the hares referred to being
unmistakably cotton-tails.

Last winter, 1898-9, | paid frequent visits to the only permanent
colony of white rabbits that | know of in this region, situated three
or four miles to the northeast, where they occupy perhaps one
hundred acres of old growth timber, only occasionally wandering into
the neighbouring woods and swamps where the gray rabbits abound.

But the latter in small numbers penetrate to all parts of the
white rabbits’ domain, some of them even taking up their quarters in
the very heart of it, and | have sore misgivings that sooner or later
the original inhabitants will be forced to leave, for just as the white
men have driven away the dark-skinned native, so among the hares
matters seem to be reversed, and the dark-skinned new-comer
is driving off the native whites.

Varieties of the Varying Hare

1. Varying Hare. Lepus americanus virginianus (Harlan). Range
and description as above.
2. Labrador Varying Hare. Lepus americanus Erxleben. Yellow-
ish-brown to drab in summer, always pure white in winter.
Range. Replaces the former in the wooded regions of
Labrador. Weta
3. Nova Scotian Varying Hare. Lepus americanus struthiopus” Bangs.
Much darker and duller than the varying hare, with no ferru-
ginous tints.
Range. Takes the place of the common form in Nova Scotia.

American Polar Hare
Lepus arcticus Ross
Called also Arctic Hare, White Hare.

Length. 23 inches.
Description. Hair somewhat curly, white at all seasons except the
tips of the ears which are blackish; a few long blackish hairs

‘AOUS OU} 4SUTeSB
Ysinsurjsip 2, DIeY OS ST GOMM “OSeIaG Ie,UIM 9}IYA\ 94} UT Yjo_G ‘"yeuiUe pally ATYSely & won suo PueY-Ioer ‘JT Wio1y DaydesZojoyd eimsy

mAOw BN YW AG (Snuniuis42 snuvdd4aup snda7) AAVH ONIAMVA

American Polar Hare

scattered over the back in summer and the ears and face
slightly gray (the allied polar hares of Labrador and New-
foundland are subject to a greater change. See below).

ani Northern Baffin Land and the Arctic Islands of North
merica.

The polar hares are the Arctic explorers of the great race
of hares and jack-rabbits, who, finding the climate and con-
ditions up there at the top of the world well suited to
their tastes, have established themselves, and continue to raise
their families and live happily in that wide ice-sheeted country far
away from the sun, wearing their coats of winter white from
year’s end to year’s end.

A little farther south the hares put on their brown fur for a
few months in midsummer, and in most parts of Canada are
six months wnite and six months brown. The typical polar
hare of the Arctic region is a creature of the snow, depending
on it for protection against the weather and all other enemies.
Its home is a hole dug in a snow drift, or a cranny beneath
some outcropping ledge, and its food stone-worts and _ lichens
and the twigs of dwarfed alpine plants as hardy as itself.

In the long dim-lighted winter, at the extreme north, it
probably has few enemies to fear, except the little blue fox; and
in the few weeks of so-called summer the gyrfalcons and the
Arctic owls. But the gray-wolf and the wolverine and the Canada
lynx have little fear of the cold and follow the polar hare well
up within the Arctic circle.

When it is not looking for its scanty fare of herbage the
polar hare sits crouching in its form, careless of the dry drifting
snow which often completely buries it while it sleeps. If the
gyrfalcon or the snowy owl should swing up in sight against
the dark sky, it only hugs the snow the closer trusting to remain
unseen; and when the Arctic fox comes prowling along the trail,
the hare is ready for a run with him across miles of unbroken
snow, just as eager to escape and go on living, as if there were
long summers amid green fields to look forward to. It is a little
curious that a member of the most thin-skinned and generally in-
capable race of mammals should be the one to prove itself best
able to withstand the hardship of an Arctic life; yet these polar
hares have been found living on ice fields over frozen seas twenty
miles from the nearest land.

Marsh Hare
Varieties of the Polar Hare

1. American Polar Hare. Lepus arcticus Ross. Range and
description as above.

2. Bangs’ Polar Hare. Lepus arcticus bangst Rhoads. Upper
parts gray in summer, ears black.

Range. Takes the place of the American polar hare in New
foundland.

3. Miller’s Polar Hare. Lepus arcticus labradortus Miller. Pelage
hair brown in summer.

Range. Replaces the American polar hare in Labrador.

4. Greenland Hare. Lepus grenlandicus Rhoads. Differs from
the American polar hare in the more protruding incisor
teeth and other skull peculiarities.

Range. Replaces the above in Greenland.

Marsh Hare
Lepus palustris Bachman

Length. 18 inches.

Description. Above yellowish-brown, with many black hairs scat-
tered through the pelage. Underparts grayish, underside of
tail grayish, never white as in the cottontail. Ears much
shorter than in that species, and feet but scantily covered
with hair.

Range. Coast of North Carolina to eastern Georgia and northern
Florida.

The marsh hare is an inhabitant of the low seaboard of
our Southern States. It is slightly larger than the cottontail with
which it is often associated, and differs in its nearly bare feet
and more scanty pelage. It is distinctly an animal of the wet
swamps, not hesitating to take to the water and plunge through
the deepest bogs when disturbed. Bachman says that it runs
low on the ground and cannot leap with the same ease, strength
and agility as the cottontail. From the shortness of its legs and
ears and its general clumsy appearance, as we see it splashing
through the mud and mire, it somewhat reminds one of an over-
grown rat.

Varieties of the Marsh Hare

1. Marsh Hare. Lepus palustris Bachman. Range and descrip-
tion as above.

Water Hare; Jack Rabbit

2. Florida Marsh Hare. Lepus patustris paludicola (Miller &
Bangs). Darker, with less buff in its colouration.
Range. Southern Florida, grading into the former to the
northward.

Water Hare
Lepus aquaticus Bachman

Length. 21 inches.

Description. Finely mottled above with buff, rufous and black
hairs, buff predominating more than in the cottontail; belly
and underside of tail pure white. Feet rather scantily haired
and ears longer than in the cottontail.

Range. Lower Mississippi Valley north to Southern Illinois.

The swamps of the lower Mississippi harbour still another
member of the rabbit tribe—the great water hare, an animal with
habits so far as we know similar to those of the marsh hare,
but in size larger than that species or the cottontail.

The difficulty of following this and the last species into their
swampy retreats renders them but little known to hunters and
is responsible for our lack of knowledge concerning them.

Jack Rabbit
Lepus campestris Bachman

Called also Prairie Hare, Jackass Hare, White-tailed Jack
Rabbit.

Length. 25 inches.

Description. Larger than any of the preceding, with very long
hind legs and ears. Colour above yellowish gray, sides and
back of neck lighter, below white, tail entirely white. In the
northern part of its range it turns pure white in winter,
farther south the change is partial or possibly does not occur
at all.

Range. From Western Minnesota and Iowa to the Sierra Nevada
Mountains and from Central Kansas and Colorado to the Sas-
katchewan plains. Represented southward and westward by
a group of allied species known as black-tailed jack rabbits.

Jack Rabbit

Cottontails of one form or another stretch all across our Con-
tinent and varying hares occur Westward in the boreal forests
just as they do in the East, but the distinctively Western member
of the hare tribe is the jack rabbit. From the Eastern border of
the plains to the shores of the Pacific there is scarcely any spot
Where one form or another of the jack rabbit does not occur,
but farther East it is unknown. The white-tailed jack rabbit is
the one found on the Great Plains and upper part of the Great
Basin. Southward and partly overlapping is the range of the
Texan or black-tailed jack rabbit while in California is found still
another species.

Living entirely in the open, jack rabbits are more than ever
dependent upon the protective colouration, speed and delicacy of
hearing which are so characteristic of the whole tribe. Dr. Coues
says, ‘‘The first sign one has usually of a hare which has squatted
low in hopes of concealment, till its fears force it to fly, is a
great bound into the air with lengthened body and erect ears.
The instant it touches the ground it is up again, it does not come
fairly down and gather itself for the next spring but seems to
hold its legs stiffly extended, touch only its toes and rebound by
the force of its impact. As it gains on its pursuers, and its fears
subside, the springs grow weaker, and finally the animal squats
in its tracks on its haunches with a jerk, to look and listen.
One fore foot is advanced a little before the other, and the ears
are held pointing in opposite directions. The attitude at such
times is highly characteristic.”

For its home the jack rabbit has only an open ‘‘form” beneath
a bush or clump of weeds; here it sleeps in sunshine and storm
always on the alert for danger, ready to dash away on the instant.
When the ‘rabbit brush” grows thick they are comparatively
safe and well sheltered, but in certain bare stretches of unbroken
waste land they have to seek shelter as best they may, crouch-
ing beside some white wind-bleached stalk or in the shadow of
a telegraph pole. The northern species turns white in winter
and so escapes observation on the snow.

The young, from one to six in number, are brought forth in
the form, which is simply a little space among the weeds and
bushes where the grass, when there is any, has been trampled
flat and perhaps slightly carpeted with loose fur.

The time of birth varies from late winter to early summer

Jack Rabbit

according to latitude, in the North, where only one or two litters
are born each season, June is about as early as the young ones
ever make their appearance.

When first born they are well furred and have their eyes
open, by the time they are a week old they are active and pretty
well able to look out for their own safety, and at the end of a
month or two are weaned and may leave their parents and start
out to get a living for themselves.

They feed on buffalo grass and weeds of various sorts and
the leaves and bark of shrubs and low bushes. In the South
where grease-wood and cactus are abundant they fare well; and
wherever men cultivate the land, the jack rabbits make themselves
at home at once and stuff on garden vegetables, alfalfa and
the bark of young orchard trees and so get themselves disliked.

In a natural state their numbers are apparently held in check
more by scarcity of forage than by the inroads of their enemies,
and just as soon as cultivation yields them abundant fodder, they
increase to an alarming extent, in spite of the farmers’ efforts to
destroy them.

The eagle, the Western red-tailed hawk, the prairie falcon and
the marsh hawk occasionally kill jack rabbits, especially the young
ones, but their most destructive foes, next to man, are the wolves
and foxes. The coyote is particularly successful in hunting them,
and near the border of the woods the gray fox and bob-cat kill
them in considerable numbers.

In regions where the coyotes have been killed and driven off
it has almost invariably followed that the jack rabbits have so
multiplied as to prove a much more destructive nuisance than the
coyotes had ever been.

Occasionally an epidemic reduces their numbers locally, but
a very few seasons usually serve to establish them again in their
former numbers.

During the fall and winter jack rabbits are hunted and killed
in great numbers, the most popular method seems to be shoot-
ing them from waggons or buckboards with the assistance of dogs
who start the jacks from their cover and bring in the game when
it is killed. One man will sometimes kill five or six dozen jack-
rabbits in a day in this manner.

The greatest number, however, are killed in drives, an area
several miles in extent is beaten over by men on horseback who

Jack Rabbit

close in as they advance, driving the game before them, usually
into some kind of enclosure or corral from which there is no escape.
The number of rabbits taken in one day in this manner runs
from a few hundred up to ten or even twenty thousand.

Driving jack rabbits, though on a much smaller scale than
just described, seems always to have been a favourite pastime
with most tribes of Western Indians.

By far the most exhilarating and sportsman-like method
of hunting jack rabbits is coursing with greyhounds, in the same
manner that coursing has always been followed in the Old World;
jack rabbits are if anything swifter and more resourceful in dodg-
ing the hounds than are the European hares.

The jack rabbits are started from their forms and go off like
the wind with the greyhounds in hot pursuit, while the rider
follows as closely as he can. The whole thing goes with a swing
and dash to the very end, the rabbit dodging, leaping and doubling
frantically, until either he has succeeded in reaching the brush
and safety, or the greyhound has seized him and both go rolling
over and cver together along the ground.

Although the fur of the jack rabbit seems to be well enough
suited for felting it is not much used at present, while the skin
is too tender and the fur itself too brittle to make it of much value
as fur. The Western Indians, however, have always held jack
rabbit skins in high esteem for clothing. They twist the skin in
Narrow strips which are fastened together to make robes, the
skins being twisted in such a way as to leave the fur on both
sides making a warm durable robe of exceeding lightness.

By W. E. Carin

LITTLE CHIEF HARE, OR PIKA (Ochotona princeps)

_ These rare photographs, made in the Bitter Root Mountains, were secured by setting up the camera covering a rock on which th
animal was in the habit of sunning himself. The instrument was carefully covered with weeds and leaves, and the photographer re-

tired for a protracted wait until the pika should appear.

PIKAS
Family Ochotonide
Pika
Ochotona princeps Richardson

Also called Little Chief Hare, Cony.
Length. 7 inches.

Description. Allied to the rabbits in structure, but in external
appearance more rat-like. Legs very short, all about the same
length, feet padded on the soles, nc external tail, ears large, fur
thick brown above, blackish on the back, yellower on the head,
below grayish; ears short, edged with white, feet white.

Range. Northern Rocky Mountains, allied species in Colorado,
Northern California, Alaska, etc.

‘These curious little animals occur only in the northern part of
Asia and Alaska and southward on the higher mountain slopes.
Their haunts are rock slides where they find shelter in the numerous
holes and crevices among the boulders and fallen debris. Dr.
Merriam states that they run with great rapidity for an animal with
such short legs, travelling considerable distances from their dens
to their feeding ground. They work diligently through the day
gathering various favourite alpine plants, which are piled up among
the rocks forming veritable hay-stacks for their winter use. They are
watchful and alert, giving vent to their shrill bleating call when
a stranger approaches the vicinity of one of their colonies, dashing
into their retreats only to emerge again to see if the intruder has
departed. They seem never to become plump and fat and their
emaciated appearance has gained for them the name of ‘starved
rats’ among the miners of certain regions.

At any rate they are harmless little beasts and will well repay the
naturalist who may visit their remote habitat and make a careful
study of them, and being one of those ‘‘connecting links ” in nature’s
chain everything we learn about them seems to possess a peculiar
interest.

AMERICAN PORCUPINES

Family Erethizontide

Wherever found porcupines may always be known by their
spines. The short legs, plantigrade feet and short thick tail are also
characteristic of our North American species, but foreign porcupines
exhibit many differences in their structure, one kind found in South
America having a long prehensile tail like our opossum. The quills
or spines of the porcupine are scattered about amongst the hair and
all point backward but may be elevated at will by the muscular con-
traction of the skin and being so loosely attached at the base are
frequently impaled in the face or feet of any animal which may come
in contact with them.

In the Canada porcupine the quills are usually shorter than the
hair but in certain foreign species they are greatly developed.

Besides the Canada porcupine we have one other closely allied
species in North America, the yellow-haired porcupine (Erethizon
epixanthus) of British Columbia and western United States.

Canada Porcupine

Evethtzon dorsatus (Linnzus)

Length. 28 inches.

Description. Dark-brown to nearly black, quills stage with yellow-
ish, two to four inches long mostly concealed by the hair, which
reaches a length of six inches; toes, four on the front feet and five
on the hind.

Range. Northern parts of North America south to Maine and in
the higher mountains of Pennsylvania. Not found south of the
Canadian faunal zone.

The porcupine is much more interesting as a species than as an
individual. Looked at either as an example of the beneficent protection
which is rendered to every creature according to its needs, or as a
branch of the rodent family that has succeeded in perfecting a most
unique method of defence through the law of the survival of the
fittest, it furnishes an interesting study.

By A. R. Dugmore

GANADA PORCUPINE (Erethizon dorsatus), WITH QUILLS THROWN FORWARD _IN WILD STATE

Canada Porcupine

It is easy enough to imagine the long chain of successive steps
that have led up from some far-off ancestor, who survived because of
the possession of a coat of rougher and more bristling hair than his
fellows, and in transmitting this to his decendants also insured them
a longer period of existence. But if the one owning the most effective
armour was safer from attack than his neighbours, he must also have
experienced greater difficulty in finding for himself a mate, for his
prickly coat and awkward stumbling carriage would make him just
as unpopular with his own people as among his enemies. So instead
of choosing according to his taste he must needs take what he could
get, his heavy coat of mail preventing him from winning in any con-
test of activity with his rivals, and in all probability he would be
obliged in the end to put up with some equally ill-favoured and stupid
outcast of the other sex.

The Canada porcupine of the present day is apparently a result of
this sort of selection, stumping about the woods like a turtle in its
shell, intent only on filling his stomach with the green bark of trees
he hauls himself laboriously up among the branches and strips them
bare, killing a tree for his meal.

He lacks beauty either of form, motion or colour as well as softness
of fur; his eyes are little and dull with never a glimmer of thought
behind them, serving little better purpose than to direct him from
one tree to the next and to distinguish between daytime and
night. Being independent of the protection afforded by darkness,
which so many animals rely on for safety, he is free to go and
come as he pleases, and at least shows the good taste to pre-
fer the sunshine, at all events in cool weather. In fact he has
probably found it safer to go about by day, for with the ex-
ception of man, the greater part of his enemies are night prowl-
ers. The most persistent of these is the fisher, who manages
somehow to seize him by the throat where he is least protected
and so avoid serious contact with his quills.

The various big cats of the northern woods will also hunt
porcupine rather than go hungry, though it is often a sorry
choice for them. The porcupine’s quills are hard to avoid, and
each one is fitted with numberless little barbs that, once the
quill penetrates the skin, keep forcing it deeper and deeper into
the sufferers flesh with every involuntary twinge of his muscles,
until a vital part is stabbed and the hunter pays high for his
meal, many a porcupine avenging his own death weeks after

95 ’

Canada Porcupine

he has been eaten; even the wily fisher is said to be occasion-
ally killed in this manner.

The porcupine’s home is usually a hollow log or cavern
among the rocks.

Here he can sleep in comparative safety curled up with his
back to the entrance, presenting a most formidable chevaux
de frise against attack.

In cold rough weather he stays indoors day and night,
probably endeavouring to sleep and forget his hunger. As soon
as it grows a little milder he crawls out and makes haste to
stuff himself with bark and green twigs to nourish him during
the !next’ cold :spell.

When the snow melts at the approach of spring and the
new sap starts up under the bark to swell the buds in the
March sunshine he fares somewhat better, and long before the
last drift has vanished is able to gather a taste of young green
leaves along sunny banks beneath the evergreens, together with
the hardier sorts that winter under the snow, now laid bare
again to the sunlight.

Porcupines are not prolific animals; a pair of twins to each
family early in the summer appears to be the general rule, the
youngsters being about as rough and ugly looking as their parents.

POCKET:* GOPHERS
(Family Geomyide )

These curious little animals are characterized by their large
cheek pouches opening outside the mouth, and their modified
fore feet with immense claws suited for digging. Their bodies
are heavy and their movements somewhat clumsy. The skull
is thick, and in the species of Geomys which is the only genus
represented in the East, the upper incisors are grooved. In the
allied genus Thomomys, which is abundantly represented in the
West, this is not the case.

The gophers are nocturnal and live in communities, burrow-
ing in the ground like the marmots. They are very abundant
in our Western States and two species extend eastward into the

Tom Sncy “SM cw. Aq (SHIDSLOD nA BVIIGL SS) | ONTLLOA "OVd STTING SADA “NT

WIMS ANIGNOWOd NVOTYAA

Georgia Gopher

Mississippi Valley, while several closely related forms occur in
the Southern States.

Georgia Gopher

Geomys tuza (Ord)
Also called Pocket Gopher, Salamander.

Length. 10 inches.

Description. Cinnamon-brown with a somewhat fulvous tinge,
an indistinct darker median stripe on the back; below dull
ochraceous; hairs on the feet white, tail almost naked.

Range. Pine barrens of southern Georgia; represented in Florida
and Alabama by closely related geographic races.

This little animal furnishes another example of the ambiguity
of popular names. By all rights of priority and descent he is
entitled to the name of gopher given to their Western relatives
by the early French explorers, and signifying ‘‘ honeycomb” in
reference to their numerous burrows. Unfortunately our Southern
pioneers bestowed this name upon a burrowing tortoise, while the
true gopher was christened the ‘‘salamander,’’ a name which is
misleading and to which he has no just claim. Popular names,
however, are too firmly established to yield to argument, and so
the Georgia gopher will remain the salamander in spite of us.

Thoroughly adapted for a subterranean life, these animals
spend almost all their time in their burrows, and even where
they are abundant few people are acquainted with their appear-
ance or habits, their presence being known only by their bur-
rows and the gnawing of roots and vegetables.

‘Gopher burrows seem to have neither beginning nor end,”
writes Vernon Bailey. ‘‘They are extended and added to year
after year and in many cases those dug by a single animal
would measure a mile or more, if straightened out. At the end of
a year a gopher may often be found within twenty rods of the point
from which he started, but in travelling this distance he has paid
no attention to the points of the compass. He follows a tender
root for a few feet, then moves to one side, encounters a stone
and makes a second turn. A layer of mellow soil entices him off
in another direction, and so on through a thousand devious crooks

Prairie Gopher

and turns. At intervals openings are made through which to dis-
charge the earth that makes the little piles called gopher-hills.”

Gophers have regular storehouses where roots and other foods
are stored away, being carried in the peculiar pockets on each side
of the face.

Dr. Goode describes their digging habits as follows: ‘‘ They
dig by grubbing with the nose and a rapid shovelling with the
long curved fore paws assisted by the pushing of the hind feet,
which removes the earth from beneath the body and propels it
back with great power a distance of eight or ten inches. When
a small quantity of earth has accumulated in the rear of the
miner, around he whirls with a vigorous flirt of the tail and,
joining his fore paws before his nose, he transmutes himself into a
sort of wheelbarrow pushing the dirt before him to a convenient
distance.”

Except during the breeding season gophers live singly. They
are very pugnacious and fight viciously and, when caught away
from their burrows, do not hesitate to attack their captor.

Varieties of the Georgia Gopher

1. Georgia Gopher. Geomys tuza (Ord). Description and range
as above.

2. Florida Gopher. G. tuza floridanus (Audubon & Bachman).
Rather larger and duller in colour, with a white spot under
the chin.

Range. Eastern Florida, St. Mary’s River to Eau Gallic.

3. West Florida Gopher. G. tuza austrinus (Bangs). Paler,

with much more white below.
Range. Western Florida. |

4. Alabama Gopher. G. tuza mobilensis Merriam. Smaller and
darker than the Georgia gopher.

Range. Extreme Northwestern Florida and Alabama.

5. Island Gopher. G. cumberlandius Bangs. Larger than the
Georgia gopher, but like it in colour.

Range. Cumberland Island, Georgia.

Prairie Gopher
Geomys bursarius (Shaw)
Also called Pocket Gopher.
98

“WI UJIM GN YO4ed OF Jopso uy fouUNy sq
FQuoTe Jooy Lo Snp prey sionsind sw ssqiye paudeis0j0yg *dyl] SurMOLING ‘punoisiepunN ue 10j poydepe |[e ‘sive JFOYS puke spuey S1q ‘pling axT]-sfour sr SutMoyyg

aytey “aM Ag (sduomoys) YAHAOD LAMOOd NYALSAM S

Prairie Gopher

Length. 10 inches.

Description. Dark, pinkish-brown, inclining to chestnut in some
specimens, but with no fulvous tints. Darker on the middle of
the back; under surface slightly lighter, but not distinctly so
as in the Georgia gopher; hair on the feet white; tail hairy,
but scantily so toward the tip; hair of basal half brown,
terminal half white.

Range. Mississippi Valley, from North Dakota to eastern Kansas
and southern Missouri and including southern Wisconsin and
most of Illinois.

The general appearance and habits of this animal are similar
to those of the preceding species. Farther South and West are
several other gophers, while from the Plains to the Pacific are
found the gray gopher and its allies with ungrooved front teeth,
but otherwise much like the animals above described.

POCKET, MICE
(Family Heteromyide)

These mice are restricted to the western United States and
Mexico and are confined largely to the arid regions, so charac-
teristic of that portion of the country. They comprise two very
different groups of animals—the true pocket mice, little mouse-
like creatures with rather coarse hair, and the larger kangaroo
rats, with immense hind legs and long brushy-tipped tails, re-
calling the jerboas of the Old World.

Although so different in external appearance, these pocket
mice are allied to the mole-like gophers that we have just been
considering, and it will be seen at once upon examining them
that they possess the same curious external check pouches. We
have three modifications of the same type of animal just as we
find in the true mice; the gopher corresponding to the meadow
mouse, the pocket mouse to the deer mouse and the kangaroo rat
to the jumping mouse. The first is adapted for a burrowing life,
the second for a life on the surface of the ground and the third
specially modified for leaping.

Plains Pocket Mouse; Ord’s Kangaroo Rat

Plains Pocket Mouse

Perognathus flavescens (Merriam)

Length. 5 inches.

Description. External cheek pouches lined with hair opening ot
either side of the mouth; hair harsh; grayish buff above mixec
with dusky white below, sides, ring around eye anc
spot behind the eye clear buff, feet and legs white.

Range. Plains from South Dakota to northern Texas and west to
the base of the Rocky Mountains. Numerous other species
occur throughout the sandy arid regions of the West from
British Columbia to Mexico and California.

Very little is known of the life history of the pocket mice,
mainly because they are strictly nocturnal in habits and pass
the daytime in their burrows in the sandy ground with the
openings generally stopped with earth. Like the gophers they
carry their food in their curious cheek pouches and store it
away in their subterranean granaries.

Ord’s Kangaroo Rat
Perodipus ordt (Woodhouse)

Length. 9.60 inches.

Description. Ochraceous buff above, blackish on the rump. Sides
of nose, spot behind each ear and band across the thighs
white, under parts white; tail dusky down the middle, above
and below, showing white bases to hairs on either side.

Range. Western Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Many other
species occur through the arid regions of the West.

This is another nocturnal inhabitant of the sandy plains of
the Southwest. It makes an underground nest with numerous
communicating passageways, the whole forming a low hillock which
easily caves in and which horses and mules familiar with the
country have learned to carefully avoid.

Ernest Seton-Thompson gives an interesting account of a nest
of this little animal which he investigated. It was situated under
the sheltering spines of a bunch of Spanish bayonets and thistles,
which guarded effectually from would-be pursuers the nine open-

100

Ord’s Kangaroo Rat

ings through any one of which the little rat could plunge down
to his subterranean dwelling. These openings led to a rather in-
tricate series of passageways opening one into the other in such
a way as to lead the intruder to another exit rather than to the
nest. The latter he found was reached by a short branch lead-
ing from one of the above passageways, the mouth of which was
apparently plugged up with earth by the little animal before de-
parting, so as to further shield the nest from any intruders. The
nest had a thick felting of fine grass and weed silk and a soft
lining of feathers. Two other chambers were filled with over a
pint of sunflower seeds and evidently served as_ storehouses.
Of the mouse itself, which Mr. Thompson kept for a time in
captivity, he writes: ‘‘He was the embodiment of restless energy.
Palpitating with life from the tip of his translucent nose and ears
to the end of his vibrant tail. He could cross the box at a single
bound, and | now saw the purpose of his huge tail. In the
extraordinary long flying leaps that Perodipus makes the tuft
on the end does for him what the feathers do for an arrow.
They keep him straight in the air in his trajectory.

He was the most indefatigable little miner that I ever saw. ines
little pinky-white paws, not much larger than a pencil point,
seemed never weary of digging, and would send the earth out
between his hind legs in little jets like a steam-shovel. He
seemed tireless at his work. He first tunnelled the whole mass
through and through and I doubt not made and unmade several
ideal underground residences and solved many problems of rapid
underground transit. Then he embarked in some landscape garden-
ing schemes and made it his nightly business to entirely change
the geography of his whole country, laboriously making hills and
canyons wheresoever seemed unto him good.’’ Mr. Thompson had
reason to suppose that the faint bird-like twitterings sometimes
heard at night by cowboys and others on the plains are to be
attributed to the Perodipus, being analogous to the songs which
are uttered by some individuals of the common house mouse and
the white-footed mouse of our woods.

JUMPING MICE
(Family Zapodide)

These interesting mouse-like little animals are spread over all
the Northern parts of North America. They differ in many re-
spects from the true mice and can be recognized at once by
their extremely long hind legs and tail and by the coarseness of
their fur.

In their jumping habits and long legs they resemble the jerboas
of the Old World and the kangaroo rats of our Southwestern
States. Their kangaroo-like appearance has given rise to the popu-
lar belief that they are marsupials and carry their young in a
pouch, which idea is of course wholly erroneous.

We have two kinds of jumping mice, the meadow species,
probably the best known, and the large, more handsome, wood-
land jumping mouse, easily told by its white-tipped tail.

Meadow Jumping Mouse
Zapus hudsonius (Zimmerman)

Length. 8.80 inches.

Description. General colour yellowish fawn to rather dark ochra-
ceous mixed with black-tipped hairs which predominate on the
back making it much darker than the sides, belly white, some-
what suffused with buff, feet white, tail white beneath brownish
above, 130 mm. long. In autumn the fur is yellower with less
dusky above.

Range. From Hudson’s Bay to North Carolina, although those
from the Southern States and from Labrador are slightly
different. (See beyond.)

This is a mouse of uncertain and varying abundance; as a
general thing decidedly rare, then there will come a summer when
any one with an eye at all for seeing things, may have half a
dozen or even a dozen specimens brought to his notice; the
most harmless, inoffensive, kangaroo-like little things with astonish-
ingly long tails, they go bounding off over the grass before you
or cower trembling in the stubble, sometimes allowing themselves

102.

rey < e

. WESTERN LONGTAIL MOUSE, CAUGHT IN THE BITTER ROOT MOUNTAINS ByW. E. Carlis

LONG-TAILED JUMPING MOUSE (Zapus hudsonicus) (By C, William Beebe

Meadow Jumping Mouse

to be stroked or even taken in the hand without offering re-
sistance or attempting to escape. They seem to be decidedly less
intelligent than other mice, trusting mainly to good luck and their
gift’.at jumping to carry them through whatever dangers threaten.
Apparently they never look before they leap, so that that which
should be their safety often proves their ruin, as they are about
as likely to spring directly into the clutches of a cat or other
enemy as in an opposite direction; in this manner they are frequently
drowned in milk-pans and tubs of water which a little ordinary
caution would have avoided.

The last one I saw was on the bank of a stream in the
woods where the wild grape-vines and smilax trailed along the
edge of the water.

At first it attempted to escape by crouching among the grass
and dead leaves, but when I stooped down to examine it it began
leaping in the characteristic aimless and erratic manner of the
species. Finally when I made an attempt to capture it with a
landing net it leaped well out from the bank and descended in
the water where the current was pretty strong; the mouse, how-
ever, proved equal to the occasion and swam swiftly enough
against the stream for several yards to a floating branch along
which it ran to the other end, where it again entered the water
to swim ashore and hide among the driftwood and rubbish under
the overhanging bank.

Jumping mice are oftenest seen just after the meadows and
hay fields are cleared in August, evidently driven from their ac-
customed haunts and wandering lost and bewildered looking for
new homes, or it may be that the summer drouth has compelled
them to start out in search of water.

Their food appears to consist, like that of the other outdoor
mice, largely of grass seeds, undoubtedly varied at times by the
addition of berries and mushrooms and probably insects.

Ordinarily they creep about in the grass and leaves in a
manner calculated to escape all notice, and it is only when
threatened that they bring into use their powers of leaping, the
value of which probably depends a good deal on its unexpected-
ness and the sudden effect of surprise it produces on the enemy.

These mice are dormant through a much longer season than
are most hibernating animals, passing six months or more of
every year in this condition curled up in their nests underground.

103

Meadow Jumping Mouse; Woodland Jumping Mouse

I have seen a family of them turned up by the plough in
May and they exhibited not the slightest symptom of life cil
being handled and breathed upon; their bodies were soft and limp
and warm and had every appearance of an animal in a_ perfectly
dormant condition.

Varieties of the Meadow Jumping Mouse

Though the jumping mice bear a close resemblance to one
another they exhibit slight variations in different parts of their
range sothat the following have been distinguished.

1. Meadow Jumping Mouse. Zapus hudsontus (Zimmerman).
Described above, ranges South to the mountains of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina and in the West
to lowa.

2. Labrador Jumping Mouse. Zapus hudsonius ladas Bangs.
Larger and darker, with longer legs and tail. Replaces the
preceding in Labrador.

Carolinian Jumping Mouse. Zapus hudsontus americanus
(Barton). Replaces the above in the lowlands from North
Carolina to the Hudson and Connecticut Valleys.

Woodland Jumping Mouse

Zapus insignis Miller

Length. 9.80 inches.

Description. Larger than the meadow jump.ng mouse, with less
dusky on the upper parts, sides inclining to rich orange,
brightest on the cheeks; underparts pure snow white; tail
with a white tip. Curiously enough this little animal has
only three back (molar) teeth on each side of the upper
jaw, while the meadow jumping mouse has four.

Range. Canada to New England and South through the moun-
tains to Maryland.

Similar to the meadow jumping mouse in most respects, but
far richer in colour; this beautiful little animal makes its home
in the deep cool woods along some mountain stream, under
the shelter of the hemlocks and laurel bushes. It seems to shun
the society of man to which the other species is not averse,

TO4

Rats, Mice and Lemmings

and we have in the distribution of these two a fair parallel to that
of the white rabbit and the cottontail.

Varieties of the Woodland Jumping Mouse

1. Woodland Jumping Mouse. Zapus insignis Miller. Descrip:
tion and range as above.
8. Roan Mountain Jumping Mouse. Z. insignis roanensis Preble.
Smaller and darker.
Range. Mountains of the Southern Alleghanies.
3. Northern Jumping Mouse. L. insignis abietorum Preble.
Larger than the woodland jumping mouse.
Range. Quebec and Ontario.

RATS, MICE AND LEMMINGS
(Family Muride)

The late Dr. Coues described the members of this family in
his usual terse style as ‘‘a feeble folk, comparatively insignificant in
size and strength, holding their own in legions against a host
of natural enemies, rapacious beasts and birds.”

Few persons realize what a variety of them there are; spread
over almost every part of the world they constitute a large
proportion of the mammalian fauna and in eastern North America
about one-quarter of our quadrupeds belong to this family.

They are typical members of the rodent tribe in every res-
pect. In habits they are for the most part nocturnal, while
many species live in burrows or tunnel-like runways on the sur-
face of the ground among the grass roots and seldom, if ever,
venture forth into the light. Other species like the muskrat
are aquatic and have become excellent swimmers.

With few exceptions the members of this family are popu-
larly known as rats or mice, a difference which has to do only
with size. These names being originated for the two semi-
domestic species—the house mouse and the Norway rat—which
accompany man wherever he establishes himself, were afterwards
bestowed upon our wild species, according as they approached
one or the other in size. Rats and mice do not therefore con-

105

Rats, Mice and Lemmings

stitute satisfactory groups in which to classify our species. The
latter, however, are divisible into two very natural assemblages
which we might term the short-tailed and Jong-tailed groups.

The former are thick-set, short-legged and short-eared, with
a very short tail, small eyes and thick fur. All of which charac-
ters stamp them as burrowing animals.

The long-tailed group, on the other hand, are sleek and
graceful, standing higher on their legs, with usually large ears,
big eyes and a long slender tail.

We frequently find that it is impossible to properly classify
animals by external characters alone, and so in this case we find
the muskrat excluded from the first group where he_ belongs
by his long tail, but after noting this exception we may adopt
the characters as satisfactory without considering the more fun-
damental peculiarities of teeth and skull upon which science relies.
We have then three groups of the Murida:

I. Meadow Mice, Lemmings and Muskrats
(Sub-Family Microtine)

Thick-set, short-legged, short-eared, short-tailed, 7. e. tail less
than one-third the length of head and body (except muskrats)
usually much less, mainly burrowers.

Il. American Long-tailed Mice and Rats

(Sub-Family Cricetine)

More slender, with longer legs and generally larger ears and
eyes and long tail, the latter always more than half the length
of the head and body, generally much more.

III. Introduced Mice and Rats

(Sub-Family Murine)

Resembling in a general way the last group, but with very differ-
ent skull and teeth. All natives of the Old World, whence they have
been brought by man.

106

MEADOW MICE, LEMMINGS AND MUSKRATS
(Sub-Family Microtine)

Cooper’s Lemming Mouse
Synaptomys coopert Baird

Length. 4.80 inches.

Description. Upper front teeth grooved, tail very short (.70 inch).
Colour sepia brown, with many black hairs interspersed,
some individuals with a slight admixture of buff or reddish-
brown hairs, others somewhat grayer. Below plumbeous,
generally with whitish tips to the hair, ears very short,
overtopped by the hair, mammez six.

Range. Southern New England and Michigan to Indiana and
Virginia and in the mountains to North Carolina.

In external appearance the lemming mouse bears such a close
resemblance to the common field or meadow mouse, with which
it frequently associates, that it would readily be passed by.
Without considering its minute anatomy it will be sufficient to
call attention to its grooved front teeth by which it can always
be recognized, its rather coarser hair and very short tail. The
lemming mouse was first described by Professor Baird in 1857 and
for years after its discovery it was regarded as excessively rare.
Modern methods of trapping, however, have brought to light
many specimens and we have learned that it is pretty generally
distributed throughout our Northern States wherever conditions
suitable for its requirements are to be found.

In connection with its rediscovery in our Eastern States it
is interesting to know that science is indebted to that inde-
fatigable mouse hunter, the barn owl, for the knowledge of the
occurrence of the lemming mouse in several localities, the skulls
having been found in the pellets of hair and bones which the
owls had ejected about their nests.

Cold sphagnum bogs seem to be the favourite haunts of these
little animals in the East, where they use the ample runways of
the meadow mice which form an intricate network of passages
beneath the damp moss and among the roots of the grass and
rushes. In winter the sphagnum freezes up, forming a solid

107

Pied Lemming

roof to the runways, but upon breaking into them abundant signs
of life are to be seen and a trap set in such a situation is
pretty sure to catch one or other of the several little animals
which make these spots their home. For beside the lemming
mouse and meadow mouse we find here also the red-backed
mouse and the little shrew.

In Indiana Mr. A. W. Butler finds the lemming mice frequenting
stony hillside pastures, while their nests are placed under stumps
or logs.

Their food seems to consist of roots and tender shoots of
grasses and rushes, though from the nature of their retreats it
is practically impossible to gain much information as to their
habits. Even when we are fortunate enough to catch a glimpse
of one of the little animals it is usually merely a flash of brown
fur, as he disappears with lightning speed along one of his
passage ways.

Varieties and Related Species of Lemming Mice

1. Cooper’s Lemming Mouse. Syuaptomys cooperi Baird. Range
and description as above.

2. Dismal Swamp Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys cooperi hela-
letes (Merriam). Similar, but with larger head and more
massive skull.

Range. Replaces the common species in Dismal Swamp, Vir-
ginia.

3. Northern Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys faiuus Bangs. Smaller
and darker, with narrower skull.

Range. Northern New England, Ontario, Quebec and New
Brunswick. The northern representative of Cooper's lem-
ming mouse.

4. True’s Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys innuitus True. Re-
sembles Cooper's lemming mouse in general appearance, but
has a very different skull, with much narrower, paler,
coloured incisor teeth. Female with eight mamme.

Range. Labrador (Fort Chimo and Rigoulette).

5. Preble’s Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys sphagnicola Preble.
Similar to the last, but larger (5.25 inches long).

Range. Base of Mt. Washington, Fabyans, N. H

Pied Lemming

Dicrostonyx hudsonius (Pallas)

Length. 6 inches.
Description, Summer. Gray above, more or less dappled with rusty

108

Pied Lemming

red and with a black line down the back, below dull gray
tinged with rusty. Water, nearly pure white. The most ex-
traordinary peculiarity of this animal is the enormous dove-
lopment of the nails on the two middle toes of the front
feet. They are square or rather club-shaped at the end and
fully a quarter of an inch in length.

Range. Barren Grounds of Arctic America from Labrador to Alaska.

The name lemming is usually associated with the Arctic re-
gions or with the barren mountains of Norway, in which latter
locality the term originated. While it is true that most lemmings
are found in these regions, it is also true that so far as_ struc-
tural peculiarities go, the lemming mice which have just been
considered are quite as much lemmings as their Arctic allies, but
it is hard to draw a distinction between the lemmings and
meadow mice, so perfectly do they grade into one another.

The pied lemming lives in burrows in the beds of moss
and lichens which cover the northern tundra and feeds solely on
vegetable matter. They seem like other species of lemmings to be
subject to great variation in abundance from year to year, and in
localities where they abound the snow owls are also plentiful,
nesting close to the haunts of the lemmings, which in such
cases constitute their sole food.

So far as we know, however, the lemmings of Arctic Am-
erica are not subject to such well-marked migrations as charac-
terize those of Norway, where probably from overcrowding and
consequent scarcity of food there often occurs a great exodus to
some other locality. Dr. Coues says of their migration: ‘‘ Noth-
ing can stop them; they proceed straight on in their course,
urged by some restless impulse, swimming broad rivers and
lakes and invading towns which may lie in their way.”

As to their habits Mr. E. W. Nelson states that some captive
Alaskan lemmings were amusing, inoffensive little creatures and from
the first allowed themselves to be handled without attempting to bite.
‘‘They would climb up into my hand and from it to my
shoulder without a sign of haste or fear, but with odd curiosity,
kept their noses continually sniffing and peered at everything
with their bright bead-like eyes. When eating they held their
food in their fore paws.”

The change of colour in winter and summer is accomplished
by a complete spring and fall moult of the hair, the white coat
being much longer and_ heavier.

109

False Lemming Mouse

In Alaska there occurs another lemming (Lemmus trimucronatus)
which is of a rusty colour and never changes white in winter.

False Lemming Mouse
Phenacomys latimanus Merriam

Length. 5.30 inches.

Description. Strikingly like the meadow mouse in external ap-
pearance but with rooted molar teeth. Paie yellow cinnamon
brown above with an admixture of black hairs on the back,
below whitish gray; tail dark above, white below.

Range. Known only from Ungava, Labrador and the north shore
of Lake Superior in Ontario. A somewhat larger species oc-
curs in Labrador and Quebec (P. ce/atus) and others in the
Northwest.

The most interesting point
in the history of this rare
mouse is its close external re-
semblance to the meadow
mouse. For many years speci-
mens in the National Museum
passed as meadow mice until
Dr. Merriam discovered that
the back (molar) teeth did not
grow continuously from the
bottom as do those of the meadow mice, but possessed regular
roots as in the red-backed mice, a matter of small popular interest
but of great scientific importance as it shows us one more link in the
chain of evolution. Little is
known of the habits of this
mouse, though Mr. G. S.
Miller, Jr., states that in
Ontario he found it frequent-
ing high upland — barrensY
covered with stunted blue-
berry bushes. Its burrow
was found running down
by a decayed stump and
terminating in a_ hollow,
evidently intended for the winter nest. Blueberries appeared to
constitute its principal food at this season.

Lower jaw of Phenacomys, enlarged, to
show rooted molar teeth. (After Muller.)

Lower jaw of Field Mouse, enlarged, to
show unrooted molars. (After Muller.)

IIo

MICE AND SHREWS OF THE EASTERN STATES
Photographed from skins to show relative proportions

t. Pine Mouse (Microtus pinetorum) (uniform dull chestnut, fur very soft)

z. Red-backed Mouse (Evotomys gappert) (rusty chestnut, brightest on back)

3. White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) (fawn color, with white belly, ears large)

4. Long-tailed Jumping Mouse (Zapus insignis) (yellowish buff, hair rather coarse)

5. Meadow Mouse (Mucrotus pennsylvanicus) (blackish, grizzled with gray)

6. Lemming Mouse (Synaptomys coopers) (similar, but tail very short and incisors grooved)
7. Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) (plumbeous gray, fur very soft)

8. Long-tailed Shrew (Sorex personatus) (fur similar but tinged with brown)

(About three-fifths natural size)

i
i
i
7
’ 4
lbs
4 7
’
4
Ve
’
a? a
; A
my

Lar

Red-backed Mouse
Red-backed Mouse
Evotomys gappert (Vigors)
Called also Wood Mouse. Bog Mouse.

Length. 5.60 inches.

Description. Ears short, just visible above the fur, about as in
the meadow mouse. Colour bright reddish chestnut with
numerous black hairs interspersed, sides buffy, below whitish,
suffused with buff, feet light gray, tail brown above, gray
below. Colours generally darker in summer. In New Bruns-
wick, Ontario, and perhaps elsewhere in the northern part of
its range individuals occur which are entirely gray with no
trace of the red chestnut colouring. This seems to be a
purely dichromatic variety not due to age or sex.

Range. Alberta to Quebec and southward to the mountains of
Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

This little mouse is a smaller cousin of the meadow mouse,
similar in build but with a longer tail and always recognized by
it chestnut colour. Its molar teeth, too, are rooted like those of
the false lemming mouse. They are found mainly in woodland
clearings, and open bogs, living in runways near the surface, or
sometimes in dense patches of grass, and building their nests
under a fallen log. The lumbermen of the Alleghanies see them
often scurrying away as some fallen tree frightens them from
their retreats, or the removal of a pile of bark lays bare their
passage ways. To them and to hunters generally these animals
are known as wood mice, but the term being used with equal pro-
priety in other parts of the country for the white-footed mouse it
becomes ambiguous.

A closely allied variety of red-backed mouse is the most
abundant mammal on the Alpine summit of Mount Washington,
where it occurs in all sorts of situations, among the rocks, in
the moss and in the dwarf willows.

The red-backed mouse of southern New Jersey (E. g. rhoadst)
is an inhabitant exclusively of the cold, damp sphagnum bogs, which
intersperse the sandy pine barrens. Here it lives deep down in the
sphagnum, sharing the large runways wtth the meadow mouse, lem-
ming mouse and diminutive shrews. In winter the moss is frequently
frozen solid for several inches below the surface, which must force

Iii

Meadow Mouse

these little rodents to live on such vegetable matter as they have
stored away in their subterranean galleries. That either they or
their associates are carnivorous at times is evidenced by the partially
devoured specimens that the trapper often finds in his traps.

Young red-backed mice lack the rusty red tints and in some of
the varieties a gray form of the adult occurs, an exactly parallel
case to the red and gray screech owls which are simply dichromatic
without relation to sex or age.

Varieties of the Red-backed Mouse

1. Red-backed Mouse. Evotomys gapperi (Vigors).
Description and range as above.
2. New Jersey Red-bached Mouse. E. gapperi rhoadst Stone.
Darker, with more black hairs above. Teeth heavier.
Range. Cold cranberry bogs of Southern New Jersey.
3. Carolina Red-bached Mouse. E. gapperi carolinensis Merriam.
Larger and darker than E. gapperi, resembling the last.
Range. Higher Alleghanies, Roan Mt., N. C. to Pennsylvania.
4. Pallid Red-bached Mouse. E. gapperi ochraceous Miller.
Duller, paler, and more ochraceous than E. gappert.
Range. Higher slopes of the White Mountains.
5. Labrador Red-backhed Mouse. E. proteus Bangs.
Larger than any of the above with longer ears. Paler than
E. gapperi and like it in exhibiting a gray phase.
Range. Wooded regions of Labrador.
6. Ungava Red-backed Mouse. E. ungava Bangs.
Resembles E. gapperi,but has very small ears and peculiar skull.
Range. Ungava, Labrador.
Numerous species occur in the Northwest.

Meadow Mouse
Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord)
Called also Field Mouse, Meadow Vole.

Length. 6.50 inches.

Description. Body thick and compact, legs short, ears very short.
Dark brown above with a general admixture of black hairs,
shading gradually into gray on the under surface. The colout
of the upper parts varies considerably, some individuals being
decidedly blackish, others tinged with tawny and occasional
specimens quite chestnut with very few black hairs. The
under surface also varies to dull buff.

Ita

. Kangaroo Rat (Perodipus)
. Cotton Rat (Sigmodon)
. Rice-field Mouse (Oryzomys)

WESTERN AND SOUTHERN MICE AND RATS

Photographed from skins to show relative proportions

4. Harvest Mouse (Retthrodontomys)
5. Pocket Mouse (Perognathus)
6. Scorpion Mouse (Onycomys)

(About one-half natural size)

Meadow Mouse

Range. Southern Canada to North Carolina westward to the
edge of the Plains. Replaced to the northward by four
closely related varieties, and one to the southward, while
there is also an island race. (See below.)

With us the meadow mouse occupies much the same posi-
tion that the field mouse does in England; in fact it is oftener
called field mouse than meadow mouse by the farmers, who, it
seems to me, are not so very wide of the mark in so classifying it.

It is perfectly true that it prefers meadows to dry fields, but
so too does the field mouse of the old country according to

ADAH BAAN A

Tops of upper and lower molar teeth of Meadow Mouse, to show
‘‘triangles,’’ enlarged. (After Muller.)

many writers, and the greater dryness of our summers might
well account for any difference that exists in that direction.

Except in the severest drouths, in New England at least,
even the driest and most sandy fields are populated by meadow
mice at all times of the year, and in times of abundant. rain-
fall they are, I am confident, as numerous in fields as in meadows.

In summer they regularly resort to the grain lands like genuine
field mice, and beyond a doubt if grain were stacked in ricks here
as it is in England these would harbour as many mice and
suffer an equal amount of damage.

In the fields of Indian corn they do harm enough, making
their round nests of stripped up husks in the heart of a shock
and fattening themselves at the expense of the farmer until they
are routed out at harvesting.

Perhaps the most striking difference is that our species has
not yet contracted the habit of spending the winter in barns;
even this characteristic does not hold good farther North, as in
Canada it is said to be a regular custom with it to do so.

Although many of them have their homes in dry upland
fields and pastures, as a rule meadow mice show a decided fond-
ness for water and wet places. Those living on the banks of
streams become almost aquatic, and when; pursued are as likely

112

Meadow Mouse

as not to take to the water for safety; I have often seen them
swimming about beneath the ice in shallow water, and in summer
paddling along between the pickerel weed and rushes. I have
also seen them dive and swim for short distances under water,
and when they emerge, their fur after a few shakes proves its
fitness for that sort of thing by coming out as fluffy as ever.

Yet it frequently happens that on taking to the water for safety
they only find another enemy, for pickerel often seize them from
beneath at such times.

Meadow mice are even abundant on the salt marshes by the sea,
not only along the border where the marshes and forest meet, and by
the skirts of the sand-dunes, but well out on the flat grassy stretches
and by the margins of salt ponds that with each recurring moon are
daily inundated by the ocean.

How they manage to escape the floods at these times | know
not; it would appear that they are not much in the way of taking
refuge in haystacks, even when the marsh is thickly dotted with them,
as it is from August until the winter is well spent.

Perhaps they have learned to watch the subtle movement of the
tide and are able to foretell each high run in time to remove
themselves and their families to higher ground. This would certainly
call for an astonishing amount of intelligence on their part, for the
treacherous thing will ebb and flow harmlessly day after day and
week after week, hardly wetting the roots of the thatch along the
creeks; and then suddenly without warning and perhaps just because
a coast storm is harassing the sea somewhere out at the edge of the
gulf stream so far away that hardly a cloud shows above the
sky-lines, it lifts itself and spreads out across the grass, flooding the
patns of the mice and all their haunts in the space of a few hours.

But the meadow mice are a wise folk and | firmly believe that they
do manage to foretell the floods in most instances and camp along the
borders of the marsh until the danger is over. What if some of
them do occasionally get overtaken by the tide P as I have said already
they are practical swimmers and there is pretty certain to be an
abundance of eel grass in bunches and driftwood and rubbish of all
sorts floating about to serve as rafts until the waters recede to their
accustomed channels. But it is my belief that the mice very rarely
allow themselves to be taken unawares in any such manner.

I have spent considerable time on the marshes when they were
being overflowed for the first time in weeks and cannot recall ever

1i4

Meadow Mouse

having seen so much as one solitary meadow mouse swimming for
his life there.

Their paths are made by gnawing off the short stiff marsh grass
close down to the roots leaving an even roadway something more than
an inch wide. The closely ranked grass on either side bends just
enough to meet overhead for a screen against the prying eyes of hawks.

The grass that is cut away to make the paths disappears com-
pletely, probably having been eaten by the mice, though when it comes
to calculating the amount removed in the construction of the miles and
miles of little roads that thread the meadows one cannot help won-
dering just how much a meadow mouse is capable of consuming in
the course of a season, for they do not live upon grass alone; the isles
between the stems of the fox grass and black grass swarm with
brown sand-hoppers and various other salt-loving creatures which I
am inclined: to think furnish the principal incentive that calls the
meadow mice away from the uplands; diminutive shellfish and other
small fry are also eaten by them.

Meadow mice inhabit alike meadows and pasture land, orchards,
gardens and cornfields and, wherever the lawns are not kept too
closely trimmed and the cats are not too officious, readily take up
their abode about houses, especially where there are woodpiles
beneath which they can find shelter.

In wet ground every stranded piece of driftwood and fallen fence
board is made to serve as roof for their crooked galleries and they
frequently make their nests of withered grass in such places.

They also dig simple burrows hardly a foot in depth, having nests
at the bottom where the young mice pass the first period of their
lives; these young mice soon learn to ascend the almost perpendicular
shafts leading up to the sunlight and may often be seen poking their
stub noses out into the air to learn what the world is like.

In the winter they have their nests on the surface of the ground
beneath the snow, their galleries leading off through the matted grass
in all directions. I have found these nests with young ones as early as
February and think it quite possible that they may be in the way of
breeding throughout the winter.

! Their tunnels beneath the snow are being constantly extended,
allowing them to ramble about and explore the stubble for grass seeds
and tender shoots in comparative safety. They have frequent
doorways admitting them to the upper air, and at night are often
out scampering back and forth across the snow, leaving an

115

Meadow Mouse

interesting tracery of footprints on its white surface, and are also not
infrequently seen out in the winter sunshine among weeds and bushes
that have remained uncovered In hard seasons they depend largely
on the bark of different fruit trees and shrubs, and even appear to
find the resinous bark of the ground juniper palatable, the vanishing
snow in the spring frequently revealing stems and branches stripped
bare of their covering beyond all possiblity of recovery.

Lacking the agility of other mice they have learned to stand and
fight, no matter what the odds may be, employing the same manner
of defence that woodchucks do. And yet none of the regular mouse
hunters appears ever to hesitate to seize one of them; inexperienced
kittens, and no doubt other young animals of like appetite, often get
well bitten in a first attempt, but soon discover a better method of
attack. Few animals are more constantly pursued than the meadow
mice; while the warm weather lasts they have to be constantly on
guard against the marsh hawk and the hen hawks who diligently
search the grass land in regions where they are allowed to build their
nests. Crows, also, are fond of going a-mousing on foot, particularly
in late summer after the grass is cut, but naturally are not nearly as
successful as the hawks.

As winter approaches these foes gradually take their departure,
but their places are usually more than filled by the owls of various
species. With the exception of the great horned owl and the arctic owl,
these lovers of the twilight may be said to live on mice, the rabbits,
squirrels and birds which they capture being only side issues of
strokes of probably unexpected luck in a practically never-ending
mouse hunt.

At uncertain intervals the rough-legged or winter hawks make
their appearance and bend their energies in the same direction; like
the owls they seem to be forever seeking for good mousing country,
and having found it are apt to gather in considerable numbers and
establish themselves for an indefinite period. .

As quickly, however, as the meadow mice begin noticeably to
decrease in numbers or the snow becomes too deep for successfu!
hunting, these mousers from northern lands move on again to look
for better hunting grounds.

The four-footed hunters, the foxes, cats and weasels of various
sorts, are here at all seasons, and when meadow mice are abundant
chase them persistently, and when they are not go hunting for
other game.

126

Brewer’s Beach Mouse
Varieties of the Meadow Mouse

1, Meadow Mouse. Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord.) Description
and range as above.
2. Black Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus nigrans Rhoads.
Much darker, black hairs predominating.

Range. Coast of Virginia and North Carolina.

Acadian Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus acadicus Bangs.
Brighter and more strongly russet than M. pennsylvanicus.

Range. Nova Scotia.

4. Labrador Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus enixus (Bangs).
Similar to the meadow mouse in color but with peculiar skull,
and light projecting front teeth.

Range. Labrador.

5. Ungava Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus ungava Bailey.

Smaller than the meadow mouse with very broad peculiar

Nas

skull.
Range. Ungava, Northern Labrador.
6. Hudsonian Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus fontigenus

(Bangs). Smaller than the meadow mouse with no tawny
tints, skull narrower.
Range. Quebec and Ontario, in deep forests.
7- Gull Island Mouse. M. nesophilus Bailey. Very similar externally
to the meadow mouse, but with a peculiar skull.
Range. Little Gull Island N. Y.

Brewer’s Beach Mouse

Microtus breweri (Baird)

Length. 7.80 inches.

Description. Larger than the meadow mouse with rather coarse fur,
pale grayish yellow-brown above, ashy white below, with a
tint of buff.

Range. Muskeget Island, Mass. Formerly also on Adams and South
Point Island two small islets south of Muskeget.

This curious pallid mouse, originally derived from the same stock
as the dark meadow mouse of the mainland, is a striking illustration
of the effect of environment in moulding species. Not only has it
changed materially in color, but its habits and mode of life have also
undergone modification. The sandy soil of the island upon which
it lives precludes the possibility of burrows, except perhaps in winter,
and the mice pass the greater part of the year exposed to the full force

11g

Rock Vole

of the elements, their only protection being that furnished by fragments
of driftwood and wreckage. Where the mice are abundant a labyrinth
of well-beaten paths crosses the sand in every direction along which
the mice run when pursued. The only burrows are short ones
evidently intended to reach the soft parts of the beach grass which
forms their food. They construct nests or forms, open at the top and
large enough to hold one animal, which are scattered about
everywhere. In autumn they lay up stores of the soft stems of the
beach grass (Ammophila) for winter use. These are buried in the
sand, as much as a peck being concealed in one place. (See Miller—
‘The Beach Mouse of Muskeget Island.’’)

Rock Vole

Microtus chrotorrhinus Miller

Also called Yellow-cheeked Meadow Mouse

Length. 6.60 inches. ;

Description. Similar to the meadow mouse but with a yellowish or
fulvous patch on each side of the face at the base of the whiskers.

Range. New Brunswick and Quebec and southward to the White
Mountains, Adirondacks and Catskills. Allied varieties occur in
Labrador and Newfoundland.

Of the habits of the rock voles but little is known. Mr. Miller
found them in the White Mountains living in the crevices of rock
mounds overgrown with sedges and bushes, and they seemed to
have no regular runways. In New Brunswick Mr. Bangs states
that they live in the deep spruce forests and appear to be diurnal
in habits.

Varieties of the Rock Wole

1. Rock Vole. Microtus chrotorrhinus Miller. Description and
range as above. 2
2. Labrador Rock Vole. M. chrotorrhinus ravus Bangs, Similar,
but light patches larger covering nearly the whole face.
Range. Labrador.
3. Newfoundland Rock Vole. M. terre nove Bangs. Similar but
larger with duller cheek patches.
Range. Newfoundland.

118

Prairie Meadow Mouae

Prairie Meadow Mouse

Microtus austerus (Le Conte)

Length. 6 inches.

Description. Shape much as in the meadow mouse but upper parts
grizzly gray, caused by a uniform mixture of grayish white
and black hairs over the whole surface. No brown or chestnut
tints such as characterize the meadow mouse. Below light
gray or ochraceous. The fur is harsher and more bristly than
any of the other members of the meadow mouse tribe.

Range. Upper Mississippi Valley, southern Wisconsin and Illinois
to southern Missouri and west to Kansas.

The grizzly gray color and rather harsh pelage characterize
these little animals which are inhabitants of the prairies of the
Upper Mississippi Valley. Mr. Kennicott states that they frequent
moist localities in summer and drier regions in winter. ‘‘ Their
winter burrows on the uncultivated prairie are often in old ant hills
or if not, the earth thrown out from them forms little hillocks.
They are not very deep, seldom over six inches or a foot, but are
remarkable for the numerous and complicated chambers and side
passages of which they are composed. In one of these chambers,
considerably enlarged, is placed the nest, formed of fine dry grass.”
The first litter of young is apparently brought forth in this nest
but later in the spring the mice construct similar nests on the
surface of the ground. The prairie field mouse is not gregarious
and when more than one pair are found in the same spot they are
attracted by some particular food.

In cultivated fields they frequently establish themselves in corn
shocks in the same manner as the common field mouse.

Pine Mouse

Microtus pinetorum (Le Conte)

Length. 6 inches.

Description. Uniform rusty brown on the upper surface, lighter on
the sides, where it passes gradually into the silvery-gray of the
under parts. Young individuals are quite gray above with no
reddish tints. The short, dense silky fur distinguishes the
species from any other mouse.

Range. Southern New York and Connecticut to Illinois and south-
ward to Florida.

t19

Pine Mouse

This is the most distinct of all the meadow mouse tribe. So
soft and silky is its fur that we think at once of the mole, the
very small eyes and ears likewise resemble this animal, but the
teeth at once show it to be a mouse and the rusty colour is not found
in any of the mole tribe. The points that the pine mouse pos-
sesses in common with the mole are evidently the results of similar
habits, for this little beast is the most strictly subterranean of any
of the mice. He is not content with a runway on the surface
among the grass roots but must go strictly underground, and many
a one have | caught in raised tunnels that I took to be the work
of the moles. Much damage done to vegetables and plants in the
garden which is usually attributed to the meadow mouse is, I am
quite sure, really the work of this silky haired cousin, the pine
mouse.

Varieties of the Pine Mouse

1. Pine Mouse. Microtus pinetorum (Le Conte). Description as
above, range Southern Atlantic States.
2. Northern Pine Mouse. M. pinetorum scalopsotdes Audubon and
Bachman. Light in colour.
Range. Southern New England and Middle States.
3. Mississippi Pine Mouse. M. pinetorum auricularis Bailey.
Darker and richer in colour, with rather larger ears.
Range. Lower Mississippi Valley.

Round-tailed Muskrat

Microtus allent (True)

Also called Neo/fiber.

Length. 13.60 inches.

Description. This animal is essentially a very big meadow mouse
with a long tail. Colour above rich rufous brown, darker on
the head; beneath whitish, more or less tinged with rufous;
hairs plumbeous at base; tail sparsely haired, blackish in colour.
Young gray above.

Range, Eastern Florida.

This curious animal is common in the fresh-water ponds and
marshes of interior Florida and on the salt savannahs of the Indiar.
River.

120

Muskrat

According to Mr. Bangs it builds a large oval nest, sometimes,
like that of the muskrat, situated in the water and rising above
the surface, and at other times among the mangroves or even in a
hollow stump. The former nests have two openings below which
communicate, when not covered by water, with underground pas-~
sage ways. While the Neofiber swims with ease it is rarely seen
swimming about in the manner of the muskrat.

Mr. Chapman states that their food consists of a succulent grass
which grows abundantly where they are found. ‘‘To procure the
younger and more tender portions Neofiber constructs a platform
of the larger stalks on which he sits and feeds at leisure on the
shoots growing in his vicinity; the size of the platform depends
upon the abundance of the food growing near it, the harder
rejected portions constantly adding to its bulk.

Muskrat

Fiber zibethicus Linneus
Called also Musquash.

Length. 24 inches.

Description. Body thick-set like a very large meadow mouse,
legs short, tail scaly, nearly naked and flat (compressed later-
ally). Fur thick, with a woolly underfur, colour dark brown
above, somewhat tinged with fulvous especially on the sides;
beneath dull white, with scattered fulvous hairs, white on
the throat, with white lips, and a brown spot on the chin.

Range. Eastern North America, southward to Virginia and the
middle Mississippi Valley. Replaced in Labrador, Newfound-
land, lower Mississippi Valley and Dismal Swamp by closely
related varieties.

The muskrat, it seems to me, is just a little cousin of the
beaver. About the only striking outward difference between the
lives of the two is in the attitude each assumes toward man
and his works.

The beaver is wild and retiring, hating man in his destruc-
tive advance along the quiet forest streams, which the beaver
family had held as their own for untold centuries, and refusing
to settle contentedly within sound of his works even where most
protected and undisturbed.

1321

Muskrat

The muskrat, on the contrary, quickly learned to profit by
the settlement of the country and the consequent thinning of his
natural enemies, and though hunted and trapped persistently for
several months in the year, still refuses to be driven away, and
may be found in colonies perfectly undisturbed by the jarring
racket of a sawmill or the smoke of a factory chimney, evi-
dently willing to put up with some of the nuisances of civili-
zation, in order to take advantage of the ponds dammed back
by man for his own personal use, and which, unlike the beaver,
the muskrat has apparently never learned to make for himself.

The adobe cabins of the muskrat are, however, very similar
and often practically identical except in dimensions to those of
the beaver. When in the late fall the long cold nights and in-
creasing cloudiness foretell the coming snows and _ ice-locked
streams of winter, the muskrats erect these lodges to serve both
as living rooms and as air chambers to which they may bring
the freshwater clams and lily roots that they dig up from the
bottom when working at a distance from their burrows in the
bank. If possible, they prefer to begin the work when the watei
is not very high.

On flat grassy reaches half overflowed they dig up sods, the
size of a man’s fist, sometimes arranging them in a little circle
to hold back the water while they are at work inside, sinking
a shallow well down into what will be the bed of the stream
when the water gets higher. At a depth of a foot or more
they hollow out a sort of chamber and from this make several
radiating tunnels or subways, some of which reach well up into
the high bank rods away and above high-water mark if pos-
sible, where the nest chamber is placed just under the turf or
the protecting roots of a tree. Other tunnels extend in an op-
posite direction to the deepest parts of the channel that never
freeze. .

The sods and mud removed are piled up about the original
opening in a more or less dome-shaped heap, which usually contains
two rooms, one at the bottom partly or quite submerged, the
other above it and a little to one side, ventilated at the top,
and with a short passage leading down to the first.

In this way they are sure of a thoroughfare from their nest
in the bank to the bottom of the stream, with a breathing-place

132

By W. E. Carlin

sibethieus)

ba
wv

MUSKRAP (Fiber

Muskrat

midway even in the coldest weather, when everywhere except
in midchannel the water is hard frozen to the bottom.

The upper chamber in the cabin is lined with soft grass and
moss and here the owners spend much of their time in winter
curled up asleep, often three or four together. Some of the
smaller cabins have only the upper chamber without any down-
ward passage whatever; others are large enough to contain four
or five apartments at least. Many of them are built in low
willow trees or on rough frameworks of sticks which the musk-
rats arrange among the alders; and here they exhibit much of
the constructive ability of the beavers, cutting their wood on
shore in a similar manner and often towing it long distances to
their building sites where they wattle it firmly between the alder
stems for a foundation.

Cabins so placed are generally composed largely of cattail
stalks and green twigs, while those on the ground are more
often built of mud and pieces of sod. The cabins are not muck
used except at times of high water and in winter, though I doub\
if they are ever wholly abandoned at any season. So long as
the streams remain frozen, the muskrat is practically free from
care and danger. The temperature about him hardly varies a
degree whatever the weather may be above the ice. He knows
nothing of snowstorms or sleet or high winds while the ice
holds firm, though the rushing wind-driven water may be deep
over the ice in times of freshet. Down where he is at work
it flows with the same gentle motions as in. summer, barely
swinging the water weed and cresses as it slips between them.
There is generally plenty of air to be had close up under the
edge of the bank beneath the ice, and when this is not within
reach, he has only to expel the air from his lungs against the
undersurface of the ice when it is quickly purified by contact
with the freezing water.

It frequently happens that the water, falling away from the
ice, leaves extended caverns the width of the stream at high water
and roofed over with semitransparent ice, like ground glass, that
admits only a dim half-light from above.

The banks of coarse wet grass and mud show dimly along
this strange underworld with the quiet unfrozen water holding its
still course between them; and here the muskrats are free to come
and go as they please, and swim, with their heads out of water,

123

Muskrat

as in summer, breathing the air as they go. About the only ene-
mies that follow them here are the minks and otters who come
ostensibly to fish, vet are ever ready to seize any unwary mus-
quash that comes their way.

This state of things seldom lasts for any length of time, how-
ever; either the ice sinks from its own weight or a thaw fills the
streams again, and in either case the muskrats are forced on
short rations of air once more, searching for stray bubbles along
the edge of the ice—a strange economy in the winter life of a
warm-blooded creature.

Early in the spring they begin to look for air holes under shel-
tered banks that gather the sun’s heat and reflect it back at mid-
day from the bottom, and here they bring their sweet flags and
lily roots in order to enjoy them in the free air. The various
openings broaden and extend their boundaries, and run together
until the ice is reduced to a rapidly diminishing border along each
shore.

While the streams are kept full by the melting snow and
spring rains, the muskrats are somewhat restricted in their choice
of landing places, and every projecting fence-rail and stump or
leaning willow tree is taken advantage of.

As the water recedes they resort to the tussocks as fast as they
are uncovered, and by mid-spring generally have their familiar
landing places and byways through the sedge well established.

But even now, when no longer imprisoned by the ice, they
swim oftener under water than on the surface, only rising from
time to time to renew their breath. Their families are raised, not
in their cabins but in their homes high up in the bank, two or
three litters in a season, the youngest seldom more than_ half
grown, before the still water is again skimmed over at night by
the new ice of the coming winter.

In summer, during the heat of the day, muskrats are
especially fond of swimming and floating about in the shadow of
old willow trees, where the water is deep and cool; sometimes
you will see one swimming around in short circles as if trying
to catch its own tail, and uttering a curious little whimpering cry,
which, although it sounds decidedly unhappy, is, | am_ inclined
to think, a note of contentment, rather than distress.

It is very seldom heard except when the little animal is
alone, and | have never been able to guess at its significance;

124

Muskrat

ic is quite different from the call-note which they use to attract one
another's attention at a distance, or their more rat-like squeaking.

The signal with which one warns the rest of danger is a
smart slap of the muscular tail on the water.

One morning, before the light had begun to come in the
east, I was sitting on the margin of a stream where there is a
muskrat colony, waiting for the wild ducks that come in from
the sea at daybreak.

Behind me was a dark swamp of heavy old growth hem-
lock where the great horned owls were calling loudly to each
other. So long as they kept at that distance the muskrats ap-
parently paid no heed to their hooting; but the instant that |
replied to one of the owls, counterfeiting its hollow, low-toned
voice as closely as I could, the nearest muskrat swung his tail
in air and brought the flat of it down on the water with a
whack, and it was most amusing to hear the succession of whacks
that responded all along the edge of the water, farther and
farther away, each followed by the hurried plunge of its owner
beneath the surface. These great eagle owls are among the
worst enemies that the muskrats have to fear, for they will watch
patiently, hour after hour, from their ambush among the pine
boughs and then suddenly circle out over the meadows without
the whisper of a feather.

When a fox comes nosing along the stream’s margin, at
dusk, you may hear the warning slap, slap, of rubbery tails
from hidden pools and nooks among the rushes, as the muskrats
get wind of his presence. But the muskrat’s tail has other and
more important uses; it is both rudder and propeller as_ he
swims, and a most convenient third leg when he stands up-
right to look about, or reach a higher twig when he is browsing
in the undergrowth and, unless | am very much mistaken, it
also gives him added impetus as he dives headlong into the water.

All through the summer and early fall the young muskrats
live contented home lives with their parents, though not exactly
under their protection, except as each depends on all the rest
for timely warning at the first sign of danger; paddling and
wading about in the shrunken streams and ponds, or curled into
little brown, furry balls, fast asleep on the edge of the bank,
_ hidden by the rank growth of flags and bullrushes, among which
they have well-trodden paths, leading from place to place.

125

Muskrat

But in the tate Indian summer comes their Wander-Jahre,
when they start out on their travels, roving and unsettled, ex-
ploring strange meadows and streams, at times all alone, and
again two or three families together; starting a new cabin here
or a burrow when the bank looks promising, and then moving
on again, leaving their work only half finished, until at last they
find the place’ that suits them best and settle down for the
winter, ready for months of fish-like living beneath the ice. In
the spring they are hunted and trapped for their fur, shot while
swimming in the swollen streams or resting on the banks; and
caught in steel traps set under water at their landing places;
sometimes a piece of apple, parsnip or carrot on the end of a
stick a foot above the trap seems to entice them into it. A still
more effective bait is the musk found on the old males at this
season. It is contained in two flat, oval sacs, an inch or more
in length, situated between the hind legs beneath and laid bare
when the skin is stripped off.

This musk, which gives the animal its name, is so powerful
that professional trappers become fairly impregnated with the odour
in the course of the spring trapping.

The muskrat’s fur is a rich, shiny brown, with pale silky under-
fur like that of the beaver, only shorter and not so dense.

In its natural. state the fur 1s often made up into ‘caps, ‘etc.,
and sold as mink and marten. Most of it, however, is plucked;
the long hair being removed and the silky underfur dyed to re-
semble seal. The fur sold as ‘‘ electric seal” is really only musk-
rat fur dyed.

Varieties of the Muskrat

1. Muskrat. Fiber zibethicus Linneus. Description and range as
above.

2. Southern Muskrat. F. zibethicus rivalicus Bangs. Smaller and
dull sooty in colour, ‘‘ lacking all the beauty and lustre.”

Range. Lower Mississippi Valley and Coasts of Alabama and
Mississippi.

3. Dismal Swamp Muskrat. F. Zibethicus macrodon Merriam.
Much darker and richer coloured than the common muskrat
with larger teeth.

Range. Dismal Swamp, Virginia.

4. Labrador Muskrat. F. xtbethicus aquilonius Bangs. Smaller

and darker than the common muskrat.
Range. — Labrador.

1296

Alleghany Weod Rat

5. Newfoundland Muskrat. . F. obscurus Bangs. Still smaller and
darker, with different skull.
Range. Newfoundland.

AMERICAN LONG-TAILED MICE AND RATS
(Subfamily Cricetine)
Alleghany Wood Rat
Neotoma pennsylvanica Stone

Length. 16.40 inches.

Description. Tail nearly as long asthe body, ears prominent.
Colour plumbeous above, sprinkled with black hairs and with a
yellowish-brown undertone which is purer and brighter on the
sides of the body becoming almost pink on the flanks. Feet and
lower surface of the body pure white. Tail sharply bicoloured,
dark plumbeous above and white below, closely haired so as to
obscure the scales entirely. Some summer specimens are duller
coloured with much less of the buff or pinkish tinge.

Range. From the Hudson highlands and northwestern New Jersey
southward along the Alleghanies.

Rats and mice differ only in size and it does not follow that our
American wild rats are closely related to the common house rat simply
because both are big. On the contrary our wood rat finds a closer
relative in the white-footed mouse of which he is in many ways
simply a large edition.

House rats often wander into rather wild localities probably
following the camps of engineers or lumbermen, and are not
infrequently taken for wood rats. The latter, however, can always
be told from his semi-domestic cousin by his hairy tail, softer fur and
much larger ear, while his teeth are flat-topped somewhat like those
of the meadow mice instead of having raised prominences of
“tubercles: ’

The Alleghany wood rat inhabits wild rocky ledges along the
mountains, where he can seek shelter among the loose piles of broken
rocks or in the crevices and caves usually present in such localities.
Here he gathers together a mass of sticks, shreds of bark leaves and

127

Cotton Rat

other debris to serve for a nest, building them sometimes into a more
regular dome-shaped structure. He seems to feed on whatever
forage the forest offers, both vegetable and animal, and in large caves
where foxes or wild cats have dragged their prey, the marks of the
wood rat’s teeth are found abundantly on the bones which the more
powerful beasts have left behind.

Although manifestly a rat he seems to lack the offensive odour and
repellent characters of the house rat, and his thick, soft fur recalls the
pelage of the squirrels.

The closely related Florida wood rat is said to build its nest in
dense swampy thickets but probably differs little in general habits
from its more northern relative.

Varieties of the Wood Rat

1. Alleghany Wood Rat. Neotoma pennsylvanica Stone. Des-
cription and range as above.

2. Florida Wood Rat. N. floridana (Ord). Rather smaller and
plumbeous, tail more scantily haired. Skull not nearly so
heavy.

Range. Lower parts of the South Atlantic and Gulf States.

3. Mississippi Wood Rat. N. floridana rubida Bangs. Much
brighter and decidedly reddish in colour.

Range. Replaces the last in the lower Mississippi Valley and
western Florida.

Cotton Rat
Stgmodon hispidus Say and Ord

Length. 12 inches.

Description. Peculiar among the long-tailed rats and mice from its
superficial resemblance to the meadow mice from which, how-
ever, its long tail will at once distinguish it. It has the same
short legs, and short appressed ears with the aperture nearly
covered by the hair, and the fur is longer and coarser than any
other member of this group. The molar teeth are round in out-
line and divided into triangles on top as in the meadow mice.
Colour yellowish brown above thickly sprinkled with black hairs,
under parts whitish. Tail only scantily haired, the scales
visible.

Range. Eastern North Carolina around the Gulf Coast to Louisiana
Represented in Florida by closely allied varieties.

128

payaeizojoyd sem yeurtue oy} Soya AIZUNOD CPK1OTO) et} JO 9[ISTY} URISSMY PUL LOONA oy} pueE {Ie} Arey pue Joo} a3TYM OSHa}OwIEY OY} sutmoys

(pimojoany) (e1eMod) LVAGOOM NYALSAM

gseN HM Ad

Rice-field Mouse

The cotton rats are Southern animals, the common cotton rat
being an inhabitant of the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast from North
Carolina to Louisiana.

Its favourite haunts are the hedges and ditches and deserted old
fields, banks of abandoned rice plantations and similar situations.
Here it burrows and constructs its underground nest. Like the field
mouse of the North, the cotton rat is subject to great variation
in colour and the slightest difference in environment produces an
appreciable difference in the appearance of the animals.

Varieties of the Cotton Rat

1. Cotton Rat. Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord. Range and
description as above.

2. Chapman's Cotton Rat. S. hispidus littoralis Chapman. Very
much darker, nearly black above finely mixed with gray, with
no brown tints.

Range. East coast of Florida, Miami northward.

3. Bangs’ Cotton Rat. S. hispidus spadicipygus Bangs. Smaller
than either of the above, and browner than the latter.

Range. Extreme southern tropical Florida north to Miami and
Tampa.

Rice-field Mouse
Oryzomys palustris (Harlan)
Also called Marsh Mouse, Rice Rat.

Length. 9.40 inches.

Description. Similar in general external appearance to a young
Norway rat. Dull brownish above thickly mixed with black
hairs. Tail obscurely bicoloured, scantily haired, so that the
scales are visible. The best external characters distinguishing this
animal from the young of the common Norway rat are the longer
tail and browner colouration as well as the white fringe of hairs
on the lower part of the ear and the glossy brown hairs inside.
A young rat has narrow white front (incisor) teeth instead of the
orange ones and the tubercles on the molars form three rows
instead of two.

Range. Southern New Jersey to tne Gulf States, chiefly in the coast
marshes, represented in Florida by slightly different geographic
varieties.

129

Harvest Mouse

The rice-field mouse is an abundant inhabitant of the banks
of rice fields through our Southern states; though Mr. Bangs states
that it is by no means confined to such places, as it occurs in dry old
fields, heavy swamps, hummocks and sometimes even on sandhills.

Those which frequent the dry land burrow in the banks and con-
struct subterranean nests after the manner of the cotton rat, but the
marsh residents build their nest in the tall rank grass above the reach
of high water. In the northern part of their range, in southern New
Jersey, they frequent muskrat houses.

The rice-field mouse is decidedly aquatic in habits and is a good
swimmer.

Varieties of the Rice-field Mouse

1. Rice-field Mouse. Oryzomys palustris (Harlan). Description and
range as above.
2. Florida Marsh Mouse. O. palustris natator Chapman.
Larger and much darker.
Range. Florida as far south as Micco and Citrus County.
3. Bangs’ Marsh Mouse. O. palustris coloratus Bangs. Still larger
and more richly coloured, decidedly reddish brown above.
Range. Southern tropical Florida south of Micco.

Harvest Mouse

Reithrodontomys lecontii (Audubon and Bachman)

Length. 5.05 inches.

Description. Front (incisor) teeth grooved. Colour russet brown,
darker with more black hairs on the head and middle of the back.
Grayish white beneath tail, white below, dusky above, rather
scantily haired, feet white. The ears are proportionately much
shorter than those of the white-footed mouse.

Range. Coast districts of North Carolina, Georgia and northern
Florida, two allied forms occur in West Virginia and South
Florida.

This is the smallest mouse of the Eastern States and resembles a
diminutive white-footed mouse with short ears. The grooved
incisor teeth, however, are peculiar and distinguish it from any other
long-tailed mouse.

The harvest mouse is another resident of the Southern States and
its favourite haunts according to Mr. Bangs, are grass fields, fence

130

COTTON RAT (Sigmodon hispidus litioralis)

Photographed in Florida by cornering him, when he sat absolutely still, paralyzed with fear.

WESTERN BUSHY-TAILED WOOD-RAT (Ncotoma) By W..E. Carlin
Bhese rats infest the Idaho camps at night. This one was drawn to ths spot where he waz pictured by using sugar as a bait.

White-footed Mouse

rows and old fields partly grown up with deciduous trees where the
ground is covered with bunches of brown grass. Its nest is placed
on the surface of the ground among the tall grass.

Varieties of the Harvest Mouse

1. Harvest Mouse. Reithrodontomys lecontit (Aud. and Bach.)
Description and range as above.
2. Surber’s Harvest Mouse. R. lecontit impiger Bangs. Slightly
smaller and richer in colour.
Range. White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., and doubtless in
Virginia.
3. Dickinson’s Harvést Mouse. R. lecontit dickinsont (Rhoads).
Darker and more sooty in colour.
Range. Southern Florida.

White-footed Mouse

Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque)
Also called Deer Mouse, Wood Mouse.

Length. 6.80 inches.

Description. Brownish fawn colour above, brightest on the sides
and darkest on the back where there is a considerable sprinkling
of black hairs. Below white, fur plumbeous at its base, tail
dusky above, light beneath, feet white. Young plumbeous gray
over the whole upper surface with no brownish or fawn tints,
white below.

Range. Eastern United States south of the evergreen forests and
north of the Gulf States. Represented farther north, south and
west by numerous related species and varieties. (See below.)

The white-footed mouse is the most beautiful of all our mice,
particularly in the winter, when its fur is thick and long and bright
golden-fawn-colour and white in almost equal parts; the white fur,
which is literally whiter than ermine, covers the entire under sur-
face and reaches well up on the flanks and shoulders, the line of
separation being clear-cut and as straight as is possible from the
tip of the nose to the tip of the tail.

The white-footed mouse has eyes like those of a flying squirrel,
very large and prominent and perfectly black, in brilliant contrast
to the surrounding fur.

131

White-footed Mouse

Although the name wood mouse is not much used for this animal,
it has always seemed to me more suitable than any other, for it makes
its home in the woods at all times and seasons; only a comparatively
small proportion of them, in this part of New England, live in the fields,
tempted by the ripe corn and other provender which the woods fail
to supply. Wood mouse is the name I first heard it called by, and
is apparently the only one ever given it in this immediate region.
Deer mouse is another name frequently given to our species, either
because of its speed or the colour of its fur.

The white-footed mouse does not seem to be at all particular
what kind of woods it inhabits; evergreens and hardwoods, and
thickets of blueberry bushes are alike suited to its taste; sometimes,
indeed, a lonely old tree, standing by itself on a hillside, will harbour
a family. They make their homes in the hollow roots and branches
or knot holes, sometimes at a considerable height above the ground.

In summer they appropriate the nests of song birds, in bushes
and low trees, fitting them up for use, just as squirrels do those of
hawks and crows. It appears probable, moreover, that they are not
over scrupulous in the mattter of waiting for the rightful owners to
depart before taking possession, as they are great lovers of fresh
meat and have often been caught in the act of devouring both eggs
and young birds.

They are said sometimes to fashion nests of their own among
the branches, beginning with a platform of loose twigs laid cross-
wise for a foundation. Their lives, in fact, are pretty closely copied
after those of the squirrels. Their diet is almost identical; nuts,
berries, and grain being what they chiefly depend on.

Like squirrels, they often find a way into granaries and farm-
houses in search of food, particularly in the winter, when times are
hard, for though they lay up generous stores of nuts and seeds and
hibernate to a certain extent, large numbers of them are up and doing
at all times in spite of the weather, gathering seeds here and there,
and gleaning whatever scraps of meat may be left by the larger flesh
eaters of the woods, and gnawing hungrily at any pieces of bone
they may run across.

The great bleached and half prostrate stalks of the garget still
retain scattered berries, shrivelled and frozen to be sure, but packed
with seeds which the wood mice evidently find palatable, as they
make a point of gathering them every winter.

They also climb for rose-hips and red alder berries and a little

132

White-footed Mouse

coffee-like berry that grows abundantly everywhere in the swamps.
I believe that those living in the evergreen woods are in the way of
searching for hemlock and spruce seeds scattered by the pine finches
and cross-bills and other northern birds in their feeding.

As I have already hinted at, the winter sleep of the white-footed
mouse does not stretch along unbroken from winter until spring.
Many of them undoubtedly sleep for periods varying from a few
days to several weeks perhaps, though it is probable they oftener
contend themselves with naps of less duration, wakening two or
three times a day to nibble at the nuts and seeds in their
granaries, like Esquimaux on the edge of their frozen sea, content
with narrow quarters and each other’s society so long as they are
warm and have enough to eat.

Few of them, however, are so limited for room as are the
Esquimaux, whether they winter underground or in hollow trees
and logs buried beneath the snow; every woodchuck’s burrow
forsaken by its original owner and not yet appropriated by some
other dweller of the woodland, makes a winter home for several
families of wood mice who are all the better pleased if the entrance
has become partially closed and blocked up by the trampling feet of
cattle, and the slower yet more effective work of frost and rain and
melting snow. The rest of the burrow remains open and _ un-
obstructed for years, one hundred feet or more of warm, dry subway,
with its chamber stuffed with soft grass for the mice to curl up in as
they please.

Yet these little, tender, round-bodied, white-footed mice in no
way fear the cold; on the bitterest nights of winter when the thick-
set stars seem close down among the tree-tops, and the frozen wind
hisses through the stiff branches and the dry snow is piled high
around the stems of the pines, they are still out in the wind in
numbers, skipping along the snow from tree to tree.

In the autumn the lindens furnish them with an abundant
harvest of little round nuts which they pack away in large quantities
among the roots of the trees that bear them. Living on these
and their other stores which they are able to pick up from day to day,
they generally manage to keep in good condition while the snow and
cold weather lasts, but they are tremendous eaters and evidently find
it difficult to get enough once their supplies begin to run short; at any
rate they get thin and shabby during the spring months before insects
and berries begin to get abundant again.

133

White-footed Mouse

When their nests are beneath logs and woodpiles, they are
very like those of other mice, simple balls of soft grass lined
with feathers and thistledown.

I have never seen the young white-footed mice before they
were about half grown, at which time they are of a dull, pale slate
colour.

White-footed mice are largely nocturnal in their habits and as
a consequence have most to fear from the night hunters, the owls,
especially the little saw whet and the screech owl which are forever
taking them unaware. I am not sure that I have ever seen one of
these mice come out in the sunshine, but in cloudy weather you will
once in a while catch a glimpse of one; only the other day I saw
one dart into a hollow log as I approached.

White-footed mice, like flying squirrels, are among the most
gentle and unsuspicious of living things and though armed with
long sharp teeth seldom offer any resistance when captured. |
cannot recall ever hearing one squeak as other mice do, but
they have a sharp little call of their own and at times a low
chattering cry almost like the dim echo of a real squirrel’s chatter.
In captivity they soon become tame and familiar and are always
ready to eat whatever is offered them without hesitation.

Species and Varieties of White-footed Mice

A vast number of species and varieties of these mice occur
in the United States, especially in the West. In the East we
have besides the red mouse (described further on) three groups
differing mainly in size. The Florida deer mouse (length 8.50
inches) and the oldfield mice (length 5 inches) are treated under
separate heads, but the remaining medium-sized species are so
closely related to the common white-footed mouse that they may
as well be treated together briefly and the foregoing sketch of
their habits, although based on numbers 1 and 2 of the following list,
applies pretty well to all. There are three distinct species of these
mice with several geographic varieties of each as follows:

A. THE COMMON WHITE-FOOTED MICE
Tail shorter than the head and body, without a decided

terminal pencil of hairs. Underparts of body white, the gray of
the hairs not perceptible unless the pelage is disturbed.

134

: re sa ee :
Pe et a 4 Fas
: Pair '
£

| oar

at}
BA? ‘7

WHITE-FOOTED MOUSE (Peromyseus leucopus) (Enlarged) By W. E. Carlin

Photographed in the Bitter Root Mountains, Montana.

White-footed Mouse

i. White-footed Mouse. Peromyscus leucopus (Rafinesque). De
scription and range as above.

B. THe BOREAL WHITE-FOOTED MICE

Tail equal to or larger than the head and body, with a con-
spicuous pencil of hairs at the tip.

2. Canadian White-footed Mouse. P. canadensis Miller. Larger
and much grayer than the above, and fawn-coloured indi-
viduals rather rare, the longer tail and conspicuous tuft of
usually whitish hairs on the end serve readily to distin-
guish it.

Range. Cold evergreen forests of Canada and New England,
southward along the mountains. In northern New York
and elsewhere this and the more southerly white-footed
mouse occur together, the two being easily distinguishable.

3, Hudsonian White-footed Mouse. P. canadensis abtetorum
Bangs. Always dark gray above at all ages, never show-
ing the russet tints.

Range. A northern form of the last replacing it in the
spruce and fir forests of Quebec and Nova Scotia north-
ward.

4. Dusky White-footed Mouse. P. canadensis umbrinus Miller.
Smaller than P. canadensis and vellow with the dusky shad-
ing on face, ears and tail deeper.

Range. Replaces the above to the north of Lake Superior.

5. Cloudland White-footed Mouse. P. canadensis nubiterre
(Rhoads). Smaller and darker than P. canadensis, with a
distinct blackish dorsal band.

Range. Replaces P. canadensis in the spruce forests of the
southernmost Alleghanies.

C. THE Cotton MICE

Tail shorter than the head and body, without a distinct
terminal pencil of hairs. Underparts with a decided gray cast
owing to the greater extent of the gray bases of the hairs.
These are distinctly southern as the last were northern.

6. Cotton Mouse. P. gossypinus (Le Conte). Colour similar to
the white-footed mouse, but darker and less tawny, and
underparts distinctly gray, as compared with the pure
white of P. leucopus.

Range. Lowlands of the Atlantic slope from North Carolina
to Georgia, replaced South and West by allied forms.

7. Rhoads’ Cotton Mouse. P. gossypinus mississippiensis Rhoads.
Paler, with dusky stripe on back and ring around the eye,
less defined.

135

Florida Deer Mouse; Oldfield Mouse

Range. Mississippi Valley, northward to Tennessee. This
animal overlaps the range of the common _ white-footed
mouse in Tennessee and both occur together, just as the
latter, and the Canadian species do in the North.

8. Florida Cotton Mouse. P. gossypinus palmarius Bangs. Paler,
but dusky ring around the eye, well defined.

Range. Southern Florida, north to Brevard and Citrus County.

g. Louisiana Cotton Mouse. P. gossypinus nigriculus Bangs.
Smaller than any other cotton mouse, colours darker, with
a broad blackish stripe on the back.
Range. Bayou region of Louisiana.

In the West there are many other white-footed mice and
another allied group known as scorpion mice, Onychomys.

Florida Deer Mouse
Peromyscus flovidanus (Chapman)

Length. 8.60 inches.

Description. Ears very large, nearly naked, hind feet very large,
tail relatively short, sparsely haired. Colour bright tawny
above, with black hairs sprinkled over the back and head,
a black ring around the eye and black spot at the base of
the whiskers. Underparts pure white, extreme base of fur

gray.
Range. Florida peninsula.

This is the largest and probably most beautiful eastern Pero-
myscus and is entirely restricted to Florida. Its size, together
with its very large ears, will serve to distinguish it at once.

Mr. Bangs says of this species: ‘‘It lives only in the higher
sandy ridges where there is plenty of black jack oak and where
the bare white sand is in places covered by scattered patches
of scrub palmetto. It is the characteristic small mammal of such
places commonly known as ‘black jack ridges’ and I have never
found it elsewhere.”

Oldfield Mouse

Peromyscus subgriseus (Chapman)

Length. 5 inches.

Description. Smaller than any of the other white-footed mice.
Cinnamon brown above, very sharply contrasting with the
pure snowy whit of the lower surface.

136

Oldfield Mouse

Range. Central and Western Florida, represented in Georgia and
elsewhere in Florida by related species and varieties and on
the prairies of the upper Mississippi by the closely allied prairie
mouse. (See below.)

These are the smallest and shortest-tailed of our white-footed
mice and with the exception of the prairie mouse of the upper
Mississippi Valley they are residents of our South Atlantic States.
They appear to be more animals of the open ground, as con-
trasted with the last group, which are essentially inhabitants of
woodland.

The Florida oldfield mouse is said by Mr. Bangs to ‘‘live
in fields and open places and probably before so much of its
range was under cultivation was restricted to sandhills and open
drier prairies of interior Florida.” The allied beach mouse, one
of our most beautiful animals, ‘‘is confined entirely to the sandy
beaches and adjacent sandhills of the east coast of Florida. Its
life depends on the sea oats (Unzola) and it is never found where
that plant does not grow. It is very abundant in favourable
places and its presence can always be detected by the little foot-
prints which show distinctly in the white sand around the tufts
of sea oats.” (Bangs.)

The dark-coloured Northern representative of this group, the
prairie mouse, is quite as much an inhabitant of the open, and
bears the same relationship to the common white-footed mouse
of this region as does the prairie field mouse to the common
field mouse.

Mr. Kennicott states that the prairie mouse in the open prairie
makes burrows in the ground at the extremities of which the nest
is situated; but in cultivated districts often frequents corn shocks
and nests therein.

Related Species and Varieties of the Oldfield
Mouse

1. Oldfield Mouse. Peromyscus subgriseus (Chapman). Descrip-
tion and range as above. 5
2. Rhoads’ Oldfield Mouse. P. subgriseus rhoadst Bangs.
Yellower than the above.
Range. Western Florida (Tampa Bay).
3. Georgia Oldfield Mouse. P. subgriseus baliolus Bangs. Much
darker, with a decided dark dorsal stripe, tail nearly black.
Range. Sand hills of northern Georgia.

137

Ree. Mouse; House Mouse

4. Beach Mouse. P. ntvetventris (Chapman). Beautiful pale
yellowish gray, rather brighter on the rump. Below snow
white, hairs pure white to the roots.

Range. Beaches of East Florida; Palm Beach to Mosquito
Inlet.

5. Island Beach Mouse. P. phasma Bangs. Paler even than

the last, cheeks and nose white.
Range. Anastasia Island, Fla.

6. Prairie Mouse. P. michiganensis (Aud. and Bach). Dark-
fawn colour, with very dark-blackish dorsal stripe, white
beneath. Young, uniform, plumbeous. Ears rather small.

Range. Prairies of Illinois, southern Wisconsin, etc.

Red Mouse

Peromyscus nuttall: (Harlan)

Length. 7.40 inches.

Description. Differs from all the other long-tailed mice in_ its
bright fulvous colour above and strong fulvous suffusion
below and the absence of a sharp line of separation between
the colours of the upper and lower surface. No dusky
patch at the base of the whiskers, and young fulvous,
like the adults, not gray, as in the white-footed mice. Ears
rather short.

Range. Low grounds of South Atlantic States, southern Virginia
to Enterprise, Florida.

Although related to the white-footed mice, the red mouse is
very distinct in many respects, especially in its shorter ears and dif-
ferent colouration. It is not a common species.

INTRODUCED RATS AND MICE
(Sub-Family Murine)

House Mouse

Mus musculus Linnzus

Length. 6.70 inches.
Description. General colour gray, slightly tinted with yellcwishb-

138

*I9YPl a1ay} puno} pue ‘yovoidde sty Aq pousyYySity usqM qax00d sty oFUT
S,Jayoedpoom pro UP UT SPA JSoU OU L "fo N a8uvrO YyNog ze ‘YyET Yore peydeis0z0yg

(sndoonag snostuwoszd) DNNOA GNV GASNOW GaLoOd-aLIHM

arom snc ‘yxy Vy Ag

are

House Mouse

brown, Alaa on the face and shoulders, dusky on the
back; below paler gray, sometimes suffused with buff.
hae cosmen eam Introduced into America from the Old
orld.

I have in another place alluded to the house mouse as a
foreigner; but, as a matter of fact, it is no more of a foreigner
than are the descendants of the very first settlers in this country,
English or Dutch. Its ancestors came across with the earliest of
them, and while the white people were still but campers and
squatters on the borders of a bewildering forest of unknown
extent the youngest of these little hangers-on could already count
grand-parents and great grand-parents of American birth, so that
reckoning by generations there were even then American mice.

Still, it would hardly be safe to conclude that all or even
any considerable portion of the mice that inhabit our dwellings at
present are descended from these first-comers.

Immigration and emigration have proved as popular among
them as with members of the human race, and every ship that
crosses the Atlantic bears, among other things, its humble cargo
of mice from one shore to the other, so that some of those
which even now are nibbling at our pastry or the bindings of
books may very possibly have spent the first part of the season in
England or on the Continent, and just as possibly will be there
again next year.

Mice were originally natives of Southern Asia. From there
they have accompanied man in his wanderings to all parts of
the world, travelling, as he has travelled, in ox-teams and on
the backs of donkeys, by steamship and railway; taking up their
quarters wherever he does, first in log cabins with thatched
roofs, and finally, in some instances, on the nineteenth floor of
a steel building where generation after generation may live and
die in turn without having so much as touched foot to the
earth.

Strangely enough the race seems to be proof against the
changes wrought upon most animals by difference of environment.
Specimens from the opposite sides of the globe, or from widely
separated latitudes, are said to be practically indistinguishable, as
if at last the species had hit upon a style of form and colouring,
perfectly suited to all conditions of life.

139

House Mouse

That peculiar tint popularly known as mouse colour seldom
attracts attention to the wearer, and the almost hairless. tail, while
undoubtedly a most useful member, is not likely to become
bedraggled or in the way in places where the sort of tail carried by
the average little beast would prove a nuisance or a positive danger to
its owner. A mouse’s tail, although it looks naked, will be found
on closer inspection to be covered with short hairs, just long enough
to turn aside the moisture instead of retaining it.

Try to imagine what the tail of a squirrel or weasel would look
like after having been dragged across cream and butter and the
various other substances with which the average house mouse
endeavours to surround itself ; its owner would quickly be reduced to
amputating the bothersome member in sheer desperation. Mice it is
believed even use their tails for skimming the cream from pans of
milk, when they are unable to reach it in any other way.

Neither is the tail of a mouse much source of danger to the little
beast as might be supposed. It certainly has the appearance of
a most convenient handle for cats or other enemies to seize
upon, but the skin which covers it, like that of a squirrel is
but loosely attached, and slips off readily enough to permit the
escape of many a desperate mouse. It is not at all uncommon
to find mice that have lost the skin from their tails in this
manner. The process must necessarily be a decidedly painful
one, but the wound heals in course of time and the mouse is
still possessed of a tail, even if it is bereft of most of its
former suppleness. One would suppose that a tail which could
easily be broken clear off like those of some reptiles would be
an improvement.

Of all mice the ones that dwell high up in the mows of
old-style barns, interest me most. They are, perhaps, as little
mischievous as any of their kind; and as comfortably situated,
except as regards their water supply.

Mice | believe are compelled to drink frequently; and except
when violent storms drive rain or snow through the cracks of
the building, those living in the hay must evidently go to the
trouble of descending to the ground as often as they are thirsty.

Their homes are in the mortises of the timber wherever the
oak tenons were badly fitted or have shrunk away, leaving cosy
little pockets in the very heart of the beam, dry and warm
with a passage of suitable size leading down to them, as if ex-

149

House Mouse

pressly designed to keep a family of mice comfortable and safe.

When hungry they have only to penetrate the hay which is
piled high about them, and explore the fragrant labyrinths between
the stems of herd-grass and clover for seeds and dried field-
strawberries, and the dessicated bodies of crickets and grass~
hoppers pitched up with the hay when it was unloaded from
the rack the summer before. I have often in mid-winter come
across dried strawberries in the hay, which still possessed every
bit of their June sweetness; what a feast one of those would
make for a foraging mouse in mid-winter!

Then there are the scaffolds of corn fodder, containing hidden
treasures in the shape of whole ears overlooked in the husking, any
one of which would be enough to support a family of mice for weeks.
Beyond a doubt the lives of these mice of the barn are rendered
more interesting and worth while, by the simple possibility of
discovering some such treasure as this at any moment.

Compare this with the life of those living in the granaries,
encompassed on all sides by bins of ripe corn, and with never a
change of diet except what is supplied by the capture of stray
spiders and bugs.

Sometimes at night the mice of the hay mows descend
to the floor and join those which have their holes in the out-
of-the-way corners of the barn, in their search for meat scattered
about the bins where stock was fed.

Many of them, instead of living in the mortises of the tim-
ber, make round nests of grass and shredded corn leaves
and husks in the recesses of the hay or in the middle of a
bundle of corn fodder.

These, though safe enough at first, are sooner or later sure
to be routed out by the farmer, and may well consider them-
selves fortunate if they are without helpless families at the time.

Being less exposed to the weather and changes of tempera-
ture than are creatures living out-of-doors, mice breed at all times
and seasons; and almost any time during the winter, the fret-
ful youngsters may be heard squeaking in their nests, resentful
perhaps of the discipline brought to bear upon them by their
parents. At first they are hardly larger than blue-bottle flies, pink,
wrinkled and transparent like shrimps; it is no exaggeration to
say that any substance on which they rest may be seen through
their diminutive bodies.

141

House Mouse

Mice are notorious for their versatility in selecting their rest-
ing places, empty coffee pots and bottles being often used by
them in this manner. Almost anything in fact that has an entrance
smaller than the cavity inside.

Once exploring the cellar of an old farmhouse | came across
something made of tin, which I was told was an old-fashioned
sausage filler. It was bottle-shaped and open at both ends, and
into the larger one was thrust a piece of wood which just
fitted it. The remaining space was occupied by a mouse’s nest
of rags and scraps of paper, the funnel-shaped opening serving
as an entrance, through which the mother mouse had _ probably
come and gone hundreds of times in ministering to the needs
of her family. The nest was abandoned when | found it, but
if any one had chanced to pick it up when the little lodgers
were at home and attempted to put it to its legitimate use he
would very probably have been a good deal surprised at the
result.

In most old houses there are mice living in the walls
between the wainscoting and the plaster, their runways usually
permitting them to go literally all over the house in compara-
tive safety. On stormy winter nights particularly they may be
heard scurrying excitedly about from place to place with no
apparent cause.

Too often they penetrate to those forbidden parts of the
house where food is kept and make themselves decidedly
troublesome, until their fate in the guise of pussy, or the trap,
overtakes them.

But it is my opinion that in cold weather at least most
of them live almost wholly upon insect food, flies, spiders,
wasps and the like, that have packed themselves away snugly
for the winter in secret crannies between the boards, sometimes
hundreds of them closely huddled together.

Norway Rat
Mus norvegicus Erxleben
Called also Common Rat, Brown Rat.

Length. 18 inches.
Description. Heavily built with thick head and moderate ears,
tail medium, always shorter than the head and _ body.

142

—
“
=

3
S
a
=
<

eS)

aa]

(ea

op)

se)

By C. William Beebe

COMMON, OR NORWAY RAT (Mus norvegicus)

Norway Rat

Colour yellowish-brown thickly interspersed with long black
hairs, grayer on the sides and grayish-white below, feet
whitish. Tail very sparsely haired with the scales very con-
spicuous, ears dull brown. Young dull gray with no brown
tints.

Range. Cosmopolitan. Introduced into America from Europe.

In many ways mice are our benefactors in a degree not
often suspected, perhaps even enough to offset much of the
trouble they cause by stealing.

With rats it seems to be different. These troublesome brutes
may be useful in a way as scavengers, but the good that they
do in this way or in any other, is constantly overshadowed by the
damage wrought by them in hundred ways, and they are
probably as little beloved by man as any beast that lives.

They appear to be on an entirely different scale from mice.
It is not altogether a matter of size, a brown rat reduced
to a mouse’s dimensions would still be coarse and rough and
unattractive.

They copy in a general way the colour and proportions of
a mouse, because the lives of the two are really very much
alike; living as they do in the character of humble dependents
on man’s production, in obscure out-of-the-way corners, where
a dust-coloured coat has proved most useful.

But the fur of a full-grown rat is at all seasons harsh and
lifeless; the expression of its eyes is apt to be dull and_hate-
ful, in fact, there is hardly an attractive feature that rats may
be said to possess.

It would be useless to deny that rats are extremely intelli-
gent, and careful witnesses have always given them credit for
looking after any helpless member of their family, old or young.

For my part I have seen but little to like or admire about
them, though I am not sensible of any personal antipathy
toward them, such as many feel for both rats and mice.

The black and white rats which make such amusing pets
belong to a different species than the common brown rat.

I believe that they are varieties of the old black rat, a
gentler and much more likable race that is said to have been
partly driven out of its native land by the other, and at pres-
ent only to be found in numbers in such scattered corners of
the world as the brown rats have not yet found. I! have never

143

Black Rat

come across any undoubted specimens of the black rat living in
a wild state; they are said to have been fairly common _ here
before the brown rats followed them across the Atlantic.

Young brown rats until they are nearly grown have rather
soft slate-coloured fur, sometimes quite dark, and this together
with their slighter build causes them to be sometimes mistaken
for the black rat.

Black Rat

Mus vattus Linnzus

Length. 15 inches.

Description. More slender, with more pointed head, larger ears,
and tail always as long or longer than the head and body.
Colour glossy bluish-black above, dark-gray beneath, a few
white hairs interspersed. Ears lighter coloured, nearly naked,
feet pale-brownish, tail sparsely haired, scales distinct.

Range. Cosmopolitan. Introduced into America from the Old
World, but everywhere disappearing before the advance of
the Norway rat, so that it is now rare, with the exception
of a well-marked variety—the roof rat—which is well estab-
lished in the Southern States.

The black rat, a much less aggressive and less troublesome
animal, was brought to America long before the Norway rat, but
upon the introduction of the latter it rapidly disappeared, being
apparently quite unable to cope with it, so that we now find
the black rat only at rare intervals in remote quarters where its
more powerful cousin has not yet established itself. The history
of this animal in America is but a repetition of its experience
elsewhere and in England to-day it is as scarce as in America.

A variety of the black rat, native of Egypt and adjacent
countries, has been introduced into our Southern States where it
finds the climate congenial and where it is known as the roof
rat. Owing probably to a difference in habits, it does not come
into such direct competition with the Norway rat and succeeds
in holding its own.

Varieties of the Black Rat
1. Black Rat. Mus rattus Linneus. Description as above.

144

Canadian Beaver

2. Roof Rat. Mus rattus alexandrinus (Geoffroy). Colours
above brown and gray, below pure vellowish-white. Shape,
ears and tail exactly as in the black rat.

Range. In America, South Atlantic States.

BEAVERS
(Family Castoride)

The beavers are our largest gnawing animals. They are
heavily built and thoroughly adapted for an aquatic life, with
their wonderful broad, flat, naked tail and webbed hind feet. Both
fore and hind feet are four toed, but the second toe of the hind foot
is peculiar in having two claws.

In the structure of its skeleton the beaver differs from all
the preceding ‘‘mouse-like” families and agrees with the squirrels
and marmots in having the two bones which form the lower leg
separate and not fused solidly together.

We find in many groups of animals one or more members
adapted for life in the water and the beaver is the aquatic re-
presentative of the squirrel tribe, just as the muskrat is of the
mouse family and the otter of the weasel tribe.

Canadian Beaver

Castor canadensts Kuhl

Length. 44 inches.

Description. Tail and feet as described above, ears short. Body
thick and heavy, closely covered with fur. Colour dark bay
or blackish-brown, hairs tipped with chestnut, becoming
brighter on the head, sides of the neck and rump; ears black,
feet, legs and underparts seal-brown.

Range. Northeastern North America, now nearly extinct within
the United States, represented to the South and West by
slightly different geographic races.

Beavers are creatures with whose life history everyone is sup-
posed to be more or less familiar; the outstanding features of theit
lives having been written and read over and over again by each

Canadian Beaver

following generation. Yet they are still objects of the most in-
tense interest to all who desire to read Nature either at first or
second hand.

They are so very like some humble, primitive race of people
of peaceful disposition and few wants, industrious and practical in
all their affairs, and apparently depending more upon reason and
less upon instinct than do the majority of the forest folk. For
while it is unquestionably true that almost all of the higher wild
animals must use their reasoning powers to think out the various
problems of their daily lives, it is equally certain that instinct is
of even greater importance to them.

Just as the lone trapper or hunter, if lacking instinct similar to
theirs, and forced to rely wholly upon reason to wrest a living
from Nature, would be pretty certain to starve before the winter
was half gone.

Everyone knows that it is the beavers’ custom to dam up
small streams and build their thatched and mud-plastered log
cabins on-the margins of the ponds thus made. But the beavers
themselves have been so trapped and persecuted as to have been
fairly driven to the most remote and secluded parts of the wilder-
ness, with men still hot on their trail, and closing in doggedly
with murderous determination when with each recurring autumn the
beaver fur again becomes thick and silky to tempt their greed.

At present the scattered families of this inoffensive fugitive
race scarcely dare to raise a lodge of any sort, much less any-
thing so conspicuous as a dam, and so are compelled to hide
in secret burrows beneath the bank, like their cousins of the Old
World, who have suffered from man’s unwelcome presence for so
much longer a period.

In most parts of this country beavers are supposed to have
the protection of the law; but along the hidden rivers, where the
few survivors lurk, law is little more than a byword, and just
as long as beaver skins are allowed to be bought and sold, any
attempt to protect them is bound to prove futile.

If England and America could agree to make the possession o!
bezver skins illegal anywhere within their boundaries, and punishable
by a heavy fine or imprisonment, good results would certainly
‘ollow; for the Hudson’s Bay Fur Company would then be obliged
to refuse to handle beaver skins, and the trappers to leave them
alone. Even then it would probably be a number of years be-

146

a
: — mee

CANADIAN BEAVER (Castor canadensis) 5s a

Canadian Beaver

fore the beavers would venture within sound of civilization of
lose even a little of their well-founded terror of man.

When a pair of beavers, after having been driven in desper-
ation from place to place, finally come upon some hidden forest
brook where they think that perhaps at last men will permit
them to settle and be happy in their own way for a_ few
years, their first act is to decide upon a_ suitable location for
their pond.

Then they go to work felling trees for the dam. In order
to cut down a tree they gnaw deep parallel grooves around the
trunk and then rip out the wood left between these grooves in
large chips, their broad teeth splitting them out like a carpen-
ter’s chisel. Other grooves are then cut still deeper into the tree
and the chips split out from between them as before, and so
the work goes on until the tree trembles and lurches slightly
in the direction of the deepest cut, hangs canting in air for an
instant while the last tough fibres hold and then, slowly at first,
swings over and comes smashing to the ground.

Although beavers usually gnaw all around a tree, it has fre-
quently been stated on the very best authority, that it is their
rule to cut deepest next the water in order that the trunk may fall in
that direction and so lessen the distance it will have to be
dragged.

But others claim that they gnaw in equally on all sides and
let the tree fall where it will, or lodge hopelessly tangled among
its neighbours.

All of which may only go to show that beavers, like other
animals, vary in intelligence, and while some still fell their trees
haphazard, others have learned something of the woodsman’s
craft of cutting. Judging from my own experience | should
suppose that hardly one tree in ten would be likely to come to
the ground if gnawed off carelessly without forethought, though
I believe that trees growing near a stream do usually have a
tendency to lean a little towards the water.

When the tree is down the beavers go to work trimming
off the branches and cutting the trunk into suitable lengths to
be dragged down to the water.

‘The dam is made of these short logs and trunks wattled together
and filled in with stones and earth, the whole cunningly bent
against the current to withstand the pressure of the water.

147

Canadian Beaver

It is frequently reinforced by other dams just below, that
back up the water against the first and relieve it of a part of
the pressure.

As the water rises the beavers watch the shores carefully
and every depression in the bank likely to lead the water off
to one side is promptly dammed and the pond at last brought
to the desired level.

During the summer they live an easy and care free life
along the banks like muskrats, feeding on lily roots and_ bark
and green twigs generally; but with the coming on of autumn
their recreation ends and they go back to work once more, re-
pairing the dam against the coming of the fall rains and erect-
ing their winter cabin at the edge of the water. As_ before
stated the cabin is very similar to that of the muskrat, being
roughly built of sticks and brush, and finally plastered outside
with sods just before the pond freezes over.

Knowing that long before the ice melts in the spring the
natural food supply in the pond is likely to be exhausted, these
prudent creatures lay in an ample supply of birch, poplar and
cotton wood for the winter.

The trees, which at times are only to be found at consider-
able distances from the water, are felled and cut into con-
venient lengths and dragged down to the pond along paths
cleared through the undergrowth for the purpose. At times the
beavers even find it worth their while to dig channels in low
swampy ground, and along these they float their wood out into
the pond. It is stacked in a loose pile near the cabin, the ends of
the sticks buried in the mud so that they may not be floated
off when the water risesto fill the pond. After the pond is
full and its surface frozen over in the winter, the beavers cut
strips off the bark under the ice when other food falls short ;
But all winter long they are still hunting for fresh supplies,
following the pond’s winding margin beneath the ice and ex-
ploring the various inlets and little brooks that reach back into
the woods, digging up roots from the bottom and gnawing the
bark from bushes and trees surrounded by water when the pond
is filled. And so the winter passes quietly with them, allowing
them only an occasional obscure glimpse of the sun when the
wind chances to sweep a portion of the clear ice above them
free from snow.

148

by A. R. Dugmore

BEAVER LODGES AND A DAM.

Canadian Beaver

I fancy that toward the end of winter they must get just a
little impatient and watch eagerly for the first sign of open
water at the edge of the ice; knowing that it is only a ques-
tion of time before their whole pond shall be free once more,
and they may splash and paddle in the shallow margin to their
hearts’ content with the spring sun warm on their backs, and
their lungs filled with fresh living wind from the woods. As
their family increases in size they enlarge their cabin each fall to
accommodate the new members, or else construct new lodges
along the shore, until, if undiscovered by the trapper, they have
established a busy and contented little settlement, for they are
a social folk and fond of one another's company, with the ex-
ception of certain ill-natured old bachelors who refuse to associate
with the rest but live apart in burrows of their own digging.

Just as among the muskrats you will find a solitary in-
dividual here and there making its lone mud-hut at the head of
any little meadow brook, and apparently avoiding the rest of its kind
as much as possible; the chief difference being that these recluse
muskrats are generally females—at least most of those that have come
under my own observations have been; while among beavers
the hermits are almost always old males as already stated.

When in the course of years the beavers’ colony gets so
large that the matter of getting food for the whole in the im-
mediate vicinity of the pond begins to look doubtful, the
youngest generation usually starts off with the purpose of found-
ing a new colony.

The trappers say that they always start off in pairs accom-
panied by the old ones; the time chosen for the pilgrimage is
in the early part of the fall while the streams are still low and
food abundant.

The little party explores together every promising stream and
watercourse, until a suitable location is discovered for the new
pond, when they all set to work, old and young together, and
it is not until the dam is completed and the new cabin raised
with a good supply of green wood beside it, that the old beavers
go back to their own pond, to attend to the regular fall work
of repairing the old dam and cabin and cutting and hauling
their winter's wood down to the water, and then settle down
to the dull routine and humdrum life of a beaver’s winter.

149

Sewellels

Varieties of the Beaver

1. Canadian Beaver. Castor canadensis Kuhl. Description and
range as above.

2. Carolinian Beaver. C. canadensis carolinensis Rhoads. Some-
what lighter in colour; larger in size with a decidedly
broader tail.

Range. Southern and lower Middle States. Now almost
extinct, though still found in parts of North Carolina.

Two other races occur in the northwest coast region and in
the Rocky Mountains.

SEWELLELS
(Family Aplodontide)

The sewellels are peculiarly isolated animals, having no close
affinity with any other existing rodents, but constituting one of
those interesting ‘‘connecting links’ that have been preserved
from some former geological age. They are allied to the squirrel
and marmot tribe and come perhaps nearer to the beaver than
anything else in their skeletal peculiarities. They have extremely
broad flat skulls, thick clumsy bodies, with practically no neck,
short ears and very short tail.

Sewellel
Aplodontia rufa (Rafinesque)
Also called Mountain Beaver.

Length. 12 inches.

Description. Body thick-set, legs short, tail very short, projecting
but slightly beyond the fur. Above reddish-brown, with scat-
tered black hairs, grayish below, tail black.

Range. Cascade Mountains, eastern Washington and Oregon.
Several allied species or varieties are found in other parts of
these States and in Northern California.

These curious animals are found only in the limited area above
described. They are more or less aquatic in habits, living in

te)

ame pee
ies , a i re

- a a 2 7 : r 3 . Ms
tery tk

WV Aq ‘oofr yy stAdog (xouom sAmoj4y) MOWANA ALIAHL Ad SMONHOGOOM AO AlVd V

a1ouwrsn(y

Woodchuck

burrows, near some stream of water, and feeding at dusk or
early in the morning on vegetable material of various kinds.

SQUIRRELS AND MARMOTS
(family Sciuride)

The squirrels and their allies include some of our handsomest
and best-known rodents. They are active, intelligent animals,
as a rule, with large bright eyes, bushy tails and strong muscular
legs. Some species, as the marmots, are burrowers, though they
spend much of their time out in the sunlight about the mouths
of their holes, while others, comprising the most typical squirrels,
are climbers par excellence, scaling the tree trunks or traversing
the most slender branches with equal agility. This arboreal habit
reaches its highest specialization in the flying squirrel which
launches itself forth in its parachute-like flight from tree to tree,
despising the support of slender branches upon which the other
squirrels still rely. When one watches the rapid passage of the
red squirrel through the trees and his sudden leaps from bough
to bough, the evolution of the flying squirreb can easily be un-
derstood.

Woodchuck

Arctomys monax (Linnzus)

Also called Ground Hog, Maryland Marmot.

Length. 24 inches.

Description, Heavy and thick-set, with short legs and_ rather
short brushy tail. Colour grizzly or yellowish-gray varied
with black and rusty, underparts rusty, feet black.

Range. New York and southern New England to Georgia and
North Dakota, represented northward by an allied variety,
others occur westward.

In every part of the world where the winters are sufficiently
severe, there is pretty sure to be found a certain proportion of
the wild animals that manage to do away with the most un-

Woodchuck

pleasant part of the year, as far as they are concerned at least,
by tucking themselves up in some _ out-of-the-way corner and
sleeping or dozing or hibernating the time away, each according
to its own particular taste, until spring comes round again. And
certainly no more satisfactory method could be devised for spend-
ing the winter, either as regards economy or personal comfort.

It is probably to this habit that the dormouse of the Old
World owes its reputation of being the most ridiculously sleepy
and drowsy little beast in the universe, though I fancy that a
good many of the animals on this side of the Atlantic could
give him points on the matter of taking protracted naps, as
might naturally be expected in a climate where the temperature
is liable to vary over one hundred degrees in the course of a
twelvemonth. The dormouse, it would seem, does not depend
entirely on its faculty for sleeping, to while away the long winter
hours, but in the autumn puts by a store of hazelnuts and when-
ever the weather turns warmer for a few days, though it is in
the very depth of the winter, he wakes up for a luncheon and
a breath of fresh air, and then turns in again for another nap,
so keeping a general idea of the weather as the mild English
winter wears itself away.

But how much does the oldest woodchuck know of the New
England winter? He can only realize that there are spring, summer
and autumn, and then spring again, with only occasional flurries of
snow and severe frost occurring at long intervals, perhaps a
dozen times in the course of his life. If, as seems probable,
the woodchuck really sleeps all winter long, then his waking
hours occupy an extremely small portion of his life, for during
the entire summer he spends the greater part of his time in his
hole, and as he never takes his meals there, it is hard to imagine
how he can occupy himself at such times except in sleeping.
He is, perhaps, the least industrious animal in existence except
when engaged in digging his hole, when he works away
at a tremendous rate until it is finished; but once it is
completed, he seldom attempts to enlarge or remodel it in any
way, but spends his days in luxurious ease, coming out to get
his breakfast soon after sunrise, while the dew is still on the
grass, at which time I fancy he makes his most substantial
meal, though he may occasionally be seen feeding at any time
of day. At noon he is pretty sure to make his appearance above

152

‘Woodchuck

ground for luncheon, but apparently spends more time then in
sunning himself than in eating. Late in the afternoon he again
shows himself, and feeds until nearly sunset, when he descends
into his burrow for the night. It is not often that he is obliged
to go many steps from his doorway in order to fill himself,
and by autumn he has usually reached a perfectly ludicrous state
of obesity. There are usually several openings to the burrow,
connected by well-beaten paths; similar paths radiate off into
the grass in all directions, from one clump of clover to the next,
and only too often to the bean patch or garden where it pleases
him to eat out the tender inside of several cabbage heads in a
single night. Beans he strips of leaves, pods and everything,
and he is not averse to ears of corn and young pumpkin vines;
in fact, there are few things raised in an ordinary vegetable
garden which he does not occasionally exhibit a taste for. He
is also fond of sweet apples and fruits of various kinds, fre-
quently making his home in the orchard for the purpose of en-
joying them. When the grass is tall enough he likes to move
about in the various paths he has made, nibbling here and there,
as suits his pleasure, and sitting bolt upright from time to time
to look about him. His attitude toward his enemies is apt to
be one of obstinate defiance. Other wild animals of his size,
almost without exception, prefer, when in the proximity of houses,
to remain in hiding during the day, only venturing out under
cover of darkness. But the woodchuck often digs his hole within
a few rods of a farmhouse and swaggers boldly about the garden
at midday helping himself to whatever appeals most strongly to
his appetite. When pursued he scrambles in frantic haste for
his burrow, his black heels twinkling in the sunshine as he
goes, but on reaching safety he is likely to turn about and thrust
out his nose to chuckle defiance at his pursuers. If cornered,
he is always ready to fight anything or anybody, and a dog
lacking experience in such matters is likely to get the worst of
it, for a woodchuck’s incisors are weapons not to be despised.
If their den is dug out, the woodchucks often manage to escape
by burrowing off through the soil, after the manner of moles,
filling up the holes behind them as they move along, and evi-
dently not coming to the surface until sufficient time has elapsed
to ensure their safety, though how they manage to avoid suffo-
cation in the meantime is a question difficult to answer. They

1493

“Woodchuck

are often killed with shotguns, though this is no easy matter
to accomplish; for though not a_ difficult animal to approach,
the skin of an old one is pretty nearly a quarter of an inch thick,
and the bones of the head are so solid that it requires the heaviest
kind of shot and a gun that carries close and hard at ordinary
shooting range to injure him. The majority of those that are killed are
caught in steel traps at the mouth of their burrows. As soon as the
woodchuck ferls the grip of the trap on his foot, he settles back
into his den and pulls with an amount of strength that is simply
surprising, and often secures his liberty. If unable to free himself
in this manner, he usually digs away the earth and blocks up the
entrance of the hole with himself inside, and the owner of the
trap is obliged to dislodge him as best he may. This is hard enough
when the victim is a woodchuck, but if, as often happens, it
proves to be a skunk, the result is truly disastrous. If left in
the trap for any length of time, the woodchuck frequently re-
leases himself by biting off his foot just below the jaws of the
trap, but is less extravagant and wasteful in this matter than the
muskrat, who not uncommonly leaves half an inch or more of
leg sticking up above the trap, apparently gnawing it off wher-
ever it is easiest and most convenient.

This is the woodchuck of the fields and cultivated lands.
Many woodchucks, however, prefer to dwell in the pastures,
where the grass is shorter and sweeter and they are less likely
to arouse the ire of the owner of the land. Here they are ob-
liged to wander farther afield in order to satisfy their appetites,
but are generally in good condition for all that, and never appear
to have any trouble in laying on a sufficient supply of fat dur-
ing the summer to carry them over the cold season. In the
pastures they are fond of sunning themselves on top of old
stumps and smooth bowlders, the colour of their fur serving to
make them comparatively inconspicuous when so engaged.

Then there is the woodchuck of the forest and woodlands,
who really deserves the name of woodchuck, as it was in all
probability first applied to the species by the early settlers—
chuck or chucky, I believe, being a term frequently used in De-
vonshire and other English farming districts to designate little
pigs, who were sometimes spoken of as barnyard chuckies; so
that woodchuck might very properly be translated as little pig

154

E. Carlin

By W.

WOODCHUCK (Arctomys monax)

_—

7 =
.
.
ie
x

Woodchuck

of the woods—not an altogether inappropriate title, at least as
regards disposition.

The real woodchuck of the woods, instead of spending his
days in the sunlit fields or open hard-wood groves and orchards,
digs his hole among the rocks and ledges, beneath the roots of
great hemlocks and pines, where the sun hardly penetrates and
the decaying tree trunks are crossed and tumbled against each
other overhead, supported and held in position by those that are
still standing. Here he scrambles about among the underbrush
and fallen branches, subsisting on berries and whatever green
stuff is to be had in its season, probably feeding on edible
mushrooms when they are to be obtained, like the partridges
and squirrels who are his associates. He may frequently be seen
of a summer afternoon stretched in the sun along some _ half
prostrate log, evidently glad to take advantage of whatever of the
sun’s rays manage to penetrate among the shadows of his retreat.
Enjoying as he does comparative immunity from the attacks of
men and dogs, and having at the present day very few natural
enemies to avoid, he should, and in all probability often does,
live out his allotted time; and it is no uncommon thing to find
the bones of these animals in hollow logs and similar places,
showing no signs of having suffered a violent death. A careful
observer of Nature once told me that he had once seen a wood-
chuck, apparently very old and feeble, laboriously digging a shal-
low hole in the soft earth, and that on returning, some hours later,
he had discovered him curled up at the bottom of the hole quite
dead, undoubtedly having died of old age after digging his own
grave and crawling into it. He believed this to be a regular
custom with them, and said that he had met with a number
of people who asserted the same thing.

In one respect the forest woodchuck does not have so easy
a time of it as his brethren who abide in the open country,
seldom attaining to such an extreme condition of corpulency, and
in consequence being compelled to awake and crawl out of bed
much earlier in the spring, often making his appearance when
the snow is still several feet deep. Such unfortunates are obliged
to worry along as best they can until warm weather, seeking
out the spots of bare earth beneath the evergreens and gnawing
ravenously at the bark of trees or anything that can possibly be
made to answer as a substitute for food. They are soon piti-

155

Woodchuck

fully thin and so active as hardly to be recognized by one familiar
only with well-fed summer specimens.

Woodchucks are seldom seen in the open pasture until the
snow has about disappeared and the turf begins to feel soft under
foot, with green grass and clover starting up in sheltered places,
while those of the cultivated grass lands are still later about
showing themselves, so that it would certainly seem that the
duration of their winter nap depended largely on the food supply
of the preceding summer. Still it is just possible that all the
woodchucks return to the woods to ‘‘den in,” in order to obtain
a more even temperature than would be possible in the open
ground. Instances of woodchucks having been unearthed in a
state of hibernation in the winter are common enough, but
whether in the woods or in the open appears uncertain.

In the summer the rambler often meets little woodchucks
only a few weeks old, wandering about the fields alone and
unprotected, having been driven from their homes by their hard-
hearted parents as soon as they were able to shift for them-
selves. These little waifs are not apt to show any alarm on
being approached, commonly settling back on their haunches and
attempting to bite anything that comes within reach, or else
charging savagely at the intruder, with little husky, gurgling
cries of anger. An old woodchuck will occasionally attack the
person who threatens him, sometimes it would seem even when
he is not cornered or confined in any way. But this is nothing
to the perfectly reckless courage with which the youngster en-
ters into the combat, as if he felt perfectly sure that he were
going to have an easy thing of it. As soon, however, as he is
quite convinced that you are not going to retreat, and that he
is hardly likely to be able to dispose of you to his satisfaction,
he starts off on a gallop, but as yet without any _ especial
symptoms of fear, though if you persist in heading him off, he
at last comes to realize that he is entirely at your mercy, and
a wholly difterent expression comes into his eyes, he begins to
tremble and shiver all over, and finally gives up all attempts to
fight or run away, simply crouching in the grass in abject
terror.

I once obtained possession of a little woodchuck that had
been brought home uninjured by a dog. If I remember rightly,
the original price of the animal was thirteen cents, with a

156

ERY es eee be
, ey

PRAIRIE DOGS (Cynomys ludovicianus) By ee pears

a
fin

Woodchuck

much damaged fish line and hook thrown in. He was much
too ‘young to eat solid food, so we fed him on milk with a bottle
and rubber nipple. When being fed he always sat up perfectly
straight, grasping the rubber firmly between his little black hands,
which always looked as if clothed in close-fitting black gloves,
so sharply was the line drawn between the black of his paws
and the brown fur on his wrists and shoulders. When_ nearly
satisfied he would grip it so tightly that none of the milk could
escape and, taking it from his mouth, turn away his head for
a few seconds of breathing space and then fall to again. He
grew rapidly on this diet, and soon developed a liking for
green things generally, especially caraway blossoms. As_ these
grew far out of his reach, often three or four feet from the
ground, he found it necessary in order to get at them to sit up
beside the stem and, grasping it in his paws, bend it over
towards him, pulling it down hand over hand until he had
reached the umbel shaped cluster of flower, every particle of
which he ate, allowing the stalk to spring back into place when he
had finished. Strangly enough, he never troubled the vegetables
in the garden in any way, although allowed to wander about
the place at his own discretion. He managed to get along
fairly well with the cats, though there was not much affection
on either side. Whenever he saw one of them drinking milk
from a saucer, he liked to come up softly from behind and nip
its heels, and then scuttle off to some place of concealment in
time to escape punishment. He often persisted in this amuse-
ment until the cats retired in disgust, whereupon he would pro-
ceed to help himself to the milk they had left. If he felt sleepy,
he would sit upright, letting his head hang down until his nose
almost reached his hind feet, and then drop over on one side,
rolled up into a perfect ball. Late in the season, he began to
make extensive tunnels about the doorsteps and underneath the
paths, the caving in of which was the cause of several mis-
haps to various members of the family. Although perfectly
familiar, he was never affectionate, and towards the close of
summer he left us for his native heath; and the rest of his
history is hidden in obscurity, though it is safe to assume that
he lived to grow up and eventually developed all the selfish and
bearlike traits characteristic of his family.

1§7

W oodchuck

Only the other day an instance occurred which would seem
to indicate that the woodchuck of the woods retires to his den
much later in the season than his cousin of the fields, who is
seldom seen abroad much after the first of September. On the
first of November I came across a hollow ash tree, prostrate
above a little brook in a swamp not far from my home, and
noticed that some creature or other had been carrying dead
grass into it quite recently. I fixed a trap in the hollow and
the next day found a woodchuck held captive there, a typical wood-
chuck of the forest, as lean and active as a squirrel, with soft
white-tipped fur almost as thick as a coon’s. When I released
him, he refused to run, but showed fight pluckily enough for
several minutes, and then unexpectedly bolted by me into his
hollow log, down which | could hear him scrambling to his
nest, which appeared to be situated at the end of the cavity
where the tree forked into several branches, for on breaking off
a small branch here I could see that the interior was filled with
new dried grass and leaves. Undoubtedly he intended spending
the winter there, and I imagine would find it quite as com-
fortable as the usual underground retreat, if not driven out by
the rising waters in time of thaw. I recall once seeing what
looked like a woodchuck’s track in the snow about the last of
November. The animal that made it had been wandering about
the woods, prying into every stump and hollow log, perhaps in
search of a bed; but that was years ago, and I am not even
certain that it was a woodchuck’s track at all.

This year | have again seen a woodchuck out in Novem-
ber, a tawny old fellow whose den is near the top of a little
hillock beside a meadow, the same that I saw a fox trying to
unearth last April.

As I crossed the meadow | could see him sitting in his
doorway in the dim sunlight of Indian summer, perhaps saying
goodby to his shadow and the sun and the clouds until spring returns;
the turf beside his path was yet green and moist, and from
deep among the grass-roots the dreamy notes of crickets
sounded miles away, and seemed always on the point of ceas-
ing forever.

A few days before I saw this same woodchuck carrying
home wild apples from a tree several rods from his hole; it may
be that last summer’s drouth, which was unusually severe in

158

By H. W. Nash

@
BN
a
S
S
Q
2
jaa)
4
=
a
Ay
©
a
a
jaa
Ay
op)
ZB
~~
ca
oH
2

Photographed in Colorade

Fee

ere
bas
-

Woodchuck

these parts, made it impossible for him to get fat enough to risk
turning in at the regular time for woodchucks to retire about the
first of October.

In the days of the uncleared forest before the white-men came,
woodchucks, it is safe to assume, had a much longer list of
enemies than now. — Bears, wolves, lynxes and panthers, undoubt-
edly all preyed on them as occasion afforded, and it is hardly
likely that the Indian hunter felt himself demeaned by stooping
to the chase of such humble quarry.

At present the only native animal that the woodchucks have much
to fear from is the fox. From this determined hunter they are not
always safe, even in the depths of their burrows. In the winter
when the ground is unfrozen, foxes will even dig them out
of their winter quarters and kill them in their sleep. They dig
them out in warm weather as well, though I fail to see how they
ever manage to catch up with so accomplished a burrower in
an underground race.

But the little woodchucks | expect are in much greater danger,
for while they are still no bigger than rats, they begin to spend sunny
hours exploring the grass around the burrow, or sprawled out
asleep on the hot earth piled in front of it.

At such times hen-hawks or cooper’s hawks might easily pick
them up, but I do not remember having seen evidence that they
often do. For awhile the old woodchucks make a point of look-
ing out for their safety, but in a most indifferent sort of way,
quite unlike the zealous watchfulness displayed by most wild
animals. The female has in fact on occasions been said to push her
offspring out of the hole one at a time in order to purchase
her own safety by distracting the attention of a dog that was
trying to dig her out.

Varieties of the Woodchuck

1. Woodchuch. Arctomys monax (Linneus). Description and
range as above.

2. Northern Woodchuck. A. monax canadensis (Erxleben). Darker
than the above, black and brown _ predominating, hairs
more variegated with white, cheeks gray.

Range. Boreal regions north of the preceding.

3. Labrador Woodchuckh. A. monax ignavus Bangs. Similar to the
last externally.

Range. Labrador.

™59

Prairie Dog

Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus (Ord)
Called also Marmot.

Length. 15 inches.

Description. Resembles the spermophiles but the ears are ver‘
short, and the tail very short and flat, colour brownis
above varied with gray and black hairs, soiled white below,
tail black toward the end.

Range. Western Texas and Kansas to the base of the Rocky
Mountains north to Montana. Allied varieties occur in Arizona,
New Mexico and Wyoming.

The prairie dog is perhaps the most characteristic animal of
the higher drier prairies of the West. He reminds one of a
miniature woodchuck, though much more gregarious and more
active. Prairie Dogs associate in colonies or ‘‘ dog towns,” some-
times many miles in extent, where their burrows and mounds of ex-
cavated earth form a conspicuous feature of the landscape. Speaking
of the occurrence of the prairie dog in Texas Dr. Kennerly says :
‘‘This interesting little animal never fails to attract the attention
of every traveller on the Western prairies; and on approach to
one of their settlements, after long and dreary marches, is always
hailed with delight as a pleasant change from the monotony of
lifeless scenes to one of cheerful activity and motion. Such
occasions never fail to excite a certain degree of pleasure in
every one as he watches the motions of these curious creatures
as they at first assemble in numbers as if in grave consultation
in regard to the intrusion of strangers upon their quiet
domain, and, upon the too near approach of apparent danger,
suddenly the assembly is dispersed, each one, retiring to his re-
spective home and standing upon the edge of his den, utters his
peculiar bark, as if in defiance, and then every one disappears sud-
denly and every voice is hushed when a single gun is dis-
charged.”

Prairie dogs feed upon grass and such other plants as furnish
satisfactory fodder, and frequently strip the ground bare through-
out the extent of their towns.

In all the older accounts of the prairie dog we inevitably
find associated with him the rattlesnake and the burrowing owl,
the three forming the theme for many a ‘Happy Family”’ story.

160

SAY’S SPERMOPHILE (Spermophilus lateralis) By W. E. Carlia
Photographed in the Bitter Root Mountains after mueh patient baiting and watching."

Striped Spermophile

Apart from inhabiting the same region, and the fact that
young prairie dogs form an acceptable article of diet for both
the other members of the triumvirate, they have little to do with
one another. The owls dig holes for themselves, though they
may not be averse to appropriating a prairie dog’s burrow, just
as their relatives of the woodland will use an old flicker’s hole
or a crow’s nest. The rattlesnake, too, will no doubt take refuge
in a burrow of either of the others, though to the discomfiture
of the rightful owner and the probable loss of its offspring. The
stories of the peaceful cohabitation of the beast, bird and reptile
are, however, the result of a lively imagination.

Striped Spermophile

Spermophilus tridecemlineatus (Mitchell)

Also called Striped Gopher.

Length. 10 inches.

Description. Back striped with six buff bands and seven wider
brown bands, each of the latter containing a row of small
white spots; middle bands running from the top of the head
to the tail, others shorter; lower parts dull buff; tail rather
short, flat and rather bushy.

Range. Plains of the Saskatchewan; south to Texas and east to
southern Wisconsin and Michigan, nearly the whole of Illinois,
northern Indiana and northwestern Ohio.

The spermophiles, closely allied to the chipmunks, form as it
were the connecting link between the squirrels and the marmots.
They are restricted to the prairie regions of the West, where there
are a number of species, two of which cross the Mississippi.
The best known and most widely distributed form is the striped
spermophile or ‘‘striped gopher” as it is also called. Vernon
Bailey in his report upon these animals says: ‘‘ Throughout the
prairies of the Mississippi Valley the little striped spermophile is a
familar object as it darts through the grass to its hole or is seen
standing upright on its hind feet, straight. and motionless as a
stick. With its short ears, smoothly rounded head, and the fore-
feet drooping at its sides, there is no point about its outline to
catch the eye, and at a little distance it is impossible to dis-

161

#ranklin’s Spermophile

tinguish it from old picket pin or fence stake. Standing thus the
animal will often allow one to approach within a few yards, then
quickly dropping on all fours it utters a shrill chatter and dives
into a hole close by. Remain quiet for a few minutes and _ its
head reappears at the entrance of the hole and the little black
eyes peer at you curiously. Walk away from the place and it
will soon come out and, standing up again, watch you as long
as you are in within sight, uttering an occasional note of alarm
or warning to its friends.”

The burrows vary in length, some being short and appar-
ently only used for shelter, while others are long with the nest
at the end where the young are born, or where the animals hibernate;
other adjoining cavities are used for storehouses and a large supply of
grain is generally put away before winter sets in.

Franklin’s Spermophile
Spermophilus franklini (Sabine)
Also called Gray Gopher.

Length. 14.80 inches.

Description. Hair coarse and harsh, gray above suffused with
yellowish brown and hairs banded with black; below paler gray
with a white throat, tail clear gray.

Range. Saskatchewan south to eastern Kansas and through northern
and middle Illinois and southern Wisconsin to the western
border of Indiana.

Although there are numerous spermophiles in the West, this and
the preceding are the only ones to range east of the Mississippi.

Peculiar interest attaches to this animal from the fact that it was
introduced into the sandy barrens of southern New Jersey where it
seemed to flourish for a time, though it did not spread to any
extent.

Chipmunk
Tamias striatus (Linnzus)
Called also Ground Hackhee, Ground Squirrel, Striped Squtrrel.
Length. 9.50 inches.

Description. Head brown, back preety gray, rump and hind legs
rufous chestnut; a narrow black stripe on the middle of the back

162

WHITE-TAILED SPERMOPHILE (Spermophilus leurcurus) By Dane Coolidge

YOUNG OF COLUMBIA SPERMOPHILE (Spermophilus columbianus) By W. E. Carlin

Chipmunk

from the ears to the rufous of the rump,and on each side two black
stripes with a light buff stripe between them. Sides of the body
buffy mixed with black-tipped hairs, below white. Tail grizzly
gray above with black tips to the hairs, below rufous edged
with black.

Range. Southern New York to Georgia. Northward the closely
related northern hackee (7. striatus lysterz ) takes its place. It is
much brighter and lighter in colour, bright rusty red instead of
chestnut above. Numerous other species are found in the West.

Ground squirrels are unquestionably most intelligent creatures, lov-
ing the sunlight and hot weather and open groves of hardwoods where
the turf is cropped close by cattle.

Here they dig their burrows in such a manner as to avoid
attracting the attention of their enemies and at the same time
allowing them an unobstructed outlook on all sides from their
doorways.

Choosing an open and lawn-like spot they sink a _perpen-
dicular tunnel down several feet; after which the burrow is
carried along horizontally for a few yards and then ascends a
trifle to the chamber, which is perhaps a foot in height and
breadth and nearly twice as long and carpeted with soft grass.

A back stairway ascends to the surface by a somewhat
shorter route at a considerable distance from the other opening.

Now the amount of earth removed must necessarily be con-
siderable, yet the grass about the entrance shows no signs of it,
and it requires a sharp eye to detect the position of the bur-
row unless its owner betrays the secret himself. I believe that
in some instances, perhaps quite frequently, the hole is begun
beneath a hollow stump cr tree, under the shelter of a_ thick
low growing bush, or between the rocks of a wall where the
pile of fresh dirt. may escape notice; and after other passages
are made from the chamber to the surface the original opening
is perhaps blocked with earth from the inside and abandoned.
Piles of newly dug earth are always to be found in the vicinity
of the chipmunk’s home, but almost invariably at a distance from
any burrow, often so far away in fact that it is difficult to con-
ceive how they could have been constructed, even in the manner
just described.

I am inclined to think that it is a common practice among
chipmunk’s to carry all the dirt removed in their cheek-pouches

163

Chipmunk

to a safe distance where it may be left in a heap or scattered
about over the grass; it may be that the earth hidden beneath
stumps and similar places is brought there in this manner oftener
than is suspected.

In going to and from his burrow the chipmunk takes care-
ful ieaps over the grass and appears strictly to avoid making
any path which might serve as a guide to his enemies.

Among themselves chipmunks are most talkative little peo-
ple, often a company of half a dozen or more may be heard
keeping up a most animated conversation on quiet summer
afternoons; each seated on his own particular rock or stump
separated by intervals of a few rods they exchange chirrup for
chirrup with varying inflections for hours together. At times
they get up a regular chorus or chant with a kind of rhythmical
movement running through it that is very pleasing. This chirrup
or chirping note is also used as a cry of warning by simply
changing the expression a trifle.

If a chipmunk is interrupted in his labours or his sunbath,
or whatever he may happen to be doing, by the approach of
a fox or other enemy, he not only looks out for his own safety
but remembers the rest of his family as well.

If possible he gets within easy reach of his hole and from
that position of safety he sends forth a steady series of alarm
notes as long as the enemy is in sight.

The? alarm) is; ‘taken up| "by. the” others ‘as. fast’ as they
catch sight of the fox, so that the most wily marauder finds
his approach heralded in spite of all his caution.

When one is directly attacked and compelled to dart into
his hole or seek safety among the rocks, a_ shrill, rippling,
sibilant cry informs his fellows still more exactly of the position
of the enemy. One afternoon last September I heard them sig-
nalling danger from one to another at the edge of the woods, and
approached cautiously, rather expecting to find a fox hunting
them, for the jays by their screaming gave me reason to believe
that there was one near-by.

Just as I reached the group of hardwood trees where the
chipmunks were, a cooper’s hawk swooped down from among the
leaves overhead and gliding along beside the stone wall struck at
first one and then another of the little striped backs, but they
all dodged him successfully each sending along the alarm to the

164

- is
7

i rt, ee : ;
Z ee , =) qttsime: oe je! co a

ees Cae ee oly a

es
oe

SAY’S SPERMOPHILE IN SNOW (Spermophilus lateralis)

Photographed near Crested Butte, Colorado, with the snow three feet deep, the camera being operated by a string 200 feet long.

YOUNG PRAIRIE DOG (Cynomys ludovicianus) (about one-third grown) By E. D. Warren)

Chipmunk

next as he disappeared. The hawk vanished among the trees and
evidently succeeded in deceiving the squirrels into thinking that
he had betaken himself to other hunting grounds, for after per-
haps ten minutes of anxious shouting between neighbouring door-
ways they quieted down and resumed the interrupted course of
their affairs; some of them searching about in the short grass
for beechnuts dropped by the jays, while others started on longer
excursions through the woods and a few of the younger ones
began playing together among the last year’s leaves beside the
wall.

But one or two took prominent positions on the highest
stones of the wall as if standing sentinel, and at pretty regular
intervals called a warning to the others, or perhaps it was the
cry of ‘‘All’s well,” for by this time even the jays appeared to
have forgotten the danger and were chuckling and _ squealing
among themselves as they gathered beechnuts overhead.

None of them apparently paid any attention to the angry
stuttering of a red squirrel in a great oak, and | am inclined to
believe that red squirrels, like the shepherd boy in the fable, have so
often cried wolf without cause that the other wood-dwellers have
learned to distrust them.

But this one evidently knew what he was about and a sudden
hysterical explosion in the midst of his clamour and then silence was
followed by the reappearance of the hawk from his ambush among
the oak leaves dashing this way and that after the scattering chip-
munks. He failed, however, as before in each attempt, and, as if
mistrusting that the red squirrel might be the cause of all his ill luck,
rose in the air and rushed headlong at him as he clung to the under
side of the branch. There was a short and very exciting chase
before the squirrel succeeded in reaching the safety of his hole and the
hawk flapped away disappointed.

The winter hibernation of the chipmunk is much like that
of the dormouse of the Old World, though unlike the dormouse
and most other hibernating animals, chipmunks are seldom more
than comfortably fat on retiring in the autumn.

As several weeks are generally believed to elapse before the
final sleep of winter overtakes them, it is quite probable that
they occupy themselves in the meantime with acquiring a suf-
ficient amount of fat to carry them on until spring.

In April and May chipmunks are pretty sure to be out in

165

Ca:rpmunk

the sunshine of every warm day we have, to retire and become
dormant again, like the dormouse, at the approach of a cold
wave or snow weather.

Those first few weeks of confinement in November must be
a strange experience for such an active sun-loving creature.as the
chipmunk. To go down out of the bright October sunlight into
a chamber utterly devoid of any light of any kind, there to remain
groping about in the dark among its companions, squeezing
through narrow side passages, depending on food packed away
in the nest itself or in side galleries branching off from the main
chamber, eating and sleeping in those cramped quarters and get-
ting ever drowsier and drowsier, at last losing consciousness al-
together, to awake and become aware in some inexplicable man-
ner that it is time to come out into the daylight once more—this,
indeed, must be a life of strange contrasts.

But while the dormouse is supposed to be chronically sleepy
at all times, owing probably to its fondness for being abroad at
night and sleeping all day, even in the longest days of summer,
the chipmunk, when it is awake, is most unmistakably awake
from sunrise to sunset, apparently without even a nap at midday
when the days are at their longest and _ hottest.

These ground squirrels are at times rather destructive neigh-
bours, about their worst vice being that of digging up newly
planted corn. They display a great deal of cleverness in the mat-
ter of locating the seed which is usually covered with an inch
or two of earth. Their cheek pouches, which reach back almost
to their shoulders, enable them to carry away astonishingly large
loads and, as they often persist in their nefarious work until the
corn is several inches high, the damage wrought by a few families
of them is sometimes considerable.

Generally speaking, it is only in the spring when their sup-
plies are running short and before the berries have begun to ripen
that they err in this direction. They seldom trouble the ripe
corn to any great extent, even in seasons when nuts are scarce.
In the West they appear to be much more destructive, and are
popularly looked upon as a decided nuisance. They eat all kinds
of berries, strawberries, raspberries and dewberries; while apples,
pears and tomatoes also find favour in their eyes.

Early in the spring they go searching for the coral-red berries
of the wintergreen and mitchella, where the crisp gray moss is

(Snivz1Atponb sp1un7) SMNOAWdIHO NYaLSam

uyre) “A AMA “eh

Chipmunk

drying out around the stumps of long-forgotten pines. In
a way they are hunters, too; I have seen them chasing
the big, noisy, banded-winged locusts of late summer, running
beneath them, as they fly along and pouncing on them when
they finally come to earth. One of these big fellows must make
a very satisfactory luncheon for an animal no larger than a chip-
munk, everything being eaten but the wings and the extremities
of the legs.

Like most rodents, they are a little too fond of robbing
birds’ nests; | am inclined to think, however, that they are less
destructive in this direction than either squirrels or mice. I once
watched a pair of them stalking some spotted sandpipers by the
edge of a mill pond. They would creep up under cover of the
water weed, or lie in ambush behind dried wood or a lily pad
standing aslant in the mud; when they fancied themselves near
enough they would rush out, sometimes both together, and the
frightened sandpipers would open their long wings and lose some
critical moments in getting their balance, and then take their
stiff-winged flight low over the water with anxious whistlings.

The chipmunks were so active and determined about it all
that, seeing them from the other bank, | at first mistook them
for weasels. The sandpipers at last betook themselves away up
stream to the meadows to be rid of the nuisance.

June 5th, 1900, I have just been examining the chipmunk
holes on the hill in the pasture. They are, evidently enough,
all constructed in about the same manner, the chief object in
view being concealment. All agree in having the opening no-
ticeably smaller than the rest of the tunnel. The short, thick grass
around it is green and untrampled to the very edge, and though
scarcely an inch in length, pretty well conceals the narrow door-
way. There is not the least particle of loose dirt scattered any-
where about.

The turf at the mouth of the burrow is soft and elastic,
but at the depth of an inch the hole becomes suddenly larger,
I should say at least twice as large as at the opening, and the
walls are packed surprisingly hard.

At a considerable distance, under the low-growing branches
of some young pines, I found a little pile of newly-dug earth,
something over a foot in diameter and two or three inches high.
Yellow subsoil undoubtedly brought there as fast as it was dug

167

Fox Squirrel

out in the making of one or another of the burrows, the near- —
est of which is several rods away.

Close by one of the recently made burrows I noticed where
the chipmunk had originally intended having his doorway and
twice been obliged to abandon his work on account of unfore-
seen obstruction beneath the surface; roots or stones probably, for
it seems imperative that the shape should be almost perpendicular
for the first few feet. One of these abandoned attempts was only
an inch deep and an inch in diameter at the surface, at the bot-
tom it was flat and decidedly larger. There was no dirt scattered
near, so that apparently even from the very beginning every par-
ticle that is removed is discreetly carrried away in the cheek
pouches of this wily little rodent.

The other hole that was started a few feet away is six inches
deep and corresponds exactly with the first six inches of the
finished burrow, the walls being packed equally hard. It looks
as if the little chap that made it had dug out a passage just
large enough to squeeze into, and as he worked along, had en-
larged it by continually turning around and packing it on all
sides with his feet, in this manner insuring firm walls for his
home, and at the same time lessening the quantity of earth to
be removed.

Fox Squirrel
Sciurus rufiventer neglectus (Gray)

Also called Cat Squirrel.

Length. 23.50 inches.

Description. The largest of the true squirrels, with very long
bushy tail. Colour grizzly or yellowish gray, the hairs
banded with black, and with more or less rusty tints on the
upper surface; underparts pale, ferruginous to nearly white;
tail rusty beneath, bordered with black. Exact colours de-
cidedly variable in different individuals.

Range. Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, northward
through Pennsylvania and New Jersey to central New York.
Now nearly extinct through most of its range. Represented
to the West and South by related varieties. (See below).

Fox squirrels are big vigorous fellows, adapting their habits
to the kind of woods they live in. Those found among hard-

168

CHIPMUNK (Tamiuas striatus) By A. R. Dugmore

a , ih a ae oe ris Peay sdeweet
i=- :
a
-" .
- i -
oe Jor
~ a ess
et
AS a ro)
a Rie
+ ; i a. =

Fox Squirre

woods live very much as the gray squirrels do in summer, but
are generally less provident in the matter of preparing for the
cold season, preferring rather to avoid those regions where the
snow lies deep for any length of time and depending for food
on whatever they may find from day to day, scratching among
fallen leaves for acorns and nuts, and when these fail, living on
the buds of trees as best they may.

In rough weather they keep close at home in their hollow
trees, choosing to go hungry rather than face the cold. In warm
weather they gather wild fruit, berries and mushrooms and go
into the corn fields as soon as the ears have reached the milky
stage. Among the southern pines they make large nests of Span-
ish moss in the tree-tops, and here they bring the cones which
they cut off, just as the red squirrels do the cones of the white
pines in the North, biting off the scales in order to get at the
seeds in a similar manner. The scales scattered about the foot
of their tree often betray them to the squirrel-hunter.

A full-grown fox squirrel, owing to his size and strength,
has probably little to fear from hawks, though a red-tailed hawk
might not fear to attack one on occasion, or a goshawk when
driven south by an unusually hard winter. The fox squirrels”
worst enemies are undoubtedly the wild cat, gray fox and raccoon.

In hardwoods fox squirrels build nests of dry leaves, a large
bunch frequently conspicuously bright yellow; the entrance to a
warmly lined nest of broken up leaves is a small hole in the side.
At other times they live in holes in trees, using dry grass and
strips of soft bark for a lining.

They are much hunted as an article of food, being well
flavoured and heavy, but it requires skilful watching to kill many
of them.

In Florida the ‘‘crackers” look for scattered chips of the pine
cones at the foot of each tree and, finding them recently dropped,
hide near-by and wait patiently for hours to get a shot.

Varieties of the Fox Squirrel

1. Northern Fox Squirrel. Sciurus rufiventer neglectus (Gray).
Description and range as above.

2. Western Fox Squirrel. S. rufiventer Geoffroy. Similar, but
generally partially black, sometimes all black above and

169

Gray Squirrel

rufous below, or mottled above and black beneath. Very ~
variable.
Range. Mississippi Valley, north to South Dakota.

3. Southern Fox Squirrel. S. niger (Linneus). Larger than either
of the above (25.50 inches). Colours variable, generally
entirely black or black and buff above and reddish buff
below. Ears and nose always white, which is never the
case with other species.

Range. Pine woods of Florida, west to Louisiana and north
to Virginia, east of the mountains.

Gray Squirrel

Scturus carolinensis Gmelin

Length. 18 inches.

Description. Similar in build to the fox squirrel, with large
bushy tail. Colour yellowish-gray, individual hairs banded
with rusty-yellow and black, decidedly rusty on the face,
feet and sides. Below white. Hairs of tail rusty-yellow at
base, black in the middle, with white tips.

Range. Florida to southeastern Pennsylvania, Hudson Valley, In-
diana and Missouri; replaced to the North and West by
slightly different geographic varieties.

The best opportunities for watching the ways of gray squir-
rels are to be found in the outskirts of towns and _ villages,
where they are not allowed to be shot at or otherwise molested.
For though less intelligent than the red squirrels, they are quick
to perceive the advantages to be had in a civilized community
while the love of stillness and the untainted air of the forest
does not appear to be universal among them.

Where they are sufficiently protected they make their homes
in shaded trees that have hollow branches, or any cavity in the
trunk that they can enlarge for their accommodation. Here they
live and raise their families and lay up stores for winter, above
rattling streets and humming wires, perfectly indifferent to the
noise and heating air that reeks of human beings crowded to-
gether like cattle. They are comfort-loving animals, and away
in the silent forest, a gray squirrel must be forever on the alert to
guard his hidden stores against the thieving red squirrels and the
wild mice of the woods, and always listening for the rustle of a
fox’s footstep on the leaves, or the distant screaming of a hawk.

17®

aiowmsnqg “q “V¥ 4g (SUISUAUIJOADI SNANIIS) TANNMINOS AVUYD

Gray Squirrel

For the red-shouldered hawks are dangerous enemies, and the
hours they habitually choose to spend in hunting correspond
exactly with the squirrels working hours—from sunrise to ten
o'clock in the morning and from three in the afternoon until near
sunset. They watch cat-like for an opportunity to take some un-
happy squirrel unawares, or circling high above the treetops their
keen eyes penetrate the foliage from constantly varying positions,
searching branch and bole and the carpet of fallen leaves beneath
till, perceiving the flicker of a bushy tail, the long wings close
of a sudden fan-like, and the hunter goes down with a rush to
match his quickness against the quickness of a squirrel. Or the
still more treacherous goshawk and cooper’s hawk, with their
narrower wings and slender, yacht-like build, shoot along with baf-
fling swiftness through the undergrowth, just in order to surprise
the busy harvesters at their work.

The gray squirrels also know that, in the fall, the men that
are found in the woods, unlike the town variety, carry guns
and feed on squirrels to a certain extent. With very little en-
couragement gray squirrels will soon learn to pay you frequent
visits, in your room, if you will only leave a window open for
them within jumping distance of their treetop, a few nuts or a
piece of cake quickly overcoming their shyness. In fact, they often
prove to be something of a nuisance about the house. [Even in
places where they are looked upon as legitimate game they lose
much of their fear of man during the close season of spring
and summer.

Their habits vary but little whether they live in deep forests or
within the limits of atown. Finding a suitable hole in the tree, they
enlarge it to suit them, preferring to have plenty of room inside to
move about.in. The other day I watched one gathering dead leaves
for his bed in an old apple-tree. He would run out along the
branches to where the brown leaves hung shrivelled in clusters of
two or three, rustling in the November wind. Biting off the twig
that bore them, he would hurry back with it to his hole.
Once the leaves were all brushed from the twig as he went in,
and, if ever there was evident surprise and annoyance, it was
depicted on his little gray face when a few seconds later he peered
out of his doorway, looking for the leaves that he missed. Often
half a dozen or more will occupy the same hole, and though
the old males are apt to be unpleasantly ugly and tyrannical,

172

Red Squirrel

they generally appear to get along pretty well on the whole.
They also make nests of leaves in the forks of trees, beeches in
most instances; they cut off the leaves in branches, while they
are still green in summer, and place them in successive layers on
a rough platform of twigs in such a manner as to shed the
rain perfectly, but without leaving room for more than one or
two inmates within.

Gray squirrels warn each other of danger with a kind of flat,
rasping bark, finally prolonged into a whining snarl, distinctly audible
or an eighth of a mile or more in calm weather.

Varieties of the Gray Squirrel

1. Southern Gray Squirrel. Sciurus carolinensis Gmetin. De-
scription and range as above.

2. Northern Gray Squirrel. S. carolinensis leucotis (Gapper).
Lighter and grayer, clear, silvery gray in winter, more yel-
lowish in summer. Perfectly black individuals, known as
black squirrels, occur in some localities, but are merely
melanistic individuals and not a different species.

Range. Alleghanies of Pennsylvania, northward to New Eng-
land, New Brunswick, southern Canada and Minnesota.

3. Bayou Gray Squirrel. S. carolinensis fuliginosus (Bachman).
Colours richer and darker than the southern gray squirrel,
underparts often tinted with ferruginous.

Range. Bayou region of the Louisiana coast.

4. Everglade Gray Squirrel. S. carolinensis extimus Bangs.
Grayer and lighter than the southern gray squirrel and much
smaller.

Range. Southern Florida.

“Many very handsome squirrels of this and other groups are
found in the Western States.
Red Squirrel
Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus Bangs
Called also Chickaree.
Length. 12 inches.
Description. In winter back and upper side of tail bright chest-

nut, sides olive gray, the hairs banded with black; under-

172

RED SQUIRRELS (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus) By W. E. Carlia

5 An
. »
= : % 7 i
=
‘ 5 : : 5 aan
1 - ;
. ‘ ¥ Z . -
i t
ae
‘ :
24 «
j : =a
:
\ ‘
r wie ‘ J
18 ‘ ‘ ;
a
1
i v . ‘ -
ii -
= ‘ —t s is a
F
j
rd ,
7
- a
‘i *
i
i
* - . ’
' 7 -
' = 1 = é
j
1 r
+
; = so ? : =
a
b ; —
- eh a i .
- oa 7 —
n ' 7 I . ae
a ”

,:
‘
-_,
i
l=
AA
i

Red Squirrel

parts grayish-white. In summer no distinct rufous area on
the back, and lower parts pure white with a black stripe
on each side, separating the colours of the upper and lower
parts.

Range. Southern Maine, Nova Scotia and Quebec, and in the
mountains southward, replaced in the lower grounds and in
Labrador by slightly different varieties.

The red squirrel is possessed of more petty vices and fewer
virtues than any other beast that roams the woods. He is quarrel-
some, noisy and mischievous and forever prying into the affairs
of others. In the winter he makes a regular business of rob-
bing his neighbours of the stores of provisions they have gathered,
though he always has more than his share hidden away at home
and most zealously guarded; and in summer he robs birds’ nests
high and low.

Yet one cannot help liking him, for a keen sense of humour
and never failing good spirits tip the balance against all sorts of
evil deeds. Even in northern New England the cold is never
fierce enough to curb his jollity any more than the blistering
heat of July.

You are sure to meet him when driving over country roads
at any time of the year, for, in most of the Northern States, red
squirrels are as common as robins.

Few people realize what thoroughly practical, thrifty and in-
genious little animals they really are; for, unlike most thieves, they are
not in anyway shiftless or lazy, but are steady hard-workers the year
round. There is no idle season for them.

Other squirrels live a careless, gipsy sort of life through the warm
weather, only commencing the labour of harvesting when the nuts
ripen.

But as early as July, while the young squirrels have still to be
watched over and looked after, the industrious red squirrels begin cut-
ting off the green cones of the white pine and work early and late
burying them, half a dozen in a place, under the pine needles, to be
dug up in the winter and early spring and opened for the seeds they
contain.

No amount of snow seems to bother them much when it comes
to locating their buried stores.

By the time the business of gathering pine cones is over for the
season the nuts and acorns are beginning to ripen, and there are fall

173

Red Squirrel

apples to be picked and stored in hollow trees, for the red squirre} is
firm in exacting his tithe of the farmers and looks after the collecting
of it himself. In the matter of corn, however, he prefers to wait until
the farmer has gathered it into his bin, when the squirrel can generally
get it without much loss of time.

The hemlock cones hold their seeds all winter, and there is never
a day of snow or winter sunshine that the red squirrel may not be
seen gathering them from the very tips of the swaying outer branches,
in company with the chattering cross-bills and pine-finches, bent on
the same errand themselves.

Although with very few exceptions red squirrels refuse to
become tame in confinment, most of them are really fond of
human society, their keen intelligence enabling them very
quickly to decide whom they may safely trust. The lone chopper
frequently enjoys the company of the merry little forester who
greets him each morning with a volley of exclamations from the
top of a wood pile, and endeavours to steal his luncheon before
noon time, and later picks up any scattered crumbs, or runs off
with the tallow the chopper keeps to grease his axe helve with.
Red squirrels like nothing better than a chance to run a race
with you when you are driving. One will sit, tail in the air, on
the highest stone of a road-side wall, or a stake in the fence,
until you are just opposite, then off he goes.

If you manage to leave him behind for a little, and then
slow up to see what has become of him, you will see him
come tearing after you at the top of his speed, and go by with
a flourish, at last whisking up into a tree almost out of breath,
where, perched on aconspicuous branch, he may watch you out
of sight, hurling all sorts of epithets after you.

In the early spring red squirrels manage to keep pretty busy
tapping the sugar maples, climbing for the topmost buds of trees
as they begin to swell in the increasing sunlight, and watching
the movements of the newly awakened chipmunks and gray
squirrels, in the hope that even yet they may betray some un-
suspected hoarding of nuts.

But it is no longer a matter of hoarding with red squirrels,
each meal as it comes is now his rule, trusting that the abund-
ance of summer is not far off.

In tapping the maple they gnaw saucer-shaped cavities in

194

YOUNG RED SOUIRREL (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus) By A. R. Dugmore

HOARY MARMOT (Arctomys pruinosus) By W. E. Carlin

Closely related to our Eastern Woodchuck

Red Squirrel

the upper side of a branch and drink the sap that fills them,
coming back a dozen times a day for the sweet refreshment.

They are hearty meat-eaters at all times, though beyond
robbing birds’ nests they are anything but successful hunters.
But they follow the more successful hunters to take advantage of
their luck, and annoy the trapper by stealing the bait from his
traps. Most red squirrels are not satisfied with a single habita-
tion. They must have an underground hole beneath the roots
of a tree at all events, and in addition either a nest among the
branches, or in a hollow tree, or both.

When they can get possession of the deserted nest of a
hawk or crow, they roof it over with moss and strips of bark
and pine needles and have a snug home for all weathers.

In most pine groves there are more such nests occupied by
red squirrels than by the original owners.

At other times they arrange a platform of twigs in a crotch
or against the trunk, and supported by small branches, build
their nest on this, using wet moss and cedar bark and _thatch-
ing it over with pine needles. They also make nests of soft
grass in hollow logs and stumps or beneath a pile of wood.
Red squirrels are most erratic when it comes to laying up stores
for winter, sometimes they will pack away half a bushel of nuts
or apples in a hollow tree, but often it is two or three in one
place and a dozen in another.

Holes beneath stumps and flat stones are favourite hiding
places of theirs. At other times they make little piles of nuts
on the ground and cover them up with leaves, probably intend-
ing to transfer them to safer hiding when the rush of _harvest-
ing is over. They will also wedge nuts, one in a place, in the
forks of small branches, and in cracks in the bark.

Varieties of the Red Squirrel

1. Northern Red Squirrel. Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus Bangs.
Description and range as above.

2. Southern Red Squirrel. S. hudsonicus loquax Bangs. Larget
and brighter red in winter with under parts always pure
white.

Range. Southern Maine, Michigan and Minnesota to Virginia
and Indiana, except in the Alleghanies.

17S

Flying Squirrel

3. Labrador Red Squirrel. S$. hudsonicus (Erxleben). Red
colour in winter paler, fringe on tail yellowish or gray,
lower parts decidedly gray.

Range. Labrador and Hudson Bay region to Alaska.
Numerous red squirrels inhabit the Western States, those
on the North West coast being quite brown in color.

Flying Squirrel
Scturopterus volans (Linnzeus)

Length. 9.40 inches.

Description. Fur soft, dense and mole-like; skin of the sides
produced and susceptible of being spread out when the legs
are extended, so as to form a sort of parachute. Drab above,
irregularly tinged with russet, slightly brighter in summer;
under parts pure white to the roots of the hair.

Range. Northern New York and Southern New England to
Georgia and west to the plains. A slightly different variety
replaces this in Florida, while in the Northern part of its
range there occurs a much larger, quite different species.
(See below.)

Flying squirrels are so persistently nocturnal that it is ex-
tremely difficult to learn much about their habits. Yet they are
such beautiful, gentle, dreamy-eyed little forest folk, that one can-
not help wishing to know more about them. What do they do
with themselves in the quiet woods all night long, pattering
about among the leaves?

If you watch with exceeding patience, you may see them in
the dim light sailing from one tree to the next, but life is hardly
long enough to learn much about them in this manner.

When you have found a flying-squirrel tree it is easy
enough to rap on the bark with a stick and rout them out
into daylight, and make them show off their power of flying to
your satisfaction; but that will be about all you will get out of
them at such times.

I have made them come out on dark cloudy days and
watched them patiently, but their patience far exceeded mine; in
fact, | am not quite sure that they did not even go to sleep clinging
there against the bark, like lichens, which they so much resem-
bled as to suggest that their clouded cream buff colouring might

179

PINE SQUIRREL (Scturus hudsonicus richarasont) By W. E. Carlin

__A Western representative of the Eastern Red Squirrel. Photographed in the Bitter Root Mountains, after many trials, by baiting
with a species of cone.

Flying Squirrel

serve them well at imitating the fungus growth or the bark of a dead
tree. Such protective copying is to be seen all through the woods.
On the same trees I noticed small, dull-white, half-moon-shaped
patches of fungus, and on closer inspection found that fully two-thirds
of them were moths flattened against the under sides of the branches
to avoid the drip of the rain.

Unless disturbed, Flying Squirrels pass the day asleep in their
warm nests, generally in some deserted Woodpecker’s hole or natural
cavity in a decayed tree-trunk, though they are quite ready when
opportunity offers to establish themselves in holes about the eaves or
in the garret of the farm-house. The cold winter months seem also
to be passed in the same way, if, indeed, the little animals are not
entirely torpid at this season.

During the milder parts of the year they come forth about dusk,
and, so far as we know, their activity continues throughout the night.
From tree to tree they go in pursuit of food or chasing one another
about in pure enjoyment of life and motion. Alighting upon a tree-
trunk they always go upward, scrambling and jumping until they
reach the topmost branches, when they launch forth in their parachute-
like descent, their legs stretched out to the utmost, so as to extend the
folds of skin on either side, to which they owe their power of sailing.
Flight it cannot properly be called, since they can only glide down-
ward until just about to come to rest, when by a deflection of the
body they are enabled through their momentum to shoot up diag-
onally a few inches and grasp the tree-trunk, ready for another climb.
They sometimes cover long distances when they start from a consid-
erable altitude, and Doctor Bachman states that he has seen them sail
from the top of one tree to the base of another fifty yards away.

The young are reared in the nests and vary in number from two
to four. Doctor Merriam has found them in the Adirondacks half-
grown by the end of April.

In their food Flying Squirrels are not very particular. They sub-
sist mainly upon nuts, and, from Doctor Merriam’s experience, seem
to prefer acorns, hazel and beech nuts. Insects, he states, particu-
larly beetles, do not go amiss, and they are also known to eat portions
of dead birds. Some of these little animals regularly find their way
into our cabin in the pine woods of New Jersey, and here they vary
their diet to a considerable degree, sharing with the White-footed
Mice any scraps of victuals that may be left exposed.

As pets Flying Squirrels are exceedingly gentle and affectionate.

177

Flying Squirrel

When raised from the nest they become perfectly accustomed to the
presence of human beings, and seem to delight in clinging to one’s
clothing and taking refuge in any convenient pocket.

Professor F. H. King, in describing some that he kept in his
house, says: ‘‘I have never known wild animals that became so
perfectly familiar and confiding as these young squirrels did; and they
seemed to get far more enjoyment from playing upon my person than
in any other place, running in and out of pockets and between my
coat and vest. After the frolic was over they always esteemed it a
great favour if | would allow them to crawl into my vest in front and
go to sleep there, where they felt the warmth of my body; and it was
very rare indeed during the first six months that they failed to ask the
privilege; indeed, they came to consider themselves abused if turned
out. When forced to go to sleep by themselves, the attitude taken
was amusing: the nose was placed upon the table or other object it
happened to be upon, and then it would walk forward over it, rolling
itself up until the nose almost protruded from between the hind legs;
the tail was then wrapped in a horizontal coil about the feet, and the
result was an exquisite little ball of life in soft fur which it seemed
almost sacrilegious to touch.”

Species and Varieties of Flying Squirrels

We have two very different flying squirrels in the East, each
divisible into two slightly different races.

1. Southern Flying Squirrel. Sciuropterus volans Linneus. De-
scription and range as above.

2. Florida Flying Squirrel. S. volans querceti Bangs. More russet
than the preceding, somewhat rusty on the under parts.

Range. Replaces the last in southern Georgia and Florida.

3. Northern Flying Squirrel. S. sabrinus macrotis Mearns. Larger
than the above (11.25 inches long), with the fur of the under
parts always gray at the base. Colour, cinnamon brown in
summer, sooty brown in winter, a black ring around the eye.

Range. Maine, southern Canada, and the mountains of New
York (probably also in the Alleghanies). ‘

t. Severn River Flying Squirrel. S. sabrinus (Shaw). Still larger

(14 inches long), with shorter and broader ears.
Range. Arctic America to northern Canada.

178

By W. E. Carlin

a
3
38
2
“4
=
~~
eS
AQ,
=
3
ma
8
ys
=
aa
fas
faa
—
2)
oO
n
©)
Zi
iS
ea
4
oy

MOLES AND SHREWS

(Insectivora)

THE animals of this order are distributed in all parts of the
world except Australia. The only representatives in North America
are the shrews and moles, and, indeed, these two groups make
up the bulk of the order throughout its range.

Nearly all the insectivores are terrestrial, the moles burrowing
in the ground, the shrews living in burrows and also on the surface.
They are mairily insectivorous as their name implies, though some
species vary their diet.

Our American species are all of small size and are clothed
with very soft, silky fur. The eyes are small and rudimentary,
while the teeth bear considerable resemblance to those of the
Carnivora.

Our two families may be distinguished as follows:

l. Shrews. Family Soricide. Fore feet similar to the hind
ones and not modified for digging. Appearance mouse-
like, but with a much more slender-pointed snout.
Scarcely a trace of an external ear.

Il. Moles. Family Talpide. Fore feet very broad and turned
on edge, specially adapted for digging. No external ear
whatever.

SHREWS
(Family Soricide)

Our shrews are all of small size, some of them being the
most minute mammals known. They have the same soft fur
as the moles, but both eyes and external ears are better developed
though still inconspicuous, as we should expect, from their living
more or less in subterranean runways.

They form three well marked groups: the short-tailed shrews,
long-tailed shrews and the marsh shrews.

179

Short-tailed Shrew
Short-tailed Shrew

Blarina brevicauda (Say)
Called also Mole Shrew.

Length. 5 inches.

Description. Rather stout, tail short, about one-quarter the length
of the head and body. Colour: sooty plumbeous, slightly
lighter below; varying in depth in changing light as the fur
is disturbed. Front teeth chestnut coloured at the tips.

Range. Atlantic States to Nebraska, south to Ohio, Maryland
and the mountains of North Carolina. Replaced southward
by slightly different varieties.

There is a class of little beasts common enough through-
out all our Northern States, yet hardly known by name or
otherwise. Resembling the mice in outward apppearance; in
their manner of living and getting their food they may almost
be said to copy the habits of the weasels. They have the lithe,
supple bodies and short legs of the weasel tribe without the
characteristic slimness of form; their flesh, like that of the weasel’s,
is dark, fibrous and strong smelling. This might be attributed
to their similarly carnivorous habits, if it were not true that the
flesh of most meat-eating animals is comparatively light-coloured
and tender.

It might even be objected that shrews are not truly car-
nivorous but insectivorous, the fact that they are actually the smallest
of beasts rendering them powerless against all but a very few of
their kindred.

But ravenously fond of all kinds of flesh they certainly are,
and I believe that the young of the smaller ground-nesting birds
and perhaps young mice are frequently eaten by them. It would
not greatly surprise me to discover that they occasionally attack
creatures larger than themselves. Of the several distinct species
that should be found in most of the Eastern States, | have found
but one really abundant. This one is catalogued as the mole
shrew, and is found almost everywhere in great numbers. It is
commonly mistaken for a genuine mole, and small wonder; about
the only conspicuous difference being in the size of the fore feet,
A mole’s fore feet are broad and hand-shaped to the extent of

180

Short-tailed Shrew

being a deformity, and stand out from the shoulders like flippers.
A shrew’s feet, on the contrary, including those of the little chap
under discussion, are perfectly normal in appearance and like those
of mice.

The mole shrew is four or five inches long, the tail about
one. It has a cylindrical, pig-like body, and dark ashy gray fur,
lighter beneath. They are obstinate, savage, little brutes, but are
unquestionably of immense service to the farmers, spending their
lives in a most vigorous pursuit of insects of all kinds. They
combine impartially the habits of the moles and shrews, some-
times burrowing along just beneath the turf which they push up
in low ridges which intersect each other, apparently quite at
random, without exhibiting any of the system characteristic of the
works of the mole.

This is evidently done in search of insects, though the tunnels
made in this manner are afterwards used as runways, and it may
be for nurseries. This partially underground existence shows its
effect on the species, not only in the mole-like shape of the
body, but in the size of the fore feet, which are a little larger
and broader than the hind ones, the fore feet of the other shrews
being small and delicate.

But the mole shrew in adopting the habits of the moles has
not given over the ways of its »wn people by any means. A
true mole on the surface of the ground is a creature completely
out of its element, its chief desire being to bury itself from
sight as quickly as possible. The mole shrew, on the contrary,
spends much of its time in the open air from preference, running
about over the fallen leaves of the forest or along the shaded
galleries of stone walls, which it is as fond of following as
is the weasel.

Their keen noses enable them to scent meat at a considerable
distance, and when they have succeeded in finding any that may
have been left by the larger hunters, they fall upon it ravenously,
tearing at it and devouring it with all the ferocity of wolves.

One that I caught in a trap had already, when I found it,
disposed of the raw meat, which had served as bait, and when
confined in a cage immediately seized upon whatever meat was
offered it, whether raw or cooked, without discriminating be-
tween kinds. Beef, pork and cold chicken—all went the same
way, while the fury of his appetite was being appeased. Both in

181

Ghort-tailed Shrew

eating and drinking the projecting taper-like nose or trunk was
turned up in order to enable him to use his mouth more freely,
for a shrew’s mouth opens from beneath almost like that of a
shark. The sensitive trunk is doubtless of service in poking
about beneath the leaves and in soft earth after worms, of which
the mole shrew is particularly fond.

Many of them take up their winter quarters in cellars where
they forage around in dusky corners for worms and insects, or
help themselves to whatever meat is left within their reach.
Their holes are dug into the surrounding soil and are probably
being multiplied and extended throughout the winter in search
of worms.

There is no increasing pile of dirt at the entrance to indi-
cate the little miner's progress, however. Like a true mole, he
disposes of the loose earth by pressing it aside as he goes
along, making a clear passage with smooth, compact walls.

None of the shrews appear to hibernate, and whether the
mole shrew ever passes the entire winter burrowing about in the
ground beneath the frost, or not, is hard to determine. The genuine
moles are believed to occupy themselves in this manner all winter
long and, of course, it is quite possible that the mole shrew
may do likewise, but | have my doubts about it.

At all events, numbers of them are out on the surface of
the snow, even in the very coldest weather, when the ground
beneath is like stone. Part of their food at such times is ob-
tained by gleaning after the owls and foxes and other hunters
of the woodland. If they depended on this alone most of them
would starve long before spring, as even in warm weather they
require food oftener than almost any other creature of their size,
and though insects in small numbers are always to be found on
the snow, these would hardly suffice to appease a mole-shrew’s
hunger. I believe that they get the greater part of their food at this
season by burrowing about among the dead leaves beneath the
snow in the forests, gathering the dormant insects that habitu-
ally pass the winter in such places.

The disagreeable, musky smell which they emit when frightened
or angry serves to protect them from many of the marauders
of the forest, but not from all. Owls of all kinds appear to be
well pleased with their flavours, and catch and devour them in
larze numbers.

182

Short-tailed Shrew

Neither are weasels to be deterred by their odour from in-
cluding them as a regular article of diet, but cats, and I believe
a majority of the hawks, only eat them when compelled to by
stress of hunger, though they frequently kill them, either mis-
taking them for mice, or else doing it for fun.

I have often picked up recently killed specimens that bore the
unmistakable marks of the claws of a bird of prey, while cats are
forever bringing them home from their hunting trips and leaving
them about on the lawn or in the paths. I have never known
a cat to bring one of them into the house, or show the least atom
of pride over its capture. Even the most inexperienced of kittens,
who invariably go off into perfect ecstasies of delight if they have
succeeded in bagging a baby mouse, or a fledgling fallen from the
nest, show only indifference or contempt when there is only a
mole shrew to exhibit.

Foxes, I believe, usually bring them home for the cubs to play
with, as they do everything else that comes within their reach in
summer, but I am inclined to think that such unsavoury mor-
sels are seldom used as food by them during the season of
abundance, though undoubtedly there are often times in midwinter
when many a fox is glad to get even a mole shrew for supper.

Species and Varieties of Short-tailed Shrews

Beside the common short-tailed shrew and its several geo-
graphic varieties, we have another quite distinct smaller species of
a different colour. The eastern species and varieties are as fol-
lows:

1. Northern Short-tailed Shrew. Blarina brevicauda (Say). De-
scription and range as above.

2. Southern Short-tailed Shrew. B. brevicauda carolinensis (Bach-
man). Smaller throughout, otherwise similar.

Range. Southern Indiana and Virginia to Florida.

3. Everglade Short-tailed Shrew. B. brevicauda peninsule (Mer-

riam). _Grayer than the last, with larger feet.
Range. Tropical Florida, especially in the Everglades.

4. Brown Shrew. B. parva (Say). Very distinct from any of
the above; colour dark-brown or iron-gray, ashy below;
occurs in the same localities as the short-tailed shrew and
doubtless is identical in habits.

Range. Nebraska to southern Pennsylvania and New Jersey
and southward, except in the mountains.

183

Common Shrew

5. Florida Brown Shrew. B. floridana Merriam. Rather larger,
with narrower skull and white teeth.

Range. Tropical Florida.

Common Shrew
Sorex personatus Geoffroy

Called also Long-tailed Shrew, Shrew Mouse.

Length. 3.75 inches.

Description. Small and slender, with a long-pointed snout sup-
porting long ‘‘ whiskers.” Tail nearly as long as the head
and body. Colour dark-brown above, hairs slaty at their
base, brighter on the rump, and shading gradually to gray
on the underside. j

Range. Canada to Indiana and southern New Jersey, and in the
Alleghanies to North Carolina. A somewhat similar shrew
is found in the low ground in North Carolina and _ several
others in the North. (See below).

The common shrew or shrew mouse is a smaller and much
more attractive little animal than the short-tailed shrew. The
smaller varieties are easily the smallest of our quadrupeds; a
common mouse looks overgrown and clumsy beside one of them.

Shrew mice are active throughout the winter, skipping about
over the surface of the snow from tree to tree, poking their
delicate, proboscis-like noses into crevices of the bark, and in-
vestigating the dark interiors of hollow trees at the bottoms of
which they have to root about in the crumbling wood and
vegetable mould for their accustomed prey.

Underneath wood piles and logs are favourite haunts of these
funny little beasts, and I believe that it is in such places as
these that they bring up their families. Both in winter and
summer they appear to prefer the neighbourhood of such little
streams as neither freeze nor become stagnant at either season.

Like all of the tribe of insect eaters this little shrew finds
the summer drought the most disastrous season of the year; at
such times many of them perish, evidently from thirst.

I have never had an opportunity of observing their method
of hunting in warm weather. All the living specimens that |
have found, except in winter, were crouching beneath old boards

184

Common Shrew

or wood piles, but knowing their choice of food and the places
they inhabit and their quaint way of getting about, it is easy
to imagine them stalking crickets and beetles in the shade of
the humbler growth of the forest. No doubt they get lots of
fun and breathless excitement and suspense before certain of the
larger and more active insects are subdued. With the exception
of some of the weasels they are perhaps the most hot blooded,
energetic, excitable little beasts alive.

Dr. Merriam, speaking of their voracious habits, states that he
once confined three of these restless little beasts under an ordinary
tumbler. ‘‘ Almost immediately they commenced fighting, and in
a few minutes one was slaughtered and eaten by the other two.
Before night one of them killed and ate its only surviving com-
panion, and its abdomen was much distended by the meal.
Hence in less than eight hours one of these tiny wild beasts
had attacked, overcome, and ravenously consumed two of its
own species, each as large and heavy as itself.” Of the rapid
progress of the shrew when at large, he says, ‘‘if one is sitting
quietly in the woods it sometimes happens that a slight rust-
ling reaches the ear. There is no wind but the eye rests upon
a fallen leaf that seems to move. Presently another stirs and
perhaps a third turns completely over. Then something evan-
escent, like the shadow of an embryonic mouse, appears and
vanishes before the retina can catch its perfect image :
Its ceaseless activity, and the rapidity with which it darts from
place to place is truly astonishing, and rarely permits the observer
a correct impression of its form.”

I have never seen a live marsh-shrew though | have hunted
and set traps for them along various little brooks and_ similar
moist and watery places. It would appear that they occupy
much the same position among the shrews that minks and otters
hold in the weasel tribe, swimming about or diving beneath the
surface for minnows or water beetles, or racing along the margin
to stop here and there to overturn wet leaves or dig in the
mud for worms.

Tadpoles and caddis worms and the multitudinous variety of
wriggling larve that inhabit the bottoms of little brooks must
furnish them with sufficient food at all seasons. In all likelihood
they also make frequent excursions to higher and drier ground
as the whim seizes them.

185

Common Shrew

They are considerably larger than the common shrew and
darker coloured, black above and white or ashy beneath; like
muskrats they have the hind feet and tail broadened and fringed
with stiff hairs for swimming.

Species and Varieties of Long-tailed Shrews

There are a number of minute long-tailed shrews which are
perfectly distinct from one another, but so small are they and
so much alike in superficial appearance that it is hard to dis-
tinguish them without dealing with technical terms. If we examine

= ON

CRT

LG E44

Upper jaw of Shrew enlarged, showing “ unicuspid teeth.” (Ajter Muller.)

the teeth of a shrew we will find in the upper jaw three kinds;
first, a pair of large protruding incisor teeth in the front, almost
tusks when we consider the size of the shrew; second, three
large teeth (molars) on each side in the back of the mouth, and
third, four or five simple pointed teeth on each side, situated
between the other two. These last are called (in the shrew)
unicuspid or single pointed teeth, and furnish us the best aid in
distinguishing these little animals.
Our species may be grouped as follows:

A. LENGTH 3.80—4.60 INCHES. FIVE UNICUSPID TEETH ON EACH SIDE
Al. TAIL LESS THAN 1.80 INCHES

1. Common Shrew. Sorex personatus Geoffrey. Description and
range as above.

2 Labrador Shrew. S. personatus miscix Bangs. Larger, paler and
grayer.

Ranee Labrador and Hudson Bay region.

3. Smoky Shrew. S. fumeus Miller. Larger than the common
shrew, and dark slate coloured, shading into lighter ash
below, browner in summer.

Range. Colder and mountainous regions, New England, New
York and in the Alleghanies.

186

Marsh Shrew

4- Southern Shrew. S. longirostris Bachman. Externally very
much like the common shrew, but with the snout and
skull much larger, and the third unicuspid tooth smaller
than the fourth.

Range. Bertie Co. and Raleigh, North Carolina.

5. Fisher's Shrew. S. fishert (Merriam). Similar but larger and
duller.

Range. Dismal Swamp, Virginia.

A2. TAIL VERY LONG (2.20 INCHES) AND HEAVY

6. Long-tailed Shrew. S. macrurus Batchelder. Above, dark slate,
below, smoky gray. Easily known by the very thick tail
with a rather long pencil of hairs at the tip.

Range. Higher parts of the Adirondacks and Catskills.

B. VERY SMALL}; LENGTH 3.20—3.40 INCHES. APPARENTLY ONLY FOUR
UNICUSPID TEETH ON EACH SIDE, THE THIRD BEING EXCEEDINGLY SMALL

7. Hoy’s Shrew. S. hoyt Baird. Brown above, shading to gray
beneath, a touch of fulvous between the front legs. The
smallest North American mammal.

Range. Minnesota to Nova Scotia and the Adirondacks.

Marsh Shrew
Sorex albibarbis (Cope)
Also called Water Shrew.

Length. 6 inches.

Description. Shaped like the common shrew but much larger,
with a body nearly the size of a Blarina. Colour, blackish
slate, chin whitish beneath clouded with dusky. Tail, dark
above, white below.

Range. Labrador and Canada to the Adirondacks and Alleghanies
of Pennsylvania. From Minnesota west occurs a_browner
species (S. palustris) and still others on the Pacific coast.

187

MOLES
Family Talpide

Common Mole
Scalops aquaticus (Linnzus)

Called also Naked-tailed Mole.

Length. 6.40 inches.

Description. Hands large and naked with powerful nails, hind
feet small and of usual shape, snout long and pointed, tail
short and naked. Fur glossy silvery gray, varying in shade
when disturbed or placed in different light; often tinged
rusty.

Range. Sseatherh Canada, southward in the lowlands to Florida,
where it is represented in the southern part of the peninsula
by the somewhat smaller Florida mole (S. aquaticus flori-
danus). A browner variety also occurs on Anastasia Island,
Fla., the island mole (S. anastase Bangs).

Our common mole differs but little from the well-known mole
of Europe that for centuries has disfigured the rich English lawns
to the rage and disgust of the gardener.

Our species is responsible for the little heaps of new earth
which, with each recurring summer, are thrown up to deface
our own lawns. Morning after morning new _ hillocks stand
out defiantly, extending the line of diminutive earthworks along
the turf.

These heaps are not true mole-hills, but just the loose earth
thrown up by the little miner as the easiest way of being rid
of that which he displaces in digging for worms.

His work being usually carried on at a depth of five or
six inches, it is evident that he must dig the earth away with his
forepaws until it comes within reach of his hind feet with which
he kicks it still further back.

When a certain amount has gathered behind him, judging
from observations, | should say enough to fill the tunnel for a
space of five or six inches, he manages, somehow, to push the
whole along the narrow passage to the last opening made to

188

Common Mele

the surface. It must require a great deal of strength to accom-
plish this, taking into consideration the tendency lawns have for
packing under such conditions. By the time he has attained a
distance of a yard or more from his last dumping place, the exer-
tion apparently becomes too great and he opens up a new outlet
to the surface, and another heap is started. In this manner and in
sleeping the mole spends practically all his time; forcing his un-
lighted way along with gimlet-like nose and scooping feet, the
confining earth crowding in all about him, restricting every move-
ment of his body.

In winter he conducts his labours at a greater depth in order
to escape the frost. In spring I have found recently made tunnels
in the subsoil four feet or more below the surface.

The American mole is also said to construct true mole-hills
similar to those of the more famous Old World species though
more deeply submerged.

A real mole-hill is an ingenious arrangement of galleries in
the hard-packed earth, Surrounding the nest-chamber as a_ safe-
guard and a means of escape. Two galleries encircle the
chamber at distance of a few inches one above the other, and
connected with it and with each other by numerous short passages,
insuring a quick and certain means of retreat in any direction.
From the lower gallery other passages decend to the main road-
way of the colony, which is an extended passage always kept
open and free from obstructing roots and earth, and used by
all the individuals of a colony in going from their nest to their
diggings.

| have never seen much evidence, however, that our common
mole works in colonies as the star-nosed and European species do.
It seems to me rather that each starts off by himself as soon as
he is able to dig alone, burrowing along at random in whatever
direction food appears to be most abundant.

Brewer’s Mole
Parascalops breweri (Bachman)
Also called Hairy-tailed Mole.

Length. 5.80 inches.
Description. Dark gray, tail blackish and thickly haired, rather
longer than that of the preceding; nose and hands similar.

189

Star-nosed Mole

Range. Northern North America, south to the mountains of New
Jersey and the Alleghanies.

This is a distinctly northern animal, occurring for the most part
above the range of the common mole. Its habits seem to be
essentially simitar to those of the latter species, though, according
to Prof. Baird, it constructs its burrows at a greater distance
below the surface of the ground. Dr. Merriam, who found it
common on the edge of the Adirondack wilderness, though not
in the coniferous forests, says: ‘‘Its habits, so far as | am aware,
resemble those of its nearest relative (Scalops aquaticus), except
that its mounds do not contain a chamber and surface-opening,
and its galleries are usually made a little deeper. Like this species,
it is most common in dry meadow lands, while the star-nosed is
usually found in moist and swampy places. It is not known to
indulge in the little ‘noonday excursions’ which are character-
istic of the last-named species.”

On the Pennsylvania Alleghanies this mole occurs in com-
pany with various other northern animals and birds, which find
there, in the higher altitude, the same congenial conditions of
environment that prevail at lower levels much farther north.

Star-nosed Mole

Condylura cristata (Linnzus)

Length. 6.80 inches.

Description. Dark brownish gray, paler beneath, tail long and
hairy—sometimes very thick at the base. Snout with a re-
markable naked appendage, somewhat resembling a star.

Range. Northern North America, south through the middle states
and farther in the mountains.

The star-nosed mole is a creature almost as well-fitted for
a partially aquatic life as the otter and mink, and, as a matter
of fact, does pass most of its time about the water; pushing ex-
tensive tunnels through the black peaty soil of swamps and along
the borders of little brooks and ponds. The soft, black loam is
thrown up in frequent heaps a foot, more or less, in diameter;
the opening of the burrow being under the bank, and as often
beneath the water as above. The tunnel itself must frequently
be flooded to the great discomfort of its inmates.

1Q90

xe eA “a
‘teh eS
aS

VX) eh NS

Rat ee Oe ho

MARSH SHREW (Sorex palustris) By W. E. Carlin

Photographed in the Bitter Root Mountains at an altitude of 8,500 feet. The party surrounded him while he was crossing a large rock,
and he hesitated long enough to allow Mr. Carlin to make an exposure.

be =!

Sy ©

me = Ly oa

Star-nosed Mole

! have never found their nests or young, and can not help
wondering how they manage in times of freshet, when the
meadows and swamps where they dwell are submerged.

But the old ones show no fear of the water; | have fre-
quently seen them swimming both under water and on the
surface, even where the current was pretty strong, and have
always observed them to be perfectly confident and unfrightened
at such times.

Drought seems to affect them much more severely than
freshet, and in hot weather, after a few weeks without rain,
many of them are to be found dead, evidently having perished
from thirst. The star-nosed mole feeds principally upon worms
and whatever else of insect life it comes across in its under-
ground rambles, and judging by the carnivorous tastes of its
relatives, I have little doubt that it varies this diet with small
fish and reptiles and their eggs as well as the flesh of warm-
blooded creatures whenever it is to be obtained.

If they really hibernate in winter it must be only in an
interrupted sort of way, for it is not very uncommon for them to
be out along unfrozen brooks in the coldest weather, and certainly
either this or the common mole is often moving about just beneath
deep snow, the peculiar position of the fore paws of the creature
leaving a track not easily to be confounded with that of any
other animal.

The most feasible theory would seem to be that they pass the
winter deep down in the swamps, below the reach of the frosts,
where they may carry on their subterranean work at their leisure,
occasionally entering brooks to swim about beneath the ice in
pursuit of water-beetles and the like.

One, which I caught in the early part of last February, 1go1,
must have been swimming near the middle of the brook not
far from the bottom, where the water was six or eight inches
deep; and although it had been in the trap under water for
several days where I found it, its fur still kept out the water
and dried as readily as otter fur, exhibiting the true quality of
the coat of a swimming animal.

What is the life of these little earth folk like? They see
and know little of the things most familiar to us and the other
creatures that love the sun-warmed air and the sky.

Most so-called nocturnal creatures are fond of the sun and

19!

Star-nosed Mole

bask in it at mid-day, even those that are most active at night
like their sun-bath at noon.

But these little ‘‘ ground-dwellers” actually appear to dislike
the touch of the sun from the manner in which they avoid it.
They can know little more of the grass and flowers than the
moist touch of the colourless root fibres that fringe the ceilings
of their tunnels and the first tender shoots of the water-plants
they encounter beneath the ice months before winter shows
signs of breaking above ground.

Rare water-beetles and the larve of insects, which famous
entomologists would gladly give years of patient study to learn
more about, must be every-day common-place matters to the
inole, but whether his ‘‘dim-eyed understanding” holds any
definite image of the things he so diligently searches for or not is
never to be known. Does he really distinguish between the
various kinds, | wonder, more than their taste and the crunch of their
crisp wing covers between his teeth? I feel certain, that while he is
digging away earnestly down in the dark for his dinner, such dull
thought as he has is centred on the prospects of a lucky catch,
and naturally certain species of fat and well-flavoured grubs would
appeal more strongly to his appetite than others.

By the law of just compensation, his immense appetite and the
matter of eating, which occupies so very much of his time, ought
rightly to yield him a great deal of pleasure, there seems so little
else for him to enjoy.

BATS
(Chiroptera)

Bats are at once separated from all other mammals by their
peculiar modification for flight. The fore-limbs are much elongated,
especially the fingers, and a thin extensible membrane stretches
over this frame-work, connecting also with the sides of the body
and the hind legs. Another membrane stretches between the hind
legs, known as the interfemoral membrane.

Besides their flying apparatus, bats are peculiar in having their
hind legs twisted around in such a way that the knee bends back-
wards, which render it exceedingly difficult for them to walk, a
mere flapping shuffle being the result of their best efforts. On the
wing, however, their movements are exceedingly graceful, and they
turn and wheel in their varied evolutions with the greatest ease.

Other structures frequently mentioned in the description of
bats are the peculiar leaf-like appendages to the nose and the
elongated lobe of the ear or tragus.

In their general anatomy and in their den-
tition, bats show a closer relationship to the
insectivora (shrews and moles), and may, indeed,
be regarded as a highly specialized off-shoot
from that group.

Bats are distributed in all parts of the world,
and vary in size from the small mouse-like
species to the big flying foxes of the Malay
region, the expanded wings of which measure
as much as thirty inches from tip to tip.

These large bats and their allies are fruit

Ear of Bat, shia he i : :
tragus. (After Miller) eaters, but the majority of the species, including

all our Eastern American bats, are insectivorous, and feed while
on the wing.

Bats are nocturnal in habits, and seem to be most active at
dusk and early in the morning, just before dawn. The hours
of day-time they spend at rest, hanging head downward by their

193

Leaf-Nosed Fruit Bat

hind feet, in some dark building, cave, or hollow tree. In
winter many bats hibernate in similar quarters, but there is also
a southward migration of certain species, like that of the birds.

The voice of bats is exceedingly high-pitched and squeaking,
and is most often heard when they have been captured or dis-
turbed during retirement in the day-time.

In such of our eastern bats as have been studied during the
breeding season, two young seem to be the regular number in
each litter, and they are usually born in July.

Our American bats represent three families, as follows :

I. Leaf-nosed Bats. Family Phyllostomatidie. Size large, tail usually
wanting, a curious leaf-like appendage on the end of the nose.

Il. Free-tatled Bats. Family Noctilionide. Size rather small,
tail present but the terminal half free from the interfemoral
membrane, projecting beyond it. No appendage on the nose.

II]. Common Bats. Family Vespertilionide. Similar to the last
but with the interfemoral membrane reaching to the tip of
the tail.

LEAF-NOSED BATS

(Family Phyllostomatide)

Leaf-Nosed Fruit Bat

Artibeus perspicillatus (Linnzus)

Length. 2.75 inches.

Description. Head broad and thick, nose-leaf, consisting of a
high-pointed central lobe and two_ smaller lateral ones
separated from the middle one by the nostrils. No tail.
Interfemoral membrane reaching to the ankles, but much
hollowed out in the middle. Colour, deep brown or gray,
with more or less ashy tips to the fur.

Range. Tropical America, north of Key West, Florida.

This is only a rare straggler to our southernmost coast, and
is the only representative of the leaf-nosed or vampire bats that
we have in the eastern United States, though one occurs in
California and another in Texas.

194

Fierida Free-Tailed Bat; Common Bats

In tropical America they are numerous, and feed mainly upon
fruit, as does the present species; two species, however, suck
blood from living animals, and concerning them many fanciful
stories have been written.

FREE-TAILED BATS

(Family Noctilionide )

Florida Free-Tailed Bat

Nyctinomus cynocephalus (Le Conte)

Length. 2.50.

Description. Ears nearly united on top of the head, sides of the
snout with deep wrinkles, short spines on the muzzle and on
the outside of the ear. Colour, plumbeous or dusky brown,
fur whitish at the base.

Range. South Atlantic and Gulf states.

Habits apparently similar to the bats of the next family.

Common Bats
(Family Vespertilionida)

The bats of this family, found in the eastern United States,
may be distinguished as follows :

A. EARS VERY LARGE, JOINED TOGETHER BY THEIR BASES IN FRONT.
Big-eared Bat.

B. EARS MODERATE, NOT JOINED TOGETHER IN FRONT.

I. Interfemoral membrane covered completely with fur on the

upper side, uniform with the back. Red Bat and Hoary Bat.

Il Interfemoral membrane naked or only sparsely haired, near
the base.

1. Fur black, with silvery white tips. Sz/ver-haired Bat.

2. Fur light, yellowish brown, banded or mottled with

dusky. Pipistrelle and Leather-winged Bat.

3. Fur dark, glossy brown, not mottled. Big Brown Bat,

Little Brown Bat and Twilight Bat.

195

Big-eared Bat; Little Brown Bat
Big-eared Bat

Corynorhinus macrotis (Le Conte)

Length. 4.20 inches.

Description. Ears very large, joined together in front; a round
hump or swelling on each side of the head, between the
eye and the nostril. Hair above, yellowish brown; below,
grayish white, throat darker and tinged with yellow; all hairs
par: brown at the base.

Range. Gulf coast north to Kentucky and South Carolina.

Little Brown Bat

Myotis lucifugus (Le Conte)

Length. 3.40 inches.

Description. Fur above, glossy brown; paler and more yellowish
below; wing membranes naked except a narrow strip near
the body.

Range. Whole of North America east of the Rocky Mountains.
Covering the same range there is a very similar species,
Say’s Bat (M. subulatus), with thinner membranes, longer
ears and narrower skull. These and the Pipistrelle are the
smallest of our bats.

Bats are easily the queerest things to be found in this part
of the world.

In spite of their general abundance, and their way of con-
gregating more thickly about dwellings than anywhere else, their
ways are little known. We know, at least, that they are warm-
blooded, furry, milk-giving little inhabitants of dark, stuffy cor-
ners of old buildings and hollow trees. Awake, at the most,
some four out of every twenty-four hours of their drowsy little
lives, they never make any nests or even attempt to fix over
the crannies where they hide and where the little bats are born.
These helpless things are not left at home at the mercy of fora-
ging rats and mice. When the old bat flits off into the twilight
the youngsters often go with her clinging about her neck,
swinging away over the tree-tops and along the foggy
water-side, while she chases the numberless little flying things of
the dark.

196

Little Brown Bat

At times, however, she deposits them on the branch of a
tree, where they hang sheltered by the leaves, while she goes
off foraging by herself.

The wings of a bat might be pretty accurately described as
abnormally-webbed fore feet. The bones of the fore arm and the
fingers are lengthened and drawn out to such an extent, that a
man in like condition would have fingers at least four feet long.

These slender finger bones are connected with each other,
and with the hind feet and tail, by a thin, dark-coloured, parch-
ment-like, almost naked skin. The wing, as a whole, corresponds
exactly with tne accepted idea of a devil’s or goblin’s wing;
and the short, puggy head, with its big shapeless ears and wide
mouth and little blinking eyes, is of just as impish and devilish
an aspect.

Yet bats are the most gentle and friendly of living things.
Not only do they seek out the shelter of our buildings and pass
much the larger portion of their time there, but on hot summer
nights, when they are all flying abroad, they actually seem fond
of our society and flutter unafraid around us, just as swallows
do in the sunshine.

The chief attraction may be the mosquitoes and other pests
that come to torment us, but even if it is, the bats are still
performing a friendly office, though from a selfish motive; and |
believe that outside of that, they are still sensitive to the attrac-
tion which nearly every small animal feels towards any larger
one who has never given it cause to be afraid.

According to the books there are four or five different species
to be found in this part of the country, but the only sort that
J have found in New Hampshire in any abundance is the little
brown bat, smaller than the others, with a soft, silky coat of
olive brown.

Most northern bats become thoroughly dormant in cold
weather, and it has been stated, on good authority, that their
daily sleep is, in reality, hibernation, differing from the sleep
of other warm-blooded animals in the same manner that their
winter hibernation does. But this probably only refers to certain
species. The little brown bats that spend the days behind my
blinds apparently only sleep in the ordinary way, as they fre-
quently get to crowding and nudge and poke each other with
their sharp bony elbows, becoming half awake and _ squeaking

197

Little Brown Bat

peevishly as they endeavour to arrange themselves more com-
fortably for the remainder of their nap. But this activity may be
due to the increased irritability of the muscular fibre, which is
said to be an invariable accompaniment of hibernation. When I
threw open the blind last October, exposing them to the full glare
of the afternoon sunlight, they maintained the same position and
showed little sign of awakening, but half an hour later had
disappeared, though the sun was still several hours high. This
year the blinds were left open for the first part of the summer,
and the bats were obliged to look up new sleeping quarters.
In July I closed the blinds, hoping to entice the bats back to
their former apartments; and, sure enough, about the first of the
month I was delighted to see a solitary individual hanging by
his toes in one corner of the window fast asleep. Wishing to have
him pose as model for an illustration, | unceremoniously routed him
out and deposited him on my desk, where he spent a most un-
happy morning, losing all patience with me before the portrait
was half completed——which was hardly to be wondered at, con-
sidering the circumstances. As often as | tried to get him to
change his position, he would break forth into shrill stuttering
protests and snap viciously at everything within reach; but he
soon quieted down on being left alone, and slept complacently
close to my hand while I sketched him. Several times he
escaped and flew deliberately downstairs, which I think few
birds would have the intelligence or coolness to do. All those
that I have seen in similar circumstances fluttered helplessly
against the glass or ceiling and absolutely refused to fly down-
ward under any provocation; but my bat flew up or down with
equal willingness, and from room to room, earnestly searching
for a passage to the open air. Whenever he felt tired he would
hang himself up in the fold of a curtain to rest, apparently being
fast asleep as soon as he was fairly settled. Glass he soon
learned to avoid as slippery and treacherous; but the mosquito
screens furnished better foothold, and the way he would scuttle
about over these was something marvellous. Finally | carried him
outdoors and gave him his freedom, and, in spite of the sun,
he seemed to find no difficulty in seeing, but started directly for
the barn window, which was partly open, and entered it as
the swallows did. No one seeing him at the time could reason-
ably have accused him of blindness; nor did the term ‘‘ blind as

198

FOUR COMMON EASTERN BATS
1. Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) (fur yellowish brown) | :
2 Silver-haired Bat (Lastonycteris noctivagans) (fur black with silvery tips)

3. Brown Bat (Vespertilio fuscus) (fur dark brown)
4. Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) (fur rusty red)
(Abeut twe-fifths natural size)

From Stuffed Specimen:

Little Brown Bat

a bat’ seem applicable when you caught the gleam and_ sparkle
of his wicked little eyes, peering out from beneath his woolly
eyebrows. He evidently decided that he had chosen an unsafe
sleeping place, and for a little while the window was deserted;
but in a few days | noticed a smaller specimen of his race in the
Opposite corner, and the day following there were nine of varying
size ranged along the upper sash in their usual characteristic atti-
tudes. One near the middle of the row was wide awake; washing
himself after the manner of a cat, he would lick his foot or a
portion of his wing and rub his head with it the wrong way of
the fur, and scratch himself rapidly behind the ear with one of
his little thumb nails at the bend of his wing, the long bone of
his fore-arm beating a tattoo on the glass beside him as _ he did
so. The elasticity of the wing membrane is truly astonishing; he
would seize an edge of it in his mouth and stretch it into all
kinds of grotesque shapes in his endeavour to get it clean enough
to suit his fancy, and sometimes, when at work on the inside, he
would wrap his head up in it entirely, the thin rubbery stuff con-
forming to the general outline of his skull in the most. startling
manner.

Judging from those in the window, it would appear that bats
are not given to occupying the same roosting places with any
great degree of regularity, but spend the night chasing insects
wherever these are to be found in great abundance, and hang
themselves up to sleep where daylight happens to catch them. |
kept an exact account of the number sleeping in the window
during the month of August of the year 1898, beginning with the
first Saturday, and soon noticed that for some inexplicable reason
they were given to congregating there on Sunday nights, and that
their numbers usually fell off until the middle of the week, and
then increased again until Sunday. Here are their numbers as |
set them down each day on my calendar: Saturday, 4; Sunday, 16;
Monday, 9; Tuesday, 4; Wednesday, 2; Thursday, 5; Friday, 10;
Saturday, 10; Sunday, 18; Monday, 10; Tuesday, 2; Wednesday, 0;
Thursday, 0; Friday, 1; Saturday, 1. The third Sunday I was
away, and so failed to take account of them, but on Monday
there were 3, and 2 on Tuesday. For the next three days the
window was unoccupied, Saturday | found 1, Sunday 2 and Mon-
day 3, after which they abandoned the window almost entirely,
though | occasionally found a solitary specimen snuggled in one

199

Little Brown Bat

corner of the sash. | find that they habitually sleep in the barn
in the narrow space between the ridge pole and the roof boards,
though whether their numbers vary there from day to day as they
do in the window, I am unable to ascertain. I have an idea that
they also spend the winter there, for they are said usually to choose
some such place to hibernate in.

As twilight comes on, the bats in the window begin to grow
somewhat more restless, scrambling down from time to time to
peer out between the slats as if to pass judgment on the weather.
Then suddenly one of them launches out and downward at an
angle toward the earth for a few yards, then sweeps up and away
among the tree tops. Another follows, and then two or three to-
gether, till in very short time the blinds are empty; but outside
in the darkness the bats are zigzagging about in pursuit of their
supper.

Large Brown Bat
Vespertilio fuscus Beauvois

Called also Carolina Bat.

Length. 4.60 inches. Expanse of wings. 12 inches.

Description. Flight membranes naked except the base of the in-
terfemoral membrane. Fur silky, dark brown, rather lighter
below.

Range. Gulf Coast north to Maine and Ontario. One of the com-
monest bats in the lowlands of the Middle States.

This is one of the commonest bats through the southern
United States as far north as the upper limits of the Carolinian
faunal belt, through southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New
York and the Connecticut Valley.

In the Hudson Valley, Dr. A. K. Fisher says: ‘‘ They are the last
to make their appearance in the evening. In fact, when it gets
so dark that objects are blended in one uncertain mass, and the
bat hunter finds that he is unable to shoot with any precision,
the Carolina bats make their appearance as mere dark shadows,
flitting here and there while busily engaged in catching insects.
We have to make a snap-shot as they dodge in and out from

200

Georgia Pipistrelle

the dark tree tops, and are left in doubt as to the result until,
in the gloom, we may perchance see our little black and tan,
seemingly as interested in the result as we are, pointing the
dead animal.”

About Philadelphia this is our commonest species, and any
evening throughout the summer and autumn numbers of them
may be seen circling about in localities where their favourite in-
sect-food abounds. One old garden that I recall, skirted by an
ancient grape-wall and surrounded by shade-trees, was always a
favourite resort for bats, and many an exciting evening has been
spent both in securing specimens and studying the habits of
these interesting animals.

The large brown bat was always distinguishable on account
of his size which, in the uncertain twilight, was frequently ex-
aggerated, and more than once one of this common species was
mistaken for a possible hoary bat, an animal which, in spite
of our efforts, was never detected in this spot.

The large brown bat is seen late in autumn and on mild
evenings in mid-winter, and they not infrequently fly into houses
during the latter season and seek temporary shelter only to sally
forth again the next night to the terror of certain of the occu-
pants of the bedrooms, causing an excitement that could scarcely
be surpassed were they the famous vampires of the tropics.

In summer-time they still more frequently enter houses in
the evening in pursuit of flies and other insects which are at-
tracted by the lights, and pass back and forth wheeling and
twisting with the utmost dexterity, and always avoiding objects
which may stand in their path.

Since the introduction of electric lights along the streets of
the city, the bats are frequently to be seen flying about in their
radiance, reaping a rich harvest of their favourite food.

Georgia Pipistrelle
Pipistrellus subflavus (Cuvier)

Length. 3.40 incnes. Expanse of wings. 8.50 inches.
Description. Wing membranes thin, only furred near the base of
the interfemoral membrane. Fur, light yellowish brown,
9

201

Silver-haired Bat

blotched or mottled with dusky, below uniform yellowish
brown.

Range. Eastern United States, southern Pennsylvania and lower
Hudson Valley, west to lowa and Texas. About Lake George,
N. Y., and probably elsewhere northward occurs a closely re-
lated variety, the northern pipistrelle (P. subflavus obscurus
Miller), which is darker and less yellow.

The Georgia bat or pipistrelle is quite common in south-eastern
Pennsylvania, apparently much more so than the little brown bat
which it so closely resembles when on the wing that identification
is practically impossible.

Silver-haired Bat

Lastonycteris noctivagans (Le Conte)

Length. 4 inches. Expanse of wings. 9 to 1o inches.

Description. \nterfemoral membrane sparsely haired. Fur, dark
brown or black, with silvery-white tips. Ear short and
rounded.

Range. North America, south throughout Pennsylvania and the
southern Alleghanies.

Generally speaking the silver hairea bat is the commonest species
in the northern parts of the United States, though as all bats are
somewhat local in distribution, one kind will perhaps be more abund-
ant in one locality and another in another. It is frequently seen about
Philadelphia, although not nearly so abundant there as the large brown
and red bats. |

It seems to be an early flier, and my experience coincides with
Dr. Merriam’s, that it is far more plentiful in the early evening than
later on in the night.

In flight it always seems to be slower and less erratic than the
larger species.

Dr. Merriam says: ‘‘Like many other bats it has a decided
liking for water-ways, coursing up and down streams and rivers,
and circling around lakes and ponds. . . . Next to water
courses, the borders of hard-wood groves are the favourite haunts
of the silver-haired bat. By standing close under the edge of the

202

Red Bat

fees one sees many that at a little distance would pass unob-
served. While searching for their insect prey, they may
be seen to dart in and out among the branches and to penetrate
in various directions the dense mass of foliage overhead.

According to information furnished to Dr. Merriam, this species
passes the day in hollow trees, while the young have been found
clinging to the twigs of an old crow’s nest.

Red Bat

Lasiurus borealis (Miiller)

Length. 4.40 inches. Expanse of wings, 11 inches.

Description. Base of wing membranes, whole interfemoral mem-
brane and base of the ears densely furred. Fur varying in colour
from bright rusty red to grayish tinged with rufous; always
lighter on the lower surface, hairs generally somewhat tipped
with white, and a whitish patch in front of each shoulder.

Range. Canada to Texas and Northern Florida. One of the com-
monest species. In Florida there is found a darker variety, the
Florida red bat (L. borealis osceola, Rhoads), though in winter
the Northern red bat migrates southward and both forms occur
together.

This species is nearly as common about Philadelphia as the
large brown bat, and seems to range rather farther north, being
by far the commonest bat in those parts of Pennsylvania lying
between the Carolinian belt and the mountains.

The red bat comes out earlier in the evenings than the other
kinds, sometimes when it is still quite light, so that the bright
rufous colour of the fur is easily seen. At such times | have
frequently been amused by the way in which they will pursue
a stone tossed into the air anywhere in their vicinity. Without
a thought of the possibility of its being thrown at them, they
wheel suddenly and dart after the falling missile, following it
closely almost to the ground. Where dark caves are to be
found, these bats congregate there in immense numbers during
the daytime, but in most localities they frequent lofts and
garrets which offer them suitable shelter. One such resort, which
| examined some years since, was in a garret usually kept dark
by closed shutters. The bats entered by little cracks between the
bricks and woodwork of the gable. When the window was

803

Hoary Bat

opened and a flood of light admitted, several hundred of the
little animals were discovered clinging in a compact mass to the
rough bricks and mortar of the chimney. They twisted up theit
ugly little faces and uttered their shrill squeaking objections, the
whole mass looking like a great tawny ‘‘hydra-headed”’ monster.
Upon stirring them with a stick the air immediately became
filled with bats, and there was a grand scurry for the openings
under the roof, whence they scattered in the unwelcome sunlight
in a mad rush for another shelter. One summer two little bats
were discovered hanging close together on the branch of a low
tree on the lawn; during the daytime the parent remained with
them, folding her wings about them, but at dusk she generally
left them while she foraged for food. After a couple of days,
however, they disappeared, doubtless transferred to some other
spot safe from prying eyes.

Hoary Bat
Lasiurus cinereus (Beauvois)

Length. 5.40 inches. Expanse of wings, 12 to 15 inches.

Description. Much larger than the red bat, but with the same
distribution of fur over the interfemoral membrane. — Fur
mingled dark-brown and light yellowish-brown, more or less
tipped with silvery white. White predominating below.

Range. Maine, Ontario and mountains of New England, New York
and the Alleghanies, migrating southward in winter through-
out the United States.

The hoary bat is the largest bat of the Northern and Mid-
dle States, and is the rarest of all our Eastern species. Even
in the North, where they make their home among the for-
ests and mountain wildernesses, they are only seen occasion-
ally, and still less frequently are specimens secured. Dr. C.
Hart Merriam has graphically described his efforts to obtain spe-
cimens of this rare animal in the Adirondacks. ‘‘The twilight
ils fast fading into night,” he writes, ‘‘and your eyes fairly ache
from the constant effort of searching its obscurity, when sud-
denly a large bat is seen approaching, perhaps high above the
tree tops, and has scarcely entered the limited field of vision,
when, in swooping for a passing insect, he cuts the line of a

204

Hoary Bat

distant horizon and disappears in the darkness below. In breath-
less suspense you wait for him to rise, crouching low that his
form may be sooner outlined against the dim light that still
lingers in the northwest, when he suddenly shoots by, seemingly
as big as an owl, within a few feet of your very eyes. Turn-
ing quickly you fire, but too late! He has vanished in the
darkness. For more than a week each evening is thus spent,
and you almost despair of seeing another hoary bat, when, per-
haps on a clear cold night, just as the darkness is becoming
too intense to permit you to shoot with accuracy and you are
on the point of turning away, something appears above the
horizon that sends a thrill of excitement through your whole
frame. There is no mistaking the species—the size, the sharp,
narrow wings and the swift flight serve instantly to distinguish
it from its nocturnal comrades. On he comes, but just before
arriving within gunshot he makes one of his characteristic zig-
zag side shoots and you tremble as he momentarily vanishes
from view. Suddenly he reappears, his flight becomes more
steady, and now he sweeps swiftly toward you. No time is
to be lost, and it is too dark to aim, so you bring the gun
quickly to your shoulder and fire. With a piercing, stridulous
cry he falls to the earth. In an instant you are stooping to
pick him up, but the sharp grating screams, uttered with a tone
of intense anger, admonish you to observe discretion. With
delight you cautiously take him in your hand and hurry to the
light to feast your eyes upon his rich and handsome markings.
He who can gaze upon a freshly killed example without feelings
of admiration is not worthy to be called a naturalist.”

To the southward of the Canadian fauna the hoary bat occurs
only as a migrant during the winter months, early spring and
late autumn, and it is here, if anything, a rarer sight than in
its true home to the northward. I have known of specimens
being secured about Philadelphia, but in spite of many evenings
spent in looking for it at times, when its occurrence seemed
most likely, I have never been successful in obtaining a glimpse
of this interesting bat.

305

Leather-winged Bat; Twilight Bat
Leather-winged Bat

Dasypterus intermedius (H. Allen)

Length. 5.60 inches. Expanse of wings, 16 inches.

Description. Membranes thick and leathery. Fur light yellowish
brown, with plumbeous bases; slightly tipped with dusky.

Range. Gulf States and Northern Mexico.

Twilight Bat

Nycticetus humeralis (Rafinesque)

Length. 3.70 inches. Expanse of wings, 9 inches.

Description. Ears and membranes thick and leathery, fur sparse
and short, dull umber-brown above, lighter beneath.

Range. South Atlantic and Gulf States, rarely northward to South-
ern Pennsylvania.

A common bat in the South, with habits essentially like
those of other species.

CARNIVORES OR FLESH-EATING
ANIMALS

( Carnivora)

Next to the rodents the carnivorous animals are probably the
most numerous order of mammals, and occur in all parts of the
world except Australia.*

These animals, as their name implies, are typically flesh-
eaters, and most of them live on animals which they kill them-
selves. We therefore find them usually ferocious, strong and
agile, though many species become quite tame and gentle when
domesticated, and exhibit great intelligence.

The carnivora are divisible into two suborders—the peculiar seals
(Pinnipedia)t+, which are adapted to an aquatic life, and the terres-
trial carnivora (Fissipedia). The latter, which are the typical repre-
sentatives of the order, may be more minutely considered. Their
most distinguishing characters are, as usual, to be found in the
skull and teeth. Of the latter the canines are very large and

Skull of Weasel
S S_ Carnassial Teeth

easily distinguished, while the back teeth, or molars, are always
tuberculate and generally more or less sharp and pointed, and
suited for cutting and tearing flesh.

* The Dingo or Australian dog was probably introduced.
+ See under Phocide, p. 214.

soy

Carnivores

One tooth in each jaw is peculiarly large and modified for
this purpose and has been named the ‘‘carnassial-tooth” or
‘‘flesh-tooth.”

The feet of the carnivores are moderate and never elongated,
as in the hoofed animals, and are provided with sharp claws;
these are frequently ‘‘retractile,” that is capable of being with-
drawn into folds of the skin and thus protected from wear and
tear while the animal is walking. The carnivores are said to
be plantigrade or digitigrade, according to whether the whole
foot touches the ground when walking, as in the bears, or only
the tips of the toes, as in the cats.

The families found in eastern North America are as follows:

]. FEET MODIFIED INTO FLIPPERS, SUBORDER PINNIPEDIA

I]. FEared Seals. Family Otaritde. Hind flippers capable of
being turned forward for walking when on land, head
seal-like, ears small, but well developed.

Il. Walruses. Family Odobenide. Hind flippers used in walk-
ing as in the last. Body enormous and unwieldy, no
external ears, upper canine teeth immensely elongated
into long down-pointing tusks.

Ill. Seals. Family Phocidaw. Hind flippers directed backward
and only capable of use for swimming, no external ear
and no tusks.

II. FEET NOT MODIFIED INTO FLIPPERS, SUBORDER FISSIPEDIA

A. TOES, FIVE ON ALL FEET

IV. Weasels, Otters, etc. Family Mustelide. Size generally
small and shape slender, with long tail (except the
wolverine and badger). Tail sometimes tipped with
black, but never annulated.

V. Raccoons, etc. Family Procyonitde. Size medium, tail
long, generally bushy and annulated, black and white
for its whole length.

VI. Bears. Family Urside. Size large, tail very short, uniform
in colour with the back.

B. TOES, FIVE ON THE FORE FEET, BUT FOUR ON THE HIND FEET

VII. Wolves and Foxes. Family Canidae. Toes not retractile.
VIII. Cats. Family Felide. Toes retractile.

208

(snuvms0[ypnd snydojv7) NOIT-Va

asow2sng Y V Aa

Z
a]
-
7
a)
tL.
i
\ :

ned

Pay

EARED SEALS
(Family Otariide)

These large seals are found in North America only on the
Pacific Coast, the best known being the fur seal of Bering Sea,
the hair seal and sea lion.

Fur Seal

Otoes alascanus (Jordan & Clark)
Called also Sea Bear.

Length. 6 feet. (Female 3 feet 10 inches.)

Description. Body covered with a very fine soft underfur and a
coarser, longer growth of hair overlying it; colour chestnut-
brown to black, in old individuals strongly mixed with gray,
especially above. Females very much smaller and generally
lighter than the males.

Range. Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea in the breeding season, at
other times all along the coast of California.

Of all our native American animals none have been brought
so prominently to the attention of the general public as the fur
seal of Alaska. Ever since the discovery of their breeding grounds
in the North Pacific and the realization of the value of their skins
in the markets of the world, they have been the cause of legis-
lation and disputes in which Russia, the United States and Great
Britain have been involved.

The many government investigations, with their voluminous
reports, have given us a more exhaustive account of the life and
habits of the fur seal than we possess of any of our other ani-
mals; and, indeed, a beast possessing so many peculiarities is
well worthy of the attention, entirely apart from the commercial
side of the question.

Originally all the fur seals of the North Pacific were regarded
as representing but one species, but it now appears that there
are three distinct herds which keep quite separate from one an-
other and which form three recognizable races or species, differ-
ing both in colour and structure. The most numerous and at the

209

Fur Seal

same time only strictly American species is the Alaskan fur
seal of the Pribilof Islands, the other species inhabiting respectively
Bering and Medni Islands, and Robben Island in the Sea of
Okhotsk.

The fur seal is a migratory animal, spending the summer and
autumn in its breeding ground on the Pribilofs and passing the
winter at sea, ranging down the coast as far as southern Cali-
fornia. The females reach maturity at the end of their second
year, while the males do not gain their full size and strength
until seven years old. As in most gregarious and polygamous
animals this results in several distinct stages of growth which
are designated by the sealers by special names. There are the
adult ‘‘bulls” and ‘‘cows,” as well as the new-born ‘‘ pups,”
while the young males of three years are the ‘‘bachelors” and
the older ones the ‘‘half bulls.”

The summer life of the breeding ground or ‘‘rookeries” as
described by visitors is exceedingly interesting. About the first
of May the old bulls begin to arrive and take up their positions
on the bleak rocky beaches. By June the cows appear and as
fast as they land are taken in hand by the bulls, each one
eventually surrounding himself by a ‘‘harem” which he guards
and rounds up, forcing back any cow that attempts to escape.
The single pup is born shortly after the arrival of the cow and
as soon as it has become sufficiently strong to be left she re-
pairs to the sea to feed, returning to it at intervals.

Meanwhile the ‘‘bachelors’’ and ‘‘half bulls” arrive at the
rookery, but herd by themselves and make no attempt to intrude
upon the harems. The late arriving bulls which fail to secure
harems locate immediately behind their more fortunate rivals and
by their efforts to encroach upon adjoining harems or steal cows
they continually precipitate desperate fights which frequently result
in their own destruction and cause great uproars throughout
the rookery.

The old bulls, which often for a space of two months
have been forced to fast in order to maintain their positions in
the rookery, begin to seek their feeding ground at sea about the
middle of July. They are usually much emaciated as compared
with their fat, sleek appearance at the beginning of the season,
the great thick coat of blubber having been absorbed to supply
their bodies in lieu of food. The killing for the market is re-

210

e10wZng “YY V 4a ONIMUVA (snupimdo{yjp? snYyqdoOjDZ) NOI1T-V4S

ad ae
i

ii
&

ge ET

Steller’s Sea Lion

stricted to the bachelor seals, which from their habit of herding
apart from the others can readily be driven aside, and those
desirable for killing selected. The skins of four-year-old animals
are less valuable and those of the old bulls worthless.

By the exercise of care and the enforcement of a definite
limit to the number to be killed in a year, the stock of seals
could easily be maintained, but the pelagic sealing when the
animals are away from their rookeries is most destructive.

Steller’s Sea Lion
Eumetopias stelleri (Lesson)

Length. io feet. (Female 8 feet 6 inches. )

Description. Lacks the dense fur of the preceding. Hair, reddish
brown inclined to golden in summer, duller and browner
in winter.

Range. Bering Straits to California.

This animal is a hair seal like the following and lacks the
soft velvety underfur of the fur seal. It is the largest of the
group, considerably exceeding the fur seal, which in habits it
much resembles. Throughout the Bering Sea region it is the
only sea lion, but farther south its range overlaps that of Gilles-
pie’s hair seal, and in the neighbourhood of San Francisco both
occur together and are often confused under the same general
name. The present species is, however, much the rarer at this
point.

Gillespie’s Hair Seal
Zalophus caltforntanus (Lesson)
Called also Sea Lion, Gillespie’s Seal.

Length. 7 feet.

Description. Dark reddish brown in summer. Much lighter in
winter, when the upper parts are pale gravish, though still
brown beneath and on the limbs. Form much more slender
than either of the preceding, with a much longer and more
slender snout than the fur seal.

Range. Pacific Coast of the United States north to California
(San Francisco.)

Atlantic Walrus

This is the common sea lion of the California coast and the
one generally seen in menageries and Zoological gardens. It is
the smallest of our eared seals, as well as the most slender and
most agile. Its habits resemble those of the other species, and
on the islands of the California coast the same battles are waged
for the mastery of the harems as are conducted on the Pribilofs
by the fur seal. The short, barking cry of the hair seal is famil-
iar to all who have seen these animals in captivity, and is quite
different to the prolonged roar of the Steller’s sea lion.

WALRUSES
(Family Odobenide)

The walruses are closely allied to the seals, being, like them,
carnivorous mammals modified for an aquatic life. From the true
seals they differ in their immense size and fat, clumsy form, also
in the structure of their hind feet, which can be turned forward
so as to assist in supporting the animal when on shore; and in
the enormous tusks in the upper jaw which represent the
canine teeth. Another peculiarity of the walruses is found in the
horny flaps which terminate the toes and project out beyond the
claws.

In the structure of both feet and toes, as well as in other
respects, the walruses are closely allied to the eared seals of the
Pacific.

Atlantic Walrus
Odobenus vosmarus (Linnzus)

Length. 10 feet 6 inches.

Description. Body very thick and heavy, neck short, no external
ears or tail. Muzzle covered with stiff bristles, tusks 12 to
15 inches long. Hair scanty, general colour of body yellow-
ish brown; old males much wrinkled over the back and
shoulders and often nearly devoid of hair, showing numer-
ous bare patches.

312

4SNADUSOA S

SMOD ANY STINE_SNYTWAA

Atlantic Walrus

Range. Arctic regions of the Atlantic, south to the shores of
fadson's Bay, Labrador and to latitude 65° on the Green-
land coast; also islands north of Europe. On the northwest
coast of North America south to Bering Sea and Norton
Sound occurs the allied Pacific walrus (O. obesus Illig.),
with longer tusks.

The walrus is such a heavy, clumsy, ungainly beast that it
has small chance of success at fishing, but its great size and
strength are safeguards against the attacks of most of those
flesh-eaters who find the seal easy prey; even the polar bear
hesitates to come within reach of an old walrus.

The walrus gets the greater part of its food by digging
with its tusks in the mud beneath the comparatively shallow
water, grubbing up mollusks, and such mud-loving fish as lack
sufficient activity to get out of its way. Seaweed and other
marine growths are also eaten in considerable quantities, and it
is probable that these, together with star-fish, sea-urchins
sea-anemones and cockles, are gathered in and ground up
together between the molars that crush the heaviest oyster shell
without much effort.

The great tusks of the walrus are useful in other ways
besides raking over the sea’s bottom for food. They answer the
purpose of boat-hooks when the walrus desires to drag its lum-
bering bulk out on the ice or a shelving reef among the
breakers, and are stout, if unwieldy, weapons of defence in case
of attack.

The walrus is often seen in large herds lounging about on
the shore, one across the other like swine, all roaring and
grunting together.

The young are born on shore in spring or early summer,
at which time the old ones often go for weeks without either
eating or entering the water.

When attacked they show considerable courage and aggress-
iveness in defending their charge, endeavouring at the same time
to head off the enemy and roll their offspring into the sea,
when they are said to seize them in their mouths, and diving, swim
beneath the surface.

Though walrus at any age are far from attractive, the old
males are particularly repulsive. They become nearly devoid of
hair and present a most disgusting appearance. Elliott says of

213

Seals

them, speaking of the Pacific species: ‘‘They resemble distorted,
mortified, shapeless masses of flesh; the cluster of big, swollen,
watery pimples, which were of a yellow, parboiled flesh-colour,
and principally located over the shoulders and around the neck,
painfully suggested unwholesomeness.”

SEALS
(Family Phoctde)

Seals are carnivorous animals modified for life in the water.
To this end their bodies are cylindrical, tapering away from the
middle; the limbs are short with the feet flattened and webbed
for swimming, the forward pair acting as paddles and the hinder
ones, which are placed close together and permanently directed
backward, forming a rudder or propeller. Seals have no external
ears and the first or ‘‘milk-teeth’”’ are never fully developed,
being generally absorbed before birth.

Seals while most at home in the water, come out regularly
on the shore, especially at the breeding season. They make their
way very clumsily on land, however, on account of the structure
of their hind feet, and are much poorer walkers than the eared
seals of the Pacific which can turn their hind feet forward.

Seals are often popularly confused with whales, with which
they have no near relationship whatever, as can be seen at a
glance. Their dog-like head and hairy body bear evidence of
their much closer affinity to the land mammals, while the pres-
ence of hind feet and the absence of the broad, fish-like tail
further distinguish them from the whales.

Seals occur in ‘all oceans but are more plentiful toward the
poles.

Our east coast species may be distinguished as follows:

a. Front teeth (incisors) six above and four below. No bladder-like
sack on the head.
6. Muzzle narrow, sloping gradually from the top of the head;
first and second toes of fore feet longest.
¢. Teeth large, rather crowded and set obliquely in the jaws.
Harbour Seal.

at4

Harbour Seal

c¢. Teethsmall, distinctly separated and placed straight in the jaws.
d. First toe always longer than the second. Ringed Seal
dd. First toe not longer than the second. Harp Seal.
bb. Muzzle broad, forehead convex, middle toelongest. Bearded Seal.
bbb. Muzzle broad, facial part of head very long, first, and second

toes longest, whiskers crenulated. Gray Seal.
aa. Front teeth 4 above, 2 below, a bladder-like sack on the head
of the male. Hooded Seal.

Harbour Seal

Phoca vitulina (Linnzus)

Also called Common Seal.

Length. 4 feet.

Description. Colouration variable; generally yellowish-gray above
irregularly spotted with black, beneath yellowish-white with
small black spots. Often dark-brown everywhere varied with
light spots. First toe never longer than the second.

Range. North Atlantic south occasionally to New Jersey and in Europe
to Mediterranean, replaced on the Pacific by the closely allied
Palla’s seal. (Phoca largha Pallas.)

Three distinct species of the genus Phoca occur on the eastern
coast of North America: the harbour seal, ringed seal and harp
seal. The last two are of Arctic distribution, while the first and
best-known species is found as far south as the coast of New
England and the Middle States.

All the seals are gregarious, especially during the breeding
season, and are migratory to a greater or less extent, the harbour
seal being apparently less of a wanderer than the others. The
harbour seal is also distinctly a coast species, seldom venturing
far to sea, and living and breeding on the exposed rocky ledges
along the shore. The others, on the contrary, are found out in
the open ocean and frequent the ice floes of the northern seas.

Young seals at birth are covered with a thick white woolly
coat, which is later supplanted by the ordinary hair, and until
the change occurs they do not take to the water. As a rule,
but one young is produced each year; sometimes it is born
upon the bare rocks, while in case of the ringed seal an excava-
tion is made under the snow communicating with a hole through
the ice, and here the young remains for several weeks, tended
by the mother.

215

flarbour Seal

The two northern species, more especially the harp seal, which is
easily killed in numbers on its breeding ground, furnish most of
the skins and oil of commerce. Their skins, however, while of
considerabie value for leather, are not to be confused with the
beautiful hides of the Alaskan fur seal or ‘‘sea bear” which
furnish the valuable sealskin of the furrier.

On the New England coast the harbour seals may be looked
for at any time of -the year, but farther south they are seldom
seen except in winter, haunting inlets and the mouths of rivers.

The first one that I ever had an opportunity of observing I
met in its native element in August. We were both swimming
just inside the river's mouth at Hampton, N. H.; its round head
broke the surface between myself and the boat, showed wet and
shining for a few seconds and was gone, to appear again
bobbing around at the edge of the breakers on the bar.

Seals appear to be the most abundant along the New Eng-
land coast late in summer and autumn when they may be seen
from time to time swimming by the headlands or sprawling on
the wave-splashed rocks and beaches; the young are said to be
born at this season in caves just out of reach of the tide.

Although the seals are just as warm-blooded, air-breathing
mammals as any, their race has lived in the sea for so long that
they have become almost as aquatic as fish; in fact, fish chased
by seals have been known to look for safety in the shallow
ripples at the edge of the strand and on sand-flats, as if aware
that their pursuers were even more incapable and helpless than
themselves when partly ashore. The seals always seek protec-
tion from their own enemies in deep water and fish there by
preference.

The common seal of our harbours appears to be as little
adventurous and seafaring as any of its kind, keeping near the
land at all times and hunting inlets and the mouths of rivers
which it enters with the incoming tide, sometimes swimming
inland for one hundred miles or more between wooded banks
and farm-lands, where it may fish in still pools out of reach of
the ocean’s growling.

By nature it is gentle and affectionate, quickly becoming
tame if well treated and fond of being caressed and made much
of; a genial, well-meaning creature without much instinctive fear
of man and eager to make friends with any animal that will

216

HARBOR SEALS (Phoca vitulina) By A. I, Prencehorn

FUR SEALS (Otoes alascanus) Courtesy of U. S. Fish Commission

-— “aie

ae = <==

7
:
r bens
%
’ -
H
a
'
i
a i
*
->
é
x
,
R
}
in}
3
at
:
&

Ringed Seat

meet it fairly. Yet men persist in shooting at them on every
occasion, though a dead seal of this species is of little value,
either to commerce or science, and the fishermen and duck hunters
tell me that not one in every fifty that are killed is ever secured.
The harm seals do to sea fishermen must be of little account,
except on a few occasions, when they get into the habit of robbing
nets; and as they have few enemies in this latitude, they might
well be allowed to become familiar and common features of our
beaches and summer resorts. Sharks and swordfish are about
their worst enemies, and it is said that the seals are not safe
from their attacks even when resting on floating ice far out of
the water, for these great ravenous brutes of the sea have been
seen to throw themselves half out of water on the edge of the
ice and overbalance it sufficiently as to force the unfortunate
seal to slide down its slippery surface within their reach. Along
the rough Labrador coast and still farther north, the polar bears
catch them in a somewhat similar manner; swimming well around
to the leeward of the unsuspecting seal asleep on the ice-floe,
they dive and make their hidden approach beneath the surface,
only rising once or twice for breath before reaching the edge of
the ice where they have effectually cut off the seal’s retreat to
the water.

Ringed Seal
Phoca hispida Schreber

Length. 4 feet.

Description. Similar to the harbour seal, but more slender, with
narrower head and longer limbs. Colour variable; often
blackish above, darkest on the back, lighter on the sides,
‘with large oval whitish spots, below yellowish-white, some-
times lighter, irregularly mottled with black, sometimes marbled
with light dark-centred spots. First toe always longer than
the second.

Range. Arctic seas south to the northern Atlantic and Pacific.

Harp Seal
Phoca grenlandica (Fabricius)

Length. 5 feet.
Description. Build more slender, as in the last. Colour of adult

217

Bearded Seal; Gray Seal; Hooded, Seal

male white or yellowish-white, with face black and a curved

black band on each side, meeting over the shoulders and

again above the tail. Female and young variously mottled.

First toe of forefoot (flipper) not longer than the second.
Range. Arctic seas to northern Atlantic and Pacific.

Bearded Seal
Erignathus barbatus (Fabricius)

Length. 7 feet.

Description. Gray above, darker along the middle of the back,
often more or less mottled. Young in the woolly stage gray.
The fact that the middle toes are the longest materially alters
the shape of the ‘‘flipper,’”’ and this fact, together with the
large size, will serve to readily identify this species.

Range. Arctic seas to north Atlantic and Pacific, south to New-
foundland.

Gray Seal

Halicherus grypus (Fabricius)

Length. 8 to 9 feet.

Description. Flippers shaped as in the harbour seal, face two-
thirds instead of one-half the length o the head, bristles of
the cheeks curiously crenulated. Colour of adults silvery-
gray to nearly black, generally with black spots.

Range. North Atlantic, south to Newfoundland and Great Britain.

Hooded Seal

Cystophora cristata (Erxleben)

Length. 7 feet.
Description. Front teeth four above and two below instead of

six and four, as in all other true seals. Colour bluish-black
above, lighter beneath, varied with whitish spots. Some-
times light-grayish with dark spots. Young in woolly stage
pure white. Head of the male with a movable muscular
bag, extending from the nose to behind the ears.

Range. Arctic seas, southward casually. to the United States.

This and the harp seal are Arctic species frequenting the

218

Otter

ice floes. The latter is largely killed by the sealers, but the
present species is decidedly rare on the coast of North America.

WEASELS, OTTERS, ETC.
(Family Mustelide)

Under this head are grouped a somewhat varied assemblage
of animals, which are closely related so far as their skulls and
skeletons are concerned, though they present considerable diver-
sity in their external appearance.

The typical members of the family are the slender-bodied
weasels. Then there is the heavy-bodied wolverine, which reminds
one of a bear; the semi-aquatic otters, which indicate the way
in which the seals have been evolved, and the flat-bodied
badger, the burrowing member of the family.

Otter
Lutra canadensis Schreber

Length. 3 feet 6 inches to 4 feet.

Description. Body long and somewhat flattened, feet short, toes
webbed, tail very broad and flat at the base, not abruptly
constricted where it joins the body. Colour uniform seal-
brown, brighter beneath, size variable, males generally larger.

Range. Northern North America, south to Central New York
and Pennsylvania, replaced southward and in Newfoundland
by closely allied varieties.

The otter has followed a fisherman’s life so persistently that
he has grown to look very much like a seal. I mever see one
swimming under water, or with just its head above the surface,
without being struck by the resemblance.

The head and neck in particular, whether seen in profile or
as the animal faces you, are remarkably seal-like. Even when
the otter is splashing about in the shallow ripples, or climbs
out on the bank or some half-sunken log, his shape is still seen
to be more like that of a seal than a land animal. His short

219

Otter

legs are hardly to be distinguished at a little distance, while his
heavy short-haired tail is almost as thick at its base as the rest
of his body and tapers away fish-like to a point. The sea
otter of the North Pacific being nearly as much of a marine
animal as is the seal itself, shows the transformation to a per-
fectly fish-like shape still further advanced. Even the common
otter of our fresh waters swims out from the river's mouth into
the sea at times, and has more than once been caught in nets
sunk deep in the ocean; undoubtedly the transition is still going
on and the otters born a few thousand years hence will look
even more like seals than do those of the present day.

Yet though their legs are short and their bodies so long
and heavy as almost to drag along the ground and leave a deep
furrow in the snow whenever the otters go about on land in
the winter time, they yet make regular journeys overland from
one stream or pond to the next. They even essay to go hunt-
ing in the woods and thickets occasionally when fishing proves
unproductive.

I have never found much evidence, however, that they are
often very successful at such times, though their great strength
and suppleness would easily enable them to kill deer or sheep.

When travelling overland otters follow the smoothest course
they can find, going round stumps and hummocks and beneath
logs in preference to climbing over them.

Following the same course week after week, often in families
of four or five together, they soon establish a distinct path clear
of obstacles; crooked and tortuous yet keeping to the same
general direction, and in most cases leading to some rapid or
springhole beneath the bank where the water seldom freezes.

Otters are beautiful swimmers; they glide and shoot along
through the water, twisting and turning like the fish they so
delight in chasing. I have seen one pursuing a muskrat, as a
pickerel pursues a shiner, splashing through the shallow water
where the stream had overflowed its banks. At times both
would be invisible beneath the surface for several minutes, to
appear again perhaps out in the current at a distance, the musk-
rat always diving and dodging for its life.

Otters will also catch wild ducks on the water, raising and
seizing them from beneath. They catch their fish by fairly
swimming them down in spite of all their twisting and darting.

220

Otter

Where fish are reasonably abundant an otter can in this manner
easily catch ten times as many as he can eat, and at such
times is apt to satisfy himself with just tasting a mouthful from
each, preferring the flaky meat just back of the head. Otters
are also excellent judges of the different kinds of fish, agreeing
with us in choosing trout, salmon and eels from among those
that live in the rivers. Like seals, they are affectionate and genial,
fond of each other, and, when trained, exhibiting a dog-like
devotion to their masters. The old ones take the most solicitous
care of the offspring and defend them against all comers; a dog
that discovers an otter’s den and imprudently attempts to dig it
out is more than likely never to return to his master.

When the young otters are large enough, their mothers
take them into the water for their first swimming lesson. It is
said that at first they are mortally afraid of the water and have
to be carried into it by force.

I have never had any opportunities of observing them at that
age, but as late as September, when the young ones were as
big as cats, I have seen one climb on its mother’s shoulders,
as if tired, and ride there as she swam against the current.
They were hardly a dozen yards away, and when she saw
me the old one dived, taking the youngster down with her.
A few moments later they came up again side by side, with
their heads close together, and a very attractive picture they made,
bobbing up and down among the pickerel weed, watching me
intently; from time to time the old one would lift her head
nearly a foot out of the water, as if to see me more distinctly.

Presently the young one climbed on her shoulders again,
whereupon she dived, and the next that I saw of them they
were playing about in the shadow of an old bridge twenty rods
further up stream.

The otters home is a den beneath the bank, usually with
the entrance under water for safety. This is evidently not re-
garded as absolutely essential, however, for otters have been
known to have their nests in caves, high up in the banks and
at the bottom of hollow trees.

Last summer | found the home of a family of otters beside
a little muddy brook that is nowhere more than a few inches
deep. Their main entrance appeared to be through a hollow
‘og, the other end of which was buried in the swamp beneath

32t

” Otter

a tangle of old tree trunks fallen and leaning at all angles and
interlaced with a thick growth of smilax and nightshade.

It is quite possible that they had an underground passage
leading to a somewhat larger brook a few rods away, though I
saw no evidence of anything of the kind.

It was late in the season when | found the place and the
young otters were well grown, and apparently spent most of
their time away on long tramps and fishing excursions with
their parents. From what I have seen of them I should say
that otters pair for life and that the male does his part in tak-
ing care of his offspring.

The whole family keep together for the first year at least,
probably until the young otters find their mates and set up
housekeeping for themselves. They are generally gone two or
three weeks on their fishing excursions, following the streams
and sleeping in certain hiding-places that they know of beneath
the steep banks. They will follow in Indian file up the course
of little brooks until there is scarcely water enough to wet
their feet, and then strike across lots through the dark woods
by well-remembered paths that lead to the head-waters of some
other stream. Down this they trace their way among twisted roots
and alder stems, watching for trout as they go, until they reach
the river and swim out into the deep water, looking beneath
lily pads for pickerel that may be hiding there, then down
along the muddy bottom edges for horned-pout and eels.

Horned-pout are favourite fish of theirs and are caught in
large numbers in defiance of their ugly spines; in eating them
the otters make an exception to their rule, and begin at the tail,
leaving the head and armed neck on the bank.

Having reached the river the otters may go either up or down
stream, as suits them best. Inland they know there are quiet
ponds where they may catch perch and chub, and in the other
direction are thatch-fringed ‘‘eel creeks" winding through salt
meadows at certain seasons alive with herring and ale-wives.

They do not occupy the entire trip in fishing, however;
here and there they land on grassy banks, or among the pines,
and romp about like puppies, rolling over and over in the grass,
and clawing up the turf and throwing it about. A favourite
pastime of theirs appears to be the pulling at the opposite
ends of a stick as if to see which is the stronger. But they

3223

OTTER (Lutra canadensis) By C William Beebe
A very difficult animal to photograph. These pictures represent a great amount of work and over a dozen attempts.

Sea Otter

get the greatest fun from sliding; where the bank is sufficiently
steep and slanting they make a roundabout path leading up
to the top of the bank and from there they slide down the
slippery surface into the water one after another like boys slid-
ing down hill on the snow.

There is usually a playing ground at the head of each of
their slides, where the turf is dug up and trampled and broken
sticks scattered about.

In places where the water remains open in the winter the
otters take advantage of the snow crust formed by the water
dripping from their fur and freezing on the snow, and when
travelling overland in snowy weather they always slide down
any declivity they come to.

In the Northern States and Canada they pass most of the
winter under the ice.

Sea Otter

Latax lutris (Linnzus)

Length. 4 feet.

Description. Thick set, muzzle well beset with bristles presenting
much the same appearance as that of the fur seal; tail one-
quarter the length of the body. Fore feet rather small, hind
feet very large, fully webbed between the toes, teeth curiously
blunt and rounded. Body covered with a dense under fur and
a longer coarser outer coat as in the fur seal. Colour, black
with whitish tips, head and neck grayish or yellowish white.

Range. Shores of north Pacific, formerly south to northwestern
United States, becoming very scarce everywhere.

This curious and interesting animal ot our northwest coast
has been reduced to danger of extinction by the fur hunters,
who find in its skin the most valuable pelt furnished by any
North American quadruped.

H. W. Elliott says of it; ‘‘There is no sexual dissimilarity
in colour or size, and both parents manifest the same _ intense
shyness and aversion to man, coupled with the greatest solici-
tude for their young, which they bring into existence at all sea-
sons of the year. As the natives have never caught the mothers
bringing forth their offspring on the rocks, they are disposed to
believe that their birth takes place on kelp beds in pleasant ot
not over-rough weather. The female has a single pup, born about
fitteen inches in length, and provided during the first month or

223

Skunk

two with a coat of coarse brownish grizzled fur, head and nape
prizzled, grayish, rufous white. The fur is prime at two years,
though the animal is not full-grown until its fourth or fifth year.

‘‘The sea otter mother sleeps in the water on her back,
with her young clasped between her fore-paws. The pup can-
not live without its mother. Their food is almost entirely com-
posed of clams, mussels and sea urchins, of which they are very
fond and which they break up by striking the shells together,
held in each fore-paw, sucking out the contents as they are
fractured by these efforts. They also undoubtedly eat crabs and
fish, and the juicy, tender fronds of kelp. They are not polyga-
mous, and more than one individual is seldom seen at a time
when out at sea. They are playful, it would seem, for I am
assured by several old hunters that they have watched the sea-
otter for half an hour as it lay upon its back in the water, and
tossed a piece of sea-weed in the air from paw to paw, ap-
parently taking great delight in catching it before it could fall
into the water.”

Varieties of the Otter

1. Northern Otter. Lutra canadensts Schreber. Description and
range as above.

2. Carolina Otter. L. canadensis lataxina (Cuvier). Much lighter
brown, becoming pale grayish brown on the throat.

Range. Lower Middle and South Atlantic States.

3. Florida Otter. L. canadensis vaga Bangs. Darker and reddet
than the last but not so black as the Northern otter, almost
as dark below as above.

Range. Florida, southern Georgia and along the Gulf Coast
to Louisiana.

4. Newfoundland Otter. L. degener. Bangs. Very dark, prac-
tically black with brown reflections. Size smaller than
any of the preceding.

Skunk
Mephitis putida (Cuvier)
Called also Polecat.
Length. 2 feet.
Description. Body covered with long hair, tail very large and
bushy; colour black with a white patch on the back of the
neck, from which two stripes extend down the back and

224

Skuny

along the sides of the tail, and a white stripe down the
forehead. Sometimes the white is almost restricted to the
patch on the neck, and in the other specimens the stripes
are united, making the whole back white.

Range. New England to Virginia and Indiana, replaced to the
North and South by closely allied varieties.

The skunk belongs in the same group with the minks and
weasels, all the members of which are capable of emitting a
powerful, almost suffocating odour when angry, and this undoubt-
edly gives them a decided advantage in a hand-to-hand com-
bat. But the present species has made itself notorious by _ per-
fecting this gift to a degree that furnishes it with a complete
defense against all but the most desperate enemies. The general
effect on the race is very noticeable.

No longer being compelled to be forever on the alert to
escape or repulse the sudden attacks of an enemy, the little
beast of the black and white fur has grown fat and lazy. It
still retains much of the slender and graceful form of the weasels,
but has allowed its muscles to become soft and tender, and so
burdened with fat as to render rapid and prolonged exertion
almost an impossibility; its flesh in the meantime having become
palatable to every meat-eating creature, not even excepting
man. All those who through want or curiosity have ever tasted
it, agree in pronouncing it equal in flavour and tenderness to
that of any four-footed creature: while no one, not even an
Indian or a wolf, will eat the flesh of a mink or weasel unless
rendered desperate by hunger. Is it not possible that the peculiar
quality of the flesh of these weasels has been developed partly
as a safeguard P

For large, warm-blooded game of whose flesh it still retains
the fondness characteristic of its family, the skunk must depend
on luck or strategy to supply the want of the agility which its
race has thrown away. During the summer and autumn this
loss is hardly felt; grasshoppers, crickets and the like are to be
picked up everywhere in abundance, and compose the regular fare of
the species; snakes are also caught by them in considerable num-
bers, and birds’ nests containing eggs or helpless young are to be
had for the seeking. The short burrows of the field-mice seldom
reach many inches below the turf, and the nests centaining the
young mice are easily uncovered.

225

Skunk

Catching grasshoppers in the hot sunshine of mid-summer is
not by any means an easy task, but by moonlight or the early
gray of the morning while the grass is heavy with dew it is
more like picking strawberries than hunting.

As the season wears on the nights grow longer and the
dew heavier, while the grasshoppers and crickets get bigger and
more sluggish. By the last of October the skunks go rolling
and tottering about on feet that are apparently much too small and
much too close together to support them comfortably, the creature’s
anatomical structure being still like that of the other weasels
and scarcely fitted for carrying such a load of fat with ease and
dignity.

By the time the supply of insect food comes to an end the
skunk finds himself quite unfitted to engage in more active
hunting, so he proceeds to look up a suitable underground
retreat in which to pass the winter. If his summer home _ has
been in the woods, then the same burrow which he has_ been
occupying is all that is required; and if, as is usually the case,
he is still living with his family, numbering perhaps six or eight
members, they all turn in together and sleep for weeks or even
months.

Those that have passed the warm season in the open,
where the ground freezes too deeply to be comfortable in winter, are
under the necessity of looking up lodgings in the woods before
the snow comes.

It often happens that such a family will hit upon a_ hole
already occupied, and the two families, aggregating a dozen or
more individuals, will pass the cold season together in perfect
harmony.

The original occupants, if they are sufficiently awake to
realize anything, are probably glad of the additional warmth
contributed by the new comers.

Skunks are easily the most abundant of all our carni-
vora, yet I have never seen more than five or six, all told, out
of their own accord in the daytime. In the evening, particu-
larly in warm weather, it is common enough to see them
moving about in the uncertain light with the leisurely, unhurried
manner which they usually affect.

Generally there are very few skunks awake in Decembef
and January. In some seasons I have tramped the woods daily

226

Skunk

without seeing so much as one of their footprints during either
of these months. And again, their tracks will be fairly numerous
throughout the winter; and this does not depend entirely on the
mildness or severity of the season either.

Early in February they are pretty certain to put in an
appearance, sparingly while the cold weather lasts, but after the
first really penetrating thaw the snow in all woods is_ thickly
punched with their footprints, and for yards about their holes
it takes on the colour of the dirt brought up from the depths
on their feet.

Now that they are fairly awake and hungry, cold weather
is powerless to keep them indoors. During the still cold nights
of February they shuffle about over the snow-crust from sunset
to sunrise, judging from the amount of ground they manage to
cover each night.

They are now very different creatures from the heavy-bodied
sluggards of the autumn. Those that can still boast a goodly layer
of fat on their ribs must soon part with it. Insects in February
are so scarce as hardly to be worth considering at all, an oc-
casional grub or beetle dug out of a moulding stump _ being
about all that can be safely counted on at this season. For
their daily sustenance the skunks are now obliged to kill creatures
far more active than themselves, and I have always wondered
how, even in their reduced state of flesh, they can possibly com-
pete successfully with the foxes and weasels in the chase.

It is hard to imagine one, even though half famished, making
so much as a short dash of sufficient speed to enable it to
seize so swift an animal. as a rabbit, yet in one way or another
they manage to do so quite frequently. It is probable that they
often succeed in surprising them in their holes, for while the
wood-chuck burrows, which the rabbits occupy, are nearly always
constructed with several openings, the simple-minded creatures
almost invariably make no effort to keep more than one of them
open, allowing all the rest to become closed with snow and _ ice
early in the winter.

As the snow grows less there is a marked tendency among
the skunks to abandon the woods and thickets for the more open
land, where they may hunt for meadow-mice about the newly
exposed patches of moist turf, and snap up such snakes as have
been driven from their winter retreats by the melting snow.

227

Skunk

Whenever the frost has left the soil sufficiently, they dig out
narrow pits as deep as they are able to reach with their fore-
paws, the long claws of which enable them to rake out the
soil with great rapidity. These little excavations, each with its
accompanying pile of dirt, are to be seen anywhere during the
warm months in regions where skunks abound.

They are undoubtedly made in search of insects, but just
what particular kind are oftenest obtained in this way | have
never been able to discover.

With the increasing warmth of the season, bugs of all kinds
begin to crawl out of their hiding places on all sides to breed
and multiply, and these, with mice and reptiles, serve to keep the
skunks in food until the nesting season of birds comes on. But
it is probably short rations at best, and with characteristic bold-
ness and indifference they visit barns and farm buildings, where
they generally do more good than harm, living largely on mice
and rats and whatever meat is to be picked up about the
ground. Still, when temptation offers in the shape of fowls
roosting within reach, the old weasel instinct is likely to be
aroused, and the skunk proves his ability as a hunter of big
game.

In May food begins to be fairly abundant and easily pro-
cured, such as birds’ nests and new families of mice, and the
steadily increasing supply of bugs and reptiles.

It is at this time that the little skunks are led forth by their
parent to receive instructions in the necessary art of getting a
living. They present a most attractive and not by any means
uncommon spectacle on warm, still evenings in early summer ;
the old one moving leisurely along, with half a dozen youngsters
in her train like Indians on the war-path.

The black and white of the young ones is even more
sharply contrasted than that of their parents, as if mew and un-
worn by use, the short fur lying smooth and even without
mixing where the opposing colours come together.

With each recurring evening the devoted little band starts
out on its nightly hunt, chasing dor-bugs and other night fly-
ing beetles, blundering along in the darkness. In the utter black-
ness which exists beneath the undergrowth in the forest they go
searching for the nests of thrushes and ground-building warblers
and partridges.

@28

Skunk

The discovering of the partridge nest means a banquet for
the entire family—two big eggs apiece at least, and perhaps the
unfortunate hen partridge herself to be divided among them; for
it is quite possible that a partridge, driven from her nest in the
night in trying to avoid the one that first started her, might fall
into the clutches of one of the others, especially if she tried to
draw off the enemy by pretending a broken wing.

If birds’ nests are not always to be had, there are families of
young rabbits in every thicket, helpless and practically unpro-
tected, for if the old rabbit were to attempt to act on the de-
fensive, which is hardly likely, she would simply be accepted by
the skunks as a welcome addition to the meal. There are also
the nests of the wood mice and shrews to be dug out from
beneath the old stumps and logs, and among the sodden leaves
and decaying wood in the damp hollows are abundant snails
and other crawling things to fill in any vacancy when better
things are not forthcoming.

The skunk is one of the most likable little beasts in the
woods, being most intelligent and good natured, and without the
wildness of most of our native animals. Except on rare occa-
sions it is perfectly free from any unpleasant odour whatever,
and is at all times exceedingly neat and particular in its _per-
sonal habits. It is easily tamed and makes a safe and amusing
pet.

Varieties of Skunks

Eastern Skunk. Mephitis putida (Cuv.). Description and range
as above.

Canada Skunk. Mephitis mephitica (Shaw). Larger, with shorter
and more slender tail (equal to half the length of body),
pattern more constant, the white stripes varying little in
length or width.

Range. Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.

Florida Skunk. Mephitis elongata (Bangs). Medium in size, tail

very long (longer than the body), white stripes very broad.
Range. Florida to North Carolina and Southern Mississippi.

Louisiana Skunk. Mephitis mesomelas (Licht). Size very small

(14 inches long), tail very short, usually wholly black.
Range. Louisiana to Texas and Missouri.

Illinois Skunk. Mephitis mesomelas avia (Bangs). Similar to the
last, but larger.

Range. Prairie region of Illinois, Indiana and Eastern lowa.

Little Striped Skumk
Little Striped Skunk
Spilogale ambarvalis (Bangs)

Length. 1 foot 3 inches.

Description. A diminutive of the common skunk, with a differ-
ent colour pattern. Black, with a broad white patch on the
forehead, a crescent before each ear and four parallel stripes
on the back, interrupted and broken behind. Tail black with
a terminal tuft of white hairs.

Range. Florida; local and most common on the eastern penin-
sula. In Mississippi, Alabama and Western Georgia north to
West Virginia occurs a somewhat larger variety, with the
white markings much reduced—the Eastern striped skunk,
S. ringens (Merriam). Others occur in the West.

These little skunks have much the same habits as their
larger brothers, possessing the same attractive appearance and the
same ability to make their presence extremely disagreeable.

American Badger

Taxidea taxus (Schreber)

Length. 27 inches.

Description. Body rather thick set and flat, feet rather short,
claws on fore feet very large, tail short. Colour, grayish,
mottled with black on the back in irregular transverse
bands; tail gray; lower parts dirty white; centre of face
black, including the eyes and region just above them; a white
median stripe from the nape nearly to the snout; sides of
face and throat white; a large black patch in front of each
ear. Legs and feet black.

Range. Western North America, east to Wisconsin and Texas-—
formerly to Ohio.

This flat, thick-hided, long-haired creature differs from its
long-suffering European cousin chiefly in its more carnivorous
diet, and in preferring wide-stretching flatlands to dark forests,
such as the Old World badger loves to hide in.

But if badgering and badger-baiting had ever been popular
in this country, our species would unquestionably have put up
as invincible a defence against the dogs urged on to torture it
as ever badger did, its skin being equally tough and its jaws

aje

By W. E. Carlin

SKUNK CROSSING A STREAM (Mephitis putida)

Mink

possessed of the same relentless bull-dog grip, locking them-
selves mechanically as they close. If left alone, however, the
badger is a very timid, gentle and, in a way, useful animal.

It lives in burrows of its own digging and is exceedingly
cautious about exposing itself by day; comparatively few people
have been so fortunate as to see one except when caught in
a trap in its doorway, or drowned out.

When by any chance a badger happens to be at any dis-
tance from its hole when approached, he usually prefers lying quiet
in the grass to making any run for it, being decidedly heavy
and slow of foot. At such time he will flatten himself down
almost like a door mat or a turtle. His long silky gray hair,
parted in the middle down along his spine, spreads out into the
grass on each side, so that he seems to be only a slight hum-
mock in the prairie, undoubtedly often deceiving the keenest
sighted into passing without so much as suspecting his presence.

Even in a cage he will practice the same ruse to escape notice. |
have seen one spread himself out on the dirt which covered the
bottom of his cage, so successfully that out of every twenty
people passing close by him to stare at the miserable captives in
the neighbouring cages, | am positive not more than one or two
at most realized that his cage had an occupant; his black and
white striped head, looking so conspicuous in a mounted skin,
was somehow no more in evidence than his fog-tinted fur.

The badger feeds principally on gophers, field mice, ground
squirrels, prairie dogs and such, like humble earth folk, laying
open their burrows with his strong claws faster than they can
dig away through the earth in their efforts to escape him. He
also eats grasshoppers, beetles, small snakes, etc.

In cold weather he keeps to his den, probably wholly ©
dormant, for on appearing again in the spring, after months of
confinment underground, he is still almost as fat as in the pre-
ceding autumn.

Mink
Putorius vison (Schreber)

Length. 21 inches.

Description. Larger than the weasel, with a thicker tail. Colour
always very dark-brown, nearly black, with a spot of white
on the chin and often on the chest or belly also.

231

Mink

Range. Northern parts of North America, south in the Allegha
nies to Pennsylvania and probably to North Carolina. Ir
the lowlands to Florida the minks belong to slightly differ-
ent varieties.

The mink is endowed with boundless resources in the face
of danger as well as in the matter of getting a living. Wander
where he will day or night, it is of small consequence whether
the enemy that attacks him is fox, dog, wildcat, otter or owl,
he is always within a couple of jumps of some place of refuge.
If the water is near, he dives without a splash, and darts away
like a fish, almost as much at home as the fish themselves in
the swirling depths of the eddies and dim passages beneath
sunken logs and drift-wood, only coming to the surface here and
there for a breath until the enemy is left hopelessly behind.

When the water is not. within reach, he can go up the
nearest tree like a squirrel, or dart into any hole or crevice that
would hide a rat; and lacking this, can out-run and out-dodge
any ordinary pursuer: for, though short of leg, his body is long,
and so supple that he uses the entire length of his spine in
running, doubling himself into the form of a hoop and _ straight-
ening out again at every jump with incredible swiftness.

I have seen him show such speed on numerous occasions
that I have little doubt that the swiftest hawk or fox would
have to do his very best and be lucky in the bargain in
order to catch him. As a last resort he can fight, as many an in-
cautious creature several times his size has learned to its cost.

Referring to the mink’s faculty for hiding anywhere they
may chance to be, I have seen them disappear instantly among
the dry oak leaves that carpet the open where hardwood grows,
and they will do the same thing in short thin grass or shallow
snow with a suddenness that: leaves the beholder wondering.
At such times, if they deign to show themselves again, it will
in all probability be several rods at least from where they dis-
appeared, and then perhaps only for the briefest glimpse.

Only yesterday I was sitting beneath a sheltered bank,
warmed by the thin sunlight of late November and well out of
the reach of the roaring north wind, when | heard a rustling
among the leaves eight or ten rods away. Looking toward the
sound, I saw, just for an instant, a beautiful little female mink
with the sun full on her back, then saw only the russet coloured

232

Mink

leaves sloping up between the tree trunks; but even while |
looked there was the mink again several rods farther away and
just in the act of vanishing as before.

I squeaked like a mouse to call her, but the wind was so
loud in the trees that | failed to make myself heard; so I imi-
tated the chatter of a red-squirrel as closely as | could, and in-
stantly the mink came skipping toward me over the ice of a little
pond that lay between us.

1 do not think that | have ever seen any other four-footed
creature, not even a deer or a fox, run with such baffling swift-
ness. | could just catch the one image of her coming head up
across the sunlit ice before she disappeared in the sere frozen
water grass almost at my feet.

Last Christmas day I saw a very large mink hunting a little
party of ruffed grouse among the pines and birches on a hill-
side. The grouse kept taking short nervous flights here and there,
while the mink beat the underbrush like a pointer and seemed to
be everywhere at once, and nowhere for more than a second at
a time, until finally he turned up where | least expected to see
him, almost behind me, digging excitedly beneath an old log, after
mice apparently, scattering the wet willow leaves to right and left
in his eagerness. On another occasion, when | was duck shoot-
ing, I saw a mink in the pines across a river, and called him over
to my side in order to have a look at him. Running down the
steep bank, he dived, and, swimming under water, only rose when
within a few yards of where | stood, and at once popped into
a burrow at the water's edge. A few seconds later he emerged
from another opening half-way up the bank, and running a little
way toward me, sat perfectly erect, eyeing me curiously, then
dropped to all fours and ran round to the other side to look
me over from that point of view.

It was raining heavily all the time and there was no wind,
so he failed to catch my scent, and for some time continued to
examine at a distance of two or three paces without taking
alarm. When sitting upright he showed a narrow white line
down his throat, broken into a chain of spots between his fore
legs. At last, having satisfied his curiosity, he started off along
the bank with his head turned to one side, watching the rain-
dotted face of the water keenly, perhaps hoping to see the bulg-
ing eyes of a frog or a fish rising to break the surface.

333

Mik

Minks combine the habits of the land and water hunters
more successfully, perhaps, than any other animal. In warm
weather they are fond of exploring wet swamps and low lands,
where they find an abundance of frogs and lizards, and dig all
sorts of grubs, beetles and earthworms from the black peaty
soil and leaf-mould around old weather-beaten stumps and rotten
logs.

They are most inveterate nest robbers and mousers, chasing
the little blunt-headed furry meadow mice along their runways
in the thick grass being their favourite sport.

In April the female fixes herself a cozy nest in some hole
among the rocks, or inside a hollow log or stump generally
hidden away among flags and bullrushes beside a stream.

The young minks stay with their mother until cold weather,
learning to fish and hunt; the frogs, mice and young birds fur-
nish plenty of sport for them while the warm weather lasts, and
they seldom wander far, until the sons of the family are as big
or bigger than their mother. But the frosty autumn weather
makes them restless, and they soon get into the way of going
off separately on longer hunting excursions, to be gone several
days or a week, perhaps, at a time, no longer returning when
tired to sleep together in the same nest where they were born,
but camping each alone wherever the fortunes of chase happen
to lead them, for a mink is always able to find good sleeping
quarters anywhere at a moment's notice.

The mink is not properly either nocturnal or diurnal; when
well fed and tired, after a hard chase, he turns in and sleeps
until rested, and then yawns and stretches himself and starts out
again for another jolly hunt, perfectly indifferent to the time of the
day. It may be black rainy midnight or a brilliant October morn-
ing: when he wakes, off he goes, hungry and eager for fresh
adventures, exploring unknown territory and chasing birds such as
he has never seen before, as the Northern cold drives them down
in flight before it. His first snowstorm is likely to find him
dozens of miles from home. Now and again he runs across other
members of his species and the two hunt and fish together for a
few days, but they soon part company again in most instances,
one, it may be, preferring to follow down along the tidewater
creeks after eels, while the other anticipates better fun chasing
partridges and squirrels in the upland woods.

234

WEASEL (Putorius noveboracensis) eG Bo eee
Caught by the camera as he reappeared after being chased into his hole in the rocks.

New York Weasel

While minks are not social animals, they are, I am certain,
much less in the way of putting up pitched battles when they
meet than are the majority of the woodland folk. Sometimes
half a dozen or more old males will gather about some _par-
ticularly good fishing hole and to all appearances get along per-
fectly together for weeks.

In winter, when the still waters are frozen, they haunt open
rapids and warm springs in the woods, or finding entrance beneath
the ice of a closed brook, make extended excursions along the
dim buried channel, alternately running beneath the ice and
along the brook’s border where the falling away of the water
has left a narrow strip of unfrozen turf beneath ice and snow.
Here they catch small fish and meadow mice, or, tracing the
brook’s course down to the wider reaches of the river, find larger
fish and muskrats to try their strength upon. Water, however,
is not essential to the minks’ happiness at any season, for they
can hunt rabbits all winter long in the snow as successfully as
the sable or fisher.

Varieties of the Mink

Northern sie Putortus vison (Schreber). Description and range
as above.

Southern Mink. P. vison lutreocephalus (Harlan). Length, 28
inches. Larger and lighter, dark chestnut-brown, with white
spots below as in the last.

Range. Coast of Southern New England through the lowlands
to North Carolina.

Loutstana Mink. P. vison vulgivagus (Bangs). Smaller and light
yellowish-brown, chin and spots on under parts purer white.

Range. Coasts of Louisiana and Texas.

Florida Mink. P. lutensis (Bangs). Similar to the last, but still

smaller, with longer head.
ear te Salt marshes of Southern States, South Carolina to
orida.

New York Weasel
Putorius noveboracensis (Emmons)

Length. 16 inches. Female 13 inches.
Description. Tail always more than one-third the total fanigth

New York Weasel

Dark chocolate-brown above, white on under parts, terminal
third of the tail black. In winter pure white except the
black of the tail. This change in colour is complete only
in the northern part of its range. The difference in size of
the male and female is remarkable, and the latter is some-
times confused with Bonaparte’s weasel, which has a much
shorter tail.

Range. Eastern United States, New Hampshire to Virginia, and
westward to Illinois. To the north and west and in higher
parts of North Carolina it is replaced by very closely allied
varieties.

The various kinds of weasels in this country are much alike
in their habits, and there is probably as much difference to be
observed between the ways of individuals of each species as
between the different species. There are certain family charac-
teristics, however, which apply to all of them. First of all, they
are hunters; if they ever follow the example of the majority of
the flesh-eaters and partake of beechnuts, berries, mushrooms, or
herbs on occasions, they have evidently never been caught at it
and reported by the student of nature.

They hunt tirelessly, following their prey by scent, and kill
for the mere joy of killing, often leaving their victims uneaten and
hurrying on for more; when game is abundant they content
themselves with sucking the warm blood. In cold weather they
frequently hide the game they are unable to eat as a provision
against period of hunger.

They like best to follow old tumble-down stone walls over-
grown with weeds, squeezing into every crevice that may har-
bour a mouse or chipmunk; white-footed mice in particular furnish
them no end of sport, for they are scarcely inferior to the
weasels themselves in leaping powers, and are very abundant
everywhere in the woods. In eating a mouse, the weasel first
sucks the blood through the large veins of the neck, then bites
through the skull and eats the brains, and after that, if still
hungry, he eats the flesh, turning back the skin as he does so,
leaving it turned inside out with the feet and tail attached.

Meadow-mice, moles, shrews, and the common mice and rats
of barns and corn ricks, are also hunted by the weasel, but
where white-footed mice are abundant they are pretty certain
to receive his first attention.

In winter the larger weasels kill large numbers of gray rabbits,

836

New York Weasel

and are often to be found in thick growths of young pine and
birch that have sprung up, together with blackberry vines and
briers, on land cleared of old-growths of pine forests.

I have known the rabbits when chased by weasels to leave
the woods and rush frantically out into the open, as if aware
that their enemy was even better suited for rapid progress through
briers and brambles than themselves, though they usually seek
safety from their foes in just such places. And it certainly
seems as if they knew what they were about at such times,
for the weasels seldom leave the woods to follow them.

In summer they catch grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles of
various sorts, and rob every bird’s nest they find. Ground-feed-
ing birds are especially liable to be caught by them, and they
have even been seen to spring into the air and catch birds on
the wing.

Owing to their slimness and elastic muscles they have a
decided advantage over most of the other wood-dwellers, and
have little difficulty in killing birds and animals several times as
large as themselves.

I cannot learn of any other creature that is more thoroughly
possessed of the lust for blood than are these slim-bodied little
hunters.

The larger kinds, including the ermine or long-tailed weasel and
Bonaparte’s weasel, appear to be the most savage and_blood-
thirsty; the New York and the least weasel, from what I can
learn, are somewhat more civilized in their ways. A New York
weasel which I kept in captivity for a few days was gentle
and docile from the very first, and perfectly fearless.

Within less than an hour from the time she was first removed
from the trap to her cage, she would take meat from my hand
without the slightest hesitation, and never offered to bite my fingers
even when touching them with her nose. This tameness could
not have been brought about by hunger, for when | found her in
the box-trap she had not wholly eaten the rabbit’s head which I
had used for bait.

The weasels of the Northern States and Canada turn white at
the approach of winter. The end of the tail, however, does not
change colour, but remains perfectly black as in the summer.

| am inclined to think that this black point serves its owner
in a variety of ways, though at first thought one might think it

337

New York Weasel

would prove conspicuous on the white surface of the snow and in
contrast with the intense white of the remaining fur. But if you
place a weasel in its winter white on new-fallen snow in such a
position that it casts no shadow, you will find that the black
tip of the tail catches your eye and holds it in spite of your-
self, so that at a little distance it is very difficult to follow the
outline of the rest of the animal. Cover the tip of the tail with
snow and you can see the rest of the weasel itself much more
clearly; but as long as the black point is in sight, you see that,
and that only.

If a hawk or owl, or any other of the larger hunters of the
woodland, were to give chase to a weasel and endeavour to
pounce upon it, it would in all probability be the black tip of
the tail it would see and strike at, while the weasel, darting
ahead, would escape. It may, moreover, serve as a guide, enabling
the young weasels to follow their parents more readily through
grass and brambles.

One would suppose that this beautiful white fur of winter,
literally as white as the snow, might prove a disadvantage at
times by making its owner conspicuous when the ground is bare
in winter, as it frequently is even in the North; yet though
weasels are about more or less by day, you will seldom catch
so much as a glimpse of one at such times, though you may
hear their sharp chirrup close at hand. Though bold and _fear-
less, they have the power of vanishing instantly, and the slightest
alarm sends them to cover. |! have seen one standing within
reach of my hand in the sunshine on the exposed root of
a tree,and while I was staring at it, it vanished like the flame
of a candle blown out, without leaving me the slightest clue as
to the direction it had taken. All the weasels I have ever seen,
either in the woods or open meadows, disappeared in a_ similar
manner.

How hawks, owls or foxes ever succeed in catching them is
a mystery, yet they do from time to time, though certainly not
often enough to reduce the number of weasels at any season.
Still, though weasels breed rapidly, they never become very numer-
ous, for which there is reason to be thankful.

In summer the weasel’s fur is a peculiar shade of soft red-
dish-brown, and in spring and fall the blending of white with
brown gives a curiously pied and mottled appearance; the tail at

238

Bonaparte’s Weasel

such times being divided in sections of brown, white and black.

Weasels make their homes under stumps and in the hollow
roots of old trees, or else they take possession of the burrows of
ground-squirrels, often having killed the original occupants.

They also make use of woodchucks’ burrows, particularly
such as have been abandoned by woodchucks for a season, and
later appropriated by cotton-tail rabbits, who the weasels are un-
doubtedly glad to find at home.

Weasels travel by silent gliding leaps, often covering several
yards at a bound, their hind feet falling exactly in the tracks of
the front ones. Their footprints in the snow are close together
in pairs, one foot slightly in advance, and the pairs separated by
intervals of from one to ten feet or more. In soft snow their
slender bodies leave their impress from one pair of footprints
tov then wext:

They are great wanderers, traveling miles in a single night,
and frequently being gone on long hunts for weeks together.

Varieties of the New York Weasel and Related
Species

New York Weasel. Putortus noveboracensis Emmons. Description
and range as above.

North Carolina Weasel. P. noveboracensis notius Bangs. Similar,
but darker, with belly yellow instead of white. Does not
turn white in winter.

Range. North Carolina.

Maine Weasel. PP. noveboracensts occtsor Bangs. Larger, with

longer tail and heavier, broader skull.
Range. Maine, probably to Ontario.

Long-tatled Weasel. P. longitcauda spadix Bangs. Larger than
any of the above (18 inches long), with the under parts
strong buffy yellow.

Range. Eastern Minnesota.

Bonaparte’s Weasel

Putorius cicognani (Bonaparte)

Length. 11 inches (female g inches).
Description. Smaller, difference in sizes of sexes not so striking,
tail decidedly shorter—not much more than one-quarter the

239

Least Weasel; Florida Weasel

total length. Dark brown above, tail tipped with black, belly
and under parts white tinged with yellow. Pure white in
winter with a yellow tinge on the rump, and tail black
tipped.

Range. Boreal forests south to New England and the mountains
of Pennsylvania. A larger variety, Richardson’s weasel P.
cicognant richardsont (Bonaparte), occurs in Northern British
America.

This smaller, short-tailed weasel is an animal of the boreal
forests, overlapping in parts of its range one or other of the pre-
ceding long-tailed species, from which it probably differs little in
habits.

Least Weasel

Putorius rixosus Bangs

Length. 6 inches.

Description. Smallest of the weasels, with no black tip to the
tail, which is very short. Colour, dark reddish brown above,
white below. In winter pure white throughout.

Range. Arctic America, south to Northern Minnesota, replaced on
the Artic coast of Alaska by the Eskimo weasel P. rixosus
eskimo Stone. In Western Pennsylvania occurs another little
weasel, allied to the least weasel, the Alleghany weasel P.
alleghantensis Rhoads.

Florida Weasel

Putorius peninsule Rhoads

Length. 15 inches.

Description. Never turns white in winter. Chocolate brown,
darker on the head, chin whitish, rest of under parts yellow-
ish, irregular spots of white sometimes present on the face,
between and behind the eyes.

Range. Peninsula of Florida. The allied bridled weasel P.
frenatus (Lichtenstine), with distinct white marks on the face,
occurs in Texas.

This is a distinctly Southern weasel, our other Eastern weasels

24°

Fishes

being all animals of the more northern States, or of the moun-
tainous regions.

Fisher
Mustela pennantt Erxleben

Called also Fisher Marten, Pekan.

Length. 3 feet.

Description. Larger and heavier than the weasels and minks, with
longer and bushier tail. Grizzly grayish brown, lighter on the
fore part of the body and darker brown posteriorly; tip of the
tail black; darker also on the throat and legs; tai! full and
bushy.

Range. Boreal regions of eastern North America southward
through the Alleghanies; an allied variety replaces it to the
westward.

The fisher is by far the largest of the martens as well as one
of the handsomest, a long-bodied, vigorous hunter, with the agility
of a sable and the strength of a wolverine.

Possessing many of the habits of the pine marten, he has a
shrewder intelligence and greater boldness in hunting; for he man-
ages somehow to kill the Canadian porcupine in defiance of his
spiny armour, and will circumvent a savage old she bear and kill
her cubs while she is away. It is said that the fishers of the Rocky
Mountain region even kill young grizzlies in this manner. The
fisher's private hunting grounds are gloomy hemlock and spruce
covered hills and ridges, where they cover immense distances in a
single night, traveling by bounds, nose in the air, to catch every
scent that is in the wind.

They are as much at home in the tree-tops as are the pine
martens, and climb to where the partridges roost, and catch them
in their sleep.

Hares’ flesh is their regular diet, but they vary this accord-
ing to the season and as their appetites and the fortunes of the
chase shall determine, their bill of fare ranging from insects and
dead fish to bear meat and young venison.

They are also fond of beechnuts like the pine marten, and will
go long distances for a sprig of catnip, just as the mink or wild-
cat will, or an ordinary domestic tabbie.

241

Pine Marten

Fishers sleep all day in hollow trees or logs, preferring a good:
sized cavity high up among the branches. In mild weather they
like to take their naps on the horizontal branches of fir-trees,
stretched at length, like a cat on a window-sill.

Although hating settled regions and cultivated lands, they ex-
hibit no special fear of man in the wilderness, often turning the
tables on the trapper and following his trail, just as the trapper
follows theirs. Many a trapper has been driven almost to despera-
tion by some sly old fisher who insists on looking after his traps
for him, pulling marten traps to pieces from behind in order to
get at the bait without risking his own precious skin, eating or
tearing to pieces any pine-marten or mink that may have been
caught, and dragging steel traps out of the snow to spring them.
If he should chance to get pinched in a marten trap, his great
strength usually sets him free again, teaching him only to be a
little more careful the next time.

When at last the trapper has succeeded in outwitting this wily
fellow-hunter, and brings his beautiful pelt back to camp, he feels
the thrill of triumph of a hard-won victory.

The fisher is one of the very wildest of all wild animals, and |
believe that hardly another suffers so much from being caged.
Of course, all of the hunters are rendered infinitely miserable and
unhappy by being deprived of the freedom which is their life ;
but of all those that I have seen imprisoned, not even the pine
martens or lynxes looked at me with such hopeless despair as
the fisher, and I earnestly hope that I may never have to see
another in a cage. There is cruelty enough in the woods,
heaven knows; but the trapper who sets his steel trap with a
spring pole that jerks the game into the air and keeps it hang-
ing by a leg through long days and nights, in all weathers, is
merciful by contrast with him who can be hired to catch a full-
grown fisher uninjured in order that it may drag out a wasted
life in prison for no fault of its own.

Marten
Mustela americana Turton
Called also American Sable, Pine Marten.

Length. 24 inches.
Description. Smaller than the fisher, with less bushy tail. Colour,

242

Pine Marten

rich brown, somewhat lighter below, throat with a light
tawny spot, ears high and pointed.
Range. Boreal forests south through the mountains to Pennsylvania.

Martens love best thick old-growth forests of evergreen,
where dead trees lean together and stretch along the ground
half buried and crumbling.

Here they live among the trees almost like squirrels, racing
along old windfalls and up among the branches, to leap over
into the next tree-top and so away through the woods; chas-
ing the red squirrels in the pine boughs, and catching them too
in spite of all their quickness. Then down to earth again,
bounding off on the trail of a hare, eager and excited with the
scent of fresh game in their nostrils.

In warm weather they keep more to the swamps and low,
moist woods, where the dead leaves lie wet in the hollows.

Although martens kill all sorts of birds and animals indis-
criminately, they appear to prefer partridges, rabbits and squirrels,
hunting them most persistently. They will follow the trail of a
hare, nose to the earth, quartering along its crooked course until
their terrified prey starts up before them from its hiding place;
then for a little while it is a close hot chase by sight. If the
marten fails to seize him in the first few jumps, the hare may out-
distance him and go flying away over stumps and logs out of
sight among the trees. The marten, however, merely drops his
nose to the trail once more and follows it up without a break,
perfectly certain of success in the end. Even in deep soft snow
the marten is able to chase the hare with success, his feet being
broad and well furred, supporting him on the surface, where a
mink’s or even a weasel’s would sink deep.

Like the mink and weasel, martens have little to fear from
native enemies; the much larger fisher is said to kill them occa-
sionally, and it is not improbable that the great horned owl now
and then manages to pounce on one unawares.

But though they are almost free from the strong musky
odour characteristic of the other weasels, very few of the car-
nivores care to taste their flesh unless driven to it by extreme
hunger.

Before the coming of the Europeans they must have multi-
plied exceedingly in all the northern forests, to the terror and

243

Pine Marten

destruction of all kinds of small game. It has been _ observed,
however, that about once in every eight or ten years they
almost disappear in a most unaccountable manner from all parts
of the region they inhabit.

There is no evidence of disease among them at such times,
or that they have migrated in a body, as gray squirrels, hares
and lemmings do when they find themselves overcrowded.

The sable hunters all agree, however, that they invariably
refuse to be enticed into a trap by bait of any sort just before
the periods of scarcity, though commonly unsuspicious and easily
taken. Martens prefer to make their nests in holes high up in
some old tree, and find the nests of the larger woodpeckers
perfectly suited to their needs. Having established themselves in
a woodpecker’s or squirrel’s hole, they like to watch whatever is
going on in the woods beneath them, with just their noses
poked out into the air, ready to slip back out of sight if danger
threatens. Their nests are made of moss and leaves in the bot-
tom of the cavity.

In the mountainous rocky country they often live in crevices
among the ledges or a seam in the face of the cliff. They
multiply rapidly, the females having half a dozen or more kittens
early in the spring.

Although they exhibit much less apprehensiveness in man’s
presence in the wilderness than the otter, for example, they
absolutely refuse to inhabit woods in the vicinity of any regular
settlement, disappearing completely at the approach of civilization.
While the otter, though quick to abandon his favourite slides and
playgrounds if he finds the merest suspicion of a man’s tracks
near by, only moves to some other point along the stream, and
establishes a new landing place, though it may just be on the
outskirts of a village. Although martens are carnivorous animals,
they are said to be very fond of beechnuts, and I should not be in
the least surprised to learn that in the summer they eat berries
of various kinds as well, for most of the flesh-eaters make an
exception in favour of some sort of vegetable diet, just as almost
all rodents like meat for a change.

Varieties of the Pine Marten

Marten. Mustela americana Turton. Description and range as
above.

244

2a ey
ct Oia, Mepe9 5

ae
ig
#. —

R PINE-MARTEN (Mustela americana)

W olverine

Newfoundland Marten. M. atrata Bangs. Darker brown, almost
black; throat patch orange.
Range. Newfoundland.
Labrador Marten. M. brumalis Bangs. Larger and _ heavier,
colour darker.
Range. Northern Labrador.

Wolverine

Gulo luscus Linne
Also called Glutton and Carcajou.

Length. 30 inches.

Description. Heavy and _ bear-like, walking on the sole of the
foot. Hair long and shaggy; general colour _ blackish-
brown, lighter on top and sides of the head; feet black, a
pale yellowish-white band from the middle of the body on
each side, widening out on the flanks and joining over the
basal portion of the tail.

Range. Boreal North America, Northern New York (formerly)
northward.

The wolverine is a most unlovable brute, sullen and greedy;
his home is in the north woods from the St. Lawrence and the
Great Lakes north to the very limit of the trees and beyond.
He is also occasionally found in the northern United States.

Like the skunk, he is a member of the active and sinuous
weasel and marten family; and just as the skunk has developed
a method of defense so effective as to allow its owner to dis-
pense with the agility of his race and become soft and_ fat
through laziness and lack of exercise, the wolverine has devel-
oped his native shrewdness and heavy strength at the expense
of his agility.

No longer capable of running down a hare or climbing for
birds and squirrels, he tramps it doggedly along through the
forest, covering immense distances, and never missing an oppor-
tunity of getting a meal without risking his own safety. He now
systematically robs the white and half-breed trappers of their
game, the meat with which they bait their traps, and their stores
of provisions, just as in past ages he undoubtedly robbed the
native red man of his frozen fish and venison; and he steals
from his fur-coated four-footed fellow-hunters as well.

Where winters are long and severe, lynxes, martens, weasels

845

Wolverine

and foxes have been taught by hunger to practise the very
closest economy. When luck goes with them and they manage
to kill more than they can eat at one time, they usually bury
what is left in the snow, or drag it away to some more secrete
hiding place, knowing from bitter experience that all the other
flesh-eaters are forever on the prowl, and not a bit overscrupu-
lous about appropriating what they find.

But no amount of clever hiding is likely to avail them if
there happens to be a wolverine in the neighbourhood. He
seems to be gifted with a perfectly fiendish ingenuity in the
matter of searching out buried treasures of meat, and at the same
time meanly insuring himself against being robbed in_ return.
For his capacious stomach makes it possible for him to eat
more than most creatures of his size, and if anything is left
after he has gorged himself he buries it and so defiles the snow
about it and scents it with his disgusting odours that it is said
that no other animal, no matter how hungry, will touch it.

In warm weather he probably finds it easier to satisfy his
appetite in a more legitimate manner, following the summer
methods of hunting adopted by most of his family, skulking
through swamps and thickets after birds’ nests and young creatures
of various sorts that have not yet learned to take proper care of
themselves.

He also feeds on insects and reptiles, and digs out the under-
ground homes of mice and lemmings whenever his keen ‘nose
tells him that he is likely to find the little owners at home.
He is even said to dig out foxes in early summer, killing and
eating the fox cubs when he is so lucky as to succeed in cor-
nering them at the extremity of their den.

The wolverine’s own home is a burrow, and here in mid-
summer the five or six little wolverines are born; they are some-
what lighter coloured and more attractive than their parent, who
shows her one admirable trait in her affection for them and her
fearless attacks on any man or beast that threatens their safety.

When I think of the wolverine I always seem to see him
through distant openings in low, dark northern forests, where the
pointed spruce trees thin out at the edge of the barren, and
the dull snow-threatening winter sky hangs close over the end-
less snow beneath; not even the little blue fox or musk-ox
seems more suggestive of the northern cold.

240

ND) NOLVIaVD YO

a40ulsng affKjapDy

Raccoon

The wolverine is thoroughly hated by Indian and white
trapper alike; he is often known as Indian devil, or north shore
devil, and his capture gives greater satisfaction than the value
of his fur alone would seem to warrant.

But his catching is no such easy matter, for he is_ slyer
than a fox when it comes to springing a trap without harm to
himself. The most successful method of trapping him seems to
be to bury both trap and bait deep in the snow, as if with
the intention of keeping it away from him.

RACCOONS AND THEIR ALLIES
Family Procyonide

Small or medium sized bear-like animals, mainly tropical,
but represented in North America by the Raccoon and in the
west also by the Bassaris and Coati. All of these may be rec-
ognized by their black and white-ringed tails.

RACCOON
Procyon lotor (Linnseus)
Called also ‘‘ Coon.”

Length. 32 inches.

Description. Form stout, tail thick, snout pointed, longhair,
rather coarse. General colour gray or yellowish at base of
hair, dusky or black at tips; dark on the back; face
whitish, with a black area on each cheek surrounding the
eye; feet black; tail very bushy, grayish-white, strongly
ringed with black.

Range. Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, replaced
in Florida by the Florida Raccoon P. /otor elucus Bangs, a

gaunter animal, more yellow in colour. Other varieties occur
westward.

It is interesting to note the pronounced difference which
exists between the various species of our native wild animals
as regards the readiness with which they manage to adapt

247

Raccoon

themselves to the changed conditions forced upon them by the
settling of the country and the consequent thinning of the
forests and swamps.

In a previous chapter I have mentioned the pine marten, or
American sable, as a creature to all outward appearances, at
least, well enough fitted for dwelling in a partially cultivated
region without departing so very widely from the ways of its
ancestors, but which has, nevertheless, been invariably one of
the very first to disappear before advancing civilization, the
value of its fur alone certainly not being sufficient to account
for its extermination.

The raccoon, on the other hand, furnishes us with just the
opposite example. A creature of somewhat clumsy and_ delib-
erate movements as compared with the majority of the wood-
dwellers; requiring a pretty large space for a hiding-place or
bedroom, and generally insisting on a hollow tree of good size
or cavern among the rocks for its accommodation; persecuted
everywhere and at all seasons both by men and dogs, and in
spite of it all, not only holding its own in most places where
it has ever been found in any numbers, but apparently even
increasing and establishing itself in districts where, until quite
recently, it has been practically unknown.

I cannot discover that they have ever been abundant in
this vicinity (Southern New Hampshire) from the time when
the country was first settled to the present. In _ fact, all
those that I can obtain any account of as _ having’ been
killed here, until quite recently, appear to have been regarded
almost as curiosities hardly to be recognized even by the
oldest hunters, yet one. would suppose that formerly the
country must have been much better suited to their tastes than
now.

From all accounts the original growth of forests that stood
here was composed much more largely of hard woods, white
oak, beech and maple than the woods now left us, composed
principally of white pine, hemlock and birch, furnishing neither
food nor lodging to the raccoon’s taste.

Within the last two or three years, however, raccoons have
unquestionably become not uncommon in this and most of the
neighbouring townships, so that coon hunts are becoming quite
popular and usually prove fairly successful, the barking of coon

248

Raccoon

dogs on moonlight nights in the autumn being now a com-
mon sound.

Every now and then one also hears of some local sports-
man or other bringing home a raccoon which he had killed
quite unexpectedly when out after other game; only a week or
two ago a raccoon was caught in a mink trap near here.

They are also said to be increasing in the same way in
other parts of New England, even in the vicinity of large
towns—Boston, for example.

Of course it is impossible to say as yet whether this in-
crease is likely to continue indefinitely or to prove merely transi-
tory. | see no reason why coons should not thrive here to a
certain extent as they do in other parts of the country, for
they are among the most widely distributed of our wild beasts,
and although hollow trees are not perhaps of such frequent
Occurrence here as in hard-wood regions or in old-growth
forests, I believe that they are as much so as in many _ places
where coons are and always have been abundant.

In some parts of the country they are said to dwell in
burrows which they dig in the high banks of streams by pref-
erence; in rough, ledgy land they appear to prefer cavities
beneath the rocks to hollow trees, even, probably finding greater
safety there.

Corn is more generally raised here than almost any other
crop, and furnishes the coon with his favourite diet, complaints
of the damage done by them in this direction having of late
become quite frequent.

When the corn is in the milk the raccoons strip down the
ears that are within their reach, and in sheer wastefulness and
wanton extravagance usually manage to destroy several times
as much as they actually eat.

Though so much smaller, they are said to be quite nearly
related to the bears, and it would certainly appear that they
possess about all of the characteristic traits of the ursine family,
shuffling about the woods in a wholly bear-like manner, pre-
pared to dine on anything that offers, either animal or vegetable;
nuts, cherries, wild grapes and blackberries, bugs and_ reptiles
are all on the list, which does not end there, however, for rac-
coons are skilled both at fishing and hunting, though it is
probable that in both these pursuits they are compelled to de-

249

Raccoon

pend largely upon strategy to accomplish their ends. Fish is
probably not a very steady article of diet with them at any
season, for, though good swimmers and not at all averse to
entering the water, they lack both the skill and the suppleness .
of the mink and otter which would enable them to plunge in
boldly and seize their prey with their teeth.

From the accounts of numerous eye-witnesses it would ap-
pear to be a pretty regular practice with them to lie in wait
at the edge of the water and hook out any fish that comes
within reach by a smart stroke of the fore paw with claws
extended.

Being night wanderers, they undoubtedly often manage to
surprise sleeping birds, both on the ground and among the
branches, as it is a common custom with them in thick woods
to travel for long distances among the tree-tops without once
descending to earth, robbing the nests of birds and squirrels on
the way.

Try to imagine the terror of a family of squirrels, sleeping
snuggled up together within their thick walls, at having this
great shaggy monster come scrambling along the branches at
midnight and proceed to tear their roof to pieces above their
heads, compelling them to scatter as best they may, blind as
humans in the darkness, and wholly at a disadvantage against
this night-seeing enemy.

On the ground the raccoon prowls about wet places from
choice, along the borders of swamps and_ brooksides, following
the paths made by sheep and cattle where they go down to
drink. Every fallen tree on his path tempts him to mount and
run along it to the other end, this habit being so universal
with the raccoon family that coon-trapping is often successfully
followed by simply setting steel traps on prostrate logs without
any bait or other inducement whatever, though occasionally a
piece of tin or other shining metal is hung just over the trap
to attract his attention in the moonlight, the coon’s curiosity
being proverbial. It is said that on discovering anything of the
kind one will amuse himself for hours sitting upright and strik-
ing it with his paws to make it whirl and spin in the air.

His thick fur enables him, like the bears, to rifle bee trees
in comparative safety, and to dig bumblebees’ and hornets’ nests
out of the turf.

250

Carlin

By W. E

RACCOON (Procyon lotor)

Raccoon

Raccoons, like most other climbing animals, make frequent
use of the nests of hawks and crows to sleep in. At other times
they flatten themselves along the thick branch of a tree, their
gray fur harmonizing admirably with the colour of the bark, or
else they ascend to the tops of dense foliaged hemlocks and,
circling their fat bodies completely around the main stem, doze
away the time in comfort, supported by the numerous elastic
branches about them, quite invisible from the ground. If a
company of blue jays discover one in this position there is sure
to be a tremendous racket right away, their shrill voices jarring
the quiet of the tree-tops like an alarm clock set to awaken
the coon from his slumbers.

Compared with most of our flesh-eating beasts, raccoons
are regular stay-at-homes. Of course there are exceptions, and
undoubtedly many of them are possessed of the wandering habit,
but I believe that the majority of them return regularly at day-
break, however they may have passed the night, whether peace-
fully gathering wild grapes or berries in the thickets, or robbing
the farmer’s hen-roost. This last is perhaps about the worst form
of vice in which they ever indulge. A coon at !arge in a hen-
house appears to lose all discretion or fear of final retribution,
killing right and left while his enthusiasm lasts, and then gorging
himself on the results of his carnage. Unlike foxes, most of
whom carefully avoid a second visit to any farmyard that they
have once ravaged in this manner, a coon is likely to return the
following night to go on with his horrid work, and in most
instances is made to suffer the penalty of his misdeeds—a charac-
teristic which would appear to indicate a certain dullness of
intellect, at least as compared with that of the fox; for as long
as the latter is able to quietly capture two or three chickens
each week under cover of the corn, he seems to realize that
there is but little danger of calling down the vengeance of the
farmer upon his head, and may keep up the game for months;
but wholesale robbery he knows to be a more serious matter,
and hardly to be repeated with safety.

The track of the raccoon is easily recognized either in soft earth
or snow, the footprints being long with a narrow and quite
distinct heel, almost like that of the human foot. They are com-
monly in pairs a few inches apart, one a little in advance, the
pairs separated by a distance of something less than a yard.

a5r

Raccoon

though of course, as the coon varies his speed the order of his
footprints changes also.

The track of a skunk might be supposed to answer to this
description, having as it does the similar heel mark; its small
size, however, as well as the fact that its toes are not separated,
as in the raccoon’s tracks, serves as a distinction between the
two.

The woodchuck’s track is really almost the only one that could
well be mistaken for that of a raccoon. To distinguish the two
one has only to remember that the woodchuck’s footprints are
shorter, and show the mark of a pretty well defined thumb like
that of a squirrel.

The young raccoons vary from three to six in number, and
are born in April or May. At first they are as blind and help-
less as young kittens, and remain under the care and protection
of their parents for the first season at least. Their crying when
they are separated from the old ones is said to resemble that of
a human infant under similar circumstances.

The adults also have a kind of whimpering cry or call which
is often heard on moonlight nights. It seems to be of a somewhat
variable nature, at times resembling the quavering note of a
screech owl or laughing hoot of a barred owl, and aga‘n sound-
ing like a colt’s whinnying.

This similarity to other sounds of the country renders it hard
to identify, and from various circumstances I am inclined to think
that it is never to be heard at any great distance.

On the arrival of cold weather young and old curl themselves
up together; occasionally several families will occupy the same
hollow tree. In this manner they pass the first and severest part
of the winter in a more or less lethargic condition, hardly relaps-
ing into such a state of unconsciousness that a few days of
warm weather will not tempt some of them out on the snow.

Back they go again, however, into winter quarters at the
advent of the next cold wave, and for the remainder of the sea-
son confine themselves to naps of a few days or at most a week’s
duration.

By the time spring has fairly taken possession of the woods
they are all out again, searching among the sodden leaves and
debris left by the last rain of the winter for newly awakened
snakes and beetles. It is at this season that they are oftenest

253

Raccoon

compelled to go hungry, and, like the other hibernating beasts, they
lose flesh rapidly during the spring months, though the omnivo-
rous nature of their appetites gives them a decided advantage
over the woodchucks and the rest of the vegetable eaters in the
general scramble for food.

It is curious that the quaint custom of washing meat of all
kinds before eating it should be clung to so religiously by the
raccoons of all parts of the country. Raccoons are so easily
domesticated and prove such amusing pets that accounts of tame
coons are to be picked up almost anywhere, and although ex-
hibiting plenty of originality in most ways, they all seem to agree
in this one particular: that when meat is offered them it must
be thoroughly washed or else eaten only under protest appar-
ently, many a coon preferring to go hungry rather than eat flesh
which it has not first been allowed to wash. Moreover, they
are not willing to let any one else do the work for them, insist-
ing rather on being allowed to do it all themselves, holding their
food in both fore paws and sousing it about in the water until
it is reduced to a pallid, flabby, unappetizing mess which only a
coon could look upon without misgiving.

Tne latin title J/ofor, as well as the names applied to this
species by both German and French naturalists, and I think by
some of the Indian tribes of this country, have reference to this
washing habit.

The coon never has, and probably never will achieve, that
fame and popularity in the North which it holds in the South.
It undoubtedly owes the position which it holds there to the
peculiar mixture of insight and imagination with which the negro
observes the wild things about him, looking upon them as little
wild people dwelling in the woods and fields as best they may,
and hardly differing from his own race except as he himself
differs from the whites; the raccoon to them is ‘‘ brother coon”
and the rabbit ‘‘brother rabbit.”

Before the war, the white children on the Southern planta-
tions obtained most of their knowledge of natural history from
the slaves, and although they received real facts and quaint negro
ideas and superstitions wonderfully blended, ' am convinced that
with it all they got an appreciation of the true innerselves of
the little beasts not to be obtained from books or any amount
of the scientific research of the trained naturalists.

253

Texas Bassaris

The Northern farmer, lacking this early training, in too many
instances wholly ignores the wild creatures that inhabit his wood-
lot, except when compelled to defend himself against their inroads
on his property. It is the exception, even among farmer boys in
the North, to ever take the trouble to study their ways closely
in order more successfully to shoot or trap them for profit. Most
of those who endeavour to add to their pin money by trapping
and shooting during the comparatively idle season of late fall
and winter and early spring, simply follow the direction given
them by those who followed the profession before them and
who, undoubtedly, in their time received the same from their
elders.

Texas Bassaris
Bassaviscus astutus flavus Rhoads
Called also Ring-tailed Cat, Civet Cat, Cacomistle.

Length. 28 inches.

Description. Much more slender than the Raccoon, with a long
tail. Colour, yellowish-brown, inclining to gray above, below
white; tail ringed with black and white.

Range. Texas, with an allied variety in California and Oregon,
and others in Mexico.

The Bassaris is a beautiful little animal, with its slender,
almost weasel-like body and handsome ringed tail. It seems to
be more characteristic of Mexico than of our own country, and,
although it ranges well northward in suitable regions, but little
has been learned of its life history. Its nocturnal habits and
life among the rocks and trees probably has much to do with
this. In captivity it is said to be gentle and docile.

Mexican Coati

Nasua narica (Linnzus)

Called also Coatt mondt.

Length. 3 feet.
Description. Coon-like; tail tapering to a point; nose much

354

Dugmore

Rk,

By A.

POLAR BEAR (Thalarctos marttimus)

: 7
"oe
="
eo
dl

Polar Bear

lengthened and tapering, forming the most characteristic
feature of the animal. Fur thick and long. Colour, dark-
brown, sometimes with rufous tints, generally tipped with
white or gray, nose and region around the eyes white.
Tail usually faintly ringed with grayish-white, sometimes
only perceptible on the basal portion below, or occasionally
with rings entirely lacking.

Range. Mexico, crossing the Rio Grande into Southern Texas.
This curious beast, reminding one of a coon with nose and

tail pulled out to a point, is a characteristically tropical animal,

which ranges just over our southwestern border.

BEARS
Family Urside

Polar Bear

Thalarctos maritimus (Phipps)

Length: +) 7 feet.

Description. Entirely white at all seasons, or slightly tinged
with yellowish; fleshy parts of nose and lips black.

Range. Circumpolar regions South to Northern Labrador.

The Polar Bear is the beach ranger of the northern seas.
Other bears the world over keep to the shady thickets and
forest tangles, where, when the hunting is poor, they can
gather wild berries and nuts, and grub roots out of the black
earth. But the polar bear rarely tastes vegetable food except in
the few short weeks of an Arctic summer. In the desolate,
treeless north, he shuffles along over ice-crusted ridges, powdered
with snow. His favourite hunting grounds are along the margin
of the ice-fields, where the drifting floes grind against the fixed
ice of the shore line, and rend and split with the heaving of
the ocean. Here he watches for seals at their breathing holes,
as patiently as a cat watches for mice, or stalks them under
cover of the ice cakes at the edge of the breakers.

If he sees one resting on the ice where there is small
chance of creeping on it undetected, he plunges into the sea

255

Polar Bear

and swims: far out among the whitecaps to the leaward and
makes his approach under water. He is a powerful swimmer
even in a heavy sea, and catches salmon swimming like
an otter.

Anything eatable that floats or is cast ashore is his food,
a dead whale or a herring being alike acceptable. With com-
paratively few exceptions, it is only the old males of the species
that face the dull length of an Arctic winter out-of-doors. In
the autumn, when the snowstorms become heavy and frequent,
and the driving scud from the sea shuts out the low sun,
most of the she bears look round for some protected hollow in
which to pass the winter.

Under the projecting shelf of a ledge and between neighbour-
ing rocks are favourite winter dens of theirs. Sometimes one
will dig a cave for herself in the snowdrift, or, curling up in
the bed of a rock, she lets the snow bury her as it will, the
one object in any case being to have plenty of snow piled
above her for protection against the coming winter. In _ those
northern latitudes the summers are far too short for a young
bear born in the spring to gain sufficient strength for with-
standing the hardships of the rough winter that closes in so
rapidly.

The young polar bears are born soon after the old one has
buried herself for the winter, and for months she_hibernates
there under the snow with only a slender breathing shaft kept
open by the warmth that rises from her fat body.

For the entire winter the cubs draw all their nourishment
from her and grow strong and lusty, while she, being without
food of any sort, becomes lean and gaunt during her long
rest before the late spring releases them from their prison.

In the latter part of the winter the cave is gradually en-
larged by their breathing and the warmth of their bodies, which
melts away the snow around them, until finally they succeed
in breaking away a passage and come out into the flat rays of
the sun. There are now great companies of wild fowl and
sea-birds gathering to nest among the cliffs, and seals with their
young on the ice; so the old bear has a good chance to recu-
perate her strength and teach her cubs to hunt and fish for
themselves.

When more nourishing food is hard to get, she crops the

256

POLAR BEAR (Thalarctos maritimus) By A. R. Dugmove

- wt :
=
;
, 1
i 7 P
i om
i
r Wie f
. J 7 -
on = - id iM si 6
i _ 7s : D 7 :
- 7 ond cit
a Fie” =
oe
= a
: Pus vis -
> as ni 7 ~
a) Sy ies
a en S : ‘ 5
2 : ' PL :
: a ho are 7
a ‘ - : A ad ah a :
, a -_ ~~» _ n 7
ee ea i lly Dk Nhe aa
1
‘ A : .
ey = ~,. = i =

i A am
j ; :
‘ r
* _o
has e -
- “a4
“AY = ~
" & ;
a4 7 oy >
- 2 i
4. (
r Shay Ss :
= : f=
i J f
x ; 4 .
‘
r
< : .
.
z ‘ + f
‘ 7 *
1 - a, . - ; 7
i , iy A ” : 0 ‘+
a = : : — —s 3 z= a
ve > 3 I] Ph. ft -
, i : y U * -
- } — » Som el '
4 a ee hs : ; ek
2 ia - Se
I * - , - : (=) 5 — t
: 8 aoe te : mos
ral 7 a ' ; a - ae c
= ¥ = is = a,
< " ’ - —— i bo
Rees, colt Bl hae
= 7 7 .— 7 a LL -
ae he ee NT, ty ee)
7 0 Png I ire - SS ee hee

of
’

Black Bear

salt grass back of the beaches, and later gathers berries and
roots from the bogs thawed for a little while at the surface by
the long hours of sunlight. The polar bear’s courage in defense
of her young is well known. Almost every Arctic explorer has
brought back vigorous accounts of her valour and_ self-sacrifice.
If only the humans could have shown up half as well as the
bears in these encounters, they would make much more _ cheer-
ful reading.

Black Bear

Ursus americanus Pallas
Called also Cinnamon Bear.

Length. 5 feet.

Description. Colour entirely black, with a brownish tinge on the
face. Some individuals are uniform dark chestnut or cinna-
mon, with purplish reflections in certain lights, and are
called ‘‘Cinnamon Bears.’’ For many years this colour phase
was thought to represent a distinct species.

Range. Forest regions of North America, except the Gulf States,
and Labrador, where allied varieties occur.

The black bear originally inhabited nearly all the woods of
North America. It is still fairly common in lonely regions where
there is much thick timber and rough land.

The black bear differs from the typical bear of literature in
a great many ways; the bear of folk-lore and story-books, that
roars and attacks people on sight, is the brown bear of Europe,
a rough, shaggy beast, clumsy and awkward, like our grizzly
bear. The black bear is a smooth-coated, well-shaped fellow,
savage enough when attacked and compelled to fight for its life,
or to protect its cubs, but at other times timid and inoffensive.
When you walk through the woods the shy rabbit allows you
to approach to within a few steps before it takes fright and
goes bounding away, but the black bear is much more easily
frightened. Long before you have got within sight of him he is
running for his life with almost the speed of a fox, yet in his
encounters with dogs he has proved himself a dangerous antag-
onist, plucky and ready to fight. The fact is, his terror of man
is the only thing that could possibly save him. If he had as-

257

Black Bear

sumed the same attitude toward man in this country that the
brown bear has in Europe, the last of his race would have
been shot in the days of our grandfathers.

Except in early spring, black bears live principally upon
vegetable food; blueberries are their favourite diet, though fruit
of any kind seems to suit them well enough.

They also dig for roots and bugs, and catch grasshoppers
and crickets in the grass.

When there is plenty of such food to be had, they will, it
is said, pass the newly killed carcass of a deer or a_ sheep
without noticing it.

This, however, probably depends a good deal on the indi-
vidual, some of them being always fond of meat. Like all bears,
they are passionately fond of honey and very clever at finding
bee-trees. When a bear has discovered a bee-tree he courage-
ously attacks it with teeth and claws, endeavouring to enlarge
the opening sufficiently to enable him to reach the honey. But
the stings of the enraged insects about his nose and mouth
cause him to stop frequently. If the bear is at work at the
foot of the tree, he can roll on the ground in order to get rid
of his tormentors when the pain becomes too severe, but if
he is high up on the trunk he can only rub them off against
the bark and hold his ground, knowing it will not be
long after the honeycomb is broken into before ‘the bees will
leave him in peace, each hastening to fill its honey-bags before
it is too late. Black bears hibernate throughout the winter,
stowing themselves away in hollow trees and caves among the
rocks. In the extreme north of this range they follow the ex-
ample of the polar bear, curling up in a cave or hollow where
the drifting snow will bury them and keep them warm _ until
spring. When they come out at the end of the winter the
skin on the feet cracks and peels off, leaving them soft and
tender.

They now have rather a hard time of it for a few weeks;
for food is scarce and difficult to get even for an animal in the
best condition; and to be handicapped with sore feet and
weakened by a four-months’ fast at the same time is hard luck.

They now roam the woods in the hope of finding some
animal or bird uncovered by the melting of the snow, and sniff
for newly awakened snakes and bugs around mossy old stumps

268

(snupprioy sns4) AVAA MOV1A VGIIoTt

asowsng ‘y'V Ag

ENGL SEALER ee

Black Bear

and decaying timber. Later, when the ice has melted, they can
get succulent plants along the margin of lakes and ponds, and
catch suckers and other fish that run up the ‘‘ rattling shallows.”
Then they go looking for checkerberries on sunny banks in the
woods, or, if the opportunity offers, kill cows and sheep that have
been turned out to pasture. In summer they keep to gloomy
swamps and mountain-sides, where they feed on roots, nettles,
etc., to a certain extent. In hot weather they get lots of fun
wallowing in the mud like so many pigs.

In August and later they visit the farmers’ corn-fields and
munch the juicy ears and stalks; pork is a favourite meat of
theirs, and they often show an astonishing degree of boldness,
for an animal usually so shy, in breaking into pig-pens in the
night. As autumn advances they gather nuts, acorns, wild grapes,
berries and mushrooms. It is at this season that they get the
most honey, and also dig up the nests of savage yellow-jackets,
in spite of all the stinging that inevitably follows.

The cubs are sportive creatures, full of pranks, running,
leaping, wrestling, boxing, and playing hide-and-seek, and attempt-
ing all sorts of tricks and jokes to tease the old one. But
though they do everything they can think of to worry her,
she thinks everything of them, and guards them jealously; and
when she is with them is about the only time that she is ever
really dangerous. She leads them all over the woods, teaching
them everything she knows: how to catch mice and dig ants
out of a rotten log, or slap a bull-frog out of the water.

Most bears retain a sense of the humorous, even after they
are full-grown and surly; in captivity they are less to be pitied
than most wild animals, for this keen sense of fun enables them
to get a great deal of amusement out of an old hat or an empty
barrel, especially if -any one is watching and ready to take a hand
in the game.

The black bear, moreover, is almost always interested in
observing the curious ways of the humans in front of his cage,
Even in the woods he often exhibits a desire to study the habits
of men, creeping up under cover from behind to watch them
as they endeavour to catch fish for food, or gather blueberries just
as he himself does. There are more people who have been
watched and studied in their summer outings by bears than are
aware of it, for the bear is ever careful to keep well hidden, and

359

Giacier Bear

hurries off the instant he thinks his presence is mistrusted. It
is not at all unlikely that the bears in Northern New England
are quite as well informed concerning the summer habits of men
in those parts as we are concerning them.

Varieties of the Black Bear

The black bears differ from the grizzlies in generally smaller
size, and in having the claws of the front and hind feet nearly
equal in size, and the hair nearly uniform in length all over
the body. The varieties have been separated almost entirely on
characters of the skull, as follows:

Black Bear. Ursus americanus Pallas. Skull rather short and
broad, 10 by 7 inches. Range as above.

Labrador Bear. U. americanus sornborgeri Bangs. Smaller, with
broader skull, 8 by 5 inches.

Florida Bear. U.. americanus floridanus (Merriam). Skull long
and narrow; forehead much elevated, 11 by 7 inches.
Louisiana Bear. U. luteolus Griffith. Skull large and long, much

flattened on the forehead, 11.5 by 7.5 inches.

Glacier Bear

Ursus emmonsi (Dall)

Length. 4 feet.

Description. General colour resembles that of the silver fox. Fur
remarkably soft, with a rich under-fur of a bluish-black shade,
many of the long hairs white. Dorsal line black; sides
mingled black and silvery white, beneath grayish-white;
outer side of limbs black; sides of muzzle and _ lower
anterior parts of cheek bright tan colour; no shade of brown
elsewhere on the fur. Claws short, strongly curved, and
sharp; ears very short.

Range. Glacier region Mount St. Elias, etc., to Juneau, Alaska.

This curious and little-known animal is an inhabitant of the
St. Elias Alps, frequenting the edges of the glaciers. It is known
to fur-dealers by the name of blue bear, and is said to be shy
and less fierce than other species.

260

(syiqrssoy sustQ) AVA ATZZIUD AHL dO ALGIIVA ‘dil YAATIS

giowusny “ay ¥ «

Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear

Ursus horvibtlis Ord

Length. 6 feet 6 inches.

Description. Fur shaggy, especially long on the shoulders and
flanks; front claws much longer than the hind ones, and strongly
curved; hind foot relatively longer than in the black bear.
Brownish-yellow; darker on the back and legs; long hair,
often reddish-brown.

Range. Rocky Mountains of Utah to Alaska. Closely related
varieties occur in the Southern Rockies and at Norton Sound,
Alaska, while a smaller ally, the Barren-ground bear, U. rich-
ardsont Reid, ranges from Hudson’s Bay to the Mackenzie and
northward.

The grizzly bear is a great rough brute, heavy and lumbering,
and easily the largest and most ferocious bear to be found in
any part of the world. At the present day, however, he seldom
ventures to attack man except in self-defense. In the land where
grizzlies are found, only those beasts have survived that excelled
in keeping out of sight. Wildness has therefore of late years
served the grizzly better than strength and courage in the
struggle for existence. He still finds his great muscles useful
in the matter of getting a living; there is nothing lives in his
country that the grizzly cannot kill and carry away, with the
possible exception of the cougar. Indians and certain old-time
hunters claim that the cougar will attack and kill a full-grown
grizzly; but beyond their stories there seems to be no evidence
whatever that a cougar ever killed a grizzly that was too old to
be called a cub.

In the earlier days the grizzly bear regularly hunted the
bison among the foot-hills of the Rockies.

It is said that one was able to kill and drag off an old
bull bison weighing one thousand pounds or more.

At the present time, when the grizzly wishes to go after
big game he generally hunts the horses and cattle owned by
the herders, and so gets himself disliked. He also hunts deer
and wapiti, and in the most northern part of his range an occa-
sional moose.

But he lives to a large extent on much humbler fare; ram-
bling among the crags, with low-hung swinging head, he listens

261

Grizzly Bear

for mice in the grass, and digs them out with claws fashioned to
kill an ox at a blow. He also eats insects, berries and wild
plums, and munches green fodder in the meadows. The cubs
are said to be as funny and amusing as young bears of any sort,
and being less unwieldly than the old ones, frequently climb trees.

When an old grizzly has established a hunting range for him-
self, he writes his challenge with his massive claws and tusks on
the trunk of a pine as high as he can reach. His tremendous
strength is generally known and respected by other four-footed
hunters, who might otherwise be tempted to poach on his preserves.
If another bear, wandering in search of better hunting grounds,
happens along this path, he is certain to see these warning claw
marks, and rising on his hind feet he also strikes the bark in a
similar manner. If he fails to scar the trunk as high as the other
bear has done, he continues on his travels, leaving the first in
undisputed possession. But if the new-comer finds that he can
reach as high or higher than the one who first left his challenge
there, he is more than likely to remain in the immediate vicinity,
scarring other trees here and there, and hunting when and where
he pleases.

Unless the first bear has observed the challenge of the new-
comer, and, losing courage, retires from the neighbourhood, the
two are bound to meet sooner or later and a tremendous fight
ensues.

When the supremacy has been finally decided, the vanquished
bear, if indeed he has not been killed outright, betakes himself to
some distant part of the forest to nurse his wounds in solitude.

The method of challenging all comers is common to a great
many wild beasts, large and small; not only bears of all
kinds and many of the smaller hunters, but deer and moose as
well. And | am inclined to think that when the _ house-cat
stretches up to sharpen its claws on the trunk of a tree, it is a
similar challenge for other cats to read.

And who knows but the same instinct, brought up from past
ages and more than half forgotten, urges domestic cattle to rub
their horns as high as they can reach against any smooth-boled
tree in the pasture just as moose and wild deer do in the forest ?

aGe

ve bongs
a ocaanmeinamted

SSS

By A. R. Dugmore

KADIAK BEAR (Ursus middendorffi)

large as an Ox.

The largest species of bear known, sometimes growing as

Kadiak Bear
Varieties of the Grizzly Bear

1. Grizzly Bear. Ursus horribilis Ord. Description as above.
Range. Northern Rocky Mountains from Utah to the interior
of British Columbia.

2. Alaskan Grizzly. Ursus horribilis alascensis Merriam. Skull
larger, and other cranial and dental peculiarities.

Range. Norton Sound District Alaska.

3. Sonoran Grizzly. Ursus horribilis horrieus Baird. Frontal
region of skull not elevated at or behind the eye sockets,
as in U. horribilis, but hollowed between them.

Range. Southern Rocky Mountains and outlying peaks and
ranges, Colorado to Arizona.
California Grizzly. Ursus horribilis californicus Merriam.
Rather larger than the last. Ears longer.
Range. Southern California. (Rapidly approaching extinction.)

No satisfactory comparison of skins of these animals, nor the
large brown bears, has been made as yet, and they have been
studied mainly from skulls.

Kadiak Bear
Ursus middendorff Merriam

Length. Skin, 10 feet. Skull, 15 inches.

Description. Largest of the American bears. Colour similar to
the grizzly but skull presenting many points of difference.

Range. \Kadiak Island.

This enormous bear and the allied Yakutat and Sitkan bears
are restricted to Alaska and adjacent islands. They present differ-
ences of structure from both the grizzlies and black bears and
are larger than either.

Species and Varieties of Brown Bears

1. Kadiak Bear. Ursus middendorff Merriam. Range and de-
scription as above.
2. Yakutat Bear. Ursus dalli Merriam. Frontal region of skull
flattened instead of arched.
Range. Yakutat Bay, Alaska.
3. Pavilof Bear. Ursus dallt gyas Merriam. Much larger than
the last.
Range. Pavlof Bay, Alaskan Peninsula.

263

Woives and Foxes

4. Sitha Bear. Ursus sithensis Merriam. Rather smaller than
the Yakutat bear but structure of teeth different from any
of the above and approaching the black bears.

Range. Sitkan coast region, Alaska.

5. Kidder’s Bear. Ursus kiddert Merriam. Allied to the Yakutat

bear, but smaller, with smaller teeth.
Range. Alaskan Peninsula.

WOLVES CAND, FOXES

Family Canide

The dogs and their allies, the wolves and foxes, resemble the
cats in being digitigrade, or walking on the toes, and in having
only four toes on the hind feet, but differ in having their claws
duller, shorter, and not retractile.

Red Fox
Vulpes fulvus (Desmarest)

Called also Cross Fox, Silver Fox, Black Fox.

Length. 40 inches.

Description. Fulvous or rusty red, grayish on the rump and flanks:
hairs of the tail black toward the end, tip of tail whitish; legs
black, partly white on the inside; throat white; ears largely
tipped with black. Considerable variation occurs in the
colouration of the red fox, especially in the northern part of
his range. One phase similar to the above, but with a black
band across the shoulders and another along the back, is
known as the ‘‘ cross fox,’’ while the ‘‘silver fox” is a gray
phase and the ‘‘black fox” a black phase of the same
animal.

Range. Northern North America south to Georgia. Replaced in
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland by slightly different varieties.

The reputation for shrewdness and cunning which the fox
has always borne is well-earned and indisputable. One of the
most characteristic traits of the whole fox tribe is the quickness
with which they gather experience and learn to avoid new
dangers. The early settlers found little difficulty in trapping and

264

Wolves and Foxes

shooting the foxes which skulked about their clearings, and even
now those found in wild, unsettled country are comparatively
easy to outwit. But the red fox of cultivated districts has
learned a great deal from watching the ways of men, and_ has
already very nearly caught up with Reynard of the Old World
in the matter of a highly developed intellect.

He now holds his own against man, as much by boldness
and audacity as by caution; few of our wild animals look on
man with so little awe.

Only last winter | saw two sturdy fox-hunters hurrying
through the snow, eager to head off a fox, which, judging
from their remarks which I overheard, they imagined would
cross the stream at a point a mile ahead.

And all the time there was the fox they were after coolly
following in their footsteps at a safe distance, while the hounds,
baffled and outwitted, bayed dolefully in the woods somewhere
on the other side of the stream.

This trick of following the hunter is not in the least un-
common. I have frequently, when returning in my own tracks
from a tramp on snow-shoes, found the fresh trail of a fox
who had been following me.

But you will seldom catch him at it; the instant you stop
he slips behind a tree, and if you turn back, vanishes in the
shadow of the forests.

I once saw my father driving home the cows on a sum-
mer evening with an old fox, of whose presence he was totally
unaware, trotting along the sunlit sheep-path scarcely one hun-
dred steps behind him.

The fox’s boldness in robbing hen-roosts is well known;
and as most foxes know too much to visit the same place
twice, it is only rarely that they get caught at it.

I know of one instance when an enthusiastic fox hunter,
arriving at daybreak in order to have an early start with the
hounds, heard a disturbance in his hen-pen, and looking in to
see what was the trouble, met a fox just coming out.

The fox slipped by him and dashed away for the woods;
and the hunter, thinking that this certainly was a good begin-
ning for a day’s sport, put his dogs on the trail, confident of
getting at least one new pelt that day. But all day the fox
eluded them, and when at nightfall they came home _ unsuc-

a6s

Red Fox

cessful, beneath darkening skys, they were undoubtedly every
bit as weary as the fox they had been chasing. One _ bright
windy Sunday in February, a few years ago, a farmer of my
acquaintance happening to look out of the window saw a fox
stretching himself to his full height on two legs in order to
look through a crack into the hen-house. The farmer seized
his gun, and running to the door let fly both barrels, but be-
fore the shot could reach him, the fox had dodged behind a
corner of the building, and keeping it between himself and the
aiming, was quickly out of range.

But the fox likes best to catch chickens in summer, when
the corn-fields, orchards and hedgerows furnish him safe am-
bush and effectually cover his retreat. One hot morning last
summer a fox chased some hens up across the new-mown
grass land to within one hundred feet of the open door where
we were standing, and catching the hindermost one, threw her
across his shoulders and started for the woods. I caught up a
rifle with one hand and shot-gun with the other, and thus
thoroughly equipped hurried to the rescue.

I was too late to save the unfortunate hen, however; the
fox stopped when he reached the lower end of the field, and
stretching himself in the warm grass, held her down with his
paws, biting her tentatively to make sure she was dead. |
made a slight detour and crawled cautiously to the top of the
nearest knoll, but even then the fox was much too far away
for the shot-gun to reach him; so, resting on my elbow, |
attempted to get his range with the rifle, but only succeeded in
throwing some dust in his eyes, and away he went like an arrow.

I have known a fox to kill three or four full-grown fowls
in an orchard close to a farm-house where the family were at
breakfast, and get away without being seen, carrying one of
his victims with him.

On another occasion, quite recently, one of my _ neighbours
had thirty pullets taken in a single night. Eighteen of them
were found next morning in a heap at the foot of an oak tree.
Another farmer tells me that he has lost one hundred and fifty
in one season, all presumably going to the foxes.

Yet, although the farmer and the fox are such inveterate
enemies, they manage to benefit each other in a great many
ways quite unintentionally.

266

KADIAK BEAR (Ursus middendorffi) By A, R. Dugmore

- :
: _
: ~
= = :
1
:
4
‘
e
a 7
i
i
fey
=
- \
is
-
te)
i
'
\
‘
4
i ty
oe
y -

Red Fox

The fox destroys numberless field mice and woodchucks for
the farmer, and in return the farmer supplys him with poultry,
and builds convenient bridges over streams and wet places,
which the fox crosses oftener than the farmer, for he is as
sensitive as a cat about getting his feet wet.

On the whole, I am inclined to believe that the fox gets
the best part of the exchange, for, while the farmer shoots at
him on every occasion, and hunts him with dogs in the winter,
he has cleared the land of wolves and panthers, so that foxes
are probably safer than before any land was ploughed.

When the snow is deep the farmer’s sled makes the best of
paths for the fox, who appropriates them for his own use just
as unconcernedly as he does the regular highway. But to see
a fox get round the farmer’s dogs, in order to make friends with
them, is one of the most astonishing revelations of character.
Usually the dogs seem hardly to know at first what to make
of his advances, but the fox is pretty certain to succeed in
bringing them to his side in the end, and after that they may
be seen playing together day after day.

If, as | am sometimes tempted to believe, the fox really
works this scheme with the deliberate purpose of making it
safer for him to get at the farmer’s chickens, he is gifted with
a degree of shrewdness beyond anything he has been credited
with.

It is only recently that | have come to realize what _ per-
sistent woodchuck hunters foxes really are. | find that the
shrill alarm cry of the woodchuck, heard echoing back and
forth across the pasture-land, is a pretty reliable foretelling of
the approach of a fox.

The appearance of a man or dog causes no such general
alarm among them.

Last April, on a windy afternoon of bright sunlight, I saw
a big dog-fox hard at work digging out a woodchuck’s hole
on the slope of a sandy hillock at the edge of a meadow.

Every few minutes he would back out of the hole, and,
shaking the loose earth from his yellow fur, look intently
across to the other opening of the burrow, as if expecting at
any moment to see the woodchuck try to make his escape by
way of the back door. A little distance away a woodchuck
‘was signalling the dangers to any others of his kind that might

267

Red Fox

be within hearing; he was safe enough at all events; the hole
beside which he was sitting was ringed in by corded beech
roots with an entrance much too narrow to admit a fox.

In summer time foxes like best to hunt the woodchucks
that are just learning to go about alone.

] have never seen an actual encounter between a fox and
a full-grown woodchuck; the fight must frequently prove a
sharp one, for the woodchuck, though clumsy as compared with
a fox, is a stubborn fighter, and knows how to use his chisel-
like teeth to good purpose. —

In the autumn, when the hounds are out and the uplands
sing with their baying, it is only natural to think of the fox
with pity, and for the time being, at least, to forgive him a
portion of his sins.

If he is being hunted in the English manner, with horses
and hounds, your pity is certainly not misplaced. To be run
down and overtaken and torn to pieces by overpowering numbers,
when at last his strength fails him and all his wiles have proved
in vain, is a cruel end for any animal to meet. Fox hunting
as it is practiced in most of our northern states, however, though
it may not be quite so good form, is yet perfectly sportsmanlike,
and a great deal pleasanter for the fox.

To say that the foxes frequently get their share of the fun
while being hunted sounds absurd enough, but is nevertheless
true. Only two or three hounds are used, and the hunter, in-
stead of following, endeavours to head off the fox and _ shoot
him. About the only cruelty in this sort of hunting is when
an occasional fox is wounded and escapes, and must heal his
shot wounds and get along as best he may for the next few
weeks.

When the fox first hears the hounds baying in the distance
he listens anxiously, and can soon tell by the course they are
following whether they are on his trail or that of another fox;
in the latter case he simply goes to sleep again, or watches
the course of the hunt at a safe distance. But if he finds that
the hounds are on his track, he stretches himself and starts off
leisurely, planning all sorts of stratagems to throw off the scent.

It does not worry him in the least to have the dogs close
on his heels; he knows that they are afraid to touch him, and
that he can easily leave them miles behind whenever he cares to.

268

RED FOX (Vulpes fulvus) By A. R. Dugmore

tT 5
~ ;
7 ¥
- —_
-
Ya
J -
i = m \
"|
_ -
oe ’
- i
<S

Gs
; +
’ S ¥
sera > ’
a
1LA%
Wy A
f
~ ,
. os
t +.
, Y NY 7
‘
3 a
?
.
= -
o ~~.
- é i
4]
-
\
A i ej
fF
‘
=
z | 4
f
1 at
. 7
A 3s "
r —— 7
‘ a
. ( = \ e
“=
' _
Go
= 2
a
ca : ;
Y : i
a&<¢
{
" -

Red Fox

| have more than once seen a fox turn and drive the
hounds back when they got too close; so he trots along at
his leisure, husbanding his strength and scheming to keep out
of the way of the hunter. From time to time he will go back
in his own footsteps for a distance, and then leap away to
one side and go off in a new direction. Again he runs along
on top of a rail fence or stone wall, or over the wet stones of
a shallow brook.

One of his favourite tricks is to cross over deep water on
thin ice just strong enough to bear him, knowing that in all
orobability the hounds will break though, and perhaps be swept
under the ice if the current is strong enough; more than one
valuable dog has been drowned in this manner, but I have
never known a fox to miscalculate the strength of the ice and
break through himself. If the stream is not wholly frozen over,
he runs along at the very edge of the deep water, where the
ice is thin and treacherous, until he comes to a place where he
can jump across to the thin ice that reaches out from the
opposite bank.

Then away he goes across the meadows, headed for some
sheltered nook he knows of, where he may curl up in the sun
on the warm pine needles and sleep until the noisy hounds,
footsore and apparently all but exhausted, come panting up to
awake him. When the snow is very light and dry, and just
deep enough to make it harder for the fox than for the hounds, he
has a much worse time of it; but it much oftener happens
that while the hounds plunge in up to their breasts at every
step, he skips off over the white surface without breaking
through. Although he knows of three or four dens within easy
reach, it is only when wounded or tired out by a long run in
light snow that an old fox ever takes to earth, though last
season’s cubs sometimes become frightened when the hounds
get too close, and allow themselves to be driven in.

Except in very rough weather, foxes prefer to sleep in the
open air, in cool weather choosing the south side of a hill away
from the wind.

While they do most of their hunting in the morning and
evening twilight, they are up and about more or less at all hours
of the day and night, and are frequently to be seen out after
game at high noon in the hottest part of the summer, or sitting on

269

Red Fox

their haunches dog-fashion in the middle of a meadow, listening
for mice. Two years ago, in September, | was going through
a piece of low, swampy woodland where every leaf dripped and
shimmered from the late shower. The blue jays and thrushes
were scolding at a hawk somewhere among the trees, and in
order to find out what it was that disturbed them I imitated the
cry of a young bird in distress as well as I could. In a few
minutes a Cooper’s hawk appeared and alighted in a low tree not
far away; but he was not the only hunter that I had deceived,
for while I was watching the hawk | caught sight of a young
fox coming from another direction and already within three or four
rods of me. The woods were fairly free from underbrush just
there, and he was walking leisurely along over the wet leaves,
looking about eagerly on all sides and then up at the blue jays
that were screeching overhead. He looked as if just waked up
from his nap, and kept shutting his eyes and yawning until his
jaws stood at right angles with each other. Although but little
more than half-grown, he had lost all trace of the fat, woolly
appearance of a fox-cub; his new autumn coat of red fur was as
bright and smooth and his legs as black as anything could be.
He was absolutely unconscious of my presence, and for a few
moments I saw the woods as they should be seen, and forgot that
I myself was there; but only the fox and the yellow-eyed hawk
and the blue jays and the wet leaves after the rain; all grouped
to be seen once so clearly as to never grow indistinct in memory.

When the fox was within a few yards of me he stopped
short in his tracks and stared for a few seconds, but without tak-
ing fright; on the contrary, he came still nearer, until, when only
a few steps away, he caught my scent, and turning went bound-
ing off among the trees. Almost always when you meet a fox
in the woods he pretends not to see you, but changes his course
casually, as if, perhaps, he had just heard a mouse over there
among the stumps. He does not imcrease his speed in the
slightest degree until he is behind some tree or rock; then away
he goes at a tremendous rate, always keeping the tree between
you and himself until well out of gunshot.

The thin, querulous, husky barking of the fox is not by any
means an attractive sound, particularly when heard in the distance
on still winter nights; but at times they utter a long, wild screech
that would do credit to a panther. This cry is heard oftenest

27°

A YOUNG RED FOX (Vulpes fulvus) By W. E. Carlin

Red Fox

in the spring, when there are young foxes to be protected, and in
its tones there is a menace to all intruders.

A fox’s ears are wonderfully keen, and he depends upon
them much more than upon his eyesight, both in hunting and
in avoiding his enemies.

This morning, January 31, 1902, a little before noon I was
crossing an open clayey pasture when I heard a crow in the
distance give the call which means a fox in sight. Presently |
saw Reynard himself trotting along at the edge of a pine grove;
when he passed behind a thick clump I ran forward a little
way and stopped, watching an opening among the trees where
I felt pretty certain he would show himself again. Sure enough,
in a very few minutes he appeared and trotted out across the
meadows.

He was at least one hundred and fifty yards away and go-
ing from me, but the air was still and I squeeked like a meadow-
mouse, hoping that perhaps his big ears might catch the sound
even at that distance, though the sharpest human ears could
scarcely have heard so faint a noise at a tenth part of the
distance.

Yet the fox heard it and stopped instantly, and turning,
came leaping lightly over the hassocks in my direction. Every
few rods he stopped, cocking his ears above the sere meadow-
grass to listen; then I would squeek, a little lower each time,
and instantly catching the direction of the sound, he would come
trotting towards me, using greater caution than at first, and
keeping under cover of the hassocks as if to avoid frightening
his game. When he got within fifty yards there were no more
hassocks or bunches of grass for concealment, only the smooth,
sheep-trimmed sod where | crouched in plain sight, with my back
to what little sun shone through the flecked and mottled clouds
that covered the sky. He looked at me sharply as if mistrust-
ing something, and if | had moved either my head or hand the
fraction of an inch he would have been off like an arrow to the
woods. But I held myself perfectly motionless, and when the ex-
pression of his shrewd, gray face and the set of his ears showed
that his suspicions were subsiding, | squeeked once more, very
faintly, calling him at last almost up to me. But now he saw
that there was certainly something wrong, and that I was neither
a rock or stump or even an old scare-crow; so, to make sure, he

Red Fox

circled around to get the wind of me, trusting more to his

nostrils than to his eyesight.

He was a large male, gray about the face and cheeks, and per-
fectly black on his legs and the backs of his ears. His tail was
a supurb white-tipped brush, well grizzled with black. When |
spoke to him he sprang into the air and went bounding away to
the woods, then stopped and looked back at me for a few seconds

before disappearing among the trees.

Varieties of the Red Fox

While the ‘‘cross fox,” ‘‘silver fox,’’ etc., are merely indi-
vidual colour varieties, there are several well-marked geographic

forms of the red fox.

Skull of Red Fox

Red Fox. Vulpes fulvus (Desmarest). Description and range as
above.

Nova Scotia Red Fox. V. fulvus rubricosa Bangs. Larger and
brighter rusty red.

Range. Nova Scotia.

Newfoundland Red Fox. V. deletrix Bangs. Smaller than the
red fox, with larger hind feet and claws. Color paler and
less rusty.

Range. Newfoundland.

Kit Fox
Vulpes velox (Say)

Length. 25 inches.
Description. Yellowish-gray above, darkest on the back, hairs

272

Arctic Fox

tipped with whitish, legs lighter; under parts white; tail buffy
below, tip white, very full and bushy; a black patch on each
side of the muzzle.

Range. Nebraska to Colorado and northward over the plains.

This is a much smaller animal than our red and gray foxes,
and is restricted entirely to the Western plains.

Arctic Fox

Vulpes lagopus (Linnzus)

Also called Blue Fox, White Fox.

Length. 40 inches.

Description. Upper parts brown, belly whitish, fur everywhere
bluish-gray at the base, and sometimes this colour predomi-
nates. In winter the whole animal is pure white.

Range. Arctic regions. There appear to be several geographic
forms.

The little blue foxes of the far north live in communities or
fox-villages, digging twenty or thirty burrows together in places
Where the soil is light and sandy. In summer they hunt for
lemmings in the moss-grown tundras and barren grounds, dig-
ging them out of their holes or pouncing on them as they
traverse their runways in the thick, wet sphagnous beds that cover
the swamps and boggy places.

At this season the Arctic fox lives in luxury, for besides the
lemmings there are numberless wild fowl nesting by the margin
of every stream; and on the ridges, willow grouse and snow
buntings hide their eggs in the reindeer moss and low bushes,
or in warm hollows where the short-lived blossoms of the north-
land crowd together in dense borders of bright colours.

The lemmings are so numerous and easily caught that a
very few hours each day spent in hunting them would easily
keep the fox supplied with meat.

But the little stub-nosed blue-fox, though he lacks something
of the wily shrewdness of the long-headed red fox of the wood-
land, is nevertheless a very intelligent beast.

Knowing that summer will soon be over, and the lemmings
safe in their hidden roadways beneath ice and snow, and the

273

Arctic Foz

birds all driven north before the cold, he hunts diligently while
game is yet abundant, and brings home load after load of fat-
bodied lemmings to be packed away in cold-storage for the
winter.

Where the blue fox lives the frost never wholly leaves the
ground; so he digs down in the moist turf until he reaches a
temperature only just above freezing, and packs down several
dozen lemmings in a place, covering them with moss and sods.

These caches of frozen lemmings are his principal food sup-
ply for the greater part of the year.

Of course there are always polar hares to be found, but the
catching of them is not so easy, for of the two the hare’s
legs are longer, and there is small chance of creeping upon him
unawares in that snow-sheeted country. Yet though the hunting
is poor and he has plenty of meat laid by for the future, and a
warm, cozy chamber underground, the arctic fox is not the sort
of fellow that sits at home and nods in the corner waiting for
spring to come back again.

In the fall his fur becomes perfectly white, like that of the
Northern hare and the ermine, and the plumage of the ptarmigan,
in order that he may creep unseen among the _ snow-drifts,
_ avoiding the eyes of the game he is seeking, and of the gray wolf,
who is his worst enemy. He may run cheerfully all day long,
or all night long, without success, enjoying the chase for itself,
and the cold free winds across the barrens, knowing all the time
that he will not have to go hungry, unless, worse luck, the
wolf or the wolverine has found his stores and robbed him. In
that event he would probably turn thief himself and steal from
his more fortunate neighbours, if his prowess at hunting failed
to keep him supplied with food. It is pretty generally affirmed
by the hunters that the young foxes of the year, who have as
yet not established homes of their own, travel southward as the
winter advances, killing their meat from day to day in new
hunting grounds, or going hungry if the fortunes of the chase refuse
to smile on them. But as the daylight lengthens and the sun
swings in sight again across the south, they turn back to join
the old foxes once more.

And now they pair and dig new burrows for themselves,
where the little woolly fox cubs are born and brought up.
Their Wander- Jahre is now over, and they go seriously to

274

Gray For

work bringing home all the lemmings they are able to kill
and packing them down against the coming of another winter.

But these stores are all for themselves and not to be shared
with their cubs, who, after their first summer of fun and care-
lessness is ended, must start south in their turn, each hunting
for himself and avoiding the wolf and the half-breed trappers as
best he may, until the season comes for him to return and
settle down as a member of the same remote colony of little
blue foxes on the shores of the frozen sea.

The Arctic fox is in many ways the most attractive of its
race, being wholly free from the rank odour characteristic of the
other foxes.

It is, moreover, remarkably neat and cleanly, both regarding
its fur and in the care of its burrow. Although, as_ before
stated, it is not so sly as the red fox, especially in the matter
of traps, it is intelligent and quick to learn, and, living on the
edge of a settlement, would undoubtedly soon be as difficult to
outwit as its long-legged cousin of temperate latitudes.

In its family life it is certainly the equal, if not indeed the
superior, of many of the native Eskimo tribes inhabiting the
same regions, at least in matter of forethought, cleverness and
morality.

Gray Fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber)

Length. 39 inches.

Description. General colour gray, hair banded black and white;
darker on the back. Sides of the neck, ears and band
across the breast ‘rusty red; tips of ears black, feet and
parts of leg rusty, as well as the under surface of the body.
Inner side of legs, throat and middle of breast white. Tail
much coarser than that of the red fox without the soft
under fur.

Range. Southeastern New York and New _ Jersey to Georgia
and north in the Mississippi Valley to Tennessee. Replaced
in Florida and in the West by slightly different varieties.

The gray fox is a creature of the forest, incapable of
holding his own for long in a cultivated country; not so much

275

Gray Fox

because of any inborn hatred of civilization, like that which
drives the beaver and marten forever off into the wilderness.
He would apparently be perfectly willing to dwell, like the red
fox, as a free-booter on the borders of a plantatior, living on
mice and game birds, or stealing the farmer’s chickens as occa-
sion offered; but the farmer usually proves too much for him.

The gray fox is sly and cunning by nature, but he lacks
that astonishing shrewdness and faculty for working out deep-
laid schemes which enables the red fox to turn the tables on
the hunter repeatedly in the most unpromising situations.

Physically the gray fox has the advantage in a number of
ways; being smaller and less conspicuously coloured, he has a
much better chance of tricking.

He can also climb trees better than the red fox, and is
equally swift at running and more tireless, while his rough
gray-brown fur is much less eagerly sought after than is the
beautiful pelt of the red fox.

Gray foxes seldom live in burrows; most of them have
their camps in hollow logs and old tree-trunks, where they can
take refuge in rough weather or when chased by dogs. At
other times they like to sleep in the open air, hidden among
the bushes and undergrowth. They are clever hunters, and living
as they do farther to the south, and avoiding those regions
where the snow lies deep in winter, seldom lack for food at
any season.

They catch and eat almost every small creature that lives
in the forest—insects, fish, reptiles, birds, and small mammals;
they also at times eat wild grapes and berries, and very likely
acorns, chestnuts and mushrooms, like most of the carnivorous
animals.

The female hides her young in a nest of leaves at the
bottom of a hollow tree, and later brings them out to give
them lessons in hunting and woodcraft. When they have learned
to take care of themselves a little they separate, to wander
where they will, unprotected, picking up a living here and there
as best they may. The barking of the gray fox is thin and
husky, fainter than that of the red fox, and serves chiefly to
call the sexes together in the spring.

296

roe
Pe

GRAY FOX (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) By H. K. Job

Gray Wolf

Varieties of the Gray Fox

Gray Fox. Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber). Range and de-
scription as above.

Florida Gray Fox. U. cinereoargenteus floridanus Rhoads.

| Smaller, fur coarser, and fulvous of breast paler, with no
white on the under parts.

Range. Southern Georgia and Florida.

Wisconsin Gray Fox. U. cinereoargenteus ocythous Bangs. Larger
with more yellow and rusty tints and less pure gray than
the eastern gray fox.

Range. Upper Mississippi Valley.

Gray Wolf

Cants occidentalis (Richardson)
Called also Timber Wolf.

Length. 4 feet g inches.

Description. Prevailing colour gray; dark, almost black along the
back, with a dusky patch on the shoulder and hips. Some-
times more rufous.

Range. Formerly over most of North America, now very rare
east of the Mississippi River. The exact number of varieties
of American wolves has not been determined; probably the
Black Wolf Canis ater Richardson, which still exists in the
Florida everglades, is a distinct species, and also the Arctic
Wolf C. albus (Sabine), which is pure white with a. black
tip to the tail.

The gray wolf that formerly ranged in great packs over every
part of this country is practically the same as the dreaded wolf
of Europe. Local varieties in both countries differ more widely
from each other than typical specimens from the same latitude in
Europe and America. Yet, while in Russia, Germany, and even
France, the wolves still menace the peasantry whenever an excep-
tionally hard winter drives them to desperation, in this country
they were quickly driven off and exterminated in most sections,
even where heavy forest-growth and broken country afforded
them the best protection.

Gray wolves were always wandering, unsettled beasts at times,
especially in the winter, hunting up and down the country in great

377

Gray Wolf

packs, and more rarely wandering alone or by twos and threes.
Any sort of a country appears to suit them well enough,
provided there is game to be had. If anything, they were more
numerous in low, black swamps of hemlock and tamarack in the
North and the everglades of Florida than in the dense forests
of mountainous countries and uplands. But above all else they
preferred the wind-blown prairies of the West, where they followed
the bison herds in their wandering after new and green pastures.
The wolves seldom molested the buffaloes unless they were dis-
abled by wounds or sickness. The young calves were what
they were after when they skulked through the herd, dodging
the old bulls and angry cow-buffaloes in the tall bunch-grass
of the plains. At present the alkali deserts and badlands and
the barrens of the Hudson Bay country harbour the greater number
of those that still run in the open. In the heavy timber of the
Rockies those wolves that like to hunt in the shadow of the
forest find abundance of deer and smaller game and good _ hid-
ing that not only enables them to hold their own in numbers,
but even to increase in many sections. _

Whether going in packs or singly, they almost never resort
.o still-hunting or ambush, but run down their prey by com-
bined speed and endurance.

While they have been said to adopt as a member of their
own pack a dog that had deserted his master and taken to a wild
life, evidently sensible of the kinship that exists between them,
they look upon one that submits to the authority of man and
acts as his servant as the henchman of their worst enemy, and
their legitimate prey.

They will also run down and kill their cousins, the foxes,
who, though swifter than the wolves for a short distance, lack
their endurance and wind.

In summer the wolf packs separate to a certain extent
into pairs that seek out secluded retreats, and dwell for a
time in dens or burrows of their own digging, the she wolf
nursing her whelps at home while her mate keeps her supplied
with food. After the young wolves have learned to kill for
themselves, the family joins the pack again, knowing that their
peculiar method of hunting depends upon numbers for success,

078

Pans

ij
i

se
ee,

acter poche,
ay site:

TIMBER OR GRAY WOLF (Canis occidentalis) By A. R. Dugmore

Coyote
Coyote
Canis latrans Say
Called also Pratrie Wolf.

Length. 4 feet.

Description. General colour fulvous, grizzled with black and white
hairs; under parts whitish; tail tipped with black.

Range. Northern Mississippi Valley to the Rocky Mountains,
with allied species south to Tee and Mexico, and west-
ward to California and British Columbia. Dri Hart
Merriam has shown that many of these coyotes are very
different from one another, and as in many of our other
larger animals, we find that instead of one wide ranging
form of the older authors there are really several perfectly
distinct species. The distribution of the various coyotes has
not yet been satisfactorily worked out.

Coyotes are small, slinking wolves that live in burrows on
the plains, where they feed principally on jack rabbits, ground
squirrels and mice.

They are often called prairie wolves to distinguish them
from the timber wolves or gray wolves. They combine the
swiftness, shy cunning and greed of the wolf and fox tribes,
but lack the ferociousness of their larger cousin, the timber
wolf.

Being active, healthy brutes, they undoubtedly enjoy their
wild, unrestricted life of action and adventure, and are happy in
their own way, except when suffering from unusually hard luck
at hunting. Yet somehow they always look distressed and mis-
erable, and their whining howl at night seems to express all
the hopeless despair of some wretched spirit of the blind ‘‘ view-
less wind” that whirls away before a storm ‘‘seeking for some-
thing lost, it cannot find.”

Like the gray wolf, coyotes hunt in packs at night, yap-
ping and howling as they run.

They often follow the hunter at a safe distance in the hope
of picking up the offal of the game he has killed. The coyote
is now rare east of the bunch-grass plains. In Arkansas, Mis-
souri and Illinois, where they were once common, they are sel-
dom seen. But in the Butte regions of the upper Missouri and

279

Coyote

the Colorado valleys they range in great numbers, making their
dens among the broken sandstone ridges of that lonely country.

In the flat lands they dig burrows for themselves or else
take possession of those already made by badgers and _prairie-
dogs. Here in the spring the half-dozen or more coyote pups
are brought forth, and it is said that at this season the old
ones systematically drive any large game they may be chasing as
near to their burrow, where the young coyotes are waiting to
be fed, as possible, before killing it, in order to save the
labour of dragging it any great distance. When out after jack-
rabbits two coyotes usually work together. When a_ jack-rabbit
starts up before them one of the coyotes bounds away in pur-
suit while the other squats on his haunches and waits his turn,
knowing full well that the hare prefers to run in a circle, and
will soon come round again, when the second wolf takes up
the chase and the other rests in his turn. In this manner the
jack is finally tired out and overtaken. When some particularly
shy old jack-rabbit starts off for a straightaway run instead of
circling, the coyote in pursuit tears away to one side and gen-
erally succeeds in turning him back towards the spot where the
other wolf is waiting.

When hunting antelope and deer the coyotes spread out
their pack into a wide circle, endeavouring to surround their game
and keep it running inside their ring until exhausted.

Sage-hens, grouse and small birds the coyote hunts suc-
cessfully alone, quartering over the ground like a trained pointer
until he succeeds in locating his bird, when he drops flat in
the grass and creeps forward like a cat until close enough for
the final spring. i

It is a well-known fact that a coyote will follow a trapper
or a party of roving Indians, picking up the scraps left about
their camp-fire, or wherever they may have been skinning game.
If unmolested at such times, he soon loses much of his native
wildness and exhibits considerable boldness.

During hard seasons, when there is little food to be had
and even gophers and field-mice are hard to find, the coyote,
it is said, adopts a partially vegetable diet, eating the fruit of
the prickly pear, and in winter wild-rose hips and Juniper
berries.

Coyote

Mr. Ernest Ingersoll, in the Popular Science Monthly, gives
a most vigorous account of a coyote attacking a doe-antelope
and her fawn. He says: ‘‘I remember at a place where |
was encamped for two or three nights in Southwestern Wyo-
ming, the rough ledge of a butte-face just across the creek was
the home of a family of these wolves, and [| often saw _ the
mother lying at the mouth of their den, and the four whelps
gleefully romping in the sunshine.

‘‘The father of the family kept out of view at first; but
later I caught sight of him in pursuit of a doe-antelope and
her fawn. The doe was backing away over the plain, keeping
the little one, which seemed to understand its part perfectly,
close to her hind legs.

‘“‘Following her closely ran the wolf, often making a dash
to the right or left to get at the fawn; but each time the
brave little mother, whisking alertly, would present to him her
lowered head and make a dash at his skull with her sharp
fore-hoofs. Thus she retired, but I fancy that the pursuer’s
longer breath and varied tactics won the day at last.” Mr. In-
gersoll goes on to say: ‘‘The nocturnal prowlings, secretive
disposition, and remarkable craftiness of this animal, together
with the annoyance it has the power to inflict, cause it to
figure’ prominently in the myths and religious history of the
Indians of the far West. Some of these stories I propose to
recall, and I am sure that they will suggest to every reader at
least the Reynard of European folk-lore, if not other interesting
parallels.

‘‘The Deity and creator of the Karok religion was Kareya,
who made the fishes, the animals, and, finally, man. Him he
commanded to assemble all the animals, in order to assign to
each its rank, by distributing bows and arrows. The longest
to the most powerful, and so on down the scale.

‘‘The beasts and birds came together the night before the
distribution, and all went to sleep except the coyote, who de-
termined to stay awake all night and go forth earliest in the
morning to get the longest bow. He took extraordinary pains to
keep awake, but over-reached himself in an excess of ingenuity
and fell asleep just before dawn. When he opened his eyes
only the very shortest bow was left for him. But Kareya, pitying
his weakness and disappointment, gave him cunning ten times

Coyote

greater than before, so that he is sharp-witted above all animals
in the woods. In return the grateful coyote befriended the man
and his children ever afterwards, doing many helpful things for
them.

‘When Kareya made the fishes he did not let the salmon
come up the Klamath, in consequence of which the Karoks,
who lived on its upper reaches, were sore pressed for food.
But Kareya had made a great fish dam at the mouth of the
river, and given the key to two old hags to keep, who never
ceased their watching, even to sleep. Seeing that the Indians
were nearly starved, the coyote befriended them. He made a
visit to the hags on an ingenious pretext, but only succeeded in
discovering that the key was kept too high for him to reach it.
He stayed all night in the cabin with the hags, pretending to
sleep, but watching their movements all the time out of the
corner of his eye.

‘‘In the morning one of the hags took down the key and
started to get some salmon for breakfast. Then the coyote hap-
pened to think of a way to get the key. Jumping up, he darted
under the hag, throwing her down and causing her to fling
the key a long way off; before she could scramble up the coyote
had seized the key and opened the dam.

‘‘Thus the salmon could ascend the Klamath and the Karoks
had plenty of food. But they had no fire to cook it with, be-
cause Kareya had hidden it in a basket which he gave to two
sleepless hags far towards the rising sun. So coyote promised
to try to get this second boon for them.

‘‘He stationed a line of animals all along the way from the
home of the Karok to the far distant land where the fire was
kept, the strongest near the fire, and last of all concealed an
Indian under a hill. This done, the coyote insinuated himself
politely into the good graces of the old guardians, and lay all
night by their hearth, feeling very comfortable and pretending
sleep. But he was soon convinced that without help there was
no way to elude their vigilance; so in the morning he stole out
and had a talk with the Indian under the hill, after which he
went back and lay down by the hearth as before. Presently,
as had been preconcerted, the Indian was heard hammering at the
door, as if to break it in, and the old beldams rushed out to
drive him away.

eiowsng *y “y Ag (SUD4{D] S2UD)) YLOAOOD

Cats

‘‘This was the coyote’s opportunity. As the hags dashed out
at one door, he seized a flaming brand in his teeth and leaped
through the other. He almost flew over the ground, but the
hags saw him and the sparks and gave chase, gaining on him
fast. By the time he was out of breath he reached the puma,
who took the brand and ran with it to the next animal, and
so on. Last of all was the frog, who caught the last spark of
fire in his mouth, swallowed it and dived, the hags catching
his tail, twitching it off in the act. The frog swam _ under
water a long distance, then came up and spat the fire into a
log of driftwood, and there it has stayed ever ‘since, so that
when an Indian rubs two pieces of wood together the fire
comes forth.”

Most tribes of Western and Northwestern Indians are friendly to
the coyote, and their dogs seem to be partly at least of coyote
descent.

The coyote is much too cunning to allow himself to be
trapped. The trappers say that there is only one animal that
is harder to catch, and that is the wolverine. The coyote’s rav-
enous appetite, however, frequently gets him into trouble, for
in winter he picks up and bolts every scrap of meat that he
can find, first making sure that there is no hidden trap beside
it. But he cannot always tell when meat has been poisoned,
and large numbers are destroyed every season by scattering
scraps of poisoned meat where they will be sure to find it.

The soft yellowish-gray fur of the coyote is rather pretty,
but is not of the right quality to make it a valuable fur. The
best skins seldom sell for more than 50c. or 75c.; even at this
price large numbers are collected each winter. They are usually
made up into lap-robes or great coats, and sometimes into
driving gloves.

CATS
Family Felide

In addition to our American Wild Cats there belong to this
family also the Domestic Cat and the Lion, Tiger, Leopard and
other most powerful carnivora. Fossil remains found in both
the Eastern and Western States show that there were much more
powerful members of this family existing here in past geological

28s

Wild Cat

ages, among which were several sabre-toothed tigers with enormous
teeth or tusks five or six inches in length.

Wild Cat
Lynx ruffus (Guidenstedt)
Also called Bay Lynx, Bob Cat, Catamount.

Length. 38 inches.

Description. Legs rather long, ears tufted, tail very short (6
inches). General colour yellowish-brown, tinged with rufous
(much redder in summer), spotted with dark brown or
black, narrow lines on the head and blackish stripe down
the back, chin and throat white, below white spotted with
black.

Range. Eastern North America, replaced in Florida, Nova Scotia
and the West by allied varieties.

Wild cats or bob cats were once common in all the thick
woods of this country, but are now only to be found in the
most thinly settled backwoods districts.

These big stub-tailed cats do not appear to insist on deep,
dark forests for their homes, though they seldom remain long
in a region where much of the land has been cleared and cul-
tivated. Hillsides and clearings overgrown with brambles and
young growth are quite as much to their taste as dense forests
of heavy timber.

For the greater part of the year they hunt alone or in
pairs, prowling on soft furry paws through bushes and _ tangled
berry patches where rabbits have their paths.

Lacking skill at following a trail, and the speed and tireless
perseverance which make foxes and weasels such successful
hunters, they catch most of their game by lying hidden in am-
bush and springing out suddenly on whatever small game comes
within reach.

They also go still-hunting after the manner of cats gen-
erally, trusting to luck that they may come unexpectedly upon
some little beast or bird busy about its own affairs.

When the wild cat hears the faintest movement in the
underbrush he instantly crouches with all four feet beneath him,

284

CANADA LYNX (Lynx canadensts) By W. E. Carlin

Caught in a trap and then turned loose with a light clog on hind legs, the photograph being taken while the animal is
brought to bay by fox terriers.

Wild Cat

and remains perfectly motionless, watching and listening, intent
to learn whether it is an enemy to be avoided or possibly
game for his dinner. In the latter case he creeps forward with
the utmost caution, planning, if possible, to head off his victim
in order to seize it at the first alarm. When out hunting, the
bob cat utters a wild scream from time to time; its object
evidently is to startle any creature that may be in hiding near
by into betraying its presence by a startled jump.

And certainly any animal would require strong nerves to
remain unmoved when this jarring yell bursts through the still-
ness close at hand. It has been described as a low sort of
growling, followed by a sudden quick repeated caterwaul, or
yang-yang-yang. | have frequently heard just such a cry in the
woods at night, but have to confess that | have never been
able to trace it to the creature that made it.

Following up these various voices of the night is baffling
work at all times, and there is still much confusion of ideas re-
garding them and much yet to be learned.

| have more than once heard a red fox utter a scream that
would do credit to a cougar, and the farmers here in New Hamp-
shire tell me that the skunk has a most blood-curdling yell of
its own. How much truth there is in this | am unable to say,
but the belief is too widely held in these parts to be wholly
overlooked.

Wild cats roam about in the twilight of early morning and
evening more than at midday. They sleep in hollow trees and
caverns among the rocks and ledges, and in some such place
in a warm nest of leaves they hide their kittens. In warm
weather they like to doze in the sun, either stretched along a
horizontal bough or curled up in a little patch of sunlight in
the midst of a berry-patch. They wander about all winter in
the snow and cold, living as best they may, stalking hares
and grouse among the evergreen, or watching patiently beside
a squirrel-hole in a tree-top, just as a domestic cat will stand
guard at a mouse-hole in the barn.

They resemble the domestic cat in a number of ways, being
great mousers and destroyers of small birds and their nests, and
equally fond of catnip, rolling over and over in the strong-
scented herbs and rubbing it into their fur and eating the blos-
soms and leaves.

285

Canada Lynx

Wild cats are at all times shy and exceedingly cautious
about showing themselves, but are savage fighters when cornered
or defending their kittens; a dog that offers to molest them is
pretty certain to be severely used before he is allowed to es-
cape. In thinly settled towns wild cats will occasionally raid
the farmyards and carry off turkeys and chickens, but as a
general thing they confine themselves to wild game. It is said
that when the country was new they had a habit of following
the flocks of wild turkeys from place to place, lying in ambush
to waylay them as they fed among the beech woods and
thickets.

In distant sheep pastures among the hills wild cats might
easily kill lambs and carry them off, or even pull down old
sheep, but I cannot learn that any such ravages have ever been
charged to them.

This may possibly be due to the fact that when a farmer
finds that any of his lambs have been killed, he prefers to lay
the blame on stray dogs, knowing that the town is obliged to
pay him for all such damages, and does not assume responsi-
bility for the misconduct of the wild beasts in the woods.

Eastern Varieties of the Wild Cat

Wild Cat. Lynx ruffus (Guldenstedt). Range and description
as above.
Florida Wild Cat. L. ruffus floridanus (Rafinesque). Similar to
the preceding but darker with stronger markings.
Range. Florida.
Nova Scotia Wild Cat. L. gigas Bangs. Much stouter and larger
than L. ruffus, colour darker and blacker above.
Range. Nova Scotia.

Canada Lynx
Lynx canadensis Kerr
Called also ‘‘Loup Cervier.’’
Length. 40 inches.
Description. Feet much larger than in the wild cat, tail shorter,
fur much longer and looser. Colour light gray mottled with
brownish, caused partly by the dark bases to the hairs,

286

Canada Lynx

tips of ears with tufts of long, black hairs. Under parts white,
tail tipped with black, face-ruff long, white bordered with black.

Range. Boreal North America, south formerly to the mountains
of Pennsylvania. Replaced in Newfoundland by the allied
Newfoundland Lynx L. subsolanus Bangs, darker and more
richly coloured; and in Alaska by a paler form L. canadensis
mollipilosus Stone.

The Canada lynx is the real lynx of all the north, that
mysterious creature which the ancients believed possessed the
power of seeing through all substances, whether opaque or not
to other eyes.

The distinction between this species and the lynx of North-
ern Asia and Europe appears to be no more than may with
safety be ascribed to local environment. Those branches of the
family which have strayed southward into the forests of a more
temperate climate have invariably decreased in size, showing
that the true home of their race is in the north.

The Canada lynx is a savage, flat-faced beast, with enor-
mous muscular legs and paws out of all proportion to the
size of its lean body and absurd retrousse tail. Its soft
fur of clouded gray is so blended with various shades of pale
buff and tawny as to be extremely difficult to distinguish in
any light or against almost any background ; even in the cruel
publicity of a barred cage it is still indistinct, and one might
well fancy the cage empty at a little distance.

In the northern woods the lynx travels with silent leaps, his
broad paws supporting him on the snow, or alighting without
a sound among brittle twigs or dry leaves of a past summer,
enabling him to pounce on grouse or hare before they have
time to take alarm. He can also climb trees with ease, to rob
the nests of birds and squirrels, or streteh himself along a lower
branch from which he can launch himself on whatever may
pass beneath. Yet since every creature that he hunts is equally
well fitted for the contest, and even more earnest and watchful
in its endeavours to avoid him and so enjoy its own wild life
in the woods a little longer, the lynx must necessarily go
without food often for days together in the winter, glad enough
perhaps to pull some frozen scrap of flesh or skin out of the
snow, dropped there by more fortunate hunters weeks before.
The lack of insect scavengers is not felt in the woods in win-

287

Cougar

ter; every scrap of flesh that is scattered is wanted by one
warm-blooded creature or another before warm weather comes
again. The lynx appears to have its summer home in_ tangled
thickets and snarls of young growth, where the _ interlocking
branches of fallen trees afford protection. Here the ill-natured
kittens are raised and taught to hunt, so that when the bitter
struggle of winter is forced upon them they may, if possible,
hold their own and prolong their lives at the expense of others,
in order that their race may live. They hold on to life grimly
through long, cold nights in the dark Northern forests, believing
somehow that at last spring will be in the woods again, bring-
ing flight birds from the South, and awakening the _ small
creatures that sleep all winter down deep in the frozen earth where
the most desperate lynx can never reach them. Until then the
lynxes must hunt as best they can, tireless and in splendid
health, and quite unconscious of the cold, but oh, so hungry!

One of the most astonishing facts in nature is the length
of time that most flesh-eating animals can go without food, on
long hunts through deep snow, night after night, breathing frozen
air that drives a man hungry soon after the heartiest meal, they
maintain their strength ready for a desperate struggle when
at last the long pursuit draws to successful end.

Cougar

Felis couguar Kerr
Called also Puma, Mountain Lion, Panther, Painter.

Lengih. 8 feet, O inches; tail, 3 feet.

Description, Body relatively longer than in the lynx, tail very
much longer, no tufts on the ears. General colour pale
rufous or yellowish-brown, darker along the back and_ tail,
tip of tail blackish; face grayer, under parts dirty white.

Range. Formerly Eastern North America, now probably extinct,
though a closely allied variety, F. coryi Bangs, the Florida
Cougar, still exists in Florida, and others from the Rocky
Mountains westward and south throughout South America.

Apart from the blood-curdling tales of most doubtful authen-
icity with which every one is familiar, accounts pretty gen-

288

Cougar

erally agree in stigmatizing the cougar as an arrant coward.
The truth seems to be that, like all the other wild beasts of
this country, his race has learned through bitter experience that
the only possible chance of life is to keep out of man’s way.
Whenever an American wolf, bear or cougar has disobeyed this
rule, he has almost invariably been killed or badly wounded at
once. No wonder that the survivors have learned caution.

If India, for example, had been inhabited by tribes of wild
men, born hunters like almost every tribe of our American
Indian, and finally settled by frontiersmen and backwoodsmen,
who never entered the woods without an ax or a gun, it is
highly probable that reliable accounts of human beings having
been attacked by either leopards or tigers would be almost
unknown.

I am unable to learn that in any part of the world there
is a race of man-eating wild beasts that has survived genera-
tions of experience with native tribes of wild men capable of
driving an arrow through a panther body at half the range of
a gunshot, and of hitting any spot they wished.

Man-eating tigers have for so long been regarded by the
natives of most parts of India as invincible, or else protected
by the native religions, that they have had things pretty much
their own way. One determined hunter for every fifty frightened
unarmed men would scarcely serve to intimidate any animal. Many
tribes of North American Indians looked upon the bear with ven-
eration; but for all that, any bear so courageous as to let him-
self be seen by them got an arrow between his ribs right
away, and in time the whole tribe of American bears learned
that the chances were against them, just as the wolves and
cougars arrived at a similar conclusion. Those that turned man-
eaters might for a few seasons hunt their human prey _ success-
fully, and if gifted with unusual cunning get away unscratched
for a while, but the vengeance of the tribe would be certain
to overtake them before very long, and only the more cowardly
ones of their species would survive to perpetuate the race.

When the white man came the wild beasts of the wilder-
ness found that they had a yet more dangerous enemy to face.
The guns of the early settlers were not very handy or reliable
weapons, but when they did go off they were capable of scat-
tering half a handful of slugs in the most painful manner; and

289

Cougar

from that time to this there has hardly been an opportunity for
the slyest cougar to attack man, woman or child without
bringing down sudden and awful retribution on his head.

Even now almost every farmhouse in the country has a
rifle or shot-gun behind the door.

I believe that if lions and tigers had been indigenous to
North America, they would long ago have learned to leave
man unmolested.

In Northern Europe bears, wolves and lynxes still occasion-
ally attack human beings, and very likely get away without
being shot at in many instances. There are plenty of dauntless
hunters and dead shots in all parts of the Old World, but they
are in the minority. The peasants who make up by far the
greater part of the inhabitants of the wilder districts are
generally unarmed, and in no_ way fitted to take personal
vengeance on any creature that should attack one of their
number.

When it comes to a question of fighting on anything like
equal terms, the cougar is by no means a coward. In a fair
fight, a full grown male cougar could kill the largest dog with-
out much trouble. Even now they kill cattle and horses from
time to time, though every such indiscretion on their part is a
challenge to the enraged owner, with his Winchester, bear-trap
or strychnine.

Although originally found in every wooded part of the
United States, they were so quickly driven off by the settlers that
not much is known of their habits here in the East. A few have
lingered along in the wilder districts of the Northeastern States
even down to the present day; but their every footprint has
been eagerly searched for and heavy steel traps set where they
were likely to step; while the slightest rumour of a panther in
the region would call out scores of zealous hunters armed with
shot-guns loaded with buckshot and rifles of every description,
and accompanied by dogs of all breeds for tracking.

The last cougar killed here in Northeastern New Hampshire,
where I write, was shot in a neighbouring town something like
forty years ago. But there are still rumours from time to time
of them having been seen in the northern part of the State,
especially since deer have become more common. In the East-
ern States they appear to have made their homes in _ hollow

200

oroursng “a ‘Vy Aa (s2782}0¢ G24 snuosas0 8194) NOVI NIVLNOOW WO ‘YVONOO NIVLINAOIT AMOOA

Congar

trees oftener than among the ledges, while in fair weather they
were given to sleeping out-of-doors, stretched along a branch in
the shade. On their hunting excursions they steal noiselessly
and cat-like through the thickets, scarcely displacing a twig,
still-hunting being their favourite method of obtaining food.
Though usually silent, they at times utter a loud penetrating
scream.

Among hunters there is a pretty wide-spread theory that the
cougar’s change in colour follows the seasonal change of the
wild deer’s coat, becoming more or less spotted in summer to
imitate the young fawns. This is, however, quite erroneous,
for although the kittens, like those of all the cat tribe, are
spotted, the adults are never mottled. The shade varies in
winter and summer, and there seems to be a good deal of
individual variation, some being browner and others more of a
blue gray.

In Mr. Theodore Roosevelt's admirable article on the cougar
in Scribner's Magazine he writes: ‘‘Fables aside, the cougar is a
very interesting creature. It is found from the cold, desolate
plains of Patagonia to north of the Canadian line, and _ lives
alike among the snow-clad peaks of the Andes and in the
steaming forests of the Amazon. Doubtless careful investigation
will disclose several varying forms in an animal found over such
immense tracts of country and living under such utterly diverse
conditions. But in its essential habits and traits the big, slink-
ing, nearly uni-coloured cat seems to be much the same every-
where, whether living in mountain, open plain or forest, under
Arctic cold or tropic heat. When the settlements become thick
it retires to dense forest, dark swamp, or inaccessible mountain
gorge, and moves about only at night. In wilder regions it not
infrequently roams during the day and ventures freely into the
open. Deer are its customary prey where they are plentiful,
bucks, does and fawns being killed indifferently. Usually the
deer is killed almost instantly, but occasionally there is quite a
scuffle, in which the cougar may get bruised, though as far as
I know, never seriously. It is also a dreaded enemy of sheep,
pigs, calves, and especially colts, and when pressed by hunger
a big male cougar will kill a full-grown horse or cow, moose
or wapiti. It is the special enemy of the mountain sheep. In
1886, while hunting white goats north of Clarke’s fork of the

agt

Jaguar

Columbia, in a region where cougar were common, | found
them preying as freely on the goats as on the deer. It rarely
catches antelope, but is quick to seize rabbits, other small beasts,
and even porcupines.

‘‘No animal, not even the wolf, is so rarely seen or so
difficult to get without dogs. On the other hand, no other
wild beast of its size and power is so easy to kill by the aid
of dogs. There are many contradictions in its character. Like
the American wolf, it is certainly very much afraid of man;
yet it habitually follows the trail of the hunter or solitary trav-
eller, dogging his footsteps, itself always unseen. When hungry
it will seize and carry off any dog, yet it will sometimes go
up a tree when pursued even by a single small dog wholly
unable to do it the least harm. It is small wonder that the
average frontier settler should grow to regard almost with super-
stition the great furtive cat which he never sees but of whose
presence he is ever aware. The cougar Is as large, as powerful
and as formidably armed as the Indian panther, and quite as
well able to attack man; yet the instances of its having done
so are exceedingly rare. But it is foolish to deny that such
attacks on human beings never occur. . . . It cannot be
too often repeated that we must never lose sight of the individ-
ual variation in character and conduct among wild beasts.”

Mexican Jaguar
Felis hernandezii

Length... 9 feet; tail, 2. feet.

Description. A large leopard-like animal, tawny yellow above,
white below, spotted with black along the back, and with
black, light-centered rosettes on the sides, each with a cen-
tral black dot. Tail ringed black and yellow.

Range. Lower Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico, and
represented by allied varieties in Central and South America.

This large cat, though common in Mexico, is of rare
occurrence within the borders of our country, and like other
species of Southern Texas, is only a straggler from farther south.
Where plentiful, it preys on all sorts of animals, even
overcoming the tapir with ease. Stories are told of its attacking

193

aLousng

2 TAI POY Vy gq

(D2u0 say)
4 . :

_*
a 2

yuvnove

Qcelot ; Cacomitl Cat

Indians, but, as has been said, ‘‘truth and fiction’ are so
hopelessly mingled in such tales that it is best to withhold
credence in most Cases.

Ocelot
Felis pardaliss Linneus

Length. 45 inches, tail 15 inches.

Description. Colour rufous tawny or brownish with blackish spots,
rosettes and stripes, very variable in pattern. Below white
with black spots.

Range. Lower Louisiana and Texas, throughout South America.

This is a small spotted cat, ranging from the tropics to just
within our borders. It is very variable in colour and doubtless
when carefully studied will prove to present several well marked
varieties. Its habits within the United States are very little
known.

Cacomitl Cat

Felis cacomttl: Berlandier

Length. 40 inches, tail 20 inches.

Description. Nearly uniform smoky gray, somewhat lighter be-
neath, darker in winter.

Range. Rio Grande Valley: exact range not ascertained. A
similar animal, the Yaguarundi, ranges farther south through
South America.

This is another Mexican visitor, belonging to the plain-
coloured group of cats. A somewhat similar species, the Eyra
(Felis eyra Fischer), may also occur within our limits. It is
plain, reddish-brown, 32 inches in length.

ry e " papi ; ' : aire 8
ond! ir Lae ne J.) | a ae "0 7 la ey 0! erp:
ARs i in POW Oi, ee EN x Aa Cre) as a

a ee TL nce Wren ha

ane

iy
i

‘4 Ae ‘fh ; |
ome

& KEY TO THE GENERA OF NORTH
AMERICAN MAMMALS

Animals are classified scientifically into groups of different
rank, known as orders families and genera, and the technical
Mame of any species consists of the name of the genus to
which it belongs, coupled with its own individual specific name.
If it shows definite variations in size, colour, etc., in different
parts of its range, these geographic races are indicated by a
third or sub-specific name.

In the preceding pages the iwammals have been arranged
by orders and families in their natural sequence, and the char-
acters of these larger groups explained. Inasmuch as a large
number of the genera of American mammals are represented in
our limits by but a single species, it was not deemed advisable
in a work of this kind to treat the several genera and the more
minute characters upon which they are based under separate
headings, especially as many of the generic characters are given
in the descriptions of the species.

In order, however, to facilitate the identification of any
mammal which the reader may have in hand, the following key
has been prepared by which it may be traced to its genus,
while the page numbers following refer directly to the body of
the book where the descriptions of the several species may be
found. In this key the most obvious generic characters are
contrasted and the dentition of each genus is given. In stating
the dental formula it will be understood that the figures indicate
the number of teeth on one side of the jaws only, the number
above the line referring to the upper jaw, that below to the
lower; the letters indicate: 7, incisors, c, canines, p, premolars,
m, molars.

Only genera treated in the foregoing pages are included.

295

‘. Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

'. AQUATIC MAMMALS WITH THE LIMBS MODIFIED INTO FLIP.
PERS FOR SWIMMING.

*. No external trace of hind limbs; fore pair of flippers fin-like without claws;
tail broad and flattened horizontally; little or no hair on the body.
B. Tail rhomboidal in outline, bluntly pointed at the tip; teeth, i, c$,
Dive, (in, e—34. (Manatee) oie Foe aah etednte ee Geekery TRICHECHUS, 26
BB. Tail broadly forked at the end into two flukes (Whales and Dolphins).
C. Mouth enormous, without teeth, but provided with whalebone.

D. No fin on the back; throat not furrowed........ BALANA, 13
DD. Dorsal fin present; throat furrowed longitudinally.

E. Flippers moderate, edges not scalloped....BALANOPTERA, 16

EE. Flippers very long, edges scalloped......MEGAPTERA, 17

CC. No visible teeth and no whalebone.......... HYPEROODON, 19

CCC. Jaws provided with teeth; no whalebone.
D. A single long tusk, projecting forward, no other teeth.
MONOCERAS, 24
DD. No protruding tusk.
E. No teeth in the upper jaw.
F. Teeth in the lower jaw 20-25 on each side..PHYSETER, 17
FF. Teeth in lower jaw 4-14 on each side.
G. Head protruding beyond the mouth, dorsal fin short,
tail nearly ‘square, “behind i. .0))..0.55 64 «5 Kocia, 18
GG. Head not protruding, dorsal fin high, tail deeply cleft.
GRAMPUS, 23
FFF. Teeth in lower jaw one on each side.
G. Teeth at the front. of the jaw... 00... ZIPHIUS, 19
GG. Teeth at the middle of the jaw....MESOPLODON, 19
EE. Teeth in both jaws.
F. Teeth few; 8-13 on each side above and below.
G. Teeth confined to the front portion of the jaws.
GLOBIOCEPHALUS, 23
GG. _ Teeth distributed all along the jaws.
H. Anenormous dorsal fin, teeth +$-48...... ORCA, 33
HH. Dorsal fin wanting, teeth $.. DELPHINAPTERUS, 24
FF. Teeth numerous, 22-50 on each side above and below.
G. A projecting snout or beak.

Ess 1 PO CtH Boas. sye!dinis doded- suace nel alevevarwtaeara TURSIOPS, 20
RUE) Beet Bb ao ds ciel we hee PRODELPHINUS, 21
PE. AP eethy, pee es iaiat ail ete metas DELPHINUS, 21

GG. No projecting beak.
H. Beakadistinct rim; teeth, $§, LAGENORHYNCHUS, 22
HH. Beakentirely wanting; teeth, 3§....PHOCAHNA, 22
AA. Both fore and hind flippers well developed, claws or nails present.
Tail rudimentary; body covered with hair (Seals, etc.).

B. Body large and shapeless; long down-pointing tusks in the upper jaw;
CECH Teed tse) vey PELL Bs a. ooo cf oven o Chbes kage Bhas Balle ODOBENUS, 212

BB. Shape more graceful; no tusks.
C. Hind flippers capable of being turned forward for walking when on

shore.
D. A dense soft under fur in addition to the long hairs which cover
theybody.(teeth, 12, ¢4, p24, mi 4455 bisa lea ee OToxks, 209

DD. No perceptible soft under fur; molars }.

E. Back teeth separated from last premolar by a considerable
SPACE tom alae. 4 ini alsrtaid = onan olny oe eee tel escent EUMETOPIAS, 211
EE. Back teeth in a continuous series........ ZALOPHUS, 211

CC. Hind flippers permanently directed backward.
D. A hood-like appendage on the head of the male; teeth, i 4, e +,
{ FUL Se a epestane, sis sh ei syabiayhes cy.oy-syjaterialiers' seamenceeen CYSTOPHORA, 218
DD. No ood on the head of the male; teeth i }, c }, p #, m 4.

296

A Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

E. Facial part of head very long; whiskers crenulated.
Haricue@rus, 2138
EE. Facial portion of head short, about equal to the brain-case;
whiskers not crenulated.
F. Muzzle broad, forehead convex ........ ERIGNATHUS, 218
FF. Muzzle narrow, forehead sloping gradually. Puoca, 215-217

Il. AERIAL MAMMALS WITH THE FORE LIMBS MODIFIED FOR
FLIGHT AND COVERED BY AN ELASTIC MEMBRANE WHICH
EXTENDS DOWN THE SIDES OF THE BODY AND BETWEEN
THE HIND LEGS (BATS).

A. ie ene a curious leaf-like appendage on the nose; teeth, i #,c4,
TLCS el Ue havea Mev Dales us ats raheet nae cue eR MR ARTIBEUS, 194
AA. Tail present; no appendage on the nose.
B. Tip of tail projecting beyond the interfemoral membrane; teeth,i },
Cee Pp Paar aN AU eel AAAS BALERS A Pe RD NyctiNoMus, 195
BB) ys iterfemoral membrane reaching to the tip of the tail.
C. Interfemoral membrane completely covered with fur; teeth, i 4, c},
Oar ag Lele S ONE RST LA tera EIB PAPAS nes Dae BAR LASIURUS, 203-205
CC. Interfemoral membrane not completely furred.
D._ Ears very large united by their bases; teeth, i ?, c +, p 3, m §.
CORYNORHINUS, 196
DD. Ears not united by their bases.
E. Upper incisor teeth one on each side close to the canine.
F. Size large (length 5.60ins.); teeth, i },c +, p }, m 2.
DASYPTERUS, 206
FF. Size small (length 3.70 ins.); teeth the same.
NYCTICEIUS, 206
EE. Upper incisors two on each side.
F. Color of fur black with white tips; teeth, i 3, c+, p 3, m 3.
LASIONYCTERIS, 202
FF. Color of fur brown or yellowish brown.
G. Size large (length 4.60 ins.); teeth, i #,c 4, p $, m$.
VESPERTILIO, 200
GG. Size small (length 3.4¢ ins.).
H. | Teeth, 42, ¢ ty Die yee aes PIPISTRELLUS, 201
HH. Teeth, i FUR Wie aly hE Aub 2 ey SuPer aL Myotis, 196

II. MAINLY TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS WITH FOUR WELL-
DEVELOPED LEGS, ADAPTED FOR WALKING.*

A. Body covered by a bony carapace or shell; teeth, 4—}....... TaTU, 9
AA. Body covered with hair or fur.
B. Tail naked and prehensile; ears naked; female with teats opening in
a pouch on the belly in which the young are carried; teeth,
i PUG CSN lh soboolls ouEMT IS el cliae ioie chile edhe le vale ailigia Le DIDELPHIS, 4-8
BB. Tail not prehensile; ears not naked; no marsupial pouch.
C. Toes terminating in hoofs.

D. Form pig-like; teeth, i 3, c 4, p §,m#........ .TAYASSU, 30
DD. Form not pig-like; males (and females of same species) with
horns.

E. Horns hollow, not branched, fitting over a solid bony core;
teeth, i 2, c 8, p 3, m 2.

F: Shaggy mane over the head and shoulders ..... Bison, 66

FF. Longhair over the whole body; horns massive, Ovinos, 65

FFF. Form sheep-like; hair short; horns spiral. . Ovis, 61-6 5

*The hind feet are webbed and somewhat flipper-like in the Sea Otter, and in the Flying
Squirrels there is an expansion of skin on the sides of the body for flying.

297

A Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

FFFF. Form goat-like, hair long, pure white ..OREAMNOS, 57
EE. Horns hollow, forked, and shed periodically; teeth, i $, c 9,
GRAVE oa) cinialdvno eee ieee eer .ANTILOCAPRA, 54
EEE. Fone solid branching antlers, which are shed periodi-
cally ; teeth, 1 ¢, c §—}, p $, m }.
F. Nose completely covered with hair .... RANGIFER, 47-54
FF. Nose not completely haired.
G. Antlers broadly palmate or flattened....ALCES, 43
GG. Antlers not flattened.
H. Animals medium or small; antlers not more than
twenty-five inches long...... ODOCOILEUS, 34-43
HH. Animals large; antlers four to five feet.
‘ CERVUS, 31-34
CC. Toes terminating in claws.

D. A gap on each side of the jaws caused by the absence of canine
teeth. Incisors two in each jaw, large and _ protruding,
working against each other like a pair of chisels.

E. A pair of small rudimentary incisors behind the upper pair
of large ones.
F. Tail short; hind legs much longer than the front ones;
teeth, «14,69; p $0 Be oc. eet eee ees LEPus, 75-92
FF. Noexternal tail; legs about equal; p %....OCHOTONA, 93
EE. No extra incisors.
F. Hair interspersed with sharp spine-like quills; teeth, 1 4, c$,
APANNE oh aha TA nepal a pal, We Re, yee weal eye ea ERETHIZON, 94
FF. Siieaout spines.
G. Form mole-like; fore feet modified for digging; no
external ear; teeth, i}, c $, p §, m .
oo Uncisors .Crooved): « dip, s.«o «seis ane Se GEOMYS, 97-99
HEH. Incisors; not“ erooved: sc. 36 = cee as THOMOMYS, 96
GG. Form not mole-like; fore feet normal.
H. Body heavy and thick-set, 12-20 inches long exclu-
sive of tail; legs short.
I. Tail very broad, flat, covered with scales; teeth,
145-6) 8, p45. Me © coe ee ue es CASTOR, 145-150
II. Tail long and narrow, flattened vertically, and
nearly naked teeth, 1 4, c $, p §, m 3.
FIBER, I21-127
III. Tail hairy; teeth, i+, c%, p #—j m™ 3.
J. Tail very short, less than the head.
APLODONTIA, 150
JJ. Tail moderate, longer than the head,
ARCTOMYS, I51I-159
HH. Form mouse-like or rat-like; size not larger than a
common rat (body less than 1o ins. without
tail); teeth usually,i+, c 3, p 8, m 3.
1. Pouches on the sides of the face opening near the
mouth.
J. Tail very long; teeth as above. PERODIPUS, 100
JJ. Tail moderate; teeth, i 4, c §, p t, m 3.
PEROGNATHUS, 100
II. No external cheek pouches.
J. Hind legs much longer than the front ones;
tail exceeding head and body; teeth in one
species, i},c 2, p},m 3....ZAPUS, 102-105
JJ... Hind legs not markedly longer than front ones.
K. Thick-set, short-legged, short-eared mice of
the meadow mouse type.
L. Tail less than one-third the length of
head and body, generally much less.

A Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

M. Upper incisors grooved.
SYNAPTOMYS, 107-108
MN. peer incisors not grooved.
N. ail so short as to be barely visible
beyond the hair.
O. Color mottled (white in winter).
DIcROSTONYX, 108
OO. Color tawny orange.
LEMMUS, I10
NN. _ Tail plainly visible, usually about
one inch long.
O. Molar teeth rooted (See p. 110).
P. Color dark-brown; teeth
heavy ..PHENACOMYs, I10
PP. Color rusty; teeth lighter.
EvorTomMys, I11I-112
OO. Molars not rooted.
MICROTUS, 112-120
LL. Tailequal to two-thirds the head and body.
M. Fur coarse; many buff hairs among
the brown ones; molars rooted.
SIGMODON, 128-129
MM. Fur fine uniform, like that of the
Muskrat; molars not rooted.
MICROTUS ALLENI, 120
KK. Slender with longer legs and prominent
ears and eyes; tail always more than
half the head and body (except Ony-
chomys), generally much more.
L. Tubercles on molar teeth in three rows
(introduced species)....Mus, 138-145
LL. Tubercles on the molars, if present, in
two rows (native species).
M. Size large, rat-like; molars flat on top,
divided into triangles.
NEOTOMA, 127-128
MM. __ Size medium, rat-like; molars tuber-
culate ; strongly resembling a
young Common Rat.
ORYZOMYS, 129-130
MMM. Size small ; mouse-like.
N. Tail always more than half the head
and body; often about equal.
O. Upper incisors grooved.
REITHRODONTOMYS, 130-131
OO. Upper incisors not grooved.
PEROMYSCUS, 126
NN. Tail short, less than half the head
and body....ONycHomMys, 136
HHH. Form squirrel-like; teeth, 1}, c $, p ?, m §.
I. An extensible fold of skin on the sides of the
body for flying....ScruROPTERUS, 176-178
II. No extensible skin for flying.
. _ Burrowing animals; tail not bushy.
K. Tail very short, 1-3 to 1-4 head and body.
CyYNOMYS, 160
KK. Tail 1-3 to 1-2 head and body.
SPERMOPHILUS, 161-162
KKK. Tail 1-2 head and body; body promi-
nently striped ........ TAMIAS, 162

299

A Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

JJ. Arboreal species, tail long and bushy.
SciuRuS, 168-176
DD. Tooth row nearly continuous, leaving no large gap at the side
of the jaw. Incisors small and always more than two.
E. Size small (less than seven inches long), fur always drab or
iron gray, soft and silky; eyes rudimentary.
F. Fore feet flattened for digging (Moles) .
G. A fleshy star on the nose; teeth, 1 3, c+, p 4, m §.
CONDYLURA, Ig90
GG. _ No fleshy star on the nose.
H. Tail naked; teeth,i , c oP p 3,m%....ScaLops, 188
HH. ‘Tail hairy; teeth, i#,ct}, p¢,m 3. PARASCALOPS, 189
FF. Fore feet normal.
G. Tailshort 1-4 the head and body; teeth, i 4—%, c}, p 2,

TIVES renee ttckonosieys, aayacede eee [ache eerste BLARINA, 180-183
GG. Tail ‘at least 1-2 the head and body; teeth, i $, c 3,
21 i AYE Vea oR hair ne a mae ree Sorex, 184-187

EE. Size medium or large; eyes well developed.
F. Toes webbed.
G. Hind feet large and very different from the front ones,
resembling flippers; teeth, iz,ct,p Rt m 3, LaTax, 223
GG. Feet all alike; teeth, 1 $,c +, p #, m}..LUTRA, 219-223
FF. Toes not webbed.:
G. Toes, five on all feet.
H. Teeth, 13,ct,.p 4, m4.
I. Nose produced into a slender snout; tail obscurely
PAPER Ais vata sch s dic aie eins coeieasreree Metals NasuA, 254
II. Nose not lengthened; tail strongly ringed with
black and white.
J. Body thick-set; feet plantigrade. PRocYoN, 247
JJ. Body slender, weasel-like; feet only partially
lantigrade ticks ballet Sta Rea ens BASSARISCUS, 254
HH. Teeth, 13 3 ci tT P +,m
I. Body heavy, eae feet slightly plantigrade.
ULO, 245
II. Body more slender; feet digitigrade.
MUSTELA, 241-245
MA... Teeth,.i.¢,.¢4;p <--4, mm, ¢-
I. Claws long i and conspicuous; colors black and white.
White in two long stripes. .MEPHITIS, 224-229
WS. Markings more complicated . _SPILOGALE, 230
Claws very long and conspicuous; color gray.
TAXIDEA, 23¢
III. Claws short; color brown (often white in winter).
eee PUTORIUS, 231-240
HHHH. Teeth, i 3, c+, p ¢,m #3; size very large (Bears).
ReanColor white... cee ace seen THALARCTOS, 255
II. Color, black, brown or tawny....URsus, 257-264
GG. Toes, five in front and four con

H. Toes not retractile; teeth, i $,c }, p 4, m §.
y mi er incisors lobed BARN Sathana seh CANIS, 277-283
pper incisors not lobed.
ail with soft under fur...... VULPES, 264-275
ax Matlicoarse eee en UROCYON, 275-277
‘oes retractile.

Tail very short (4-6 ins.); teeth, i 3, c ¢, p %, m }.
LYNx, 284-288

If. Tail long, equal to more than half the head and
body; teeth, i $,c }, p $,m}.. FELis, 288-293

300

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The following list is not intended to be complete, but will refer the student
to the most recent reviews of the various groups of North American mammals,
as well as to the principal general works on the subject and some of the more

important local lists.

MAMMALS IN GENERAL.

1891. Frowgr, W. h., and LypeKKErR, R.—
An Introduction to the Study of Mammals,
Living and Extinct, pp. 1-763.

.. also, volumes on Mammals in the
Standard and Royal Natural Histories.

ANATOMY OF MAMMALS.

1881. Mivart, St. G.—The Cat. An intro-
duction to the study of backboned animals,
especially Mammals, pp. 1-557.

GENERAL WORKS ON NORTH
AMERICAN MAMMALS.

Haruan, R.—Fauna Americana; being
a description of the Mammiferous animals
inhabiting North geese pp. 1-318.
1826-8. Gopman, J. D.—American Natural

History; 3 Vols. pp. (1) 1-350; (II) 1-331;
(IIT) 1-264.
1846-54. AUDUBON, J. J., and BacuMan, J.—
The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North
America; 3 Vols., Roy. 8vo. There is a
large edition of folio plates and anedition
of the text with small plates intercalated.

Bairp, S. F. .—Mammals of North Amer-
ica. 1 Vol., 4°, with 87 plates. Originally
pabhaked in 1857 as Vol. VIII of the
Pacific R. R. Survey Series. (Does not
include Wha, Seals or Bats.)
r900. MILLER, S., Jr-—Key to the Land
Mammals of Sena North America.
Bull. N. Y. State Museum. No. 38, Vol.
VIII, pp. 61- won

Eutior, D. G.—A Synopsis of the Mam-
mals of North America and the Adjacent
Seas. Field Columbian Museum. publica-
tion 45, pp. 1-471. Contains descriptions,
ranges, and figures of skulls.

MILvER, G.S., Jr., and Renn, J. A.G.—
Systematic results of the study of North
American Land Mammals s the close of the
hers 1900. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.,

ol. XXX, No. I, pp. 1-352. The most
accurate list ever published, with reference
to original place of publication of every
species.

HABITS OF OUR WILD
ANIMALS.

Cf. Publications of the Borne and Crockett
Club. American Sportsman’s Library.
Lydekker’s Great and Small Game of
Europe, Asia and America. Ernest Seton

1825.

1859.

19gor.

TQOr.

Thompson’s ‘‘Wild Animals I Have
Known,” ‘“‘ Lives of the Hunted,” etc.,
and many articles in the magazines, as
well as a number of the special papers
given below.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

1871. ALLEN, J. A.—Mammals and Winter
Birds of East Florida. Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool. II.; pp. 375-425 treat of Geserachinnt
Distribution.
ALLEN, J. A.—The Geographical Dis-
tribution of North American Mammals,
Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., IV, pp. 199-
244
1892. MERRIAM, C. H.—The Geographic
Distribution of Life in North America
with special reference to the Mammalia.
Proc. Biol. Soc Lee VII Re: 1-64.
MeErriaM, C. H.— Laws of emperature
Control of the Geographic Distribution of
Terrestrial Animals and Plants. Nat.
Geogr. Mag., VI, pp. 229-238.

1892.

1894.

FAUNAL PAPERS.
(PARTIAL LIST.)

1900. Oscoop, W.H.—Mammals of the Yu-
kon River region. N. A. Fauna No. 19,
PP. 21-45.

Strong, W.—Mammals of Pt. Barrow,
Alaska. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., rg00,

- 33749.

1901. Oscoop, W. H.—Mammals of Cook
Inlet, Alaska. N.A. Fauna No. 21.

1898. Bancs, O.—A List of the Mammals of

Labrador. American Naturalist, XXXII,

Pp. 489-507.

Mitvex, G. S., Jr——Notes on the Mam-
mals of Ontario. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat.
Hist., Vol. XXVIII, pp. 1-44.

Herrick, C. L.—Mammals of Minne-
sota. Bull. No. 7, a and Nat. Hist
Survey Minn., pp. 1-29

Mituzr, G S., Jr pegs a Collection of
Small Mammals from the New Hampshire
Mountains. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.,
Vol. XXVI, pp. 177-197

ALLEN, ie A.—Catalogue of the Mam-
nek of Msasechuse ts: || Bull. Museum

» ae 143-252
1898. ie ee E. A—A Study of the Fauna
of the Hudson Highlands. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist. VI, pp. 303-352.
1898. MBARNS, E. A.—Notes on the Mam
of the Catskill Mountains, N. Y. Prac.
S. Nat. Mus., XXI, pp. 341-360.

1900.

1897.

1892.

1894.

1869.

301

Bibliography

1899. MitveR, G. S.—Preliminary List of
New York Mammals. Bull. N. Y. State

Mus., Vol. VI, No. 29+ PP. 273-390.

1897. Ruoaps, S.N.—A Contmbution to the
Mammalogy of Northern New Jersey.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1897, PP- 23-

Ay Ruoaps, S. N.—A Contribution to the
Mammalogy of Central Pennsylvania.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1897, pp. 204-
226.

1896. BatLey, VERNON.—List of Mammals of
the District of Columbia. Proc. Biological
Soc. Wash., 1896, pp. 937101,

1896. Ruoaps, S. N.—Contributions to the
Zoology of Tennessee. No. 3. Mammals.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1897, pp. 175-
205.

1894. Ruoaps, S. N.—Contributions to the
Mammalogy of Florida. Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Phila., 1894, pp. 152-161.

1898. Bancs, O.—The Land Mammals_ of
Peninsular Florida and the Coast Region
of Georgia, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 157-235.

Cf. also ‘‘North American Fauna,’’ and
various reports of explorations and con-
tributions to proceedings mentioned at
end of bibliography.

MARSUPIALS.

toor. ALLEN, J. A—A Preliminary Study of
the North American Opossums of the Genus
Didelphis. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist.,
XIV, pp. 149-188.

WHALES AND DOLPHINS.

1874. ScamMon, C. M.—The Marine Mammals
of the Northwestern Coast of North Amer-
ica, pp. I-319.

1884. GoopE, G. Brown.—Natural History
of Useful Aquatic Animals, U. S. Fish
Com.; Fisheries and Fishery Industries of
the U. S. Section I (text and atlas of

lates), pp. 1-136, treats of Mammals,
hales, etc., by Goode; Seals, by Allen;
Manatee, by True; Fur Seal, by Elliot.

1889. TRUE, F. W.—A Review of the family
Delphinid#. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 36,
Ppp. I-191.
MANATEES.

1895. Bancs, O.—The Present Standing of
the Florida Manatee in the Indian River
Waters. Amer. Nat., XXIX, pp. 783-787.

1884. STEJNEGER, L.—Investigations Relating
to the Date of the Extermination of Steller’s
Sea Cow. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884,
pp. 181.

HOOFED ANIMALS.

1881. Caton, J. D—The Antelope and Deer
of America, pp. 1-426.

1877. ALLEN, J. A.—History of the American
Bison. Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv. Terr.,
1875, pp. 443-587. An_earlier edition
published in Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., IV,
No. ro (1876).

1889. Hornapay, W. T—The Extermination
of the American Bison. Rep. U. S. Nat.
Mus., 1886-7, Pp. 36-546.

1898. LypEKKER, R.—Wild Oxen, Sheep and
Goats of All Lands, pp. 1-318

1898. Lypexxer, R.—The Deer of All Landa.

History ot the Family Cervide, Living
and Extinct, pp. 1-329.

1900. ALLEN. J. A.—Note on the Wood Bison.

E ull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, pp. 63-

1900. ALLEN, J. A.—The Mountain Caribou
of Northern’ British Columbia. Bull.
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII, pp. 1-18.
Cf. also XIV, pp. 143-148.

1901—ALLEN, J. AA—The Musk Oxen of Arctic
America and Greenland. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., XIV, pp. 69-86.

r901. Hornapbay, W. T.—Notes on the Moun-
tain Sheep of North America, with a De-
scription of a New Species. Fifth Annual
Report N. Y. Zool. Soc., pp. 77-122.

RODENTS.

1877. Coves, Evtiott, and ALLEN, J. A—
Monographs of North American Rodentia.
Vol. at of U.S. Geol. Survey of the Terri-
tories under F. V. Hayden. Contains in
appendix a bibliography of papers relating
to North American Mammals, up to 1877.

(a) RABBITS.

1894. Banos, O.—Geographical Distribution
of the Eastern Races of the Cottontail.
Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., XX VI, pp. 404-

414.

1894. ALLEN, J. A.—On the Seasonal Change
of Colour in the Varying Hare (Lepus
americanus Erxl). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., VI, pp. 107-128.

1806. Ruoaps, S. N.—Synopsis of the Polar
Hares of North America. Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896, pp. 351-376.

1896. PatmgEr, T.S.—The Jack Rabbits of the
United States. Bull. No. 8. U. S. Dept.
Agric., Div. Ornith. and Mam., pp. 1-84.

1898. Banos, O.—The Eastern Races of the
American Varying Hare. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., XII, pp. 77-82.

(b) RATS AND MICE.

Ruoaps, S. N.—A Contribution to the
Life History of the Alleghany Cave Rat.
Proc. Acad. Nat, Sci. Phila., 1894, pp. 213-

221i.

1895. ALLEN, J. A.—On the Species of the
Genus Reithrodontomys. ull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., VII, pp. 107-143.

1896. MILLER, G. S., Jr.—Genera and Sub-
genera of Voles and Lemmings. 2A

auna (U. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 12,
pp. 1-78. By

1896. MBrrtAM, C. H.—Revision of the Lem-
mings of the Genus Synaptomys, with
descriptions of New Species. Proc. Biol.
Soc. Wash., X, pp. 55-64.

1804

1896. BANnGcs, O.—The Cotton Mouse, Per-
omyscus gossypinus. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., X, pp. 119-125.

1806. MILLER, G. S., JR——-The Beach Mouse
of Muskeget Island. Proc. Bost. :

Nat. Hist., Vol. X XVII, pp. 75-87.

1897. Mitper, G. S., Jr.—Synopsis of_ the
Voles of the Genus Phenacomys. Proc.
Biol. Soc. Wash., XI, pp. 77-87.

1899. Presir, E. A—Revision of the Jump-
i N. A. Fauna

ing Mice of the Genus Zapus.

(U.S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 15, pp. 1-39.

1900. Oscoop, W. H.—Revision of the Pocket
Mice of the Genus Perognathus. N. A.
Fauna aU. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 18,
pp. 1-63.

302

t900. Baitey, V.—Revision of American
Voles of the Genus Microtus. N. A.
Fauna (U. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 17,
pp. 1-88. :

toor. Merriam, C. H.—Synopsis of the Rice
Rats (Genus Oeyzontye) of the United
States and Mexico. roc. Wash. Acad.
Sci., III, pp. 273-295.

1895.. MeRRIAM, C._H.—Monographic_Revi-
vision of the Pocket Gophers, Family
Geomyidz (exclusive of Thomomys). N.
A. Fauna (U.S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 8,
PP. 1-220.

1895. BartLey, V.—The Pocket Gophers of the
United States. Bull. No. 5, U.S. Dept.
Agric., Div. Ornith. and Mam., pp. 1-46.

(d) BEAVERS.

1868. Morcan, L. H.—The American Beaver
and His Works, pp. 1-33¢ :

1898. Ruoaps, S. N.—Contributions to a Re-
vision of the North American Beavers,
Otters and Fishers. Trans. Amer. Philos.
Soc., XIX, pp. 417-439.

(e) SQUIRRELS.

1890. ALLEN, J. A—A Review of Some of the
North American Ground Squirrels of the
Genus Tamias. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.
Hist., III, pp. 45-116.

1890. ALLEN, J. A.—On Seasonal Variations
in Colour in Sciurus hudsonius. Bull.
Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, III, pp. 1-44. |

1896. Bancs, O.—A Review of the Squirrels
of Eastern North America, X, pp.145-167.

1897. RuHoaps, S. N.—A Revision of the
West American Flying Squirrels. Proc.
Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1897, pp. 314-327.

1898. ALLEN, J. A—Revision of the Chicka-
rees, or North American Red Squirrels
(Subgenus Tamiasciurus). Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., X, pp. 249-298.

SHREWS AND MOLES.

1895. MerriAM, C. H.—Revision of the
Shrews of the American Genera Blarina and
Notiosorex. Synopsis of the American
Shrews of the Genus Sorex. N.A. Fauna
No. 10, pp. 1-34 and 57-98. :

1895. Miter, G. S., Jr—The Long-tailed
Shrews of the Eastern United States.
N. A. Fauna (U. S. Dept. Agriculture)
No. ro, pp. 35-56.

1896. TRUE, F. W.—A Revision of the Amen-
can Moles. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIX,
pp. 1-112.

BATS.

1893.

ALLEN, Harrison.—A Mono aph of

the Bats of North America. 11
U.S. Nat. Mus., pp. 1-108.

1897. MILLER, G. S., Jr.—Revision of the
North American Bats of the rey
Vespertilionide. N. A. Fauna (U. S.
Dept. Agriculture), pp. 1-135.

- 435

Bibliography

SEALS.

1880. Aven, J. A.—History of North Amer-
ican Pinnipeds. A Monograph of _ the
Walruses, Sea Lions, Sea Bears and Seals
of North America. U.S. Geol. Survey of
the Territories, F. V. Hayden in charge
Miscellaneous Publication No. 12, pp. 1-

705.

1896. Report on the Condition of Seal Life on
the Rookeries of the Pribilof Islands 1893-
95. Senate Doc. 137, 54th Congress, rst
session. 2 Vols. and atlas of plates.

1898. Jorpan, D. S., et al—The Fur Seals
and Fur Seal Islands of the North Pacific
Ocean. U. S. Treas. Dept. Doc. 2017,
Division of Special Agents; 4 Vols.

OTHER CARNIVORES.

1896. Merriam, C. H.—Preliminary Synopsis
of the American Bears. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., X, pp. 65-83.

1896. Merriam, C. H.—Synopsis

Weasels of North America.

(U.S. Dept. Agriculture)

33.

Bancs, O.—A Review of the Weasels of
Eastern North America. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., X, pp. 1-24.

1896. Bancs, O.—Notes on the Synonymy of
the North American Mink. Proc. Bost.
Soc. Nat. Hist. Vol. XXVII, pp. 1-6.

1877. Coves, E—Fur Bearing Animals. A
Monograph of North American Mustelide.
U. S. Geol. Survey of the Territories.
Misc. Publ. No. 8, pp. 1-348.

1901. Howell, A. H.—Revision of the Skunks
of the Genus Chincha [-Mephitis]. N. A.
Fauna (U. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 20,
PP. 1-45.

1893. Ruoaps, S. N.—Geographic Variation
in Bassariscus astutus. Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Phila., 1894, pp. 413-418

1897. MERRIAM, C. H.—Revision of the
Coyotes or Prairie Wolves, with Descrip-
tions of New Species. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., XI, pp. 19-33.

1900. MERRIAM, C. H.—Preliminary Revision
of the North American Red Foxes. Proc.
Wash. Acad. Sci., II, pp. 661-676.

1897. Bancs, O.—Notes on the Lynxes of
astern North America. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash., XI, pp. 47-51.

1901. MERRIAM, C. H.—Preliminary Revision
of the Pumas (Felis concolor group). Proc.
Wash. Acad. Sci., III, pp. 577-600.

Cf. also many papers in Proceedings Ac-
ademy Natural Sciences Philad@iphia,
Bulletin American Museum Natural His-
tory New York, Proceedings Bidlogical So-
ciety of Washington and of the Wash-
ington Academy of Sciences, Proceedings
Boston Society Natural Sciences, etc.
for descriptions of species and reports on
collections from various parts of the cour

of the
N. A. Fauna
No. 11, pp. 1-

903

ou
pty
Utes:
i

ohh

a
MN

itm
PEA tran
aun Genie Wht!

hoy

Haye We

in Hate

7 1) ae
The
‘td

at) ri
Pos ay
rh

PE ie
ALO yt Al
i) wee

> pas iM

nga

a any, CN
Ry x
" xy
r ae

a Hale
Kn

' i
BUN y

ran

7 i -
hen

Lae
uly ota
is Sopp)

Abietorum, Peromyscus, 135
Zapus, 105
Acadian Meadow Mouse, 117
acadicus, Microtus, 117
acutus, Lagenorhynchus, 22
Alabama Gopher, 98
alascanus, Otoes, 209
alascensis, Ursus, 263
Alaskan Grizzly, 263
Moose, 43
albibarbis, Sorex, 187
albus, Canis, 277
Alces americanus, 43
gigas, 43
alexandrinus, Mus, 145
alleghaniensis, Pretorius, 240
Aileghany Weasel, 240
Wood Rat, 127
alleni, Microtus, 120
ambarvalis, Spilogale, 230
American Badger, 230
Elk, 31
Marten, 242
Sable, 242
americana, Antilocapra, 54
Mustela, 242
americanus, Alces, 43
Lepus, 86
Trichechus, 27
Ursus, 257
Zapus, 104
angulatum, Tayassu, 30
Antelope, 54
Antilocapra americana, 54
Aplodontia rufa, 150
Aplodontidae, 150
aquaticus, Lepus, 89
Scalops, 188
aquilonius, Fiber,126
Arctic Fox, 273
Hare, 86
Wolf, 277
articus, Lepus, 86
Rangifer, 52

INDEX

Arctomys monax, 1§f
canadensis, 159
ignavus, 159

Arizona Deer, 39

Armadillo, Nine-banded, 9
Peba, 9

Artibeus perspivillatus, 194

Artiodactyli, 28

astutus, Bassariscus, 254

athabascae, Bison, 67

Atlantic Walrus, 212

ater, Canis, 277

atrata, Mustela, 245

auduboni, Ovis, 64

Audubon’s Sheep, 64

auricularis, Microtus, 120

austerus, Microtus, 119

australis, Scalops, 188

austrinus, Geomys, 98

avia, Mephitis, 229

Badger, American, 230

Balenidae, 12

Balena glacialis, 13
mysticetus, 16

Balzenoptera Musculus, 17
physalis, 16

Baleen, 12

baliolus, Peromyscus, 137

Bangs’ Cotton Rat, 129
Marsh Mouse, 130
Polar Hare, 88

bangsi, Lepus, 88

Banner-tailed Deer, 39

barbatus, Erignathus, 218

Barren-ground Bear, 261
Caribou, 52

Bassaris, Texas, 254

Bassariscus astutus flavus, 254

Bat, Big-eared, 196
Carolina, 200
Fruit, 194
Hoary, 204
Large Brown, 200
Leaf-nosed, 194

3°5

Index

Bat, Leather-winged, 206
Little Brown, 196
Red, 203
Say’s, 196
Silver-haired, 202
Twilight, 206

Bats, 193
Common, 195
Free-tailed, 195

Bay Lynx, 284

Bayou Gray Squirrel, 172

Beach Mouse, 138
Brewer’s, 117
Island, 138

Bear, Barren-ground, 261
Black, 257
Cinnamon, 257
Florida, 260
Glacier, 260
Grizzly, 261
Kadiak, 263
Kidder’s, 264
Labrador, 260
Louisiana, 260
Pavlof, 263
Polar, 255
Sitka, 264
Yakutat, 263

~Bears, 25

Bearded eh 218

Beaver, Canadian, 145
Carolinian, 150
Mountain, 150

bidens, Mesoplodon, 19

Big-eared Bat, 196

Bighorn, 61

Bison, American, 66
Woodland, 67

Bison athabascal, 67
bison, 66

Black Bear, 257
Fox, 264
Meadow Mouse, 117
Rat, 144
Wolf, 277

Blackfish, 23

Black-tailed Deer, 39

Black-tailed Jack Rabbit, &9

Blarina brevicanda, 180
carolinensis, 183
peninsulae, 183
parva, 183
floridana, 184

Blubber, 11

Blue Fox, 273
Whale, 17

Bob Cat, 284

Bog Mouse, 111

Bonaparte’s Weasel, #39
borealis, Lasiurus, 203
Odocoileus, 39
Bottle-nosed Dolphin, 20
Whales, 19
Bovidae, 57
Bowhead, 16
brevicanda, Blarina, 180
breviceps, Kogia, 18
breweri, Microtus, 117
Parascalops, 189
Brewer’s Beach Mouse, 117
Mole, 189
Bridled Weasel, 240
Brown Rat, 142
Brown Shrew, 183
Florida, 184
brumalis, Mustela, 245
Buffalo, American, 66
Woodland, 67
bursarius, Geomys, 98
Cachalot, 17
Cacomistle, 254
Cacomitl Cat, 293
cacomitli, Felis, 293
C’aing Whale, 23
Californian Black-tailed Deer, 43
Grizzly, 263
Mule Deer, 41
californianus, Zalophus, 211
californicus, Odococleus, 41
Ursus, 263
Camel, 28
campestris, Lepus, 89
Canada Lynx, 286
Porcupine, 94
Skunk, 229
canadensis, Arctomys, 159
Castor, 145
Cervus, 31
Lutra, 219
Lynx, 286
Peromyscus, 135
Canadian Beaver, 145
White-footed Mouse, 135
Canide, 264
Canis albus, 277
ater, 277
latrans, 279
occidentalis, 277
Caribou, Barren-ground, §2
Grant’s, 54
Greenland, 54
Mountain, 51
Newfoundland, 51
Stone’s, 51
Caribou, Waodtand: 47
caribou, Rangifer, 47

306

Carnivora, 207
Carnivorous Animals, 207
Carolina Bat, 200
Otter, 223
Red-backed Mouse, 112
carolinensis, Blarina, 183
Castor, 150
Evotomys, 112
Sciurus, 170
Carolinian Beaver, 150
Jumping Mouse, 104
Castor canadensis, 145
canadensis carolinensis, 150
Castoride, 145
Cat, Bob, 284
Cacomitl, 293
Civet, 254
Ringtailed, 254
Wild, 284
Cat Squirrel, 168
Catamount, 284
Cats, 283
Cattle, 5
celatus, Phenacomys, 110
cavirostris, Ziphius, 19
Cerros Island Deer, 41
cerroseusis, Odocoileus, 41
Cervidae, 31
cervina, Ovis, 61
Cervus canadensis, 31
merriami, 34
occidentalis, 34
Cetacea, 11
Cetaceans, I1
Chapman’s Cotton Rat, 129
Chickaree, 172
Chipmunk, 162
Chiroptera, 193
chrotorrhinus, Microtus, 118
cicognani, Putorius, 239
cinereoargenteus, Urocyon, 275
cinereus, Lasiurus, 204
Cinnamon Bear, 257
Civet Cat, 254

Cloudland White-footed Mouse, 135

Coati, Mexican, 254
Mondi, 254

Collared Peccary, 30

coloratus, Oryzomys, 1

ro)
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, 42

columbianus, Odocoileus, 42
Common Bats, 195

Dolphin, 21

Mole, 188

Rat, 142

Seal, 215
Common, Shrew, 184
Condylura cristala, 190

Cony, 93
Coon, aah
cooperi, Synaptomys, 107
Cooper’s Lemming Mouse, 107
coryi, Felis, 288
Corynorhinus macrotis, 196
Cotton Mouse, 135

Florida, 136

Louisiana, 136

Rhoad’s, 135
Cotton Rat, 128

Bangs’s, 129

Chapman’s, 129
Cottontail, 75

Florida, 77

Northern, 77

Prairie, 78

Southern, 75
couesi, Odocoileus, 39
Cougar, 288

Florida, 288
couguar, Felis, 288
Cowfish, 19
Cricetinz, 127
cristata, Condylura, 1yo
cristata, Cystophora, 218
crooki, Odocoileus, 41
Crook’s, Deer, 41
Cross Fox, 264
cumberlandius, Geomys, 98

Index

cyanocephalus, Nyctinomus, 195

Cystophora cristata, 218
dalli, Ovis, 64
Ursus, 263
Dall’s Sheep, 64
Dasypodide, 9
Dasypterus intermedius, 206
Deer, 31
Arizona, 39
Banner-tailed, 39
Black-tailed, 39, 42
Cerros Island, 41
Crook’s, 41
Fantailed, 39
Florida, 39
Louisiana, 39
Mule, 39
Northern, 39
Texan, 39
Virginia, 34
White-tailed, 39
Deer Mouse, 131 .
Florida, 136
degener, Lutra, 223
deletrix, Vulpes, 272
Delphinapterus leucas, 24
Delphinidz, 20
Delphinus delphis, 21

3°7

Index

delphis, Delphinus, 21 eyra, 293
Desert Mule Deer, 41 onca, 292
dickinsoni, Reithrodontomys, 13! parca 293
Dickinson’s Harvest Mouse, 131 Fiber obscurus, 127
Dicrostonyx hudsonius, 108 zibethicus, 121
Didelphidae, 4 aquilonius, 126
Didelphis Marsupialis texensis, 8 macrodon, 126
virginiana, 4 rivalicus, 126
pigra, 8 Field Mouse, 112
Dismal Swamp Lemming Mouse, 108 Finback Whale, 16
Muskrat, 126 Finner, 16
Dolphin, Bottle-nosed, 20 Fisher, 241
Common, 21 Fisher Marten, 241
Spotted, 21 fisheri, Sorex, 187
Striped, 22 Fisher’s Shrew, 187
Dolphins, 20 Fissipedia, 207
dorsatus, Erethizon, 94 flaviscens, Perognathus, 10#
Dugongs, 26 flavus, Bassariscus, 254
Dusky White-footed Mouse, 135 Florida Bear, 260
Eared Seals, 209 Cougar, 288
Eastern Skunk, 229 Cotton Mouse, 136
Striped Skunk, 230 Cottontail, 77
Edentata, 9 Deer, 39
Edentates, 9 Deer Mouse, 136
Elk, American, 31 Free-tailed Bat, 195
Merriam’s, 34 Flying Squirrel, 178
Roosevelt’s, 34 Gopher, 98
elongata, Mephitis, 229 Gray Fox, 276
elucus, Procyon, 247 Manatee, 26
emmonsi, Ursus, 260 Marsh Hare, 89
enixus, Microtus, 117 Marsh Mouse, 130
eremicus, Odocoileus, 41 Mink, 235
Erethizon, dorsatus, 94 Mole, 188
Erignathus barbatus, 218 Opossum, 8
Ermine, 237 Otter, 223
eskimo, Putorius, 240 Raccoon, 247
Eskimo Weasel, 240 Skunk, 229
Eumetopias stelleri, 211 Weasel, 240
Eutheria, xiv Wild Cat, 286
Everglade Gray Squirrel, 1-2 Wood Rat, 128
Evotomys gapperi, 111 floridana, Blarina, 184
carolinensis, 112 Geomys, 98
ochraceus, 112 Lepus, 77
rhoadsi, 112 Lynx, 286
proteus, 112 Peromyscus, 136
ungava, 112 Urocyon, 277
extimus, Sciurus, 172 Ursus, 260
Eyra, 293 Flying Squirrel, 176
False Lemming Mouse, 110 Florida, 178
fannini, Ovis, 65 Northern, 178
Fannin’s Sheep, 65 Severn River, 178
Fan-tailed Deer, 39 Southern, 177
fatuus, Synaptomys, 108 fontigenus, Microtus, 184
Feet, xix Fossil Ungulates, 28
Felidae, 283 Fox, Arctic, 273
Felis cacomitli, 293 Black, 264
coryi, 288 Blue, 273
Felis cougar, 288 Fox, Cross, 264

308

Fox, Gray, 27§
Kit, 272
Red, 264
Silver, 264
White, 273
Foxes, 264
Fox Squirrels, 168
Northern, 169
Southern, 170
Western, 169
franklini, Spermophilus, 162
Franklin’s Spermophile, 162
Free-tailed Bats, 195
frenatus, Putorius, 240
Fruit Bat, 194
fuliginosus, Sciurus, 172
fulvus, Vulpes, 264
fumeus, Sorex, 186
Fur Seal, 209
fuscus, Vespertilio, 200
gapperi, Evotomys, 111
Geomyidae, 96
Geomys bursarius, 98
cumberlandius, 98
tuza, 97
tuza floridanus, 98
mobileusis, 98
Austrinus, 98
Georgia Oldfield Mouse, 137
Pipistrelle, 201
gigas, Alces, 43
Lynx, 286
Gillespie’s Seal, 211
Giraffe, 28
glacialis, Balena, 13
Glacier Bear, 260
Glires, 71
Globiocephalus melas, 23
Glutton, 245
Gnawing Animals, 71
Goat, Kennedy’s, 61
Mountain, 57
White, 57
Golden Mouse, 138
Gopher, Alabama, 98
lorida, 98
Georgia, 97
Gray, 162
Island, 98
Pocket, 96, 98
Prairie, 98
Striped, 161
West Florida, 98
gossypinus, Peromyscus, 135
Grampus, 23
Grampus griseus, 23
ante Rangifer, 54
ant’s Caribou, 54

Index

Gray Squirrel, 170
Bayou, 172
Everglade, 172
Northern, 172
Southern, 172
Gray Fox, 275
Florida, 276
Wisconsin, 277
Gray Gopher, 162
Rabbit, 75
Seal, 218
Wolf, 277
Greenland Caribou, 54
Hare, 88
griseus, Grampus, 23
Grizzly Bear, 261
Alaskan, 263
California, 263
Sonoran, 263
groenlandica, Phoca, 21
groenlandicus, Lepus, 86
Rangifer, 54
Gournd Hackee, 162
Hog, 151
Squirrel, 162
grypus, Halicheerus, 218
Gull Island Mouse, 117
Guloluscus, 245
gyas, Ursus, 263
gymnicus, Sciurus, 172
Hackee, Ground, 162
Northern, 163
Hair Seal, 211
Hairy-tailed Mole, 189
Halichcerus grypus, 218
Harbor Porpoise, 22
Seal, 215
Harp Seal, 217
Harvest Mouse, 130
Dickinson’s, 131
Surber’s, 131
Hare, Arctic, 86
ec 89
ittle Chief, 93
Marsh, 88
Prairie, 89
Varying, 78
Water, 89
White, 78, 86
Hares, 73
helaletes, Synaptomys, 108
hemionus, Odocoileus, 39
Heteromyidae, 99
Hippopotamus, 28 u
hispida, Phoca, 217
hispidus, Sigmodon, 128
Hoary Bat, 204
Hooded Seal, 2i5

399

Index

Hoofed Animals, 28
horrizus, Ursus, 263
horribilis, Ursus, 261
Horse, 28
House Mouse, 138
hoyi, Sorex, 187
Hoy’s Shrew, 187
Hudsonian Meadow Mouse, 117
White-footed Mouse, 135
hudsonicus, Sciurus, 176
hudsonius, Dicrostonyx, 108
Zapus, 102
humeralis, Nycticeius, 206
Humpback Whale, 17
Hyperoodon rostratus, 19
ignavus, Arctomys, 159
Illinois Skunk, 229
impiger, Reithrodontomys, 131
innuitus, Synaptomys, 108
Insectivora, 179
insignis, Zapus, 104
intermedius, Dasypterus, 206
Island Beach Mouse, 138
Gopher, 98
Jack Rabbit, 89
Jackass Hare, 89
Jaguar, 292
Jumping Mice, 102
Jumping Mouse, Carolinian, 104
Labrador, 104
Meadow, 102
Northern, 105
RoansMountain, 105
Woodland, 104
Kadiak Bear, 263
Kangaroo Rat, Ord’s, 100
Kennedyi, Oreamnos, 61
Kennedy’s Mountain Goat, 61
Killer, 23
Kidderi, Ursus, 264
Kidder’s Bear, 264
Kit Fox, 272
Kogia breviceps, 18
Labrador Bear, 260
Jumping Mouse, 104
Marten, 245
Meadow Mouse, 117
Muskrat, 126
Red Squirrel, 176
Red-backed Mouse, 112
Rock Vole, 118
Shrew, 186
Varying Hare, 86
Woodchuck, 159
labradoreus, Lepus, 88
ladas, Zapus, 104
Lagenorhynchus acutus, 22
lagopus, Vulpes, 273

Large Brown Bat, 200
largha, Phoca, 215
Lasionycteris noctivagans, 208
Lasiurus borealis, 203
cinereus, 204
Latax lutris, 223
lataxina, Lutra, 223
latinianus, Phenacomys, 110
latirostris, Trichechus, 26
latrans, Canis, 279
Leaf-nosed Bats, 194
Least Weasel, 240
Leather-winged Bat, 206
lecontii, Reithrodontomys, 130
Legs, xix
Lemming Mouse, Cooper’s, 107
Dismal Swamp, 108
False, 110
Northern, 108
Preble’s, 108
True’s, 108
Lemming, Pied, 108
Lemmings, 105, 107
Lemmus trimucronatus, 110
Leporidae, 73
Lepus americanus, 86
americanus struthiopus, 86
Virgianianus, 78
articus, 86
bangsi, 88
labradorius, 88
aquaticus, 89
campestris, 89
floridanus, 77
mallurus, 75
mearnsi, 78
transitionalis, 77
groenlandicus, 88
palustris, 88
palustris paludicola, 89
leucas, Delphinapterus, 24
leucopus, Peromyscus, 131
leucotis, Sciurus, 172
leucurus, Odocoileus, 39
Lion, Mountain, 288
Little Chief Hare, 93
Striped Skunk, 230
Brown Bat, 196
littoralis, Sigmodon, 129
Long-tailed Shrew, 184, 187
Weasel, 239
longirostris, Sorex, 187
loquax, Scuirus, 175
lotor, Procyon, 247
Louisiana Bear, 260
Cotton Mouse, 136
Deer, 39
Mink, 235

31@

Index

Louisiana Skunk, 229 tmelas, Globiocephalus, 23
louisianz, Odocoileus, 39 mephitica, Mephitis, 229
Loup Cervier, 286 Mephitis avia, 229
lucifugus, Myotis, 196 elongata, 229
ludovicianus, Cynomys, 160 mephitica, 229
luscus, Gulo, 245 mesomelas, 229
lutensis, Putorius, 235 putida, 224
luteolus, Ursus, 260 Merriam’s Elk, 34
Lutra canadensis, 219 mesomelas, Mephitis, 229
lataxina, 223 Mesoplodon bidens, 19
vaga, 223 Mexican Coati, 254
degener, 223 Sheep, 64
lutreocephalus, Putorius, 235 Mexicanus, Ovis, 64
lutris, Latax, 223 Mice, 10
Lynx, Bay, 284 Tabrodueed: 138
Canada, 286 umping, 102
Newfoundland, 287 ong-tailed, 127
canadensis, 286 Meadow, 107
gigas,286 Pocket, 99
ruffus, 284 michiganensis, Peromyscus, 138
ruffus floridanus, 286 Microtinae, 107
subsolanus, 287 Microtus alleni, 120
lysteri, Tamias, 163 austerus, 119
Maine Weasel, 239 breweri, 117
mallurus, Lepus, 75 chrotorrhinus, 118
Manatee, Florida, 26 ravus, 118
Manatees, 26 Microtus, nesophilus, 117
maritimus, Thalarctos, 255 pennsylvanicus, 112
Marmot, Maryland, 151 acadicus, 117
Marmots, 151, 160 enixus, 117
Marsh Hare, 88 fontigenus, 117
Florida, 89 nigrans, 117
Marsh Mouse, 129 ungava, I17
Bang’s, 130 Microtus, pinetorum, 119
Florida, 130 pinetorum auricularis, 120
Marsh Shrew, 187 scalopsoides, 120
Marsupialia, xiv, 3 terreenovae, 118
Marsupials, 3 Middendorffi, Ursus, 263
Marten, American, 242 Miller’s Polar Hare, 88
Fisher, 241 Mink, 231
Labrador, 245 Florida, 235
Newfoundland, 245 Louisiana, 235
Pine, 242 Northern, 235
Maryland Marmot, 151 Southern, 235
Meadow Jumping Mouse, roz miscix, Sorex, 186
Meadow Mice, 107 Mississippi Pine House, 120
Meadow Mouse, 112 Wood Rat, 128
Acadian, 117 mississippiensis, Peromyscus, 13§
Black, 117 mobilensis, Geomys, 98
Gull Island, 117 Mole, Brewer’s, 189
Hudsonian, 117 Common, 188
Labrador, 117 Florida, 188
Prairie, 119 Hairy-tailed, 18
Ungava, 117 Naked-tailed, 188
Yellow-cheeked, 118 Star-nosed, 190
Meadow Vole, 112 Mole Shrew, 180
mearnsi, Lepus, 78 Moles, 179, 188
Megaptera nodosa, 17 monax, Arctomys, 1§1

331

Tadex

monoceras, Monodon, 24
Monodon monoceras, 24
montanus, Oreamnos, §7
Rangifer, 51
Moose, 43
Alaskan, 43
moschatus, Ovibos, 65
Mountain Beaver, 150
Caribou, 51
Goat, 57
Lion, 288
Sheep, 61
Mouse, Beach, 117, 338
Bog, 111
Cotton, 135
Deer, 131
Field, 112
Golden, 138
Gull Island, 117
Harvest, 130
House, 138
Lemming, 107
Marsh, 129
Meadow, 112
Oldfield, 136
Pine, 119
Mouse, Prairie, 138
Red, 138
Red-backed, 112
Rice-field, 129
Scorpion, 136
Shrew, 184
White-footed, 131
Wood, 111, 138 |”
Mule Deer, 39
California, 41
Desert, 41
Mulita, 9
Muride, 105
Murinae, 138
Mus musculus, 138
norvegicus, 142
rattus, 144
alexandrinus, 145

musculus, Balenoptera, 17

Mus, 138
Musk Ox, 65
Peary’s, 65
Muskrat, 121
Dismal Swamp, 126
Labrador, 126
Newfoundland, 127
Round-tailed, 120
Southern, 126
Musquash, 121
Mustela, americana, 242
atrata, 245
brumalis, 245

pennanti, 241

Mustelide, 219

Myotis lucifugus, 196
subulatus, 196

mysticetus Balena, 13
macrocephalus, Physeter, 17
macrodon, Fiber, 126
macrotis, Corynorhinus, 196

Sciuropterus, 178

macrourus, Odocoileus, 39
macrurus, Sorex, 187
narica, Nasua, 254

Narwhal, 24
Nasua narica, 254

natator, Oryzomys, 130
neglectus, Sciurus, 168
nelsoni, Ovis, 64

Nelson’s Sheep, 64
Neofiber, 120

Neotoma pennsylvanica, 127

floridana, 128

floridana rubida, 128
nesophilus, Microtus, 117
Newfoundland Caribou, 51

Lynx, 287

Marten, 245

Muskrat, 127

Otter, 223

Red Fox, 272

Rock Vole, 118

New Jersey Red-backed Mouse, 112

New York Weasel, 235
niger, Sciurus, 170
nigriculus, Peromyscus, 136
nigrans, Microtus, 117
Nine-banded Armadillo, 9

niveiventris, Peromyscus, 138

Noctilionidae, 195

noctivagans, Lasionycteris, 202

nodosa, Megaptera, 17
North Carolina Weasel, 239
Northern Cottontail, 77
Deer, 39
Flying Squirrel, 178
Fox Squirrel, 169
Gray Squirrel, 172
Jumping Mouse, 105
emming Mouse, 108
Mink, 235
Otter, 223
Pine Mouse, 120
Pipistrelle, 202
Red Squirrel, 175
Woodchuck, 159
norvegicus, Mus, 142
Norway Rat, 142
notius, Putorius, 239
Nova Scotia Red Fox, 272

312

Nova ScotiaVarying Hare, 86
Wild Cat, 286
noveboracensis, Putorius, 235
novemcinctum, Tatu, 9
nubiterrae, Peromyscus, 135
nuttalli, Peromyscus, 138
Nycticeius humeralis, 206
Nyctinomus cyanocephalus, 195
obesus. Odobenus, 213
obscurus, Fiber, 127
Pipistrellus, 202
occidentalis, Canis, 277
occisor, Putorius, 239
Ocelot, 293
Ochotona princeps, 93
Ocythous, Urocyon, 277
ochraceus, Evotomys, 112
Odobenidae, 212
Odobenus obesus, 213
rosmarus, 212
Odocoileus cerrosensis, 41
columbianus, 42
sitkensis, 43
scaphiotus, 43
couesi, 39
crooki, 41
hemionus, 39
hemionus californicus, 41
eremicus, 41
leucurus, 39
louisianae, 39
osceola, 39
texensis, 39
Virginianus, 34
borealis, 39
macrourus, 39
Oldfield Mouse, 136
Rhoad’s, 137
Georgia, 137
onca, Felis, 292
Onychomys, 136
Opossum, Florida, 8
Texas, 8
Virginian, 4
Opossums, 4
ordi, Perodipus, 100
Ord’s Kangaroo Rat, roe
Oreamnos kennedyi, 61
montanus, 57
Orca orca, 23
Oryzomys palustris, 129
palustris natator, 130
coloratus, 130
osceola, Odocoileus, 39
Otariidae, 209
Otoes alascanus, 209
Otter, 219
Carolina, 223

Index

Otter, Florida, 2 23
Newfoundland, 223
Northern, 223
Sea, 223

Ovibos moschatus, 65
wardi, 65

Ovis cervina, 61
cervina auduboni, 64
dalli, 64
fannini, 65
mexicanus, 64
nelsoni, 64
stonei, 64

Ox, 28

Ox, Musk, 65

Pacific Walrus, 213

Painter, 288

Pallas’s Seal, 21

Pallid Red-backed Mouse, 112

palmarius, Peromyscus, 136

paludicola, Lepus, 89

palustris, Lepus, 88
Oryzomys, 129
Sorex, 187

Panther, 288

Parascalops brewerl, 189

pardalis, Felis, 293

arva, Blarina, 183

Pavlof Bear, 263

Peary’s Musk Ox, 65

Peba Armadillo, 9

Peccaries, 30

Peccary, Collared, 30
Texas, 30

Pekan, 241

peninsulae, Blarina, 183
Putorius, 240

pennanti, Mustela, 241

pennsylvanica, Neotoma, 127

Pee Yvanicus, Microtus, 112

erissodactyli, 28

Perodipus ordi, 100

Perognathus flavescens, roo

Peromyscus canadensis, 135

abietorum, 135
umbrinus, 135
nubiterrae, 135
floridanus, 136
gossypinus, 135
mississippiensis, 135
palmarius, 136
nigriculus, 136
leucopus, 131
michiganensis, 138
niveiventris, 138
nuttalli, 138
Peromyscus, phasma, 138
subgriseus, 136

333

Index

Peromyscus baliolus, 137
rhoadsi, 137
personatus, Sorex, 184
sede aney a ie Artibeus, 194
Pe asma, Peromyscus, 138
henacomys celatus, 110
latimanus, 110
Phoca groenlandica, 217
hispida, 217
largha, 215
Vitulina, 215
Phocena phocena, 22
Phocide, 214
Phyllostomatidae, 194
physalis, Balenoptera, 16
Physeter macrocephalus, 17
Physeteridae, 17
Pied Lemming, 108
Pig, 28
Pigmy Sperm Whale, 18
pee. Didelhpis, 8

Pilot cr nale: 23
Pine Marten, 242
Pine Mouse, 119
Mississippi, 120
Northern, 120
pe inetorum, Microtus, 119
innipedia, 207
Pipistrelle, Georgia, 201
Northern, 202
Pipistrellus subflavus, 201
obscurus, 202
a ae ee , Prodelphinus, 2%
lains Pocket Mouse, 100
Pocket Gophers, 96, 98
Pocket Mice, 99
Pocket Mouse, Plains, 100
Polar Bear, 255
Polar Hare, 86
Bangs’, 88
Greeland, 88
Miller’s, 88
Polecat, 224
Porcupine, Canada, 94
Yellow-haired, 94
Porcupines, 94
Porpoise, 20
arbor, 22
Porpoises, 20
Pouched Animals, 3
Prairie Cottontail, 78
Dog, 160
Gopher, 98
Hare, 89
Meadow Mouse, 119
Prairie Mouse, 138
Wolf, 279

Preble’s Lemming Mouse, 108
Primates, xv, xvi
pores ‘Ochotona, 93
roboscidea, xv, XVi
Procyon lotor, 247
elucus, 247
Procyonidae, 247
Re inus plagrodon, 21
Prong Buck, 54
Prong Horn, American, 54
proteus, Erotomys, II2
Prototheria, xiv
Puma, 288
Florida, 288
ah utida, Mephitis, 224
torius alleghaniensis, 240
cicognani, 239
richardsoni, 239
frenatus, 240
longicanda spadix, 239
lutensis, 235
noveboracensis, 235
notius, 239
occisor, 239
peninsulz, 240
rixosus, 240
eskimo, 240
vison, 231
lutreocephalus, 235
vulgivagus, 235
cera oe 178
abbit, Snow-shoe, 78
Rabbit, Gray, 75
Jack, 89
Rabbits, 73
Raccoon, Florida, 247
Raccoons, 247
Rangifer, artcicus, 52
caribou, 47
granti, 54
groenlandicus, 54
montanus, 51
stonei, 51
terrae-novae, 51
Rat, Black, 144
Brown, 142
Common, 142
Cotton, 128
Kangaroo, 100
Norway, 142
Rice, 129
Roof, 14 5
Wood, 127
Rats, 10
latroddcaat 138
Long-tailed. 127
rattus, Mus, 144
ravus, Microtus, 118

314

Index

Red Bat, 203 Scalops, aquaticus, australis, 188

Red Fox, 264 scalopsoides, Microtus, 120
Nova Scotia, 272 scaphiotus, Odocorleus, 43
Newfoundland, 272 Sciuridz, 151

Red Mouse, 138 Sciuropterus sabrinus, 178

Red Squirrel, 172 macrotis, 178
Northern, 175 volans, 176
Southern, 175 querceti, 178
Labrador, 176 Sciurus carolinensis, 170

Red-backed, Mouse, 111 leucotis, 172
Carolina, 112 fuliginosus, 172
Labrador, 112 extimus, 172
New Jersey, 112 hudsonicus, 176
Pallid, 112 gymmnicus, 172
Ungava, 112 loquax, 175

Reindeer, 52 niger, 170

Reithrodontomys lecontii, 130 rufiventer, 169

impiger, 131 neglectus, 168
dickinsoni, 131 Scorpion Mouse, 136

Rice Rat, 129 Sea Bear, 209

Rice-field Mouse, 129 Cow, 26

richardsoni, Putorius, 239 Steller’s, 26
Ursus, 261 Lion, 211

Richardson’s Weasel, 239 Steller’s, 211

Right Whale, 13 Otter, 223

Ring-tailed Cat, 254 Seal, Bearded, 218

Ringed Seal, 217 Common, 215

ringens, Spilogale, 230 Fur, 209

rivalicus, Fiber, 126 Gillespie’s, 211

rixosus, Putorius, 240 Gray, 218

Roan Mountain Jumping Mouse, 105 Hair, 211

roanensis, Zapus, 105 Harbor, 215

Rock Vole, 118 Harp, 217
Labrador 118 Hooded, 218
Newfoundland, 118 Pallas’, 215

Rodents, 71 Ringed, 217

Roof Rat, 145 Seals, 214

Roosevelt’s Elk, 34 Eared, 209

Rorqual, 16 Severn River Flying Squirrel, 17é

rosmarus, Odobenus, 212 Sewellel, 150

rostratus, Hyperoodon, 19 Sheep, Audubon’s, 64

Round-tailed Muskrat, 120 Dall’s, 64

rubida, Neotoma, 128 Fannin’s, 65

rubricosa, Vulpes, 272 Mexican, 64

rufa, Aplodontia, 150 Mountain, 61

ruffus, Lynx, 284 Nelson’s, 64

rufiventer, Sciurus, 169 Stone’s, 64

Ruminants, 28 Short-tailed Shrew, 180

Rhinoceras, 28 Northern, 183

rhoadsi, Evotomys, 111, 112 Southern, 183
Peromyscus, 137 Everglade, 183

Rhoad’s Cotton Mouse, 135 Shrew, Brow, 183
Oldfield Mouse, 137 Common, 184

Sable, American, 242 Fisher’s, 187

sabrinus, Sciuropterus, 178 Hoy’s, 187

Salamander, 97 Labrador, 186

Say’s Bat, 196 Shrew, Long-tailed, 184, 1%

Scalops, aquaticus, 188 Marsh, 187

315

Index

Shrew, Mole, 180
Short-tailed, 180
Smoky, 186
Southern, 187
Water, 187

Shrew Mouse, 184

Shrews, 179

Sigmodon hispidus, 128
hispidus littoralis, 129

spidecipygus, 129

Silver Fox, 264

Silver-haired Bat, 202

Sirenia, 26

Sitka Bear, 264

Sitkan Black-tailed Deer, 43

sitkensis, Odocoileus, 43
Ursus, 264

Skull, The, xvi

Skunk, 224
Canada, 229
Eastern, 229
Florida, 229
Illinois, 229
Little Striped, 230
Louisiana, 229

Smoky Shrew, 186

Snowshoe Rabbit, 78

Sonoran Grizzly, 263

Sorecidae, 179

Sorex albibarbis, 187
fumeus, 186
hoyi, 187
longirostris, 187

fisheri, 187
macrurus, 187
palustris, 187
personatus, 184
personatus miscix, 186

sornborgeri, Ursus, 260

Southern Cotton-tail, 77
Flying Squirrel, 177
Fox Squirrel, 170
Gray Squirrel, 172
Mink, 235
Muskrat, 126
Red Squirrel, 175
Shrew, 187

spadicipygus, Sigmodon, 129

spadix, Putorius, 239

Sperm Whales, 17

Spermophile, Franklin’s, 162
Striped, 161

Spermophilus franklini, 162
tridecemlineatus, 161

sphagnicola, Synaptomys, 108

pilogale ambarvalis, 230
Spilogale ringens, 230
Spotted Dolphin, 21

Squirrels Cat, 168
ox, 168
Flying, 176
Gray, 170
Ground, 162
Red, 172
Striped, 162
Squirrels, 151
Star-nosed Mole, 190
stelleri, Eumetopias, 245
Steller’s Sea Cow, 26
Sea Lion, 211
stonei, Ovis, 64
Rangifer, 51
Stone’s Caribou, 51
Sheep, 64
striatus, Tamias, 162
Striped Dolphin, 22
Gopher, 161
Spermophile, 161
Squirrel, 162
struthiopus, Lepus, 86
Striped Skunk, Eastern, 230
Little, 229
subflavus, Pipistrellus, 201
subgriseus, Peromyscus, 136
subsolanus, Lynx, 287
subulatus, Myotis, 196
Surber’s Harvest Mouse, 134
Synaptomys cooperi, 107
helaletes, 108
fatuus, 108
inninitus, 108
sphagnicola, 108
Talpidae, 188
Tamias striatus, 162
lysteri, 163
Tapir, 28
Tatu novemcinctum, 9
Taxidea taxus, 230
taxus, Taxidea, 230
Tayassu angulatum, 30
Tayassuide, 30
teeth, The, xvii
terrae-novae, Microtus, 118
Rangifer, 51
Texas Bassaris, 254
Deer, 39
Opossum, 8
Peccary, 30
texensis, Didelphis, 8
Odocoileus, 39
Thalarctos maritimus, 255
Thomomys, 96
Timber Wolf, 277
Toothless Animals, 9
transitionalis, Lepus, 77
Trichechidae, 26

316

Trichechus americanus, 27
latirostris, 26

tridecemlineatus, Spermophilus, 161

trimucronatus, Lemmus, 110
True’s Lemming Mouse, 108
tursio, Tursiops, 20
Tursiops tursio, 20
tuza, Geomys, 97
Twilight Bat, 206
umbrinus, Peromyscus, 135
Ungava Meadow Mouse, 117
Red-backed Mouse, 112
ungava, Erotomys, 112
Microtus, 117
Ungulata, 28
Ungulates, 28
Urocyon cinereoargenteus, 275
floridanus, 276
ocythous, 277
Urside, 255
Ursus americanus, 257
floridanus, 260
scruborgeri, 260
dalli, 263
gyas, 263
emmonsi, 260
horribilis, 261
alascensis, 263
californicus, 263
horrizus, 263
kidderi, 264
luteolus, 260
middendorffi, 263
richardsoni, 261
sitkensis, 264
vaga, Lutra, 223
Varying Hare, 78
Labrador, 86
Nova Scotia, 86
Vespertilio fuscus, 200
Vespertilionidae, 195
velox, Vulpes, 272
Virginia Deer, 34
Virginian Opossum, 4
virginiana, Didelphis, 4
Lepus, 78
Odocoileus, 34
vison, Putorius, 231
vitulina, Phoca, 215
volans, Sciuropterus, 176
Vole, Meadow, 112
Rock, 118
vulgivagus, Putorius, 235
Vulpes deletrix, 272
fulvus, 264
fulvus rubricosa, 272
Vulpes lagopus, 273
velox, 272

Walrus, Atlantic, 212
Pacific, 213
Walrusses, 212
Wapiti, 31
wardi, Ovibos, 65
Water Hare, 89
Shrew, 187
Weasel, Alleghany, a40
Bonaparte’s, 239
Bridled, 240
Eskimo, 240
Florida, 240
Least, 240
Long-tailed, 239
Maine, 239
New York, 235
North Carolina, 239
Richardson’s, 239
West Florida Gopher, 9&
Western Fox Squirrel, 16<
Whale, Blue, 17
Bottle-nosed, 19
Ca’ing, 23
Fin-back, 16
Humpback, 17
Pigmy Sperm, 18
Pilot, 23
Right, 13
Sperm, 17
ite, 24
Ziphius, 19
Whales, 11
Whales, Whalebone, 12
Whalebone, 12
Whalebone Whales, 12
Whaling, 14
White Fox, 273
Goat, 57
Hare, 78
Whale, 24
White-footed Mouse, 13:.
Canadian, 135
Cloudland, 135
Dusky, 135
Hudsonian, 135
White-tailed Deer, 39
ack Rabbit, 89
Wild Cat, 284
Florida, 286
Nova Scotia, 286
Wisconsin Gray Fox, 27°
Wolf, Arctic, 277
Black, 277
Gray, 277
Prairie, 279
Timber, 277
Wolverine, 245
Wolves, 264

317

Indez

Index

Wood Mouse, 111,131”
Wood Rat, Alleghany, 129
Florida, 128
Mississippi, 128
Woodchuck, 151
La*rador, 159
Northern, 159
Woodland Caribou, 47
Jumping Mouse, 104
Yaguarundi, 293
Yakutat Bear, 263
Yellow-cheeked Meadow Mouse, 118
Yellow-haired Porcupine, 94

Zalophus californianus, 214
Zapodidae, 102
Zapus hudsonius, ro2
americanus, 104
ladas, 104
insignis, 104
roanensis, 105
abietorum, 105

Zebra, 28
zibethicus, Fiber, 121
Ziphiidae, 19

Ziphius cavirostris, 19
Ziphius Whale, 19

THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS
GARDEN CITY, N. Y-

pauinyay
310g

SWDN $,49M0110}

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "American animals; a popular guide to the mammals of North America north of Mexico, with intimate biographies of the more familiar species"

See other formats