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AMERICAN
ANIMALS

. /

.-*^i

■<r^

- J.. *.-*f^-.

WITMER. STONE
WILLIAM EVERITT CRAM

^^mmimmamm'm^t^mmm

American Animals

Hj/A. R'Vlrlilffi Ihtijmnre

BIGHORN, OR MOUNTAIN SHIEP (""« cmina)

II lyn^jiiiippgpifw^^WIIBjBpwp

^mmmnm_

^^^•^^^mmimm

AMERICAN ANIMALS a

POPULAR GUIDE TO THE MAMMALS OF
NORTH AMERICA NORTH OF MEXICO,
WITH INTIMATE BIOG.IAPHIES OF THE
MORE FAMILIAR SPECIES

WITMER STONE

AND

WILLIAM EVERETT CRAM

WM. BRIGGS

Toronto, Ontario

1902

Coprrichi, 1901, by Doublcday. Page & Co.
Publifbcd October, 190a

//"^^"S

PREFACE

IN PREPARING the pfcscnt 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 identifying unfamiliar
mammals, and includes certain characters omitted from the body
of 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 I 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. RadclyfTe Dugmore, whose name is so intimately connected
with illustrations of nature.

WiTMER Stone.

September 7, 1^2,

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ^

Introduction ^jy

Edentates or Toothless AnimaJs . . . , , 9

The Armadillos o

Cetaceans , ,

Whales ,3

Dolphins 20

Porpoises 22

Manatees and Dugongs 36

Ungulates or Hoofed Animals ag

Peccaries . . ^q

Deer and Their Allies . ; . . . . s]

Pronghorns 5^

The Cattle -7

Rodents or Gnawing Animals 7,

Rabbits and Hares -,

P*"^" 93

Porcupines «.

Pocket Gophers og

Pocket Mice o_

Jumping Mice ,03

Rats, Mice and Lemmings 10^

Meadow Mice, Lemmings and Muskrats ... 107

American Long-tailed Mice and Rats . , 137

Introduced Rats and Mice ,,9

Table of Contenta

Rodents or Gnawing \mmi\s — 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

FA-.I

149
150

•5>
179
•93
207
309

313
314
319
247

364

38J

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

COLORED PLATES AND HALF-TONES

Bighorn or Mountain Sheep (Ocis cervina)

Frontispiece
•Possum Hiding in Palmetto, where he has been chased bv"""" '"'

a dog (Dtdelphis virginiana) ...
A Scared 'Possum ...
'Possum Climbing
'Possum Looking Out of Nest
A New Jersey 'Possum (Didelphis virginiana)
A Florida 'Possum ....

Opossum (Didelphis virginiana J Showing' Young at the
Mouth of the Pouch ' . . . **

Six-banded Armadillo (Dasypus sexcinctus)
Manatees Under Water (Trichechus latirostris) '.
Collared Peccary (Tayassu tayassu)
Bull Elk or Stag (Cervus canadensis)
An Elk (Cervus canadensis) Getting His Antlers
The Rapid Growth of an Elk's Antlers
Elk Stag and Herd (Cervus canadensis)
A Startled Doe; she hears a whistle across the creek
White-tail Deer (Odocoileus virginianus)
Virginia Deer in the Maine Woods at Night
Deer, in Moose Co., Idaho

Western White-tail, or Virginia Deer (Odocoileus virgin-
tanus macrourus) in the Bitter Root Valley, Montana
A Young White-tail Buck (Odocoileus virginianw; t
A Bunch of Mule-deer Does (Odocoileus hemionus) .
Young Bull Moose ( Alces americanus) ....
A Pair of Bull Moose (Alces americanus) ....

4
6
8
8
8

34
36
38
40
40
43
44

44
46
48
50
53

Uat of lUuMration*

Young Woodland Caribou (Rangifer caribou) .

Typical Heads and Antlers of Cervidae

Pronghorn ( Auiilocapra americana) ....

Young Pronghorns ( Antilocapra americana)

Pronghorns (AntUoeapra americana)

Male Pronghorns (Antilocapra americana)

Mountain Goat (Oreamnos montanus) ...

Young Cow Musk Ox, about i6 months old (Ovibos mos-
chatus)

Bull Bison (Bison bison)

A Herd of American Bison (Bison bison) .

Nest of Young Cottontails

Young Cottontail Among the Cabbages (Lepus floridanus
nallurus)

Varying Hare (Lepus amxricanus virginianus)
Little Chief Hare, or Pika (Ochotona princeps)
Canada Porcupine (Erethi^^Oi: dorsatus), with quiiis thrown
forward. In wild state

American Porcupine Swimming, with quills projecting (Ere-

thi^on dorsatus)

Western Pocket Gopher (Thomomys)

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

Long-tailed Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius)

Mice and Shrews of the Eastern States

Western and Southern Mice and Rats

Muskrat (Fiber ;fibethicus)

Western Wood Rat, female (Neotoma)

Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus littoralis)

Western Bushy-tailed Wood Rat (Neotoma)

White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus), enlarged

White-footed Mouse and Young (Peromyscus leucopus)

House Mouse on Trap (A4us musculus) .

Common, or Norway Rat (Mus norvegicus)

Canadian Beaver (Castor canadensis)

rAcmc tAOM

54
56
58
60
62
64
66

68
70
7a
76

76
86
9i

96
98

lot

I03

no
114

122
128
«^
>30
U3
U4
14a
14a
146

Beaver Lodges and a Dam ....

A Pair of Woodchucks by their Burrow (Arctomys monax)

Woodchuck (Arctomys monax)

Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludavicianus) ....

Western Spermophile (Spermophilus), photographed in

Coloradc

Say's Spermophile (Spermophilus lateralis)
White-tailed Spermophile (Spermophilus leucurus)
Young of Columbia Spermophile (Spermophilus columbianus)
Say's Spermophile in Snow (Spermophilus lateralis)
Young Prairie Dcg (Cynomys ludovicianus), about one-third

grown

Western Chipmunk (Tamias quadrivitatus)

Chipmunk (Tamtas striatus) ....

Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) .

Red Squirrels (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus)

Young Red Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus)

Hoary Marmot (Arctomys Pruinosus)

Pine Squirrel (Sciurus hudsonicus richardsoni)

Flying Squirrel ( Sciuropterus volans)

Common Mole (Scalops aquaticus)

Star-nosed Mole (Condylura crisiaia)

Marsh Shrew (Sorex palustris)

Four Common Eastern Bats ....

Sea-lion (Zalophus calif ornianus)

Sea-lion (Zalophus calif ornianus), barking

Walrus Bulls and Cows (Odobenus rosmarus) .

Fur Seals (Oioes alascanus) ....

Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina)

Otter (Lutra canadensis)

Skunk (Mephitis putida), crossing a stream

Mink (Putorius vison)

Weasel (Putorius naveboracensis)

American Sable or Pine Marten (Mustela americana)

Wolverine or Carcajou (Gulo luscus)

Ust of Uliutratiani

VACIMG FAGI
148

•54
156

158
160
163
162
164

164
166
168
170
172
•74
'74
176
178
188
188
188
198
208
210
212
216
216
222
226

234
244
246

Um of IllnMtatieiM

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) ....

PoUlt BtiT CTkalarctos maritimus)

Polar Bear (Thalarctos maritimus)

Florida Black Bear (Ursus floridanus)

Silver Tip; variety of the Grizzly Bear (Ursus horribilis)

Kadiak Bear (Ursus middendorffi)

Red Fox (yulpes fulvus)

A Young Red Fox (l^ulpes fulvus J .

Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus)

Timber or Gray Wolf (Cams occidentalis)

Coyote (Cams latrans) ....

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Cougar, or Mountain Lion (Felis oregonus hippolestes)

Jaguar (Felis onca)

VACSHG PAGI

3$0

264
268

278
282
286
290
292

B j

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 toL 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 to 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 exi option of the
beasts of burden and those which aid him in .he 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

^ 4

\\ '

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. .< 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 'lis muddy footprints on a log and the rotten bark *-. ■' peeled
off with his weight as he jumped down, and here -tj'ain he
has risen on his hind feet to claw and bite the bark of a tree.

I> \ .4

latfoduetiaa

How clear the story
And we feel that in
have learned something
Tracks on the sno'-
to use Burrough's wtn
blabs as effectually as
know all that has ha(
mouse has visited hii>
indeed, a fascinating t;
the snow, to learn to
the blurred mark of

n once 1 as been pointed out!
i^ ttw Ri«> of his presence we

bear <maei'

<uch i4sier

ihe ^^-ow IS
srates ) po

oglyr' ' to decipher;

I great tell-tale and

to the woods and

1 cr<.»«s thf liold, and if only a

jjhbou the (act is r^ronicled." It is,

to re;, f the Mory u- thi mammals in

ow t^ -^ ir|> cle;ir-cit» lil of the fox,

he riibh> . rijii'. fooi. tiii. nervous tread

of the squirrels and « daint> »' siie- <* the mice and shrews.
A knowledge of n'«mm-iis ' iutes t«e interest of an ordinary

Rven thiugh we see but few,

nti v^c their work on every

li *'ays the more frequent

ramble to the lover if

we learn to know n'uaT r
side, and the mi ,ve
glimpses we get < aem.

The pleasure >t seein.
to me far outranks the gr
"bagging my game," and i
hunting were carefully anaiwi
being close to nature it re '^ bi
craft between hunter and gan
thing but a gratification.

studvin^ a wild animal in life

! taking a good shot and

the pleasure men feel in

wiii be found that besides

ill the contest of skill and

•iiu that the mere killing is any-

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.

iBtfodnctiaa

lii

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 from a 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 f///Am<j— modern mammals-though
we have remnants of two other more primitive groups which
were much more extensively d veloped in the past. These :ire
now almost entirely restricted t Australia and the neighbouring
islands where they have been cut off from tK. ,• mainland rela-
tives at the time that Australia became separated from the Asia-
tic continent, and have there been preserved to the present dav
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 o*' existence.

The most primitive o. ;he older mammals are the Prototheriu
—early mammals— comprising the duck bill and spiny ant-eater of
Austialia. animals which resemble in skeletal characters the eariiest
known fossil mammals, and which lay eggs somewhat like
those of the reptiles.

The second group, the Afari«/>M//j— pouched mammals— in-
cludes a large number of species in Australia and the opossums
of America. One of the leadii . 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— £«/Am<i— comprise a number of dis-
tinct types the relationship of which is not ilways 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 it is very

iBtfOduCtiOQ

uncertain just where they branched off from the "family tree"
aiiJ 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 compress(J,
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 mor than two, canines present

Chiroptera, bats.

leaving no gap at the side of the jaws
Anterior limbs modified into wings.
Anterior limbs normal.

Canines not prominent Insecthora, shrews, etc.

Canines prominent Carnivora, cats, dogs, etc.

Nails flat or developed into hoofs.
Nose modified into a trunk, toes s.

., , , Prcboschiea, elephants.

Nose normal, feet never 5-toed, always armed with hoofs.

, , Ungulata, horses, cows, etc.

Nose normal, feet always 5-tced.

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

Introductiaa

have only the opossum. Of the higher orders, the Sirenia «re
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 (elephanu) 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 genera.

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
animals 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
niodification. 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.— Iht 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
tha occp.tal bone, and in it is the round hole or foramen through
which the spinal chord joins the brain. The forward part of

xviil

latioduetiaD

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 nksal. P frontal P panetal. O occipital. Z tygomatic arch. B audita! bulla

Mx maxillary PMx pretnaxillary. I incisors. M molars

CP coronoid process. CD condyle. A angle.

forehead are the frontals, while on the posterior portion of the
iower part of the skull are two rounded "ear bones" known
as the anJitiii bulla:.

The Teeth. — The teeth of mammals are divided into four
groups, the incisors 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, hut 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 struct'j-e, while the incisors are generally
more flattened and sometin-es slightly lobed.

Introduction

Next we have tuberculaie teeth, with a flat crown from
which anse 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 ridees
across their surface, these being the most complicated teeth kiiowt7

Sections of Teeth.

m„i r i"^'"''!,'"'' " ""'' °' Elephant w,th open pulp caWty at base , Hu,.:an

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: (i) 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

In' roduction

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 of
the cattle and deer.

In other families of mammals special names are used for
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, out 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 unicuspiJ 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 /-V^.— Next to the variations in their skulls and
teeth mammals exhibit most diversity in the structure of theii
limbs. The limb of a mammal consists of four parts, and the
bones which compose the fore limb have different names from
'1, ve of the hind limb; thus we have

FORE LIMB HIND LIMB

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

II. Ulna and radius (fore-arm). Tibia and fibula (lower leg).

III. 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 hack of our hand (metacarpals) and the instep of our foot
(metatarsals) and which support the fingers and toes. These

xxi

IntrodnctioB

Where these bones are so^o^g That^Te LL^n'Te hind 'Z

ralsoTlu ""' °' r" '" *"' '*^- '" ^''-^ animals th"e
IS ako a reduction in the number of toes and we find that such

g t erwhife'"Ze h ■' "'''*""' *~"« "^ --^^ -» ^"-d to-
?ve sp Jts. '°"^"«^ '° ^^'^ ■"•«'"» t°« «^« mere abor-

A y^l^ ^""^^ ^""^^ explanations we shall be better able 'o un

fu"C .%"''"*"? ^^"^ °f '''' mammalian odeSanS the"
further classifioition which follows.

If *■

Limits of the Work

we fmd th'ni' H^r "^™? '^"'•'^** ^y ^""^ surroundings that
we fmd that differences m climate, temperature, humidity food etc
are immediately reflected in a difference in the size rn^n.'.r
s e.ta. characters of the individuals of TcrJn V^Si. "^h ' r^

Sds o' LZT'' TTV "' ^''^'P'^'' ^^"«^'^'' of nearlv S
kinds o. mammals which have been carefully studied and seoa-
rated by systematic zoologists. ^

ways^perctotib!e"7n tr'''^ f'"^''''^ ^'^"^ ''"''^'^' ^^ "«» ^•l-
ways perceptible to the popular eye, but as everyone wishes to be

as nearly accurate as possible, we have mentioned in th fol'owin.

ricf eaTTf r' Mi"' ''"''' °' '"^'""'^' ^^""'^ '" ^orthTme'
rica east of the Mississippi, and all the varieties of big came

n.mals north of Mexico. Of other mammals from the WeTt
however, only the most important species are described '

r.u2 '?'"^^^ "'"'" ""'^ ^""^ ^f'o^e adopted in the most
S^n mLrr'^i'T^"'''^ '' '''' ''^y -' "° attempt ha
1 i« !. k'°'''' *^' ^"""^ ^"««'o" of ^^hat constitutes a
speces and what a subspecies. Those animals which wouW be
most readily recognized as different by one beginning t^e sUidv

""sTatd :: "'"^'^'^ '''"''''• -'^"<=Urfphi':.tct

with Tk ^ '' "■' «^'"°"P"'^ *°»^t''*^^ ''t the end of the
fc .. Thll ''"^' '"'^ ' '■"^ °f t'^'^*^ "lo^t obvious dif.

Lpii Im ^h r '• ^'" *''"'"^ '^ ""''^^^*°°d ^'^''t ■•" -

rank but Zlv , " "° ^"''"'*°" *" '"^'"' 'f""'- t^'^onon^ic
rank, but simply to arrange them so that the general reader who

does not wish to study in detail the structure of every fo™?

all

Introduction

may more e?.sily 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.

siHi

I* 1

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 thnt 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 .yery-
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
thf, 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 Opossum*

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 Didelphidce) .

irf.

THE OPOSSUMS

Family Didelphidce

Virginia Opossum

Didclphis virginiaiia 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 lowei 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.

'^.

X
'A

C/3

,< .

3mm

flHM

Tha OpoMnmi

In the meantime she i* 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
litde 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 I'luin his hiding place. If luck happens
to be with her she may discovtr a nest full of eggs or young
birds or mice, it is all one to '.ler.

She can also climb to t'.ie top of the tallest tree in the
woods using her tail and hand-shaped feet almost like a monkey,
even har<ging head down by her tail and one hind foot if nec-
essary from ;. branch just over a bird's nest in order to reach
whatever it contains. Her prehensile tail moreover often proves
useful in supporting her whiie 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 a fairly well-formed kangaroo 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.

[' I'

Th« OpoMnma

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 month ; especially as his fur
has at al! times the faaed, 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 when 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, having two or three litters each
year, each litter composed of from six to thirteen, in rare in-
stances as many as fourteen or fifteen. The young remain with
their mother about two months, and 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 r<)ots, reptiles, crayfish, carrion, eggs, small
rats and mice, with additions of poultry, com, 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

mmti

= 3!

- i"

■< Ts

•5t

»ai

I i

The Oposaumi

economic status in relation to tiie 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 oflf 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 difTicuit 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 marveUed at.

Varieties of the Opossum

The opossums of North America show but little variation,
but naiuraiii-ts have recognized three varieties as follows, the last
being Hied to the opossum of Mexico.

/. yirginia Opossum. Didelphis virginiana Kerr. Range and
description as above. . „ o- i

•^ Florida Opossum. Didelphis virginiana ptgra Bangs. Similar
but smaller with longer and more slender tail.
Range Florida and lowland of Georgia along the Gulf Coast

t 'S.

Tex s'sum. Didelphis marsupialis texensis Allen. Similar

'■ >^ longer than in either of the above, equal to nine-

ti-n .,o instead of three-fifths the length of head and body
and black at base for one-third of its length.

Range. Texas.

CLIMBING

LOOKING OL'T OF NEST

"PUvind Pouum."
hour ur »i) lairr

A NEW JERSEY POSSUM {Didiif'his virtiiHiuHu)

TMa animal i* actually ulive. The put^ v uf the animal rlimbintf is thr

ia-iie in<tivi'lual i'lMt->rtra;ilie't au

h i

,: t

EDENTATES OR TOOTHLESS ANIIVIALS

(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 ise> we had in North America gigantic beasts of
this order, as 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
Hmits 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 Dasypodidx, is
by no means without interest.

THE ARMADILLOS

Family Dasypodida
Nine-banded Armadillo

Tatu novemcinctiim Linnseus
Also known as Peba Armadillo, Mulita.

'oe&tion. 'Body" covered by a bony shell, consisting of two
larger portions connected in the middle by eight bmy rings

The AnnadiUo*

with large daws 'o^ J'Kg^^,*^ below yellowish white, skin
rs^desVlice n'esK 'oK' with a ^ew scattered yellow

i?a«i'.'"'southern Texas and Mexico southward to Paraguay.

Covered from end to end with his bony armament the ar-

.adino afonce recalls the box tortc^se' ^d .^^^ t- -^^^^^^
mation. when harassed, into a round bal °f ^'^'^y P'f /./""^X
one not a little of the snapping shut of the shell of the turtle^

The armadillo is an habitual digger, making his burrows m
the dry soTof the arid regions in which he lives and ventur-
ng forth mainly by night. In the matter of food ^e.s not part,
cular vegetable and animal matter both appear on his '"11 of
fat and caSon forms no small part of his diet while the sects
and maggots which it attracts are not overlooked.

T^e range of the armadillo within our borders .s 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.

tttimmmtam

A FLORIDA 'IXiSSUM

llv W. K. tjrli.

OPOSSUM {HidelpUis vi>giniiuui\
ShovvinK y ninn at the numth of the p"Ufh

Hv llavid M.l'.i.W.-ii

• I

' i

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

•s

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 mucn
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 '.ea, 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:

1 Whalebone whales (FamWy BalceuiJo'). Size very larae

(length 30-85 feet), mouth enormous, no teeth, but the

uDpfr jaw provided with long strips of whalebone.

II SperTwI^ales^Family Physetcridce). Teeth all along the

^ lower jaw, but absent entirely from the upper. Length

III. Bottir-S°osed whales (Family Z.phMa^^ vi?iWe'°telth°at'S
side of the lower jaw or with no visible teetn at an,
1 narrow projecting snout. Length 20-30 feet.
IV Dolphins and porpoises (Familv Delphinid<^). . Teeth nume-
'^- °°Cs in both jaws (or wit^ one long horuontal tusk in
the narwhal). Head in some species rounded in front
while others have a projecting snout. Length 5-15 feet.

WHALEBONE (VH/tLES

Family Dalanida

This family includes all of the true whale-, or toothless whales,
as they are variously called, and the only 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 m the mouth
of "baleen" or whalebone. This consists of thin, flexible, horny
Plates somewhat triangular in outline, which are attached cross-
£e down each sido of the roof of the mouthy The inner
edges of these plates are much split up and frayed so hat 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 '" the "e»r^
closed mouth the water is expelled from the lips and the food

"^^"^ There is a popular idea that the water taken into the mouth
Is discharged through the nostril or "blow hole" situated on

■HHi

SIX-BANDED ARMADILLO {Dasypus scxciiuttts)

A tri»i>ual specie* allied t'lournine-banflffl Arniailill", but with shorter ears and tail ami .

■ >iix rin«s.

■

/ -•*

Right WhiOe

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. (Ajur Lydckker)

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 (Balana), 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.

Rigrhi Whale

Ba/aena glacialis 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

»3

■ ■

Right Whale

of the nee": 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 (Bala-na mvsiicetus) 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 «ay, and elevating the tail from six to

Rifht 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 -a-noon (to
which a long rope is attached), he darts it into the wnale. 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 manoeuvre 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

«s

PinlMck 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 tlie 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 • . hile 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 27s barrels of oil and the right whale 130 bar-
rels, while the whalebone of the two m:iy amount to 3,00-) and
i,5SO pounds respectivclv.

Whaling has been engaged in since 17 12 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-
torowing 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

Balanoptcra physalis (Linnaeus)

Called also Rorqual, Fiiiner.
Length. 40-50 feet.

mmmm

Humpback Whale; Sperm Whale

Description. Head equal to or rather less than one-quarter the
total length. Not arched, but broad and flat above. A fleshy
fln 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 saf se.
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 (Balcrn-
optera musailtis), a larger species of a purplish slate colour, while
other closely allied varieties occur in other parts of Xhv ocean.

Humpback Whale

Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre)

Length, so feet. , . . . , ,

Description. Similar \o 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 IVHALES

Family Pliyscterida

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

Physeler macroccplialus Linnxus

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 tne total
length of the animal; lower jaw shallow and very narrow in
front, armed with 22 to 34 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 Nort'i
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.

Piermy Sperm Whale

Kog^id breviceps (Blainville)

Description^^ 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. ^ , • u

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

BOTTLE-NOSED IVHALES

Family Ziphiidce

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

Hyperoodon ro stratus (Miiller)

Length, ao 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

Zip/tins 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-giay, darker on the belly.

Range. Pelagic.

Cow-fish

Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby)

Length. 16 feet.

Description. Similar to the preceding species, but the male with

«»

['I

Bottle-noacd Dolphin

a tooth on each side of the lower jaw at about the middle,
female toothless. Skin very smooth and polished, unform
black all over with occasional lighter blotches.
Range. North Atlantic, apparently a deep-water species.

DOLPHINS AND PORPOISES

Family Delphinida

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 tiirsio (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.

■pi « » ' ¥ *

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 arciied 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 ctiicr 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. 1 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 dtlphi^ Linnaeus

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 bl,ick ring around the eye and a black
hne to the beak. There is usually a dusky band from trie jaw
to the flipper and one or two stripes on the sides. Teeth 47
to 50 cbove, 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.

f J

I.i

Striped Dolidlin; Hafbour PorpeiM

Descripiion. 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)

Lensih. 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 rray, sides with white and yellowish
patches; a narrrow blajk stripe from the base of the tan half-
way to the middle of the body; eye surrounded with black
and black lines from it to the snout and flipper; dippers black.
Teeth 35 above, v] below.

Range. North Atlantic, southward to Cape Cod.

Harbour Porpoise

Phocana phocana (Linnaeus)

Length. 5 feet. , , . c- «•

Description. Head rounded in front, no beak or snout. Hn 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 ( Tursiops 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 bottle-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.

BUekflah; Onmpua; KiUtr

Biackfish

Globiocephala tnelas (Traill)
Called also Pilot Whale, Ca'ing Whale.

Length, i; 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 biackfish
(G. brachypterus, Cope), entirely black, with much shorter
flippers and only 8 teeth in each jaw.

This large animal resembles somewhat the bottle-nosed whale
{Hype roif Jon), 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 biackfish, with the same high fore-
head, but recognized by the higher back-fln, and the absence
of teeth in the upper jaw. Colour d.irk gray above, lighter
below and on the head, sides with irregulnr 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

Ona area (Linnaeus)

Length, ao feet.

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

•S

White Whale; Narwhtf

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 lo to i) 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 o(
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

Delphinaptems leucas (Pallas)

Length, ii feet. , „.

Description. Head rounded, neck slightly narrowed, flippers small

and rounded, no fin on the back. Colour entirely white.

Teeth 9 in each jaw.
Range. Arctic seas, straying southward rarely as far as Cape Cod.

The white whale is one of th. ^naracteristic 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 summei 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 Linnaeus

Length. 12 feet.

Description. Head short and rounded, flippers short and broad.

•4

iiiim

Nwwkal

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 onr 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 iiarther 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.

MANAT tS / D DUGOSGS

Thi^ anin- - on a"^
fraiuently asstx *d wi
retail nship beiwc-nthen

fri ■ V. ■ str- / c>f the I

itr. ! their u->tic habits h. ■; 'tren

the 4»fhales, there seems o real

md it is probab.c that each has i parte

restrial mammals at a differ ' point

Jus: wnat t affinities of the manatees are we have « mo-

dennite kn. wit Ige than in the case of the whales, ir does
pabcontoiogv throw any light on the question.

• blance between the manatees and v prac-
to the flipper-like fore limbs, flat U ircity
hair on the skin. The tail of our nu ow-
irkid like that of the whales and the heau >ily
small and provided with a si .-^ re-
while some species have in- 11.

The •

tically Jim

ur >ibse

ever. IS

(Mef It. elative

topptxi n olar tt

Only alHJu' eight ecies of these curious animals aic m,
THE M/INATEES

Family Tru iccliidce

th.

It- lamily includes onlv the manatees. The dugongs of
Jlu World and the peculiar Steller's sea cow which formerly

inhabit', d the north Pacitic, being arranged in separate groups.
Florida Manatee

Trichechus latirostris (Harlan)

Called also Sea Coru.\

Length. 9 eet.

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

11^

Florida Manatee

of much expansion. Tail flat and widened, tiien tnpering
to a point, flipper rather long (i 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 Trkhechtis
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 paddlts, 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
harmlcssness 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.

' '

I ■■

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 ot
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 loes 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
,1 telopcs of Asia and Africa which scarcely reach a height of
I > elve inches at the shoulder, from these they range all the way to
,ne 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 \\\^t 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 rummanti to
which all the domestic cattle belong and which arc characterized by a
• The tapir has four toea on tha front laet.

UngttUtH

p«uliar four-parted stomach and the habit of casting up the
hastily cropped grass for further mastication when resting Inter
on. This operation is called '-chewing the cud," and one of the

compartments of the stomach serves as
a receptacle for the food, wh'o it awaits
this supplementary chewing. The canine
teeth are oft wanting in the hoofed
animals and i 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
ateill.

Great numbers of fossil ungulates
have been discovered and it has been
possible to show the gradual evolution
of the living species through a long
series of extinct ancestors.

Remains of extinct horses and rhi-
noceroses bave been found abundantly
within the United States as wel! a anirials for which we have
no familiar names. To-dav, however, ou' native ungulatvs are
comparatively few in numlwr and are grouped in four families,
all of them belonging to the even-toed division.

1. Peccaries (Family DicotvliJir). Pig-like animals, not ruminant
and without horns. Cmin-! teeth large and prominent,
front teeth (incisors) in bot'i jaws.

II. Deer, elk, etc. (Family Cerv-ia). Ruminant am nals with
bony branching antlers on the head of the males (and
females also in the caribou), which are shed every year.
Rudimentarv canines generally present but front teeth
(incisors) onlv 'n the lower jaw.

III. Prong horn (Fainilv Antilocabridce). Allied to the cattle

{Bovidix), but the hollow norns are forked and are shed
as in the deer.

IV. Cattle and their allies (Family BmiJcr). Ruminant animals

with hollow horns fitting over bony prominences on
the skull in both males and females. These horns are

Foot of a ruminanc (sheep)

\ Ankle bones.
H Met«t«ri«b futei. toiwth<T
S "Splints" nr remnants i^t
other mctatAfSAls The o»rT.'«-
ponding toe bones are seen lieim,
(.4;«'r l.ilitkkrr)

»■)

Tmum Pcccaiy

Straight or curved, but never branched, and are not
shed annually. Teeth as in the deer, but the canines
are entirely lacking.

PECC/IRIES

Family Dicotylida
Texas Peccary

Tayassu angiilatum (Cope)

D«fr/Mo«^ '"P'g^ike, with short erect ears, no tail, bristW hair
and a scent gland on the back. Individual hairs banded black
and white, producing a mottled appearance, the face, mane
01 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. tu i i i »«i

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
otiier 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-
c.ited 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 mav be in the stories of the fierceness of
the South American peccaries, our species seems to be a harmless

I'i

rt, ■

"^^^^"^-^^^^^^^^^""'"^ iillM

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 rather formidable enemy.

DEER /IND THEIR ALLIES

Family Cerx'ida

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 covenng 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 talltd Wapiti.

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

Description. Body above yellowish brown, beneath nearly blacK.
head, chest and neck dark brown, legs clove brovvn. a yel-
lowish white area on the rump about the base of the tail.
Female rather lirhter 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 m t..j
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 liver; a victim to the advance of civilization and the

3«

AmvicaD Blk

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 che 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 then 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 CeniJcr, 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.

" Afterthe pairing season "writes Lydekker, "wapiti collect in

3»

BUI-L KI.K, UK STAO ((Vriiij .,i</ii,/< nv.jj W, A K l.u«,.

> I

i«

Anwieui Blk

Urge herds, which used formerly to number several hundred
Individuals, a:id 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 obuined with the least
difficulty. During the hot weather, when they are much persecuted
by flies and mosquitoes, wapiti resort to water, in which they wiJl
sUnd 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 ai 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 wiil Uke 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

•V •

ii <i

* I

Vailatits of tba Bik

him as he steps alo..^ or if one straggles too far he moves slowly
toward her. and shaldng his mighty horns warns her to return W
you nre a shot at one of that band, speedily t»« old bull w.U. how
himself the herder and protector of his fam.ly. f^»;.n8 ^^'".S
point to point he will gather up cows and calves mto a '««« b"n«J
Tnd wiU drive them off over the hills, threating the laggards with h«i
J«ns and using them too with cruel effect if the cows do not huny.
Nrchivalrythifonthepartoftheoldbull. . . . He dnves them for-
ward not because he wishes to protect them from death but became
tliecows are his and he does not intend to be robbed of h.s wives and
children."

Varieties of the Elk

As with most anima'
parts of its habitat. Tp. '-
is probable that the anin..':
diflered somewhat from the
will however probably leave

, vide range the elk varies in different
•.-.rities have been described and it
<:.rjiieMs' inhabiting the Eastern States
H. -y r'.oKr- tain elk. Lack of specirp ■ i

h ru!>stio 1 forever in doubt.

/ American Elk. Cercus camdensts (Erxl.) Descn»- vnv,

range west to and including the Rocky Mounums.

2. Roosnelfs Elk. Cervus occiJentalis Smith. Urger anJ. d-..ier

coloured, with heavier horns. v.,wK.m

Ran^. Coast range of Washington. Oregon and Northern

, M^Ssf/A. Cm«5f»«frM«» Nelson. Nose darker and head

^- and Tegs 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. ^^.,^„ Mountains

Range. White Mountains of Anzona and Mogollon Mountoins,

New Mexico.

Virginia I>eer

Odocoileus virginianui (Boddaert)

Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder. } feet i inch. Length of
Antler, ao 24 inches.

Describtion. Bright rufous chestnut above in sumnicr with a black
band on the^chin. throat, under Pf^s and ms-.de of legs wh^te
tail brownish above, white beneath. In winter the upper parts
are yeltowish gray With white about the eye. AnUers curving

.^4

; ^

VifginU Dmt

outwarJ and then upward, the tips curving in asain toward
one mother, there is a short upright spike near the base, beyond
whicii the beam gives off two upright branches making three
nearly equal prongs. At no point does the antler oranch
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 tl e inhospitable pine barrens and impenetrable
swamps, as well as to wise legislation properiy 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 workea by civilization has
not been too severe. Wise laws passed for their protection have
yielded good results more quickly than the most sanguine could
have hoped.

In i8;3 Thoreau wrote: "ivdnot 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 tu be an old man
he n.ight frequently have seen them, if not at Cor -.ord. at least
at other spots in New England from which they were supposed
to hav; been driven forever. Not the pampered stock bred in game
preserves, but the sturdy descendants of the native wil^l deer that the
red men hunted th.''ough 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 retting in

, ,; '

1'^

*>'

Vtaginia DmT

th«: shade of wide-topped elms in high windy pastures along with the
farmer's cattle. It would cerUinly be difficult to find a creature lead-
ing a happier, more care free 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 c ■/^r.

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 a few 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; 1 trust it is
not a far look ahead to the time when it will be true of them where
I live in New Hampshire.

Only last August a full-grown buck with goodly antlers came
mto our field at noon, and, walking about in the tall grass, probably
made as good a meal of English grass and alsike clover as ha 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 I see them enjoying all the splendid freedom of wind and
sky over the brown pastures, or bounding away with tails in the air,
I feel that of all the creatures driven away by the early settlers, no

i«

TMK RAIMDC.HnWTM <»F AN KI.K S ANTI.KRS

Pl« I. |>h<it'<in'*l>!i>' I Apnl i FiK J April lo. fit i, April j) l-"i^ 4 N<»

Virfiaia Dmt

Other could bs 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 1 came upon one of
these yards in the birch woods within a mile of the farm house where
I 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 I 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 I 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 $0 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 eageriy to the next year's shooting, for there is no
other sport to be compared to deer-stalking in the autumn woods just
alter 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

■I

i*i

Virginia Deer

learn from their appearance just how long since the deer that
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 one, 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 alar n your game and send it (lying off among the trees,
showing you just the white flash of his tail as he disappears.
If not bidly frightened, however, he will probably not run very
far bef'.re stopping to look back at you, choosing, if possible, a
thickly wooded knoll or a hummock at the edgo 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 ctses. Without

■ i

R^iHrMr-i' ,

•5^^

Mate OMt

considering the fine technical points of difference, the dcscrib«d
forms are as follows.

/. yirginia Deer. OJocoiUus virginianus (Boddaert). Southern

States north of Florida and Louisiana to the Middle States,
a. Northern Deer. O. virginianus borealis Millei. Katiier larger
and grayer. ^, ^ ,

Range. New England States and Canada to northern New York.
). Banner-tailed Deer. O. virginiatius matroiiru'i (R.ifinesque).
Smaller and paler coloured.
Range. Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. etc.
J. HoriJa Deer. O. osceola Bangs. Very small, ind exceedingly
dark coloured, about one quarter smaller than the Virginia deer.
kan,iC Florida.
5. l.oui<j..Ha Deer. O. louniamv G. Allen. Similar but larger.

Kauge. Louisiana.
' icXJH or han-lailed Deer. O. texen^is (Mearns). A small very
pale deer with small antlers.
Range. Texas and northern Mexico.
7. Arizona Deer. O. couesi (Rothrock). Small and pale >n colour
but with no black edgings to the ears.
Range. Arizona and Northern Mexico.
*. White-tailed Dter O. leucurus (Douglass). Similar to the
banner-tail.
Range. California to Washington.

Mule Deer

OdocoHcHS kemioHHS (Kalincsquc)

Also called Btack-tailfd lA r.

Length. 6 to 7 feet. Height at shoulder. } feet 4 inches. Length
of antlers. 25-30 inches. .....

Description. Body heavy, ears very large, thickly haircd.tail white with
black tip, n:»ked below at the base. Pale dull yellowish in summer,
bluish sjray m autumn, front of the face betwitii the eves dusky,
rest »t !ice, throat, abdomen and inside of le^s white. Antlers
fori<ir.fi .quiilly (dichotomous) and each prong ag.'in biturc.ite.

Range. N< tUi Dakota to Texas and Colorado ;md west to Wtishing-
ton, Oregon and northern Californa. Closely allied varieties occur
in CaliiorMi.i -xith of San Francisco.

Unles.s we .ire f;imiliar with an animal it is often difficult to know
the orgin of the popular names that have been bestowed upon it. In
the present case we should on first thought picture a large heavy

fSSS^

r-'

; ! :

Mote

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

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." u •. ti/ .

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

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 praine.
intermingled with willows and other small brushwood, we suddenly
tame in sight of four mule deer which, after standing a mcmenii 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 pacr until out of sight. They
did not trot or run as irregularly as our Virginia deer, and they
appeared at a distance darker in colour."

As time went on and settlers and hunters spread over the great
West the mule deer became a familiar „nimal. 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

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Varieties of Mule Deer and Allied Speciea

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 bucicskin, 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 1 have known
him to lie in thick bush until almost kick i 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 /ery 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

Mule Deer. Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque). Description

and range as above.
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.
Desert Mule Deer. O. hemionus eremicus (Mearns). Paler

than any of the other varieties.
Range. Desert areas of lower California and Sonora.
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.

ill

Columbian BUtek-tailed Dmt

Columbian Black-tailed Deer

OdocoiUus 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 'he cannon bone segment. General colour
brownish gray, da .st 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 ..bove. basal
thira 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 natur-
alists 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 stv'le 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, frequently the dense woods of conifers
bordering the Pacific Coast, whose deep shade affords ample con-

VIRGINMA DEER IN THE MAIN'E WOODS AT NIGHT
Carefully •ppniathitiK in a lamw, this picture i.f ilu- surpriiuvl ,\,w «■« wvured by flaihlijht.

By W. K.. Carlin

MOOM

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

Black-tailed Deer. Odocoileus columbianus (Richardson).

Description and range as above.
Sitkan Black-tailed Deer. O. columbianus sitkensis Merriam.

Similar, but ears shorter, and basal part of tail above fulvous

like the back.
Range. Southern Alaska.
Californian Black-tailed Deer. O. columbianus scaphiotus

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

Moose

Alces americanus Jardlne

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 protrudmg 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.

.(.inge. Eastern British America, Maine, Minnesota and Montana
and formerly northern New York. Replaced in Alaska bv
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,

f
I

MOOM

having outlived its age and generation, it must necessarily soon
become extinct from 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 en his
shoulders to avoid the branches. When he comes to a fallen

IN MOOSE CO., IDAHO

By W. E. Cailin

WESTERN' WHITE-TAIL, OR VIRC.IN'IA ')EER {OdoioiUiis vi,t;inia>uis mucroitrtu) Hy w. K. (..irlin

IN THE BITTKK Hum VALLEY, MONTANA.

These photoBr»t'l>» "' »''1'1 '•"'' *''"■ "'»''*' '" ""' ^prinit, whvn thi' animals are iiinre easi !■> apprciach. [n each case the
ca.ncra hunter lav in wait near the trail and rau.^nt the atninals nnawi>res.

i-ii

MOOM

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
lake-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 entice:' in this manner, the bull is likel" to come
upon the hunter with a ulind rush, and in the darkness of the
wood the hunter, whose nerves are liable to fail him at a pinch,
may find th'- sort of sport exciting, b-t not altogether safe.

The fawns who are born in early ummer stay with their
mouiers for two or three years before they wander oflf 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 Dead water 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. It was into this inviting camp that we stumbled long
after dark, caring a litth moose out of the very d' ir-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 I 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 w-i. know the
l.abits of the moose, and then goes down v.ie 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

'\\

i J

'1 ,

l.,t

Woodland Caribou

account of its lightness, tiie snow is no impediment to tiie 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
made of a moose's shin bone. . . . The skin was now
washed in a pan of hot water. The tanning, with a soup of
thf 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 ' ' their marrrv; 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 .Vf-
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.

-ii

Woodland Caribou

Rangifcr caribou (Gmelin)

Length. 6 feet. Height at shoulder 4 feet. Length of antler }0 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 Cariboa

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 exceedmgly 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, particulariy 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" savs: "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

— »

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
school

"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 1 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 I followed carefully, the wind being ahead in my favour.

" They were not hurrying and I took good pains not to alarm
them.

"When I 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.

I ?1

iiitti

f I

Woodland Caribou

"It was all new and curious; this meeting of their kind; for
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. . . .

" As 1 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
no 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
. .lie 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

Woodland Cariboa

=v.

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, v/hen 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 Carilaou

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.

/. Woodland Caribou. Rangifer caribou (Gmelin). Description

and range as above.
2. Mountain Cari ou. 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.
J. Stone's Caribou. Rangifer stonei 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 terrce-novce Bangs. Uni-
formly whiter than the woodland caribou, with a white ring
around the eyt. Antlers very massive and widespread with
numerous pomts.
Range. Newfoundland.

$»

Bunn Onraiid Cuiboa

Barren Gi.and 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 qui -> likely that
all may prove to be perfectly distinct species or ^^ ie 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 I 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 eariy 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;

t! '

Barren Oroond Caribou

from this time they stay together till 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. \ hen we
were awakened before daylight by the cry of "La fotuc." "La
foule," and even 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 tli) 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 I 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 thiii^ that I
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

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

American Prong-Hom

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 Antilocapridce

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 atnericana (Ord)
Also called Antelope, Prong-buck.

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

Description. Horns hollow, Mke 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.
Colour 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 bv the weather and the comparative abun-
dance or scarcity of ter and pasturage. In winter they seek

YOUNG WOODLAND CARIUOU Wangijer cariboU)

In Withinnt.m Z.i.,l„i.ical Psrk.

By A, R. Dufiaart

American Pronf-Hom

sheltered valleys amonc; the hills 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 .md reliant on their legs and capable of
following their mother wherever they go.

The herd now wanders oi t 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 fro '
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 the^' ■ ..n around a steep hill and disappear, then per-

American Pronc-Hom

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. . n , '

Like many other animals that habitually associate in flocks,
the antelope has in its two white rump patches conspicuous
"recognition marks," as taey 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 Magaiine, says: "Some years airo. while riding across
the upland prairie of the Yellowstone, 1 loticed certain white
specks in the far distance. They showea 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 1 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
vkrith it and with the bases of the white hairs. This completed

■M

1 ^

Mountain Ooat

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 quantify 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 CATTLE

Family Bovidct

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

Ileontaln Ooat

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 1 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 I
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 t. see where they led,
when suddenly we saw four white animals on the edge of an
abyss of the kind which Dord has portrayed in illustrating Dante.

i
i

PRON'GH )RN' ( l>l/l7i'.,ir>r,l ,111) t/V,|im) lly W. KOrlir

Yf;- T,'.'A".'"' '" """" '""' ■■"'"''^""'' '\ t.-l.M'h..t„ i.irlur,- tr..7i, a ,li«,an,-,. .,f , -, var.h. taV.-n nn tlv ...itskirts nf the

M eoataia Oom

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.

un rJ^T!,!""'' 7.r^'""^ "^ '^'y ''''^"^ » tum.h5ddled
Zrl r°^f ^^'t ^' P"''"'* °"^ ^"yo^'^^ toward their last
place of abode, reachmg the opposite siue of the canyon by means
wholly unsuited to nervous people. There was just snow enough to
show heir tracks, which led along scandalous precipices. The
fever o pursuit was on my guide, and he walked uprightly in places
where 1 became a quadruped. This was trying to his patience, for he
caught ghmpses of the goats which 1 by realon of slower progre^

7ol tnTh ^K ''T r'". ''" '''"'■ "^^ "'"«' ^° ' 8^«=«» <=himney of
I^nnnnM /;""'* «=''"«'"« ^'t^ fmgers anri moccasins, he went
around he face of .t. . . When I came out above him I saw he had

IJ^f '" t T u°^' "'*""' *"P' ^"'^ "'•^y ^^^^3" bunched up

tfnJlliJ T^u^ ' ^''°"«''* ""''* "°^ *'« P^-^^J- The biggest

Mm looTt .k'* t^T' ^'' '°"« ^'^'^^ ''^''^'* ^"'^ P^«'^^-t^ '"Sing
him look like the high pnest of some heathen temple. ' Don't shoot

he fall down yelled my guide. At the sound of the voice the goal
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. 1 thought he surely would fall back but
he did not. The smaller goats followed and in a moment they were
ITV ■ • ^^^^'"^'Jeaflank 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

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 . .ight grip the ground against the tearing force of

tT/'^oft T, ""V?" ' ""'"'''' °' ^'■"'^ goat-tracks in the snow or
t K ?u u ; ^*"'" ^'^ ^''^ '^""^'^ of '"^e mountain sheep, the V

U I'inl TK ""'*■' ^T^ ■ "P^" '"'^ '" '^' 'li'^tion the animal
IS going There seemed tc De several, large and small; and the
perverted animals invariably chose the sharpest slant they could find

nn':;^h r'n"**'" T ' V '""^"^ '^^^' '■"='* ^«"^« '^ t'^^'t we were glad
enough to have. If there was a precipice and a sound flat-top. they

}

\
I

Mountain QoM

took the precipice, and crossed its face on juts that did not look as if
your hat would hang on them. In i is I 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. I
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 on a 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 1 had a sense of
personality about him more vi'id than any since I 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
anothes 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 t ken himself away down the other
side of the mountain, along a spi. j 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 out 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
b . 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

1 '^

YOIXC, PKONCIlOkxs (.lm,V,. ,,/.r., ,„mr;V,,.,.„

Hy A l; iMijn

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 dilTers
from the mountain sheep as he differs in ap'pearance. 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, .md 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 kennedyi.

Mountain Sheep

Ovis ceniitia. Oesmarest
Also called Bighorn.
Length. 4 feet 6 inches. Height at shoulder, 3 feet 4 inches
base I inches" "'''"""' '''""''^' ^° '"'^'^^^" ^"''^"'"f^rence at
Description. Body heavy, legs rather slender, hair everywhere
closely appressed, no mane or beard. Horns in female short
n male very massive, curving backward and outward and
in old rams makmg a complete spiral circle. Colour grayish
brown, darkest on the back, under parts, inner side of legs

^hF J w.i'^'^vP^^^^ *"? '■"'"P ''"'1 '»ro""d the base of
the tail whitish; lighter and grayer in winter.

Range. Higher niountains from British Columbia to Arizona.
and^elJ (SeeTeTow)"^'^'' '"°""*''"' *° '^' ^'""^^ ^"''^

Mountain Bhaap

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 theii 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-
cipitou' 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 difierrnt 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 mny estimate the difficulty of approaching them and con-
ceive the great activity and sure-footeuness of this spe'^s. They
form paths around these irregular clay cones that arc at times
six to eight hundred feet high, and in son 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

■f. -

y. "■

o z
y. -g

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 rirtes of sportsmen because they are grand game."
"Their ideal haunts," writes Hornaday, "are the slopes o(
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, particulariy hunters."

"I 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 \v;is 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, bravt'-

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 hunters 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 col.ur,
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

Mountain Sheep. Ovis cervina Desmarest. Description and

range as above.
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 Lan3s." Western South Dakota and Eastern

Wyoming.
Nelson's Sheep. Ovis nelsoni Merriam. Similar, but much paler.
Range. Grapevine Mountains, between California and Nevada.
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.
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.
Ball's Sheep. Ovis dalli Nelson. White or yellowish-white

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

MAl.K I'RONCIIOKNS ( I ■■,■(,',. ,i,">,i ,i^(i rh nhi)

Hy A. H I!

se^^s

Mutk Ox

7. Fannin's Sheep. Ovis fannim Homaday. Similar, but shoul-
ders, back and upper parts of legs gray.
fiange. Rocky Mountains, about 75 miles east of Dawson.
Northwestern Territory.

Musk Ox

Ovidos mosc/tatus (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 p.itch on the back
as well as short hair between the horns, muzzle and limbs
below the knees and hocks yellowish white

Raniv. Arctic barrens of Nortfi America, east of the Mackenzie
Kiver. 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 herd-; 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 -es of the small wil-
lows scattered here and there over the B » 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
marvellous agility in climbing precipitous cliffs. Ir: spite of stories
to the opposite effect, Mr. Pike is of opinion that even old bulls
are by no means J ingerous animals."*

American Buffalo

Bison bison (Linnaeus)

Length. 1 1 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.

/« 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; 350 in

Montana, Dakota and Wyoming, and 50 in Colorado and

Indian Territory.!

• Lydekker's " Wild Oxen, Sheep and Goats."
t From Homaday.

^.v i

'.--y, - -.„

t^^.

American Buffalo
In 1890. Apparently restricted to Yellowstone Park and

***''T/[h'e*'Jlorthwest of its range occurred a related variety
known as the wSLnd buffalo (fl. bison athabaska: Rhoads).

The bison can scarcely be reckoned as a creature oi o^r ^^y,
already it has taken its place with the aurochs of Europe as a th.ng o
the past. Both species have pro ■ , !y reached the hmi of their
decline in numbers, and the remaining herds.. f properly protecte ^ d
cared for. may increase considerably in the years to come Bu unm
our present civilization has worn itself out and this part of the ea.u.
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

'''"^'pruncounted ages the bison held all the most fertile grazing
land in this country as their own. When the Europeans began
form settlements in North America ^hev occasionally found b.sons
in small bands near the Atlantic Coast. They were decidedly rare
however, everywhere east of the Appalachian Mountains.

From Kentuckv. 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
drouffht cut down their pasturages. u ui »«

The first Western pioneers witnessed such sights as probably no
other w hite 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
bellowfng and fighfing and pawing up the earth which trembled
everywhere as at the approach of an earthquake. , , .. .
Syotes and timber wolves skulked here and there through
the herds watching for an opportunity to pull down an unprotected
cai and dodging the charge of the enraged parent as best they could
Sntrastv^th 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 zoologica
gardens, and all will agree that its extermination was one of the most
fhameful examples of mans greed and a nations 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

AmerieaB Buffalo

idea, however, may be obtained from the statement of Col. R. I.
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 1 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 I 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 beheve 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 We«t."

f'The Extermination of the American Bison " Report U. S. Nat. Mus.
tt86-7, an exhaustive treatise from which the substance of this account is taken.

YUlN(i CUVV MUSK OX. alM.m u. in.mths ohi (ih-ilh>s mosiiuiius)

This IP tlir *■» Mtn! or thin! fvt-r ■«t*ii in i aptivity in a IfiiiiHTaU- t limate.

Ky A. K liuKimtre

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 weigh*
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. , ,

bulls in the meanwhile had associates m droves by

The old
themselves.

In or-^
sough<
and w
and pi:
a hideoc

The

.0 escape the attacks of the flies and other insects they
' Idy sloughs and shallow ponds where they could roll
. their hearts' content and emerge with their coats filled
over with clay which soon baked in the sun and formed

uut most effective armour which would last for days.

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

AinericaB 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 ;i',iong ruminants." *

* Homaday op. ciU

^^^m^

^.M-4',%

■7.

RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS

(Glires)

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 cdnspicuous teeth (incisors) m 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 Ind»r tooth .hewing long curved b-.. M Th. Jour moUr.. (Aft^ LyMU,.)

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
fhe 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.

7»

Rodant* or Onawinc Animala

Such diversity of habits naturaOy produces great differences
in structure, but no matter what individual peculiarities a rodent
may possess, the characteristic "gnawing teeth" remain the same
in alLand serve at once as the "ear-mark" of the group.

Our rodents are grouped in the following fimihes.

I. Rabbits and hares (^Family Leporidx). Hind iegs very n^uch
longer than the front pair, so that the animals progress by
leaps. Ears long, tail very short and up-turned, usually
wlSte on the under or exposed side. Peculiar m having
a small pair of rudimentary front teeth at the base of
the upper pair of large ones.

II.

III.

IV.

Lee of Beaver. I^K «* R»*- . .

Showing the Tibi. (T) «.d PibuU (F) Showing mU ."d IJbj|U amt«l.
wpumte for their entjre length. ('*'»*' l,yatmiMr.,

Uffr LyithkT.)

Pikas rFamily Ochotonidai). Legs nearly equal, "o tail.

otherwise Hke the rabbits although the general form is

more like a large rat. (Exclusively Western.)
Porcupines rFamily Eretki^ontidaJ. Skin with numerous

sharp spines interspersed among the hairs.
Goohers ^Family Geomyida). Rat-like animals. "v>ng >n
^sSfca!,ean"^b^urrows,-'eyes very .''"'^Vrn ofectr/' ar*^

for digging like those of a mole. No Projecting ear.

curious pouches on each side of the face, opening out-

side near the mouth.

■—'^^

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

lUbbiti aad Hares

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

lumping mice ^Family Zapodidct). Mouse-like animals,
with hind legs much elongated, progressing by long leaps;
tail very long exceeding the head and body.

Rats and mice rFamily Muridcc). 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.

Sewellels rFamily Aplodontiidce). Thick-set animals with
verv short tail and short ears, and a peculiar fiat skull
somewhat like that of the beaver. (Exclusively Western.)

Beavers CFamily Castoridce). Tail curiously modified into
a broad, flat, naked appendage.

Squirrels and marmots (^Family Sciurida). 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 charactenstic of a
majority of the species. (See cuts page 72.)

RABBITS AND HARES

{Family Leporidce)

Rabbits are perhaps the most widely known of any o( our
wild animals. As our commonest "game" they are familiar to
e.erv 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 mmd iS to )ust
what constitutes the difference between them.

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

RabMM and Haica

titled to this name. It differs slightly in its pnpnrti n . fror.i th.
other species and is habitually a burrowing initial. i i ; rest oi
the tribe, as a rule, make nests on the surfu; of the crround
and are, properly speaking, hares. It is useless, howe r, . try
to fix the application of names so firmly established and we nust
therefore take them as we find them. The big hares ot our
northern States are either varying hares or "snow-shoe rabbits
our little hares are "rabbits" or "cottontails" and the Li ge
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 eyi
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 aie
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 i? were — we shall find another pair
of little teeth which do not .each 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 thi? 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 aie 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 k-nawing animals
and is most familiar in the case of the squirrels w iiich 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, bu; 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

rhe Cotwmail

curious tamping which rabbits ir Juljji--
The me conspicuous pecies ol labbnb
beyond. In the West ire nnan spei
less closely allied to th e, and t. le vc
rabbit

n arigrv or excited.

thi^ F are described

i ties mo'e or

•tii -n, '' Jack

T ie Cot itall

Lepus

lUums (1 »mas)

Als known .=s -iabh.-f. C j) Rabbit.

Length. 17 inches.

Description. Ai -e, a fint.
russet, gray, on the ru!
an ,ndi;tinct Lisk- ■
a brow band ac
pure wriite.

•iange. Lowlands of
nortriern Florida to Liie
V ginia . i Tennes^ .

^ture of brown, cinnamon and

dusky edgings to the ears and

tween them; below, white with

:)ri :st; lower surface of the tail

out her
tds'-n
west

.i. ■;el, relate', varictii rt-place

md middle States from

'V in the East, and to West

the AUeghanies. Other

11 ,s form to the north and

south, nnd ^y alli^ species occur in the West.

For I., last jek 1 iiave been watching a rabbit that was
ca i^ht in .i box ir.ip It aicklv became tame ePi. 2'h to allow
its.cif t' '■►e stroked d p ted without exhibiting .-uch alarm,
and w!' 1 it escn'x'i rrorr ts cage, which it did several times,
offertM out little ri on being caught and replaced in

bondage, at last eve )wing itself to be taken up without a

strucgle.

ate readily whatever was offered it — apples, raw cabbage,
and en the drv hay of which its bed was composed, besides
gna !g all the bark from the twigs of apple tree which I placed
J! cage, but never while I was watching and, I think, only

' night, apparently hardly changing its position while the day-
ht lasted.

Yesterday morning I found that it had not only escaped from

s cage, a frequent enough occurrence, but that it had also

iianaged to make its way to the outside world, and the snow

on the lawn has since been thickly marked with its tracks lead-

ng oflf across the orchard finally, and I trust that by this time

Tta« 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 ahke, but these are usually
not so extended and regular as those of its larger cousin.

In winter the goshawk hr.s 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 h;ird 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 fam: • of them.

7«

NEST (JF Y(JL'N(i COTTONTAILS

T)u«nr>t trasin shav-firM. The v..unif whtn f.iiind wprc tovcn-.l with si)(t fur fnim the m.ilhir. m that thev were hardly vinili'n
This fur was retiinved in order that the little Idim! anitnaU nuKht Ite seen.

VOIXC, COTTONTAIL .UIOMi TlIK t AHHAC.liS (/.. /-i.v // rj./.i.niv iJM,7;.r/.>i lij. A k. I.ubm, .

The Cottciuuil

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 motionless 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.

I have seer, 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 t\ne Cottontail

Common ot Z^ui'.ern Cottontail. Leptis floridanus mallurm
(Thomas) K; • ge and description as above.

Florida CottL<\. 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.

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

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

Vatying Hare

the southward it merges gradually into the southern cotton-
tail and westward into the following.
4. Prairie Cottontail. Lepus floridanus mearnsi (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.

Varylner Hare

Lepus americanus virginiamis (Harlan)

Called also Snow-skoe Rabbit, U^liite Hare.

Length. 19 inches

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

Range. Wooded regions of north-eastern North Americi 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

Vaiyinc Han

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 f'-ed 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 ivoid 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 imh
or lesi in diameter they cut off close to the ground or the sur-

Vuyiac Han

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 af^er 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 us 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 unes 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 foxes work in concert when hunting them just as the English

Mil

-^-"'■^-^

Vaorinc 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 homed 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 .he 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
hare and other mammals and birds, but there are few ibjects
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 their
colour from the time they appear until they fall out The change

Varjrinc 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
c." 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
ail 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 teU 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.

I 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

ifiUBiiai

■tti

Varying Han

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 1 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
oftheiroccupationof 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
1 think it must have been the following winter that 1 heard of several
having been killed in the neighbourhood.

From that time until the fall of 1894 I 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 be.ore he had been shooting grouse along the
edge uf 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 doubliess 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 tune 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 join- i it until a well-beaten path
running east and west was formed and this presently joined another

Vaijnaf 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 I was endeavouring to unravel, 1 was
obliged to give it up for the time being.

Several times in the course of the next month 1 visited those
woods, sometimes finding the tracks 1 was in search of and sometimes
not, for the colony was apparently an unsettled and roving one and
I seldom 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, 1 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 I 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 l.irge male whose smooth white fur showed but
little sign of the spring' shedding, only a spot here and there that
hardly showed at II when the animal was in motion.

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

VarylBcHare

or in the woods lear by, and I am convinced that purely by chance
we had intercepted the little band in its march southward and
that those itilled 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 I 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 tar 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 1 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 1 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

«5

ABMrican Polai Han

to the last decade. The first are said to have been brought here
from Massachusetts by an old fox hunter some thirty years a«o."

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 describinkj it as a Western species not
found east of the M' i; pi. But Thoreau's diary written in the
woods of Con<i)!.;, .' akhusetts, half a century ago .md more,
makes no ment r c. ifie larger species, all the hares referred to being
unmistakably cotici-tails.

Last winter, 1898-9. I paid frequ'-nt visits to 'Am- only permanent
colony of white rabbits that 1 know of m this regici., 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 cray 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 I 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 ameruanus virginianus (HaThn). Range

and description as above.

2. Labrador yarying Hare. Lepus ameruanus Erxleben. Yellow-

ish-brown to drab in summer, always pure white in winter.

Range. Replaces the former in the wooJed region' of

Labrador.

). Nova Scotian (Varying Hare. Lepus americanus struthiopu-i

Bangs. Much darker and duller than the varying hare, with

no ferruginous tints.
Range. Takes the place of the common form in Nova Scotia.

American Polar Hare

Lepus arcliciis Ross

Called also Arctic Hare, H^kite Hare.

Ustgih. 7} inches.

Description. Hair somewhat curly, white at all seasons except the
tips of the ears which are blackish; a few long blackish hau^

^■DMflH

POlw Han

scattered over the back in summer and the ears and face
sllRhUy gray (the allied polar hares of Ubrador and New-
foundfand are subject to a greater change. See below).
Range. Northern Baffin Land and the Arctic Istands of North
America.

The polar hares are the Arctic explorers -f 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 esUblished 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 wmte and six months brown. The typical polar
har» 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 Ixneath
some outcropping ledge, and its food stone-worts and lichens
and the twigs of dwarfed alpine planU as hardy as itself.

In thf 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. , ,. . .u

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
Kvrfalcon 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 and 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.

Matah Han

Varieties of the Polar Hare

I. American Polar Hare. Lepus arcticus Ross. Range and
description as above. . „. . ••

a. Bangs' Polar Hare. Lepus arcitcus bangst Rhoads. Upper
parts gray in summer, ears black.
Range. Takes the place of the American polar hare m New-
foundland. , . . ,..„ _ ,

I. Miller s Polar Hare. Lepus arcticus labradorius mWtr. Pelage

hair brown in summer.
Range. Replr -S the American polar hare in Labrador.
4 Greenland H. re. Lepus grcenlandicus 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 palusttts Bachman

Length. i8 inches. . , , u

Description. Above yellowish-brown, with many black hairs scat-
tered through the pelage. Underpart^ 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. ^ j ^i. >

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
wbich it is often associated, and differs in its nearly bare feet
and mi. e scanty pelage, it is distinctly an animal of the wet
sw.-'Tip-, nov hesitating to take to the water and plunge through
the (Uepest bogs v/hen disturbed. Bachman says that it runs
low on the ground -ind 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

I. Marsh Hare. Lepwi palustris Bachman. Range and descrip-
tion as above.

Watw HaM ; Jack Rabbit

Florida Marsh Hare. Lepus palustris 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. i\ inches.

Descriptim. 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, a? 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 lUbMt

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 ove.lapping 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
tow 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
fairiy 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 cariy summer

_g,i^._,aiMai

Jack KabbU

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 sUrt
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 grass, 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. , . , , j

The eagle, the Western red-tailed hawk, the praine falcon and
the marsh hawk occasionally kill jack rabbits, especially ihe 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 seems 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 It 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 lUbMi

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 Worid;
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 ever 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.

.ly W v.. Cuttm

I.ITTI.K I HIEF 1I.\KE UK I'lKA UiJwhma pn,u,r>t
Vntr nrr [>hf«l"«r«pt<« marU> in the lliltfr H.^il Mnuntaina. wcrr »■ . iirr I t-v vtlitiK up the ■■mrr* i-iisrrinB ■ r... k on whi

iin«l ««• HI til. I»l' ! .1 ssim-ltl! !-.! v,«<!l riX lll:.lril.!ll'Ml WH iSn'MliU iMMTTl » llil WnMli, (n'l IftVv ., *n'l tilt' |l||< itiiKra|>l

huh thr
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aim

PIK/1S

Famify Ockolonida

Pika

Ocholomt primeps Richardson
Also caUed LitUe Chief Hare, Cony.

«„,^'°^'ffi"nf^ffif°^lS^s."'rd ,^o» ,n Colorado,
l^orthem California. Alaska, etc.

o their TeedTg pouna Th-v work diligently through the day
«t e g JaS Lourite alpine plan.s. which are piled up among
fhe rocks forming veritable hav-stacks for their wm er use. They are
watchful and alert, giving vent to their shrill bleating call when
rstranger approaches the vicinity of one of their colonies, dashing

nto thfir refreats only to emerge again to see ^^ ^^^^^'^;^^\ll
departed They seem never to become plump and '^t>nd their

emaciated appearance has gained for them the name of "starved

rats '■ among the miner' of certain reg. <ns.

At any Vate they are harmless little beasts and will well repay the

natural;.! who may visit their remote habitat and make a careful

So'l t'^'^'^'. ^^' ^'"« °"» °^'^''" -connecting hnks in nature s

chain everything *. learn aoout them seems to possess a peculiar

interest.

■■■iflHlll

¥ ^

/1MERIC/1N PORCUPINES

Family Entkisontida

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 ctosely allied
species in North America, the yellow-haired porcupine {EretkUon
epixanthus) of British Columbia and western United Sutes.

Canada Porcupine

Eretkison dorsatus (Linnaeus)

Length. 38 inches.

Descfiptim. Dark-brown to nearly black, quills tipped 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.

Ranee. Narthern parts of North America south to Maine anil in
the hichet mountains of Pennsylvania. Not found south of the
Canaaian faunal zone.

The porcupine is much more interesting as a species than as an
individual. Looked at either as an example o.'the beneficent protection
which is lendered to ov,rv creature according to its needs, or as a
branch of the rodent l.»mily 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.

MMi

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CANADA WRlflMNE {hrflhttm Jotjo/mj). WITH gi ll-l.^ iMK»J"i> rw

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1653 East Mom Slrtat

RocriMttr, f4B« York U609 USA

(716) ««2 - 0300 - Phont

(716) 288-5999 - Tok

Canada Poreupin*

It is easy enough to imagine the long chain of successive steps
thai 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 iwkward 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 ai.iong 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 sufferer's 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

i I

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 slep) 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 Geomyida)

These curious little animals are characterized by their large
cheek pouches opening outside the mouth, and their modified
fore feet with immense ^l.iws suited for digging. Their bodies
are heavy and their movements somewhat clumsy. The skull
is thick, and in the species of Geotnys 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

-I

Oeorgia Oophet

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

Georgia Gopher

Geomys ti sa (Ord)
Also called Pocket Gopher, Salamander.

Length, lo inches.

Description. Cinnamon-brown with a somewhat fulvous t'lge.
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-
lows and the gnawing of roots and vegetables.

"Gopher burrows seem to have neither beginning nor end,"
writes Vernon Bailey. "They are extended and add?d to yeai
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
i 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, ncounters 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

fi ■

Prairie Gopher

.1 turns. At intervals openings are made through which to dis-
■:'■■■ .ge the earth that makes the little piles called gopher-hills."

Gophers have regular storehouses where roots and other foods
are sto.-jd 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 ant* when caught away
from their burrows, do not hesitate to '<i. . "■ captor.

Varieties of tlie Georgria ^paor

Georgia Gopher. Geomys tu^a (Ord). Description and range

as above.
Florida Gopher. G. tu^a 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.
fVest Florida Gopher. G. iu^a austrinus (Bangs). Paler,

with much more white below.
Range. Western Florida.
Alabama Gopher. G. tu^a mobilensis Merriam. Smaller and

darker than the Georgia gopher.
Range. Extreme Northwestern Florida and Alabama.
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.

Piairia Oopbar

Description. ' DaS,' pinkish-brown, inclining to chestnut in some
specimens, but with no fulvous lints. 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. i/^„e»c

Ranee. 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 aUies with ungrooved front teeth,
but otherwise much like the animals above described.

POCKET MICE

(Family Hetrromyidcr

These mice are restricted to the western United State nd
Mexico and are confined largely to the arid regions, so ch«ac-
teristic of that portion of the country. They comprise tw *m^
different groups of animals— the true pocket mice, little ^

like creatures with rather coarse hair, and the larger ka
rats, with immense hind legs and long bushy-tipped tai
calling the jerboas of the Old World.

Although so different in external appearance, these po
mice are allied to the mole-like gophers that we have just <'
considering, and it will be seen at once upon examining the
that they possess the same curious external check pouches. W-
have three modifications of the same type of animal just as wt
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.

, il.

PUiM PodMt Mmm; Ofd'a iUiicanw Rat

Plains Pocket Mouse

Perognatkus Havtscens (Merriam)

Length. 5 inches.

^«m>/»o« External cheek pouches lined with hair oDenina on

sAetn'cf thfeTe c£?^^^^^^^ ^>e and

Range Plains from South Dakota to northern Te^as and w«t to

British Columbia to Mexico^ and cSffomia. "^ '^^'"

Very little is known of the life history of the pocket mice
ma.n^y because they are strictly nocturn^ in habifs and paS
the daytime m their burrows in the sandy ground with the
openings generally stopped with earth. Like the goph^s thev
carry their food in their curious cheek pouch s and' ore U
away in their subterranean granaries.

Ord's Kangraroo Rat

Perodipus ordi (Woodhouse)
Length. 9.60 inches.

^"'o?nose s^Jot'^bS ^" V°"^' ^^^'^^^ °" »he rump. Sides
01 nose, spot behind each ear and band acro«c th» tyXt^Z.

neci^r:^Th^-H^?.- a^^riirs ^'^ ^^^^

aTTavel'Tn '^nm^' ?^ "'^"'^ ^•'™'"« ^ '^ hillock^rh
easily caves in and which horses and mules familiar with the
country have learned to carefully avoid.

of th^''"f«. ^^^^"-■'''^'""Pson gives an interesting account of a nest
of this little animal which he invesugated. It was situated unde

wLh "f /P'r °^ ' ^""^'^ °f Spanish bayonets and th.sUes
which guarded effectually from would-be pursuers the nineTpen:

100

Ord't Kaofuoo Rat

ings through any one r' th? littie rat could plunge down

to his subterranean dv.t.ii';^ Ihese openings led to a rather in-
tricate series of passage . 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-
partir . 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 sunfiower seeds and evidently served as storehouses.
Of the mouse itself, which Mr. Thompson kep 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
bou 1 and I now saw the purpose of h' huge tail. In the
ext iinary long flying leaps that Perod ,'US makes the tuft
on 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 littk miner that I ever saw. Those
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.

I, I

JUMPING MICE

(Family Zapodida)

the SoXrs^"i5r ^s;;s ^r:^ ;;? ^^-^ - ^»

spects from the true mice and cTn h7^ ''.'" ""'"^ '"-
their extremely long ZT\ZJa\ .? '■«°«"'«<1 '»» once by
their fur. ^ ^ ""'* *^" ^'"l •'y »he coarseness of

Pouc. w.r.e^^^^^^ young- a

iand iumping mouse, easily told V^s wTt^^M t^lj' '''"'''

Meadow Jumping Mouse

Zapus hudsoniHs (Zimmerman)
Length. 8.80 inches.

back making it much darker th.nfK •^1'^ predominate on the

what suffusfd wSbuff eet £e*?:il'whL''?'^ \^'^ ^°'""-
above, i jo mm. long. In autumn VhlV-^^ beneath brownish
dusky above. * *"*"" ^''^ '^"'' '« yellower with less

*j«^e. From Hudson's Bav to NnrfK n .•

I"«ly long ,alls, ,he, 8o' bou„*d ^^ '*; i^l' J "«^ J''J f °"l*-

lot

II i

-^%s«

A WESiERX LONGTAIL MOUSE. CAUGHT IN' THE BITTER ROOT MOUNTAINS By w k CarU:

LONC. TAILED JUMI'INO MOUSE •/■(."it^ i'((fr/-. '»)>»<) b, c. wi!!b„, Hf-.!^

^ I

■I

Meadow JnmpinK Moum

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 1 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 tne 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 Mouie; Woodland Jumping Mouse

I have seen a family of .hem turned up by the plough in
May and they exhibited not the slightest symptom of life on
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 tlie Meadow Jumping Mouse

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

I. Meadow Jumping Mouse. Zapus hudsonim (Zimmerman)

Kr,'^v 'p '^°r' !■'"«". !?"*'^ *° ^he mountain^ of New
J^^j^y^^^ Pennsylvania and North Carolina and in the Wwt

Labrador Jumping Mouse. Zapus hudsonius ladas Banes

pSn^in'ter ^ '^"^^^ '^«^ ^"'^ *^"- -^^P'-- '•^e

^rfinnl ^TH"^ ^""'"l ^"^"^ hudsonius americanus
(Barton). Replaces the above in the lowlands from North
Carolina to tfie Hudson and Connecticut VaUeys

Woodland Jumpingr Mouse

Zapus insignis Miller
Length. 9.80 inches.

"^"'^^ilT- ^"I" *''^" ^^^ meadow jump.ng mouse, with less
dusky on the upper parts, sides incAning to rich oranfe
brightest on the cheeks; underparls pure snow white fati

o^nly thre'r"back''(mo£r;'''yH^"°"«' I'"'^ """^ ^^^^ ha
oniy inree back (molar) teeth on each s de of the unner

law, while the meadow jumping mouse has four ^^

'''"'1a1ns?o"Mar;°anS'" '"«'^"'' ^"^ ^^^^^ ^•'^"^'^'^he moun-

Similar to the meadow jumping mouse in most respects, but
far richer in colour; this beautiful little animal makes its home

IJ. ch .. "''/.K v'^°?'''. ''°"« '°'"" '"°'^"»'»'" stream, under

he shelter of the hemlocks and laurel bushes. It seems to shun

the society of man to which the other species is not averse.

104

Rati, Mica and Lammioga

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 Jumplner Mouse

Woodland Jumping Mouse. Zapus insignis Miller. Descrip-
tion and range as above. . r),_Li^
RoTn Mountain Jumping Mouse. Z. insignts roanensts Preble.

Smaller and darker. .„ . •

Range. Mountains of the Southern Aileghanies.
Nomern Jumping Mouse. L. insignis abietorum Preble.

Larger than the woodland jumping mouse.
Range. Quebec and Ontario.

RATS. MICE Am LEMMINGS

(Family Murida)

The late Dr Coues described the members of this family in
his usual terse style as "a feeble folk, comparatively insignificant m
size and strength, holding their own m 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 *he world they constitute a large
proportion of the mammalian na and in eastern Nor h America
about one-quarter of our quaa ds 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-
lariv 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 estaWishes 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

) : f- /

1 ?

Rata, Mice and Lemminfa

stitute satisfactory groups in which to classify our species The

which wTStT '^'t''"\'"*° '"^^ very 'natural 'as^fmbiage

The f.r^ Z ?" ''''°rt-^^"«d and long-tailed groups

a velv .hnrt t ,''' *^''-'''' ^"^rt-'^gged and short-eafed. with

ters s^mo ^h m' Tf "'"'■ '"' ^"'^"^ ''^- A" ^' ^"ich charac-
lers stamp them as burrowing animals

The long-tailed group, on the other hand, are sleek and
graceful, standmg higher on their legs, with us^al^ large ea"s
big eyes and a long slender tail. ^ ^ "'

VVe frequently find that it is impossible to properly classify
animals by external characters alone, and so in th^cSe we fS

y^rtg tTtf r ''' '"'' «™"P whe^eTl^n;

SI rLr^ ' ' ^^" "°*'"« *'''^ exception we may adopt

il nt . ■" ''•"^''^'"'■y ^''"""^ considering the more fun-

wTuTJ/r T' °'*"*' ^"^ ^'^"" "P°" which science reHes
We have then three groups of the Murida:

I. Meadow Mice. Lemmings and Muskrats

(Sub-Family Microtina)

th,n^^"'':^'^ short-legged, short-eared, short-tailed, i. e. tail less
than one-third the length of head and body {exceot muskrlt!?
usually much less, mainly burrowers. ^ muskrats)

II. American Longr-taiied Mice and Rats

(Sub-Family Cricetince)

More slender with longer legs and generally larger ears and
eyes and long ta,^ the latter always more than half he en«"h
of the head and body, generally much more. ^

III. Introduced Mice and Rats

(Sub-Family Murina)

Resembling in a general way the last group, but with verv
different skull and teeth. All natives of the Old Wo ,d whln2
they have been brought by man. wnence

106

» I iwil*

MEADOIV MICE, LEMMINGS AND MUSKRATS

(Sub-Family Microtina)
Cooper's Lemming Mouse

Synaptomys cooperi Baird

Length. 4.80 inches.

Description. Upper front teeth grooved, tail very short (.70 inch).
Colour sepia brown, with many black hairs interspersed,
iome 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, mammae 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
resemblanc* to the common field or meadow mouse, with which
it frequently associates, that it would -eadily 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 redii.overy 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
httle 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

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 lemminjr
mouse and meadow mouse we find here also the red-backed
mouse and the little shrew.

,ton!"hm ir '^'■■/' ^- ^J''^^'!'^' ^he lemming mice frequenting
stony hillside pastures, while their nests are placed under stumos
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

'• ""T/iescripffafrve. "'^'"'^"""-^^ ""'^"'' ^''"'- '^-^^

W« (M^rriam). Similar, but with larger head and more
massive skull. * '*

^gmfa '^^P'""'' ^^* common species in Dismal Swamp. Vir-

3- Northern Lemming Mouse. Synaptomys faiuus Banes Smaller

and darker, with narrower skull. ^ ^ ^'"''""

Range. Northern New England, Ontario, Qyebec and New

ming mouse. " "°"'"'" ''^'''''^''^^^ ^ C^pTr's \Z

^' ^Tmhii'r'""'^-^'""^-- ^y'^'Ptomys innuitus True. Re-
sembles Coopers lemming mouse in general appearance but
has a very different sKull, with much narrowe paler
coloured incisor teeth. Female with eight mammT ' ^
Range. Labrador (Fort Chimo and Rigoulette)

5. Preble s Lemmng Mouse. Synaptomys sphagnicola Preble

*fr;'''R° "-Kh'- "^i^ L"''««^ <5 ^5 inches'^lon^)
Range. Base of iVlt. Washington, Fabyans. N. fl

Pied Lemmingr

Dicrostonyx hudsonius (Pallas)
Length. 6 inches.
Description. Summer. Gray above, more or less dappled with rusty

108

Pied Lemming

red and with a bUck line down the bacit, below dull gray
tinged with rusty. H^inler, nearly pure white. The most ex-
traordinary peculiarity of this animal is the enormous deve-
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 fust 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

! J

Fala* Lemming ICoom

I ;

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

False Lemmingr Mouse

Phenacomys latimanus Merriam

Length. 5.30 inches.

Description. Strikingly like the meadow mouse in external ap-
pearance but with rooted molar teeth. Pale 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 Qpebec (P. celatus) 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. Foi 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 barrens
covered with stunted blue-
berry bushes. Its burrow
was found running down
by a decayed stump and
terminating in a hollow,

Lower jaw of Phenacomys, enlarged, to
show rooted molar teeth, (.\jter Miller.)

Lower jaw of Field Mouse, enlarged, to
show unrooted molars. (Ajter Miller.)

evidently intended for the winter nest. Blueberries appeared to
constitute its principal food at this season.

MICE AND SHREWS OF THE EASTERN STATES

Phot.jKrapheJ triiin skins to sluiw relative jiropurtinns
Pinr V'.iiitu' < \f •^-r:^itts rtKCUfum) (unif'jrt!^ ilu!! <_ he^lnut. fu"- vitv sniii
Re.l-baclteii Mniisi- ((-.iMMinvs itafpfri) {ruslv chestnut, bnHlltest c.n (jai kl
\Vhite-f(X)tcii Mouse l/Vr.imvsiKS imu/iuj) linvn e.lc.r. with white Ih-IIv. ears larue)
I.onR-taileil Ju-npinK M'Mise (/jz-us iiiii«nii> (yelloviish bulT. hix.r . ither e.iarsel
Mea low Mnuse t,\fu:rotus fi-nnsvh\int<:us) (l>laikish. Krizzleil witti ».iay)
LemminR Mimse I.SvnjfUtmys cMIH-rit (si uilar. Imt tail very shiift au^l meisirs grooved)
Short-taileJ Shrew iliUritut brn'U-atUa) IpJUTTilx'ous Kray, tur very soft)
L'lnK-tailei Shrew iSorex pfrsonMus) (fur similar but tinKcd with br.iwn)

rAl>)ut three-tilths natural sisel

I' t t

Rad-bMkad Moum

Red-backed Mouse

Evotomys gapptri (Vigors)
Called also Wood Mouse. Bog Mouse.

Length. $.60 inches.

Description. Ears short, just visible above the fur, about as in
the meadov^r mouse. Colour bright reddish chestnut v^rith
numerous black hairs interspersed, sides buflfy, below whitish,
suffused with buff, feet light gray, tail brown above, gray
below. Colours generally darker in summer, m 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 colour. ig. This seems to be a
purely -iirhromatic variety rot due to age or sex.

Range, /'lerta to Qyebec and south v/ard 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 mclar 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 ge'-ci..''y these animals
are known as wood mice, but the term bein-; un') \- h squal pro-
priety in other parts of the country for th wnils-fciUtiJ :r.uuse it
becomes ambiguous.

A closely allied variety of red-back- J >' 1 59 is the nost
abundant mammal on the Alpine summit i V. ■ . it V/ h,r ,ton,
where it occurs in all sorts of situations, . .on^' the .->r) s, in
the n ss and in the dwarf willows.

The red-backed mouse of southern New Jt-i .• ^'' /• ' >toadsi)
is an inhabitant exclusively of the cold, damp sphagnu.n 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

•.t

' 81

Meadow MonM

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 tims 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

/. Red-backed Mouse. Fvotomys gapperi (Vigors).

Description and range as above.
New Jersey Red-bached Mouse. E. gapperi rhoadsi Stone.

Darker, with more black hairs above. Teeth heavier
Range. Cold cranberry bogs of Southern New Jersey
Carolina Reu-backed Mouse. E. gapperi carolinensis Merriam.

Larger and darker than £. gapperi, resembling the last.

S£f" p ,'f ^'/J'?^''''"'"v'^°^" ^^' N- C. to Pennsylvania.

r( .1 '^^'^■•*'»'^*^<' ^ouse. E. gapperi ochraceous Miller.

Duller, paler, and more ochraceous than £. gapperi.
Range. Higher slopes of the White Mountains.
Labrador Red-backed Mouse. E. proteus Bangs

Larger than any of the above with longer ears. Paler than

b. gappert and like it in exhibiting a gray phase.
Range. Wooded regions of Labrador.
Ungava Red-backed Mouse. E. ungava Bangs

Resembles E. gapperi.hut has very small ears and peculiar skull
Range. Ungava, Labrador. *^

Numerous species occur in the Northwest.

Meadow Mouse

Microtus pennsylvanictts (Ord)
Called also Field Mouse, Meadow Vole.

Length. 6.50 inches.

D«m>to« 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 colour
of the upper parts var:e? considerably, some individuals beinff
decidedly blackish, ot!;ers tinged with tawny and occasional
specimens quite chestnut with very few black hairs The
under surface also varies to dull buff.

lit

^^^

Meadow MouM

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

Tops of upper and lower molar teeth of Meadow Mouse, to show
" triangles," enlarged. (After Miller.)

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 .1 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 fcr water and wet places. Those living on the banks of
streams become almost aquatic, and when^ pursued are as likely

113

5 -t
i

I i?

tm >

•■' I;

I I '

Meadow Mouae

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 wnter,
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 I 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 thntch along the
creeks; and then suddenly without warning and perhars just because
a coast storm is harassing tht %ea 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
paths of the mice and all their haunts in the space of a few hours.
But the meadow mice are a wise folk and I 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 ? as I have said already
they are practical swimmers and there is pretty certa- to be an
abundance of eel grass in bunches and driftwood and ruobish of all
sorts floating about to serve as rafts until the waters recede to their
accustomed channels. But it is my belief that th- mice very rarely
allow themselves to be taken unawares in any .<f ;, manner.

I have spent considerable time on the marshes when they were
being overflowed for the flrst time in weeks and cannot recall ever

k I

I. KkngATnn KAt {PrroJif^us)

a. Cotton Rat {.SttimoJoH)

S. Kice-tielJ Muum {Oryiomys)

WESTERN AND SOUTHERN MICE AND RATS

rh.-l.-tirai^he.l fiutn kkinit to ihow reiative iiroporttuns

4. Harvt'st Mouse if\ctthroJtintomys)

5. I'mkft Mouse ii'vrognatkusi
ft. Scorjiion Mouse f^Onyvomys)

(About onc-h»l/ natural miei

•

' j:

1 ■

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 .. ^ early as
February and think it quite possible that they may bu 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

«XS

Meadow Mouie

' f^-

r 1

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 Fn 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, th- 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 haw\s. ^

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 v.«iey capture being only side issues or
strokes of probably unexpected luck in a practically never-endina
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 successful
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 persistenUy, and when they are not go hunting for
other game. *

1x6

Brewer's Beach Mouie

Varieties of the Meadow Mouse

Meadow Mouse. Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord.) Description

and riinge as above. . „, .

Black Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus nigrans RIoads.

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.
Labrador Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus entxus (Bangs).

Similar to the meadow mouse in color but with peculiar skull,

and light projecting front teeth.
Range. Labrador.
Ungava Meadow Mouse. M. pennsylvanicus ungava Bailey.

Smaller than the meadow mouse with very broad peculiar

skull.
Range. Ungava, Northern Labrador.
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.
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. ^ , , . , J c .u

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. 1 .le 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

Reek Vol*

of the elements, their only protection being that furnished by fragments
of driftwood and wrecltage. 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 ..edges 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.

lit

Varieties of the Rock Vole

/. Rock yole. Microtus chrotorrhinus Miller. Description and

range as above.
2. Labrador Rock (^ole. M. chrotorrhinus ravus Bangs. Similar,
but light patches larger covering nearly the whole face.
Range. Labrador.
J. Newfoundland Rock yole. M. terra: novce Bangs. Similar but
larger with duller cheek patches.
Range. Newfoundland.

iiS

Pnirie Maadow MaoM

Prairie Meadow Mouse

Microtus austerus (Le Conte)

D«&ol'" Shape much as in the meadow mouse but "PP" Pf'^Js
ffrSv erav caused by a uniform mixture of grayish white
fnd blacKirs over the whole surface. No brown or ches nu
Tnt. such"as characterize the meadow mouse. Below Jgjt
e?av or ochraceous. The fur is harsher and more bristly than
anv of the other members of the meadow mouse tribe.
Ranie Upper Mississippi Valley, southern Wisconsin and Illinois
to' southern Missouri and west to Kansas.
The erizzly 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 frequen
moist localities in summer and drier regions in winter The r
winter burrows on the uncultivated praine are often in old an hills
r 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
prages of which they are composed. In one of these chambers
Sderably enlarged, is placed the nest, formed of fine dry grass.
?he first mter 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 four.d 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)

D«fe^t'" Uniform rusty biown on the upper surface, lighter on
the si^es where it passes gradually into the silvery-gray of the
under pa'rt^ Young individuals are auite gray above with no
"eddish^ tints. The^ short, dense silicy fur distinguishes the

/?a«rSu£n NLtSkTndConnecticut to Illinois and south-
ward to Florida.

tl9

Pin* MeaM

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 I 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.

r:|

Varieties of the Pine Mouse

/. Pine Mouse. Microtus pinetorum (Le Conte). Description as

above, range Southern Atlantic States.
3. Northern Pine Mouse. M. pinetorum scalopsoiJes Audubon and
Bachman. Light in colour.
Range. Southern New England and Middle States.
J. Mississippi Pine Mouse. M. pinetorum auricularis Bailey.
Darker and richer in colour, with rather larger ears.
Range. Lower Mississippi Valley.

Round-tailed Muslcrat

Microtus alleni (True)

Also called Neofiber.

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, black "sh in co!'. '^

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 Indian
River.

MuakMt

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. Chapmaa 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 Linnaeus
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 Amenca, 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.

tax

t \*) :

Mmknt

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 hte fall the long cold nights and in-
creasing cloudiness toretell the coming sn "s and ice-!ocked
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 water
is not very high.

On flat grassy reaches half overflowed they dig up sods, the
size of a man's (1st, 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 flrst.

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

MUSKRAl" 'Fiber :ibclhitiis)

By W. E Carlin

Iii

•1*

Muakxat

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 iiere 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 older
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 much
used except at times of high water and in winter, though 1 doubt
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,

«»3

Mniknt

I- '■

I' ! t

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, yet 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 aloni,'
the edge of the ice — a strange economy in the winter life of a
. warm-blooded creature.

Early in the spring ' '"'y begin to look for air holes under shel-
tered banks that gathc. ihe 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 variou.
openings broaden and extend their boundaries, and run togethoi
until the ice is reduced to a rapidly diminishing border along eac.
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, I am inclined
to think, a note of contentment, rather than distress.

It is very seldom heard except when the little animal is
alone, and I have never been able to guess at its gnificance;

«M

Mutkrat

it is quite different from tiie call-note wiiich they use to attract one
another's attention at a distance, or their more rat-liite 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 3rowth 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 I
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 I 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
a little brown, furry ball, 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.

«»s

^,1

*-,

Muakrat

But in the late 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 '.liat 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 is 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 thie Muslcrat

Muskrat. Fiber ^ibethicus Linnsus. Description and range as

above.
Southern Muskrat. F. :(ibetkicus rivalicus Bangs. Smaller and

dull sooty in colour, " lacking all the beauty and lustre."
Ran^e. Lower Mississippi Valley and Coasts of Alabama and

Mississippi.
THsmal Swamp Muskrat. F. libe'hicus macrodon Merriam.

Much darker and richer coloured than the common muskrat

with larger teeth.
Range. Dismal Swamp, Virginia.
Labrador Muskrat. F. {ibethicus aquilonius Bangs. Smaller

and darker than the common muskrat.
Range. Labrador.

is6

5- Newfoundland Muskrat. F. obscurus Br,.igs.
darker, with different skull.
Range. Newfoundland.

Alleghany Wood Rat
Still smaller and

AMERICAN LO}^G-T AILED MICE AND RATS

(Sub-family Cricetitta)
Alleghany Wood Rat

Neotoma pennsylvanica Stone

Length. 16.40 inches.

Description. Tail nearly as long as the 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 Dody 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 AUeghanies.

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
'requently 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 or
"tubercles."

The Alleghany wood rat inhabits wild rocky ledges along the

mountains, where he can seek shelter among the loose piles of broken

cks or in the crevices and caves usually present in such localities.

here he gathers together a mass of sticks, shreds of bark leaves and

«»7

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 rats 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 or the squirrels.

The c!osely 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

Alleghany Wood Rat. Neotoma pennsylvanica Stone. Des-
cription and range as above.

Florida IVood Rat. N. floridana (Ord). Rather smaller and
plumbeous, tail more scantily haired. Skull not neariy so

Range. Lower parts of the South Atlantic and Gulf States
Mtsstssippi Wood Rat. N. floridana rubida Bangs. ' Much

brighter and decidedly reddish in colour.
Range. Replaces the last in the lower Mississippi Valley and

western Flonda. *^*^ '

Cotton Rat

Sigmodon kispidus 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 neariy
covered by the hair, and the fur is longer and coarse; than any
other member of this group. The molar teeth are round in out-
hne 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.

Rann. Eastern North Carolina around the Gulf Coast to Louisiana
Represented in Florida by closely allied varieties.

lit

liil

Rice-fleld Moum

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, bunks 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 diflerence in environment produces an
appreciable difference in the appearance of the animals.

Varieties of the Cotton Rat

/. Cotton Rat. Sigtnodon 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.
). 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

Oryzotnys 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 the Gulf States, chiefly in the coast
marshes, represented in Florida by slightly different geographic
varieties.

119

Harveat Moum

h- '

The ri<-e-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, hummocl(s 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 IMouse

/. Rice-field Mouse. Oryiomys palustris (Harlan). Description and

range as above.
3. Florida Marsh Mouse. O. palustris natator Chapman.
Larger and much darker.
Range. Florida as far south as Micco and Citrus County.
). 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

tjo

COTTON RAT (Sigmoaon itispidtis lilWr.ilis)
Photographed in Florida by cumertnfE him. when he sat abvilutelv still, paralyxcd with fear.

By W. K. Carlin

WESTERN BUi^UY-TAILED WOOD-RAT (Xeotoma) ByW. e. Carlin

Th«M rati infnt th« Idaho carr.ps at night. This one was drawn tii the sp»t where he was pictured by using iugar as a bait.

aim

'■■■

!•

■i

■i;

» li-

lt f

Whhe-footed MovM

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

and Bach. )
Slightly

H\! vest Mouse. Reithrodontomys lecontii (Aud

)escription and range as above.
Suroer's Harvest Mouse. R. lecontii impiger Bangs

smaller and richer in colour.
Ran^e. White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., and doubtless

Virginia.
Dickinson's Harvest Mouse. R. lecontii dickinsoni (Rhoads)

Darker and more sooty in colour.
Range. Southern Florida.

White-footed IVIouse

Perotnyscus 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.

13*

White-footed MouM

J
It I'

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 ail 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 1 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 bemes and a little

•I

WHITK-FDOTEI) MOUSE U'eromysats leucopus) (Enlarged)
I'hotoKnphril in the Hittrr K<Kit MniinuitiK, Mnntani.

By W.

Whiu-footed MooM

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 1 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
da^s 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 iu 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 th -y 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.

<»

i i

White><taat*d ManM

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, pv.'.e. 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. I
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 Wliite-footed Wl\ce

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.;o
inches) and the oldfield mice (length $ 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 i 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. Thb 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.

>J4

WhiM-footed MouM

'■ '*'scff£^l?f f '*'''r^"»' '"''"'P"' (Rafinesque). De-
scnption and range as above. >i / *^c

B. The Boreal White-footed Mice

spiJoS s'iiVLS; r J?r '"' ^"'^ •'^^y* -'*»• ' -"■

''■ ^''a"nf mnrT*"''"-^'"''"^ ^'"'u'''- ''• ^««'"''«i« Miller. Larger
nS. K-f-^^^J^'. '"^^ '°"?^'' t^"' and conspicuous tuft of

gS it."^ ' ' °" *^ ^""^ "'^^ '•'"^"y ^° '""""■

^aw^g Cold evergreen forests of Canada and New Eneland
southward along the mountains. In northern New vSrk
and elsewhere this and the more southerly whftr-footed

R^Zf ^^'Mooted Mouse. P. canadensis abietorum

fng ?he ruiTertinU.^' «"^ ^""^^ ^^ ^" ^«-' "^^ ^•^^

^a«^«. A riorthern form of the last replacing it in the

spruce and fir forests of auebcc and N^va Ltia nonh.

4. Dusky 'iVhtte-footed Mouse. P. canadensis umbrinus Miller
Smaller than P. canadensis and vellow with the duskv shad
ing on face, ears and tail deeper. 'ne ausKy snad-

Range. Replaces the above to the north of Lake Sun^Tinr

'■ "-'rR'S^ ^^ite-footed Mouse. P canadeS's ^nSra.
(Rhoads) Smaller and darker than P canadensis w t h a
distinct blackish dorsal band. <*nuaensts, witn a

Range RepLices P. canadensis in the spruce forests of the
southernmost Alleghanies. "^

C. The Cotton Mice
Tail shorter than the head and body, without a rlkfinrt

owTnT'tP'?^" °^ ^^''- Underoarts wit^' a Tcided V«1^^ ias
owing to the greater extent of the erav base7 nf A- k •
These are distinctly southern as the las! 4re northern ^"''•

w"h1WV^£&/"^' - compares 't^tth^hTpire

Range Lowlands of the Atlantic slope from North Carolina

7 RhnJ-'^r^H' '■'.5''"'' ^"*'' ^"'l West by allied forms

^- Pale wfrdu'^rstriJ:- o^fr^'r^ «4«/^^>L? Rhoads.

less deS. ^ '^"P" °" ''"''' '"** ""8f '"^"""^ the eye,

'35

|»i

Florida Oecr Mouse ; Oldfleld Mouie

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.

9. 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, Onyckomys.

Florida Deer Mouse

Peromyscus floridanus (Chapman)

Length. 8.60 inches.

Description. Ears very large, neariy naked, hind feet very large,
tail relatively short, sparsely haired. Colour bright tawnv
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 white of the lower surface.

»36

Oldflcld MouM

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 ot 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 {(Jniola) 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 o( 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 shocki
and nests therein.

Related Species and Varieties of the Oldfield

Mouse

Oldfield Mouse. Peromyscus subgriseus (Chapman). Descrip-
tion and range as above.

Rhoads' Oldfield Mouse. P. subgriseus rhoadsi Bangs.
Yellower than the above.

Range. Western Florida (Tampa Bay).

Georgia Oldfield Mouse. P. subgriseus balioltis Bangs. Much
darker, with a decided dark dorsal stripe, tail nearly black.

Range. Sand hills of northern Georgia.

»37

R«d Monte; House Monee

4. Beach Mouse. P. niveiventris (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. /stand 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 nuttalli (HarLui)

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 Murina)

House Mouse

Mus musculus Linnaeus

Length. 6.70 inches.

Description. General colour gray, slightly tinted with yellowish -

138

■■

HOUM MOOM

brown, especially on the face and shoulders, dusky on the
back; below paler gray, sometimes suffused with buff.
Range. Cosmopolitan. Introduced into America from the Old
World.

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.

•39

iotw* Moua*

•4.

That peculiar tint popular kn Dwn as mouse colour sel Jom
ittracts .. .ention to the wearer, and the almost hairle tail, while
undoubtedly a most useful member, is not likel\ to become
bedraggled or in the way in places where the sort of taii carried by
the :i 'erage little beast would prove a nuisance or a positive danger to
its owner. A mouse's tail, although it looks naked, will be fo^nd
on closer inspection to be covered with short hairs, just long enou^jh
to turn iside the moisture inste;)d of retaining it.

Tr . to imagine what the tail of a squirrel or weasel wc iu look
like after having been dragged across cream and butter nd the
various other substances with which 'he aver ge nouse mouse
endeavours to surround itself ; its owner vould quickly reduced lo
amputating the bothersome member in sheer desperation. Mice it is
believed , en use the.r tails for skimming the cream from par ol
milk, when they are unable to reach it in any other way.

Neither is the tail of a mouse much source of danger to "he hiuc
beast as might be supposed. It certainly has the appearance of
a most convenient handle for cats or otht enemies to seize
upon, but the skin which covers it, like t i of a squirrel is
but loosely attached, and slips off iiiy ei jugh :o pern the
escape of many a desperate mouse. is not at aS uncomrmn

to find mice that have lost the st fron 'ir tail"; in as
manner. The process must necess. iy be .ecidi pai ^1

one, but the wound heals in course of time .* d the ouse s
still possessed of a tail, even ii it is bert of •nos! oi its
former suppleness. One would suppose that a tail nich could
easily be broken clear off like those of some repti . s would ce
an improvement.

Of all mice -he ones that dwell ih up in the mows of
nterest me most. T 7 are, ; -haps, as little
"v of their kind; an^. as comt ably situated,
their water supply,
are compelled to dmk t et

old-style barns,
mischievous as
except as regar
Mice I belie

when violent storm': drivi rain a
the building, those jving in the lay
trouble of descending to th» ground .■;

Their H >me are in the mortis
oak tenons badly or hav

little pockets the v jart of

with a pass; of s; oic ize leadin

y; and except

throi the cracks of

St dently go to the

>fte s they are thirsty.

**- Tiber wherever the

iway, leaving cosy

am, dry and warm

n to them, as if ex-

Hoan MottM

pressly desigrned to keep a family of mice comfortable and safe
When ' jngry they have only to penetrate the hay which is
plied high ai lut th* ^, and explore the fragrant labyrinths between
the ems of here ^ras > and clover for seeds and dried Id-
">erries, and t' dessicated bodies of crickets and grass-
s pitched up -/ith the hay when it was unloaded >m
k the sumrriv bcEore. 1 h ve often in mic .inter ^ me
dried strawbe; es ir i\ xy, which still r
bit of their June s eetne .t a feast one

make for a foragir nouse ..d-winter!

:ie SC131 ,., of corn fodder, contn

of whole ears overlooked in tht

e: )ugh to support a family of m.

ves of these mice of the barn are rendered

orth while, by the simple possibility of

-easure as this at any moment.

ie life of those living in the granaries,

by bins of ripe com, and with never a

at is supplied by the capture of stray

stt
ho
the
acro;

Then there are
treasures in the shn
one of which w
Beyond a don
more interestin
discovering soine

Compare this v
encompassed on *1!
change of diet

<5ess' J every
vorld

.;. ..i.y
weeks.

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 comers of the bam, 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 sur
to be routed out by the farmer, and may well consider the-
selves fortunate if they are without helpless families at the t

Being less exposed to the weather and changes of tem^
ture than are creatures living out-of-doors, mice breed at all tir
and seasons; and almost any time during the winter, the
ful youngsters may be heard squeaking in their nests, rese
perhaps of the discipline brought to bear upon them by
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.

«4«

Hous* Moua*

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 I 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 I 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 ail 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 norvegiciis Erxleben

Called also Common Rat, Brown Rat.

Length. i8 inches.

Description. Heavily built with thick head and moderate ears,
tail medium, always shorter than the head and body.

«4»

HOUSE MOUSE ON TRAP (.\/i,5 mmculus)

COMMON, OR NORWAY RAT (M», norfetuu,) ti, c. w m« H«i«

Nocway Rat

Colour yellowish-brown thickly interspersed with long black
hairs, grayer on the sides and grayish-white beiow, feet
whitish. Tail very sparsely haired with the stales 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 «od that they
do in this way or in any other is constantly overs'^ ..dowed by the
damage wrought by them in a 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 stiB 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 dependants
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 littlj 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 pre-
sent only to be found in numbers in such scattered corners of
the world as the brown rats have not yet found. ■ I have never

Black RM

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 slatt -coloured fur, sometimes quite daric, and this together
with their slighter build causes them to be sometimes mistaken
for the black rat.

Black Rat

Mui rattus Linnxus

Length, i; 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, n>iarly naked,
feet pale-brownish, tail sparsely haired, scales distinct.

Range. Q)smopolitan. 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 rac, 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 diflTerence in habits, it does not come
into such direct competition with the Norway rat and succeeds
in holding its own.

Varieties of the Blacic R<it
I. Black Rat. Mus rattus Linnaeus. Description as above.

144

C«n«di«n Baavar

2. Roof Rat. Mus raitus aUxandrinr^ (Geoflroy). Colours
above brown and gray, below pure /ellowish-white. Shape,
ears and tail exactly as in the black rat.
Range. In America, South Atlantic Sutes.

BEAVERS
(Family Castorida)

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 canadensis 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 their
lives having been written and read over and over again by Mch

Caaadhui BeaTW

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 hcnter, 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 of
beaver skins illegal anywhere within their boundaries, and punishable
by a heavy fine or imprisonment, good results would certainly
follow; for the Hudson's Bay Pur 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

CANADIAN BEAVER {Castor camuU-nsh)

Hy A K llugmort

C>n«dl»n BuTvr

fore the beavers would venture within sound of civilization or
lose even a little of their well-founded terror of man.

When a pair of beavers, after having been driven in desper-
ation firom 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 tremftes 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 have gnawn 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 lodT'^ hopelessly tangled among
its neighbours.

All of which may only go to show that beavers, like other
animate, vary in intelligence, and while some still ftll their trees
haphazard, others have learned something of the woodsman's
craft of cutting. Judging from my own experience I 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 suiuble 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 cunni.igly bent
against the current to withstand the pressure of the water.

»4T

C»nid<»n BtmTw

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 rises to till 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 wiien 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 fi'oni snow.

14*

'^i

BEAVER KOrKJES AND A DAM.

»r A R nHcm-^n

C«n&dlan B««¥«r

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 cont -;i ed 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 !!•* apart in burrows of their own digging.

Just as am , 'i;; muslT^its you will find a s.litary in-
dividual here ?><u thct making its lone mud-hut at the head of
any little m-' 'jv hr ):> , and apparently avoiding the rest of its kind
as much as .■:.-?.: the chief difference being that these recluse
muskrats are generally females — at least most of those that have coine
under my own observ.-<.tions have been; while among b«:avers
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 ti.e pilgrimage is
in the early part of the fall while the streams are still low and
food abundant.

The little party expiores together ever)' pro.Tiisir^ 'ream and
watercourse, until a suitable location is discovered io\ :he new
pond, when they all set to work, old and yo\sv<r ('p.-ther, 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.

«4»

UtmtSUia

Varieties of the Beaver

I. Canadian Beaver. Castor canadensis Kuhl. Description and
range as above.

3. Carolinian Beaver. C. canadensis caroliiwnsis 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.

SEiVELLELS

(Family Aplodontidm)

The sewelleb 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 nu neck,
short ears and very short tail.

Sewellel

Aphdontia rufa (Rafiit,«que)
Also called Mountain Beaver.

Length. i» 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 Mountams, eastern Washington and Oregon.
Several allied species or varieties are found in other parts of
these States and in Northern California.

These curious animals vre found only in the limited area above
described. They are more or less aquatic in habits, living in

ISO

b irrowt, netr $ome stream of water, and feeding at dusk or
early in the morning on vegetable material of various kinds.

SQUIRRELS /1ND MARMOTS

(Family Sciurida)

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 ender branches with equal agility. This arboreal habit
reaches its highest specialization in the flying squirrel which
taunches itself forth in Its parachute-like flight from tree to tree,
despi5'ng the support of slender branches I'pon 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 squirre» can easily be un-
derstood.

Woodchuck

Arctomys monax (Linnaeus)

Also called Grwnd Hog, Maryland Marmot.

Lentlh. 34 inches. . .^ ^ . ^ .u

Description. Heavy and thick-set. with short legs and rather

short brushy Uil. Colour grizzly or yellowish-gray varied

with black and rusty, undcrparts rusty, feet black.
Range. New York and southern New Fngland to Georgia and

>Jorth Dakota, represented northward by an allied variety,

others occur westward.

In every part of the wonu 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-

Woedehuck

pleasant part of the year, as far as they are concerned at least,
by tucking themselves up in some out-of-the-way comer and
sleeping or dozing or hibernating the time away, each according
to iu 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 iU reputation of being the most ridiculously sleepy
and drowsy little beast in the universe, though 1 fancy that a
good many of the animals op 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 h jelnuts 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 wintc ? 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 sunri.se, while the dew is still on the
gr;iss, 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

«5»

Weedcboek

ground for luncheon, but apparently spends more time then in
sunning hiniself than in eating. Late in the afternoon he again
shows hiniself, 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 com 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

»M

MfoodchttMi

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 neaily 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 feels 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 chuckles; so
that woodchuck might very properly be translated as little pig

MBb

^^gggg.

WCMJIJCHLCK (.\rtlomyi monax)

IJ> W.k. CmIIb

mmi

■aH^H

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 penttrates and
the decaying tree trunks are crossed and tumbled against tAch
other overhead, •upported and held in position by those that are
still standing. Here he scrambles about among the und la-ih
and fallen branches, subsisting on berries and wrtu^^- ;recn
stuff is to be had in its season, probably feeding i edlMe
mushrooms when they are to be obtained, like the partridges
and squirrels who are his asso:iates. 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 <^oes 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 tnat h^- 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 hdo quite
dead, undoubtedly having died of r>'d age after digjjin^- 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 nave 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 craw! out of bed
much earlier in the spring, often making his appearance when
the snow is still several feet deep. Such unfortunates are ohiiged
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 pUi-

>SS

fully thin and so active as Lardly to be recognized by one familiar
only with well-fed summer specimens.

Woodchucks arc 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 pUces.
while those of the cultivated grass lands are still later about
showing themselves, so that it would cerUinly seem that the
duration of their winter nap depended Urgely on the food supply
of the preceding summer. Still t is just possible that all the
woodchucks return to the woods to "den in." in order to obtam
a more even temperature than would be possible m the open
ground. Instances of woodchucks having been unearthed m a
state of hibernation in the winter are common enough, but
whether in the woods or in the open appears uncertam.

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 wjifs 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
charaing savagely at the intruder, with Uttle 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 tt
auite convinc.d that you are not going to retreat, and that he
is hardly liK.ly to be able to dispose of you to his satisfaction,
he starts off on » paiop. but as yet without any especial
symptoms of fea . tho igh if you persist in heading him off. he
ai last .-.omes to .ealue that he is entirely at your mercy, and
a wholly different expression comes into his eyes, he begins to
tremble and shiver all over, and finally g -es up all attempts to
fight or run away, simply crouching in the gr..ss m abject

'""\ 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 cenu. with a

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(716) 2N-U89 -Fan

Woodehuck

much damaged fish line and hook thrown in. He was much
too young to eat solid food, so we fed him on millc 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 ar '., 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 behitd 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
famihar, 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.

»lf

Woodchttck

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 litth 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 I could hear him scrambling to his
nest, which appeared to be situated at the end of the cavity
where the tree forked into several braiiches, 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 1 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 I have again seen a woodchuck out in Novem-
ber, a tawny old fellow whose den is near the »op of a little
hillock beside a meadow, the same that I saw a fox trying to
unearth last April.

As I crossed the meadow I 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 hij 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

'S«

Woodebuck

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 I 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 tlie Woodchuck

/. Woodchuck. Arctomys monax (Linnaeus). Description and

range as above.
a. Northern Woodchuck. A. monax canadensis (Erxleben). Darker
than the above, black and brown predominating, hairs
more variegated with white, cheeks gray.
Range. Borenl regions north of the preceding.
J. Labrador Woodchuck. A. monax ignavus Bangs. Similar to the
last externally.
Range. Labrador.

»»

Praixt* Do(

Prairie Dog

Cynomys ludovidanus (Ord)

Called also Marmot.

Length. 15 inches.

Description. Resembles the spermophiles but the ears arc very

short, and the tail very short and flat, colour brownish

above varied with gray and black hairs, soiled white below,

tail black toward the end.
Ranne. 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.

ite

SAVS SPERMOPHILE (Srirnwphilus lateralis)
Photographed in the Bitter Rwit Muuntains after much patient baiting and watching.

By W. E. Carlin

Btiipad Spannophilc

Apart from Inhabiting the same region, and the fact that
young prairie dogs form an accepuWe 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 dogs 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 tridecemlituatus (Mitchell)

Also called Striped Gopher.

Length. lo inches. , „ . ^ . j

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 ^rom the top of the head
to the tail, others shorter; tower parts dull bulT; 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 lUinois,
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 disUnce it is impossible to dis-

i6i

PrankUn't Spennophil*

tinguish it from old picket pin or fence $take. 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 ftanklini (Sabine)
, Also called Gray Gopher.

Length. 14.80 inches.

Description. Hair coarse and harsh, gray above suffused with

yciiowish brown and biirs banded with black; below paler gray

with a white throru, tiil clear gray.
Range. Saskatche«'an 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 (Linnaeus)
Called also Ground Hackee, Ground Squirrel, Striped Squirrel.

Length. 9. 50 inches.

Description. Head brown, back grizzly gray, rump and hind legs
rufous chestnut; a narrow blacK stripe on the middle of the back

t6t

WHITE-TAILED o^iiRMOPHiLE (Spcrmophilus ieurcurus) By lunt OK-lidj.

YOUNG OF COLUMBIA SPERMOPHILE {Spcrmopliltm cotumbiaiiHs) »y w. F, Cirlin

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 blacic-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 {T. striatus lystert ) takes its place. It is
murh 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.

h. ! they dig vlicir burrows in such a manner as to avoid
attracting the attention of their enemies and at the same time
allowing them an unobstr- ♦ed outlook on all sides from their
doorways.

Choosing an open a.ic 'awn-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 or 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

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 taices care-
ful leaps 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 qaiet 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 1 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

lft4

SAYS SPERMOPHILE I\ snow {S pernio phi! IIS lateralis)
Phot* grmphed near Crt-steil Butte, Colt .ratio, with the snow tlm't* tVot <k'fii, thf taint'ra Ijeinn oiK-rati-il l>v a strinK joo tVet long.

YOUNG PRAIRIE nOO ((>i,.i)ir.c /ii,Ai;i, ;uiihs) (alnml one-third growi) Hy K l> w.m.

Chipnuak

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 ifter per-
haps ten minuies 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
stor.js 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 1 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 wiu i 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 c •-
munks. He failed, however, as before in each attempt, and,
mistrusting that the red squirrel might be the cause of all his ill L. .,
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 bv. out in

i6S

Chipiiiiiok

.. 1

the sunshine of every warm day we have, to retire and become
dormant again, lilce 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 onsciousness 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 miaday
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 k 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

I66

ilHMI

ifli

ChipiHimk

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; 1 am inclined to think, however, that they are less
destructive in this direction than either squirrels or mice. I once
watched a p^ir 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, 1 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, 1 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

'm Sqniiid

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 correspond' xactly 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. 3J.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. Reoresented
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-

16S

CHIPML'NK {Tiintuts striattts)

By A . K . I mgmortt

If!

- ^ a

IM <

i«

Fn Bqnimt

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, ju t as the red squirrels do the cones of the white
pines in the No.th, biting off he scales in order to get it the
seeds in a similar manner. 1 .c 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 s'.;*h 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 we''

flavoured and hcvy, but it requires skilful watching to kill marv

of them.

In Florida the "crackers" look for scattered chips of the pi--;

cones at the foot of each tree and. finding them recently droppr.

hide near-by and wait patiently for hours to get a shot.

Varieties of thie Fox Squirrel

Northern Fox Squirrel. Sciurus rufiventer neglectus (Gray).

Description and range as above.
H^estern Fox Squirrel. S. rufiventer Geoffroy. Similar, but

generally particlly black, sometimes all black above and

169

Qny Squirrel

rufous below, or mottled above and black beneath. Very

variable. ^ o ,. r^ ,

Range. Mississippi Valley, north to South Dakota.
3 Southern Fox Squirrel. S. niger (Linnaeus). Larger than either
of the above (25.50 inches). Colours variable, generally
entirely black or black and buff above and reddish buff
belov^. 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.

I-

Cray Squirrel

Sciurus carolitunsis 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.

»7<»

MHi

■Mb

Oray Sqniml

For the red-shouldered hawks are dangerous enemies, and the
ho':rs they habitually choose to spend in hunting correspond
exactly with the squirrel's woricing 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 hole and the carpet of fallen leaves beneath
till, perceiving the flicker of a burly 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 p\so know that, in the fall, the men that
are found in the wooas, unlike the town variety, carry guns
and feed on squirrels to a cm-'n extent. With very little en-
couragement gray squirrels wili 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 a town. 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 oi
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 w.is
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 i-'fjly and tyrannical.

«r»

Red Squinral

The, also -*. n«,s J^'^^",, J / * °Ues, wh«. .hey

or an ^htk of a mile or more in calm weather.
Varieties of the Cray Squirrel

, &«"-rn Gray Squirrel. Sciurus carolinensis Gmelm. De-
• s- ..tion and range as above .^ ^^^^^^.^ ^^^^^„^

ICf ir"""o«ur'n^"i''tcaHt£ but' are merely

^- ^To'U^r^dchr ^nl- daJki'tSThi (iU graV squirrel,
underoarts often tinted with ferrugmous.
Jif «ou region of the Lou-na -ast.^^^^^^^^

^- ^Tijer an'il^hSTan-the'outrn gray squirrel and much

smaller.
/?fl«^<;. Southern Florida.

Many very handsome squirrels of this and other groups are
found m the Western States.

Red Squirrel

Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus Bangs

IP '

\ ■■

Called also Chickaree.
Length. la inches. . . f ^aji b^jght chest-

171

RED SQUIRRELS (ViiirH.v ;iii,/>.>iu<»a gymni<:us)

liy W. 1.. Ciriiu

tl I

«)

I I

Red Squiircl

parts grayish-white. In summer no distinct rufous area on
the back, and lower parts pure white with a blacic 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

«73

i f

i> <

Red Squirrtl

apples to be picked and stored in hollow trees, for the red squirrel 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 read-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 a conspicuous 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.

Put 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

^
!

I I

174

YOUNG RED SQUIRREL (Sciurus hmisonuus gymnicus)

By A. R. l>u;^inor«

HOARY MARMCJT (Arctomys fruinosus)

By W. E. Carlin

l! 't

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 tnke 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,

Whei. 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 arc more such nests occupied by
red squirrels than by the origitial 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 ♦hey 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 thte Red Squirrel

/. Northern Red Squirrel. Sciurus hudsonicus gymnicus Bangs.

Description and range as above.
2. Southern Red Squirrel. S. hudsonicus loquax Bangs. Larger

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.

I7S

li.

' I .

r 1

Pljriaf Squiml

J. i.abrador Red Squirrel. S. kudsonicus (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

Sciuropttrus volans (Linnaeus)

Length. 9.40 inches.

Description. Fur soft, dense and mole-like; skin of the sides
produced and susceptible of being spread o;it when ti^c 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 Rorida, 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, I 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

I7«

A WVstern rrprpnt-ntativc
wit^i a sr'fcies ui cune.

■f till' ICaaU-rn Rcl .S<,iiirrcl. Ph..t,«rai.lu-.l in llic HitU'r R.-it M.,„iii

By W. E. Cirlin

. alter n:any tnal-i, by baiting

■fi

Fljrinc Squirrel

serve them well at imitating the fungus g.jwth or the bark of
a dead tree. Such protective copying is to be seen all through
the woods. On the same trees 1 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.

But dark as it was that afternoon, it was not dark enough
to suit the flying squirrels, and I went away knowing them no
better than before.

Nor have the few tracks they leave in the snow ever told
me anything of much value concerning them; perhaps because
there is so very little to tell. They are easy animals to catch,
either in box traps or in their hollow trees when you have found
them, but a wild animal in captivity is but very little better than
a stuffed specimen.

Yet I am glad to know that there are flying squirrels '.n
my wood-lot, and trust that sometime I shall know them better.
About all that 1 do know about them, at present, is that most
of them live in thick woods and are social folk. Here a dozen
or more of them will occupy the same hollow tree and 1 have
heard of as many as forty being driven from the same hole.
At times they make use of a natural cavity, but most of those
that I have found appeared to have fashioned their own dwell-
ings. They generally choose a small dead tree with the top
broken off and with the wood soft and crumbling at the
heart. Near the top they gnaw a circular hole, usually beneath
a stub or branch, perhaps making use of the woodpecker's hole
already made.

Though it requires a pretty wide cavity to accommodate them
at times, there are seldom any chips scattered about, which would
seem to indicate intelligence enough on their part to perceive the
importance of concealing the traces of their work.

Species and Varieties of Flyiner Squirrels

We have two very different flying squirrels in the East,
each divisible into two slightly different races.

I. Southern Flying Squirrel. Sciuropterus volans Linnseus. Des-
cription and range as above.

\ i!

Flying Squirrel

2 Florida Flying Squirrel. S. volans querceti Bangs. More
russet than the preceding, somewhat rusty on the under

Range. ' Replaces the last in southern Georgia and Florida.
J 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 AUeghanies).
4. Severn River Flying Squirrel. S. sabrinus (Shaw). SUU larger
(14. inches long), with shorter and broader ears.

Range. Arctic America to northern Canada.

178

KLYINCI Syl'IRREL (Sritiroplrus volans)

Hy W. E. Carliii

;i "

iitai

Mri

MOLES AND SHREWS

(Insectivora)

The animals of this order are distributed in all parts of tht
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 mainly 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
Carnwora.

Our two families may be distinguished as follows:

Shrews. Family Soricidce. 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 .in external ear.

Moles. Family Talpidce. Fore feet very broad and turned
on edge, specially adapted for digging. No external ear
whatever.

SHREWS

(Family Soricida)

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 w-U marked groups: the short-tailed shrewj,
long-tailed shrews and marsh shrews.

179

Shott-tailed Shrew

Short-tailed Shrew

Blarina btevicauda (Say)
Called also Mole Shrew.

Length. 5 inches.

Description. Rather stout, tail short, about one-quarter the length
of the head and body. Coiour: 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 State-, to Nebraska, south to Ohio, Maryland
and the mountain- of North Carolina. Replaced southward
by slightly differtr t 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 rende.ing 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, 1 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

mmm

Shott-uUtd Shraw

being a deformity, and stand out from the shoulders lilce 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 sy m 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 own 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

l8i

Short-tailed Shrew

eating and drinking the projecting taper-liite 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 pokmg
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 mdi-
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 genume
moles are believed to occupy themselves in this manner all wmter
long and, of course, it is quite possible that the mole shrew
may do likewise, but 1 have my doubts about it

At all events, numbers of them are out on the surface of
the snow, even in th<; 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, gatherinf the dormant insects that habitu-
ally pass the winter in such places.

The disagreeable, musky smeli which they emit when frightened
or angry serves to protect them from .lany 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
large numbers.

i8l

■k

Short-tmUed 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 1 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.
?. Everglade Short-tailed Shrew. B. brevicauda peninsulce (Mer-

riam). Grayer than the last, with larger feet.
Range. Tropical Florida, especially in the Everglades.
4. Brmvn 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 Shrtw

5. Florida Brown Shrew. B. floridana Merriam. Rather larger,
with narrower skull and white teeth.
Range. Tropical Florida.

:i(l

Common Shrew

Sorex personatus Geoffroy
Called -i»o Long-tailed Shrew. Shrew Mouse.

Lenith. 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 slatv at their
base, brighter on the rump, and shading gradually to gray
on the underside. », , . „v

Ranee 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 I
have found, except in winter, were crouching beneath old boards

184

Comson Slmw

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 confmed three of these restless little beasts under an ordinary
tumbler. " Almost immediately they commenced fighting, and in
a few minutes one v/as 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 I 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 larvae 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.

««S

ComnoD Shrvw

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

Upper jaw of Shrew enlarged, showing " unicuspid teeth." (After Miller.)

the teeth of a shrew we will find in the upper ja.. 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
Ai. Tail less than 1.80 inches

I. Common Shrm: Sorex personatus Geoffrey. Description and

range as above.
i Labrador Shrrd.'. S. personatus miscix Bangs. Larger, paler and

grayer.
Range. Labrador and Hudson Bay region.
3. Smohv Shrew. S. fumeiis Miller. Larger than the common

shrew, and dark slate coloured, shading into lighter ash

below, browner ni ;ummer.
Range. Colder and mountainous regions. New England, New

York and in the Alleghanies.

186

Manh Bhnw

4. Southern Shrew. S. longirostris Bachman. Externally very

inuch 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. ,'■ "ri (Merriam). Similar but larger and

duller.
Range. Dismal Sw«,i. Virginia.

A3. Tail very long (3.20 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 Catskilis.

B. Very small; length j. 30— 3.40 inches. Apparently only four

UNICUSPID TEETH ON EACH SIDE, THE THIRD BEING EXCEEDINGLY SMALL

7. Hoy's Shrew. S. hoyi 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 ]Vater Shrew.

Length. 6 inches.

Description. Shaped like the common sh^ew 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.

i«7

MOLES

Family Talpida

Common Mole

Scalops aquaticus (Linnaeus)
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 m different light ; often tinged
rusty.

Range. Southern 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 (5. anastasat 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 out 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, I 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 MOLE {Scalops aqiialkus)

Hy A. K. Itugniora

STAR-NOSED MOLE ((xiulyliira .ri.sUiUi)

My I'. William Hccbc

MARSH SHREW {Sorry p.ihisiri^)

lly \V K ratlin

PhotuKraptuvl ill thr HitttT RiMit M.itnilaiTis ai ati all-'uiit' uf H.soo U-rt. Tin- j .'.rlv siirmuiKU- 1 hiin vvliile lit- \va* intsiing a
UrH« riK-k amt he henitativl l<«nu t>n«ii wh t«i atlnw Mr. Carliti t>i inakf an fxtHtaiirtv

I I

ji_

Common Mole

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 eart!, 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.

I 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

Parascahps 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.

i8g

SUr-noud Mol*

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 similar 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 tht Adirondack wilderness, though not
in the coniferous forests, says: "Its habits, so far as 1 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.

;L; tar-nosed Mole

Condylura cristata (Linnaeus)

Length. 6.80 inches.

Description. Dark brownish gray, paler beneath, tail long and
hairy -sometimes very thick at the base. Snout with a re-
markab. " naked appendage, somewhat resembling a star.

Range. Norths 'n North America, south through the middle states
and farther n 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 watt : , 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.

190

jLi

iJBKMwl

Star-noMd Molt

I 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; 1 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, 1901,
must have ' ';en 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 1 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 san and

191

>.€^-«'*.,

Star-noMd Mole

bask in it at mid-day, even those that are most active at night
lii(e 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 larvx of insects, which famous
entomologists would gladly give years of patient study to learn
more about, must be every-day common-place matters to ih.
mole, 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, 1 wonder, more than their taste and the crunch of their
crisp wing covers between his teeth ? 1 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

(Chiropterd)

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 th,- 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 arejhe 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.

E«r of Bat, showint; These large bats and their allies are fruit

tr.^. (A/urMuur) gate^s, 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

'93

Leaf-NoMd Prait 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 bom in July.

Our American bats represent three families, as follows :

I. Leaf-nosed Bats. Family Phyllostomatidac. Size large, tail usually
wanting, a curious leaf-like appendage on the end of the nose.

II. Free-tailed Bats. Family Noctiliontda. Size rather small,
tail present but the terminal half free from the interfemoral
membrane, projecting bevond it. No appendage on the nose.

III. Common Bats. Family Vespertilionida. Similar to the last
but with the interfemoral membrane reaching to the tip of
the tail.

: I

LE/iF-NOSED BATS

(Family Phyllostomatida)

Leaf- Nosed Fruit Bat
Artibeus perspicillatus (Linnaeus)

Length. 3.7s 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.

«»4

Florida Free-Tailed Bat ; Common Bati

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 Noctilionida)

Florida Free-Tailed Bat

Nyctinomus cynocephalus (Le Conte)

Length. 2.90.

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.

hlabits apparently similar to the bats of the next family.

Common Bats

(Family Vesptrtilionida)

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. Silver-haired Bat.

2. Fur light, yellowish brown, banded or mottled with

dusky. Pipistrelle and Leather-winged Bat.

). Fur dark, glossy brown, not mottled. Big Brown Bat,

Little Brown Bat and Twilight Bat.

>9S

Bi(-eared Bat; Little Brown Bat

Bier-eared Bat

Corynorkinus macrotis (Le Conte)

Length. 4.20 inches.

Description. Ears very large, joined togetiier 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
dark 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. snhulatus), with thinner membranes, longer
ears and narrower skull. These and the Pipistrelie 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, funny, 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 ovei
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

Littl« Brown Bat

At times, however, she deposits them on the branch of a
tree, where they hang sheltered by the leaves, while she goes
oir 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 the 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; an J I
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 p'"en it cause to be afraid.

According to thv :,ooks there are four or five different species
to be found in this part of the country, but the only sort that
I 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 thoroughlv 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 bro^n 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

«97

Little Brr '

3jt

i! ;

peevishly a. the endeavou to arrange themselves more com-
fortably f»i 'he ren:"rder of their nap. But this . :tivity may be
due to th'j ncreaMtl iniubilitv of the muscuLir libre. v\ hich is
said to be an invariable .xcoi? iianiment of hibernation. When I
tnrew open the blind last October, exposing them to the full glare
of the afternoon sunlight, thev maintained the same position and
showed little sign of aw; kening, but half an hour later had
disappeared, though the s n was still several hours high. This
year the blinds were It-ft 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, hopm^ to entice the bats I :k to
their former apartments; and. sure enough, about the first of the
month I was delighted to st - 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, I unceremoniously routed him
out and deposited him on mv desk, where he spent i most un-
happy morning, losing all patience with me before the portrai*
was half completed, — which was hardly to be wondered at, cot
sidering the circumstances. As often as I tried to (jf ' im t.
change his position, he would break forth into shrill tterin«
protests and snap viciously at everything within reach .lut 1
soon quieted down on being left alone, and slept coi jlacentl
close to my hand whik I sketched him. Several me& he
escaped and flew deliberately downstairs, which 1 unk few
birds wouM have the intelligence or coolness to do. All those
that I ha. J seen in similar circumstances fluttered elplesslv
against the glass or ceiling and absolutely refused to fl- down-
ward under any provocation; but n / bat flew up or do with
equal willingness, and from room o room, earnestly st chmg
for a passage to the open air. V ^never he felt tired he would
hang himself up in the fold of a .
fast asleep as soon as he was
learned to avoid as slippery and '

screens turn -"d better foothold anj ihe way he x ouli
about over these was something in^-veilous. Fmally car-
outdoors and gave him his frped< .md, in pite <
he seemed to find no difficult n eeing, bi ■ arted a.
the barn window, which was pa cly oner? J entert
the swallows did. No one seein lim a' ne i me <:ould
ably have accused him of blindnt nor th vrm " bii

ijin to rest, apparently beir-;

- V settled. Glass
herous . but t ^e

SO' n
quit.-)

.it
h

198

FOL-R ri)MM;iN' liASTICKN HATS

■ I'lpislrelk- l/'ip;v/r,//„s jni.'.'.jMij] (fur v,ll..>vi>;, lin.ivii.
n'r.',!^''„ h'7', r " ''-•'•""""'■'" 'i<«'"'.Wi«s) (furlilaik with silv
u i I? , , ' '■>'^''"'"' "<■«"< ' (lur dark l.r..wiil
KrJ Mat (/.Jjinruj '> .rci/zsl (lur rusty n-ill

lAb Kit t ^ r fifths natural sizt-;

I't'dH AiuticU ApcL-imcns

-TV tips)

iMdi

riH

1!^

Uttl* Bfown 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 tor a little while the window was deserted;
but in a few days 1 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
10. 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 t be found in great abundance, and hang
themselves up to sleep where daylight happens to catch them. I
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 nighti, and that
their numbers usually fell off until the middle of the week, and
then increased again until Sunday. Here are their numbers as I
set them down each day on my calendar: Saturday, 4; Sunday. 16;
Monday, 9; Tuesday, 4; Wednesday, 2; Thursday, s; Friday, 10;
Saturday. 10; Sunday. 18; Monday, 10; Tuesday, a; Wednesday, o;
Thursday, o; Friday, 1; Saturday, 1. The third Sunday I was
away, and so failed to take account of them, but on Monday
there were ?. and 2 on Tuesday. For the next three days the
window was unoccupied. Saturday 1 found 1, Sunday 1 and Mon-
day ), after which they abandoned the window almost entirely.
though I occasionally found a solitary specimen snuggled in one

I9Q

■Mi

Little Brown Bat

corner of the sash. I 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 -aid usually to choose
some such place to hibernate in.

As twilight comes on, the bats in the window h?gin to grow
somewhat more restless, scrambling down from time to time to
peer out befvecn the slats as if to pass judgment on the weather.
Then suddenly one of them launches oat 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
Tn the darkness the bats are zigzagging about in pursuit of their
supper.

Large Brown Bat

Vespcrtilio fiiscus bt-uvois

Called also Carolina Bat.

Length. 4.60 inches. Expanse of uings. 12 inches. .

Description. Flight membranes naked except the baso of the m-
terfemoral membrane. Fur silky, dark brown, rather lighter
below

Raniic' Gulf Coast north to Maine and Ontario. One c 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
f.mnal belt, through southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New
York and the Connecticut Valley.

In the Hudson Valley, Dr. A. K. Fisher sa. s: " They are the last
to make their appearance in the evening. In fact, when it gets
so dark that objects are blended in one unceruin 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

tee

fSE

iiHi

ifi

Georgia Pipiiuelle

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 ;md autumn numbers of them
may be seen circling aliout 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 distinguishais^ on account
of his size which, in the uncertain twilij^ht, w.is frequently ex-
aggerated, and more than once one of this common species was
mistaken for a possible hoary bat, an animal which, m sfrite
of our eflforts, was never detected in this spot.

The large brown bat is seen lat*" in autumn and on nwid
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 ccru-
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.

Ceorffia Pipistreile

PipistrellHS subflavus (Cuvicr)

Length. 3.40 Inches. Expanse of vings. 8.50 inches.
Description. Wing membranes thin, only furred near the base of
the interfemoral membrane. Fur, light yellowish brown.

amm

Silver-haired Bat

blotched or mottled with dusky, below uniform yellowish
brown
Range. Eastern United States, southern Pennsylvania and lower
Hudson VaUey, west to Iowa and Texas. About Lake George,
N Y and probably elsewhere northward occurs a closely re-
lated"'vane-y, the northern pipistrelle (P. subflavus obscurtis
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

LasionycterU noctivagans (Lc Conte)

Letmih. 4 inches. Expanse of wings. 9 to to inches.

Description. Interfemoral membrane sparsely haired. Hir, aarK
brown or bUck, with silvery-white tips. Ear short and
rounded. „ , . j »i.

Range. North America, south throughout Pennsylvania and the

southern Alleghanies.

Generally speaking the silver haired 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 ni^ht 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

£k

-.,.^..gKg:

R«d Bat

trees 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 (oliage 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. 1 1 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 Carohnian belt and the mountains.

The red bat comes out eariier 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 1 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 beinj; thrown at them, they
wheel suddenly and dart after the falling missile, followmi; 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 thev frequent lofts and
garrets which offer them suitable shelter. One such resort, which
1 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

•«3

mdrnt

.1 (

Ilocrx Bat

opened and a flood of light admitted, several hundred of the
little animals were discovered clinging in a compact mass to the
rougii bricks and mortar of the chimney. They twisted up their
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
f.ll.'J with bats, and there was a grand scurry for the openings
under the roof, whence they scattered in the unwelcome sunlight
in a iTi.id rush for another shelter. One summer two little bats
were discovered hanging close together on the bianch 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)

Lenrth. S.40 inches. Expanse of 'dings. 12 to 15 inches.

Description. Much larger than the red bat, but with the s.ime
distribution of fur over the interfemoral membrane. hur
mingled d.irk-brown and light yellowish-brown, more or less
tipped with silverv white. White predominating below.

Range Maine, Ontario and mountains of New England, New York
and the Alleghanies, migrating southward m 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 stiil 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
is 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 rpproaching, 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

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 despnir 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 sizt, 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 wo ■ v 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
Lite 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 .'^cemod
most likely, 1 have never been successful in obtaining a glimpse
of this interesting bat.

»o5

■ittlk

mmmm

1^ 11

: I

LMiatr«winff*d Bat; TwiUght Bat

Leather>winfirecl Bat

Dasypttnu 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

Nycticeius kunuralis (Raiinesque)

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.

iSaBBfib

^mm

CARNIVORES OR FLESH-EATING
ANIMALS

(Carnivore.)

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 imphes, 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)\, which are adapted to an aquatic life, and the terres-
trial carnivora (Fhsipedia). 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 Carnauial T««th

easily distinguished, while the back teeth, or molars, are always
tubercuiate and generally more or less sharp and pointed, and
suited for cutting and tearing flesh.

• The Dingo or Australian dog was probably introduced,
t See under Phocidm, p. 114.

J07

titim

i til.

Cuniyorw

One tooth in each jaw is peculiarly large and modifled for
this purpose and has been named the "carnasjial-tootli" 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:

I. Feet modihed into flippers, suborder Pinnipedia

I. Eared Seals. Family OtariidiT. Hind flippers capable of
being turned forward for walkinic when on land, head
seal-like, ears small, but well developed.

II. Walruses. Family Odobxnidcc. Hind flippers used in walk-

ing as in the last. Body enormous and unwieiJy, no
external ears, upper canine teeth immensely elongated
into long down-pointing tusks.

III. Seals. Family Phocidar. 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. U^'easels, Otters, etc. Family Miistelidiv. Size generally

small and shape slender, with long tail (except the

wolverine and badger). Tail sometimes tipped with

black, but never annulated.
V. Ra ooits, lie. Family ProcyoitidiV. Size medium, tail

long, generally bushy and annulated, black and white

for Its w hole length.
VI. Bears. Family Ursida: Size large, tail very short, uniform

in colour with the back.

B. Toes, five on the fore feet, bi t four on the hind feet

VII. IVolves and Foxes. Family Canidat. Toes not retractile.

VIII. Cats. Family Felida. Toe-^ -etractile.

108

-ai

;

EARED SEALS

(Family Otariida)

These large seals arc found in North America only on the
Pacific Coast, the best known being the fur seal of Bering Sea,
the hair seal and sea hon.

Fur Seal

Otoei alascanits (Jordan & Clark)

Called

^.j

.•.T.

Length. 6 ft- . (Fii';.'.u 3 feet 10 inches.)

Description, ''i i\ ';o\.;,cd with a very fine . fr .1 r-rfur jrJ a
coarser, or ? wth of hair overlyir.;j it; : ^' jr chestnut-

brown to blaiK, m old individuals st .k : • " ix.d with gray,
especially above. Fei^ialcs very much i >'' . and generally
lighter than the males.

Range. Pribilof Isl-nds, 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 I'acilic and the realization of the value of their skms
in the markets of the world, they have bct-n the cause of legis-
lation and disputes in which Russia, the United Slates and Great
Britain have been involved.

The many government investigations, witli their voluminous
reports, have given us a more exhaustive account of ilio life and
habits of the fur seal than we possess of any of olu other ani-
mals; ani! 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 <uid at the

209

Fur 8m1

same time only strictly American »P"'«^ '.' ["j' ^i^^Ji;;
seal of the Pribilof Islands, the other spec.es /"h«b.t "g resp^^e^y
Bering anc" Medni Islands, and Robben IsUnd m the Sea ot

^'^'ihe' fur seal is a migratory animal, spending the summer and
autumn in its breeding ground on the Pribilofs and ?««'"« ^«
winter at sea. ranging down the coast as ^^^ " .«'"»'^'^"J';'-
fornia. The females reach maturity at the end of their second
year while the males do not gain their full sue and strength
unti seven years old. As in most ^-egarious and polygamous
inimaLtJis' results in several distinct s..es of growth wh.ch
are designated by the sealers by special nanes. There are the
Idult "bulls" and 'cows." as well as the new-born "pups,
whl the young males of three years are the "bachelors" and
the older ones the "half bulls." ,.•...„

The summer life of the breeding .{round or '•rookenes a
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
?ast « they land are Uken 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 bom shortly after the arrival of the cow and
a, s<J!n as it has become suflRdently 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 attemp to intrude
Ton the harems. The late arriving bulls which f.,1 to secure
harems locate immediately behind their more fortunate rivaU and
by their efforts to encroach upon adjoining harems or steal cows
they continually precipitate desperate fights wh.ch frequently resul
!n their own destruction and cause great uproars throughout

^^' The*1ld 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.
Te great thick coat of blubber having been absorbed to supply
thdr bodies in lieu of food. The killing for the market is re-

f ■

Stallcr's aa

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 easil be maintained, but the pelagic sealing when the
animals are away from their rookeries is most destructive.

Steller's Sea Lion
Eumetopics stelUri (Lesson)

Length, lo feet. (Female 8 feet 6 inches. )

Description. Lacks the dense fur of the preceding. Hair, redaish

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
onU 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 califomianus (LeMon)
Called also Sea Lion, Gitlespies Seat.

Lengtit. 7 feet.

Description. Dark reddish brown in summer. Much lighter in
winter, when the upper paru are pale grayish, though stifl
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. P.icilic Coast of the United States north to California
(San Francisco.)

til

■■■liliii

'(i fi

Adaati* 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
mos' agile. Its habits resemble those of the other species, and
on the islands of the California coast the same battles are waged
for I'lc masterv of the harems as aire conducted on the Pribiloft
by t'le 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 Stellers sea lion.

WALRUSES

(family Odobcnida)

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 m other
respects, the walruses are closely allied to the eared seals of the
Pacific.

Atlantic Walrus

Odobenus rosmams (Linnaeus)

Ungik. 10 feet 6 Inches.

Deuriptum. Body very thick and heavy, neck short, no external
ears or tail. Muzzle covered with stiff brisUes, tusks la to
iS inches long. Hair scanty, general colour of body yeUow-
ish brown; old males much wrinkled over the back and
shoulders and often nearly devoid of hair, showing numer-
ous bare patches.

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. \

mm^gg^g^mm^m

Atlantic Wabu

Range. Arctic regions of the Atlantic, south to the shores of
Hudson's Bay, Labrador and to latitude bs" 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-caters 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 compai.iiivcly 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 cocitles, 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 seas 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 oflsio-.ng into the se.t,
when they are said to seize them in their moutlv;, and diving, swim
beneath the surface.

Though walrus at any age are far from attractive, the old
males are particularly repulsive. They i>ecome nearly devoid of
hair and present a most disgustmg appearance. Elliott says of

»«,i

Seal*

them soeaking of the Pacific species: "They resemble distorted.
™oMiV.eT shapeless masses of rtesh- the cluster of big. swollen.
waS pimpS "^^^^^ of n yellow, parboiled flesh-colour.

rndprincipaUy located over the shoulders and around the neck,
painfully suggested unwholesomeness.

li r If'.

SE/1LS

(Family Phocida)

Seals are carnivorous animals modified for life in the water.
To this end their bodies are cylindrical, tapering a^'ay from the
middle; the limbs are short with the feet flattened and webtjd
for swimming, the forward pair acting as paddles ""^ /he hinder
ones, which are pUced close together and pernrianently 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 serson. Thev make their
way very clumsily on land, however, on account ot the structure
of their hind teet. and are much poorer walkers th.-in the eared
seals of the Pacific which can turn their hmd feet forward.

Seals are often popularly confused with whnles, w.th which
thev have no near relationship whatever, as can be socn 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, tish-like tail
further distinguish them from the whales.

Seals occur in all oceans but are more plentiful toward the

'^^Our east c"..st species may bv disti.;«uished ar- follows:

a. Front teeth (incisors) six above and four below. No bladder-like

sack on the head. . r .i.« h«.ji-

b. Muzzle narrow, sloping gradually fn-. •■-- top of the heau,

first and second toes of fore fee>. {on^ti.

c. Teeth large, rather crowded and sei obliquely "• ^''f^^^/'^^:

»«♦

Harbour Saai

ee. Teeth small, 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 &d/.

hb. Muzzle broad, forehead convex, middle toe longest. 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, a below, a bladder-like sack on the head

of the male. Hooded Seat.

Harbour Seal

Phoca viUtlina (Linnxus)

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 occasiorally 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 Phota occur on the eastern
coast of North America: the harbour seal, ringed seal and h;irp
seal. The last two ;ire 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 tlic ice floes of tlic 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, v/hile 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 nnother.

»•$

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Harbour S«sl

The two northern species, more especiaUy the harp s^ which U
easily Wined in numbers on its breeding ground, furmsh m«it of
thTskin and oil of commerce. Their skins, however. whHe of
^L^J ?able value for leather, are not to be -nfused wrth^ he
3iful hides of the Alaskan fur seal or "sea bear whtch
fiimi«h the valuable sealskin of the furner. ^ • i. j

On the New England coast the harbour seals may be looked
for at any time of the year, but farther south they are .eldom

*"\rL'"onT'tt 1 ever had an opportunity of observing I
.et in'it^"nau:e element in August. We were l.^h sw.mmmg
lust inside the rivers mouth at Hampton. N. H. , lU round neaa
LToket surface between myself and ^he boat showed wet and
sh.nmg for a few seconds and was K""'' *° 'P^^' "«""

,and';oitl';rin summer and autumn when^^^^^^^ may^^ seen
from time to time sw.mmmg by the »^e-^';"^; «;;; ^^^ « ^
the wave-splashed rocks and beaches, the y°""8 » .

tn\ thi^eason in -es iust out^ -^^^^^^^^^

Although the seals are ,ust as wa ^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^

mammals =» ^"^•^'^SL,^ „ ^"^J^^ as fish; in fact, fish chased
they t^fve become almos^ as aquaUc ^, .^ ^^^ ^^^,,^^

by seals have \"\^''^^\,'^i\^i on sand-flats, as if aware

preference. harbours apr-t. ^ to be as little

The common seal of our ^"°^ *'' ,^ jn- „car the

adventurous and seafaring as any of us l.nd^ kcepmg _^^^^

the oceans growUng. affectionate, quickly becoming

at6

HAKBOK SEALS {l*ho, tt vitHiina)

By A. 1.. I*rriceltfm

Fl'R SEALS ((ilofsahsiniis)

(.jHliirH of t* S lull i ••iiimiwian

MicaocoPY iBOwnoN Tin quit

(AI4SI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2)

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16S3 toit Main Street

Rochtttvr. N«w York 14609 USA

(716) *«2 - OMO - Phofw

(716) 2ae-S9a9 -fok

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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 oar
beaches and summer resorts. Sharks and swordfish are about
their worst enemies, and it is ' id 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.

Ringred Seal

Phoca hispida Schreber

D«fr*W/o«. "similar to tht 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

Range. Arctic seas south to the northern Atlantic and Pacific

K A

Harp Seal

Pa gnenlandica (Fabricius)

Des?ripHM!^%^^\A more slender, as In the last. Colour of adult

»«7

;;]]

BMTdcd Seal ; Ony Seal ; Hooded Seal

male white or yellowish-white, with face black and a curved
bUck^and on Mch side, meeting over the shoulder and
S above the tail. Female anf young variously mottled.
Rret ' of forefoot (flipper) not longer than the second.
Range. A ctic seas to northern AUantic and Pacific.

Bearded Seal

Erignatk$ts barbatus (Fabricius)

^&ivJ^"Gray above, darker along the middle of the back,
often more of less motUed. Young in the woolly stage gray
The fact that the middle toes are the longest matenariy alters
the shape of the "flipper," and this fact, together with the
Srffe size will serve to readily identify this species.

Ra,^J.^Sc s^to north AUa'ntic ani Pacific, south to New-
foundland.

Gray Seal

Halichoerus grypus (Fabricius)

^m^''^ flippers shaped as in the harbour seal, face two-
third^ instead of one-half the length o the head, bns les of
he chieks curiously crenulated. Colour of adults s.lvery-

Range.

^''CnS.S'io?rr^.wfL" uM- Gr.« Bduin.

Hooded Seal

Cystophora cristata (Erxleben)

f^^*:.' ^"cr«nt t^th four above and two below instead of

'^^"Hd fouTa^^'af other°Uue seals. Colour bluish-black

aS)ve lighter beneath, varied with whitish spots Some-

aoove. iij5"ici ^ .^^ J _|^ ,.,«»c Vniinor in woolly Stage

muscular
ti^^'^J:'':^^i.l^T.^-^'Z re Ui^-ted states.

Range

This and the harp seal are Arctic species frequenting the

Otter

ice tloes. The latter is largely killed by the sealers, but the
present species is decidedly tare on the coast of North America.

IVEASELS, OTTERS. ETC.

(Family Mustelidce)

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. } 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 uniforin 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. 1 never see one
running 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

1 4

119

Il i' i

^■a

teas are hardly to be distinguished at a little distance, while his
h«vy short-haired tail is almost as thick at .s 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 tr 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 m nets
sunk deep in the ocean; undoubtedly the transition is still going
on and the otters born a few thousand years hence wiU 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 m
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 fomihes
of four or five together, they soor estaolish 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 w...er. twisting and turning like the fish the> so
I have seen one pursuing a muskrat, as a
shiner, splashing through the shallow water
had overflowed its banks. At times both
WUU.U u= ».,...^.^ beneath the surface for reveral minutes, to
appear again perhaps out in the current at a distance, the mus.v-
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 twistmg and darting.

delight in chasing,
pickerel pursues a
where the stream
would be invisible

1. !f,'-

Oiur

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 Uout, salmon and cek 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 solicitMJS
care of the offspring and defend Uiem 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.

1 have never had any opportunities of observing them at that
age, but as late as September, wher. 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, Uking 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 1 saw of them they
were playing about in the shadow of an old bridge twemy rods
further up stream.

The otter's 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 1 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
I ig, the other end of which was buried in the swamp beneath

-V

OMI

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 I found the place and the
young otters were well grown, and apparently spent mo^t of
their time away on long tramps and fishing excursions with
their parents. From what 1 have seen of them 1 should say
that orters 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 w'll 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 theT 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
hly 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

OTTER (Luira canadensis) "^ ^ *''""" »««

A very difficult .ninial to photograph. Th« pictures represent . Ktf at amount of work an,i ..ver a dc.Jcn attempt,.

j»i ;i

Mi!-

Sea OtMc

get the greatest fun from sliding; where the bank is suffidentiy
steep and sUnting they make a roundabout path leadmg up
to the top or 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. .. . , v r

There is usually a playing ground at the head of each ot
their slides, where the turf is dug up and trampled and broken
sticks scattered about.

In places where the water remains open in the wmter tne
otters take advantage of the snow crust formed by the water
dripping from their fur and freezing on the snow, and when
travcHing 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 (Linnaeus)

DeiJribtion '^'ihick set. muzzle well beset with bristles presenting
much the same appearance as that of the fur seal; tail one-
Tarter 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 ""der fur and
a loneer coarser outer coat as in the fur seal. ^Cotour, black
with whitrsh tips, head and neck grayish or yellowish white

«««« Shares of north Pacific, formerly south to northwestern
Ijnited States, becoming very scarce everywhere.

Varieties of the Otter

I. Northern Otter. Lutra canadensis Schreber. Description and

2 CaroUnTomr'^T canadensis lataxina (Cuvier). Much lighter
'• brown, becoming pale grayish brown on the throat.

Range. Lower Middle and South Atlantic States.
? Florid! Otter. /.. ranarf^«s« wa Bangs Darker and redder
^' than the last but not so h\A as the Northern otter, almost

Rrngt%S, southem^Georgia and along the Gulf Coast

4. NervMid^TotUr. L. degener Bangs. Very dark prac
tically black with brown reflections. Size smaller than
any of the preceding.

••3

I ■ '•■

Skunk

This curious and interesting animal of our northwest coast
has been reduced to danger of extinction by the fur hunters,
who find in its slrin the most valuable pelt furnished by any
North American quadruped. .... .„

H W Elliott says of it: "There fs no sexual dissnnilanty
in colour or s«e, ami both parents manifest the same intense
shyness and avetsion 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 nartives have never caught the mothers
bringing forth their offspring on the rocks, they are disposed to
bdicve that their birth takes place on kdp beds in ?>"»"» "^
not over-rough weather. The female has a single pup. bora about
fifteen inches in length, and provided during^ the first month or
two with a coat of coarse brownish grizzled fur, head and nape
grizzled, grayish, rufous white. The fur is prime at two ytars.
Though the animal is not fuU^jrown 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 Uve 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 th.= 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 seenn. lor I am
assured by se^ eral old hunters that they have watched the sea-
otter for half an hour as it Uy 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."

Skunk
Mepkitis putida (Cuvier)

Called also Poluat.

^^&Hm^^to&^ covered with long hair, tail very Ja-rge "ind
bush7; colour^ black with a white patch on the back of the
neck; from which two stripes extend down the back and

«»4

Skuiik

along the sides of the tail, and a white stripe down the
forehead. Sometimes the white i? almost restricted to the
patch on the neck, and i- he c ler specimens the stripes
are united, making the wr,/ie h -k white. , . . .^
Range. New England to Virginia «.id Indiana, replaced to the
North and South by closely allied varieties.

The skunk belongs in the ?ame 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 forevc. on the ale. o
escipe or repulse the sudden attacks of an enemy the e
beast of the black and white fur has grown fjt and '-zy. It
still retains much of the slender and graceful form of ..\e weasels,
but has allowed its muscles to become *» and t;. r. iirid so
burdened with fat as to render rapid .^ prolonge . exertion
almost an impossib-'.. ,; 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 equ.il 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 ?

For large, warm-blooded game cf 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 containing the
young mice are easily uncovered.

i ^ '

1 v

;

Skunk
"'"By the time the supply of insect food comes to an end the

"" TolnTwens tha, such . toil, will hi, "Po" » "<;«

vora, yet 1 have "^ver se ^^^^.^ ^_

ai6

SKUNK CROSSINC. A STREAM (.U./>/i/7i,v pulida)

KrW. K. larlin

r;i

Skunk

without seeing so much as one of their footprints during either
of these months. And again, their tracics 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. ■ .■ j

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
compete 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.

;

**7

u «

'' /

'i ',

Skunk

Whenever the frost has left the soil sufficiently, they dig out

^T' h Jreaf rSity These little excavations, each with its
Tc olanySfp o' dirt, are to be seen anywhere during the
l"rCnt h's L regions -here skunks abound^

ThPv are undoubtedly made in search of insects, dui ju
what pTrti^L kSnd are 'oftenest obtained in this way 1 have
never been able to discover. ...

"with the increasing warmth of the season bugs of all knds
bemn to crawl out of their hiding places on all sides to Dreea
A itinu and the- with mice and reptiles, serve to keep the
:klks ' oo^u^^^^^^^ season of birds comes on But

t is probably short rations at best, and with characteristic bold-
ne aTd ndifference they visit barns and farm bu'l^ings, whe e
theJ gener.illy do more good than harm, living largely on mxe
and rSsnd^ whatever meat is to be picked up about the
^ronnd Still when temptation offers in the shape of fowls
Sng whn Teach, the' old weasel instinct is likely to be
aroused, Id the skunk proves his ability as a hunter of big

^'""in May food begins to be fairly abundant and easily pro-
curei sZ 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 l^^/^J^Ytinl a

in her train like Indians on the war-path.

The black and white of the young ones is even more

ing beetles .™,. h,„,.,fc ,(,j undergrowth In the forest they go
^SchTnglor^thf ne:rot t'Lhes L ground-buMlng warblers
and partridges.

ttS

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 m 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 oflf the enemy by pretending a brolcen "'ing.

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 tho rodden 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 ix. per-
sonal habits. It is easily tamed and makes a safe and amusing
pet.

Varieties of Skunks
Eastern Skuuk. Mephitis putida (Cuv.). Description and ran-e

CanaMSknilk: Mephitis mephitica (Shaw) Larger, with shoiter
and more slender tail (equal to half the length of bodv).
pattern more constant, the white stripes varying little in
length or width.
Ranee. Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.
Florida Skunk. Mepkitis elongata (Bangs). Medium in size, tail
very long (longer than the body), white stripes very broad.
Ran/c 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

Ra^nge. Prairie region of Illinois, Indiana and Eastern Iowa.

»»9

■

Little Striped Skunk

Spilogale ambarvalis (Bangs)

Lensrth. i foot 3 inches.

Description. A diminutive of the common skunlt, with a diner-
ent colour pattern Biacic, with a broad white patch on tne
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 stnped 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

Taxidca uxtts (Schreber)

Length. 27 inches. „ , .^ u^^

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, ? wn>«
median stripe from the nape nearly to the snout; smes 01
face and throat white; a large black patch m front of eacn
ear. Legs and feet black.
Range. Western North America, east to Wisconsin and Texas—
formerly to Ohio.

This nat, 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

•30

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 a.J. 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 'he keenest
sighted into passing without so much as suspecting his presence.
Even in a cage he will practice the same ruse to escape notice. 1
have seen one spread himself out on the dirt which covered the
bottom of his cage, so successfully that out of every twentv
people passing close by him to stare at the niiserable captives in
the neighbouring cages, 1 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 skm,
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 lavmg
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)

Dest%ti^. 'Targer 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.

^ I Hi'

i 'U

• ' (

^'i:

■

f'[

■■! /

«;>.

Mink

ent varieties.

The mink is endowed with boundless resources in the face
of danger as well as in the matter of getting a l.vmg. Wande
where he will day or night, it is of small consequence whether
tt enemy that attacks him is fox. dog. wildcat, otter or owl.
he is XVs within a couple of jumps of some place of refuge
If the water is near, he dives without a splash, and darts away
ke a fish, almost as much at home as the fish themsdves m
he sw ing depths of the eddies and dim passages beneath
sunken log! and drift-wood, only coming to the surface here and
there for a breath until the enemy is left hopelessly behmd.

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
wou d hide a rat; and lacking th'.. can out-run and out-dodge
Ty ordinary pursuer: for. though short of leg h.s body .s long
and so supple that he uses the entire length of his sp ne m
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 1 have little doubt that the swiftest hawk or fox wou d
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 creatuie several times his size has learned to its cost

Referring to the minks 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
tTe Teach of the roaring north wind, when 1 heard a rustling
among the leaves eight or ten rods away. Looking toward the
Tund 1 saw. just for an instant, a beautiful httle female mink
wuS the sun full on her back, then saw only the russet coloured

»3»

Mink

leaves sloping up between the tree tru"ks; but even while J
looked there was the mink again several rods farther away ana
i Kt in the act of vanishing as before.

'"' Tsque^ked like a mol to call her. ^ut the w.nd was ^o
loud in the trees that I failed to make myself '^eard, so 1 .m.
ated the chatter of a red-squirrel as closely as I ^o"^' •>"'^,. J^
stantly the mink came skipping toward me over the ice of a little
pond that lay between us. .

^ 1 do not think that 1 have ever seen any "J^er four-foo ed
creature, not even a deer or a fox, run with such baffling swift-
ness could just catch the one ioiage of her coming head up

™ !he sunlit ice before she disappeared in the sere frozen
water grass almost at my feet.

Laft Christmas day 1 saw a very large mink hunting a l.tt^
party of ruffed grouse among the pines and birches on a hilU
s'de 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 ^ second at
a time until finally he turned up where 1 least expected to see
him a'lmos behind me, digging excitedly beneath an old log a te
Z'e apparently, scattering the wet willow leaves to r-ght and le t
S his eSerness On another occasion, when 1 was duck shoot-
L saw a Snk in the pines across a river, and cnllea h.m oyer
omvSei^ order to have a look at him. Running down the
sJeep bank he dived, and, swimming under water, only rose when
within a few yards of where I stood, and at once popped into
r burrow aT the waters edge. A few seconds later he emerged
from another opening half-way up the bank, and running a httle
way toward me. sat perfectly erect, eyeing me curiously hen
Topped to 11 fours and ran round to the other side to look

-' T^Jir^X'^S^'^^ time and the. was .- ^J^
so he Sed to cftch my scent, and for some time continued to
examine at a distance of two or three paces without takmg
Trm When sitting upright he showed a nawow white me
down hUtSL broken into a chain of spots between his fore
wT A last having satisfied his curiosity, he started off along
he bank wih his head turned to one side, watching the ram-
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.

«33

I ^

; ,i

. *1

4^ ".

!/).<•

1 1

Bfti'.

Mink

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 'ow 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

'"^^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 m some hoe
among the rocks, or inside a hollow log or stump generally
hidden away among fiags and bullrushes beside a stream.

The voung 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 warn, eather 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 fiight 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 chasn.g
partridges and squirrels in the upland woods.

»S4

MINK {Puliyrius vison)

By C. C. SpeiKhi

WEASEL (Puloriiis noxehoracensis)
Caoght by xhr ca:nera as he reappeared after lieints chased into hii hoi* in the rocto.

Br W. K. Carlia

'if"
I

New York We«Ml

While minks are not social animals, they are I am certain
much less in the way of putting up Pitc^ed batt es when hey
meet than are the majority of the woodland folk Som^»'";f
half a dozen or more old males will gather about some par-
ticularly good fishing hole and to all appearances get along per-

^"^I'Snl" whrthe still waters are frozen, thev haunt open
rapids and warm springs in the woods, or finding entrance beneath
the ice of a closed brook, make extended excursions al.ng the
dim buried channel, alternately running beneath the 'ce 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 bourse down to the wider reaches of the "je^ fin Ja.^r
fish and muskrats to try their strength upon. Water, however.
is not essential to the minks' happiness at any season, for th' -
can hunt rabbits all winter long in the snow as successfullv -.
the sable or fisher.

Varieties of the Mink

Northern Mink. Putorius vison (Schrebe.;. Description and range

-^th.fn^^Mink P. vison lutreocephalus (Harlan). Length. 28
•^inch^! Larger and lighter, dark chestnut-brown, with white

/?a«rCottVsou"thlrn New England through the lowlands

, ■ ■^'J.^MrJi ^P°'S« vtilgivagus (Bangs). Smaller and light
'''""";iloS^ro'wn!"cirin'a?d sLs !,n u^dW t,arts purer white.

^.S^r ^^ t^lS^nS? — r to the last, but still
i^^r "Sair maSfs ' oftouthern States. South Carolina to
Florida.

New Yorl< Weasei

Putorius noveboraccnsis (Emmons)

•Si'^iu^n. '"T'lSfa.w';','?'!'.^ Sf one.,b„d ,h. .oU. length.

tSS

New York Weasel

.1,
'I!

I.'

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 ch;inge in colour is complete only
in the northern part of its range. The difference m 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 Virgmia, 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 dilTerent species. There are certain family charac-
te sties, 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 kil'hg, 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 once very abundant
everywhere in the woods. In eating a mouse, the weasel first
sucks the Mood through the large veins of the neck, then bites
through the skull and eats the brains, and after that, if still
hungry, he e.its the flesh, turning back the skin as he docs so,
leaving it turned inside out with the feet and tail attached.

Meadow-mi'- moles, shrews, and the common mice and rats
of barns and v i 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,

136

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 lind. 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 biros 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 1 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 lingers
even when touching them with her nose. This tameness could
not have been brought about by hunger, for when I found her in
the box-trap she had not wholly eaten the rabbits 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.

1 am inclined to think that this black point serves its owner
in a variety of ways, though at first thought one might think it

»S7

n ^f

New York We««el

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-fuilcn 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 vvould 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. I 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

»s8

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 c' 1 trees, or else they take possession of the burrows of
ground-sqi-iirrels, 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 lind 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

to the next.

They are great wanderers, traveling miles in r single night,
and frequently being gone on long hupts for weeks tot;"t.;r.

Varieties of the New Yorl< Weasel and Related

Species

New York Weasel. Piiloritts noveboracensis Emmons. Description

and range as above.
hlorth Carolina Weasel. P. noreboraccnsis tiotitis Bangs. Similar,
bit darker, with belly yellow instead of white. Does not
lurn white in winter.
Range. North Carolina.
Maine Weasel. P. noveboracensis occisor Bangs. Larger, with
longer tail and heavier, broader skull.
Range. Maine, probably to Ontario.
Lone-tailed Weasel. P. longicanJa spadix Bangs. Larger than
any of the above (i8 inches long), with the under parts
strong buffy yellow.
Range. Eastern Minnesota.

Bonaparte's Weasel

Pittorius cicognatti (Bonaparte)

Length. 1 1 inches (female 9 inches).

Description. Smaller, diflference in sizes of sexes not so striking,
tail decidedly shorter— not much more than one-quarter the

>39

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

y?jH;e!'''''^BoreaI forests south to New England and the mountains
of Pennsylvania. A larger variety, Richardson's weasel P.
ckognani richardsoni (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 We sel

Putorius rixosHS Bangs

Len^h. 6 inches. .,,.■. .u

Description. Smallest of the weasels, with no black tip to the
tail, which is verv short. Colour, dark reddish brown above,
white below. In' winter pure white throughout.
Rame. Arctic America, south to Northern Minnesota, replaced on
"the Artie coast of Alaska by the Eskimo weasel P. nxosiis
cskiim Stone. In Western Pennsylvania occurs another little
weasel, allied to the least weasel, the Alleghany weasel P.
alleghaniensis Rhoads.

Florida Weasel

Putorius peninsula Rhoads

Leiieth. 15 inches. /-. , . u

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. „.,,.,,. , d

Range. Peninsula of Florida. The allied bridled weasel P.
fremitus (Lichtenstine), with distinct white marks on the face,
occurs in Texas.

This is a distinctly Southern weasel, our other Eastern weasels

Fisher

being all animals of the more northern States, or of the moun-
tainous regions.

Fisher

MustcLi pcnnanti Erxleben
Called also Fisher Marten, Peluin.

Leiis/li. 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! lull and
bushv. , ,

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; lor 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 di^ib to where the partridges roost, and catch them
in thtir sleer

Hares' fi their regular diet, but they vary this accord-

ing to the sc ' and as thai, ppetites 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.

»4I

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 turnmg the
t ibles 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 1
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 1 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 m 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 antericaria Turton
Called also American Sable, Pine Marten.

Deic%tion. 'sSer than the fisher, with less bushy tail. Colour,

342

Pine Muten

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
siaht 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
:ind then manages to pounce on one unawares.

Rut 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

»41

Pin* IfartMi

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 fmd 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 conspicuous 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 oi 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 son. of vegetable diet, just as almost
all rodents like meat for a change.

Varieties of the Pine Marten

Marten. Mustela
above.

americana Turton. Description and range as

244

AMERICAN SABLE, OR PINE-MARTEN iMuHttia fimfriraJM)

Ity A. Rililcfyfft Ihit/iU'ne

Wolvnine

Newfoundland Marten. M. atrata Bangs. Darker brown, almost
bUck ; throat patch orange.
Range. Newfoundland.
Labrador Marten. M. brumalis Bangs. Larger and heavier,
colour darker.
Range. Northern Labrador.

Wolverine

Guto lusciis Linne
Also called Glutton and Carcajou.

Length, yy 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 sidies 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 eflfective 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 agii. '.

No longer capable of running down a hare or climbing for
birds and squirrels, he tramps it doggedly along through the
forest, cove ing imr-; nse distances, and never missing an oppor-
tunity of getting a eal 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

»4S

■if* ■

Wolvcrjit

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 ou' 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 adop' d by most of his family, skulking
through swamps and thicket ; 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 wolverines 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 1 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 burrow, and
the dull snow-threatening winter sky hangs close over the end-
1* ' ii.-^w beneath; not even the little blue fox or musk-ox
Si IS ore suggestive of the northern cold.

346

Ill

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.

RACCOOhlS AND THEIR ALLIES

Family Procyonidw

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

ProcyoH loior (Linnxus)
Called also "Coon."

Length. 32 inches.

Description. Form stout, tail thick, snout pointed, long hair,
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
nnged with black.

Range. Eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains, replaced
in Florida by the Florida Raccoon P. lotor clucua 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

Rftccoott

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 mvanably 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 cl msy 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 settied to the present. In fact, all
those that I can obtain any accoi-nt 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 torests that stood
here was composed much more la 'ely 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 fairiy successful, the barking of coon

■4S

Raceooa

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 kiUed
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 1 see no reason why coons should not thrive here to a
certain extent as they do in other parts of the ^ourjtry, for
they are among the most widely distributed of our wild beasts,
and although hollo>. s are not perhaps of such frequent

occurrence here a<; ard-wood regions or in old-growth

forests 1 believe th t 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

'^^^^ Coln^u" 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 yegetab e;
nuts, cherries, wild grapes and blackberries, bugs and reptiles
are aU on the list, which does not end there, however, for rac-
coons are skiUed both at fishing and hunting, though it is
probable that in both these pursuits they are compelled to de-

249

Raccoon

r''

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.

a so

RACCOON (Pfih:j»f» htor)

By W. K. CarUn

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 mam stem, doze
away the time in comfort, supported by the numerous elastic
branches about them, quite invisible from the ground. » 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 rtesh-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 1 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 'hickets. or robbing
the fatmer-s hen-roost. This last is perhaps about the worst form
of vice in which they ever indulge. A coon at large m 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 m 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 tb^ 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 uack 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.

JSi

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 remembtr 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 bom 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 t - es resembling the quavering note of a
screech owl or laughing hoot of a barred owl, and again 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 curt themselves
up together; occasionally several famihes 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 fairiy 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

ajs

Raccoon

coinpelled to go hungry, and, like the other hibernating beasts, they
lose flesh rapidly during the spring months, though the omnivo-
reus nature of their appetites gives them a decided advantage
over the woodchucks and the rest of the vegeUble eaters in the
general scramble for food.

It is curious that the quaint custom of washing meat ot 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 oftered 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 wilhng 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.

The latin tifle lotor, 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, 1 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.

a 5.1

I i

r> ^'1

1^]

TasM BaMuis

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, si. "W follow the direction given
them by those who followed t profession before them and
who, undoubtedly, in their time received the same from their
elders.

Texas Bassaris

Bassariscus astutus flavus Rhoads

Called 3lso Ring-tailed Cat. Civet Cat, Cacomistle.

Length. 28 inches.

Description. Much more slender than the Raccoon, with a long

tail. Colour, yellov/ish-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

Nasiia narica (Linnaeus)

Called also Coati mondi.

Length. 3 feet.

Description. Coon-like; tail tapering to a point; nose much

•54

i)l

Polar B«ar

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 1 lung. . ,. u x

Range. Mexico, crossing ine Rio Grande into Sot" -rn lexas.

This curious beast, reminding one of a cuon with lose and
tail pulled out to a point, is a characteristically tropi.«. animal,
which ranges just over our southwestern border.

BEARS

Fami/v Ursidte

Polar Bear

Tlialarctos maritimus (Phipps)

Leneth. 7 feet. ,. . . . .

Description. Entirely white at all seasons, or slighty tinged

with yellowish; fleshy parts of nose and lips black.
Range. Circumpolar regions South to Northern Labrador.

The Polar Bear is the beach r.inger of the northern seas.
Other bears the worid 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 tloes 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

»55

Polar Baar

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 f vourite 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

»56

l»()I-.\R HKAK (ihiihtnti'y tthtritimtt:^)

Bv A. K. huHinwre

¥, H

BUck BMf

salt grass back of the beaches, and
roots from the bogs thawed for a little
the long hours of sunlight. The polar
of her young is well known. Almost
brought back vigorous accounts of her
If only the humans could have shown
bears in these encounters, they would
ful reading.

later gathers berries and
while at the surface by
beir's courage in defense
every Arctic explorer has
valour and self-sacrifice,
up half as well as the
make much more cheer-

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.

Ran£ Forest regions of North America, except the Gulf States,
Labrador, where allied varieties occur.

black bear originally inhabited nearly all the woods of
\ ii imerica. It is still fairly common in lonely regions where
tl. ..e 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-

•S7

Blmck Bear

m )r',

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 yhMy 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 free, 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 ag.iinst
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 rang" they follow the ex-
ample of the polar bear, curling up in a c 'e or hollow where
the drifting snow will bury them and keep xltm warm until
spring. When they come out at the end of tiie 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 diflficuit 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

»58

Blmck Bmt

and decaying timber. Later, wiien 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 asually 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

•S9

WMiwBMr

I'L

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, lo by 7 inches. Range as above.
Labrador Bear. 0. americanus sornborgeri Bangs. Smaller, with

broader skull, 8 by 5 inches.
Florida Bear. U. americanus floridanus (Merriam). Skull long

and narrow; forehead miich elevated, 1 1 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 emtnonsi (Dall)

V.
11/

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
mmgled 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.

■WIlMll

Otissljr

Grizzly Bear

Ursus horribilis Ord

Length. 6 feet 6 inches. .. u u a

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 back bear.
Brownish-yellow; darker on the back and legs; long hair,
often reddish-brown. .

Ranee. 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. rtch-
arJsoni 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 storied there seems to be no evidence
whatever that a cougar ever killed a grizzly that ,;-, too old to
be called a cub.

In the earlier days the grizzly bear regularly hunted the
bison among the foot-hills ■ f 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

Oriuljr Bear

for mice in the grass, and digs them : ; with c'aws fashioned to
kill an ox at a blow. He also eats insect-, berr es a J wild
plums, and munches green fodder in the m^ . iows. Tne cubs
are said to be as funny and amusing as voung bears of any sort,
and being less unwieldly than the old ones, freq i n.ly .:!imb trees.

When an old grizzly has eitablished a hunting rai ge for him-
self, he writes his challenge with his massive claws and tusks on
the trunk of a pine as high as he cm reach. His tremendous
strength is generally known and respected by other ur-footed
hunters, who might otherwise be tempted to poach on his preserves.
If another bear, wandering in search of better huntmg 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 thr- other
bear has done, he continues on his travels, leaving the urn 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 cc age, retires from the neighbourhood, the
tvvo 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 "k 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 I am inclined to think that when the house-c,n
stretches up to sharpen its claws on the trunk of a tree, it is .1
similar challenge for other cats to read.

And who knows but the same instinct, brought up from pas;
ages and more than half forgotten, urges domestic cattle to rub
their horns as high as they can reach a^. ist any smooth-b ied
tree in the pasture just as moose and wild deer do in the forest

•6*

a-;

rilMiiiiHMaMMi

Kmdimk Bew

Varieties of the Grizzly Bear

/. Grizily Bear. Ursus horribilis Ord. Description as above.
Range. Northern Rocky Mountains from Utah to the interior
of British Columbia.
a. Alaskan Grimly. Ursus horribilis alascensis Merriam. Skull
larger, and other cranial and dental peculiarities.
Range. Norton Sound District Alaska.
J. Sonoran Grinlv. Ursus horribilis horricrus Baird. Frontal
region of skull not elevated at or behind the eye sockets,
as in U. horribil . but hollowed between them.
Range. Southern Rocky Mountains and outlying peaks and
ranges, Colorado to Arizona.
4. California Gri^^ly. Ursus horm .lis 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

Ltngth. Skin, 10 feet. Skull, is 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
arc larger than either.

Species and Varieties of Brown Bears

;. Kadiak Bear. Ursus middendorff Merriam. Range and de-
scription as above. „ . . r ■ n
a. Yakutat Bear. Ursus dalli Merriam. Frontal region of skull
flattened instead of arched.
Range. Yakutat Bay. Alaska.
}. Pavlof Bear. Ursus diilli gyas Merriam. Much larger than
the last.
Range. Pavlof Bay, Alaskan Peninsula.

•63

WolvM and Foscs

4 Sitka Bear. Ursus sitkensis Merriam. Rather smaller than

the Yakutat bear but structure of teeth different from any
of the above and approaching the blaclt bears.
Range. Sitkan coast region, Alaska.

5 Kidder's Bear. U sus kidderi Merriam. Allied to the YakuUt

bear, but smaller, with smaller teeth.
Range. Alaskan Peninsula.

WOLVES AND FOXES

Family Canida

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 fulvui (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

164

KADIAK BEAR (rr,wi« iiiuhU-mUyrtfi)

B)r A K |IU|m>ir(

■'^-- —

--iAa»MM«M£_-£.

KaflgMH

WolvM and Fose*

shooting the foxes which sltuliied 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 I saw two sturdy fox-hunters hurrymg
through the snow, eager to head off a fox. which, judging
from their remarks which 1 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. 1 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.

1 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.

1 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 \n to
see what was the trouble, met a fox just coming out.

The fox slipped by him and dashed away for the woods;
ind the hunter, thinking that this certainly was a good begin-
ning for a days 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-

•«S

>j<« ■<

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 tox
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 quicklv 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 cha.«ed 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, i
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, I
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.

-•■¥;.

Red Pox

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 ut
him on every occasion, and hunts him with dogs in the winter,
he has cleared the land of wolves and panthers, so that foxe.
are probably safer than before any land was ploughed.

When the snow is deep the farmer's sled makes the best c.t
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 hardlv to know at first what to make
of his advances, but the fox is pretty certain to s"""<* '"
bringing them to his side in the end, and after that they may
be seen playing together day after day.

If, as 1 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 farmers chickens, he is gitted with
a degree of shrewdness beyond anything he has been credited

"^"^ it is only recently that I have come to realize what per-
sistent woodchuck hunters foxes really are. I 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 -ch general

alarm among them. , ^ • u. . k» i c.«/

Last April, on a windy afternoon of bright sunlight I saw

a biK dog-fox hard at work digging out a woodchucks hole

on the slope of a sandy hiilock 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 distanre away a woodchuck
was signalling the dangers to any others of his kind that might

»6j

^^am^^^

Rad Fas

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 ai-e just learning to go about alone.

1 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 *^ave 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 t;ie 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 ari 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,

a63

RED FOX (rK//-' jiilruf)

Hy A K Dugmora

^.-mMmE m

.aft't^wff?- -ii

Rad Pm

i have more than once seen a fox turn and drive the
hounds back when they got too dose; so he trots a^ong a
his leisure, husbanding his strength and schemmg to keep ou^
of the v^ay of the hunter. From time to time he will go bacK
?n Ss own footsteps for a distance, and then leap awuy to
one side and go off in a new direction. Agam he runs along
on top of a rfil fence or .tone wall, or over the wet stones of

a shallow brook. , ,„,.», on

One of his favourite tricks is to cross over deep water on
thin ice just strong enough to bear him. knowmg that m all
;ib"it ;.e hounds wm break though, and perhaps be swep
Snder the ice if the current is strong enough, more than one
liable dog has been drowned in th.s manner but have
never known a fox to miscalculate the strength of the >ce and
b eak through himself If the stream is not wholly frozen over
he runs along at the very edge of the deep water, where the
Tec is hin aSd treacherous, until he comes to a place where he
c?n Up across to the thin ice ti.at reaches out from the
opposite banl. ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ headed for some

sheltered nc^k^e knows of. where he may curl up m the sun
on the warm pine needles and sleep until the no.sy hound
ootlSJe and apparently all but exhausted. --/-""« ^^ ,^3°
awake him. When the snow is very light and dry and ,ust
d^ep enough to make it harder for the fox than for the hounds, he
hal a r^uch worse time of it; but it much oftener happens
Jhat while the hounds plunge in up to the. breasts at every
Iteo he skips off over the white surface without breaking
irough Although he knows of three or four dens w.thm easy
relch it is only when wounded or tired out by a long run in
St snow that an old fox ever takes to earth, though last
Sons lbs sometimes become frightened when the hounds
Ret too close, and allow themselves to be driven in

Except in very rough weather, foxes prefer to sleep m the
open air in cool weather choosing the south side of a hill away

^■'"'"while'^thty do most of their hunting in the morning and
evenhig tw Sght. they are up and about more or less at al hours
of le day a^nd night, and are frequently to be seen out after
game at high noon in the hottest part of the summer, or sitting on

169

R«d Fox

their haunches dog-fashion in the middle of a meadow, listening
for mice. Two years ago, in September, 1 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 b"'' 't distress, as well as I could. In a few
minutes a C"ir„. wk appeared and alighted in i low tree not

far awav; bu' "■■. v as not the only hunter that 1 had deceived,
for whiie . ' us watching the hawk 1 caught sight of a young
fox coming from another direction and alrea>lv within three or four
rods of me. The woods were fnirly free fr r 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 al! 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 cleariy 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 wen' 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 n.ouse over there
among the stumps. He does not increase 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, particulariy when heard in the distance
on still winter nighte; but at times they utter a long, wild screech
that would '.'o credit to a panther. This cry is heard oftencst

•TO

^mmnmm

A YDl'Nd RKK l-<».\ d ((/,". . ;.'i.:n5>

Hy VV ^. k. Jllii.

■ki

MHittHHitt

R«d Pm

in the spring, when there are young foxes to be protected, and in

them much Te than upon his eyesight, both m hunt.n. an.
in avoiding his enemies. ,

This morning. January )U I90». a >'»'<= b';;'' ^ ^^ ^^^
cross.ng an open clayey pasture when ".head a "^J^ JJ ;"

!n a very few minutes he appeared and trotted out across the
""HTwas at least one hundred and fifty yards away and go-

trotting towards me. us ng greater frightening

Jri VhThe g w^^^^^^^^ there were no more

u *T «, h.,n.hes of grass for concealment, only the smooth.
^"'°'^LrleJ sod where Tcroucheu in plain sight, with my back
L w^'ha iJ^^^ su^^t- the necked and mottled clouds

to what ''«'««"" „ ^ ^^^^^ ,t n,e sharply as if mistrust-

that covered the sky He xo ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^

«7«

Kad Pm

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 1
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 disapp''-<ring 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.

I •

Skull nf Rcl Fo«

Rel Fox. Vuipes fulviis (Dtsmarest). Description and range as

above.
\'o.-a Sii.Jij Red Fox. ^. fitlvus rubruosa Bangs target and
brifihtei riistv red.
Range. Nov . Scoti.i. ......

Nnje/oiinJUinJ RiJ Fox. K Uktrix Bangs. Smaller than the
fed fox. with larger hind Sect and claws. Color paler and
less rustv.
Range. Newfoundland.

Kit Fox

Vu/fes ve/ox (Say)

Length a^ inches.

Deunphon. Yellowish-gray above, darkest on the back, hairs

Armie Fos

tipped with whitish, legs lighter; under p.:rts white; tail buffy
bilow. 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

lii/fcs lagopus (Linn^us)
Also called Blue Fox, U^Hifc Fox.

D^sfr%tion. '"uJpeV parts brown, belly whitish, fur everywhere
bluish-arav 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 fir 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 lor
lemmings in the moss-grown tundras and barren grounds, dig-
ging them out of their holes or pouncing on them as thev
traverse their runways in the thick, wet sphagnous beds that cover
the swamps and boggy places.

At this season the Arctic fox lives in iuxurv, 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 ot the north-
iand 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

»7J

'f>

Arctic Fw

birds all driven north before the cold, he hunts diligently while
Kame 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. ^ u . .i.
' Of course there are always polar hares to be found, but the
catching' of them is not so easy, for of the two the hares
legs are longer, and there is small chance of creepmg 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, uke 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 eves 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 probablv 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 m new
hunting grounds, or going hungry if the fortunes of the chase refuse
to imile on them. But as the daylight lengthens and the sun
swlngt in sight again across the south, they turn back to join
the old foxes once more.

And now thev 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

•74

Orajr Fob

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 lorethought. cleverness and
morality.

Gray Fox

Urocyon cinrrtoar^tntcus (Schrebcr)

Length. iq inches. . , ^, , j u. .

DescriMion. (.eneral colour gray, hair banded black and white,
darker ..ii the back. Side's of the neck, ears and band
across the breast justy red; tips of ears black, feet and
parts of leg rustv. as well as the under surface of the body.
Inner side of legs, throat and middle of breast white. I ail
much coirser than that of the red fox without the solt
under fur. , . ^ .

Ram'- 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 dilTerent varieties.

The grav fox is a creature of the forest, incapable of
holding his own for long in a cultivated country; not so much

'1%

*: :

Onqr Fm

because of any inborn hatred of dviliiation, like that which
drives the beaver and marten forever off into the wilderness.
He would apparently be perfectly wiUing to dwell, like the red
fox as a free-booter on the borders of a ptantation, 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-
|;,id 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 hn ■
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
Uke reftigo 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. u . i-

Thay catch and eat almost every small creature that lives
in the forest-insects, fish, reptiles, birds, and small mammals;
thev 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 litiie 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, faintc-r than that of the red fox, and serves chieHy to
call the sexes together in the spring.

17A

! .

i«aH

warn

Orar Wolf

Varieties of the Gray Fox

Gray Fox. Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber). Range and de-
scription as above.

Florida Gray Fox. U. cinertoargenteus floridanui Rhoads.
Smaller, fur coarser, and fulvous of breast paler, with no
white on the under parts.
Range. Southern Georgia and Florida.

Wisconsin Grav Fox. U. cinereoargenteus ocvthous Bangs. Larger
with more yellow and rusty tints and less pure gray than
the eastern gray fox.
Range. Upper Mississippi Valley.

Cray Wolf
Cams occidentalis (Richardson)
Called also Timber Wolf.

Length. 4 feet 9 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. Formeriy over most of North America, now very rare
east of the Missies ppi River. The exact number of varieties
of American wolves hrs 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. alhus (Sabine), which is pure white with a black
tip to the tail.

The gray wolf that formerly ranged in great packs over everv
part of this country is practically the same as the dreaded wolt
of Europe. Local varieties in both countries differ more wideiv
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 hjrJ W'lter drives them to desperation, in this country
they v.'t're quickiv driven off and exterminated in most sections,
even v.'liere heavy forest-growth and broken country afforded
them the best protection.

Gray wolves were .ilwny; wandering, unsettled beasts at times,
especially m the winter, hunting up and down the cou.itry in great

*11

R,f

Otmr Weir

packs, and more rarely wandering alone or by twos and threes.
Any sort of a country appears tc suit them wfll enough,
provided there Is game to be had. If anything, they ^e« /"o^'
numerous in low. bUck swamps of hemlock and tamarack In the
North and the everglades of Rorida than in the dense forests
of mountainous countries and uplands. But above aU 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 alkah 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
to 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,
•hey 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 ! er whelps at home while her mate keeps her supplied
with food. After the young wolves have learned to kill for
themselves, t'le family joins the pack again, knowing that their
peculiar method of hunimg depends upon numbers for success.

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Coyote

Canis latrans Say
Called also Prairie ]Volf.

Description. General colour fulvous, grizzled with black and white
hairs; under parts whitish; tail tipped with black.

Ranee. Northern Mississippi Vallev to the Rocky Mountains,
with allied species south to Texas and Mexico, and west-
ward to California and British Columb Dr. C. 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 rangmg
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 howUng as they run.

They often follow the hunter at a safe distance in the hope
of picking up the offal of the came he has killed. The coyote
is now rare east of the buni -gt - plains. In Arkansas, Mis-
souri and Illinois, where they .er once common, they are sel-
dom seen. But in the Butte regions of the upper Missouri an.!

479

ill

CoyoM

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 tiready made by badgers and prairie-
dogs.' Here in the sprii 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 phasing 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.

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.

CojroM

Mr. Ernest IngersoU, in the Popular Science Monthly, gives
a most vigorous account of a coyote attacking a doe-antelope
and her fawn. He says: "1 remember at a place where 1
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 I 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 wis backing away over the plain, keepmg
the little one, which seemed to understand its part perfectly,
close to her hind legs.

"Following her closely ran the wolf, often makmg 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 1 fancy that the pursuers
longer breath and varied tactics won the day at last. Mr. In-
gersoU 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 1 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. Bjt Kareya, pitying
his weakness and disappointment, gave him cunning ten times

iSi

CoTOM

greater than before, so that he is sharp-witted above all animals
in the w-ods. In return the grateful coyote befriended the man
and his ....ildren 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, whu 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 gei 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
s'jepless 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 <■ : 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.

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"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 alnsost 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 .: > cunning to allow himself to be

trapped. The trapp. j that there is only one animal that

is harder to catch, an*. ?hat 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 tr.ip 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 Felida

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

WOd CM

ages, among which were several sabre-toothed tigers with enormous
teeth or tusks five or six inches in length.

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Wild Cat
Lytur ruffus (Guldenstaedt)
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 W est 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 ta' ; 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,

«S4

Wild Cm

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 unmcved 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. I have frequently heard just such a cry in the
woods at night, but have to confess that 1 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.

1 have more than once heard a red fox utter a scream that
would d-> 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 1 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 amc ig the rocks and ledges, nd in some such place
in warm nest of leaves they hide ^neir 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.

»85

Caiwda Ljmx

Ik
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fl!

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 certairito be severely used before he is allowed to es-
cape. In thiniy~^settled towns wild cats will occasionally raid
the farmyards and caTiy. 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 fiocks of wild turkeys from place to place, lying in ambush
to waylay them as they fed among the beech woodj 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 •vhen 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 Joes not assume responsi-
bility for the misconduct of the wild beasts in the woods.

Eastern Varieties of t!:s Wild Cat

lyild Cat. Lynx ruff us (Guidenstsdt). Range ?>nd description

ds above.
Florida Wild Cat. L. ruffus floridantts (Rafinesque). Similar to
the preceding but darker with stronger markings.
Range. Florida.
Naca SiOtia Wild Cat. L. gigus 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.

386

r I

CANADA LYNX {Lynx canadensis)

Hy W. K. Carlin

Caught in a trap and then turned loose with a light dug on hind legs, the photograph being taken while the animal it

brought to bay by fox terriers.

' !ii

Canada Lyn>

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 niountains
of Pennsylvania. Replaced in Newfoundland by the alhed
Newfoundland Lynx L. subsolanus Bangs, darker and more
richly coloured ; 'and in Alaska by a paler form L. canadeiisn
mollipilosus Stone.

The Canada lynx is the real lynx of all the north, that
mysterious creature '*ii'AC\ 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. n.^se branciica of the
family which have strayed southward into the forests of a more
temperate climate have invariably decreased in size, showinr
that the true home of their race is in the north.

The Canada lynx is a savage, flat-faced beast, with encr
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 stretch 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.
''••' lack of insect scavengers is not felt in the woods in win-

>87

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Confar

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

Felts cougiMr Kerr

Called also Puma, Mountain Lion, Panther, Painter.

Length. 8 feet, 6 inches; tail, ? 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-

388

CouKW

erally agree in stigmatizing the cougar as an arrant coward.
Tiie truth seems to be that, liite 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 mans 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 hr.ve had things pretty much
their own way. One determined hunter for every fifty frightened
unarmec en would scarcely serve to intimidate any animal. Many
tribes of North American Indians looked upon the bear with ven-
erafion; 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
couf^ars 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

••9

I'.

.i I

Cougar

from that time to this there has hardly been an opportunity for
the slyest cougar to atuck 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-
;illy 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 iraps 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 1 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

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MlMHMI

CoOffM

trees oftener than among the ledges, while in fair weather they
were given to sleeping out-of-doors, stretc .d along a branch n
S^e shade. On their hunting excursions they steal noiselessly
and cat-like through the thickets, scarcely displacing a tw.g.
still-hunting being their favount« method of o^tammg fo^^^^
Though usually silent, they at times utter a loud penetratmg

'"Tmong hunters there is a pretty wide-spread theory that the
cougar's change in colour follows the seasonal change of the
wild deers cSat. becoming more or less spotted m summer to
^itate the young fawns. This is. however qmte erroneou
for although the kittens, like those of all the cat tnbe. a e
spotted, the adults are never mottled. The shade vanes m
winter and summer, and there seems to be a go"!^ deal c^
individual variation, some being browner and others more ot a

"^n"Mr Theodore Roosevelt's admirable article on the cougar
in Scribner's Magazine he writes: "Fables aside the cougar .s a
very interesting creature. It is found fr^"',. ^^e "»" ^""'j;'
plains of Patagonia to north of the Canadian Ime. nd Uves
alike among the snow-dad peaks of the Andes and m he
steaming forests of the Amazon. Doubtless careful mvest.gat.on
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-
ine 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 he
open Deer are its customary prey where they are p enti ul.
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

agi

'-^

u 1 ■

Jafutf

Columbia, in a region where cougar were common. 1 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;
vet it habitually follows the trail of the hunter or solitary trav-
eller dogging his footsteps, itself always unseen. When hungry
it ^m seize and carry off any dog. yet it will sonrietimes go
up a tree when pursued even bv 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 deiiy 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

Felts hernandezii

D«ffW«.^*A' iSge leopard-like animal, tawny yellow above
white below, fpotted^ 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, ^exas, 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 Upir with ease. Stories are told of its attacking

■i '1

Oc«lot; CacomiU CM

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 pardalis Linnaeus

rosettes and stripes, very variable in pattern. Below white

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. Us habits within the United States are very little
known.

Cacomitl Cat

Felis cacotnitli Berlandier

Length. 40 inches, tail 20 inches. ^ . . u. u

Description. Nearly uniform smoky gray, somewhat lighter be-
neath, darker in winter.
Ranee. 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, 33 inches in length.

•93

A KEY TO THE GENERA OF NORTH
AMERICAN IWAiWNlALS

ou, .^.s --^.t^^r/; uSIheJen, glta and ,h. ™„
,n a worK of this Kina ^^ "^'' ^ j ^nder separate

minute characters "P°";;;J'^;/,J:% "eric character, are g>vea
headings, especially as many ot tne gene.

in the descriptions "^ /'^•'^/P"'";^^^ ^^e identification of any

'" rttch trr«d"n,ay ave In hand, the follo^-ing key

mammal which ^ J"<^J 7^^ be traced to its genus,

found. In this key tne luosv j,„

rTr^al ^f^lS: inrbetnS;lfd"that' th^e figures indicate

: mber^ tth o^ one sUe of the iaw^^^low T hi
above the line referring to the upper ,aw h below to
lower; the letters indicate : .. incisors, c, canines, p. pre

"• "on?r'genera treated in the foregoing pages are included.

»95

i i

i t

kjl:

J .

A Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

I. AQUATIC MAMMALS WITH THE LIMBS MODIFIED INTO FLIP-
PERS FOR SWIMMING.

A. 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, ij, eg,

" jn jii (Manatee) Trichechus, 26

BB Tail broadlyforked at the end into two flukes (Whales and Dolphins) .
C Mouth enormous, without teeth, but provided with whalebone.
■ D No tin on the back; throat not furrowed. . . . . . . Bal^na, 13

DD Dorsal fin present; throat furrowed longitudjnaUy.

E Flippers moderate, edges not scalloped .... BaLvENOPTERA, 16

EE Flippers \-ery long, edges scaUoped.. . . ..Megaptera, 17

CC No \-isible teeth and no whalebone Hyperoodon, 19

CCC. Jawsprov-ided with teeth; no whalebone. „*i,„, tpp.i,

D. 'a single long tusk, projecting for^v-ard, "^^^tj^.'^'^^^^^^^^^^

DD. No protruding tusk.

E. No teeth in the upper jaw.

F Teeth in the lower jaw 30-25 on each side. .Physeter, 17

FF. Teeth in lower jaw 4-14 on each side. , /• i. ^

G Head protruding beyond the mouth, dorsal tin short,

tail nearly square behind ■ ■ .KOGIA, i»

GG Head not protruding, dorsal tin high, tail deeply cleft.
'^ Grampus, 23

FFF Teeth in lower jaw one on each side.

G Teeth at the front of the jaw .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 (f the jaws.

Globiocki'Halus, 23
GG Teeth distribute U all along the jaws.

H An enormous dorsal tin, teeth U'U Orca, 43

HH. Dorsal fin wanting, teeth ?. . Delphinapterus, 24
FF. Teeth numerous, 22-50 on each side above and below.
G. A projecting snout or beak.

H Teeth '^ TiBsiops, 90

HH. TeethV rt Prodei-PHINUS, ai

HHH. Teeth. 11-11 Deli HiN-us, 21

GG. No projecting beak.

H Beak a distinct rim; teeth. 5 1, Lagenoiuvnchus, 22

HH Beakcntirclywanting; teeth, 55 Piioc^na, 22

AA Both fore and hind flippers well developed, cUiws or nails present.
TaU rudimentary; ^'^y co\-ered with hair (Seals etc.) .
B Bodv Inrge and shapeless; long down-pointing tusks in the upper jaw,

toeth.1 5, c }. n i. m ;; ODOBENfS, 2.2

BB. Shape more graceful; no tusks.

C. Hind flippers cipablc of being turned forward for walkmg when on

D aT-hso soft under fur in addition to the long hairs which cover

the body; teeth, i i. c i, p }. n> f Otoes, 209

DD No perceptible soft under fur; molars f .. .,

E B.ilk teeth separated from last premolar by a considerable

space Elmetopias, 211

EE Back teeth 1 continuous senes ^alophis. 211

CC. Hind flippers pei-mai.cntly directed backw-ard. ...■.„,

D A hood-like appendage on the head of the male; teeth, if c } ,

J m ' Cystophora, 218

DD. No hood on the head of the male ; teeth i i, c j, p J, m } .

296

f r

A Key to the Genera of North American Mammals

E. Facial part of head very long; whiskers '-^''Y/^tecV ^^^^ ^ ^^

EE Facial portion of head short, about equal to the brain-case;
whiskers not crenulatcd.

F Muzzle broad, forehead convex . Ericnatuls, 2i8

FF. Muzzle nairow, forehead sloping gradually. Piuka, 215-217

II 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. Tail wanting; a curious leaf-like appendage on the "'"-j^^^^^-^l;

CC. Interfemoral membrane not completely furred , ,,

"-"■d. Ears very lar^e united by their bases; '-^»>;;,^^^.|;j;„'^,'",,?-.,6

nn Fars not united bv their bases.

E Upp"r incisor xMh .me on each side close to the canine.
• F. "^^ize large (length 5.60 ins.) ; teeth, 1 •„ e |, P ^.^^'M :^^.^_ ^^^

FF. Size small (length 3-70 ins.); teeth ^h^' ^/^'^.'^^^^.^.^^ ,,,6

EE. Upper incisors two on each side. .. ; o ^ , „ j „ .?

'^ F. JSor of fur black with white tips; t-th.^t^ ,, c^, .^P . m ,.^^

FF Color of fur brown or yellowish brown.

G. Size large (length 4.601ns ) ; teeth, 1 I ^^.l.J^j^' -,-• _ ,„,

on Size small (length 3.4= ins).

H T«-th^ i I c i, p ].m I P.r.sTRKLUS, 20.

HH. Teeth, i |, c' l.'p i. m } Mvotis, .96

III MAINLY TERRESTRIAL MAMMALS WITH FOUR WELL-
DEVELOPED LEGS. ADAPTED FOR WALKING..

A Body covered bv a bony carapace or shell; teeth, X— ; Tatu, 9

^B ^Tf((rakrdlnd%'h"nsife "ears naked; female with tea.s opening in
«■ ^""^Pl on "the^ belly in which the young are^^^ie.U U.ctl.

BB till not' pn'hensile ; ears not naked ; no marsupial p. .uch.

C. Toes terminating in hoofs. , „ , Tayassi- to

go. 'T:nf^^::r.^-^ U le.^l^s ofsamei;:.cies) wi^h

E. ll^imT'hollow, not branched, fitting over a solid bony core;

F Shaggy mane 'over the "head and shoulders .... Bison, 66
FF Umghair over the whole body; honis massive, Ov.dos 65
FFF Form sheep-like; hai^^hort; horns spiral . Ov.s, 61-65

297

, u

lf.i

A Key to the Oenerm of North American Mmmmala

FFFF Form goat-like, hair long, pure white ..Oreamnos. 57
EE Horns hollow, forked, and shed periodically; teeth. 1 ?. c „,

o'm' Antilocapra. 54

EEE Horos solid ' bran -hing antlers, which are sh.r\ periodi-
cally ; teeth, i i. c S— J, p J, m |.

F. Nose completely covered with hair Rangifeh. 47-54

FF Nose not completely haired. - . .

G. Antlers broadly palmate or flattened. .. .Alces. 4?
GG. Antlers not flattened.

H Animals medium or small; antlers not more than

twenty-five inches long Odocoileus, 34-4.3

HH. Animals large; antlers four to five feet.

Cervus. 31-34

"^^D ""Tgrp^nTach'siile'of'The jaws caused by the absence of canine
U^th. 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

F Taillhort; Wnd legs much longer than the front ones;

teeth if c 8. p t m ? Lepis. 75-92

FF. No external tail; le^ about equal; p i-.- Ochotona, 93

EE. No extra incisors. .t, : 1 „

F Hair interspersed with sharp spine-hke quills; teeth, 1 ! , c g,

jp8,mir Erethizon, 94

FF. Without spines. .n . t a: :«„. -,«

G Form mole-like; fore feet modified for digging, .lo
external ear; teeth, i 1. c Ij. p 8. m }.

H. Incisors grooved Geomvs. 97-99

HH. Incisors not grooved • • Thomomvs. 96

GG. Form not mole-like; fore feet normal.

H. Body heavy and thick-set. 13-20 inches long exclu-
sive of tail; legs short.

I Tail very broad, flat, covered with scales; teeth.

i^. eg. pi, mi! Castor, i45-« 50

II Tail long and narrow, flattened vertically, and

nearly naked teeth, i 1. c §, p J, m l

Fiber, i21-i»7

III. Tail hairy ; teeth, i 1, c g, P^?— t m f •
T Tail very short, less than the head.
■*■ ' Aplodontia, 150

IT Tail moderate, longer than the head,
■'■' Arctomys, 151-150

HH. Form mouse-like or rat-like; size not larger than a
common rat (body less than 10 ins. without
tail); teeth usu.illv.i j, c §, p ;:. m j.

I. Pouches on the sides of the face opening near the

r Ta^il verv long; teeth as above. Perodipus, 100
ri Tail moderate; teeth, ij,c8,pl.mj.

■'■'' PeROONATHI'S, 100

II. No external check pouches. ^. , » ...

I Hind legs much longer than the front ones.

tail exceeding head and body; teeth in one
species, i }, c g. p }, m 3 . . . .Zapus 102-105

II 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 ol
head and body, ge.nerally much less.

aqS

A Key to th« OencM of North Americui M«mm»l»

O.
OO.

NN.
O.

HHH.
I.

II.

M. Upper incisors grooved.

•^ Synaptomys, 107-108

MM. Upper in-sors not grooved.

N TmI so short as to be barely visible
beyond the hair.
Color mottled (white in winter) .
DiCROSTONYX, 108
Color tawny orange.

Lemmls. iio
Tail plainly visible, usually about
one inch long.
Molar teeth rooted (See p. 1 10).
P Color dark -brown ; tooth
heavy . .Phenacomvs. iio
PP. Color rusty; teeth lighter.

EVOTOMYS, III-II2

00. Molars not rooted.

MicROTCS, 1 12-120
LL Tail equal to two-thirds the head and body .
M Fur coarse, many buff hairs among
the brown ones, molars rooted.

SioMODON. 12S-129
MM Fur fine uniform, like that of the
Muskrat; molars not tooted.

MiCROTUS ALLENI. --O

KK. Slender with longer logs and pr<miinont
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)... .Ml- s, US-US
LL Tubercles on the molars, if present, in
two rows (native species) .
Sire large, rat-like; molars flat on top,
divided into triangles.

Neotoma, 1J7-1JS
Size medium, ra.-like; molars tuber-
culate ; stronglv resembling a
voung Common Rat.

Oryzomvs, 1 29- '3"
MMM. Size small; mouse-like.

N Tail always more than half the head
and body; often about e<iual.
O Upper incisors grooved.

Reithrodontomys, i3o-'3i
00 Upper incisors not grooved.

Peromyscus. 136

NN Tail short, less than half the head

and body ... Onychomys, i,^o

Form squirrel-like; teeth, i }, c 8 p i, m J.
An extensible fold of skin on the sides of he
body for flying... SciuROPTERVs, 176-178
No extensible skin lor flying.

Burrowing animals; tail not bushy.
K Tail very short, 1-3 to 1-4 head and body.

Cynomys, 100

KK. Tail 1-3 to i-J head and body.

Spermophii-US, 161-162

KKK Tail 1-2 head and body; body pronii-

nently striped Tamias. 162

MM.

*99

A Key to the Qenera of North American Mammala

TI Arboreal species, tail long and bu^y.
•'■' 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 smaU (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 j, m J.

CONDYLURA, jgO

GG. No fleshy star on the nose.

H. Tail naked; teeth, i ], c J, p t m ?, . . . .Scalops, 188
HH. Tail hairy ; teeth, i J, c^.p}, mi. Parascalops, 189

FF. Fore feet normal. . ■ ., , , j

G Tail short 1-4 the head and body; teeth, 1 |— 3, c /,, p f ,

^ .1 Blarina, 180-183

GG Tail at least 1-3 the head and body; teeth, i J, c J,

p I, m I 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,
resembUng flippers; teeth, i |, f ', . p J, m i, Latax, 323
GG. Feet all alike; teeth, i ?, c i, p ; i- .Lutra, 219-223
FF. Toes not webbed."
G. Toes, five on all feet.

H. Teeth.i |,c [, p t. m 5. .

I Nose produced into a slender snout; tail obscurely
ringed Nasua, 254

II. Nose pot lengthened; tail strongly nnged with

black and white.
J Body thick-set; feet plantigrade. Procyon. 247
It Body slender, weasel-like; feet only partially

plantigrade Bassariscus, 2S4

HH. Teeth. 1 i,c }. p }, m 5. ....

I Body heavy, bear-like; feet slightly plantigrade.

GULO, 245

II Body more slender; feet digitigrade.

MusTELA, 241-245

HHH. Teeth, i f, c }. p |— 3. m, J.

I Claws long and conspicuous; colors black and white.
J. White in two long stripes. .Mephitis, 224-229
jj. Markings more complicated. .Spilooale, 230

II Claws very long and conspicuous; color gray.

Taxidea, 230

III. Claws short; color brown (often white in winter)

PuTORivs. 231-240
HHHH. Teeth, i i, c i, p J, m | ; size vcrj- large (Bears) .

I. Color white Thalarctos, 255

II. Color, black, brown or tawTiy. .. .Ursls, 3S7--04
GG. Toes, five in front and four behind.

H. Toes not retractile; teeth, i J, c |. p j. m ^

I. Upper incisors lobcd Canis, 277-283

II. Upper incisors not lobed.

T. Tail with soft under fur Vulpes, 264-375

)). Tail coarse Urocvon, 275-377

HH. Toes retractile. , , .

I. Tail very short (4-6 ins.) ; teeth, 1 ?. c }, p j. m ^

Lynx, 384-288

II Tail long, equal to more than half the head and

body; teeth, 1 1. c J, p J, m t . . Felis, 288-393

300

BIBLIOGRAPHY

•e foUowine list is not intended to be complete, but will refer the student
to th. most recent reviews of the various groups of North American mammaK
Ts ^.U as to the principal general works on the subject and some of the more
important local lists.

MAMMALS IN GENERAL.

iSoi Flower W H., and Lvdbkkbr. R- —

An Introduction to the Study of Mammals,
Living and Extinct, pp. t-7<>} , . ,.
Ct also, volumes on Mammals in the
Standard and Royal Natural Histones.

ANATOMY OF MAMMALS.

iISi MivART. St. G.— The Cat. An intro-
duction to the study of backboned animals,
especially Mammals, pp. i-557.

GENERAL WORKS ON NORTH
AMERICAN MAMMALS.

iSjs. Harlan, R.— Fauna Americana; being

a description of the Mammiferous animals

inhabiting North America, pp. '-J'"- ,„,
■ 8a6-H. GoDMAN, J. D.—Amencan Natural

History, ) Vois.. pp. U) --55o; (II) «-3J' •

i&»6^V.* Audubon, }J., and Bachman J_^
1110 Viviparous Quadrupeds of North
America. 1 Vols., Roy. 8vo. There is a
large edition of foUo plates and an edition
of the text wth small plates intercalated.

l8<g. Baird, S. F.— Mamma s of North Amer-
ica. 1 Vol.. 4', with 87 P »f"i„P,"S fie

published in 1857 as Vol. Vlllof the

Pacific R. R. Survey .Senes. (Does not

include Whales. Seals or Bats >
,000. MiLLiR, G. S., JR — Key to the Land

Mammal! of Northeastern North Amenca.

Bull. N. Y. Stale Museum. No. 38. Vol.

VIII, pp oi-ifto. , ^ ^

1001 . Elliot, D. O — A Synopsis of th».Mam-

mals of North America and the Adjacent

Seas Field Ck>lumbian Museum; publica-
tion 45. pp. 1-471 Contains descriptions,

ranges, and figures of skulls. , . „

looi . Miller, G. S., Jr., and Raiiw, J- A O^

Systematic results of the stud" North

American Land Miimmals to '
year 1900. Prtn- Host. So

•ftho

ist.,

nost

.encc

•very

Vol. XXX, No. 1, pp. i-i
accurate list ever puolished,
to original place of publica
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

Thompson's "Wild Animals I .Have
Known ' " Lives of the Hunted, etc.,
and ii.any articles in the ma^Mmes, as
well as a number of the special papers
given below.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

1871. Allen. J. A.— Mammals and Winter
Birds ..f East Florida. Bull. Mus. Comp.
Zool. II ;pp. 375-4'5 treat ot Geographical
Distribution. „ „ ... , rv

iSoJ. Allen, j. A —The Geographical Dis-
tribution of North American Mammals,
Bull. Amer. .Mus. Nat. Hist., IV, pp. igg-

i89/''\lERRiAM, C. H. — The Grographic
Distribution of Life in Nortli America
with special reference to the Mammalia.
Proc. Biol. S.ic. Wash., VII, rp. i-')4.

1894. Mbbriam. C H -La«-s of Temperature
Control of the Geographic Distribution of
Terrestrial Animals and Plants. Nat.
Geogr. Mag., VI, pp. 229-J.18.

PAUNAL PAPERS.

(partial list.)

1000. OsoooD, W.H.— Mammals of the Yu-
kon River region. N. A. Fauna No. 19.

1900'''' sVoNE,' W.— Mammals of Pt. Barrow,
Alaska. Proc. .^caJ. .Nat. Sci., Phila., igoo.

1901'' Osr.ooD. W. H.— Mammals of Cook
inlet. Alaska. N. A. Fauna No. 11.

1898. Ban^s, O.— a Ust of the Mamina^ of
Labradi-r. American Natur,ilist, XAXli.

i8o7!'''MfLLBH, G S.. Jr— Notes on the Mam-
mals of Ontario Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat.
Hist.. Vol. XXVIII. pp. 1-44, , „.

1801 Herric-k, C. L.— Mammals of Minne-
sota. Bull. No. 7. Genl, and Nat. Hist.
Survey Mmn. pp. 1-290 „„ . /

1894 MiLLRR, G S . Jr — On .1 Collection of
Small V-. r^mals from the New Hampshire
Mou- ■ Proc Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist

Vol. A.' .. pp 177-197. , . ,,

1860. Allen, I. A.— CaUloguo of the Mam-
mals of Massachusetts. Bull. Museum
Comp. Zool . 1. pp. I41-JSJ , , „

1898. Mbahns, E. A.— A Study of the Fauna
of the Hudson Highlands. Bull. Am«r.
Mus. Nat. Hist , XVI, pp. 303-JJ>. ,

1898 Mearns, E. a— Notes on the Mammals
of the Caukill Mountain*, N. Y. Proc
U. S. Nat. Mus., XXI, pp. 3«i-3<>o.

301

i'» ^

1'\

I' t»

Bibliography

,(,,. MILL!.. G. S.-PreUminwy Lirt Of
^'New York Mammals. Bull. N. Y. bt»u

Mu*., Vol. VI, No. i», pp. J73-.1.90-
Igor Rhoads, S.N. —a CootnbuUon to the

iUmSSiogi- of Northern New Jerwy.

Proc™a5 Nat. Sci. Phila., 189;. pp. >J-

igol'^RHOADS. S. N.— A Contribution to the

^'jlammVSogir of Central Pennsylvania.

Proc. Acad Nat. Sci. PhiU.. iSgJ. PP- "4"

,8«6"'ba.lev, VERNOS.-Ust of Mamn«^ of
the District of Columbia. Proc. Biological
Soc. Wash., 1896, PP- 03-101.

1806. Rhoads, S. N. -Contributions to the
Zoology of Tennessee. No. 3. Mam..-ials.
Proc Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.. 1897. PP ns-

i8o4""rhoads. S. N.— Contributions to the
Mammalogy of Florida. Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Phila.. 1894, pp. "Sa-iS"- , ,

iloS Bancs. O.— The Land Mammals of
Peninsular Florida and the Coast Region
of Georgia. Vol. XXVIII. pp i57-»,}5.

Cf. also "North American Fauna, and
various reports of explorations and con-
tributions to p'nceedings mentioned at
end of bibliography.

MARSUPIALS.

looi. Alum. J A.— A PreUminaiy Study of
the North American Opossums of the Genus
Didelphjs. Bull. A:;ier. Mus. Nat. Hist..
XIV, pp. M9-I88

WHALES AND DOLPHINS.

1874. ScAMMON, C. M.— The Marine Mammals
of the Northwestern Coast of North Amer-

i884"^*GoobE, g' Brown.— Natural History
of Useful Aquatic Animals, U. S. Fish
Com.; Fisheries and Fisnery Industnes of
the U. S. Section I (text and atlas of
pUtes), pp. 1-136, treats of Mammals,
Whales, etc., by Goode; Seals, by Allen;
Manatee, by True; Fur Seal, by Elliot.

1889. Thub, F. W — a Review of the family
DelphinidK. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus.. No. 36.
pp. 1-191.

1898. Lydbkkir. R.— The Deer of All Lands.
A History ot the Family Ceriida. Living
and Extinct, pp. i-3»9. . „, . „.

1900. AiLBN. J. A.— Note on the W.x)d Bis<m.
BuU. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XIII. pp. 6j-

1900.' Allen. J. A— The Mountain Caribou
of Northern British Columbia. Bull.
Amer. Mus Nat. Hist.. XIII, pp. i-i8-
Cf. also XIV,^ pp. 143-148 „

1901— Allen, J. A.— The Musk Oxen of Arctic
America and Greenland. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., Xry. pp. 69-80.

looi. HoRNADAY. 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-m-

RODENTS.

1877. CovEH, Elliott, and Allen, J. A —
Monographs of North American Rodentia.
Vol. XI 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. Bancs, O- Geographical Distribution
of the Ea.ster.1 Races of the Cottontail.
Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.. XXVI, pp. 404-

i894*'*Allen, J. A— On the Seasonal Change

of Colour in the Varying Hare (Lepus

americanus Erxl). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat.

Hist Vl, pp. 107-138.
1896. Rhoads, S. N.— Synopsis of the Polar

Hares of North America. Proc. Acad.

Nat. Sci. Phila., 1896, pp. ,!Si-376.
.S96. Palmer, T. S— The Jack Rabbits of the

United States. Bull. No. S. U. S. Dcpt.

Agric, Div. Omith. and Mam., pp. 1-84
1898. Bancs, O— The Eastern Races of the

American Varying Hare. Proc. Biol. Soc.

Wash.. XII, pp. 77-8»-

MANATEES.

1895. Bancs. O — The Present StandiM of
the Florida Manatee in the Indian River
Waters. Amer. Nat.. XXIX. pp. 78.1-787.

1884. Stejnbubr, L— Investigations Relating
to the Date of the Extermination of Steller s
Sea Cow. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1884,
pp. 181.

HOOPED ANIMALS.

1881 Caton, J. D.— The Antelope and Deer
of America, pp. i-4a6.

1877. Allen, J. A —History of the American
Bison. Ann Rep U. S. Geol. Surv. Terr.,
1 87 5, pp. 443-587 An earlier edition
publiahed in Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool , IV,
No. 10 (1876). ^ „ . .

1M9. HOENADAV, W. T.— The Extermination
of the American Bison. Rep. U. S. Nat

iSaS Ltobkkeh, ft— Wild Oxen. Sheep and
Goats df All Lands, pp. 1-318

(b) RATS AND MICE.
1894 Rhoads, S. N— A Contribution to the
Life History of the Alleghany Cave Rat.
Proc. Acad. Nat, Sci. Phila., 1894. PP- "3"

i89s'"allbn, I. A.— On the Species of the
Genus Reithrodontomys. Bull. Amer.
Mus. Nat. Hist., VII, pp. 107-14^, „ .
1896. Miller. G. S., Jr.— Genera and bub-
genera of Voles and Lemmings N. A.
Fauna (O. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. u,
pp. 1-78. , _

1896. Merriah, C. H— Revision of the Lem-
mings of the Genus Synaptoniys, with
descriptions of New Species Proc. Hiol.
Soc Wash . X. pp. 55-64 „ _ ,

1896. Bancs, O.— TTie Cotton M.xise, Per-
omyscus gossypinus. Proc Biol. boc.
Wash., X, pp. 119-135. _ „ ,. „ „
1896. MiLLF.., 6. S., Jr.— The Beach Mouse
of Muskeget Island. Proc. Bost. Soc.
Nat. Hist.VVol. XXVII, pp. 75-H7.
J897. "T'JIER, G. S., Jr.— Synopsis of the
Voles of the Genus Phenacomys. Proc.
Biol. Soc. Wash., XI, pp. 77-87
i8q9 Preule, E. a —Revision of thr lump-
ing Mice of the Genus Zapus. N. A tauna
(U. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 'i. PPi,'-39;
1 900 . Osgood, W H —Revision of the Pocket
Mice of the Genus Perognathus N. A.
Fauna (U. S. Dcpt. Agriculture) No. 18,
pp. i-6j.

302

Biblio(Tmpby

n.iLXY v.— Revision of AmericMl

" VnW of the Gtnus Microtu.. N. A.
f2u". (U. S D^t Agriculture) No. .7.

PP-mVrbiam C H— Synopsis of the Rice

• R.t."Gi.nus Oryiomys) of the Umted

site, a^d Mexico. Woe. W«h. Acad.

Sci., III. PP a7.1-»95

STomyidae (exclusive of Thomon-ys.); N.

A^FSuna (U. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. S.

.gss"" BmVk" V.-The Pocket Gopher, of the
United States. Bull. N". 5. Ij *>• •*?'■
AgnC. Div. Omith. and Mam., pp. 1-46

(d) BEAVERS.
.MS. Morgan. L. H.-The American Beaver

.gos" CoArs^s'-lf-^mribution. to a Re-
'••'viBorofihe North American Beavers

oners and Fishers. Trans. Amer. Philo..

Soc.. XIX.pp. 417-4J9-

(e) SQUIRRELS.
.-^ AiL«M I A —A Review of Some of the

.8oo"'AiLi"' fA^ioi'seasonal Variation,
•*' in Cotou; in Sciuru. hudsomus. Bull.

\ °' l^ir,''r''N-A'Re^'»5'o''n"'<?f Jth'e
""'We«" AmVrictt P yi""! ,Snuirrel.^ Proc.

Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila., .'Ss'^PP -.^J-tie'vI:
.•«a AtT«>j I A — Revision of the cmcKa-
1898. AILIN. J. A. 1^'^ „ Red Squirrels

re«. or North American "^E".. ^»_er.

(Subgenus Tamiasciurus) . Bull. Amer.

Jlu» Nat. Hist.. X. pp. a4(>->»8-

SHREWS AND MOLES.

-"sh»^eAS,.ri^,:».£S

gh°;i^^r^thett'so^V ^- ^™^""

No 10. pp. 'p'* •"'',"I?fhe Long-tailed

'"'^Snl-^u^-rs^^iss

.8,6''"TR°f-E^'F.^'-AReyi.ionof.theAmeri.

can Moles,
pp. l-iiJ

SBALC

,»»n Allbh J. A.— History of North Amer-
ican Pinnipeds. A Monwraph of the
wSruiw. sTa Lions. Sea Bears and Seal,
of N?rSl America. U .? G^' .S^fY'V""
?he iriTitories. F. V. Hayden in charge.
Miscellaneous Publication No. u. Pp. ■"

.««A'''Renort on the Condition of Seal Lite on
•*'*the Rffiries^-f the Pribilof I'lana. .»->',;

,5. Senate Doc. .,17. 54th Congress, ist

lision 2 V.'l»„an<l »' " Sl^'i'"- Seals
-'U FT&a?.s?andV oM'o^P^g

Ocean. U. S. Treas. Dcpl Doc. aoi7.

Division of Special Agents. 4 Vols.

OTHER CARNIVORES.

,8,6. Merriam. C. H^-Prelimnary SynoMis
of the American Bears. Proc. Biol. Soc.
Wash.. X. PP <>s-».i. ^ .

,806. Merriam. C. H -S>-n°P«» . °L X
Weasels of North America. N. A. Fauna
(U. S. Dept. Agriculture) No. 11. PP 1-

ii»A B»vns O —A Re\-icw of the Weasels of
'"'Eastern liSth America. Proc. Biol. Soc.

Wash., X. PP 1-J4.
.Rofi Bangs, O.— Notes on the Synonymy oi

the North American Mink l-roc Bost.

aS: Na" Hist. Vol. XXVII. pp. 1-6
,877 Coves, E.— Fur Bearing Animals. A

Monograph of North American MusteUto.

U S Cfcol. Survey of the Temtones

Misc. Publ. No 8. pp i-J4».
• nn. Howell A. H.— ReWsion of the Skunks
"°'of the Genus Chincha l-Mephitis). N. A.

Fauna (U S. Dept. Agriculture) No. ,0.

,R9,'"'rhoads, S. N -Geographic Variation

in Bassariscus astutus Proc. Acad. Nat.

Sci. Phila. i!l94. pp 41 3-4'»

.a„, Mrrriam C. H— Revision of the

'""Coyous" or Prairie Wnlvcs -nh Descnp-

tions of New Species. Proc. Biol. boc.

Wash., XI. PP 19- .ii. . .

„« Mrdriau C H.— Preliminary Revision

"""of t^e North A,rerican Red Foxes. Proc.

Wash. Acad. Sc;., II. PP bi"-<>T'-
,>in7 Bangs. O.— Notes on the Lynxes of
"Eastern North America. Proc- 6.0I. boc.
Wash.. XI. pp. 47-51.

Merriam. C_H -Preliminary Re^aon

W — A Revision o> ju= "^71?

Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIX,

BATS.

.ra, Allen Harrison.— A Monopanh of
"ihe Bats of North America. BulV 43.

.8„,"m.l'',.''er''g •|.^>'-Revi«on of the
""NoJJh American '^ats of the Family

vSpertiUonids. N. A. Fauna (U. S.

Dept. Agriculture), pp. i-US-

of the Pumas (Felis concolnrgroup). Proc.
Wash. Acad. Sci., Ill, pp. 577-Ooc-

Cf. also many papers in P'nSK.'il'S' A^
ademv Natural Sciences PhiladMphifc
Bui letin American Museum Natu^l H»-
iory New York. Proceedings B'ologica So-
riety of Washington and of the W ash-
ington Academy of Sciences Proceedings
Boston Society Natural Sciences etc,
for descriptions oi species and reports on
coUeltion, from various parts of t{ie coun^
tIT-

303

\ »:

INDEX

Abietorum, Peromyscus, 135

Zapus, 105
Acadian Meadow Mouse, 1 1 7
acadicus, Microtus. 117
acutus, Lagcnorhynchus, a2
Alabama Gopher, 98
alascanus, Otoes, 209
alascensis, Ursus, 263
Alaskan Grizzly, 263

Moose, 43
albibarbis, Sorex, 187
albus.Canis, 277
Alecs americanus, 43

giKas,43 ,,
alexyndrinus, Mus, 145
alleghaniensis, Pretorius, 240
Alleghany Weasel, 240

Wood Rat, 127
alleni, Microtus, 1 20
ambarvalis, Spilogale, 230
American Badger, 230
Elk, 31
Marten, 242
Sable, 242
americana, Antilocapra, S4

Mustela, 242
americanus, Alces, 43
Lepus. 86
Tnchechus, 27
Ursus, 257
Zapus, 104
anguiatum, Tayassu, 30
Antelope, 54

Antilocapra americana, 54
Aplodontia rufa, 1 50
Aplodontidae, 150
aqaaticus, Lepus, 89

Scalops, 188
aqjilonius, Fiber,i26
Arctic Fox, 273
Hare, 86
Wolf, 277
articus, Lepus, 86
Rangifer, 52

Arctomysmonax, 151
canadensis, 159
ignavus, 159
Arizona Deer, 39
Armadillo, Nine-banded, 9

Peba,9
Artibeus pcrspicillatus, 194
Artiodactyli, 28
astutus. Bassariscus, 254
athabascae, Bison. 67
Atlantic Walrus, 2 1 2
atcr.Canis. 277
atrata. Mustela. 245
auduboni, Ovis. 64
Audubon's Sheep, 64
auricularis. Microtus, 120
austerus, Microtus, 1 19
australis, Scalops, 188
austrinus, Geomys, 98
avia. Mephitis. 229
Badger, American, 230
Bakenidae, 1 2
Bakvnaglacialis, 13

mvsticctus, 16
BaU-ennptcra Musculus, 17

physalis, 16
Baleen, 12

baliolus, Pcromvscus, 137
Bangs' Cotton Kat, 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
Leal-nosed, 194

30s

■%:i

Ind«S

Bat, Leather-winged, »o6
Little Brown, 196
Red, 103
Say's. 196
Silver-haired, 102
TwiUght, 306
Bats, 193
Common, 195
Free-tailed. 195
Bay Lynx, J84
Bavou Gray Squirrel, 1 7 2
Beach Mouse, 138
Brewer's, 117
Island, 138
Bear. Barren-groimd, a6i
Black, 357
Cinnamon, 257
Florida, j6o
Glacier. 260
Grizzly. 261
Kadiak. 263
Kidder's. 264
Labrador, 260
Louisiana, 260
Pavlof, 263
Polar, 255
Sitka. 364
Yakutat. 263
Bears. 35s
Bearded Seal, 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, 33
Black-tailed Deer. 39
Black-tailed Jack Rabbit, 89
Blarina brevicanda, 180
carolinensis, 183
peninsulae, 183
parva, 183
floridana, 184
Blubber, 1 1
Blue Fox, 273

Whale, 17
Bob Cat, 384
Bog Mouse, III

Bonaparte's Weasel, 239
borcalis. Lasiurus, 203

Odocoilcus, 39
Bottle-nosed Dolphin, 20

Whales, 19
Bovidac, 57
Bowhead, 16
brevicanda. Blarina, 180
brcviceps. 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
CacomitlCat. 393
cacomitli. Felis, 293
C'aing Whale, 23
Califomian Black-tailed Deer, 43
Grizzly, 263
Mule Deer, 41
califomianus. Zalophus, 3 1 1
calif omicus, Odococleus, 41

Ursus, 263
Camel, 28

campestris. Lepus, 89
Canada Lynx, 386
Porcupme. 94
Skunk, 2 29
canadensis. Arctomys, 159
Castor. 145
Cervus. 31
Lutra. 219
Lynx. 286
Peromyscus, 135
Canadian Beaver, 145

White-footed Mouse, 135
Canidae, 264
Canisalbus. 277
ater, 277
latrans, 379
occidentalis, 377
Caribou, Barren-ground, s»
Grant's, S4
Greenland, 54
Movmtain, 51
Newfoundland, 51
Stone's. 51
Caribou, Woodland, 47
caribou, Rangifer, 47

306

Carnivora, 107
Carnivorous Animals, 207
Carolina Bat, aoo
Otter, 223

Red-backed Mouse, 1 1 3
carolinensis, Btarina, 183
Castor, I so
Evotomys, 112
Sciurus, 170
Carolinian Beaver, 150
Jumping Mouse, 104
Castor canadensis, 145

canadensis carolinensis, 150
Castoridse, 145
Cat, Bob, 184
Cacomitl, 293
Civet, 1(4
Ringtailed, 254
Wild, 284
Ca.Sqvlrrel, 168
Catamount, 384
Cats, 283
Cattle, 57

celatus, Phenacomys, 1 10
cavirostris, Ziphius, 19
Cerros Island Deer, 41
cerroseusis, Odocoilsus, 4 1
Cervidae. 31
cervina,0vis.6i
Cervus canadensis, 31
merriami, 34
occidentahs, 34
Cetacea, 1 1
Cetaceans. 1 1

Chapman's Cotton Rat, 1 29
Chickaree, 172
Chipmunk, 162
Chiroptera, 193
chrotorrhinus, Microtus, 118
cicognani, Putorius, 239
cinereoarcenteus, Urocyon, 275
cinereus, Lasiiirus, 204
Cinnamon Bear, 257
Civet Cat, 254

Cloudland White-footed Mouse, 135
Coati, Mexican, 254

Mondi, 254
Collared Peccary, 30
coloratus, Oryzomys, 130
Columbian Black-tailed Deer, 42
columbianus, Odocoileus, 42
Common Bats, 19s
Dolphin, 21
Mole, 188
Rat, 142
Seal, 2 IS
Common, Shrew, 184
Condylura cristala, 190

Cony, 93
Coon, 247

cooperi,Synaptomys, 107
Cooper's Lemming Moiise, 107
coryi.'Feli! 288
Coi^norhinu- macrotis, 196
Cotton Mouse, 135
Florida, 136
Louisiana, 136
Rhoad's, 13s
Cotton Rat, 128
Bangs's, 1 29
Chapman's, 129
Cottontail, 75
Florida. 77
Northern, 77
Prairie, 78
Southern, 7 <
couesi, Odocoileus, 39
Cougar, 288

Florida, 288
couguar, Felis, 288
Cowfish, >9
Cricetinse, 127
cristata, Condylura, 190
cristata, Cystophora, 218
crooki, Odocoileus, 41
Crooks, Deer, 41
Cross Fox, 264
cumberlandius, Geomys, 98
cyanocephalus, Nyctinomus, 195
Cystophora cristata, 2 1 8
dalli,Ovis,64
Ursus, 263
Dall's Sheep, 64
Dasypodidse, 9
Dasyp terns intermedius, 206
Deer. 3 1
Arizona, 39
Banner-tailed, 39
Black-tailed, 39, 4*
Cerros Island, 41
Crook's, 41
Fan tailed, 39
Florida, 39
Louisiana, 39
Mule, 39
Northern, 39
Texan, 39
Virginia, 34
White-tailed, 39
Deer Mouse, 131 j

Florida, 136
degener, Lutra, 223
defetrix, Vulpes, 272
Delphinapterusleucas, 24
Delphinidae, 20
Delphinus delphis.s i

307

Ib4m

-li'

III

rlclphis, Dclphinus. ii
Ucsert Mule Deer, 4 1
(lickinsoni, Reithrodontomy*. 131
Dickinson's Har\-CTt Mouw, 131
Dicrostonyxhudsonius, 108
Didelphidae. 4

Didelphis Marsupialis texensis, 8
virginiana, 4
pigra, 8
Dismal Swamp Lemming Mouse, 108

Muskrat. 136
Dolphin. Bottle-nosed, 10
Commnn, 11
Spotted. II
Striped. 21
Dolphms. JO
dorsatus, Erethizon, 94
DuRongs. 26

Dusky White-footed Mouse, 13s
Eared Seals. ;oq
Eastern Skunk, jjq

Striped Skunk, 230
Edentata. 9
Edentates. 9
Elk. American, jr
Merriam's, 34
Roosevelt's, 34
elongata. Mephitis, 229
elucus. Procyon, 247
emmonsi. Ursus, 360
enixus. Microtis. 117
eremicus. Odocoileus. 41
Erethizon, dorsatus, 94
Erignathus barbatus, 218
Ermine, 237
eskimo. Putorius, 240
Eskimo We«sel. 240
Eumetopias stelleri, 211
Eutheria. xiv

Everglade Gray SquiTrel, i"a
Evotomys gapped, m
carolinensis, 1 1 1
ochraceus. 112
rhoadsi, 1 1 2
proteuR. 112
ungava. 112
cxtimus, Sciurus, 172
Eyra. 203

False Lemming Mouse, no
fannini.Ovis. 6s
Fannin's Sheep, 6s
Fan-tailed Deer, 39
fatuus, Synaptomys, 108
Feet, >'-i
Felidae, 283
Felis cacomitH, 193

coryi, 288
Felis cougar, ?88

eyra. 293
onca, 292
pardalis. 293
Fiber obscurus, 127
zibcthicus. 121
aquilonius. 1 20
macrodon. 126
rivalicus. 126
Field Mouse. 1 12
Finback Whale, 16
Finner, 16
Fisher. 241
Fisher Marten. 241
fisheri. Sorex. 187
Fisher's Shrew, 187
Fissipedia. 207
flaviscens. Pcrognathjis lOO
(lavus. Bassariscus. 254
Florida Bear. 260
Cougar. 288
Cotton Mouse, 136
Cottontail. 77
Deer. 39

Deer Mouse. 136
Free-tailed Bat. 195
Flying S<iuirrel, 178
Gopher. 98
Gray Fox. 276
Manatee. 26
Ma' h Hare. 89
Ma- > Mouse, 130
Mink .•35
Mol.-, 1S8
Opossum, 8
Otter. 223
Raccoon. 247
Skunk. 229
Weasel. 240
Wild Cat, 286
Wood Rat, I j8
floridana. Blarina, 184
Geomys.98
Lepus, 77
Lynx. 286
Peromyscus, 136
Urocyon, 277
Ursus. 260
Flying Squirrel, 176
Florida. 178
Northern. 178
Severn River, 178
Southern. 177
fontigenus. Microtus, 117
Fossil Ungulates, 28
Fox. Arctic. 273
Black, 264
Blue, 273
Fox. Cross, 264

308

iBdn

Fox, Gray, 375
Kit, IT2
Red, 264
Silver, 364
White, J? 3
Foxes, 264
Fox Squirrels, 168
Northern, 169
South^'rn, 170
Western, i6q
franklini. Snermophilus, i6a
Franklin's Spermophile, 162
Free-tailed BaUs, igs
frenatus, Putorius, 240
Fruit Bat, 194
fulij;inosus, Sciurus, 173
fulvus, Vulpes, 264
fumtus, Sorex. iS6
Fur Seal, 209
fascuji, V'esi)ertiUo, 200
catiperi, Ei 'loiii^ -, til
Geomyidae, q6
Geomys bursarius, 98
cumberlandius, 98
tuza. 07

tuza rtoridanus, 98
mobileu:iis, 98
Austrinus, 98
Georgia Oldlield Mouse, 137

Pipistrelle, 201
gigas, Alces. 43

Lynx, 286
Gillesp'-''sSeal, 211
Giraffe, 28
glacialis, Bala?na, 13
Glacier Bear. 260
Glires, 7 1

Globi(x:cphalus mclas, 23
Glutton, 24S
Gnawing Animals, 71
Goat, Kennedy's, 61
Mountain, 57
White, 57
Golden Mouse, 138
Gopher, Alabama, 98
Florida, 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
granti, Rangifcr, 54
Grant's Caribou, 54

Gray S^iuirrct, 170
Buyou, 172
Everglade, 172
Northern. 172
S<puthem. 172
Gray Fox, 275
Florida. 276
Wisconsin, 377
Gray Gopher, 163
Rabbit, 75
Seal, 2 18
Wolf, 277
Greenland Caribou, 54

Hare, 88
griseus. Grampus, li
Grizzly Bear, 261
Alaskan, 263
California, 463
Sonorun, 263
groenlandica, Phoca. 217
^.r.M nlandicus, Lcpus 88

Uangiter. (4
Ground Hackee, '62
Hot'. 151
Siiuirrel. 162
grvpus. llalich<rrus. 218
Gull Island Mouse, 1 17
Guloluscus. 245
gyas, Ursus, 263
gj-mnicus, Sciurus. 17a
Hackee, Ground, 162

Northern, 1O3
Hair Seal. 211
Hairy-tailed Mole, 189
Halichierusgrypus. 218
Ilarbor Porpoise, 22

Seal. 215
HarijSeal. 217
Harvest Mouse, 130
Dickinson's. 131
Surber's. 131
ll.are. Arctic, 86
Jackass. 89
Little Chief, 93
Marsh. 88
Prairie. 89
Varying. 78
Water. 89
White. 78. 86
Hares. 73

helalctes. Synaptomys, 108
hemionus. Odocoileus. 39
Heteromyidae. 99
Hippopotamus. 28
hispida. Phoca, 217
hispidus. Sigmodon. 128
Hoary Bat, 204
Hooded Seal, 218

309

r «

,''i:

-!«'•

Indcs

Hoofed Animals, 28

horrisus, Tj'rsus, 263

horribilis, Ursus, a6i

Horse, 28

House Mouse, 138

hoyi, Sorex, 187

Hoy's Shrew, 187

Hudsonian Meadow Mouse, 1 1 7

White-footed Mouse, 135
hudsonicus, Sciurus, 176
hudsonius, Dicrostonyx, 108

Zapus, 102
humeralis. Nycticcius, 206
Humpback Whale, 1 7
Hyperoodon rostratus, 19
ignavus. Arctomys, 159
Illinois Skunk, 229
impigcr, Reithrodontomys, 131
innuitus, Synaptomys, 108
Insectivora, 179
insignis, Zapus, 104
intermedius, Dasypterus, 206
Island Beach Mouse, 138
Gopher, 98
ack Rabbit, 89
\ ackass Hare, 89
] aguar, 202
[ umping Mice, loj
Jumping Mouse, Carolinian, 104
Labrador, 104
Meadow, 102
Northern, 105
Roan*Mountain, 105
Woodland, 104
KadiakBear, 263
Kangaroo Rat, Ord's, 100
Kennedy! , Oreamnos, 6 1
Kennedy's Moimtain Goat, 61
Killer, 23

Kidderi, Ursus, 264
Kidder's Bear, 264
Kit Fox, 272
Kogia bre\'iceps, 18
Labrador Bear, 260
lumping Mouse, 104
Marten, 245
Meadow Mouse, 117
Muskrat, 126
Red Squirrel, 176
Red-backed Mouse, 1 1 2
Rock Vol^ 118
Shrew, 186
Varying Hare, 86
Woodchuck, 159
labradoreus, Lcpus, 88
ladas, Zapus, 104
Lagenorhynchusacutus, 2a
lagopus, Vulpcs, 273

Large Brown Bat, 200
largha, Phoca, 215
Lasionycterisnoctivagans, aoi
Lasiurus borcalis, 203

cjnereus, 204
Latfjt lutris, 223
lataxina, Lutra, 223
latinianus, Phenacomys, no
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, no
Northern, 108
Preble's, 108
Truc's. 108
Lemming, Pied, 108
Lemmings, 105, 107
Lemmus trimucronatus, 1 10
Leporidae, 73
Lepusamericanus, 86

amcricanus struthiopus, 86

virgianianus, 78
articus. 86
bangsi, 88
labradorius, 88
aquaticus, 89
campestris, 89
floridanus, 7 7
mallurus, 75
meamsi, 78
transitionalis, 77
groenlandicus, 88
palustris, 88
palustris paludicola, 89
leucas, Delphinapterus, 24
leucopus, Peromyscus, 131
leucotis, Sciurus. 172
leucurus, Odocoilcus, 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, Sorcx, 187
loquax, Scuirus, 175
lotor. Procyon. 247
Louisiana Bear, 260
Cotton Mouse, 136
IXir, 39
Mink, 235
310

Index

Louisiana Skunk, 129
louisianx. Odocoileus, 39
Loup Cervier, 286
lucitugus, Myotis, 196
ludovicianvis.Cynomys, 160
luscus.Gulo, J4S
lutcnsis, Putorius. 235
luteolus, Ursus, 260
Lutra canadensis, 219
lataxina, 223
vaga, 223
degener, 223
lutreocephalus, Putorius, 235
lutris, Latax. 223
Lynx, Bay, 284
Canada, 286
Newfoundland. 287
canadensis, 286
gigas.286
ruffus, 284

ruffus tloridanus, 286
subsolanus, 287
Ivstcri.Tamias, 163
Maine Weasel, 239
mallurus, Lepus, 75
Manatee, Florida, 26
Manatees, 26

maritimus, Thalarctos, 255
Mannot, Maryland, 151
Marmots, 151, 160
Marsh Hare, 88
Florida, 89
Marsh Mouse, 1 29
Banc's, 130
Florida, 130
Nlarsh Shrew, 187
Marsupialia, xiv, 3
Marsupials, 3
Marten, American, 24a
Fisher, 241
Labrador, 245
Newfoundland, 245
Pine, 242
Maryland Marmot, 1 5 1
Meadow Jumping Mouse, 103
Meadow Mice, 107
Meadow Mouse, 112
Acadian, 117
Black, 117
Gull Island, 117
Hudsonian, 117
Labrador, 1 1 7
Prairie, 119
Ungava, 117
Yellow-cheeked, 1 18 .
Meadow Vole, 112
meamsi, Lepus, 78
Megaptera nodosa, 17

melas, Globioccphalus, 23
mephitica. Mephitis, 129
Mephitis a via, 229
eiongata, 229
mephitica, 229
mesomelas, 229
putida, 224
Merriam's Elk. 34
mesomelas. Mephitis, 229
Mesoplodonbidens, 19
Mexican Coati. 254

Sheep. 64
Mexicanus. Ovis, 64
Mice, 105

Introduced, 138
Jumping, 102
Long-tailed, 127
Meadow, 107
Pocket, 99
michiganensis, Peromyscus, 138
Microtinae, 107
Microtus alleni, 1 20
austcnis, 119
breweri .117
chrotorrhinus, iiS
ravus, 1 18
Microtus, ncsophilus, 117
pennsylvanicus, 1 1 2
acadicus, 1 1 7
enixus, 1 17
fontigenus, 1 1 7
"igrans, 1 1 7
ungava, 1 1 7
Microtus, pinctorum, no
pinetorum auricularis, 1 20

scalopsoides, 1 20
terr:rnovae, i iS
Middendorffi, Ursus, 263
Miller's Polar Hare, 88
Mink, 231
Florida, 235
Louisiana, 235
Northern, 235
Southern. 235
miscix.Sorex. 186
Mississippi Pine House, 120

Wood Rat. 128
mississippiensis, Peromyscus, 135
mobilensis. Geomys, 98
Mole, Brrwer's, 189
Common. 188
Florida, 188
Hairy-tailed, i8q
Naked-tailed. 1S8
Star-nosed, iqo
Mole Shrew, 180
Moles, 179. 188
monax, Arciomys. 1 5 1

Indn

monoceras, Monodon, 24
Monodon monoceras, 34
montanus, Oreatnnos, 57

Rangifer, 5 1
Moose, 43

Alaskan, 43
moschatus, Ovibos, 65
Mountain Beaver, 150

Caribou, 51

Goat, 57

Lion, 288

Sheep, 61
Mouse, Beach, 117, 138

Bog, III

Cotton, 13s

Deer, 131

Field, 112

Golden, 138

Gull Island, 117

Harvest, 130

House. 138

Lemming, 107

Marsh, 129

Meadow, 113

Oldfield, 136

Pine, 119
Mouse, Prairie, 138

Red, 138

Red-backed, iil

Rice-field, 129

Scorpion, 136

Shrew, 184

White-footed, 131

Wood, lit, «3i J-'
Mule Deer, 39

California, 41

Desert, 41
Mulita, 9
Muridae, 105
Murinae, 138
Mus musculus, 138

norvegicus, 142

rattus, 144

alcxandrinus, 145
musculus, Balienoptera, 17

Mus, 138
Musk Ox, 6s

Pe«ry'», 65
Muskrat, 121

Dismal Swamp, i jS

Labrador, 1 26

Newfoundland, 127

Round-tailed, 1*0

Southern, 126
Musrjuash, 121
Mustela, amcricana, 34a

atrata, 245

brumalis, 245

pennanti, 241
Mustelidx, 219
Myotis lucifugus, ig6

subulatus, 196
mysticetus Balxna, 13
macrocephalus, Physeter, 17
macrodon , Fiber, 126
macrotis, Corynorhinus, 196

Sciuropterus, 178
macrourus, Odocoileus, 39
macrurus, Sorex, 187
narica, Nasua, 254
Narwhal, 34
Nasua narica, 254
natator, On-zomys, 130
neglectus, &iurus, 168
nelsoni,Ovis,64
Nelson's Sheep, 64
Neofiber, 1 20

Neotoma pennsylvanica, 1*7
floridana, 128
floridana rubida, 128
nesophilus, Microtus, 117
Newfoundland Caribou, 51
Lynx, 287
Marten, 245
Muskrat, 127
Otter, 23 J
Red Fox, 27a
Rock Vole, 118
New Jersey Red-backed House, iia
New York Weasel, 235
niger, Sciurus, 170
nigriculus, Peromyscus, 136
nigrans, Microtus. 1 17
Nine-banded Armad^'lo, 9
niveiventris, Peromyscus, 138
Noctilionidae, 195
noctivagans. Lasionycteris, aoa
nodosa. Mcgaptera. i;;^
North Carolina Weasel. 239
Northern Cottontail, 77
Deer. 39

Flying Sfjuirrel, 178
Fox^uirrel. 169
Gray Sciuirrel. 173

{umpinjj Mouse, 105
.emming Mouse, 108

Mink, 23s

Otter, 323

Pine Mouse, 130

Pipistrelle, 303

Red Squirrel, 175

Woodchuck, 159
norvegicus, Mns, 14a
Norway Rat, 142
notius, Putorius. 239

Nova Scotia Red Fox, 372

3««

IndM

Nova SootiaVarying Hare, 86

Wildcat, 286
noveboracensis, Putnnui, ajs
noveincinctum, Tatu, 9
nubiterrae, Peromyscu*. 13$
nuttalli, Peromyscus, 138
Nycticeius humeralis, to6
Nyctinomuscyanooeplialu*, 195
obesus. Odobenus. 213
obscurus, Fiber, la?

Pipistrellus. loa
occidentalis, Canis, 277
occisor, Putorius, 239
Ocelot, 293
Ochotonaprinceps, 9S
O vthouf Urocyoo, »77
ochraceus, Evotomy», i it
Odobenidae, 212
Odobenus obesus, 2 1 3

rosmanis, 112
Odocoileus cerrosensis, 4>
columbianus, 4a
sitkensis, 43
scaphiotus, 43
couesi, 39
crooki, 41
hemionus, 39
hemionus califortuciis, 41

eremicul, 4 1
leucurus, 39
louisianae, 39
osceola, 39
texensis, 39
virginianus, 34
borealis, 39
tnacrouruf, 39
Oldfield Mouse, 136
Rhoad's, 137
Georgia, i37
onca, Felis. 292
Onychomys. 136
Opossum, Florida, S
Texas. 8
Virginian. 4
Opossums, 4
ordi. Perodipus, 100
Ord's Kangaroo Rat, 100
Orcamnos kennedyi, 61

montanus, 57
Orcaorca, 23
Oryzomyspalustns, 129
palustris natator. 130
coloratus, 1 30
osceola, Odocoileus, 39
Otariidae, 209
Otoes alascanw, 809
Otter, 219 ^
Carolina, 2*3

Otter, Florida, 223
Newfoundland, 223
Northern, 2 2i
Sea 2 2 1
Ovibos moschatua, 65

wardi, 65
Oviscervina, 61

cervina auduboni, 64
dalli, 64
{annini,65
mexicanus, 64
nelsoni,64
stonei, 64
Ox, 28

Ox, Musk, 6s
Pacific W^ni«,«i J
Painter, 288
Pallas's Seal. 215
Pallid Red-backed Mouse, 1 1 a
palmarius. Peromyscus, 136
paludicola, Lcpus, 89
psl'if'ris. Lepus. 88
•omys, 129
187
■ - 288
1 ■ lops bre wen, 189
p...uaiis, Felis. 293

farva, Blarina. 183
'avlof Bear. 263
Peary's Musk Ox, 65
Peba Armadillo. 9
Peccaries. 30
Peccary. Collared, 30

Texas, 30

Pekan,24>
peninsulae. Blarina. 183

Putorius. 240
pennanti. Mustela, 241
pennsylvanica. Ncotoma, n7
pennsylvanicus. Microtus. 112
Perissodactyli, 28
Perodipus ordi. 100
Perognathus flavesccns, 100
Peromyscus canadensis, 135
abietorum. 135
umbrinus. 135
nubiterrae. 135
floridanus. 136
gossypinus. 135

mississippiensis, 135
palmarius, 136
nigriculus, 136
leucopus. 131
michiganensis. 138
niveivcntris. 138

nuttalli, 138
Peromyscus, phatma, 138
subgriseus, 136

S»3

Index

Peromyscus balioltis, 137

rhoadsi, 137
personatus, Sorex, 184
perspicillatus, Artibcus, 194
phasma, Peromyscus, 138
Phenacomyscclatus, no

latimanus, no
Phoca groenlandica, 217

hispida, 317

largha, 215

vitulina. 215
Phoca.>na phocsena, 33
Phocidii:-, 314
Phyllostomatidac, 194
physalis, Balxnoptera, 16
Physctcr macrociphalus, 17
Physeteridae, 17
Pied Lemming, 108
Pig. 28

Pigmy Sperm Whale, iS
pigra' Didelhpis, 8
Pika, 93
Pilot Whale, 23
Pine Marten, 343
Pine Mouse, 119 ,

Mississippi, 130

Northern. 120
pinctorum, Microtus, 119
Pinnipedia, 207
PipistrcUe, Georgia, 201

Northern, 202
Pipistrellus subflavus, 201

obscurus, 302
pla^iodon. Prodelphinus, 31
Plams Pocket Mouse, 100
Pocket Gophers, 96, 98
Pocket Mice, 99
Pocket Mouse. Plains, 100
Polar Bear. 3^5
Polar Hare, 86

Bangs', 88

Grceland, 88

Miller's, 88
Polecat. 334
Porcupine. Canada, 94

Yellow-haired, 94
Porcupines, 94
Porpoise, 30

Harbor, 33
Porpoises. 30
Pouched Animals, 3
Prairie Cottontail, 78

Dog, 160

Gopher, 98

Hare, 89

Meadow Mouse, 119
Prairie Mouse, 138

Wolf 379

Preble's Lemming Mouse, 108
Primates, XV, xvi
princcps, Ochotona, 93
Proboscidca, xv, xvi
Procyon lotor, 347

elucus, 347
Procyonidae, 347
Prodelphinus plagrodon , 3 1
Prong Buck, 54
Prong Horn, American, 54

froteus, Erotomys, 1 1 3
tototheria, xiv
Puma. 288

Florida, 288
putida. Mephitis:, 224
Putorius alleghaniensis, 340

cicognani, 339
richardsoni, 239

frenatus. 340

longicandaspadix, 339

lutensis. 335

noveboracensis. 335
notius, 339
occisor, 339

peninsula;, 340

rixosus, 340
eskimo, 340

vison, 331

lutreocephalus, 335
vulgivagus,23s
querceti. Sciuropterus, 178
Rabbit, Snow-shoe, 78
Rabbit, Grav, 75

Jack. 89
Rabbits. 73
Raccoon, Florida, 247
Raccoons. 247
Rangifer. artcicus, 52

caribou, 47

granti, 54

groenlandicus. 54

montanus, j i

stonei, 51

terrae-no vae, 5 1
Rat, Black, 144

Brown, 142

Common, 143

Cotton, 128

Kangaroo, 100

Norway, 143

Rice, 139

Roof, 145

Wood, 137
Rats, io>

Introduced, 138

Long-tailed 137
rattus, Mus, 144
ravus, Microtus, 118

Index

Red Bat. 203
Red Fox, 264
Nova Scotia, 272
Newfoundland, 272
Red Mouse, 138
Red Squirrel, 172
Northern, 17,
Southern, 175
Labrador, 176
Red-backed, Mouse, 11 1
Carolina, 1 1 2
Labrador, 1 1 2
New Jersey, 1 12
Pallid, 112
Ungava, 1 1 2
Reindeer 52

Reithrodontomyslecontii, 130
impiger, 1 3 1
dickinsoni, 131
Rice Rat, 129
Rice-field Mouse, 129
richardsoni, Putorius, 239

Ursus, 261
Richardson's Weasel, 239
Right Whale. 13
Ring-tailed Cat, 254
Ringed Seal, 217
ringens, Spilogale, 230
rivalicus. Fiber, 1 26
rixosus, Putorius. 240
Roan Mountain Jumping Mouse, 105
rcanensis. Zapus. 105
Rock Vole, 118
Labrador 118
Newfoundland, 118
Rodents, 7 1
Roof Rat, 1 45
Roosevelt's Elk, 34
Rorqual , 16

rosmarus, Odobenjis, 212
rostratus, Hyperoodon, 19
Round- tailed Muskrat, 120
rubida, Neotoma, 1 28
rubricosa, Vulpes, 272
rufa, Aplodontia, 150
niffus, Lynx. 284
rafiventer, Sciurus, 169
Ruminants, 28
Rhinoceras. 28
rhoadsi. Evotomvs. 111,112

Peromyscus. 137
Rhoad's Cotton Mouse, 135

Oldfield Mouse, 137
Sable, American. 242
sabrintis, Sciuropterus, 178
Salamander, 97
Say's Bat. 196
Scalops, aquations, 188

Scalop , aquaticus, australis, 188
scalopsoides, Microtus, 120
scaphiotus, Odocorlcus, 43
Sciiu-idas, 151

Sciuropterussabrinus, 17S
macrotis, 178
volans, 176
querceti, 178
Sciurus carolinensis, 170
leucotis, 172
fuliginosus. 172
extimus. 172
hudsonicus. 176
g>'mnicus, 172
loquax ,175
niger, 1 70
rufi venter, 169
neglectus, 168
Scorpion Mouse, 136
Sea Bear, 209
Cow, 26

Stellcr's, 26
Lion. 21 1

Stellcr's, 211
Otter, 22^
Seal. Bearded. 218
Common .215
Fur, 209
Gillespie's, 211
Gray, 218
Hair, 2 1 1
Harbor. 2 1 5
Harp. 217
Hooded. 218
Pallas' ,215
Ringed. 2 1 7
Seals, 214

Eared. 209
Severn River Flying Squirrel, 178
Sewellel, 150
Sheep, Audubon's, 64
Dall's, 64
Fannin's. 65
Mexican. 64
Mountain, 61
Nelson's. 64
Stone's. 64
Short-tailed Shrew, 180
Northern. 183
Southern, 183
Everglade, 183
Shrew, Brown. 183
Common. 184
Fisher's. 187
Hoy's. 187
Labrador. 186
Srr-w, Long-tailed, 184. 187
.Marsh, 187

^Ht

Indes

■^ ^i

1$ . \

ii'

Screw, Mole, i8o

Short-tailed, i8o

Smoky, i86

Southern, 187

Water, 187
Shrew Mouse, T84
Shrews, 179
Sigmodon hispidus, 118

hii^pidus littoralis, 119
spidecipygus, 139
Silver Fox, 264
Silver-haired Bat, 20*
Sireiiia, 26
Sitka Bear, 264
Sitkan Black- tailed Deer, 4j
sitkensis, Odocoileus, 43

Ursus, 264
SkuU, The, xvi
Skunk, 224

Canada, 229

Eastern, 229

Florida, 229

Illinois. 229

Little Stnped, 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
somborgeri, Ursus, 360
Southern Cotton-tail, 77

Flying Squirrel, 177

Fox Squirrel, 170

Gray Squirrel, 172

Mink, 235

Muskrat, 1 26

Red Squirrel, 175

Shrew, 187
spadicipygus, Sigmodoo, lag
spadix. Putorius, 239
Sperm Whales, 1 7
Spermophile. Franklin's, t6a

Striped. 161
Spermophilus franklini, 161

tridecemlineatus, 161
sphagnicola, Synaptomys, 108
Spilogale ambarvalis, 130
Spilogale lingeiiE, 250
Spotted Dolphin, 21

Squirrel, Cat, 168

Fox, 168

Flying, 176

Gray, 170

Grotuid, 162

Red, 172

Striped, 162
Squirrels, lei
Star- nosed Slole, 190
Btelleri. Eumetopiu, atl
StcUer's Sea Cow, 26

Sea Lion ,211
stonei. Ovis, 64

Rangifer, 5 1
Stone's Caribou, 51

Sheep, 64
striattis, Tamias, i6t
Striped Dolphin, 22

Gopher, 161

Spermophile, 161

Squirrel, 162
struthiopus, Lepu(, 86
Striped Skunk, Eastern, 230

Little, 229
subflavus, Pipistrellus, aoi
subgriseus, Peromyscoi, 136
subsolanus. Lynx. 287
subulatus, Myotis, 196
Surber's Harvest Motise, 13X
Synaptomys cooperi, 107
belaletes, 108

fatuus, 108

inninittis, 108

sphagnicola, 108
Talpidae, 188
"Tamias striatus, 162

lysteri, 161
Tapir, 28

Tatu novemcinctum, 9
Taxidea taxus, 330
taxus, Taxidea. 230
Tayassu angulatum, 30
Tayassuidse, 30
teeth, The, xvii
terrae-novae, Microtui, ilB

Rangifer, 51
Texas Bassaris, 254

Deer, 39

Opossum, 8

Peccary, 30
texensis. Didelphi*, 8

OdocoileuiJ, 39
Thalarctos maritimiM, 455
Thomoinys, 96
Timber Wolf, 277
Toothless Animals, 9
transitionalis, Lepus, 77
Trichechidae, a6

3««

Indts

Trichcchus americanus, 27

latirostris, 26
tridfcemlineatus, Spennopiulus, lOl
trimucronatus, Lemmus, 1 10
True's Lemming Mouse, loS
tursio, Tursiops, 20
Tursiops tu-sio, 20
tuza.Geomys, 97
Twilight Bat, 206
umbnnus. Perorayscu», 135
Ungava Meadow Mouse, 117

Red-backed Mouse, 1 1 a
ungava, Erotomys. 1 1 2

Microtus, 117
Ungulata, 28
Ungulates, 28

Urocyon cinereoargenteus, 275
floridanus, 276
ocythous, 277
Ursidae, 255
Ursus americanus, 257
floridanus, 360
scruborgeri, 260
dalli, 263

gyas, 263
emmonsi, 260
horribilis, 261
alascensis, 263
califomicus, 263
horria:us, 263
kidderi, 264
luteolus, 260
middendorffi, 263
richardsoni. 261
sitkensis, 264
vaga.Lutra, 223
Varying Hare, 78
Labrador, 86
Nova Scotia, 86
Vespcrtilio fuscus, 200
Vespertilionidae, 195
velox, Vulpes, 272
Virginia Deer, 34
Virgjinian Opossum, 4
virginiana, Didelphis, 4
Lcpus, 78
Odocoileus, 34
vison, Puto ius, 231
vitulina, Phoca, 215
volans, Sciuropterus, 176
Vole, Meadow, 1 1 2

Rock, 118
vulgi vagus, Putorius, 235
Vulpes deletrix, 272
fulvus, 264
fulvus rubricosa, 27a
Vulpes lagopus, 273
velox, 272

Walrus, Atlantic, a 1 2

Pacific, 213
Walrusses, 212

Wapiti, 3'
wardi.Ovibos, 65
Water Hare, 89

Shrew, 187
Weasel, Alleghany, 340
Bonaparte's, 239
Bridled, 240
Eskimo, 240
Florida, 240
Least, 240
Long-tailed, 239
Maine, 239
New York. 23s
North Carolina, 239
Richardson's, 239
West Florida Gopher, 98
Western Fox Squirrel, 169
Whale, Blue, 17
Bottle-nosed, 19
Ca'ing. 23
Fin-back, 16
Humpback, 17
Pigmy Sperm, 18
Pilot, 23
Right, 13
Sperm, 17
White, 24
Ziphius, 19
Whales, 1 1

Whales, Whalebone, 12
Whalebone, 12
WbpVbone Whales, 12
Whaling, 14
White Fox, 273
Goat. 57
Hare. 78
Whale. 24
White-footed Mouse, 131
Canadian. 135
Cloudland, 135
Dusky, 135
Hudsonian. 135
White-tailed Deer, 39

Jack Rabbit, 89
Wildcat, 284
Florida, 286
Nova Scotia, 286
Wisconsin Gray Fox, 277
Wolf, Arctic, 277
Black, 277
Gray. 277
Prairie, 279
Timber, 277
Wolverine. 245
Wolves, 264

3«7

Index

'» -- ill

Wood Mouse, III, 131
Wood Rat, Alleghany, 127

Florida, 118

Mississippi, 138
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 califomianus, 311
Zapodidae, 103
Zapus hudsonius. 103

americanus, 104

ladas, 104
insignis, 104

roanensis, 105

abietorum, 105
Zebra, 38

zibethicus, Fiber, 131
Ziphiidae, 19
Ziphitis cavirostris, 19
Ziphius Whale, 19

i':

318

It,

'•i