'^i} "■ "i'* ■^■irfSSH^iH'-'^miHUSriBftSif^ ■»< HORN AD AY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1 89 1 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 073 78 224 _irl -^^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924073178224 THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY "The concise and precise phraseology of science, admirable though it be for the use of those who have been trained to employ it, is to others not only mis- leading, but it may be repulsive." — Gr. Brown Goode. "The highest type of scientific writing is that which sets forth useful scientific facts, in language which is interesting, and easily understood by the mill- ions who read." — L. A. Majs^n. Painted by Carl RuxtiiLtf. THE AMEniCAN MOOSE, IN NEAV BRUNSAVICK. THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY A FOUNDATION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE OF THE HIGHER ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA BY WILLIAM T. HORNADAY DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL PARK; AUTHOR OF "TWO YEARS IN THE JUNGLE," ETC. ILLUSTRATED BY 227 ORIGINAL DRAWINGS BY BEARD, RUNGIUS, SAWYER, AND OTHERS, 116 PHOTOGRAPHS, CHIEFLY BY SANBORN, KELLER, AND UNDERWOOD, AND NUMEROUS CHARTS AND MAPS CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK::::::::::::::::::MCMIV COPYRI&HT, 1904, BY WILLIAM T. HORNADAT Published, April, 1904 SPECIAL NOTICE The publishers hereby give warning that the unauthorized use of illustrations, charts, or maps from this book is expressly forbidden. PREFACE By natural inclination, every child is interested in animals. Whenever a grown person is not so interested, it is positive proof that the natural instincts of childhood either have been turned aside, or stifled by lack of opportunity to live and grow. The love for animals is, I believe, even more universal than the love for music. Whenever I try to sum up the amount of living interest, and also genuine delight, that is yielded by even a very modest acquaintance with the higher forms of hfe, "I would that my tongue could utter the thoughts that arise in me!" It seems a pity that so many appreciative persons should lose so much of life through lack of acquaintance with about three hundred important and well-chosen species of animals. In these days of struggle and stress for Place and Power, and in these nights of insomnia and nerves, there are few side issues more restful or more pleasantly diverting to a tired brain than an active interest in some branch of natural history. A hunt for the life history of a fine animal species is next in restfulness to a real hunt, over the fields and far away, with all cares and worries left behind. The foregoing is for the eyes of adult readers. Argument is not necessary to con- vince young people that a mighty host of interesting things awaits every one who sets foot in the field of Nature. To-day, the all-absorbing question is — how can Nature be made available to the young? This book is one of my two answers to that question; and it is particularly addressed to teachers and parents. It is intended to be a plain, practical, common-sense answer, presented in a systematic and scientific way. The author assumes that fifteen years of earnest thought, and conferences with scores of teachers on the subject of natural history teaching in American public schools, may fairly entitle him to a hearing. Briefly stated, the situation to-day is as follows: The scientific "zoology" is suitable only for students in the higher colleges and universities. Between it and the "nature study" books of the grammar schools there exists a chasm that is wide and deep. The "nature studies" of some of our city schools are good for young pupils, from ten to fourteen years of age; but they are insufficient for those between fourteen years and university age. Students in the highest grammar-school grades, the high schools, normal schools, academies and small colleges are so inadequately equipped for the study of natural history that fully ninety-jive per cent, of them, including also the great mass of students from the higher colleges and universities, enter active life ignorant of even the most important forms of the wild life of our own country! If this statement can be disproved, the author will be delighted to withdraw it, and apologize. While the "nature-study" teaching of the present day is acceptable and commend- able for very youn^ pupils, tending to arouse their interest and prepare their minds for more serious work, its sphere is strictly limited, and it is a mistake to carry it too far. Valuable vi PREFACE and permanent results in the study of animal life cannot be achieved by turning in the class-room a kaleidoscope filled with a chaotic mass of birds, butterflies, flowers, frogs and trees. Object-teaching is excellent, if rightly conducted. But the object can easily become a fetich; and all fetich-worship is dangerous to its devotees. Twenty-five years hence, some of the courses of study of the year 1903 will be regarded as educational curi- osities. Even the finest lobster or grasshopper should not be held so close to the eye that it obscures all the remainder of the animal kingdom. There is no royal road to a real acquaintance with living animals. Entertaining and truthful story-books about quadrupeds and birds are excellent in their way, but they do not, and cannot, go down to bed-rock, and lay foundations on which the pupil can build for aye. It has been decreed by Nature that he who will not work shall not know her. There is no process by which the secrets of Nature can be placed automatically in a giddy mind. The author maintains in this volume, and also out of it, that System is the only master- key by which the doors of Animate Nature can be unlocked. Even with boys and girls fifteen years of age, the foundations of natural history classification must not be ignored! Let them but begin right, and the structure is bound to rise. But beware of all chaotic jumbles of unrelated facts! This volume is intended as builder's "filling" in the chasm that now exists between the technical "zoology" of the college and the "nature-study" lessons of the common schools. To-day, I am certain that many nature-study teachers dislike their work solely because they lack suitable sources of information. Surely it is unnecessary to suggest to any intelligent and sincere teacher that it is possible to utilize only a portion of this book, by selecting the subjects best adapted to each particular class, and passing over the others. Among the writers of manuals of zoology, it is now customary to begin with the lowest and least interesting forms of life, and work upward toward the highest. That will answer for the advanced student — if he chooses to have it so; but for middle- grade students and readers at home it is decidedly wrong. All elementary lessons in natural history should begin with Nature's most important facts, and first bring forward her most interesting animals. To begin with the grasshopper, and struggle through a hundred dreary pages of anatomy and -low forms of life, before reaching a creature of personality and intelligence, is too much for the patience of any active school-boy who wishes "to know about animals." Anatomy is necessary to the advanced student; but in a book for schools and the general reader, it is easily carried too far. As with human beings, the first thing to be learned about an animal is its place in Nature, and after that, its personality. It is only the scientific specialist who wishes to know first about its mandibular symphysis, the geography of its sutures, and the size of its auditory bullae. As the reader will observe, I have striven to accomplish two ends: (1) to make clear each animal's place in the great system of Nature, and (2) to introduce the animal in such a manner as to enable the reader to become personally acquainted with it. The subjects chosen for introduction are not confined to any one section of our country, but represent all North America, and even lands beyond. For the purpose of avoiding wide gaps, several important foreign animals have been included. At this point I wish to record a grateful acknowledgment to Mr. Andrew Carnegie, for PREFACE vii his interest in the author's plans for introducing the study of natural history in schools, and for encouragement at a time when it was most needed. The manuscripts and proofs relating to mammals have been read, criticised and corrected by Dr. T. S. Palmer, Assistant Chief of the Biological Survey, Washington, D. C. Through Dr. Palmer's advice, the author's old-fashioned preferences on certain points of nomenclature were abandoned, and the names of orders, families, genera and species were brought down to date. It is due to him that in our nomenclature we are in reality a trifle in advance of the times rather than behind them. Similar valuable service has been rendered the section on Birds by Mr. C. William Beebe, Curator of Birds, and those on the Reptiles and Amphibians were read and cor- rected by Mr. Raymond L. Ditmars, Curator of Reptiles, in the New York Zoological Park. The portion treating of Fishes received critical attention -from Mr. Charles H. Townsend, Director of the New York Aquarium, but in fairness to him it must be stated that he is in no way responsible for the author's arrangement of the Orders of Fishes. To each of the gentlemen named above I offer a most grateful acknowledgment for timely and valuable services, and desire to assure the reader that for any shortcomings that may appear in the finished book, they are not in the least responsible. In the^text of this work I have endeavored to give due credit for the noteworthy facts quoted from other authors. Practically the only instances wherein this has not always been possible are those involving the geographic ranges of species, wherein com- binations of authorities are the rule rather than the exception. To cover all possible omissions, I desire to mention here the names of the authors from whom I have derived many facts, but chiefly regarding distribution, and I gratefully acknowledge indebtedness to Mr. D. G. Elliot's "Synopsis of the Mammals of North America and the Adjacent Seas"; to the many papers on our Mammalia by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Dr. T. S. Palmer, and Mr. Vernon Bailey; to Mrs. Florence Merriam Bailey's "Birds of the Western United States." Mr. Frank M. Chapman's "Birds of Eastern North America," Dr. A. K. Fisher's "Hawks and Owls," and Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright's "Birdcraft"; to Dr. Leonhard Stejneger's "Poisonous Snakes of North America"; Prof. E. D. Cope's "Crocodilians, Lizards and Snakes of North America," and Dr. H. Gadow's "Amphibia and Reptiles"; to Dr. David S. Jordan and Dr. Barton W. Evermann's "Fishes of North and Middle America," and "American Food and Game Fishes," and to Mr. Richard Lydekker's "Royal Natural History." Naturally, I have drawn freely upon the zoological knowledge that has been accu- mulated in the New York Zoological Park during its existence. A final word must be added regarding the illustrations. Probably no other author ever had a more tempting opportunity for completely filling a volume with photographs of animals. But, while I am an ardent admirer of the best results in animal photography, and a diligent user of them, I also recognize the limitations of the camera. The demands of a zoological illustration are inexorable; and all too often the camera ignores some of them. A perfect zoological portrait of an animal must possess clear and distinct outlines, showing a side view, and perfect details. A picture sans feet, tail, ears, eyes or legs, is not a portrait; and a ball of fur, even though photographed, is not neces- sarily an animal. Very often, also, the most perfect photograph of a spiritless animal in captivity utterly fails to convey a just and adequate impression of the species as it is seen at its best, on its native heath. viii PEEFACE Because of the limitations of the camera, several thousand dollars have been ex- pended upon the beautiful drawings by Messrs. J. Carter Beard, Carl Rungius, Edmund J. Sawyer and a few other artists, which adorn as well as illustrate this work. In addition to these, about one hundred and sixteen particularly excellent photographs have been made, of specially selected subjects, by Messrs. Elwin R. Sanborn, Ernest F. Keller, W. Lyman Underwood, R. J. Beck, and a few other experts in animal photography. With but very few exceptions, the illustrations which appear in this book have been made expressly for it, and now appear for the first time. The author is indebted for the loan of several from the publications of the New York Zoological Society. Now that the last page save the preface has been set up, locked fast and turned into a plate of cold metal, the hour for regret has struck. I know that my proof-reading has not been perfect, and that various errors may be found by those who watch for them. In view of the patient and even tireless efforts and the generous expenditures which Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons have bestowed upon this volume, the author deeply regrets that his own share of the work is not as perfect as theirs. For the reader's sake, also, he wishes that he could have done better. W. T. H. Bedford Pabk, New York City. CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION BOOK I— MAMMALS CHAPTER I.— ORDERS OF MAMMALS . CHAPTER IL— ORDER OF APES AND MONKEYS PRIMATES Anthropoid Apes .... Old World Monkeys and Baboons Page . 7 . 13 New World Monkeys Family or Marmosets Suborder of Lemurs CHAPTER III.— ORDER OF FLESH-EATING MAMMALS FERAE Cat Family . Dog Family . North American Foxes Small Fur-Bearers 18 22 24 27 14 16 17 18 32 Bear Family Full List of the Beaks op North Amer- ica 35 Raccoon Family 41 CHAPTER IV.— ORDER OF SEALS AND SEA-LIONS PINNIPEDIA 43 Sea-Lion Family 44 Review of Fur Seal History . . .48 Seal Family 52 Walrus Family 53 CHAPTER v.— ORDER OF MOLES AND SHREWS Mole Family 57 | Shrew Family CHAPTER VI.— ORDER OF BATS Family op Leaf-Nosed Bats Family op Free-Tailed Bats Family op Common Bats INSECTIVORA 56 . 58 CHIROPTERA 59 62 63 64 Family op False Vampires Family op Horseshoe Bats Family op Fruit-Eating Bats 65 66 66 CHAPTER VII.— ORDER OF GNAWING ANIMALS GLIRES or RODENTS 68 Squirrel Family ...... 68 Sbwellel Family . . . .80 Beaver Family .... .80 Family op Mice and Rats . . . 83 Typical North American Mice and Rats 84 Cheek-Pouch Mice and Rats . . .91 Jumping Mouse Family Pocket Gopher Family Porcupine Family PiKA Family . Hare and Rabbit Family 92 93 94 95 95 CHAPTER VIII.— ORDER OF HOOFED ANIMALS UNGULATA 99 Cattle and Sheep Family . . . .99 Measurements of Mountain Sheep Horns 112 Prong-Horned Antelope Family . . 115 Deer Family . . ... 118 Measurements op Large Caribou Antlers 138 Peccary Family .... 143 Tapir Family 144 X CONTENTS CHAPTER IX.— ORDER OF WHALES AND PORPOISES Family op Baleen Whales CHAPTER X.— ORDER OF SEA-COWS Page 1 Sperm Whale Family . 147 1 Dolphin and Porpoise Family Family op Manatees Family op Dugongs 153 I Family of the Rhytina . 154 1 Page . CETE 146 . 148 . 149 SIRENIA 153 . 154 CHAPTER XL— ORDER OF TOOTHLESS MAMMALS Armadillo Family Family op Ant-Eaters 156 I Sloth Family . 158 I EDENTATA 156 . 159 CHAPTER XII.— ORDER OF DIGGERS Pangolin Family 161 I Aard-Vaek Family EFFODIENTIA 161 .162 CHAPTER XIII.— ORDER OF POUCHED MAMMALS Kangaroo Family . . 164 | Opossum Family MARSUPIALIA 163 . 165 CHAPTER XIV.— ORDER OF EGG-LAYING MAMMALS DucK-BiLL Family ... 167 | Echidna Family MONOTREMATA 167 168 BOOK II— BIRDS CHAPTER XV.— INTRODUCTION TO THE BIRD-WORLD . Decrease in Bird Life . . . 171 | Ohdehs of Living Birds CHAPTER XVI.— ORDER OF PERCHERS AND SINGERS . 171 . 175 . PASSERES 179 Thrush Family Kinglet Family . Nuthatch and Titmouse Family Tree-Creeper Family Wrens and Cat-Birds Dipper Family Warbler Family . Vireo Family Shrike Family 181 183 184 185 186 187 188 191 191 Waxwing Family 192 Swallow Family 193 Tanager Family 194 Finch and Sparrow Family . . .195 Blackbird Family 199 Crow Family 202 Horned Lark Family 206 Flycatcher Family . . ' . . . 206 CHAPTER XVIL— ORDER OF ODD FAMILIES Goatsucker Family Swipt Family . 207 I Humming-Bird Family . 208 ! CHAPTER XVIII.— ORDER OF WOODPECKERS CHAPTER XIX.— ORDER OF CUCKOOS AND KINGFISHERS Cuckoo Family ... . . 214 1 Kingfisher Family MACROCHIRES 207 . 208 PICI 210 COCCYGES 214 . 215 CHAPTER XX.— ORDER OF PARROTS AND MACAWS PSITTACI 216 CONTENTS .xi Page CHAPTER XXI.— ORDER OF BIRDS OF PREY RAPTORES 218 Page Barn-Owl Family . ... 218 1 Hawks and Eagles 225 Horned-Owl Family . ... 220 I Vulture Family 232 CHAPTER XXII.— ORDER OF PIGEONS AND DOVES . . . COLUMBAE 237 CHAPTER XXIII.— ORDER OF UPLAND GAME-BIRDS . . . GALLINAE 241 Grouse Family ... . . 242 | Pheasant Family 250 CHAPTER XXIV.— ORDER OF SHORE-BIRDS LIMICOLAE 251 CHAPTER XXV.— ORDER OF CRANES, RAILS, AND COOTS . PALUDICOLAE 255 Crane Family 255 | Family of Rails 257 CHAPTER XXVI.— ORDER OF HERONS, STORKS, AND IBISES HERODIONES 259 Heron Family 259 I Ibis Family 263 Stork Family . . . 263 I Spoonbill Family 264 CHAPTER XXVII.— ORDER OF FLAMINGOES . . . ODONTOGLOSSAE 266- CHAPTER XXVIIL— ORDER OF DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS ' . AN AT ID AE 267 Orders of Swimming Birds . . . 267 | An Object Lesson in Bird Protection . 276 CHAPTER XXIX.— ORDER OF FULLY WEB-FOOTED BIRDS STEGANOPODES 284 Pelican Family . . . 284 Cormorant Family . . 287 Darter Family . . ... 287 Gannet Family 288 Man-o' -War-Bird Family . . . .290 CHAPTER XXX.— ORDER OF TUBE-NOSED SWIMMERS . . TUBINARES 292 Albatross Family . . . . 292 | Fulmar Family ... . . 294 CHAPTER XXXL— ORDER OF LONG-WINGED SWIMMERS . . LONGIPENNES 296 Gulls and Terns 296 I Skua and Jaeger Family .... 299 Skimmer Family . . ... 298 I CHAPTER XXXII.— ORDER OF WEA!K-WINGED DIVING BIRDS PYGOPODES 300 Grebe Family . . . . . . 300 I Cliff-Dwellers of the Sea . . . 302 Loon Family • • . . . 301 I CHAPTER XXXIIL— ORDER OF FLIGHTLESS DIVERS . . , IMPENNES 307 CHAPTER XXXIV.— ORDER OF WINGLESS LAND BIRDS . . RATITAE 309 BOOK III— REPTILES CHAPTER XXXV.— INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS OF REPTILES . . .313 Orders of Living Reptiles ... . . . ..... 314 xn CONTENTS CHAPTER XXXVI.— ORDER OF CROCODILES AND ALLIGATORS Page CROCODILIA 317 Synopsis op the Crocodilians Page I Crocodile Family 319 . 317 I American Species of Crocodilians . . 320 CHAPTER XXXVIL— ORDER OF TORTOISES, TERRAPINS, AND TURTLES CHELONIA 323 Synopsis op the Order op Tortoises and Turtles 324 Tortoise Family 324 Mud-Terrapin Family 326 Smooth-Shelled Terrapins .... 326 Snapping Terrapins Sopt-Shelled "Turtles" Hard-Shelled Sea Turtles Leathery-Shelled Sea Turtles . 328 . 329 . 330 . 331 CHAPTER XXXVHL— ORDER OF LIZARDS CHAPTER XXXIX.— ORDER OF SERPENTS LACERTILIA 333 OPHIDIA 337 General Characters op Serpents . . 337 Food of Serpents 338 Popular Questions and Misapprehensions 339 Largest Species op Serpents . . . 340 Harmless Snakes op the United States . 343 Poisonous Snakes op North America . 347 Species op Rattlesnakes .... 349 Snake Poisons, and their Treatment . . 353 BOOK IV— AMPHIBIANS CHAPTER XL.— INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS OF AMPHIBIANS . . . .359 General Characters op Amphibians . . 359 | Bird's-Eye View op the Amphibians . . 360 CHAPTER XLL— ORDER OF FROGS AND TOADS ECAUDATA 361 Family op Water Frogs Tree-Fhog Family 362 I Toad Family 363 I ToNGUELEss Frogs 364 364 CHAPTER XLIL— ORDER OF TAILED AMPHIBIANS Family op Salamanders Newts, or Tritons Family op Amphiumas . . 366 . 368 . 369 URODELA 366 Free-Gilled SalamandiJrs .... 370 Two-Legged Salamanders .... 370 Order of Worm-Like Amphibians . . 371 BOOK V— FISHES CHAPTER XLIIL— INTRODUCTION TO THE CLASS OF FISHES Fishery Industries and Fish Propagation 376 ] The Orders op Living Fishes Distribution of Eggs and Live Fish . . 377 375 378 CHAPTER XLIV.— ORDER OF THE CONNECTING-LINK FISHES CHAPTER XLV.— ORDER OF THE SPINY-FINNED FISHES SIRENOIDEI 380 ACANTHOPTERI 382 Basses and Sunpishes . . . 382 Sea-Bass Family 385 Perch and Pike-Perch Family . . . 386 Miscellaneous Spiny-Finned Fishes . . 388 Snapper Family 391 Odd Fishes op the Spiny-Finned Order . 392 CHAPTER XLVL— ORDER OF PIKES HAEPWMI 394 CONTENTS Xlll CHAPTER XLVII.— ORDER OF TROUT AND SALMON Page Salmon Family . . . . . . 396 Subdivision op North American Trouts and Charrs 397 North American Trout The Salmon Group American Salmon Page ISOSPONDYLI 396 . 397 . 400 . 400 CHAPTER XLVin.— ORDER OF FLYING-FISHES CHAPTER XLLX.— ORDER OF SOLID-JAW FISHES . CHAPTER L.— ORDER OF SUCKERS AND MINNOWS CHAPTER LI.— ORDER OF HALF-GILLED FISHES CHAPTER LIL— ORDER OF CATFISHES .... CHAPTER LIII.— ORDER OF FLAT-FISHES .... CHAPTER LIV.— ORDER OF FOOT-FISHES .... CHAPTER LV.— ORDER OF EELS CHAPTER LVL— ORDER OF PIPE-FISHES AND SEA-HORSES CHAPTER LVIL— ORDER OF THE DOGFISH CHAPTER LVIIL— ORDER OF GAR-FISHES, OR GANOIDS . CHAPTER LIX.— ORDER OF STURGEONS GLANIOSTOMI 427 CHAPTER LX.— ORDER OF THE PADDLE-FISH .... SELACHOSTOMI 429 CHAPTER LXI.— ORDER OF THE CHIMERAS . . . CHIMAEROIDEI 431 CHAPTER LXIL— ORDER OF SHARKS SQUALI 432 CHAPTER LXIII.— ORDER OF RAYS AND SKATES RAIAE 434 CHAPTER LXIV.— LOWEST CLASSES OF VERTEBRATES 437 SYNENTOGNATHI 409 . PLECTOGNATHI 410 PLECTOSPONDYLI 412 . HEMIBRANCHII 415 NEMATOGNATHI 416 HETEROSOMATA 418 PEDICULATI 420 APODES 421 . LOPHOBRANCHI 423 HALECOMORPHI 424 GINGLYMODI 425 Lampreys 437 I Lancelets 433 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Albatross, Black-Footed 293 Alligator 316 Alligator, Skull of 318 Anaconda, Yellow 341 Angel Fish 387 Angler 420 Ant^Eater, Great 158 Antelope, Prong-Homed 116 Antlers of Alaskan Moose 142 Antlers? Do Elk Shed Their— 4 figures 119 Antlers of Greenland Caribou — 2 figures 135 Antlers of Kenai Caribou 134 Armadillos, Three-Banded and Six-Banded .... 157 Auklet, Rhinoceros 304 Axolotl, Two Lives of the 367 Baboon, Dead Gelada 14 Badger 32 Bass, Black Sea 385 Bass, Calico 383 ' Bass, Striped 386 Bass, Small-Mouthed Black 383 Bat, Bonneted 63 Bat, Bornean Naked 59 Bat, California Leaf-Nosed 62 Bat, Flower-Nosed 62 Bats, Fruil^Eating , . 67 Bat, Hammer-Headed 66 Bat, Red 65 Bear, Alaskan Brown 33 Bear, American Black 39 Bear, Glacier 40 Bear, Grizzly, at Home 38 Bear, Polar 36 Beaver, Skull of 82 Beavers, American, and their Work 81 Bittern, American ^ 262 Black Duck, Head of 269 Blackbird, Red-Winged 200 Bluefish 387 Bluebird 183 Blue-Jay 204 Boa Constrictor 340 Bobolink in Spring 178 Bob-White 242 Box-Fish 374 Buffalo, American Bison, or 101 Buffle-Head Duck 275 Bullhead, Common 416 XV PAGE Canvas-Back Duck 275 Cardinal 198 Caribou, Woodland 133 Carp, German Scaled 413 Cassowary, Ceram 309 Cat-Bird 187 Chickadee 184 Chipmunk, Eastern 72 Chipmunk, Western 73 Chimpanzee, A Dressed-Up 10 Chimpanzee, Young Female 9 Chimera, Spotted ; 431 Coach-Whip Snake 345 Condor 234 Congo "Snake" 369 Coot 258 Copperhead Snake 352 Cormorant 289 Coyote 23 Crane, Whooping 256 Creeper, Brown 186 Crocodile, Florida 321 Crocodile, Skull of Indian 318 Crocodile, Skull of Florida 318 Crocodile, Skull of Orinoco 318 Cross-bill, American 195 Cuckoo, Yellow-Billed 214 Deer, Mule, in the Bad-Lands 125 Deer, Mule, with Antlers in Velvet 127 Deer, White-Tailed 128 Deer, White-Tailed, "Freak" antlers of 131 Deer, Young White-Tailed . . 130 Devil-Fish 436 Dierodonyx hudsonius, Skin of 85 Dipodomys merriami, Skin of 85 Dogfish 424 Dolphin, Common i5i Dove, Mourning 239 Eagle, Bald 170 Eel, Electric 421 Egret, Great White 262 Eider, American 277 Eider, King, Head of 279 Eider, Spectacled, Head of 279 Elk, American 121 Elk, Winter Home of the 123 Evotomys gapperi, Skin of 85 XVI LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS PAGE Fer-de-Lance 353 Ferret, Black-Footed 29 Fins of a Typical Fish (Black Grunt) 376 Fisher 28 Flamingo 266 Flying-Fish, Common 409 Fox, Arctic 26 Fox, Black or Silver 25 Fox, Gray 27 Fox, Red 25 Frog, Leopard 362 Gadwall, Head of 269 Gar Pike 425 Garter-Snake, Common 345 Gavial, Skull of 318 Gila Monster 335 Glass "Snake" 336 Goat, Rocky Mountain 113 Golden-Eye Duck, Head of 269 Goldfinch, American 196 Goose, Canada 280 Gopher, Red Pocket 94 Gorilla 6 Crackle, Purple 202 Grouse, Canada 245 Grouse, Eastern Ruffed 244 Grouse, Pinnated 246 Grouse, Sage 247 Grosbeak, Rose-Breasted 199 Gull, Herring 297 Halibut, Common 418 Hare, Polar 97 Hare, Prairie 97 Hare, Varying 97 Harlequin Duck, Head of 269 Haven of Refuge for Ducks 276 Hawk, Cooper's 231 Hawk, Sharp-Shinned 230 Hawk, Sparrow 227 Heron, Great Blue 260 Heron, Little Green 261 Hog-Nosed Snake 347 Horned Lizard; Horned "Toad" 336 Horns of Asiatic and American Mountain Sheep 114 Humming-Bird, Ruby-Throated 209 Ibis, White 263 Iguana, Common 333 Iguanas, Marine, on Narborough Island 332 Jaguar 19 Kingfisher, Belted 215 King Snake 343 PAGE Kinglet, Ruby-Crowned 184 Kite, SwaUow-Tailed 232 Lark, Meadow 200 Lemming, Hudson Bay 86 Lemur, Ruffed 17 Lizard, Blue-Tailed 334 Loon , . . 301 Lung-Fish 380 Lynx, Bay 22 Lynx, Canada 22 Mackerel, Spanish 388 Magpie, American 203 Mallard Duck 268 Manatee, Florida 155 Man-o'-War Birds 290 Marten 28 Martin, Purple 193 Marmoset, Common 16 Massasauga Snake 352 Master of the Trail, The 109 Menobranchus, or Mud-Puppy 370 Menopoma, or Hellbender 368 Merganser, American, Head of 279 Merganser, Head of Hooded 279 Merganser, Red-Breasted 278 Microdipodops megacephalus, Skin of 85 Microtus pennsyl anicus, Skin of 85 Mink 28 Moccasin, Water 352 Mocking-Bird 188 Mole, Digging Muscles of a 57 Mole, Common 57 Mole, Fore Foot of Star-Nosed 58 Mole, Nose of Star-Nosed 58 Mole, Star-Nosed 57 Monkey, Black-Faced Spider 15 Monkey, Diana 13 Monkey, Japanese Red-Faced 13 Monkey, White-Throated Sapajou 14 Moose in New Brunswick Frontispiece Mouse, Field 86 Mouse, Jumping 93 Mouse, Le Conte's Harvest (lower figure) 90 Mouse, Mole 90 Mouse, Rice-Field 89 Mouse, Red-Backed 87 Mouse, Typical Pocket 92 Mouse, White-Footed (upper figure) 90 Mullet, Silver 390 Murre, Common 301 Muskallunge 394 Musk-Ox, Wild Herd of 106 Musk-Ox, Young Female 104 LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS xvii PAGE Narwhal 152 Neotoma floridana, Skin of 85 Nighthawk 207 Nutcracker, Clarke's 205 Nuthatch, White-Breasted 185 Ocelot 21 Old Squaw Duck, Head of 269 Onychomys leucogaster, Skin of 85 Opossum, Murine, and Young 166 Opossum, Virginia 165 Orang-Utan, Female and Young 11 Orang-utans "Fight in the Tree-Tops" 10 Oriole and Nest 201 Oryzomys palustris, Skin of 85 Osprey, American 226 Otter 28 Owl, Barn 220 Owl, Barred 220 Owl, Great Horned 223 Owl, Screech 221 Owl, Snowy 224 Owl, Young Great-Homed 223 Owl, Young Screech 222 Paddle-Fish 429 Paddle-Fish, Under View of .' 429 Pangolin, Rolled Up 161 Parrakeet, Carolina 216 Partridge, California Mountain 242 Partridge, CaUfomia Valley 243 Peccary, Collared 144 Pelican, California Brown 285 Pelicans, Florida Brown, on Pelican Island . . . 284 Pelican, Great White 286 Penguin, Emperor 306 Perch, Yellow 383 Perognathus jasciatus, Skin of 85 Peromyacus leucopus, Skin of 85 Perodipus richardsoni. Skin of 85 Petrel, Stormy 294 Phenacomys orophilus, Skin of 85 Pickerel, Chain 386 Pigeon, Band-Tailed 238 Pike-Perch, Yellow 386 Pin-tail Duck 272 Pine Snake 344 Pipe-Fish, Great 423 Platypus 167 Plover, Kildeer 251 Plumage of a Bird 180 Porcupine, Canada 95 Porcupine Fish 374 Prairie-"Dogs " 76 Prairie-"Dog" Burrow 78 PAGE Ptarmigan, WiUow 249 Puffin, Common 304 Puffin, Tufted 304 Puffer Fish 374 Puma, or "Mountain Lion" 20 Python, Reticulated 337 Rabbit, Cotton-Tail 97 "Rabbit," Jack 97 Raccoon 41 Rail, Virginia 257 Rat, Cotton 89 Rat, Florida Wood . 88 Rat, Kangaroo 91 Rat, Kangaroo . . : 92 Rattlesnake, Banded, yellow phase 351 Rattlesnake, Banded, dark phase 351 Rattlesnake, Diamond 350 Rattlesnake, Prairie 351 Ray, Sting , 436 Redhead Duck 274 Beithrodontomys leconti, Skin of 85 Ring-Necked Duck, Head of 269 Robin 181 Ruddy Duck, Head of 279 Salmon, Quinnat 401 Salmon, Sebago 404 Sand-Piper, Least 253 Sawfish 435 Scaup Duck, Head of 269 Scoter, Head of American 269 Scoter, Head of Surf 269 Sea-Horse 423 Seal, Harbor ' 44 Seal, Harp 51 Seal, Head of Hooded 53 Seal, Ribbon 52 Seals, Fur, on "Hauling Grounds" 49 Sea^Lions, California 44 Sea-Lion, Steller's 44 Sea-Lion, Steller's 46 Shad, Common 407 Shark, Hammer-Head 432 Shark, Mackerel 432 Shark-Ray 434 Sheep, Black Mountain m Sheep, Head of White, front view 110 Sheep, Head of White, side view 110 Sheep, White Mountain m Shoveller Duck 271 Shrew, Common 58 Shrew, Short-Tailed 53 Shrike, Loggerhead 191 Sigmodon hispidus, Skin of 85 XVIU LIST OF ILLUSTKATIONS PAGE Siren Salamander, or Mud-" Eel" 371 Skeleton of an American Bison 100 Skeleton of a Bird of Prey 219 Skeleton of a Turtle 323 Skeletons of Man and Gorilla 8 Skeleton of Pale Bat 60 Skunk, Common 31 Skunk, Spotted 31 Sloth, Two-Toed 160 Snake-Bird 287 Snapper, Red 391 Snipe, Wilson's 253 Snow-Bunting 196 Sparrow, White-Throated 197 Spermophile, Say's 73 Spermophile, Thirteen-Lined 74 Spermophile, Richardson's 75 Spoonbill, Roseate 265 Squirrel, Eastern Red 71 Squirrel, Flying 80 Squirrel, Gray 69 Squirrel, Southern Fox 70 Steller's Duck, Head of 279 Stickleback, Two-Spined 415 Sturgeon, Lake 427 Sucker, Common 412 Sunfish, Common 383 Swallow, Barn 195 Swallow, Cliff, and Nest 194 Swan, Trumpeter 282 Swordfish 392 Synaptomys coo-peri, Skin of 85 Tadpole to Frog, Prom 361 Tails of American Deer 129 Tamandua Ant-Eater 158 Tanager, Scarlet 195 Tarpon 406 Teal, Blue- Winged 270 Teal, Head of Green- Winged 269 Tern, Common 297 Terrapin, Alligator 328 PAGE Tortoise, Box 325 Tree-Duck, Head of Fulvus 269 Tree-Frog, Northern 363 Trigger-Fish 374 Trout, Brook 399 Trout, Rainbow 398 , Tuna 389 Turkey, Virginia Wild 250 "Turtle," Musk 326 "Turtle," Painted 327 "Turtle," Soft-Shelled 329 "Turtle," Wood 328 Vireo, Red-Eyed 190 Vole, Northwestern 87 Vulture, California 233 Vulture, Young California 234 Wallabay, Rock 164 Walrus, Pacific 44 Walrus, Pacific 54 Walrus, Young Atlantic 55 Warbler, Yellow 189 Water-Snake, Red-Bellied 346 Wax'wing, Bohemian 193 Whales Attacked by Killers 150 Whale, Bow-Head 147 Widgeon, Head of American 269 Wolf, Gray 22 Wolverine 30 Woodcock, American 252 Woodcock on Nest 252 Woodchuck 79 Wood-Duck 273 Woodpecker, Downy 213 Woodpecker, Golden- Winged 211 Woodpecker, Red-Headed 212 Wood Thrush 182 Wren ' 187 Zapus hudsonius, Skin of 85 MAPS AND CHARTS PAGE Map of North America Third page of cover Landscape Chart of the Orders of Living Mam- mals 5 Map of Annual Migration of the Fur Seal Herd . 48 Chart of the Hare and Rabbit Family 97 Range of the Musk Ox 105 Distribution of Mountain Sheep in North America 108 Distribution of the Prong-Horned Antelope ... 117 Distribution of the Moose in North America . . . 141 Landscape .Chart of the Orders of North Amer- ican Birds 177 INTRODUCTION THE GROUND-PLANS OF NATURE Science is a collection of facts concerning natural objects or phenomena, arranged in good order, and made useful. Natural Science is the study of Nature's works and forces, and embraces all things not made by man. Among its grand divisions.may be mentioned natural history, chemistry, and physics. Natural History is the study of Nature's common objects; but by most persons, this name is applied only to the study of animal life. Natural history treats of three great kingdoms — the animal, vegetable, and mineral. The Animal Kingdom embraces not only all the living creatures which now inhabit the earth, but also those which have died, become extinct, and left only their buried remains, called fossils. Of the animal kingdom, three great groups of subjects may be recognized, as follows: MAN, the study of whom is called An-thro-pol'o-gy THE LOWER ANIMALS, the study of which is called Zo-ol'o-gsy EXTINCT, or FOSSIL ANIMALS, the study of which is called Pa-le-on-tol'o-gy In strict reality, Paleontology is only a branch of Zoology, for the two are inseparably dove- tailed iogether. The living animals of to-day are the standards by which the paleontologist studies and determines those of the past. This diagram illustrates the relations which the grand divisions of Natural History bear toward each other: Kingdoms. Sciences. ( An-thro-pol'o-gy Animal : < Zo-ol'o-gy ( Pa-le-on-tol'o-gy NATURAL HISTORY / , Botany (m a broad sense). ^ Vegetable: -^ Pa-le-o-bot'a-ny Mineral- \ Ge-ol'o-gy '"^^^^^ \ Min-er-al'o-gy In its broadest sense. Natural History includes Chemistry and Physics; but as that term is now commonly used, it is intended to refer only to the life histories of living creatures. An Animal is a living creature belonging to the animal kingdom ; but this word is cornmonly, though incorrectly, used to designate mammals alone. ' The animals of the world are so vast in number, and so varied in form, that these lessons will treat only of the higher forms of life, known as Ver'te-brates. A Vertebrate is an animal having (usually) a bony skeleton, and a spinal column, or back^ bone, composed of a series of bones called ver'te-brae. This division of Hfe is called a Branch. The Branch Ver-te-bra'ta is divided into seven grand divisions, called Classes; which are known as Mam'mals, Birds, Reptiles, Am-phib'ians, Fishes, My'zonts, and Lance'lets} 1 Two other Classes, Enteropneusts and Tunicates, are, by some modern zoologists, regarded as Vertebrates. These low forms, however, lack a complete backbone, or notochord, and are therefore omitted. XX INTEODUCTIOlSr A Mam'mal is a warm-blooded creature, that brings forth its young alive, and nourishes it with milk from its own body. All land mammals, save a few species, are covered with hair; and all sustain life by breathing air with the aid of lungs. Except man, the mammals which live upon land are also called quad'ru-peds. A Quad'ru-ped is a mammal which possesses four feet, or, having two hands and two feet, hke the apes, yet walks upon all-fours. Man is a bi'ped, or two-footed animal. Land mammals generally are quad'rupeds, or four- footed, and monkeys are quad-ru' ma-nous, or ioxa-handed. The term quadrumana is often applied to apes and monkeys because the long great-toe on the hind foot makes the foot quite hand-like in its grasping power. A Bird is a warm-blooded animal, which comes from an egg that usually is laid and hatched by the parent. It breathes air, is covered with feathers, usually is provided with wings, and all save a few species can fly. A Reptile is a cold-blooded, egg-laying animal, usually covered with scales or a bony shell. All have lungs and breathe air, but some are able to Hve in water so comfortably they are called am-phiVi-ous. An Am-phib'i-an is a member of the Class of animals which forms a connecting link between reptiles and fishes. Some breathe air, and live alternately on land and in water, like frogs. Others have gills, and live in water all their Hves. A few are capable of developing either gills or lungs, according to the presence or absence of water, hke the wonderful Ax-o-lotl' of Mexico. A Fish is a cold-blooded animal, possessing gills, fins, and (usually) scales. All save a very few species live permanently in water. The exceptions are certain fishes in the East Indies which for short intervals hop about on land, or even climb rocks or trees! THE ANIMAL WORLD. GRAND DIVISIONS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD Bhanches. Classes. Mammals Birds Reptiles Ver'te-brates : ^ Amphibians Fishes Myzonts Lancelets Insects :^Body in segments, reproduce by a complete change in form. Crus-ta'ce-ans (Crabs, Lobsters, etc.): — Skeleton external; gill-breathing, chiefly aquatic. MoI'lusks (" Shell-Fish") : — Soft-bodied, usually covered by a hard, Umy shell. Worms : — True worms, and other forms not fitting in elsewhere. Star-Fishes : — Salt-water animals, with star-like structure. Corals: — Minute, salt-water animals, which build up solid masses of their limy skeletons. Jelly-Fishes : — Disk-shaped, jelly-like sea animals, with no hard parts. Sponges: — Stationary aquatic animals, which look like plants; skeletons of tough, fibrous cells. Pro-to-zo'ans : — Lowest forms of life, beginning with the single cell; mostly microscopic. HOW ANIMALS ARE CLASSIFIED In order to know and appreciate even a small proportion of the world's animals, their correct arrangement into groups is as necessary as a systematic arrangement of the books in a vast Ubrary. By their forms and characters, animals are divided into natural groups and subdi\asions, and in INTEODUCTION xxi order that we may understand their proper relationships, and their places in Nature, we must learn and remember the general principles of animal classification. Without this foundation knowl- edge, a clear view of the splendid domain of animal hfe is impossible, and the life histories of our living creatures will be but a jumble of disconnected facts, of very shght practical use. When properly simpUfied, the classification of the principal groups of our vertebrate animals is as easily learned and remembered as the leading facts of geography. Once learned, each animal observed thereafter can be located in the group to which it belongs, and its place in Nature under- stood. This helps toward exact knowledge of its anatomy and habits. No-men'cla-ture is the naming of animals, and the groups to which they belong. The object of popular nomenclature, or naming, is to make the place and character of an animal clearly and correctly understood by the greatest possible number of people. Sclentiflc nomenclature relates to the use of technical names, in Latin or Greek, in which the general student is not often interested. Whenever through frequent or frivolous changes of scientific names, or by the giving of too great a number of them, our knowledge of animals becomes confused and uncertain, scientific classification defeats its own object, and becomes worse than useless. The observance by technical writers of the fatal rule of priority, by which the most obscure names often are exalted at the expense of more appropriate names in universal use, is rapidly debasing the legitimate value of Latin names generally, and creating wide-spread uncertainty and confusion. Latin words are used for most scientific names, because Latin is the universal language of scien- tific men, the world over; and Latin names are used by all educated nations without change in form. In the development of animal classification, the various classes of animals are subdivided into groups which gradually grow smaller, until at last each species is named and placed, thus: Classes are divided into Orders: Orders " " " Families: Families" " " Genera (singular = genus) : Genera " " " Species (singular = species) : Species " " " Individuals. As an example, take the Puma, or Mountain " Lion." Its Order is FE'RAE, the wild beasts. " Family is Fefli-dae, the Cats. " Genus is Feflis, the true Cats. " Species is concolor, gray. " Scientific name, therefore, is Felis concolor. I All these groups are divided into subdivisions, such as suborders, subfamihes, subgenera, and even subspecies; but in the writer's opinion there is very little excuse for their creation, or for their continued existence, and the student will do well to let them alone — until he feels the need for them. A tau'to-nym is a scientific name in which the name of the genus is repeated as the name of the species. Thus, some authors write the Latin name of the American Bison as Bison bison; and the Anhinga is Anhinga anhinga. In America, the tautonym habit is merely another step toward the complete demoralization of zoological nomenclature. A tri-no'mial is a name in three sections, applied to a subspecies; such as Fdis concolor oregonensis. By scientific authors, species are frequently divided into subspecies, or races, because in widely separated localities, animals of the same parent stock sometimes are so influenced by differences in climate, food, and surroundings that they assume different colors, or grow larger or smaller than the t5rpe. But, no matter how much individuals may differ in size and color, if it is possible to bring together a collection of specimens which will show all stages of variation from the type to xxii INTEODUCTION the extremes, then the specimens all belong to the same species. Thus, in passing from New York to Ohio, specimens of the Gray Squirrel show all shades of variation, from the typical gray to black; but all belong to the same species, called in Latin, Sci-u'rus car-o-li-nen'sis. A Species is an assemblage of individual animals which in at least one respect are distinctly different from all others, and whose peculiarities are so well marked and so constant that they can be distinguished from all others without the aid of locality labels. When a new kind of animal is found, adult specimens of which are distinctly different from those of all known species, an average specimen is taken as a type, and it is described, and christened by its describer. Every species should be distinguishable by external characters; and any animal which requires to be killed and dissected before it can be named, is of no practical value as an independent form. To secure recognition among zoologists, it is important that the first description of a new species should appear in a regular publication of some scientific society, or in a scientific journal. In case the creature has not already been described, and the proposed species has just claims to stand alone, this name is entitled to stand, by right of priority, or first christening. Many times it happens that through ignorance of what has been done by others, or by errors in judgment, a new name is bestowed upon an animal or plant that has already been named. Some- times, also, it is found that the name bestowed has already been used for some other animal. A name applied to an animal or plant already named is called a syn'o-nym. In scientific books, synonyms sometimes are printed in a list under the correct name, followed by the names of their respective authors. A zoological synonym always stands for a published error, and scientific authors should be chary of describing as "new" any species which are likely to prove mere synonyms. The type of any species is a carefully selected specimen which in size and color may fairly be considered the standard, or average, for that species. Among zoologists, this term is applied to the identical skin, or other specimen, described by its discoverer. Because of the many scientific names that are erroneously bestowed upon animals, the name of the author who is responsible for a name is usually printed, in abbreviated form, immediately after the name itself, thus : Popular name. Scientific name. Authority. Coyote. Canis latrans. Say. A parenthesis enclosing a Latin name and the name of its author is a sign that the name has been changed somewhat from the form originally chosen and put forth by the author of the species. Taken as a v/hole, this name means (1) that the "popular "name of the animal is Coy'ote; (2) . that its scientific name (Latin) is Canis (=dog) la'trans (=barking); and (3) that it was first cor- rectly described and named in print by a man named Say. - If we consult our books, we will find that Thomas Say was a Philadelphia naturalist, and his description of this animal appeared in "Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains," published in 1823, Vol. I, page 168. Whenever the name of an animal has been so long in use that it has become familiar to millions of people, any attempt to change it tends to create confusion. A slightly incorrect name in universal use is often better than the confusion and doubt inseparable from attempting a change. Thus, the American buffalo, considered in connection with the world's bovine animals generally, is really a bison; and the prairie-" dog " is really a prairie marmot; but since nearly all the inhabitants of America know these animals by their incorrect names, and any effort to force a universal change would be quite fruitless, it would be unwise to attempt it. It is very important to the student that the names of the various Orders of vertebrate animals should be learned and remembered; for they are the keys with which to unlock and reveal all systematic knowledge of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. THE INTELLIGENCE OF ANIMALS: A WARNING During the past two years, so many persons have requested my views regarding the mental capacity of animals, that I feel impelled to enter here a brief statement, coupled with a warning. Unfortunately, it cannot be written otherwise than in the first person. INTEODUCTION xxiii While I have no desire to exploit my personal experiences among wild creatures, it is at least fair to state, for the benefit of the millions to whom the writer is unknown, that of wild creatures in their haunts, and also in captivity, he has seen as much as most men of his tastes. The tendency of the present is to idealize the higher animals, to ascribe to them intelligence and reasoning powers which they do not possess, and in some instances to " observe " wonderful manifestations that take place chiefly in the imagination of the beholder. For example, to a ruffed grouse, having mingled blood and mud on a broken leg, is ascribed a deliberate and well-considered attempt at "surgery," and the intentional making of a clay jacket, re-enforced with pieces of grass. To my mind, all such " observations " as the above are too absurd for serious consideration; and when put forth for the information of the young, they are harmful. There exists to-day a tendency to ascribe to wild animals a full measure of human intelligence. But wild creatures must not be taken too seriously. With all their "schools" in the woods, they are not yet as intelligent as human beings ; and the strain that is being put upon them by some of their exponents is much too great. With the most honest intentions, a naturalist may so com- pletely overestimate and misinterpret the actions of animals as to reach very ridiculous conclusions. Judging from all that I have seen and heard of wild creatures of many kinds, from apes to centipedes, both in captivity and out, I believe that practically all their actions are based upon natural, inborn instinct — nearly all of it in the Une of self-preservation, and the exceptions are due to the natural tendency to imitate leaders. Of hereditary knowledge — another name for instinct, some animals have an abundance. Of special knowledge, acquired by systematic reasoning from premise to conclusion, most animals have very little, and very fe* ever exhibit powers of ratioci- nation. It is not true that young animals know things only as their parents teach them. The assertion that all young birds must be "taught" to fly, or run, or swim, or catch insects, is ridiculous, and not even worthy of discussion. It is just as natural for a one-week-old lion cub to spit, and claw at a human hand, as it is for it to breathe and suck. , There are no deer in a captive herd so insanely wild and fearful of keepers as the fawns. No ; even the higher animals are not yet as wise as human beings. In matters involving intel- ligence, such as in the treatment of wounds, or disease, below the higher Primates there is not more than one out of every hundred which has sense enough to comprehend a relief measure, or which will not fight the surgeon to the utmost. Some apes do indeed learn to be doctored; but there are many which never grasp the idea, and fight until they die. Of mammals generally, not more than one out of every hundred will permit a bandage to remain on a broken leg when they have the power to tear it off. "Animal surgery," indeed! . In the matter of disposition, wild mammals and birds are no more angelic than human beings. In every family, in every herd, and in every cage, from tigers to doves, the strong bully and oppress the weak, and drive them to the wall. Of all quadrupeds, deer are the greatest fools, wolves are the meanest, apes the most cunning, bears the most consistent and open-minded, and elephants the most intellectual. Of birds, the parrots and cockatoos are the most philosophic, the cranes are the most domi- neering, the darters are the most treacherous, the gallinaceous birds have the least common-sense, and the swimming birds are by far the quickest to recognise protection, and accept it. The virtues of the higher animals have been extolled unduly, and their intelligence has been magnified about ten diameters. The meannesses and cruelties of wild animals toward each other form a long series of chapters which have not yet been written, and which no lover of animals cares to write. I can see no possible objection to the writing of good fiction stories in which animals are the characters and the actors throughout. I love a good story, and I enjoy a wild-animal hero, even when the entire plot and all its characters are imaginary. To such there can be no objection, so long as the reader knows that fiction is fiction ! But the realms of fact and fiction are very distinct, and the boundary should be maintained, openly and visibly. In books for children, espe- xxiv INTRODUCTION daily, fantastic imaginings should not be offered as serious facts; but such stories as"Raggylugg," "Redruff," and "Krag," by Mr. Ernest T. Seton, deserve to live forever. "Mooswa" is a fiction story of animals that is one of the best of its kind. The most marvellous doings of wild animals are to be found in books and newspapers. Only in books do porcupines roll down steep hills in order to gather dead leaves upon their quills, and thereby be able to do more wonderful things. Only in books do kingfishers catch fish, carry them a mile or less, and place them in a brook in order to give their nestlings object lessons in ichthyology, and in the gentle art of angling. You or I may spend years in the forests and fields, observing and collecting wild creatures, and see only a very few acts of the wild folk which we can call wonderful. But then, somehow, our animals rarely have been as large, or as well educated, as those of some ' other observers. Try all questions of animal action and inteUigence with the touchstone of common-sense. Be not startled by the "discovery" that apes and monkeys have "language"; for their vocabulary is not half so varied and extensive as that of barn-yard fowls, whose language many of us know very well. Take no stock in the systematic and prolonged "duels" of wild animals who meet and fight to the death, under Marquis of Queensberry rules. A fight between two wild animals is usually a very brief event, — so say reliable men who have seen them in the wilds, — and unless there is an accidental death-lock of antlers, the vanquished party usually shows his heels long before he is seriously wounded. Animal psychology is a most interesting study, and its pursuit is now engaging the serious attention of scientific men. If the general public could know the plain and simple basis on which they are proceeding, this warning against the idealization of animals would hardly be necessary. Men of science who study the minds of animals do not idealize their subjects, or ascribe to them super- human intelligence ; nor are they always on the alert to ascribe to every simple action some astound- ingly intelligent and far-fetched motive. In the study of animal intelligence, the legitimate Truth is sufficiently wonderful to satisfy all save those who crave the sensational, regardless of facts. RULES FOR MEASURING MAMMALS, HORNS, ETC. The increasing amount of attention that is being paid to the measurements and weights of animals renders necessary the adoption of a uniform system, in order that species and individuals may be compared on a fair basis. To promote this end the following rules are offered: Small Mammals Generally 1. Record all measurements in feet and inches, and leave the metric scale for those who prefer a foreign system. 2. Measurements of skins are of very slight value; therefore, always measure a specimen before skinning it. 3. Lay every mammal on its side, pull the head straight forward, and measure from the tip of the nose to the point where the tail joins the body. This is the "Length of head and body." 4. From the last-mentioned point, measure to the end of the tail vertebrae, not the hair, for "Length of tail." If the tail-tuft is important, measure it separately. 5. Weigh large examples of species that are larger than rats and mice; and in each case, weigh the whole of the specimen. Large Mammals 1. The "Height at the shoulder" is the most important measurement. To obtain this, hold the uppermost foreleg as nearly as possible in the position it occupied when supporting the animal. Do not measure from the "point of the hoof"; for that means nothing. Hold the hoof with its bottom parallel with the body, as when the animal stood upon it; erect there a stick to mark the INTRODUCTION xxv bottom line, and another to mark the top of shoulders, at the skin. The distance between the two perpendiculars, in a straight line, will be the true height of the animal. Do not follow any curves. 2. The "Length of head and body" must be obtained in a straight line between root of tail and end of nose, with the head drawn straight forward, and not following any curves. The "Length of tail" is from its base to the end of the vertebrae. 3. The "Girth" is the tight circumference of the animal immediately behind the forelegs. 4. The "Depth of the body" is the distance in a straight Hne from the top of the shoulders to the brisket, or lower hne of the breast, immediately behind the foreleg. To artists, sculptors, and taxidermists, this is a very important measurement. 5. The "Circumference of the neck" is taken half way between the ears and shoulders, close to the skin. 6. The "Length from head of femur to head of humerus" is also a highly valuable figure for artists, and it is easily taken by feeUng through the skin for the high points of those joints. 7. Weigh an animal before it is "dressed"; but if the dressed weight of a deer is known, a close approximation to its live weight can be obtained by the aid of the rule given on page 124. Antlers and Horns 1. The "Length on outer curve" is obtained by starting the tape line at the base of the horn, at its lowest point on the face, and following the curves or windings of the horn, quite to the tip. In horns that are deeply ringed, such as those of the large African antelopes, the tape must not be pressed into the hollows between the ridges. 2. The "Greatest spread" is taken from outside, to outside of the antlers where they spread widest ! This should not be taken inside the horns, for that does not represent the real width of the horns, any more than interior measurements would represent the spread of a tree. 3. The "Distance between tips" needs no explanation. 4. The "Circumference at base" should, for all bovines, sheep, goats, ibex, and deer, be taken in a circle around the largest diameter of the horns. The tape should not follow the meanderings of the end of a sheep's horn. With the antlers of all members of the Deer Family, the circumfer- ence should be measured immediately above the burr. 5. " Width of palmation " of moose and caribou should always be measured where the pal- mation is widest. 6. A " Point" on an antler is any pointed projection of sufficient length that a watch can hang upon it without falling off. 7. The "Weight of horns" must state whether it be with "entire skull," or "with skull-piece'' only. 8. Shed antlers that have been set artificially on a manufactured skull, or frame, are not entitled to measurement for "spread"; but where a skull has been sawn in two lengthwise by a clean cut, and bolted together again without alteration of the sawn surfaces, it is entitled to measurement for "spread" and "distance between tips." BOOK I MAMMALS CHAPTER I THE ORDERS OF MAMMALS The living mammals of the world, as distinguished from those which are extinct, or fossil, may be divided into thirteen grand divisions, called Orders. The order is the foundation of mamms/- lian arrangement. Without adequate knowledge of these divisions, a~clear understanding of the relationships of mammals is quite impossible. It is customary with technical writers to begin with the lowest forms of life, and toil upward toward the highest ; but it is very discouraging to the young student to find the most interesting forms the farthest away. Frequently the most interesting animals are never reached! For many reasons, it is best that the general student should study first the forms that are most important, and also most interesting, and thus make sure of them. We therefore begin our studies of the animal kingdom with the highest forms, and adopt the latest names that have come into use amongst zoologists. While the great majority of the examples cited will be North American, a few from other con- tinents wiU be introduced to complete the chain of important facts. THE ORDERS OF LIVING MAMMALS, ORDER. PRONUNCIATION. MEANING. EXAMPLES. Primates Pri'matz First order Man ; apes and monkeys. Ferae, or Carnivora Fe're j Wild^BeSts [ ^^*®' ^°S^i bears, weasels. PiNNiPEDiA Pin-ni-pe'dia Fin-footed Sea-Uons, seals, walrus. InSectivora In-sec-tiv'o-rah Insect-eaters Moles and shrews. Chiroptera Ki-rop'ter-ah Wing-handed .... Bats and flying-" foxes." Glires, or Rodentia. . . . Gli'rez Gnawers Hares, gophers, rats, squirrels. Ungtjlata Un-gu-la'tah Hoofed Cattle, deer, sheep, swine, tapirs. Cete Se'te Whales Whales, porpoises, dolphins. Sirenia Si-re'ne-a Sea-cows Manatee and dugong. Edentata E-den-ta'ta Toothless Armadillos, sloths and ant-eaters. Effodientia Ef-fo-de-en'shia Diggers PangoUn and aardvark. Mahstjpialia Mar-su-pi-a'li-a Pouched Opossum, kangaroo. Monotremata Mon-o-trem'a-ta Single duct Platypus and echidna. EXPLANATION OF THE CHART OF THE ORDERS OF MAMMALS. To the beginner in Natural History studies, the Order is the master-key to classification. This Chart is based on the well-known fact that in the pursuit of a difficult study, any scheme which properly and truthfully appeals to the eye is an aid both to the understanding and the mem- ory. It shows the relative importance of the various Orders of Mammals, but not their relative sizes, based on the number of species in each, as has been done later on with the birds. If number of species were given precedence over economic importance, the Order Glires would dominate, and the Order Ungulata would appear small and insignificant. It is impossible to construct a diagram which will show correctly the relations which the various Orders bear toward each other, anatomically. This is because some Orders are characterized by their teeth, some by their feet, or hands ; others by their wings, and two by their mode of producing their young. It will be noted that: The Primates, of the tree-tops, have the highest position. The Cete, which in some respects are the lowest of the Mammalia, occupy the lowest position. The Bats are shown in mid-air, and the Insectivores appear under ground, where they live out their lives. The Seals and Sea-Lions appear both on the shore and in the sea, and the Sirenians are located in an estuary. The Ferae, Glires and Ungulata spread throughout the whole visible earth, covering forest and plain, sea, pond and stream, from the sea to the most distant mountains. The Monotremates, or egg-laying mammals, are quite apart from all other land mammals, and appear low down, near the home of the ducks, as shown on the bird chart. The space allotted to this strange Order has been made egg-shaped, to suggest the leading characteristic of its members. Copyright, 1903, by W. T. Hornaday. LANDSCAPE CHART OF THE ORDERS OF LIVING MAMMALS. '■"%, By permission of J. F, G. Umlauff. (lOHILt.A. Shot Mid plu)toi;raplied tit Tsonu Town, West Africa, by H. Paschex, 1001. CHAPTER II THE ORDER OF APES AND MONKEYS PRIMATES This Order includes all creatures with hands, and hand-like feet. With the exception of the Japanese red-faced monkey, the tscheli monkey of China, and two or three other Chinese species, all its members inhabit the tropics, far below the frost line. It is on or near the Equator that the lower Primates reach their highest development, and the great apes approach nearest to man. Let it not be supposed, however, that the chain of evolution from the aye-aye to the gorilla is complete; for the gap between the gibbons and the monkeys is much greater than that between the gorilla and man. All men, even savages, are specially interested in apes and monkeys, because they are the high- est of the lower animals, and stand nearest to man. There is no human being of sound mind to whom their human-likeness does not appeal. For this reason, we will introduce here several species which are not found in the New World, for the reason that without them our Foundation for the Mammalia would be incomplete. Although tropical America contains a very respectable number of species of monkeys, they are, as a whole, both structurally and mentally, far lower than the monkeys and baboons of the Old World. Structurally they are weak, in spirit they are timid and cowardly^ and intel- lectually they are dull to the point of stupidity. With the exception of the sapajous, they are in general so ill fitted to survive that if they are on exhibition it is a difficult matter to keep any of them alive in captivity much longer than one year. If not exhibited, they survive longer. On the other hand, very many of the monkeys and baboons of the Old World have developed first-class fighting powers, and pugnacious tem- pers. They have dangerous canine teeth, wide- spreading jaws, strong muscles, and keen wits for either attack or defence. The Lemuroids, however, the lowest of the Primates, are as mild- mannered and harmless as rabbits. With Ethnology, the study of the races pf Mankind, we have here nothing to do. That subject is so interesting, and so vast in its ex- tent, that nothing less than an entire volume can adequately set it forth. The grand divisions of the Primates in general are as shown below. S a pj o SUB-ORDER ANTHRO- POIDEA: SUB-ORDER LEMU- ROIDEA: FAMILIES. Man, hom-in'I-dae. EXAMPLES. Anthropoid Apes, ■SIM-I'I-DAE. Monkeys ANol^-^^lg^-l^^-^^^'" Baboons, •' New -World Monkeys, CEB'I-DAE. Marmosets, Lemurs, Tarsier, Aye- Aye, ( CAL-LI-THRVCI- \ DAE. LE-MUR'I-DAE . TAR-SI'I-DAE. . \DAU-BEN-TON- ( I'-T-DAE. 7 Gorilla, Chimpanzee, Orangr-Utan, Gibbon, Japanese Bed- Faced Monkey, t Diana Monkey, Gelada Baboon, White-Throated Sapajou, Black Spider- Monkey, Howlers, / Common Marmo- l set, ■ Buffed Lemur, . Tarsier, f Aye-Aye, Gorilla gorilla. Pan troglodytes. Simia satyrus. Hylobates leuciscus. Macacus spedosus. Cercopithecits diana. Theropithecus gelada. Cebus hypoleucus, Ateles ater. Alouatta. Callithrix jacchus. Lemur varius. Tarsius tarsius. Dauhentonia. ORDEES OF MAM.MALS— APES AND MOXKEYS The Apes. — The three great man-like (or an'thro-poid) apes — gorilla, chimpanzee and orang-utan — are so much like human beings that, to most persons, they are the most won- By permission of J. F. G. Umla SKELETONS OF MAN AND GORILLA. 1, cervical vertebrae I'-*, carpals, 2, ci)llar bone. 13, metacarpals, 3, humerus, 14, phalanges, 4, sternuiu, 15, cavity of pelvis 5, rihs, 16, sacrum, 6, rib cartilages, 17, femur. 7, dorsal vertebrae, 18, patella, 8, lumbar vertebrae, 19, fibula. 9, pelvis, ' 20, tibia. 0, radius, 21, tarsals, 1. ulna, 2^, uietatarsals. ^:i. phalanges. derful of all living creatures below man. Their ]5oints of resemblance to man are so many and so striking that they arc a source of wonder even to savages. As will be observed from a comparison of the skeletons of man and gorilla, below the skull their parallelism is remarkably close. Both in kind and in number the bones are the same, and they differ only in their pro- portions. The hands and feet of the gorilla are designed for a life that is half terrestrial and half arboreal, while those of man are for life on the ground. The long thumb and great toe of the gorilla are far superior to those members in the chim- panzee and orang-utan. The widest differences between man and the gorilla are in their skulls. In the gorilla, the high forehead and intellectual faculties so characteristic in man are totally wanting, indicating a very low order of intelligence. The long and powerful canine teeth are alone sufficient to proclaim the savage wild beast. To many persons it seems strange that notwithstanding the seemingly wide dif- ferences between the various races of men, all mankind be referable to a single species. In spite of the vast differences in intellect between the native Australian — not yet out of the stone age — and a Caucasian philosopher, both belong to Homo sapiens, and between them there is not even a sub- specific difference. E\'en if the great apes could talk as well as the \'eddahs of Ceylon, whose vocabu- lary consists of about two hundred words, their anatomical differences from the genus Homo would separate them ((uite as widely as they now are. To segregate a species requires a slruclural difference that is con- stant. The Gorilla' is the largest, the ugliest, the most fierce in temper, and by reason of its shorter arms and longer legs, it is really the nearest to man. It is the only ape that walks erect Avithout being taught, and that spends a considerable por- tion of its life upon the ground. In bulk it is larger than an average man, and its ' Go-rit'la qorilla. GOEILLA AND CHIMPANZEE arms and chest are of enormous proportions.' The countenance of the Gorilla is very ugly and repulsive, and the shape of its skull is much farther from that of man than are those of the chimpanzee and orang-utan. Its skin is black, and the hair of full-grown specimens is grizzly gray. The Gorilla inhabits only a very small area in West Africa, directly on the ecjuator, between the Gaboon and Congo Rivers, and extending only two hundred miles back from the coast. It is very shy, and so difficult to approach in those dark and tangled forests that very few white men ever have seen one wild. One of the most remarkable specimens ever secured was the huge old male killed and photo- graphed by Mr. H. Paschen, a German trader, near Tsonu Town, German Cameroon country, two hundred and forty miles north of the equa- tor, in 1901. This animal, photographed in the flesh, with three natives beside it for compari- son, to show its immense size, was shot in a tree, without difficulty or danger. It measured 66 inches in height, its chest, arms and shoul- ders were of gigantic proportions, and its weight was estimated at 500 pounds. Twelve men were recjuired to carry it from the jungle to the village, where it was photographed. On account of the sullen, sulky disposition of the Gorilla in captivity, only one of the four or five young specimens that have been brought to Europe has lived longer than about eighteen months. They sulk, often refuse food, will not exercise, and die of indigestion. Up to this date (1903) only one live Gorilla, and that a tiny infant, has ever landed in the United States; and it lived only five days after arrival. Show- men sometimes label a baboon "Gorilla," or "Lion-Slayer," and it is well to remember that the Gorilla has no tail whatever. The Chimpanzee- is about oneTthird smaller than the gorilla. Its brain, face, ears and hands are more man-like than those of any other ape, and its large brain and keen mind render it in thought and habit much more man-like than the ' The average man of the Anglo-Saxon race is 5 feet 6 inches in height and weighs 160 pounds. ''■ Pan troglodytes. Described in most books under the untenable and more unwieldj' name of Anthro- popilhecus troglodytes; . This animal lias been de- scribed under nine different generic names, but Pan is the oldest one available and the best. gorilla. It is an animal of bright and cheerful disposition, though subject to sudden fits of bad temper, and having a good memory, it is easily taught. Young Chimpanzees are affectionate and child-like, but when large and strong, the males are usually dangerous, and not to be trusted. Some individuals have displayed re- markable intelligence. "Sally," of the London Zoological Gardens, could count correctly up to five, whenever bidden, and hand out the correct number of straws. After several years of obser^'ation of living Chimpanzees and orang-utans, in daily com- parison, I am convinced that the only substantial psychological differences between the two species are (1) that the temperament of the Chimpanzee N. Y. Zoological Park. YOUNG FEMALE CHIMPANZEE. is of the nervous type, and its mind is more alert and prompt in action than that of the orang, while on the other hand (2) the temperament of the orang is sanguine, its disposition is more serene, and while its mind may be somewhat less showy on exhibition, its capacity is cjuite ecjual to that of the Chimpanzee. The greater quickness of the Chimpanzee, both in thought and action, renders it on the whole the best show animal in public performances. Many persons consider the Chimpanzee supe- rior in inteUigence to the orang-utan, but thus far the only real difference appears to be that the ORDERS OF MAMMALS— APES AND MONKEYS B\ 1 HimisM 111 t 1 DW ^RDs Bhus A DHESSED-UP CHIMPANZEE. mind of the former is more alert, and acts more quickly than that of the orang. In walking, the Chimpanzee does not place the palms of its hands flat upon the ground, but bends its fingers at the middle joint, and walks upon its knuckles. It does not, as so often asserted on hearsay evidence, build a hut or a roof of branches under which to sleep. Its home is the heavy forest region of equatorial Africa, from the Atlantic ocean to Lake Tanganyika. Like the gorilla, its skin is black, and when young its hair also, but when fully grown its hair is dark iron- gray. This animal can at one glance be dis- tinguished from the orang-utan by the greater size of its ears, and its black color. The Orang-Utan (from two pure Malay words, "orang" = man, and "utan" = jungle) is also about two-thirds the size of the gorilla, and is easily recognized by its brick-red hair, brown skin and small ears. The largest speci- men on record stood 4 feet 6 inches in height from heel to head, measured 42 inches around the chest, and between finger tips stretched S feet. The old males develop a strange, flat ex- pansion of the cheek, called "cheek callosities," f3 inches across; but in 3'oung animals this is seldom developed. The hand is 11^ inches long, the foot 13 J inches, but the width of each across the palm is only SJ inches. The weight of a large, full-grown male Orang is about 250 pounds. The black gorilla and chimpanzee both in- habit the land of black men; the brown Orang- Utan lives only in Borneo and Sumatra, the land of the brown-skinned Malay. The latter prefers the belt of level, swampy forest near the coast, li\'es wholly in the tree-tops, and rarely descends to the earth except for water. Orangs travel by swinging underneath the large branches with their long, muscular arms. Because of their great weight, they cannot leap from tree to tree, as monkeys do, but they swing with wonderful rapidity and precision. They eat all kinds of wild fruit, fleshy leaves, and the shoots of the screw pine. In proper hands, young Orang-Utans are very susceptible to training. In 1901 the New York Drawn by C. B. Hudson. A FIGHT IN THE TREE-TOPS. Old male Orang-Utans, with cheek callosities. FEMALE ORANG-UTAN AND YOUNG. Drawn from specimens li\-ing in the New Yorlc Zoological Park, by A. G. Doring. 12 OEDBKS OF MAMMALS— APES AND MONKEYS Zoological Park contained four Orangs, all of which were easily taught to wear clothes, sit in chairs at table, eat with fork and spoon, drink from cups and bottles, and perform many other human-like actions without nervousness, in the presence of two thousand visitors. Each of the Orangs learned its part in about two weeks' training, and at the dinner-table acted with gravity and decorum. "Rajah," the senior member of the quartette, never once suffered from stage fright, or lost his nerve during a pub- lic performance. In captivity, young Orang-Utans are as af- fectionate as human children, and very fond of their human friends. In the jungles of Borneo the full-grown males often fight savagely by biting each other's faces, and by biting off fingers and toes. At night the Orang makes a nest to sleep upon, by breaking off leafy branches, and laying them cross-wise in the forked top of a sapling. On this huge nest-like bed it lies flat upon its back, grasps a branch firmly in each hand and foot, and is rocked to sleep by the cradle-like swaying of the tree-top. Unless attacked at close quarters, in their for- est homes, none of the great apes is dangerous to man. All of them flee quickly from the dreaded presence of Man, the Destroyer. They never fight with clubs, but when attacked at close quarters they bite, just as do human roughs. When enraged, the gorilla does beat its breast with its fists, just as Du Chaillu said; and it does this even in captivity. "The Missing Link." — For thirty years at least. Science has been seeking in the earth for fossil remains of some creature literally standing between man and the great apes, but at present unknown. In 1879, Mr. A. H. Everett made for the Zoological Society of London a thorough examination of the deposits on the floors of some of the caverns of Borneo. To-day, some natural- ists are straying toward the lemurs in search of the parent stem of man's ancestral tree. Vain quest ! The gap between Man and Lemur is too great to be bridged in this world. A coincidence between skull bones is a long way from man- likeness. Place upon the shoulders of a gorilla the head of a chimpanzee, and we would have — what? The Missing Link, no less, — a hairy, speechless man! The man-apes we have. Let those who seek the undiscovered ape-man search the Ter- tiary deposits of the fertile uplands that lie between the gloomy equatorial forests of the black apes and the Bushmen of South Africa: for there, if anywhere, will the Missing Link be found. The Gibbons. — From the three huge, coarse- ly-formed and unwieldy man-like apes described above, the line of descent drops abruptly and far. Their nearest relatives are the Gibbons — creat- ures of small size, marked delicacy of form, no weight or strength to speak of, but of marvellous agility in the tree-tops. Their heads are small and round, their teeth are weak, and their faces are like those of very tiny old men. ' Their arms and hands are of great length in proportion to their body size, yet so very slender are their muscles that a live Gibbon seems like a hairy skin drawn over a skeleton. The largest specimen I measured in Borneo had the follow- ing remarkable dimensions: head and body, 19 inches; extent of outstretched arms and hands,- 5 feet 1 inch ; entire reach of arms and legs, 5 feet 1 inch; hand, 6^ inches long by 1 inch wide; weight, lOi pounds. Of Gibbons there are about six species, and they inhabit Borneo, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Burmah and Siam. With the Gray Gibbon,' of Borneo, I am well acquainted; and after the three great man-like apes, it is to me the most wonderful of anthropoids. They are very timid, the shyest of all Primates that I ever hunted, and wonderfully successful in eluding the hunter. Nevertheless, so strong is their affection for their young, I have seen a whole troop that had made good its escape, return at the call of an infant Gibbon in trouble, and all reckless of their own safety come down within twenty feet of their deadly enemy. Very few other mammals will do this. The most wonderful habit of the Gibbon is its flight down hill when pursued. Of course it never dreams of descending to the earth, but in the half-open hill forests of Borneo I have seen these creatures go downward through the tree- tops, in a straight course, leaping incredible dis- tances, catching with their hands, swinging un- der, catching with their feet, turning again, and so on by a series of revolutions, almost as fast as the flight of a bird. ' Hy-lo-ba'tes leu-ds'cus. OLD WORLD MONKEYS 13 The Slamang,* of Sumatra, is the largest and rarest of the Gibbons. It is jet black, all over, face as well as fur, and it has a throat pouch which is distended to astounding proportions when it utters its peculiar, piercing cry. This species is as rare in captivity as the gorilla, and the only specimen seen alive in the New World up to 1903 was exhibited at the New York Zoo- logical Park in that year. OLD-WORLD MONKEYS AND BABOONS. Cercopithecidae. Typical Old-World Monkeys. — Asia, Africa and the islands of the Malay Archipelago con- tain a great number of species of monkeys. The most northern is the sturdy .Japanese Red- Faced Monkey, with no tail to speak of. It is catching cold. Their tempers are quite as warm as their blood. From Japan, monkey-land extends southward through China, and southern Asia generally, the Sanborn, Photo., N. Y. Zoological Park. JAPANESE EED-FACED MONKEY. Note the narrow space between the nostrils. clothed with long, shaggy hair, and those in the New York Zoological Park live outdoors all winter, and gallop about in the snow without ' Sym-pha-lan'gus syn-dac' ty-lus . DIANA MONKEY. Malay islands almost to Australia, and through- out the whole of Africa except its great deserts, to the extreme south. Of all these Old-World species, none have jyrehensile (grasping) tails, like many American species. Many of them are beautifully colored, howe^'cr, and the markings of some are C|uite fan- tastic. The Diana Monkey, of West Africa, is elaborately marked with black, white, gray and brown, and it is one of the most beautiful of all monkeys. An old-world monkey can nearly always be recognized by the very narrow space between the nostrils. Short-Tailed Monkeys. — It must not be supposed that because the tail of a monkey is so short as to be scarcely visible, the wearer is therefore a true ape. There are several baboon- like animals with tails exceedingly short and in- significant, but which are far removed from the true apes. Some of these are called apes, but they are all much lower in the scale. Of these, the most important are : The Black "Ape" of Celebes; The Barbary "Ape" of Gibraltar and North Africa ; The Pig-Tailed Ma-caque' (pronounced Ma- cak') of the East Indies, east of Ceylon, and The Japanese Red-Faced Monkey. The Baboons. — In nearly every portion of Africa abounding in rocky hills covered with scanty vegetation may be found Baboons, — fierce of aspect, domineering in temper, strong of limb, and sometimes very ugly in countenance. 14 ORDERS OF MAMMALS— APES AND MONKEYS N. Y. Zoological Park. DEAD GELADA BABOON. Note the lion-like aspect. Their noses are long and dog-like. They live on the ground, travel in troops of ten to twenty individuals, and rob grain-fields with great bold- ness. It is asserted by African explorers that even hungry lions prefer to let them alone. The canine teeth of an adult Baboon are so long and sharp that they are dangerous weapons. Without exception. Baboons are the most fierce-tempered animals of all the Primates, not even excepting the great apes, which never fight when they can run away. All told there are about sixteen species of Ba- boons, all of which are found in Africa outside of the dark forests of the ecjuatorial regions. The gi'cat Gelada Baboon,'- of Abyssinia, is one of the most remarkable of all animals. It is like a small lion, with a Baboon's feet and hands: but its wonderful grimaces are peculiar to it.self. A Baboon of average size stands 24 inches in height at the shoulders, and weighs about 45 pounds. The majority of the species are of a yellowish color, mixed with brown. The Man- drill is known everywhere by its brilliant blue and scarlet muzzle, and yellow chin beard. ' Thc-ro-pilh'e-cus (jc-la'da. NEW-WORLD MONKEYS. All the monkeys of the New World are marked by the wide space between the nostril openings, and nearly all the larger species possess prehen- sile, or grasping, tails that are as useful as a fifth arm and hand. Most of the species which do not have prehensile tails are ciuite small. Of the clinging-tailed monkeys there are three im- portant groups, which are represented in North America. They are the Sapajous, the Spider Monkeys and Howlers. The American monkey most frequentljr seen in captivity is the White-Throated Sapajou' ^\ HI TK-THHO.VTED SAPAJOU. Note tlie wide space between the nostrils. (sap'a-jew) or Cap'u-cliin, called by animal dealers and showmen, the "Ring-Tail." This monkey is a kind-spirited and affectionate little creature, and rarely gi\'es way to bad temper. ' Ce'bus hy-po-leu'cus. SPIDER, OWL AND SQUIRREL MONKEYS 15 It has a wrinkled and care-worn face, as if bur- dened with sorrows — which most captive mon- keys certainly are! Its forehead, throat and shoulder-points are white, and the remainder of the body is either gray, brown or jet black. The Sapajous inhabit Central America and northern South America. About two hundred specimens are brought to New York every year. BLACK-FACED SPIDER MONKEY. Al'e-les a'ter. where they are sold by dealers at prices ranging from $10 to $15 each. The Spider Monkeys' may easily be recog- nized by their very long, slender legs and tails, and small, round heads. In color they are usu- ally either black or gray, and rarely reddish brown. As they swing on their way through life, always using their prehensile tails to cling or to swing by, they have a very uncanny look, and it is no wonder that they are called "Spider" monkeys. They can come as near tying them- selves into knots as living mammals ever can. ^ At'e-les. When fully grown, they are much larger than the sapajous, but are weak, unable to fight, and therefore timid. In a cage containing several species of monkeys, they are always the greatest cowards, and often are heard shrieking from fright at imaginary terrors. They are dainty feeders, and very difficult to keep in health in captivity. Four species are found north of Panama. The Mexican Spider Monltey oc- curs up to Lat. 23°, and is the most northern monkey on this continent. The Owl Monkeys. — Next to the spider monkeys is found a group often represented in captivity, the members of which are distin- guished by their small size, their round heads, very large, owl-like eyes, and long, hairy tails, which are not prehensile. As their staring eyes suggest, these creatures are of nocturnal habits, and in daylight hours are as inactive and un- interesting as opossums. Because of this, they make rather uninteresting pets ; but being good- tempered creatures, they are frecjuently kept. They are sometimes called Do-rou-cou'lis. They are found from Central America to southern Brazil. The Squirrel Monkeys of northern South America and Central America are next in order, and in activity and general liveliness of habit they make up for all that the owl monkeys lack. They are the most active of all the small Amer- ican monkeys, and so nervous and unmanage- able they are unfit for captive life elsewhere than in cages. The Common Squirrel Mon- key,' sometimes, though erroneously, called the Teetee, is a trim little yellow fellow, with a very long cranium, close-haired head, and a very long tail, which it gracefully curls up over its own shoulders whenever it sits down. This species comes from the Guianas and Vene- zuela, and is very common in captivity. On board ship a Squirrel Monkey of my ac- ciuaintance once furnished constant entertain- ment and amusement. Its favorite food was big, fat cockroaches, contributed by the sailors from their collection in the forecastle. Each morning a sailor would bring a jacket, and shake it over a clear space on the deck. As the cock- roach shower struck the deck, the agile little monkey dashed at the insects like a terrier at rats, cramming them into his mouth as fast as ' Sai-mi'ri sci-u're-a. IG OKDERS OF MAMMALS— APES AND MONKEYS possible, and meanwhile seizing and holding in his hands as many more of the struggling insects as his absurd little paws could grasp. This creature is a skilful climber, and it is the only mammal I evev saw which could exert suffi- cient lateral pressure with its hands and feet to en- able it to climb with ease a perfectly smooth, right- angled corner of wood to a height of six feet. This particular animal was so fond of its owner that it loudly and ^'oeife^ously refused to sleep elsewhere than in his bunk, cuddled against his feet. With its piercing cries it controlled the situation as effectuallj^ as any spoiled cliild. The Saki Monkeys, of tropical South Amer- ica east of the Andes, are of medium size, mostly black and shaggy-haired, and sometimes pos- sessed of a lotig, black cliin beard. They are always marked by their big, heavily-haired tails, which are long, but not iirehensile. They are often mistaken for howling monkeys. They arc difficult to keep alive, seldom live to reach the United States, and for this reason are likely to remain but little known. The most remark- able species is the Black Saki,' two specimens of which were placed on exhibition in the New York Zoological Park in 1903. The Uakari, or Yarkee, Monkeys, of which there arc three species, all found in Brazil, have the shortest tails to be found amongst American monkeys. The Bald Yarkee ' of the Upper Amazon is an excellent imitation of the .Japanese red-faced monkey, having not onlj^ the same stubb)' tail, and long, shaggy hair, but also a red face .' Ihifortunately this species is one of the rarest in all America, The Howlers are rarely seen in captivity, because it seems almost an impossibility for man to find food which they will eat, and which agrees with them. Between the two sides of the lower jaw, the Howler possesses a large sound-box of cartilage — a development of the hyoid bone — which gives to the creature's voice a deep resonance, of a very unusual character. These monkeys de- light to indulge in vocal concerts, and the deep roar of their unearthly voices can be distinguished at a distance of a mile or more. In all there are six species of Howling Mon- keys. Occasionally young specimens of the Golden Howler are brought from Venezuela ' Pi-the'cia sa-tan'as. ^ U-a-ka'ri-a cal'va. and C.iuiana to New York, but in confinement their digestive organs are easily disturbed, and they-seldom, if ever, live to reach maturity. THE FAMILY OF MARMOSETS. Calliihric iliac. Lowest in the scale of all the American mon- keys, and in fact next to the lemurs, we find a collection of small and odd-looking creatures some of which are so strangely formed that it often is necessar}' to state that they belong to the Ortler of Ajjes and Monkeys. This is the Family of Marmosets, the members of whicH are dis- tributed variously from southern Jlexico to southern Brazil. They are frequently found in the stores of animal dealers, and by ladies who have abundant time for their care are often Photo, by Jenness Rich.irdsox. COIUION M.iRMOSET. prized as household pets. But they are very delicate, and do not long endure the strain of being on public exhibition. Their market price varies from $3. .50 to $S. Without exception these are all very small, MARMOSETS AND LEMUES 17 delicately-formed creatures, with hairless faces, eyes that are large and bright, and long tails. Their hair is long, abundant and silky, and in some species it stands up on the top of the head like a white ruff. As these frail little creatures perch motionless in their cages, and focus their brown eyes upon the visitor, they seem more hke little toys than living animals of Man's own Order. They are really very odd, picturesque and interesting. The Pinche Marmoset ' is a good repre- sentative of this group. It comes from the United States of Colombia, is about as large as a small chipmunk, and can be recognized any- where by the jaunty bonnet of white hair which stands stiffly erect on the top of its head. Of marmosets there are altogether about twen- ty-one species. The best-known are the Com- mon Marmoset,- with a fan of white hairs standing stiffly erect above each ear, and the Silky Marmoset,-^ which is half buried in a mop of long, silky, yellowish hair. THE SUBORDER OF LEMURS. Lemuroidea. On the great island of Madagascar there are no fewer than thirty species of lemurs, many of them very beautiful creatures, all very kind- spirited and inoffensive, and .so numerous that some travellers have declared that "every bush has its lemur." And yet, in America, these creatures are about as little known as it they inhabited I\Iars instead of Madagascar. During the first six months following the opening of the Primates' House in the Zoological Park, at least twenty educated and intelligent young men asked how to spell the word "lemur." The lemurs, tarsiers and aye-aye constitute the lowest grand division of the Ape-and-Mon- key Order — Primates. Their low position is due chiefly to their long, fox-like muzzles, and their teeth, which are not monkey-like. Their hands and feet, however, define their position. The Ruffed, or Black-and-White Lemur ^ is the handsomest and most conspicuous animal in this strange group. It is the size of a large house cat, its tail is very long, and the creature is abundantly clothed with long, soft, silky-fine fur, jet black and pure white. ' Mi'das aed'i-pus. ' Cal'li-thrix jac'chus. '■ Mi'das ros-a'li-a ' Le'mur va'ri-us. Sanborn, Photo., N. Y. Zoological Park. THE RUFFED LEMUR. Although lemurs have large eyes, and are supposed to be night-prowlers, they are fairly active in the daytime, and are not at all dis- turbed b}' daylight. They are charming pets, very affectionate, easily kept, and even with twenty in one large cage they do not C|uarrel, as monkeys are so prone to do. Keepnig Monkeys in Captivity. — Large monkeys need large cages, with means to climb and swing. Fine hay should cover the floor. Cages should always stand three feet above the floor of a room, and while the ventilation should be good, there should be freedom from draughts. The temperature should be 7.5°, kept as even as possible. Food : boiled rice or tapioca, baked or boiled potatoes, ripe bananas or apples; a little raw meat, finely chopped ; dried or parched sweet corn that is easily chewed; a Uttle stale bread; occasionally, a small raw onion. Per- mit no teasing ; feed regularly, water frequently, and keep cages clean. When monkeys become ill, carefully ascertain their trouble, then treat them the same as one would sick children. CHAPTER III THE ORDER OF FLESH-EATING MAMMALS FERAE, OR CARNIVORA North America contains a fine array of animals belonging to the Order Fe'rae," numbering about ninety species north of Mexico, not counting subspecies. They are divided into .the follow- ing groups: FAMILIES. APPHOXIMATE NUM- BER OF SPECIES NORTH OF MEXICO. The Cats ......••• fe'li-dae 8 Species The Dogs ca'NI-dae 22 ORDER/ The Mabtens mvs-te'li-dae 46 |^ FERAE ^ -j-jjj; Bjj^jjs UR'si-DAE 12 '] The Raccoons pbo-cy-on'i-dae 3 THE CAT FAMILY. Fdidae. In the order of their size, the five largest cat- like animals of North America are the following : Jaguar, Puma, Canada Lynx, Red Lynx, and. Ocelot. Of the Cat Family, the Jaguar ^ (pronounced Jag' you-ar) is not only the largest, but also the handsomest species in America. Of yellow-and- black Cats it stands next in size to the tiger, but in form it is not so finely proportioned as the leopard. It is of massive build, throughout, and its head is very large for the height and length of the animal. Its tail, however, is dispropor- tionately short. This creature has a golden-yellow coat, marked on the back and sides by large, irregular hollow islands of black, called rosettes — quite different from the smaller and more solid black spots of the leopard. Between these rosettes run the narrow lines of yellow ground-color, like the streets of an oriental city on a map. The legs, head and under-parts are marked with solid black spots. An animal of this species can always be ' From Latin fe-rus, meaning a wild beast. This is a much older name than Carnivora, which here- tofore has been generally applied to this group. ' Fe'lis on'ca. recognized by its large rosettes, large head, heavy build, and short tail. The Jaguar, which in Mexico and South Amer- ica is called "el Tigre" (tee'gree), is found ag far north as southern Texas, and from that region southward to the Hmit of tropical forests in South America. A female specimen which once lived in the New York Zoological Park, measured 48 inches in length of head and body, its tail was 20 inches long, it stood 24 inches high at the shoulders, and weighed 120 pounds. The big and burly male which murdered the female above mentioned is fully one-fourth taller, and larger in every way. In killing pigs, cattle, horses, deer and other wild animals, the Jaguar is a fierce, powerful and dangerous beast; but, like all other wild creat- ures, it is afraid of man. It is my belief that the strength of the jaws of the Jaguar is greater in proportion to its size than that of any other member of the Cat Family. Of this power we once witnessed in the Zoological Park a tragic illustration. A full-grown female Jaguar was purchased as a cage-mate for a large and powerful male, named "Lopez," from the interior of Paraguay. Aftfer two days' prelim- inary introduction through their cage-fronts, the two animals were placed together. No sooner had the female entered the cage of Lopez 18 JAGUAE AND PUMA 19 than he rushed upon her, seized her neck between his jaws, and by a square bite crushed two of the neck vertebrae, and killed her instantly — as quickly as if her head had been cut off with an axe. adventures with Pumas have been written and printed, but in reaUty this animal is less to be dreaded than a savage dog. It appears to be true, however, that it occasionally follows be- lated hunters or travellers, out of curiosity. It Drawn by J. Cahter Beabd. JAGUAR. The Puma, also called Mountain "Lion" and Cougar,' is the most widely-known cat ani- mal of North America. It is found in all the great western mountain ranges of the United States, in many tracts of "bad-lands" in Wyom- ing and Montana, British Columbia, and in the Adirondacks and Florida. Southward it ranges over table-lands and through tropical forests, all the way to Patagonia. In the United States it is most abundant, and also most accessible, in Routt Co., Colorado, where it is easily found by dogs, chased into low trees, and shot without danger. In this manner Mr. John B. Goff has killed nearly three hundred Pumas, "only two of which fought courageously." Hundreds of thrilling stories of (imaginary) ' Fe'lis con'co-loT, and other species and races re- cently described. is now a well-established fact that prowling Pumas do sometimes scream, in a manner cal- culated to inspire terror, just as caterwauling cats frequently do. I have heard Pumas scream precisely like terrified women or boys, but they always flee from man when the way is open. The Puma is a thin-bodied, flat-sided animal, tall for its weight, and of a brownish drab color. It has a beautiful face, and is a handsome creat- ure. Of all the large cats of the world, it is by far the best climber. A large specimen is from 7 to 8 feet in total length, from nose to tail tip, and weighs about 22.5 pounds. The Puma makes its den among rocks, in "wash-out" holes, or in very thick brush or for- ests, and preys upon every living creature that can be killed and eaten, except man. In settled regions they frequently destroy much young 20 OEDERS OF MAMMALS— FLESH-EATERS stock. Throughout the Rocky Mountains, it is a dangerous enemy of the mountain sheep and mule deer. In the "bad-lands" of Monta)ia I once saw a mule deer killed which had on its neck a twelve-inch scar, a torn ear, and the beam of are not possessed by any other animal. But no two Ocelots are ever marked exactly alike. This animal is the size of a cocker spaniel,, and being a good climber, when in its native forests it spends much of its time on the lower From a photograph. By permission of Outdoor Life Magazine. FVU.K, OR MOUNT.\IN " LION. one antler broken off half-way up. Apparently these injuries were received in an encounter with a Puma, and a fall over a cut bank, which evidently released the deer from its savage as- sailant. The young of the Puma vary in number from two to five, and are spotted. Living specimens vary in value from $.30 to $7.5, according U) age and size. At first glance the Ocelot, or Tiger-Cat,' seems to be a small leopard with a pale-yellow body-color. Its legs are spotted, but instead of having s]>ots on its Ijody, its baclv and sides are marked with irregular stri|)es and bands of black which run Iriigthiri.-ic. It may be instantly recogiuzed by its horizontal stripe.^, for the like ' Fe'lis pard-a'tis. See page 42. branches of trees, watching for prey. It feeds chiefly upon small quadrupeds and birds. The following are the dimensions of an average speci- men: Height, 13 inches; head and body, 30 inches; tail, 15 inches; weight, 36 pounds. It is frofiuently taken in southern Texas — its north- ern limit — and its range is about the same as that of the jaguar. In the New York Zoological Park it has been kept out-doors all winter, and has bred and reared young very successfully. Like most small yellow cats, Ocelots are usually bad-tempered. The value of a living specimen is al)()ut $30. The Lynxes of North America form a very distinct group of short-tailed, heavily-furred, tree-climbing cats, the members of which are spread throughout nearly all portions of the con- TKEE-CLIMBING CATS 21 tinent north of Mexico, which are yet sufficiently wild to shelter them from man. They inhabit with eciual facility forests, mountains, canyons. Drawn by J. Carter Beard. CANADA LYNX. sage-brush plains, and even deserts. They prey chiefly upon rabbits and hares, grouse, prairie- "dogs," ground squirrels, and any other hving creatures, except porcupines, which they can catch and kill. They are not courageous, or disposed to fight except when cornered, and so far as voluntarily attacking human beings is concerned. Lynxes are no more dangerous than rabbits. In North America the genus Lynx is repre- sented by two well-marked types. The Canada Lynx' is a heavily-furred, short- bodied, long-legged bob-tailed wild cat of a pep- per-and-salt gray color, .standing about 1een almost exterminated. The few indi- viduals that remain are widely scattered, and are the wildest and wariest of all wild creatures. The Mink ' is much smaller than the otter, . yellowish brown or dark brown in color, and while it prefers to live along the banks of streams, it is not an aquatic animal like the otter, ^^'hen possible, it feeds chiefij' upon birds, because they are easilj' caught and killed, and when opportunity offers, it is a wanton murderer. It also preys upon small mammals and fish, whenever it can procure them. In the Beaver Pond of the New York Zoological Park a murderous Mink once killed six wild geese in one night, and another slaughtered ten herring gulls. A full-grown Mink looks very much like a large weasel, having a long, slender body and very short legs. The Mink is by no means as rare as the otter, and even to-day is found scattered throughout nearly the whole of North America, as far as the limit of trees. The round, hairy tail, choco- late-brown or yellowish-brown color and smaller size of this animal quickly distinguish it from all other animals of its Family. The body of a full- grown specimen is about as thick as the wrist of a medium-sized man. The length of the head and body is 19 inches, tail 7 inches. The Black-Footed Ferret," of Kansas, Colo- rado, Wyoming and Montana, is to many per- sons who live in its home country, an enigma. In 1849 this pretty creature was described and illustrated by Audubon and Bachman, after which it totally disappeared, and remained a mystery until it was re-discovered in 1886. In its home it is often called the Prairie-" Dog " Hunter, because its .specialty is the killing of prairie-" dogs;" and it is nearly always found in the towns of that jolly little animal. It can be recognized at a glance by its black feet, brown legs and black tail-tip, and the cream-yellow color of its head and body. Next to the skin, the fur is white, and there is a broad black or dark-brown patch across the nose, including both eyes. Its length of head and body is 19 inches, tail 4 inches. Regarding its habits and life history, much re- ^ Lu-tre-o'la vi'son, and related species. ■^ Pu-to'ri-us nig'ri-pcu. mains to be ascertained by the young natural- ists who hve in the country it inhabits. The Weasel, of which many species and races have been described, is the smallest animal in the marten family.' Its legs are very short and far apart, and its body is no thicker than a BLACK-FOOTED FBKKET. man s thumb, but it is of such great length that the animal is positively snake-like in its propor- tions. In life it is very odd to see the front legs walk to and fro quite independently of the hind quarters. Fifteen full species have been de- scribed, se^'eral of them being very much alike. The Common Weasel, or Ermine " is brown in summer, and white in winter. The Weasel is one of the most courageous and aggressive of all animals. It kills rabbits, grouse, chickens and ducks of ten or twelve times its own size, and often kills ten times as man}^ chickens as it can eat, purely to gratify its murderous disposition. It is as savage as a tiger, but on farms it often does good service in destroying rats and field-mice. Weasels are so small their fur has little value, but the time is coming when it will eagerly be sought and used. ^ TVie Least Weasel (Pulorinx rixofius), which is found from the Saskatchewan to Alaska, is said to be tlie smallest carnivore in the world. ^ Pu-to'ri-us er-min'e-a. 30 OEDEKS OF MAMMALS— J^'LiESH-EATERS The Marten' looks very much like a young red fox, and in size it is about as heavy as an ordinary domestics cat. Its head and body length is 17 inches, and its tail 7 inches. The body is brownish yellow, the legs are two or three shades darker, and it has three kinds of hair. It loves timber, and spends much of its time in trees. It is rarely found in open country, and is most abundant on rugged and rocky for- est-covered mountains. The Marten is not a poultry-killer, nor a wan- in America. It is a bold, active tree-climber, an industrious hunter, an aggressive fighter, and as a stealer of baits it is almost as great a nui- sance to trappers as the hated wolverine. With this animal, "all's fish that cometh to net," and with equal relish it devours dead fish, rab- bits, squirrels, chipmunks, ground birds, snakes, toads and frogs. Occasionally it murders its own cousin, the pine marten, and even feeds upon the Canada porcupine. The Fisher is at home in the swamps or the THE WOI^VERINE. ton murderer of more game than he can eat, but he lives by honest hunting of wild game. His food consists of small rodents, birds, eggs, or even an occasional reptile. In the United States this animal is now rare, for its fur has always been highly prized. It is often called the Pine Marten. The Fisher, or Pennant's Marten,- is one of the largest members of the Marten Family ' Mits-lc'la cimericana. ' Mus-lc'la pcn'nant-i. rocky mountain-sides of northern New York, and in the forest regions of North America generally from Maine and southern Labrador to the Pacific coast. Northward it ranges to Great SlaA'e Lake and the Yukon River. In color it varies from glossy black to dark brown, with occasional gray, or grayish white, on head and neck, chin, chest and abdomen. Its aver- . age length is 23 + 14 inches. The young vary in numbers from two to three. THE WOLVEKINE AND SKUNK 31 The Wolverine, or Carcajou,' is one of the most remarkable animals in North America. It is about the size of a full-grown bull-dog, has a ravenous appetite, great strength, a fierce tem- per, and the combined cunning of many genera- tions of criminals. It is the greatest thief amongst animals, and is such a greedy feeder that it is known to many as the Glutton. It will follow a trapper's "line" of marten traps, for miles, destroy every animal it finds in them, the Skunk-Bear, and in Washington the Indians call it the Mountain Devil. It inhabits the northern Cascades and the Rocky Mountain region of the United States as far south as Great Salt Lake, and the whole of arctic and subarctic America to the northern limit of trees. It is especially abundant on the Kuskowim River, Alaska. Its length is 32 x 10 inches. The Skunks form a large group, widely dis- tributed, but all the species, however much they COMMON SKUNK. devour baits, and sometimes steal the traps also. It breaks open caches, raids cabins, and sys- tematically destroys everything it encounters. It is the only animal living which maliciously and dehberately destroys property, and soils food which it can neither eat nor carry away. It .steals articles which it cannot possibly use, and more than once has been known to strip a cabin of nearly its entire contents. In form this animal resembles a cross between a badger and a bear. In Wyoming it is called ' Gu'lo lus'cus. LITTLE SPOTTED SKUNK. differ in size or color, are arranged in three genera. The Common Skunk,' of which nine species are recognized, is very well known, chiefly be- cause of its powerful odor, its wide distribution, and its very con.spicuous jet-black color, divided on the back by one or two broad bands of white. This type of skunk is practically confined to the United States and Mexico, and is most abundant in the North. The very offensive fluid which constitutes its defence against all ' Meph'i-tis. 32 OKDERS OF MAMMALS— FLESH EATERS enemies, is contained in two glands situated near the Isase of tlie tail, and can be thrcjwn seA'cral feet. Its odor is so offensive and so stifiinf; that neitfier man nor beast can long endure it. The Skunk is a bold marauder, and destruc- tive to poultry, but ne^•ertheless of yjlue as a destroyer of white grubs and other noxious in- sects. Owing to the disappearance of the otter, bea\'er, mink and marten, the fur of the Skuidc has become \'aluable, and is now ^•ery exten- sively used, the white portions being first dyed black. The Little Spotted Skunks ' are found chiefly in our southern states, and can immediately be recognized by the alternating bands of black and white which extend lengthwise along the body. Of these there are about a dozen species, but some of them are very much alike. They range from the Clulf coast north to West Virginia and Kansas, but on the Pacific slope they are found in Washington, Oregon, Cali- fornia and Utah. The Badger Skunks ' resemble the common Skunks in size, but may be readily distinguished by the broad white stripe on the back, and the powerful claws on tlie fore feet. As indicated by their name, they are more badger-like than THE BADGER. the other skunks, and are expert diggers. They are the only skunks which occur in South .-Vmer- ica, and their range extends from the Straits of Magellan northward along iho west coast, through Central .America and Mexico into south- ern Texas and .\rizona. The Badger is an animal of strange form, its body being very broad and flat, and its legs very ' Spi'lo-ijah'. - Cii-iir-pa'lus. short. In size it stands midway between the common skunk and the woh'erine. It has a sav- age and sullen disposition, and as a pet is one of the worst imaginable. It lives in burrows, and feeds on ground squirrels, prairie-"dogs," and ground game of e^'erjr description. Often Bad- gers will be found living in deserts where it would seem an impossibility for any carnivorous animal to find a supply of food. Its home is the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains and westward there- of to the Pacific coast, from Mexico to Manitoba and ,\laska. THE BEAR FAMILY. Ursidae. That nearly all young people, the whole world over, are greatly interested in bears, is no cause for wonder. Under proper conditions, young bears are the most merry-hearted wild animals that come into capti\'ity, not even excepting monkeys, and in some respects the most inter- esting. Of all wild animals kept in zoological parks, there are none that more fully repay the care bestowed upon them, and excepting apes and monkeys, none that furnish more amusement. With plenty of sun-lit space in which to romp and play, good bathing pools, and no stone walls to depress their spirits, if not fed by vis- itors, bears are more playful and mirth-pro- voking than most monkeys. If immured in gloomy "bear-pits," or confined in small cages, their spirits are correspondingly depressed. They are then like unhappy prisoners, rather than care-free wild creatures. If tantahzed with bits of food, they quarrel and fight, and their tempers become savage and dangerous. Contrary to general belief, a bear is naturally cheerful and good-tempered. Elk, deer, buffalo, elephants and large cats often attack their keep- ers, but bears that ha^'e been properly reared in cai)ti\'ity seldom do so. The bear dens of the Xew York Zoological I^ark, contained (in 1903) thirty-four bears, of clcN'cn different species, living in peace and harmony, in nine paved yards. Fully one-half of their waking hours are spent in romping, wrestling, boxing and swinmiing, and ill-temper is rai-ely shown. The keepers go amongst these bears with only lii-ooms for defence, and the great brutes are hustleil about and dri^•en to and fro ^ H ;- a 7^ Q^ -^ '-■■ ^ ca CI H ^ u; o P 34 ORDERS OF MAMMALS— FLESH-EATERS as if they were so many sheep. At the same time, any visitor who is so unwise as to thrust a hand between the bars within reach of the jaws of any of the inmates is certain to be very se-' verely bitten, — in playfulness rather than rage! In their rough play these bears continually bite each other, without inflicting injury; and they do not appreciate the difference be- tween a tender human hand and a tough, hairy paw. Never offer a finger to a carnivorous animal, unless you> really wish to have it bitten off. And do not feed pea-nuts, candy, peaches, or tobacco to animals in captivity. Jf you wish to kill any of them, a gun is far more respectable, and also more merciful. Structure and Habits of Bears. — Bears are plantigrade, or flat-footed, animals, with long claws that are not retractile. They live on the ground, and eat all kinds of food, from green grass to elk steaks. A few species only are able to climb trees. In their food habits they are om-niv'o-rous, and devour almost everything they can chew, except wood and fohage. The bears of the Alaskan coast eat great quantities of marsh grass, and berries, but salmon is their regular food. All bears eat succulent roots, insect larvae, honey, frogs and also reptiles, fish, and every other kind of flesh they can ob- tain. In captivity they thrive best on a variety of food consisting of stale bread, raw meat, cooked meat, rice, raw fish, boiled potatoes, raw carrots, and fruit. In the temperate zone, where the snow falls to a depth of a foot or more, bears are unable to procure food in winter, and pass that season in a sort of sleep, or hibernation. With its stomach and intestines empty, or nearly so, a bear enters its den in December, curls up, and with some of the functions of Nature en- tirely suspended, sleeps until spring! In reality, the creature lives upon the fat that has been se- creted under its skin and elsewhere during the summer days of good living. Ordinarily, bears in captivity that are supplied with daily food, do not hibernate in winter, but one cinnamon bear which I knew personally, at Mandan, North Dakota, dug a hole in the prairie, entered it on December 17, and did not reappear until March 14, of the following year. In the tropics, bears never hibernate. Naturally, the dens of hibernating bears are of several kinds, accordng to conditions. In the Adirondacks, of New York, the black bear often chooses the base of a hollow tree, or digs a cavity under the roots of a tree. In the " bad- lands '' of the West, bears easily find warm and comfortable dens in the wash-out holes of rugged ravines. In the mountains, amongst rocks, small caves are easily found. In Wash- ington, "Grizzly" Adams caught "Lady Wash- ington'' and "Ben Franklin" in a deep den that had been dug by their mother in a steep hillside. All the world over, two bear cubs usually con- stitute a litter. In America, they are usually born in January, and at birth are ridiculously small, almost hairless, and as helpless as newly- born mice. Although they grow rapidly during the first year, they are seven years in reaching full maturity. In captivity bears seldom breed and rear their young, chiefly because of the lack of satisfactory seclusion for the female. Mr. Arthur B. Baker, who has recently inquired into the habits of the American black bear in cap- tivity, states that "at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, are two specimens which regularly hibernate, and also a pair, born in 1888, which, with the ex- ception of three years, have had cubs each Jan- uary (21st to 27th) up to 1903, all of which were raised, excepting a few which met death by ac- cident." Bears have bred in captivity in the zoological gardens and parks of Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Washington and New York, but few of the cubs have been reared. The dimensions of a Russian brown bear cub — a species that is an excellent understudy of our silver-tip grizzly, and but slightly inferior in size — was when two days old as follows: Length, head and body, 9f inches, tail, i inch; height, 5 inches, circumference of chest, 6f inches; hind foot IJ inches by i inch; weight 15 ounces. This cub was born on January 17. All American bears, except the polar, show great changes in the color of their pelage at dif- ferent seasons of the year. In the late summer the new pelage is darkest, but by the following spring, the old coat has grown so much lighter in color that the wearer seems like a different individual. The shedding period is from May 1 to August 1. GROUPS OF NORTH AMERICAN BEARS 35 North American Bears. — Leaving out of count the subspecies, and the species of which we know Uttle or nothing, the world contains fourteen well-marked types of bears. Of these, eight inhabit Asia and Europe, four are found in North America, one is found all around the north pole, and one in South America. From both the Old World and North America, quite a number of additional species and subspecies have been described; but it must be remembered that at present we are dealing only with con- spicuous types. Owing to puzzling variations in color, claws and skulls, and the great difficulty of bringing together several hundred adult skins with skulls, it is at present impossible to state precisely how many different kinds of bears inhabit this con- tinent, or how they are related. In the near future, however, many existing questions will be settled; and until then the wisest course for the student and the general reader is to accept only well-known facts, and wait with patience for more. The bears of North America constitute four distinct groups, as foUows: Polar Bear, of the far North. Very large. White. Big Brown Bears, of Alaska. Light brown. Very large. Grizzly Bears, Mexico to Alaska. Gray or brown. Medium to very large. Black Bears, North America generally from Mexico to Alaska. Black or brown. Medium size, and large. To most persons, the second group of this series is quite new, and for several reasons its members are of unusual interest. The Polar Bear. The Polar Bear stands alone in its genus. It is the king of the frozen North, and its robe is pure white, all the year round. It inhabits the coasts of the Arctic Ocean, all around the pole, and wanders over the arctic islands and the great ice-fields almost as far north as man has ever gone. Nansen saw its tracks at Lati- tude 84°, — its farthest north. As a rule, the Polar Bear follows the edge of the great ice-pack, for the sake of the seals and wahuses which move with it, north in summer, and south in winter. He seldom travels more than a day's journey inland on any shore. His food consists chiefly of seals, wabuses, fish and dead whales; at times of vegetable matter. FULL LIST OF THE BEARS OF NORTH AMERICA. Corrected to December J, 1903. The Big Brown Bears. The Grizzly Bears. The Black Bears. Polar Bear, . Kodiak Bear, . Yakutat Bear, Peninsula Bear, Merriam's Bear, Kidder's Bear, Sitka Bear, Silver-Tip Grizzly, Sonora Grizzly, . . Alaskan Grizzly, . Barren-Ground Grizzly Black Bear, . Labrador Bear, Louisiana Bear, Everglade Bear, Glacier Bear, Queen Charlotte Bear, . . . . Thalardos maritimus (Phipps), ^Ursus middendorfji (Merriam), ^Ursus dalli (Merriam), Ursiis dalli gyas (Merriam) , Ursus merriami (Allen) , . Ursus hidderi (Merriam), . *Ursus sitkensis (Merriam), Ursus horribiHs{ Ord), . . . . Ursus horribilis horriaeus (Baird;, Ursus horrihilis alascertsis (Merr). . t Ursus richardsoni (Swainson), . . Arctic regions generally, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Yakutat Bay, Alaska. Pavlof Bay, Alaska. Portage Bay, Alaska. Chinitna Bay, Alaska. Alaska coast, near Sitka. Wyoming to Alaska. S-W. New Mexico. Norton Sound, Alaska, j Great Slave Lake and ( Barren Grounds. Ursus americanus (Pallas), . . . North America. Ursus americanus sornborgeri(Ba,iigs) Labrador. 'Ursus luteolus (Gnffith), . . . . Louisiana and Texas. 'Ursus floridanus (Merriam), . . Florida. Ursus emmonsi (Dall), .... St. Elias Alps, Yakutat Bay, Alaska. } Ursus carlottaeiOs,oo6), . . • { QSKhmJf "'^' 30 ORDERS OF MAMMALS— FLESH-EATERS In 1874, when Mr. Henry W. Elliott and Lieu- tenant Maynard visited St. Matthew Island, a lonely bit of treeless land in the northern portion of Bering Sea, they found upon it between 2.50 and 300 Polar Bears! The animals were basking in the warm sunshine, shedding their winter coats, and growing fat on the roots of the plants and mosses that grew there. On one occasion twenty bears were in sight simultaneously. The bears literally overran the island, grazing and E. R^ S .1, N, V. Z..olnj;ic;il Park. POLAR BEAR. rooting about like hogs on a common. They showed no disposition to fight, but always ran when approached. The Polar Bear is a tall animal, with long legs, flat sides, and paws that are very wide and flat. The largest specimen in the New York Zoological Park is .SO-j- inches in height, 7 feet 2 inches in length, and weighs about 800 pounds. When standing erect on his hind legs, the end of his nose is S feet 8 inches from the ground. If prop- erly and comfortably caged, and pro\'ided with a swimming pool five feetdeep. Polar I^eai's in the temperate zone do not suffer from the heat of summer, and can endure hot weather fully as well as our black bears. Of course they require shade in summer; but it is not necessary to put ice in their pool to cool the water. The power of this active, warm-blooded animal to resist cold is one of the wonders of Nature. With the temperature many degrees fielow zero, the Polar Bear cheerfully leai)s into the Arctic Ocean, amid the broken ice, and swims for hours. Of all bears, it is the best swimmer, and it dives with great ease. Thanks to the limitations im- posed by the Frost King on hunting in the arctic regions, it is not very probable that the Polar Bear ever will be exterminated by man. The Big Brown Bears. In 1896 the specimens collected by the United States Biological' Survey', at Washington, re- vealed to Dr. C. Hart ilerriam the presence in Alaska of two or three species and subspecies of huge brown bears, totally different in char- acter from all the American bears pre\"iously known. These bears range from Sitka around to the extremity of the Alaskan Peninsula, Kadiak Island, and inland for unknown dis- tances. They are marked by their light brown color, high shoulders, massi^'e heads of great breadth, short, thick claws, and shaggy pelage. In their high shoulders, they resemble the griz- zly bear, but otherwise differ from them in many ways. Of these bears. Dr. Merriam has pub- lished preliminary descriptions of four new spe- cies and one subspecies, but additional collec- tions and information may possibly result in the consolidation of some of these. It is sufficient for our purpose to-set forth only the species which seems most sharply defined, and which may be considered representative of the whole group. The Kodiak Bear,' of Kodiak Island, and probably also of the Alaskan Peninsula and the mainland for some distance eastward, is not only the largest of all li^-ing bears, but also the largest carnivorous animal in the world. Several skins of immense size, and skulls 19 inches in length, have been collected. The largest specimen ever killed anil measured by a naturalist was a female killed at Chinitna Bay, by Mr. James H. Kid- der, which had a shoulder height of 51 inches. A very large flat skin measured at Kodiak by Mr. ,J. A. Loring, was 9^V feet long by lOJ feet wide across the fore legs. Inmiediately after shedding, the new coat of the Kodiak Bear is dark-brown, like that of a grizzly, but it soon changes to a beautiful golden- brown tint. In Marc:h and Ajjril, the old coat is of a golden-yellow color, and really very beauti- ful. The full coat is long, thick and shaggy, and ' Ur'sus mid' den-dor j-fi. THE GEIZZLY BEARS 37 except when shedding is in full progress, the animal makes a very imposing appearance. This species is recognized by its uniform brown or golden color, its high shoulders, broad and mas- sive head, flat forehead, short, square nose, and a drop in the upper line of the head in front of the eyes. Mr. Kidder states that the bears on Kodiak Island are uniformly colored over the body and legs, but those on the mainland are darker on the legs than on the body. The Kodiak Bear catches and devours great numbers of salmon, which are so abundant in many Alaskan streams that it can throw them out with its paws. It also eats quantities of the rank marsh grass which grows along many sal- mon streams where they flow through alluvial plains before discharging into the sea. It inhab- its the most rugged mountains, and is seldom killed save when it leaves the shelter of the tim- ber and comes into the open river valleys and bay heads to feast on freshly-caught salmon, with tender grass for dessert. Just how far eastward this bear ranges on the mainland, remains to be determined;- but I be- lieve it will be found as far as the Copper River. The big animal found in the Yukon valley, and commonly called the "Red Bear," undoubtedly belongs to the group of big brown bears, and in all probability is the same as the Kodiak Bear. The illustration shown on page 33 is a portrait of a fine Alaskan brown bear living in the New York Zoological Park, which came from the country between Cook Inlet and the Copper River. Inasmuch as all the descriptions of the species composing the brown bear group have been based chiefly upon skulls, the exact identity of our specimens can not be determined while they are alive. In the month of September its entire pelage is of the uniform dark-brown color characteristic of the bears of Kodiak Island at the season when the majority of them are killed, but later on the pelage of the body becomes Ughter than that on the legs. The Grizzly Bears. The Grizzly Bear.' — Of all the bears of the world, this species is certainly one of the most celebrated. During the days of muzzle-loading rifles, its name and fame inspired terror through- ' Vr'sus hor-ri'bi-lis. out the mountains and foot-hills of the wild western domain which constituted its home. For many years it held the old-fashioned Ken- tucky rifle of the pioneer in profound contempt, and frequently when it was used to annoy him, the user met a tragic fate. I believe that Grizz- lies have killed and maimed a larger number of hunters than all other bears of the world com- bined. Down to the advent of the breech-loader, the Grizzly was a bold, aggressive and highly dan- gerous animal. When attacked, he would charge his enemies with great ferocity, striking terrible blows with paws that were like sledge- hammers armed with huge hooks of steel. The combined swiftness and strength with which any large bear can strike must be seen or felt to be fully appreciated. I have made many observations on the temper of the Grizzly Bear, and am convinced that nat- urally the disposition of this reputedly savage creature is rather peaceful and good-natured. At the same time, however, no animal is more prompt to resent an affront or injury, or punish an offender. The Grizzly temper is defensive, not aggressive; aad unless the animal is cornered, or thinks he is cornered, he always flees from man. Either in captivity or freedom, the Grizzly re- sponds to fair treatment as well as any well- armed wild animal ever does, and far better than any other species with which I am personally acquainted. In the Yellowstone Park, where for several years past all bears have been fully protected, both the Grizzly and black bears now live in close touch with man, without breaking faith with him. Although they frequently visit the hotels, and steal food from the wagons and camps of tourists, I believe no bear has yet broken faith with the Government by molesting either his human neighbors or domestic animals ! This fact speaks volumes for the moral character of our bears.' The Grizzly is an animal of commanding ap- pearance, and amongst other wild beasts it 'Since the above was written, the truce of the Yellowstone Park has been broken. Two horses belonging to a party of tourists have been killed by bears, and the aggressiveness of the latter has be- come so serious that it will be necessary for the government to take measures which will teach thera to keep their place. 38 ORDEES or MAMMALS— PLESH-EATEES acknowledges no superior. A small Grizzly cub which we once set free in a mixed company of five or six bears of other species, all of which were larger than he, boldly stalked into the centre of the group, with an air of conscious superiority and courage that was both characteristic and amusing. It was the other bears who were frightened, not he! Specimens of this species are readily reeog- very gray. The huge brown Grizzly of southern California, now very rare, has been described as a species distinct from the Rocky Moun- tain Silver-Tip. I once measured the dry skin of one of these animals, which was 9 feet 4 inches in length, and 10 feet 3 inches wide across the shoulders, between the ends of the front claws. So far as I am aware, the largest Grizzly Bear Copyright, 1902, by F. C. Wolcott. A GRIZZLY BEAR AT HOME. Photographed in the mountains of western Wyoming, by F. C. Wolcott. The bear was enticed by a bait to within thirty feet of the camera, and taken by flashlight. nized by their high shoulders, powerful pro- portions, grizzly-gray hair, and long curved claws. The standard color (in winter) is brown next to the skin, the extremities of the hair being tipped with silvery gray, from which has come the common name of "Silver-Tip." From Mexico and southern California to the Yukon valley, especially along the main ranges of the Rocky Mountains, the Grizzly shows about six different shades of color, from brown to sil- ever actually weighed was one that lived and died in the Lincoln Park menagerie, Chicago, and was weighed by Mr. G. O. Shields. Its weight was 1,153 pounds; j'et when alive, west- ern hunters who saw it frankly admitted that it was larger than bears killed by them which they "estimated" at 1,800 pounds! Thus far the Rocky Mountains have not produced a wild Grizzly actually weighing over 800 pounds, and the average weight of the adult Grizzlies killed THE BLACK BEARS 39 in the United States during the last fifteen years has been between 500 and 600 pounds. In all parts of the United States save the Yel- lowstone Park and the Clearwater Mountains of Idaho, the Grizzly is now a rare animal, and so difficult to find that it is almost useless to seek it this side of British Columbia. Like other large mammals of this continent, the long-range, high-power rifles leave them absolutely no chance but is quite unable to climb trees. Like all other bears, he eats nearly everything he can chew, and is very partial to berries, and fruit of all kinds. The Black Bears. The Black Bear' is the best known bear in North America. It is found in nearly all the mountains and great tracts of forest between Photo, by E. R. Sanborn, N. Y. Zoological Park. AMERICAN BLACK BEAR From northern Wisconsin. for their lives, and in a short time none will exist in the United States outside of the Yellowstone Park and the zoological gardens. In the wilds of Alaska, they may survive for perhaps a quarter of a century longer. Unfortunately, the Griz- zly loves to roam over treeless mountains, on which his huge bulk makes him conspicuous for miles, and invites the attacks of his enemies. He loves water, swims well, and is a great traveller, Florida and Alaska, and from Nova Scotia to the Pacific coast. During the past twenty years it has been seen or killed in forty states of the United States, in Mexico, Alaska, and eleven of the British provinces. Its farthest south is the mountains of Costa Rica. Its standard color is jet black, all over, except the nose, which is dirty white or light brown. A 1 Ur'sus a-mer-i-can'us. 40 OEDEES OF MAMMALS— FLESH-EATERS verjr confusing fact about the Black Bear is the frequency with which it runs into brown or cinnamon colors. vSometimes black and brown cubs have been found in the same litter. Very curiously, however, this color is found only in the Rocky Mountains, and farther west. In its brown phase, this animal is called the Cinnamon round on the hind c^uarters, low at the shoulders, and also by the fact that in walking it usually carries its head low. It is a smaller animal, and its claws are short and well adapted to tree-climb- ing. It conceals itself from its enemies much more successfully than the grizzly, and therefore still survives in such places as the forests of the GLACIER BEAR. Drawn from a specimen in the United States National Museum. Bear, and in the Rocky Mountain regions and Alaska, brown specimens are almost as numerous as black. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that both kinds belong to the same species, but this seems to be a fact. Some grizzlies are very dark brown, but thev are never inky black, like the true Black Bear. The latter differs in form from the grizzly in being highest in the middle of the back, very Adirondacks, the Catskills, in West Virginia, and the swamps of the southern states. When properly treated, small Black Bears are good-tempered and playful in captivity; and some are easily tamed, and taught to perform tricks. Cubs are very interesting when small, but by the time they are a year old, they become St) strong and troublesome, as well as dangerous, that private owners nearly always are heartily EACCOON AXD BASSAKISK 41 glad to get rid of them. Never buy a Black Bear cub in the belief that it can be kept for amuse- ment and resold at a profit ; but if thine enemy offend thee, present him with a Black Bear cub. The Black Bear is a timid animal, and always runs when observed by man. It is a good climb- er, runs quite swiftly when pursued, but in a rough and tumble fight it bawls, roars, and coughs. The Glacier Bear,' found on the glaciers around Yakutat Bay, near Mt. St. Elias, Alaska, is one of the recent discoveries in the Northwest, but it is so clearly distinct as to merit special notice. Thus far no living specimens have found their way into zoological parks or gardens, and the only mounted skin on exhibition is in the United States National Museum. It is exactly reproduced in the accompanying illustration. The species is known to-day only by the single specimen referred to, and a few flat skins. As mounted it is only 24 inches in height at the shoulders, and is beyond question the smallest species of bear in America. Its color is a peculiar blui-sh gray, on all parts save the muzzle from the eyes forward, which is dark brown or black. The hair is long, very thick, woolly in te.xture, and stands out straight all over the body. The rarity of this animal in collections, and the long delay in its discovery, are due to the rough, in- hospitable and dangerous character of the coun- try in which it lives. THE RACCOON FAMILY. Procyonidae. The Raccoon," placed next to the bears, is also plantigrade in its manner of walking. It is a cheerfully persistent animal, and no amount of hunting discourages it, or drives it away from its favorite haunts. It is at home in the tim- bered regions of the southern and eastern United States, especially where there are swamps, — for the Raccoon loves to play in water. In the West it ranges from Arizona to British Columbia. Its favorite dwelling-place is a hollow tree, and its yearly family consists of five or six young. In its appetite, it is as omnivorous as any bear, and eats everything that it can chew, — from live rabbits down to green corn, — fish, flesh, or fowl. The only point on which the Raccoon is partiou- ' Ur'sus em'mous-i. ' Pro'cy-on lo'tor and related species. lar, regarding its food, is in soaking it in water before eating it. Excepting the cacomistle or "civet cat" of the Southwest, this is the only animal in the Photo, and copyright, 1902, by W. L. Underwood. THE R.4CC00N. United States which has black and gray rings around its tail. A live " 'Coon " makes one of the most satisfactory carni-\'orous pets that a boy can keep in confinement. The Cacomistle, "Civet Cat," or Bassarlsli' is a strange little creature like a small pine mar- ten with a long, bushy tail, and many conmion names. It is spread over so wide an area of our country that its personality .should be better known. It inhabits Mexico and the southwest- ern United States from Texas to California and north to southern Oregon. These are the names by which it is called and miscalled: in Mexico, Cacomiz'tli, or in English Ca-co-mis'tle; in Texas, Texas Civet Cat, and Cat Squirrel ; in California, ISIountain Cat and Ring-Tailed Cat ; in Arkansas, Raccoon Fox ; by various scientific authors from Audubon to Allen, Civet Cat, Ring-Tailed Bassa- ris, and Northern Civet Cat. Now, as to the facts regarding this pretty httle creature, it is not a " cat " of any kind, and there is about it not a trace of "civet." Dr. Coues proposed Bassarisk as a name that ' Bas-sa-ris'cus as-tu'tus and related species. 42 OKDEES OP MAMMALS— FLESH-EATEES was appropriate, and entitled to use. Let it be so called henceforth, and the misnomers rgle- gated to obscurity, where they belong. Its original Mexican name is so ill adapted to our wants it never will be generally used. The Bassarisk is, after the true raccoon, the only animal in the United States possessed of a long, bushy tail with alternating black and white rings around it. It climbs trees, and nests in hollow branches like a squirrel; it scratches and bites, and catches rats, mice and small birds Uke a cat; and it has a many-sided appetite, like a raccoon. Its length of head and body is 16 inches, tail about the same, and its general color is a brownish gray. It is a night prowler, and often makes its home in outbuildings and deserted ranch houses. In California it is oc- casionally kept in captivity by the miners, and is said to make a very attractive and interesting pet. CHAPTER IV THE ORDER OF SEALS AND SEA-LIONS PINNIPEDIA Some students may feel that it is useless for land dwellers to try to become acquainted, at long range, with sea animals. Toward many sea animals, this feeling is justified; but it should not be entertained toward the bold and hardy fin-footed children of the surf. The seals and sea-lions of our shores are well worth know- ing. From the warm and luxurious shore of south- ern California to Oregon's storm-beaten TiUa^ mook Rock, and on up to the inhospitable, rock- boimd edge of western Alaska, you wiU find at intervals, where Nature has done some of her grandest work in shore-building, colonies of bold and hardy sea-lions. On the Pribilof Islands lives the most valuable of all the fur-bearing animals of the world, the fur-" seal," which has contributed millions of dollars to our national treasury, and more than repaid the whole price of Alaska. On the low shores and adjacent ice floes of the North Atlantic live the seal herds that annually yield an immense store of valuable oil, and fur- nish employment for thousands of Newfoundland sailors and sealers. The reader may rest assured that even though his home be in the centre of the Great Plains, the North American seals and sea-lions are well worth knowing; for, sooner or later, travel surely will bring him into visual contact with many of them, either in museums, zoological gardens, or alive in their haunts. Let us, then, lay the foundation for a profitable acquaintance with them. By some writers, these animals are classed with the Ferae, because they eat flesh; but to associate in the same Order such widely different creatures as sea-lions and cats seems incongru- ous, if not incorrect. The Order Pinnipedia ' contains three groups of sea-faring animals, distributed widely through the ocean waters of the world, and in some in- stances, in fresh water, also. They are the Sea- Lions, Seals and Walruses. A Sea-Lion has a long, supple neck, and long, triangular front flippers that have neither hair nor claws, but are simply living paddles. Their hind hmbs are web-toed flippers. They have very small, sharp-pointed ears, carry their heads high, and all are lively, active animals, both in swimming and in climbing rocks. The males of some species grow to enormous size, and have faces so lion-like in appearance that this resem- blance has given the group its popular name, — Sea-Lion. A Seal is a short-necked, fat-bodied, low-lying, climisy animal, not nearly so active on land nor so intelligent as a Sea-Lion. Its front flippers are short, square-ended, fully covered with hair, and provided with claws. They have no ex- ternal ears of skin and cartilage. Their hair is short, close, and stiff, and of no value as fur save to the Eskimo, to whom every Seal is a Godsend, and utilized in a great variety of ways. A Walrus is a sea mammal of great size, formed somewhat like a Sea-Lion, and it is the clumsiest hving creature that ever comes upon land. It has t*o long ivory tusks that grow downward from the upper jaw, a very thick skin which lies in deep folds, no hair worth men- tioning, and a very dull brain. The following are the groups and species which every American should know : ' Pin-ni-pe'di'a means "fin-footed." 43 i4 OEDERS OF MAMMALS— SEALS AXD SEA-LIOXS PACIFIC WALRUS, STELLER S SEA-LION, HARBOR SEAL. On the same scale. EXAMPLES DESCRIBED. Sea-Lions, o-ta-rvi-dae. ORDER PINNI- . PEDIA. \ ^'^-^^*' PHO'CI-DAE, Walruses, od-o-ben'i-dae. I California Sea-Lion, . Steller's Sea-Lion, ' Fur " Seal," . . . Ringed Seal, Harbor Seal, . Harp Seal, . . Hooded Seal, . Ribbon Seal, . ( Pacific Walrus, ' Atlanfic Walrus, Zalophus californianus. Eumetopias stdleri. Caltotaria ursina. Phoca foetida. Phoca vitulina. Phoca groenlandica. Cyfitoplwra crifitata. Histriophoca fasciata. Odohenus obesus. Odobenus rosmarvs. THE SEA-LION FAMILY. The California Sea-Lion,- or Barking Sea- Lion, is the most familiar representative of the first group, for the reason that this species is easiest to catch ah-\'e, and keep in captivity. Li zoological gardens and travelling shows, this is the animal which cries out so freciuently, and with ear-piercing clearness and volume, "How- woo! Honk! Hoook! Hook!" It inhabits nearly the entire coast of California, tlie Farallone Islands, the famous Chff House rocks, and the Lower California peninsula. Full-grown males are about 7 feet in length, weigh about 450 pounds, and all are of a uniform dark-brown color. y\.n adult female which died in the Zoo- logical Park weighed 112 pounds and measured- length of head and body, 56J inches, tail, 2} inches, total length from nose to end of hind flip- pers,70i inches, girth, 31 .^ inches. These creatures are very active in the water, and can climl) rocks, ' The most important of these species will fjc found well described and commented upon in Mr. Henry W. Elliott's interesting volume entitled "Our Arctic Province." (Charles Scribner's Sons.) ^ ZaVo-phiis cal-i-jor-ni-aii'us. tvELLER, Photo., N. Y. Zoological Park. CALIFORNIA SE.V-LION. and e^-en high cliffs, with surprising agility. AVhen frightened, Captain Scammon says they will leap from a height of sixty feet into the sea. The hair of this animal is very short, coarse, and of no value. The California Sea-Lions rarely eat fish, Ijut live chieflj' upon squids, shell-fish FOOD OF SEA-LIONS 45 and crabs. For reasons known only to them- selves, they swallow many round pebbles, from one to two inches in diameter. We once took 16 pounds (half a pailful) from the stomach of a medium-sized specimen. In captivity all kinds of seals and Sea-Lions live contentedly in fresh water. The value of a living Cahfornia Sea-Lion in New York City is about $150. This species possesses great intelligence, and quite recently several specimens have been trained to go through a show per- formance which is really wonderful, including a most remarkable act in which a Sea-Lion suc- cessfully balances a large ball on the point of its nose. An important incident in the life history of the California Sea-Lion furnishes a good illustra- tion of the folly of condemning a wild species to destruction on insufficient evidence. For several years the fishermen of San Fran- cisco complained that the Sea-Lions of the Cali- fornia coast devoured such enormous quantities of salmon and other fish that they were seriously affecting the available supply ; besides which, they caused great damage to nets and impounded fish. They demanded that the Sea-Lions be destroyed, and finally convinced the state authorities that their contentions were well founded. It was decided that the animals should be de- stroyed, by systematic shooting, down to a com- paratively small number; and the slaughter was duly ordered. Men were engaged to do the work, in a business-like way, and an official re- quest for permission to kill on the light-house reservations of the government was granted. But there were certain naturalists who doubted the entire accuracy of the charges made against the Sea-Lions, and asked for proof in detail. When no evidence of a specific and convincing nature was brought forward, they requested that the slaughter proposed on the Farallone Islands, and other Ught-house reservations, be deferred, pending a careful inquiry; and this was done. However, where the state authorities had full power to act, the killing proceeded in a few lo- calities. It happened that during the kiUing of California Sea-Lions' on the shore of Monterey Bay, and vicinity. Professor L. L. Dyche, of the University of Kansas, arrived on the scene to pursue studies in marine life. He examined the stomachs of twenty Sea-Lions which were washed ashore, and of five more which he killed for the purpose of mounting their skins. Every stomach examined contained the rem.ains of squids and devil-fish (Octopus), one or both; and both of which are among the fisherman's ene- mies! Not one of the twenty-five stomachs which he carefully examined and reported upon contained any portion of a scaled fish. In 1901, the United States Fish Commission conducted a systematic investigation of the food habits of the Sea-Lions of the Pacific coast and the report of Messrs. Rutter, Snodgrass and Starks appears in the Report of the Fish Commissioner for 1902. At six points on the coast of California, the investigators killed a total of twenty-four specimens of the California Sea-Lion, and eighteen of the Stellar Sea-Lions. The report says : " Of thirteen California Sea-Lions whose stom- achs contained food, five had eaten fish and eleven had eaten squid. The quantity of fish was inconsiderable, seventeen small fishes being the maximum, while the remains of one hundred to three hundred squid were found in each of five stomachs. "All the thirteen Steller Sea-Lions whose stomachs contained food had eaten fish, and five had eaten squid, or octopus. The number of squid eaten was small, six being the maximum number in one Sea-Lion, while the quantity of fish was large, at least thirty-five pounds being taken from one stomach." The detailed report of the kinds of fishes con- sumed as food by these animals reveals an as- • sortment of very little value, and not one salmon or shad. Professor Dyche's discovery — that the Cahfornia Sea-Lion feeds almost exclusively upon squid — was fully confirmed, for the twenty- four animals killed contained only three rock- fish, two hake, twenty-four "small fish" and one chimera, — but over eleven hundred squid! The stomachs of the Steller's Sea-Lions contained fourteen rock-fish, two perch, thirty clupeoid fish, seventeen "large fishes of 12 to 18 inches," and a few skates, sharks and squids. "The testimony of the fishermen was so con- tradictory it is of no value. . . . One man claims that the Sea-Lions are becoming more numerous and destructive every year, while another claims that they are rapidly becoming 4G OKDEKS OF MAMMALS— SEALS AND SEA-LIONS exterminated." There was " practically no com- plaint" of fish destruction "at the time of the investigation. Sea-Lions were scarcely ever seen in the vicinity of the salmon nets during 1901." At the mouth of the Columbia River, "the fishermen were unanimous in their denunciation of the Sea-Lions." "The shallow water and the large number of salmon make that point a favor- ite feeding ground, and there is no doubt that the Sea-Lions are doing much damage there." "It the strength of general opinions; for a supposed enemy may, on careful investigation, prove to be a friend. Steller's Sea-Lion,^ the largest Sea-Lion in the world, inhabits a few isolated spots on the Pacific coast, from Santa Cruz, California to Ber- ing Strait. Large male specimens attain an average length of 10 to 11 feet, stand 6 feet high, and attain a weight estimated by competent ob- servers at 1,400 pounds. The full-grown male STELLER S SEA-LION. appears that the Sea-Lions are doing very little damage anywhere excepting at the mouth of the Columbia River." (Report, page 117.) A summary of the results of the investigation establishes three facts: 1. The California Sea-Lion is not guilty of destroying fish to any great extent, and deserves protection, not death. 2. Steller's Sea-Lion eats miscellaneous fish; but on the coast of California docs nothing to merit destruction. At the mouth of the Co- lumbia it is destructive, and there deserves to be kept in check. 3. Wild animals never should be destroyed on has a girth of S to 9 feet, a lion-like head, coarse neck hair 4 inches long, and canine teeth like a grizzly bear, which are much used in fighting. The full-grown females are from S to 9 feet long, weigh from 400 to 500 pounds and are more finely formed. The hair is coarse, and the ani- mal is now of practically no commercial value, save for its oil. This species is readily distin- guished from the California sea-lion by its far greater size, its hoarse voice, the very large neck, and the long, coarse neck hair of the males. In its habits, this great Sea Lion is very pe- culiar. Amongst themselves the old males ' Eu-me-to' pi-as stel'ler-i. THE FUE SEAL 47 fight fiercely, and with their big canine teeth inflict upon each other many severe skin woimds. I have seen specimens whose necks bore scores of large scars. In the presence of man, however, they are timid, and easily frightened. This, giant among Sea-Lions is found on the coast of California, in small numbers only, at Point Ano Neuvo, near Santa Cruz, at Puris- sima, the Farallone Islands, Point Reyes, and Point Arena. On the coast of Oregon it is found about the mouth of the Columbia and Tillamook Head. The agents of the United • States Fish Commission, reporting observations made in 1901, stated that " probably half of the Sea-Lions of California (of both species) are found at the Farallone Islands, and it seems doubtful whether the total number on the coast amounts to five thousand." A large colony of Steller's Sea- Lions inhabits Bogoslof Island, Alaska, living almost in the shadow of that celebrated volcano. In October, 1903, the New York Zoological Society's agents succeeded, after many fruitless efforts, in capturing six young specimens in the sea off San Miguel Island, California, and safely transporting them to New York, where the ex- periment of keeping this species in captivity is now being tried in the Zoological Park. The Fur Seal,' which yields the beautiful and costly fur so highly prized for ladies' gar- ments, is not a true seal, but a sea-bear or sea- lion, quite similar in form, size and general hab- its to the California species already described. It is found on the Pribilof or Seal Islands, in Bering Sea, where during the Russian occupa- tion it was twice nearly exterminated for its fur; on Copper and Robben Islands, off the coast of Siberia; and in the open sea from the Pribilof Islands southeastward to the thirty-fifth parallel, thence northward along the coast, back to the Seal Islands. The size of the Fur Seal has been carefully ob- served by Mr. Henry W. Elliott, and recorded as follows: Males ( At birth (June 20) Length 12 to 14 AND i At six months, " 24 Females. ( At one year, " 38 [ At two years, " 45 Males J At three years, " 52 ONLY. J At six years, " 72 (^ At 8 to 20 years, " 75 to 80 The Fur Seal has two kinds of hair. Its outer coat is long, stiff, coarse, and gray in color. In preparing skins for market, all this is plucked out and thrown away, leaving only the fine, soft, brown under fur, which before manufacture is dyed a rich, blackish-brown color. Fur Seal gar- rnents vary in price from $200 to $700. The Fur Seal has strange and interesting habits. It spends about two-thirds of each year far at sea, making a circuit of 6,000 miles in the open ocean without touching land. For some strange reason, the herd in American waters has chosen the two Pribilof Islands, St. Paul and St. George, as the only spots in our waters whereon they are willing to land and rear their young. To these favorite breeding-places, on these islands known as " hauling-grounds," the Fur Seal millions were wont to repair in the early summer of each year, to rear their young. The returning herd begins to arrive between May 1 and 15, the breeding season.is over by September 15, and by the end of November all the Seals are gone on their great winter cruise southward into warmer waters. By a long series of inqui- ries the winter cruise of the herd has been mapped out by Dr. D. S. Jordan and his associates, and is shown on the next page. On the breeding grounds, each large and hard- fighting old male gathers round him a harem of from six to ten females, fights off all rivals, young or old, and elects himself the head of an imposing family. The three-year-old male Seals — called "bachelors" — were killed for their fur, to the number of about 100,000 each year. The fe- males bear only one "pup" annually, immedi- ately after landing in May. The mother Seals leave their young, go to sea in search of food, remain several days perhaps, or even a fortnight, then return and go straight to their own respective offspring. It was the killing of the mothers at sea that produced an enormous falling-off in the number available each year. The persistent slaughter of mothers in. Girth 10 in. Weight 6 to 7* lbs. 25 " (( 39 25 " li 39 30 " (C 68 " 36 " 11 87 64 " ft 280 " 70 to 75 in. (( 400 to 500 lbs ' Cal-lo-ta'ri-a w-si'na. 48 OEDEES OF MAMMALS— SEALS AND SEA-LIONS will exterminate any species of animal, no matter how numerous. The accompanying map graphically illustrates the remarkable sea-going habits of the Pribilof Fur Seal herd after the close of the breeding season, and during the intensely cold and fear- ANNUAL WINTER MIGRATION OP THE FUR SEAL HEED, fully windy winters that annually render life on the Seal islands a serious task. The combined poUtical and commercial im- portance of the Fur Seal demands a brief summary of the most important fadts of its rise to favor, its decline, and finally its fall. The end, how- ever, is not yet; but it looms very near. REVIEW OF FUR SEAL HISTORY. For the past seventeen years, the Fur Seal has been to the United States, England and Canada a source of well-nigh constant anxiety, contention, and at times irritation. Inasmuch as the fate of that animal is still pending, it seems desirable to set forth the most important facts in its case, in' chronological order. The history of the Fur Seal since our acquisition of Alaska is divided into two periods, one of revenue, and one of contention. The Period of Revenue. 1867.— When Alaska became k United States possession, by purchase from Russia at a cost of $7,200,000, the fur of the Fur Seal was almost unknown to fashion, and outside of Russia was neither used nor particulafly desired. 1870.— The United States leased to the Alaska Coipmercial Company, for twenty years, the ex- clusive right to kill each year on the Pribilof Islands, 100,000 young male Fur Seals, receiving therefor, annually, the sum of $317,500. 1872. — The Alaska Commercial Company began to expend $100,000 in cash, chiefly in London, in making the wearing of sealskin fashionable. This effort was entirely suc- cessful. 1873. — After a careful survey of the Pribilof Islands, and an elaborate com- putation of the number of Fur Seals then inhabiting them, Mr. Henry W. Elliott, a special agent of the Treasury Department, announced the total number of Seals to be 3,193,420. He says: "No language can express adequately your sensations when you first stroll over the outskirts of any one of those great breeding grounds of the Fur Seal on St. Paul's Island. . . . Indeed, while I pause to think of this sub- ject, I am fairly rendered dumb by the vivid spectacle which rises promptly to my view. It is a vast camp of parading squadrons which file and deploy over slopes from the summit of a lofty hill a mile down to where it ends on the south shore. Upon that area before my eyes, this day and date of which I have spoken, were the forms of not less than three-fourths of a million seals, mov- ing in one solid mass from sleep to frohcsome gambols, backward, forward, over, around . . ; until the' whole mind is so confused and charmed by the vastness of mighty hosts that it refuses to analyze any further." ("Our Arctic Province," p. 313.) Some observers estimated the number of Seals at a figure higher than Mr. Elliott's. Others have recently contended that it must have been less. 1880. — "Pelagic sealing" means the killing of Fur Seals, male or female, in the open sea, by means of guns or spears. It is an exceedingly wasteful and destructive method, but it had been going on in a quiet way for many years. On land, only male Seals are killed. In the sea, about four females were killed to every male taken, and the pups on shore were left to starve. In 1880, the total number of Seals taken at sea in Bering Sea was only 8,418; but from that time on, the killing increased rapidly, and be- came fearfully destructive. 50 OKDEKS OP MAMMALS— SEALS AND SEA-LIONS 1883. — Up to this time, the great Seal herd of Bering Sea was in a state of equilibrium, and yielded on the islands its annual quota of 100,000 "bachelor" Seals without sensible variation. The number killed at sea in 1882 was 15,551. The Period of Contention. 1886. — The catch of Seals at sea rose to 28,- 494. Of the large fleet of vessels then hunt- ing Seals in Bering Sea, a number were seized by the United States government vessels which were guarding the Islands. These were chiefly Canadian schooners, but some were American. 1887. — The pelagic sealing fleet was increas- ing each year. The United States began negotia- tions with six foreign governments with a view to securing co-operation in saving the Seals from the extermination which threatened them at the hands of the "poachers." 1890. — The lease of the Alaska Commercial ' Company terminated, and the North American Commercial Company bid successfully for the • new lease of the Seal-taking privilege on the Pribilof Islands. According to the calculations of Mr. Elliott, the Seals on the Islands now numbered - 959,455. Except four years, from 1871 to 1889, over 100,000 male Seals had been taken annually, on the Islands, and paid for. The total revenue derived by our govern- ment during that twenty-year period was $6,- 350,000. In 1890, the Seals killed and secured at sea numbered 40,814, while the number killed and lost was unknown. 1891. — An agreement called a modus vivendi (or way of living in peace) was made between England and the United States, for three years, designed to close Bering Sea to pelagic sealing pending the result of the Paris Tribunal. Prac- tically, it amounted to nothing. 1893. — The case of the pelagic sealers was tried before the Paris Tribunal, and through the ineffective management of our case, we lost on practically all our contentions. The pelagic sealers emerged from the contest with full license to kill Seals at sea everywhere outside a sixty- mile radius of the Pribilof Islands. Because Japan, China and Russia were not parties to the Tribunal, the people of those nations were not bound by the award which keeps American, Canadian and English sealing vessels sixty miles away from the Seal islands! 1894.— In this year 61,838 Seals were killed at sea and secured, while an unknown number were killed and lost. 1895. — Mr. J. B. Crowley (Member of Congress in 1903), as a special agent of the Treasury De- partment, assisted in counting the dead bodies of about 30,000 Fur Seal "pups," on the Seal islands, which had starved that year by reason of the killing of their mothers while at sea in search of fish. (Congressional Record.) There were 56,291 Seals killed at sea, by the eighty-one vessels engaged in pelagic sealing. On land the number killed was, by order of the government, reduced to 14,846. From 1890 to the end of 1895 (six years) the cost to the United States Government of its efforts to patrol the waters of Bering Sea, with war vessels and revenue cutters, and protect — as far as possible — the Seal herd from complete annihilation, was $1,410,721. Besides this, the government expended 1227,163 on its Treasury Agents, and $473,000 was paid by the decision of the Paris Tribunal, as "damages," to the men who stole our Seals, and were caught in the act! 1897. — The number of dead pups counted on the breeding grounds, by Mr. Frederic A. Lucas and others, was 21,750, and in October the number of seals remaining alive of our herd was estimated at 343,746. (D. S. Jordan. "Re- port Fur Seal Investigation," 1896-97, p. 100.) 1898.— By a law passed December 29, 1897, all citizens of the United States were absolutely prohibited from killing or capturing Fur Seals at sea anywhere in Bering Sea, the Sea of Ok- hotsk, or anywhere north of the 35th parallel of north latitude. The ownership of any Fur Seal skins taken in those waters was also prohibited, under severe penalties. All skins from female Seals, either raw or dressed, were also excluded from our markets. From that date (December 29, 1897), pelagic sealing ceased to be an American industry. It is now for England and Japan to say whether or not it shall continue until all the mothers are slaughtered, and all the pups starved to death. 1903. — The situation of the Fur Seal has grown desperate, and its fate is wavering in the balance. The number now aUve is about 200,000. While Americans cannot now engage in pelagic sealing under our flag, and no Canadians may inside the sixty-mile limit, dozens of well-equipped sealing IMPENDING FATE OF THE FUR SEAL 51 vessels are sent out from Yokohama, and other ports in Japan, under the Japanese flag, which hunt seals within three miles of the Pribilof Isl- ands! Canadian Sealers still hunt outside the protected zone, and kill many seals, annually. Up to this date, our government has done everything in its power to prevent the extermi- nation of the Fur Seal, and afford it a just meas- ure of protection. England fears that she can go no farther without giving grave offence to of him who can take it. Patriotism, and the desire for the greatest good of the greatest num- ber, does not enter into their calculations. The American or Canadian pelagic sealer claims that the open sea is his, and he cares only for the $10 or $1.5 that each raw skin is worth. England cannot reasonably be expected to Cjuarrel with Canada because of our desire to perpetuate our Seal herd, and derive from it a revenue of a mill- ion dollars a year, — which is the sum which the Drawn by J. Carter Beard. THE H.\RP SEAL. Young and old specimens, showing changes in pelage at different periods. Canada. But in England, about $2,000,000 of capital are invested in the business of dyeing and dressing Fur Seal skins, and this work em- ploys — or did employ — between two thousand and three thousand operatives. It has always been impossible for Seal skins to be satisfactorily dyed and dressed in America. The insurmountable obstacle to the protec- tion of the Fur Seal is its fatal habit of going to sea, far from its hauling grounds, coupled with the belief of a large number of Canadians and Americans that a Seal at sea is the lawful prize Fur Seals would yield to-day, but for the slaugh- ter of 1,000,000 females at sea, and the murder or starvation of 1,000,000 pups, at sea and on shore. Just what events will make up the next and possibly the final chapter in the life history of this interesting and valuable species, it is at pres- ent impossible to foretell. Judging by the past, and the indications of the present, the Alaskan Fur Seal is doomed to practical annihilation, but not total extinction. Let us hope, however, that even yet the statesmen of the United States, England, Canada and Japan will join in the 63 ORDERS OF MAMMALS—SEALS AND SEA-LIONS enactment and enforcement of a humane measure of protection which really will protect. THE SEAL FAMILY. Phocidae. The Little Ringed Seal' is the Seal of the Farthest North, and the friend of the northern Eskimo all round the pole. It is the smallest North American species, and looks very much bear, with two small cubs, was closely following up the seals as they worked north through the ice pack. The Common Harbor Seal,' of both our ocean coasts, is a good representative of the Seal Fam- ily, chiefly because it is the species most frequent- ly seen. It ascends rivers far above tidal influ- ence, and has been taken in Lake Champlain. In the Columbia River a closely related species THE RIBBON SE.\L. like the common harb(3r seal. It goes as far north as it can find breathing-holes. Nan.sen found it on May 31, at 82° 21', or within 460 miles of the pole, living in the narrow lanes of water that were then forming in the great polar ice pack. It was a Bearded Seal,- however, whidi, on .June 22, affonlcd the brave explorers a good supply of food when men and dogs were almost starved. And, true to its nature, an old polar ' Pho'ca foe'ti-da. - Er-i-gnath' us bar-ha'tus. has been taken above The Dalles, 200 miles from the sea. The Harp Seal- is not only one of the hand- somest of all Seals, Ijut it is also the species most valuable to man. It is found on both sides of North America, but always in cold waters. In the year 1900, five sealing steamers of New- foundland took nearly 100,000 seals, mostly Harps, on the coast of Labrador and northward ' Pho'ca vil-u-li'na. ■ Phu'ca green-land' ic-a. ' L THE WALRUS FAMILY 53 thereof, and the value of the catch was over a quarter of a milhon dollars. This species passes through several strongly marked changes of pelage and color. The babj' is covered from nose to flipper-tips with a thick coat of long, woolly hair of snowy white- ness. This, when .shed at six months after birth, is replaced by a coat of bluish gray hair, with light trimmings. On reaching adult age, in its fifth year, this animal is very strikingly marked by black or dark-brown patches grouped together on the sides and back, on a white or yeUowish ground-color apparently in the shape of a harp. This Seal is also called the Saddle-Back, and Greenland Seal. The Hooded Seal ' of the North Atlantic is a large species, often attaining 8 feet in length. The old males are distinguished by the possession of a flexible bag of skin on top of the nose, which is capable of being inflated with air until it forms a lofty and remarkable excrescence on the creat- ure's face. This sac is sometimes 10 inches long and 6 inches high. The color of this Seal is dark bluish-gray, marked with irregular light spots. It once came as far south as New .lersey. The Ribbon Seal, or Harlequin Seal,^ in its color pattern is the most remarkable of all living Pinnipeds, and there are many persons who con- sider it the most beautiful member of its Order. On a smooth ground-color, either of blackish- brown or yellowish-gray. Nature has sportively arranged several yards of broad, yellowish-white ribbon. One strip goes around the neck, and ties under the throat. From a point low down on the breast, another starts upward, curves gracefully over the shoulder, drops down in front of the pel- vis, where it comes together, then turns and crosses over the body. In many specimens the uniformit}' of the width of the ribbon is remark- ably well maintained. This Seal is from 4 to 6 feet in length. Its home is on the eastern shore of Bering Sea, and ixL the fresh waters of Lake Iliamna, in the upper end of the Alaskan Peninsula. THE WALRUS FAMILY. Odobenidae. Of all living monsters that ever move upon land, the Pacific Walrus ^ is one of the most ' Cys-to.fh'o-ra cris-ta'ta. ' His-tri-o-pho' ca fas-ci-a'ta. ^ 0-do-ben'us o-be'sus. wonderful. A full-grown male is a hving moun- tain of heaving flesh, wrinkled, furrowed and seamed, ugly as a satyr, and as strange in habits as in appearance. Its form is that of a sea-lion with a neck enor- mously thickened. Its upper jaw is provided with two long, strong tusks of ivor}^ and its skin is almost destitute of hair. A full-grown male measures from 10 to 12 feet in length from nose to tail, the top of its head is about 5 feet from HEAD OF HOODED SEAL. the ground, the girth of its neck is from 12 to 14 feet, and it weighs from 1,800 to 2,000 pounds. Its skin varies from half an inch to two inches in thickness ; it is of a dirty yellow color, and lies on a mass of fat which often is six inches thick. The largest pair of tusks known to the author measure 24t} inches in exposed length, and are in the British Museum. The Pacific Walrus eats more or less of aquatic- plant food, but its principal food is shell-fish and crustaceans. These it digs up from the muddy bottoms of the broad, shallow bays along the coast, crushes between its powerful jaws, and swaUows in great quantities, shells andaU! Crabs and shrimps form a pleasing variety, and for salad it devours the bulbous roots and tender stalks of marine plants which in summer grow in its home waters. In former times, the Pacific Walrus existed in great herds on the coast of Alaska, from the north shore of the Alaskan Peninsula northward through Bering Strait, and thence eastward as far as Point Barrow. There the herds encoun- tered the edge of the great permanent ice-pack, and could go no farther. In winter the Walrus 64 ORDEES OF MAMMALS— SEALS AND SEA-LIONS herds float about on the ice-fields, retreating southward as the edge of the ice advances. In the open sea, tlie sleeping posture of the Walrus is floating bolt upright in the water. He grunts and bellows, and many times vessels have been warned off dangerous, fog-hidden rocks by the Walrus lying upon them. On land the Walrus is the most clumsy and In 1900, steamers bearing gold-miners to Cape Nome passed through herds of Walrus in Bering Sea, and manj^ of the animals were killed, waste- fully and wantonh^, by passengers firing from the decks, with no possibility of securing a single victim. As elsewhere, the instinct of man in the far north is to slay and slay, and preserve no living thing. THE PACIFIC WALRUS. An old male of the largest size. Drawn from a mounted S]>ccimen in the United States National Museum. helpless of all land animals, and is easily ap- proached and killed. In the water, it becomes a danger to be avoided, on account of its proneness to wreck small boats. A full-grown Walrus has never been seen in captivity. Two or three very young specimens have reached Europe, and in September, 1902, Commander Robert E. Peary brought one to New York for the Zoological Park, where it was exhibited until it died. The Walrus has been hunted so diligently for its oil that to-day very few remain, and the na- tives who once depended solely upon this animal for food, fuel, lights, boats, dog harness, and leather for all purposes now are on the verge of starvation, and are really kept alive by public bounty. Previous to our purchase of Alaska, about 10,000 Walrus were killed annually by the Eskimo, and utilized. In the long, hard winter THE ATLANTIC WALRUS 55 of 1879-80, when the sea was frozen all around St. Lawrence Island, for many miles in every direction, the Walrus herds were forced to re- YOUNG ATLANTIC WALRUS. Captured by Commander R. E. Peary, and exhibited in the New Yorli Zoological Park. main so far away that all the inhabitants of the Island, save one small settlement, died of starva- tion. The Atlantic Walrus' is of about the same ' 0-do-ben'us ros-ma'rus. length as the Pacific species, but it has' a shorter and much smaller neck. Its tusks, also, are much smaller. It is still found in considerable numbers in Smith's Sound, and is quite abundant north of Franz Joseph Land, where Nansen pho- tographed and killed many. Its most northerly latitude is 82°. A specimen killed by Comman- der Robert E. Peary was 9 feet in length, and weighed 1,-569 pounds. The skin alone weighed 220 pounds. Professor L. L. Dyche has kindly furnished the measurements of the largest male Wahus out of eighteen taken by him on the coast of northern Greenland: Length (straight line), end of nose to end of body, 129 inches. Tail, exposed, none. Length of rear flippers, 26 inches. Girth of animal when suspended by the neck, 129 inches. Exposed length of tusk, 19 inches. Circumference of tusk at base, 8} inches. The largest cow Walrus measured 116 inches in length, 113 in girth, exposed tusk, lOJ inches. CHAPTER V THE ORDER OF MOLES AND SHREWS INSECTIVORA In the dark and cold embrace of Mother Earth, away from the cheering sunUght, and the beauti- ful upper world that we enjoy, there dwells a group of mammals so strange, and yet so useful to man, that they excite our admiration for the wise purpose which developed and placed them there. Pass not unthinkingly the moles and shrews, for they have been most cunningly de- signed to serve a definite and important purpose in the economy of Nature. In farming countries, the top soil of the earth is a vast incubator for the development of de- structive insect larvae. In soil that is rich and productive, "grub-worms," "cut-worms," and "wire-worms" abound; and in regular rotation they greedily devour the seeds, roots and leaves of growing crops. But for the enemies which keep them in check, there would be a hungry grub for every sprouting seed. Arid how can man wage war successfully against insect life in the soil? Impossible. To meet this difficult proposition, we need a vigor- ous living creature with a nose like a gimlet, sharp-pointed teeth, soft fur, feet specially de- signed for digging, and eyes so small that to them sunlight is an unnecessary luxury. Such animals are found in the moles and shrews, of the Order In-sec-tiv'o-ra, humble but faithful workers in man's interest. Neither the horse nor the ox is more dihgent in our service than are these toilers of, the soil. Yet what is their reward? In his mole-like blindness, man frequently dis- covers thifigs that are not true. Often a per- fectly honest farmer concludes that a mole is eating his seed corn in the ground, or the vegeta- bles in the garden; and straightway the mole is killed. His accuser has found a runway following up a row of newly-planted corn, and when the seed fails to sprout, the mole is accused of having eaten it! In all such cases, the mole is a victim of cir- cumstantial evidence, and suffers through the lack of counsel to cross-examine the witnesses for the prosecution. Did anyone ever find much vegetable food in a mole's stomach? Not often. Did anyone ever see a mole eat vegetable food? Probably not. A mole placed in a box and sup- plied with vegetable food alone soon starves to death. Moles do not eat seed corn, or garden vegetables; but they do visit corn-hills to eat the grubs that come to devour the corn. Every young naturalist must learn early what constitutes direct evidence. Far too long have the mole and shrew been convicted and slain on circumstantial evidence. Meadow mice some- times attack seed corn by utilizing the run- ways that have been made by moles in reaching the corn-hills to secure the grubs that attack the seeds ; and almost invariably the testimony is that the moles have done the damage. In France the value of the mole is recognized by law, and the killing of one is punishable by a fine of five francs. The shrews and moles not only find their food underground, but live the entire cycle of their lives in subterranean darkness. Moles seek their food by digging tunnels in ground that is loose and dry, the roof being raised into a ridge which in smooth lawns is an annoying disfigurement. Gardeners are apt to forget that they always work where insect larvae are thickest, and the need for their help is most urgent. The tunnel- makers are driven from lawns by persistently trampling down their runways. The Order Insectivora is represented in the United States by two Families, the members of which are easily recognized by the following well-marked characters : The Moles have pointed heads ; extremely large spade-like front feet, that always are held with the outer edge up; no neck; the front legs are exceedingly short; there is no external ear, and no external eye; the body is short, thick and clumsy, and the tail is hairless. The Shrews have pointed heads, but small, 56 THE MOLE FAMILY 57 1. COMMON MOLE. 2. STAR-NOSED MOLE. rat-like feet; there is a very small eye, an ex- ternal ear, and a distinct neck. The body is rather slender, and as a whole, the animal looks much like a short-tailed mouse. THE MOLE FAMILY, Talpidac. This Family contains twelve full species, all quite interesting. Their skins and skulls have been studied closely, but our information re- garding their habits is very meagre. As a rule, moles are larger than shrews. The largest of all is an Oregon species, which measures 7 inches in length of head and body, and tail 1-^ inches, — ■ an unusual size for a mole. On all moles the fur is fine, thick, very soft and velvety, and faultlessly smooth and clean. All these creatures love sandy soil, which they can easily burrow. The Common Mole' is known to the ma- jority of country dwellers by its upheaved tunnels on the surface of the ground. In ap- pearance the animal is a flattened, oblong ball of fine, soft, shimmering gray fur, 6i inches long, ' Sca'lops a-quai'i-cus. to which the naked, little pink-white tail — which looks hke a small angle-worm — adds If inches. Its nose projects half an inch beyond its mouth, and on the end it feels as hard as if it contained a bone. It terminates in a broad, flattened point, shaped cjuite like a rock-drill. The fore foot is three-quarters of an inch wide, but less than an inch in length, including the claws, which measure half an inch. In your hand, a Mole is a wriggling, restless creature. Place it upon ground that is not packed hard, and in about one second it has found a suitable spot for an opening. Its nose sinks into the earth as if it were a brad-awl, with a combined pushing and boring motion, and in three seconds your Mole's head is no longer in sight. Up comes the powerful right foot, shding close along the side of his head, edgewise and palm outward, to the end of the nose. The living chisel cuts the earth vertically, and then, with a quick motion it pries the earth sidewise from its nose. Instantly the left foot does the same thing on the other side, while the bi'ad-awl nose goes right on boring. In ten seconds, by the watch, the Mole's body has entirely disappeared, and in three minutes our Mole will tunnel a foot, unless interrupted. When skinned for dissection, it is found that the eye is merely a small, dark speck under the skin, suitable only to distinguish light from dark- ness. The eye-ball is about the size of a pin- head. The arm and forearm is a big, hard bun- dle of tough muscles and powerful tendons, shaped like an Indian club, of enormous size in proportion to the creature's body. DIGGING MUSCLES OF A MOLE. The Mole is a wonderful example of energy and power. Desiring to observe their methods of working when undisturbed, I once placed one in a five-acre clover-field, at 11 o'clock a.m. During the first seven hours it had tunneled twenty-three feet, in a zig-zag line. During the next seventeen hours it dug thirty-five feet, and 58 ORDEKS OP MAMMALS— MOLES AND SHREWS during the next hour, ten feet more. The total work consisted of sixty-eight feet of main hne, and thirt}'-six and a half feet of branches, mak- ing in all one hundred and four and a half feet. An observing farmer-boy, named Lawrence 1. End of nose. 2. Left forefoot. STAR-NOSED MOLE. Miller, once gave me a clear and intelligent description of a Mole's burrow which he uncov- ered and observed closely. It was a dome- shaped hole, two feet below the surface of the ground, reached from above by a hole that ran down slanting into its top. Tlie burrow was a foot wide at the bottom, where three small gal- leries ran off about six inches, in different direc- tions. Near the top of the chamber was a sort of shelf, supporting a bed of soft material, and on this lay a Mole. The young are usually two in number. Besides the Common Mole, of the Eastern United States generally, we have the Prairie or Silver Mole of the prairie regions of the Mis- sissippi Valley; the Hairy-Tailed Mole of the Eastern United States, and the Oregon Mole of the Pacific slope. The Star-Nosed Mole, of the northeastern United States and Canada, is quickly recognized by the remarkable star-like appendage of eighteen ray-like points, with four more between them, on the end of its nose. THE SHREW FAMILY. Soricidae. North of Mexico, this Family contains about thirty-five full species, distributed throughout nearly every portion of North America south of a line drawn from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Labrador. With most cheerful in- difference, they inhabit mountains, plains, swamp lands and sandy sea-coasts, hot countries and ■cold. Everywhere, however, their noses are long and sharj), their eyes and ears minute, and the colors of all species are very sober, ranging from dull gray to brown, and ending in black. There are two species which are so widely dis- tributed they may well be taken as types of the entire thirty-five. The Common Shrew^ is found on the Atlan- tic coast, from New England northwestward to Alaska, and southward through the Appalachian Mountains to Tennessee and North CaroUna. Its color is brown above, and dull gray under- neath; head and body, 3 J inches long, tail, If inches. The ground plan of its skull is a perfect triangle spreading thirty-five degrees, and is very flat. Although very soft and fine, its fur is not so velvety as that of a mole. This creat- ure is very small, and cjuite mouse-like in ap- pearance. Unlike the mole. Shrews occasionally emerge from their burrows, and wander about near their entrances. But they are exceedingly shy, and although they are frecjuently thrown out by the spade or plough, they are very rarely seen moving about. Above ground they are very helpless, and being unable to run rapidly, they try in a feeble way to hide. When taken in the hand, the musky odor they emit is rather disa- greeable. The Short-Tailed Shrew' is another type worthy of special mention. It is readily recog- nized by its very short tail, only 1 inch in length, while its head and body measure 4 inches. Its color is smoky brown above, and duU gray underneath, and in size it is the largest COMMON SHREW. 2. SHORT-TAILED SHREW. of the Shrews. It is found from the eastern edge of the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast, and is one of the largest members of the Shrew Family. ' So'rcx per-son-a'tus. ' Bla-ri'na bre-vi-cau'da. CHAPTER VI THE ORDER OF BATS CHIROPTERA The strange wing-handed, fljang mammals composing this Order exhibit differences in form that are fairly bewildering. They range all the wa}' from the beautiful to the fantastic and the hideous, and some of them are well worthy of study. members of the Bat Order as a whole are almost as little known as the whales and porpoises of the deep sea. Our lack of acquaintance with bats is due chiefly to their nocturnal habits, and the consequent difficulty in observing them. To-day, bats are so little known that there are Drawn by J. C' ribi: I'.L \i:ij. From a specimen in tlie Philadelpliia Academy of ^ciencey. BORNBAN NAKED BAT. The young are carried in two dorsal pouches, from one of which, under the left elbow, a small head protrudes. The great majority of bats are useful to man in destroying the insects which, without the aid of the birds and beasts, very soon would over- whelm him. The harmful species are those which destroy fruit, and a few which suck the blood of domestic animals. Owing to certain natural conditions, the perhaps a million persons who only know that they fly at night, and are "awful things to get into your hair." I have seen thousands of bats, flying in many different places, but never yet saw one alight upon a woman's hair; and I believe they are no more given to doing so than are humming-birds. 59 60 ORDEES OF MAMMALS— BATS From the bats of the United States, there is nothing to fear, for their claws and teeth are pitifully weak. One cross old "bumble-bee," angrily bumbling, is more dangerous to a peace- ful community than all the bats of our country taken together. In some portions of South America, however, the vampire bats cause seri- ous trouble. Keen-eyed boys and girls all over the world should know that httle is known concerning SKELETON OF PALE BAT. Antrozous pallidus. the habits of bats, and much remains to be found out. These creatures are therefore excellent subjects for original investigation. The Order of Bats as a whole contains about four hundred and fifty species, but it is safe to say that three-fourths of them are known only by their dry skins and skulls, and that their habits are quite unknown. The questions are, — why do bats hve? Upon what do they feed? Are they useful to man, or injurious? What are their friends and their enemies? Do they migrate, and at what times? Where do they nest, or take shelter; and what are the facts about their young? What parasites and dis- eases have they? Although 'the bat is a true mammal, it is al- most as wide a departure from the ordinarj-^, four-legged, land-going tjrpe as is a whale or manatee. Its hand reveals an extreme degree of what is called "speciahzation." For a mam- mal, the arms are of great length. The bones of the fingers are enormously extended, and con- nected with hairless skin as flexible as india rubber, to form a wing for flight. This wing membrane is extended on up the arm .to the body and the legs, and is continued between the legs and tail, where it forms a supporting parachute in flight. The thumb of a bat is very short and free; and its nail is developed as a hooked claw, by the aid of which the creature can comfortably climb about or support itself. The favorite position of a bat at rest is hanging by its feet, head down-- ward. To be "as blind as a bat" is not to be blind at all, but rather to possess powers of vision that are uncommonly good in semi-darkness, or at night, and fairly good even in the broad light of day. When disturbed at midday, all the bats I have ever seen alive (perhaps twenty species in all) have flown away to places of se- curity as briskly and successfully as so many swallows. The eyes of all night-flying bats are small, jet black, and look like tiny black beads, but those of tjie day-flj'ing fruit-bats are very much larger in proportion. The teeth of bats of different species show wide variation. In nearly all of the four hun- dred and fifty species, the canine teeth are as strongly developed as in the cat, and in some bats their proportions are really formidable. A careless examination of a bat's skull might easily lead one to believe that it belonged to a carnivorous animal. But the molar teeth will always tell the true story. The insect-eating bats, which far outnumber all others, have cheek-teeth which terminate in sharp points, and are specially designed for cut- ting to pieces the hard parts of hard-shelled in- sects. The fruit-bats, however, have molars of a very different sort, with rather smooth crowns, for crushing instead of cutting. The blood-sucking vampire bats of South America have very large canine teeth with sharp, cutting edges, and even the molar teeth are formed with scissor edges, very much like the teeth of cats. The teeth and skulls of bats exhibit many in- teresting and even extraordinary variations, but it is impossible to enumerate them here. The accompanying figures show the characters of two species found in the United States. As previously remarked, very little is known regarding the habits of bats, chiefly because their nocturnal habits make it very difficult to find them, or to observe them. We know that in winter some of our species live in caves, in a semi-dormant condition. Dr. C. H. Eigenmann HABITS 0^ BATS 61 says, of the thousands that inhabit Mammoth Cave, " they fly readily if disturbed in summer, but in winter they hang apparently dead. If disturbed, a few respiratory movements may be seen, and they may utter a few squeaks, when they again remain apparently lifeless. If knocked from the roof some of them fall to the bottom of the cave and flap about, others fly away. I have seen them leave a cave in mid- winter, after being disturbed, but fly no further than a hundred yards, then turn and enter the cave again." In central Montana, where there are no trees, I once found a large colony of bats inhabiting a caye that a subterranean stream had washed under the prairie. In Arizona there is a cave which is said to contain " a million" bats. Once while hunting elephants in the Malay Peninsula, the attention of my companion and myself was arrested by a strange, pungent odor which filled the air. Upon investigating the cause of it, we discovered a large cave of a very interesting character, inhabited by thousands of bats, and floored with a layer of bat guano a foot or more in depth, representing the accumulation of a century. In warm countries, bats inhabit hollow trees. But do they inhabit such homes, and actually hibernate in them in winter, in the temperate zone? On this point, direct evidence is desirable. Dr. C. Hart Merriam has proved that some bats of the North American temperate zone do mi- grate, as birds do, going south in winter and re- turning in spring. The conditions of wild life in the temperate zone are rather unfavorable to the development of large bats, and for this reason none of the bats of the United States are of large size or com- manding importance. The large fruit-bats, or "fljdng foxes," can exist only where they can procure a good supply of fruit all the year round ; and for this reason they are mainly confined to the tropics. During our northern winter, a true vampire bat could indeed prey upon the blood of domestic animals; but in zero weather, the naked wings of such a creature would freeze stiff in a very few moments. . The large vampire bat of India, for some reason called the "false" vam- pire (Meg-a-der'ma ly'ra), which -devours srfiall frogs, fishes, small birds, and even bats smaller than itself, could live in our southern and southwestern states, but it would be impos- sible for it to go far north of the frost line. All bats inhabiting the colder regions of the temperate zone, within the snow limit, must either hibernate in winter, without food, or migrate. Owing to the great number of species of bats, and of the many groups into which they have been divided, it is desirable to mention here only a few examples with which every intelligent person should be acquainted. The bats have been divided by Nature into two Suborders, and six Families, as follows : < H (m O DC o P o STJBORDEKS. Insect-Eating Bats: Mi-cro-chi-rop'- ter-a. Fruit-Eating Bats: Meg-a-chi-rop'- ter-a. THE ORDER OF BATS FAMILIES. Leaf-Nosed Bats, . phyl-los-to-mat'i-dae . EXAMPLES. Leaf-Nosed Bat. Blainville's Bat. Javelin Bat. Great Vampire. Free-Tailed Bats, em-bal-lo-nu'ri-dae. . | Naked Bat^^*' ( Red Bat. Common Bats, . . ves-per-til-i-on'i-dae . < Gray Bat. ( Big-Eared Bat. False Vampires, . meg-a-deb-mat'i-dae, . False Vampire. Horseshoe Bats, . rhi-no-loph'I-dae, . . ( Flying Fox. Flying Foxes, . . PTER-o-POiyi-DAE, . . ■< Hammer-Headed ( Bat. 62 OKDERS OF MAMMALS— BATS THE FAMILY OF LEAF-NOSED BATS. Phylloslomatidae. The members of this Family bear on their noses thin leaves of naked skin that stand erect behind, or partly around, the nostrils. These wonderful nose-leaves are pear-shaped, heart- shaped, wedge-like, and of many other forms. The ears are large, or very large ; the wing mem- CALirORNIA LEAF-NOSED BAT. (After Harrison Allen.) brane reaches down to the foot ; the tail is long, and sometimes extends a short distance beyond the interfemoral membrane. On the whole, the bats of this Family form an astonishing exhibit of facial oddities. All save a few species are confined to South America. The California Leaf-Nosed Bat^ may be taken as a very modest example, because it bears what is really a very simple form of nose-leaf. It is found in .southern CaUfornia and Mexico, and its pelage is very light-colored. The most remarkable of all h>at faces is that of a small, brown-colored West Indian species known as Blainville's Bat.^ As a sport of Nat- ure it stands fairly unrivalled, and shows what is possible in the fashioning of skin into orna- mental forms. The ears are large and of most fantastic form, the chin is bedecked with a high- ly convoluted bib of skin, and the eyes and nos- trils are almost lost amid the leaves and tuber- cles which cover the muzzle. As a whole, the appearance of the face of this bat suggests a high- ly comphcated flower, like a double pansy. The skull is only five-eighths of an inch in length. ' O-top'ter-us cal-i-jor'ni-cus. ' Mor'moops hlain'vill-ii. This species is quite uncommon, and practically nothing is known of its habits. In fashioning the noses and ears of bats. Nat- ure has done some very odd and curious work. The flowers of orchids are not more oddly fash- ioned than the heads and faces of some species. Let it not be supposed, however, that these queer facial appendages and long ears of the leaf-nosed bats are purely ornamental. Dr. George E. Dobson, one of the greatest authori- ties on bats, has pointed out two very curious facts. (1) The bats with small ears and no nose- leaves fly most in the early twilight; and many, such as the fruit-bats, fly in the daytime. (2) The long-eared and leaf-nosed bats prefer dark- ness, and seek their food only at night. Let us see if we can find a reason for this. A cruel investigator of the eighteenth century, named Spallanzani, once destroyed the eye- sight of several bats, then suspended many silken threads from the cciUng of a room, and liberated the creatures. Although totally blind, the bats flew to and fro between the threads, without once striking them, and were ei|ually successful in avoiding branches of trees that were intro- duced. It now seems certain that some bats possess a sixth sense, of which at present we know nothing, by which they are able to fly in total darkness, and avoid even the smallest obstruc- tions. It seems c|uite probable that the long ears and nose-leaves of the night-going bats aid their owners in guiding their flight; but the precise manner in which it is done remains to be dis- covered. The True Vam- pire Bats. — By this name we seek to distinguish the bats which actual- ly suck the blood of Uving creatures, from the so-called vampires which live on fruit. In South America there are five spe- cies of true vam- pires, three of which are known as the javelin BL.^INVILI.E S FLOWER-NOSED BAT. (After Peters.) VAMPIKE BATS 63 bats, the others as the short-nosed vampires. The centre of abundance of these creatures ap- pears to be the valleys of the Amazon and the Rio Negro, and the adjacent regions; but one of the species ranges all the way from Chile to Mexico. Of the true vampires, the Javelin Bat' is the one which is most aggressive, and most dreaded. It bites horses and cattle, usually on the shoulders, neck or hindquarters, and makes a wound in the skin of sufficient depth to cause blood to flow freely, even after the bat has flown away. Naturally, an animal that is thus preyed upon soon grows thin in flesh, and becomes visibly weakened. On the island of Mucina, in the delta of the Amazon, the serious injuries in- flicted by the Javelin Bats upon domestic animals have long been known. But where true vampires are abundant, they do not confine their attacks to domestic animals. Human beings are occasionally called upon to pay blood tribute to the small wing-handed demons of the air. Men are bitten at night, when asleep, usually either upon the nose, or the feet. With its sharp-edged teeth, the creat- ure makes a very small round hole in the skin, and by means of mouth suction which must be quite powerful, the blood is soon flowing freely. Fortunately, blood-poisoning is not an attendant evil of the Vampire's bite, and the wound seldom becomes painful. The common Javelin Bat measures a little less than 4 inches in length of head and body, and in color is reddish brown. All the other true vampires are smaller, and all are practically tailless, the parachute membrane stretching between the legs, quite down to the feet, without the support of tail vertebrae. Naturally, these creatures are widely known; for any bat which fives upon warm blood, always drawn from a liv- ing fountain, is bound to acquire wide notoriety and a very evil reputation. The skull of a Jave- fin Bat, seen in profile, looks very much like the skull of a miniature wolf. In order to illustrate once more how easily a harmless animal can acquire an evil reputa- 1 Phyl-los'to-ma, has-ta'tum. tion, and further emphasize the necessity of tak- ing direct evidence before pronouncing a verdict, we introduce a 28-inch bat from South America, most unjustly called the Great Vampire,^ but not really belonging to the genus of blood-suck- ers. Mr. H. W. Bates, the "Naturalist on the Amazon," lived for a time where this species was quite abundant, and of it he wrote in his book as follows : "Nothing in animal physiognomy can be more hideous than the countenance of this creat- ure when viewed from the front; the large, leathery ears standing out from the sides and top of the head; the erect, spear-shaped appendage [nose-leaf] on the tip of the nose, the grin, and the BONNETED BAT. Promops californicus. (After Harrison Allen.) gfistening black eye, all combining to make up a figure that reminds one of some mocking imp in a fable. [The very savage-looking canine teeth might well have been mentioned, also.] No wonder that imaginative people have in- ferred diabolical instincts on the part of so ugly an animal. The Vampire, however, is the most harmless of all bats." Mr. Bates opened the stomachs of a number of specimens, and found that "they had been feeding chiefly on fruits," and wild fruits, at that, obtained by honest hunting in the depths of the forest. Moral: Never make an affidavit on the food habits of wild animals without first examining the stomachs of several specimens. THE FAMILY OF FREE-TAILED BATS. Emhallonuridae. The bats belonging to this Family have no nose-leaves, and the tail is partly free from the '' Vam-py'rus spec'trum. 64 OEDEKS OP MAMMALS— BATS membrane between the legs, either rising from its upper surface, or projecting beyond its end. The muzzle is rather blunt, and the nostrils open beyond the upper lip. The Bonneted Bat,' of California and Mexico, is one of the largest of our species of free-tailed bats. Above the shoulders it looks like a rat wearing a poke bonnet. Its head-and-body length is 2| inches, tail 1^, total length of ear, If inches. One-half the tail is free. The Naked Bat,^ of Borneo, Java and Suma- tra, is one of the most remarkable species of the entire Order of Bats, and in some respects is the widest departure from the typical bat. In the interior mountains of Sarawak, Borneo, I once secured ten fine specimens, and to me they are as wonderful to-day as when handled for the first time. As its name implies, this bat is practically destitute of hair, the only hair noticeable be- ing a few stiff, black bristles on the neck, and a little rpicroscopic fuzz on the breast and hind- quarters. The skin is thick and leathery, lying in numerous creases and folds, and on the living animal it is very elastic. There is no nose-leaf, and the Ups are very thick and fleshy. The tail is free of parachute membrane for two-thirds of its length, and is quite like the tail of a mole. On the joint at the base of the thumb there is a large, callous tubercle, which indicates that this bat is much given to crawling about on "all fours,'' on rocks and tree-trunks. Around the neck, the skin lies in two thick folds, and in these, directly under the chin, is situated a deep gland or sac which secretes a gummy substance with an odor both strong and disagreeable. Clearly, like the scent-gland of the skunk, it is for defence. The most wonderful feature of the Naked Bat is yet to be noticed. On seeing this species for the first time, one's first thought is, how do the young bats cling to the parents during flight? Nature, ever wise and provident, has answered this question by placing under each arm of this bat a deep, wide pocket of rubber-like skin, in which the young are carried until they are able to fly! The mouth of this pocket is on a 'ine between the elbow and the knee, and it ^ Pro'mops caUi-for'ni-cus. ' Chei-ro-me'les tor-qua'tus. extends upward and backward, over the en- tire shoulder, quite to the back-bone, where the two sacs are separated by a thin partition of skin. The pouch is 1| inches deep, and in its lower portion, against the ribs, is located the mammary gland. On the whole, this is the most wonderful infant-pouch possessed by any living creature, not even excepting that of the marsupials, which is much more simple. My largest specimen of this bat had a head- and-body length of 5J inches, tail 2 inches long, and a wing expanse of 22 inches. In the skin were many curious folds. The face of the Naked Bat is coarse and ugly, and the body is quite devoid of grace and beauty; but ere one has time to scoff at such homeliness, the creature seems to say, — "Study me; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!" This bat lives upon fruit and vegetation, and nests in hollow trees, rock crevices, or in holes in the earth. The illustration on page 59 was drawn from one of my Bornean specimens. THE FAMILY OF COMMON BATS. Vespertilionidae. These are the bats that are most widely known, and also the most numerous. Dr. E. L. Troues- sart recognizes more than 200 species. They range over all portions of the world that are habitable by small bats. The distinguishing characters of the members of this Family are chiefly negative. There are no nose-leaves, the nostril openings are simple, and the tail is not produced to any extent be- yond the interfemoral membrane. All the bats of the United States are of small or medium size, and the majority of them belong to this Family. Along the Atlantic coast, they are so common that nearly every person Uving beyond the confines of the great cities is per- sonally acquainted with at least one species. The commonest is the beautiful little Red Bat ' which appears in the early twilight, gliding on swift yet noiseless wings up and down the shaded streets and roads, and occasionally making a friendly diversion into an open window, or through your veranda, partly for business pur- poses, and partly as an evidence of friendly re- gard. ' Las-i-u'rus ho-re-al'is. BATS OP THE UKITED STATES 65 In midsummer, sharp eyes sometimes find this bat hanging close in amongst the leaves of a chestnut tree, its delicate fur as red as the brightest iron-rust. Touch it ever so gently and whisk ! it is off as swiftly as a swallow, to seek another and a better hiding-place. From sunset until it grows quite dark, it is very busy, and constantly on the wing. The THE BED BAT. Red Bat is a swift flyer, and much more of an aerial gymnast than any bird I know. In its flight it can turn abruptly with marvellous pre- cision, and to me it is a constant source of won- der that it can fly so rapidly, turn and double so quickly, and dart in all possible directions without striking something. Almost any bird attempting to fly over the course of a Red Bat, and at the same speed, would probably come to grief in a very short time. The only mistake that Red Bats are prone to make is in flying into houses through open windows, and instantly forgetting the location of the means of escape. Once in a room, the bat flies slowly, and frequently is so bewildered by the sudden change from semi-darkness to light that it strikes a wall, and falls to the floor. Al- though many persons are nervous about bats, I have noticed that whenever one flies in, some kind-hearted and sensilsle person generally cries out, "Don't kill it!" While crossing the Atlantic cjuite recently, a British Long-Eared Bat was found on board the steamer, thirty miles from the nearest land, clinging to the rail, wet and weary. At that time there was no breeze from the land. When taken into the library, its wet fur soon dried, and it began to fly to and fro. In a short time the room was well filled with passengers, who watched the exhibition with great interest. When caught and held for close examination, it did not squeak shrilly and protest as the red bat usually does. After having served as a useful object lesson for a large number of young people, our strange visitor was brought safely to New York harbor, and liberated. The Gray Bat ' is one of the largest and handsomest species inhabiting the northeastern United States and Canada. It is also found throughout the middle West from Ohio to Cali- fornia, and from Manitoba to New ^Mexico. This is a species well worth looking for. It has small ears, a head-and-body length of 3 inches, tail 2 inches, and it is readily distinguished by its dark brown hair tipped with silvery white. The Big- Eared Bat^ of the south Atlantic states has ears of incredible height and width for a creature so small. In comparison with the size of the wearer, these ears are the largest worn by any American mammal. They are one-half as long as the entire head and body, being 1{ inches in height and nearly 1 inch wide, while the head and body measure only 2J inches. THE FAMILY OF FALSE VAMPIRES. ISIegadennatidac. This Family is absent from America, but is mentioned here to fill what otherwise would be a gap. The members of one genus, Mcgaderina, are noted for their carnivorous habits. The most noteworthy species is weU worthy of men- tion. The "False" Vampire Bat, of India and beyond, bears a name which is quite mislead- ing; for in its habits, this creature is far from being a "false" Vampire. It devours frogs, small fishes, bats smaller than itself, and even ' At-a-la'pha cin'e-re-a. '' Co-ry-norhi'nus ma-cro'tis. 06 OJIDEltS OF MA:\L\[ALS— BATS Binall birds. It has very large ears, an elaborate iiose-leaf, a head-and-body length of 3 inches and a wing expanse of 16 inches. THE FAMILY OF HORSESHOE BATS. RhinolophuJac. This Family contains thirty species of small bats, all of which are restricted to the Old World. THE FAMILY OF FRUIT-EATING BATS. Ptcropodidac. The members of this Family are bats of very large size, with fox-like heads, dense and abun- dant pelage, large eyes, and free tails when tails are present. They are quite diurnal in their habits, and feed almost exclusively upon fruit. They inhabit India, Cej'lon, the Malay Archi- pelago and eastern Australia, and are almost the only bats that find their way into captivity for exliibition purposes. They are very socia- ble in their habits, and live in colonies of from five to fifty individuals. The Flying "Fox." ' The largest of the bats which we occasionally see darting through the gloaming with irregular, jerky flight, are about as large as purple martens, — tiny creatures, weak, and cjuite incapable of offence. In the East Indies, however, and also Australia, there are bats of enormous size. These are known as Fruit Bats, or Flying "Foxes." Some of those shot by the author in Ceylon had mngs which spread forty inches. On one occasion I found the top of a small tree, about fifty feet high, filled with these ani- mals. They hung head downward from the upper branches, in places so tliickly as to crowd each other, — C|uarrelling, s(|uealing shrilly, and climbing about. To see nearly a hundred bats of such huge size hanging in one tree-top, cjuite at home in the broad glare of a tropical after- noon sun, was a strange and impressive sight. I liad been asked to procure and preserve for American museums six dozen specimens of that species, and when after long observation I finally fired into the bunch, the black and brown cloud of giant bats that rose in the air, and slowly ' Pler'o-pus ed'ivards-l. flajiiietl away, was one of the most grewsome sights I c\'er saw in animal life. Of all creatures that fly, none are so thoroughly uncanny when outlined against the sky as the big, black-winged, half-naked Flying "Fox." They suggest de- mons and calamities. The Flying " Fox " derives its name from the resemljlance of its head to that of a very small fox. It feeds wholl}^ upon fruit, and when it inhabits well-settled districts it is cordially dis- liked by every person who owns a fruit-tree. In some portions of Australia, these creatures have done great damage to fruit, and energetic meas- ures, such as the explosion of dynamite among them, have been resorted to for their destruc- tion. Some of the fruit-growers of California are so apprehensive of this creature, and so fearful that it might be "introduced," they have se- cured the passage of a law, by which the im- portation of the Flying "Fox" is prohibited so rigidly that not one specimen can be imported, even for exhibition in a zoological garden. As a matter of fact, this fear of the presence of the Flying " Fox " in the United States is r|uiteas groundless as the old fear of being quill-shot by Canada porcupines. It certainly would be very difficult to introduce that species, and keep it from being exterminated, except possibly in some of our insular possessions. Ill the Flying " Fox " Family is found another re- markable -variation in bat physiognomy, the Hammer-Head- ed Bat, " a species discovered in the land of the gorilla, by Du Chaillu. The head of the animal is of large propor- tions as com]3arecl with the body, and the muzzle is enormously enlarged. In general outline, the head in profile is much like the head of a moose. This is ((uite a large bat, its wing expanse being 28 inches. ^ E p-o-moph' o-rus. H.\1IMER-HEADED BAT. (.\f(er Joseph Wolf.) FRUIT-EATING BATS, OR FLYING FOXES. CHAPTER VII THE ORDER OF GNAWING ANIMALS OLIRES, OR RODENTS The Order of Gnawing Animals contains a great many species, and to persons who have not studied it with some attention, it is a chaotic jumble of living creatures. This unsatisfactory con- dition is entirely unnecessary. A few hours' diligent study — under helpful conditions — will give any intelligent person a fair knowledge of the subdivisions of this Order, and an acquaintance with a sufficient number of examples so that each strange North American rodent met with can be referred to its proper Family. The first step is to learn the names of the Families, which are as follows : f>3 O ^ HP* o o Squirrel Family, Sbwellel Family, .... Bbavbe Family, Mouse and Rat Family, . . Pouched Mouse and Rat Family Jumping Mouse Family, ... Pocket Gopher Family, Porcupine Family, .... PiKA, OR " Chief Hare " Family, Hare and Rabbit Family, . . APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF FULL SPECIES. SCI-U'BI-DAB, . . AF-LO-DONT'I-DAE, CAS-TOR'I-DAE, MUR'I-DAE, . . DI-POiyi-DAE, . ZA-POiyi-DAE, . GE-0-MY'I-DAE, E-BETH-I-ZONT-I-DAE, 0-CHO-TON'I-DAE, . LE-POR'I-DAE, . . . about 72 Species. 4 " 1 171 42 10 " 33 " 2 " 6 " 30 " THE SQUIRREL FAMILY. In order to avoid recognizing a large number of Families for animals that are closely related, zoologists have agreed that the Squirrel Family shall contain the marmots, and a number of other animals that are closely related to squir- •rels. To make this point clear, observe this diagram : Hlxg ' True i Tree Squirrels, Sciurus. Squirrels, 1 ^""^ Squirrels Tamias, etc. ( Ground Squirrels, Citellus. Marmots, Flying Squirrels, ( Prairie-" Dogs," ] Woodchuoka, . Cynomys. Marmota. Sciuropterus. All these creatures appeal strongly to persons who live in the country, or visit city parks. Go anyTvhere in the temperate zone, and you will find some of them, ready to greet you, and * The subspecies recorded number about 260 1 68 371' make friends with you if you choose. You have but to use your eyes, and you will see them. In the East you have the gray squirrel and chipmunk; in the Mississippi Valley the fox squirrel; on the Great Plains, the ground-squir- rels and prairie-" dogs " ; in the West the Douglas squirrel, and a bewildering array of chipmunks and ground squirrels. He who fails to learn their names, and make friends with them, loses much pleasure. The members of the Squirrel Family are so widely distributed, and have grown so accus- tomed to man and his ways, that there are few persons who have not seen at least two or three wild species in their haunts. Their lives are full of incident and interest, and to the young nat- uralist, animal artist or sculptor, they are usually the most available of all wild animal subjects. A very attractive book might be written THE GROUPS OF SQUIREELS 69 about the many beautiful and interesting spe- cies of squirrels that are found throughout North America, the number of which is surpris- ingly great. The total number of species and subspecies described is as follows. In Mexico and Central America, species, about 2.5, subspecies, about 18, total 43; in the United States and Canada, species, about 60, subspecies, about 67. The total for North America is about 170 species and geographic races. Many of these, however, resemble each other so closely that their differences are too slight for our consideration; and there may be a number that are not entitled to stand as in- dependent forms. Nature has divided the many species of North graveyard. There is no other animal of equal size that can add so much of hfe and cheerful- ness to a hardwood forest or a meadow as a good healthy squirrel. Why is it that American men and boys kill them so eagerly? Surely the flesh of their little bodies is not needed as food. It has a taste so "gamey " and rank that to many persons it is decidedly unpalatable. Americans are the only white men on earth who eat squir- rels. An Englishman would as readily eat a rat! Possibly their flesh was necessary to the hardy but hungry pioneers of the early days; but to- day we have no excuse for shooting any squir- rels, save the quarrelsome red squirrel. Surely no true siiortsman or right-minded boy can Photographed by E. Ft. Sanborn, N. Y. Zoological Park. GRAY SQUIRREL. American squirrels into three easily remem- bered groups, as follows: Tree Squirrels, which hve in the tree-tops. Example : Eastern Gray Squirrel. Rock Squirrels, which hve in rocks, fences and among the roots of large trees. Example : the Common Chipmunk. Ground Squirrels, of prairie countries, which burrow deeply in the earth. Exanijjle; the Striped Spermophile. In each of these three groups there are sev- eral important types which must be noticed. The Tree-Squirrel Group. A patch of timber or a wood lot without squir- rels always conveys an impression of lonesome solitude and something gone, — Uke a country find any real "sport" in "potting" squirrels out of the tree-tops. Take the common gray squirrel, for example. It is one of the most beautiful and graceful of our native mammals. It is perfectly harmless and as soon as it learns that it is protected, it be- comes so tame as to be a delightful companion on the farm. Thousands of American farmers would fight, were it necessary, to save their squirrels from slaughter. Except the red squir- rel, all tree squirrels should be protected, both by public sentiment and by law. Excepting the chickarees, the squirrels which live in the tree-tops are considerably larger than those of other groups, and their tails are much longer. Their characteristic colors are gray, rusty-brown, yellow and black; and as a rule 70 ORDEES OF MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS they are devoid of spots or stripes. They are very strong and active ehmbcrs, and keen of eye and ear. The Gray Squirrel' is chosen as the lead- ing type because it represents an average size, the most frequent color, and is widely distributed. This is the most prominent squirrel of southern Canada, New England, and the eastern and ^fr3^ SOUTHERN FOX SQUIRREL. southern states, .southward to Florida. It ranges westward to Minnesota, Kansas and Texas. Above its color is clean iron-gray, which in southern specimens is mixed with dull yellow. The lower surface is white, varying to yellowish brown. Usually it nests in hollow trees, but when crowded for room builds an open nest of green leaves, or strippings of cedar bark made into a round ball. The young are usually five in number. ' Sci-u'rus car-o-li-nen' sis . The Gray Squirrel frequently consents to live in city parks, and becomes rjuite tame. It spends much of its time upon the ground, searching for nuts, roots, or anything which can be eaten. A very large specimen measures 9^ -I- SJ inches. Northern specimens are larger, and have longer and finer fur than those of the southern states. The California Gray Squirrel '■' is the Pacific coast counterpart of the eastern gray squirrel, except that it is larger, and its colors are brighter. Its color above is bluish gray and black, and underneath it is pure white. It is the largest squirrel in the far West, its maxi- mum length being 12 -|- 10 inches. Its home extends from the state of Washington to south- ern California, and it is in every way a worthy product of that fertile and healthful region. The Fox Squirrels. — We have now reached two important species, to which the student must give close attention in order to avoid con- fusing them with each other, and with the gray squirrel. The southern species will be presented first, because it has two points by which it can be recognized at a glance. The Southern Fox Squirrel^ is the only Squirrel in America which has a pure white nose and white ears. No matter how much the re- mainder of the animal may vary in color from the standard, in adult specimens the white nose and ears are constant. Typical .specimens of this species are colored as follows: top of head, black; upper surface, blackish brown; lower surface, lighter brown ; tail, dark brown, margined with black. Variations occur, of every shade from the above to jet black all over the body, head and tail; but the ears and nose still are white. This animal measures 1.3 -I- 12 inches. Its home is east of the AUeghanies from Virginia to Florida, and westward along the Gulf Coast to Louisiana. On the map its range looks like an arm bent around the range of the next species. The Northern Fox Squirrel,^ or Cat Squirrel, is smaller than the soutliern species (12 -I- 11 inches), but very much like it in color, save that its nose and cars never are white. The standard color is rusty brown, washed with black on the upper surface, and bright brown underneath. ''Sci-u'rus gri.'i'e-vs. '' Sci-ic'rus ni'yer. ' S. lu-do-vi-ci-an' us . THE TEEE SQUIREELS 71 Variations.— This squirrel is the most variable in color of all our species, and in fifty specimens it may be diflficult, or even impossible, to find two exactly alike. Often it has a beautiful gray coat, and looks like a genuine gray squirrel with a brown back and head. Often it is dark gray above, and black on the legs and under surface, — a strange combination of colors, — and occasionally a pure white specimen is found. This species inhabits the Mississippi Valley from the AUeghanies to Arkansas, western Iowa, and northward to Michigan and New York. In captivity it seems to be more hardy in winter than the ' grajr squirrel. In the New York Zoo- logical Park it blithely runs about in the snow when the latter takes pains to avoid it. Often the Northern Fox Squirrel will be out when none of the other occupants of the Rodents' cages are visible. It seems to me, however, that the Fox Squirrels are not as nimble on foot, or as active and daring in the tree-tops, as the gray squirrels. The Red Squirrel, or Cliicliaree,^ repre- sents a large group of species containing the smaller of the tree squirrels. Its length is 7f -1- 6i inches, weight 7^ ounces. What it lacks in size it makes up in courage and activity. In New York and New England, it often drives all the gray squirrels out of any grove which they have undertaken to inhabit as tenants in common. Many observers beheve the habits of the Red Squirrel to be so bad that the species deserves to be exterminated; but to this we are not pre- pared to agree. The complete destruction of any species of mammal or bird is a doubtful experiment, and never should be entered upon T^ithout most careful investigation. In its normal colors, this little animal is readily recognized by its brown upper surface and outer surface of its legs, and its white under parts. It must be remembered, however, that it undergoes important seasonal changes in pelage, — from winter coat to summer coat, and the reverse, — and sometimes its standard colors are greatly changed. Its legs are long and thin in proportion to the size of its body, and its form is not as graceful ' Sci-u'rus hud-son' i-ciifi. EASTERN RED SQUIRREL. as that of the gray or fox squirrels. It is readily recognized by its markings, and the fact that it is the smallest of our northern tree squirrels. Three species and fifteen subspecies of Red Squirrels are recognized, and their combined ranges cover about two-thirds of North America, from Alaska and Labrador to North Carolina and southern Arizona. In California and Oregon this group is repre- sented by the sprightly and interesting Douglas Squirrel,- showing a mixture of colors, — dark gray, yellowish, and black. This is the most familiar squirrel of the great coast forests, in which it uses the sides of the giant spruces and redwoods as play-grounds. In Colorado and Utah occurs the third full species, known as Fremont's Squirrel,' which is colored gray, yellowish brown and white, much mixed. Of the forty-three species and races of squir- rels inhabiting Mexico and Central America, the most conspicuous is the Red-Bellied Squirrel. ■* Its upper surface is pale grizzled gray, and its under parts bright rusty red. It inhabits the forests of eastern Mexico, ascending the high mountains to an elevation of 8,000 feet. The largest squirrel in the world is the great Malabar Squirrel ° of southwestern India, which is yellowish brown above, reddish brown or black below, and measures, head and body, 17 ' Sci-u'rus doug'las-i. ' jS. jre-mont'i. * S. ery-thro-gas'ter. ■' Sci-u'rus mal-a-har' i-cus . 72 ORDERS OF MAMMALS— GXAWING ANIMALS inches, tail, 14^- inches, and it weighs 4-'r pounds. The most hcautiful sciuirrel in the world is Prevost's Squirrel' of the Malay Peninsula, a species about the size of a small gray squirrel. Its colors form a beautiful pattern of gray, brown, black, white and buft'. Rock Squirrels, or Chipmunks. Next below the tree squirrels comes a large group of small squirrels which live on the ground, EASTERN CHIPMUNK. preferably amongst rocks, in which they find refuge from their enemies. In the absence of rocks, they live along fences, where any exist; but their favorite nesting-places are in hollow trees which can be entered directly from the ground. These little creatures are about one-third the size of large tree squirrels, and inasmuch as their small size renders them secure from the deadly attentions of man, they have become the most tame and confiding of all the wild mammals of civilization. They are graceful in form, beauti- ful in color-markings, and exceedingly pert and ' Sci-u'rus pre-vost'i. quick in their movements. When fully pro- tected, as they are in some pubhc parks, they become so tame and confiding that they dart about on the walks in search of food, and often allow persons to pass within three feet of them. For convenience and clearness, we shall des- ignate all the chipmunks as Rock Squirrels, because of their well-known preference for rocks, whenever any are available. It is a mistake to call these animals "ground squirrels." That name does not properly apply to them, but belongs to the next group. The Eastern Chipmunk' is widely known, and will serve admirably as the key to the group. When 3'ou walk in the country, almost anywhere in the eastern states, this pretty httle creature darts in front of ,vou like a flash of brown light, \ and says, "Chip, chip, chip, chip!" most glee- I fully. If you stop to observe him, he pauses and looks at you very intently, wide-eyed and with ears erect, and save for the quick heaving of his tiny sides, remains as motionless as a stufl'ed squirrel. To him, every fence is a fortress. Whether it be of stone or wood, the Chipmunk knows its best runs when danger threatens, and carries in his active little brain a complete check-list of bvuTows and hiding-places. When pursued by dog, bo3^ or wild animal, he darts swiftly along the top or the lower rails of his stockade, until he reaches a satisfactory hiding-place, when a flash of brown fur shoots into it, and he is seen no more. When hard pressed, Chipmunks frequently climb tree-trunks up to the lower branches, but such situations are \'ery dangerous for them, because they are so seriously exposed to attack. Next to the birds of prey, the weasel, mink and fox arc their worst enemies. The weasel is the worst of all, because it follows them into the remotest recesses of their burrows, and kills every inhabitant without mercy. Although the Chipmunk burrows in the ground below the frost line, and has roomy cheek- pouches in which it carries astonishingly large quantities of grain and small nuts, it is more nearly related to the tree S(|uirrels than to the true ground squirrels. In the autumn it stores in its burrow a quantity of grain or nuts, which- ever is most abundant, — a habit which has sug- " Tam'i-as slri-a'lus. HOCK SQUIEKELS, OK CHIPMUNKS 73 gested its generic name, Tamias, meaning a stew- ard. It does not become dormant, but on tlie warm, sunny days of winter, wiren tlie rocks are free from snow, it hastens above ground to enjoy the hght and warmth. The length of an Eastern Chipmunlv is 6^ + 4J \ inches. Its ground color is bright reddish brown above, light underneath, and along each side runs a conspicuous yellow-brown stripe between two black stripes. A black stripe runs from the head backward along the centre of the back, almost to the tail. The home of this animal extends from southern Canada and New York to Georgia and Louisiana, and westward to Iowa. There are eighteen full species of Chipmunks, several of which are very much alike, distributed throughout nearly the whole of the United States. The greater number are marked by two or more blaek lines extending along the side, frequently alternating with lines of a yellowish-gray color. It is impossible to mention even the majority of these species without risk of confusing the reader, but it is desirable to note a few important and strongly marked tyj;)es inhabiting widely separated localities in the United States. The California Chipmunk' is a merry- hearted little elf, particularly pert and beauti- ful. Its high, sharp-pointed ears and harlequin stripes of white give it a very roguish and saucy look. To judge by the lively actions of this little creature, it seems to regard life as a long play- spell. There are many in the Zoological Park, and in some respects they are the most satisfac- tory of all our burrowing rodents. Only the severest weather drives them into their burrows, and in the dead of winter, when a thick blanket of snow keeps all other animals of the Burrowing Rodents' Quarters snug under ground, the first hour of clear sunshine will see half a dozen of the California Chipmunks above ground, and sun- ning themselves on their logs. Having an abun- dance of room, they enjoy their life in the Park, and are much interested in visitors who notice them. This species could easily and safely be intro- duced in any region suitable for it. Its home is in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto Moun- tains, CaUfornia, but the limits of its range are yet to be defined. It is one of the smallest spe- ' Eu'tam-i-as spe-ci-o'sus. cies of its genus, its total length being 6 -f 3 inches. The Antelope Squirrel- is readily recognized by the broad and conspicuous band of white, whicli extends along the middle of the side, and its pale buff color. It has the pale colors of a Photo, by E. D. Warren, say's SPEHMOPHILE. ( Callth^perm oph il u s lateralis.) WE.STERN CHIPMUNK. {Eutamias qvadrivit- tatus.) desert animal. It is found in the desert regions of the southwest from western Texas to southern California, and northward to Nevada and Utah. It is larger than the eastern species, and is strikingly diil'erent in appearance from all other chipmunks. Ground Squirrels, We have now reached a large group of bur- rowing squirrels which to the farmers west of the Mississippi are of very serious importance, on account of the grain they destroy. All these animals may be known under the name of Sper'- mo-philes. The word Spermophile means " seed- lover"; and as this very appropriate general term implies, the animals which bear it feed chiefly upon .seeds or grain. No ground squirrel, or spermophile, ever should be called a "gopher," as is frequently done in the Dakotas and Minnesota. The latter name should be reserved for the clumsy, bur- rowing pocket gophers, of the genera Geoniys and Thomomys. Ground squirrels live by preference on prairies, '' Am-mo-sper-moph'i-lua leu-cu'rus. OKDERS OF MAMMALS— GNAAVING ANIMALS and l)urrow deeply in the ground. They seldom frequent rocks, and seldom climb trees. They are essentially dwellers in open country, where they can range freely, and behold a goodly por- tion of the world about them. Even fields of standing grain are distasteful to them, and they move to the open country around their borders. Of spermophiles north of Mexico there are thirty-one full species and forty-two subspecies, or races. Going westward, tlioy are first found in western Indiana and Michigan, from which they spread northwest and southwest throughout the whole western half of the United States, sa\'e the timbered areas. They also range into Mex- ico, Canada, and Alaska. They are at home on the rich, rolling prairies of the Dakotas, the level, floor-like plains of Nebraska, the alkali flats of Utah, the hot deserts of Arizona, and the dry valleys and mountain regions of California. They seem to be most numerous in California and the Dakotas, where they do much damage to crops. All the ground sfjuirrels have cheek-pouches, dig deep burrows (unless the earth is too rocky), store ciuantities of grain in the autumn for win- ter food, and in cold latitudes live all winter in their burrows. If forced to do so, they will live amongst rocks, and it is surprising to note how they can live in situations both high and low, dry and wet. Their favorite food is grain, seeds of every description, green grass, and hay, and their worst habit is digging up seed grain. Some species eat quantities of destructive insects, such as grasshoppers, beetles, cut-worms, and crickets, and in this way partly compensate the farmer for the grain they devour. In fact, from all observations made thus far it seems that in the insect season, insects form a considerable proportion of the daily food supply of these in- dustrious little animals. Not only do they eat all kinds of ground insects, but they also devour mice, and almost any other flesh that comes within their reach, particularly dry meat ad- hering to the bones of large animals which have died near their holes. Ground srjuirrels are prolific, and bring forth from seven to ten young in each litter. Their ■enemies are coyotes, foxes, badgers, skunks, hawks and owls. The spermophiles of North America are so wide-spread, so numerous and so important it is necessary that two or three of the leading species should be specially noticed. The Thirteen-Lined, or Leopard Sper- mophile,' is the most familiar and widely dis- tributed species, and although one of the smallest, it is also the most strangely marked. Nature was in a sportive mood when she marked the back and sides of this little creature with seven broad stripes of dark brown, then laid between them si.x narrow stripes of pale yellow, and finally marked each of the seven brown stripes with a row of large, pale yellow spots. The yellow spots on the brown lines are the first feature of the color scheme to catch the eye, and they distinguish this animal almost as far as it can be seen. Its under parts are pale yellow, and its size is 6} + 3i inches. Do not call this animal the "Striped" Sper- miophile, because that name would apply to sev- eral other species, and be worthless ; and do not call it the "Striped Gopher," because it is not a "gopher" of any kind. The Thirteen-Lined Spermophile inhabits THIRTEEN-LINED SPERMOPHILE. about one-third of the United States, extending from Fort Wayne, Indiana, southwestward to Fort Worth, Texas, and northwestward to the plains of the Saskatchewan. Its western limit is the Rocky iHountains, but nowhere does it live in timbered regions, being strictly a prairie animal. Its burrow is a hole about two inches in diame- ter, which descends quite steeply into the earth until it passes below the frost line (two to three feet), after which it runs off in a more or less horizontal course for ten or fifteen feet farther. If the burrow is an old one, and much used, it is a long and difficult task to dig to the end of it, and few boys undertake it more than once. ' Ci-tel'lus tri-de' cem-lin-e-a' tus. THE GKOUND SQUIKRELS 75 As in the case of nearly all burrowing rodents of cold latitudes, nature has so adjusted the life of this animal that it survives the long and dreary winter in the strange, half-dead condition called hibernation. To make this possible, the young are born early in the year, and mature early, and during summer and autumn, take on a great quantity of fat. At the approach of winter, it curls up in its burrow for a sleep of from three to four months' duration. By the investigations of Dr. P. R. Hoy, it has been discovered that in the case of the Thirteen- Lined Spermophile, the action of the heart is reduced from two hundred to only four feeble beats per minute, the temperature is reduced from 105° to 58°, and there is no visible breathing. The circulation of the blood was so feeble that when a limb was amputated, only a few drops of blood slowly oozed from the wound, while the nerves showed no sensitiveness. In fact, the animal was in a condition of suspended anima- tion, as if under the influence of chloroform. In the northern portions of its range, this sper- mophile hibernates from about November 20 to April ] . Franklin's Spermophile' looks very much like a slender-bodied, short-tailed tree-squirrel; and very often it is called the Gray Ground Squir- rel. It should not, however, be called the "Gray Gopher," or " Scrub Gopher," for both these names are erroneous. It is best to call each animal by a name peculiarly its own, even though the beginning of correct naming involves a httle trouble. On an open prairie, especially in spring when the young grass is short, this spermophile is a conspicuous animal, and strongly resembles the gray squirrel of the East. Its upper surface is of a yellowish-gray color marked with fine, wavy, cross-wise lines of black or brown. Its under surface is distinctly gray, and its hair is coarse and stiff. In size it is about 9-1-5 inches. Its home is the central portion of the range of the Thirteen-Lined Spermophile. The western hmit follows the eastern boundary of the arid plains northward from southeastern Kansas to the Saskatchewan, Alberta, and from thence south- eastward to southern Wisconsin, eastern Illinois and northern Mis.souri. Whenever numerous in farming regions, this ' Ci-tel'lus frank'lin-i. animal is very troublesome, not only in destroying grain in the ground and in the stack, but also in destroying young chickens. They are very vent- uresome in locating permanently near farm- houses and barns, and sometimes they are very destructive in gardens. As an offset to the valu- able farm products destroyed by these creatures, Franklin's Spermophile destroys great numbers of noxious insects, such as grasshoppers, cater- pillars, beetles, and also field mice. In the Richardson's spermophile. United States Department of Agriculture, twenty- nine stomachs were examined with the following result; animal matter present, 30.3 per cent.; vegetable, 68.5 per cent., and undetermined, 1.2 per cent. Out of the whole twenty-nine stomachs examined, twenty-six contained the remains of insects! Thus the grain consumed by this ani- mal is at least partially paid for by the destruc- tion of insects that prey upon crops; but farmers everywhere are diUgent in destroying it with poisoned wheat placed in its burrow. Richardson's Spermophile,^ of northern Montana, North Dakota and the region immedi- ately northward as far as the Saskatchewan, has a short body, short legs, and a short tail, and looks very much hke a thin prairie-" dog." In color it is like the preceding species, except that its tail is darker; but in size it is a trifle smaller (9-1-3 inches). Its habits are practically identical with those of Franklin's Spermophile, but if there is any difference, it is more destruc- tive to grain than is the latter, and consumes less insect food. It is fortunate that this species inhabits so small an area of the wheat country of the Northwest. ' Ci-tel'lus rich'ard-son-i. 76 ORDEKS OF MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS Marmots. The group of marmots consists of burrowing rodents which in structure are quite s(iuirrel- like, but are distinguished by their large size and general heaviness of body. As Isefits their portliness of form, they are not active and lively, like scjuirrels, but live quietly and unobtrusively. By reason of the good sense they manifest in keeping out of mischief, some of them are tol- erated in farming communities when more ag- gressive rodents would be exterminated. The woodchuck is our most perfect tj'pe of IMarmot, from which the i)rairie-" dog," or prairie marmot is slightly removed by the pos- session of a large and perfect fifth claw. It is desirable, however, that the latter should be included in the group of marmots. The Prairie-"Dogs." The Prairie-" Dog'" is a plump and sociable little Rodent, not a Carnivore, — well known to every dweller in the plains region of the great ■' ^i/t^ ej-fsttA ^ggB. js y-^ ^A. ,^±^!i. PRAIRIE- DOGS. West, and to every trans-continental traveller. His explosive, yapping crj^ is the most cheerful sound of the western plains. He hates solitude, and always lives in colonies of from 40 to 1,000 individuals. Unlike most other burrowing Ro- dents, the darkness and silence of a burrow easily pall upon his vivacious nature ; therefore he spends the greater portion of his waking hours above ground, visiting his neighbors, and ob.serv- ing what goes on in his small world. ' Cy-no'mys lu-do-vi-ci-an'us. When no enemies are in sight, he and his fellow- townsmen roam about for short distances from their homes, and feed upon grass blades and stems. At the approach of an enemy, — man, coyote, badger, fox, gray wolf, eagle or hawk, — the sentry cries out sharply, "Skip! Skip! Skip!" Instantly every "Dog" halts, motionless and alert. If the sentry again cries "Skip!" each "Dog" scurries to his hole, and poises himself over its wide mouth, in readiness for a dive to subterranean safety. If the danger approaches quite near, the alarm cry resounds shrilly from all sides, stubby tails jerk nervously as if worked by wires, and down goes every Prairie-" Diig." .lust how far down the burrows go, it is diffi- cult to say, for they probably "\'ary greatly in depth. The mouth of a burrow is a miniature model of a volcano, — a conical mound of bare earth, a foot high and three or four feet in di- ameter, with a four-inch crater in the centre, going down at a slight angle. The crater pre- vents water from running into the burrow. In making a crater the " Dogs " press the earth into shape on the inside with their noses. Once when an inmate of the Prairie-" Dog " Village in the New York Zoological Park incurred the hostility of four of his mates, they drove him into his burrow, filled up the mouth of it with moist earth, and with their noses tamped it down (fuite hard, the prisoner scolding vigorously mean- while. Prairie-" Dogs " are easily introduced into al- most any open country where the gi'ound is dry, but they are very difficult to e.xterminate. Under fair conditions they breed readily in cap- tivity, and usually produce four j'oung at a birth. In 1S99, a free colony was established in the New York Zoological Park in the Antelope Range, where it existed for two years, and its saucy members attracted far more attention than those confined in the fenced village. Know- ing that guns and dogs are not allowed in the Park, they often permitted ^'isitors to pass with- in six feet of them. But it proved impos- sible to keep those industrious diggers from spreading far beyond the limits fixed for them, and seriously damaging walks and lawns, so they were finally caught by placing sand in boxes over their burrows, and transferred to the village whose walls of solid masonry go down to bed rock. THE PEAIRIE-"DOG" 77 Some plainsmen claim that these interesting little creatures are able to locate their towns away from streams because they burrow down until they strike water, but Dr. Merriam points out the fact that in some regions they live where the nearest veins of artesian- well water are 1,000 feet below the surface. As a matter of fact they can live without drinking. The Prairie-" Dog " is at home — where not exterminated by poisoned wheat put into his burrow — from Texas, New Mexico and Arizona northward to the Canadian boundary, and on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains in Utah and .Colorado. It is most abundant in Montana, Wyoming and western Kansas. One of the largest Prairie-" Dog " towns yet re- ported begins in Trego County, Kansas, five miles west of the one-hundredth meridian, and extends along the divide north of the Smoky Hill River, practically without a break, to Colo- rado, a total distance of about one hundred miles. This town varies in width from half a mile to five miles, and on the top of the divide the nearest water is believed to be 350 feet below the surface. (Arthur B. Baker.) It is now (1903) reported that because of the wholesale destruction of wolves and foxes, the enormous increase of Prairie-" Dogs" in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado has become a genuine scourge to farmers and cattlemen. The number of "Dogs" in that region is now esti- mated at several millions, and a general cam- paign against them has been begun. The meth- od employed for their destruction is a spoonful of poisoned wheat placed in the mouth of each burrow. Beyond doubt, this will soon reduce their numbers to reasonable limits. When he is not too numerous, I am the friend of the Prairie-" Dog. " He is as bright and cheer- ful as the day is long, and he enUvens many a dreary landscape, but at the same time he often changes fine, grass-covered cattle ranges into dreary wastes, and causes great losses to cat- tle owners. I hope, however, that he will be tolerated at least to the extent that systematic destruction will stop short of extermination. It is not true that the Prairie-" Dog " lives in peace and harmony in the same burrow with the rattlesnake and burrowing owl. The snakes would make short work of the young Prairie- '.' Dogs," and the latter would quickly kill the owl ! It is safe to surmise that when a deadly and quarrelsome rattler invades the home of a Prairie-" Dog" family, the latter speedily seeks a home elsewhere. The burrowing owl is in the habit of taking refuge in abandoned burrows, and nesting in them, to save the labor of dig- ging a burrow for itself. In the Philadelphia Zoological Garden Mr. A. E. Brown once tried the experiment of associating burrowing owls and Prairie-" Dogs." The owls were immedi- ately killed and torn to pieces by the "Dogs." A Prairie-" Dog " Burrow. At last a Prairie-" Dog" burrow has been completely exposed by digging, and reported upon in full in one of the publications of the Biological Survey. In the "Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture" for 1901, Dr. C. Hart Merriam publishes a valuable paper on "The Prairie-Dog of the Great Plains," which contains the following illustrated descrip- tion : "The holes go down for some distance at a very steep angle and then turn at nearly a right angle and continue horizontally, rising some- what toward the end. The nests are in side chambers connecting with the horizontal part of the burrow, and usually, if not always, at a somewhat higher level. (See H in figure.) Recently, at Alma, Nebraska, W. H. Osgood dug out a burrow, of which he made a careful diagram, accompanied by measurements. "In this case the burrow went down nearly vertically to a depth of 14J feet below the surface, when it turned abruptly and became horizontal as shown in the diagram. The horizontal part was 13i feet in length. One-third of the hori- zontal part (the terminal 4 feet, F) and two old nests and passageways (E) were plugged with black earth brought in from the surface layer, which was very different from the light-colored clayey earth in which the greater part of the burrow lay. "Four or five feet below the entrance was a diverticulum, or short side passage (G), probably used- as a place in which to turn around when the animals come back to take a look at the in- truder before finally disappearing in the bot- toms of their burrows. It is also used, appar- ently, as a resting-place where they bark and scold after retreating from the mouths of the 78 ORDEES OP MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS burrows. As elsewhere noted, they are often heard barking after they have gone in. "The burrow was opened the day after bi- sulphide of carbon had been used for destrojdng the animals, and the material carrying the bi- sulphide was found at the bottom of the vertical "■ ■ at;- serve to hold its numbers in check. The most in- veterate of these appear to be the coyote, badger, black-footed ferret and rattlesnake." The Woodchuck, or Ground-"Hog,"' is tol- erated on the farms of New England because he is wise enough to live on clover and other grass. l^. Mound- B. Fiinjiytl -jha/ied cnCrarue/Co burrow C. Mauvnassaq^4-'i inch.in/duarteter _ ab-oui IS :{cd, lit length- , , ., U. Horizontal itassageS'/zhamUncith. E. U.miitoine!UfilU(LuiUhtarlki.rduM. F. llnmtdiiarl ofhorUortbtlfUiiscMe thU,tdnth-tca-thUcl4-fKtlong) G .Niche IcayK aioicak-for omfirainidag- W.NutofarcU^(llinchiii,dMmcttr6y3iiv- chei in height) \^,AbiOrHlii matter rurrying buutiihuie uf car bow. K .Fo&ilipn ofB-oarie doers as found after use of&LSiafiliide ofxarboiv \^M]dk ofhonzontalpcuscwt, itfcit PKAIRIB-" DOG " BURROW. From Dr. C. Hart Merriam, "Yearbook," Department of Agriculture, for 1901. part, just where the horizontal part turns off. Two dead animals were found, one in the hori- zontal part, the other in the nest, as indicated by the letter K in the diagram. "The Prairie-Dog has several natural enemies which, when not interfered with by man, usually and let the vegetable gardens alone. In the East he is the only representative of the marmots. In form he is short and stout, and his flat head and beady, black eyes give him a surly look. He is not hvely and cheerful in his habits, hke a ' Mar-^mo'ta mo'nax. THE WOODCHUCK 79 prairie-" dog, " and it is seldom that anyone speaks well of him. His favorite home is a burrow in a gravelly hillside in a "swamp lot," or woods pasture, and while he likes to come out and bask in the warm sunshine, he never ventures far from his front door. In the autumn, instead of storing up vegeta- bles for winter, he takes on a quantity of fat, under his skin. Early in November he blithely goes to sleep in his burrow, and does not waken York to Georgia, and westward to Kansas and South Dakota. A much larger species called the Gray Mar- mot,' or Whistler (22 + 7 inches), is an im- portant northwestern form, strongly marked by its light, grizzly-gray color, with certain dark markings. It is found from the Columbia River northward to about 63° North Latitude and eastward to Hudson Bay. It derives one of its names from the fact that its alarm cry consists of WOODCHUCK. until February 2, — "Ground-Hog day." Then, — so runs the popular legend, — he emerges, and looks about him. If he sees his shadow, he again retires to his burrow, and sleeps six weeks longer, — which betokens a cold, wintry spring. The eastern Woodchuck is a typical marmot, short-legged, heavy-bodied, flat-headed, and brownish gray in color. The length of its head and body is 14 inches, and of its tail 5 inches. It inhabits the eastern United States from New a shrill whistle, which is repeated by the ^'arious members of the colony threatened with danger. The Yellow-Bellled Marniot,^ easily distin- guished by the bright red hair on its under parts, is a southern species, found in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. High up, on the Olym- pic Mountains of western Washington, is found still another species of marmot, as large as the ' Mar-mo'ta pru-in-o'sus. ^ Mar-mo'la flav'i-ven-ter. 80 ORDERS OF MAMMALS— GXAWING ANIMALS Vv'histler, which is yellowish in summer, and bluish-gray in winter. This is called the Olym- pic IMarmot. Flying Squirrels. The Flying Squirrel ' is a very beautiful little creature, but its strictlj' nocturnal habits, and strong dislike to daylight, almost rob us of its acquaintance. This is to be regretted, be- cause it is the only native tree-dwelling quad- THE FI-YINt! SQUIRREL. ruped which has been provided by Nature with a parachute, consisting of a thin fold of skin stretched between the fore and hind legs, to partly sustain the animal in a long downward flight. Neither the Flying Sijuirrel, nor the flying lemur of the East Indies, can actually fly; but they leap from a tree-top, go sailing gently downward and outward, and when near the ground curve upward and are carried by their momentum on an ascending plane to the side of an adjoining tree. Anything like hori- zontal flight is quite out of the question. ' Sci-u-ro p' te-rus vo'lans. The Flying Squirrel is one of the most exqui- site little mammals in North America. Its legs are very delicately formed; its fur is as fine and soft as silk ; and when at rest the edge of its fly- ing membrane looks like the edge of a lace ruffle. The head and body (of the eastern species) is about 5 inches long, and the tail 4 inches. These little creatures are cjuite sociable, and nest in hollow trees, where from five to seven young are born. They come out to play about sunset, and are as sportive as schoolboys playing tag. In cap- tivity they are quite worthless for exhibition, for in the daytime there is nothing to be seen save a small and wholly uninteresting ball of fur. Three species (and nine subspecies) have been described, and their range covers the eastern United States from Canada to Florida, and westward to Louisiana. On the Pacific Coast, they are found from southern California to Alaska, even to the Mackenzie River basin, but the}' are not found in the desert regions. THE SEWELLEL FAMILY. Aplo'dontidae. The Sevvellel,- Mountain " Beaver," or Shovvt'l of the Indians is a strange and little known animal of the Northwest, with which at least every person in that region should be ac- ciuaintecl. It is reddish-brown in upper color (sometimes grayish-brown), and looks like a tailless woodchuck. It feeds like a beaver, fights fiercely when cornered, is sociable in habit like the prairie-" dog," can climb bushes four feet high, and can burrow and live comfortably either in ground that is low and boggy, or high and dry. Usually it prefers wet ground! A large speci- men weighs 4 pounds, measures about 13 inches in length of head and body, and tail a little more than one inch. Strange to say, this once rare animal has recently been discovered inhabit- ing the grounds of the University of Washing- ton, at Seattle. ., • THE BEAVER FAMILY. ', Castoridac. The Beaver^ easily leads the mammals of the world in mechanical and engineering skill, and also in habits of industry. Being chiefly nocturnal in its habits, it sleeps by day, and after nightfall carries on its work unmolested. '' Ap-lo-don'li-a ru'ja. ' Cas'tor can-a-den'sis. c3 fin o ES] o a o 2 53 >, T3 -a 82 OKDERS OF MAMMALS— GXAWIXG ANIMALS It is seldom that anyone sees a live Beaver in its haunts during the middle of tlie day, but it is possible to do so during the hour before sunset. In pubUc zoological gardens and parks, the per- sistence and success of this animal in a^-oiding observation is very disappointing to visitors, and exasperating to directors and keepers. This is the largest gnawing animal in North America. ■ A huge specimen caught in Maine, in 1900, weighed a trifle over .50 pounds. A large one in the New York Zoological Park is 31 inche.s long, has a tail 12 inches long and weighs 44 pounds. The American Beaver is still found in a few localities, — but in very small numbers, — from the Rio Grande in Texas throughout the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada and Cascade Moun- tain regions northward to the limit of trees, and southeastward through Canada to northern New England. The number now remaining in Col- orado has been estimated at one thousand. The Beaver's efforts are directed toward its own preservation and comfort. It builds ex- tensive dams of mud, grass and sticks, in order to create ponds in which it can hide from its enemies, maintain a safe refuge close by the wood on which it feeds, and have an under-water door- way to its house or burrow. More than this the pond .serves as a refrigerator, in the bottom of which the animal stores its supplies of food- wood for winter use, when the surface is frozen for a long period. Sometimes when food-wood on a beaver pond becomes scarce, the animals dig canals into places where fresh supplies can be cut, and floated down to the pond. These canals are usually about two feet wide. A Beaver is readily recognized by its very flat, hairless and scaly tail, which beyond the hair of the body is about 9 inches long by 4 inches wide. The tail Ls never used as a trowel in building dams, but only as a propeller in swimming. Dam-building is done in two ways. With his front feet the animal digs up soft mud, holds the mass with his fore legs against his breast, and swims with it to the dam. There he deposits it where it is most needed, and pats it down with his front feet. To strengthen the structure, he brings sticks four or five feet long, and one or two inches in diameter, from which he has eaten the bark. These he usually lays upon the dam. crosswise or nearly so, and fills between them with mud. When Beavers have to build a dam exceed- ing fifty feet in length, to flood low ground, they usually lay it out with a curve up-stream. The dam built by the Beavers in the New York Zoo- logical Park is about forty feet long, and three feet high, and quite sharply curved up-stream. In most localities inhabited by Beavers, the banks of the streams are so low that the animals cannot burrow into them, and consequently they build houses for themselves. Tlie ordinary Beaver house is a huge pile of neatly trimmed six-foot poles, with all spaces between the sticks plastered full of mud. The one in the Zoological Park is about fifteen feet in diameter, and five feet high, with a central chamber above high- water-mark, and its only entrance is well under water. If a beaver house is attacked, the occu- pants immediately .seek refuge in deep water. SKULL OF BEAVER, .V TYriC.VL RODENT. The trees which f\n-nLsh bark most prized by the Beaver as food are the poplar, cottonwood, wiUow, birch, elm, box-elder and aspen. The bark of the oak, hickory, or ash is not eaten. The Beaver's front teeth (incisors) are very strong and sharp, and the muscles of the jaw are massive and powerful. It is no uncommon thing for a Bea'\'er to fell a tree a foot in diameter in order to get at its branches. It is said by some observers that large trees are made to fall as the Beavers prefer to have them, — toward their pond. In felling a tree, they first remove the bark from a circle a foot in width, just above WILD MICE AND EATS 83 the spur roots, standing on their hind legs while they work. Then, with their huge, chisel-like incisors they cut out chips, circling round the trunk all the while, until only the heart of the trunk remains, and the tree falls. THE FAMILY OF MICE AND RATS. Muridae. When their groups and relationships are fairly understood, the wild mice and rats will be found quite interesting. They are so widely distrib- uted it is very desirable that country-dwellers should know something about them, and ap- preciate their good points as well as their bad ones. A moderate effort, properly aided and encouraged, will give anyone a fair conception of the grand divisions of this great group ; and there the general student can stop, if he so elects. In • approaching this assemblage of North American mammals, the first thought is that its members are difficult to deal with. In some respects they. are, but they are by no means as difficult as might be supposed. Like many other new subjects, they yield to a little old-fashioned study. It is not necessary for the general student to enter into the study of a large number of spe- cies. Lay the foundation first by becoming ac- quainted with each genus, and one typical species. Observe the following injunctions: 1. Treat this bit of study with serious atten- tion. 2. Learn iirst the names of the Families, and the approximate size of each Family. 3. Next learn by rote, in regular order, the common names of the typical examples given. 4. Learn some of the distinguishing characters of each example. 5. Study the comparative sizes of the various types. 6. Finally, in determining the name of a strange species, do not feel that you must name it instantly, or be disgraced! Take time to think over it, and to "look it up." Snap judgments on small creatures have a most annoying habit of proving to be wrong. It is a wise judge who knows when to hand down a decision. In order to make the genera of North American rats and mice clear to the student, I have pro- cured from Dr. C. Hart Merriam, the highest living authority on these creatures, a fine, per- fect, adult specimen of the best l^nown (or most typical) species of each genus. Figures of these skins are here reproduced to show their relative sizes, and a hfe-like illustration of each of these types is also given. In the text, the most strik- ing distinguishing characters are printed in italics. With these aids to the text, it should be possi- ble for a clear-headed, keen-eyed student to refer any adult North'American rat or mouse to its proper genus. But beware of young specimens! Often they are so puzzling that Solomon himself could not place them with any degree of certainty. In determining the species of mice and rats, mammalogists depend largely upon the charac- ters of the teeth; but that is a subject too intri- cate for the general student. The table on page 84 shows the various Fam- ilies of rats and mice, the North American gen- era, and the typical species of each. It is not necessary for young students to memorize the Latin names of the genera and species; but those who become specially interested in natural his- tory will very soon desire to know them. The Muskrat,' which received its name from its very pronounced musky odor, is the largest native representative of the Mouse and Rat Family. It is readily recognized by its flat, hairless tail, carried on its edge. It is of large size, measuring about 21 inches in length. It is of aggressive habit, an admirable diver and swimmer, an industrious and intelligent house- builder, and the only native rat whose fur is val- uable. It is found from Labrador and New- foundland to Alaska, and southward to Arizona and Louisiana. It is very shrewd in preserving its own life, and even in the large forest parks of New York City, it refuses to be exterminated. When three bogs in the New York Zoological Park were dug out and converted into ponds, the wild Muskrats in the Bronx River found them as soon as they were completed, immediately took possession of them, and there they still remain. Being very destructive to hly bulbs, and most other aquatic plants, their presence in ornamental ponds is very objectionable. Muskrats are rarely, if ever, found away from ponds or good-sized streams. They are quite as much at home in the water as beavers, and their ' Fiber zibethicus. 84 OKDERS OP MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS TYPICAL NORTH AMERICAN MICE AND RATS (north of Mexico). COMMON NAME OF SCIENTIFIC GENUS. GENUS. Muskrat, Fi'her, Lemming, .... 1. Di-crost'o-nyx, . . Lemming Mouse, . . 2. Syn-ap'to-mys, . . , Field Mouse, ... 3. Mi-crot'us (Ar-vic'- o-la), .... I Red-Backed Mouse, . 4. E-vot'o-mys, . . . Vole, 5. Phe-nac'o-mys, . . . Wood Rat, .... 6. Ne-o-to'ma, . . . I Harvest Mouse, . . 7. Reith-ro-don'to-mys, I Rice-Field Mouse, . 8. 0-ryz'o-mys, . . . Cotton Rat 9. Sig'mo-don, . . . White-Footed Mouse, 10. Per-o-mys'cus, . . Grasshopper Mouse,. 11. 0-ny-cho'mys, . . ^ Domestic Rat, . . . Mus, Subfamily of the r .„ r> ,„ Pocket Mice, . . \ ll' ^^^'T^Z' - ' ,„ . „ V (. 13. Mi-cro-aip'o-aops, . (Species small.) t- t- i Subfamily of the ,• ^ , t^ . „ „ . I 14. Di-pod'o-mys, . . Kangaroo Rats, . i . - „ j •/ ,„ . , > (.15. Fer-o-di'pus, . . (Species larger.) ■ ^ ' MOUSE AND RAT FAMILY. {Mu'ri-dae.} THE CHEEK- POUCHED FAMILY OF MICE AND RATS. {Het-e-ro-my'i- dae.) JUMPING ) MOUSE ( FAMILY. i (Za-pod'i-dae.) ] Jumping Mouse, 16. Za'pu^, NAME. NUMBER OF FULL SUB- TYPE SPECIES. : 3PECIES. SPECIES. zi-beth'i-cus, . 4 3 hud-so'ni-us, . . 3 5 coop'er-i, . . . 8 1 penn-syl-van'i-cus, 48 18 gap'per-i, . . . 17 5 o-ro'phi-lus, . 7 flor-i-dan'a, . 17 19 le-cont'i, . . . . 10 6 pa-lus'tris, . . . 2 3 his'pi-dus, . . . 3 5 leu-co'pus, . . . 42 27 leu'co-gas-ter,. . . 6 6 nor-veg'i-cus, . . 4 fas-d-a'tus, . . . 26 15 meg-a-ceph'a-lus, . 1 mer'ri-am-i, . 5 8 rich'ard-son-i, . . 9 1 hud-so'ni-us, . . 10 10 256 145 habits are strictly aquatic. The tail furnishes the motive power for swimming. The feet are small, and but very sUghtly webbed, and the body is completely covered with soft, brown fur an inch or more in length, which is much sought by furriers. When taken at the best season, plucked, dressed and dyed a rich brown-black, it is known to the trade as "French seal." Muskrats that inhabit streams with high banks do not trouble themselves to build houses, but merely burrow into the banks. In rivers and ponds with low margins, however, they gather coarse grass, reeds and mud, and build dome- shaped houses, about five feet in diameter, which rise from- two to four feet above the water. All such houses are entered below the surface of the water, so far down that ice does not close their doors, and within there is a floor raised well above the water, on which the inmates eat their food, and sleep. When too many captive Muskrats are kept in the same enclosure, say twelve in a fenced pool thirty feet square, they iight viciously, and not only kill each other, but sometimes partly de- vour one of the victims. Although often dis- puted, it is nevertheless a fact that they eat flesh on very slight provocation. They are very un- satisfactory animals to keep in captivity, no mat- . ter what the conditions may be. The Hudson Bay Lemming' is worthy of special notice, because it is the most widely- distributed and noteworthy rat-like animal of the far North. It is strictly a mammal of the cold northland, and like many other arctic ani- mals, its winter coat is pure white, and its fur is dense and warm. Among the west Alaskan Eskimo, skins are very common, and the children delight in using them for doll clothes. (Charles H. Townsend.) This animal is about the size of a large mole; ' Dicrostonyx hudsonius. 86 OEDERS OF MAMMALS— CIXAWING AX^IMALS thick-bodied, short-legged, and sharp-nosed. The ears arc extremely short, and quite hidden in the fur; the legs are short, the feet rat-like, and the tail is so very short that it also is half hidden by the fur. The fur is long, fluffy and fine; brown, brownish-gray, or mottled in sum- mer, but snow-white in winter. The length of the head and body is 4 to 5 inches, and of the tail, i inch. The Lemming is found from Latitude 56° northward to the whole arctic coast; in Labra- dor, Greenland, the arctic islands, and on as far north as man has ever gone on land. It [irefers Its ears are very small, and do not rise above the fur on the head. The type species, known as Cooper's Lemming Mouse,' is only two-fifths the size of the Hudson Bay Lemming. It inhabits the northeastern United States, from Massa- chusetts to Minnesota, and southward to North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana and Iowa. Its color above is yellowish-brown washed with black, with bluish-gray or whitish underparts. Length, 31 to 4 inches; tail, -J inch. Other spe- cies of Lemming Mice inhabit Canada, Labra- dor, New Hampshire, Washington, Kansas and Alaska. HUDSON BAY LEMMING. Winter and summer pelage. FIELD MOUSE. open, dry, mos.s-covered uplands, and is not found in timbered regions. Often a district of acceptable ground is covered with a wide-spread- ing network of runways, just below the surface. Mr. ('. H. Townsend, who has kept them in cap- tivit}', says thej' are kind-spirited and sociable little creatures, fond of attention, and much given to standing up and hopping about on their hind legs. In summer they store up supplies of ^'egetable food in their runways for use in winter. The Lemming Mou.se, or False Lemming, is interesting chieHy because it is a connecting link between the true lemmings and the mice. The Field Mouse, or Meadow Mouse,^ stands as a murine monument to scientific en- deavor. Since 1798, the genus of this group — long known as Ar-vir'o-la — has been described under twenty-four different names, and the type species has received nineteen names besides its own! But, through a century of misnaming in Latin, its original English name. Meadow Mouse, has stood unchanged! The tremble with this genus seems to have been due to exaggerating the importance of triv- ial characters, molar teeth and claws. Externally ' Synaptomys cooperi. * Microtus pennsylvanicus. FIELD MICE AND VOLES 87 its species and varieties are so much alike that very few of them can be distinguislied from the general mass. The typical Field Mouse is a short-eared , short- tailed, thick-set tittle animal. It averages 4-j inches long, with a tail 1 i inches long. Its color above is reddish-brown, while beneath it is whitish-gray. It is found from the Atlantic coast to the Da- kotas, feeding on roots and grasses. In severe winters, when the ground remains frozen for a long period, Field Mice are some- times forced to feed on bark, and frequently kill The Red-Backed Mouse' is, in form, very much like the meadow mouse, but in size it is smaller, and in habit it is cjuite different. It prefers to live in cool, damp woods and timbered regions, varying all the way from dark swamps and valleys to timbered mountain-tops; but it is seldom found in open country. They are found from Ontario, New England and New Jersey westward to California, and northward through Canada and Alaska, sixteen species and five subspecies. They are all very much aUke, rather slender, and more graceful in form than the field mice, and the majority GAPPER S RED-BACKED MOUSE. NORTHWESTERN VOLE. young fruit trees by barking them near the sur- face of the snow. When shocks of corn are avail- able these mice five high, hterally, feeding well, and being well housed at the same time. In husking shock corn in winter, many a nestful of Field Mice have we helped to turn out into the cold world; but the amount of grain they con- sumed was so insignificant we never grudged them their food. Taken 'as a whole, the Field Mice of various species inhabit nearly the whole of North Amer- ica north of Mexico and the Gulf, even to the remote islands of Bering Sea. I do not know of a state or province from which they have not been recorded. are reddish-brown above and grayish under- neath. The species most common in the east- ern United States, often called Gapper's Field Mouse, is found westward to the Rocky Moun- tains. It is 3f inches in length of head and body, tail, If inches. In scientific lists of the mammals of North America, Red-Backed Mice are sometimes called Red-Backed "Voles." The Voles of the genus Phe-nac'o-mys, are small brown mice, mostly of recent discovery, about the size of the red-backed mouse, in color ' Until recently this species has been considered identical with Erotomys rulilus of the Old World, and lias been so called. Now, however, our species is considered quite distinct, and is called E. gapperi. 88 ORDERS OF JIAMMALS— GNAWIN(i ANIMALS usually dark brown mixed- with black. Seven species are' known, extending in range from Labrador westward to Oregon, Washington and northern British C'olumbia, and also down to Colorado. None are found in the eastern half of the United States. There is no special mark by which it is easy to distinguish them from their nearest relatives, the red-backed mice. The species most widely distributed, and best known, is the Northwestern Vole,^ the largest member of this group, — a grayish-brown creature, with feet and all under parts white, or nearly so. It inhabits Alberta, British Colum- bia, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and south central Oregon. Length of head and body, 4 inches, tail. If inches. In mental capacity the Wood Rat, Pack Rat, Trading Rat or Bushy-Tailed Rat ~ is the most wonderful member of the whole Rat-and-Mouso Family, at least in North America. The true stories of its pranks are almost beyond belief. Seemingly its chief object in life is to play prac- tical jokes on mankind; and any rat which mani_ fests a spirit of toleration toward man surely is entitled to special consideration. The tyjjical Wood Rat is a large-sized, big- eyed, large-eared and rather handsome creature. FLOHlliA wool) RAT. without the mean, vicious look of a common rat, with fine yellowish-gray fur, white feet, and wliite under parts. In some species, the tail is cov- ered with long hair, and by this fact alone it is possible to distinguish many members of the genus. The Wood flats are distriljutcd very ' Pheiuuvmys tiriipliilus. '■' Neutuma. generally throughout the southern and western part of the United States, and are also found in British Columbia and Mexico. Frequently their presence is indicated by the huge, mound-like nests, from two to three feet high, which they build of twigs, grass, leaves and bark. These animals are nocturnal in their habits, and their nest-building and other work is done at night. The most remarkable thing about them is their habit of entering houses and playing practical jokes upon the inmates. A pair of Wood Rats that, I knew by reputation at Oak Lodge, in Florida, first carried a lot of water- melon seeds from the ground fioor upstairs, and hid them under a pillow. Then they took frorri the kitchen a tablespoonful of cucumber seeds, and placed them in the pocket of a vest which hung upstairs on a nail. In one night they re- moved from a box eighty-five pieces of bee-hive fi.xtures, and hid them in another box, and on the following night they deposited in the first box about two quarts of corn and oats. Western frontiersmen, and others who live in the land of the Wood Rat, relate stories innu- merable of the absurd but industrious doings of these strange creatures. In general they are rather harmless. One of the best known spe- cies is the Florida Wood Rat.-^ It belongs to the round-tailed grouj) and does not have the hairy, squirrel-like tail of some of the western wood rats. Its upper color is tan mixed with brown, feet and under parts white. The length of the head and body is 8J inches, tail 6f inches. Distribution: the southern states from the Car- olinas to Texas. The Little Harvest Mouse looks so much hive a small house mouse, 2-'t -I- 2 inches long, that only an ex])ert ('an readily recognize it at first sight. The ten or more species are scattered throughout the southern, southwest- ern and Pacific states, but none of them are found in northeastern North America, The usual color is gray-brown above, and lighter underneath, and the best known e.xample is Le Conte's Harvest Mouse ' of the south Atlantic states, from A'irginia to Florida. The Rice-Field Mouse'' should have been called a rat, for it is 5 inches long, with a five- inch tail. It is strictly a southern animal, in- ' Ncotoma 'jioridana. ' Reilhrii
  • iilomys leconiii. ^ Oryzomys j>alustris. WILD RATS AND MICE 89 habiting the wet rice-fields and swamps of the tiiilf states from Texas up to southern New Jersey, its northern hmit. It has a long head, a sharp nose, a shapely body, prominent ears, and a long tail. Its color above is bleached brown, but its under surface is grayish, or dull white. This mouse is partial to the vicinity of water, especially the banks of rice-fields. It swims and dives well, and sometimes builds its nest and rears its young in interlaced marsh grass, over water, and far from dry ground. The Cotton Rat, or Marsh Rat,' is a species homa. New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico; and wherever found their destructiveness causes them to be cordially disUked. The White-Footed Mouse, or Deer Mouse,- is well worthy of acciuaintance. It is distributed over nearly the whole of upper North America, ex- cept the arctic islands, and the Barren CJrounds. On account of the changes it has ulidergone, chiefly in color shades, and length of tail, natural- ists now recognize in the United States and Can- ada about seventy species and subspecies ! But the student need not be discouraged by this fact. RICE-FIELD MOUSE. COTTON HAT. which any country may well be without. It is small for a rat, but courageous, vicious in tem- per and voracious in appetite. It is fond of flesh, and when several are caged together, the stronger ones do not scruple to kill and eat weaker rats of their own kind. In length it is the size of a large chipmunk, 6-1-4 inches. The upper surface of the body and head, and outside of the legs, are dark mottled yellowish-brown, the under surface and inside of legs dull white, or brownish- gray. Cotton Rats are found from North Caro- lina to southern Florida, and also in Texas, Okla- ' Sigmodon hispidus. Every White-Footed Mouse can be recognized by the clean white or light gray color on the under half of its body, head, tail and inner surfaces of the legs, its white feet, and its long tail. The color of the back is usually gray, or brown, or a mixt- ure of the two. Of all the small mice of North America, I con- sider this the most beautiful, and one of the most interesting. In the eastern states, where small quadrupeds and birds are numerous, it attracts little attention, but on the western plains, and in the desert regions, where animal life is very ^ Pcromyscus leucopus. 90 OKDEKS or MAMMALS— GNAWIXG AXIMALS scarce (and rapidly becoming more so!) these ■pretty little creatures seem much more worthy of notice. I have many times found them nest- ing in cavernous and ill-smelling buffalo car- casses, and in the brain ca\'ity or between the jaws of buffalo skulls from which the skin had not been removed bj' tlie hide-hunters. In some places I have lain awake at night to hate mice, for cause, and wish them all dead, by all manner of violent deaths ; but on a bleak and wind-shaven Montana plain where the bleach- ing skulls of thousands of slaughtered buffalo lie elled over smoothly-sha^-en prairie divides miles away from all proper shelter. In the \\'est, how- ever, they are found most frecjuontl}' in the brush and timber of stream A-alleys, where the rank weeds and grasses produce seed on which they feed. In the eastern United States they are found in nearly all agricultural regions. They are active climbers, possess a wide range of in- telligence, and nest in all sorts of places, from ground burrows up to hollows in trees twenty feet from the ground. Of all mice, they are probably the most active climbers, and in fleeing T~V "■■* "Mlw* e^.«ig^»Bl 1. WHITf;-FOOTED MOD.SE. J. LE CONTE S HARVEST MOU.SE. MOLE MOUSE. staring heavenward in mute protest against man's inhumanity, an agile White-Footed Mouse, scurrying out of its warm nest of buffalo-hair between the jaws of a buffalo skull, appeals not in vain for my sympathy and protection. Out on the Great Plains the world always seems large enough to contain us both. The great buffalo range of 1883 is now so barren of wild life that to-day even wild mice are objects of interest. From the buffalo to the White-Footed Mouse the time has been less than twenty years. Many times in their wanderings from one buffalo carcass to another, these mice have trav- from a disturbed home the mother often carries her brood of young cUngingto her body. Their food is seeds, small nuts and acorns, grain, and dried meat when available. Once in the wilds of Montana, we hauled some old logs to camp, for fire-wood. 'When one was cut up, we found in it a nest, made chiefly of feathers, containing five White-Footed Mice, snugly housed in the hollow. Packed close against the nest was a pint and a half of fine, clean seed, like radish seed, from some weed of the Pulse Family. While the food-store was be- ing examined, and finally deposited in a pile upon the open ground, near the tent door, the five CHEEK-POUCH MICE AKD RATS 91 mice escaped into the sage-brush. Near by stood an old-fashioned buggy. Next morning, when the photographer hfted the cushion of his buggy-seat, and opened the top of the shallow box underneath, the five mice, with their heads together in a droll-looking group, loolved out at him in surprise and curiosity, with- out attempting to run away. But very soon it became our turn to be surprised. We found that those industrious little creatures had gathered up every particle of their nest, and every seed of their winter store, and carried all of it up into the seat of that buggy! The nest had been carefully re-made, and the seed placed closed by, as before. Considering the number of journeys that must have been necessary to carry all those materials over the ground, and climb up to the buggy-seat, the industry and agility of the mice were amazing. By wajf of experiment, we again removed the nest, and while the mice once more took to the sage-brush, we collected all the seed, and poured it in a pile upon the ground, as before. During the following night, those indomitable little creat- ures again carried nest and seed back into the buggy-seat, just as before. Then we gathered up the entire family of mice with their nest and seed, and transported them to New York. The Grasshopper Mouse,' originally de- scribed by Audubon and Bachman as the Mis- souri Mouse, and often called the Mole Mouse, is mentioned in order to caution western observ- ers against confusing it with the preceding species. In some respects it strongly resembles the white- footed mouse, being aU white underneath, in- cluding its legs. It can readily be distinguished by its large fore claws and its short, stumpy tail, which is only about one-third as long as the head and body. Its upper surface is brownish-gray. Its fur is very fine and soft, and hence it is some- times called the Mole Mouse. Its length, head and body, is 4^ inches, tail, 1| inches. CHEEK-POUCH MICE AND RATS. Heteromyidae. This is strictly a Family of the West and South- west, its members being found only west of Ar- kansas, Iowa and Minnesota. It does 7iot contain the pocket gophers. Many of its twenty-six spe- ' Onychomys leucogastcr. KANGAROO KAT. Showing the very large cheek- pouches. cies are desert dwellers, even inhabiting Death Valley, California. All its members are distin- guished from otlier North American animals (excei)t the jumping mouse and pocket gopher) by the presence of a large and very ser^'iceable hair-lined pouch in the skin of each cheek. Barring the two exceptions noted, this char- acter alone is sufficient for the recognition of any American member of this Family. As clearly shown in the full-page diagram, this family may be divided into two Subfamilies, an arrangement which is very convenient and helpful. The first we mu.st call the Pocket Mouse Subfamily and its leading genus (Per-og-na'thus) contains twenty- six full species, and fifteen sub- species. All are distinguished by the following characters: head large; body slender and graceful; hind legs long, and fitted for jumping; tail long; large external cheek pouches, hairy inside, and not connected with the interior of the mouth; hair smooth and compact, sometimes intermingled with spines. These mice are quick and active in movement, and some species leap with considerable power. Since 1839 the Typical Pocket Mouse -" has been described again and again, but none of its describers have taken the trouble to give it an English name! Hereafter, let us call it by the name given above, becau.se it is the type of its genus. It inhabits Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. Its color above is sandy-yellowish, lined with black; underneath, white; and these two color areas are di\'ided low down along the side by a lengthwise band of pale yellow. Length, 3 + 2| inches. The Kangaroo Rat ■' Subfamily, of fifteen full species, is fitly represented by an elf-like creat- ure which is one of the most beautiful and at- ^ Perognathus fasciatus. '■'■ Typical species, Perodipus richardsoni of west- ern Kansas, Oklalioma and Indian Territory. 92 OliDERS OF :iIA:\DrALS— GNAWING ANIMALS tracth-c of all our native rats. In the dry and sterile regions of the great Southwest, from the Indian Territory to Arizona and California, where seemingly the deserts produce nothing but sand, cacti, yuccas and sage-brush, these pert little creatures hold forth. Apparently they are both fire-proof and water-proof, for no amount of heat affects them, and the absence of water does not seem to depress their spirits in the least. Like most mice and rats, they are nocturnal. Some of the species build for them- selves large mounds of dirt and gravel, from one to three feet high and five to ten feet in diameter, which are honeycombed with burrows ^ei?f:u3<'irni_ 1. AND 2, KANC..\ROO RAT. 3. TYPICAL POCKET MOUSE. and runways. These dwellings are often in- habited by rattlesnakes and lizards, and doubt- less the Kangaroo Rat is an important item of food in the diet of the desert rattlei-. The Kangaroo Rat is very unlike the mem- bers of the Mouse-and-Rat Family; and in tem- per no creature could be more unlike the domes- tic rat. Unlike most mice and rats, they do not l)itc when handled, but they are so delicate that thev do not live long in captivity, unless tended with extreme care and intelligence. They stand high on their hind legs, hke pigmy kangaroos, and hop about with their front paws tucked up close under the (thin, almost hidden by their fur. The tail is very long, has a showy tuft of long hair on the end, and is used by the animal in balancing it.self when in motion. The fur is soft, silky, rather long, and of a tawny-brown color above. Length of head and body, 4^ inches, tail, 5-J inches. The cheek-pouches are large, and are of great use in carrying sand out of bur- rows. JUMPING MOUSE FAMILY, Znpodidac. The Jumping Mouse^ is one of the most remarkable of all our small animals.' In form it is a slender-bodied mouse, with an exceedingly long tail, kangaroo-like hind legs, and cheek-pouches. Its average length of head and body is about 3 inches, and tail 5 inches. In color it is dark reddish-brown above, white underneath, with smooth compact hair. Although no larger than a, house mouse, it can jump from eight to ten feet. When a farmer boy is hauling in sheaves of wheat, and a small animal suddenly makes a tremendous flying leap from the bottom of the shock, he may know that he has disturbed a Jumping Mouse, and the chances are that he cannot capture it by hand. In these long jumps — ^perhaps the longest on record for an animal of e(|ual size — the tail is as necessary as a stick is to a sky-rocket, to enable the little creature to pre- serve its balance, and go straight ahead. If the tail is cut off, the .lumping Mouse turns over and over in the air, and jjerhaps lands upon its back. The .Jumping Mouse is quite nocturnal in its habits, and is seldom seen in the daytime. It feeds on seeds and grain, and while it devours great cjuantities of weed seeds, it inflicts upon the farmer no damage worthy of mention. In the autumn it stores in the ground quantities of food for winter use, but despite this fact, under certain conditions it becomes so thoroughly dor- mant in winter that it seems to be quite lifeless. It is found throughout the northern LTniteil States and Canada, in wooded regions, from New York to California, and as far north as Lake Nushagak, Alaska. Opinions Regarding Rats and Rat-like Animals. The largest rat-like animal in America is the Coy'pu Rat,~ of Central and South America, which stands 9 inches high at the shoulders, at- tains a length of 19 indies head and bod}', tail, ' Zapns Imdsonius. " Mij-o-cas'-lnr coii'jnts. JUMPING MOUSE AND POCKET GOPHER .93 13 inches, and weighs 8 pounds. It is a water- loving animal, almost as much so as the musk- rat, and its thick, brown fur is valuable. Under proper conditions it is easily kept in captivity. The smallest rodent in America is the Least Pocket Mouse,' of the Rocky Mountain region, which has a total length of head and body, IJ inches; tail, 2f inches. Tlie best swimmer of all rat-like animals is the Muskrat.'^ The best climber is the Tree Rat,' of southern India. The handsomest rat or mouse in the New World is the Kangaroo Rat, of the southwestern United States, figured on the opposite page. The most humorous of all rat-like animals is the Trading Rat, described on page 89, which delights in playing practical jokes upon its hu- man neighbors. The meanest of all rodents is the brown-coated Domestic Rat, the pest of civilization every- where, which was sent to man as a perpetual punishment for his crimes against harmless wild creatures all over the world. THE POCKET GOPHER FAMILY. Geomyidae. The Red Pocket Gopher^ is the most im- portant representative of a large Family of bur- rowing rodents which does great damage to the crops and lands of American farmers. When- ever you see a brown-coated burrowing animal, the length of a small rat, but twice as thick, with a big pouch in the skin of each cheek, a ■swinish appetite, a set of long claws like burglar's tools on each fore foot and a most villanous countenance and temper, you may know that it is a Pocket Gopher. The pockets in his cheeks are to enable him to carry extra large quantities of stolen potatoes and seeds. When once you have learned the true character and habits of this creature, you will, without being asked, care- fully refrain from calling any ground-squirrel a "Gopher." Most wild animals have some redeeming qual- ities, but this cannot make good a claim to one. Gophers are not only thieves and robbers, but they are so ill-tempered that they even hate each other, and the old ones usually are found living ' Per-og-nath' us fla'vus. ' Fi'ber zi-beth'i-cus. ^ Mus ru-jes'cens. * Ge'o-mys bur-sa'ri-iis. alone. When two captives are placed together, they usually fight fiercely until one is killed. Their teeth and front claws are very powerful, and working together they do great damage, in many different ways. As a Family, Pocket Gophers inhabit the whole United States west of Indiana and the lower Mississippi, and also a large part of Alabama, JUMPING MOUSE. Georgia and Florida. Three genera and about thirty-three species are recognized, and while some are smaller than others, and some are gray or black instead of brown, their appetites and habits are all equally objectionable. They spoil meadows by throwing up innumerable hillocks of loose earth; they devour great quantities of vegetable crops, and also corn and small grain; they eat the roots of young fruit-trees of nearly all kinds, and they destroy canals and irrigating ditches by honeycombing their Ijanks. With incisor teeth that in sharpness and strength are like steel chisels, a Gopher can pare off all the roots from a young tree quite as neatly as a man pares potatoes. Our type species, the Red Pocket Gopher "is," says Mr. Vernon Bailey, "of much greater eco- nomic importance than all the other species combined, for the reason that its home is in the fertile prairie region of the Mississippi valley," 94 ORDERS OP MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS embraeinn; Iowa, — which is its centre of distri- bution, — Ilhnois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minne- sota, and the eastern parts of the Dakotas, Ne- braslca and Kansas. Its length is about 71- + 3 inches. The young are either two or three in number, and there is only one litter each year. The enemies of the Gopher are the weasel and the gopher snake.' Because of the damage done by Gophers, fai-mcrs generally wage war upon them with traps, strychnine, and poisoned grain. In Iowa, Minnesota and other states, many thousands of dollars have been paid out by county treasurers in bounties on Gopher scalps and tails. No animal in the West is more uni- versally disliked, nor more diligently destroyed. My acquaintance with the Gopher Family be- gan when I was a farmer boy, in Iowa, the storm centre of Ge'o-mys bur-sa'ri-us. Having RED POCKET GOPHER. trapped a few, I made the mistake of supposing that I knew more about the habits of those creat- ures than did my elders, who had not. In an evil moment, I announced that any strong boy could catch a Gopher by digging it out of its burrow, and my large brother offered me twenty- five cents if I could prove that claim within a week. That evening, with mattock and spade, I re- paired to my father's corn-field, into wliich strange Gophers were rapidly migrating and set- tling; and finding a fresh hole \vith the owner in- side, I began to dig. My shepherd dog, Rover, a.ssisted me all he could, chiefly by keeping me company, but also by digging when I rested. We dug into the twilight,, and later on we dug into the night ; but the Gojilicr kept well ahead of us. Whene\'er we jjaused to listen, we could ' Piltiophis. hear him digging hard, and to our dismay we found that he knew a thing or two about gettmg on in the world. With the descent of black dark- ness, our hopes of overtaking that Gopher de- scended also; and then pride, not hope of re- ward, was all that spurred us on. Would we have to give up beaten, by an ugly, pig-e^'ed old Gopher? When for about the thirtieth time I paused to wipe the accumulation of perspiration and prai- rie loam from my brow. Rover suddenly rushed off into the darkness. In the corn-rows thirty yards away, he seized something, shook it vig- orously, and a moment later came trotting back to me, carrying in his mouth a large tiopher! The beast had been migrating into the corn-field, and Rover simply caught him on the fly. Digging operations ceased abruptly at that point. Thanking Rover for his timely assistance, I accepted his contribution, and we marched home together. When I exhibited to my brother the Gopher that we had secured "by digging," he was profoundly surprised, but promptly paid the money. Rover looked on smilingly, and said not a word ; but we both knew then that in catch- ing Gophers, steel traps are better than spades. THE PORCUPINE FAMILY. Erelhizontidae. The Porcupine is at home either in tree-tops or on the ground, but it is always a slow-mo^'ing and dull-witted animal. It is easily captured or killed by man, but not so readily overcome by wild animals. In the woods, it loves to jjrowl around camps, and eat every scrap of leather or greasy board that it can find. It is fond of the bark of hemlock, beech and cottonwood, and often a Porcupine will remain in a good tree until he entirely strips it of its bark. The Canada Porcupine,- which is black, with a gray-tipped storm-coat, is found in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and thence northward and northwestward to Fort Chin-chill on Hudson Bay. The West and North- west is the home of another species, known as the Yellow-Haired Porcupine.' I^arge specimens weigh from 25 to 30 poimds. The flesh is not jjalatable to white men, but is eaten by Indians. The Canada Porcupine never should be called - Er-e-tki'zon dor-sa'tus. ^ E. ep-i-xan'lhus. PORCUPINES AND EABBITS 95 a "Hedgehog," because the latter is not a gnaw- ing animal, but a small, weak, insect-eater, which does not inhabit America. A full-grown Porcupine is about twenty times as large as the common European hedgehog. Porcupines can not shoot their cjuills, not even for one inch ; and the idea that they can — or ever have — is entirely erroneous. When attacked, their defence consists in erecting their quills, and striking cjuickly a strong sidewise blow with the tail, which often drives many quills into its enemy. Strange to say, wild animals are about as lacking in original infor- mation, or "instinct," regarding this creature as dogs are. Several pumas and lynxes have been killed in a starving condition, with their mouths and throats so filled with porcupine quills that eating had become almost impossible. THE PIKA FAMILY. Ocholonidae. The Pika, commonly called the Little Chief "Hare," or Crying "Hare,"' looks very much like a small, gray-brown rabbit, 7 inches long; but it is neither a rabbit nor a hare, and repre- sents an independent Family. It lives high up on the great mountain ranges of the West, from just below timber hne up to the line of perpetual snow. It finds shelter in the crevices of rugged masses of rock, and its sharp little cries often seem to come from so many different points that the hunter is completely confused. In form this strange little creature is about half way be- tween a gray rabbit and a guinea-pig; and it has neither speed nor activity. THE HARE AND RABBIT FAMILY. Leporidae. This group is very clearly subdivided and there need be no confusion of ideas regarding its North American members. Nevertheless, early writers have made a confusing error in the improper adoption, for one important group, of the misleading name Jack "Rabbit." It should be .Jack Hare. All the American members of this Family are separated into two general groups, the Hares and the Rabbih. The accompanying diagram shows these subdivisions, and their relations to each other. ' 0-cho-to'na prin'ceps. A typical Hare is big, long-eared, long-legged, and a swift runner. Very often its color changes according to the season. It does not burrow, but rears its jTjung in a nest or "form." The Rabbit is small, short-eared, short-legged, a weak runner for a long distance, its color is fairly constant, and it lives in a burrow. The Varying Hare Group is the key to the entire Family; or, in other words, it stands on middle ground between the Rabbits, the Polar Hare, and the Jack Hare, and is related to all three. Naturally this group should be studied Sanbobn, Photo., N. Y. Zoological Park. C.iNAD.i PORCUPINE. first. Its type species is the Northern Varying Hare,- of northern New York, New England, Canada and the Northwest Territories. Its name is due to the fact that its color varies ac- cording to the season, being /m/c cinnamon brown in summer, and white in icinter, with only a nar- row back line of brown. It is nearly twice as large as the cotton-tail rabbit, but its ears and legs are about half way in proportionate length between those of the '' Le'pus a-mer-i-can'us. 96 OllDEES OF MAMMALS— GXAWING ANIMALS common rabbit, and the jack hare of the South- west. Large male specimens measure 18 inches in length of head and body, tail, 2 inches, and weigh 6 pounds. Like the true fur-bearing animals, Varying Hares have two kinds of fur, — a dense, line and soft under fur through which grows a storm-coat of thin, coarse, ' straight hair. It is the latter which gives an animal its color. In the summer these long hairs are black, but as winter ap- proaches they turn white. The habits of the Varying Hares and Rabbits are so nearly the same that it is unnecessary to describe them separately. They all require brushy ground, broken rocks, rugged ravines or tree-holes in which to hide from the foxes, dogs, men, mink, martens, lynxes, skunks and birds of prey which constantly hunt them as food. But for their keenness of sight, hearing and scent, their swiftness in running to cover, and their marvellous agility in doubling and turning when pursued, their numerous enemies would soon exterminate them. The Polar Hare- is the most northern spe- cies of this Family. Colonel Brainard found its tracks at 83° 24', which for fifteen years re- mained man's " farthest North. " In the southern portion of its home, this hare is gray and white in summer, but in the higher polar regions it is white all the year round, like the majority of true arctic animals, — the owl, fox, bear and wolf. The Prairie Hare^ of the western plains is generally supposed to be of the same species as the so-called jack "rabbit" of the Southwest; but it is not. In form, size and color, it may be considered a connecting link between the vary- ing hare group and the jack hare group, and ite separate identity should be remembered. Its home is the great sage-brush plains of the North- west, from Kansas to the Saskatchewan, and westward to Oregon, and northern California. It is gray in summer, but changes to white in winter. It is a large species (23 inches long), with ears longer than its head, long, strong hind legs, and a white tail unmarked with black, a character by which it can be readily distinguished from other jack "rabbits." On the treeless plains of the great West, where it is often seen without any other objects to fur- nish comparisons, it sometimes seems of immense ' Lepus arc'ti-cus. ' Lepus cam-pes'tris. size, and a Prairie Hare 200 yards away has often been mistaken for an antelope supposed to be 600 yards distant. The Jack Hare^ (commonly called Jack "Babbit") is easily recognized by his extremely large ears, — five to six inches long, — slender body, long legs and athletic build, and the black mark on the upper surface of the tail. There are seven species, all very much alike, which inhabit the southwestern quarter of the United States, ex- tend northward to Oregon, eastward to Nebraska and Kansas and southward to Tehuantepec, Mexico. In many localities wherein wolves and foxes have been exterminated, thege hares have multiplied until they have become a great pest. In several locaUties in California, and also in eastern Colorado, great rabbit-drives are made, in which many thousand Jacks are slaughtered, and given away in large cities for food. The Jack Hare is a very swift runner. In east- ern Kansas, Professor L. L. Dyche once saw a good greyhound chase a Jack on fair groimd for about two and a half miles, and in the whole distance the hound gained only about twenty-, five yards. The hare finally escaped by -running into a hollow log that had been left on the prairie by accident, and' was the only shelter within five miles! The Gray Rabbit, or Cotton-Tail,* is a typi- cal representative of the Rabbit Family, which contains twelve species. Throughout the exten- sive region which forms its home, — from New England and Minnesota to Yucatan, — it refuses to be exterminated, and is perhaps more fre- quently seen and more widely known than any other quadruped. All the true rabbits are small, and for long running thear legs are short and weak ; but what they lack in endurance they make up in cunning and quickness. To aid in their preservation, Nature has given them colors that blend so per- fectly with their surroundings that a rabbit crouching low often is compelled to run to avoid being trodden upon. When hard pressed for a nesting place in a city, a Gray Rabbit has been known to dig a shallow hole in the smooth .lawn of the Smithsonian grounds at Washington, line it with her own fur, and rear her young in it, within forty feet of the National Museum build- ing, and a busy roadway, without discovery by ' Lepus tex-i-an'us. ■> Lepus syl-vat'i-cus. large: white in winter and gray or brown in summer: ears as long as the head: legs moderately long. VARYING HARE , _(lepu5_americanu5) •';^£«5c<;Ai\ofis). DIAGRAM OF THE HAREAND RABBIT FAMILY IN NORTH AMERICA, SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIPS AND COMPARATIVE SIZES OF THE FIVE GROUPS. Copyiight 1903 by W. T. Hornaday, 97 98 OEDEES OF MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS dogs or men until the mowers found the nest almost under their feet. Every year one or two pair breed in the adjoining grounds of the Department of Agriculture. When a rabbit can have his choice of hiding- places, he chooses a burrow directly beneath a large tree, the roots of which render it difficult, or it may be impossible, for man or beast to dig him out. Crevices in rock ledges are equally good, but he often finds that hollow logs, hollow trees and brush piles only lead to swift destruction. He never sleeps in daylight, when enemies are afoot. If the Man-With-a-Gun approaches, he crouches low and lies as still as a stuffed rabbit, breathing seldom, winking never, but with legs all ready to spring. His keen eyes and ears measure every yard of his enemy's approach, until the dead line is crossed when — Zip! Out flashes a long, gray streak, — flying over logs, and darting through openings so swiftly that in two or three seconds a snow-white signal flag waves an adieu, and disappears. In summer hares and rabbits feed on green twigs, soft bark, buds, grass, leaves and berries'. In winter they are forced to subsist chiefly on the bark of bushes and the berries of the wild rose. Whenever they gnaw the bark from young fruit-trees, it is a sign that they are hard pressed for food. Rabbits breed very rapidly, often raising three litters a year, and if not kept in check by birds of prey and carnivorous animals, would soon be- come altogether too numerous. In Australia and New Zealand, the rabbits "introduced"' from Europe have multiplied until they have be- come a fearful scourge, and are now so numerous it is impossible even to keep them in check. Possibly the use of their flesh as food, and their skins as "fur," may lead to an abatement of the evil. The moral of the rabbit in Australia, the mongoose in the West Indies, and the English sparrow in America, is, before "introducing" a foreign species of bird or mammal into America, take expert advice, — and then don't do it! This refers to species able to live wholly by their own efforts when imported and set free. Bibliographical. The following popular papers are of special interest and value : On Jack Rabbits. — The Jack Rabbits of the United States. By Dr. T. S. Palmer; pamphlet, 88 pages. Bulletin No. 8, Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture. Washington, 1897. On Gophers. — The Pocket Gophers of the United States. By Vernon Bailey; pamphlet, 47 pages. Bulletin No. 5, as above, 1895. On Prairie-Dogs. — The Prairie-Dog of the Great Plains. By Dr. C. Hart Merriam; pamphlet, 14 pages. Yearbook of the Department of Agricult- ure, 1901. On Ground Squirrels.— The Prairie Ground Squirrels of the Mississippi Valley. By Vernon Bailey; pamphlet, 69 pages. Bulletin No. 4, Biological Survey, Department of Agriculture, 1893. 1 A species transplanted from one country to another is said to be " introduced.' CHAPTER VIII THE ORDER OF HOOFED ANIMALS UNGULATA The Order which includes the hoofed animals of the world is called Un-gu-la'ta, a Latin word which means "hoofed." In North America, it is represented by a great variety of forms, several of which are of special importance. Before seeking to become acquainted with these animals, the student must pause long enough to gain a bird's-eye view of the groups into which they are divided, and thereby understand their relationships, clearly and correctly. The following diagram of arrangement is very simple, and the animals it sets forth are in some respects the most important in America. THE GROUPS OF NORTH AMERICAN HOOFED ANIMALS. ORDER UNGULATA. Hoofed Animals (Of North America only). FAMILIES. Cattle and Sheep Family, or BOVIDAE: Antelope Family, or ANTILOCAPBI- DAE: Deer Family, or CEBVIDAE: EXAMPLES. Cattle: Sheep- Cattle : Sheep : American Bison Buffaio, Muslf-Ox, Big-Horn, White Sheep, Blaclc Sheep, Goat : . Mountain Goat, Prong-Horned Ante- lope, Round- Horned I Groups : Flat- Horned Groups : Elk, or Wapiti, White-Tailed Deer, Mule Deer, Black-Tailed Deer, Barren-Ground Caribou, Woodland Caribou, Moose, Bos americanus. Ovibos moschatus. Ovis canadensis. Ovis dalli. Ovis stonei. Oreamnos montanus. Antilocapra americana. Cervus canadensis. Odocoileus virginianus. Odocoileus hemionus. Odocoileus columbianus. Rangifer arcticus. Rangifer caribou. Alces americanus. Peccary Family, or TAYASSUIDAE Tapir Family, or TAPIRIDAE: J Collared Peccary, Tayassu tajacu. Dow's Tapir, Tapirus dowi. THE CATTLE AND SHEEP FAMILY. Bo'vi-dae. General Characters. — The Cattle Family of the world contains a grand array of large ani- mals, such as the wild cattle, bison, buffalo, 99 musk-ox, mountain sheep, ibex, and wild goats. There are about fifty species in all, scattered over all continents save South America and Australia. All the members of this Family have divided hoofs, and simple horns (i.e., not branch- ing) consisting of a hollow sheath growing over 100 OEDEES OP MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS a pointed core of very porous bone. The horns grow until the animal reaches old age, and are never shed. If knocked off by accident, the new horn material presently covers the horn core, but never succeeds in forming a perfect weapon like the original. Such a growth is called a " crumpled " horn. The members of this Family eat vegetable food, preferably grass and herbage, and have no upper front teeth. The American Buffalo. The American Bison or Buffalo.' — Because of its great size, imposing appearance, former complete extinction, by appropriating $15,000 for the purpose of purchasing and estabUshing under fence in the Yellowstone Park, a herd of captive Buffaloes. This undertaking has very wisely and appropriately been placed in charge of the Department of Agriculture. At this date (1903) there are about 634 wild Buffaloes alive, of which about 600 inhabit a desolate and inhospitable region southwest of Great Slave Lake. In 1890, the Yellowstone Park herd contained about three hundred head; but through inadequate protection, and killing done by unprincipled poachers in quest of Dorsal,. - ^Vertebrae, 13 Lumbar Vert., 6 Core^N Frontal Bone Nasal Sup. f^i jj:. Maxillary Occipital Horn \ Cervical Vert., 7 Ilium Sacrum, 5) Hip Joint: Acetubulum ■ 1- Caudal Vert. H - - Ischium I I -.W-'^'- Pubis Femur Patella Tibia Calcaneum Tarsus, or Hock Joint Metatarsal Sesamoids Pastern ""edian Phalanx Coffin Bone SKELETON OF AN ADULT MALE AMERICAN BISON. abundance and value to mankind, this is the most celebrated of all American hoofed animals. Its practical extermination in a wild state is now a source of universal regret. In 1902, Congress took the first step toward its preservation from ' A true " Buffalo" is an animal with no hump on its shoulders; and is found only in Africa and Asia. Our animal, having a high hump, is really a bison ; but inasmuch as it is known to seventy-three mil- lions of Americans as the "Buffalo," it would be quite useless to attempt to bring about a universal change in its popular name. There is but one living species. heads to sell, to-day less than thirty buffaloes remain! The weakness of the efforts to pro- tect that herd is a national disgrace. Through lack of sufficient laws and patrol service the poachers were permitted to rob the American people of a wild herd which no expenditure of money ever can replace. There were in captivity, in March, 1903, 1,119 pure-bred Buffaloes, and the number is slowly increasing. Of these, the majority are in large private game preserves, and every zoological THE BUFFALO 101 park and garden contains as many head as it can properly accommodate. It is useless to give a list of these animals, because owners and fig- ures are constantly changing. The Buffalo breeds readily in captivity, and is easily cared for. The majority of captive animals are reasonably tractable, but occasion- ally an individual becomes savage and danger- ous, and requires either solitary confinement or contains one hundred and twenty-eight head of pure-blood animals, and the number is steadily increasing. The largest herd on public exhibition is that of the New York Zoological Park, which in 1903 contained thirty-four head of piu-e-breed animals representing all ages, presented by the Hon. William C. Whitney from his October Mountain preserve. The value of a full-grown Buffalo cow in New . R. Sanbokn, Photo AMERICAN BISON, OR BUFFALO. An adult male, " Apache," of the Whitney herd. Photographed in the New York Zoological Park, near the end of the shedding season. shooting. The best place in which to exhibit a savage Buffalo is a museum. Full-grown males must be watched closely for signs of per- manent ill temper, and a savage Buffalo should be treated the same as a tiger. Frequently the first serious sign of danger in a Buffalo is the murder of a weaker member of the herd. The largest herd in a fenced game preserve is that of Blue Mountain Park, in New Hamp- shire, established by the late .Austin Corbin. It York is from $400 to $.500, and an adult bull is worth about .$100 less. Excei^tionally fine mounted heads are worth from $300 to $.500. The Buffalo was first seen by white men in Anahuac, the Aztec capital of Mexico, in 1521, when Cortez and his men paid their first visit to the menagerie of King Montezuma. In its wild state it was first seen in southern Texas, in 1.530, by a ship-wrecked Spanish sailor. The Buffalo once roamed over fully one-third of the 102 OEDEES OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS entire continent of North America, and its num- bers far exceeded those of any other large mam- mal of recent times. Not only did it inhabit the plains of the West, but also the, hilly hard-wood forests of the Ap- palachian region, the northern plains of Mexico, the "Great American Desert," the Rocky Moun- tain parks on the continental divide to an eleva- tion of 11,000 feet, and the bleak and barren plains of western Canada, up to the land of the musk-ox. From north to south it ranged 3,600 miles, and from east to west about 2,000 miles. The centre of abundance of the Buffalo was the Great Plains lying between the Rocky Moun- tains and the Mississippi valley. When the herds assembled there, they covered the earth seemingly as with one vast, brown buffalo-robe. It is safe to say that no man ever saw in one day a greater panorama of animal life than that unrolled before Colonel R. I. Dodge, in May, 1871, when he drove for twenty-five miles aiong the Arkansas River, through an unbroken herd of Buffaloes. By my calculation, he actually saw on that memorable day nearly half a million head. It was the great southern herd, on its annual spring migration northward, and it must have contained a total of about three and one- half million animals. At that date, the northern herd contained about one and one-half millions. In those days, mighty hosts of Buffaloes fre- quently stopped or derailed railway trains, and obstructed the progress of boats on the Mis- souri and Yellowstone rivers. In 1869, the general herd was divided, by the completion of the Union Pacific Railway, into a "northern herd" and "southern herd." The latter was savagely attacked by hide hunters in the autumn of 1871, and by 1875, with the ex- ception of three very small bunches, it had been annihilated. In 1880, the completion of the Northern Pacific Railway led to a grand attack upon the northern herd. In October, 1883, the last thousand head were killed in southwestern Dakota, by Sitting Bull and about a thousand Indians from the Standing Rock agency, leaving only the Yellow- stone Park bunch of two hundred head, a band of forty in Custer County, Montana, and the Great Slave Lake herd of about five hundred head. The largest Buffalo ever measured by a nat- urahst is the old bull which was shot (by the author) on December 6, 1886, in Montana, and which now stands as the most prominent figure in the mounted group in the United States Na- tional Museum. A very good picture of him adorns the ten-dollar bill of our national currency. His dimensions in the flesh were as follows: Ft. In. Height at shoulders 5 8 Length of head and body, to root of tail 10 2 Depth of chest 3 10 Girth, behind forelegs 8 4 Circumference of muzzle, behind nos- trils 2 2 Length of tail vertebrae 1 3 Length of hair on shoulders 6J " " " " forehead 1 4 " " chin beard Hi Estimated weight 2,100 pounds. The shoulder height of wild Buffaloes of vari- ous ages, and both sexes, as taken by me on the Montana buffalo range, are as follows : Ft. In. Male calf, 4 months old 2 8 " one year old 3 5 " two years old 4 2 " five years old (average size) 5 6 Female, three years old 4 5 " eight years old 4 10 The Buffalo begins to shed its faded and weath- er-beaten winter coat of hair in March, and dur- ing April, May and June it presents a forlorn ap- pearance. The old hair hangs to the body Uke fluttering rags, and at last, when it finally dis- appears, the body is almost bare. At this time the flies are very troublesome. By October, the new coat is of good length and color, and in November and December, it is at its finest. The animal is then warmly clad for the worst storms of winter, and the shaggy head is so well pro- tected that the animal faces all storms instead of drifting before them. A bull Buffalo in per- fect pelage is an animal of really majestic pres- ence, and is far more imposing in appearance than many animals of larger bulk, but less hair. The calves are born in May and June, and at first are of a brick-red color. This coat is shed in October, except in calves born late in the sea- son. The flesh of the Buffalo so closely resembles domestic beef of the same age and quality that it THE BUFFALO 103 is impossible for any one to distinguish a differ- ence. The future of the Buffalo depends solely upon the owners of the great private game preserves, such as that of the late Austin Corbin, and Mr. James J. Hill. If the perpetuation of the species depended solely upon the efforts possible in zoo- logical gardens and parks, within twenty-five years the species would become extinct. Even in a range of twenty acres, the largest in any zoo- logical institution, the Buffalo becomes a slug- gish animal, and rapidly deteriorates from the vigorous standard of the wild or semi-wild stock. In the close confinement of a thirty-acre zoologi- cal garden, the loss in physique is still greater. Mr. Arthur E. Brown, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Zoological Garden, and a very close observer, has drawn the writer's attention to the striking difference in size and back outline be- tween a Buffalo born on a great range, and an- other of the same age born of a line of closely confined ancestors. Interesting as have been the experiments made by Mr. C. J. Jones and others in the cross- breeding of Buffaloes and domestic cattle, it is now quite time that all such experiments should cease. It has been proven conclusively that it is impossible to introduce and maintain a tangible strain of buffalo blood into the mass of western range cattle. This is admitted with great regret, but inasmuch as it is absolutely true, the existing herds of Buffalo should not be further vitiated and degraded by the presence in them of ani- mals of impure blood. In an adult animal, the presence of domestic blood is readily perceived in the lower hump, longer tail, shorter pelage on the head, neck, shoulders and fore legs, and the longer and more slender horns. In the calf under one year of age, it is not always possible for even the best judges to detect a strain of domestic blood. In the year 1900, a male calf was inspected and passed by four men who were with good reason consid- ered qualified judges of the points of Buffaloes; but two years later that animal stood forth un- mistakably as a cross-breed, one-quarter domestic. In judging Buffaloes, the finest animals are those with the greatest height of hump, heaviest and longest pelage in front of the armpit, shortest tails, and horns curving with the shortest radius. If the recent action of the national government toward establishing a herd in the Yellowstone Park is liberally and intelligently sustained by future administrations, it will go far toward per- petuating the species for a century. But it should be conceded at the beginning that the effort can succeed only by giving the animals a great area to roam over at will. In addition to that herd, however, another should immediately be established in the Plains region, in a fenced reservation of not less than 100 square miles, with choice grazing, water and ravine shelters. It is only by such methods that the American people can in a small measure atone for the annihila- tion of the great herds between 1870 and 1885, and the subsequent brutal slaughter by poachers of the Yellowstone Park herd of three hundred head. On March 1, 1903, Dr. Frank Baker com- pleted a count of all the pure-blood captive Buffaloes alive at that date, with the following result : Captive Buffaloes: ' In the United States :■ 969 In Canada 41 In Europe 109 1,119 Wild Buffaloes (estimated): In the United States 34 In Canada 600 634 1,753 The Musk-Ox. The Musk-Oxi is an inhabitant of the frozen North, the land of snow and ice, of howhng storms and treeless desolation. In 1901, Com- mander Peary killed a specimen within half a mile of the most northerly point of land in the world, — the northeastern extremity of Greenland. How this animal finds food of any kind during the dark and terrible arctic winter, is yet one of the secrets of Nature. After making all possible allowance for the grass, willow and paxifrage obtainable by pawing through the snow, and on ridge-crests that are swept bare by the blizzards, it is still impossible to explain how the Musk- Ox herds find sufficient food in winter, not only to sustain Ufe, but actually to be well-fed. I gaze upon each hving Musk-Ox to be seen ^ O'vi-bos mos-cha'tus. 104 OKDEKS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS ill captivity with a feeling of wonder, as if it were a creature from anotlier world. There are times, also, when I wonder whether many of the visit- ors who see them rjuietly munching; their clover hay, appreciate the effort that has been put forth to capture them in the remote and desolate re- gions of the far North, keep them alive, and bring them to civilization for public exhibition. The Mu.sk-Ox is one of the strangest of all our large animals, and its appearance is so odd and striking that when once seen by an observant person it is not easily forgotten. In it one sees an oblong mass of very long and wavy brown hairj 4-j feet high by 67 feet long, supported upon ^f ; ■^%^ F^ mjkAi^^ M I^lr ■-. i r M ^m W H^ ^M^WP'^H WF ' ^ SUM^Pn^E^&Hsmi IE t-MJBtfc. t 1 * '( --'-i: Ay ' ■ - "^ YOUNd FEMALE .\lTlSK-0.\. In the New York Zoologk-al Park, 1902. very short and post-like legs that arc half hidden by the sweeping pelage of the body. The three- inch tail is so very small and short it is quite in^dsible. There is a blunt and hairy muzzle, round and shining eyes, but the ears are almost invisible. The whole top of the head is covered by a pair of horns enormously flattened at the base, and meeting each other in the centre line of the fore- head. From the meeting point they sweep downward over the edge of the cranium, close to the cheeks, but finally recurve upward before coming to a point, like the waxed mustache of a boulevardier. The iris of the Musk-Ox is of a chocolate brown color, the p)upils are elongated, and bluish-purple. The lips and tip of the tongue are also bluish- puri)le. The outer hair is a foot or more in length, and often touches the snow when the animal walks. In the middle of the back is a broad "saddle- mark," of shorter, dull-gray hair. Next to the body is a woolly coat of very fine, soft, light brown hair, \'ery clean, and so dense that neither cold nor moisture can penetrate it. This is for warmth. The longer and coarser hair that grows through it is the storm-coat, to shed rain and snow. Our first Musk-Ox began to shed its woolly under-eoat on .\pril 10. On April 20, it was loose all over the body, and beginning to hang in rags; therefore, for both the comfort and the appearance of the animal, we threw her upon the ground, held her .securely, and combed it all out. It was very fine, curly, free from oil, and the entire mass weighed si.x pounds. Although known for more than a century, the Musk-()x is one of the last of the large land mam- mals of the world to come into captivity for pub- lic exhibition, and it was not until 1900 that its soft anatomy was studied for the first time. Anatomically, this animal presents a few shce])-like features. By some writers their im- portance has been so much exaggerated that the name "Musk-Sheep" has been proposed as a substitute for Musk-Ox. But the sheep-like characters are insignificant in comparison with those that are clearly ox-like. ' Two s)}ecies have been described. That of the Barren (Jrounds of the mainland of North Amer- ica has long been known as Ovihos moschatus. In 1901, the animal of (h-eenland and northern Grinnell Land was described asOr/bo.s ward;, the White-Fronted !\Iusk-Ox, because of a band of gray or dirty-white hair, extending across the top of its head. Although this animal is called a Musk-Ox, it has neither the odor nor baste of musk, ami its flesh is excellent food, (ieneral (Jreely, Com- mander Peary and many other explorers have feasted on its flesh. In their native desolation, these animals go in herds of from twenty to fifty heafl, are easily brought to bay by dogs, and under such circumstances they stupidly stand ' See E. Lonnberg, on the .1 naiomy of the Mtisk-Ox, in the Proceedings of the Zoological Societv of Lon- don, 1900. THE MUSK-OX 105 facing their enemies until killed. This habit, so fatal in the presence of man, is all that saves the herds from being exterminated by the hordes of big white wolves which infest the Barren Grounds. General A. W. Greely states that the aver- age weight of ten Musk-Oxen, dressed, was 360 pounds, while the heaviest weighed 432 pounds. This would indicate an average Uve weight of 404 pounds, and a maximum live weight of 604 pounds. The accompanying map shows the range of Natural History Museum of Stockholm, made important and valuable contributions to the Hfe history of Ovibos voardi. On the barren, rocky hillsides and level upland pastures surrounding Scoresby Sound and Liverpool Bay, from lati- tude 70° to about latitude 74°, the expedition found Musk-Oxen in herds of from three to sixty-seven individuals, until the total number observed, amounted to between two hundred and thirty and two hundred and forty. For the first time, this remarkable species was photographed RANGE OF THE MUSK-OX. Heavy black spots s'cnify actual occurrences. The dotted area indicates the probable range of the genus. The species north of Great Slave Lake is Ovibos moschatus, and that of Greenland and Grant Land is the White-Fronted Musk-Ox, Ovibos wardi. the Musk-Ox, the southern limit of which is 64°. During the last fifteen years whole herds have been killed in the Barren Grounds north of Great Slave and Great Bear Lakes, at Lady Franklin Bay, and on the eastern and northeastern coasts of Greenland. During the year 1899, a Swedish scientific ex- pedition to the east coast of Greenland, under the leadership of Prof. A. G. Nathorst, of the in its wild haunts, by Prof. Nathorst, Mr. Johan- nes Madsen and Mr. E. Nilson, and with very gratifying success. Of these pictures the most perfect is that which shows the leader of the ex- pedition closely approaching a herd. Prof. Nathorst states that to the leeward of a herd, the odor of the animals was noticeable at a distance of 100 metres, but that when a freshly- slain animal is promptly and properly eviscerated, lOG OEDERS OF :\rAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS the flesh is free from musky fla^'ors, and \-ery good. One of the most important discoveries of the expedition was the fact that the region visited had once been inhabited by Eskimo, but their kitchen-middens contained no remains of I\Iusk- Ox, from whicli, and from other evidence, Prof. Nathorst concludes that the presence of that ani- mal on the eastern coast of Greenland is due to ing Island, on the oast coast of Greenland. Both were purchased by the Duke of Bedford. In 1900, thirteen living specimens were capt- ured on the eastern coast of Greenland, between Latitude 70° and 74° and taken alive to Europe. One male in Woburn Park, England, owned by the Duke of Bedford, survived until 1903. Of the specimens mentioned above, the follow- ing were alive in December, 1903: ^.•■;VV.. '^-'^J-^^ »*vff:.,::r' lf*<;,:,.A^;v«n-:,HV-'Jr-V--t ■'■ : - ■^-f »,4 Heproduceil by pernu.s^ion of A. ci. Nathohst. WILD MUSK-OX HERD AT FRANZ JOSEPH FJORD, E. GREENLAND, 1S99. The figure in the foreground is that of Prof. Natliorst. Photograplied by E. Nilson, Lat. 73° 30'. a southward migration along the coast which has taken place since 1823.' A complete count of all the living Musk-Ox specimens that thus far have reached Europe and the United States should be entered here. In 1899, a Swedish expedition carried to Europe two male specimens captured on Claver- ' See Le Loup polaire el le Bnevf Mvsqtic, par A. G. Nathorst, Bulletin de la Socicte Gcograpliie, Paris, 1901. One male in the Copenhagan Zoological Gar- den ; <_)ne male in the Berlin Zoological Garden; Three in Norrland, .Sweden (one male and two females), practically at liberty' on pasture closely resembling their (ireenland home. Of the other specimens, five died in Antwerp when very small, and three in Sweden, in -ndld pastures. In March, 1902, the New York Zoological THE MOUNTAIN -SHEEP 107 Park received, as a gift from Mr. William C. Whit- ney, a female Musk-Ox twenty-one months old, captured on the Barren Grounds north of Great Bear Lake, about Latitude 69°. This specimen died of acute pneumonia on August 16, 1902. In September, 1902, a very small female Musk- Ox calf, captured by Commander Robert E. Peary, at Fort Conger (Latitude 81°), was re- ceived in the New York Zoological Park, as a gift from the Peary Arctic Club. It died in October. In 1903 (July) five Musk-Ox calves, one male and four females, arrived at Tromsoe, Norway, from Greenland, and were offered for sale to zoo- logical gardens generally. . The first specimen exhibited in the New York Zoological Park, in 1902, was captured in March, 1901, thirty miles from the Arctic Ocean, directly north of Great Bear Lake, by a party of Eskimo hunters and whalers sent by Captain H. H. Bod- fish, from the steam whaler Beluga. Its price, delivered in New York in good health, was $1,600. When two years old it stood 3 feet 2 inches high at the shoulders, and was 4 feet 10 inches in length. Its food was clover hay, raw carrots or potatoes, a little green grass when in season, and occasionally a few apples. The Mountain Sheep. High on the mountain's frowning crest, Where lines of rugged cliff stand forth, Where Nature bravely bares her breast To snowy whirlwinds from the north; High in the clouds and mountain storms, Where first the autumn snows appear, Where last the breath of springtime warms, — There dwells my gallant mountaineer. And truly he is a gallant mountaineer. Wher- ever found, the mountain sheep is a fine, sturdy, animal, keen-eyed, bold, active and strong. It fears no storm, and defies all enemies save man and domestic sheep. From the former it re- ceives bullets, from the latter, disease. Whether , its home is the highest crags of the saw-tooth ranges, the boldest rim-rock of the mountain plateaus, or the most rugged "bad-lands," it is always found amid the scenery that is grandest and most inspiring. In summer, its favorite pastures are the tree- less slopes above timber-fine, where, on our northern mountains, grasses and wild flowers grow in astonishing profusion. When the raging storms and deep snows of winter drive the elk and deer down into the valleys for shelter and food, the mountain sheep makes no perceptible change in altitude. All the year round, this animal is well fed, and its savory flesh invites constant pursuit by the mountain lion, and by hunters both white and red. The massive, curving horns and hand- some head of the adult ram, taken amid grand mountain scenery, with much difficulty and no little danger, constitute, in my judgment, one of the finest trophies that a true sportsman can win. But it must be clean, and not haunted by the ghosts of slaughtered ewes and lambs! One of the greatest days of my life was that on which I pursued and killed, alone, amid the grandeur of the Shoshone Mountains, my flrst big mountain ram. It was then that I learned how much a mountain sheep needs to be seen in its native cloudland in order to be fully appre- ciated. It is an animal for which my admira- tion is as boundless as the glories of its moun- tain home. The mountain sheep is a bold and even reck- less climber. It is robust and strong on its legs, yet active withal, and capable of feats of en- durance that really are astonishing. It can- not, and never did, "leap from a height, and alight upon its horns," — save by some neck- breaking accident. When pursued it can, how- ever, dash down an appalling declivity, touching here and there, and land in safety, when to the observer it seems certain to be dashed to death. The young are born in May or June, above timber-line if possible, among the most danger- ous and inaccessible crags .and precipices that the mother can find. Her idea is to have her offspring begin its Ufe in places so steep and dangerous that a very slight effort on its part will suffice to keep it beyond the reach of foes. The lamb's most dangerous enemy is the eagle, against which the mother successfully guards it. Except the burrhel and aoudad, any adult mountain sheep, from either the Old World or the New, can readily be recognized by its mas- sive, round-curving horns, which, when seen in profile, describe from one-half to three-fourths of a circle, or more. No wild animals other than wild sheep have circling horns. The largest spe- cies of wild sheep are found in Asia, and are 108 OKDERS OP MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS known respectively as the argali, and Marco Polo's sheep. The horns of the argali are the greatest" in size and weight, and those of Marco Polo's sheep have the widest spread. Six species of mountain sheep are found in has been known for exactly a century, and it is the spe^iies which is most widely known in Ameri- ca. Once quite abundant throughout the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Latitude 60° in north- ern British Cojumbia, it has been so persistently 105 KNOWN DISTRIBUTION OF MOUNTAIN SHEEP IN NORTH AMERICA IN 1903. The black dots represent actual observations. 1. Big-Horn Sheep, (Ovis canadensis). 2. Mexican Sheep, (0. mexicanus). 3. Nelson's Sheep, (0. nelsoni). 4. White Sheep, (0. dalli). 5. Black Sheep, (0. stonei). . 6. Fannin's Sheep, (0. fannini). North America, of which five have been described since 18(S3. They are scat- tered from the northern states of Mexico through the Rocky Mountains almost to the shore of the Arctic Ocean, and throughout one-half of Alaska, a range fully 3,600 miles long. The accompanying I^Ji map shows actual occurrences of the va- rious species during the past twelve years. hunted and slain that now it exists only in small Of our six species, four are so interesting they bands, in widely-separated localities. In most deserve separate notice. of our western states and territories, the kiUing The Big-Horn, or Rocky Mountain Sheep,' of Mountain Sheep is now prohibited for a term ' O'vis can-a-den'sis. of years, and it is hoped that these laws will be 105 310 OEDEES OF MAMJIALS— HOOFED ANIMALS enforced and respected. Wherever they are ig- nored, the wild sheep are doomed to extinction. The general color of the Big-Honi is gray brown, with a large white or cream-yellow patch on the hiild quarters, completely surrounding the tail. A large ram killed by the author in the Shoshone Mountains, Wyoming, on No'\-cmber 16, 1SS9, stood 40 inches high at the shoulders, was 58 inches in length from end of nose to root of tail; its tail was 3 ijiches long, and its weight was about 300 jKjunds. Although the snow on its wild pasture was knee deep, and the sheep were pawing through it to reach the tallest blades of dr)' grass, they were as well fed and fat as if they had been feeding at a manger. The largest horns of this species ever taken are male specimen from Lower California, fifteen months old, which in 1902 was exhibited in the New York Zoological Park was as follows : Height, 29 inches. Length, head and bod}', 39^ inches. Tail, 3 inches. Length of horn, 10 inches. Spread at tips, 13} inches. Weight of animal, 65 pounds. Cause of death, pneumonia. In the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, is found the Mexican Mountain Sheep,- in color much like the Californian species, but larger, and with large ears. The horns of a fine old ram, killed by Mr. Charles Sheldon, measured 16-j inches in basal circumference. -'*. "■ r "*• .,2^*^-^ ■'**^ ■^^^^^^^.^^ ■ ' ^?^ ■. *• -^ ^'"jm 2i.'--- 'ff^ y- m '^ m^ ^iSirVC^^ W^mjt. JWMmEx ^^B!^*r.m ■ '■ J^i;" S**'"V -^^K**^ ■ ■"" ^^ . V.-. : vSir'- J .^-rc am'nos mon-lan'us. is the only American represent- ative of the numerous species of wild goats, ibexes and other goat-like animals so numerous throughout the Old World from Japan to India, southern Europe and northern Africa. Thus far with but one excep- tion all the rumors of "ibex'' thathave come from Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and Brit- ish Columbia have proA'en en- tirely without foundation. In one case a Colorado hunter discovered a small band of once-tame goats running wild and reported it to Recreation magazine, with a photogi'aph of a mounted specimen. While it is possible that a genuine Capra may yet be found inhabiting some unexplored region, like the Romanzoff Mountains, such an occur- rence is very improbable. The only use or value thus far found in the Mountain Coat is as "game" for sports- men who like difficult and dangerous tasks. With but few exceptions, it inhabits the grassy belt of the high mountains just above tim- ber-line, and it particularly loves the dangerous ice-cov- ered slopes and "hog-backs" over which only the boldest hunters dare follow it. This, however, specially applies to its haunts in the Rocky Mountains, and the Coast Range. On the coast of British Columbia, the White Goat sometimes descends so near to tide water that more than one specimen has been shot from a canoe. For a large Ungulate, the Mountain Goat is said to Iie phenomenally stupid. It is quite true that any hunter who has the nerve and strength to climb to where it lives will there find no great difficulty in killing it. From all accounts, it is both erratic and stupid. Se\'ei-al times goats have approached the camp-fires of explorers, and THE MOUNTAIN GOAT 115 on one occasion an individual whose "partner" had been shot deliberately sat down, dog-like, thirty yards away and watched the hunter skin and cook a portion of his mate. In Idaho two miners killed a large Mountain Goat with an axe. While exploring in Alaska, unarmed, a member of the United States Geological Survey was once vigorously attacked by an old male goat, which attempted to drive him from a narrow mountain path; The White Goat is quite as odd in appearance as in mind and habit. Judging merely from its appearance an observer would be justified in considering it a slow, clumsy creature, safe only upon level ground. Instead of being so, it is the most expert and daring rock-climber of all American hoofed animals. Its hoofs are small, angular and very compact, and consist of an ingenious combination of rubber-pad inside and knife-edge outside, to hold the owner equally well on snow, ice or bare rock. Professor L. L. Dyche declares that Mountain Goats will cross walls of rock which neither man, dog nor mountain sheep would dare attempt to pass. He has seen them cross the face of a preci- pice of apparently smooth rock, to all appearances entirely devoid of ledges or shelves of any kind, and so nearly perpendicular that it seemed an impossibility for any creature . with hoofs to maintain a footing upon it. And yet, the goats not only passed safely across, but they did it with perfect composure, frequently looking back, and turning around whenever they saw fit to do so. In general outline this animal has the form of a pigmy American bison, and were its pelage dark brown instead of pure white, the external resemblance would indeed be striking. It has high shoulders, low hind-quarters, stocky legs, a thick-set body, and shaggy pelage. Its head is carried low, the crown seldom rising above the upper line of the shoulders and back, and the face is too long for beauty. The horns are so small, short and severely plain they are neither beautiful nor imposing. The weight of this animal is about that of the Virginia deer. The shoulder height of a good average size male is 37 inches, length of head and body, 66 inches, tail, 4 inches, and girth 51 inches (L. L. Dyche). The females average about one- fourth smaller. Except in length and color of pelage the Mountain Goat is clad after the style of the musk-ox. Next to the skin it wears a dense coat of fine wool, through and far beyond which grows a long, outside thatch of coarse hair. When free from dirt, both these coats are yellow- ish-white, and contain no patches of color. Be- hind each horn is a pecuhar bare patch of black, oily skin, the size of a half-dollar. The horns are small, smooth, very sharp-pointed, jet black, and the longest on record measure llj inches. The cannon bone is proportionately the shortest to be found in any large imgulate. Professor Dyche thinks this animal is not likely to be exterminated very soon, chiefly be- cause of its inaccessibility, its lack of beauty as a trophy, and the expenditure of time, money and muscle that is necessary to win within gun- shot of it. Its flesh is so musky and dry that it is not palatable to white men save when they are exceedingly hungry, and its skin has no com- mercial value. Nevertheless, in the United States, the White Goat has been so much sought by sportsmen and others who like difficult hunt- ing that now it is found only in Washington, Idaho and northwestern Montana. Northward of our boundary, it is scattered very thinly, and at long intervals, throughout British Columbia and Alaska as far as the head of Cook Inlet. In 1900 a new species was discovered on Cop- per River, Alaska, and named Kennedy's Mpuntain Goat. It is marked very plainly by horns that are no longer, but are more slender, more strongly ringed, and spread farther at the tips than those of the original species. Up to the year 1903, only four white goats had ever been exhibited aUve in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. Of these, two were shown at Boston in 1899, and two are now alive in the Philadelphia Zoological Gar- dens. As might be expected, it is a difficult mat- ter to keep such creatures alive and in good health on the Atlantic coast. In 1902 a very fine adult male specimen was on exhibition in the London Gardens. PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE FAMILY. Antilocapridae. This unique Family of one species and one subspecies, must not be confused nor in any way connected with the krge and important group of African antelopes, which contains a grand array 116 ORDEES OP MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS of animals of all sizes, many of them odd, and many of them noted for their beauty. The stu- dent who has a special liking for the large hoofed animals surely will find pleasure in making the aeiiuaintance of such superb creatures as the sable antelope, the koodoo, the water-buck, the eland, the oryx, the gnu, the pallah, and the hartebeest of Africa. We have reason to envy Africa her exclusive possession of all those fine creatures, not to mention her other hoofed ani- mals, great and small. The Prong-Horned Antelope' is found only cent bullet flies true to the mark, it will destroy an animal more wonderful than the rarest or- chid that ever bloomed. Remember the ages which Nature has spent in fashioning this wonderful combination of keen eye, fleet foot and graceful limb, and preserving it from the extermination which overtook the great reptiles, rhinoceroses, and toothed birds of the vast inland sea now known as the Uintah Basin. Surely this animal is worth perpetual protection at our hands, rather than needless, cruel and inexcusable slaughter. It cannot .„.,— ,ar..*5aa8^?5»?Sa<«BW5-- iil- .'^"«*i ,'i - % ^jL */ mV^^ Pamtcil by Caul Kungius. PRONG-HORNED .VNTELUI'E. in North America, and it possesses so many ana- tomical ijcculiarities, found in no other animal, that zoologists have created for it a separate Family, which it occupies in solitary state. It is like an island in a vast sea, unrelated. Let him wh(j hereafter may be tempted, either law- fully or unlawfully, to raise a death-dealing rifle against one of these beautiful prairie ro\'ers, remember two things before he pulls the trigger: In this land of plenty, no man really needs this creature's paltry pounds of flesh; and if his two- ' An-I i-lo-cap'ra dmericana. he perpetuated by breeding in captivity; and unless preserved in a wild stale, it will become extinct. Behold the list of characters, in which this animal differs from all other antelopes: Al- though its horns grow over a bony core, they are shed and renewed every year; the horn bears a prong, and is placed tlirectly o-\-ei- the eye; the feet have no "dew-claws"; the hair consists of a hollow tube filled with pith, coarse, harsh, straw- like and easily broken; and all the hair on the rump is fully erectile, like the bristles of swine. THE PKONG-HOENED ANTELOPE 117 When fighting, or alarmed, this white hair is instantly thrown up, and on a fleeing animal it forms a dangerously conspicuous and inviting mark. To my mind, the white rump-patch of the Prong-Horn is one of Nature's errors. It enables a pursuer to mark the animal long after it should really become invisible. The Prong-Horned Antelope is next in size to the smaller species of our mountain sheep. It is smaller than the white-tailed deer of the north, but as large as the southern forms. The largest specimen in the Zoological Park herd measures 37J inches high at the shoulders, has a head and body length of 47f inches, tail, 3^ inches, and chest circumference of 35 inches. Its horns are 12| inches long and 12J inches wide be- tween the tips. The longest horns on record are 17 inches in length, but any that meas- ure 12 inches may fairly be considered large. The female has no horns. The colors of this animal are usually two, consisting of a cloak of light yellowish- brown thrown over the back and neck of an otherwise white animal. On the throat the brown is laid on in a curious collar-like pattern, and the adult males usually have a wash of black on their cheeks. The ears are very shapely, and from the neck an erect mane rises from four to five inches in length. The legs are exceedingly trim and delicately formed, and the erect horns and high pose of the head give the animal a very jaunty appearance. In running it has three very distinct gaits. When fleeing from danger, it carries its head low, like a running sheep, and gallops by long leaps; when showing off, it holds its head as high as possible, and trots forward with stiff legs, and long strides, hke German soldiers doing the goose- step. Occasionally, it gallops with high head, by stiff-legged leaps, like the mule deer. In captivity the Prong-Horn is always affec- tionate, trustful, and very fond of being noticed; but the bucks soon become too playful with their sharp horns, and push their human friends about until the play becomes more dangerous than amusing. They readily come at call, and at times become very playful with each other. They cannot live on the rich, green grasses of the country east of the Great Plains, and are very difiScult to keep in captivity. At the New York 80 DISTRIBUTION OP THE PRONG-HOENED ANTELOPE IN 1903. Zoological Park it has been found that they sur- vive and breed only when kept in a paved corral, and fed on rolled oats, clover hay, and a very limited amount of fresh grass. Those who have attempted to preserve and breed the Prong-Horn in captivity have met with many discourage- ments, and failure has been the result of many experiments that deserved success. At present, our herd seems well established, and on June 2, 1903, two fawns were born. Owing to the extreme difficulty of maintaining this species in captivity, its total extinction at an early date seems absolutely certain, unless it is fully and permanently protected in a wild state, on its native ranges, for a long period. To-day it exists only in small, isolated bands, widely scattered, in a few localities in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, New Mex- ico, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Califor- 118 OKDEKS OP MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS nia. In all these states save three its destruc- tion has been absolutely prohibited for periods ranging from five to ten years, and it is hoped and believed that all will very shortly provide for its absolute protection. But has protec- tion come to this species early enough to save it? It is very doubtful. Says Mr. A. G. Walli- han, in Outdoor Life, "Look at the Antelope! But I don't know whether you can find any to look at; for I don't think there are 50 in Routt County [Colorado], where ten years ago there were probably 50,000. They have almost com- pletely disappeared here. No doubt a small herd of a thousand or so went north into Wyo- ming, but they will fare no better there." The destruction of this beautiful and interest- ing creature is now absolutely inexcusable, and for the good name of Americans generally it is to be hoped that wherever a wild Prong-Horned Antelope is now to be found, public sentiment will protect it more powerfully and more per- manently than can any statute law. THE DEER FAMILY. Cervidae. General Observations. — The Deer Family is well represented on all continents, and on all large islands, save Africa, AustraHa and New Zealand. There are about forty-five well-de- fined species, and many subspecies. With but one or two exceptions, the species found in the tropics and subtropics are scantily antlered, dull in color, and covered with coarse, thin hair. There is but one tropical deer which is really beautiful, and that is the axis, or spotted deer, of India and Ceylon. The following facts regarding the deer of the world are worth remembering: The American Moose is the largest member of the Deer Family, living or extinct. The American Elk, or Wapiti, is the largest and finest of all the round-horned deer. The Axis Deer is the most beautiful in color of all deer. The Moose has the heaviest and most massive antlers, with the widest spread. Male deer of most species have solid antlers, of bone, branching into several tines. Deer shed their antlers, and renew them com- pletely, every year. The young of nearly all round-horned deer are spotted at birth. AU adult male deer are dangerous in the mating season, when their antlers are new and perfect. The female Caribou is the only female deer with antlers. The best deer to keep in captivity in a park is the Fallow Deer, of Europe; and outside of its own home, the worst is the Columbian Black-Tail. Except as already stated, nearly every coun- try in the world is provided with representa- tives of the, Deer Family, according to conditions. Nature has fitted the caribou to live in the awful lands of desolation in the far north, and the moose in the forests fringing the Arctic bar- rens. The elk is fashioned for the plains, the foothills and open-timbered mountains of west- ern America and central Asia. The white- tailed deer skulks in safety through the thickest forests of temperate North America, and in India and the far East the axis deer, the sam- bar, and the tiny muntjac, with only one or two tines on each antler, have been formed to slip through the tangled jungles with ease and safety. North America has the good fortune to be rich in Cervidae. It has six prominent types, and at this date (1903), a full count reveals twenty- four recognized species and subspecies, which form a group combining the grand, the beautiful and the picturesque, and of very decided value to man. In the exploration and settlement of the United States, and the exploration of Alaska and the far North, the wild herds have played an important part. The unvarying distinctive mark by which any American representative of the Deer Family can be recognized is the presence on the male of solid horns of hone, called antlers, which are shed once a year, close down to the skull, and are fully re- newed by rapidly growing out in a soft state called "the velvet." When fully grown, the antlers branch several times; but the first pair, which are grown during the second year, are only two straight and slender spikes, called "dag antlers." The grouping of animals with antlers brings together in the Deer Family not only the true deer, but also the moose and caribou. Shedding and Renewal of Antlers.— At this point it is necessary to emphasize certain facts regarding the antlers of deer, elk, moose and caribou. THE DEER FAMILY 119 Many persons find it difficult to believe that the antlers of all these creatures drop off close to the skull, every year, and are completely re- newed in about four months; but such is the fact. It is Nature's special plan to absorb the seems incredible — unless watched from week to week — that the enormous antlers of full-fjrown moose or elk can be dropped and completely re- newed again in as short a period as four months ; but it is true. 'wjj^kj^^^' 'f '',.'■- fv ■■'.i^.. ■^ — : ::■''' — '. — — ; 1. March 21. .3. April 30. DO ELK SHED THEIR ANTLEKS .' An c^aswer from the New York Zoological Park, 2. April 8. 4. May 15. surplus strength of the males, and render them weak and inoffensive during the period in which the mothers are rearing their young, when both the does and their fawns would be defenceless against savage males with perfect antlers. It The antlers of North American deer are usu- ally dropped in March, but occasionally in Feb- ruary. Sometimes a day or two passes between the fall of the first antler and the loss of the second. The root, or pedicle, exposed is a rough 120 OEDEES OP MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS disc of bone belonging to the frontal bone of the skull. No blood flows. Dropped antlers are sometimes gnawed by rodents until destroyed; but many are picked up by those who look for them. At the end of the first week, the bony disc or seat of the antler is covered over by the dark brown skin of the head. At the end of two weeks, a rounded bunch, like a big brown tomato, has risen on the pedicle of each antler. It is soft, full of blood, and easily injured. Gradually this elongates into the form of a thick, blunt-ended club, in color brown or pink, shiny, and thinly covered with minute hairs. When fairly started, the antlers of a healthy and vigorous elk or caribou grow at the rate of one-third of an inch per day, or even mdre. They are soft, spongy, warm, full of blood, are easily injured, and if cut will bleed freely. The material of which they are composed, internally, is the same as that which forms the hair. The drain upon the animal's vitality during this period is very severe, and it is not strange that the animal is then meek and spiritless. A large pair of elk antlers, dropped in the Zoological Park on March 21st, had been renewed ' to their full length by June 21st, but the tips were flat and club-hke. The first sign of the hardening process was the shrinkage of the blunt tips of the tines to sharp points. Gradually the diameter of the entire antler decreased in size, and at the same time the hair composing the velvet grew longer. The surface now assumed a gray appearance. On August 1st all the points were sharp, and the antlers were in perfect form, but the velvet was all on. (See " The Elk's Calen- dar," page 122.) Deer as Dangerous Animals.^The rapid multiplication of deer parks, and small collec- tions of captive animals, renders it necessary to offer a few words of warning regarding deer of all species. During the season immediately fol- lowing the perfect development of the new ant- lers, — say September, October and November, — male deer, elk, caribou and moose sometimes become as savage as whelp-robbed tigers. The neck swells far beyond its natural size, the eye- I)its distend, and the buck goes stalking about with ears laid back and nostrils expanded, fairly spoiling for a fight. I have seen stags that were mild and gentle during eight or nine months of the j^ear suddenly transformed into murderous demons, ready and anxious to stab to death any unarmed man who ventured near. At first a buck walks slowly up to his victim, makes a wry face, and with his sharp, new antlers makes believe to play with him. Not wishing to be punctured, the intended victim lays hold of the antlers, and seeks to keep them out of his vitals. On finding himself opposed, the buck begins to drive forward like a battering ram, and then the struggle is on. Heaven help the man thus attacked, if no other help be near! He shuts his teeth, grips the murderous bone spears with all his strength, leans well forward, and with the strength and nimbleness of desperation, struggles to maintain his grasp and keep his feet. Each passing in- stant the rage of the buck, and his joy of com- bat, increases. If the man goes down, and help fails to come quickly, his chances to escape the spears are few. Once when unarmed and alone, I saved myself from an infuriated buck (fortunately a small one), by suddenly releasing one antler, seizing a fore-leg low down, and pulling it up so high that the animal was powerless to lunge forward as he had been doing. In this way I held him at bay, and at last worked him to a spot where I secured a stout cudgel, with which I belabored him so unmercifully that he was Conquered for that day. The strength and fury of a buck of insignifi- cant size are often beyond belief. The loving "pet" of May readily becomes the dangerous, fury-filled murderer of October. With a large deer of any species, a man not fully armed has little chance. In the winter of 1902, at Helenaj Montana, a man armed with a pitchfork entered an elk corral, to show a friend that the large male elk feared him. The elk attacked him furiously, and killed him before he could be rescued. Men who have charge of deer herds must keep the bucks in a perpetual state of fear. Do not make a pet of any male member of the Deer Family after it is two years old. It is dangerous. In the autumn or winter, never enter an en- closure containing deer, elk or caribou unless armed with a pitchfork, or a long pole of tough wood, with an iron spike in the end. If a buck threatens to attack you, strike him across the nose; for that is his tender spot. When angry he can take any amount of punishment on the THE AMERICAN ELK 121 forehead, neck and shoulders, without its dimin- ishing his energy in the least. Solitary bucks in small corrals are most dan- gerous. Where deer run in a large herd, the danger is much less; but if a herd-buck begins to approach people with the slow stride of a pugilist, lips and nose turned up, ears laid back, and snorting defiantly, shut him up at once, or saw off his antlers close to his head, before he does mischief. locked, wild deer are much given to fighting during the rutting season. It is to be remem- bered, however, that male deer are in the habit of playfully sparring with their horns, and it is very likely that many a death-lock has been due to a pushing-match rather than to deadly com- bat. The antlers of our white-tailed and mule deer are peculiarly adapted to the fatal inter- locking that has caused many a fine buck to perish miserably by slow starvation. In cap- Photographed by E. R. Sanbobn, New York Zoological Park, 1903. A MODEL AMERICAN ELK, IN OCTOBER. Fighting Among Deer. — Even among them- selves, deer are murderous brutes. It is quite a common thing for one buck to treach- erously assassinate another; and some are such thorough degenerates they will murder their own does and fawns. The largest and hand- somest bucks are not always the best fight- ers, for they often lack the activity and youth- ful vigor which gives supremacy to a younger animal. Judging by the number of pairs of deer that have been found dead with their antlers tightly tivity, pushing-matches amongst deer are quite common. The Round-Horned Deer. The American Elk, or Wapiti,^ is as tall as a horse, handsomel}' formed, luxuriantly maned, carries its head proudly, and is crowned by a pair of very imposing antlers. Even the doe Elk is a handsome and stately creature ; and ' Cer'vus can-a-den' sis . In Europe, this animal is called the Wapiti; and the European Moose is called the "Elk." 122 OEDERS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS from the second week after its birth, the fawn steps about with the air of a game-cock. If you will observe a seven-year-old male Elk in October or November, when the modelling of his form is handsomest, his pelage long, bright and immacu- late, his neck swollen with pride, and his fine new antlers ready for admiration or for battle, I think you will say, "This is the king of the Cervidae !" Even the moose, giant though he be, is not a creature of regal presence, like the Elk. Al- though the latter is a large and heavy animal, it has the small and shapely legs and hoofs of a thoroughbred. It is strictly a creature for solid ground, and while very fond of bathing in ponds during hot weather, it avoids swamps and low situations. It is both a grazing and browsing animal. Al- though up to twenty-five years ago it often ranged far out into the western edge of the Great Plains, and loves to frequent mountain parks, it is also a forest animal. Originally, its range coincided to a remarkable extent with that of the buffalo, covering fully three-fourths of the United States, from the Adirondacks and the eastern foothills of the AUeghenies to California and Vancouver Island. It was not found, how- ever, on the Great Plains north of the Saskatche- wan. In summer it ascends the Rocky Mountains to the very crest of the Continental Divide, 1 1,000 feet above the sea. The species reaches its high- est physical development on the backbone of the continent, between northwestern Wyoming and southern Colorado. From nineteen-twentieths of its original range, this grand animal has been exterminated. To- day it is abundant in one locality only, the Yel- lowstone National Park and the country imme- diately surrounding it, where about 20,000 Elk find a safe retreat. Every winter the Elk herds of the Yellowstone Park migrate southward to feed in the sheltered valleys of Jackson Hole. During these migra- tions, which usually are made through deep snow, Mr. S. N. Leek and others have made many fine photographs of the herds. One of Mr. Leek's striking pictures is reproduced on the opposite page. Elk are found in small numbers in the Olympic Mountains of Washington, in Oregon, sparingly in Colorado, western Montana and Idaho, in one small area of Manitoba, and at one point in south central Cahfornia. On Vancouver Island the species is now extinct. It is probable that within a few years the Elk will disappear from all the localities mentioned save the Yellowstone Park, for in the other wild and thinly settled regions which it inhabits to-day, the rtieasures for its protection from il- legal slaughter are by no means adequate. Some Americans who go hunting — I will not call them sportsmen — are so greedy, so lawless and so wasteful of animal life, that we frequently hear accounts of Elk slaughter which are enough to disgust all decent men. Fortunately, Elk are easily bred in confinement, and during the last twenty years many good herds have been established in the great private game preserves that are scattered from New Hamp- shire and Massachusetts to Minnesota. In ad- dition to these, there are many smaller herds in small private parks. Nearly every city north of the Potomac has a herd of Elk in one of its parks, and other hardy native animals in an estab- lishment known either as a "zoo," a zoological garden, or a zoological park. Thanks to this constantly increasing public demand for living collections of wild animals, the American Elk and buffalo are now familiar objects to the chil- dren of at least twenty American cities. The Elk's Calendar in the New York Zoological Park. Jan. 1. Pelage has grown perceptibly paler. Feb. 1. Pelage has lost its lustre, and begins to look weathered. Mar. 21. Antlers of the largest male dropped, 9 hours apart. Apr. 8. Each budding antler looks like a big brown tomato. Apr. 18. New antlers about 5 inches long, thick and stumpy. Apr. 30. Each antler has developed three branches. Young elk born, well spotted. Closely hidden in the rocks. Height 26 inches; length 35 inches; weight 30J iiounds. May 10. Shedding in full progress; the Elk look their worst. June 1. Shedding about half finished. June 18. Antlers now full length, but club-like; 124 ORDERS OP MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS well haired. Tips flat. Large male has finished shedding. July 20. Antlers are now sharp at the tips. Flies troublesome. Herd bathes in the pond frequently and long. Aug. 1 . Entire herd now free from winter pelage. Animals look well in short, red sum- mer coat, but smaller!' Velvet still on antlers. Spots on young are all gone, and white rump-patch is fully developed. Aug. 15. Two big males began to rub velvet from antlers, against trees. Aug. 22. Antlers of one bull almost clean, but velvet still hangs in tatters, like car- pet rags. Tips pure white, base looks bloody. Sept. 15. The summer coat has been completely shed. Oct. 1. The herd is at its best. All antlers clean and perfect. Pelage long, full, and rich in color. Mating season now on. Bulls aggressive and dangerous. Fawns active and playful. The "bugle" of the bull is a shrill shriek, like an English locomotive whistle, sliding down the scale into a terrific bawl. Size of Elk. — Professor L. L. Dyche, an exceedingly careful observer, has contributed a striking illustration of the difficulty of obtaining from a dead Elk an accurate measurement of the animal's standing height when alive. The largest and finest male Elk ever taken by him (for the State University of Kansas) fell in Colorado on October 21, 1891. I can testify that it is a grand representative of its species. As is frequently done, the guide of the party measured its height in a line from the pomt of the hoof to the top of the shoulder, and recorded 65 inches. This being ruled out, the bottom of the hoof was held parallel with the axis of the body, and the elbow even with the lower line of the brisket. This gave 62 inches. Professor Dyche then pushed the elbow up to the position it occupies in a standing Elk — about five inches above the lower line of the body — and found the actual standing height at the shoulders to be 57 inches. The head and body length was 97' inches; girth, 73 inches; circumference around abdomen, 81 inches; circumference of neck, 36 inches. On October 3, 1903, a fine bull Elk in the New York Zoological Park was suffering so in- tensely from a horn wound in the hock joint that it was chloroformed. ~ Being in fine condition, its measurements and weight were carefully noted, with the following result : Height at the shoulders 56 J inches. Length of head, body and tail . . . 86| " Circumference of chest 78 " Weight. Trunk 300 lbs. Skin,'head and legs 255 " Viscera 151 " Total five weight 706 lbs. Antlers. Length, following curves 53 inches. Widest spread 35 " Circumference above bez tine . . . 7J " Points 7 + 7=14. Age about 8 years. Rule for Obtaining the Live Weight of Deer from Dressed Weight. — So many records of the "dressed" weight of deer are pubHshed, it is desirable to offer a simple rule by which anyone can accurately calculate the weight of the animal when alive. Taking an antlered Elk {Cervus canad,ensis) as a basis, we find that the dressed weight represents .21388 of the Uve weight, or ^ff of the whole animal. The dressed weight being given, in pounds, add to it five ciphers, divide by 78612, and the result will be the live weight, in pounds. While this rule will often prove convenient, the author desires to state that none of the weights recorded in this volume were obtained by it ; and any weight so obtained and pubHshed always should be marked "as calculated." The longest and widest Elk antlers are not necessarily the handsomest. Usually, antlers that are of great length are slender, whereas the finest pairs are those of massive proportions.fairly symmetrical, and about 60 inches long. The longest pair of reliable record to this date was purchased in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1897 for the Emperor of Germany. Their length of beam was 67^ inches, and their points were twelve 126 ORDERS OF MAMMAT.S — HOOFED ANIMALS in number. They were obtained from an animal killed in White River County, Colorado. A very large pair from the Shoshone Mountains, in the author's collection of horns, has a beam length of 58 inches, a spread of 49J inches, and burr circum- ference of 11 inches. Elk hunting is not always as fine sport as the noble individuality of this animal would nat- urally lead the hunter to expect. Very often the Elkr is unsuspicious, to the point of stupidity. There have been many times when attacking a herd was too much like attacking a herd of cat- tle. It is not an animal of " highly-wrought- nervous" temperament, like the deer, but when startled is too much given to hesitating, and seeking knowledge, before it dashes away to safety. During the last three years important steps have been taken, by private individuals only, toward restoring the Elk to the Adirondack for- ests, which it once inhabited. In 1901, the Hon. William C. Whitney caused twenty-two head to be liberated there, and in 1902, forty more were set free. In August and September, 1903, five car-loads of Elk, sixty-eight head in all, were shipped from Mr. Whitney's game preserve on October Mountain, near Lenox, Mass., and lib- erated at Saranac Lake, Floodwood Station and near Paul Smith's Station. All these animals had become fully acclimatized on the Atlantic coast, were in fine physical condition, and if not killed by poachers will no doubt multiply at a reason- ably rapid rate. That many of these fine ani- mals will from time to time be killed and eaten by lawless and unprincipled persons seems abso- lutely certain, and the great danger is that they will be killed more rapidly than they breed. The Mule Deer, or Rocky Mountain "Black- Tail,"' is a large and handsome animal, and the largest of the North American species that are universally known as " deer." It is easily recognized by its very large ears, the two Y 's on each antler, a short, white tail with a small tip of black, and a white patch around the base of the tail. Its antlers are much larger than those of the white-tailed deer. Owing to their size and width, and their more erect poise on the head, the appearance of this animal is more stately than that of any other round-horned American deer, save the elk. ' 0-do-coi'le-us hem-i-o'nus. In the region it inhabits, this fine animal is known as the "Black-Tailed" Deer; but that name is not appropriate to a creature which has a snow-white tail with only a tiny tip of black. It rightfully belongs to the Pacific coast species, which has a black tail, and is known by no other name than Columbian Black-Tail. To avoid further confusion and misunderstandings, stu- dents are urged to speak of the Rocky Mountain species as the Mule Deer. The winter color of the Mule Deer is a steel gray, to match the gray rocks and vegetation amongst which it lives. Its summer coat is gray- brown, and it is shed in September. The Mule Deer chooses for its home the most picturesque " bad-lands " and foot-hills of the Rocky Mountain region, and the deep ravines along rivers, but it also ascends the mountain plateaus of its home to an elevation of 12,000 feet. It is a proud-spirited, high-headed ani- mal, a bold traveller, and like the mountain sheep, is often found where the scenery is wild and picturesque. In this respect it differs from the white-tailed deer, which prefers low ground, and either brush or timber in which to hide. A large Mule Deer buck, shot by the author on Snow Creek, Montana, measured 42 inches high at the shoulders, and 62 + 6 inches in length. A large pair of antlers (in the author's collection) have a beam length of 27^ inches, spread 29 inches, and have 14 points. In the United States, the present scarcity of really large antlers in the possession of taxider- mists is a sure sign of the approaching end of this species. In February, 1903, Mr. A. G. WaUihan, the famous photographer of wild animals in their haunts, made the following prediction regarding the impending extermination of the Mule Deer in Colorado, its centre of abundance in the United States : "Unless we have a close season on deer, five years will see the finish of these animals. -Five years would give them a good start again. I wil,l cite you some figures : In 1897 I was on the big trail here for nine days, and I counted within a few of a thousand deer. In 1901 I was on the same trail for eighteen days, and counted two hundred and twenty-eight deer. In 1902 I was out fourteen days, and counted fifty-two deer. More deer passed in a single twenty-four hours in THE MULE DEER 127 1892-3-4-5 and 6 than passed during the whole month of October, 1902. "There are a lot of deer, it is true, on the north slope of the divide at Pagoda and Sleepy Cat mountains, and eastward in the Williams Fork country; but they are practically the remnant. People here say, 'You can't enforce a close-sea- son law.'" (Outdoor Life Magsizme.) The Mule Deer reaches its largest and finest antler development in the Rocky Mountains, from Colorado to southern British Columbia. The few widely-scattered survivors of this species are found to-day in central Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico ; western Colorado and Wyoming, south- eastern Idaho, central Montana, and eastern British Columbia. One fact which militates most strongly against the perpetuation' of this species is that states and provinces sufficiently wild and unsettled to afford it a home are finan- cially unable to maintain the large force of sala- ■ ried game-wardens which alone could really pro- tect it from final annihilation. Ki3llefi, Photo. Copyright, 1900, N. Y. Zoological Society. MULE DEEH WITH ANTLERS IN THE VELVET. This species ranges as far east as western Da- kota, and westward to the Blue Mountains of Oregon. Formerly it was most numerous in Routt County, Colorado, where about forty-five hundred were slaughtered as late as the winter of 1900. Unfortunately, on account of its pref- erence for open country, its ultimate extinction in the United States is only a cjuestion of about ten years; for everywhere, .save in the Yellow- stone Park, it is being destroyed very much faster than it breeds. The Mule Deer nearly always produces two fawns at a birth, and sometimes three. In feed- ing it is much given to browsing on twigs and foliage, but it also grazes freely when good grass is available. In the Snow Creek country of central Montana I found that its October bill of fare consisted almost solel}' of the long-leaved mugwort (Artemisia tomentosa), a species of very pungent and spicy sage, which was eaten greedily to the complete exclusion of the finest grasses I ever saw in the West. In running, this deer often progresses by a series of stiff-legged leaps, in which it touches the ground lightly with its hoofs, bounds upward as if propelled by steel springs, and flies forward for an astonishing distance. In Manitoba and a few other localities this remarkable gait has caused this animal to be called the Jumping Deer. Owing to the fact that it fives in a dry climate and rarefied atmosphere, and subsists on very dry foods, it is difficult to acclimatize it anywhere outside of its own home. East of the Mississippi most Mule Deer die of gastro-enteritis, but in the Hon. William C. Whitney's great park on October Mountain, near Lenox, Mass., this species has actually become acclimatized. The Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, ^ of the Pacific Coast, is smaller than the typical white- tailed deer, and ^'ery much smaller than the mule deer. The outer surface of its tail is black all over, and constitutes the best distinguishing character of the species. The antlers are very variable. Occasionally those of old bucks ex- hibit the double Y on each beam which is so character'stic of the mule deer; but in most ca.ses. the double bifurcation is wanting, and the antlers look very much like those of the white- tailed deer. In its body colors it resembles the latter species more closely than the mule deer. This species inhabits the well-watered and densely-shaded coniferous forests of the Pacific coa-st from the north end of Vancouver Island to central California. It feeds freely upon ever- green foliage, and I have seen a captive animal, in its native forest in the great natural park at Vancouver, partake freely of the foliage of spruce, Douglass fir and juniper, in rapid succession. Because of some diatetic peculiarity as yet un- ' O-do-coW e-us co-tum-bi-an'us. 128 ORDEKS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS known, the Columbian Black-Tailed Deer can- not live on the Atlantic coast. After persistent eiforts, with at least fifteen specimens drawn from Orcfton, Washington and British Columbia, and the loss of all through gastro-enteritis, the New York Zoological Society has abandoned its attempt to transj^lant the species. In Alaska, this species dwindles still lower, into the Sitka Deer,' in stature and antlers it freely risks its life in the thin fringes of cotton- wood timber, f(uaking-asp and willow brussh that border the banks of small rivers and large creeks. Unlike the elk and mule deer, the White-Tail is a great skulker. When hiding, it crouches and carries its head low, and by chnging persistently to the friendly cover of brush or timber, saves itself under circumstances that would be fatal to any high-headed, o})en-ground species. Paintfil li\' Caul ItijNGlus WHITE-TAILEU DEEli. even smaller than the Florida white-tail. It is very abvuidant on Admiralty Island, but as late as IIIOI was Ijeing slaughtered in great numbers. The Virginia Deer, or White-Tailed Deer,- was the first member of the Deer Family met Ijy the early settlers of America when they went hunting along the Atlantic coast. It will also bo the last of the large hoofed animals of North America to become extinct. It is a forest animal, but in many portions of the Great Plains region ' O-do-coil'c'-vs sit-ken'sis. ' Oducoilens vir-gin-i-an'us. The A\'hite-Tailed Deer derives its name from its \-cry long, bushy, wedge-shaped tail, which is snowy-white underneath, and also on the edges. When alarmed and running away, this white brush is held stiffly aloft, and with every stride of the bearer, it sways from side to side, in a start- ling and highly conspicuous manner. While the peculiar mixed gray color of the jjelage makes it difficult to see this animal in brushy surround- ings, the moment the creature starts to run, its white flag waves as if purposely inviting bullets, and in total defiance of all the laws of " protective THE WHITE-TAILED DEER 139 coloration" amongst animals. Indeed, so very flag-like is this oreatm-e's waving tail that in the West many hunters call it the Flag-Tailed Deer. There are two points in which this deer differs from all others, and by which it can easily be recognized. 1. Its antlers rise a short distance from the forehead, then suddenly drop forward, witli the beam almost horizontal, and from the beam three long, sharp tines rise perpendicularly. The ant- lers of nearly all other deer point backward as they rise. 2. The tail is very long, pointed at the end, bushy near the body, and white underneath, as described above. The White-Tailed Deer is the best known of all our hoofed animals except the buffalo, be- cause it is the one most widely distributed, and has been longest known. Generally speaking, it is a United States species, for it inhabits at least a portion of every state and territory sa^'e Delaware, Oregon, Nevada, California and Ari- zona. To-day it is most abundant in the Adiron- dacks, Maine, Vermont, northern Minnesota and Michigan. Closely related forms of White-Tailed Deer are fairly abundant in Florida, on the Lower Rio Grande, and in northeastern Wasliington. As might naturally be expected, this wide dis- tribution, throughout such a diversity of country and variety of available food, has produced such variations in size that several subspecies have been described. Of the latter, the most impor- tant is the dwarf Arizona Wliite-Tailed Deer, extending from southern Arizona southeastward into Mexico to Latitude 25^. This animal, like the Florida White-Tailed Deer, seems to be nothing more than a diminutive race of the more robust northern type, with very small antlers, and the short, scanty pelage which is necessary to the comfort of deer iti the tropics. In such forests as those which cover the Adi- rondack Mountains of northern New York, where small lakes are numerous, there are three methods of hunting deer. Hounding deer consists in beating through the forest surrounding a body of water, with a pack of hounds, and chasing the deer until they leap into the water, where they are shot at very short range by men in boats or posted on the shore. It is no credit to anyone, save an invalid or a cripple, to kill a deer in this manner, any more than to kill a buck out of season, whose antlers are in the velvet. Any person, no matter how stupid, can be paddled up to a swimming deer and permitted to blow its head to pieces at short range. Pot-hunters have even been known to catch swimming deer, and cut their throats. In forests like the Adirondacks, frequented by TAILS OF AMERICAN DEER. 1. Columbian Black-Tail. 2. Mule Deer. 3. Wliite-Tailed, or Virginia Deer. (Small specimen.) a great many people, hounding deer never should be permitted; and in the wilderness mentioned it IS now prohibited by law. In the West Vir- ginia mountains, the hunters are posted on the runways of the deer, and are obliged to kill them on the run. This requires good judgment and excellent marksmanship, and is legitimate sport. Jacking or fire-lighting is a very picturesque and romantic method of hunting deer, but inas- much as it gives the game no chance, and calls for very little skill or exertion on the part of the hunter, it is by some considered unsportsman- Uke. In the prosecution of this plan the hunter requires a canoe, a skilful paddler, and a good light. With a flaring jack-light held aloft in the bow, the paddler, or guide, sits in the stern of the boat, and noiselessly paddles it through the dark- ness, around the shores of lake or river. The hunter sits under the light, and waits for its beams to emblazon the eyeballs of deer standing 130 ORDEES OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS on the shore, or feeding in shallow water. Often the boat approaches so near a wonder-struck deer that to miss it is almost impossible. Still-hunting is the true sportsman's method of outwitting; deer which for keenness of eye, ear and nose, have, I believe, no superior in the Photo, and copyright, 1902, by W. L. UNDEii\V(jOL>. YOUNG WHITE-T.ULEn DEER. Showing the conspicuous ajipcarance of the tail when held erect. whole Family. One fine old White-Tailed buck killed by fair and square trailing and stalking is ec|ual to two mule deer or three elk. When first alarmed, the mule deer and elk are prone to halt from curiosity, and stare at the hunter for that fatal ten seconds which so often ends with a ringing "bang," and a fatal bullet. But not so the White-Tail. Tirne after time the trailing still-hunter, stealing forward ever so cautiously, sees ahead of him and far beyond fair rifle shot a sudden flash of white, a pillar of cloud swaying from side to side fjetween the tree- trunks, and the vanishing point of a scurrying White-Tail. This creature knows right well that as a discourager of cervine curiosity, nothing in the world equals a breech-loading rifle. When he hears behind him a rustle of dry leaves, or the snap of a twig, nothing else is so dear to him as space, judiciously distributed between himself and his pursuer. I have sometimes made so bold as to consider myself a fairly good deer- stalker; but I have still-hunted White-Tailed Deer in November, on dry leaves and without snow, when for days and days together I found it utterly impossible to come within fair rifle shot of a buck worth having. At such times, a light snow means a fair chance, and properly evens up the game. During the summer, while the antlers are in the velvet, the coat of this species is short, thin, and of a bright sandy color, often called "red." In Canada, the Virginia Deer is fre- cjuently called the "Red Deer " ; but this is a mischievous misnomer, for its use always sug- gests the red deer of Europe. The red coat is worn about three months, say from May 1 to August 1, and then it rapidly gives place to the beautiful mottled brown-gray suit, so long and thick that the owner looks like quite a different creature, and is fitted to withstand the severest winter weather. The White-Tailed Deer is one of the most persistent species of the entire Deer Family. Give it suitable ground and full protection, and there is no limit to its increase. On Long Island, where deer hunting is lawful on only four days of each year, the animals are increasing with sur- prising rapidity. In the northern portions of its range from Minnesota to the Adirondacks, where it attains its most perfect development, it is next in size to the mule deer, or Rocky Mountain "black- tail," and is really a fine animal. A large buck stands 3() inches high at the shoulders, is 53 inches in length of head and body, its tail is 7 inches long to the end of the vertebrae, and 5 inches more to the end of the hair. A fairly large pair of antlers from central Montana are 23J inches in length from burr to tip of beam, spread 18 inches, and have 13 jsoints. A heavy Maine buck is reported to have weighed, before being dressed, 278 pounds. Usually but one fawn is born each year, in May, which at birth is beautifully spotted, stands 15J inches high, and weighs 4i pounds. Let it not be supposed, however, that in the EEVENUE FEOM WILD GAME 131 South the White-Tailed Deer of the North nec- essarily becomes a small or inferior animal. A collection of more than one hundred pairs of antlers from Texas, recently inspected by the writer, contained a surprisingly high percentage of large and heavy specimens, fully equal in length, spread and weight to the best examples from Montana, Minnesota and Maine. Wild Game as a Source of Revenue. — AU persons who pay state taxes in states or terri- tories inhabited by "big game," and game fishes, will do well to bear in mind that under certain conditions wild animal life can be made an important and legitimate source of revenue. The United States Supreme Court has decided (Ward vs. Race Horse, 163 U. S. 507) that aU wild game on unoccupied lands is the prop- erty of the state, and that even the national government may not, either by treaty with Ind- ians, or in any other manner save actual seques- tration, convey any rights or privileges affecting it adversely. The states of New York and Maine long since discovered that their wild deer constituted val- uable state property, and both entered seriously upon the task of preserving them from the anni- hilation that everywhere follows swiftly upon the heels of non-protection. New York elected to preserve the great Adirondack wilderness as a free hunting-ground for her citizens. Maine, with perfectly proper thrift, decided that her game should not only pay the cost of its preser- vation, but also be made for her citizens a legiti- mate source of annual income. All guides must be licensed by the state, no visitor may hunt without a guide, and every non-resident hunter must procure a license, at a cost of $15. This permits the kiUing of one bull moose and two deer, but no caribou, nor female moose. As a result of the game and fish laws of Maine that state becomes every autumn a vast hunting-ground, visited by perhaps ten thousand sportsmen who desire to fish, or to procure deer or moose in their haunts. The army of recre- ationists annually expends within that state a total sum which is usually estimated at one mill- ion dollars, or more. And yet, the supply of deer is maintained so successfully that to-day there are in Maine a greater number of deer than anywhere else in the United States, unless it be in the Adirondacks. The records of the Maine railways show ac- curately the number of White-Tailed Deer trans- ported by them annually for hunters leaving the state, and afford a very fair index of the abun- dance of the species. The following are the figures for the last nine years: 1894 1,001 1895 1,581 1896 2,245 1897 2,940 1898 3,377 1899 3,379 1900 3,756 1901 3,882 1902 4,495 Total 26,656 Of course these figures do not take into ac- count the great number of deer that are killed and consumed in camp, or by residents of the state who five in or near the great hunting grounds. The whole number of deer in Maine is roughly estimated at 100,000, and the total number killed annually at between 15,000 and 20,000. The Flat-Homed Deer. The Caribou. — In general terms it may be stated that a caribou (pronounced car'ry-boo) is a wild deer-like animal, which bears a general REMARKABLE " FREAK " ANTLERS TAILED DEER. OF WHITE- Total number of points, 78. Owned by Albert Friedrich, San Antonio, Texas. 133 ORDEES OF MAMMALS— HOOPED ANIMALS resemblance to the domestic reindeer of Europe. Its antlers are long, branching, partly round and partly palmated. Considered as a whole, cari- bou occupy the upper half of the continent of North America, over which they are widely scat- tered above the 45th parallel of Latitude. Next to the musk-ox, the caribou is the most northerly of all hoofed animals. It is not only at home on the vast arctic waste above Great Slave Lake, known as the Barren Grounds, but it ranges on northeastward through Ellesmere Land, crosses to the west coast of Greenland, swings around the northern rim of that island, along the edge of the great ice cap, and -down the eastern coast, at least as far as Liverpool Bay, Latitude 70°. Doubtless it inhabits the whole poast of Greenland, wherever the naked ridges and valleys of the terminal moraines yield a supply of food: but there is no evidence that it wanders over the vast sheet of lifeless inland ice which covers the interior of Greenland. At all times, a caribou is an odd-looking creat- ure. Even a very brief inspection is sufficient to reveal the special provisions which Nature has made to enable it to brave the terrors of an arctic climate. The legs are thick and strong, and the hoof is expanded and flattened until it forms a very good snow-shoe. The caribou walks over snow-fields and quaking muskegs, when the moose sinks in and ploughs through them. Its pelage consists of a thick, closely-matted coat of fine, wool-like, hair, through which grows the coarse hair of the rain-coat. ' It is the warmest covering to be found on any hoofed animal ex- cept the musk-ox, or on any animal of the Deer Family. To the touch, the new coat of a cari- bou feels like a thick felt mat. The natural food of the caribou is moss and lichens, and in captivity very few survive many months without the former. The supply of moss for the caribou and reindeer of the New York Zoological Park comes from Maine, and costs in that state seventy-five cents per hundred pounds. A full-grown woodland caribou con- sumes about seven pounds daily. Although up to this date nine species of cari- bou have been described, there are but two well- defined groups, the woodland and Barren Ground. In each of these, several species have been described, but it must be admitted that so effectually do they run together it is not always an easy matter to distinguish them. In common with many members of the Deer Family, caribou are distinguished chiefly by their antlers. But even here, great difficulties are encountered. With their many tines and points, varying size and forms of palmation, their antlers are subject to thousands of varia- tions. As a result, no two pairs ever are found exactly alike. Between the very long, few- pointed and scarcely palmated antlers of the Greenland caribou, and the short, many-pointed and widely palmated antlers of the mountain caribou, every conceivable form may be found. If ten pairs of adult antlers of each so-called species were collected in its type locality, and the whole ninety mixed in one heap, the utmost that even an expert could hope to accomplish without a heavy percentage of error would be to separate the collection into two groups, one containing the four species of Barren Ground caribou, the other the five woodland species. It is useless to enter here into details regard- ing each of these nine tentative species. Without a very large collection of specimens, and prolonged study of them, it is impossible to define the boundaries between the various species that have been proposed. Let it suffice to present a brief outline of the two great groups into which all our caribou seem to be rationally divisible. The Woodland, Caribou Group. Roaming through the pine and spruce forests, and also the prairies of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, northern Maine, Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, are the caribou longest and best known to us. A typical specimen' living in the Zoological Park is a strong lusty animal, 48 inches high at the shoulders, weighing 280 pounds, and endowed with sufficient energy to vanquish the strongest man in about one minute. Its shoulders are high and sharp, its head is held low and thrust straight forward, and as it walks on hard ground its dew-claws and hoofs click like castanets. Its head is long and cow- like, and its muzzle is too large for beauty; but the large, liquid, dark brown eyes appeal suc- cessfully against all adverse decisions on ques- tions of beauty. ' Ran'gi-fer car'i-bou, from Maine. THE WOODLAXD CAEIBOU 133 When a caribou walks, its long stride and swinging gait proclaim a born traveller and mi- grant. And truh', the strangest of all caribou habits is tliat which impels these creatures, par- ticularly the Barren Ground species, to assem- ble in immense throngs, and for climatic reasons migrate en masse, for long distances. In the are short in the main beam, liberally palmated both on brow-tines and tips, and have more than thirty points. As a whole, the antlers have a tree- top appearance. 2. Antlers of Barren Ground carilsou, gen- erally, are long in the main beam, scantily palmated, especially on the tips, and have less than thirty E. F, Kellek. Photo. Reproduced from the Se\'eDth Annual Report of the N. Y. Zoological Society. WOODL.\N'D CARIBOU. Adult male tpecimeu in the Zoological Park. Height at Caribou as large as this the woodland species, however, this habit is not nearly so pronounced. Character of Antlers. — A comparison of many antlers of "Woodland caribou with tho.se of Barren Ground animals reveals one or two points of difference which seem sufficiently distinct to be accepted as constant. 1. Antlers of Woodland caribou, generally, shoulders, 48 inches, weight, 2S0 pounds. For a antlers arc small. points. As a whole, the antlers have an arm-chair appearance. If these distinctions between the two great groups of caribou will not hold good, none will. The Woodland Caribou of Maine, Ontario and Quebec {Rangifer caribou), is the original type of what recently has become a group of species. Its body color is bluish-brown and 134 OKDEES OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS gray, which color also suffuses the neck, head and hind-(iuarters. In October the new coat is of a dark color known as seal brown, quite differ- ent from the same pelage in spring. Originally the Newfoundland Caribou were referred to the species named above, but in 1S96 they were given rank as an independent species (R. terraenovae) chiefly on account of their very light color. They are the whitest of all caribou. In 1899, Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton described ANTLERS OP KENAI CARIBOU. From photograph of specimen t;iken on the Kcnai Peninsula in 190I-), by JlAitiiY E. Lee. the Black-Faced Caribou of southeastern British Columbia (Revelstoke) as Raiiijija- mon- ianus, or Mountain Caribou. The new Sep- tember coat is almost black. The antlers are short, but throw off a surprising array of long tines. In 1902 the large, dark-colored caribou of the Cassiar Mountains, in northern British Columbia, was described by Dr. J. A. Allen as Osborn's Caribou [Rungifer osbunii), the name bestowed being in honor of Professor Henry Fairfield Osborn, the distinguished zoologist of the Ameri- can Museum of Natural History. This species attains a shoulder height of 55 inches, and is said to be the largest of all caribou. In September its coat is so brown the animal has been described as a brown caribou. The Kenai Caribou of the Kenai Peninsula — but, in 1903 almost extinct in that locality — was described in 1901 as a distinct species, and christened Rangifer sionei. In September, 1903, the Secretary of Agriculture issued an order pro- hibiting for five years the killing of caribou on the Kenai and Alaska Peninsulas. Regarding the distribution and habits of cari- bou in the Canadian Northwest, !Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, who, while a member of the Canadian Geological Survey, travelled over a greater area of the range of that animal than any other observer known to me, has kindly furnished the very interesting facts quoted below. His letter is dated at Daw- son City, September 10, 1903. " Regarding the portions of the districts of Al- berta, Athabasca and Saskatchewan spoken of by you, I am reasonably certain that the Wood- land Caribou may be found in all the thickly wooded tracts. This deer is known to the Cree Indians of that country as the ' Muskeg- Atik,' or Swamp Deer, in recognition of the fact that it lives in the swamps and coniferous forests, and not on the plains, or on the country studded with groves of poplar. Now, much of Alberta, and a great part of Saskatchewan, is dry, open country, and into such country caribou rarely wander. "This dry, 'bluffy' country extends north- westward through the western part of .Athabasca, but throughout all the thickly wooded parts of Athabasca I have no hesitation in saying that Woodland Caribou are not uncommon. They certainly occur along the Churchill River, and I think that their tracks were common along the banks of the Athabasca River, though I cannot definitely remember this, and I have not my note-ljooks here to help me. " The Indians told me that the Woodland Cari- bou of the Churchill River and vicinity move northward, and the Barren-Ground Caribou southward in autumn, and that both winter in the same region, in a country where the trees are festooned by a long, black, hair-like lichen {Alec- toria juhata?). However, I believe that the WOODLAND CAKIBOU 135 Woodland Caribou are not numerous anywhere in the Canadian Northwest Territories, for in all my travels for the Geological Survey of Canada, extending over the period from 1S83 to 1898, I did not see a dozen of those animals, though on hundreds of different occasions I saw their great wide-spreading tracks. The only one I ever shot was feeding on a rocky hill, beside a stream that flows into the east side of Lake Winnipeg; and his head is now hanging in the Museum of the Cieological Survey, in Ottawa. "The smaller species of Caribou hves on the Barren Grounds during the summer. On the approach of winter most of the animals migrate est and value. To many Indian tribes, such as the Dog-Ribs and Yellow Knives, and to many of the Eskimo tribes also, it has been an important source of subsistence, both in food and clothing. It is so peculiarly a creature of treeless and in- hospitable regions, and is so independent of the conditions which are essential to the existence of all round-horned members of the Deer Family, that its desolate home has been inseparably con- nected with its popular name. Species may come, and species may go, but we hope that the brave and hardy Barren Ground Caribou will go on forever. It is natural that in any animal species which ^ w-. :' ,:%. p -4 ^- ^ ''^ £ ^ H9Kr3& ANTLERS OF GREENLAND CAKIBOU {R. groenlandicus) . Showing the form characteristic of tlie Barren Ground Caribou group. Specimen from the northwest coast of Greenland, in autlior's collection. southward to the edge of the forest, though some remain throughout the winter on the open barrens. "Twice, in 1893 and 1894, 1 met what is known as 'the herd,' on its way southward, once on a good feeding ground, where hundreds of thou- sands were collected together, and again on a rough, rocky tract where the individual bands rarely exceeded a few hundred in number, and all were on the run." Barren Ground Caribou Group. Throughout a vast and very hungry sweep of northlands, the Barren Ground Caribou' long has been, and still is, an animal of leading inter- ' Ran'gi-fer arc'ti-cus. ranges from the east coast of Greenland to the west coast of Alaska (3,500 miles in an air line), and from Grant Land to the Churchill River (1,800 miles), some variations in form, color and horn architecture should occur. Indeed, in a range so immense, it could scarcely be otherwise. While it is probable that some of these variations justify the creation of specific divisions, we are at present less concerned with these details than with a consideration of the group as a whole. Moreover, it may be said with entire truth that naturalists have but recently begun to study the caribou of America ; and until far more material has been gathered, it is impossible to set forth the true status and life history of this genus. The characters which serve to distinguish 136 ORDEES OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS Barren Ground Caribou from the woodland groups have already been pointed out, — smaller size, antlers that are longer in the main beam, less palmated and with fewer points. The fol- lowing forms have been described as independent species of this group; but whether all of them are entitled to specific rank remains to be seen. Bahren Ground Caribou Species. Greenland Caribou, Rangifer groen-land'i-cits, Greenland Coast. Barren Ground Caribou, Rangifer arc'ti-cus, Canadian Barren Grounds. Grant's Caribou, Rangifer granti, Alaska Pen- insula. Peary's Caribou, Rangifer pearyi, EUesmere Land. In view of the tens of thousands of Barren Ground Caribou that have been seen by white men, and the thousands that have been killed by and for them, the scarcity of definite obser- vations upon this group, and of preserved speci- mens is, as a whole, very unsatisfactory. At present, therefore, the many undetermined questions regarding the component parts of the group render it impossible to do much more than to define the assemblage as a whole. In general terms it may be said that the aver- age Barren Ground Caribou is a close under-study of the average reindeer of Siberia and Lapland, and also a smaller animal. That all our caribou have descended from the reindeer of Asia, and came to us by crossing Bering Strait on the ice, seems more than probable. In surveyor's parlance, the head of Cook Inlet is the "point of departure'' of the woodland caribou from the reindeer — Barren Ground type. It would be difficult to find on land a clearer or sharper line of cleavage between two groups of animals than that between Rangifer granti of the Alaska Peninsula, and Rangifer stonei of the Kenai Peninsula. One moment's examina- tion of the types is sufficient to place those species in their respective groups. The antlers of the Kenai caribou are massive, with many long tines on the terminal half of the main beam. They have 36 points, and a tree-top effect when seen from the front. Grant's caribou, however, has a long and naked main beam running up to a terminal bunch of short tines, a wide-open, arm- chair appearance, and only twenty-seven points, all strongly characteristic of the Barren Ground type. The superior size of the Kenai caribou is confirmatory of the testimony of the antlers of both. Geographic Range. — The centre of abun- dance of the Barren Ground Caribou group is midway between the eastern end of Great Slave Lake and the southeastern extremity of Great Bear Lake. This, however, is not the geographic centre of its distribution. The great semi-annual migration is about on a line that might be drawn between Capo Bathurst and the eastern extremity of Great Slave Lake, and undoubtedly the great mass of caribou on the mainland east of the Mackenzie assemble along that route. Another line of migration, also from north- west to southeast, passes eastward of Dawson City, and sufficiently near it that great numbers of caribou carcasses have been sledded in to the meat markets of that city. In 1901 a search of those markets revealed 6,225 pounds of moose and caribou meat on hand at one time. Along the arctic coast between Point Barrow and the mouth of the Mackenzie, tens of thousands of caribou have been killed by natives, and sold to whaling ships wintering along that coast. As a natural consequence, the herds have nearly disappeared from that locality. Up to the time that Alaska was purchased by the United States, the natives had few firearms, or none at all, and caribou were abundant. Along the west coast, caribou once were so nu- merous that a cannon from the fort at St. Michael was fired at a herd that passed within half a mile of the settlement. As usual, we immediately supplied the natives with firearms and ammu- nition; and as a first result, the only caribou now remaining in western Alaska are the few stragglers that the hunters have not yet over- taken. A few herds of Grant's caribou still inhabit the treeless wastes of the Alaskan Pen- insula, but on the Kenai Peninsula, the cari- bou is now believed to be almost extinct. In 1903 it was estimated that only thirty individuals remained alive. The great herd seen by Mr. Tyrrell at Carey Lake, west of Hudson Bay, will be mentioned in detail later on. On the Labrador Peninsula, there are said to be three distinct herds, on Hud- son Straits, Ungava Bay, and the Atlantic coast BAKKEN GKOUND CARIBOU 137 down to Hamilton Inlet. From EUesmere Land, five skins of- a white animal with a gray back have been described as Peary's Caribou,' and from at least four points in EUesmere Land, Cari- bou have been reported. Along the northwest coast of Greenland, es- pecially between Melville Bay and Kane Basin, Commander Peary found a fair abundance of caribou, and at Liverpool Bay, on the east coast, a number were killed by a Danish expedition, in 1900. Habits. — One of the habits of the Barren Ground Caribou is particularly striking. At stated periods, in spring and autumn, they as- semble in immense herds, and migrate en masse with the compactness and definiteness of purpose of an army of cavalry on a march. This is most noticeable on the Canadian Barren Grounds, which by reason of its summer pasturage and the absence of water barriers, encourages the display of natural instinct. The observations of several travellers north of the Great Slave Lake have resulted in the belief that "in spring the Barren Ground Caribou seek the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and remain near the salt water until about September." But this idea is much too circum- scribed. The explorations of Mr. J. B. Tyrrell, of the Canadian Geological Survey, have proved con- clusively that the universal herd of the Great Slave Lake region does exactly as did the uni- versal buffalo herd of 1871. It moves north- ward in spring for a given distance only, stops at will, spends the summer, and in the early winter moves southward. On July 30, 1893, Mr. Tyrrell saw a vast assemblage of Barren Ground Caribou at Carey Lake (Latitude 62° 10' and Longitude 102° 45'), nearly 500 miles from the Arctic coast. A herd of several thousand ani- mals was composed of females with young fawns, young females and males of all ages, the lofty antlers of the latter being noticeably prominent. This herd was then only sixty miles north of the southern edge of the Barren Grounds. The most impressive published description of a caribou migration is from the pen of Mr. War- burton Pike. It is a relation of what he saw on Lake Camsell, sixty miles north of the eastern end of Great Slave Lake, in 1889, and refers to the southward movement to the timbered regions, ' Rangifer pearyi. where the lichens growing upon the trees afford subsistence in winter when the ground mosses are buried under snow and ice. " From what I could gather from the Yellow- Knife Indians," says Mr. Pike in "The Barren Grounds of Northern Canada," "and from my own personal experience, it is late in October that the great bands of Caribou, commonly known as La foule, mass upon the edge of the woods, and start for the food and shelter afforded by the stronger growth of pine farther south- ward. "Scattered bands of Caribou were almost always in sight from the top of the ridge behind the camps, and increased in numbers till the morning of October 20, when httle Baptiste, who had gone for firewood, woke us before daylight with the cry, 'La foule ! La foule !' (The throng.) Even in the lodge we could hear the curious clat- ter made by a band of travelling Caribou. La foule had really come, and during its passage of six days, I was able to reaUze what an extra- ordinary number of these animals stiU roam the Barren Grounds. "From the ridge we had a splendid view of the migration. All the south side of Mackay Lake was alive with the moving beasts, while the ice seemed to be dotted all over with black islands, and still away on the north shore, with the aid of the glasses, we could see them coming like regiments on the march. In every direction we could hear the grunting noise that the Cari- bou always makes when travelling. " The snow was broken into broad roads, and I found it useless to try to estimate the number that passed within a few miles of our encamp- ment. We were just in the western edge of their passage, and afterward we heard that a band of Dog-Ribs, hunting some forty miles to the west, were at this very time in the last straits of starva- tion, only saving their lives by a hasty retreat to the woods. This is a common danger in the autumn, as the Caribou, coming in from the Barren Grounds, join together in one vast herd, and do not scatter much till they reach the thick timber. "The Caribou, as is usually the case when they are in large numbers, were very tame, and on several occasions I found myself right in the middle of a band, with a splendid chance to pick out any that seemed in good condition. . . 138 OKDEKS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS Notwithstanding all the tall stories that are told of their numbers [the buffaloes], I cannot be- lieve that the herds on the prairie ever- surpassed in size La foule of the Caribou." Size and Antlers. — At present the size of the Barren Ground Caribou appears to be a matter of opinion rather than of observation and record. In the hope that some one will come forward and disprove it, I venture to make the asser- tion that no one ever has weighed a whole, full- grown male specimen. We have a few figures of "dressed" weight, and various "abouts," but really useful facts are lacking. It is currently believed that the Barren Ground Caribou of northern Canada is about one-third lighter than the woodland species of Ontario and Quebec. If this be true, and we may judge by our own woodland bull, which unquestionably was a large one (48 inches high, weight, 261 pounds), then the male Barren Ground animal may be set down as weighing 174 pounds. For the Greenland caribou and Grant's caribou, this weight surely is too low; for the skulls and skins of both those species indicate a greater weight. On the Alaska Peninsula Mr. C. H. Townsend weighed a dressed specimen of Rangifer granti and estimated very carefully the weight of the viscera, with the conclusion that the live weight of the animal was 410 pounds. For their body size, Barren Ground Caribou have very large antlers. They sweep back so far, rise so high and spread so widely that they have the effect of magnifying the height and bulk of the wearer. As will be seen by the fol- lowing measurements, the antlers of the Barren Ground species are longer than those of the woodland, but with fewer points, and in most cases less palmation. In the series of plates of all species published by Mr. Madison Grant in his valuable paper on "The Caribou" (Report of the New York Zoological Society, 1902), one of the most striking differences between the two groups is the tree-top appearance of all woodland ant- lers, and the open, arm-chair effect of the Barren Ground types. The Reindeer in Alaska. — In 1887 Mr. Charles H. Townsend advised the government' that it would be a very beneficial and humane proceeding toward the Eskimo tribes of western Alaska to import a large number of domestic Reindeer from Siberia, and teach the natives how to care for and use them. Through the heroic efforts of Dr. Sheldon Jackson, General Agent of Education in Alaska, this advice was promptly followed under the auspices of the Bureau of Education; but the first fund of $2,000 came from private sources, and was expended in 1892-3. The initial Congressional appropria- tion, of $6,000, was expended in 1894, but since ' The Cruise of the Corwin in 1885, p. 88. Greenland Car- ibou . . . Barren Ground Caribou . . Barren Ground Caribou . . Grant's Car- ibou . . . Newfoundland Caribou . . Woodland Car- ibou . . . Mountain Car- ibou . . . Osborn's Car- ibou . . . Kbnai Caribou. MEASUREMENTS OF LARGE ANTLERS. All measurements in inches. LENGTH WIDEST OP MAIN POINTS. „„.,, SPREAD. BEAM. R. groenlandicus, W. Greenland, . . 52 41 J R. ardicus, . . N. Labrador, . . 60 34 R. ardicus, . . Circle City, Alaska, 54J 36 R. granti, . . . Alaska Peninsula, 33|^ 35^ ill. terraenovae, . Newfoundland, . 41 36 R. caribou, . . Northern Canada, 35J 21 R. montanus, . S. Brit. Columbia, 35 21 21 Author's collection. 18 National Museum.^ 16 G. R. Anchors. 27 American Museum.' 36 Madison Grant. 30 Robert Gilfort. 31 43 Daniel Carter Beard. 56 Harry E. Lee. ' From " The Caribou," by Madison Grant. Report of the New York Zoological Society, 1902. R. oshorni, R. stonei, . N. Brit. Columbia, 44i Kenai Peninsula, 45i 384 344 THE MOOSE 139 1899, the amount granted annually has been $25,000. From 1892 to 1902, 1,580 Reindeer were im- ported from Siberia and 144 from Lapland, from which 6,116 fawns have been born in Alaska. Dr. Jackson states that "the animals born in Alaska are developing into larger and stronger animals than their parents." Of the whole number of Reindeer, 2,692 have been sold, butch- ered or lost by death. On May 1, 1903, the total number remaining alive in Alaska was 5,148. The number of fawns born in 1902 was 1,654. The Reindeer experiment has been wisely con- ducted, on good business principles, and is an unqualified success. There are nine Reindeer stations, extending from Point Barrow, on the Arctic Ocean, to Eton Station, near St. Michael, on Norton Sound. The Laplanders who were taken to Alaska to educate the natives in the care and use of Reindeer, have done their work conscientiously, and the Eskimo have eagerly embraced the opportunity to acquire a domestic animal, good for use and for food, to take the place of the vanished walrus and Barren Ground caribou. On the whole, the systematic introduction of Reindeer along the northwest coast of Alaska — now almost barren of wild life fit for human food — is one of the most humane and sensible meas- ures ever undertaken for the children of the cold. If this industry is further fostered, and diligently pursued, its ultimate value in the promotion of the moral and material welfare of the Eskimo is beyond calculation. The multiplication of the herds in the hands of private owners means a great increase in the animal food supply, less dependence upon the foods of civilization, a greater measure of general prosperity and con- tentment, and in the end, far less expense to the government in the form of annual maintenance for starving natives. The Moose' is the largest animal of the Deer Family, living or extinct. Even the Irish elk, with antlers which, in at least one specimen, spread 9 feet 3 inches, was a smaller animal. It is a satisfaction to know that the most colossal deer that ever trod the earth is alive to-day, and an inhabitant of our continent. ' A I'ces americanus. Called in Europe, the " Elk " ; and our Elk is there called the "Wap'i-ti." See Frontispiece. It is not, however, an easy matter to convey a truthful and adequate impression of this antlered giant of the north. The young specimens occa- sionally seen for a brief season in zoological parks and gardens are scarcely rnore than suggestions of the adult animal. The mounted groups in our large museums do indeed- represent its full size ; but to be fully appreciated, the Moose must be seen alive, adult, full of strength and purpose, striding like a four-legged colossus through the evergreen forests of Canada or Alaska, or swing- ing away at incredible speed from the dangers of the chase. Imagine, if you can, an antlered animal stand- ing between six and seven feet high at the shoul- ders, its legs quite four feet long, its neck and body govered with a heavy thatch of coarse, pur- plish-gray hair from three to six inches long, and its huge head crowned with massive antlers spreading from five to six feet in width. Its head is among the lower branches of the forest, and its long legs stride with indifferent ease over fallen tree-trunk's which to the hunter are barriers to be climbed over, slowly and labo- riously. The Moose can instantly be recognized by its broad, square-ended, overhanging nose, large ears, high hump on the shoulders, and long, coarse, smoky-gray hair. The adult male is further distinguished by antlers that are enor- mously flattened and expanded, in a form pop- ularly known as "palmation." The Moose is not a grazing animal, like the elk, and most other members of the Deer Family. It lives by "browsing," or eating the bark, twigs and leaves of certain trees, and also moss and lichens. It is strictly a forest animal, and is never found on open, treeless plains. It is very fond of still water, and is much given to frequenting the small lakes and ponds which abound in some portions of its home. It is as fond of wading in shallow water as a boy, and is a ready and powerful swimmer. It loves to feed - upon lily pads and stems, and. moose hunters have assured me that it even seeks the bulbs growing in the muddy bottom. Except in Alaska, the majority of Moose killed by hunters are shot from ambush beside ponds, or from canoes. Frequently, Moose that are surprised when wading and feeding in shallow water, make the mistake of rushing into deep water, to escape 140 OEDEKS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED ANIMALS by swimming, when they are easily overtaken, and either killed, captured, or photographed. In the autumn months, the northeastern Moose hunter sometimes makes a horn of birch bark, at nightfall conceals himself beside a pond, and imitates the call of the cow Moose until a bull is actually attracted within shooting distance. The cry of this animal is a prolonged, resonant bawl, ending in three or four hoarse grunts. The accompanying map shows that the Moose is yet found in northern Maine, New Brunswick, Canada, Manitoba, northern Minnesota, north- western Wyoming, Idaho, British Columbia, Alberta, Athabasca, Yukon and Alaska. It shows only localities known to have been in- habited in 1902. In none of these, however, are Moose so abundant as in Alaska, around Cook Inlet. The southern limit of the Moose in North America is the head of Green River, Wyoming, Latitude 43°, Longitude 110° W., corresponding to the latitude of Albany, New York. Below Alaska, the favorite hunting-grounds for Moose are Maine, New Brunswick, the upper Ottawa River country of Canada, and north- western Manitoba. In view of the great number of hunters — estimated at ten thousand — who annually hunt and fish in Maine, of whom a large proportion hold licenses that permit the killing of one bull, the persistence of the Moose in Maine is really wonderful. During the past nine years the . number of Moose transported by the rail- ways of Maine have been as follows: 1894 45 1895 112 1896 133 1897 139 1898 202 1899 166 1900 210 1901 259 1902 244 Total 1,510 In all probability, fifteen hundred more were killed and consumed within the state, and not accounted for in any permanent records. The young of the Moose — always spoken of as a "calf," its mother being called a "cow"— is born in May, and at first is a very grotesque- looking creature. Its enormously long, loose- jointed legs are attached to an abnormally short and diminutive body. The neck is so short the creature cannot put its nose to the ground with- out kneeling. Its hair is woolly and brick red, or "sandy," like that of a buffalo caK. A Moose calf which I once owned, and meas- ured when seven weeks old, had the following dimensions : Height at shoulders 37 inches. " hips 31 " Length of head and body 42 " Depth of chest. . .' 11 " Length of foreleg to elbow 26 " Weight 79 pounds. At one year of age, if not stunted in growth, a Moose stands from 4 feet 9 inches to 5 feet in height at the shoulders, where it has developed a lofty hump. On August 14, 1901, the largest of six Moose in the New York Zoological Park, each one about fifteen months old, measured as follows : Height, 5 feet 3 inches; length, head and body, 5 feet 9 inches. Length of tail, 3^^ inches; depth of chest, 2 feet 2 inches. Horns, 4 inches long; weight, 330 pounds. Any Moose which stands 6 feet 6 inches in height at the shoulders may be considered a very large one, a prize, in fact. The largest Moose of which I have a reliable Djecord, was killed in New Brunswick, in 1901, by Carl Rungius, the justly- celebrated animal painter, and carefully meas- ured by him with the following result : Height of shoulders, 7 feet, exactly. Length of head and body, 9 feet 7 inches. Girth, 8 feet. Length of head alone, 2 feet 9 inches. Antlers small for so large an animal. The largest antlers recorded up to this date (1903) came from the Kenai Peninsula, are now in the Field Columbian Museum, and have the following dimensions : Spread at widest point, 78^ inches. Greatest width of palmation, 16 inches. Circumference of burr, 15 inches. Greatest thickness of palmation, 2J inches. Length of skull, 28f inches. Total number of points, 34. Weight of antlers and dry skull, 93J pounds. From the above figures, one can imagine the strength necessary to enable an animal to carry such an unwieldy load upon its head, and run at great speed for long distances over the roughest kind of timbered country. THE MOOSE 141 Regarding the weight of adult Moose, very few exact observations have been recorded, or oth- erwise made available. A large Maine Moose killed by W. L. Miller of Bangor, weighed 1,123 pounds. A dressed carcass weighed by S. L. Crosby showed a weight of 1,009 pounds. (Rec- reation Magazine, IV, p. 89.) By the time a Moose calf is a year old, it has taken on the colors of adult life, which consist of a mixture of blackish-brown on the head, neck and body, and yellowish-gray on the legs and under parts. The hair and mane is long, coarse sense than any other species of deer with which I am acquainted. Owing to the pecuHar nature of the digestive organs of this animal, it cannot live long upon ordinary grass or hay, even when supplemented with the best tree-branches that its own native forests can supply. It is my behef that vigorous daily exercise is vitally necessary to the proper digestion and assimilation of their food. In captivity, even when fed on fresh green browse of the choicest variety, which they eat with relish, they usually die of gastro-enteritis, or inflamma- DISTRIBUTION OF THE MOOSE IN NORTH .4.MERICA, IN 1903. and stiff, and lies more like a thatch of straw than genuine hair. On the neck and shoulders it is six inches long. Under the throat hangs a long, ornamental strip of hair-covered skin, four inches long, called a "bell." In the adult male animal this bell is sometimes a foot in length. The female Moose has no antlers, but in bulk she almost equals the proportions of the male. Out of every thousand females, only one has a "bell." In captivity the Moose is naturally a docile animal, not foolishly nervous like most deer, but steady, confiding and affectionate. Moose are easily handled, and trained to drive in harness, and in contact with man manifest more common- tion of the stomach and intestines. Green grass is fatal to them, and when fed on grain, hay and vegetables they soon become emaciated and die. Thus far the best results achieved in the main- tenance of captive Moose on public exhibition have been in the Cincinnati Zoological Garden, where Superintendent S. A. Stephan has suc- ceeded in keeping a pair for about five years. In great forest preserves, such as Blue Mountain Park, in New Hampshire, Moose do live, thrive and increase. In a wild state. Moose browse upon many kinds of trees, but particularly upon birch, hem- lock, spruce, alder, aspen, willow and maple. They reach the tender tops of tree saphngs by 14i ORDERS OF MAMMALS— HOOFED AXIMALS walking astride of them, and "riding them down," and in the manipulation of small branches, the use of the overhanging and prehensile nose is strikingly apparent. With their strong lower front teeth, used chisel-fashion, they gouge the bark off large branches, and feed upon it. In grazing on grass, or feeding upon ground mosses, a Moose must kneel in order to reach them. During the deep snows of winter, Moose herd together in sheltered spots in tlie forest; and Copyright by Dall DeWeese. ANTLBHS OF AN ALASK.A.N MOOSE. Spread, fiS inches. From an animal l