UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOUNDED 1836 WASHINGTON, D. C. GPO 16—67244-1 AMlElHIM^f Engraved, ty FJCeama/ IL C. CAKEY *;LLKA, ClIKSTNUT STRKET. ^As. ✓^ *&&/' c y^^^^-T , AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY. VOLUME II. PART I.—MASTOLOGY. )'t\. ■ BY JOHN D. GODMAN, M.D. PITOFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORT IN THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE OF PENN- SYLVANIA; ONE OF THE PROFESSORS OF THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM; MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; OF THE PHILADEL- PHIA ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES, &C. PHILADELPHIA: H. C. CAREY & 1. LEA—CHESTNUT-STREET B. WRIGHT, PRINTER. 1826. ■^ -an Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to wit: .....,t, BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the third day of July, JTfPi, £$! in the fiftieth year of the Independence of the United tS^1.??: States of America, A. D. 1826, Robert Wright, of the said district, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit: " American Natural History. Volume II. Part I. Mastology. By John D. Godman, M. D. professor of Natural History in the Franklin Insti- tute of Pennsylvania; one of the Professors of the Philadelphia Mu- seum; Member of the American Philosophical Society, of the Phila- delphia Academy of Natural Sciences, &c. In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, inti- tuled, " An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned"—And also to the Act entitled, An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled, An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints." D. CALDWELL, Clerk of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. Family V.—Marsupialia; Pouched or Marsupial Animals. The beings at present considered as members of this family, offer so many peculiarities and striking differences in their construction and economy, as in strictness to constitute a distinct order of animals; or if not, the remarkable differences which exist be- tween the species in relation to their teeth, organs of digestion, food and habits, fully justify the ar- rangement of them under different orders in our ex- isting classification. They are wonderfully unlike all other animals in relation to the production of their offspring, which are brought forth in a condition apparently imperfect or premature. The young, when they are first to be discovered in the external pouch, seem scarcely formed, are incapable of movement, ex- hibit but slight traces of limbs or other external organs, are found attached to the teats of the mo- ther, and are unable to resume their hold if it be broken. They remain thus attached until they acquire size and strength enough to move about 4 general history at will, and continue to take refuge in this curious retreat until they attain the size of a common rat, or are even larger. The pouch is formed by a process or elongation of the skin of the belly, and is sup- ported by two peculiar bones which arise from the pubis, and are sustained by the abdominal muscles. What is more singular, the males of these animals also have such bones, although they have no pouch, and similar bones are observed in both sexes of spe- cies which have little or nothing of the pouch itself.* Genus XIX. Opossum; Didelphis; L. Germ. Beutelthier. Fr. Sarigue. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is conical, with a pointed muzzle and lateral nostrils; rounded, nearly naked and delicate * « La matrice des animaux de cette famille n'est point ouverte par un seul orifice dans Ie fond du vaginj mais elle communique avec ce canal par deux tubes lateraux en forme d anse. 11 parait que la naissance prematura* des petite tient a cette organisation singuliere. Les males ont le scro- tum pendant en avant de la verge au contraire des autres quadruples. "—Cuvier; Regne An. i. 170. • We cannot avoid objecting in this place to the inaccuracy of ex- presaon occasionallyindulged in by the most celebrated men Ice the influence of their example under such circumstances, is T^uTus a! m oppose coupons it is beneficial. The. AW* of the yoZTZ premature .„ these animals, but takes place in a perfectly reeukr t^XuTltT' abC°rdingt0 ^^ ^ °r"* *"In- X'rlnS M^n mM* *™*™* when comP^ with animals. M. Desmarest gives as the most striking character- with their itnaifl. ^ 4 nvwn kr utotaov ( ///>././t///t . 'fa/f(\.J''f//tft/r Eiufrared In II:'J:'Tucker with their )hmiti t 9 - \ OF THE OPP0SSUM. 5 ears. The thickness of the body is great when com- pared with the length of the limbs. The digits on the anterior extremities are five in number, armed with hooked claws, and all lying parallel to each other. On the posterior extremities the internal digits are not in the same range with the rest, but are opposable, or constitute proper thumbs. They are rounded at the extremity, without nails, broad and fleshy. The soles of the posterior feet are pro- vided with large fleshy tubercles, which materially aid in grasping small objects. The females of this genus have a fold of the skin of the belly, so arranged as to form a raarsupium or pouch capable of receiv- ing the young after birth; the teats, eight in number on each side, are within this pouch, which is sup- ported by two bones of considerable length, articu- lated with the pubis and connected with the muscles of the belly. The males also have similar bones, but no pouch. Dental System. 10 Incisive f 6 False Molar o r 10 Incisive f 6 False 26 Upper 1 2 Canine ^ g Molar ^14 Molar. (. f 8 Incisive f < 2 Canine < ^14 Molar. [ 6 False Molar 24 Lower ^ 2 Canine j 8 Molar. In the upper jaw the incisors are situated at the extremity of a very elongated ellipsis. The istic of this family, " birth of the young premature," (" natssanee des petits prematuree") which is entirely at variance with fact and phi- losophy. An American translator of Desmarest has advanced still farther, and "capped the climax" of absurdity by rendering the words above quoted, " growth of the young premature.'" 6 GENERAL HISTORY, &C first is cylindrical, hooked and longer than the four following, which resemble each other and are tren- chant. To these succeed a very marked depression, and then the canine which is compressed, terminates in a point and is hooked, but with rounded edges. At its base there is a very small but normal false molar, to which succeeds a vacant space, and then two equally regular false molars, the last of which is a little larger than the preceding. The three first molars successively and gradually increase in size, and have the same forms. At first the inner base is elevated nearly as high as the prisms; these are merely distinguished by the points, which are only developed at the three angles presented by a section of them, the anterior being much smaller than the posterior; its anterior point is very small. Finally, the inner base is carried obliquely forward, in consequence of which there is left between each tooth on the inside of the jaw an angular vacuity, much larger than in the insectivorous animals, where this base is uni- formly developed. The last molar only differs from the others in being truncated at its posterior part, like all the last upper molars in animals of this or- der. In the lower jaw we find four incisors, ob- liquely inclined forwards, of a cylindrical form, and nearly equal in size. The canine, which are in no respect peculiar, follow; then come three false molars, one very small, at the base of the canine, and after a vacant space the two others, somewhat larger than the first, but the middle is the largest, and all three are normal. The four molars are composed, ante- riorly, of three points, disposed in a triangle, and THE COMMON OPOSSUM. 7 posteriorly, of a spur also composed of three tuber- cles, but less regularly disposed and less elevated than those of the anterior part: the external is the largest. There is nothing very peculiar to be observed re- specting the relative position of these teeth. Species I.—The Common Opossum. Didelphis Virginiana; Penn. Gmel. &c. Le Manicou: Feuille, Obs. Peru, iii. 206. Tlaquatzin: Hebnand. Mexico, 330. Opossum: Lawson's Carolina, 120. Catesby's Carolina, App. xxix. Sarigue des Illinois.- Buff. Sup. torn. vi. pi. 33. Sarigue a long poil, ibid pi. 34. Didelphis Opossum: L. Gmel. Syst. Nat. i. p. 105. Micoure premier: D'azzara, Quad du Paragua, Trad. Fran. i. p. 244. Virginian Opossum: Penn. Quad. ii. p. 18, No. 217, Shaw, i. part 2, pi. ior. Didelphis Woapink: Barton, Facts and Conjectures, &c. Centuries have elapsed since this species was first observed by European naturalists, and it has long been a frequent theme of admiration and discussion to those of America, yet it is still considered as a sort of anomaly among animals, and the peculiarities of its sexual intercourse, gestation, and parturition, are to this day involved in profound obscurity. Per- haps nothing can more clearly demonstrate the im- patience of the human mind, and the reluctance 'with which men yield to the hard necessity of care- fully observing the operations of nature, than the history of this animal. Volumes of facts and conjec- tures have been written on the subject, in which the proportion of conjecture to fact has been as a 8 THE COMMON OPOSSUM. thousand to one, and the difficulties still remain to be surmounted. The animal is among the most com- mon within our borders, and is annually killed or captured in large numbers; faithful investigations into the habits of a few individuals would be suf- ficient to settle all doubts forever, and yet these still remain to be made. Very full and interesting observations have been made at almost every other period; but the great question how the helpless off- spring, weighing scarcely a grain, are conveyed into the external pouch and attached to the teat of the mother, has never been properly answered. For obvious reasons we shall wave for the present the consideration of these particulars. In our ap- pendix we hope to give a full description of the sexual peculiarities of this very singular animal, and may then have it in our power to remove all the obscurities from the subject, by the only true method, that of a patient and vigilant observation of nature. The opossum is very remarkable from other pecu- liarities, besides those which relate to the continua- tion of its kind. In the first place, we have already seen that it has a very large number of teeth, and its hind feet are actually rendered hands by short, fleshy and opposable thumbs, which, together with the prominences in the palms of these posterior hands, enable the animal to take firm hold of ob- jects which no one would think could be thus grasp- ed. An opossum can cling by these feet- hands to a smooth silk handkerchief or a silk dress, with great security, and climb up by the same. In like manner he can ascend by a skein of silk, or even a few threads. The slightest projection or doubling THE COMMON OPOSSUM. 9 of any material, affords him a certain mean of climb- ing to any desired height. Another curious and amusing peculiarity is his prehensile tail; by sim- ply curving this at the extremity, the opossum sustains his weight and depends from a limb of a tree, or other projecting body, and hanging in full security, gathers fruit or seizes any prey within his reach; to regain his position on the limb it is only necessary to make a little stronger effort with the tail and throw his body upward at the same time. In speaking of the more obvious peculiarities of the opossum, we may advert to the thinness and membranous character of the external ears, which may remind us in some degree of what has been heretofore said relative to the perfection of the sense of touch possessed by the bat, in consequence of the delicacy of the extended integument forming the ears and wings. The extremity of the nose of our animal is also covered by a soft, moist and delicate integument, which is no doubt very sensitive. On the sides of the nose, or rather on the upper lip, there are nu- merous long and strong divergent whiskers or bris- tles, projecting to the distance of nearly three inches; over each eye there are two long black bristles, rather softer than the others, somewhat crisped or undulated, and slightly decurved; while, on the pos- terior part of the cheek, and about an inch below and in front of the ear, there is a bunch of long, straight bristles, (very similar to those of a hog) six or eight in number, projecting laterally so as to form a right angle with the head. When the elongated conical form of the opossum's head is recollected, together with its nocturnal iiabits, we cannot avoid remarking VOL. II.--B 10 THE COMMON OPOSSUM. that all these arrangements appear to have immedi- ate reference to the safety of the animal, furnishing the means of directing its course, and warning it of the presence of bodies which otherwise might not be discovered until too late. The mouth of the opossum is very wide when open, yet the animal does not drink by lapping, but by suction. The wideness of the mouth is rendered very remarkable when the female is approached while in company with her young. She then silently drops the lower jaw to the greatest distance it is ca- pable of moving, retracts the angles of the lips, and shows the whole of her teeth, which thus present a formidable array. She then utters a muttering kind of snarl, but does not snap until the hand or other object be brought very close. If this be a stick or any hard or insensible body, she seldom closes her mouth on it after the first or second time, but main- tains the same gaping and snarling appearance, even when it is thrust into her mouth. At the same time the young, if they have attained any size, either exhibit their signs of defiance, take refuge in the pouch of the mother, or, clinging to various parts of her body, hide their faces amidst her long hair. The general colour of the opossum is a whitish gray. From the top of the head along the back and upper part of the sides the gray is darkest, and this colour is produced by the intermixture of coarse white hairs, upwards of three inches long, with a shorter, closer, and softer hair, which is white at base and black for about half an inch at tip. The whole pe- lage is of a woolly softness, and the long white hairs di- verging considerably, allow the black parts to be seen, THE COMMON OPOSSUM. 11 so as to give the general gray colour already mention- ed. On the face the wool is short and of a smoky white colour; that on the belly is of the same cha- racter, but longer on the fore and hind legs; the co- lour is nearly black from the body to the digits, which are naked beneath. The tail is thick and black for upwards of three inches at base, and is covered by small hexagonal scales, having short rigid hairs interspersed throughout its length, which are but slightly perceptible at a little distance. The opossum is generally killed for the sake of its flesh and fat. Its wool is of considerable length and fine- ness during the winter season, and we should sup- pose that in manufactures it would be equal to the sheep's wool which is wrought into coarse hats. The opossum is a nocturnal and timid animal, de- pending more on cunning than strength for his safety. His motions are slow, and his walk when on the ground entirely plantigrade, which gives an appearance of clumsiness to his movements. When on the branches of trees he moves with much greater ease, and with perfect security from sudden gusts of wind; even were his weight sufficient to break the limb on which he rests, there is no danger of his falling to the earth, unless when on the lowest branch, as he can certainly efatch and securely cling to the small- est intervening twigs, either with the hands or the extremity of the tail. This organ is aways employed by the animal while on the smaller branches of trees, as if to guard against such an occurrence, and it is very useful in aiding the opossum to collect his food, by enabling him to suspend himself from a branch 12 THE COMMON OPOSSUM. above, while rifling a bird's nest of its eggs, or ga^ thering fruits. The food of the opossum varies very much accord- ing to circumstances. It preys upon birds, various small quadrupeds, eggs, and no doubt occasionally upon insects. The poultry-yards are sometimes visited, and much havoc committed by the opossum, as, like the weazel, this animal is fonder of cutting the throats and sucking the blood of a number of in- dividuals, than of satisfying his hunger by eating the flesh of one. Among the wild fruits the persimmon {Diospyros Virginiana) is a great favourite, and it is generally after this fruit is in perfection that the opossum is killed by the country people for the mar- ket. At that season it is very fat, and but little difference is to be perceived between this fat and that of a young pig. The flavour of the flesh is compared to that of the roasting pig; we have in several instances seen it refused by dogs and cats, although the opossum was in fine order and but re- cently killed. This may have been owing to some accidental circumstance, but it was uniformly re- jected by these animals, usually not very nice when raw flesh is offered. The hunting of the opossum is a favourite sport with the country people, who frequently go out with their dogs at night, after the autumnal frosts have begun and the persimmon fruit is in its most delici- ous state. The opossum, as soon as he discovers the approach of his enemies, lies perfectly close to the branch, or places himself snugly in the angle where two limbs separate from each other. The dogs, how THE COMMON OPOSSUM. 13 ever, soon announce the fact of his presence by their baying, and the hunter ascending the tree discovers the branch upon which the animal is seated, and begins to shake it with great violence to alarm and cause him to relax his hold. This is soon effected, and the opossum attempting to escape to anotherJimb is pursued immediately, and the shaking is renewed with greater violence, until at length the terrified quadruped allows himself to drop to the ground, where hunters or dogs are prepared to despatch him. Should the hunter, as frequently happens, be un- accompanied by dogs when the opossum falls to the ground, it does not immediately make its escape, but .steals slowly and quietly to a little distance, and then gathering itself into as small a compass as possible, remains as still as if dead. Should there be any quantity of grass or underwood near the tree, this apparently simple artifice is frequently sufficient to secure the animal's escape, as it is difficult by moon- light or in the shadow of the tree to distinguish it, and if the hunter has not carefully observed the spot where it fell, his labour is often in vain. This circumstance, however, is generally attended to, and the opossum derives but little benefit from his in- stinctive artifice. After remaining in this apparently lifeless condi- tion for a considerable time, or so long as any noise indicative of danger can be heard, the opossum slowly unfolds himself, and creeping as closely as possible upon the ground would fain sneak off unper ceived. Upon a shout or outcry in any tone from his persecutor, he immediately renews his death-like 14 THE COMMON OPOSSUM. attitude and stillness. If then approached, moved or handled, he is still seemingly dead, and might de- ceive any one not accustomed to his actions. This feigning is repeated as frequently as opportunity is allowed him of attempting to escape, and is known so well to the country folks as to have long since passed into a proverb. " He is playing 9possum99 is applied with great readiness by them to any one who is thought to act deceitfully, or wishes to ap- pear what he is not. The usual haunts of the opossum are thick forests, and their dens are generally in the hollows of de- cayed trees, where they pass the day asleep, and sally forth mostly after night-fall to seek for food. They are occasionally seen out during day-light, es- pecially when they have young ones of considerable size, too large to be carried in the maternal pouch. The female then offers a very singular appearance, as she toils along with twelve or sixteen cubs nearly of the size of rats, each with a turn of his tail around the root of the mother's, and clinging on her back and sides with paws, hands and mouth. This cir- cumstance was thought distinctive of another species, hence called dorsigera, but is equally true of the common or Virginian opossum. It is exceedingly cu- rious and interesting to see the young, when the mother is at rest, take refuge in the pouch, whence one or two of them may occasionally be seen peep- ing out, with an air of great comfort and satis- faction. The mother in this condition, or at any time in defence of her young, will make battle, biting with much keenness and severity, for which her long ca- nine teeth are well suited. i THE COMMON OPOSSUM. 15 If taken young the opossum is readily tamed and becomes very fond of human society, in a great degree relinquishes its nocturnal habits, and grows trouble- some from its familiarity. We have had one thus tamed which would follow the inmates of the house with great assiduity, and complain by a whining noise when left alone. As it grew older it became mis- chievous from its restless curiosity, and there seemed to be no possibility of devising any contrivance effec- tually to secure it. The same circumstance is fre- quently remarked by persons who have attempted to detain them in captivity, and of all the instances which have come to our knowledge, where even a great number were apparently well secured, they have all in a short time enlarged themselves and been no more heard of. In some such instances these animals have escaped in the city, and for a long time have taken up their quarters in cellars, where their presence has never been suspected, as during the day they remain concealed. In this way it is very probable that many are still living in the city of Philadelphia, obtaining a plentiful food by their nightly labours. In Dr. Barton's facts and conjectures on the opos- sum, he mentions as a circumstance worthy of curiosi- ty, the faculty the opTJSsum has of lying on its back. We have observed this action of the animal, but could see nothing in it very different from what is very frequently done by the dog, cat, marmot, squir- rel, and various other animals, which occasionally place themselves sufficiently on the back to expose the inferior surface of the body fully; but that this action in the opossum is indicative of any peculiarity, 16 THE COMMON OPOSSUM. or is the ordinary position chosen by the animal, is what we cannot state from our own observation. The size of the full grown opossum is about twen- ty inches, and that of the tail twelve; the weight is about fourteen pounds. The number of young is from twelve to sixteen. There is therefore not much probability of the species becoming very scarce, especially as their nocturnal mode of life renders it by no means necessary that they should fly to very remote distances from the habitations of man.* * It is amusing to read the accounts of the wonderful medical virtues which have been attributed to the tail of this animal, in some of the older writers on the natural history of our continent. The following is a good specimen of the credulity and disposition to deal in the marvellous, which was formerly thought to form an almost essential quality in the natural historian:—"The tail of this animal (says Marc- grave) is a singular and wonderful remedy against inflam- mation of the kidneys; for if it be broken, and the quantity of a drachm of the water in which it is steeped be drunk sometimes, fasting, it wonderfully cleanses the ureters, ex- pels calculi and other obstructions, [excitat venerem, et generat lac, medetur colicis doloribus, prodest parientibus et accelerat partum, promovet menses,] and if it be chewed and placed on a part into which thorns have been thrust, it extracts them, loosens the bowels, and I believe in all New Spain there is not to be found another remedy as useful in so many cases."—Hist. Ker. Nat. Brasil, lib. vi. p. 22. The above passage may have served as a hint to the cele- brated Cumberland, who, in one of his amusing works, introduces a quack, soliloquising on the virtues of a dried lizard's tail in the following words: " Thou wilt pulverize most featly," quoth he, " when J CHAPTER II. Order IV. Glires; L. Gnawers. SECTION I.—CLAVICULATA. Having perfect and, in some, very strong clavicles. The animals belonging to this order have the brain nearly smooth and without convolutions; the orbits of the eyes are not separated from the tem- poral cavities, which are slight; the eyes are directed laterally; the zygomatic arches are delicate and curved downwards, indicating feebleness in the jaws; the fore arm can scarcely be turned, and the two bones have thee under the pestle; but before I consign thee to the mortar and reduce thee to dust, let me ponder upon thy pro- perties, and do nothing without forecast and circumspection. Poisonous thou can'st not be, for though I have never eaten of thy species myself, I know that others have; and if thy flesh be delicate, thy dust cannot fail to be wholesome; nay, I doubt not but it is medicinal. Thou hast other virtues, if I could but recollect them; there is something more about thee; something I have read in learned authors of the back-bone of a lizard; and thine, heaven be prais'd, I perceive is per- fect and entire; but whether it is recorded as a provocative to incontinency, or as a preventative, I cannot to a certain- ty recollect: upon second thoughts, I suspect thou art a stimulative; as I'm a sinner, I suspect thou art of a stirring quality, for thy tail betokeneth it.'^ VOL. II.—C 18 GLIRES ANIMALS. are often consolidated. Those possessing the strong- est clavicles exhibit some intelligence, and use their fore feet to convey their food to the mouth. They have the posterior extremities generally higher than the anterior, by which they are rendered fit- ter for leaping than running. Their intestines are very long, and the stomach is simple, or but little divided; the ccecum is often larger than the stomach itself. These animals are provided with two large cut- ting teeth in both jaws, separated by a vacant space from the molars, and such teeth are exclusively des- tined to disintegrate solid bodies by repeated efforts, by nibbling or gnawing; the name of the order has been derived from this circumstance in various lan- guages. The cutting teeth are enamelled only on the anterior surface, so that as the posterior surfaces wear away first, they always preserve a beveled edge. They grow from the root as rapidly as they wear at the edge, and when an opposing tooth is broken or lost, the other grows so rapidly as to become mon- strous. The lower jaw is articulated by a longitu- dinal condyle, and has no other horizontal movement than from behind forwards and the reverse. The mo- lar teeth have flat crowns, with transverse projections of enamel, in opposition to the horizontal motion of the jaw. Those which have simple lines on the crowns in- stead of projections, and the whole surface of the molars very plane, are more exclusively frugivorous. Those whose teeth have these projections divided into blunt tubercles, are omnivorous; the small number which have points to these teeth, attack other ani- GENERAL HISTORY OF THE BEAVER. 19 mals more readily, and slightly approach carnivorous animals.* Genus XX. Beaver; Castor; L. Gr. K*ceg Hal. Bevero. Fr. Bievre. Pol. Bobr. Ger. Biber. Swed. Boeffwer. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is large, with a short and blunt snout, small ears and eyes, and the upper lip divided. The trunk of the body is thick, having four teats, two near the fore limbs, and two at the posterior part of the chest. The limbs are short, the anterior being somewhat larger than the posterior; all the feet have five short, free and flexible toes, which are webbed, and the posterior toes have the membrane longer and broader. The middle toe is always longest in the fore and hind feet; the thumb and little finger, on the external and internal digits, are the shortest, and equal to each other; the intermediate toes are ot middling size and equal in length. All the digits are furnished with strong and slightly incurvated nails, which are fit for burrowing; those on the hind feet are rather the largest. The tail js peculiarly flattened, of an oblong, oval shape, broad and covered at base with thick fur; the remainder has a covering of scales. • See Cuvier, Uegne Animal, p. 20 GENERAL HISTORY, &C. Dental System. V H o In the upper jaw the incisors are flat, smooth and of a very great breadth, arising from the inferior and anterior part of the maxillary bone. The mo- lars differ slightly from each other in size, and ap- pear all to be composed of one internal and three external grooves, which being interrupted by the wearing of the teeth, at length merely present ellip- tical figures. Many of these external grooves are characterized by enlarging at their extremity. The germs of these teeth show the same number of grooves as we have described from partly worn teeth. In the lower jaw the incisors are similar to those of the upper, and not .less remarkable for great size; they rise far beyond and beneath the molars, be- tween the coronoid process and condyle. The molars present absolutely the same characters, that is, the same figures as those in the opposite jaw; excepting that the three grooves are on the inner side of the tooth, and the external has but one. The germs of these teeth have also the strongest resemblance to the figures which are seen when the teeth are partly worn away. J 2I1 1 j 8 IV „ Incisive 10 Upper ^ g Mdan „ „ , J 2 Incisive 10 Lower j 8 Molar. THE BEAVER, 21 Species I,—The Beaver. Castor Fiber; L. Erxl. &c. Le Castor m le biivre: Briss. Regn. An. p. 133. Le Castor: Buff. viii. pi. 36. ■, * ,,. « i Castor Fiber: Sabine, App. p. 659. Sat, Long's Exped.to the Rock> Mountains, i. p. 464. Truth, alike the object and reward of all rational inquiry, is too delicate and unobtrusive to be advan- tageously approached or estimated, unless the men- tal vision be entirely free from prejudice, and her votaries, for the sake of her unostentatious though unfading charms, forego the pride of worshipping the fantastic creatures of their own imaginations. Accessible to all who in the proper disposition seek her presence, how many ages have elapsed during which fiction has been pursued in her stead, till at length opinion gains such strength, and prejudice so deep a root, that the semblance passes into general ac- ceptation for the substance, and that which was at first the mere breath of speculation, becomes finally re- ceived and accredited as indubitable. Thankless is the office of the individual who ventures to overturn any of these idols of the mind;* to displace the illu- sions of fancy by cold reality, and disperse into thin air the fairy world which credulity first called into existence, and indolent imagination per- petuates. It must be confessed that occasionally * " Excrevit autem mirium in modum, istud malum ex opinione quaclam sive aestimatione inveterata verum tumida et damnosaj minui nempe mentis humanae majestatem, si ex • 22 THE BEAVER. this is no pleasant task; yet it is one of the duties especially incumbent on the teacher of natural his- tory, inasmuch as the exercise of imagination is al- ways prejudicial to the study of nature, the sober reality of which, when correctly examined, possesses an interest far transcending that of all the fugitive beauties bestowed by this deluding faculty of the mind. Who has not heard of the wonderful sagacity of the beaver, or listened to the laboured accounts of its social and rational nature? Who that has read the impassioned eloquence of Buffon, to which no- thing is wanting but truth in order to render it sub- lime, can forget the impression which his views of the economy and character of this species produced? The enchanter waves his wand and converts animals, congregated by instinct alone, and guided by no moral influence, into social, rational, intelligent be- ings, superior to creatures high above them in organi- zation, and even far more exalted than vast tribes of that race which has been justly and emphatically termed " lords of creation." Alas, for all these air drawn prospects! while we endeavour to gaze upon their beauties they fleet away and leave no trace behind. perimentis et rebus particularibus seasui subjectis et in ma- teria determinatis diu ac multum versetur; praesertim quum hujusmodi res ad inquirendum laboriosae, ad meditandum ignobiles, ad dicendum asperae, ad practicam illiberales; nu- mero infinitae et subtilitate tenues esse soleant. Itaque jam tandem hue res rediit ut via vera non tantum deserta sed etiam mterclusa et obstructa sit; fastidita experientia, nedum rehcta, aut male administrata.—Bacon; Nov. Organ. THE BEAVER. 23 The injury the mind receives from this source is scarcely to be appreciated, and among others, the false notions we form concerning the relative perfec- tion and excellence of the plan of nature, may be considered as of the first magnitude. The beaver, for instance, is endowed with singular instincts, and performs actions worthy of our admiration; yet the beaver is not more sagacious than the ant or the bee, creatures far removed from it in every respect, nei- ther are its moral qualities better than those of the common rat. Each, according to its instinct, provides for the safety and support of itself and offspring, each obeys the impulse of a power beyond its own control, and each remains through countless genera- tions the same in point of intelligence;—untaught, incapable of teaching, and as well qualified to per- form all the singular actions of its predecessors, if removed at the earliest age from its kind, as if it had grown to maturity in their midst, and aided in their operations from the time its strength became sufficient to the task. After rejecting the exaggerated facts, as well as the numerous fictions relative to this animal, ample scope will still remain for the exercise of our admi- ration; for although the beaver is in no respect ex- clusively wonderful, yet its character and habits are such as to render it highly interesting. We shall therefore give a plain, unvarnished statement of facts obtained from the most authentic sources, and after- wards present some sketches of what, although fre- quently repeated in books of acknowledged authori- ty, may be termed the fabulous history of the ani- mal. This will prove serviceable as well as amusing, 24 THE BEAVER. as it will lead the inexperienced to receive wonder- ful narrations of the intelligence, &c. of animals, with enough of scepticism to prevent them from be- ing betrayed into error. The general aspect of the beaver, at first view, would remind one of a very large rat, and seen at a little distance it might be readily mistaken for the common musk-rat. But the greater size of the bea- ver, the thickness and breadth of its head, and its horizontally flattened, broad and scaly tail, render it impossible to mistake it for any other creature when closely examined. In its movements, both on shore and in the water, it also closely resembles the musk-rat, having the same quick step, and swimming with great vigour and celerity either on the surface, or in the depths of the water. In a state of captivity or insulation, the beaver is a quiet or rather stupid animal, evincing about as much intelligence as a tamed badger, or any other quadruped which can learn to distinguish its feeder, come when called, or grow familiar with the inmates of the house where it is kept. It is only in a state of nature that the beaver displays any of those sin- gular modes of acting which have so long rendered the species celebrated: these may be summed up in a statement of the manner in which they secure a sufficient depth of water to prevent it from being frozen to the bottom, and their mode of constructing the huts in which they pass the winter. They are not particular in the site they select for the establishment of their dwellings, but if in a lake or pond where a dam is not required, they are careful to build where the water is sufficiently THE BEAVER. 23 deep. In standing waters, however, they have not the advantage afforded by a current for the trans- portation of their supplies of wood, which, when they build on a running stream, is always cut higher up than the place of their residence, and floated down. The materials used for the construction of their dams*are the trunks and branches of small birch, mulberry, willow, poplar, &c. They begin to cut down their timber for building early in the summer, but their edifices are not commenced until about the middle or latter part of August, and are not com- pleted until the beginning of the cold season. The strength of their teeth and their perseverance in this work, may be fairly estimated by the size of the trees they cut down. Dr. Best informs us that he has seen a mulberry tree, eight inches in diameter, which had been gnawed down by the beaver. We were shown, while on the banks of the Little Miami river, several stumps of trees, which had evidently been felled by these animals, of at least five or six inches in diameter. These are cut in such a manner as to fall into the water, and then floated to- wards the site of the dam or dwellings. Small shrubs, &c. cut at a distance from the water, they drag with their teeth to the stream, and then launch and tow them to the place of deposite. At a short distance above a beaver-dam the number of trees which have been cut down appears truly surprising, and the regularity of the stumps which are left might lead persons unacquainted with the habits of our animal to believe that the clearing was the result of human industry. vol. n.—o 26 TJ1K BEA\ER. The figure of the dam varies according to circum- stances. Should the current be very gentle, the dam is carried nearly straight across; but when the stream is swiftly flowing, it is uniformly made with a con- siderable curve, having the convex part opposed to the current. Along with the trunks and branches of trees they intermingle mud and stones, to give greater security, and when dams have been long un- disturbed and frequently repaired, they acquire great solidity, and their power of resisting the pres- sure of water and ice is greatly increased by the willow, birch, &c. occasionally taking root, and even- tually growing up into something of a regular hedge. The materials used in constructing the dams are secured solely by the resting of the branches, &c. against the bottom, and the subsequent accumulation uf mud and stones, by the force of the stream or by the industry of the beavers. In various parts of the western country, where beaver are at present en- tirely unknown, except by tradition, the dams con- structed by their labours are still standing securely, and in many instances serve instead of bridges to the streams they obstruct. There are few states in the Union in which some remembrance of this animal is not preserved by such names as Beaver-Dam, Beaver-Lake, Beaver-Falls, Sf-c. The dwellings of the beaver are formed of the same materials as their dams, and are very rude, though strong, and adapted in size to the number of their inhabitants. These are seldom more than four old and six or eight young ones. Double that number have been occasionally found in one of the lodges, though this is by no means a very common occurrence. THE BEAVER. 2? When building their houses, they place most of the wood crosswise and nearly horizontally, observ- ing no other order than that of leaving a cavity in the middle. Branches which project inward are cut off with their teeth and thrown among the rest. The houses are by no means built of sticks first and then plastered, but all the materials, sticks, mud and stones, if the latter can be procured, are mixed up to- gether, and this composition is employed from the foundation to the summit. The mud is obtained from the adjacent banks or bottom of the stream or pond near the door of the hut. Mud and stones the bea- ver always carries by holding them between his fore paws and throat. Their work is all performed at night, and with much expedition. When straw or grass is mingled with the mud used by them in building, it is an accidental circumstance, owing to the nature of the spot whence the latter was taken. As soon as any part of the material is placed where it is intended to remain, they turn round and give it a smart blow with the tail. The same sort of blow is struck by them upon the surface of the water when they are in the act of diving. The outside of the hut is covered or plastered with mud late in the autumn, and after frost has be- gun to appear. By freezing it soon becomes almosl as hard as stone, effectually excluding their great enemy, the wolverene, during the winter. Their habit of walking over the work frequently during its progress, has led to the absurd idea of their using the tail as a trowel. The habit of flapping with the tail is retained by them in a state of captivity, and, im 28 THE BEAVER. less it be in the acts already mentioned, appears de- signed to effect no particular purpose. The houses, when they have stood for some time, and been kept in repair, become so firm from the consolidation of all the materials, as to require great exertion and the use of the ice-chisel or other iron instruments to be broken open. The laborious nature of such an un- dertaking may easily be conceived, when it is known that the tops of the houses are generally from four to six feet thick at the apex of the cone. Heaene relates having seen one instance in which the crown or roof of the hut was more than eight feet in thick- ness. The door or hole leading into the beaver-hut is always on the side farthest from the land, and is near the foundation of the house, or at a considerable depth under water. This is the only opening into the hut. The large houses are sometimes found to have projections of the main building thrown out, the better to support the roof, and this circumstance has led to all the stories of the different chambers or apartments in beaver-huts. But these larger edifices, so far from having several apartments, are either double or treble houses, each part having no com- munication with the other, except by water Up- wards of twelve such dwellings have been seen under one roof, and, excepting two or three of them, the whole of the remainder had no commu- nication unless by water, each having its own door into the dam, which is doubtless well known to the inmates, who may have comparatively little in- tercourse with each other. It is a fact that the THE BEA.VER. 29 musk-rat is sometimes found to have taken up his abode in the huts of the beaver; the otter also oc- casionally intrudes his company. The latter ani- mal, however, is a dangerous guest, for, if provi- sion grow scarce, it is not uncommon for him to devour his host. The northern Indians believe that the beaver al- ways thicken the northern walls of their houses much more than the others, in order more effectually to resist the cold. In consequence of this belief, these Indians always break into the huts from the south side. All-the beavers of a community do not co-operate in the fabrication of houses for the common use of the whole. Those which are to live together in the same hut, labour together in its construction, and the only affair in which all seem to have a joint interest, and upon which they labour in concert, is the dam, as this is designed to keep a sufficient depth of water around all the habitations. In situations where the beaver is frequently dis- turbed and pursued, all its singular habits are relin- quished, and its mode of living changed to suit the nature of circumstances, and this occurs even in dif- ferent parts of the same rivers. Instead of building dams and houses, its only residence is then in the banks of the stream, where it is now forced to make a more extensive excavation, and be content to adopt the manners of a musk-rat. More sagacity is dis- played by the beaver in thus accommodating itself to circumstances, than in any other action it performs. Such is the caution which it exercises to guard against detection, that were it not for the removal 30 THE BEAVER. of small trees, the stumps of which indicate the sort of animal by which they have been cut down, the pre- sence of the beaver would not be suspected in the vi- cinity. All excursions for the sake of procuring food are made late at night, and if it pass, from one hole to another during the day time, it swims so far under water as not to excite the least suspicion of the pre- sence of such a voyager. On many parts of the Missis- sippi and Missouri, where the beaver formerly built houses according to the mode above described, no such works are at present to be found, although beaver are still to be trapped in those localities. The same circumstances have been remarked of the European beaver, which has been thought to belong to another species, because it does not build. This, however, as may readily be inferred from what we have just stated, is no test of difference of species. These animals also have excavations in the adja- cent banks, at rather regular distances from each other, which have been called washes. These exca- vations are so enlarged within, that the beaver can raise his head above water in order to breathe with- out being seen, and when disturbed at their huts, they immediately make way under water to these washes for greater security, where they are more readily taken by the hunters, as we shall presently discover. The beaver feeds principally upon the bark of the aspen, willow, birch, poplar, and occasionally the alder, but it rarely resorts to the pine tribe, unless from severe necessity. They provide a stock of wood from the trees mentioned, during the summer season, and place it m the water opposite the entrance to THE BEAVER. 31 their houses. They also depend in a great degree upon the large roots (of the nuphar luteum,) which grow at the bottom of the lakes, ponds and rivers, and may be procured at all seasons. It is remarked that these roots, although they fatten the beaver very much, impart a rank and disagreeable taste to their flesh. The number of young produced by the beaver at a litter is from two to five. Females have been killed in which six young were found, but this oc- curred only in two instances out of many hundreds examined at different stages of gestation.* During the season of union, the voice of both sexes resem- bles a groan, the male having a much hoarser note than the female. The young beavers whine in such a manner as closely to imitate the cry of a child. Like the young of most other animals they are very playful, and their movements are peculiarly inter- esting, as may be seen by the following anecdote, related in the narrative of Capt. Franklin's peril- ous journey to the shores of the Arctic Sea.— " One day a gentleman, long resident in the Hud- son's bay country, espied five young beavers sporting in the water, leaping upon the trunk of a tree, pushing one another off, and playing a thousand interesting tricks. He approached softly, under cover of the bushes, and prepared to fire on the unsuspecting creatures, but a nearer approach dis- covered to him such a similitude betwixt their gestures and the infantile caresses of his own chil- -• Hearne, 32 THE BEAVER. dren, that he threw aside his gun and left them unmolested." The beaver is a cleanly animal, and always leaves the house to attend to the calls of nature; the excre- ment being light, rises to the top of the water and soon separates and disappears. Thus, however great may be the number of individuals occupying the hut, no accumulation of filth of this kind occurs. The beaver swims to considerable distances under water, but cannot remain for a long time without coming to the surface for air. They are therefore caught with greater ease, as they must either take refuge in their vaults or washes in the bank, or seek their huts again for the sake of getting breath. They usually, when disturbed, fly from the huts to these vaults, which, although not so exposed to observa- tion as their houses, are yet discovered with suffi- cient ease, and allow theoccupant to be more readily captured than if he had remained in the ordinary habitation. To capture beavers residing on a small river or creek, the Indians find it necessarv to stake the stream across to prevent the animals from escaping, and then they try to ascertain where the vaults or washes in the banks are situated. This can only be done by those who are very experienced in such ex- plorations, and is thus performed:-The hunter is furnished with an ice-chisel lashed to a handle four or five feet in length; with this instrument he strikes ST TV'' V6 S°eS al°nS the ed*e of the him wh.H6 Pr°dUCed by the b,ow inf<™* Wheln VS °PP°Site t0 °ne °f these -nits. When one ,s discovered, a hole is cut through the THE BEAVER. 33 ice of sufficient size to admit a full-grown beaver, and the search is continued until as many of the places of retreat are discovered as possible. During the time the most expert hunters are thus occupied, the others with the women are busy in breaking into the beaver-houses, which, as may be supposed from what has been already stated, is a task of some diffi- culty. The beavers, alarmed at the invasion of their dwelling, take to the water and swim with surprising swiftness to their retreats in the banks, but their en- trance is betrayed to the hunters watching the holes in the ice, by the motion and discolouration of the water. The entrance is instantly closed with stakes of wood, and the beaver, instead of finding shelter in his cave, is made prisoner and destroyed. The hunter then pulls the animal out, if within reach, by the intro- duction of his hand and arm, or by a hook designed for this use, fastened to a long handle. Beaver-houses found in lakes or other standing waters offer an easier prey to the hunters, as there is no occasion for staking the water across. Among the Hudson's bay Indians every hunter has the exclusive right to all the beavers caught m the washes discovered by him. Each individual on finding one places some mark, as a pole or the branch of a tree stuck up, in order to know his own. Bea- vers caught in any house are also the property of the discoverer, who takes care to mark his claim, as in the case of the washes.* * Lewis and Clark relate an instance which fell under their observation of one beaver beii^ caught in two traps belonging to different owners, it having one paw in each. The VOL. TI.---E 34 t'HE j;i.a\ j:k. * The number of beavers killed in the northern parts of this country is exceedingly great, even at the present time, after the fur trade has been carried on for so many years, and the most indiscriminate warfare waged uninterruptedly against the species. In the year 1820, sixty thousand beaver skins were sold by the Hudson's bay company, which we can by no means suppose to be the whole number killed dur- ing the preceding season. If to these be added the quantities collected by the traders from the Indians of the Missouri country, we may form some idea of the immense number of these animals which exist throughout the vast regions of the north and west. It is a subject of regret that an animal so valuable and prolific should be hunted in a manner tending so evidently to the extermination of the species, when a little care and management on the part of those interested might prevent unnecessary destruction, and increase the sources of their revenue. The old beavers are frequently killed within a short time of their littering season, and with every such death from three to six are destroyed. The young are often killed before they have attained half their growth and value, and of necessity long before they have contributed to the continuance of their species. In a few years, comparatively speaking, the beaver has been exterminated in all the Atlantic and in the proprietors of the traps were engaged in a contest for the beaver, when the above named distinguished travellers ar rived and settled the dispute between them by an equita ble arrangement. THE BEAVER. 35 western states, as far as the middle and upper waters of the Missouri; while in the Hudson's bay pos- sessions they are becoming annually more scarce, and the race will eventually be extinguished throughout the whole continent. A few individuals may, for a time, elude the immediate violence of persecution, and like the degraded descendants of the aboriginals of our soil, be occasionally exhibited as melancholy mementos of tribes long previously whelmed in the fathomless gulf of avarice. The Indians inhabiting the countries watered by the tributaries of the Missouri and Mississippi, take the beavers principally by trapping, and are gene- rally supplied with steel-traps by the traders, who do not sell, but lend or hire them, in order to keep the Indians dependant upon themselves, and also to lay claim to the furs which they may procure. The name of the trader being stamped on the trap, it is equal to a certificate of enlistment, and indicates, when an Indian carries his furs to another trading estab- lishment, that the individual wishes to avoid the payment of his debts. The business of trapping requires great experience and caution, as the senses of the beaver are very keen, and enable him to de- tect the recent presence of the hunter by the slightest traces. It is necessary that the hands should be washed clean before the trap is handled and baited, and that every precaution should be employed to elude the vigilance of the animal. The bait which is used to entice the beavers is prepared from the substance called castor (casto- reum,) obtained from the glandulous pouches of the 36 THE BEANER. male* animal, which contain sometimes from two to three ounces. This substance is called by the hun- ters fozr^-stone, and is squeezed gently into an open mouthed phial. The contents of five or six of these castor bags are mixed with a nutmeg, twelve or fifteen cloves, and thirty grains of cinnamon, in fine powder, and then the whole is stirred up with as much whiskey as will give it the consistency of mustard prepared for the table. This mixture must be kept closely corked up, and in four or five days the odour becomes more powerful; with care it may be preserved for months without injury. Various other strong aromatics are sometimes used to increase the pungency of the odour. Some of this preparation, smeared upon the bits of wood with which the traps are baited, will entice the beaver from a great distance. The castor, whose odour is similar to tanner's ooze, gets the name of bark-stone from its resem- blance to finely powdered bark. The sacks contain- ing it are about two inches in length. Behind these, and between the skin and root of the tail, are found two other oval cysts, lying together, which contain a pure strong oil of a rancid smell. During the winter season the beaver becomes very fat, and its flesh is esteemed by the hunters to be excellent food. But those. occasionally caught in the summer are very thin, and unfit for the table. They lead so wandering a life at this season, and are so much exhausted by the collection of materials *Juxtapreputium utroque latere existunt. THE BEAVER, 37 for building, or the winter's stock of provision, as well as by suckling their young, as to be generally at that time in a very poor condition. Their fur during the summer is of little value, and it is only in winter that it is to be obtained in that state which renders it so desirable to the fur-traders. The different appearances of the fur, caused by age, season, disease, or accident, has at times led in- dividuals to state the existence of several species of beaver in this country. No other species, however, has yet been discovered, but that whose habits we have been describing. Beavers are occasionally found nearly of a pure white, which is owing to the same cause that produces albino varieties of various ani- mals. A specimen of the albino beaver may be seen in the Philadelphia Museum; Hearxe saw but one such specimen during a residence of twenty years in the Hudson's bay country. This was considered a great curiosity, and no other was afterwards pro cured there during the ten ensuing years, notwith- standing he offered a large reward to the Indians for as many of the same colour as they could pro- cure. The traits of character exhibited by the beaver in captivity are not very strikingly peculiar, though sufficiently interesting. It learns to obey the voice of its master, is pleased to be caressed, and cleanly in its habits. Hearne states that he has kept various individuals about his house during his re- sidence at Hudson's bay, and remarks, " they made not the least dirt, though they were kept in my own sitting room, where they were the constant companions of the Indian women and children, being $s fabulous history so fond of their company that when the Indians were absent for any considerable time, the beaver disco- vered great signs of uneasiness, and on their return showed equal marks of pleasure by fondling on them, crawling into their laps, laying themselves on their backs, sitting erect like a squirrel, and behaving to them like children that see their parents but seldom. In general during the winter they lived on the same food as the women did, and were remarkably fond of rice and plumb-pudding. They would eat fresh venison and partridges very freely, but I never tried them with fish, though I have heard they will at times prey on them."* Fabulous History of the Beaver. This part of our subject is richer in materials than any other which comes within the scope of our work. We have in the beginning adverted to the grand * " It is well known that our domestic poultry will eat ani- mal food: thousands of geese that come to London market are fattened on tallow craps, and our horses in Hudson's Bay would not only eat all kinds of animal food, but also drink freely of the wash or pot-liquor intended for the ho°"s. We are assured by the best authorities, that in Iceland not only black cattle, but also the sheep, are almost entirely fed on fish and fish-bones during the winter season. Even in the isles of Orkney, and that iu the summer, the sheep attend the ebbing of the tide as regularly as the Eskimaux curlew, and go down to the shore which the tide has left to feed on the sea-weed. This, however, is through necessity, for even the famous island of Pomona will not afford them an ex- <*^-— of the beaver. 39 source of error in this and other departments of natural history, but there is one circumstance pecu- liar to the history of the beaver, which has thrown over it more delusion than in the case of almost any other animal. The fur-traders, Indian interpreters, and Indians themselves, have furnished the greater part of the information which we possess of the habits and manners of this animal. To these per- sons the beaver is a most important object, and re- garded with a degree of admiration and superstition exactly proportioned to their ignorance. Hence they have in numerous instances been led to magnify facts actually observed, and to state their own notions of the sagacity of the animal as realities, not intend- ing to deceive, although they have deceived them- selves. To become acquainted with the peculiarities of a species both nocturnal and exceedingly timid and vigilant, requires years of patient and assiduous attention. It is not surprising, therefore, that per- sons seeking information should resort to those who are devoted to the pursuit of the animal, and re- ceive their statements given with seriousness and minute detail as worthy of credit. In addition to the errors which spring from the ignorance of these observers, there is a worse evil to which inquirers are exposed. The traders, hunters, and interpre istence above high-water-mark."—Hearne, 8vo. p. -245. It must always be borne in mind that observations made on the diet of captive animals, will not at all apply to them when they are free to follow the dictates of nature. It is, however, highly interesting to know how far they can accommodate themselves to necessity. 40 fabulous his Iokv ters have, for various reasons, considerable jealousy of all those who are too inquisitive about their peculiar concerns, and it is an occurrence of al- most daily repetition, that when they are ques- tioned on these subjects, they take a malicious plea- sure in palming, with truly Indian gravity and pa- tience, the most false and marvellous relations upon their auditor. This is frequently done with so much art as by no means to outrage probability, and the whole is made to appear so consistent, and is to the eager inquirer so highly interesting, as to prevent him for a moment from supposing that the whole is an extempore fable. We have been informed by an ear witness on one such occasion, that he was astonished to hear a trader giving a long account, full of the most extraordinary and interesting particulars, of the habits of the bea- ver, to an ardent inquirer, who was writing it down with great delight. As soon as the collector of notes on natural history had retired, after listening to the whole story with the most unsuspecting confidence, the other inquired of the trader how it happened that he never had before given this information, which he must have known would have«been so very acceptable. The answer to this question was a roar of laughter, and an assurance that there was not a word of truth in the whole statement; but that, having been exceedingly annoyed by the inquisitive- ness of the individual, he had chosen to get rid of him at once by appearing to tell him all he knew. As the reader is already in possession of all the well attested facts to be procured in illustration of its habits and.character, we may safely present a few OF THE BEAVER. 41 of the marvellous relations which have been hereto- fore given of the beaver, leaving him to separate the great mass of fiction from the few truths with which they may be mingled. We therefore begin with the most ancient of these fictions, and come down to the latest writers who have contributed to the perpetuation of such erroneous views. " The castor, or beaver, when in the rivers, feeds upon shell-fish and such other prey as it can catch. This variety of food is the reason why its hinder parts, to the ribs, have the taste of fish, and that they are eaten upon fast days, and all the rest has the taste of flesh, so that it is not used at other times. " It has pretty large teeth, the under standing out beyond their lips about three fingers breadth; the upper about half a finger, being very broad, crooked, strong and sharp, growing double, very deep in their mouths, bending circular, like the edge of an axe, and are of a yellowish red. They take fishes upon them as if they were hooks, being able to break in pieces the hardest bones. When he bites he never loses his hold until his teeth meet together. The bristles about their mouths are as hard as horns; their bones are solid and without marrow; their fore- feet are like a dog's, and their hinder like a swan's. Their tail is covered over with scales, being, like a soal, about six inches broad and ten inches long, which he uses as a rudder to steer with when he swims to catch fish; and though his teeth are so ter- rible, yet when men have seized his tail they can govern the animal as they please. "The beavers make themselves houses of square timber, which they gnaw down with their teeth al VOL. II.—f 42 FABULOUS HISTORY most as even as if they were sawed, and almost as equal as if it were measured. They lay these pieces across, and each is let down by large notches into the other, so that, having dug a hole for their foun- dation, they build several stories, that they may rise higher or lower, according to the fall of water."* "Amongst the beavers some are accounted mas- ters, some servants. They are cleanly in their houses; for the making of which, they draw the timber on the belly of their ancients, they lying on their backs, "f " While some are engaged in cutting down large trees for the dam, others traverse the vicinity of the river and cut smaller trees, some as thick as one's leg, and others as large as the thigh. They trim these and gnaw them in two at a certain height to make stakes: they bring these pieces first by land to the edge of the stream, and there float them to the dam; they then form a sort of close piling, which is still farther strengthened by interlacing the branches between the stakes. This operation sup- poses many difficulties vanquished; for to prepare these stakes, and place them in a nearly perpendicu- lar situation, they must raise the large end of the stake upon the bank of the river, or against a tree thrown across it, while others at the same time plunge into the water and dig a hole with their fore- feet for the purpose of receiving the point of the stake or pile, in order to sustain it erect. In pro- * Pomet, Hist, of Drugs. t Lemery. / OF THE BEAVER. 43 portion as some thus plant the piles, others bring earth, which they temper with their fore-feet and beat with their tails; they carry it in their mouths and with their fore-feet, and convey so large a quan- tity that they fill all the intervals of the piling. This pile work is composed of several ranges of stakes of equal height, all planted against each other, ex- tending from one side of the river to the other: it is piled and plastered throughout. The piles are planted vertically on the side next the water-fall; the whole work is sloping on the side sustaining the pressure, so that the dam, which is ten or twelve feet wide at base, is only two or three feet thick at the summit. It has therefore not only all the solidity necessary, but the most convenient form for raising the water, preventing it from escaping, sustaining its weight, and breaking its violence. At the top of the dam, that is at the thinnest part, they make two or three sloped openings for the discharge of the superfluous water, and these are enlarged or closed up as the river swells or diminishes, &c. " It would be superfluous after such an exposition of their public works, to give a detail of their pri- vate edifices, if in a history it were not necessary to relate all the facts, and if this first great work were not done with a view to render their little dwellings more commodious. These dwellings are cabins or rather little houses, built in the water on close piles, near the edge of the pond, having two doors or issues, one on the land and the other on the water side. Sometimes they are found to have two or three stories, the walls being as much as two feet thick, elevated perpendicularly upon the piles which 44 FABULOUS HISTORY serve at the same time for the foundation and floor of the house, &c. The walls are covered with a sort of stucco, so well tempered and so properly applied, that it appears as if it had been done by hu- man hands. Their tail serves them as a trowel for applying this mortar, which they temper with their feet, &c. " These retreats are not only very secure, but also very neat and commodious; the floor is strewed with verdure; boughs of box and fir serve for a carpet, upon which they never leave the least dirt. The window which looks out upon the water serves them for a balcony for the enjoyment of the air, or to bathe during the greater part of the day. They sit with the head and anterior parts of the body elevated and the posterior plunged in water; the opening is suffi- ciently elevated never to be closed by the ice, which, in the climates where the beavers reside, is some- times three feet thick; they then lower the shelf by cutting the piles upon which it rested aslope, and make an opening into the water below the ice!! " The habit which they have of continually re- taining the tail and hinder parts in the water, ap- pears to have changed the nature of their flesh. Thus the fore parts, as far as to the loins, has the quality, taste and consistence of land animals; that of the thighs and tail has the odour, savour, and all the qualities of fish; this tail, a foot long, an inch thick, and five or six broad, is really an extremity, a true portion of a fish attached to the body of a quadruped. " However admirable, or marvellous the state- ments we have made on the labours and society of OF THE BEAVER. 45 the beaver may appear, we dare to say that no one will doubt their reality.* All the relations made by different witnesses, at various times, agree to- gether as to the facts we have related; and if our statement differ from some among them, it is only at points where they have swelled the marvellous, sur- passed the truth, and even transcended probability^ " Beavers are most industrious animals; nothing equals the art with which they construct their dwell- ings. They choose a small piece of ground with a rivulet running through it. This they form into a pond by making a dam across, first by driving into the ground stakes five or six feet long, placed in rows, walling each row with pliant twigs, and filling the interstices with clay, ramming it down close."J " They have a chief or superintendant in their works, who directs the whole. The utmost attention is paid to him by the whole community. Every in- dividual has his task allotted, which they undertake with the utmost alacrity. The overseer gives a sig- nal, by a certain number of smart slaps with his tail, expressive of his orders. The moment the artificers hear it they hasten to the place thus pointed out, and perform the allotted labour, whether it is to carry wood, or draw the clay, or repair any acci *0! magnus posthac inimicis risus!—Uterne Ad casus dubios fidet sibi certius? Hor. Serm. lib.ii. t Buffon ed. Sonnini, vol. xxvi. p. 102. t Pennant's History of Quadrupeds. The whole of the observations in that work on the habits of the beaver are transcribed from Buffon. 46 FABULOUS HISTORY dental breach. They h >ve also their centinels. who, by the same kind of signal, give notice of any appre- hended danger. They are said to have a sort of slavish beaver among them (analogous to the drone) which they employ in servile works and domestic drudgery."* " In 1792, Capt. G. Cartwright published a jour- nal of transactions, &c. on the Labrador coast, where he had resided nearly sixteen years. In this he ap- prises the reader that his account will appear very different from what Buffon and others have written on the subject, and begs it may be remembered that they wrote chiefly from hearsay, but what he ad- vances is the result of his own actual observation."! Yet, with a very trifling exception, this actual ob- server repeats all the trash of preceding hearsay- writers, nearly in their own words, only expressing doubts about the tail being used as a trowel, or a sledge upon which they haul stones and clay. The following is his version of Buffon's account of the solitary or hermit beaver: " Sometimes a single beaver lives by itself, and is then called a hermit or terrier. Whatever may have been the cause which has separated these individuals from society, it is certain that they always have a black mark on the inside of the skin upon their backs, which is called a saddle, and distinguishes them from the others. Cartwright supposes this separation from society mav arise from their fidelity and constancy to each other. * Pennant's Arctic Zoology, p. 117. voi. j, t Church's Cabinet of Quadrupeds. OF THE BEAVER. 47 and that, having by some accident lost their mate, they will not readily pair again. He thinks, like- wise, that the mark on the back may proceed from the want of a companion to keep that part warm."* " Three beavers were seen cutting down a large cotten-wood tree: when they had made considerable progress one of them retired to a short distance and took his station in the water, looking steadfastly at the top of the tree. As soon as he perceived the top of the tree begin to move towards its fall, he gave notice of the danger to his companions, who were still at work, gnawing at its base, by slapping his tail upon the surface of the water, and they im- mediately ran from the tree out of harm's way."f «' It is difficult for a traveller to publish his tra- vels without speaking of the beaver, although he should have travelled only in Africa, where there are none. I should wish to avoid repetition, but I have no recollection of what those gentlemen indi- vidually, even Buffon from his closet, have written. I will communicate what I have seen and learned on the spot, respecting this surprising animal. If I say the same that others have said, it will serve to con- * Church, Cab. Quad. Bachelors of the human species have good cause to rejoice that their backs are clothed, if Capt. Cartwright's doctrine holds good throughout, otherwise their forlorn condition would be at once indicated by some- thing like the aforesaid saddle. f Long's Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, vol. i. p. 464. It is but just to state that this is given in that work as a " hunter's story,"" which is too often synonymous with an English word of three letters. 48 FABULOUS HISTOR\ firm you the more in what you already know, if there should be any thing new, you will be obliged to me for adding to your stock of information. " On the west side a small stream enters the lake. The beavers have barricaded the mouth of it, by means of a causeway, which a regiment of engineers could not have made better; the water is thrown back and forms a pond, where they have erected their town. It must be observed that they, know that this river is never dry; for otherwise, they would not have chosen it. " The stakes planted in the earth, and the trunks of trees which cross them, are of a considerable thickness and length. It is incredible how this little animal could transport such enormous pieces; but what is most astonishing, they never use trees thrown down by the wind or felled by men, but they make their own selection, and cut those which seem to them best adapted for their buildings. " Whilst five or six of them cut or gnaw with their teeth at the foot of the tree, another remains in the middle of the river, and informs them, either by a Whistle, or by a blow with his tail on the water, when he observes the top inclining, in order that, continuing not the less their labour, they may be eautious and remain on their guard. Observe, they never gnaw the tree on the land-side, but always on that next the water, in order that it may certainly fall in that direction. " All the tribes then unite their efforts and float it to the place proposed. Then, with their teeth, they sharpen the stake, with their claws they make deep holes in the earth, and with their paws thev OF THE BEAVER. 49 plant and drive it in. They place branches of trees crossways against these stakes, they then fill up the interstices with mortar, which some prepare, while others are cutting the trees, or are occupied with other labours,—for the tasks are so distributed that none remain idle. This mortar becomes harder and more solid than the celebrated cement known among the Romans. " When the causeway is completed and they have tried it, in order to know if it answers their pur- poses, they work out at the lower part of it an opening, in the nature of a sluice, which they open and shut at need, in order to let the river flow again; they then begin to build their house in the midst of the ground destined to form the pond. They never build the house before the causeway, lest this last should not succeed according to their wishes, and they should thus lose their time and trouble. " Their house, built likewise of wood, and plaster- ed, is of two stories, and double. It is long in pro- portion to the number of the tribe which are to inhabit it. " The first story serves them in common, as a magazine for provisions, and is under the water; the second is above, and serves them for lodging- rooms, where each family has its apartment. " Under the foundation of the house they work out a number of passages, by means of which they enter and go out under ground, without being perceived even by the most vigilant Indian; these open at some distance from the house, and at that part which forms the pond, or at the lakes or rivers, near which tbey VOL. II.--G 50 FABULOUS HISTORY commonly establish themselves, in order to have the choice of taking that direction which may be most convenient to them, or least dangerous in the differ- ent incidents of their life. " The beavers are divided into tribes, and some- times into small bands only, of which each has its chief, and order and discipline reign there, much more, perhaps, than among the Indians, or even among civilized nations. " Their magazines are invariably provisioned in summer, and no one touches them before the scarcity of winter is felt, unless extraordinary circumstances render it absolutely necessary, but never in any case does any one enter except by the authority and in the presence of the chief. Their food consists in gene- ral of the bark of trees, principally that of willow, and of all the trees which belong to the poplar family. Sometimes when bark is not found in sufficient quan- tity, they collect the wood, and in this case they cut it into bits with their teeth. " Each tribe has its territory. If any stranger is caught trespassing, he is brought before the chief, who for the first offence punishes him ad correctionem, and for the second deprives him of his tail, which is the greatest misfortune that can happen to a beaver, for their tail is their cart, upon which they transport, wherever it is desired, mortar, stones, pro- visions, &c. and it is also the trowel, which it exactly resembles in shape, used by them in building This infract.on of the laws of nations is considered among them as so great an outrage, that the whole tribe of the mutilated beaver side with him, and set off im- mediately to take vengeance for it. OE THE BEAVER. 51 " In this contest the victorious party, using the rights of war, drives the vanquished from their quarters, takes possession of them, and places a pro- visional garrison, and finally establishes there a co- lony of young beavers. With respect to this point, another particularity of these admirable animals will not appear less astonishing. " The female of the beaver produces her young usually in the month of April, and has as many as four. She nourishes them, and carefully instructs them during a year, that is to say until the family is about to have another increase, and then these young beavers, obliged to give place, build a new dwelling by the side of the paternal mansion, if they are not very numerous, otherwise they are obli- ged to go with others in order to form elsewhere a new tribe and a new establishment. If then, at this time, the enemy is driven from his quarters, the vic- tors, if their young of that year are arrived at the period of emancipation, (that is to say of governing themselves) instal them there. The Indians have re- lated to me in a positive manner another trait of these animals, but it is so extraordinary that I leave you at liberty to believe or reject it. They assert, and there are some who profess to have been ocular witnesses, that the two chiefs of two belligerent tribes sometimes terminate the quarrel by single combat, in the pre- sence of the two hostile armies, like the people of Medieve, or three against three, like the Horatii and Curiatii of antiquity. Beavers marry, and death alone separates them. They punish infidelity in the females severely, even with death. " When they are sick, they are carefully nursed. b'Z FABULOUS HISTORY The sick have also their plaintive cries, like human beings. The Indians hunt them in the same manner in which, as you have seen in our sixth promenade, they hunt the musk-rat. The musk-rat is a heaver of the second degree. He has the same form in miniature, and many of his qualities, although his fur is inferior in beauty and fineness. The Indians, moreover, in winter make holes in the ice which cover the ponds surrounding the houses of the bea- ver, watch for the moment when they put out their heads to take the air, and shoot them. " The Great Hare at Red Lake wished to make me believe that, having come to the spot where two tribes of beaver had just been engaged in battle, he found about fifteen dead o^ dying on the field, and other Indians, Sioux andChippeways, have also assur- ed me that they have obtained valuable booty in simi- lar circumstances. It is a fact that they sometimes take them without tails. I have seen such myself. In fine, these animals are so extraordinary, even in the eyes of the Indians themselves, that they suppose them men, become beavers by transmigration, and they think in killing them to do them a great service, for they say they restore them to their original state."* We may advantageously conclude the fabulous history of the beaver by introducing the judici- ous observations made on the subject by Hearne, whose excellent remarks on this animal have been, hitherto, altogether overlooked. Beltrami; La Decouverte des Sources du Mississip pi, &c. 1825 OF THE BEAVER. 58 (i I cannot refrain from smiling when I read the accounts of different authors who have written on the economy of these animals, as there seems to be a contest between them who shall most exceed in fiction. But the compiler of the Wonders of Nature and Art, seems in my opinion to have succeeded best in this respect, as he has not only collected all the fictions into which other writers on this subject have run, but has so greatly improved on them, that little remains to be added to his account of the beaver, besides a vocabulary of their language, a code of their laws, and a sketch of their religion, to make it the most complete natural history of that animal which can possibly be offered to the public. " There cannot be a greater imposition, or indeed a grosser insult on common understanding, than the wish to make us believe the stories of some of the works ascribed to the beaver; and though it is not to be supposed that the compiler of a general work can be intimately acquainted with every subject of which it may be necessary to treat, yet a very moderate share of understanding would be sufficient to guard him against giving credit to sw.h marvellous tales, however smoothly they may be told, or however boldly they may be asserted by the romancing tra- veller."* Most of the wonders related of the beaver are to be found in Gesner's work, De Quadrupedibus, which contains a collection of all the statements made an- terior to this time. These extravagances will be found, with slight variations, repeated down to the * Octavo ed. 1796, p. 231. 54 1ABUL0US HISTORY, &C. present day, by Buffon and his successors. We sub- join a few of these, which it is unnecessary to trans- late, as specimens of the close repetition indulged in by various writers, who should have drawn more largely upon nature instead of aiding in the diffu- sion of fictions and error. " Morsu potentissimum adeo ut cum hominem in- vadit, conventum dentium non prius laxet quam con- crepuise persenserit ossa fracta: Plin. et Solin. Apud Gesnerum. " Gaudent enim, ripis magnorum fluvium cum ani- mal sit amphibium, non solum ut reliqua quibus hoc nomen tribuitur qua1 victus tantum gratia aquas petunt, sed etiam quadam natura affinitate, ut jam in caudse et pedum posteriorum mentione diximus quae ad piscium naturam accedunt. " Castores gregatim ad sylvas lignatum pergunt imponuntautem ligna super ventrem resupinati unius qui pro vehiculo sit et inter crura ejus artificiose com- ponunt: qui ne cielabantur compressis ea cruribus ante et retro stringit; hunc sic onustum cseteri cauda ad casas usque pertrahunt. Hanc injuriam fieri ne- gant nisi peregrino castori qui aliunde ad eos con- fugerit aut fortuito pervenerit ad castores loci alicu- jus incolas: ilium enim hoc pacto in servitutem ab eis redigi. Alii non peregrino sed natu grandi et laboribus confecto qui propter dentes obtusos lignis secandis ineptus jam sit, hoc fieri aiunt. Ita tractati castores in dorso glabrescunt, quo signo a venatoribus agniti illsesi interdum dimittuntur.— " Falsum est quod agitatus a venatore castret seip- sum dentibus ac testes projici at et postea si ab alio venatore urgeatur erecto corpore, castratum se os THE BEAVER. 55 tendat, ut saape in regionibus nostris compertum est."—Alb. Mag* Description of the Beaver. The beaver is about two feet in length, having a thick and heavy body, especially at its hinder part. The head is compressed and somewhat arched at the front, the upper part being rather narrow, and the snout, at the extremity, quite so; the neck is very short and thick. The eyes are situated rather high up on the head, and have rounded pupils; the ears are short, elliptical, and almost entirely concealed by the fur. The whole skin is covered by two sorts of hair; one which is long, rather stiff, elastic, and of a gray colour for two-thirds of its length next the base, and terminated by shining, reddish, brown points, giving the general colour to the pelage;' the other is short, very fine, thick, tufted and soft, being of different shades of silver gray or light lead co- lour. On the head and feet the hair is shorter than elsewhere. The tail, which is ten or eleven inches long, is covered with hair similar to that of the back, for about one-third of its length nearest the base, the rest of it is covered by hexagonal scales, which are not imbricated, f * " Imitatus castora, qui se Eunuchum ipse facit, cupiens evadere damno testiculorum. Juvenalis xii. liv. xxxiv. t When the beaver sits erect upon its hinder limbs, as in the act of conveying his food to the mouth with his fore 56 THE BEAVER. The only species of beaver known is the one we have described; all the others which have been no- ticed are varieties of this species. During the first year of their lives, the beavers are termed pappooses by the hunters; when two years old, small meddlers; at three years of age, large meddlers. In their fourth year they are called beavers, and after that old or great beavers.* paws, like the squirrel, the tail is doubled under, or thrown forwards, lying between the legs. Castoris penis modo profecto singulari ab ano, copulandi gratia protensus est; dehinc inter ista, et monotremata, sive animalia unico communi que foramine prJedita, similitudo. * It was our intention to have concluded the account of the beaver, by presenting a sketch of the history of the Ame- rican fur trade, so intimately connected with this animal. But the difficulty of collecting the necessary data is so great, and'our inquirers thus far have been so unproductive of satis- faction, that we are reluctantly obliged to defer our observa- tions on this interesting subject until a future period. :• Vi'TUR Hi CHAPTER III. Genus XXI. Musk-Rat; Fiber; III. Germ. Zibethratze: Bisambiber; u. s. f. Fr. Rat Musqu£. Swed. Desmansrotta. Eng. Musk-Beaver. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is rather long and blunt at the snout, with eyes of a moderate size and short ears. The limbs are short, the anterior having four toes, not united, but bordered by a membranous edging some- what fringed. All the toes are furnished with in- curvated nails of moderate size. The tail is long, compressed, or flattened vertically, covered with a naked granulous integument, with a few hairs inter- spersed. The teats, which are six in number, are placed on the belly. A peculiar matter, having a strong musky odour, is secreted by glands situated in the pubic regions. Dental System. x f0 TT C2 Incisive |j 8 Upper J6Mo,ar> h1 i 0 T > 2 Incisive 2 Incisive | | SUpper }6>Iolars> H |OI ^2 Incisive 2 L8L°WCr 2 6 Molars. This system of dentition is composed of small tri- angles, surrounded by enamel, and disposed alternate- ly on each side of a common axis, so that there is a 64 THE FIELD-MOUSE. triangular vacancy between each of them, that forms a deep groove on the outside of the tooth. In the upper jaw the incisors are even, and slight- ly rounded on their anterior surface. The first molar is composed of five triangles,—one anterior, two ex- ternal, and two internal, and these correspond to the interval left between the others, so that they are closer than those of the anterior triangle. The se- cond is composed of four triangles, one anterior, two external and two on the inner side, corresponding to the vacant spaces which separate the two others. The third is composed also of four triangles, one an- terior, one external, one internal, and one posterior; the latter is irregular, being narrow, elongated, and the lines forming it sinuous. These three teeth di- minish gradually in size, from the first to the last. In the lower jaw the forms of the teeth are the same as in the upper: the incisors are even, and slightly rounded on the anterior surface. The first molar has five angles, or rather five divisions; the first is in form of a trefoil, then come two small in- ternal triangles, an external and a posterior larger than the middle ones. The second is also composed of five triangles: one small anterior, two internal, one exterior and one posterior. The third appears to have only three or four triangles, placed nearly one behind the other, and joined by their angles. THE MEADOW-MOUSE. 65 Species I.— The Meadow-Mouse. Arvicola Xanthognatus; Leach. Jlrvicola Xanthognatus: Sabine, App. p. 660. Sat, Long's Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, i. 369. Campagnol aux joues fauves: Desm. Mammal, p. 282. Were we to confine our attention to an individual of this species, its diminutive size, delicacy of limbs and evident feebleness, might lead us to consider it as altogether insignificant, and equally incapable of benefitting or injuring mankind. In this, as in vari- ous analogous instances, nature has compensated for individual feebleness by numerical force, and endow- ed this species with a fecundity which not only pre- serves it amidst numerous vigilant and destructive enemies, but enables it to multiply so extensively as to become a severe tax, and occasionally a scourge to the farmers. The meadow-mouse is found in various degrees of abundance throughout this country, and, as implied by its name, prefers the meadow and grass fields to other situations. The banks of drains, and those thrown up to keep off the tide, or overflow of streams, are the favourite places for their burrows, which are both numerous and extensive, being continued in various directions and to considerable depths. These burrows are frequently causes of injury similar to that resulting from those of the musk rat, the tide gradually enlarging the cavities, and the bank final- ly falling in, until a fair breach is made, through which the grounds are injuriously inundated. vol. n.—i 66 THE MEADOW-MOUSE. During the temperate and warm seasons of the year, the meadow-mice spend the greater part of their time above ground, travelling about through little lanes and alleys among the grass. These small roads are so frequently travelled, that after the hay- harvest, when they are left exposed, they have some- thing of the appearance of little burrows among the grass-roots. At the season of the first hay-harvest their nests are found in great numbers on the surface of the ground. These are made very similar to a small bird's nest, of soft grass, and generally contain six or eight young ones. Recollecting that this species breeds more than once a year, we shall find no diffi- culty in understanding how the meadow-mice may become very injurious by excessive multiplication, notwithstanding their defenceless condition and nu- merous enemies. Besides being preyed upon by owls, hawks, cats, &c. the country people are very vigilant in putting them to death, and the hay-makers consider mouse hunting as one of the most en- livening circumstances connected with their labours. Thus far the mischief of which the species is no- toriously guilty, appears not to be compensated by any peculiar good quality; but although we are una- ble to state the precise degree of service rendered, the fact of its existence is sufficient evidence of im- portance in the great scale of creation, whatever diffi- culty there may be in discovering or acknowledging it. No doubt this, among other species, was des- tined to limit the undue increase of the vegetable kingdom; various other creatures in an analogous manner subsist by the destruction of meadow-mice, while the great destroyer man seems to be the last THE MARSH CAMPAGNOL. 67 in the chain of destructiveness, since he is not only in the habit of extinguishing vegetable and brute animal life, but of extending his ravages to his own kind. The general colour of this species is a reddish yellow, mingled with black on the upper part of the body, and a clear cinereous gray beneath. The sides of the head are fulvous; the tail is black above and white beneath; the paws are brownish on their supe- rior surface, and white beneath. Its length, including the tail, is about five inches. Species II.—The Marsh Campagnol. Arvicola Ripariusj Ord. .Irvicola Riparius: Obd. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, iv. part ii. p. 305. This species, like the preceding, makes its burrows in the meadow banks, and resembles it in various other respects. All that we know of it is derived from the account given by Mr. Ord, in the work above quoted. "This species (says he,) is fond of the seeds of the wild-oats (zizania aquatica,) and is found in the autumn in those fresh water marshes which are fre- quented by the common rail, (Gallinula Carolina Lath.) When the tide is high the animal may be observed sitting upon the fallen reeds, patiently waiting for the recession of the water. From its position when at rest it has much the appearance of i lump of mud, and is commonly mistaken for such 68 THE COTTON-RAT. by those who are unacquainted with its habits. It swims and dives well." The head of the marsh campagnol is large, with a thick obtuse snout,—having small eyes and short roundish ears, nearly concealed by the hair on the cheeks. The fore legs are very short; the posterior parts of the body are more slender and weaker than the anterior. The tail is thinly covered with hair, and tufted or penciled at tip, and is longest in the male. The upper parts of the body are of a tawny brown colour mixed with black, the lower parts of an ash or gray colour. The female has four pecto- ral and four abdominal teats, and brings forth eight young at a litter. Species III.—The Cotton-Rat, or Hairy Cam- pagnol. Arvicola Hispidusj Ord. Sigmodon Uispidum.- Sat &. Ord, Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, iv. part ii. p. 354. This animal was discovered in East Florida in the year 1818, by Mr. Ord, whose description was not published until 1825. He found its burrows in the deserted plantations lying on the river St. Johns, East Florida, especially in the gardens, where they are seen in every direction. It is high- ly probable, he thinks, that this animal will be found a source of much injury and vexation to the future settlers of "that country. the wood-rat. m The head of the hairy campagnol is thick, and the snout elongated, having eyes of considerable size, and large round ears; the tail is nearly as long as the body. The ears are slightly covered with hair; the fore legs are short; the hind feet are large and strong, with short lateral toes and stout claws. The upper parts of the body and head are of a pale, dirty, yel- low ochre colour, mixed with black; the lower parts are cinereous. On the upper parts of the body and sides the hair is long, plentiful and coarse. The animal is six inches long from the tip of the snout to the insertion of the tail, which is four inches long. In the adult animal yellow is the predominant colour; the young are generally black.* The cotton-rat obtains its name from the circum- stance of making its nest with cotton, which it col- lects for the purpose in large quantities; the nest is generally placed within a hollow log, or else in a chamber at the extremity of a burrow. Species IV.— The Wood-Rat. Arvicola Floridanusj Ord. The Wood-Rat: Bartram, Travels in E. Florida, p. 124. Mus Floridanus.- Sat, Long's Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, i. p. 54. Neotoma Floridana.- Sat and Ord, Journ. of the Acad, of Nat. Sciences, iv. part ii. p. 352. This beautiful animal was once thought to be pe- culiar to Florida, and received its scientific name from that circumstance. But it is now highly pro- * See note at the end of the next species. 70 THE WOOD-RAT. bable that it is to be found throughout this country in certain situations; by Say it was obtained on the Missouri. From all that we can learn relative to this ani- mal, it is of a gentle, timid disposition; harmless in its manners and inoffensive in its mode of living. Far from having any of that peculiar cunning and distrustful air that is so remarkable in the common rat, it shows few signs of fear when approached, and allows itself to be made prisoner or killed without difficulty. They burrow under stones and among the ruins of buildings, and feed on vegetable sub- stances. They construct their nests with large quan- tities of brush and rubbish. The wood campagnol is about sixteen inches long, including the tail, which measures seven inches. The head gradually diminishes in size from the ears to the snout, and is of a lead colour intermingled with gray. Its ears are nine-tenths of an inch long, rounded, prominent and open, having but few hairs on their back part and on the margin within. The eyes are of a moderate size and prominent; the whis- kers are arranged in six longitudinal series, the longest of them surpassing the tips of the ears. The tail is hairy and brown above; the legs are stout and of nearly equal length, with white feet, having the toes annulated beneath, and the nails concealed by the hair. The thumb is minute, and the palms of the fore feet have five tuberculous prominences; in the soles of the hind feet there are six tubercles, of which the three posterior are distant from each other. " The wood-rat (says Bartram,) is a very curious THE WOOD-RAT. 71 animal; they are not half the size of the domestic rat, and of a dark brown or black colour; their tail slender and shorter in proportion, and covered thinly with short hair. They are singular with respect to their ingenuity and great labour in the construction of their habitations, which are conical pyramids about three or four feet high, constructed with dry branches, which they collect with great labour and perseverance, and pile up without any apparent or- der, yet they are so interwoven with one another, that it would take a bear or wild cat some time to pull one of these castles to pieces, and allow the ani- mals sufficient time to secure a retreat with their young."* The wood-rat has, beyond doubt, been as common throughout this country at a former period, as it is at present in Florida and on the Missouri.f It has very universally given place to the black-rat, and both have disappeared before the Norway rat, as we * Page 125. t " In turning over some of the baggage we caught a rat somewhat larger than the common European rat, and of a lighter colour; the body and outer part of the legs as well as the belly, feet and ears, are white; the ears are not covered with hair, and are much larger than those of the common rat; the toes are also longerj their eyes black and prominent; the whiskers very long and full; the tail rather longer than the body, and covered with fine fur and hair, of the same size with that on the back, which is very close, short and silky in its texture. This was the first we had met, although its nests are frequent among the clifts of rocks and hollow trees, where we also found large quantities of the shells and seeds of the prickly pear, on which we conclude they chiefly sub sist."—Lewis and Clarke, i.p. 289. 72 THE WOOD-RAT. shall soon have occasion to state. The wood-rat soon learns to infest the houses of the settlers, and to do nearly if not quite as much mischief as the common rat. It is highly probable that some of these rate still remain in the remote and barren parts of the Atlantic states, or in situations analogous to those occupied by this species in the southern and western country.* * In the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, (vol. iv. part ii. p. 345, 352,) Messrs. Say and Ord propose to establish two new genera for the reception of this and the preceding species, under the names of Sigmodon and Neoto- ma, in consequence of the differences they have observed in the dentition of these animals. These differences are the following: In the hairy campagnol (arvicola hispidus*) " the different arrangement of the folds of the enamel, and the circumstance of the molars being divided into radicles, cer- tainly exclude it from the genus arvicola." In relation to the wood-rat (arvicola Floridanusf) they remark, " that the grinding surface of the molars differs somewhat from that of the molars of the genus arvicola, but the large roots of the grinders constitute a character essentially different." With due deference to the opinion of our respected friends, we are decidedly of an opposite belief. This variation of dental arrangement may be sufficient to indicate modifica- tions or differences in the regimen or feeding of these ani- mals, but cannot of themselves suffice to establish generic distinctions, when the external characters and habits of the animals are so strikingly similar to the genus arvicola. The wood-rat certainly is closely related to the genus mus, and * Sigmodon Hispidum of Say and Ord. f Neotoma Floridana of Say and Ord. We have, as in all similar in- stances, referred the species to the original proprietors or describers, notwithstanding the changes produced by arranging them under other genera. CHAPTER V. Genus XXIII.—Lemming; Lemmus; Link, Cuv. This genus is closely allied to the preceding, and differs from it principally in the conformation of the fore feet and the shortness of the tail. The fore feet are five toed in some instances, and four toed in others, being provided with nails fit for burrowing; the hind feet are five toed. The lail is not very acute at its extremity, is shorter than the body, and covered by a velvety integument. The dental system is the same as that of the genus Arvicola. Species I.— The Hudson9s Bay Lemming. Lemmus Hudsonius. Lemmus Hudsonius.- Sabine, App. p. 661. Mus Hudsonius; Pallas, Glires, p. 208. pi. 26. Rat de Labrador: Encycl. pi. 69, fig. 6. Lemming de la Baie d'Hudson: Desm. Mammal, p. 289. The Hair 'Failed Mouse.- Hearne, 8vo. ed. p. 385. The Hudson's Bay Lemming is covered by a very fine, soft and long hair, which is of an ash colour, might with great propriety be considered as a distinct sub- genus of arvicola, as Say and Ord suggest that some natu- ralists may consider it. The arrangement proposed by them VOL. 11.—K 74 the Hudson's bay lemming. with a tinge of tawny on the back, having along its middle a dusky stripe, and on each side a pale tawny line. The limbs are quite short, and the fore feet being formed for burrowing, are very strong. The two middle claws of the male, which are compressed, thick and strong, appear to be bifid or double, be- cause the skin of these toes is callous, and projects from beneath the nail. The mode of life peculiar to this species is but little known; the Lapland lemming is very notori- ous for its extensive migrations, but nothing of the same kind has been observed of the Hudson's Bay species. "The hair-tailed mouse, (says Hearne) is the largest in the northern parts of the bay, being little inferior in size to a common rat. They always bur- row under stones on dry ridges, are very inoffensive, and so easily tamed, that, if taken when full grown, some of them will in a day or two be perfectly re- conciled, and are so fond of being handled that they will creep about your neck or into your bosom. In summer they are gray, and in winter change to white, but are by no means so beautiful as a white ermine. At that season they are infested with multitudes o small lice, not a sixth part so large as the mites in a cheese; in fact, they are so small that at first sight they only appear like reddish brown dust, but on closer examination are all perceived in motion. In we esteem to be in the highest degree artificial, unnatural, and by consequence unnecessary, and therefore not to be adopted; at least in a work in which nature and useful ness are the supreme objects of regard. the Hudson's bay lemming. 75 one large and beautiful animal of this kind, caught in the depth of winter, I found those little vermin so numerous about it, that almost every hair was co- vered with them as thick as ropes with onions, and when they approached near the ends of the hair they may be said to change the mouse from white to a faint brown. At that time I had an excellent mi- croscope, and endeavoured to examine them, and to ascertain their form, but the weather was so exceed- ingly cold that the glasses became damp with the moisture of my breath before I could get a single sight. The hind feet of these mice are exactly like those of a bear, and the fore feet are armed with a horny substance,* (that I never saw in any other species of the mouse,) which is wonderfully adapted for scraping away the ground where they wish to take up their abode. They are plentiful on some of the stony ridges near Churchill factory, but never approach the house or any of the out-offices. From appearances they are very local, and seldom stray far from their habitations, even in summer, and in win- ter they are seldom seen on the surface of the snow— a great proof of their being provident in summer to lay up a stock for that season.f' * The description given of this " horny substance," which is a mere induration of the cuticle covering the palms, and caused by the act of scraping among the stones, &c sufficiently indicates the species. t " I observed with astonishment long ridges ot mouse- dung, several inches deep, extending for above two miles. By what means this could have arrived here I was at a loss to conceive, as I did not see any mouse-holes or other traces of the- animals; besides which they live in stony dry CHAPTER VI. Genus XXIV.—Rat; Mus; L. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is conical, more or less short, having a pointed snout, rather large eyes, and almost naked ears. There are no cheek pouches; the neck is short and the body thick, having from ten to twelve teats, part situated upon the chest and part upon the belly. The toes are free, or unconnected by membrane, and provided with hooked nails. The anterior feet have four digits and a rudimental thumb, covered by a blunt nail. The tail is naked, scaly and tapering; the body is covered by long, stiff hairs, intermingled with a close fine fur. Dental System. if supp- {sas£e In the upper jaw the incisors are smooth and flat, and rise from the sides of the anterior part of places, and this was a swamp. It is possible, however, that this accumulation of the excrements of mice may be from the mus (Lemmus,) Hudsonius, occasionally migrating in the same wonderful manner as the lemmer of Lapland."— Lyon's Private Journal, p. 432.. OF THE RAT. 77 the maxillary bone. The three molars diminish in size from the first to the last; they are very remarka- ble for being inclined from before backwards. The first molar is composed of six tubercles, which, con- sidered in a transverse order, present themselves tbus:—two in front, one larger corresponding to the middle of the tooth, and the other at the inside; then three, two small ones on the edges, the largest in the middle, and finally one at the posterior part of the tooth, and of the size of the middle tubercle of the three preceding. This arrangement of the great tubercles in the middle, and of the small ones on the edge, gives the form of a trefoil to the undulating line they produce. The second molar is formed of four tubercles, one in front on the inside, two in the middle, arranged obliquely from without inwards, and from before backwards, and the fourth at the posterior part on the outside. The last has also four tubercles arranged like those of the second molar. In the lower jaw the incisors are similar to those of the upper jaw; they arise far behind and above the molars, from the middle of the ascending branch of the jaw-bone, where its bulb produces a little projection. The molars diminish in size from the first to the third, and are inclined in a direction op- posite to those of the upper jaw; that is, they lean for- wards and are equally formed of tubercles. The first has five, one small anterior, two middle, and two pos- terior; the second has four, also arranged in pairs, two before and two behind. The last has but three, a single one in front, followed by a pair. 78 THE BROWN RAT. Species I.— Tlie Common, Brown or Norway Rat. Mus Decumanus; Pall. Mus Sylvcslris Bhiss. Keg. An. 170, No. 3; Mus Norvegicus: ibik p. 173, No. 8. Mus Decumanus- L. (,>rr,i. Schreb. p]. 178, Encycl. pi. 67, fig- 9. Le Surmulot: Buff. 8, pi. 27. Brown-Rat: Pex.v. Quad. No. 298, Arct. Zool. i. 151, No. 57. It must be confessed that this rat is one of the veriest scoundrels in the brute creation, though it is a misfortune in him rather than a fault, since he acts solely in obedience to the impulses of nature, is guided by no other law than his own will, and sub- mits to no restraints except such as are imposed by force. He is, therefore, by no means as bad as the scoundrels of a higher order of beings, who, endowed with superior powers of intelligence, and enjoying the advantages of education, do still act as if they possessed all the villainous qualities of the rat, with- out being able to offer a similar apology for their conduct. * Among quadrupeds this rat may be considered as occupying the same rank as the crow does among birds. He is one of the most impudent, troublesome, mischievous, wicked wretches that ever infested the habitations of man. To the most wily cunning he adds a fierceness and malignancy of disposition that frequently renders him a dangerous enemy, and a destroyer of every living creature he can master. He is a pure thief, stealing not merely articles of food, for which his hunger would be a sufficient jus- tification, but substances which can be of no possible THE brown rat. n utility to him. When he gains access to the library he does not hesitate to translate and appropriate to his own use the works of the most learned authors, and is not so readily detected as some of his brother pirates of the human kind, since he does not carry off his prize entire, but cuts it into pieces before he conveys it to his den. He is, in short, possessed of no one quality to save him from being universally despised, and his character inspires no stronger feel- ing than contempt, even in those who are under the necessity of putting him to death. The common, brown, or Norway rat, now so ex- tensively diffused over this country, is not indigenous to our soil, but was introduced from Europe, which received it from Asia in the eighteenth century, as late as the year 1750. There are few parts of the world now visited by navigators where this animal has not been introduced, and the immediate conse- quence of its introduction has been, that all the na- tive rats have been destroyed, or obliged to withdraw beyond the reach of this subtle and implacable ene- my. Prior to the year above mentioned this rat, now so notorious for its ravages, was almost, if not wholly, unknown in Europe.* It was conveyed to England, * Specie ob hoc (ratto) diversus, mus decumanus, Persia ut videtur et vicini orientis indigena, vix ante alterum tor- tiumve sseculi praeteriti decennium Europa; invasisse fertur' ct ubi agmina eorum consedere, domesticum contra rattum sensim defecisse constat. 'Norvegicum plures nuperorum zoologicorum vocant quam vero appellationem Zimmerma- nus id improbat quod faunae scandinavicae nullam ejus men- ♦ R. Smith's Rat Catcher, p. 5, 1768. 80 THE BROWN RAT. about the period above mentioned, in the timber-ships from Norway, and hence it has received one of its common names. Many years subsequently it was brought to this country in European ships, and has been gradually propagated from the sea-ports over the greater part of the continent. The brown rat takes up its residence about wharves, store-houses, cellars, granaries; &c. and destroys the common black rat and mouse, or en- tirely expels them from the vicinities it frequents. To chickens, rabbits, young pigeons, ducks, and vari- ous other domestic animals, it is equally destructive when urged by hunger and opportunity. Eggs are also a very favourite article of food with this species, and are sought with great avidity; in fact, every thing that is edible falls a prey to their voracity, and can scarcely be secured from their persever- ing and audacious inroads. In the country they take up their abodes according to convenience and the abundance of provision, infesting especially mills, tionem faciant. At enim vero hoc sane idoneis testibus cvictum est ipsissimum hunc Rattum decumanum ante an- num MDCCXXX, Anglis plane ignotum, turn temporis pri- mum et quidem quod expresse asserunt, ex Norvegia navibus onerariis quae lignorum materiam inde advehebant illatum esse.* Cumque turn temporis in universa Germania boreali nullibi adhuc visus fuerat inficetum, corruit asseclarum peti- toris quondam regni Anglici figmentum quo ilium murem ex Hanoverianis terris in Brittanniam translatum esse fabu- labantur.—Jo. Frid. Blumenbach. Com. Soc. Goett. 1285. * Espriella's (Southey's) Letters, i. p. 285, ed. 3. THE BROWN RAT. 81 barns and out-houses, or residing in holes along the banks of races or other water-courses. The brown rat swims with great facility, and dives with vigor, remaining under water for a considerable time, and swimming thus to some distance. When attacked and not allowed an opportunity of escaping, he becomes a dangerous antagonist, leaping at his enemy and inflicting severe and dangerous wounds with his teeth. The most eager cat becomes imme- diately intimidated in the presence of one of these rats thus penned up, and is very willing to escape the dangers of an encounter. The brown rat is amazingly prolific, and but for its numerous enemies, and its own rapacious disposi- tion, would become an intolerable pest. Happily for the world, in addition to man, to the weazel, cat, some species of dog, &c. rats frequently find de- structive enemies in each other, both in the adult and young state, their numbers thus being prevented from becoming such an intolerable grievance as they other- wise necessarily would. The strongest of the species prey upon the weaker, and are the most merciless destroyers of their own kind.* The weazel and the terrier are the most efficient rat-killers, as the first * «It is a singular fact in the history of these animals that the skins of such of them as have been devoured in their holes have frequently been found curiously turned in- side out, every part being completely inverted to the ends of the toes. How the operation is performed it would be difficult to ascertain; but it appears to be effected in some peculiar mode of eating out the contents."-Bewick, Hist. of Quadrupeds. VOL. II.—L 82 THE BROWN RAT. can pursue the enemy to his most secret retreat, and the second derives from his superior strength and activity a very decided advantage in the contest. The cat, though in general a very useful auxiliary in lessening the number of this species, is very lia- ble both to be foiled and worsted in her attempts. Bringing forth from twelve to eighteen at a lit- ter, we have good reason to rejoice that so many animals have an instinctive animosity against so noxi- ous a marauder.* The cunning of these rats is not less than their im- pudence; it is almost impossible to take them in traps after one or two have been thus caught, as the rest appear perfectly to understand the object of the machine, and afterwards avoid it with scrupulous care, however tempting may be the bait it contains. The surest way to remove them is by poison, which, however, they frequently detect and avoid. The powder of nux vomica, mixed with some Indian corn or oat-meal, and scented with oil of rhodium, is found very effectual in destroying them. Arsenic is very commonly used in the same way for this purpose, but the fatal accidents which frequently occur when this poison is kept about the house, in consequence of the label being removed or changed, and the arse- nic administered to members of a family instead of some other medicine, render it a very objectionable resource. * The name of this species, decumanus, was given on ac count of its great size, and is equally applicable to its great mischievousness. The word originally was decimanus, and eventually by custom became synonymous with magnus ov great. See Callipoenus, Litleton, &c. THE BLACK RAT. 83 The brown rat measures about nine inches, and is of a light brown colour, intermingled with ash and tawny. The colour of the throat and belly is of a dirty white, inclining to gray. It has pale, flesh-co- loured, naked-feet, with a tail of the same length as the body, and covered with small dusky scales, with short hairs thinly scattered between. Species II.— The Black Rat. Mus Rattus; L. Mus Rattus.- Pall. Schreb. &c. Mus Domesticus Major.- Rat, Quad. Sp. 217. Le Rat: Buff. 7, pi. 36. , . , M Black Rat.- Pens. Quad. ii. p. 176. Arct. Zool. i. p. 150. This rat was much more common previous to the introduction of the brown rat than at present It is now found only in situations to which the brown rat has not extended its emigrations, and is almost as injurious and destructive, resembling it closely in manners and habits. It is of a deep iron gray, and indeed nearly of a black colour above, and of an ash colour on the lower parts of its body. Its legs are nearly naked, and on its fore feet instead of the ru- dimental thumb it has a claw. The length from the nose to the root of the tail is seven inches; the tail itself is almost eight inches long. It has been a matter of dispute, whether this ani- mal was received here from Europe, or was original- ly taken hence to that quarter of the world. Blu- menbach, who has devoted much attention to the sub- ject, states it as his opinion that the black rat w«« 84 THE COMMON MOUSE. carried from Europe to America.* Garcilasso de la Vega states, that it was first introduced into South America by the Europeans, about the year 1544, and Geraldus Cambrensis speaks of them in Europe pre- vious to the discovery of America. Species III.—The Common Mouse. Mus Musculus; L. Mus Musculus: Erzl. Bod. Schreb. Ac. Mus Domesticus Vulgaris: Rat, Quad. Mus Sorex: Briss. p. 169, Sp. 2. La Souris: Buff. viii. pi. 39, id. suppl- viii. pi. 20. Like the two preceding species the Common Mouse is not an original inhabitant of this country. * De primigenio et patrio Ratti vulgariter domestici habi- taculo, diversimodi disputatum est. Mirum videtur para doxam Linnei opinionem, qui eum ex Indis occidentalibus in Europam advectum fuisse putarat, vel ipsi Pallasio ideo non improbabilem visam esse quod apud antiquos licet Mus- culi frequens, mentio nulla occurrat Ratti. Etsi enim nul- lus veterum, sive Graecorum sive Romanorum Rattum memo- ret, medii tamen aevi scriptores, iique de historia naturali perbene meriti, diu ante orbem novum detectum de Ralto nostrate agunt, in quibus egregius Silvester Geraldus anno MCLXXXVIII expresse mures majores nominat qui vulga- riter Ratti dicuntur.* Probabile vero videtur huic Rattum primitus Europam mediam incoluisse donee occasione com- merciorum et praesertim navigationem per universum quae Europseis patet orbem adeo propagatus est ut quondam inter prodigia relatum sit nonnullos Germanicae urbes eo plane caruUse.—>Blumenbach, Act. Soc. Gcetting. v. 1823. * Itinerar. Cambria:. THE COMMON MOUSE. 85 but was brought here from Europe, and has long since become perfectly naturalized throughout the continent, having been conveyed in every direction by persons moving their household goods, even to the ^ most remote frontier settlements. The common mouse, from its size and feebleness, is to be regarded rather as a troublesome than a very injurious inmate of our dwellings, but always likely to effect much mischief on account of its fecundity, which is full as remarkable as that of any of its kindred species.* It is a timid and vigilant crea- ture, yet confides to a considerable extent in its swiftness and watchfulness, coming out after various trials, and stealing about a room even when there are several persons present, provided they are silent and do not move. The mouse makes a nest very similar to that of a bird, having the inside lined with some soft material, such as wool, cotton, &c. and brings forth her young several times during a year, generally from six to ten at each litter. At birth her offspring are nak- ed and helpless, but in about fifteen days they are able to shift for themselves, and the mother is soon at liberty to.prepare for another family. The mouse is a very beautiful little animal, when seen not alarmed and at perfect liberty. Its long and * " The propagation of mice, (ft,vtr) in comparison with that of other animals, is very remarkable both for quick- ness and profuseness. A pregnant female was shut up in a chest of grain; in a short time a hundred and twenty indi- viduals were counted."—Aristotle, Hist, of Animals, Book vi. chap. 37- 86 THE COMMON MOUSE. slender whiskers, which extend in numerous and graceful lines from around the fore part of the head, its bright prominent eyes, delicate ears, and slight limbs, with its peculiar movements in search of food, or while sporting with its companions, are all such as to render it a pleasing and interesting animal. It is generally, however, viewed with great disgust on account of prejudices conneoted with its mischievous- ness, and the pecu4iar smell which is more or less prevalent in the places where the species is most nu merous. The common mouse has frequently been tamed, and exhibits a considerable degree of attachment to its feeder. Instances are on record of prisoners who have amused themselves by feeding one of these lit- tle animals, until it has become quite tame, and ap- peared immediately, whenever called by its master. Among other circumstances connected with the his tory of the mouse, it is generally rumoured that this animal is peculiarly susceptible to impressions pro- duced by music, and some very wonderful accounts have been published on the subject. The following story may serve as a specimen of the manner in which facts may be stated with perfect accuracy, and yet conclusions entirely unfounded be thence deduced. It is related by a gentleman who heard it from another '? of undoubted veracity." " One evening, in the month of December, as a few officers on board of a British man of war, in the harbour of Portsmouth, were seated around the fire, one of them began to play a plaintive air on the vio- lin. He had scarcely performed ten minutes when a mouse, apparently frantic, made its appearance in THE COMMON MOUSE. 87 the centre of the floor, near the large table which usually stands in the ward-room, the residence of the lieutenants in ships of the line. The strange ges- tures of the little animal strongly excited, the atten- tion of the officers, who, with one consent, resolved to suffer it to continue its singular actions unmolest- ed. Its exertions now appeared to be greater every moment. It shook its head, leaped about the table, and exhibited signs of the most extatic delight. It was observed that in proportion to the gradation of tones to the soft point, the extacy of the animal ap- peared to be increased, and vice versa. After per- forming actions which an animal so diminutive would at first sight seem incapable of, the little creature, to the astonishment of the delighted spectators, sud- denly ceased to move, fell down and expired, without evincing any pain."* Of the truth of this narration we are thoroughly sat- isfied, but we should explain it differently. The mouse, under the influence of disease, and almost in the agonies of death, came out of its hole when the mu- sician was performing, and after struggling for a time, until exhausted by convulsions, died. The inferences of its6i extacy," &c. are, for any thing to the contrary contained in the above account, entirely gratuitous, and we are much mistaken if the filing of a saw, the scraping of a gridiron, or the whetting of a scythe, would not in this instance have been accompanied by a similar degree of " extacy" in proportion as the y Barton's Medical and Physical Journal, i. p. 38. 88 THE RUSTIC MOUSE. " gradation of the tones" approached the " solt point." The common mouse is about three inches and a- half long, and has a long, nearly naked tail. Its co- lour varies considerably, but is generally of an ashy brown. It has four digits on its anterior feet, and a rudimental thumb, destitute of a claw: the hind feet are five toed. The mouse is preyed on by cats, weazels, owls, rats, &c. &c. Species IV.—The Rustic Mouse. Mus Agrarius; Gmel. Mus Agrarius: Gmel. Pall. p. 341. Sat, Long's Expcd.to the Rock} Mountains, p. 369. This little mouse is very common throughout this country, and is found in great abundance in places favourable to their multiplication. They are occa- sionally very injurious to the farmers by the destruc- tion of the small grain, the heads of which they cut off and convey to their subterranean hoards, which differ very little, if at all, from those made by the meadow-mouse or campagnol. The rustic mouse is about three inches long, and has a streak of a mixed dusky and ferruginous colour along the back: the spaces between the ears (which are large, open and naked) and sides are of an orange colour, while the whole of the under parts of the bo- dy, legs and feet, are of a pure white; the tail is dus- ky above and whitish beneath. The whiskers are long, and some of the hairs are white, some blade. CHAPTER VII. Genus XXV.—Pouched-Rat; Pseudostoma; Say. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head and body are large, giving to the ani- mal a clumsy appearance; the cheek-pouches are very extensive, situated outside of the mouth, separated therefrom by the common integuments, and are pro- foundly concave, opening downwards, towards the mouth. The legs are short, the fore feet large and armed with very long claws; the hind feet are small. Dental System. 2 Incisive irk tt ^2 Incisiv 10 Upper }8Molar< H i in t %% Incisive § 'L10 Lower }gMolar. In the upper jaw the incisors, always expos- ed to view, are strong and truncated in their en- tire width at tip, marked by a deep longitudinal groove near the middle, and by a smaller one at the inner margin. The molars, eight in number, pene- trate to the base of their alveolae without separating into roots, as in the genera Arvicola Lepus, fyc. having simply discoidal, transversely oblong, oval crowns, margined by enamel, resembling in general form the molars of the genus Lepus, but without VOL. II.—M 90 the pouched-rat. the appearance of either a groove at their ends or of a dividing crest of enamel. The posterior tooth is rather more rounded than the others, and that of the upper jaw has a small prominent angle on its posterior face; the anterior tooth is double, in conse- quence of a profound duplicature in its side, so that its crown presents two oval disks, of which the an- terior one is smaller, and the lower one somewhat angulated. All these teeth incline obliquely back- ward, thus resembling those of the preceding genus. In the lower jaw the teeth are similar to those in the upper, except that the molars are inclined forwards.* Species I.— The Pouched-Rat. Pseudostoma Bursarium; Say. Pscudostoma Bursaria: Sat, Long's Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, i. 406. Canada Rat: Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. part i. p. 100. Mus Bursarius.- Lins. Trans, v. p. 227, pi. 8. Mus Saccatus.- Mitchill, New York Med. Kep. Jan. 1821. Lewis and Clark, ii. 180. Cricetus Bursareus: Desk. Mammal. 312. [Vulgarly called Salamander; Pouched-Rat; Sand- Rat; $c] The pouched-rat, though long since noted by various observers, is still but little known, even in the vicinities where it is most common. Its pecu- liar mode of life, its nocturnal habits and vigilance, * This dental system, &c. is from Say. See Long's Ex pedition to the Roeky Mountain?, i. p. 407. THE POUCHED-RAT. 91 unite to secure it from the view of incidental ob- servers, and those who are desirous of becoming ac- quainted with this rat in a state of nature, must be prepared to exercise the most untiring patience as well as the most assiduous attention. In Florida, Georgia, &c, and the plains adjacent to the Missouri, the pouched-rat is to be found in great numbers; their burrows are exceedingly nu- merous in various places, and give an appearance to the plains similar to that produced by ploughing. Over their burrows, hillocks of loose earth are raised, resembling in some respects those thrown up by the shrew-mole. These hillocks consist of about ten or twelve pounds of loose earth, which appears as if it had been emptied out of a flower-pot on the spot; no hole is to be discovered under this mass of loose soil, but if it be carefully removed, it is seen that the earth has been broken in a circle of an inch and a-half in diameter, within which space the ground is loose, but still without any distinct opening. This species is rendered peculiar in its appear- ance by the cheek-pouches exterior to the mouth, its short fore legs and long claws. By the aid of the latter the animal is enabled in a light soil to bur- row with great rapidity, and is seldom or never dug out, since it can escape through the ground as fast as one person can dig in pursuit. As the pouched-rat is so entirely subterranean in its mode of life, it is not surprising that very little should have been learned of its history; neither can we hope that our knowledge will be much increased on the subject until some one, who is sufficiently ac- quainted with natiiral history, will devote himself 92 THE POUCHED-RAT. assiduously to the investigation of the manners of this animal in its native haunts. Except the slight notices given by Bartram, Lewis & Clark, and Say, nothing satisfactory on the habits of the pouched-rat has yet been published.* The pouched-rat is covered by a reddish brown hair, which is lead-coloured at base; on the under parts of the body the colour is somewhat paler; the feet are white. The eyes are black; the ears scarcely prominent, and the cheek-pouches, which are hairy internally and externally, are very capacious. The whiskers are numerous, slender and whitish. The feet are five-toed, the anterior pair being robust, with large, elongated, somewhat compressed nails, exposing the bone on the inner side; the middle nail is much the longest, then the fourth, then the second, then the fifth, the first being very short. The hind feet are very slender, with nails concave beneath and rounded at tip, the exterior one being very small; the tail is short, hairy at base, and nearly naked at its tip.f * The figures which are given of this animal most com- monly represent it with the cheek-pouches inverted in a most unnatural manner. t Say, as above quoted. 94 + ■■ ..'•* CHAPTER VIII. Genus XXVI.—Jumping-Mouse; Gerbillus; Desm. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is elongated, and the ears are rounded and of moderate size. The anterior extremities are short, have four digits,- furnished with small nails and a rudimental thumb; the posterior limbs are either long or very long, have five digits, each of which is supported by a distinct metatarsal bone, and provided with a nail. The tail is long and covered by hair. Dental System. 2 Incisive 6 Molar. 2 Incisive Js C0 ,T ^2 Incisiv | | SUpper J6Molar> H i 0 t ^2 Incisiv s ^ Lower |6Molar 8 Lower < In the upper jaw the incisor, which arises from the middle part of the maxillary bone, is divided into /equal parts by a longitudinal furrow. The mo- lars diminish in size from the first to the last. The first is composed of three transverse prominences, formed by two intervening furrows, not so deep in the middle as at their extremities; these prominences are slightly depressed in the middle, but the anterior and posterior are narrower than the middle. The second molar is composed of two prominences, form- e.d by an intervening depression, the posterior being M the jumping-molse. the narrowest. The third molar is similar to the second, but smaller, especially its posterior promi- nence. Hence these teeth differ from those of the Hamster (Cricetus) principally in the breadth of their prominences. When worn down these teeth are remarkably like those of the Hamster in the same condition; They present an even surface, with de- pressions on the internal and external edges, which are traces of the extremities of the furrows; the dif- ference in the breadth of the prominences may still be recognized. In the lower jaw the incisor is even; the molars diminish in breadth from the first to the last, the reverse of what we find in the hamster. The first molar has three prominences and two furrows, but the first is very narrow and almost circular. The second has two prominences and a furrow, and the third is so small as to be scarcely more than rudi mental. Species I.— The Jumping-Mouse. Gerbillus Canadensis; Desm. Dipus Canadensis: Davif.s, Linn. Trans, iv. 155. , " Dipus Jmericanus: Barton, An. Philos. Trans, iv. 114. Canadian Jerboa: Shaw, Gen. Zoo), pi. 2d. i. 192. Gerbille du Canada.- Desm. Mammal, p. 132. This little animal is very remarkable for the great length of its hind legs and its mode of progression, in both of which it bears some resemblance to the kanguroo of Australasia, and the jerboa of the old continent. When not in motion the jumping-mouse THE JUMPING-MOUSE. 95 might be mistaken for the common field-mouse, as its general aspect is very similar. To rectify such an erroneous view, it is sufficient that an attempt be made to capture it, when the force and celerity of its leaps soon remove it from danger, and the pursuer is astonished at seeing so small a creature, with very slight apparent effort, eluding his most eager speed, by clearing five or six feet of ground at every spring. When the jumping-mouse is pur- sued by one or two persons, and permitted to advance in one direction, its movements resemble those of a bird rather than a quadruped, so high does it leap into the air, so great is the distance it measures at every bound, and so light and quick is its ascent and descent. The jumping-mouse, however, does not exclusively move in this manner, but is capable of running on all its feet with considerable speed; hence it frequently excites the wonder of the country peo- ple, or gives them much labour in vain when they attempt to run it down. The jumping-mouse is found in this country from Canada to Pennsylvania, and no doubt still farther south. It is in size nearly the same as the common mouse. The head, back, and upper parts of the body, generally, are of a reddish brown colour, somewhat approaching to yellow. On the back the brown is darker than elsewhere. The under parts of the body throughout are cream-colour, as well as the inner parts of all the limbs. Near the lower part of the nostrils there is a band or yellow streak, which runs on each side along the whole length of the head and the superior and inferior side of the fore limbs, whence, passing along the body, it terminates at the 96 THE JUMP1MG-M0USE. joint of the thighs. The upper jaw projects considera- bly beyond the lower, and the nostrils are open. The ears are small, rather oval and hairy; the whiskers are long. The fore limbs are short, and have four digits, provided with long and very sharp nails; there is also a minute tubercle instead of thumb, which is entirely destitute of nail. The posterior extremi- ties are very long, especially from the heel to the ends of the toes, which are five in number, long, slender, and the three middle ones nearly of equal length. The external and internal toes are much shorter; the inner one is shortest of all. The tail considerably exceeds the body in length, and gradu- ally decreases in size from its origin to its extremity, being finely ciliated or clothed with hair throughout, and terminating with a fine pencil of hairs. On the upper side it is of a slate-brown colour, beneath it is of a yellowish cream-colour, and composed of very numerous joints. The jumping-mouse is found in the grain and grass fields, like the other little plunderers heretofore described, and feeds on the same substances. It breeds very fast, and may occasionally become injuri- ous to the farmer. It is not usual, however, to find them in great numbers in Pennsylvania, though in some vicinities they are quite- common. At the commencement of cool weather, or about the time the frost sets in, the jumping-mice go into their winter-quarters, where they remain in a torpid state until the last of May or first of June. They are dug up sometimes during winter from a depth of twenty inches, being curiously disposed in a ball of clay about an inch thick, and so, completely coiled THE LABRADOR JUMPING-MOUSE. 97 into a globular form as to conceal the figure of the animal entirely. Species II.— The Labrador Jumping-Mouse- Gerbillus Labradorius; Sab. Mus Labradorius: Sab. App. to Franklin's Exped. p. 661. Labrador Rat: Pests. Quad. ii. 173, Arct. Zool. Gerbillus Hudsonius: Rafin. Prodr. de Somiol. This species, which closely resembles the preced- ing in its mode of living, is found in the Labrador and Hudson's Bay country. It is about four inches in length, exclusive of the tail, which is two inches and a-half long. The general colour of the superior parts of the body is brown; of the inferior parts white. The front is very much arched or project- ing, so that the nostrils present towards the earth. The mouth, which is far below, is small, with the upper lip bifid, and long black whiskers projecting in two tufts. The ears are rounded and situated far back on the head. The hind legs are an inch and a-half long, covered with short hair, and five- toed, the inner one being the shortest, the others nearly equal. The tail is covered with black hair above and white below. VOL. II.—n CHAPTER IX. Genus XXVII.—Marmot; Arctomys; Gmel. Germ. Murmelthier. Fr. Marmotte. Jtal. Marmotto. Swed. Mormokljurct. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head, which is thick and flattened, has a blunt and somewhat compressed snout, with eyes of a moderate size, and short ears. The trunk of the body is thick, the limbs short, and the feet robust. The fore feet have four digits, not united by mem- brane, and a rudimental thumb. The posterior ex- tremities have five digits, which are also free; all the toes are furnished with strong, hooked, compressed nails. The tail is short, or of moderate length, and covered with hair. Dental System. | (Clipper $,««£« ^lOLowe.- ^1" In the upper jaw the incisive is rounded and smooth in front, and rises from the anterior and in- ferior part of the maxillary bone above the first mo- lar. The first molar is a simple tubercle with one root; the three following, which are of the same size, are THE MARMOT. 99 divided transversely by two depressions, which pro- duce three prominences; the first of these depres- sions traverses the tooth entirely, but the second is obstructed by a spine or internal spur, which unites the two posterior prominences. These teeth have three roots, two external and one internal. The last, or fifth, resembles the others, except in its pos- terior prominence, which is extended posteriorly in a sort of spur, which corresponds to the root analo- gous to the second external root of the preceding molars. In the lower jaw the incisive is similar to that of the upper jaw, and rises below the last molar. The four molars are of equal size and entirely similar in form. They present a groove on their outside, on the inside a depression which comprises the whole width of the tooth, and at their anteroinferior edge a narrow and very salient tubercle, which diminishes in size from the first to the last. The first of these teeth has, besides, at its neck and on its anterior face, a hollow bordered by a small spine. When these teeth are worn to a certain degree, all their projections disappear, and their crowns be- come entirely smooth; but both subsist during the whole life of the animal. Species of this genus are found in various parts of the old continent, and in the Bahama islands. In this country the greater number of species are found far to the north. The habits of the genus are de- failed at length in describing the following species: 100 THE MARYLAND MARMOT. Species I.—The Maryland Marmot. Arctomys Monax; Gmel. Bahama Coney: Catesbt, Carolina, ii. 79. Marmota Americana: ibib. App. 28. Monax, or Marmotte of America: Edwards, Nat. Hist. n. 104. Glis Fuscus; Marmota Bakamensis- Briss, Reg. An. 4to. 163. Marmota Americana: ibid. 164. - Maryland Marmot: Penn. Synops. 270. Quad. ii. 398. Arc. Zool. i. 111. Shaw's Zool. iii. 117. Le Monax ou Marmotte du Canada.- Buff. Hist. Nat. xiii. 136. Supp. iii. 175. pi. 28. Ed. Sonnini. xxxii. 22. As the Maryland Marmot is no where more com- mon than in Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and indeed all the temperate parts of this country, we state the fact in commencing the history of this interesting species, to prevent readers from drawing the erroneous conclusion that the name is a correct indication of the place to which the animal exclu- sively belongs. In doing this we cannot refrain from once more expressing our unavailing regret that the importance of bestowing right names is still so little felt or understood, and that in heedless haste an original observer should be allowed permanently to establish designations, which uniformly betray the ignorant into error, and prove sources of vexation to all who feel their inappropriateness. The abuse of terms, however, has long been justly esteemed as one of the most abundant sources of human mistake and suffering, and if with all advantages of know- ledge men persist in occasionally calling brutal rude- ness by the name of candour and bluntness,__swag- gering, courage,—and a destitution of good breed- ing and honesty, imprudence, the student of natural THE MARYLAND MARMOT. 101 history can scarcely expect that much attention will be paid to the evils he endures from the impediments thrown in his way by the same prolific source of mis- chief. The scientific name of the genus to which the Maryland marmot belongs, is excellent, if the species now under consideration be taken in illustration, for a first glance at the animal is sure to bring to mind the idea of a bear and a rat, of both of which this creature is a curious miniature resemblance. The thickness of its body, entirely plantigrade walk, posture when engaged in listening, and heavy gait, are such as vividly to excite a recollection of the bear, while the form of the head, teeth, position and appearance of the eye, and general aspect, equally remind the observer of the rat. In some of its ac- tions it more nearly resembles the squirrel, especially when in feeding it employs the fore paws, yet in this it also exhibits a marked similitude to the bear, as it frequently uses one paw at a time with the same awkward facility that appears so singular in bruin. Among the country people it bears the name of wood- chuck and ground-hog, the latter being expressive of its habit of burrowing and peculiar voracity. This marmot is the cause of great injury, especi- ally to the farmers engaged in the cultivation of clo- ver, as their numbers become very considerable, and the quantity of herbage they consume is really sur- prising. They are the more capable of doing mis- chief from the circumstance of their extreme vigi- lance and acute sense of hearing, as well as from the security afforded them by their extensive subter- ranean dwellings. 102 THE MARYLAND MAKMOT. When about to make an inroad upon a clover- field, all the marmots resident in the vicinity quietly and cautiously steal towards the spot, being favour- ed in their march by their gray colour, which is not easily distinguished. While the main body are ac- tively engaged in cropping the clover-heads and gorging their ample cheek-pouches, one or more in- dividuals remain at some distance in the rear as sen- tinels. These watchmen sit erect, with their fore- paws held close to their breast, and their heads slightly inclined to catch every sound which may move the air. Their extreme sensibility of ear ena- bles them to distinguish the approach of an enemy long before he is sufficiently near to be dangerous, and the instant the sentinel takes alarm he gives a clear shrill whistle, which immediately disperses the troop in every direction, and they speedily take re- fuge in their deepest caves. The time at which such incursions are made is generally about mid-day, when they are less liable to be interrupted than at any other period, either by human or brute enemies. The habitations of this marmot are formed by bur- rowing into banks, the sides of hills, or other similar situations, and are generally inclined slightly up- wards from the mouth, by which the access of water is prevented. In forming the burrow, where the ground is soft, the fore paws are the principal agents; the strength of the animal's fore limbs is very great. Where the soil is hard and compact the long cutting teeth are very freely and efficiently em- ployed, and we have been surprised to see large stones and lumps of hardened clay dug out in this way. As the burrow is deepened tne earth ic THE MARYLAND MARMOT. 103 brought out in the following manner:—The mar mot first throws the earth, with his fore paws, un- der his belly, and when it has accumulated to a certain degree, he rests on his fore paws and kicks the dirt forcibly onwards with the hind ones, and thus going backwards to the mouth of his den he finally throws it to a considerable distance from the entrance. It is very easy to determine when one of these animals has been engaged in forming a new burrow, as his whiskers are worn close to the head, in proportion to the hardness of the soil in which he has worked, and his teeth and the edges of his upper lip show evident marks of the hard service they have performed. The paws are admirably adapted for burrowing, both on account of the length of the toes and nails, and the peculiar arrangement of the skin of the palms and soles of the feet, which is extend- ed between the toes so as to make them distinctly semi-palmated or webbed, especially in the hind feet. This circumstance is not commonly noted by the writers on natural history, but we have repeatedly examined the living animal, and find the character uniformly present. That this structure has reference to burrowing is evident, as the animal shows a great repugnance to water, very seldom drinking, and then in but small quantity; he suffers exceedingly from exposure to rain. The burrows extend to great distances under ground, and terminate in various chambers, according to the number of inhabitants. In these, very com- fortable beds are made by the marmot, of dry leaves, grass, or any soft dry rubbish to be collected. It is really surprising to^see the 'vast quantity of such ma- 104 THE MARYLAND MARMOT. terial an individual will cram into his mouth to carry off for this purpose. He first grasps with the teeth as much as he possibly can; then sitting erect, with both fore paws he stuffs the mass projecting on each side deeper into the mouth, and having arranged it satisfactorily, takes up successive portions, which are treated in like manner; during the whole time, the head is moved up and down to aid in filling the mouth to the very utmost. This is repeated until every fragment at hand is collected, and the whole transferred to the sleeping apartment, into which the marmot retires towards the decline of the day, and remains there until the morning is far ad- vanced. At some seasons of the year this marmot is seen out on moonlight nights at a considerable dis' tance from the burrow, either in search of better pasture or looking for a mate; on such occasions, when attacked by a dog, the marmot makes battle, and when the individual is full grown, his bite is very severe. The teeth of the dog give him vast supe- riority in the combat, as when once he seizes, he is sure of the hold until the parts bitten are torn through, while the marmot can merely pinch his fore teeth together, and must renew his attempts very frequently. The fight is also soon ended by the dog seizing the marmot by the small of the back, and crushing the spine so as to disable his antagonist ef- fectually. There is no animal so perfectly cleanly in its ha- bits as this marmot; not only the fragments of its food and the litter of its bed are carefully removed, but the loose earth about the mouth of the burrow is carefully scraped away. However numerous they THE MARYLAND MARMOT. 106 may be in any vicinity, their excrement is not seen, nor any offensive odour perceived. Whenever the calls of nature are felt, this animal seeks a spot at some distance from his dwelling, and having dug a hole of two or three inches in depth, and per- formed his evacuations, he covers it up with extreme care, and not content with placing a thick layer of earth over it, he presses it, or rather rams it down with the end of his nose> striking with a force which seems very extraordinary when thus applied. The Maryland marmot, as we have already men- tioned, eats with great greediness and large quantities. To the wild animal red clover is a very favourite food, and, when it can be obtained, lettuce, cabbage, and various other garden vegetables. In captivity it eats of almost every vegetable offered, is exceed- ingly fond of bread and milk, and will display the most violent anger, by erecting its hair, growling and yelping, if it see a cat or other animal fed with this substance. One which we kept for a long time in a state of domestication, would, on such occasions, become almost furious, and never desist from his efforts until he had broken his chain, when he would rush to the spot, drive off the cat by a severe bite, or bite the person who attempted to withhold him from the dish. Yet on other occasions he did not interfere with the cats, even when feeding within his reach, though he would at any time bite them if they came immediately in his way. This marmot would eat the parts about the joints of the legs of fowls, when thrown to him, and occasionally a small piece of salt-fish,—but, as a general rule., refused animal food of every description. vol. n.—o 106 THE MARYLAND MARMOT. This individual was very tame, playful and cun- ning, having the freedom of the yard, and the privi- lege of performing all his operations unmolested. He was very fond of -being handled and petted, and would play with great good humour, though in a clumsy and awkward manner. Every thing fit to make a bed of, that he could get at, was sure to be carried under ground, and when clothes were missed, which had been hung out to dry, it was only neces- sary to fasten a hook to a long stick and draw them out of his burrow. When this was to be effected, it was necessary to tie the marmot up short, as he ap- peared to understand perfectly what was to be done, and was by no means willing that his bed should be rendered less comfortable. Although he would not attempt to bite the person engaged in removing his plunder, he would rush to the entrance and endeavour to make his way in, as if to secure his prize, or re- move it to a still greater distance. On one occasion he carried off and stowed at a distance of six feet from the entrance, eight pairs of stockings, a towel, and a girl's frock, and had he not been discovered in the act, would have made a still larger transfer of materials to form a more luxurious bed. In whatever action engaged, the vigilance of this animal was unceasing, and his ear appeared the sense almost exclusively relied on. By observing him closely it was evident that every variation of sound, however slight, or from whatever different sources, was immediately perceived. While earnestly engaged in eating, and making no inconsiderable noise in munching lettuce, or other crisp vegetables, the least noise would be sufficient to suspend his THE MARYLAND MARMOT. I0T hunger and excite all his vigilance, and if it were one to which he was unaccustomed, or loud enough to alarm him, he would run with great precipita- tion until he arrived at the edge of his hole, where he would sit up for an instant in an attitude of the profoundest attention, and either return to his food, or take refuge in his hole, as he might feel satisfied that there was or was not danger to be apprehended. To look at the ear of this marmot without close ex- amination, placed on the side of the head, high up and far back, with very little external cartilaginous pro- jection, and a wide orifice leading to the internal ear, it would seem very inappropriate to the subter- ranean mode of life, since it appears to be so placed as to allow the dirt ready access. But no such in- convenience takes place, as the ear is provided with a muscular apparatus, by which the upper portion is brought down, and the sides of the lower portion are so accurately pressed against each other, as effectually to exclude the smallest particles of dirt or dust. At the commencement of the cold weather the marmot goes into winter quarters; having blocked up the door from within, he there remains until the re- turn of the warm season revives him again to renew his accustomed mode of life. The female produces five or six young at a litter. The body of the Maryland marmot is about the size of that of a rabbit, and covered by long rusty brown hair, generally gray at the tips; the face is of a pale bluish ash-colour. The ears are short, but broad, and as if they had been cropped at their su- perior edges; the tail is about half the length of the bodv, and covered with dark brown hairs, somewhat 108 THE QUEBEC MARMOT. bushy at its extremity. The feet and claws are black; the claws are long and sharp. All the figures which have been heretofore publish- ed of this animal, (with the exception of one given in the English translation of Cuvier, borrowed from a drawing by Lesueur,) have been copied from Edwards', which is altogether unlike the animal. Species II.— The Quebec Marmot. Arctomys Empetra; Gm. Schreb. Marmotte du Canada: Encycl. pi. 67, fig. 4. Quebtc Marmot- Penn. Synopsis, 270, pi. 24, fig. 2, Quad. ii. 397, pi. 412, ed. 3, ii. 129, pi. 741. Arct. Zool. i. ill, Shaw's Zool. iii. 119 Arctomys Empetra: Schreb. Quad. 743, pi. 210. Gmel. Syst. Nat. i 143. Sabine, App. to Franklin, p. 662. ibid. Trans. Lin. Society. xiii. 584. Marmotte de Quebec: Desm. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. six. 314. [Called Siffleur by the Canadians.'] The Quebec Marmot is found throughout the north- ern parts of this country, and in its habits closely resembles the preceding species. Its entire length, from the tip of the nose to the extremity of the tail, is about twenty-six inches, of which the tail forms six inches. The general colour of the upper part of the body- is grayish, the hairs being thus coloured; at the base they are dark, in the middle yellowish, near their tops black, and white at their tips; near the tail the white is not so remarkable. On the cheeks and chin the hair is short, and inclines to gray, on the nose dark or blackish, the top of the head is dark brownj franklin's marmot. 109 the whiskers and long hairs growing over the eyes are black. The throat, legs, and all the under parts of the body are of a dark chestnut-colour. The hair on the tail is dusky throughout, longer than on the back and darker at the end. The toes are covered with short hairs, which are black. The inner toes on the hind feet and the outer on the fore feet, are shorter than the others; there is a rudimental fifth toe on the inside of the fore feet. All the toes are provided with long and sharp claws, those on the fore feet being longest and most arched. Species III.—Franklin's Marmot. Arctomys Franklinii; Sab. Arctomys Franklinii; Gray American Marmot: Sabine, Trans. Linnr Society, xiii. 587,. App. to Franklin, p. 662. This interesting animal was found near Fort En- terprize, by the expedition under command of the intrepid and adventurous Capt. Franklin, in honour of whom the scientific designation was bestowed by Sabine, whose own name is invariably associated by scientific readers with profound and philosophical research, illumined and adorned by a mind richly imbued with the most valuable learning. As the trivial name, Gray American Marmot, is equally ap- plicable to other species, we have preferred to trans- late the scientific appellation, which more definitely refers to the species in question. In size this animal equals a large rat, measuring eleven inches from the nose to the insertion of the 110 franklin's marmot. tail; the latter, to the end of the hair at its extremity, is five inches long. Its face is broad and nearly co- vered with rigid black and white hairs, which give it a gray colour; the nose is very blunt, and the ears are broad and covered with short hairs. The whis- kers on the cheeks are short and black, and similar hairs thinly distributed grow above and below the eyes.* The upper part of the body is covered with short hairs, dark at the base, dingy white in the middle, then first black, next yellowish white, and tipped with black, the whole forming a variegated dark yellowish gray. On the sides the hair is longer, not so black, and destitute of the yellow tinge; on the belly it is dark at the base, and dingy white at tip. The tail is covered with long hairs, banded with black and white, and tipped with white, the whole appearing indistinctly striped with black and white. The feet are rather broad, the toes being thin and covered with gray hairs. On the fore feet the se- cond toe from the inside is longest; the outer short- est and placed far back; the three centre hind toes nearly of an equal length, the extremes shorter and far back. The claws, which are of a horn-colour, are long and sharp on the fore feet, and on the hind feet shorter.t * The upper fore teeth are short and reddish yellow; the lower foreteeth are twice the length of the upper, and paler. t See Sabine's paper as above quoted, THE TAWNY AMERICAN MARMOT. Ill Species IV.—Tawny American Marmot. Arctomys Richardsonii; Sab. Arctomys Richardsonii: Sabine, Linn. Soc. Trans, xiii. 589. This marmot was found by Franklin's expedition, near Carlton-house, in the Hudson's Bay country, and was named in honour of Dr. John Richardson, who, on that perilous journey, was so highly distinguished for his scientific zeal, and his intrepid and philan- thropic spirit. The tawny American marmot, or Richardson's marmot, is nearly of the size of the foregoing spe- cies, but more slender. The top of the head is co- vered with short hairs, dark at the base and light at their tips. The nose is tapering, sharp, bare at the end, and covered above with short light brown hairs, joining and mixing with those on the top of the head. The ears are short and oval; the cheeks swol- len and clothed with light brown hairs; the whiskers are short, growing from the cheeks, and there are a few rigid hairs above the eyes. The throat is of a dirty white colour; the upper part of the body is covered with short soft hairs, dark at the base and fulvous at their extremities; in the middle of the back the hairs are like those on the top of the head, but lighter. The hair on the sides is longer, when raised appearing dark at the base, the ends being of a smoky white; the under parts are similar but dashed with a little rust-colour. The tail is three inches and a-half long to the end of the hair, slender and thinly covered with long hairs, which, at the base, are of 112 hood's marmot. the same colour as the body, but above of three dis- tinct hues,—first black, next dark, and lastly light at the upper extremity. The legs are rather long and slender, with narrow feet, furnished with sharp, arched, horn-coloured claws. The fore feet have on the inside a small toe placed far back, with a blunt claw, which gives it a character different from the general character of the genus. The outer toe and claw of the fore feet much shorter than the remain- ing three, the middle one of which is the longest. Of the hind toes the two extremes shorter and placed back, the other three of nearly the same length.* Species V.—Hood's Marmot. 'Arctomys Tridecemlineatus; Mitcmill. Sciurus Tridecemlineatus,- Federation Squirrel: Mitchiu, Med. Rep 1821. Ecureuil de la Federation.- Desm. Mammal, p. 339. Arctomys Hoodii: Sab. Trans. Linn. Society, xiii. 590. This beautiful marmot is an inhabitant of the northern and western parts of this country, and when first discovered was thought to be a squirrel, and classed near the sciurus striatus, or ground-squirrel, to which it exhibits considerable analogy in the ar- rangement of its stripes. Though now properly re- moved to the genus Arctomys, we retain the specific name first proposed by our distinguished countryman Professor Mitchill, derived from the number of stripes on the back of the animal, being the same & * Sabine as above quoted. HOOD S MARMOT. 113 that displayed in the " star spangled banner" of our federation.* For the trivial name we have adopted a translation of the scientific appellation proposed by Sabine, in honour of Lieut. Hood, so truly merito- rious for his exertions on the expedition commanded by Franklin, and remarkable for having been so cruelly murdered by one of his fellow travellers. From the nose to the root of the tail Hood's mar- mot is about seven inches and a-half long, and the tail itself two inches. The top of the head is broad, flat, and obscurely marked with alternate stripes of dark brown and dingy white. The nose is tapering and very sharp, being covered with light brown hairs. The ears are small and very short, the cheeks tumid and clothed with dingy light, coloured hairs, the throat being of the same colour; the whiskers are rather long and grow from between the nose and the eyes; some small rigid hairs, similar to the whis- kers, also grow over the eyes. The whole of the upper part of the body is marked on each side lon- gitudinally with three alternate dark brown and dingy white stripes, the dark being twice as broad as the light, and dotted in the centre, at equal dis- tances throughout their whole length, with small spots of dingy white. In the centre of the back there is a dark stripe, rather broader than the others. The lowest stripe on each side is not so well marked or distinctly spotted. All the under parts are of a dingy white or slightly tawny colour. The tail is *To the kindness of Dr. J. E. Dekay of New-York, we are indebted for an opportunity of examining a fine speci- men of this marmot vol. n.—r 114 THE PRAIRIE MARMOT, indistinctly banded with dark brown and dingy white, being of the latter colour at tip. The fore legs, which are short and small, are co vered with light hairs; the outer toe and claw arc small and placed back, the centre toe is the longest of the other three. On the inside there is also a rudimental toe with a small obtuse claw, but this is not so remarkable as in the tawny marmot. The hind legs are longer than the fore legs, and clothed with light hairs; the extreme toes and claws are nearly of equal length and placed far back; the three others are also of equal length with each other. The claws are dark horn-colour, small and light at their ends, the fore ones being the longest.* Species VI.— The Prairie Marmot. Arctomys Ludovicianus; Ord. Petit chien: Lewis & Clarke, i. 67. Wistonwifih: Pike, F.xped. &c. 156. Arctomys Ludovicianus: Oku. in Guthrie, ii. 302. [1815.] ArcTo.iys Mtssouriensis: Wabden, Descr. des Etats Unis. v. 567. Arctomys Ludovicianus: Sat, Long's Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, i. 451. [Le Petit chien des Voyageurs; commonly called Prai- rie-uog.] The vast solitudes of our remote territories, where man has not yet established his abode, are generally overshadowed by dense forests, which, during an un- known lapse of ages, have there successively flour- * See Sabine, as above quoted. W-'Skl rf THE PRAIRIE MARMOT. 115 ished and decayed; imparting to the landscape a character of grand though sombre uniformity, broken only by the courses of rivers, the ruggedness and sterility of some portions of soil, or where the furi- ous hurricane has swept along, prostrating the giant sons of earth with a destructiveness proportioned to their resistance. The traveller who, impelled by curiosity, advances beyond the li father of western rivers," with delighted admiration finds himself gradually emerging from these apparently intermi- nable shades, and entering upon a new world. Be- fore him, spreading as far as vision can extend, he beholds fields of richest verdure, interspersed with clumps of slight and graceful trees, as if with an ex- clusive view to ornament, and discovers the far dis- tant windings of the river as it steals through the plain, by the cottonwood and willows fringing its banks. After traversing such scenes, enlivened by numerous herds of browsing animals, that here find a luxurious subsistence, and arriving at the higher and more barren parts of the tract, he is startled by a sudden shrill whistle, which he may fear to be the signal of some ambushed savage; but" on advancing into a clearer space, the innocent cause of alarm is found to be a little quadruped whose dwelling is indicated by a small mound of earth, near which the animal sits erect in an attitude of profound atten- tion. Similar mounds are now seen to be scattered at intervals over many acres of ground, and the whole forms one village or community, containing thousands of inhabitants, whose various actions and gambols awaken the most pleasing associations. • 116 THE PRAIRIE MARMOT. In some instances these villages are limited, or at most occupy but a few acres, but still nearer to the Rocky Mountains, where they are entirely undis- turbed, they are found to extend even for miles. We may form some idea of the number of these ani- mals when we learn that each burrow contains seve- ral occupants, and that frequently as many as seven or eight are seen reposing upon one mound. Here in pleasant weather they delight to sport, and enjoy the warmth of the sun. On the approach of danger, while it is yet too distant to be feared, they bark defiance, and flourish their little tails with great in- trepidity. But as soon as it appears to be drawing rather nigh, the whole troop precipitately retire into their subterranean cells, where they securely remain until the peril be past. One by one they then peep forth, and vigilantly scrutinize every sound and object before they resume their wonted actions. While thus near to their retreats they almost uni- formly escape the hunter, and if killed they mostly fall into their burrows, which are too deep to allow their bodies to be obtained. The villages found nearest the mountains, have an appearance of greater antiquity than those ob- served elsewhere. Some of the mounds in such situations are several yards in diameter, though of slight elevation. These, except about the entrance, are overgrown by a scanty herbage, which is charac- teristic of the vicinity of these villages. Say has observed on this subject, that it is not easy to assign a reason for the preference shown by the prairie marmot, which lives on grassy and herbaceous plants^ THE PRAIRIE MARMOT. 117 in selecting the most barren places for its dwelling, " unless it be that he may enjoy an unobstructed view of the surrounding country, in order to be sea- sonably warned of the approach of wolves or other enemies." This reason may be sufficiently valid of itself, but we would suggest another in the differ- ence of soil, rendering such barren places fitter for the burrows. It is by no means necessary to sup- pose that this marmot obtains its food exclusively near its own dwelling. We know that this is not the case with the Maryland marmot, which so closely resembles this species in every respect, and goes to considerable distances In search of food, even in the immediate vicinity of man.* The mound thrown up by the prairie marmot consists of the earth excavated in forming the bur- row, and rarely rises higher than eighteen inches, though measuring two or three feet in width at the base. The form of the mound is that of a truncated cone, and the entrance, which is a comparatively large hole, is at the summit or in the side, the whole surface, but especially the top of the mound, being well beaten down like a much used foot-path. From the entrance the hole descends perpendicularly for a foot or two, and then is continued obliquely or some- what spirally downwards, to a depth which has not been determined. This marmot, like his kindred species, passes the winter in a state of torpidity, and to secure himself comfortably against the effects of the cold, he closes * Pike says of the prairie marmot, that " they never extend their excursions more than half a mile from their burrows." 118 THE PRAIRIE MARMOT. accurately the mouth of the burrow, and constructs at the bottom of it a neat globular cell, of fine dry grass, having an aperture at top sufficiently large to admit a finger, and so compactly put fogether that it might almost be rolled along the ground uninjured. This active and industrious community of quad- rupeds (like every other society,) is infested by va- rious depredators v\ho subsist by plunder, or are too ignorant or indolent to labour for themselves. Hence a strange association is frequently observed in their villages, for burrowing-owls (Stryx Hypugea of Bonaparte,*) rattle-snakes, lizards and land-tor- toises, are seen to take refuge, in their habitations. The burrowing-owl, however, appears to appropriate an excavation to his own use, as is evinced by its decayed and dilapidated condition, while those fre- quented by the marmot are always neat and in good repair. The young of the marmot most pro- bably become the prey of this singular bird. The rattle-snakes also exact their tribute with great cer- tainty, and without exciting alarm, as they can pene- trate the inmost recesses of the burrow, and a slight wound inflicted by their fangs is followed by the immediate extinction of life.f ' See his splendid work on American Ornithology, vol. i. t ** It is extremely dangerous to pass through their towns, as they abound with rattle-snakes, both of the yellow and black species; and strange as it may appear, I have seen the wiston-wish (prairie marmot.) the horn-frog (orbicular lizard,) and a land-tortoise all take refuge in the same hole. I do not pretend to assert that it was their common place of re- sort, but I have witnessed the above facts in more than one instance."—Pike, p. 156. THE PRAIRIE MARMOT. 119 The prairie marmot is about sixteen inches long from the tip of the nose to the root of the tail, which is two inches and three-quarters in length. The head is broad and depressed above with large eyes, having dark brown irides. The ears are short and truncated; the whiskers black and of moderate length; there are a few bristles above the eye, and a few also on the side of the cheek; the nose is rather short and compressed. The general colour is a light dingy reddish brown, intermingled with some gray, and a few black hairs, which are dark or dusky at base, then bluish white, then light reddish, and finally gray at tip. The under parts of the body are of a dirty white colour; the hair on the anterior legs, that on the throat and on the neck, is not dusky at base.* All the feet are five-toed, clothed with very short hair, and armed with rather long black nails; the outer one on the fore feet reaches nearly to the base of the next, and the middle one is nearly half an inch long. The thumb has a conical nail, three-tenths of an inch in length; the tail is banded with brown near the tip, and the hair, except that next the body, is not plumbeous at base. * The description of this species is from Say, who has given the best account of the habits of this animal hitherto published 120 parry's marmot. Species VII.—Parry's Marmot. Arctomys Parryii; Richardson. Arctomys Parryii, Gray Arctic Marmot: Richabdsow, App. to Frank- lin. Arctomys Alpina.- Parht's 2d Voyage, p. 61. This species was brought in by the expedition under Capt. Franklin, and was named by Dr. Rich- ardson in honour of Capt. Parry. It is rather larger than the Arctomys Franklinii, and measures to the root of the tail twelve or fourteen inches; the tail itself is four inches long, and the hair at its extremity five inches and a-half in length. Parry's marmot has a broad and flattened body, with thick legs; flattish head and blunt nose, cover- ed with a close coat of short brown hairs. The mar- gin of the mouth is hoary; the eyes are large and black coloured. The ear is very short, consisting of a flat semi-oval cartilage, projecting about the sixth of an inch over a large auditory passage. The cheek-pouches, which are very large, open into the mouth anterior to the grinders. The body is covered with a soft fur, consisting of a soft down of a dark smoky gray at the roots, pale clear gray in the middle, and yellowish gray at the tip. This arrangement causes a crowded assemblage of ill defined, irregular, and confluent whitish spots, margined and separated by black. The throat and all the under parts of the body are brownish red and brownish yellow, or rather an intermediate colour, blending with the colours of the back. The tail is flattish and subdistichous, and is at the will of the parry's marmot. 121 animal expanded like a feather; it is then brown along the middle, tipped and margined for two-thirds of its length with black. The feet are furnished with five toes, having short flattened claws, which are large, blackish, slightly arched and grooved un- derneath. On the inside of the fore feet, and high up, there is a small toe or thumb, armed with a small nail; the palms are naked and have callous protu- berances, three of them at the base of the toes, from the largest of which the thumb rises.* * Richardson, as cited above. VOL. II.— Q CHAPTER X. Genus XXVIII.—Squirrel; Sciurus; L. Gr. TZx-ixgar. Germ. Eichorn. Fr. Ecureuil. Ital. Scojattolo. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is somewhat elongated, with a sharp muzzle, moderately long ears, and large eyes. The upper lip is divided, and the cheeks destitute of pouches, the neck of a middling length, and the body rather slender. The teats are eight in num- ber, two being situated on the chest and six on the belly. The posterior are much longer than the an- terior extremities, which have four digits and a rudimental thumb; the external digit is short, the others are long. The posterior feet are five-toed, with a short internal and external digit: the three intermediate toes are long and slender. The next to the external toe is the longest of all, both in the anterior and posterior feet, the digits of which are furnished with curved acute nails, with the excep- tion of the rudimental thumb, which is blunt and naked. The tail is long and clothed with long and thickly set hairs. THE SQUIRRLL. 123 Dental System* | JlSUpper ^JIJllJj"" g\lO Lower J | J»™« In the upper jaw the incisiv^ is smooth and rounded in front, and rises from the sides of the ante- rior part of the maxillary bone. The first molar is a rudimental and cylindrical tooth, which falls out very early, and which is placed against the antero-internal surface of the second; this latter, which is sometimes a little smaller than the following, has, like them, a central depression, and another smaller one at both extremities: from these three depressions results a small spine on the anterior edge of the tooth, then two prominences, separated from each other by the central depression, and, finally, another small crest or spine on its posterior edge. On the outside of these depressions prominences and spines remain distinct, but on the inside they are reunited by a large and circular crest. This crest embraces the second molar rather less than the others, which thus differs in being narrower inter- nally than externally: the same is the case with the last, which differs by the prolongation of its postero- external part. * Frederic Cuvier introduces this dental system by re- marking that it is evidently similar to that of the marmot and spermophili, all forming one and the same family; they differ, however, in some circumstances, which are uniform in their recurrence, and by consequence are characteristic. 124 GENERAL HISTORY In the lower jaw the incisor is like that ot the upper jaw, but is narrower, and rises from below and behind the last molar. The third molar is a third smaller than the others, which gradually in- crease in size to the last, but all formed alike, pre- senting in their middle a circular depression, and on their periphery a crest divided by a groove at the internal and at the external edge: from the centre of each of these grooves a small tubercle arises. Age, however, soon effaces these fugitive characters, and then these teeth exhibit a nearly smooth surface. The species, comprised in this genus are in differ- ent degrees remarkable for their sprightly agility and graceful movements, as well as for their personal beauty and neatness. The forest is their appropri- ate residence, and nature has provided them not only with the means of rapidly ascending the loftiest trees, but with teeth capable of opening the way to food, which is effectually secured from almost every other creature. The hardest nuts found in the woods afford ample provision to the squirrels, and the number of nuts destroyed by these animals, though small when compared with the whole quan- tity produced, must have some effect in preventing the superabundant increase of forest trees. The muscular strength displayed by these animals is very great, when compared with their size. They make astonishing leaps from branch to branch, and from tree to tree, when engaged in sporting with each other, or endeavouring to escape from pursuit. At such times, when no tree is sufficiently near to OF THE SQUIRREL. 125 be reached by a single spring, the squirrel unhesi- tatingly drops from the greatest height to the ground, and falls with a force apparently sufficient to crush him; but no injury is experienced, and a few se- conds are sufficient for his escape into the top of the nearest tree. The actions of most of these animals are marked by a peculiar vivacity and playfulness. When mov- ing on the ground, squirrels advance by a succession of short leaps, while the long bushy tail, waving in graceful undulations, renders their whole ap- pearance very interesting. * When engaged in lis- tening, they sit erect on their hinder limbs, having the tail beautifully raised against the back, and fall- ing in an easy curve at its extremity towards the ground. In eating, the position is much the same; the food is held in the fore paws, principally between the rudimental thumbs and the adjoining part of the palms. The facility with which they cut through the covering of the hardest nuts is very remarkable; they first turn the nut about until they get it into the most favourable position, and then examine it by gnawing slightly in different places. If the nut be withered or rotten it is speedily thrown aside and another sought. When a good one is obtained, and the proper place for opening it is selected, (which is the thinnest part, immediately over the kernel,) a small linear opening is first made, which at length admits the points of the lower front teeth. These are now inserted, and the hole enlarged by break- ing off successive pieces of the shell in the di- rection of the kernel. A hickory-nut is thus fre- quently cut down on four sides from end to end, 126 GENERAL HISTORY leaving the intermediate thick portions untouched. After satisfying his hunger the squirrel generally buries the superfluous food; previous to the approach of winter large hoards of nuts and grain are collected and secured in the ground for future use. Their nests are at no great distance from these store-houses, i and are built of small sticks and leaves in the top branches of forest trees, or in hollows of their trunks, except in the case of a few species which inhabit burrows at all times. All the squirrels are pecu- liarly cleanly, and are frequently seen to rub their heads and faces with their fore paws as if for the purpose of washing. When they accidentally step into water they make use of their bushy tail for the purpose of drying themselves, passing it several times through their hands. Like most of the animals belonging to this order, they are very prolific, and multiply until from their numbers large districts of country are injuriously overrun by them. They then invade and literally lay waste the cornfields, consuming vast quantities of grain, and destroy nearly as much as they eat by breaking it down and scattering it on the ground. On such occasions the farmers in thinly settled dis- tricts severely suffer, and are deprived of a large share of the fruits of their industry. The efforts of a whole family are occasionally insufficient to drive off or destroy these busy plunderers, as new crowds appear to be continually arriving to renew the de- predation. While travelling through the state of Ohio, in the autumn of 1822, we had an opportunity of wit- nessing something of this sort. Parts of the country OF THE SQUIRREL. 127 appeared to swarm with squirrels, which were so numerous that, in travelling along the high road, they might be seen scampering in every direction; the woods and fields might be truly said, in the country phrase, to be " alive with them." A farmer, who had a large field of Indian corn near the road, informed us, that notwithstanding the continued exertions of himself and his two sons, he feared he should lose the greater part of his crop, in ad- dition to his time and the expense of ammunition used in killing and scaring off the little robbers. This man and his sons frequently took stations in different parts of the field, and killed squirrels until their guns became too dirty longer to be used with safety; yet they always found, on returning, that the squirrels had mustered as strongly as before. Dur- ing this journey we frequently met squirrel-shooters heavily laden with this game, which in many in- stances they had only desisted from slaying from want of ammunition or through mere fatigue. Fortunately for the farmers these animals are not at the same time equally numerous in different parts of the country. We found the squirrels in 1822, most numerous throughout the country lying between the Great and Little Miami rivers; they became evidently fewer as we advanced towards Chillicothe, and beyond that place were so rare as to be seldom seen. During some seasons they appear to move in mass, deserting certain districts' entirely, and con- centrating upon others. In such migrations vast numbers are drowned in crossing the rivers, and numbers are also destroyed by beasts and birds of prey, and various other causes. 128 l'HE FOX SQUIRREL. Species I.—The Fox Squirrel. Sciurus Vulpinus: Gmel. Sciurus Vulpinus: Gmel. Turton's L. i. 91. The Fox Squirrel: Lawson's Carolina, 124. This fine squirrel is found throughout the south- ern states, where it frequents the pine forests in con- siderable numbers, and derives its principle subsist- ence from the seeds of the pine. In the tops of these lofty trees it is almost out of the reach of danger, except from the pine-marten or other climb- ing beasts of prey, and possibly some large preda- cious birds. The fox squirrel displays a conscious- ness of his security by the fearless manner in which he usually looks down upon those who pass under the tree on which he is placed. When alarmed, like many of his kindred species, he immediately resorts to the artifice of spreading himself out, or lying flat on the upper surface of a branch on the side opposite to the apprehended danger, where he patiently clings until he has no longer cause to fear. Under such circumstances it is very difficult to dis- cover his position, or to distinguish him from the branch on which he lies. The nest of this species is placed in the top of the high pine trees, and is made of twigs and small sticks, lined with leaves, or the long soft moss which is found so commonly streaming from the branches. The season of their sexual intercourse is the month of January. The young, which are from five to seven in number, are seen abroad as early as the month of March. THE CAT-SQUIRREL. 129 The fox squirrel measures about fourteen inches, and the tail is sixteen inches in length. The colour varies from white to pale gray and black; various shades of red, mottled, (like the cats called " tortoise shell,") and in short, of all the intermediate hues. This is fully shown in the Philadelphia Museum, where nearly all the varieties just mentioned may be seen. It is therefore not surprising that those who deem colour a sufficient indication of specific differ- ence, should make a number of species of this one. Perhaps many, at present considered well establish- ed, will be found to rest on no better foundation, and require to be stricken out of the catalogue.* Species II.— The Cat-Squirrel. Sciurus Cinereus; L. Gmel. Cat-Squirrel, B Peny. Arct. Zool. i. 137. Sciurus Capistratus.- Bosc. An. du Mus. i. p. 205. Ecureuil d Masque.- C. Regne Anim. i. 205. Ecureuil Capistrate.- Desm. Mammal, p. 332, Sp. 529. The cat-squirrel is one of our largest species, and is found in great abundance throughout the oak and chestnut forests of this country. It is generally * We have much pleasure in acknowledging the receipt of a letter on the subject of the squirrels of this country, from Capt. J. Le Conte, U. S. A. The time, we hope, will soon arrive, when this accomplished naturalist will find leisure to give the scientific world the full benefit of his valuable researches relative to American Natural History. VOL. II.--R 130 THE CAT-SQUIRREL. about eleven inches long, having a tail fourteen inches in length. This squirrel is comparatively heavy and slow in its movements, running up the trunks of trees and among the branches with more apparent effort than any of the other species; its appearance also is by no means as pleasing as that of any of its kindred. It is rarely seen to leap from tree to tree, or even from branch to branch, except when closely pursued or much alarmed. In building its nest, and in gene- ral habits, it is very similar to the other species. The size is the only circumstance which distinguishes it positively from the fox-squirrel. As to colour, it is impossible to state all the shades and variegations exhibited by this species. In the Philadelphia Museum a great variety may be seen, of almost every colour, from a light gray to black and spotted, pale reddish brown and nearly white. Three individuals, taken from the same nest, are so differently coloured as to be entirely unlike, one having all the marks attributed to the capistratus, and the others strongly resembling the common black squirrel. THE COMMON GRAY SQUIRREL. m Species III.—The. Common Gray Squirrel. Sciurus Carolinensis; Gmel. Sciurus Carolinensis et Cinereus: Gm. Schbeb. tab. 213. Petit Gris: Buff. 10, pi. 25, Encycl. pi. 74, fig. 3. Ecureuil gris de la Carolina,- Bosc. ii. p. 96, pi. 29: F. Ccv. Mam. Li- thog. livr. lie. Gray Squirrel: Penn. Arct. Zool. i. 135, Hist. Quad. No. 272. This species, still exceedingly common throughout the United States, was once so excessively multi- plied as to be a scourge to the inhabitants, not only consuming their grain, but exhausting the public treasury by the amount of premiums given for their destruction. " Pennsylvania (says Pennant,) paid from January, 1749, to January, 1750, eight thou- sand pounds currency; but on complaint being made by the deputies that their treasuries were exhausted by these rewards, they were reduced to one half;— [from three pence to a penny and a half.] How im- proved must the state of the Americans then be, in thirty-five years to wage an expensive and success- ful war against its parent country, which before could not bear the charges of clearing the provinces from the ravages of these insignificant animals!" The gray squirrel prefers the oak, hickory and chestnut woods, where it finds a copious supply of nuts and mast, of which it provides large hoards for the winter. Their nests are placed chiefly in tall oak-trees at the forks of the branches; these nests are very comfortable, being thickly covered and lined with dried leaves. During cold weather the squir- rels seldom leave these snug retreats, except for the purpose of visiting their store-houses, and obtaining 132 THE COMMON GRAY SQUIRREL. a supply of provisions. It has been observed that the approach of uncommonly cold weather is fore- told when these squirrels are seen out in unusual numbers, gathering a larger stock of provisions, lest their magazines should fail. This, however, is not an infallible sign, at least in vicinities where many hogs are allowed to roam at large, as these keen nosed brutes are very expert at discovering the winter hoards of the squirrel, which they immedi- ately appropriate to their own use. If the gray squirrels confined themselves to the diet afforded by the forest trees, the farmers would profit considerably thereby. But, having once tasted the sweetness of Indian corn and other cultivated grains, they leave acorns and such coarse fare to the hogs, while they invade the corn-fields, and carry off and destroy a very large quantity. This species is remarkable among all our squirrels for its beauty and activity. It is in captivity re-. markably playful and mischievous, and is more fre- quently kept as a pet than any other. It becomes very tame, and may be allowed to spend a great deal of the time entirely at liberty, where there is nothing exposed that can be injured by its teeth, which it is sure to try upon every article of furniture, &c. in its vicinity. This squirrel, when domesticated, drinks frequently, and a considerable quantity of water at each draught. The gray squirrel varies considerably in colour, but is most commonly of a fine bluish gray, mingled with a slight golden hue. This golden colour is es- pecially obvious on the head, along the sides, where the white hair of the belly, approaches the gray of ^ 1 (7if<7-y'(l '( 0'<'''/ '7 3 ,'/J 7/r<'7 . /. r / THE BLACK SQUIRREL. 133 the sides, and on the anterior part of the fore and superior part of the hind feet, where it is very rich and deep. This mark on the hind feet is very per- manent, and evident even in those varieties which differ most from the common colour. There is one specimen in the Philadelphia Museum of a light brownish red on all the superior parts of the body. Species IV.—The Black Squirrel. Sciurus Niger; L. Black Squirrel: Pewit. Arct. Zool.i. 138. Hist. Quad. No. 273.Brows'* Zool. tab. xvii. Sciurus Mexicanus.- Hehnan. 582. Black Squirrel.- Catesby's Carolina, ii. p. 7o. This species is very common, but is liable to be confounded with the black varieties of the squirrels heretofore described. From the black varieties of the cat-squirrel, S. Cinereus, it may be easily distin- guished by its smaller size and the softness of its fur. The proportional length of the tail, together with the difference in number of the jaw teeth, will dis- tinguish it from the fox-squirrel, S. Vulpinus, which has five above and four below, while the black squir- rel has four above and four below. The black squirrel very seldom varies; in the sum- mer the pelage is rather gray on the back and sides, though the whole colour of the body is a black, in- termingled with a small quantity of gray, and of a dark reddish brown on the under parts. In the win- 134 THE GREAT TAILED SQUIRREL. ter the colour is a pure black, varying slightly in in- tensity on any part of the body. Species V.— The Great Tailed Squirrel. Sciurus Macroureus; Say. Sciurus Macrourus.-* Say. Long's Exp. to the Rocky Mountains, i. 115. This species, which is a fine one, is the most com- mon on the Missouri, where it was first observed by Say, who describes it as displaying all the graceful activity so much admired in the common gray squir- rel. The total length of this species from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail (exclusive of the hair) is nineteen inches and three-quarters, of which the tail makes nine inches and one-tenth. The follow- ing description of its colouring, &c. is drawn up from that given by Say, in the work above quoted: The body above and on each side is of a mixed gray and black; the fur is plumbeous, black at base, then pale cinnamon colour, then black, and finally cinereous, with a long black tip. The ears, three- * As the term Macrourus was previously given to the Cey- lon squirrel, (see Pennant's History of Quadrupeds, ii. p. 140, No. 330,) we have taken the liberty to change the name given to the present species, by the addition of a sin- gle letter, which is sufficient to render further change un- necessary. THE GREAT TAILED SQUIRREL. 135 fourths of an inch long, are behind of a bright fer- ruginous colour, extending to the base of the fur, which, in the winter dress, is prominent beyond the edge; on the inside of the ear the fur is of a dull ferruginous hue, slightly tipped with black. The sides of the head and orbits of the eyes are pale fer- ruginous; beneath the ears and eyes the cheeks are dusky. The whiskers are composed of about five series of rather flattened hairs, the inferior ones are more distinct. The mouth is margined with black; the teeth are of a reddish yellow colour. The under part of the head and neck, and the upper part of the feet, are ferruginous; the belly is paler, the fur being plumbeous at base. The tail is of a bright ferruginous colour below, and this colour extends to the base of the fur with a submarginal black line. On its upper part it is ferruginous and black. The fur within is of a pale cinnamon colour, with the base and three bands black; the tip is ferruginous. The palms of the fore feet are black, and the rudimental thumb, which is very short, is covered by a broad flat nail. " The fur of the back in the summer dress is from three-fifths to seven-tenths of an inch long; but in the winter dress the longest hairs of the middle of the back are from one inch to one and three fourths in length. This difference in the length of the hairs, combined with a greater portion of fat, gives to the animal a thicker and shorter appearance; but the colours continue the same, and it is only in this latter season that the ears are fringed, which is the necessary consequence of the elongation of the h ir. The species was not an unfrequent article of food at 136 THE LINE-TAIL SQUIRREL. our frugal yet social meals, at Engineer cantonment, and we could always immediately distinguish the bones from those of other animals by their remarka- bly red colour. The tail is even more voluminous than that of the S. Cinereus;" (cat-squirrel.) Species VI.— The Line-Tail Squirrel. Sciurus Grammurus; Say. This species is most remarkable for the peculiar coarseness and flattened form of its fur, and by three black lines on each side of the tail, which are united over the surface of it, as in the Barbary squirrel, S. Getulus. The Line-Tail squirrel inhabits the Missouri coun- try, about the naked parts of the sand-stone cliffs, where there are but few bushes. Its nest is found in holes and crevices of rocks, and it appears not to be in the habit of ascending trees, unless driven. It feeds on the buds, leaves, and fruits of the plants growing in the situations we have mentioned. The line-tail squirrel measures eleven inches and a-half, and its tail is nine inches long. The general colour of the body is cinereous, variously tinged with rust-colour. The fur is very coarse, much flattened, canaliculate above; it is lead colour- ed or blackish at base, then whitish or ferruginous, with a brownish tip. The whitish colour prevails above the neck and shoulders, while the ferruginous is in greatest quantity from the middle of the back, sides, and exterior surface of the legs; above and be- THE FOUR LINED SQUIRREL. 137 low the orbits of the eyes the fur is whitish, the tail is whitish, being marked by three black lines, the base and tip of each hair being whitish, beneath, the colour is whitish, tinged with ferruginous. Species VII.—The Four-Lined Squirrel. Sciurus Quadrivittatus; Say. Sciurus Quadrivittatus: Sat. Long's Ex. to the Rocky Mountains, ii. 45. This handsome little squirrel is found on the Rocky Mountains adjacent to the sources of the rivers Ar- kansa and Platte. Of its habits we know nothing but what is given in the following sentences, by Say, in the work above quoted: 6i It does not seem to ascend trees by choice, but nestles in holes and on the edge of the rocks. We did not observe it to have cheek-pouches. Its nest is composed of a most extraordinary quantity of the burrs of the xanthium, branches and other portions of the large upright cactus, small branches of pine trees, and other vegetable productions, sufficient in some instances to fill an ordinary cart. What the object of so great, and apparently so superfluous, an assemblage of rubbish may be, we are at a loss to conjecture, we do not know what peculiarly danger- ous enemy it may be intended to exclude by so much labour. Their principal food, at least at this season, is the seeds of the pine, which they readily extract from the cones." The four-lined squirrel is four inches and aquar- ter long, from the tip of the nose to the root of the VOL. II.—s 138 the Hudson's bay squirrel. tail; the tail is three inches in length. The head is of a brown colour, mixed with tawny, having four white lines; the upper one on each side passes from the tip of the nose immediately over the eye to the superior base of the ear, and the lower one passes im- mediately beneath the eye to the inferior base of the ear. The ears are of a moderate size and half oval. On the back there are four broad white lines, and alternate, mixed black and ferruginous ones. The sides are tawny; the under part of the body whitish. The hair of the tail is black at base, then tawny, then black in the middle, and paler tawny at tip. Beneath it is fulvous, having a submarginal black line. On the anterior feet there is a prominent tubercle in place of a thumb. The striped head, less rounded ears, and bushy tail, which is neither banded nor striated, together with its smaller size and the presence of the thumb warts, in Say's opinion, sufficiently distinguish this species from the S. Getu- lus, or Barbary squirrel of Linne. Species VIII.— The Hudson's Bay Squirrel. Sciurus Hudsoniuft: Foster. Royal Soc. Trans, lxii. 378. Hudson Squirrel: Pl>.\. Arct. Zool. i. 134. No. 48. Hist. Quad. No. 274. Sciurus Hudsonius: Gmel. ScmiEBrtab. 214. The Common Squirrel: Hearne, 8vo. ed. 378. [Commonly called Chickaree.'] This beautiful species is very common in the northern and western parts of this country, and, where seldom disturbed, are so fearless as to allow themselves to be approached almost within reach. the Hudson's bay squirrel. 139 They resemble the European more closely than any of our squirrels, and are remarkable for having tufts on the ears like that species, S. Vulgaris. This arrangement of the hair on the ears has been hitherto regarded as peculiar to European squirrels, and Pennant, in his Arctic Zoology, has prefixed to his description of the Hudson's Bay squirrel the following: " N. B. The ears of the American squirrels have no tufts," which is rather unfortunately placed before an American species, possessing these appendages in a very conspicuous degree.* The Hudson's Bay squirrel is, perhaps, more re- markable for its neatness and beauty than any of its kindred species, which, in habits and manners, it closely resembles. It is between seven and eight inches long, having a tail fiVe inches in length. Its whiskers are very long and black; the superior parts of the body are of a reddish brown colour, varying in intensity, and shaded with black. On the inferior parts the general colour is a tarnished or yellowish white.— The under part of the head and front of the fore limbs are reddish brown, like the back; the insides of the thighs are coloured like the belly; on each flank there is a distinctly marked black line, sepa- rating the colours of the back and belly. The tail is of a reddish brown colour, and is very beautiful. * Other American species of squirrels have tufts on then- ears, when in full pelage; none, however, so remarkably as the Hudson's Bay squirrel. Next to this species, SavV -rreat tailed squirrel (S. Macroureus.) has them longest. 140 the Hudson's bay squirrel. " The common squirrels are plentiful in the woody parts of this (the Hudson's Bay) country, and are caught by the natives in considerable numbers with snares, while the boys kill many of them with blunt- headed arrows. The method of snaring them is rather curious, though very simple, as it consists of nothing more than setting a number of snares all around the body of the tree in which they are seen, and arranging them in such a manner that it is scarcely possible for the squirrels to descend without being entangled in one of them. This is generally the amusement of the boys. Though small, and sel- dom fat, yet they are good eating. "The beauty and delicacy of this animal induced me to attempt taming and domesticating some of them, but without success; for though several of them were so familiar as to take*any thing out of my hand, and sit on the table where I was writing, and play with the pens, &c. yet they never would bear to be handled, and were very mischievous, gnawing the chair bottoms, window-curtains and sashes to pieces. They are an article of trade in the com- pany's standard, but the greatest part of their skins, being killed in summer, are of very little value."* y Hearne, as above cited. THE RED-BELLY SQUIRREL. 141 Species IX.— The Red-Belly Squirrel. Sciurus Rufiventer; Geoff. Sciurus Rufiventer: Geoff. Coll du Mus. Desm. Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. ton. x. 103. An individual of this species, brought from the vicinity of New Orleans, belongs to the valuable collection of the Philadelphia Museum. It is about seven or eight inches long, having the tail shorter than the body. Its general colour is dark grayish brown above, with a bright yellowish* red beneath. The tail at its base is of the colour of the back, about its middle it is of nearly the same colour as the belly, and at the extremity it is yellowish.* ' The following is the description of this species, given by Desmarest, p. 333:—The pelage is of a reddish brown, pricked with black on the head, neck, flanks and paws; all the hairs covering these parts being of a gray slate-colour at their bases, then clear brown or yellowish, and deep brown at their tips; the lower jaw, under part of the neck, throat, belly, and inner surface of the paws, of a nearly pure red. The neck is as if marked with transverse brownish lines; whiskers black and as long as the head; ears reddish and co- vered with short hairs; extremities of the paws of a deep browh, without mixture of yellow; tail bushy, brown at its base and yellow at its extremity. 142 THE GROUND-SQUIRREL. Species X.— The Ground Squirrel.* Sciurus Striatus; Klein. Sciurus Striatus: Klein, Pall. Ghres, 378. Gmel. Schreb. tab. 221. Sciurus Lysteri: Ray, Lyn. Quad. 216. Sciurus Carolinensis: Briss. Keg. An. 155, No. 9. Ecureuil Suisse.- Desm. 339, Sp. 547. [Commonly called Hacky, or Hackee, Ground, or Striped Squirrel.] Few persons have travelled through our delight- ful country without becoming acquainted with the pretty animal we are now to describe,—which, though very different in its general appearance from its kin- dred tenanting the lofty forest-trees, still approaches to them so closely in personal beauty and activity, as always to command the attention of the most inci- dental observer. This squirrel is most generally seen scudding along the lower rails of the common zigzag or li Virginia" fences, which afford him at once a pleasant and se- cure path, as in a few turns he finds a safe hiding place behind the projecting angles, or enters his bur- row undiscovered. When no fence is near, or his retreat is cut off, after having been out in search of food, he becomes exceedingly alarmed, and runs up the nearest tree, uttering a very shrill cry or whistle, indicative of his distress, and it is in this Situation that '*' This and the following species belong to the subgenus Tamias, of Illiger: having cheek-pouches. \.-J'futini Jauinwl. 2. flreatrteu&d'A--'i.f/rrcu/n .Vn .,#/»& * CHAPTER XII. SECTION II.—INCLAVICULATA. The Clavicles incomplete, or entirely wanting. Genus XXX.—Porcupine; Hystrix; L. Germ. Stachelthier; Stachelschwein. Fr. Pore-epic. Port. Ouriyo-cacheiro. _ GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is rather short, with an obtuse and somewhat compressed snout, long whiskers, short rounded ears, and small eyes; the upper lip is cleft, and the tongue set with scaly spines. The covering of the body is partly of bristles and partly of prickles or spines. The neck is thick, the belly large, and the limbs of equal length; the anterior have four, and the posterior five digits, armed with long, stout, curved nails. The tail is either short or of mode- rate length, and not prehensile. Dental System. -=■ d n. tt ^2 Incisive | I 10 Upper I gMoiar H \ ,„ T C 2 Incisiv* o [}° Lower I 8 Molar. In the upper jaw the incisors are rounded and even in front, and they arise from the anrerior and inferior part of the maxillary bone. The molars 150 THE CANADA PORCUPINE. are of nearly the same size from the first to the last, and they are especially remarkable for the elevation of the crown above the neck of the root. The outline they present is very irregular. In the young animal they are traversed with various degrees of irregularity, by grooves, which, after being worn to a certain extent, begin to be interrupted, and then they exhibit a depression in front on the inside, and another at the back part on the outside; in front, as at the back part, one or two ellipses are seen, the remains of primitive grooves or tubercles. In old animals we find teeth with only one depression, and in the middle, three or four insulated figures, more or less irregular. In the lower jaw the incisors resemble those in the upper, and take root some lines below the condyles. The molars have a great general resem- blance to those of the upper jaw, and a precise idea can only be obtained by actual inspection, as descrip- tion cannot convey a knowledge of such irregular and variable forms as are presented at different stages in the course of attrition. Species I.—The Canada Porcupine. Hystrix Dorsata; L. Gmkj.. Hystrix Dorsata.- Euxl. Schreb. pi. 169, Sab. App. 664. Hystrix Hudsonis: Bmss. 128. Cavia Hudsonis: Klein, Quad. 51. Hystrix Pilosus Americanus: Catesby, Car. App. 30. Urson: Buff. xii. pi.. 52. The American porcupine exhibits none of the long and large quills which are so conspicuous and formidable in the European species, and the short THE CANADA PORCUPINE. 151 spines or prickles which are thickly set over all the superior parts of its body are covered by a long coarse hair, which almost entirely conceals them.— These spines are not more than two inches and a-half in length, yet form a very efficient protection to our animal against every other enemy but man. Too slow in its movements to escape by flight, on the ap- proach of danger, the porcupine places his head be- tween his legs, and folds his body into a globular mass, erecting his pointed and barbed spines. The cunning caution of the fox, the furious violence of the wolf, and the persevering attacks of the domes- tic dog, are alike fruitless. At every attempt to bite the porcupine, the nose and mouth of the ag- gressor is severely wounded, and the pain increased by every renewed effort, as the quills of the porcu- pine are left sticking in the wounds, and the death of the assailant is frequently the consequence of the violent irritation and inflammation thus produced. In the remote and unsettled parts of Pennsylvania the porcupine is still occasionally found, but south of this state it is almost unknown. According to Catesby it never was found in that direction beyond Virginia, where it was quite rare. In the Hudson's Bay coun- try, Canada, and New England, as well as in some parts of the western states, and throughout the coun- try lying between the Rocky Mountains and the great western rivers, they are found in great abun- dance, and are highly prized by the aboriginals, both for the sake of their flesh and their quills, which are extensively employed as ornaments to their dresses, pipes, weapons, &c. 152 THE CANADA PORCUPINL. The porcupine passes a great part of its time in sleep, and appears to be a solitary and sluggish ani- mal, very seldom leaving its haunts, except in search of food, and then going but to a short distance. The bark and buds of trees, such as the willow, pine, ash, &c. constitute its food during the winter season; in summer, various wild fruits are also eaten by this animal. Dr. Best, of Lexington, Ky. in a letter to the au- thor of this work, observes that " the porcupine is seldom found in the state of Ohio, south of Dayton; but they are numerous on the river St. Mary. Dur- ing winter they take up their residence in hollow trees, whence it appeared to me in several instances, from their tracks in the snow, they only travel to the nearest ash-tree, whose branches serve them for food. In every instance which came under my ob- servation, there was no single track, but a plain beaten path, from the tree in which they lodged to the ash from which they obtained their food. I cut down two trees for porcupine, and found but one in each; one of the trees also contained four raccoons, but in a separate hollow, they occupied the trunk, the porcupine the limbs." The following are Hearne's observations on this species:—(( Porcupines are so scarce to the north of Churchill river, that I do not recollect to have seen more than six during almost three years residence among the northern Indians. Mr. Pennant observes, in his Arctic Zoology, that they always have two at a time, one brought forth alive, and the other still- born, but I never saw an instance of this kind, THE CANADA PORCUPINE. 153 though in different parts of the country I have seen them killed in all stages of pregnancy. The flesh of the porcupine is very delicious, and so much es- teemed by the Indians, that they think it the greatest luxury their country affords. The quills are in great request among the women, who make them into a va- riety of ornaments, such as shot-bags, belts, garters, bracelets* &c* They are the most forlorn animals I know; for in those parts of Hudson's Bay where they are most numerous, it is not common to see more than one in a place. They are so remarkably slow and stupid, that our Indians, going with packets from fort to fort, often see them in the trees, but not having occasion for them at that time, leave them till their return, and should their absence be for a week or ten days, they are sure to find them within a mile of the place where they had seen them be- fore." The patience and ingenuity displayed by the In- dian women in ornamenting dresses, buffaloe robes, moccasins, &c. can scarcely be appreciated by those who have never seen any of the articles thus adorn- ed. We have already mentioned that these quills rarely exceed two inches and a-half, or at most three inches in length, and are not larger in circumference than a moderate sized wheat straw. Yet we find large surfaces worked or embroidered in the neatest Modus illis copulandi (testante Hearne,) profecto singu- lars est. Femina super marem dorso recubantem, a capite usque ad caudam ambulat, donee genitalia mutuo tangunt, sic, spinis acutis evitatis, veneris suaviis, fruuntur; aliquandn ambobus lateribus resupinatis, actum est. VOL. II.—U 154 THE CANADA PORCUPINE. and most beautiful manner with these quills, which are dyed of various rich and permanent colours. In making this embroidery they have not the ad- vantage of a needle, but use a straight awl. Some of their work is done by passing the sinewT of a deer or other animal through a hole made with the awl, and at every stitch wrapping this thread with one or more turns of a porcupine-quill. When they wind the quill near to its end, the extremity is turned into the skin, or is concealed by the succeeding turn so as to appear, when the whole is completed, as if but a single strip had been used. In other instances the ornament is wrought of the porcupine-quills ex- clusively, and is frequently extremely beautiful, from its neatness and the good taste of the figures into which it is arranged. In general, however, the strong contrast of colours is the most remarkable effect aimed at. On some of the articles of dress figures of animals, exhibiting much ingenuity, are formed by embroidering with these quills. The Philadelphia Museum, so rich in objects of natural history, also boasts a most splendid and valuable col- lection of articles of dress, and implements of peace and war, peculiar to the various aboriginals of our country. Whoever wishes to see to what extent the quills of the porcupine are employe'd by these in- teresting people, and also to form a better idea of the number of porcupines that must be found in the trans-Mississipian regions, may be fully gratified by visiting this great institution. CHAPTER XIII. Genus XXXI.—Hare; Lepus; L. Fr. Lievre. Germ. Hase. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head is narrow and compressed, having a rather acute snout, large, prominent, laterally-placed eyes, and long ears, situated close together. The upper lip is cleft, and the inside of the cheeks cover- ed with hair: in each groin there is a fold of the skin that forms a sort of pouch. The fore limbs are slender and short, and have five digits, which are below, covered with a soft, velvety hair; the poste- rior limbs are very long, and have four digits, the soles being covered with hair similar to that in the palms. The teats are from six to ten in number; the tail is very short and turned upwards. Dental System. £ dc tt C 4 Incisiv | I 16 Upper } 12 Molar. H 7 ,.„ T ^2 Incisiv g L12 Lower ^ 10 Molar It is known how anomalous the hares are in the order of gnawers, by the number and singular ar- rangement of their upper incisor teeth. They are equally so in the structure of the head, and in many 156 THE HARE. other organic peculiarities, which do not allow them to be naturally approximated to any other group of this order.* In the upper jaw the anterior incisor is flat on its anterior surface, and unequally divided by a lon- gitudinal depression, nearer to its internal than its external edge. Behind this tooth another small one is found, divided at its extremity by a transverse groove, and in very young individuals we find a third tooth behind the second, but it soon falls out, and the alveole disappears; these two last teeth are placed in the intermaxillary bones. The molars have nearly the same structure, but differ in size. They are twice as long as their breadth; the first, smaller than the succeeding one, exhibits two folds of ena- mel on its anterior surface, but all the parts of these . rejoin, and are solidified together. The four fol- lowing are of the same size, and divided longitudi- nally in their middle by two folds of enamel, which arise at their extremities and approach each other, so that the laminse composing them, though entirely reunited, leave no intervening vacancy proper to be filled by the cortical matter. The internal fold is the most profound. The last molar, wThich is ex- tremely small, appears to have no fold, and to be of a simple structure,—that is, it presents the form of a very elongated ellipsis, surrounded by enamel. These animals have an exceedingly large coecum, which lias a spiral valve running though its whole length. Beneath the orbit of the eye there is, in the skull, a space at the in- ner angle, which is cribriform, or pierced by a great number of small holes. THE AMERICAN HARE. 157 In the lower jaw the incisor is smooth and flat. The molars are formed after the same system as those of the upper jaw, but differ slightly from each other. The first, which is the largest, has three sides on its external face, and a slight depression on its anterior face, although it is only divided into two parts by a deep fold of enamel, the plates of which reunite. The three following are similar: they are of the same size and divided by a deep fold of enamel, the plates joining each other only on the outside, which leaves a deep depression on their inner face. The fifth is a third smaller than the preceding, and divided into two unequal parts by two lateral grooves, the anterior of which is the largest. Species I.—The American Hare. Lepus Americanus; L. Gmel. Lepus Americanus: Schepf. Natur. fig. 20, p. 20. Lepus Hudsonius: Pall. Glir. pt. 1, p. 30. American Hare: Penn. Arct. Zool. i. 109, No. 38, Hist. Quad. No. 24j; Hearne, Journey, &c. 8vo. ed. 385; Sabine, App. to Franklin s Exped. 665. [Commonly, but improperly called Rabbit.] The American Hare is found throughout this coun- try to as far north as the vicinity of Carlton House, in the Hudson's Bay country. According to the statement of Hearne " they are not plentiful in the eastern parts of the northern Indian country, not even in those parts that are situated among the woods: but to the westward, bordering on the south- 158 THE AMERICAN HARE. ern Indian country, they are in some places pretty numerous, though by no means equal to what has been reported of them at York Fort, and some other settlements in the Bay." In various parts of the Union this hare is exceedingly common, and large numbers are annually destroyed for the sake of their flesh and fur. The timidity and defencelessness characteristic of the genus, are well illustrated in this species, which has no protection against:its numerous enemies, and can escape by flight alone. Its peculiar colour must, however, minister to its safety, as it is so simi- lar to the general colour of the soil as to require a close attention to distinguish the animal, which is usually passed without being observed by such as are not especially in search of it. Yet the swiftness and other natural advantages of the hare, insuffi- cient to secure it from the artifices of man, or from being preyed upon by various beasts and birds, would not prevent the species from soon being ex- tinguished, were it not for its remarkable fecundity. During the day time the hare remains crouched within its form, which is a mere space, of the size of the animal, upon the surface of the ground, clear- ed of grass, and sheltered by some overarching plant; or else its habitation is in the hollowed trunk of a tree, or under a collection of stones, &c. It is commonly at the earliest dawn, while the dew-drops still glitter on the herbage, or when the fresh verdure is concealed beneath a mantle of glis- tening frost, that the timorous hare ventures forth in quest of food, or courses undisturbed over the plains. Occasionally during the day, in retired and THE AMERICAN HARE. 159 little frequented parts of the country, an individual is seen to scud from the path, where it has been bask- ing in the sun; but the best time for studying the habits of the animal is during moon-light nights, when the hare is to be seen sporting with its com- panions in unrestrained gambols, frisking with de- lighted eagerness around its mate, or busily engaged in cropping its food. On such occasions the turnip and cabbage fields suffer severely, where these ani- mals are numerous, though in general they are not productive of serious injury. However, when food is scarce they do much mischief to the farmers, by destroying the bark on the young trees in the nur- series, and by cutting valuable plants. The flesh of the American hare, though of a dark colour, is much esteemed as an article of food. Dur- ing the summer season they are lean and tough, and in many situations they are infested by a species of oestrus, which lays its eggs in their skins, producing worms of considerable size. But in the autumnal season, and especially after the commencement of the frost, when the wild berries, &c. are ripe, they be- come very fat, and are a delicious article of food. In the north, during winter, they feed on the twigs and buds of the pine and fir, and are fit for the table throughout the season. The Indians eat the contents of their stomachs, notwithstanding the food is such as we have just mentioned. The American hare never burrows in the ground like the common European rabbit; (L. Cuniculus.) When confined in a yard, our animal has been known to attempt an escape by scratching a hole in the earth near the fence or wall, but there are few wild ani- mals, whatever may be their characters, that will not 160 THE AMERICAN HARE. do the same, under similar circumstances, though in their natural condition they may never attempt to burrow. Such is the fact in relation to the Ameri- can hare, which never burrows while it is a free tenant of the fields and woods. It has been said that this animal also occasionally ascends trees, which must be understood solely of its going up within the trunks of hollow trees, which it effects by pressing with its back and feet against opposite sides of the hollow, ascending somewhat in the same manner that a sweep climbs a chimney. The hare is not hunted in this country as in Eu- rope, but is generally roused by a dog, and shot, or is caught in various snares and traps. In its move- ments our hare closely resembles the common hare of Europe, bounding along with great celerity, and would no doubt, when pursued, resort to the artifices of doubling, &c. so well known to be used by the Eu- ropean animal. The American hare breeds several times during the year, and in the southern states even during the winter months, having from two to four or six at a litter. In summer pelage the American hare is dark brown on the upper part of its head, a lighter brown on the sides, and of an ash colour below. The ears are wide and edged with white, tipped with brown, and very dark on their back parts; their sides ap- proach to an ash colour. The inside of the neck is slightly ferruginous; the belly and the tail is small, dark above, and white below, having the inferior surface turned up. The hind legs are covered with more white than dark hairs, and both fore and hind feet have sharp .pointed, narrow, and nearly straight nails. THE AMERICAN HARE. 161 In winter the pelage is nearly twice the length of what it is in summer, and is altogether, or very near- ly, white. The weight of the animal is about seven pounds. This species is about fourteen inches in length. The hind legs are ten inches long, by which circum- stance it is most strongly distinguished from the common rabbit of Europe.* * " The hare and rabbit so nearly resemble each other in form and structure, that it has puzzled the most experienced zoologists to assign definite distinguishing marks. Yet there are many circumstances in which they differ (besides the colour of their flesh when boiled, and their manner of es- caping from their foes) in reference to their reproductive system. The nest of the hare is open, constructed with- out care, and destitute of a lining of fur. The nest of the rabbit is concealed in a hole of the earth, constructed of dried plants, and lined with fur, which is pulled from its own body. The young of the hare, at birth, have their eyes and ears perfect, their legs in a condition for running, and their bodies covered with fur. The young of the rabbit, at birth, have their eyes and ears closed, are unable to travel, and are naked. The maternal duties of the hare are few in number, and consist in licking the young dry at first, and supplying them regularly with food. Those of the rabbit are more numerous, and consist of the additional du- ties of keeping the young in a state of suitable cleanliness and warmth. The circumstances attending the birth of a hare are analogous to those of a horse> while those of a rabbit more nearly resemble the fox."—Flem. Philosophy of Zoology, ii. p. 140. The rabbit is not a native of this country, but has fre- quently been introduced in a domesticated state, from Eng- land, &c. The species above described we have already stated to be improperly called " the rabbit." VOL. II.—x 162 HIE POLAR HARE. Species II.— The Polar Hare. Lepus Glacialis; Sab. Lepus Glacialis. Leach. Miscel. Sabine, App. to Franklin, p. 664; Ib, App. to Parry's Voyage of 1819, 1820. The Polar Hare is found in greatest abundance at the extreme northern part of this continent, along the southern coast of Barrow's strait, and in the North Georgian islands. Capt. Sabine, who found the ani- mal in considerable numbers on Melville island, has pointed out, in the Appendix above quoted, (whence the following description is taken) the differences existing between this species and the L. Variabilis, with which it had been previously confounded. The polar hare is larger than the alpine or vary- ing hare, next to be described, and weighs about eight pounds. Its colour, in winter dress, is white, having the ears black at their tips and longer than the head. The nails are strong, broad and depressed. " The ears are longer, in proportion to the head, than those of the common hare, (L. Timidus) and much longer than those of the alpine hare (L. Va- riabilis.) The ears of the common hare are usually considered one-tenth longer than the head, those of the present species are from one-fifth to one-seventh. The fore teeth are curves of a much larger circle, and the orbits of the eye project much more than those of either of the other species; the claws are broad, depressed and strong: those of the L. Timi- dus and Variabilis being, on the contrary, compress- ed and weak; the hind leg is shorter, in proportion THE VARYING HARE? 163 to the size of the animal, than in the alpine, (Va- riabilis;) the fur is exceedingly thick and woolly, of the purest white in the spring and autumn, except- ing a tuft of long black hair at the tip of the ears, which is reddish brown at base; the whiskers are also black at the base for half their length. In some of the full grown specimens, killed in the height of summer, the hair of the back and sides was a gray- ish brown towards the points, but the mass of fur beneath still remained white. The face and the front of the ears were a deeper gray; the fur is in- terspersed with long, solitary hairs, which in many individuals were, in the middle of summer, banded with brown and white. The hares which Mr. Hearne describes, in his northern voyage, as in- habiting the continent of America, as high as the seventy-second degree of latitude, are stated to weigh fourteen or fifteen pounds when full grown and in good condition. The largest hare killed at Melville island did not weigh nine pounds; were it not for this difference in size, they might be sup- posed, from other parts of their description, to be the same species."* Through the kindness of that zealous friend of science, Chakles L. Bonaparte, .we have had an opportunity of examining and preparing a description * In the Appendix to Franklin's Journey, p. 665, we have the following observations on this species:—" The polar hare appears to vary much in size, and consequently in weight; ^.y^jKiu: 164 THE varying hare? of a hare, from specimens in winter and summer pe- lage, belonging to his valuable collection. This spe- cies, which appears to be the same with that indi- cated by Lewis and Clarke, and after them by War- den, has also been proposed as a new species, under the name of Lepus Virginianus. That it is a spe- cies distinct from the L. Glacialis and Variabilis, remains yet to be established, since differential cha- racters have not been adduced to prove the fact.— We shall first give a description of the animal in summer and winter dress, and then examine whether any differential characters have been given, or, under existing circumstances, can be offered, to entitle it to rank as a new species. The general colour of this hare, in summer dress, is a light reddish brown, which is lighter on the breast and head, becoming darker from the superior parts of the shoulders to the posterior parts of the body. The hairs are coloured in the following man- ner:—They are plumbeous at base, then light yel- lowish, then dusky, then reddish brown, and finally black at tip. The under jaw is white, and this co- lour extends backwards until opposite the bases of the ears. The belly and legs are white, faintly this, perhaps, may be caused by the quantity and quality of the food it can command. Dr. Richardson observed that the polar hare is never seen in woods; it frequents the bar- ren grounds, living chiefly on the berries of the arbutus al- pina and the bark of a dwarf birch. It sits, like the com- mon hare, on the whole length of the metatarsal bones, but in running its hind feet make a round print in the snow. similar to that made bv the fore ones." THE varying hare? 165 tinged with light reddish brown; the tail is whitish, which colour is superiorly mingled with bluish or lead colour. The ears are externally bluish white, and darker at tip; internally they are of a faint red- dish white. The following measurements of a recent specimen of this animal, were carefully made by the distin- guished individual before mentioned: Total length, - - - - 2 ft. 7 in. Height to the top of the fore shoulder, " 10 -------to the top of the thigh, - 1 2 Length of the head, - - "4 -------of the ears, - - "4 Distance from the eyes to the end of the nose, - - - - " *i Length of the fore arm, - "4 -------of the fore paw, - - " 2£ ------- of the thigh, - - "6 -------of the hind foot, - - " 6 -------of the tail, - - - " 1| In winter dress the general colour is pure white, the fur being long, soft, fine, and in greatest quan- tity upon the breast. The hairs in the summer, as in winter pelage, are plumbeous at base, but are then reddish, and at tip of a snowy whiteness. The ears are slightly tipped with dark lead colour, and edged within by brown and white hairs intermixed. The whiskers are entirely white, or black at base and white at tip. The feet are thickly clothed with hair, which conceals the slightly curved nails, which are long and narrow at base. When we compare this animal with the polar hare, L. Glacialis of Sabine, and with the L. Variabilis, 166 THE VARXING HAREr or alpine hare, we shall be convinced that distinctive characters have not yet been given to establish the supposed new species, as well as that such distinctive characters are very few and difficult of discovery. The essential or distinctive characters ascribed by Sabine to the polar hare, are as follows:—Colour white, ears black at tip, longer than the head; nails robust, broad and depressed. The essential characters of the L. Variabilis, as given by Desmarest, are,—pelage grayish yellow in summer, white in winter; ears shorter than the head, and black at all times; tail white in winter and gray in summer. The "characters essential" given of the animal un- der consideration as a new species, entitled Lepus Virginianus, are as follows:—u Grayish brown in summer; the orbits of the eyes surrounded by a reddish fawn colour at all times; ears and head of nearly equal length; tail very short." As the colour of the pelage is common to several species, both in summer and winter, it is peculiarly insufficient as a differential character in the estab- lishment of the proposed new species. The second character laid down in the last definition, concern- ing the permanent fawn colour surrounding the orbit, is incorrect. One of the specimens above described has the orbits of the eyes surrounded by a very dif- ferent colour; neither is the statement, that the ears are nearly equal in length to the head, of any avail in establishing the specific difference, since the ears of the Variabilis are also nearly equal in length to the head, being somewhat shorter. If it be meant that tne ears of the supposed new species are, in the THE VARYING HARE? 167 same sense, nearly of the length of the head, it is incorrect, since the head of the animal in its recent state measured four inches, and the ears were of the same length. The shortness of the tail is as charac- teristic of the Variabilis, in which it is but one inch and three-quarters, while the proposed new species has a tail one inch and a-half long. In the present state of our knowledge, the only truly differential character that can be given is the equality existing between the length of the ears and head. The toe-nails differ from those of the polar hare described by Sabine, but they are very simi- lar to those of the common hare, and may also be similar to those of the Variabilis, which are not mi- nutely described, even by Desmarest; hence no po- sitive conclusion can be deduced. Neither can the relative height of the hind and fore parts aid in dis- tinguishing this hare from the alpine, (L. Variabilis) in which the hind are to the fore parts as fourteen to twelve, while in the proposed new species the proportion is the same, being as twelve to ten; the polar hare (L. Glacialis) has the hind limbs pro- portionally shorter than the Variabilis, though their actual length is not given: this being equally true of the supposed new species, we cannot infer any spe- cific difference therefrom. The weight of these hares is a circumstance equally inefficient fn decid- ing this doubtful matter; the polar hare weighs from seven to nine pounds, (Sab.)—the alpine seven to seven and a-half, (Penn.)—the hare described by Lewis and Clarke, seven to eleven pounds. The weight given by the latter observers inclines us to 168 THE VARYING HARE? believe that this animal is the same as that described by Hearne, as the varying hare, which Sabine says differs from the polar hare only in weight.* * The following is Hearne's account of this animal:— " The varying hares are numerous, and extend as far as latitude 72° N., probably farther. They delight most in rocky and stony places, near the borders of woods, though many of them brave the coldest winters on entirely barren ground. In summer they are nearly of the colour of our English wild rabbit, but in winter assume a most delicate white all over, except the tips of the ears, which are black. They are, when full grown and in good condition, very large, many of them weighing fourteen or fifteen pounds; and, if not too old, are good eating. In winter they feed on long rye grass and the tops of dwarf willows, but in summer eat berries and dif- ferent sorts of small herbage. They are frequently killed on the south side of Churchill river, and several have been known to breed near the settlement at that place. They must breed very fast, for, when we evacuated Prince of Wales' fort, in 1783, it was common for one man to kill two or three in a day, within three miles of the new settle- ment But partly, perhaps, from so many being killed, and partly from the survivors being so frequently disturbed, they have shifted their situation, and at present are as scarce near the settlement as ever. The northern Indians pursue a sin- gular method of shooting those hares; finding, by long expe- rience, that these animals will not bear a direct approach, when the Indians see a hare sitting, they walk round it in circles, always drawing nearer at every revolution,!till by degrees they get within gun-shot. The middle of the day, if it be clear weather, is the best time to kill them in this manner; for before and after noon the sun's altitude being so small makes a man's shadow so long on the snow as to frighten the hare before he can approach near enough to kill it."—8vo. ed. p. 385. THE VARYING HARE? 169 In the specimen in summer dress (which we have described in beginning this article) the tail is nearly white, and in the hares observed by Lewis and Clarke, presently to be quoted, the tail was likewise white during the summer. Should this colour of the tail prove to be uniformly permanent, it may be added to the only other differential character, drawn from the ears. But until more decisive evidence can be adduced, it will be safest to consider this hare as at most a variety of the alpine hare, the Lepus Varia- bilis of authors. It is found throughout the mountainous regions of the Union, and on the plains and in the woods of the western territories. To the north it is known as far as observation has yet extended. Lewis and Clarke, in the second volume, p. 178, of their ex- tremely interesting journal, give the following ac- count of this animal:—" The hare on the western side of the Rocky Mountains inhabits the great plains of the Columbia. On the eastward of those mountains they inhabit the plains of the Missouri. They weigh from seven to eleven pounds; the eye is large and prominent, the pupil of a deep sea- green, occupying one-third of the diameter of the eye; the iris is of a bright yellow and silver-colour; the ears are placed far back and near each other, which the animal can, with surprising ease and quick- ness, dilate and throw forward, or contract and hold upon his back at pleasure; the head, neck, back, shoulders, thighs, and outer parts of the legs and thighs, are of a lead colour; the sides, as they ap- proach rhe belly, become gradually more white: the belly, breast, and inner parts of the legs and thighs VOL. n. — Y 170 THE VARYING HARE? are white, with a light shade of lead-colour; the tail is round and bluntly pointed, covered with white soft fur, not quite so long as on the other parts of the body; the body is covered with a deep, fine, soft, close fur. The colours here described are those which the animal assumes from the middle of April to the middle of November; the rest of the year he is of a pure white, except the black and reddish brown of the ears, which never changes. A few reddish brown spots are sometimes mixed with the white, at this season, (February 26) on their heads and the upper parts of their necks and shoulders; the body of the animal is smaller and longer, in pro- portion to its height, than the rabbit; when he runs he conveys his tail straight behind, in the direction of his body. He appears to run and bound with surprising agility and ease: he is extremely fleet, and never burrows nor takes shelter in the ground when pursued. His teeth are like those of a rabbit, (L. Americanus) as is also his upper lip, which is di- vided as high as the nose. His food is grass, herbs, and in the winter he feeds much on the bark of se- veral aromatic herbs growing on the plains. Capt. Lewis measured the leaps of this animal, and found them commonly from eighteen to twenty-one feet; they are generally found separate, and never seen to associate in greater numbers than two or three." Wtarden, in a note to his *< Description des Etats Unis," p. 632, says, " the varying hare of the south- ern parts of the United States is distinguished from the American rabbit (Lepus Americanus) by chang- ing from a gray brown, which is its colour in spring and summer, to a full white in winter. Its ears are THE VARYING HARE? 171 also shorter and marked with black, and its legs more slender. The largest varying hares are about eighteen inches long, and weigh from seven to eight pounds. They are very prolific, as the female litters several times a year, having three or four young each time. The flesh of this animal is represented to be agreea- ble and nutritious. It frequents the marshes and prairies, but never burrows; its colour is similar to that of the European rabbit, and the female equally •conceals her young from the male. When pursued, they mount as high as possible within a hollow tree." CHAPTER XIV. Order IV.—Bbuta;* L. Animals destitute of Cut- ting- Teeth. In North America no living animal belonging to this order has yet been found, but gigantic fossil re- mains of extinct species have been occasionally dis- interred in different parts of the Union. The cir- cumstance Jirst stated may appear the more singular when the fact is recollected, that the greater num- * Brisson first established an order, under the title of Edentata, which comprised the animals having no teeth; he made a second order, of Dentata, embracing those possessed of molars: which division was adopted by Lacepede. Storr disapproving this arrangement, formed a single order of all these animals, which he called Mutici, and Boddaert sub- sequently changed the name to that of Edentes, which was afterwards changed to Edentata by Cuvier. Various changes have been proposed by other writers, founded on their peculiar views, (of the structure, &c. of these animals) which it is needless to detail. We have adopted the Lin- nean name for the order, as it conveys no incorrect idea) which all the others do, by calling the order Toothless, when only one genus is in that predicament. The place in the system of classification is that given to the order by Cuvier, because these beings have some analogy to the digitigrade animals, in the circumstance of their toes being terminated by large and long claws, &c* * Vedi Rahzahi; Elementi di Zoologia, tomo. ndo. parte Hda. p. 473 EXTINCT GIANT SLOTH. 173 ber of the living genera and species, comprised by this order, are, at present, inhabitants of the southern division of this continent. The animals of this order are characterized by the exceeding slowness of their movements, depend- ant on the singular structure and proportions of their limbs. They have the orbits of the eyes and the temporal cavities opening into each other, so as to form one cavity in the skeleton; and their limbs are terminated by digits, (varying in number in different genera and species) armed with large and hoof-like claws. Such of the genera as have molar or jaw- teeth, feed on bark of trees, &c. others, entirely des- titute of teeth, feed exclusively on insects. Some of them use their claws for climbing and clinging to the branches of trees; others for the purpose of bur rowing. Family I.—Tardigrada; Sloths. Genus I.—Megatherium; C. Extinct Giant Sloth. GENERIC CHARACTERS. Unlike the living members of this family, the present genus has complete zygomatic arches, yet it again closely resembles the existing genera in having at the anterior basis of the zygoma, a large descend- ing process. The bones of the upper jaw are much prolonged; the nasal bones are very short: the lower jaw has. very large ascending branches, and at its anterior extremity, or chin, it is salient, and hollow- 174 EXTINCT GIANT SLOTH. ed within. The spine, composed of twenty-six ver- tebra1, has seven belonging to the neck, sixteen to the back, and three to the loins. It cannot be posi- tively stated that these animals had no tail, though it is probable;—if it did exist, it is presumed to have been very short. The posterior limbs exceed the anterior in size considerably; all the feet have five toes, yet three only on the fore feet are provided with large claws, the other two being rudimental. On the hind feet but one toe is furnished with an enor- mous claw; the other four are nearly rudimental. Dental System. f 8 Upper "1 16 Teeth: -j I Molars. [ 8 Lower J (i The twelve posterior teeth are larger than the others, each of them being nearly two inches square; they present rounded angles, and between each of these angles there is a small canal. Each tooth has four angles, two internal and two external. The lower part, which is imbedded in the alveolar pro- cess, diminishes gradually, becoming only two inches broad, of a square form, having beneath a pyramidal cavity separated by four points, which buries it- self sufficiently forward in the tooth. The four first teeth weighed exactly twenty ounces; the others as much as twenty-six."* * Don Juan B. Bru; description of the skeleton from Paraguay, in the Madrid Museum; translated by Bonpland in Cuv. oss. foss. torn. iv. EXTINCT GIANT SLOTH. 175 " Their remarkable structure, so much unlike any before observed, is still more deserving of particular description. The tooth is covered externally with a coating of enamel, extremely thin, and uniformly so on all sides, and which does not extend over any part of the crown. Within is a coating of bone or ivory, which, at the sides of the tooth, is as thin as the enamel; but where it is parallel to the cutting edges, is nearly a-quarter the thickness of the whole tooth. Enclosed within this is a second coating of enamel, which, like the first two, has two sides very thin. The other two sides are more than a line thick, and terminate in the cutting process, which by this means are kept constantly sharp and promi- nent, by the wearing away of the softer ivory on each side of them. Where these laminae of enamel terminate on the anterior side of the higher process, may be observed a semilunate truncation, which is not seen on the lower process, although terminated in a similar manner. The whole solid part of the tooth thus represents a prism of bone, enveloped within three cases, two of enamel, and the third of a substance similar to itself."* [That the reader may be better prepared to understand the peculiar character of these fossil remains, we subjoin Cuvier's observations on the construction of the existing animals, to which these extinct species wTere closely allied, and which they must have resembled in all their general habits. '''■' Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, vol. i. p. 114. A highly interesting paper by W. Cooper on the Megatherium found in Georgia. 176 [ SLOTH. ] as well as in conformation. This comparison may also prove of advantage to the inquirer, (inde- pendent of satisfying him of the correctness of the opinions advanced, relative to the similarity of these animals) should it awaken his curiosity to become bet- ter acquainted with the works of the great naturalist quoted. His writings, though principally occupied with the relics of former worlds—with animals that ceased to be before the foundations of human society were laid, nevertheless overflow with the energies of an immortal intellect, and expand the mind of the stu- dent with those sublime ideas of the God of Nature, which are not to be equalled by any mere effort of imagination, since they are inspired by the most ex- traordinary facts, beheld under the powerful illumi- nation of disciplined genius. " In considering these beings, we find so few re- lations with ordinary animals—the general laws of existing organizations apply so little to them—the different parts of their bodies are so much in con- tradiction to the rules of co-existence established throughout the animal kingdom, that we might really believe them to be the remains of another order of beings, the living fragments of that antecedent na- ture, whose other ruins we are obliged to seek in the . bosom of the earth, which by some miracle have escaped the catastrophies that destroyed their cotem- porary species. 66 With the solitary exception of the elephant, there is not, perhaps, among all the quadrupeds, an animal which so widely departs from the general plan of nature, in the formation of that class, as the sloths; still, the deviations from that plan correspond with [ SLOTH. ] 177 each other so reciprocally as to correct their bad ef- fects, and produce a concordant whole; but in the sloths, each singularity of organization appears to have no other result but weakness and imperfection, and the inconveniences they cause the animal are not compensated by any advantage. " The mere aspect of the skeleton of the ai, (three- toed sloth) in some sort indicates deficiencies of proportion. The arms and forearms taken together are almost twice as long as the thigh and leg, so that when the animal moves on all four limbs it is oblig- ed to crawl upon its elbows, and when it raises itself upon its claws, the entire hand may still be placed against the ground. There are some apes alone which approach this disproportion; but they often keep themselves erect, or walk with the aid of a staff, which cannot be done by the ai, since its hind feet are so peculiarly articulated that they cannot sustain the body. The pelvis, moreover, is so large, and the cotyloid cavities (or sockets for the heads of the thigh bones) are turned so far backwards, that the knees cannot be brought together, and the thighs are kept forcibly separate. u Animals, when they run, receive their principal impulsion from their hind feet; hence, the best run- ners have the longest hind legs, as the hares, jer- boas, &c. The length of the fore legs serve merely to embarrass, and hence crabs are forced to move backward. Sloths can scarcely employ their fore limbs, except for the purpose of clinging to objects and then dragging forwards their hinder parts. ;i In the other quadrupeds, the- as sacrum is only attached to the ossa ilia, or haunch bones, by a small vol. n.—z 178 [ SLOTH. ] portion of its sides in front; all the rest is Iree, and the interval between the posterior part of the sa- crum and ossa innominata is vacant, for the reception of the muscles and other soft parts, bearing the name of the great ischiatic notch. In the sloth there is a second posterior union between the sacrum and tu- berosity of the ischium, and instead of the ischiatic notch there is nothing but an opening like a second obturator foramen. The joint which attaches the hind foot and leg, " appears to be expressly arranged to deprive the animal of the use of the foot." In other animals the articulation is such as to allow the foot to be flexed upon the leg, but the foot of the sloth turns upon the bones of the leg i( like a weathercock upon its pin, but cannot be flexed. Hence it results that the body of the foot is nearly vertical when the leg is so, and that the animal cannot place the sole of the foot on the ground unless by separating the leg so far as to render it almost horizontal. From these two peculiarities the absolute weakness of the foot is derived, and the total impossibility of its af- fording a solid point of support to the body." On the fore and hind feet '• the skin envelopes all the parts except the nails, which are separate, and the whole of the remainder of the digits is united, being without interval or mobility between them; they, therefore, can only be flexed or extended together. " The nails of the sloth are of an enormous length, and the dreadful weapon they furnish is doubtless the mean by which these animals defend themselves with sufficient success to compensate for all the dis- advantage of the rest of their organization. Vearh [ SLOTH.] 179 as sharp as those of the cat, it is necessary for their preservation in that condition that they should be protected from friction against the ground. It is by withdrawing them between their toes, having the points turned upwards, that those of the cat are preserved. The sloths cannot do the same, because their digits, being united by the integument, leave no interval; besides, these long reverted points would be very inconvenient, and might wound the throat and belly. When not in use they are kept re- curved, and placed with their convexity on the ground; this, as in the cats, is effected without fa- tigue to their muscles, and by the simple elastic ac- tion of the ligaments; the muscles have only to act to extend them. :i From this difference, another results in the form of the articulation. The last phalanges of the cat, like those of the sloth, are at the back part hollowed into an arc of a circle, since they must move as pullies upon the next to the last bone. But in those of the cat the most salient part of the arc is below; in the sloth it is above, always on the side towards which the nail is not carried. By this circumstance we may distinguish, at the first glance, even a single phalanx of either of these genera. We may also distinguish them by the osseous sheath which retains and overlaps the base of the nail. Both genera equally have them, because both require solidity in so long a weapon; but in the sloth it is the lower part of this sheath which is the most prolonged, while in the cat it is rather the superior part."*J Rerherches sur les Oss. Foss. torn. iv. 180 cuvier's giant sloth. Species I.—Cuvier's Giant Sloth. Megatherium Cuvieri. Me'gathc're: C. Ann. du Mus. v. 176, pi. 24, 25. Recherches sur lc> Ossem. I■'(>>s torn. iv. Bru, Descr. 8cc. trad, par Bonpland, Ejusdcm, torn. iv. Descr. d'un squelette conserve dans le Mus. de Madrid; trad, de Garriga. Mitchill; Ann. of the Lyceum of Nat. History of New York, vol. i. Cooper on the Megatherium of Georgia, Ann. Lyceum, v<»l. i. Megatherium Cuvieri: Desm. Mammal. 365. The first discovered skeleton of this extraordi- nary animal was obtained from some excavations made on the banks of the river Luxan, near a town of the same name, situated about three leagues W. S. W. of Buenos Ayres. It was found at the depth of a hundred feet from the surface, in a sandy soil, and is the most perfect specimen of this animal yet procured. It was sent to Spain by the viceroy of Buenos Ayres, the Marquis of Loretto, where it was mounted in the museum of Madrid by Don. J. B. Bru, who first published a description of it. An- other specimen was sent to the same cabinet in 1795. from Lima, and a third was discovered in Paraguay.* The only skeleton yet found in North America was first indicated by our celebrated countryman, Dr. Mitchill, and subsequently more fully detailed b) that ardent votary of natural science, W. Cooper, of New York, in the work above quoted. Having but a few mutilated fragments of this skeleton in the cabinets of this country, it is impossible, by describ- ing them alone, to give the reader any proper idea ' Garriga, as quoted by Cuvier. cuvier's giant sloth. 181 of the animal. We shall therefore introduce Cu- vier's account of the species, drawn up principally from the work of Garriga, and add thereto the ob- servations made on the American specimen recently discovered in Georgia. " A first glance at the head of the megatherium gives us the most marked relations with that of the sloth, especially the ai (three-toed sloth.) The most striking feature of resemblance is the long de- scending apophysis placed at the anterior base of the zygomatic arch. It is proportionally as long in the ai as in the megatherium; but the latter has the zygomatic arch entire, while in both species of sloth, even when adult, it is not continuous. " The ascending branch of the lower jaw suffi- ciently resembles that of the sloth, but its inferior part forms a convexity, to which we find but a slight resemblance even in that of the elephant. The osseous snout is more salient in the megatherium than in the ai; this arises from an advance of the symphisis of the lower jaw, (chin) which is also found in the two-toed sloth, (unau) and from a cor- responding advance of the intermaxillary bones.— The bones of the nose are very short, which, after the example of the elephant and tapir, might lead us to suspect that this animal had a trunk. " This might also be inferred from the multitude of holes and small canals with which the anterior part of the snout is pierced, which must have served to give passage to vessels and nerves destined to nourish some organ of considerable size. However, if such a trunk existed, it was doubtless very short, judging by the length of the neck, which appears 182 cuvier's giant SLOTH. very natural, and not owing to the introduction ot vertebrae, belonging to larger individuals in forming the skeleton. The head not being disproportionately large, and especially being without tusks, a long neck would not be as prejudicial as it would have been in the elephant. " The molar teeth are four in number, on each side, both above and below, as in the ai, and, like the teeth of that species, of a prismatic form, and the crown traversed by a groove. They are only closer together, and have no pointed canine in front, as the ai has one at least in the upper jaw, and the unau in both upper and lower. Yet that is scarcely suffi- cient to distinguish a genus, for in the unau itself the canines differ little from the molars, which are as pointed as in that species. " If the number of seven cervical vertebrae, seen in this skeleton, be correct, as analogy with other animals induces us readily to believe, the megathe rium differs much in this respect from the three toed sloth, which itself is separated from all known quadrupeds by the length of its neck. The mega therium has sixteen dorsal vertebrae, and by conse quence sixteen ribs on each side, and three lumbar vertebrae. The number is exactly the same in the ai. ii The relative proportion of the extremities is not the same as in the sloth, where the anterior have nearly double the length of the posterior limbs: in this animal the inequality is much less. But in re- turn, the disproportionate thickness of the thigh and leg bones (indications of which are found in the sloths, tatous, and especially the pangolins) is carried here to an excessive degree, the thigh-bone being cuvier's giant SLOTH. 183 in height only double its greatest thickness, which renders it larger than that of any other animal known, not excepting the mastodon. " This general disposition of the extremities leads to the conclusion that this animal had a slow and equal gait, and advanced neither by running nor leaping, like animals having the fore limbs shorter, nor in crawling, like those which have them longer, and especially the sloths, to which they otherwise are so closely similar. The shoulder-blade has gene- rally the same proportions as those of the sloths.— It has a clavicle, as in one of them, (the two-finger- ed or unau) which, together with the length of the phalanges supporting the nails, proves that this ani- mal also employed its fore feet to seize and even to climb with. The presence of clavicles separates our giant sloth from all the animals which might be con- founded with it on account of their size, as the elephant, rhinoceros, and all the large ruminants, none of which have these bones. " The arm of the megatherium is very remarkable for the breadth of its inferior part, which is owing to the great surface of the spines placed above its condyles. Hence, the muscles which originate there, and serve, as is known, to move the hand and fingers, must have been very considerable; this is another proof of the great use made by our animal of its inferior ex- tremities. This great breadth of the lower part of the humerus is peculiarly found in the ant-eater, which is known to employ its powerful claws to sus- pend itself from trees, or to tear open the solid nests of the termites. It is in the ant-eater three-fifths )f its length—while in <>ur animal the breadth i* 184 CUVIER'S GIANT SLOTH. one-half; which is also the proportion in the long- tailed scaly ant-eater, or phatagin. In the rhino- ceros this breadth is only a third, and in the ele- phant a fourth, of the length. Ruminant animals, which scarcely make any use of their toes, have hardly any thing of these spines. " The length of the olecranon (point of the el- bow) must have given to the extensor muscles of the forearm, an advantage which they have not in the sloths, whose olecranon is extremely short, which contributes not a little to the imperfection of their movements. The radius turns freely upon the ulna; but it should be remarked that this bone has been inverted in the skeleton, and the figures published represent it in this erroneous manner. The short- ness of the metacarpus shows that the palm was en- tirely placed on the ground in walking. The digits, which were apparent and armed with nails, were three in number, and the two others concealed under the skin, as there are two in the ai, three in the unau and two fingered ant-eater. " The last phalanges were composed of an axis, which carried the claw, and of a sheath which en- closed its base absolutely, as in the great clawed ani- mals compared with this. But the bones of the metacarpus were not solidified together, as they are in the ai. The proportion of these bones, as well as those of the megalonyx, (Jefferson's giant sloth) are very different from those of the sloths, being the same as in the ant-eaters. " The pelvic bones are very different in our ani- mal from those of the kindred species. The haunch bones are the only ones preserved in the Madrid CUVIER'S GIANT SLOTH. 185 skeleton; they form a half pelvis, broad and hollowed out, the mid-plane of which is perpendicular to the spine, resembling somewhat that of the elephant, and especially of the rhinoceros. The broad part of these bones have a peculiarly striking analogy with that of the latter animal, by the proportion of its three lines; but their narrow part, and near the cotyloid cavity, is much shorter. This form of pelvis indicates that the megatherium had a large belly, and accords, w ith the form of the teeth, to indicate that its subsistence was vegetable matter. u The pubis and ischium are wanting in the Mad- rid skeleton, but, in my opinion, these were lost at the time of the exhumation. However, if this de- fect be natural to the species, it is still in an edent- ous animal (the two-toed ant-eater) that we find the first, though a slight indication of it. The ossa pubis and ischium of this ant-eater do not unite in front, and remain always separate. " The tibia and fibula are united by bony matter at their two extremities, a circumstance absolutely peculiar to this animal; they present also by their union a disproportionately broad surface. In this respect the leg of the megatherium resembles con- siderably that of the ai, which is very broad, be- cause its two bones each form a convexity on their sides, thus separating from each other. The figures lead to the belief that the articulation of the leg and foot is not so singular as it is in the ai, and that it is much more solid. "The megatherium having a broad astragalus, ar- ticulated with a tibia equally so, and strengthened farther by the lateral position of the fibula, stood vol. jj.—a a 186 cuvier's giant sloth. more solidly than the sloths, and in this respect must have resembled most other quadrupeds. " We find but a single toe on the hind feet of the Madrid skeleton, which was armed with claws; but in this respect I think there is less certainty than relative to the fore feet; especially as the figures represent but two other toes, which have no claws; and my researches have uniformly established as a rule without exception, that all unguiculated animals have five digits, whether externally visible, concealed beneath the skin, or reduced to simple osseous rudiments. " The tail is wanting in the Madrid skeleton, and the smallness of the posterior face of the body of the sacrum, leads to the conclusion, that it was very short in this^animal. "The comparison of the bones of the megathe- rium and megalonyx, (Jefferson's giant sloth) re- sults in establishing almost the absolute identity of forms, at least in the parts yet discovered of the latter; but the size is different. The bones of the megatherium are a third larger than those of the megalonyx, and as the latter bear all the characters of the adult age, we can only attribute the difference of size to difference of species: we may add that the claw-sheaths are longer and more complete in the last phalanges of the megatherium. These two ani- mals then should form two species of the same ge- nus, belonging to the Edentous family, being inter- mediate to the sloths and ant-eaters, though nearer the former than the latter."* * Oss. Foss. torn. iv. cuvier's giant sloth. 187 After this long extract from Cuvier, we deem it most advantageous to the reader to present the ac- count of the fragments of the North American spe- cimen de§cribed in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natu- ral History of New York, in a paper entititled " On the Remains of the Megatherium recently discover- ed in Georgia, by William Cooper." In giving this paper nearly entire,* we feel satisfied that its zealous and scientific author will lose nothing by having his researches on this subject immediately contrasted with those of the illustrious zoologist above quoted. " It has been already announced that remains of the great fossil animal of Paraguay exist within the limits of the United States, and under a latitude nearly as far north, as they have hitherto been found south of the Equator. We are indebted for the first intelligence of this discovery, which possesses so much interest for the lovers of natural science, to our learned associate, professor Mitchill, distin- guished by his previous contributions to the know- ledge of the fossil productions of this country. In a paper contained in the present volume of these An- nals, that gentleman has given an account of two frag- ments of teeth brought to him from an island on the sea-coast of Georgia, which, at the same time that they differed totally from those of any quadruped now known to exist, presented the most striking resem- blance to those of the Megatherium. To an animal * We have already quoted, in the dental system of this species, a part of this paper. The comparison with Bru's description, &c. not beins necessary at present, is also omitted. 188 cuvier's giant sloth. of this very extraordinary, and now extinct, species, he accordingly does not hesitate to refer them. " The information thus given, however, was calcu- lated rather to stimulate than to satisfy the*curiosity of naturalists. Although the fact of these remains existing in North America might perhaps be con- sidered as thereby established, yet its connexion with the most difficult problems in zoology and geology rendered it highly desirable to obtain other and more entire parts of the skeleton, and with them to institute a more extensive comparison. By means of this we might expect to discover any difference possibly existing between them, or else to determine, in the most unquestionable manner, the specific iden- tity of the animal of Georgia with that of Paraguay. " These considerations induced me to address a letter to my friend, Dr. Wm. R. Waring, of Sa- vannah, begging him to make inquiry whether any more of these relics had been found, and, if possible, to procure me some of them. His answer informed me that his friend, Dr. Joseph C. Habersham, of the same place, had, with much trouble, and at some expense, assembled a collection of the bones found in the marshes of Skidaway Island, and at his re- quest consented to allow them to be sent to this city, under the condition that they should be placed where they might be publicly viewed. They were trans mitted to me in the month of March last, and in compliance with the wishes of the owner, are now deposited in the cabinet of the Lyceum. " The collection was found to consist of parts of several members of the skeleton, which, as nearly as cuvier's giant sloth. 189 iheir very mutilated and disconnected state would enable me to determine, were as follows: " A portion of the posterior part of the right side of the lower jaw. " Another portion which had been continuous with the preceding. " A considerable portion of the anterior part of the same jaw. <•' A fragment of the left side of the same jaw, about three inches square. " Five fragments belonging to three different teeth. " The vertebra dentata, with nearly one half broken off. " Three other vertebrae, two of which appear to be dorsal, and the third either the last dorsal or the first lumbar. None of these are entire. <* A fragment undetermined, but supposed to be of the ilium. " Eight pieces belonging to three or four different ribs. Three of these pieces have the heads attach- ed to them, and two seem to have belonged to the left side, and the remainder to the right. " The head of the lower extremity of the hume- rus, with both condyles nearly entire. " Two pieces with a concavity at one end, per- haps the superior parts of a radius and ulna. " A bone supposed to be tarsal, much broken. " Two carpal bones adapted to each other. " The heads of both femora; and a fragment, ap- parently the lower condyle of a femur. i( Part of a bone about seven inches long, sup posed to be part of a fibula. 190 cuvier's giant sloth. " Besides these were four or five other small pieces of bone, but so imperfect as not to be easily referred to their proper places in the skeleton. " In addition to the foregoing should be enumerat- ed the two fragments of teeth from which professor Mitchill drew up his description. On being com- pared with Dr. Habersham's collection, one of them was found to correspond with a fragment supposed to be of a fourth molar, of which it formed the pos- terior process. The other, as it fitted with great exactness into what remained of the socket of the third molar, appeared to have occupied that place in the jaw. Thus it is rendered extremely probable that all the relics of the Megatherium yet discovered, as far as we know, in North America, have belonged to a single individual. ii I shall first endeavour to bring together some of these fragments so as to show what has been their original state; after which they may be compared with the figure and description of the animal of Paraguay, as given by M. Cuvier in the Annates du Museum, vol. v., and in the Recherches sur les Os- semens Fossiles, vol. iv. first edition. " Restoration of part of the lower jaw.—A and B (see plate) formed one continuous piece. Of this there can be no doubt, as the edges of the frac- ture, though very irregular, correspond perfectly with each other. These two portions compose the greater part of the right side of thl lower jaw, and contain parts of the sockets of all the four molar teeth. " The plate represents two views of the jaw as partly restored, reduced to one-fifth their natural cuvier's giant sloth. 191 size. Fig. 1, is an oblique view of the inside of the jaw. Fig. 2, a profile of the outside. The dotted line represents the part supposed to be broken off. " C also belongs to the lower jaw. It consists of the anterior part, comprising the symphysis, with part of the elongation, and parts of the sockets of the two first molars. It has been continuous with B. " D (not in the plate) is a fragment of the left side of the same jaw. This is evident from its con- taining parts of the sockets of the two last molars, part of the opening for the passage of the maxillary vessels, and the origin of the ascending branch of the jaw. " The teeth had fallen out of all the sockets ex- cept one, which contained the body of the second molar with the crown and fangs broken off, appa- rently by recent violence. I attempted, therefore, to find the places of the four remaning teeth. Two of them I perceived to be alike in all respects, and therefore concluded that they had occupied corres- ponding situations in opposite sides of the jaw. Both are broken in two across, and consist of the crown and part of the body, as far down as below the com- mencement of the internal pyramidal cavity. The longer of the two is about four inches, the other somewhat less. On trying the first of these, it was found to fit with great exactness into the socket, of which part remains in B, and part in C, that is, the socket of the first molar. This, it may be observed, corroborates the approximation of these two frag- ments. Its form also showed this to have been its place; its diameter in the direction of its cutting edges being less than the contrary diameter, and its 192 % cuvier's giant sloth. being narrowed anteriorly, proved its situation to have been in the thinner and more tapering part of the maxillary bone. " The second molar of the same (that is, the right) side, remained in its socket as already mentioned. It is remarkable for its rhomboidal form, the diagonal through its left anterior internal, and right posterior external angle, being the greatest. " The remaining two teeth appeared to belong to the left side of the same jaw. One of them I con- jectured to be the third; 1st, from its fitting into a part of this socket remaining in D; and 2dly, from its form, which shows the passage between the rhom- boidal figure of the second molar, and the flattened shape of that which 1 suppose to be the fourth. This last is more flattened, that is, broader in the direc- tion of its cutting edges than any of the others; and from this, as well as from its agreeing with the form of the fourth socket, partly remaining in D, I have referred it hither. This tooth may, however, have belonged to the upper jaw. " The fragments of teeth in Dr. Habersham's col- lection, for there is not one entire, agree with Bru's description of those in the skeleton of Madrid, so far, at least, as it is given in the French abridgment. There are the sockets of four in the right lower side, and consequently eight teeth in all, in the lower jaw, the six posterior being the greatest. They are square, with rounded angles, and a groove between on the inner and outer sides, and are longitudinally striated. The inferior pyramidal cavity may be observed with advantage in the right second molar, which remains 4n the socket: but the terminating points are broken cuvier's giant sloth. 193 fi>/p'Z.u>/u (h/wr if/of/t nJofltjfjrvi. t-X/.J//rJ«>rJSn SupplfHunt 0. VoUJ jefferson's giant sloth. 197 lies, which indubitably establish the fact, that at some very early period this country contained a second species of quadruped of gigantic size, re- sembling the sloths in structure and manners. The only fragments yet obtained of the skeleton of this extinct species were discovered in a saltpetre-cave, belonging to Mr. Frederic Cromer, in Green Briar county, Va. where they were found about three feet below the surface of the cave's floor. " The im- portance of the discovery (says the distinguished author first above cited) was not known to those who made it, yet it excited conversation in the neighbourhood, and led persons of vague curiosity to seek and take away the bones. It was fortunate for science that one of its zealous and well informed friends, Col. John Stewart, of that neighbourhood, heard of the discovery, and, sensible from the de- scription that they were not of any animal known, took measures without delay for saving those which still remained. He was kind enough to inform me of the incident, and to forward me the bones from time to time as they were recovered. To these 1 was enabled accidentally to add some others, by the kindness of Mr. Hopkins, of New York, who had visited the cave." The bones thus obtained consisted of a fragment of an arm or thigh-bone, a complete radius, and an ulna, which was broken in two, but not otherwise in- jured; three of the phalanges on which the claws were sustained, and several bones belonging to the fore or hind feet. In the absence of every opportunity for making a proper comparison of these bones, we are not sur- 198 jefferson's giant sloth. prised that Jefferson should, in the first instance, have compared them with the skeleton of the lion, as described by Daubenton; or that he should come to the conclusion that this unknown species was " more than three times as large as the lion; that he stood pre-eminently at the head of the column of clawed animals, as the mammoth stood at that of the elephant, rhinoceros and hippopotamus; and that he may have been as formidable an antagonist to the mammoth as the lion to the elephant." In a post- script to the same memoir, the author makes some observations on a very imperfect account of the me- gatherium, which prove that nothing but the want of proper materials for comparison prevented him from referring his megalonyx, or great claw, to its proper place.* The late professor Wistar, so justly distinguished for his zeal in the cause of science, drew correct, though not altogether positive conclusions in relation to these bones. After giving a detailed description * '* P. S. March 10, 1797. After the preceding commu- nication was ready to be delivered in to the society, in a periodical publication from London, (Monthly Magazine, Sept. 1796) I met with an account and drawing of the skeleton of an animal dug up near the river La Plata, in Paraguay, and now mounted in the cabinet of Natural His- tory of Madrid. The figure is not so done as to be relied on, and the account is only an abstract from that of Cuvier and Roume. This skeleton is also of the clawed kind, and having only four teeth on each side, above and below, all grinders is, on this account, classed in the family of the un- guiculated quadrupeds destitute of cutting teeth, and re- ceives the new denomination of megatherium: having nothing jefperson's giant sloth. 199 of them, he makes the following observations:— " from the shortness of the metacarpal bone, and the form and arrangement of the other bones of the paw, and also from the form of the solitary metatar- sal bone, it seems probable that the animal did not walk on the toes; it is also evident that the last pha- lanx was not retracted. The particular form of the second bone, and its connexion with the first and third, must have produced a peculiar species of flex- ion in the toes, which, combined with the greater flexion of the last phalanx upon the second, must of pur animal but the leg and foot-bones, we have few points of comparison between them. They resemble in their sta- ture, that being twelve feet nine inches long, and six feet four and a-half inches high, and ours by computation, five feet 1.75 inches high: they are alike in the colossal thickness of the thigh and leg-bones also. They resemble, too, in hav- ing claws: but those of the figure appear very small, and the verbal description does not satisfy us, whether the claw- bone, or only its horny cover, be large. They agree too in the circumstance of the two bones of the forearm being dis- tinct and moveable on each other; which, however, is believed to be so usual as to form no mark of distinction. They dif- fer in the following circumstances, if our relations are to be trusted:—The megatherium is not of the cat-form, as are the lion, tiger and panther, but is said to have striking re- lations in all parts of its body with the bradypus, darypus, pangolin, &c According to analogy, then, it had not the phos- phoric eye nor leonine roar. But to solve satisfactorily the question of identity, the discovery of fore teeth, or a jaw- bone, showing it [the megalonyx, or Jefferson's animal, both jaws of the megatherium having been figured] had, or had not such teeth, must be waited for and hoped with patience. It may be better in the mean time to keep up the difference of name."—Phil. Soc. Trans, p. 259. 200 Jefferson's giant sloth. have enabled the animal to turn the claws under the soles of the feet; from this view of the subject there seems to be some analogy between the foot of this animal and that of the Bradypus [Sloth]—having no specimens of that animal, I derive this conclusion from the description of its feet given by M. Dau- benton."* Cuvier was the first to establish, from sufficient data, the true place and character of this animal; from all his comparisons and investigations he lays down the following positions: " 1st, That the animals which furnish these fossil bones were not carnivorous;— 236 THE GIGANTIC MASTODON. MASTODOJV 1. J(u i/ii'ii<-> 2.'////,// ;*,.,'!u/i/m,> 1. * l','tti//1 {').■ I //'/// «f great value, in relation to these teeth. 25b THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT. rious parts of North America. From the greater numbers of bones which have been discovered, and the fortunate preservation of the entire animal, in the almost eternal ice of Siberia, less doubt is felt concerning the peculiar characters of this than any other extinct species. Two living species of elephant are well known as inhabitants of Asia and Africa, whence they are named; the varieties of these species are neither nu- merous nor remarkable. The Asiatic is distinguish- ed from the African by superior size and other pe- culiarities, the most striking of which is the arrange- ment of the perpendicular plates in the huge grind- ers; these in the first named species exhibit trans- verse undulating ribbons of enamel, while those of the African display on their crowns a succession of lozenge-shaped lines. The teeth of the fossil ele- phant resemble the Asiatic, but have straighter and narrower ribbons of enamel. The localities whence the fossil elephant bones have been generally procured in this country, have in numerous instances been the same as those indi- cated in speaking of the mastodon. Scarcely any remains, except the teeth, have been discovered in these situations; the other bones having altogether decayed, would indicate that this elephant must have perished anterior to the remote period in which the mastodon bones were deposited in the same places. Kentucky, so remarkable for containing great num- bers of the mastodon, has furnished the largest num- ber of the teeth of the fossil elephant, but the state of South Carolina has thus far been found to contain the greatest quantity of other parts of the skeleton. THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT. 257 Mitchill has given a figure of a fossil elephant-tooth, obtained in Monmouth Co. N. J.* Drayton informs us, in his views of South Caro- lina, that Col. Senf, in 1794, discovered teeth of the elephant in Biggin Swamp, not far from the head of the west branch of Cooper river. They were found at a depth of eight or nine feet. A good figure of one of these grinders is.given in Drayton's work. According to Catesby, teeth of an elephant were found at Stono in Carolina, which were recognized by the Negroes (natives of Africa) as the grinders of that animal. This statement of Catesby is unne- cessarily criticised by Cuvier, after Dr. B. S. Bar- ton, since Catesby does not say that the Negroes re- cognized them as teeth of the African species of ele- phant, but merely that they were teeth of an ele- phant. Dr. H. Hayden, of Baltimore, in his Geological Essays, gives an account of an elephant-tooth, which was found on the eastern shore of Maryland, in Queen Ann's county. This tooth differs considera- bly from the tooth either of the living or fossil spe- cies, resembling each in a certain degree. The dis- tance from the crown to the roots of the tooth is nine inches; the grinding surface is also nine inches long, and the breadth four inches and a-half. Its present weight is ten pounds, and from the convexity of its outer surface, it is thought to be a grinder of the upper jaw. The collection of the Philadelphia Museum is en- riched with various specimens of fossil elephant- * Mitchill, libro. citato. VOL. II.—K k 258 THE FOS^II, ELEPHANT. teeth; and the cabinets of the American Philosophi- cal Society, and of the Academy of Natural Sci- ences, contain numerous fragments of the skeleton of this animal.* The characters by which the skeleton of this elephant is to he distinguished from the others, have been laid down by Cuvier, after a very extended and minute examination of vast numbers of perfect and mutilated specimens. The head is oblong, the fore- head concave; the sockets for the tusks very large, and the molar teeth of great size. They are mark- ed on the surface by parallel plates of enamel, very closely approaching each other. The lower jaw is obtuse in front. The tusks are exceedingly long, more or less arcuated spirally, and directed up- wards. We cannot offer any facts from which a sufficiently satisfactory conclusion can be drawn, relative to the time or manner in which this species became extinct; but the evidence afforded by the specimen obtained from the Siberian ice, renders highly probable the supposition that it was adapted to a much more northern climate than either of the elephants now known. The skin of this animal was covered with a long and coarse hair,f and by a finer and woolly * See Appendix, E. t Cuvier, who received a piece of the skin of this animal. states that there are two, and even three, sorts of hair. The longest are from twelve to fifteen inches, of a brown colour, and about the thickness of horse-hair. Others are nine or ten inches long, rather more slender, and of a fawn colour. The wool, which seems to have been placed at the roots of THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT. 259 hair, which is shorter and applied more closely to the surface. The number of the relics of this animal found in Siberia is very great, and it is highly probahle that the northern parts of this continent may hereafter furnish us with sufficient proofs of its abundant dif- fusion in the species. The explorations annually made in different parts of our southern and western coun- try will doubtless enlarge our knowledge of this spe- cies, and afford data upon which opinions may here- after be more advantageously based. [We shall conclude this article by inserting a translation of great part of Mr. Michael Adams' account of his visit to the Siberian mammoth, or extinct elephant, which was through his zealous ex- ertions preserved from final destruction, and at pre- sent belongs to the museum of St. Petersburg. " I was informed at Yakoutsk, by M. Popoff, who is at the head of a company of merchants of that town, that they had discovered upon the shores of the Frozen Sea, near the mouth of the river Lena, an animal of extraordinary size, having the flesh, Skin and hair in good preservation. It was believed that the fossil production known as mammoth-horns must have belonged to an animal similar to this. I commenced my journey on the 7th of June, 1: 06; on the 16th I arrived at the small town of Schigarsk, and near the end of the month reached Kumak-surka, whence my excursion was made to search for the the long hairs, is four or five inches long, somewhat fine and soft, and slightly curled, at its root especially: this is of a clear fawn colour. 260 THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT. mammoth. Accompanied by a Tonguse chief, Ossip Schoumakoff, and by Bellkoff, a merchant of Schi- garsk, together with my huntsman, three Cossacs, and ten Tonguse, we set out upon our journey, mounted upon reindeer. "On the third day of our journey we pitched our tents a few hundred paces from the mammoth, upon a hillock called Kembisugashaeta, signifying the stone with a broad side. Schou.nakoff related the history of the discovery of the mammoth to me, in nearly the following words: " The Tonguse, who are a wandering people, seldom remain long in one place. Those who live in the forests often spend ten years and more in traversing the vast regions among the mountains— during which period they never visit their homes. Each family lives separated from the rest; the chief takes care of them, and knows ho other society. If, after several years of absence, two friends casually meet, they then mutually communicate their adven- tures, the various success of their hunting, and the quantity of peltry they have acquired. After spend- ing some days together, and consuming their small stock of provisions, they separate cheerfully, charge each other with messages to their respective friends, and trust to chance for their future meetings. The Tonguse who inhabit the coast differ from the rest in having more regularly built houses, and in assem- bling at certain seasons for fishing and hunting. In winter they inhabit cabins built close to each other, so as to form small villages. It is to one .of these annual excursions of the Tonguse that we are in- debted for the discovery of the mammoth. THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT. 261 •e Towards the end of August, after the fishing in the Lena is over, Schoumakoff is in the habit of go- ing, along with his brothers, to the peninsula of Tur- mut, where they employ themselves in hunting, and where the fresh fish of the sea furnish them with wholesome and agreeable nourishment. " In 1799 he built for his women some cabins upon the shores of the lake Onroul; and he himself coasted along the sea-shore in order to seek for mammoth- horns. One day he observed, in the midst of a rock of ice, an unformed block, which by no means resem- bled the pieces of wood usually found there. He clambered up the ice and examined the new object on all sides. The ensuing year he found at the same spot the carcase of a walrus, and remarked that the mass he had formerly examined was freer from the ice, and by the side of it he perceived two similar pieces, which he afterwards found were the feet of the animal. About the close of the next summer, the entire flank of the animal, and one of the tusks, had distinctly come out from under the ice. Upon his return to the shores of the lake Onroul, he com- municated this extraordinary discovery to his wife and some of his friends; but their manner of regard- ing the subject overwhelmed him with grief. The old men related, on this occasion, that they had heard rtheir forefathers say that a similar monster had for- merly shown itself in the same peninsula, and that the whole family of the person who had discovered it had become extinct in a very short time. In con- sequence of this, the mammoth was regarded as au- guring a future calamity, and the Tonguse chief felt so much inquietude from it that he fell dangerously 262 THE EXTINCT ELEIM1ANT. ill; but recovering again, his first suggestions were of the profit he might gain by selling the tusks of the animal, which were of extraordinary size and beauty. He therefore gave orders that the place where the animal was found should be carefully con- cealed, and all strangers removed from it under va- rious pretexts, charging at the same time some trusty dependents not to suffer any part of this treasure to be carried away. " The summer proved colder and more windy than usual, an-:! kept the mammoth sunk in the ice, which scarcely melttd all that season. At last, about the end of the fifth year afterwards, the ardent de- sires of Schoumakoff were happily accomplished: the ice which enclosed the animal having partly melted, the level became sloped, and this enormous mass, pushed forward by its own weight, fell over upon its side on a sand-bank. Of this, two Tonguse, who accompanied me in my journey, were witnesses. In the month of March, 1804, Schoumakoff came to his mammoth, and having cut off the tusks, exchanged them with the merchant Baltounoff for goods of the value of fifty rubles. On this occasion a drawing of the animal was made, but it was very incorrect; they described it with pointed ears, very small eyes, horse's hoofs, and a bristly mane along the whole of his back, so that the drawing represented something between a pig and an elephant. (i Two years afterwards, being the seventh from its first being discovered, a fortunate circumstance caused my visit to these distant and desert regions, and I congratulate myself upon having had it in my power to ascertain and verify a fact which would THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT, 263 otherwise be thought so improbable. I found the animal still in the same place, but exceedingly mu- tilated. The prejudices against it having been dis- sipated by the Tonguse chief's recovery, the carcase might be approached without difficulty: the pro- prietor was content with the profit he had derived from it, and the Yakouts of the neighbourhood tore off the flesh, with which they fed their dogs. Fe- rocious animals, polar bears, gluttons, wolves, and foxes, preyed upon it also, and their burrows were seen in the neighbourhood. The skeleton, almost unfleshed, was entire, with the exception of one of the fore feet. The back-bone, from the head to the os coccygis, the pelvis, and the remains of the three extremities, were still firmly attached by the liga- ments of the joints, and by strips of skin on the ex- terior side of the carcase. The head was covered with a dry skin; one of the ears, well preserved, was furnished with a tuft of bristles. All these parts must necessarily have suffered by a carriage of se- veral thousand miles. The eyes, however, are pre- served, and we can still distinguish the ball of the left eye. The tip of the under lip has been eaten away, and the upper part being'destroyed, the teeth were laid bare. The brain was still within the cra- nium, but appeared dry. " The parts least damaged are a fore foot and a hind one; they are covered with skin, and still have the sole attached. According to the assertion of the Tonguse chief, the animal had been so large and well fed that its belly hung down below the knee- joints. This animal was a male with a long mane at 264 THE EXTINCT ELEPHANT. his neck, but it has no tail and no trunk.* Three- fourths of the skin were obtained; the whole is of a dark gray, and covered with reddish hair and black bristles. The humidity of the soil where the ani- mal had lain so long has deprived the bristles of some part of their elasticity. The entire skeleton is about nine feet and a-half high,f and is fourteen feet in length from the tip of the nose to the coccyx. J The tusks are nine feet long, and weigh, each two hun- dred pounds.$ The head alone weighs four hun- dred and sixty pounds. " The bones were separated and arranged with scrupulous care; and I had the satisfaction of finding the other shoulder-blade, which lay in a hole. I afterwards caused the skin to be stripped from the side upon which the animal had lain: it was in good preservation. This skin was of such extraordinary weight, that ten persons, who were employed to carry it to the sea side, to stretch it upon floating wood, moved it with great difficulty. After this was ac- complished, I caused the ground to be dug in vari- ous places, in order to see if there were any bones around, but chiefly for the purpose of collecting all the bristles, which trie white bears might have trod- den into the wet ground on devouring the flesh. This operation was attended with difficulty, on account of the deficiency of proper tools for digging; however, * These parts were, doubtless, removed by the animals which fed upon the carcase. t Four archines. J Seven archines. § Each five poods. THE FOSSIL ELEPHANT. 265 we succeeded in procuring more than forty pounds* of bristles. " The place where I found this animal is sixty paces distant from the sea shore, and about one hun- dred paces distant from the ice, whence it had fallen down. The fracture in the ice is exactly in the mid- dle between the two points of the isthmus, and is three wersts long, and in the place where the body of the animal was situated, the rock of ice has a per- pendicular elevation of one hundred and eighty or one hundred and ninety feet. Its substance is a clear ice, but of a nauseous taste; it slopes towards the sea. Its summit is covered by a bed of moss and friable earth, more than a foot in thickness. During the heat of the month of July a part of this crust melts, but the other remains frozen. Curiosity prompted me to ascend two other hillocks equally distant from the sea; they were of the same composition, and also slightly covered with moss. At intervals I saw pieces of wood of an enormous size and of all the species produced in Siberia; and also mammoth horns (ele- phant tusks) in great quantities frozen between the fissures of the rocks. ^ They appeared to be of an astonishing freshness."] * More than one pood. VOL. 11.--E 1 CHAPTER XVII Order VI.—Pecora; Ruminant Animals. These animals are peculiarly distinguished by- having no incisive teeth in the upper jaw, the in- termaxillary bone, covered by a hardened gum, being opposed to the incisors of the lower jaw, which are almost universally eight in number. Between these and the molar teeth there is a vacant space, except in certain genera having one or two canines. There are very uniformly six molars on each side of both jaws; these have their crowns marked by two dou- ble crescents, the convexity of which in the upper jaw is turned inwards, and in the lower jaw out- wards. The feet are all two-toed, and these toes are co- vered by two hoofs, which approach each other by flat surfaces, whence they have the appearance of a single hoof cleft in the middle, a circumstance which has obtained for these animals, in various languages, the designation of cloven footed, &c. In some ge- nera, there are behind these hoofs two small ones or rudimental hoofs, which are the only traces of late- ral toes. The two bones of the metacarpus and me- tatarsus are consolidated to form one bone, which is called the cannon bone. The most singular faculty possessed by these ani- mals is that of rumination, or of returning the food to the mouth to subject it to a second mastication af- OF THE RUMINANT ANIMALS. 267 ter it has been once swallowed. This process de- pends on the number and peculiar arrangement of their complicated stomachs. The first stomach is called rumen or paunch,* which is divided externally at its extremity into two saccular appendices, and slightly separated into four parts on the inside, having a vast number of flatten- ed papillae over the internal surface. The second is called reticulum or honeycomb,f and is distinguished from the first by its small and globular appearance, and by the beautiful arrange- ment of its internal membrane, which forms poly- gonal acute-angled cells. The third stomach is the smallest of all, and is termed omasum or feck. J Its internal membrane is arranged in longitudinal folds, varying in breadth, in a regular alternate order. The fourth stomach is called abomasum or reed,§ is next in size to the paunch, and is of an elongated pear-shape, having its internal membrane simply wrinkled longitudinally like the human stomach. The three first named stomachs are connected with each other and a groove-like continuation of the oesophagus in the following manner. The groove- like continuation enters where the paunch, reticulum, and omasum, approach each other, and thence it is continued with the groove which ends in the third stomach. The groove is therefore open to the first * Alsoingluvies, magnus venter, penula. t Ollula, bonnet, king's hood, &c. % Echinus, conclave, centipellis, manyplies, book, feuillet. § Faliscus, ventriculus intestinalis. 268 GENERAL HISTORY stomachs which lie to its right and left. The thick and prominent margins of this groove allow them to be drawn together, so as to form a complete tube, and then the oesophagus is continued direct into the third stomach.* The most generally received opinion on the act of rumination is, that the food is coarsely broken at the first mastication, and when swallowed passes into the paunch. It is thence gradually passed into the se- cond stomach, where it undergoes a certain degree of maceration in the fluids of the organ, and is formed into little balls, which by a sudden contraction of this stomach are impelled through the oesophagus or gullet to the mouth. It is then subjected to the se- cond more effectual mastication,! is again swallowed and passes directly into the third stomach, and after remaining in this for a certain time it finally enters the fourth, simple or true digestive stomach. This account of the stages of the act of rumination is adopted by Blumenbach, Cuvier, &c. ToggiaJ in part following the doctrine of Brugnone, sustains the opinion that the food, after the first mastication, enters the paunch only, and not the reticulum or se- cond stomach. In the paunch, moreover, by the fluids which are poured out from its internal surface, and by the structure and regular movements of its parietes, the mass is softened,xlivided and formed into small pellets, which are brought by the contractions * See Blumenbach's Comp. Anat. p. 137. t Vide Cuvier, Regne Animal, 247. i Delia ruminazione e digestione de'Ruminanti; Turino 1819, 8vo. op. cit. per Ranzani. OF THE RUMINANT ANIMALS. 269 of the organ to its cardia, and ascend the oesopha- gus to the mouth for the second mastication. Then the food is returned to the reticulum by means of the groove-like continuation; there it remains for a certain time, unless the matter be mixed or fluid, in which case it passes at once into the third or fourth stomach. Toggia is persuaded that it occurs in this and in no other way, because, 1st, when he had attentively examined the structure of the groove, he was convinced that nothing but finely comminuted food could pass through it, and not herbage but once and imperfectly masticated. 2d, When he examin- ed the stomachs of ruminant animals killed either at the commencement of the rumination, during this process, or immediately after it, he found the food which had been only once masticated, in the paunch alone; the food reduced by the second mastication was contained in the reticulum or second stomach; that which was imbued with fluid in the omasum or third, and finally, abundantly mixed with fluids or in a semifluid state, in the abomasum or fourth sto- mach.* The rumen or paunch is comparatively small in the young or suckling animal, and does not acquire its enormous size, until it has been for some time the receptacle of food. The intestinal canal is very long in ruminant quadrupeds, but not voluminous in the larger portion; the ccecum itself, is long and rather even. The teats are situated between the thighs. The fat of these animals is remarkable for its ' Ranzani F.lementi di Zoologia. tomo 2do. parte f>a. 270 GENERAL HISTORY, cVc. hardness when cooled; it may then be broken into pieces. It is well known in commerce and the arts under the name of tallow. To this order of animals man is more largely in- debted than to all the rest of animated nature. The mass of his food, is obtained from their flesh, and there is no part of their bodies from which he does not derive additions to his comforts, and assistance to his arts. Their hides, horns, bones, hair, flesh, fat. milk, and even their blood are in hourly demand. Many of them during their lives yield him valuable services as beasts of draught and burthen, and con- tribute amply to his sustenance and luxury when they are finally slaughtered. Peaceful and patient in their dispositions, they feed exclusively on the verdure which is scattered over the earth, and pre- pare this vegetable matter most efficiently for the use of man and other creatures, by converting it into their own flesh, which is edible throughout all the members of the order, and in a large proportion is delicious food. CHAPTER XVIII. Genus IV.—Cervus; L. Deer. Gr. Ea*po£. Fr. Cerf. Lat. Cervus. Germ. Ilirsch. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The head,which is elongated, is not very large, and most generally terminates by a smooth membranous surface which is called the muzzle; the nostrils are acutely oval and laterally situated; the eyes large and well proportioned, having the pupils trans- versely extended. At a short distance below the inner angle of the eye a peculiar pouch or cavity is found in most of the species, which secretes an unc- tuous humour in small quantities; these cavities are - called larmiers by the French naturalist. The ears are large and pointed; the neck is of moderate length, the body plump, and the limbs slender, though strongly knit. The teats are inguinal, and four in number: the gall bladder does not exist in these ani- mals. The tail is short. The hair is very similar in colour throughout the species of this genus, and is dry and harsh; the young deer or fawns are mostly spotted with white upon a brownish yellow ground. The males of this genus are all provided with horns, which are variously branched, or palmated, and are annually caducous. These horns are re- markable for being composed of bone, which is solid, 272 GENERAL HISTOin throughout, and in its first or growing state is co- vered by a velvet-like membrane, through which blood circulates with great freedom. The horn com- mences its growth from a basis or peduncle which is attached to the frontal bone, having something of the form of a truncated cone; a short distance above this, on the level of the outer surface of the skin of the head, the horn is expanded in the form of an irregular tuberculous ring, which is called the burr,* above which the solid part of the horn rises to form the various branches or plantations, according to the species. The blood-vessels going to the horn are very large at the commencement and during its growth, and the extension of the velvet-like mem- brane is as rapid as the advance of the bone or horn. As soon as the horn attains its full growth the blood- vessels contract and diminish until they cease to convey blood to the velvet membrane, which then dries, loses its sensibility, and gradually flakes off. After the rutting season a slight tumescence occurs at the edge of the peduncle, and the whole horn is ;it length detached and falls off. Dental System. C f O Incisive f a ^ , -i-.it- ) « r. • 1 6 False ^ 12Lpper -^ 0 Canine «j 6TrueMola„ §} J 112 Molars. ( b 11 Ue Molars- ^~l f ** Incisive f , e* 20 Lower ^ 0 Canine < 5 £, ,. , . ° L 112 Molars. I6 Frue Molars- In the upper jaw the three first molars are bor- dered by a thick crest at their internal edges; the * The part commonly used for cane-heads, &c. OF THE DEER. 273 two following are formed of two parts, each of which is composed of a single tubercle, having two crests in front, one on the outside, terminating abruptly, the other on the inside, which descends as far as the middle of the height of the tooth, and then rises up- wards to rejoin the anterior border of the principal tubercle; between this crest and the tubercle there is a hollow. When the tubercle begins to wear, it exhibits a portion of a narrow circle, bordered by enamel. The last molar differs from the two pre- ceding solely in being somewhat narrower, and in having thinner crescents. In the lower jaw the first incisor is the largest, the second and third are somewhat less than the other, and the last is very small. They are all trenchant, inclined forwards, and separate them- selves slightly from the median line. The two first false molars are simple, the third has a spur at its posterior part, and the three last differ very slightly from each other. In their reciprocal position the inferior incisors correspond to the superior maxillary bone; the molars are alternate. The writings of naturalists exhibit great confusion relative to the North-American species of deer.— Much of this evil is attributable to the loose manner in which species have been proposed upon the au- thority of persons unqualified to distinguish between accidental varieties, dependent upon sex or age, and those permanent characteristics indicative of specific constitution. Cuvier, with his usual acumen and amplitude of research, has turned his attention to this subject, vol. n.—m m 274 general history, &c. with great advantage to students of natural history. Though he may not have been the first or only na- turalist who knew and discriminated correctly the North American species, he is the first who has dis- played his Tesearches in such a manner as will ena- ble every one te satisfy himself of the accuracy of his deductions.* He has admitted the following to be the species now inhabiting this country, all the others named as distinct in the books being mere va- rieties: C. Alces, the Moose; C. Canadensis, the American Elk; C. Tarandus, the Rein Deer; C. Virginianus, the Common Deer. To this list must be added the C. Macrotis, Mule or Black-tail Deer, first indicated by Lewis and Clarke, and described by Say, under the name just given, in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. SPEcrEs I.—?The Moose. Cervus Alcesj L. .Qlces, Achlis: Plis. Aid. Gesn\ Joitst. Original: Cham.ev. Nouv. France, iii. 126. Elan: Buff. Hist. Nat. xii. Supp. vii. Elk: Shaw, Gen. Zeol. ii. pt. 2. 174. Moose Deer.- Dram, Phil. Trans. No.'444. Wahden, Descript. des Etats Unis. v. p. 636. Elk: Pens. Hist. Quad. No. 42. Moose.- Ib. Arct. Zool. i. No. 3. p. 18. The Moosef is perhaps the only deer whose gene- ral appearance can be called ungraceful, or whose * Ossemens Fossiles, nouv. ed. tome iv. t This appellation is derived from Musu, the name given to the animal by the Algonquins. THE MOOSE. 275 proportions at first sight impress the beholder un- favorably. Its large head terminates in a square muz- zle, having the nostrils curiously slouched over the sides of the mouth; the neck, from which rises a short thick mane, is not longer than the head, which in males is rendered still more cumbrous and unwieldy, by wide palmated horns: under the throat is found an excrescence from which grows a tuft of long hair; the body, which is short and thick, is mounted upon tall legs, and the whole aspect is so unusual that inci- dental observers are pardonable for considering it ugly. Yet as these singularities of structure have direct or indirect reference to peculiarities of use, an inquiry into the mode of life led by this species, may cause us to forget, in admiration of its adaptation to circumstances, prejudices excited by the compara- tive inelegance of its form. The moose inhabits the northern parts of both con- tinents;* on the American it has been found as far north as the country has been fully explored; its southern range, at former periods, extended to the shores of the great lakes and throughout the New England States. At present it is not heard of south of the state of Maine, where it is becoming rare. In Nova Scotia, the isle of Breton, the country adja- cent to the bay of Fundy, and throughout the Hud- son's Bay possessions, the moose is found in conside- rable numbers. The dense forests and closely shaded swamps of * It is, in Europe, called " Elk." 276 THE MOOSE. these regions are the favorite resorts of this animal, as there the most abundant supply of food is to be obtained with the least inconvenience. The length of limb and shortness of neck, which in an open pas- ture appear so disadvantageous, are here of essential importance, in enabling the moose to crop the buds and young twigs of the birch, maple, or poplar, or should he prefer the aquatic plants, which grow most luxuriantly where the soil is unfit to support other animals, the same length of limb enables him to feed with security and ease. We cannot avoid believing that the peculiar lateral and slouching position of the nostrils is immediately connected with the manner in which the moose browses. Their construction is very muscular, and seems well adapted for seizing and tearing off the twigs and foliage of trees, and conveying them to the mouth; it may also be design-* ed to prevent the sense of smell from being at any time suspended by the prehension of food. The probability of this last suggestion is strengthened by the fact that the moose is endowed with an exquisite sensibility of smell, and can discover the approach of hunters at very great distances. When obliged to feed on level ground, the animal must either kneel or separate the legs very widely; in feeding on the sides of acclivities, the moose does so with less inconveni- ence by grazing from below upwards; the steeper the ground may be, so much the easier is it for this species to pasture. Yet, whenever food is to be pro- cured from trees and shrubs, it is preferred to that which is only to be obtained by grazing. The moose, like his kindred species, is a harmless THE MOOSE. 277 and peaceful animal, except in the season when the sexes seek each other. Then the males display a fierceness and pugnacity which forms a strong con- trast to their ordinary actions; were they examined only during such seasons, the character of the spe- cies would be entirely misconceived. Under the in- fluence of this powerful, though temporary excite- ment, the males battle furiously with each other, and resist the aggressions of man himself with vigour and effect. In the summer the moose frequents swampy or low grounds near the margins of lakes and rivers, through which they delight to swim, as it frees them for the time from the annoyance of insects. They are also seen wading out from the shores, for the purpose of feeding on the aquatic plants which rise to the surface of the water. At this season they re- gularly frequent the same place in order to drink, of which circumstance the Indian hunter takit the interior parts of the country, red deer.—The person who informed Mr. Pennant that the wewaskish and moose are the same animal, never saw one of them j and the only reason he had to suppose ir, was the jrreat resemblance of their skins." p. 360-1-1. 300 THE ELK. Elk are still occasionally found in the remote and thinly settled parts of Pennsylvania, but the number is small; it is only in the western wilds that they are seen in considerable herds. They are fond ot the great forests, where a luxuriant vegetation affords them an abundant supply of buds and tender twigs; or of the great plains, where the solitude is seldom interrupted, and all bounteous nature spreads an immense field of verdure for their support. The Elk is shy and retiring; having acute senses, he receives early warning of the approach of any human intruder. The moment the air is tainted by the odour of his enemy, his head is erected with spirit, his ears rapidly thrown in every direction to catch the sounds, and his large dark glistening eye expresses the most eager attention. Soon as the approaching hunter is fairly discovered, the elk bounds along for a few paces, as if trying his strength for flight, stops, turns half r.»und, and scans his pur- suer with a steady gaze, then, throwing back his lofty horns upon his neck, and projecting his taper nose forwards, he springs from the ground and advances with a velocity which soon leaves the object of his dread far out of sight. But in the season when sexual passion reigns with its wonted influence over the animal crea- tion, the elk, like various other creatures, assumes a more warlike and threatening character. He is neither so easily put to flight, nor can he be approached with impunity, although he may have been wounded. His horns and hoofs are then employed with great effect, and the lives of men and dogs are endangered by coming within his reach. This season is during August and September, when THE ELK. 301 the horns are in perfect order, and the males appear filled with rage, and wage the fiercest war with each other for the possession of the females. Dur- ing this season the males are said to make a loud and unpleasant noise, which is compared to a sound between the neighing of a stallion and the bellowing of a bull. Towards the end of May or the beginning of June, the female brings forth her young, commonly one, but very frequently two in number, which are generally male and female. The flesh of the elk is highly esteemed by the Indians and hunters as food, and the horns, while in their soft state, are also considered a delicacy: of their hides a great variety of articles of dress and usefulness are prepared. The solid portion or shaft of the perfect horn is wrought by the Indians into a bow, which is highly serviceable from its elas- ticity, as well as susceptible of beauty of polish and form. Several of these bows may be seen in the extensive collection of Indian implements belonging to the Philadelphia Museum.* * In a work devoted to the natural history of our country, a passing tribute to the memory of one who has done much for natural science, will not, we hope, be regarded as ob- trusive. But a few weeks have elapsed since the great debt of na- ture was paid by Charles Wilson Peale, the founder of the Philadelphia Museum. If a long life, devoted with sin- gular enthusiasm to the advancement of natural history, by the collection of objects in all the departments of natural science, be meritorious; if the establishment of an institution which has long been the pride, and promises hereafter to be an honour and ornament to our country, be valuable; if eigh- 302 THE ELK. The elk has occasionally been to a certain degree domesticated, and might possibly be rendered as serviceable as the rein-deer. A pair of these animals, represented in London under the name of Wapiti, were trained to draw in harness, or to bear the saddle, for the amusement of visitors. But these experiments are not sufficient to lead us to conclude, that the elk could be readily substituted for the rein-deer or horse. With what little is known of this species from actual observation, several writers have mingled a great deal of fable, and have repeated the stories of "hunters" until they have at length passed for the truth. Thus we are told of "a small vesicle (on the outside of the elk's hind legs) that contains ty six years spent with unblemished integrity and consisten- cy of character in the service of his friends and country, be worthy of respect, the memory of this good man will long continue to be dear to those who are capable of admiring un- ostentatious virtue, and appreciating the benefits which have already resulted, and will continue to flow from his labours. To the last moment of his existence he exemplified in the fullest degree the excellent effects of a temperate and indus- trious life; and in the benevolence of his disposition, the un- disturbed serenity of his mind, and the unimpaired vigour of his intellect, showed how far the study of nature, in her curi- ous and wonderful works, had refined and ennobled a mind which owed nothing to early education. To him death pre- sented no terrors, for he had long considered it as the ter- mination of his toils; he looked upon the grave but as the place in which he might yield his mortality to the beneficent source whence he sprung; and at peace with all mankind, he gently breathed his last, in cheering confidence of the mercy of the Most High. May he rest in peace! THE ELK. 303 a thin unctuous matter, which some of our hunters call the " oil." Various improbable uses are assigned to this unique and wonderful " oil spring," which it would be lost time to repeat or refute. We have inquired of those who have dissected several of these animals, and have been present at the dissection of one ourselves, but have never been able to discover any thing of this " vesicle." A friend who had one of these animals for several years living in his pos- session, states, that he never detected the presence of any such apparatus or oil. Until better proof be given than has yet been offered, we shall feel will- ing to rank this story among the " conjectures" which have been too often resorted to when there was a scarcity or difficulty of obtaining ." facts." We have already adverted to the warlike disposi- tion of the elk during a particular season, but it may not be amiss to add, that at all times this animal appears to be more ready to attack with his horns than any other species of deer we have examined. When at bay, and especially if slightly wounded, he fights with great eagerness, as if resolved to be revenged. The following instance from Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains will, in some degree, illustrate this statement. A herd of twenty or thirty elk were seen at no great distance from the party, standing in the water or lying upon the sand beach. One of the finest bucks was singled out by a hunter, who fired upon him, whereupon the whole herd plunged into the thicket and disappeared. Relying upon the skill of the hunter, and confident that his shot was fatal, several of the party dismounted and pursued the elk % 301 THE BLACK-TAIL DEER. into the woods, where the wounded buck was soon overtaken. Finding his pursuers close upon him, the elk turned furiously upon the foremost, who only saved himself by springing into a thicket, which was impassable to the elk, whose enormous antlers becom- ing so entangled in the vines as to be covered to their tips, he was held fast and blindfolded, and was despatched by repeated bullets and stabs. Species IV.—Tlie Black-tail Deer. CerVus Macrotis; Say. The Black-tailed Fallow Deer: Lewis and Clarke, i. p. 30. Mule Deer: Ibid, ii 166. Cervus Auritus.- Warden, Descr. des Etats Unis, v. 640. Cervus Macrotis: Sat, Long's Exped. to the Rocky Mountains, ii. 88. [Commonly called Mule Deer.*~\ The first indication of this fine deer was given by Lewis and Clarke, who found it upon' the sea coast and the plains of the Missouri, as well as upon the borders of the Kooskoose river, in the vicinity of the rocky mountains. They inform us that the habits of this animal are similar to those of its kin- dred species, except that it does not run at full speed, but bounds along, raising every foot from the ground at the same time. It is found sometimes in the wood- lands, but most frequently is met with in prairies and * We avoid this name because it leads to an incorrect no- tion of the animal. The resemblance of its ears to those of the mule gave origin to the name. / THE BLACK-TAIL DEER. 305 m open grounds. Its size is rather greater than that of the common deer, (C. Virginianus) but its flesh is considered inferior to the flesh of that soecies. According to Say's description, the horns are slightly grooved and tuberculated at base, having a small branch near thereto, resembling in situation and direction the first branch on the horn of the common deer. The front line of the antler is curv- ed like that of the common deer, but not to so great a degree, and at about the middle of the entire length of the antlers they bifurcate equally, each of these processes again dividing near the extremity, the pos- terior being somewhat the shortest. The ears are very long, being half the length of the whole antler, and extending to its principal bi- furcation. The eye is larger than that of the com- mon deer, and the subocular sinus is much larger. The hair is coarser, undulated and compressed, re- sembling that of the elk, (C. Canadensis) and is of a light reddish brown colour above. The sides of the hair on the front of the nose is of a dull ash co- lour; that on the back is intermixed with blackish tipped hairs, which form a distinct line on the neck, near the head. The tail is of a pale reddish ash co- lour, except at the extremity on its superior surface, where it is of a jetty black; beneath it is white, yet nearly destitute of hair. The hoofs are shorter and wider than those of the common deer, and more like those of the elk.* * The following measurements are given by Say in the work above quoted. Length from the base of the antlers to the origin of the na- VOL. ii.—Q q 30o THE COMMON DEEK. Species V.—The Common Deer. Cervus Virginianus. Fallow Deer.- Catesiiy, App.ii. 28: I.aw son, Carol. 123. Car icon Femelle: Buff. 12, pi. 44. Cerf dela Louisiane.- C. Ossein. Foss. et Regne Anim. Fred. Co ^ Mammif. Lithogr. 1 fig. Virginian Deer: Pexxast, Quad. Cerfde Firginie: Dksm. Mammal, sp. 679, p. 442. The Common Deer is the smallest American spe- cies at present known, and is found throughout the country between Canada in the north and the banks of the Orinoco in South America. In various parts of this extensive range, considerable varieties in size and colouring are presented by this species, though these being accidental and mutable, require no especial description. The common deer is more remarkable for general slenderness and delicacy of form, than for size and vigour. The slightness and length of its limbs, small body, long and slim neck, sustaining a narrow and sal process, two inches. Of the nasal process, two and a- half. From the nasal process to the principal bifurcation, four to five. Thence to the other two bifurcations, respec- tively, four and a-half to five and a-half. Terminal prongs of the anterior branch, four to four and a-half. Of the pos- terior branch, two and a-half to three. From the anterior base of the antlers to the tip of the upper jaw, nine and a quarter. From the anterior canthus of the eye to the tip of the jaw, six and a quarter. From the base of the antler to the anterior canthus, three. Of the ears, more than seven and a-half. Of the trunk of the tail, four. Of the hair at the tip of the tail, from three to four. //r//////t/ <>r oS/f^w .-//■/■/:■ /o//s / » s r- /',///>?/' /_/■;■,'/■, ( '//>///,//■ THE COMMON DEER. 307 almost pointed head, give the animal an air of fee- bleness, the impression of which is only to be coun- teracted by observing the animated eye, the agile and playful movements, and admirable celerity of its course when its full speed is exerted. Then all that can be imagined of grace and swiftness of motion, joined with strength sufficient to continue a long ca- reer, may be realized. The common deer has always been of great impor- tance to the aborigines of America, as an abundant source of food and raiment, nor has its value been less to the pioneers of civilization in their advances into the untrodden solitudes of the west. The im- provements in agriculture have long since rendered this supply of food of comparatively little value to the white man, yet vast numbers of this species are annually destroyed, equally for the sake of their flesh, hides and horns. Judging by the quantity of skins brought to our markets, and calculating the average number of common deer destroyed during the time which has elapsed since the settlement of the country, we may form an imperfect notion of the aggregate number and productiveness of this species; which, notwithstanding this extensive consumption, does not appear to be very rapidly diminishing, if we except the immediate vicinities of very thickly peopled dis- tricts. Even in these, where the destruction of deer during the breeding season is prevented by law, the increase seems quite equal to the demand, and such humane and judicious provisions will probably pre- serve this beautiful race to adorn the forest long after the species is exterminated in situations where it is not thus protected. 308 THE COMMON DEER. The common deer is possessed of keen senses, es- pecially of hearing and smelling; the sight, though good, does not appear to equal in power the senses just named, upon which the safety of the animal most immediately depends. It is therefore necessary for the hunter to approach the deer against the wind, otherwise he is discover- ed by the scent, at a great distance, and his objects are entirely frustrated. The slightest noise excites the attention of the deer, and his fears appear to be more readily awakened by this cause than any other; while, on the contrary, the sight of unaccustomed ob- jects seems rather to arouse curiosity than to pro- duce terror, as the animal will frequently approach, or stand gazing intently, until the hunter steals close enough to fire with fatal aim. The deer, in herds of various numbers, frequent the forests and plains adjacent to the rivers, feed- ing principally upon the buds and twigs of trees and shrubs, though they are fond of grass when their favourite food is not more convenient. The herd is led by one of the largest and strongest bucks, who appears to watch over the general safety, and leads the way on all occasions. When any cause of alarm checks their progress, the leader stamps with his feet, threatens with his horns, and snorts so loud- ly as to be heard for a very considerable distance. So long as he stands fast, or prepares for combat, the rest of the herd appear to feel secure; but when he gives way they all follow with precipitation, and vie with each other in the race. The salines, or licks, as they are commonly called, are eagerly sought for by these deer, as they have THE COMMON DEER. 309 an equal fondness for salt with most other animals belonging to the same order. In licking the soil, through which the saline matter oozes to the sur- face, they take up very considerable quantities of the earthy matter, and this enables the hunter to discover when the deer have recently visited the spot, or that one of these places is not far distant, as the excrement of the animal then resembles small balls or pellets of hardened clay. The watchfulness of the leader of the herd, as above mentioned, has led the hunters to form an opinion, to which they perti- naciously adhere, that the deer, when they visit a salt lick, always post one of their number as a senti- nel, who is to give the alarm in case of the approach of an enemy. The common deer when startled from a resting place without being much alarmed, moves at first in a singular and amusing manner. With an apparent awkwardness, two or three springs are made, from which the animal alights on three feet, drawing up and extending the limbs in a stiff and peculiar man- ner. As the tail is erected this alternate resting upon the feet of opposite sides, causes the tail to de- scribe a semicircle from side to side; a few high bounds are next made forwards, as if with a view to prepare for subsequent exertion, and then, if the cause of alarm be continued, the deer exerts his strength and dashes off in his swiftest career. Although the common deer is generally a very shy and timid animal, the males are very much dis- posed to war with each other during the season of their sexual passion, and they are almost always in- clined to fight when wounded or brought to bay. 310 THE COMMON DEEU. At this time they fight with their forefeet as well as their horns, and inflict severe wounds by leaping forward and striking with the edges of their hoofs held together. If a hunter falls on the ground in attempting to close in and despatch a wounded deer with his knife, he is in great danger of being killed by such blows as we have described. This deer is also said by the hunters to evince a very strong de- gree of animosity towards serpents, and especially to the rattlesnake, of which it has an instinctive hor- ror. In order to destroy one of these creatures, the deer makes a bound into the air, and alights upon the snake with all four feet brought together in a square, and these violent blows are rapidly repeated until the hated reptile is destroyed. The combats in which the males engage with each other are fre- quently destructive of the lives of both, in a way that would not readily be anticipated. In assaulting each other furiously, their horns come into contact, and being elastic, they yield mutually to the shock, so that the horns of one animal pass within those of the other and thus secure them, front to front, in such a manner that neither can escape, and they torment themselves in fruitless struggles until worn down by hunger, they perish, or become the prey of wolves or other animals. Heads of deer which have thus perished are frequently found, and there is scarcely a museum in this country which has not one or more specimens. The following instance is given by Say in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. "As the party were descending a ridge, their attention was called to an unusual noise proceeding from a copse of low bushes, a few rods from the path. On THE COMMON DEER. 311 arriving at the spot they found two buck deer, their horns fast interlocked with each other, and both much spent with fatigue, one in particular being so much exhausted as to be unable to stand. Perceiving that it would be impossible that they should extri- cate themselves, and must either linger in their pre- sent situations or die of hunger, or be destroyed by the wolves, they despatched them with their knives, after having made an unavailing attempt to disen- tangle them. Beyond doubt many of these animals must annually thus perish."' The common deer is fattest and in best condition in the months of October and November, when the rutting season commences, and continues about a month, terminating commonly about the middle of December. While this season continues, the neck of the male is enlarged or dilated. The female commonly has one or two, and some- times three* fawns, which are of a light cinnamon colour, spotted with white. While the fawns are still young, or from May until July, the doe very carefully conceals her offspring while she goes to feed; and this act of maternal fondness is not only done in a state of nature, but even when the com- mon deer have been captive for some time and breed in parks. The hunters, however, turn this fondness to their own account, by imitating the cry of the fawn, either by the voice alone, or by a sort of pipe or * " About the middle of March Mr. Peale shot a large doe, in the matrix of which were three perfectly formed young, of the size of rabbits." Long's Exped. to the Rockv Mountains, i. 312 THE COMMON DEER. reed which closely resembles the bleating of the ani- mal. The parent soon relinquishes all fears for her own safety, in her desire to assist her offspring, and following the sound, approaches the ambush of the hunter, where a deadly shot insures her immediate destruction. When a doe is killed in company with her fawn, or the mother has been removed as above mentioned, the little animal is at once tamed, or ex hibits no apprehension at the approach of man, but follows his captor with the most confiding simplicity, and soon becomes so attached to his feeder as to at- tend his steps at all times, and obey his voice.* In the latter part of the summer the fawn loses the white spots, and in winter the hair grows longer and grayish, when the animal is said by the hunters to be in the gray. To this coat one of a reddish colour succeeds about the end of May and beginning of June; the deer is then said to be in the red. To- wards the end of August, the old bucks begin to change to the dark bluish colour; the doe begins this change a week or two later, when they are said to be in the blue. This coat gradually lengthens until it finally returns to the gray. The skin is said to * "From Capt. Parry I learned an interesting anecdote of a doe and her fawn, which he had pursued across a small in- let. The mother, finding her young one could not swim so fast as herself, was observed to stop repeatedly, so as to al- low the fawn to come up with her, and having landed first, stood watching it with trembling anxiety as the boat chased it to the shore. She was repeatedly fired at, but remained immoveable, until her offspring landed in safety when thev both cantered out of sight."—Lyon's Narrative, p. 80. THE COMMON DEER. 313 be toughest in the red, thickest in the blue, and thinnest in the gray; the blue skin is most valua- ble* In the month of January the males cast their horns; the new horns soon after commence their growth. They continue in the velvet until the end of Sep- tember onj^ginning of October, so as to be in full condition for battle during their season of love and war. These horns are not very large, but are curv- ed ferwards in a peculiar manner. They have an antler placed high up on the inside of each shaft, which presents downwards, and two or three others on the posterior surface, turning backwards. In the fifth year, the horns consist of two cylindrical, whit- ish, and moderately smooth, shafts, separating at first slightly outwards and backwards, and then strongly curving forwards and downwards. From the second to the fifth year the variations of the horns consist in their gradual advance from single, slightly curved shoots, to three and four antlers. From what has been already said of the changes occurring at different seasons, it will be perceived . that no description of the pelage of any one can be generally applicable. It may be stated that the co- lour of the adults in summer is a fine fawn or yel- lowish brown above, with the under part of the low- er* jaw, throat, belly, lower part of the limbs, poste- rior edges of the fore-limbs, anterior part of the < See Say, in Long's Expedition to the flocky Mountains, i. p. 104. Vol. ii.—R r 314 1HE COMMON DEER. thighs, and inferior surface of the tail, white. The front is rather gray, while the end of the muzzle is of a deep brown, with two white spots upon the upper lip; on the sides of the lower jaw, at the angles of the mouth, two triangular black spots are very generally found. Two-thirds of the up- per surface of the tail is light brown, the outer third is black. The total length of the common deer, exclusive of the hair at the tip of the tail, is five feet four or five inches. The tail, exclusive of the hair, is nine inches and a-half long. The hind foot, from the tip of the os calcis to the extremity of the toe, is sixteen inches and a-quarter. The fore arm eleven inches and seven-eighths. The weight, in the month of Feb- ruary, was 115 lbs.* During the stay of Long's Expedition at Engineer Cantonment, three specimens of a variety of the com- mon deer were brought in, having all the feet white near the hoofs, and extending to them on the hind part from a little above the spurious hoofs. This white extremity was divided upon the sides of the foot by the general colour of the leg, which extends down near to the hoof, leaving a white triangle in front, of which the point was elevated rather higher than the spurious hoofs. The black mark upon the lower lip, rather behind the middle of the sides, was strongly marked. * Say. Lewis and Clarke state that they saw common deer with tails seventeen inches in length. THE COMMON DEER. 315 The flesh of the common deer is justly esteemed as an excellent article of food, when killed in the proper season, which is the autumn. The Indians and hunters, whose necessities do not permit them to choose, feed upon these deer at all seasons. The markets of our large cities are supplied very abun- dantly with venison from this species every winter, and at so cheap a rate as to bring it within the means of almost every housekeeper. The whole of the deer is used by the Indians, and, on pressing occasions, without the previous employ- ment of fire. If a hunter kill a deer after a long and exhausting chase, he applies his mouth to the wound by which the animal was killed, in order to refresh himself by sucking some of the blood. When very hungry, they cut a hole in the side of the animal, thrust in their hands and tear out the kidneys, which are instantly devoured, though still quivering with life.* * "After the hunters had been gone for about an hour, captain Lewis again mounted with one of the Indians behind him, and the whole party set out; but just as they passed through the narrows they saw one of the spies coming back at full speed across the plain, &c. The young Indian had scarcely breath to say a few words as he came up, and the whole troop dashed forward as fast as their horses could car- ry them; and captain Lewis, astonished at this movement, was borne along for nearly a mile, before he learned with great satisfaction, that it was all caused by the spy's having come to announce that one of the white men had killed a deer. Relieved from his anxiety he now found the jolting very un- comfortable; for the Indian behind him, being; afraid of not .retting his share of the feast, had lashed the horse at every Step since they set off; he therefore reined him in, and or- 316 [HE COMMON DEEK. The stomach of the deer, with its half digested contents, is a very favourite dish with almost all the savages, especially towards the north, where deer dered the Indian to stop beating him. The fellow had no idea of losing time in disputing the point, and jumping off the horse, ran for a mile at full speed. Capt. Lewis slack- ened his pace, and followed at a sufficient distance to observe them. When they reached the place where Drewyer had thrown out the intestines, they all dismounted in confusion, and ran tumbling over each other like famished dogs: each tore away whatever part he could and instantly began to eat it; some had the liver, and some the kidneys; in short, no part on which we are accustomed to look with disgust escap- ed them. One of them who had seized about nine feet of the entrails, was chewing at one end, while with his hand he was diligently clearing his way by discharging the con- tents at the other. It was indeed impossible to see these wretches ravenously JFeeding on the filth of animals, and the blood streaming from their mouths, without deploring how nearly the condition of savages approaches that of the brute creation: yet, though suffering with hunger, they did not at- tempt, as they might have done, to take by force the whole deer, but contented themselves with what had been thrown away by the hunter. Capt. Lewis now had the deer skinned, and after reserving a quarter of it, gave the rest of the animal to the chief, to be divided among the Indians, who immedi- ately devoured nearly the whole of it without cooking. They now went forwards towards the creek, where there was some brushwood to make a fire, and found Drewyer, who had killed a second deer: the same struggle for the entrails was renew- ed here, and on giving nearly the whole deer to the Indians, they devoured it, even to the soft parts of the hoofs. A fire being made, captain Lewis had his breakfast, during which Drewyer brought in a third deer; this, too, after reserving one-quarter, was given to the Indians, who now seemed com- pletely satisfied and in good humour."—Lewis and Clarke, i. 375. THE COMMON DEER. 317 feed in great degree on mosses and buds.* Euro- pean travellers who have tasted of this substance have not found it disagreeable: the Indians eat it altogeth- er, or with a very slight degree of preparation.t However shocking it may appear to us, the preju- dice against raw meat is overcome with great ease when hunger pinches severely; and when once the prejudice is removed, a fondness for raw food is very readily acquired, even by those who have previously been fastidious in their tastes. J * " The stomach of no other large animal beside the deer is eaten by any of the Indians that border on Hudson's Bay. In winter, when the deer feed upon fine white moss, the con- tents of the stomachs are so much esteemed by the Indians, that I have often seen them sit round a deer where it was killed, and eat it warm out of the paunch. In summer the deer feed more coarsely, and therefore this dish, if it deserve that appellation, is then not so much in favour."—Hearne, 318. t " Of the nerooka [the contents of the deer's stomach] I also tasted a small portion, considering that no man who wishes to conciliate or inquire into the manners of savages should scruple to fare as they do while in their company. I found this substance acid and rather pungent, resembling, as near as I could judge, a mixture of sorrel and radish leaves. The smell reminded me of fresh brewer's grains; and the young grasses and delicate white lichens on which the deer feed were very apparent."—Lyon's Narrative, 242. J "Dunn and myself,.as an experiment, made our break- fast on a choice slice cut [raw] from the spine, and found it so good, that at dinner time we preferred the same food to our share of preserved meat, which we had saved from the preceding night. The windpipe is exceedingly good; and I .w* 318 THE COMMON DEER. The skins of the common deer continue to form a very valuable article of commerce, and furnish a ma- terial better suited for the manufacture of gloves and various articles of dress, than the skin of any other aninal with which we are acquainted. The Indian fashion of dressing these skins consists in depriving them of the hair and fleshy matter, and rubbing them sedulously with a lather made of the brains of the animal until they become uniformly soft, spongy and flexible. In this condition they impart to the touch a sensation of greater softness than that deriveid from the finest cloth.—Deer skins dressed in this way, however, are very liable to be spoiled by moisture, and rot with great rapidity if they continue for some time exposed to rain. The buck-skin, as dressed for the use of our glovers, is remarkable for its thickness, softness and pliability, am confident, that were it not from prejudice, raw venison might be considered a dainty."—Lyon, 242. " The most remarkable dish among them, as well as all the other tribes of Indians in those parts, both northern and southern, is blood, mixed with the half digested food found in the deer's stomach or paunch, and boiled up with a suffi- cient quantity of water to make it of the consistence of pease pottage. Some fat and scraps of tender flesh are also shred small and boiled with it. To render this dish more palata- ble, they have a method of mixing the blood with the con- tents of the stomach in the paunch itself, and hanging it up in the heat and smoke of the fire for several days, which puts the whole mass into a state of fermentation, and gives it such an agreeable acid taste, that, were itnot for prejudice, it might be eaten by those who have the nicest palates."—Hearne, 317. THE COMMON DEER. 319 and with these advantages it has the great superi- ority of not being liable to injury from moisture, as tannin is made use of in its preparation. In re- lation to its warmth, durability artd agreeableness to the wearer, it appears to be much preferred to simi- lar leather made from any other skins, whether of European or American deer. Within a few years past the use of buckskin shirts has very much increas- ed among invalids, and often with great advantage. But it is generally believed that these shirts render the body extremely susceptible to changes of tem- perature, and, all things considered, do more injury than shirts made of flannel or other commonly used materials. CHAPTER XIX. Genus V. Antelope; Antelope. Pall. &c. &c. Fr. Antelope. Ger. Antelope. GENERIC CHARACTERS. The body, ears, eyes and lachrymal or sub- ocular sinuses, are very similar to those of the deer, and the limbs bear an equal resemblance thereto, ex- cept that some species of Antelope have tufts or brushes of long hair pending from the carpus. The outline of the front or face is nearly straight, and terminates in a muzzle, or half muzzle, though in some species this is absent. The teats are four or two in number, being sometimes two in one sex and four in the other. The gall bladder is uniformly present, a circumstance in which this genus differs remarka- bly from the deer. The horns of both sexes (though in some species the horns are confined to the male) are placed upon a solid bony process of the os frontis. The horns are curved in various directions, being often marked with transverse bands, have a salient spiral line, or are bifurcated. Dental System. Incisive 32 Teeth: Kng a 6f a.B.EUu\ i Wis . //el//i/,//n '///'/ft t < 'ri'/i