NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



405 



large and fat on a diet of mast and grass- 

 hoppers. The passenger pigeon and 

 Carolina paroquet are also worthy of 

 special mention, while nearly or quite 

 all the other species which were found in 

 the Mississippi Valley were here either 

 as migrants, or winter or summer resi- 

 dents. The reptilian life included al- 

 ligator {Alligator mississippierisis which 

 occasionally ascended the Arkansas 

 and Red rivers; alligator-snapper (Mac- 

 rochelijs tcmminckii) and soft-shelled 

 turtles (Amyda emoryi) which grew to 

 large size and were probably com- 

 mon. Living in the streams with these 

 was the cotton-mouth moccasin {Agkis- 

 trodon piscivorus), whose cousins, the 

 copperhead (A. mokasen) and the timber 

 rattler {Crotalus horridus) found suitable 

 habitats among the rock crevices of the 

 mountain sides. Under boulders and 

 fallen logs, the coral snake secured 

 satisfactory retirement and completed 

 the list of venomous forms. Several 

 species of harmless snakes also occurred 

 here on land and in the water, in which 

 also lived the bullfrog {Rana calesbeiana) 

 and leopard-frog {Rana pipiens). 

 Toads hopped over the rough gound 

 and treefrogs sang in the water or 

 from the tree-tops. A few species of 

 ground lizards darted here and there 

 from shelter to shelter or basked in the 

 sunshine on boulder-top or log. In 

 the streams large-mouthed black bass, 

 various catfishes, the spoonbill, the 

 garpike and the alligator-gar pursued 

 their prey in comparative safety. The 

 southern pines and cedar made up most 

 of the timber growth, though there was 

 a liberal sprinkling of oaks and hick- 

 ories, the former producing the acorns 

 relished by deer and turkey, the latter 

 nuts for the bear, which also found an 

 abundance of service-berries, wild 

 huckleberries, and muscadines {Viiis 

 rotundifolia) . In general, the flora 

 was the same as that of southwestern 



Arkansas. 



The Deciduous Forest Region marked 

 the western limits of many species 

 both plant and animal, common in the 

 more eastern sections of the United 



States. Here were the sycamore, sev- 

 eral si)ccies of hickory, the hacklH!rry, 

 several kiiid.s of oaks, ft.sh, papaw, 

 pcrsiiiiiiioM and doRwood. I^otw abun- 

 diiit, jJiTlKips, were the cnibappic, 

 liazcliiut. beecli, cucumber tree, Hinooth 

 alder, chin<|uapi(i, water- and willow- 

 oaks. .More alcmdanl were the service- 

 berry, redl)ud and holly, the last often 

 reaching extraordinary size. The origi- 

 nal fauna iiirhided the ijlack bear, the 

 puma or cougar, bol)-cat, gray or timber 

 wolf, and the white-tailed and mule 

 deer, as well as the wapiti or elk. 

 Among the smaller forms were the 

 opossum, raccoon, skunk, otter, beaver, 

 woodchuck (Marmnln monnx), mink, 

 weasel, muskrat, gray fo.\ {L'rocyon 

 cinereoargcnteiis\ and red fo.x {VulpcH 

 sp.). The rodents also comprised the 

 cotton-tail rabbit, Hying squirrel 

 {Ghiucomys volnits sdlnvdlus), fo.x and 

 gray squirrel and numerous smaller 

 species. Among the birds, besides all the 

 species common inland to the ea.stward. 

 here was one of the last stands of the 

 now extinct passenger pigeon, and, aside 

 from Florida, this was perhaps the hist 

 stronghold abandoned by the Carolina 

 paroquet. The wild turkey and the 

 bob-white were exceedingly abundant, 

 and waterfowl of all kinds were at least 

 migrant visitors to its waters. The 

 golden and bald eagles competed here 

 for a livelihood with a dozen or more 

 species of hawks and owls. Snipe and 

 woodcock were common. The reptiles 

 and fishes were species common to the 

 eastern states and the .Mi.ssissippi 

 Valley. 



The Oak Grove Savatiua Rcginn \\i\s 

 remarkable largely because in it a few 

 straggling eastern species found their 

 western limits in competition witii si>n e 

 western plains forms which Imil extended 

 their range eastward. Mide «leer were 

 more abundant, the whitetail 

 less so and the elk was not uii 

 The cougar ami bob-cat. the pray wolf 

 and the coyote, and the black bear ccui- 

 stitutcd the list of larger carnr ■ 

 The smaller carnivores and r. 

 were as common as to the ea»twar<l with 



