CHAPTER EIGHT 



IN THE c possum, we will consider a fur animal that is 

 not only a native of this continent but one that has for 

 its common name a designation wholly American, for 

 the 'possum, as we frequently term it, was first named 

 opossum by the North American Indians along the Atlantic 

 seacoast where the early settlers elected to carve a new 

 home out of the wilderness. 



It was the doughty Captain John Smith who gave the 

 beast the spelling we now use. In his History of Virginia, 

 the warrior whose life was saved by Pochahontas set down 

 with his quill pen these words: "An opossum hath a head 

 like a swine, a taile like a rat, and is the bigness of a cat. 

 Under the belly shee hath a bagge." A laconic but wholly 

 encompassing deccription that does indeed describe this 

 queerest of all mammals. 



We have two, possibly three, forms of opossums: The 

 Louisiana or Gulf opossum (Didelphis virginiana pigra) , 

 a small dark opossum with a long tail ; found from Georgia, 

 Florida, along the Gulf coast through Louisiana and, un- 

 doubtedly, into Texas. In the northern, eastern and central 

 parts of Louisiana is found a much larger animal, the typi- 

 cal Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana virginiana) ; 

 where it occurs it is very numerous, much larger than the 

 Gulf form, tail smaller, usually uniformly whitish, with the 

 white guard hairs longer than the black. The Gulf sub- 

 species has two color phases, some are whitish, others de- 

 cidedly blackish. Long-tailed opossums, with black guard. 



