254 Natural History of the 



at different seasons of the year, contribute to render them scarce 

 in its immediate neighbourhood. The following are all the 

 species observed or concerning which I could obtain any inform- 

 ation. 



1. Vesper tilio subulatus, Say, (Say's Bat). — One specimen 

 was shot on the 8th August, in the day time, and on the 10th I 

 saw several flying about in the hottest part of the afternoon, over 

 the Rouge, and every now and then dashing into the water. Bats 

 were numerous throughout the district, and as they varied con- 

 siderably in size there were probably several species, but from 

 the difficulty of obtaining specimens the present is the only one 

 which I could determine. In the township of Harrington, Bats 

 continued abroad at dusk as late as 17th October. 



2. Ursus Americanus, Pallas, (Black Bear). — Although none 

 were seen by us, Bears appear to be numerous in the district, 

 more especially about the settlements in autumn, when they are 

 very destructive to the settler's crops and pigs, and are occasion- 

 ally taken in large iron spring-traps. They are rarely seen in 

 the woods during the summer, but are sometimes killed by the 

 Indians when found in their winter retreats. We however fre- 

 quently met with recent traces of them, such as trees torn by their 

 claws and stripped of the bark all round the trunks, marks of 

 their teeth, fresh dung, &c, in the townships of Wentworth, 

 Montcalm and Arundel, and on the 15th October I saw a settler 

 greasing the axle-trees of his cart with the fat of one which had 

 been killed a few days previously in the township of Chatham. 

 Near Bark Lake in the 5th and 6th Ranges of Arundel, I observed 

 the marks left by a Bear's teeth on the trunk of a cedar full five 

 feet from the ground. The Indians always examine the bite of 

 this animal on a tree, and imagine that if its teeth have penetrated 

 to the wood it will not be killed that year, but should they have 

 merely entered the bark, he will soon meet with his death. 



3. Mustela Martes, Linn. (Pine Marten). — Does not appear to 

 be very plentiful. I saw but one which had just been trapped 

 October 10th, at Hamilton's Farm. 



4. M. Canadensis, Schreber (Fisher). — Reported common about 

 Hamilton's Farm, and I saw one which was shot there October 

 10th. They are caught in fall-traps made by cutting a square 

 hole in the trunk of a hollow cedar, a few feet from the ground, 

 in which the bait (a piece of fish, the head of a partridge, or part 

 of a squirrel) attached to a trigger, supporting the but-end of a 





