Long-tailed Weasel 871 



The Long-tailed Weasel does not allow us to forget that 

 his name is Putonus, and Putonus is related to Mephitis. 

 Merriam says:^ "I met one high up in Salmon River Moun- 

 tains, September 5; he was in pursuit of a Richardson Squirrel 

 in a damp, moss-covered place in a dark spruce forest, and 

 stood bolt upright when he saw me. I wounded him with my 

 auxiliary, and he immediately emitted his powerful stench and 

 disappeared in a hole at the root of a spruce." 



In the mountains of Wyoming (1898), I watched a Long- 

 tail, hunting in the snow around me, and in spite of heavy frost 

 made the accompanying sketch to illustrate his pose and 

 tracks. His manner of diving under the snow and of coming 

 up at unexpected and remote points was remarkable and 

 suggested an eel in the mud. 



Though the fur is fine and of exquisite yellow and white fur 

 in winter, it is of too low value to be of commercial importance. 

 (See small Ermine, p. 857.) 



-N. A. Fauna, No. 5, 1891, p. 83. (May have been arizonensis.) 



io to toinchts 



