226 FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS 



is about eighteen inches long and ends in sucli a thick, 

 ringed tail, that yon say Coon at once, and it does be- 

 long in the Raccoon family, and is the very least cousin 

 of the Bear, in spite of its catlike ears, whiskers, and 

 slender, lithe body. The Civet Cat also makes its home 

 in hollow branches or stumps like the Coon, and as it 

 climbs and dodges about, it might easily be taken for a 

 wide-eared Squirrel, except for its tail. You see, here 

 is another case where the tail tells I " 



After placing the pictures carefully in a row below 

 the map, animal tree, and ladder for climbing it, the 

 children came back to the fire, near Avhich, on the set- 

 tle. Dr. Uoy had thrown three skins — plain, spotted, 

 and streaked. 



" How many species of Cats are there in Xorth 

 America ? '' asked Olive. 



" Nine : five with high shoulders, short fur, and long 

 tails, like those of their cousins the Lion, Tiger, and 

 House Cat, and four of the Lynx variet}^ Avith short or 

 Ijobtails, long fluffy fur, high back legs, and sharply 

 pointed ears. All but one of the long-tailed varieties 

 belong to the soutliwest, being much more at home in 

 Central and tropical America tlian near the United 

 States border. Beginning with the largest, they are 

 called tlie Jaguar, the Puma, the Ocelot, the Yagua- 

 rundi Cat, and the Eyra Cat, the last two being com- 

 paratively unknown. The Puma and tlie Ocelot are 

 the only ones that concern us. 



" Of the four bobtail Cats, or Lynxes, the Canada 

 Lynx belongs to the north. The Spotted and Plateau 

 Lynx belong to tlie southwest, leaving us in the mid- 

 dle and southeast states the Bay Lynx, or Wildcat, as 



