ACCOUNT OF THE AMERICAN FERRET. 151 



rado, which had also been secured in a prairie-dog town ; and 

 represented the species as being not at all rare, though very 

 difficult to obtain, owing to the facilities for its retreat into the 

 safe recesses of the burrows of the Marmots. 



Shortly afterward a fourth specimen came to hand from Fort 

 Wallace, Kansas, where the animal is said to be called the 

 "prairie-dog hunter", from the habits indicated in the preced- 

 ing paragraph. This individual, sent by Mr. L. H. Kerrick, 

 fairly well mounted, was the first I had seen with the head and 

 tail complete and in good preservation. 



Another specimen, from Wyoming or the contiguous portion 

 of Colorado, was sent to Prof. Baird by my friend, Capt. James 

 Gilliss, of the Army, then stationed at Cheyenne Depot, Wyo- 

 ming. This one I think I have not seen. 



Still another specimen, important as extending the known 

 geographical distribution of the species, was very recently re- 

 ceived at the Smithsonian Institution, from Mr. C. Cavileer, of 

 Pembina, Dakota. This was procured on Milk Eiver, Mon- 

 tana. 



I am informed by Prof. Baird that two living specimens were 

 sent from some part of the West to New York, one of which 

 died en routes and was probably thrown away ; of the ultimate 

 disposition of the latter I do not know. 



Mrs. M. A. Maxwell, a well-known naturalist and taxidermist, 

 of Boulder, Colorado, who made a remarkably fine Centennial 

 exhibit of the animals of Colorado at the late International 

 Exposition, at Philadelphia, procured two or three specimens 

 in the vicinity of Denver. They were taken on the prairie 

 land in dog-towns. These specimens, very nicely prepared, I 

 had the pleasure of inspecting when Mrs. Maxwell's collection 

 was on exhibition in Washington, during the winter of 1876-77. 

 One of them had been "drowned out" of a prairie-dog hole, 

 and kept for some time in captivity. It became, I am informed, 

 quite tame, though it was furious when first captured. 



The skull from which the foregoing cranial and dental charac- 

 ters were drawn up was sent from Nebraska by the late Mr. W. 

 F. Parker, formerly editor of the "American Sportsman", in 

 which one of my advertisements was inserted. I do not know 

 whether or not it was accompanied by a skin. It is No. 14530 

 of the National Museum. 



No. 11932 shows the characteristic black facial stripe, black 

 feet, and black end of the tail. The general light brownish- 



