ZOOLOGY, ETC. 281 
Felis concolor were rarely met. 
Black-tailed deer were numerous in winter in the hills between the Saline and 
Solomon, going in bunches of three or four to twenty or thirty. I suppose they 
came down from the foothills of Colorado to winter, as I did not see them in 
summer. 
White-tailed deer were numerous in the hills about the forks of the Solomon 
and the hilly country of Barber and Comanche counties, and occasionally found 
elsewhere. 
Antelope were abundant everywhere, in summer, migrating south in winter to 
the Staked Plains. 
Elk were quite numerous, especially along the Smoky Hill, Saline, and Solo- 
mon, and in Barber county and south in the territory. I saw a band of over 500 
cross the Saline where the town of Lineoln now stands, going south; have killed 
them on Solomon; Saline, Smoky Hill, Arkansas, and Medicine Lodge rivers- 
They were found at all seasons of the year, but more numerous in summer and 
fall. Ido not know their migratory habits. 
Prairie-dogs were innumerable. The divide between Saline and Solomon in 
Ellsworth county and west was a continuous dog town for miles; and, as a consid- 
erable portion of this locality was underlaid with horizontal beds of shale or 
limestone near the surface, it was a mystery where they got water. Not a drop 
could be found within several miles and none by digging above the rock, and not 
a particle of dew fell for weeks in the heat of summer. The scant grass was dry 
enough to burn an hour before sunrise; and I was forced to the conclusion that 
in this instance nature had constructed an animal capable of living for long pe- 
riods of time without water. My pen cannot describe the extreme heat and 
drought which sometimes prevailed on these bare uplands during July and Au- 
gust. Prairie-dogs, except a few remnants, disappeared. The foot of the buffalo 
was necessary for their existence. As soon as the ground ceased to be tramped 
hard and the grass and weeds grew they perished. 
With the buffalo also disappeared the countless flocks of ravens, a beautiful 
glossy bird, larger and much handsomer and smarter than the crow. 
Bald eagles were numerous, especially along the southern border. Many of 
them and thousands of ravens were killed by eating our baits or the viscera of 
wolves we had poisoned. 
Magpies were common between Saline and Solomon, and prairie-chickens and 
sharp-tailed grouse common in the buffalo range. 
Turkeys were abundant on every creek, and bob-white common in dense 
thickets. 
Most of these birds and animals are practically extinct. A few wolves remain, 
and quail have largely increased. 
