102 On the Xatural History of North America. 



common. I have seen a number of the claws of one of 

 these annuals from the Plata, and they appeared to me to 



be the claws of the great polar bear. 



If the animal which I have just mentioned should prove 

 to be the ursus maritimus, we shall be obliged to assign to 

 this species, in a geographical viev,f of animals, a much 

 more southern climate than it is supposed to exist in. And 

 we should not forget that many facts conspire to render it 

 probable that various species of quadrupeds were once more 

 extensively diffused over the earth than ihey are at present. 

 With respect to the vcrv animal of which I am speaking, 

 it would appear to have been formerly an inhabitant ol se- 

 veral countries in which it is at present unknown. It is 

 not certain, however, that the w hite bear of the river Plata 

 is the ursus maritimus. Perhaps, it will prove to be a new 

 species. The claws which 1 have seen lead me to suppose 

 that the animal to whicii they belonged could not be infe- 

 rior in size to the large white bear of ihe pole. 



Permit me in this place to give you some account of the 

 travels of an intelligent Indian who lately returned from a 

 very long journey many hundred miles to the north-west ot 

 Detroit. This Indian had left his countrymen (the Mo- 

 hawks) for the purpose of htmlmg, but was not inattentive 

 to many of the objects of natural history about him. He 

 reports, that the game of tlie country which he visited was 

 the bufialoe [hosAmericahus) , black bear {ursus Amcricanm), 

 white bear {i/rs?i.<i maritimus?), the latter much larger than 

 the former, with a remarkably broad foot furnished with 

 nails or claws as long as a man's finger : moos {cervus 

 dees), elk (my cervus wapiti), " goats which climb up the 

 rocks;" a kind of "sheep with a hairy back, much like 

 a deer, but I'urnished with long wool over the belly, and 

 with larsje horns," one of which he saw that weighed seven 

 pounds ; a kind of deer which the French in some parts of 

 America call capree; the fisher (I believe a species of nms- 

 tela), the otter, the beaver, and a species of fox. He met' 

 with various kinds of birds which he had never seen before. 

 The country which he passed through is covered with ex- 

 tensive plains, or praires (as they are frequently called in 

 the United States), and has very few trees. Those which 

 he saw were principally aspen [popidus iremuloidesP), birch 

 [letida), and a species of pinus, or pine. During twq 

 winters that he resided in this remote part of our continent, 

 it never rained once. The rains of the summer are very 

 uiiccrtain. Those which do fall arc precipitated in heavy 



gusts. 



