276 BULLETIN 5(j, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Verde, is a rivulet having its source in a large spring. About this 

 place are groves of mulberry, ash, and walnut trees, which are the 

 homes of a few of these rare squirrels. One of their nests was 

 l)uilt in an ash tree, and closely resembled the summer nest of the 

 eastern gray squirrel {Sciurus carolinensis leucotis). 



On July 29, 1887, I left our camp near Bakers Butte, in company 

 with Andrew McFarland, one of the most successful hunters in the 

 West, and descended the rim rock of Tonto Basin with difficulty, at 

 the head of Weber Creek, hoping to find a bear in the darksome 

 canyon at the head of that stream. In this, however, we were dis- 

 appointed, two mule deer — both of which were killed by Mr. McFar- 

 land with a single bullet — being the only game seen worthy of our 

 lead. After descending several miles, Ave became separated from 

 each other. At length I came to a little miners' cabin beside the 

 stream, wdiere, there being no one present, I proceeded to make 

 myself at home, and then stretched my weary limbs across the door- 

 way, grateful for the shade afforded by the porch in front. A 

 pleasant breeze sprang up and set the boughs of the pine trees round 

 about to swaying musically ; the brook purled its drowsy melody, 

 and I soon fell asleep. On awaking, much refreshed, I lay quietly 

 enjoying the scene about me, until my eye caught some falling chips 

 of pine cones, dropped from a pine top by a squirrel which I immedi- 

 ately recognized as this species by its long, dark-colored tail. With 

 inimitable grace it would make its way to the very extremity of a 

 branch, select and remove a cone, and then return to a branch beside 

 the tree trunk to extract the seeds at its leisure. On investigation I 

 found this species quite abundant along the creek, and, for the pur- 

 pose of making its identification absolute, shot one. The specimen 

 proved to be a young male of the year, already two-thirds grown. 

 About a fortnight later I returned to Weber Creek with a shotgun, 

 and obtained six specimens, all of which were shot in the pines. 

 They were ver}^ shy and difficult to discover. It was only found in 

 the vicinity of the stream, where it was less abundant than the Abert 

 squirrel. Several were seen running on the ground, searching for 

 something among the heaps of debris and brushwood. Its habits and 

 actions closely resemble those of the eastern gray squirrel. 



I found it in August in the deciduous timber in the canyon of Pine 

 Creek, from the Natural Bridge to its junction with the East Fork of 

 the Verde River. It is said to occur along streams in most j)arts of 

 Tonto basin. My friend, Mr. Willarcl Rice, informed me of its 

 occurrence in the region about Prescott, at certain times, since he 

 shot the first specimen, which he gave to Doctor Coues in 1865. Mr. 

 Edward D. Tuttle, clerk of Graham County, writing from Solomon- 

 ville, Arizona, March 21, 1889, refers to the abundance of " gray squir- 

 rels " in the mountains of the Graham Range. 



