NATURAL HISTORY.— MAMMALS 



247 



variety of coloration by the admixture of black, white, and 

 brown. The grizzly bear is not decreasing in numbers in the 

 northern ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The true grizzly is 

 in this region found only along its western border. 



I did not hear of their being caught in traps. The natives 

 of the interior kill them with muzzle-loading smooth-bores. 

 The flesh is not eaten. The skin is sold for about the same 

 price as is that of the black bear. 



One specimen, obtained in the Mackenzie Delta. 



Lepus timidus Linn. Arctic Hare. 



Ka-cho, U. R. 



On the 26th of March, 1894, an arctic hare was killed near 

 our camps, situated a hundred and fifty miles northeast of Rae, 

 and brought to me as a specimen rare for that region. It was 

 conspicuously larger and heavier than the northern hare, L. am- 

 ericanus, with softer, thicker pelage. The fur of this specimen 

 (No. 11,034), which was taken in March, is pure white through- 

 out, except the tips of the ears which are deep black in color for 

 the distance of ^ inch. There is a much greater proportion 

 of under fur to outer hair than in L. americanus, and it is white 

 to the base. 1 The ears equal the head in length — 4^ inches. 

 The hind feet are 6% inches in length and densely furred over 

 the entire surface to the depth of 1 inch. The nails of the 

 middle toes are Y± of an inch, in length, all are horn-colored 

 along the convex median line, reddish brown on the basal half 

 and white on remainder of sides. They are grooved beneath. 



The Indians assured me that the arctic hare was common in 

 the Barren Ground, yet neither I nor any other member of our 

 party discovered a trace of them during twenty-two days which 

 we spent in that region. Richardson gave as their habitat the 

 clumps of spruce-fir along the border of the Barren Ground. 

 They occur along the upper Yukon, yet, strange to say, are quite 

 unknown about the mouth of the Mackenzie, and along the 

 timber line west of it. They were rarely seen south of the 

 Churchill a hundred years ago, but were very common north 

 of that river. 2 Their footprints on the snow of the frozen sea 



1 " Fur resembles swan's down rather than hair." Lyon, Journal, p. 69. 

 * Hearne, Journey, p. 382. 



