•^26 LooMis 071 South Cnroliiin liii-ds. [October 



versally elicited the information that it was restricted to tlie 

 higher mountains some distance on the other side of the 

 line. In the 'catamount,' which was said to be of rare oc- 

 currence, was recognized the Canada lynx. The ground 

 squirrel was abundant and generally distributed. The ground 

 hog was not seen, but it was stated to be common. Judg- 

 ing from my own experience, the rattlesnake is one of the 

 most numerous of the Ophidia of the locality. In the Middle 

 Saluda and Mather's Creek speckled trout were abundant — one 

 fisherman taking twenty-nine in a single afternoon at the end of 

 June. 



The first four weeks of my sojourn it rained somewhere in the 

 vicinity every day. Over a week of the time the mountains were 

 constantly enveloped in clouds. Notwithstanding the unpro- 

 pitious state of the weatlier I was out every day, extending my 

 observations for several miles in various directions, and down to 

 about 2000 feet on the Middle Saluda and Mather's Creek. In 

 working from the top downward an opposite method was pur- 

 sued from that followed at Mt. Pinnacle. Owing to the more 

 table-like character of the summits and the consequent better op- 

 portunities for observation, and also to the near proximity of my 

 former work, it was deemed best to restrict my efforts to the zone 

 above mid-elevation. It should be borne in mind therefore tliat 

 the notes which follow relate only to the belt above 2000 feet, 

 particularly to the summit. Where simply corroborative of the 

 former article the annotations have been abridged in order not to 

 consume unnecessary space. The lack of open ground accounts 

 for the absence of field birds irrespective of climatic or other con- 

 ditions. 



1. Colinus virginianus. Bob-white. 'Partridge.' — Common in the 

 open park-like woods and about the little clearings. Before the arrival of 

 the summer guests their call-notes were heard frequently from the lawn 

 close by the hotel piazza. 



2. Bonasa umbellus. Ruffed Grouse. 'Pheasant.' — While these 

 birds are really common in these mountains, yet, from the nature of 

 their haunts in the early summer season, they readily escape observation. 

 Unless the dense undergrowth bordering the branches in the hollows and 

 the swampy thickets at the heads of the larger streams be diligently 

 hunted, several weeks might be spent rambling about the mountains 

 without a single Pheasant being encountered. They lie so closely, too, 

 that without a dog, even in these retreats, many would be passed imno- 



