132 ZOOLOGY. 



week. In a short ride of an hour s duration I have frequently seen as many as thirty individuals 

 either running about the trail or sitting among the &quot;sage&quot; bushes on either side. Sometimes 

 three or four might be seen at once. I presumed at the time that they were thus abundant in 

 that immediate vicinity by reason of its proximity to water, the great drought having driven 

 them in from the vast arid sage plains of the surrounding countr} 7 . I saw none on the left 

 bank of Snake river, and met with no hares after crossing that stream from the opposite side 

 (at the mouth of Boise river) until, in going northwest, we had proceeded about seventy miles, 

 when I fell in with a specimen of L. campestris at Powder river. 



These hares breed in great numbers on the sage plains south of Boise river, and, I was told, 

 turn white in winter. Concerning this point there may be a mistake, my informants taking the 

 L. campestris for this species. 



The flesh is rather bitter, as in the case of the sage cock, owing probably to the artemisia 

 upon which it feeds. S. 



LEPUS CALIFORNICUS, Gray. 



California Hare. 



[See chap. 2, p. 104.] 



I saw a large species of hare at the head of Russian and Eel rivers, California. I also killed 

 one of great size in the mountains, between Salmon and Trinity rivers. There is a bluish hare 

 very common around Humboldt bay, where the Indians make blankets or robes of their skins, 

 by cutting them into strips, which are twisted with ropes, and then stretched on a frame and 

 woven. G-. 



LEPUS ARTEMISIA, Bach. 



Sage Hare. 



BAIRD, Gen. Eep. Mammals, 1857, 602. 



SP. Cn Similar to the common rabbit, Lepus sylvaticus, but smaller and grayer. 

 Ilab. Interior of Oregon and Nebraska. 



The little sage hare is very abundant in the open central region of Oregon. It is, as its name 

 implies, especially fond of the vicinity of bushes of the so-called &quot;wild sage,&quot; or artemisia, 

 under which it sits motionless and invisible, in almost perfect security. Several specimens 

 were brought to me at Fort Dalles, the skins of which were preserved, and the measurements 

 recorded. 



Measurements of specimen. 



No. 50. March 2. Length to root of tail, 12 inches; tail to end of vertebrae, 2; of hairs, 2.50. 



No. 35. January 12, 1855. Under surface of tail, I am told by Indians, is white ; that of 

 this specimen was lost. At the time this individual was brought to me I was told that the 

 species does not turn white in winter. Name, in dialect of the Wascos, La-lek. 



Length from nose to root of tail 15 inches, lines. 



Heel to point of longest nail 3 do 8 do. 



Height of ear above plane of crown 3 do 3 do. 



Ear to point of nose 2 do 10 do. 



Tail vertebras, about , 1 do 4 do. 



From olecranon to end of longest nail 4 do 2 do. 



Extreme stretch between fore and hind toes 24 do do. 



