GAME OF THE UNITED STATES. 



387 



(Aplocerus Columbianus, Ooues) is confined to 

 the loftiest peaks of the northern Rocky mount- 

 ains, Sierra Nevadas, and Coast Range. The 

 bighorn or mountain sheep (Ovis montana, Cu- 

 vier) is an inhabitant of the mountains of west- 

 ern America from the Missouri river to the Pa- 

 cific Ocean ; abundant in New Mexico, Arizona, 

 and most numerous in the Rocky mountains, 

 the Sierra Nevadas, and Coast Range. 



Bears. The grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis, 

 Ord.) inhabits the western portions of the con- 

 tinent, from the Missouri river to the Pacific 

 coast, but is mostly found in the Rocky mount- 

 ains and the Sierra Nevadas. The black, brc>wn, 

 or cinnamon bear (Ursus Americanus, Pallas) 

 is found from Maine to Texas, and from Florida 

 to Washington Territory. 



Buffalo. The buffalo (Bos Americanus, Gme- 

 lin) has been so thoroughly exterminated in 

 the United States that only about 700 head 

 remain, of which 200 are in the Yellowstone 

 Park and the others in the Pan-handle of 

 Texas. 



Deer. The North American Cermda or deer 

 family includes the most important of large 

 game animals. Although still found through- 

 out the whole of North America, from the Arc- 

 tic Circle to Mexico, they are most numerous 

 in the northern United States. The seven 

 species are : Moose (Alee Americana, Jard.), the 

 largest of the Cermdce, found in small numbers 

 in Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, more numerous 

 in Minnesota, moderately abundant in western 

 Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and 

 portions of Oregon. There are three ways of 

 hunting the moose by still-hunting, fire-hunt- 

 ing, and calling. There are two varieties of 

 caribou : the barren-ground caribou (Bangifer 

 Groenlandicus, Baird) and the woodland cari- 

 bou (R. Grosnlandicus tarandus). The former 

 is found in British America ; the latter, which is 

 more southern in its habitat, occurs in Maine 

 and the Rocky mountains. A few have been 

 killed as far south as Boise" City, Idaho. Both 

 varieties are great travelers, the woodland 

 being very swift. They are best killed by still- 

 hunting. The elk (Germs Canadensis, Erxle- 

 ben) is a near relative of the red deer of Eu- 

 rope. Formerly it was distributed over the 

 whole of temperate North America, but now it 

 is rapidly disappearing. A few are found in the 

 lower peninsula of Michigan ; west of the Mis- 

 souri river, and in the Rocky mountains, there 

 are localities where it is still moderately abun- 

 dant ; but in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana 

 during the past dozen years it has been great- 

 ly depleted by "hide and meat hunters." The 

 completion of railroads through the old homes 

 of elk have sounded its death-knell, and, as 

 soon as shipping facilities are offered, the set- 

 tlers ruthlessly sally forth and destroy these 

 noble animals far and wide. The hides are se- 

 cured and carcasses salted, and trains of wag- 

 ons are employed to bring them to the stations. 

 The elk has therefore been killed or driven 

 from where it was once very numerous. The 



introduction of cattle has done much to drive 

 the elk herds back, for the cattle usurp the 

 feeding- grounds of the elk. Both the elk and 

 the black-tail deer are afraid to remain in a 

 district inhabited by cattle or sheep. Wanton 

 butchery is rapidly exterminating the elk, as it 

 has already caused the buffalo and moose to 

 disappear. The mule deer (Cariacus macro- 

 tis, Gray) is found throughout the Missouri 

 river region, in the Rocky mountains, and in 

 the Sierra Nevadas. They are usually killed 

 when the snow is on the ground, by still-hunt- 

 ing. The black- tail deer (Cariacus Columbia- 

 nils^ Gray) has a range confined to the mount- 

 ains of the Pacific coast. It resorts to dense 

 forests, and in several localities of the Sierra 

 Nevadas is quite abundant. Still-hunting and 

 hounding are the modes employed by hunters 

 to kill this deer, but the Indians shoot large 

 numbers by lying in wait for them at their 

 drinking places. The Virginia deer (Cariacus 

 Virginianus, Bodd, Gray) is the best known 

 and most abundant of all the North American 

 Cervida. Its habitat extends from ocean to 

 ocean, and it is found in every State and Terri- 

 tory in the Union. Owing to the variety of 

 locations which it inhabits, it is hunted in many 

 different ways, such as by hounding, still- 

 hunting, fire-hunting, and by "breasting," that 

 is, by beating for it on horseback in the tall 

 cane-grass, and, when it jumps from its bed, 

 shooting it from the saddle. This method is 

 usually employed in Arkansas and the South- 

 west. 



Geese and Ducks. The wild fowl of America 

 include two species of swans, eight varieties of 

 geese and brant, eleven " shoal-water ducks," 

 and twenty-four species of fowl called " sea- 

 ducks." Those most common to the sports- 

 man, which are decoyed, are: the trumpeter 

 8wa,u(Cygnus buccinator, Richardson) : it is not 

 found east of the Mississippi river, being most 

 abundant on the Pacific it has recently been 

 observed in Yellowstone lake ; the American 

 swan (Cygnus Americanus, Sharpless), found 

 the whole breadth of the continent as far south 

 as the Carolinas it is a large, powerful, and 

 wary bird, with no enemies but man and ea- 

 gles; the white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons, 

 var. Gambeli, Coues), "speckle belly'," "brant," 

 and "laughing goose," common in the Missis- 

 sippi valley, and there called " prairie brant " 

 it is in great abundance on the Pacific slope ; 

 snow goose (Chen hyperloreus, Pallas), " white 

 brant," distributed over the whole continent, 

 only occasionally seen on the Atlantic sea- 

 board, its home being westward of the Mis- 

 souri river; blue goose (Chen c&rulescens, 

 Vieillot), "bald-headed brant," an inhabitant 

 of the Pacific coast; brant-goose (Bran ta ler- 

 nicla, Scop.), the common brant of the east 

 coast, whose home in winter is in the broad 

 waters of Virginia and North Carolina this 

 bird comes well to decoys, and in wild weather 

 affords magnificent shooting; Canada goose 

 (Branta, Canadensis, Gray), the " common wild 



