NATURAL AREAS AND REGIONS 



495 



large and fat on a diet of mast and grass- 

 hoppers. The passenger pigeon and 

 Carolina paroquet are also worthy of 

 special mention, while nearly or quite 

 all the other species which were found in 

 the Mississippi Valley were here either 

 as migrants, or winter or summer resi- 

 dents. The reptilian life included al- 

 ligator (A lligator mississippiensis which 

 occasionally ascended the Arkansas 

 and Red rivers; alligator-snapper (Mac- 

 rochelys temminckii) and soft-shelled 

 turtles (Amyda emoryi) which grew to 

 large size and were probably com- 

 mon. Living in the streams with these 

 was the cotton-mouth moccasin (Agkis- 

 trodon piscivorus), whose cousins, the 

 copperhead (A. mokasen) and the timber 

 rattler (Crotalus horridus) found suitable 

 habitats among the rock crevices of the 

 mountain sides. Under boulders and 

 fallen logs, the coral snake secured 

 satisfactory retirement and completed 

 the list of venomous forms. Several 

 species of harmless snakes also occurred 

 here on land and in the water, in which 

 also lived the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) 

 and leopard-frog (Rana pipiens). 

 Toads hopped over the rough gound 

 and treefrogs sang in the water or 

 from the tree-tops. A few species of 

 ground lizards darted here and there 

 from shelter to shelter or basked in the 

 sunshine on boulder-top or log. In 

 the streams large-mouthed black bass, 

 various catfishes, the spoonbill, the 

 garpike and the alligator-gar pursued 

 their prey in comparative safety. The 

 southern pines and cedar made up most 

 of the timber growth, though there was 

 a liberal sprinkling of oaks and hick- 

 ories, the former producing the acorns 

 relished by deer and turkey, the latter 

 nuts for the bear, which also found an 

 abundance of service-berries, wild 

 huckleberries, and muscadines (Vitis 

 rotundifolia} . In general, the flora 

 was the same as that of southwestern 

 Arkansas. 



The Deciduous Forest Region marked 

 the western limits of many species 

 both plant and animal, common in the 

 more eastern sections of the United 



States. Here were the sycamore, sev- 

 eral species of hickory, the hackberry, 

 several kinds of oaks, ash, papaw, 

 persimmon and dogwood. Less abun- 

 dant, perhaps, were the crabapple, 

 hazelnut, beech, cucumber tree, smooth 

 alder, chinquapin, water- and willow- 

 oaks. More abundant were the service- 

 berry, redbud and holly, the last often 

 reaching extraordinary size. The origi- 

 nal fauna included the black bear, the 

 puma or cougar, bob-cat, gray or timber 

 wolf, and the white-tailed and mule 

 deer, as well as the wapiti or elk. 

 Among the smaller forms were the 

 opossum, raccoon, skunk, otter, beaver, 

 woodchuck (Marmota monax), mink, 

 weasel, muskrat, gray fox (Urocyon 

 cinereoargenteus) , and red fox (Vulpes 

 sp.). The rodents also comprised the 

 cotton-tail rabbit, flying squirrel 

 (Glaucomys volaus saturatus), fox and 

 gray squirrel and numerous smaller 

 species. Among the birds, besides all the 

 species common inland to the eastward, 

 here was one of the last stands of the 

 now extinct passenger pigeon, and, aside 

 from Florida, this was perhaps the last 

 stronghold abandoned by the Carolina 

 paroquet. The wild turkey and the 

 bob-white were exceedingly abundant, 

 and waterfowl of all kinds were at least 

 migrant visitors to its waters. The 

 golden and bald eagles competed here 

 for a livelihood with a dozen or more 

 species of hawks and owls. Snipe and 

 woodcock were common. The reptiles 

 and fishes were species common to the 

 eastern states and the Mississippi 

 Valley. 



The Oak Grove Savanna Region was 

 remarkable largely because in it a few 

 straggling eastern species found their 

 western limits in competition with some 

 western plains forms which had extended 

 their range eastward. Mule deer were 

 more abundant, the whitetail scarcely 

 less so and the elk was not unc.ommon. 

 The cougar and bob-cat, the gray wolf 

 and the coyote, and the black bear con- 

 stituted the list of larger carnivores. 

 The smaller carnivores and rodents 

 were as common as to the eastward with 



