B. ARES. 4 27 



is it cannibalistic in character. It has its "form" amidst 

 long grass or thickets, or in the crevices of rocks, and 

 produces its young above-ground. Mark Twain, in his 

 "Roughing It," has credited this species with unusual 

 speed, and describes one as bowling along easily at the 

 rate of a mile per minute; but, when startled, to scud 

 away at such a pace that it could be heard whizzing 

 through the air long after it was out of sight. Strangers 

 to the Pacific slope frequently indulge in exclamations of 

 surprise on seeing it the first time ; but if they give vent 

 to their feelings in the presence of veteran pioneers, they 



THE U ABB. 



are sure to be stuffed with a lot of marvellous tales about 

 its size, fleetness, and the length of its legs and ears. 



An immigrant to Oregon could not find adjectives 

 enough, without indulging in expletives, to express his 

 surprise at the ungainly aspect of such a hare, but he was 

 soon shocked to hear an old hunter assail greenhorns in 

 the most vigorous terms for not knowing the difference 

 between a hare and a mule. "Why, isn't that a hare?" 

 asked the immigrant. "Certainly not," was the response;" 

 " that's a mule, and any one but a fool from the States 

 ought to know it." "But no mule can run like that," 



