352 



A JOURNEY TO THE 



The Ermine, 

 or Stote. 



this country, and though very scarce in what is absolutely 

 called the Northern Indian territory, yet by the Indians strol- 

 ling toward the borders of the Southern Indian country, are 

 killed in great numbers, and annually traded for at Churchill 

 Factory, 



The Ermine, or Stote/ is common in those parts, but 

 generally more plentiful on the barren ground, and open 

 plains or marshes, than in the woods ; probably owing to 

 [379] the mice being more numerous in the former situations 

 than in the latter. In Summer they are of a tawney brown, 

 but in Winter of a delicate white all over, except the tip of 

 the tail, which is of a glossy black. They are, for their size, 

 the strongest and most courageous animal I know : as they 

 not only kill partridges, but even attack rabbits with great 

 success. They sometimes take up their abode in the out- 

 offices and provision-sheds belonging to the Factories ; and 

 though they commit some depredations, make ample amends by 

 killing great numbers of mice, which are very numerous and 

 destructive at most of the settlements in the Bay. I have 

 taken much pains to tame and domesticate this beautiful 

 animal, but never could succeed ; for the longer I kept it the 

 more restless and impatient it became. 



The Musk 

 Rat. 



Animals with Cutting Teeth. 



The Musk Rat,- or Musquash ; or, as Naturalists call 

 it, the Musk Beaver ; is common in those parts ; generally 

 frequenting ponds and deep swamps that do not freeze dry 



[' The common weasel of the wooded parts of the Hudson Bay region is 

 Putoritis richardsoni (Bonaparte). North of the tree-limit is found a larger 

 species, P. arcticus Merriam, which ranges north of the continent over the 

 Arctic islands. Both species turn white in winter and are then known as 

 ermine.] 



\^ Fiber zibethicus hiidsotiiiis Pi'eble (North Am. Fauna, No. 22, p. 53, 1902; 

 type locality, Fort Churchill). This race, which differs from the typical animal 

 of Eastern Canada in smaller size and in cranial characters^ inhabits the region 

 west of Hudson Bay, north to the limit of trees.] 



