IN THE FAR WEST. 373 



long, and having; a tail exceeding five inches, while its 

 weight reaches from ten to twelve pounds. 



The California hare (L. califoruicus) , which is hunted a 

 great deal with greyhounds, is also very large, the ears and 

 the hind feet being longer than the head, while the tail is as 

 long. Its colour varies much, but in summer it may be said 

 to be a bright cinnamon red, mixed with some black, the 

 under parts being a pale cinnamon. The tail is black above, 

 and of a light cinnamon hue below. It attains a length of 

 twenty-five inches, and its hind foot is over five inches long. 



The ubiquitous cotton-tail, or gray rabbit (L. sylvaticus) , 

 has ears two-thirds the length of the head. It is the largest 

 of the short-eared hares, its length often reaching eighteen 

 inches, and its weight varying from two to three pounds. 

 The coating is of a lead colour, the extreme tips being a 

 blackish-brown, and the under part of the tail a cottony 

 white. 



The sage rabbit (L. artemtsia] is one of the most abundant 

 species in the West and North-west, and is found in immense 

 numbers amid the so-called sage plains, where the artemisia 

 (A tridentata) prevails ; it may, in fact, be counted by the 

 thousands in many places. Indians, wolves, foxes, badgers, 

 and other carnivorous animals, live on it largely in the regions 

 bordering the Columbia River and its tributaries, and the 

 former eat it with apparent relish, notwithstanding the fact 

 that its flesh has a rank taste, owing to the character of its 

 food, which is composed almost entirely of the wild sage, 

 purshia, or greasewood, linosyris, and kindred shrubs. This 

 disagreeable flavour may be obliterated, however, by "draw- 

 ing'"' it the moment it is killed, and placing an onion and a 

 piece of lemon in the abdominal cavity when it is about to be 

 cooked. The man who could not eat it then must be fas- 

 tidious, and anything but hungry. 



This creature, which is among the smallest of the hares, has 

 ears as long as the head, and its feet are heavily clad with fur. 

 Its general colour above is a mixed black and brownish-white, 

 but the hue changes so much in different sections that this 

 colour cannot be called permanent. It is rcadilv known from 



