86 DESCEIBED. 



curving slightly backwards. The general 

 colour is a dark speckled brownish gray, 

 deepening to nearly black on the hind 

 quarters, where it is edged down the inside 

 of the thighs with reddish yellow. The 

 throat, belly, and legs, are of a lighter gray. 

 Legs long and slender ; toes long and 

 pointed ; the hind heels are long, and rest on 

 the ground as well as the toes. The fur is 

 composed of thick spiral hairs, not unUke 

 miniature porcupine quills ; they are very 

 brittle, breaking with a slight pull, and so 

 thickly set, that numbers may be pulled out 

 without altering the outward appearance of 

 the fur. It is white from the roots to nearly 

 the tips, where it gradually becomes dark. 

 The fur is much longer and thicker on the 

 hind parts than the fore, and gives the 

 animal the appearance of being much larger 

 in the hind quarters, than the shoulder. The 

 tail, which is not seen unless the fur is 

 parted, is an inch long, and about the thick- 

 ness of a thumb ; in females and young 

 animals it is covered with hair ; but in adult 



