I5 2 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XIX, 



and simply call it 'mysh' or mouse. The commanding offi- 

 cer, Ankoodeenoff , also said that he caught two of them in his 

 house in the spring of 1900. I saw the track of one on the 

 snow in February, 1901. Their tracks are very easily distin- 

 guished from those of the mice, or even from those of Lemmus, 

 as the long, stiff hairs protruding beyond the toes of Dicro- 

 stonyx drag on the snow and make a very characteristic track. 



"Concerning specimens of Lemmus trimucronatus and Di~ 

 crostonyx hudsonius alascensis Stone [= D. nelsoni Merriam, 

 of 10 days' earlier date], taken by the Mcllhenny Expedition 

 to Point Barrow, Alaska, 1897-98: As far as I observed, the 

 habits of these two species of lemmings are the same. During 

 the summer they are seldom seen, and then only while running 

 from one burrow to another, as at that time their runways are 

 under the moss which covers the tundra everywhere. In 

 winter, when the moss freezes, they run tunnels in all direc- 

 tions on the tundra just under the snow and up to the surface 

 of the snow. After a high wind many may be seen running 

 about on top of the snow, apparently lost or unable to regain 

 their burrows. This gives rise to the superstition, which is 

 current among the coast Eskimos from the mouth of. the 

 Mackenzie River to the Yukon, that the white ones are sent 

 whirling down with the snow from the sky by Puk-ai-mu-na 

 as his messengers, and that when they have accomplished 

 their mission they disappear. They call them Kil-i-mai-u-tah, 

 and are adverse to killing them. The Norwegians also have 

 a similar superstition concerning this species in winter dress. 



" In summer their nests, runways, and droppings are en- 

 countered everywhere on the tundra, especially on the higher, 

 black hummocks and along low banks which border the 

 lagoons. In winter and spring they are often found far out 

 on the sea ice, sometimes two or three miles from shore. The 

 statements made by other writers concerning their compara- 

 tive scarcity and abundance in different years is verified by 

 the natives and whites here. The young, at least of Lem- 

 mus hudsonius alascensis, are born every month in the year. 

 Six is the usual number brought forth at a time. Their food 

 consists of grass and weed seeds and bulbous roots. 



