ZOOLOGY — MAMMALS. 87 



FIBER ZIBETHECUS, Cuv. 



Muskrat. 



Baird, Gen Rep. Mammals, 1857, 561. 



The muskrat appears to be rather scarce in the western portions of the Territory, where 

 I never saw any signs of their existence. I have been told, however, by credible persons that 

 they were sometimes found, though scarce. 



I can only account for this scarcity of an animal so abundant even in the thickly settled portions 

 of the Atlantic States, by supposing that the beaver, where abundant, keeps them away. We 

 find many instances of animals of similar habits thus holding possession by the right of the 

 strongest; of which I will only cite one example among rodentia, that of the Norway rat, which 

 has so far dispossessed every native species in countries where it has been introduced. 



LEPUS WASHINGTONII, Baird. 



Red Hare 



r.epus washinglonii, Baird, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. V'll, April, 1855, 333.— Ib. Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 583. 



Ears shorter than the head ; hind feel much longer than the head. Size about that of Z. sylvaticus, or a little larger. 

 Fur very soft and full on the body and beneath the feet. Tail very short. Back, sides, and throat reddish brown ; the 

 former with many glossy black hairs. Tail lead color above, rusty white beneath. Abdomen pure white. Ears black on 

 the posterior margin and tip of their inner surface ; the rest of this surface pale reddish brown, e-tcept on the e.xterior band. 



This small species of hare seems peculiar to the forest region west of the Cascade mountains. 

 I have never found it common, however, at any point except about Fort Vancouver or the 

 Columbia, where, on account of the dense bushes they frequented, I found it very difficult to 

 shoot them. They also occur on the borders of prairies in other western parts of the Territory, 

 but are nowhere so abundant as the little Virginian hare is in the rural districts of the middle 

 States. I observed them in winter, when the ground was covered with snow, and there was then 

 no change in their color. A species with black ears and tail is said to be found at the Cascades 

 of the Columbia. During our journey east of the Cascade mountains we saw scarcely any hares, 

 and the Indians told us that some disease had killed nearly all of them. Dimensions of specimen : 

 lengthy 17 inches. 



LEPUS TROWBRIDGII, Baird. 



Lepus trou'bridgii, Baird, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. Vll. April 1855, 333.— Is. Gen Rep. Mammals, 1857, 608. 



Sp. Ch. — Size small, less than that of L. auduboni. Head small. Ears about equal to it in length. Tail very short, almost 

 rudimentary ; hind feet very short, well furred, considerably shorter than the head. Color above, yellowish brown and dark 

 brown; benea(h, plumbeous gray. Sides not conspicuously different from the back, but paler. Back of neck pale rusty. Ears 

 grayish and black on the e.xternal band ; ashy gray elsewhere, with little indication of darker margin or tip. 



The little hare, or "rabbit," of California, abounds in bushy, dry ground in Santa Clara Valley, 

 and has much the same habits and appearance as the common Virginia hare in the middle States. 

 It sits during day under the shelter of some thicket, and about dusk ventures out cautiously to 

 feed. If started, it runs a short distance only, seeking the nearest concealment — unlike the large 

 species, which trust more to their speed for escape. It is easy to shoot numbers of these little 

 animals, either early in the morning or evening, by watching near their resorts. I have never 

 ob.served them about wet grounds, and it is said that they do not frequent the hills, like the 

 large hares, but keep entirely in the level prairies. 



