258 MAMMALIA— AMERICAN HARE. 



the woods; but to the westward, borderinsf on the southern Indian country, 

 they are in some places pretty numerous, though by no means equal to what 

 has been reported of them at York Fort, and some other settlements in the 

 Bay." In parts of the Union, this hare is exceedingly common, and large 

 numbers are annually destroyed for the sake of their flesh and fur. 



During the daytime the hare remains crouched within its form, Avhich is 

 a mere space, of the size of the animal, upon the surface of the ground, 

 cleared of grass, and sheltered by some overarching plant ; or else its habi- 

 tation is in the hollowed trunk of a tree, or under a collection of stones, &c. 



It is at the earliest dawn, while the dewdrops still glitter on the herbage, 

 or when the fresh verdure is concealed beneath a mantle of glistening 

 frost, that the timorous hare commonly ventures forth in quest of food, or 

 courses undisturbed over the plains. Occasionally during the day, in retired 

 and Mttle frequented parts of the country, an individual is seen to scud from 

 the path, where it has been basking in the sun ; but the best time for study- 

 ing the habits of the animal is during moonlight nights, when the hare is 

 to be seen sporting with companions in unconstrained gambols, frisking 

 with delighted eagerness around its mate, or busily engaged in cropping its 

 food. On such occasions the turnip and cabbage fields suffer severely, 

 where these animals are numerous, though in general they are productive 

 of serious injury. However, when the food is scarce, they do much mis- 

 chief to the farmers, by destroying the bark on the young trees in the 

 nurseries, and by cutting valuable plants. 



The flesh of the American hare, though of a dark color, is much esteemed 

 as an article of food. During the summer season they are lean and tough, 

 and in many situations they are infested by a species of oestrus, Avhich lays 

 its eggs in their skins, producing Avorms of a considerable size. But in 

 the autumnal season, and especially after the commencement of the frost, 

 when the wild berries, &c., are ripe, they become very fat, and are a delicious 

 article of food. In the north, during winter, they feed on the twigs of the 

 pine and fir, and are fit for the table throughout the season. The Indians 

 eat the contents of their stomachs, notwithstanding the food is such as we 

 have just mentioned. 



The American hare never burrows in the ground like the common 

 European rabbit. When confined in a yard, our animal has been known to 

 • attempt an escape by scratching a hole in the earth near the fence or wall ; 

 but there are few wild animals, whatever may be their characters, that will 

 not do the same, under similar circumstances, though in their natural condi- 

 tion they may never attempt to burrow. Such is the fact in relation to the 

 American hare, which never burrows while it is a free tenant of the fields 

 and woods. It has been said that this animal also occasionally ascends 

 trees, which must be understood solely of its going up within the trunks of 

 hollow trees, which it effects by pressing with its back and feet against 



