A EE ee 
No. 1. 
FIELD NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS. 
BY C. B. R. KENNERLY, M. D., 
PHYSICIAN AND NATURALIST TO THE EXPEDITION. 
WASHINGTON, D. C., July 1, 1854. 
SIR: I have the honor herewith to present a general account of the game animals of the 
country traversed by you in surveying a route for the railroad to the Pacific. I do not propose 
here to go into much detail, as the description of the individual species, with an account of their 
characteristic habits, is reserved for a subsequent report. For convenience of reference, I shall 
divide the line into several portions, and express, as briefly as possible, the peculiar features in 
the economical zoology of each. 
From the Rio Grande to Zuñi,—Although this district is hunted very closely by Indians and 
other persons traversing it, yet in some places we found game abundant. Before reaching the 
pueblo of Laguna, however, animals of the larger kind were rarely observed, the country being 
for the most part quite open, and affording but little permanent water. Still, along the road, 
the large rabbit of this region (Lepus callotis) and the smaller species (Lepus artemesic) were 
found in considerable numbers; and, after reaching the Rio Rito, to these were added ducks 
and geese in great numbers. But after leaving this village, and approaching the Sierra Madre, 
we found ourselves in a country heavily wooded, and with an abundance of grass. Here we 
observed numerous herds of the black-tailed deer (Cervus macrotis) feeding in the little valleys; 
and, among the bushes on the hill-sides, several species of bears, the black (Ursus Americanus) 
and the huge grizzly, (Ursus feror.) Among the trees in the mountain, the piñon (Pinus 
edulis) was very common, which affords a kind of nut on which the latter animals delight to 
feed, and it is not unpalatable even to man. This district has long been celebrated for its game, 
and the accounts that we heard proved not to be exaggerated. 
Descending the western slope of the mountains, we again met with rabbits in great numbers. 
Besides these, we occasionally found the antelope; but being much hunted, they were here 
scarce and wild, and, when seen, were far off in small herds upon the plain. Along the valleys 
that stretch towards the pueblo of Zuñi, and which are generally hemmed in by rough and 
rugged hills, we found the grizzly bear (Ursus feroz) abundant. When impelled by hunger, 
they become very fierce, and, descending into the valleys, frighten off the pastores, who, in their 
terror, abandon their flocks to these huge monsters. ; de 
A part of this country abounds in birds of many varieties; among the lofty pines and thick 
cedars of the Sierra Madre, we were enabled to collect many valuable specimens of new and 
otherwise interesting species. 
