PRELIMINARY LIST OF THE MAMMALS OF NEW YORK 299 



of cur territory. Still I am persuaded that it was occasionally here. It is 

 true that it did not like either the forest or the mountains. But still I think 

 that it might have migrated from Ohio and entered this state through 

 the narrow strip of level land in Chautauqua county, along the shore 

 of Lake Erie, and thus have avoided the higher grounds and the foothills 

 of the Alleghanies. I think it would have found food sufficient for its 

 wants in several of the western counties of New York where fiat lands 

 occur. This would harmonize with the fact that on an early French 

 map of western New York, a stream discharging into Lake Erie is laid 

 down, to which the name " Riviere des boeufs " was given. The Indian 

 name of this stream has never come to my knowledge. The name of 

 this city and of the creek where its settlement began gives no evidence 

 of the existence of the bison in this vicinity. The city was named after 

 the creek and the creek after an old Indian named Buffalo who lived 

 near its mouth." 



Mr Savage writes, " In regard to the bison and the naming of our city, 

 Buffalo certainly got its name from Buffalo creek, but the origin of the 

 name of the creek is still a mooted question. Some contend that it came 

 from an Indian named Buffalo (but where did he get his name?) who 

 lived on the banks of the creek. Other streams near here were named in 

 this way, as for instance Smokes creek and Scajaquada creek. The 

 latter flows through our principal park, and the Indian for whom it is 

 named was formerly a well known character. I think that the persons 

 who investigated the matter about 20 years ago failed to find in the 

 writings of the early travellers through this region any record of the bison 

 having been seen in New York. The Seneca Indians are said to have 

 had a tradition that the bison formerly visited a salt lick on Buffalo 

 creek. About two months ago I was discussing the matter with the 

 Hon. David F. Day, who suggested that perhaps the only way to settle 

 the question would be to dig over the site of the supposed lick in search 

 of bones. There is evidence that the bison formerly paid summer visits 

 to licks in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, but it is probable that 

 they came into our state as straggling, transient visitors only." 



Odocoileus americanus (Erxleben) Virginia deer 

 1777 [Cervus damd\ americanus Erxleben, Syst. regn. anim. 312. 

 1842 Cervus virginianus De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia, p. 1 13. 

 1884 Cariacus virginianus Merriam, Linn. soc. New York. Trans. 2 : 9. 

 1896 Cariacus americanus Fisher, The Observer, May 1896, 7: 198. 

 1898 Dorcelaphus virginianus Mearns, Am. mus. nat. hist. Bui. 9 Sep.. 

 1898, 10 1345. 



