MAMMALS. 



245 



PUTOEITJS BEMINEA (Linn.). Ermine (Bsk. A-TchlUTchwu ,. 



A very good series of skins of this species was obtained, the majority in the winter coat. A 

 male, Ko. 13902, taken at Saint Michaels in September, is still in the summer coat. A second male, 

 taken October 9, is in the transitional stage; the upper surfaces are still brown, though pale, 

 especially on the legs. 



No skulls were obtained. 



Ust of specimens. 



Mnseum 

 numljer. 



Collector's 

 number. 



Locality. 



Date. 



Sex. 



Hemarks. 



13024 

 5 

 6 

 7 

 8 

 9 



13030 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 4 



13890 

 1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

 6 

 7 

 8 

 9 



13900 

 1 

 2 

 3 



13270 



9 

 15 



8 

 20 

 16 

 19 

 41 



5 

 23 

 11 

 10 

 77 

 8L 



137. 132 

 144 



78 

 143 



136. 133 



138. 134 

 . 60 



79 



80 



83 



10,86 



144 



150 



170, 279 



113 



121 



125 



62 



63 



Saint Michaela . 



Unaliikleet 



Saint Michaels . 



Nulato 



TJnalakloet 



do 



Tort Eeliance . - 



TJnalakleet 



do 



^Nortoa Sound . . 



......do 



Upper Yukon . . 



Saint ilichaels . 



do 



Upper Yukon . . 

 Saint Mioliaels . 



do 



do 



do.... 



Upper Yulion . . 



Saint Michaels . . 



do 



CapeKorne 



Kotlik 



Kegiktowik 



Nulato 



do 



Kotzebue Sound . 

 do 



Dec, 1877 



Jan., 1878 



Dec, 1877 



Mar., 1878 



Jan., 1878 



...do 



Oct. 1,1878 



Summer, 1877 



...do 



...do 



Deo. 2, 1878 

 Nov. 11, 1878 

 Feb., 1860 

 Mar., 1S80 

 Oct. 4, 1878 

 Mar., I860 

 I'eb., 1880 



...do 



Dec, 1878 

 Nov. 11, 1878 

 Deo. 1, 1878 

 Oct. 9, 1878 

 Sept. 30, 1870 

 Mar., 1880 



Summer 



Mar., 1S81 

 Fall, 1879 . . . 

 Jan., 1880 

 ...do 



Winter pelage. 



Do. 



Do. 



Dc 



Do. 



Dc 



Dc 

 Summer pelage. 



Dc 



Dc 



Do. 

 Winter pelage. 



Do. ^ 



Dc 



Dc 



Do. 



Do. 



Dc 



Dc 



Dc 



Dc 



Dc 

 Transitional. 

 Summer pelage. 

 Winter pelago. 

 Summer pelage. 

 Skin and skull. 

 Skull. 



Dc 



Dc 

 Skin. 



Do. 



Biographical notes. — This pretty animal is more or less numerous over all of the Alaskan main- 

 land and on the islands adjacent to the coast. The islands of Bering Straits, Nunevak, the eastern- 

 most of the Aleutians, and most of the islands of Southeast Alaska are inhabited by them. 

 Although not very common in some localities, in others they may be classed as abundant. Their 

 numbers in a district depend largely upon the abundance of mice and lemmings, upon which 

 they prey. They appear to have a preference for a partly-wooded country, and in the district 

 back from the head of Kotzebue Sound and about Anvik, on the Lower Yukon, they are more 

 numerous than elsewhere. 



Although showing a slight ijreference for semi-wooded country they are far from rare on the 

 barren open coast belt bordering the Arctic and Bering Sea, where they find shelter among rocky 

 ledges. 



They winter at the extreme northern limit of the mainland and appear to be affected but 

 little by the cold so long as their food-supply continues to hold out. In winter they frequently 

 come about the native villages, attracted by the abundance of mice there at that season. At Saint 

 Michaels they were often quartered about the warehouses, where the mice congregated to feed 

 upon the flour stored there. 



The great swiftness and prowess of this animal, as exhibited in its habits and the success with 

 which it sometimes attacks and destroys such disproportionately large animals as the white 

 ptarmigan or the northern rabbit, has had a remarkable effect upon the native mind. The 

 Eskimo look upon it with an almost superstitious fear. Its skin is often worn by them as a kind 

 of fetich and it figures in their mythology. It is an important totem and is thought to bring 

 success in the chase to those favored by it. 



