44 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. [No. 22, 



Boothia." Dr. Rae found them in the vicinity of Repulse Baj^* 

 east of which the}' seem never to have been recorded. Frederick 

 Sohwatka found a herd between Wager and Back ri^'ers in the winter 

 of 1879."^ Tyrrell saw fresh skins in the possession of the Eskimos 

 near the head of Chesterfield Inlet in the summer of 1893.'' 



A skull that had been brought by Eskimos from the vicinity of 

 the head of Chesterfield Inlet was obtained by us at Fort Churchill. 

 The tips of the horns of this specimen, an adult male, curve forward 

 in nearly parallel planes, instead of diverging, as is usually the case. 



Through the kindness of Dr. Alexander Milne, of York Factor}^ I 

 obtained what is probablj^ the most southern authentic record of the 

 occurrence of this animal. Several times during the summer of 1897 

 parties of Indians reported seeing a pair of musk-oxen on the ' Bar- 

 rens ' about halfway between York Factory and Fort Churchill. The 

 male was finally killed in August and the head was brought by the 

 Indians to York Factory. This pair had probably wandered beyond 

 the limits of their normal range during the preceding winter, and for 

 some reason failed to return northward. 



The Eskimos who trade at Fort Churchill hunt the musk-ox in the 

 Barren Grounds several days' journe}' northwestward from Ca^De 

 Eskimo. 



Sciuropterus sabrinus (Shaw). Hudson Bay Flying Squirrel. 



Said to be found throughout the region traversed between Lake 

 Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. It has been recorded by Bell from 

 Nelson River House, on Chui'chill River, ^ and by Bangs from Moose 

 Factory.' We obtained several hunters' skins at Norway House and 

 one at Oxford House, and learned that the species is rather common 

 on Shamattawa River. It sometimes becomes a pest to trappers on 

 account of the frequency with which it is caught in traps set for mar- 

 tens and other fur-bearing animals. 



Several winter skins from the vicinity of Norway House differ as 

 follows from skins of Sciuropterus s. riiacrotis in corresponding pelage 

 from New England: Upperparts slightlj^ darker (less yellowish); tail 

 with duskier color toward tip; face and cheeks darker; feet similar 

 in color, but much more heavilj' furred; color beneath not noticeablj- 

 different; hind foot (measured dry), sahriuus, 38-40 mm.; macrotis, 

 about 36 mm. Breadth of tail with hairs spread naturally, mhrinus, 

 60-65 mm.; macratis, about 46 mm. These specimens from Norway 

 House and Oxford House can probably be considered typical xalrin us, 

 which was described from Severn River. An imperfect skin in the 



"Ross's Second Voyage, p. ;!37, 1835. 



6 Narrative of an Expedition to the Arctic Sea, p. 49, 1850. 



« Gilder, Schwatka's Search, p. 67, 1881. 



''Ann. Kept. Can. Geol. Surv., 1896, IX (new ser.), p. 165F (1897). 



"•Rept. Prog. Can. Geol. Surv. 1882-3-4, App. II, p. 48DD (1885). 



/Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., X, p. 163, 1896. 



