Loomis and Young — Shell Heaps of Maine. 27 



Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. We feel that when 

 a systematic study of the Indian dogs is made, it will be 

 found that these three types have a much wider range than 

 merely among the Indians of Maine. It is true that, as in the 

 dogs of to-day, there are several jaws which do not fit exactly 

 into any one of these groups, and they are presumably cross 

 breeds, or grades of some sort, between the several types. 



In two cases there are tool marks on the bones of the 

 common Indian dog, and the dog bones are always scattered, 

 in all but two cases, where burial had apparently taken place. 

 This would indicate that the meat of the dog was commonly f 

 eaten. However, while the limb bones were generally broken 

 they do not seem to have been split to get out the marrow, the 

 eating of which seems to have been confined mostly to the 

 deer and moose. 



The red fox (Vulpes fulvus (Desmarest) Dekay) Avas very 

 scarce, only four scattering jaws having been found. Evidently 

 very little inland hunting and trapping was done. 

 S The timber wolf (Canis occidentalis (Richardson) Baird) 

 appears only in our collections from Sawyer's Island, and then 

 not over five individuals are represented. It would seem that 

 this locality was one where the best hunters were located, but 

 even they did not care to go far for wolves. They may have 

 been caught in traps. 



The black bear (Ursus americanus Pallas) was turned up 

 twelve times, which indicates a scattering representation. 

 Again, it is an animal which was taken occasionally, when 

 opportunity came to the campers, but was probably not 

 systematically hunted. They were most abundant in the 

 region of Flagg Island, which at that time was presumably a 

 part of the mainland. 



Of raccoons (Procyon lotor Stoors) only seven finds were 

 made, so that the animal must be classed as an occasional 

 article of diet. 



The otter (Lutra canadensis Sabine) was another rare and 

 only occasional find, being probably incidental in the make-up 

 of the Indian food supply. 



The bay lynx (Lynx ruff us Rafinesque) was found twice, and 

 would scarcely have been an animal easily caught by these 

 early hunters. 



A mink* (Lutreola macrodon, D. W. Prentiss), different from 

 any of the living species, was found occasionally in the various 



* This species was first described by Prentiss, Proc. U. S. National 

 Museum, vol. xxvi, 1903, p. 887r- It was later again described by Loomis, 

 this Journal, xxxi, 229, 1911. under the name L. antiquus, which should be 

 considered as a synonym of the foregoing. See latter description for discus- 

 sion of sex characters and relationships to other minks. This mink may 

 have lived to historic times. See Forest and Stream, 1903, vol. lxi, p. 125. 



