122 The American Naturalist. [February, 



tralia, which lies immediately to the West of the telegraph 

 line between the Charlotte Waters and Alice Springs Stations. 

 The great dry water-course of the Finke River, which runs 

 from N. W. to S. E., bounds the run for some eighty miles on 

 the North and North East. Its distance from Adelaide is, 

 roughly speaking, a thousand miles. Flats and sandhills of 

 red sand, more or less well covered with spinifex and acacias, 

 constitute a large portion of the country, and the rainfall is 

 inconsiderable. Curiously enough, all the specimens hitherto 

 received by me have been found within a circumscribed area, 

 four miles from the Idracowra Head Station, which is situated 

 on the Finke water-course itself, and almost invariably among 

 the sandhills. I have it, however, on very fair authority, that 

 the animal has been seen on the Undoolya Station, which lies 

 immediately South of the McDonnell Ranges, and that one 

 also was found drowned after heavy rain at Tempe Downs, a 

 station situated about 120 miles W. S. W. of Alice Springs. 

 These points will sufficiently define its' range, so far as is 

 known at present. They do not appear to be very numerous. 

 Very few of the white men in the district had ever seen it, 

 even though constantly traveling, and not many of the natives 

 whom I came across recognized the well-executed colored 

 drawing I carried with me. It must be remembered, however, 

 that I did not pass through the exact spot which so far appears 

 to be its focus of distribution. Nor did a very considerable 

 rew-ard which I offered cause any specimens to be forthcoming 

 between the first lot received, over two years ago, and that 

 recently secured during my transcontinental trip. With few 

 exceptions the animals have been captured by the aboriginals, 

 who, with their phenomenal power- of tracking, follow up 

 their traces until they are caught, For this reason they can 

 only be found with certainty after rain, which sets the surface 

 of the sand and enables it to retain tracks that would be 

 immediately obliterated when it is dry and loose. Nor are 

 they found except during warm weather. So that the short 

 period of semi-tropical summer rains appears to be the favor- 

 able period for their capture. For this suitable combination 



