24 



Winter Fauna of Mount Marcy, 



First. The moose, caraboo, deer, and the small or common 

 gray rabbit. The marmot and the chipmunk or ground- 

 squirrel are not to be expected, being winter sleepers, and 

 seldom appearing during severe wiiiters. 



Second. The bear, porcupine, raccoon, wild cat or bay- 

 lynx, wolf, fox, and the skunk — and, among birds the 

 ptarmigan, blue-jaj- and cedar-bird. 



Early hunters and explorers assert that about half a 

 century ago the moose was abundant and the caraboo or 

 reindeer soaietimes found on the upland barrens. They 

 are not now found anywhere in this vicinity either in sum- 

 mer or winter. The absence of the deer is more remarka- 

 ble, but this may be readily accounted for by the cold, 

 barren and sterile character of the country, and attractions 

 of the more inviting lowlands, abounding in rich, juicy 

 browse. Earl}- in the winter the bear might have been 

 expected, but not a single trail was seen, though within 

 half a dozen miles in the lowlands their paw-writings in 

 the snow were exceedingly abundant, and indeed hardly a 

 week passed without the trapping and killing of one or 

 more by guides, so that bear's meat, boiled, fried or roast — 

 in default of anything better — became in our camp a 

 constant dish. To the skull of one of these bears, shot by 

 a guide in the Eound mountain notch, I would call your 

 attention, for a peculiarity in its dentition, as it lacks the 

 exact number of teeth to which, according to classification 

 it is properly entitled. This bear was killed at a spot ele- 

 vated about 2,000 feet above tide. The porcupine (urson) 

 can have no other excuse for its absence than the over 

 abundance of the black-cat — its mortal enemy — who 

 may possibly have exterminated it in this section. The 

 absence of the wolf may be accounted for by his general 

 scarcity ; that of the fox by his being far too cunning to 

 be found in any such cold country, and the raccoon also 

 as a lover of the warmer lowlands could hardly be ex- 

 pected. The absence of the small gray rabbit or hare is a 



