MICHIGAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 
133 
on Charity Island by the writer, but it was not common and was seen 
on but two occasions. Two were shot by the keepers in November after 
the party had left the island. This species has lived on Charity Island 
during' the twenty-nine years that Captain McDonald has had charge 
of the light and at times became very common. In the winter of 1902-3, 
three great horned owls came to the island and, finding this species com- 
mon. stayed there and lived upon it until by spring, between the owls 
and foxes, it was nearly exterminated. It has not been common since 
that date. It has not been observed on Little Charity and of course not 
upon Gull Rock. 
3. Simlagus floridanus mearnsi Allen. Cottontail. — The cottontail 
has never been very abundant on Charitv Island. Onlv two were seen 
by the writer, one a very young one. On Little Charity it is quite com- 
mon, for example, on November 29, 1909, Captain McDonald and his 
assistant, Mr. Singleton, shot ten in a short time. 
4. Fiber zibethicus (Linn.). Muskrat. — A single muskrat has been 
seen (1909) by the keepers, in the pond on Charity Island. The writer 
found the tunnels in several places about the edge of the pond, but none 
seemed to be in use, and no tracks were observed. Although the pond 
is of good size, it is almost entirely devoid of the aquatic plant food 
necessary to the life of this species and in winter must freeze solid, as 
the water is very shallow. It is thus 1 very probable that the individual 
seen was a straggler that was unable to persist. It may have reached 
the island by swimming, but it more probably crossed on the ice. The 
species is known to cross long stretches of snow in the winter, and Mr. 
Singleton informed us that he saw one on the ice of the bay and miles 
from the nearest land. 
5. Sciurus niger ruftventcr (Geoffrey). Fox Squirrel. — The only 
squirrels of this species ever known on the islands were the offspring 
of two pair that were brought to Charity Island, in 1896, from Caseville, 
Michigan, by Mr. Singleton. This pair thrived and multiplied to such 
an extent that in 1902 they became a nuisance to the keepers, as they 
ate the fruits and vegetables in the garden. A few were shot and 
used for food, and for some reason the remainder all died during the 
following winter. Captain McDonald told the writer that in the spring 
many dead ones were found but without marks of injury. Apparently 
the only available food for the species on the island would be acorns 
and the seeds of the Norway and white pine (and perhaps the seeds 
of the poison ivy). The year 1902 may have been one when no acorns 
were grown, or, like that of 1910, one when they were mostly imperfect 
or wormy. In 1910, the trees were full of apparently good acorns, but, 
although a great many were examined very few sound ones were found. 
6. Procyon lotor (Linn.). Raccoon. — The writer often saAv the 
tracks of this species on the beaches of Charity Island, where the ani- 
mals went to feed on the crayfish and clams among the rocks, and where 
too they often found injured fish that had been cast up by the waves. 
The first coons were brought to the island in the summer of 1906 by 
Mr. Paul Deford, of Caseville, who released five of them. As there is 
plenty of food and many old trees with large cavities for shelter, the 
species has increased so that during the fall of 1909, the keepers, hunt- 
ing them with the aid of a hound, were able to secure fifteen. It was 
thought best not to further reduce the number, so none were taken 
