12 
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 
remainder, returning the next day to the cache. A number of coyotes are trapped 
in the winter in the region and they are reported very abundant. In the bunch- 
grass hills of Walla Walla and Columbia Counties they are common, and may 
sometimes be seen in the open parts of the Touchet Valley, though they do not 
often go into the timber. They are reported to occur in the Blue Mountains. 
Vulpes sp. Red Fox. — Reported to occur rather commonly on the ridges of 
the Blue Mountains. In July and August, 1914, a number of tracks were seen 
along the trails on the ridges in burnt-over areas and in low brush. 
Procyon psora pacifica. Pacific Raccoon. — Reported to occur along the Walla 
Walla River near Wallula. A few occur along the Touchet River in the neigh- 
borhood of Prescott. They are occasionally noted in the timber along the 
stream and their tracks are sometimes seen along the river bars. In late June, 
1914, raccoons were reported to be causing considerable damage to poultry at 
Lyon’s Ferry, and a number of fresh tracks were seen in the soft mud along the 
margin of Snake River. 
Martes sp. Marten. — Mr. Floyd Kendall reports that martens occur in the 
canyons of the Blue Mountains. 
Mustela cicognanii lepta. Weasel. — A young specimen was taken August 7, 
1914, in heavy brush along Butte Creek. 
Mustela arizonensis. Mountain Weasel. — The skull of a female from Pres- 
cott is smaller and relatively shorter and broader than skulls from the Sierras 
of California, but otherwise the specimen is typical. Mountain weasels occur 
quite frequently in the neighborhood of Prescott. They range over the bunch- 
grass hills, but are much more abundant near brush and timber in the Touchet 
Valley. They have been taken in traps set at the openings to the tunnels of 
the Columbian ground squirrels and in the burrows of pocket gophers. Occa- 
sionally they cause damage in poultry yards. A female taken June 5, 1913, at 
Prescott contained no embryos. 
Mustela vison energumenos. Pacific Mink. — A few occur along the Touchet 
River near Prescott. They wander out into the timbered parts of the valley 
and occasionally visit poultry yards. Mr. Floyd Kendall reports that they 
occur along the streams in the Blue Mountains. 
Mephitis occidentalis major. Great Basin Skunk.' — Howell (1901, p. 36) 
notes a specimen from Touchet. They are reported to be quite numerous in 
the timber along the Walla Walla River east of Wallula. A few live in the 
brush and timber along the Touchet River near Prescott; and they have been 
trapped in the prairie hills over a mile from the river. At Lyon’s Ferry a num- 
ber occur along the shores of Snake River. 
Taxidea taxus neglecta. California Badger. — Badger mounds were numerous 
in June, 1914, in the sagebrush near Wallula, but they were still more abundant 
in the bunchgrass hills to the southward. On Eureka Flat they were numerous 
in both sagebrush and in bunchgrass. Numbers occur throughout the bunch- 
grass region of Walla Walla and Columbia Counties. In the Blue Mountains a 
few occur on the ridges in open places and among the low bushes. On June 10, 
1914, about 7 a.m., a group of four badgers were seen hunting in sagebrush three 
miles east of Wallula. They all seemed to be about the same size, and this was 
probably a family party returning from a hunt. They kept close together and 
moved at a slow trot, exploring the ground carefully, with nervous movements. 
