20 
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 
morning and evening, although they are active more or less throughout the day 
and night. While I was camped near Wallula in June, 1914, they were in the habit 
of coming to an irrigating ditch to drink, and in the evening fifteen or twenty 
might be in sight at a time. They were especially numerous after a very hot 
day. During the hottest days they were not very active and seemed to dislike to 
leave their forms. 
When the tail of the black-tailed jack rabbit is curled up, the black marking 
on the upper side of the tail and that on the lower part of the rump is concealed, 
and the animal appears entirely dull gray from the rear. When the tail hangs 
down the black marking is very conspicuous and might well serve as a directive 
mark. When the animal is moving normally the tail hangs down, and it is not 
curled up when the rabbit is shot at or when running away from a dog. Seem- 
ingly the marking is concealed only when the animal is at rest in its form. At 
other rimes it acts as a directive mark, and the animal is able to escape its enemies 
by means of its great speed. 
These jack rabbits are extensively hunted near Wallula by sportsmen who 
come from Walla Walla and other towns, but they still maintain their abun- 
dance. Old males become very shy, but the young individuals and females are 
less wary. The young, many of which were nearly full grown in June, are excel- 
lent eating. The night trains on the railroads near Wallula are reported to run 
over and kill a great many, which, blinded by the light, refuse to leave the track. 
Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii. Washington Cottontail. — Common in the wil- 
lows along the Walla Walla River east of Wallula and numerous in the sage- 
brush, especially within a short distance of streams. On June 16, 1914, one was 
seen among rocks on a hillside southeast of Wallula, and several half-grown 
young were seen in the bunchgrass of the hills above. A number occur in the 
timber along the Touchet River near Prescott, In late June, 1914, a few were 
seen about the rocks and cliffs of the canyon of the Snake River at Lyon’s Ferry, 
and they are reported to be quite common among these rocks. 
Cervus canadensis canadensis. Wapiti. — Mr. Floyd Kendall reports that 
wapiti formerly occurred in the Blue Mountains, but that none now occur there, 
except a few which have been reared in captivity and liberated. 
Odocoileus hemionus hemionus. Rocky Mountain Mule Deer. — There are 
perhaps several species of deer in the Blue Mountains of Washington, but the 
mule deer is the only one certainly known to be present. During the summer of 
1914 a few tracks of deer were seen in lowland fir forest near the head of the 
North Fork of the Touchet River. A number of tracks were found and one deer 
was seen in Douglas spruce forest on the ridges near Twin Buttes Ranger Station. 
They are reported to be most abundant in the brush at the heads of coves and 
on the higher slopes of the mountains. Mr. Chas. Clague captured a fawn, 
seemingly lost, in the bunchgrass hills two miles southwest of Prescott in the 
spring of 1890, following a heavy snow. No deer normally occur in that region. 
Alces americanus shirasi. Shiras Moose. — Mr. Floyd Kendall reports that 
moose formerly occurred in the Blue Mountains, but that none are now found 
there. 
Ovis canadensis canadensis. Bighorn. — Bighorns are said by Mr. Floyd 
Kendall to have formerly occurred in southeastern Washington in the Blue 
Mountains, but to be now extinct in the region. 
