/OOLOGY—MAMMALS. 
87 
FIBER ZIBETHECUS, Cut. 
Muskrat. 
Baird, Gen Rep. Mammals, 1857, 561. 
The muskrat appears to be rather scarce in the western portions of the Territory, where 
I never saw any signs of their existence. I have been told, however, by credible persons that 
they were sometimes found, though scarce. 
I can only account for this scarcity of an animal so abundant even in the thickly settled portions 
of the Atlantic States, by supposing that the beaver, where abundant, keeps them away. We 
find many instances of animals of similar habits thus holding possession by the right of the 
strongest; of which I will only cite one example among rodentia, that of the Norway rat, which 
has so far dispossessed every native species in countries where it has been introduced. 
LEPUS WASHINGrTONII, Baird. 
Red Hare 
Lepus washingtonii, Baird, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phil. VII, April, 1855, 333.— Ib. Gen. Rep. Mammals, 1857, 583. 
Ears shorter than the head ; hind feet much longer than the head. Size about that of L. sylvaticus, or a little larger. 
Fur very soft and full on the body and beneath the feet. Tail very short. Back, sides, and throat reddish brown ; the 
former with many glossy black hairs. Tail lead color above, rusty white beneath. Abdomen pure white. Ears black on 
the posterior margin and tip of their inner surface ; the rest of this surface pale reddish brown, except on the exterior band. 
This small species of bare seems peculiar to the forest region west of the Cascade mountains. 
I have never found it common, however, at any point except about Fort Vancouver or the 
Columbia, where, on account of the dense busbes they frequented, I found it very difficult to 
shoot them. They also occur on the borders of prairies in other western parts of the Territory, 
but are nowhere so abundant as the little Virginian hare is in the rural districts of the middle 
States. I observed them in winter, when the ground was covered with snow, and there was then 
no change in their color. A species with black ears and tail is said to be found at the Cascades 
of the Columbia. During our journey east of the Cascade mountains we saw scarcely any hares, 
and the Indians told us that some disease had killed nearly all of them. Dimensions of specimen : 
length, 17 inches. 
LEPUS TROWBRIDGII, Baird. 
Lepus trowbridgii, Baird, Pr. A. N. Sc. Phila. VII. April 1855, 333.— Ib. Gen Rep. Mammals, 1857, 608. 
Sp. Ch. —Size small, less than that of L. auduboni. Head small. Ears about equal to it in length. Tail very short, almost 
rudimentary ; hind feet very short, well furred, considerably shorter than the head. Color above, yellowish brown and dark 
brown; beneath, plumbeous gray. Sides not conspicuously different from the back, but paler. Back of neck pale rusty. Ears 
grayish and black on the external band ; ashy gray elsewhere, with little indication of darker margin or tip. 
The little hare, or “ rabbit,’’ of California, abounds in bushy, dry ground in Santa Clara Valley, 
and has much the same habits and appearance as the common Virginia hare in the middle States. 
It sits during day under the shelter of some thicket, and about dusk ventures out cautiously to 
feed. If started, it runs a short distance only, seeking the nearest concealment—unlike the large 
species, which trust more to their speed for escape. It is easy to shoot numbers of these little 
animals, either early in the morning or evening, by watching near their resorts. I have never 
observed them about wet grounds, and it is said that they do not frequent the hills, like the 
large hares, but keep entirely in the level prairies. 
