Name: A Book of the United States Exhibiting its geography, divisions, constitution, and government ... and presenting a view of the republic generally, and of the individual states; together with a condensed history of the land, from its first discovery to the present time. The biography of about two hundred of the leading men: a description of the principal cities and towns; with statistical tables
Author: Various

XVI. ――ANIMALS

I. QUADRUPEDS.

The Black Bear (ursus Americanus) is found in considerable numbers in the northern districts of America. In size and form he approaches nearest to the Brown Bear; but his color is a uniform shining jet black, except on the muzzle, where it is fawn colored; on the lips and sides of the mouth it is almost gray. The hair, except on the muzzle, is long and straight, and is less shaggy than in most other species. The forehead has a slight elevation, and the muzzle is elongated, and somewhat flattened above. The young ones, however, are first of a bright ash color, which gradually changes into a deep brown, and ends by becoming a deep black.

Illustration: Black Bear.

The American Black Bear lives a solitary life in forests and uncultivated deserts, and subsists on fruits, and on the young shoots and roots of vegetables. Of honey he is exceedingly fond, and as he is a most expert climber, he scales the loftiest trees in search of it. Fish, too, he delights in, and is often found in quest of it on the borders of lakes and on the seashore. When these resources fail, he will attack small quadrupeds, and even animals of some magnitude. As, indeed, is usual in such cases, the love of flesh in him grows with the use of it.

As the fur is of some value, the Indians are assiduous in the chase of the creature which produces it. ‘About the end of December, from the abundance of fruits they find in Louisiana and the neighboring countries, the bears become so fat and lazy that they can scarcely run. At this time they are hunted by the American Indians. The nature of the chase is generally this: the bear chiefly adopts for his retreat the hollow trunk of an old cypress tree, which he climbs, and then descends into the cavity from above. The hunter, whose business it is to watch him into this retreat, climbs a neighboring tree, and seats himself opposite to the hole. In one hand he holds his gun, and in the other a torch, which he darts into the cavity. Frantic with rage and terror, the bear makes a spring from his station; but the hunter seizes the instant of his appearance, and shoots him.’

The black bear, says Godman, like all the species of this genus, is very tenacious of life, and seldom falls unless shot through the brain or heart. An experienced hunter never advances on a bear that has fallen, without first stopping to load his rifle, as the beast frequently recovers to a considerable degree, and would then be a most dangerous adversary. The skull of the bear appears actually to be almost impenetrable, and a rifle ball, fired at a distance of ninety-six yards, has been flattened against it, without appearing to do any material injury to the bone. The best place to direct blows against the bear is upon his snout; when struck elsewhere, his dense woolly coat, thick hide, and robust muscles, render manual violence almost entirely unavailing.

When the bear is merely wounded, it is very dangerous to attempt to kill him with such a weapon as a knife or tomahawk, or indeed any thing which may bring one within his reach. In this way hunters and others have paid very dearly for their rashness, and barely escaped with their lives; the following instance may serve as an example of the danger of such an enterprise:

‘Mr. Mayborne, who resides in Ovid township, Cayuga county, between the Seneca and Cayuga lakes, in the state of New-York, went one afternoon through the woods in search of his horses, taking with him his rifle and the only load of ammunition he had in the house. On his return home, about an hour before dusk, he perceived a very large bear crossing his path, on which he instantly fired, and the bear fell, but immediately recovering his legs, made for a deep ravine a short way onwards. Here he tracked him awhile by the blood, but night coming on, and expecting to find him dead in the morning, he returned home. A little before daybreak the next morning, taking a pitchfork and hatchet, and his son, a boy of ten or eleven years of age, with him, he proceeded to the place in quest of the animal. The glen or ravine into which he had disappeared the evening before, was eighty or ninety feet from the top of the bank to the brook below; down this precipice a stream of three or four yards in breadth is pitched in one unbroken sheet, and, forming a circular basin or pool, winds away among the thick underwood.

‘After reconnoitering every probable place of retreat, he at length discovered the bear, who had made his way up the other side of the ravine, as far us the rocks would admit, and sat under a projecting cliff, steadfastly eyeing the motions of his enemy. Mayborne, desiring his boy to remain where he was, took the pitchfork, and, descending to the bottom, determined from necessity to attack him from below. The bear kept his position until the man approached within six or seven feet, when on the instant, instead of being able to make a stab with the pitchfork, he found himself grappled by the bear, and both together rolled towards the pond, at least twenty or twenty-five feet, the bear biting on his left arm, and hugging him almost to suffocation. By great exertion he thrust his right arm partly down his throat, and in that manner endeavored to strangle him, but was once more hurled headlong down through the bushes, a greater distance than before, into the water. Here, finding the bear gaining on him, he made one desperate effort, and drew the animal’s head partly under water, and repeating his exertions, at last weakened him so much, that calling to his boy, who stood on the other side, in a state little short of distraction for the fate of his father, to bring him the hatchet, he sunk the edge of it by repeated blows into the brain of the bear. This man, although robust and muscular, was scarcely able to crawl home, where he lay for nearly three weeks, the flesh of his arm being much crushed, and his breast severely mangled. The bear weighed upwards of four hundred pounds.’

Grisly Bear.――This animal, like the species just described, inhabits the northern part of America; but, unlike him, he is, perhaps, the most formidable of all bears in magnitude and ferocity. He averages twice the bulk of the black bear, to which, however, he bears some resemblance in his slightly elevated forehead, and narrow, flattened, elongated muzzle. His canine teeth are of great size and power. The feet are enormously large; the breadth of the fore foot exceeding nine inches, and the length of the hind foot exclusive of the talons, being eleven inches and three quarters, and its breadth seven inches. The talons sometimes measure more than six inches. He is, accordingly, admirably adapted for digging up the ground, but is unable to climb trees, in which latter respect he differs wholly from every other species. The color of his hair varies to almost an indefinite extent, between all the intermediate shades of a light gray and a black brown; the latter tinge, however, being that which predominates. It is always, in some degree, grizzled, by intermixture of grayish hairs, only the brown hairs being tipped with gray. The hair itself is, in general, longer, finer, and more exuberant than that of the black bear.

The neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains is one of the principal haunts of this animal. There, amidst wooded plains, and tangled copses of bough and underwood, he reigns as much the monarch as the lion is of the sandy wastes of Africa. Even the bison cannot withstand his attack. Such is his muscular strength, that he will drag the ponderous carcass of the animal to a convenient spot, where he digs a pit for its reception. The Indians regard him with the utmost terror. His extreme tenacity of life renders him still more dangerous; for he can endure repeated wounds which would be instantaneously mortal to other beasts, and, in that state, can rapidly pursue his enemy. So that the hunter who fails to shoot him through the brain, is placed in a most perilous situation.

One evening, the men in the hindmost of one of Lewis and Clark’s canoes, perceived one of these bears lying in the open ground about three hundred paces from the river; and six of them, who were all good hunters, went to attack him. Concealing themselves by a small eminence, they were able to approach within forty paces unperceived; four of the hunters now fired, and each lodged a ball in his body, two of which passed directly through the lungs. The bear sprang up and ran furiously with open mouth upon them; two of the hunters, who had reserved their fire, gave him two additional wounds, and one breaking his shoulder-blade, somewhat retarded his motions. Before they could again load their guns, he came so close on them, that they were obliged to run towards the river, and before they had gained it, the bear had almost overtaken them. Two men jumped into the canoe; the other four separated, and concealing themselves among the willows, fired as fast as they could load their pieces. Several times the bear was struck, but each shot seemed only to direct his fury towards the hunter; at last he pursued them so closely, that they threw aside their guns and pouches, and jumped from a perpendicular bank twenty feet high into the river. The bear sprang after them, and was very near the hindmost man, when one of the hunters on the shore shot him through the head and finally killed him. When they dragged him on shore, they found that eight balls had passed through his body in different directions.

On another occasion, the same enterprising travellers met with the largest bear of this species they had ever seen; when they fired he did not attempt to attack, but fled with a tremendous roar, and such was his tenacity of life, that although five balls had passed through the lungs, and five other wounds were inflicted, he swam more than half across the river to a sand-bar, and survived more than twenty minutes.

Mr. John Dougherty, a very experienced and respectable hunter, who accompanied Major Long’s party during their expedition to the Rocky Mountains, several times very narrowly escaped from the grizzly bear. Once, while hunting with another person on one of the upper tributaries of the Missouri, he heard the report of his companion’s rifle, and when he looked round, beheld him at a short distance endeavoring to escape from one of these bears, which he had wounded as it was coming towards him. Dougherty, forgetful of every thing but the preservation of his friend, hastened to call off the attention of the bear, and arrived in rifle shot distance just in time to effect his generous purpose. He discharged his ball at the animal, and was obliged in his turn to fly; his friend relieved from immediate danger, prepared for another attack by charging his rifle, with which he again wounded the bear, and saved Mr. D. from further peril. Neither received any injury from this encounter, in which the bear was at length killed.

The Raccoon.――This animal continues to be frequently found even in the populous parts of the United States. Occasionally their numbers are so much increased, as to render them very troublesome to the farmers in the low and wooded parts of Maryland, bordering on the Chesapeak Bay. Being peculiarly fond of sweet substances, they are sometimes destructive to plantations of sugar-cane, and of Indian corn. While the ear of this corn is still young and tender, it is very sweet, and at that time troops of raccoons frequently enter fields of maize, and in a single night commit the most extensive depredations.

Illustration: Raccoon.

The size of the raccoon varies with the age and sex of the individual. When full grown, the male is about a foot in length, or a few inches longer; the highest part of the back is about a foot from the ground, whilst the highest part of the shoulder is ten inches. The head is about five inches, and the tail rather more than eight. The general color of the body is a blackish gray, which is paler on the under part. The feet have five toes each, terminated by strong curved and pointed claws; and each foot is furnished with five thick and very elastic tubercles beneath. The fur of the raccoon forms an article of considerable value in commerce, as it is extensively used in the manufacture of hats.

‘The raccoon,’ says Godman, ‘is an excellent climber, and his strong sharp claws effectually secure him from being shaken off the branches of trees. In fact, so tenaciously does this animal hold to any surface upon which it can make an impression with its claws, that it requires a considerable exertion of a man’s strength to drag him off; and as long as even a single foot remains attached, he continues to cling with great force. I have had frequent occasion to pull a raccoon from the top of a board fence, where there was no projection which he could seize by; yet, such was the power and obstinacy with which the points of his claws were stuck into the board, as repeatedly to oblige me to desist for fear of tearing his skin, or otherwise doing him an injury by the violence necessary to detach his hold.’

‘Water seems to be essential to their comfort, if not of absolute necessity for the preparation of their food. I have had for some time, and at the moment of writing this have yet, a male and female raccoon in the yard. Their greatest delight appears to be dabbling in water, of which a large tub is always kept for their use. They are frequently seen sitting on the edge of this tub, very busily engaged in playing with a piece of broken china, glass, or a small cake of ice. When they have any substance which sinks, they both paddle with their fore feet with great eagerness, until it is caught, and then it is held by one, with both paws, and rubbed between them; or a struggle ensues for the possession of it, and when it is dropped the same sport is renewed. The coldest weather in winter does not in the least deter them from thus dabbling in the water for amusement; nor has this action much reference to their feeding, as it is performed at any time, even directly after feeding till satiated. I have frequently broken the ice on the surface of their tub, late at night, in the very coldest winter weather, and they have both left their sleeping place with much alacrity, to stand paddling the fragments of ice about, with their fore legs in the water nearly up to the breast. Indeed, these animals have never evinced the slightest dislike to cold, or suffered in any degree therefrom; they have in all weathers slept in a flour-barrel thrown on its side, with one end entirely open, and without any material of which to make a bed. They show no repugnance to being sprinkled or dashed with water, and voluntarily remain exposed to the rain or snow, which wets them thoroughly, notwithstanding their long hair, which, being almost erect, is not well suited to turn the rain. These raccoons are very fond of each other, and express the greatest delight on meeting, after having been separated for a short time, by various movements, and by hugging and rolling one another about on the ground.’

‘My raccoons are, at the time of writing this, more than a year old, and have been in captivity for six or eight months. They are very frolicsome and amusing, and show no disposition to bite or injure any one, except when accidentally trodden on. They are equally free from any disposition to injure children, as has been observed of other individuals. We frequently turn them loose in the parlor, and they appear to be highly delighted, romping with each other and the children, without doing any injury even to the youngest. Their alleged disposition to hurt children especially, may probably be fairly explained by the fact above mentioned, that they always attempt to bite when suddenly hurt, and few children touch animals without pinching or hurting them. They exhibit this spirit of retaliation, not only to man, but when they accidentally hurt themselves against an inanimate body; I have many times been amused to observe the expression of spite with which one of them has sprung at and bit the leg of a chair or table, after knocking himself against it so as to hurt some part of his body.

‘These animals may be tamed while young, but as they grow to maturity, most generally become fierce and even dangerous. I have had one so tame as to follow a servant about through the house or streets, though entirely at liberty; this was quite young when obtained, and grew so fond of human society as to complain very loudly, by a sort of chirping or whining noise, when left alone. Nothing can possibly exceed the domesticated raccoon in restless and mischievous curiosity, if suffered to go about the house. Every chink is ransacked, every article of furniture explored, and the neglect of servants to secure closet doors, is sure to be followed by extensive mischief, the evil being almost uniformly augmented by the alarm caused to the author of it, whose ill-directed efforts to escape from supposed peril, increase at the same time the noise and the destruction.’

The Puma, or American Lion was once spread over the new world, from Canada to Patagonia, but it is not now common in any part of the United States, except the unsettled districts. It is usually called the panther, or painter by the common people. It is also called the catamount. The progress of civilization has, however, circumscribed his range, and has rooted him out in many places. Notwithstanding his size and strength, he is cowardly; and, like almost all cowards, he is sanguinary. If he find a flock of sheep unprotected, he will destroy the whole, merely that he may enjoy the luxury of sucking their blood. He has a small rounded head, a broad and rather obtuse muzzle, and a body which, in proportion, is slenderer and less elevated than that of his more dignified namesake. ‘The upper parts of his body,’ says Mr. Bennett, ‘are of a bright silvery fawn, the tawny hairs being terminated by whitish tips: beneath and on the inside of the limbs he is nearly white, and more completely so on the throat, chin, and upper lip. The head has an irregular mixture of black and gray; the outside of the ears, especially at the base, the sides of the muzzle from which the whiskers take their origin, and the extremity of the tail, are black.’ The fur of the cubs has spots of a darker hue, which are visible only in certain lights, and disappear when the animal is full grown. Both the sexes are of the same color.[42]

Illustration: The Puma, or Cougar.

American Wild Cat. This animal bears a strong resemblance to the domestic cat, and its motions are very similar. It stands high upon its legs, and has a short curved tail. Its principal food consists of birds, squirrels, and other small animals which abound in the woody districts it inhabits. Though common in the western states, the wild cat is seldom found in New England.

The Moose.――This animal, which in Europe is called the elk, is an inhabitant of the northern parts of America, but is found in no part of the United States excepting Maine, where it is now met with but seldom. Its figure is ungraceful and clumsy. During summer, the moose frequents swampy or low grounds, on the borders of lakes, in which it is fond of bathing, and whose plants form a favorite article of its food. In winter, the moose seeks the depths of the forest for shelter, and a herd of fifteen or twenty take possession of a tract of about five hundred acres, where they subsist on the tender twigs and the mosses of the trees. To these places the Indians give the name of ‘moose-yards.’ Like other northern animals, the moose is much vexed by insects, which deposit their eggs in different parts of his body, and at certain seasons of the year render his skin worthless to the hunter. At other times, the skin is very valuable, and serves the Indians for clothing and tent covers. This species is much hunted, and has so rapidly diminished within a few years, that there are fears it will become extinct.

Illustration: Moose.

The moose is hunted generally in March, when the snow is of sufficient depth and hardness to sustain the weight of a dog. Five or six hunters generally join in the pursuit and carry provisions to last them nearly a week. The chase is commenced at daybreak, when the dogs are set on, and the hunters who wear snow-shoes follow as closely as possible. When started and attacked by the dogs, the moose attempts to escape by flight. The crust of ice covering the snow breaks at every step, and the poor creature cuts his legs so severely that he is obliged to stand at bay, and endeavors to defend himself against his assailants by means of his fore feet. In this situation he is despatched by the rifle ball of the hunter.

The Elk.――The elk is still occasionally found in the remote and thinly settled parts of Pennsylvania, but the number is small; it is only in the western wilds that they are seen in considerable herds. They are fond of the great forests, where a luxuriant vegetation affords them an abundant supply of buds and tender twigs; or of the great plains, where the solitude is seldom interrupted, and all bounteous nature spreads an immense field of verdure for their support.

The elk is shy and retiring; having acute senses, he receives early warning of the approach of any human intruder. The moment the air is tainted by the odor of his enemy, his head is erected with spirit, his ears rapidly thrown in every direction to catch the sounds, and his large dark glistening eye expresses the most eager attention. Soon as the approaching hunter is fairly discovered, the elk bounds along for a few paces, as if trying his strength for flight, stops, turns half round, and scans his pursuer with a steady gaze, then, throwing back his lofty horns upon his neck, and projecting his taper nose forwards, he springs from the ground and advances with a velocity which soon leaves the object of his dread far out of sight.[43]

This animal appears to be more ready to attack with his horns than any other species of deer. When at bay, and especially if slightly wounded, he fights with great eagerness, as if resolved to be revenged. The following instance from Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, will, in some degree, illustrate this statement.

A herd of twenty or thirty elk were seen at no great distance from the party, standing in the water or lying upon the sand beach. One of the finest bucks was singled out by a hunter, who fired upon him, whereupon the whole herd plunged into the thicket and disappeared. Relying upon the skill of the hunter, and confident that his shot was fatal, several of the party dismounted and pursued the elk into the woods, where the wounded buck was soon overtaken. Finding his pursuers close upon him, the elk turned furiously upon the foremost, who only saved himself by springing into a thicket, which was impassable to the elk, whose enormous antlers becoming so entangled in the vines as to be covered to their tips, he was held fast and blindfolded, and was despatched by repeated bullets and stabs.

Black-tailed Deer.――The habits of this animal are similar to those of its kindred species, except that it has a manner of bounding along, instead of running at full speed. It is found in prairies and open grounds, west of the Rocky Mountains, and but seldom in the woodlands. It is larger than the common deer, and its flesh is considered inferior; its eye is larger, and the hair coarse. The ears are very long, being half the length of the whole antler. It was first observed by the members of Lewis and Clarke’s expedition, and was described by Say.

Common Deer.――This species, sometimes called the Virginia Deer, is found throughout the United States, with such varieties in its size and coloring, as naturally arise from variety of climate. Its form is slender and delicate, and its whole appearance indicates a degree of feebleness, which is counteracted only by the agility of its movements, and the animation of its eye. Its sense of hearing and seeing is wonderfully acute; and the hunter must approach his intended victim with the utmost caution, for he is discovered by the slightest noise. The resort of this species is in the forests and plains adjacent to rivers, where they feed chiefly on buds and twigs, and sometimes on grass. They are headed by one of the largest and strongest bucks, who appears to be the guardian of the general safety and directs his followers to combat or retreat. Though generally shy and timid, the males are much disposed to battle during the season of the sexual passion, and are almost always inclined to fight when wounded or brought to bay. At this time they fight with their fore feet, as well as their horns, and inflict severe wounds by leaping forward and striking with the edges of their hoofs. If a hunter misses his aim when attempting to despatch a wounded deer with his knife, he is placed in great peril. To serpents, of every description, the deer is particularly hostile, and it seems to have an instinctive horror of the rattlesnake. To destroy this enemy, the deer leaps into the air, and comes down on him with its four feet closed in a square, repeating its violent blows until the reptile is killed.

Illustration: Virginia Deer.

The males frequently engage in combats, in which their horns sometimes become so interlocked that neither can escape, and they then remain engaged in fruitless struggles till they perish of famine, or become the prey of the wolf or the hunter. Heads of deer which have thus perished are frequently found, and there is scarcely a museum in this country which has not one or more specimens. The following instance is given by Say in Long’s Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. ‘As the party were descending a ridge, their attention was called to an unusual noise proceeding from a copse of low bushes, a few rods from the path. On arriving at the spot, they found two buck deer, their horns fast interlocked with each other, and both much spent with fatigue, one in particular being so much exhausted as to be unable to stand. Perceiving that it would be impossible that they should extricate themselves, and must either linger in their present situations or die of hunger, or be destroyed by the wolves, they despatched them with their knives, after having made an unavailing attempt to disentangle them. Beyond doubt, many of these animals must annually thus perish.’

Prong-horned Antelope.――This species was first described by the leaders of the first American expedition to the west of the Rocky Mountains. It is shy and timorous, wonderfully fleet, and with great acuteness of sight and smell. When once startled, they fly with the rapidity of the wind, and baffle all pursuit. In one instance, captain Lewis, after various fruitless attempts, by winding around the ridges, succeeded in approaching a party of seven that stood upon an eminence towards which the wind was unfortunately blowing. The only male of the party frequently encircled the summit of the hill, as if to announce any danger to the group of females which stood upon the top. Before they saw captain Lewis, they became alarmed by the scent, and fled while he was at the distance of two hundred yards. He immediately ran to the spot where they had stood; a ravine concealed them from him, but at the next moment they appeared on a second ridge, at the distance of three miles. He could not but doubt whether these were the same he had alarmed, but their number and continued speed convinced him they were so, and he justly infers that they must have run with a rapidity equal to that of the most celebrated race horse.

‘The chief game of the Shoshonees,’ say Lewis and Clarke, ‘is the antelope, which when pursued retreats to the open plains, where the horses have full room for the chase. But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind, that a single horse has no possible chance of outrunning it, or tiring it down; and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem. About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses, armed with bows and arrows, left the camp; in a short time they descried a herd of ten antelopes; they immediately separated into squads of two or three, and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they were perfectly inclosed, and usually selecting some commanding eminence as a stand. Having gained their positions, a small party rode towards the herd, and with wonderful dexterity the huntsman preserved his seat, and the horse his footing, as he ran at full speed over the hills and down the steep ravines, and along the borders of the precipices.

‘They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining the other extremity of the circle, were driven back and pursued by the fresh hunters. They turned and flew, rather than ran, in another direction; but there too they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately pursued backwards and forwards, till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, (who were merely armed with bows and arrows) they all escaped; and the party, after running for two hours, returned without having caught any thing, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greater part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene, but to the hunters is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even when they are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for more than half a day, without obtaining more than two or three antelopes.’

Rocky Mountain Goat.――This species is nearly the size of a common sheep, and has a shaggy appearance. Its hoofs and horns are black; the latter project but little, and are slightly curved. Great numbers of this goat are found about the head-waters of the north fork of Columbia river, where they are much hunted by the natives, and form an abundant though somewhat unsavory article of food. They are seldom seen far from the mountains, and are more numerous on their western than on their eastern slopes. The skin is thick and spongy, and is used for moccasins. The fleece is said to be as fine as that of which the celebrated cashmere shawls are manufactured.

Illustration: Rocky Mountain Goat.

Argali.――The argali is found in the Rocky Mountains, from about the fiftieth degree of north latitude to California. Here troops of twenty or thirty are seen together, feeding on the most precipitous tracts, and bounding with wonderful agility from rock to rock. During the summer months, the color of this animal is a grayish fawn, with a reddish line across the back. The male has very large twisted horns, fixed near the eyes; its ears are straight, broad and pointed, and its tail quite short. This is said to be the species from which all the varieties of our domestic sheep are descended.

Bison.――This animal is found in herds in the prairies in the neighborhood of the Rocky Mountains: it is continually receding before the advance of man, and will soon be entirely banished to the far west. Schoolcraft says that the species is confined to the regions situated between the thirty-first and forty-ninth degrees of north latitude, and west of the Mississippi river. The only part of the country east of this river, where the bison now remains, is that included between the falls of St. Anthony and Sandy Lake, a range of about six hundred miles.

‘Being now in the region of buffalo,’ says Mr. Schoolcraft, ‘we concluded to land, in the course of the day, at some convenient place for hunting them. This we were soon invited to do by seeing one of these animals along the shore of the river, and on ascending the bank, we observed, upon a boundless prairie, two droves of them, feeding upon the grass. All who had guns adapted for the purpose, sallied forth in separate parties upon the prairie, while those who felt less ambition to signalize themselves upon the occasion, or were more illy accoutred for the activities of the chase, remained upon an eminence which overlooked the plain, to observe the movements of this animal while under an attack of musketry, and to enjoy the novel spectacle of a buffalo-hunt. The grass was so tall as to allow an unobserved approach towards the spot where they remained feeding, but the first fire proved unsuccessful, at the same time that it scattered the herd, which were now seen running in all directions across the prairie, and an incessant fire of random shots was kept up for about two hours; during which three buffaloes were killed, and a great number wounded, which made their escape.

‘While thus harrassed, they often passed within a few yards of us, and we enjoyed a fine opportunity of witnessing their form, size, color, and speed. The buffalo has a clumsy gait, like the domestic ox, which it also resembles in size and general appearance. Unlike the ox, however, this animal exhibits no diversity of color, being a uniform dark brown, inclining to dun. It is never spotted, with black, red, or white. It has short black horns growing nearly straight from the head, and set at a considerable distance apart. The male has a hunch upon its shoulders, covered with long flocks of shaggy hair, extending to the top of the head, from which it falls over the eyes and horns, giving the animal a very formidable appearance. The hoofs are cloven like those of the cow, but the legs are much stouter, and altogether, it is more clumsy and ill-proportioned. The tail is naked till towards the end, where it is tufted, in the manner of the lion.

‘The general weight of this animal is from eight hundred to a thousand pounds; but they sometimes attain an enormous size, and have been killed upon the Mississippi prairies weighing two thousand pounds. The skin of a buffalo bull, when first taken off, is three fourths of an inch in thickness, and cannot be lifted by the strongest man. A hundred and fifty pounds of tallow have been taken from one animal, and it is highly esteemed by the Indians in preparing their hommony. Instances of excessive fatness are, however, rare, and such over-fed animals become so unwieldy that they often fall a prey to wolves; particularly if they happen to stray a distance from the herd. The buffalo is a timid animal, and flies at the approach of man. It is however asserted by the hunters, that when painfully wounded, it becomes furious, and will turn upon its pursuers.

‘There is a particular art in killing the buffalo with a rifle, only known to experienced hunters, and when they do not drop down, which is often the case, it requires a person intimately acquainted with their habits, to pursue them with success. This has been fully instanced in the futile exertions of our party, upon the present occasion; for out of a great number of shots, few have reached the object, and very few proved effectual, and the little success we met with is chiefly attributable to the superior skill of the Indians who accompanied us. Unless a vital part is touched, the shot proves useless. It also requires a larger ball than the deer and elk. Lieutenant Pike thinks that in the open prairies, the bow and arrow could be used to better advantage than the gun, particularly on horseback, for you might ride immediately along side the animal and strike it where you pleased. The Indians employ both the rifle and arrow, and in the prairies of Missouri and Arkansas, pursue the herds on horseback; but on the upper Mississippi, where they are destitute of horses, they make amends for this deficiency by several ingenious stratagems.

‘One of the most common of these is the method of hunting with fire. For this purpose, a great number of hunters disperse themselves around a large prairie where herds of buffalo happen to be feeding, and setting fire to the grass encompass them on all sides. The buffalo, having a great dread of fire, retire towards the centre of the prairie as they see it approach, and here being pressed together in great numbers, many are trampled under foot, and the Indians rushing in with their arrows and musketry, slaughter immense numbers in a short period. It is asserted that a thousand animals have been killed by this stratagem in one day. They have another method of hunting by driving them over precipices, which is chiefly practised by the bands inhabiting the Missouri. To decoy the herds, several Indians disguise themselves in the skins of the buffalo, taken off entire, and by counterfeiting the lowing of this animal in distress, they attract the herds in a certain direction, and when they are at full speed, suddenly disappear behind a cleft in the top of a precipice, when those animals which are in front on reaching the brink, are pushed over by those pressing behind, and in this manner great numbers are crushed to death. These practices are less common now than formerly, the introduction of fire arms, among most of the tribes, putting it into the power of almost every individual to kill sufficient for the support of his family.

‘By a very bad policy, however, they prefer the flesh of the cows, which will in time destroy the species. Few of the native animals of the American forest contribute more to the comforts of savage society than the buffalo. Its skin, when dressed by a process peculiar to them, forms one of the principal articles of clothing. The Sioux tribes particularly excel in the method of dressing it, and are very much in the habit of ornamenting their dresses with porcupine quills, and paints. The skin, dressed with the hair on, supplies them with blankets, and constitutes those durable and often beautiful sleigh-robes which are now in such universal use in the United States and the Canadas. The tallow of this animal, as well as the beef, has also become an article of commerce, particularly in the south-western states and territories, and its horns are exported for the manufacture of powder-flasks. The tongue is considered superior in flavor to that of the domestic cow, and the animal is often hunted for no other purpose. I have seen stockings and hats manufactured from its wool, with a little addition of common wool, or of cotton. This practice is very common among the white hunters of Missouri and Arkansas. The flesh of the buffalo is not equal, in its fresh state, to that of the cow or ox, but is superior when dried, which is the Indian mode of preserving it.

‘The attempts which have been made to domesticate this animal, have not been attended with success. Calves which have been taken in the woods and brought up with the tame breed, have afterwards discovered a wild and ungovernable temper, and manifested their savage nature by breaking down the strongest enclosures, and enticing the tame cattle into the woods. The mixed breed is said to be barren, like the mule. The period of gestation is ascertained to be twelve months, whereas that of the cow is nine. A remarkable proof of the little affinity existing between it, and the domestic breed of cattle, was exhibited a few years ago in Canada, where the connexion resulted in the death of the cows submitted to the experiment.’

American Wolf.――The common wolf of America is considered as the same species with the wolf of Europe. Richardson remarks that he has travelled over thirty degrees of latitude in America, and has never seen there any wolves which had the gaunt appearance, the comparatively long jaw and tapering nose, the high ears, long legs, slender loins, and narrow feet of the Pyrenean wolf. He adds, that the American animal has a more robust form than the European wolf. Its muzzle is thicker and more obtuse, its head larger and rounder, and there is a sensible depression at the union of the nose and forehead. He notices six varieties of the wolf in North America: common gray wolf, white, pied, dusky, black, and prairie. There is little reason to doubt that all the wolves of America are of one species; and the variations of size, color, and habits, are to be referred to diversities of climate which have been gradually impressed upon these animals.

Prairie Wolf.――This species is found in large numbers in the prairies to the west of the Missouri, and also occurs in the vicinity of the Columbia river. Its general color is gray, mixed with black; the ears are erect, rounded at the tip, and lined with gray hair. It is about three feet and a half in length, and bears a very strong resemblance to the domestic dog, so common in the Indian villages. Its bark is also similar to that of the dog. It resembles the other species of wolves in rapacity and cunning, being very suspicious and mistrustful and shunning pitfalls and snares with intuitive sagacity.[44]

Horses.――The number of horses among the various tribes on the Columbia, and its tributary streams, differs with the circumstances of the country. Among the Flat-heads, Cootonais, and Spokans, whose lands are rather thickly wooded, there are not more than sufficient for their actual use, and every colt, on arriving at the proper age, is broken in for the saddle. But in the countries inhabited by the Wallah Wallahs, Nez Percés, and Shoshonés, which chiefly consist of open plains, well watered and thinly wooded, they are far more numerous, and thousands are allowed to go wild. Their general height is about fifteen hands, which they seldom exceed; and ponies are very scarce. Those reared in the plains are excellent hunters, and the swiftest racers; but are not capable of enduring the same hardships as those bred in the vicinity of the high and woody districts. Seven hundred or a thousand wild horses are sometimes seen in a band; and it is said that in parts of the country belonging to the Snake Indians, bands varying from three to four thousand are frequently seen; and further to the southward, they are far more numerous.

Illustration: Wild Horses.

The Indian horses are never shod; and owing to this circumstance, their hoofs, particularly of such as are in constant work, are nearly worn away before they are ten or eleven years old, after which they are unfit for any labor except carrying children. They are easily managed, and are seldom vicious. An Indian horse is never taught to trot. The natives dislike this pace, and prefer to it the canter or light gallop. They are hard taskmasters; and the hair-rope bridles, with the padded deer-skin saddles which they use, lacerate the mouths and backs of the unfortunate animals in such a manner as to render them objects of commiseration. In summer they have no shelter from the heat, in winter no retreat from the cold; and their only provender throughout the year is the wild loose grass of the prairies, which, in the latter season, is generally covered with snow, and in the former is brown and arid, from the intense heat of the sun.

Foxes.――The Gray Fox is found in great numbers throughout the country, and ventures more boldly than any other species into the neighborhood of human habitations. It exhibits different colors at different seasons and ages; its general color is grizzly, growing gradually darker from the fore shoulders to the hinder part of the back. The inferior parts of the body are white, tinged slightly with faint reddish brown. The tail is thick and bushy. The Red Fox is a very beautiful species, and abounds in the middle and southern states, where it proves very troublesome to poultry-yards. In summer, its fur is long, fine, and brilliant; in winter, it becomes longer and more thick. The length of this species is about two feet, and of its tail, nearly a foot and a half. Its fur is valuable, and much used. When caught young, the red fox is very playful, and may be domesticated to a considerable degree; we have known it to live in perfect friendship with a number of dogs, and to take much pleasure in tumbling about and sporting with them.[45]

The Black Fox bears a striking resemblance to the common fox, from which it has nothing to distinguish it but its abundant and beautiful black fur. Its color is rich and lustrous, having a small quantity of white mingled with the prevailing black on different parts of its body. It is found throughout the northern parts of America, but no where in great numbers. The Swift Fox is a very interesting species, inhabiting the open plains which stretch from the base of the Rocky Mountains towards the Mississippi.

Illustration: Black Fox.

Opossum.――This animal is found in the southern parts of the United States, and is easily distinguished from all others by two peculiarities: the first is that the female has a cavity under the belly in which she receives and suckles her young; the second is, that the male and the female have no claws on the great toe of the hind feet, which is separated from the others as a man’s thumb is separated from his fingers. The opossum produces often, and a great number of young at a time. It walks awkwardly, and seldom runs; but it climbs trees with great facility, and hangs from the branches by means of a very flexible and muscular tail. Though voracious and greedy of blood, it also feeds on reptiles, insects, sugar-canes, potatoes, and even leaves and bark of trees. It may be easily domesticated; but its smell is strong and offensive, though its flesh is eatable, and much liked by the Indians. So tenacious is it of life, that it has given rise to a saying in North Carolina, that if a cat has nine lives, an opossum has nineteen. The general color of the opossum is a whitish gray; the tail is thick and black, for upwards of three inches at its base, and is covered by small scales, interspersed with white, short, rigid hairs. It is a timid and nocturnal animal, depending for its safety more on cunning than strength.

Illustration: Virginia Opossum.

American Hare.――This species, improperly called rabbit, is found throughout the states, and in some parts is exceedingly common. Its flesh is much esteemed as an article of food. During the summer it is tough, but after the first frosts of autumn, it is fat and delicate. In the north, during winter the hare feeds on the twigs of pine and fir, and is fit for the table during the season. It never burrows in the ground, but in the day time remains crouched, within its form, which is a mere spot of ground cleared of grass and sheltered by an overhanging plant. Sometimes it lives in the trunk of a hollow tree, or under a pile of stones. It wanders out at night, and makes sad havoc among the turnip and cabbage fields, and the young trees in nurseries. It is not hunted in this country as in Europe, but is caught in a trap, or roused by a dog and shot.

Varying Hare.――This animal appears to inhabit a great portion of North America, as it has been found in Virginia, and as far north as fifty-five degrees, whilst eastward it is found on the great plains of the Columbia. It appears generally to frequent plains and low grounds, where it lives like the common hare, never burrowing, but not resorting to the thick woods. The variabilis of Europe, on the contrary, is described as always inhabiting the highest mountains, and never descending into the plains, except when forced to seek for food, when the mountains are covered with snow. The American species is remarkably swift, never taking shelter when pursued, and capable of most astonishing leaps; Captain Lewis measured some of these, and found their length to be from eighteen to twenty feet. From the middle of November to the middle of April, this animal is of a pure white, with the exception of the black and reddish brown of the ears. During the rest of the year, the upper parts of the body are of a lead color; the under parts white, with a light shade of lead color.

Beaver.――The general appearance of the beaver is that of a large rat, and seen at a little distance, it might be readily mistaken for the common musk-rat. But the greater size of the beaver, the thickness and breadth of its head, and its horizontally flattened, broad, and scaly tail, render it impossible to mistake it for any other creature when closely examined. In its movements, both on shore and in the water, it also closely resembles the musk-rat, having the same quick step, and swimming with great vigor and celerity, either on the surface or in the depths of the water.[46]

Illustration: Beaver.

Musk-Rat.――This animal is closely allied in form and habits to the beaver, and is found in the same parts of America as that animal, from thirty to sixty-nine or seventy degrees of latitude. But it is more familiar in its habits, as it is to be found only a short distance from large towns. The musk-rat is a watchful, but not a very shy animal. It may be frequently seen sitting on the shores of small muddy islands, not easily to be distinguished from a piece of earth, till, on the approach of danger, it suddenly plunges into the water. It forms burrows on the banks of streams and ponds, the entrance to which is in deep water. These burrows extend to great distances, and do extensive injury to the farms, by letting in the water upon the land. In some situations, these animals build houses of a conical form, resembling those of the beaver, formed of mud, grass and reeds, plastered together. They feed upon the roots and tender shoots of aquatic plants and on the leaves of grasses. They are excellent swimmers, dive well, and can remain for a long time under water. It is rare to have an opportunity of seeing the animal during the day, as it then lies concealed in its burrow, and it is not till night, that it issues forth for food or recreation. It does not, like the beaver, lay up a store of provision for the winter; but it builds a new habitation every season.

This animal is common in the Atlantic states, and its fur being valuable for hats, it is much hunted. The Indians kill them by spearing them through the walls of their houses. Between four and five thousand skins are annually imported into Great Britain from North America.

The American Badger, as compared with the European, is smaller and lighter, with different markings on its fur, and with a head less sharp towards the nose. It frequents the prairies and sand plains at the base of the Rocky Mountains, as far north as latitude fifty-eight degrees. It abounds on the plains watered by the Missouri. Timid and slow, the badger, on being pursued, takes to the earth like a mole, and makes his way with great rapidity. It is caught in spring, when the ground is frozen, by filling its hole with water, when the tenant is obliged to come out.

The Ermine Weasel is known in the middle and eastern states, by the name of weasel: farther north, it is called stoat in summer, and ermine in its winter dress. In its habits it resembles the common weasel of Europe. It is courageous, active, and graceful. His long and slender body, bright and piercing eye, sharp claws and teeth, and great strength, indicate that he is dangerous and destructive to the smaller animals, which he can follow into their smallest hiding places, from his peculiar flexibility of body. This animal frequents barns and out-houses, and is the particular enemy of mice, and other depredators upon the granary. To compensate for the service he thus renders the farmer, he helps himself without ceremony to a number of his fowls, and the henroost sometimes exhibits a sad proof of the value he sets upon his labors, in exterminating the mice. In winter, the fur of the weasel is much longer, thicker and finer, than in summer.

Pennant’s Marten is found in various parts of North America, from the state of Pennsylvania, to as far north as the Great Slave Lake, where it was seen by captain Franklin. It is easily domesticated, becomes fond of tea leaves, is very playful, and has a pleasant musky smell. This species is not very scarce, as Pennant says that five hundred and eighty skins were sent in one year from the states of New York and Pennsylvania; and Sabine remarks that the Hudson’s Bay Company sent eighteen hundred skins to England in one year.

The length of this marten is from twenty-four to thirty inches without the tail, which is from thirteen to seventeen inches long. The feet are very broad, and covered with hair, which conceals the sharp, strong, white claws. The fur on the head is short, but gradually increases in length towards the tail, and its color changes, losing much of the yellowish, and assuming a chestnut hue. The tail is full, bushy, black and lustrous, being smallest at the end.

The Maryland Marmot, or Woodchuck, is common in all the temperate parts of America. It does great injury to the farmers, as the quantity of herbage it consumes is really surprising. It burrows in the ground on the sides of hills, and these extend to great distances under ground, and terminate in various chambers. Here the marmot makes himself a comfortable bed of dry leaves, grass, and any soft rubbish, where he sleeps from the close of day, till the next morning is far advanced.

The Maryland marmot eats with great greediness, and in large quantities. It is fond of cabbage, lettuce, and other garden vegetables. When in captivity, it is exceedingly fond of bread and milk.

At the commencement of cold weather, the marmot goes into winter quarters, blocks up the door within, and remains torpid till the warm season. It is about the size of a rabbit, and of a dark brown color.

The Prairie Marmot, commonly called Prairie Dog, builds his dwelling in the barren tracts of the western country, and may often be seen sitting by the small mounds of earth, which indicate his abode, in an attitude of profound attention. Whole acres of land are occupied by these little tenants, and villages are found, containing thousands of inhabitants. Near the Rocky Mountains, these villages are found to reach several miles. The burrow extends under ground, but to what distance has not been determined.

This marmot, like the rest of the species, remains torpid during the winter. It is very much annoyed in its habitation by owls, rattlesnakes, lizards, and land tortoises, who appropriate these comfortable dwellings for their own use, and frequently destroy the young marmots.

The Fox Squirrel is found throughout the southern states, where it frequents the pine forests in considerable numbers, and derives its principal subsistence from the seed of the pine. Its color varies from white to pale gray and black, and is sometimes mottled, with various shades of red. The Cat Squirrel is one of the largest species, and is found in great abundance in the oak and chesnut forests of this country. It is a very heavy animal, and is slow in its movements, seldom leaping from tree to tree, unless it is alarmed or closely pursued. It is found of almost every variety of color. The Black Squirrel is very common, but is often confounded with the black varieties of the squirrels before described. In the winter, this animal is of a pure black; in the summer, it is of a grayish black, intermingled with a dark reddish brown. It is found in the United States, and inhabits the northern shores of Lakes Huron and Superior.

Illustration: Black Squirrel.

The Common Gray Squirrel is remarkable for its beauty and activity, and is common throughout the United States. It is generally found in hickory and chesnut woods, where it feeds on nuts, and lays up a hoard for the winter. It is very easily domesticated, and in captivity is very playful and mischievous. The Great-tailed Squirrel, so called from the length of its tail, is common on the Missouri. It is of a grayish black color, and is very graceful and active. The Line-tail Squirrel inhabits the Missouri country, where it builds its nest in the holes and crevices of rocks. It is fond of the naked cliffs, where there are but few bushes, and very rarely ascends a tree. It feeds on the buds, leaves, and fruits of plants. It is of an ash color, intermixed with white hairs. Its fur is coarse, and the tail, which is very long, is marked with three black lines on each side. The Four-lined Squirrel is found on the Rocky Mountains. Its nest is composed of a great quantity of the branches of different kinds of trees, and of other vegetable productions. It does not ascend trees by choice.

The Columbian Pine Squirrel was seen by Lewis and Clarke on the banks of the Columbia river, but is supposed by Richardson to be a variety of the Hudson’s Bay Squirrel, its habits being similar.

The Common Red Squirrel is abundant in most parts of North America. It is one of the most lively and nimble of the squirrel race. It digs burrows at the roots of large trees, to which it forms four or five entrances. It does not leave its tree in cold and stormy weather, but when it is sporting in the sunshine, if any one approaches, it conceals itself, and makes a loud noise, similar to a watchman’s rattle. From this circumstance it has received the name of Chickaree. When pursued, it makes long leaps from tree to tree, and seeks for shelter as soon as possible in its burrow. The skin of this animal is of no value. It is of a reddish brown color, shaded with black. The tail is long and beautiful.

The Ground or Striped Squirrel is abundant in all our woods. It is sometimes called Harkee, and, in New England, is usually denominated the Chip Squirrel. It differs very much from other squirrels in its habits. It never makes its nest in the branches of trees, but burrows in the ground near the roots. These burrows extend a considerable distance under ground, and are always provided with two openings. The general color of this animal is of a reddish brown. The Common Flying Squirrel[47] is very abundant in the United States, and is much admired for the softness of its fur, and the gentleness of its disposition. The skin of the sides is extended from the fore to the hind limbs, so as to form a sort of sail, which enables it to descend swiftly from a great height, in the easiest and most pleasant manner, often passing over a considerable space. This squirrel is small, of an ash color above, and white beneath, with large, prominent black eyes. It builds its nest in hollow trees. The Rocky Mountain Flying Squirrel lives in thick pine forests, and seldom leaves its retreats except at night.

The Urson, or Canada Porcupine, exhibits none of the long and large quills which are so conspicuous and formidable in the European species, and the short spines or prickles which are thickly set over all the superior parts of its body, are covered by a long coarse hair, which almost entirely conceals them. These spines are not more than two inches and a half in length, yet form a very efficient protection against every other enemy but man. This animal dislikes water, sleeps very much, and chiefly feeds upon the bark of the juniper. His flesh is eaten by the savages and American traders. He is still found in the remote and unsettled parts of Pennsylvania, but south of this state is almost unknown. It was formerly found, but very rarely, in Virginia. The porcupine is much prized by the aborigines, both for its flesh, and quills, which are used as ornaments to their pipes, weapons, and dresses. A large collection of dresses, thus ornamented, is exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum.

The Mink is found throughout the country, from Carolina to Hudson’s Bay, and in its habits and appearance strongly resembles the otter. It lives in the neighborhood of mill-seats, or farm-houses, frequenting holes near the water, or in the ruins of old walls. It feeds upon frogs and fish, and, like the weasel, sometimes pays an unwelcome visit to the poultry-yard. The length of this animal is about twenty inches; its feet are broad, webbed, and covered with hair. Hats are made of its fur.

The Skunk is of a brown color, marked sometimes with two white stripes. The faculty this animal possesses, of annoying its enemies by the discharge of a noisome fluid, causes it to be rather shunned than hunted, which the value of its skin would otherwise be sure to occasion. The smallest drop of this fluid is sufficient to render a garment detestable for a great length of time. Washing, smoking, baking, or burying articles of dress, seems to be equally inefficient for its removal. The skunk is generally found in the forests, having its den either in the stump of an old tree, or in an excavation in the ground. It feeds on the young of birds, and upon small quadrupeds, eggs, and wild fruits. It also does much mischief in the poultry-yard.

The American Otter is about five feet in length, including the tail, the length of which is eighteen inches. The color of the whole of the body, (except the chin and throat, which are dusky white) is a glossy brown. The fur throughout is dense and fine. The differences between this species and the European otter, are thus pointed out by Captain Sabine: ‘The neck of the American otter is elongated, not short, and the head narrow and long in comparison with the short, broad visage of the European species; the ears are consequently much closer together than in the latter animal. The tail is more pointed and shorter, being considerably less than one half of the length of the body, whilst the tail of the European otter is more than half the length of its body.’ The fur of the otter is much valued by the hatters and other consumers of peltries, and this animal must ultimately become as rare in North America as the kindred species has long since become in Europe.

II. BIRDS.

The Ornithology of the United States is exceedingly rich and interesting. For their beauty of plumage, variety and melody of song, diversity of form, habits, disposition and faculties, our birds well merit the industrious observation which has been bestowed upon them. They have been highly fortunate in their historians, for no department of our animal kingdom has been so thoroughly investigated as this; and the indefatigable labor, science and genius of such men as Wilson, Audubon, Bonaparte, and Nuttall, have left us but little to expect from future researches.

The vulture called Turkey Buzzard, is found in large numbers in the southern states, where he is protected by law, on account of his services in the removal of carrion. This bird has never been known to breed in any of the Atlantic states north of New Jersey. In the southern cities, during the winter, they pass the night on the roofs of houses, and are fond of warming themselves in the smoke that issues from the chimneys. This bird is about two and a half feet in length, and six in breadth; the upper plumage is glossed with green and bronze, the fore part of the neck is bare. The Black Vulture is smaller, and flies in flocks; the range of this bird is confined by very narrow limits to the southern states. The Condor is not uncommon in the Rocky Mountains; but his peculiar residence is among the precipitous cliffs of the majestic Andes.

The Common or Wandering Falcon lives along the seacoast of the country, and is said to breed in the cedar swamps of New Jersey. The American Sparrow Hawk is found principally in the warmer parts of the states, and builds its nest in a hollow or decayed tree, on some elevated place. In the winter it becomes familiar, and approaches to the neighborhood of man; at this time it lives on such small game as it can find in the way of mice or lizards. The flight of this bird is irregular. It perches on the top of a dead tree or pole in the middle of a field, and sits there in an almost perpendicular position for an hour together, reconnoitering the ground below in every direction for the favorite articles of its food. The bluejays have a particular antipathy to this bird, who punishes their enmity by occasionally making a meal of one of them.

Illustration: American Sparrow Hawk.

The American Fish Hawk is a formidable, vigorous-winged, and well-known bird, which subsists altogether on the fishes that swarm in our bays rivers, and creeks. It is doubtless the most numerous of its genus in the United States, and besides lining our seacoast from Georgia to Canada, it penetrates far into the interior.

Illustration: Fish Hawk.

‘The motions of the fish hawk,’ says Mr. Audubon, ‘in the air are graceful, and as majestic as those of the eagle. It rises with ease to a great height by extensive circlings, performed apparently by mere inclinations of the wings and tail. It dives at times to some distance with the wings partially closed, and resumes its sailing, as if these plunges were made for amusement only. Its wings are extended at right angles to the body, and when thus flying, it is easily distinguishable from all other hawks by the eye of an observer, accustomed to note the flight of birds. Whilst in search of food, it flies with easy flappings at a moderate height above the water, and with an apparent listlessness, although in reality it is keenly observing the objects beneath. No sooner does it spy a fish suited to its taste, than it checks its course with a sudden shake of its wings and tail, which gives it the appearance of being poised in the air for a moment, after which it plunges headlong with great rapidity into the water, to secure its prey, or continue its flight, if disappointed by having observed the fish sink deeper.

‘When it plunges into the water in pursuit of a fish, it sometimes proceeds deep enough to disappear for an instant. The surge caused by its descent is so great as to make the spot around it present the appearance of a mass of foam. On rising with its prey, it is seen holding it in the manner represented in the plate. It mounts a few yards into the air, shakes the water from its plumage, squeezes the fish with its talons, and immediately proceeds towards its nest, to feed its young, or to a tree, to devour the fruit of its industry in peace. When it has satisfied its hunger, it does not, like other hawks, stay perched until hunger again urges it forth, but usually sails about at a great height over the neighboring waters.

‘The fish hawk has a great attachment to the tree to which it carries its prey, and will not abandon it, unless frequently disturbed, or shot at whilst feeding there. It shows the same attachment to the tree on which it has built its first nest, and returns to it year after year.’

The Swallow-tailed Hawk.――This beautiful kite breeds and passes the summer in the warmer parts of the United States, and is also probably resident in all tropical and temperate America, migrating into the southern as well as the northern hemisphere. In the former, according to Viellot, it is found in Peru, and as far as Buenos Ayres; and though it is extremely rare to meet with this species as far as the latitude of forty degrees in the Atlantic states, yet, tempted by the abundance of the fruitful valley of the Mississippi, individuals have been seen along that river as far as the Falls of St. Anthony, in the forty-fourth degree of north latitude. Indeed, according to Fleming, two stragglers have even found their devious way to the strange climate of Great Britain.

Illustration: Swallow-tailed Hawk.

They appear in the United States about the close of April or beginning of May, and are very numerous in the Mississippi territory, twenty or thirty being sometimes visible at the same time, often collecting locusts and other large insects, which they are said to feed on from their claws while flying; at times also seizing upon the nests of locusts and wasps, and like the honey-buzzard, devouring both the insects and their larvæ. Snakes and lizards are their common food in all parts of America. In the month of October they begin to retire to the south, at which season Mr. Bartram observed them in great numbers assembled in Florida, soaring steadily at great elevations for several days in succession, and slowly passing towards their winter quarters along the Gulf of Mexico.[48]

Other hawks in the United States are the Sharp-shinned, the Great-footed or Duck, the Pigeon, Cooper’s White-tailed, Red-tailed, Broad-winged, Mississippi Kite, Black, Marsh, Stanley’s, Red-shouldered, Ash-colored, and Slate-colored Hawks.

Washington Eagle.――For the first accurate observation of this bird, we have been indebted to the untiring study and genius of Audubon, who first noticed it in the year 1814. He is three feet and seven inches long; the extent of his wings is ten feet two inches. His plumage is compact and glossy, the upper parts being of a dark, shining coppery brown; the throat, breast and belly of a bright rich cinnamon color. He lives in the neighborhood of the seashore, lakes and rivers, and subsists chiefly on fish. ‘The name which I have chosen for this new species of eagle,’ says its great discoverer, ‘the “Bird of Washington,” may, by some, be considered as preposterous and unfit; but as it is indisputably the noblest bird of its genus that has yet been discovered in the United States, I trust I shall be allowed to honor it with the name of one yet nobler, who was the savior of his country, and whose name will ever be dear to it. To those who may be curious to know my reasons, I can only say, that, as the new world gave me birth and liberty, the great man who insured its independence is next to my heart. He had a nobility of mind and a generosity of soul, such as are seldom possessed. He was brave, so is the eagle; like it, too, he was the terror of his foes; and his fame, extending from pole to pole, resembles the majestic soarings of the mightiest of the feathered tribe. If America has reason to be proud of her Washington, so has she to be proud of her great eagle.’

Illustration: Washington Eagle.

White-headed or Bald Eagle.――This bird is abundant in all the latitudes of the United States, but shows a predilection for the warmer climates. He lives near the seacoast, where he usually selects some lofty pine or cypress for his eyry, which he builds of large sticks, sods, moss, reeds, pine tops and other coarse materials, arranged in a sort of level bed. This breeding place is never deserted as long us the tree lasts. Fish constitutes the chief article of food of this bird, and he usually obtains it by cunning and rapine, seldom by the exercise of honest industry. His principal occupation is to rob the osprey of the fruits of his labor, and he has sometimes been known to attack the vulture, and oblige him to disgorge his carrion.[49]

Illustration: White-headed or Bald Eagle.

Royal or Golden Eagle.――This bird is found in all the cold and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It is supposed to live for a century, and is about three years in gaining its complete growth and permanent plumage. The neighborhood of Hudson’s Bay is more frequented by this eagle than any part of the United States, but it is not uncommon in the great plains of the larger western rivers. ‘The lofty mountains of New Hampshire,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘afford suitable situations for the eyry of this eagle, over whose snow-clad summits he is seen majestically soaring in solitude and grandeur. A young bird from this region, which I have in a state of domestication, showed considerable docility. He had, however, been brought up from the nest, in which he was found in the month of August; he appeared even playful, turning his head about in a very antic manner, as if desirous to attract attention; still his glance was quick and fiery. When birds were given to him, he plumed them very clean before he began his meal, and picked the subject to a perfect skeleton.’

The Ring-tailed Eagle is now found to be the young of this bird, as has been long supposed. Its tail feathers are highly valued by the aborigines as they serve for ornamenting their calumets.

Illustration: Ring-tailed Eagle.

Owls.――One of the most common species of this bird in the United States is the Little Screech Owl, which is found throughout the country. It is noted for the melancholy wailing, which is heard in the evenings in autumn and the latter part of summer. On clear moonlight nights, they answer each other from the various parts of the fields or orchards, roost during the day in thick evergreens, and are rarely seen abroad during the sunshine. They construct their nests in the hollow of a tree, frequently in an orchard.

The Great-horned Owl is also an inhabitant of every part of the country. ‘All climates are alike,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘to this eagle of the night, the king of the nocturnal tribe of American birds. The aboriginal inhabitants of the country dread his boding howl, dedicating his effigies to their solemnities, and, as if he were their sacred bird of Minerva, forbid the mockery of his ominous, dismal, and almost supernatural cries. His favorite resort, in the dark and impenetrable swampy forests, where he dwells in chosen solitude secure from the approach of every enemy, agrees with the melancholy and sinister traits of his character. To the surrounding feathered race he is the Pluto of the gloomy wilderness, and would scarcely be known out of the dismal shades where he hides, but to his victims, were he as silent as he is solitary. Among the choaking, loud, guttural sounds which he sometimes utters, in the dead of night, and with a suddenness which always alarms, because of his noiseless approach, is the ’waugh ho! ’waugh ho! which, Wilson remarks, was often uttered at the instant of sweeping down round his camp fire. Many kinds of owls are similarly dazzled and attracted by fire-lights, and occasionally finding, no doubt, some offal or flesh, thrown out by those who encamp in the wilderness, they come round the nocturnal blaze with other motives than barely those of curiosity.’

The Burrowing Owl differs essentially from all others in his habits and manners. Instead of hiding his head in the daylight, he fearlessly flies abroad in search of prey, in the broadest glare of the sun; and far from seeking abodes of solitude and silence, he lives in company with animals in the recesses of the earth, where they all enjoy the pleasures of fellowship and good harmony. The mounds of the prairie dog or marmot, which are thrown up in such numbers near the Rocky Mountains, are about eighteen inches in height. The entrance is by a passage two feet in length, which terminates in a comfortable cell composed of dry grass, where the marmot takes up his winter abode. Around these villages, the burrowing owls may be seen moving briskly about, singly or in small flocks. They seem to have very little fear of man; either soaring to a distance when alarmed, or descending into the burrows, where it is very difficult to come at them. In countries where the marmot is not found, this owl is said to dig a hole for himself. Their food appears to consist entirely of insects. Its note is similar to the cry of the marmot, which sounds like cheh, cheh, pronounced in rapid succession.

The burrowing owl is nine inches and a half long. The general color of the plumage is a light burnt umber, spotted with whitish. The under parts are white, banded with brown.[50]

Other birds of this species found in the limits of the states are the Great Gray or Cinereous Owl, the Long-eared Owl, the Short-eared Owl, the Acadian Owl, and the White or Barn Owl.

The Baltimore Oriole is a gay, lively, and beautiful bird, which passes its summers among us, but retreats for the winter to South America. The most remarkable instinct of this bird is the ingenuity exhibited in building its nest, which is a pendulous cylindric pouch, from five to seven inches in depth, and usually suspended from the extremities of high and drooping branches of a tree. The leaves, as they grow out over the top, form a protection from the sun and rain for the young. Though naturally shy and suspicious, this bird usually selects his building place in the neighborhood of farm-houses, and along frequented roads. He is easily domesticated, becomes playful and attached, and sings in confinement.

Illustration: The Baltimore Oriole.

The Orchard Oriole is a smaller and plainer species, of similar habits. The Red-winged Blackbird is an inhabitant of all North America, but is migratory in the northern states. This bird commits great depredations on the unripe corn, and on the rice fields. He is known by a variety of names. His flesh is tough, and but little esteemed. The Cow Blackbird is passing from one part of the states to another, and lives in winter in the warmer parts. In the latter part of March, he appears in Pennsylvania, and as the weather becomes milder, he gradually advances into Canada.[51] The Rice Bunting is a small bird of beautiful plumage and musical song, and as much of a favorite with the sportsman and gourmand, as of an enemy to the farmer and planter. They are found in immense numbers in the middle states, where they do great damage to the barley, Indian corn, and early wheat.

Illustration: The Rice Bunting.

Blackbirds.――The Great Crow Blackbird is found only in the southern parts of the union, where it appears early in February. It is gregarious, omnivorous, and its note is said sometimes to resemble a watchman’s rattle. The Common Crow Blackbird appears in every part of the country, at different seasons, and commits great havoc among the fields of maize. It is easily domesticated, and may be taught to articulate a few words. The numbers in which this species are found are almost beyond belief; and the damage they do to the crops is astonishing. Other birds of this genus are the Slender-billed and the Rusty Blackbird.

The Raven is found in greater numbers in the western than in the eastern part of the union; it is a resident, however, in almost every country in the world. He has been too often described to require extended notice. The Crow is also an inhabitant of nearly every region. In most of the settled districts of North America, he is frequently met with, and is as little liked as he is often seen. He is smaller than the raven, and is of a deep black color, with brilliant reflections. Easily domesticated, and quite intelligent, he becomes attached to his master, and learns a variety of amusing tricks, though he is apt to be thievish, and is sometimes noisy and disagreeable. The Fish Crow resembles the rook; it is peculiar to this country, and is met with along the coast of Georgia, and as far north as New Jersey. The Columbian Crow is another variety frequenting the shores of Columbia river.

The Magpie is found in the western parts of America, and is very numerous to the west of the Rocky Mountains. He is a restless, active, and impudent bird, bold, and easily domesticated. Like the crow, he is artful and thievish. His nest is built with great ingenuity and labor, in a place inaccessible to man. The body of it is composed of hawthorn branches, the thorns sticking outwards; it is lined with fibrous roots, wool, and long grass, and then nicely plastered with mud and clay. A canopy of sharp thorns is then built over the nest, so woven together as to deny all entrance except at the door. Here the male and female bring up their young brood in perfect security.

Illustration: Magpie.

The Blue Jay is peculiar to North America, and is distinguished as a kind of beau among the feathered tenants of our woods, by the brilliancy of his dress, and, like most other coxcombs, makes himself still more conspicuous by his loquacity and the oddness of his tones and gestures. He is an almost universal inhabitant of the woods, frequenting the thickest settlements as well as the deepest recesses of the forest, where his squalling voice often alarms the deer, to the great disappointment of the hunter. He appears to be among his fellow musicians, what the trumpeter is in a band, some of his notes bearing no distant resemblance to the tones of that instrument. These he has the faculty of changing through a great variety of modulations. When disposed for ridicule, there is scarcely a bird to whose peculiarities of song he cannot tune his notes. When engaged in the blandishments of love, they resemble the soft chatterings of a duck, and are scarce heard at some paces distant; but no sooner does he discover your approach, than he sets up a sudden and vehement outcry, flying off and screaming with all his might. His notes a stranger might readily mistake for the repeated creakings of an ungreased wheelbarrow. All these he accompanies with various nods, jerks, and other gesticulations, for which the whole tribe of jays are so remarkable.[52] Other jays are the Columbia, Canada, and Florida.

Illustration: Blue Jay.

The Meadow Lark is a well-known agreeable bird, living in meadows, and is found throughout the states. There are two species of titmouse, the Tufted, and the Black-capt Titmouse. The Cedar Bird is a small and very beautiful creature, with a soft silky plumage, and crest of a bright brownish gray; it feeds on cherries, and whortle-berries, and late in the season on persimmons, small winter grapes, and other fruits.

The Great American Shrike is common in the northern parts of the continent, but sometimes summers in New England and Pennsylvania. He feeds on grasshoppers, spiders, and small birds, and after satisfying hunger, impales his remaining victims on thorns. When his supply of fresh game is abundant, he leaves his stores to dry up and decay. He is fearless, and will attack even the eagle in defence of his young. The Loggerhead Shrike is a species strongly resembling the one described.

Illustration: Great American Shrike.

The Tyrant Flycatcher, or Kingbird, is the field martin of Maryland and some of the southern states, and the kingbird of Pennsylvania and several of the northern districts. The trivial name king, as well as tyrant, has been bestowed on this bird for its extraordinary behavior in breeding time, and for the authority it assumes over all other birds. His extreme affection for his mate, nest, and young, makes him suspicious of every bird that comes near his residence, so that he attacks every intruder without discrimination; his life at this season is one continued scene of broils and battles; in which, however, he generally comes off conqueror. Hawks and crows, the bald eagle, and the great black eagle, all equally dread a rencontre with this merciless champion, who, as soon as he perceives one of these last approaching, launches into the air to meet him, mounts to a considerable height above him, and darts down on his back, sometimes fixing there to the great annoyance of his sovereign, who, if no convenient retreat be near, endeavors by various evolutions to rid himself of his merciless adversary; but the kingbird is not so easily dismounted. He teazes the eagle incessantly, sweeps upon him and remounts that he may descend on his back with greater violence; all the while keeping up a shrill and rapid twittering. The purple martin, however, is sometimes more than a match for him. The general color of this bird is a dark slaty ash, the throat and lower parts are pure white; the plumage on the head, though not forming a crest, is frequently erected, and discovers a rich bed of orange color, called by the country people his crown; when the feathers lie close, this is concealed.

The other principal Flycatchers are, the Great-crested, Arkansas, Fork-tailed, Swallow-tailed, Says, Pewit, and Olive-sided; the last first described by Mr. Nuttall in his valuable work, from a specimen obtained at Mount Auburn, now the celebrated cemetery in the neighborhood of Boston.

The Mocking Bird is peculiar to the new world, and is found in much larger numbers in the southern than the northern states of the Union. A warm climate and low country seem to be most congenial to its nature. It feeds on berries and insects. ‘The mocking bird,’ says Wilson, whose description has never been surpassed, ‘builds his nest in different places, according to the latitude in which he resides. A solitary thorn bush; an almost impenetrable thicket; an orange tree, cedar, or holly bush, are favorite spots. Always ready to defend, but never over anxious to conceal his nest, he very often builds within a small distance of a house; and not unfrequently in a pear or apple tree, rarely higher than six or seven feet from the ground. The nest is composed of dry twigs, weeds, straw, wool and tow, ingeniously put together, and lined with fine fibrous roots. During the time when the female is sitting, neither cat, dog, man, or any animal can approach the nest without being attacked. But the whole vengeance of the bird is directed against his mortal enemy the black snake. Whenever this reptile is discovered, the male darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, dextrously eluding its bite, and striking it violently and incessantly against the head, where it is very vulnerable. The snake soon becomes sensible of his danger, and seeks to escape; but the intrepid bird redoubles his exertions, and as the snake’s strength begins to flag, he seizes and lifts it up from the ground, beating it with his wings, and when the business is completed, he returns to his nest, mounts the summit of the bush, and pours out a torrent of song in token of victory.

Illustration: Mocking Birds.

‘The plumage of the mocking bird has nothing gaudy or brilliant in it, but that which so strongly recommends him, is his full, strong and musical voice, capable of almost every modulation, from the mellow tones of the woodthrush, to the savage screams of the bald eagle. In his native groves, mounted on the top of a tall bush, in the dawn of a dewy morning, while the woods are already vocal with a multitude of warblers, his admirable song rises pre-eminent over every competitor. The ear can listen to his music alone. Nor is the strain altogether imitative. His own native notes are bold and full, and varied seemingly beyond all limits. They consist of short expressions of two, three, or five and six syllables, generally interspersed with imitations, all of them uttered with great emphasis and rapidity, and continued for an hour at a time with undiminished ardor; his expanded wings and tail glistening with white, and the buoyant gaiety of his action arresting the eye, as his song most irresistibly does the ear. He sweeps round with enthusiastic ecstasy――he mounts and descends as his song swells or dies away――and, as Mr. Bartram has beautifully expressed it, “he bounds aloft with the celerity of an arrow, as if to recover or recall his very soul, expired in the last elevated strain.” While thus exerting himself, a bystander would suppose that the whole feathered tribes had assembled together on a trial for skill――so perfect are his imitations.

‘The mocking bird loses little of the power and energy of his song by confinement. In his domesticated state, when he commences his career of song, it is impossible to stand by uninterested. He whistles for the dog; Cæsar starts up, wags his tail, and runs to meet his master. He squeaks out like a hurt chicken, and the hen hurries about with hanging wings and bristling feathers, clucking to protect her injured brood. The barking of the dog, the mewing of the cat, the creaking of the passing wheelbarrow, follow with great truth and rapidity. He repeats the tune taught him by his master, though of considerable length, fully and faithfully. He runs over the quiverings of the canary, and the clear whistlings of the Virginia nightingale, or red bird, with such superior execution and effect, that the mortified songsters feel their own inferiority, and become silent, while he seems to triumph in their defeat by redoubling his exertions.’

Warblers.――The Summer Yellow Bird, or Warbler, is a brilliant and common species, found in every part of the American continent; he is about five inches in length, with an upper plumage of greenish yellow, and wings and tail deep brown, edged with yellow. He is a lively and familiar bird, and a great ornament to the gardens and orchards. His nest is built with great neatness in the fork of a small shrub. It is composed of flax or tow, strongly twisted round the twigs, and lined with hair and the down of fern. This interesting little bird will feign lameness to draw one from his nest, fluttering feebly along, and looking back to see if he is followed. His notes are few and shrill, hardly deserving the name of a song. There is a very great variety belonging to the family of warblers, of which we can only allude to the Prairie, Hemlock, Pine-swamp, Blue-mountain, Chesnut-sided, Mourning, and Blue-winged Warbler.

Ferruginous Thrush.――This is the Brown Thrush or Thrasher of the middle and eastern states, and the French Mocking-Bird of Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas. It is the largest of all our thrushes, and is a well-known and distinguished songster, and from the tops of hedge rows, apple or cherry trees, he salutes the opening morning with his charming song, which is loud, emphatical and full of variety. These notes are not imitative, but solely his own. He is an active and vigorous bird, flying generally low from one thicket to another, with his long broad tail spread out like a fan; he has a single note or chuck when you approach his nest.

Illustration: Ferruginous Thrush.

There is a very numerous variety of thrushes in the states, of which the best known are the Cat Bird, Robin, Wood, Little or Hermit, Wilson’s, and the Golden-crowned Thrush.

Wren.――The House Wren, throughout the states, is a well-known and familiar bird, who builds his nest sometimes under the eaves, or in a hollow cherry tree; but most commonly in small boxes fixed on a pole, for his accommodation. He will even put up with an old hat, and if this also is denied him, he will find some hole or crevice, about the house or barn, rather than abandon the dwellings of man. A mower once hung up his coat, under a shed near a barn; two or three days elapsed before he had occasion to put it on; thrusting his arm up the sleeve, he found it completely filled with some rubbish as he expressed it, and on extracting the whole mass, found it to be the nest of a wren, completely finished and lined with a large quantity of feathers. In his retreat he was followed by the forlorn little proprietors, who scolded him with great vehemence, for thus ruining the whole economy of their domestic affairs.

The immense number of insects which this sociable little bird removes from the garden and fruit trees ought to endear him to every cultivator; and his notes, loud, sprightly and tremulous, are extremely agreeable. Its food is insects and caterpillars, and while supplying the wants of its young it destroys, on an average, many hundreds a day. It is a bold and insolent bird against those that venture to build within its jurisdiction; attacking them without hesitation, though twice its size, and compelling them to decamp. Even the blue bird, when attacked by this little impertinent, soon relinquishes the contest: with those of his own species, also, he has frequent squabbles. The varieties of the wren are very numerous.

The Blue Bird, is a familiar favorite throughout the continent. It is migratory, and his return is hailed in the northern states as the first presage of spring. ‘Towards autumn,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘in the month of October, his cheerful song nearly ceases, and is now changed into a single plaintive note. Even when the leaves have fallen, and the forest no longer affords a shelter from the blast, the faithful blue bird still lingers over his native fields, and only takes his departure in November, when, at a considerable elevation, in the early twilight of the morning, till the opening of the day, they wing their way in small roving troops to some milder regions in the south.’

Tanagers.――The Tanagers are gaudy birds, which annually visit the republic from the torrid regions of the south. The Scarlet Tanager is perhaps the most showy. He spreads himself over the United States, and is found even in Canada. He rarely approaches the habitations of man, unless perhaps in the orchard, where he sometimes builds; or in the cherry trees in search of fruit; the depth of the wood is his favorite abode. Among all the birds that inhabit our woods, there is none that strikes the eye of a stranger, or even a native, with so much brilliancy as this. Seen among the green leaves, with the light falling strongly on his plumage, he is really beautiful. Another species, the summer red bird, delights in a flat sandy country, covered with wood, and interspersed with pine trees; and is, consequently, more numerous towards the shores of the Atlantic than in the interior.

Illustration: Tanager.

Finches.――The Song Sparrow is the most generally diffused over the United States, and is the most numerous of all our sparrows; and it is far the earliest, sweetest, and most lasting songster. Many of them remain during the whole winter in close-sheltered meadows and swamps. It is the first singing bird in spring. Its song continues through the summer and fall, and is sometimes heard even in the depths of winter. The notes or chant are short but very sweet, and frequently repeated, from a small bush or tree, where it sits chanting for an hour together. It is fond of frequenting the borders of rivers, meadows and swamps; and, if wounded and unable to fly, will readily take to the water, and swim with considerable rapidity. There are other familiar species of sparrows, as the Chipping, Field, and Tree, Yellow-winged, and White-throated sparrows.

The Indigo Bird is numerous in the middle and eastern states, and in the Carolinas and Georgia. Its favorite haunts are about gardens, fields of clover, borders of woods, and road sides, where it is frequently seen perched on fences. In its manners it is extremely neat and active, and a vigorous and pretty good songster. It mounts to the tops of the highest trees, and chants for half an hour at a time. Its song is not one continued strain, but a repetition of short notes, commencing loud and rapid, and falling by slow gradations till they seem hardly articulate, as if the little minstrel were quite exhausted; but after a pause of half a minute, it commences again as before. Notwithstanding the beauty of his plumage, and the vivacity of his song, the indigo bird is seldom seen domesticated. Its nest is built in a low bush among rank grass, grain, or clover, suspended by two twigs, one passing up each side, and is composed of flax, and lined with grass. This bird is five inches long, the whole body of a rich sky-blue, deepening in color toward the head, and sometimes varying to green.

The Yellow Bird, or Goldfinch, bears a great resemblance to the canary, and in song is like the goldfinch of Britain, but it is in general weak. In the spring, they associate in flocks, to bask and dress themselves in the morning sun, singing in concert for half an hour together; the confused mingling of their notes forming a kind of harmony not at all unpleasant. Their flight is not direct, but in alternate risings and sinkings, twittering as they fly at each successive impulse of the wings. They search the gardens in numbers, in quest of seeds, and pass by various names, such as lettuce-bird, sallad-bird, thistle-bird, yellow-bird. They are very easily tamed.

The goldfinch is four inches and a half in length: the male is of a rich lemon color. The wings and tail are black, edged with white. In the fall, this color changes to a brown olive, which is the constant color of the female. They build a nest in the twigs of an apple tree, neatly formed of lichen and soft downy substances.

The Cardinal Grosbeak is one of our most common cage birds, and is very generally known both in this country and in Europe. Numbers of them have been carried to England and France, in which last country they are called Virginia nightingales. They have great clearness and variety of tones; many of which resemble the clear notes of the fife, and are nearly as loud. They begin in the spring at daybreak, and repeat a favorite passage twenty or thirty times. The sprightly figure and gaudy plumage of this bird, with his vivacity and strength of voice, must always make him a favorite.

The Crossbill is an inhabitant of almost all the pine forests situated north of forty degrees, from the beginning of September to the middle of April. The great pine swamp in Pennsylvania appears to be their favorite rendezvous. They then appear in large flocks, feeding on the seeds of the hemlock and white pine; have a loud, sharp, and not unmusical note; chatter as they fly; alight during the prevalence of the deep snows before the door of the hunter, and around the house, picking off the clay with which the logs are plastered, and searching in corners where any substance of a saline nature had been thrown. At such times, they are so tame as only to settle on the roof of the cabin when disturbed, and a moment after, descend to feed as before. They are then easily caught in traps. When kept in a cage, they have many of the habits of the parrot, often climbing along the wires, and using their feet to grasp the cones in, while taking out the seeds.

Carolina Parrot.――This is the only species of parrot found native within the territory of the United States. The vast luxuriant tracts lying within the torrid zone seem to be the favorite residence of those noisy, numerous and richly plumaged tribes. The Carolina parrot inhabits the interior of Louisiana and the shores of the Mississippi and Ohio, east of the Alleghanies. It is seldom seen north of Maryland. Their private places of resort are low, rich, alluvial bottoms along the borders of creeks; deep and almost impenetrable swamps filled with sycamore and cypress trees, and the salines or licks interspersed over the western country. Here too is a great abundance of their favorite fruits. The seeds of the cypress tree and beech nuts are eagerly sought after by these birds.

Illustration: Carolina Parrot.

The flight of the Carolina parrot is very much like that of the wild pigeon, in close compact bodies, moving with great rapidity, making a loud and outrageous screaming, like that of the red-headed woodpecker. Their flight is sometimes in a direct line, but most usually circuitous, making a great variety of elegant and easy serpentine meanders, as if for pleasure. They generally roost in the hollow trunks of old sycamores, in parties of thirty or forty together. Here they cling fast to the sides of the tree, holding by their claws and bills. They appear to be fond of sleep, and often retire to their holes during the day, probably to take their regular siesta. They are extremely social and friendly towards each other.

The Yellow-billed Cuckoo is not abundant any where; but it is found far north, though preferring a residence in the southern states. It feeds on berries and insects of various kinds. ‘In autumn,’ says Mr. Audubon, ‘they eat many grapes, and I have seen them supporting themselves by a momentary motion of their wings opposite a bunch, as if selecting the ripest, when they would seize it and return to a branch, repeating their visits in this manner, until satiated. They now and then descend to the ground, to pick up a wood-snail or a beetle. They are extremely awkward at walking, and move in an ambling manner, or leap along sidewise, for which the shortness of their legs is an ample excuse. They are seldom seen perched conspicuously on a twig, but on the contrary are generally to be found amongst the thickest boughs and foliage, where they emit their notes until late in autumn, at which time they discontinue them.’ It is shy and cowardly, robbing small birds of their eggs.

Woodpeckers.――The Red-headed Woodpecker is universally known from his striking and characteristic plumage, and the frequency of his depredations in the orchards and corn-fields. Towards the mountains, particularly in the vicinity of creeks and rivers, these birds are extremely abundant, especially in the latter part of the summer. Wherever you travel in the interior at that season, you hear them screaming from the adjoining woods, rattling on the dead limbs of trees, or on the fences, where they are perpetually seen flitting from stake to stake on the roadside before you. Wherever there are trees of the wild cherry, covered with ripe fruit, there you see them busy among the branches; and in passing orchards, you may easily know where to find the sweetest apples, by observing those trees on or near which this bird is skulking; for he is so excellent a connoisseur in fruit, that wherever an apple or pear is found broached by him, it is sure to be among the ripest and best flavored. When alarmed, he seizes a capital one by sticking his open bill deep into it, and bears it off to the woods. When the Indian corn is in its ripe, succulent, and milky state, he attacks it with great eagerness, opening a passage through the numerous folds of the husk, and feeding on it with voracity. The girdled or leadened timber, so common among the corn-fields in the back settlements, are his favorite retreats, whence he sallies out to make his depredations. He is fond of the ripe berries of the sour gum, and pays regular visits to the cherry trees, when loaded with fruit. Towards fall, he often approaches the barn or farm house, and raps on the shingles and weather-boards. He is of a gay and frolicsome disposition; and half a dozen of the fraternity are frequently seen diving and vociferating round the high dead limbs of some tree, pursuing and playing with each other, amusing the passenger with their gambols. Their note or cry is shrill and lively, and so much resembles that of a species of tree-frog, which frequents the same tree, that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the one from the other.

Illustration: Red-headed Woodpecker.

The Ivory-billed Woodpecker breeds in the Carolinas, and in strength and magnitude stands at the head of the tribe. He lives in the cypress swamps, seeking the tops of the most towering trees; his bill is like polished ivory, and his crest a superb carmine. His eye is brilliant and daring, and his manners are said to be dignified and noble. Among the other American birds of this tribe are the Pileated, Yellow-bellied, Golden-winged, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.

Nuthatch.――The White-breasted Nuthatch is found almost every where in the woods of North America; his whole upper plumage is light-blue or lead, the under parts are white, and the crown of the head, black. Ants, seeds, insects, and larvæ, form his principal subsistence. There are two other species of this bird found in the United States.

The Ruby-throated Humming Bird is the only species of the genus found in the limits of the states, though there are upwards of one hundred in America. Its approach to the north is regulated by the advance of the season. He is extremely fond of tubular flowers, particularly of the blossoms of the trumpet flower. When arrived before a thicket of these, that are full blown, he suspends himself on wing for the space of two or three seconds, so steadily that his wings become almost invisible; the glossy golden green of his back, and the fire of his throat, dazzling in the sun, form altogether an interesting spectacle. When he alights, he prefers the small dead twigs of a bush, where he dresses and arranges his plumage with great dexterity. His flight from flower to flower greatly resembles that of a bee, but is infinitely more rapid. He poises himself on wing, while he thrusts his long slender tongue into the flowers in search of food. He sometimes enters a room by the window, examines the bouquets of flowers, and passes out by the opposite door or window. He feeds on the honey extracted from flowers, and on insects.

‘The old and young,’ says Mr. Nuttall, ‘are soon reconciled to confinement. In an hour after the loss of liberty, the little cheerful captive will often come and suck diluted honey, or sugar and water, from the flowers held out to it; and in a few hours more, it becomes tame enough to sip its favorite beverage from a saucer, in the interval flying backwards and forwards in the room for mere exercise, and then resting on some neighboring elevated object. In dark or rainy weather, they seem to pass the time chiefly dozing or on the perch. They are also soon so familiar as to come to the hand that feeds them. In cold nights, or at the approach of frost, the pulsation of this little dweller in the sunbeam becomes nearly as low as in the torpid state of the dormouse; but on applying warmth, the almost stagnant circulation revives, and slowly increases to the usual state.’

Belted Kingfisher.――This is the only species of its tribe found within the United States, where it frequents the banks of all the fresh water rivers from Maine to Florida. His voice is loud, rattling, and sudden. His flight is rapid, and is sometimes prolonged to very considerable distances. He follows up the course of the rivers to their very fountains, and his presence is a sign of abundant fish. Mill-ponds, where the water is calm, are favorite resorts of this bird, and its eggs are generally found in places not far from a mill worked by water. The kingfisher, for many successive years, returns to the same hole to breed and roost. Its flesh is oily and disagreeable.

Illustration: Belted Kingfisher.

Swallows.――The beautiful Purple Martin is a great favorite of man in all parts of the country. The farmer prepares a little house for him, the Indian hollows a calabash, and as either mansion is to him indifferent, so is he equally acceptable to the husbandman and the hunter. Year after year he returns to the same mansion. In the middle states, the martins prepare their nest about the third week in April, and they rear two broods in the season. There are several other species, such as the Barn, Cliff, White-bellied, and Chimney.

Night-Hawks.――The Whip-poor-will is a remarkable nocturnal bird migratory through nearly the extent of the states. It is well known for its sad and peculiar song. The Chuck-will’s Widow is seldom found north of Virginia, and is particularly numerous in the vast forests of the Mississippi. Its note is strikingly different from that of the whip-poor-will. In sound and articulation it seems plainly to express the words which have been applied to it, pronouncing every syllable leisurely, and distinctly, putting the principal emphasis on the last word. In a still evening it may be heard at the distance of nearly a mile; the tones of its voice being strong and full.

The flight of this bird is slow, skimming about the surface of the ground, frequently settling on old logs or on the fences, and from thence sweeping around in pursuit of various insects that fly in the night. Like the whip-poor-will, it prefers the declivities of glens, and other deeply shaded places, making the mountains resound with echoes the whole evening.

Pigeons.――The Passenger Pigeon is the most remarkable American species. The head, throat, and upper parts of the body are ash colored; the sides of the neck are of a glossy variable purple; and there is a crimson mark round the eyes. These birds visit the different parts of North America in immense flocks. The most important facts connected with their habits relate to their extraordinary associations and migrations. No other species known to naturalists is more calculated to attract the attention of either the citizen or the stranger, as he has opportunity of viewing both of these characteristic habits while they are passing from north to south, east and west, and, vice versa, over and across the whole extent of the United States of America. These migrations are owing entirely to the dire necessity of providing food, and not merely to escape the severity of a northern latitude, or seek a southern one for the purpose of breeding. They consequently do not take place at any fixed period or season of the year. Indeed, it happens sometimes that a continuance of a sufficient supply of food in one district will keep these birds absent from another for years.

Illustration: Passenger Pigeon.

Their rapidity of flight is wonderful. Pigeons have been killed in the neighborhood of New York, with their crops full of the rice they must have collected in the plantations of the Carolinas, or Georgia, and the flight necessary to account for this circumstance has been estimated at a mile a minute. Another well-known bird of this tribe is the Carolina Pigeon.

Wild Turkey.――This splendid bird is found from the North-West territory to the isthmus of Panama. They abound in the forests and unsettled parts of the Union, but are very rare in the northern and eastern parts. They were formerly abundant in Canada; but as their places of resort become settled and thickly peopled, they retire and seek refuge in the remotest recesses of the interior. In New England, it appears to have been destroyed many years ago; but it is still found in the eastern parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Illustration: Wild Turkey.

These birds do not confine themselves to any particular food, but eat corn, berries, grapes, barley, tadpoles, young frogs and lizards. Their favorite food, however, is the pecan nut and acorn. Where there is an abundant crop of acorns, numerous flocks of turkeys may be expected. In the fall, they direct their courses in vast numbers to the rich lands on the borders of the Ohio and Mississippi. Before crossing a river, they assemble on the highest eminences, and remain there as if in consultation for a day or two. At length, after due preparation, the leader gives a signal note, and they all wing their way to the opposite shore. Some of the young and weak fall into the water, and many perish. It is observed that after these journeys, the turkeys are so familiar, that they fearlessly enter the plantations, in search of food. Great numbers are killed at this time, and kept in a frozen state to be sent to distant markets.

Illustration: Wild Turkeys.

The flesh of the wild turkey is of excellent flavor, being more delicate and juicy than that of the domestic turkey; the Indians value it so highly, that they term it, when roasted, ‘the white man’s dish.’ The male of the wild turkey is nearly four feet in length; the female is only three feet and a quarter long. The plumage of the male is very brilliant, and of a variety of hues; that of the female is not so beautiful.[53]

The Quail.――The American quail is found throughout the union; and though in form and general appearance it somewhat resembles the European quail, the two birds differ very widely in their habits. The food of the quail consists of grain, seed and insects, but buckwheat and Indian corn are its favorites. The flight of this bird is accompanied with a loud whizzing sound, occasioned by the shortness of their wings and the rapidity with which they move. During winter, they often suffer severely from the inclemency of the weather, and whole coveys are found frozen in spots where they had endeavored to shelter themselves.

Illustration: Quail.

Grouse.――The Ruffed Grouse is the partridge of the eastern states, and the pheasant of Pennsylvania and the southern districts. It is known in almost every quarter of the United States, and appears to inhabit a very extensive range of country. Its favorite places of resort are high mountains covered with the balsam, pine, hemlock, and such like evergreens. Unlike the pinnated grouse, it always prefers the woods; is seldom or never found in open plains, but loves the pine-sheltered declivities of mountains near streams of water. In the lower parts of Georgia, Carolina, and Florida, they are very seldom observed; but as we advance inland to the mountains, they again make their appearance. The Sharp-tailed Grouse, the Dusky Grouse, and the Cock of the Plains, are other species of this tribe.

The Woodcock, in its general figure and habits, greatly resembles the woodcock of Europe, but is considerably less, and very differently marked. This bird is universally known to our sportsmen. During the day they keep to the woods and thickets, and at the approach of evening seek the springs and open watery places to feed in. In hot weather, they descend to the marshy shores of our rivers, their favorite springs and watery recesses inland being dried up. To the former of these retreats they are pursued by sportsmen, flushed by dogs, and shot down in great numbers. The woodcock is properly a nocturnal bird, feeding chiefly at night, and seldom stirring about till after sunset; at such times he rises by a kind of spiral course to a considerable height in the air, uttering at times a sudden quack, till having gained his utmost height, he hovers round in a wild irregular manner, making a sort of murmuring sound, then descends with rapidity as he rose.

Ducks.――The Canvass-back Duck is peculiar to this country, and a witty gourmand of England, who made the tour of the states, thinks it the only production of nature or art of which America can with reason be proud. It was known to the epicure, long before it was described by the naturalist. Arriving in the United States from the north, about the middle of October, its chief place of resort is about the waters which flow into Chesapeak bay. On its first arrival it is lean, but from the abundance of its favorite food, it soon becomes fat. This bird is sometimes found in numbers so great as to cover acres.[54]

Illustration: Canvass-Back Duck.

Among the American birds of this tribe are the Eider Duck, Black or Surf Duck, Ruddy Duck, Golden-eye, Buffel-headed Duck, Tufted Duck, Teal and some others. The Wood or Summer Duck, is the most beautiful bird of its kind in the world. Its head is adorned with a beautiful crest, and its plumage is most beautifully variegated. Its favorite places of resort are the border of ponds and lakes; but it passes the summer in the woods. It nestles in hollow trees, and when taken may be easily tamed.

Illustration: Summer Duck.

Wild Goose.――The common wild goose is well known over the whole of the United States, and its periodical migrations are sure signs of returning spring or approaching winter. Its flight is heavy and laborious. When in good order this bird weighs from ten to fourteen pounds, and yields about half a pound of feathers. Mr. Wilson relates the following interesting anecdote.

Illustration: Wild Geese.

‘Mr. Platt, a respectable farmer on Long Island, being out shooting in one of the bays which in that part of the country abound in water-fowl, wounded a wild goose. Being unable to fly, he caught it, and brought it home alive. It proved to be a female, and turning it into the yard with a flock of tame geese, it soon became quite familiar, and in a little time its wounded wing entirely healed. In the following spring, when the wild geese migrate to the northward, a flock passed over Mr. Platt’s barn yard, and just at that moment, their leader, happening to sound his bugle note, our goose, in whom its new habits had not quite extinguished the love of liberty, and remembering the well-known sound, spread its wings, mounted into the air, joined the travellers, and soon disappeared. In the succeeding autumn, the wild geese, as usual, returned from the northward, in great numbers, to pass the winter in our bays and rivers. Mr. Platt happened to be standing in his yard, when a flock passed directly over his barn. At that instant, he observed three geese detach themselves from the rest, and after wheeling round several times, alight in the middle of the yard. Imagine his surprise and pleasure, when, by certain well-remembered signs, he recognised in one of the three his long-lost fugitive. It was she indeed! She had travelled many hundred miles to the lakes; had there hatched and reared her offspring; and had now returned with her little family, to share with them the sweets of civilized life.’

Wild Swan.――This bird is found widely spread over the whole of the northern continent. During the winter, great numbers of them resort to the Chesapeak bay, and whilst there, form collections of from one to five hundred on the flats near the western shore. These birds are so exceedingly vigilant, that if but three of them are feeding together, one will generally be on guard, and when danger approaches, the alarm is given. While feeding and dressing, they make much noise, and through the night their vociferations can be heard for several miles. Their notes are extremely varied; some resembling the deepest base of the common tin horn, others running through the various modulations of the clarionet. The swan is five or six years in reaching its perfect growth. The aborigines employ the skin of this bird in making dresses for their women of rank, and the feathers as ornaments for the head.[55]

Illustration: Wild Swan.

Rail.――This bird belongs to a genus of which naturalists enumerate about thirty species, distributed over almost every region of the earth. Their general character is every where the same. They run swiftly, fly slowly, and usually with the legs hanging down, are fond of concealment, and become at seasons extremely fat. The common American rail is migratory. It is feeble and delicate in every thing but the legs, which are strong and vigorous; their bodies are so remarkably thin that they are enabled to pass between the reeds like rats. They disappear on the first severe frost, from their usual residence along the reedy shores of the Delaware, and so sudden is their departure that no one knows how or when it is made.

Illustration: American Rail.

Plovers.――The Black-bellied Plover is known in some parts of this country by the name of the large whistling field plover; the gunners along the coast call them the black-bellied plover. In Pennsylvania, this bird frequents the countries towards the mountains; seems particularly attached to newly ploughed fields, where it forms its nest, of a few slight materials, as slightly put together. It is an extremely shy and watchful bird, though clamorous during breeding time.

The Kildeer Plover is known to almost every inhabitant of the United States, being a common and pretty constant resident. During the severity of winter, when snow covers the ground, it retreats to the seashore, where it is found at all seasons; but no sooner have the rivers broken up than its shrill note is again heard, either soaring about high in the air, tracing the shore of the river, or running amidst the watery flats and meadows.

Flamingo.――This bird is common on the south frontiers of the states, and the peninsula of East Florida. When the Europeans first came to America, they found this bird on several shores on either continent gentle, and no way distrustful of mankind. When the fowler had killed one, the rest of the flock, far from attempting to fly, only regarded the fall of their companion in a kind of fixed astonishment: another and another shot was discharged; and thus the fowler often levelled the whole flock, before one of them began to think of escaping.

But at present it is very different in that part of the world; and the flamingo is not only one of the scarcest, but one of the shyest birds in the world, and the most difficult of approach. They chiefly keep near the most deserted and inhospitable shores; near salt water lakes and swampy islands. When seen by mariners in the day, they always appear drawn up in a long close line, of two or three hundred together; and present, at the distance of half a mile, the exact representation of a long brick wall. This line, however, is broken when they seek for food; but they always appoint one of the number as a watch, whose only employment is to observe and give notice of danger while the rest are feeding. As soon as this trusty sentinel perceives the remotest appearance of danger, he gives a loud scream, with a voice as shrill as a trumpet, and instantly the whole cohort are upon the wing.

Their time of breeding is according to the climate in which they reside: in North America, they breed in summer; on the other side of the line, they take the most favorable season of the year. They build their nests in extensive marshes, and where they are in no danger of a surprise.

Herons.――The Great Egret Heron is often seen in summer in our low marshes and inundated meadows; yet on account of its extreme vigilance, it is very difficult to be procured. It is found in Guiana, and probably beyond the line, to New York. It enters the territories of the United States late in February. The high inland parts of the country it rarely or never visits. Its favorite haunts are vast inundated swamps, rice fields, the low marshy shores of rivers, and such like places; where from its size and color it is very conspicuous even at a distance. The plumage of this elegant bird is of a snowy whiteness; the bill of a rich orange yellow; and the legs black.

The Great Heron is a constant inhabitant of the Atlantic coast from New York to Florida. They breed in the Carolinas and New Jersey, in the gloomy solitudes of the cedar swamps. Their nests are constructed of sticks and placed on the tallest trees.

The Louisiana Heron is a rare and delicately formed species, occasionally found on the swampy river shores of South Carolina, but more frequently along the borders of the Mississippi, particularly below New Orleans. In each of these places it is migratory, and in the latter builds its nests on trees amidst the inundated woods. Among the species of this tribe, are the Green Heron, Blue Heron, Night Heron, Yellow-crowned Heron, the Bittern, and several others.

Illustration: Night Heron.

The Whooping Crane is the tallest and most stately species of all the feathered tribes of the United States; the watchful inhabitant of extensive salt marshes, desolate swamps, and open morasses, in the neighborhood of the sea. Its migrations are regular, and of the most extensive kind, reaching from the inundated shores and tracts of South America to the arctic circle. In these periodical journeys, they pass at such a prodigious height in the air as to be rarely observed. They wander along the marshes and muddy flats of the seashore, in search of marine worms; sailing occasionally from place to place with a loud and heavy flight. At times they utter a loud and piercing cry, which may be heard at a great distance. They have various modulations of this singular note, from the peculiarity of which they derive their name.

The Sand-hill Crane is a fine stately bird, taller than a swan, and in the water, said to be quite as majestic. They abound in countless numbers on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, appearing at a distance like great droves of sheep. They migrate in company with the pelicans.

Pelican.――To those who have visited the estuaries of the Florida coast, the demure and awkward attitude of this bird is perfectly familiar. In that portion of our country, this species occurs in large flocks, and they are often to be seen along the shores of the Mississippi and Missouri, imparting a peculiar character to the otherwise solitary scene; their solemn and quiet demeanor being in strict unison with the stillness of the uninhabited plains which surround them. They build in societies, and are seldom found except in flocks. When they are disturbed, they rise in much confusion, but soon form in regular order, usually flying in long lines, though sometimes in a triangle, like geese, with their long bills resting on their breasts.

The Wood Ibis is found in the southern parts of the United States, in watery savannas and inland swamps, where it feeds on fish and reptiles. The neck, body, and lower parts of this bird are white; the bill is nearly nine inches long. The White Ibis is numerous in the same latitudes. The Scarlet Ibis frequents the borders of the sea, and the shores of the neighboring rivers, feeding on small fry, shell-fish, sea-worms, and crabs. The Purple Gallinule is sometimes met with in Georgia, but is a native of the southern continent.

The Roseate Spoonbill is an inhabitant of our southern seashore, and is sometimes found in the Mississippi in the summer. It wades about in search of shell-fish, marine insects, small crabs and fish, in pursuit of which it occasionally swims and dives. The Black-bellied Darter, or Snake Bird, is common in the Carolinas. Its head, neck, and breast are light brown; the belly and tail deep black. It sits on the shrubs that overhang the water, and often terrifies the passengers by darting out its long and slender neck, which bears strong resemblance to that of a serpent.

III. FISHES.

The natural history of American fishes is yet to be written, as very little progress has yet been made in the scientific observation of this interesting order of animals. The fishes which fill the bays and coasts of the United States are generally of the same species with those on the coasts of the opposite continent. Along the shores of New England they are particularly abundant, though there is no other bank that equals that of Newfoundland in extreme richness. Shad and salmon are fine fish abounding in the Atlantic rivers, and beautiful trout are taken in the mountain streams of the northern states. Among the fish of the western waters, probably in a great measure common to them and other rivers, are noticed several varieties of perch, one of which, the buffalo perch, derives its name from the singular grunting noise which it makes, and which is familiar to every one who has been much on the Ohio. It is a fine table fish, weighing from ten to thirty pounds. There are, also, varieties of the bass, the hog-fish, and the sun-fish, and sixteen species of minny found in these waters, besides trout, false herring, and shad. Of all the inhabitants of the western rivers, the brown buffalo-fish is, perhaps, as much esteemed as any; it is quite abundant, and is found from two to three feet in length. In the lower waters of the Ohio and Mississippi, we meet with the black buffalo-fish, sometimes weighing half a hundred. A larger buffalo, resembling the shad of the Atlantic states, is taken in immense numbers in the lakes and meadows of the Mississippi.

The trout of Florida and Louisiana is not identical with the beautiful fish of that name that is a tenant of the cold and swift streams of the northern Atlantic country; it is of the perch class, and takes the bait with a spring like the trout, and is beautifully marked with golden stripes. It is a sound, hard fish, with a pleasant flavor, and weighs from one to four pounds. ‘We have never witnessed angling,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘that could compare with that of this fish, in the clear pine-wood streams of the southern divisions of this country. With fresh bait a barrel may be taken in a few hours.’ Twelve species of cat-fish have been observed in the Ohio, and it is indeed the most common fish in the western waters. They are of all colors and sizes, without scales, and easily taken with a hook. Their English name is derived from the noise which they make when at rest, which is very similar to the purring of a cat. In the Mississippi, this fish is found of the weight of an hundred pounds.

The Ohio ‘toter’ is two or three inches in length; its name is derived from the barbarism ‘tote,’ meaning to ‘carry,’ because this fish makes itself a cell by surrounding a place with pebbles. Pike, pickerel, and jack-fish, weighing from six ounces to twenty pounds, are found in the western rivers. Of the gar-fish there are also numerous varieties. The alligator-gar is sometimes eight feet long, and is voracious, fierce and formidable, even to the human species. Its dart in rapidity equals the flight of a bird. Its mouth is long, round, and pointed, thickset with sharp teeth; its body is covered with scales so hard as to be impenetrable by a rifle-bullet, and, when dry, answer the purposes of a flint in striking fire from steel. Its weight is from fifty to two hundred pounds, and its appearance is hideous. It is, in fact, the shark of rivers, and is considered far more formidable than the alligator himself. The devil-jack-diamond fish is another monster of the rivers. One has been caught that weighed four hundred pounds; its usual length is from four to ten feet.

Eels vary in length from two to four feet. The best species for the table is the yellow eel. Of sturgeon there are six species in these rivers, some of them four feet in length; some of them are said to form a palatable food. The Mississippi saw-fish varies in length from three feet to six; it has twenty-six long teeth on either side, in the form of a saw. There is also a spotted horn-fish from two to three feet long, the horn being one quarter the length of the body. The beautifully striped bar-fish go in shoals in the southern streams; they weigh from one to three pounds, and are taken with a hook. The shovel-fish is found in the muddy lakes of the middle region of the valley; it weighs from ten to fifty pounds, is without scales, and has in front of the mouth a bony substance between six and twelve inches long, and two or three inches wide, with which it turns up the mud in search of its food. It is exceedingly fat, and is taken for its oil.

‘We have never remarked this fish in any museum,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘although to us the most strange and whimsical-looking fish we have seen. We have seen one instance of a horribly deformed animal, apparently intermediate between the class testudo and fishes. We saw it in a water of the Washita, and had not a fair opportunity to examine it. It is called toad-fish, has a shell like a tortoise, but in every thing else resembles a fish. It is said to be sufficiently strong to bear a man on its back; and, from the account of those who have examined it, this animal must be a lusus naturæ.’

The rock fish,[56] drum and sheep’s-head are large fish, taken in saline lakes in the neighborhood of the gulf of Mexico. In size they correspond to the cod and haddock of the Atlantic, and are among the most common fish in the market of New Orleans. The fish of the gulf shore partake of the character both of salt and fresh water fish; this arises from their being taken in shallow lakes principally composed of fresh water, but having outlets in the gulf, through which in strong south winds the sea-water is forced in such quantities that they become salt. There are a vast number of craw-fish every where in the marshy grounds and shallow waters. By penetrating the bank of the Mississippi, they have more than once made perforations which have imperceptibly enlarged to crevices, by which the inundation of the river has been let in upon the country.

The fish of the western rivers are generally less esteemed than those of the Atlantic waters; and in truth, fresh-water fish generally will not vie with those of the sea. The fishes of the Mississippi and its tributary rivers are for the most part coarse, tough, large and unpleasant in their flavor. ‘Except the trout, the small yellow cat-fish, the pike, the bar-fish and the perch,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘we do not much admire the fish of the western waters.’

Dr. Mitchell gives the following account of a gigantic fish of the ray kind, which he calls the oceanic vampire. It had been taken near the entrance of the Delaware Bay, by the crew of a smack which had been fitted out for the express purpose of capturing some sea-monster. After an absence of about three weeks, the adventurers returned with the animal to which we refer. It was killed after a long and dangerous encounter. The weight was so considerable, that after it had been towed to the shore, three pair of oxen aided by a horse and twenty-two men could not drag it to the dry land; the weight was supposed to be between four and five tons. Its length was seventeen feet and three inches, from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail. The breadth from the extremity of one pectoral fin or wing to the other, measuring along the line of the belly, was sixteen feet; when measured over the convexity of the back, eighteen feet.

On each side of the mouth there was a vertical fin two feet and six inches long, twelve inches deep, and two inches and a half thick in the middle, whence it tapered towards the edges, which were fringed before with a radiated margin. The fin or organ thus constituted was so flexible as to bend in all directions, and be made in many respects to perform the function of a hand. The wings, flaps, or pectoral fins, were of very curious organization; they bore more resemblance to the wings of a bird than to any thing else, and were yet so different as to manifest a remarkable variety of mechanism, in organs intended substantially for the same use. Fish of the kind now under consideration may be aptly denominated submarine birds; for they fly through the water, as birds fly through the air.

IV. REPTILES.

Reptiles, or animals of the serpent, turtle, and lizard class, are found in various parts of the United States; and in some in pernicious abundance. All varieties of the rattlesnake[57] are seen; of these, the largest is the yellow rattlesnake. This is sometimes seen from six to nine feet in length, and as large as a man’s leg. A species of small rattlesnake is numerous on the prairies; in the far west, they are said to live in the same burrows with the prairie dogs. The snapper, or ground rattlesnake, is very troublesome; it travels by night, and frequents house paths and roads. The copper head is a snake supposed to be more venomous even than the preceding, but is less frequently found. It is of a dirty brown color; but when it has recently shed its skin, some parts of its body resemble burnished copper.

There are three or four varieties of the moccasin snake inhabiting the southern country. The upland moccasin somewhat resembles the rattlesnake, but is still more disgusting in its appearance. The largest variety of the moccasin snake is similar to the water snake of the Atlantic country. It is a serpent of the largest size, exceedingly venomous, with a very large flat head, lazy, and unobservant of man. There is another species of the moccasin seldom seen on shore, of a brilliant copper color, striped with gray rings. The brown viper, or hissing snake, is from six to eight inches long, terminating in a sharp tail; when angry, the color of its back changes, its head flattens and dilates to twice its usual extent, and its hiss resembles that of a goose. It is extremely venomous, and of a very repulsive aspect. One that was confined by a stick across its back, instantly bit itself in two or three places; and when released, it soon become swollen and died.

Mr. Flint expresses his conviction that the Mississippi valley presents a greater number of serpents, and is more infested by them than the Atlantic shore, excepting perhaps its southern border. Wherever the population becomes dense, the swine prey upon them, and they quickly disappear. Their most permanent and dangerous resorts are near the bases of precipitous and rocky hills, about ledges and flint knobs, and in the southern countries along vast swamps and stagnant waters. The bite of these serpents is venomous, and the person that is bitten often becomes blind. During the latter part of the summer, the serpents themselves become blind; the popular belief on this subject is, that this blindness arises from the absorption of their own poison into the system. During this period, though their aim is less certain, their bite is most dangerous. Death seldom occurs, however, from this cause.

The country has the usual varieties of harmless serpents, such as the green garter, chicken, and coach-whip snakes. The glass snake is often seen with a body of the utmost brilliancy. A stroke across the back separates the body into several pieces, each of which continues for some time to exercise the powers of locomotion. The bull or prairie snakes are of hideous appearance and of large size; they inhabit holes in the ground, and run at the traveller with a loud hiss, but instantly retreat if he stands and faces them. They are believed to be perfectly harmless, but their aspect is such as to excite great horror.

Ugly animals of the lizard kind are seen in all the climates in a greater or less number; they are found under rotten logs, and are dug out of alluvions, the last description being lazy and disgusting. They appear to be harmless. Common small lizards are frequent in the southern districts, and also varieties of small chameleons. These will change in half an hour to all the colors of the rainbow. ‘We have placed them on a handkerchief,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘and they have gradually assumed all its colors. Placed on a black surface, they become brown; but they evidently suffer while under this color, as is manifested by uneasy movements, and by strong and quick palpitation, visible to the eye. They are very active and nimble animals, three or four inches in length.’ Some lizards of a larger class and with flatter heads, are called scorpions; they are ugly animals, and are considered poisonous. When attacked, they show the angry manner of the serpent, vibrating a fiery and forked tongue, and biting with great fury at the stick which arrests them.

Of this class, the most terrible is the alligator. The description of this animal by Mr. Audubon is so interesting, and so strongly marked by the agreeable peculiarities of his attractive and original style, that we shall transfer it to our pages with but slight abridgment. This distinguished naturalist, by his eminent services in the cause to which he has been so zealously devoted, has erected an eternal monument; and posterity will read the name which it records for ages, after every trace of the great warriors and ambitious politicians of our time has faded from the pages of history.

‘In Louisiana, all our lagoons, bayous, creeks, ponds, lakes and rivers, are well stocked with alligators; they are found wherever there is a sufficient quantity of water to hide them, or to furnish them with food; and they continue thus, in great numbers, as high as the mouth of the Arkansas river, extending east to North Carolina, and as far west as I have penetrated. On the Red river, before it was navigated by steam vessels, they were so extremely abundant that, to see hundreds at a sight along the shores, or on the immense rafts of floating or stranded timber, was quite a common occurrence, the smaller on the backs of the larger, groaning and uttering their bellowing noise, like thousands of irritated bulls about to meet in fight, but all so careless of man that, unless shot at, or positively disturbed, they remained motionless, suffering boats or canoes to pass within a few yards of them, without noticing them in the least. The shores are yet trampled by them in such a manner, that their large tracts are seen as plentiful as those of sheep in a fold. It was on that river particularly, thousands of the largest size were killed, when the mania of having shoes, boots, or saddle-seats, made of their hides, lasted. It had become an article of trade, and many of the squatters and strolling Indians followed for a time no other business. The discovery that their skins are not sufficiently firm and close-grained to prevent water or dampness long, put a stop to their general destruction, which had already become very apparent. The leather prepared from these skins was handsome and very pliant, exhibiting all the regular lozenges of the scales, and able to receive the highest degree of polish and finishing.

‘The usual motion of the alligator, when on land, is slow and sluggish; it is a kind of labored crawling, performed by moving alternately each leg, in the manner of a quadruped when walking, scarce able to keep up their weighty bodies from dragging on the earth, and leaving the track of their long tail on the mud, as if that of the keel of a small vessel. Thus they emerge from the water, and go about the shores and the woods, or the fields in search of food, or of a different place of abode, or one of safety to deposit their eggs. If, at such times, when at all distant from the water, an enemy is perceived by them, they droop and lie flat, with the nose on the ground, watching the intruder’s movements with their eyes, which are able to move considerably round, without affecting the position of the head. Should a man then approach them, they do not attempt either to make away or attack, but merely raise their body from the ground for an instant, swelling themselves and issuing a dull blowing, not unlike that of a blacksmith’s bellows. Not the least danger need be apprehended: then you either kill them with ease, or leave them. But to give you a better idea of the slowness of their movements and progress of travels on land, when arrived at a large size, say twelve or fifteen feet, believe me when I tell you, that having found one in the morning, fifty yards from a lake, going to another in sight, I have left him unmolested, hunted through the surrounding swamps all the day, and met the same alligator within five hundred yards of the spot when returning to my camp at dusk. On this account they usually travel during the night, they being then less likely to be disturbed, and having a better chance to surprise a litter of pigs or of land tortoises, for prey.

‘The power of the alligator is in his great strength; and the chief means of his attack or defence is his large tail, so well contrived by nature to supply his wants, or guard him from danger, that it reaches, when curved into half a circle, his enormous mouth. Woe be to him who goes within the reach of this tremendous thrashing instrument; for no matter how strong or muscular, if human, he must suffer greatly, if he escapes with life. The monster, as he strikes with this, forces all objects within the circle towards his jaws, which, as the tail makes a motion, are opened to their full stretch, thrown a little sideways, to receive the object, and, like battering-rams, to bruise it shockingly in a moment.

‘The alligator, when after prey in the water, or at its edge, swims so slowly towards it as not to ruffle the water. It approaches the object sideways, body and head all concealed, till sure of his stroke; then, with a tremendous blow, as quick as thought, the object is secured, as I described before.

‘When alligators are fishing, the flapping of their tails about the water may be heard at half a mile; but to describe this in a more graphic way, suffer me to take you along with me, in one of my hunting excursions, accompanied by friends and negroes. In the immediate neighborhood of Bayou-Sarah, on the Mississippi, are extensive shallow lakes and morasses; they are yearly overflowed by the dreadful floods of that river, and supplied with myriads of fishes of many kinds, amongst which trouts are most abundant, white perch, cat fish, and alligator-gars, or devil fish. Thither, in the early part of autumn, when the heat of a southern sun has exhaled much of the water, the squatter, the planter, the hunter, all go in search of sport. The lakes are then about two feet deep, having a fine sandy bottom; frequently much grass grows in them, bearing crops of seed, for which multitudes of water-fowl resort to those places. The edges of these lakes are deep swamps, muddy for some distance, overgrown with heavy large timber, principally cypress, hung with Spanish beard, and tangled with different vines, creeping plants, and cane, so as to render them almost dark during the day, and very difficult to the hunter’s progress. Here and there in the lakes are small islands, with clusters of the same trees, on which flocks of snake-birds, wood-ducks, and different species of herons, build their nests. Fishing-lines, guns, and rifles, some salt, and some water, are all the hunters take.

‘At last, the opening of the lake is seen: it has now become necessary to drag one’s self along through the deep mud, making the best of the way, with the head bent, through the small brushy growth, caring about nought but the lock of your gun. The long narrow Indian canoe kept to hunt those lakes, and taken into them during the fresh, is soon launched, and the party seated in the bottom, is paddled or poled in search of water game. There, at a sight, hundreds of alligators are seen dispersed over all the lake; their head, and all the upper part of the body, floating like a log, and in many instances, so resembling one that it requires to be accustomed to see them to know the distinction. Millions of the large wood-ibis are seen wading through the water, mudding it up, and striking deadly blows with their bills on the fish within. Here are a hoard of blue herons――the sand-hill crane rises with hoarse note――the snake-birds are perched here and there on the dead timber of the trees――the cormorants are fishing――buzzards and carrion-crows exhibit a mourning train, patiently waiting for the water to dry and leave food for them――and far in the horizon, the eagle overtakes a devoted wood-duck, singled from the clouded flocks that have been bred there.

‘It is then that you see and hear the alligator at his work,――each lake has a spot deeper than the rest, rendered so by those animals who work at it, and always situate at the lower end of the lake, near the connecting bayous, that, as drainers, pass through all those lakes, and discharge sometimes many miles below where the water had made its entrance above, thereby insuring to themselves water as long as any will remain. This is called by the hunters the alligators’ hole. You see them there lying close together. The fish that are already dying by thousands, through the insufferable heat and stench of the water, and the wounds of the different winged enemies constantly in pursuit of them, resort to the alligators’ hole to receive refreshment, with a hope of finding security also, and follow down the little currents flowing through the connecting sluices: but no! for, as the water recedes in the lake, they are here confined. The alligators thrash them and devour them whenever they feel hungry, while the ibis destroys all that make towards the shore. By looking attentively on this spot, you plainly see the tails of the alligators moving to and fro, splashing, and now and then, when missing a fish, throwing it up in the air. The hunter, anxious to prove the value of his rifle, marks one of the eyes of the largest alligator, and, as the hair trigger is touched, the alligator dies. Should the ball strike one inch astray from the eye, the animal flounces, rolls over and over, beating furiously about him with his tail, frightening all his companions, who sink immediately, whilst the fishes, like blades of burnished metal, leap in all directions out of the water, so terrified are they at this uproar. Another and another receives the shot in the eye, and expires; yet those that do not feel the fatal bullet, pay no attention to the death of their companions till the hunter approaches very close, when they hide themselves for a few moments by sinking backwards.

‘So truly gentle are the alligators at this season, that I have waded through such lakes in company of my friend Augustin Bourgeat, Esq. to whom I owe much information, merely holding a stick in one hand to drive them off, had they attempted to attack me. When first I saw this way of travelling through the lakes, waist-deep, sometimes with hundreds of these animals about me, I acknowledge to you that I felt great uneasiness, and thought it fool-hardiness to do so: but my friend, who is a most experienced hunter in that country, removed my fears by leading the way, and, after a few days, I thought nothing of it. If you go towards the head of the alligator, there is no danger, and you may safely strike it with a club, four feet long, until you drive it away, merely watching the operations of the point of the tail, that, at each blow you give, thrashes to the right and left most furiously.

‘The drivers of cattle from the Appelousas, and those of mules from Mexico, on reaching a lagoon or creek, send several of their party into the water, armed merely each with a club, for the purpose of driving away the alligators from the cattle; and you may then see men, mules, and those monsters, all swimming together, the men striking the alligators, that would otherwise attack the cattle, of which they are very fond, and those latter hurrying towards the opposite shores, to escape those powerful enemies. They will swim swiftly after a dog, or a deer, or a horse, before attempting the destruction of man, of which I have always remarked they were afraid, if the man feared not them.

‘Although I have told you how easily an alligator may be killed with a single rifle-ball, if well aimed, that is to say, if it strike either in the eye or very immediately above it, yet they are quite as difficult to be destroyed if not shot properly; and, to give you an idea of this, I shall mention two striking facts.

‘My good friend Richard Harlan, M.D. of Philadelphia, having intimated a wish to have the heart of one of these animals to study its comparative anatomy, I one afternoon went out about half a mile from the plantation and, seeing an alligator that I thought I could put whole into a hogshead of spirits, I shot it immediately on the skull bone. It tumbled over from the log on which it had been basking, into the water, and, with the assistance of two negroes, I had it out in a few minutes, apparently dead. A strong rope was fastened round its neck, and, in this condition, I had it dragged home across logs, thrown over fences, and handled without the least fear. Some young ladies there, anxious to see the inside of his mouth, requested that the mouth should be propped open with a stick put vertically; this was attempted, but at this instant the first stunning effect of the wound was over, and the animal thrashed and snapped its jaws furiously, although it did not advance a foot. The rope being still round the neck, I had it thrown over a strong branch of a tree in the yard, and hauled the poor creature up swinging, free from all about it, and left it twisting itself, and scratching with its fore feet to disengage the rope. It remained in this condition until the next morning, when finding it still alive, though very weak, the hogshead of spirits was put under it, and the alligator fairly lowered into it with a surge. It twisted about a little; but the cooper secured the cask, and it was shipped to Philadelphia, where it arrived in course.

‘Again, being in company with Augustin Bourgeat, Esq., we met an extraordinary large alligator in the woods whilst hunting; and, for the sake of destruction I may say, we alighted from our horses, and approached with full intention to kill it. The alligator was put between us, each of us provided with a long stick to irritate it; and, by making it turn its head partly on one side, afford us the means of shooting it immediately behind the fore leg and through the heart. We both discharged five heavy loads of duck-shot into its body, and almost all into the same hole, without any other effect than that of exciting regular strokes of the tail, and snapping of the jaws at each discharge, and the flow of a great quantity of blood out of the wound, and mouth, and nostrils of the animal; but it was still full of life and vigor, and to have touched it with the hand would have been madness; but as we were anxious to measure it, and to knock off some of its larger teeth to make powder charges, it was shot with a single ball just above the eye, when it bounded a few inches off the ground, and was dead when it reached it again. Its length was seventeen feet; it was apparently centuries old; many of its teeth measured three inches. The shot taken were without a foot only of the circle that we knew the tail could form, and our shots went en masse.

‘As the lakes become dry, and even the deeper connecting bayous empty themselves into the rivers, the alligators congregate into the deepest hole in vast numbers; and, to this day, in such places, are shot for the sake of their oil, now used for greasing the machinery of steam-engines and cotton mills, though formerly, when indigo was made in Louisiana, the oil was used to assuage the overflowing of the boiling juice, by throwing a ladleful into the kettle whenever this was about to take place. The alligators are caught frequently in nets by fishermen; they then come without struggling to the shore, and are killed by blows on the head given with axes.

‘When autumn has heightened the coloring of the foliage of our woods, and the air feels more rarefied during the nights and earlier part of the day, the alligators leave the lakes to seek for winter quarters, by burrowing under the roots of trees, or covering themselves simply with earth along their edges. They become then very languid and inactive, and, at this period, to sit or ride on one would not be more difficult than for a child to mount his wooden rocking-horse. The negroes, who now kill them, put all danger aside, by separating, at one blow with an axe, the tail from the body. They are afterwards cut up in large pieces, and boiled whole in a good quantity of water, from the surface of which the fat is collected with large ladles. One single man kills oftentimes a dozen or more of large alligators in the evening, prepares his fire in the woods, where he has erected a camp for the purpose, and by morning has the oil rendered.

‘I have frequently been very much amused when fishing in a bayou, where alligators were numerous, by throwing a blown bladder on the water towards the nearest to me. The alligator makes for it, flaps it towards its mouth, or attempts seizing it at once, but all in vain. The light bladder slides off; in a few minutes many alligators are trying to seize this, and their evolutions are quite interesting. They then put one in mind of a crowd of boys running after a football. A black bottle is sometimes thrown also, tightly corked; but the alligator seizes this easily, and you hear the glass give way under its teeth as if ground in a coarse mill. They are easily caught by negroes, who most expertly throw a rope over their heads when swimming close to shore, and haul them out instantly.’

The Tortoise is found in considerable numbers and variety. In the lakes west of the Mississippi, and near New Orleans, a soft shelled mud-tortoise is found, which epicures declare to be not much inferior to the sea-turtle of the West Indies. The gouffre is an animal apparently of the tortoise class, and is abundant in the pine barrens of the south-western states. Its shell is large and thick, and it burrows to a great depth in the ground; its strength and power are wonderful, and in many respects it is similar to the logger-head turtle. The siren is nearly two feet in length, and a very singular animal; it somewhat resembles the lamprey. It is amphibious, penetrates the mud easily, and seems to be of an order between fish and lizards. The whole of the republic is prolific in toads, frogs, and reptiles of that class; but they are found in the greatest number and variety in the regions of the warmest temperature.

V. INSECTS.

The insects of the United States are numerous, and many of them beautiful; many of the species are entirely new, and science has been much indebted to Mr. Say for additions of no inconsiderable importance to entomology. The moths and butterflies are exceedingly splendid, and one of them, the atlas moth, is the largest hitherto known. Among the spiders, is a huge species called the tarantula, supposed to inflict a dangerous bite. The annoyance inflicted by moschetos in hot weather is well known; by these and other stinging insects, damp and low situations are rendered very disagreeable during the summer. The fire flies, which glitter especially in the southern forests, are very interesting. The copper colored centiped, a creature of cylindrical form, and as long as a man’s finger, is dreaded as noxious; a family is said to have been poisoned by taking tea in which one of them had been accidentally boiled.

One insect, the ægeria exitiosa, has committed great ravages among the peach trees. The larva begins the work of destruction about the beginning of October, by entering the tree, probably through the tender bark under the surface of the soil; thence it proceeds downwards, within the tree, into the root, and then turns its course upwards towards the surface, where it arrives about the commencement of the succeeding July. They voraciously devour both the alburnum and the liber, the new wood and the inner bark. The insects deposit from one to three hundred eggs within the bark of the tree, according to its capacity to support their progeny.

The United States are not free from the scourge of the locust. The males have under each wing a ribbed membrane as thin as a gossamer’s web, which, when inflated, constitutes their musical organ. The female has a sting or drill, the size of a pin, and near half an inch in length, of a hard and brittle substance, which lies on the under surface of the body; with this the insect drills a hole into the small limbs of trees, quite to the pith; there it deposits through this hollow sting or drill some dozen or two of small white eggs. The time required to drill the hole and deposit the egg is from two to five minutes. When undisturbed, they make some half dozen or more insertions of their drill in the same limb, perhaps an inch apart, and these punctures usually produce speedy death to the end of the limb. They sometimes swarm about the forests in countless multitudes, making ‘melancholy music,’ and causing no less melancholy desolation.

GENERAL REMARKS ON ZOOLOGY.

The zoology of the United States opens a wide and interesting field of observation: it is more peculiar and striking than either the mineralogy or botany. The following general view of the mammiferous animals inhabiting North America is given by Dr. Harman. The number of species now ascertained is one hundred and forty-six, in which we do not include man; of these twenty-eight are cetacea, and one hundred and eighteen are quadrupeds. Among the quadrupeds, Dr. Harman reckons eleven species, of which no living trace is found in any part of the world; which cannot of course be considered as forming a part of our present zoology. The number of living species of quadrupeds is therefore one hundred and seven. The comparative numbers of the several orders are stated as follows, omitting man:

Carnivora 60 Glires 37 Edentata 6 Pachydermata 2 Ruminantia 13 Cetacea 28

We may here introduce from Dr. Harman a statement of the number of North American quadrupeds, which he conceives to be common both to the new and old world.

Species. 1 Mole. 2 Shrew. 1 Bear. 1 Glutton. 1 Otter. 2 Wolf. 2 Fox. 2 Seal. 2 Weasel. 1 Beaver. 1 Field-mouse. 1 Campagnol (rat.) 1 Squirrel. 2 Deer. 1 Sheep.

The whole number of common species is twenty one; leaving eighty-six species as peculiar to North America, though not all of them to the United States.

Charles Lucien Bonaparte has arranged the birds of the United States in twenty-eight families, eighty-one genera, and three hundred and sixty-two species, viz.: two hundred and nine land, and one hundred and fifty-three water-birds. Of the eighty-one genera, sixty-three are common to Europe and America, while eighteen have no representatives in Europe.

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XVII. ――BOTANY

The vegetation of the United States is as various as the climate and soil. In Florida and the southern states, the superb magnolia, the majestic tulip tree and the deciduous cypress charm the traveller by their grandeur and beauty. The lofty oak, the stately fir and the gracefully-waving elm of the north, present a different and still a highly interesting study to the naturalist. As a general observation, the trees of the United States are larger, taller, and more generally useful for timber than those of Europe. As to height, it is observed by Michaux, that, while in France only thirty-seven species of trees arrive at thirty feet, in the transatlantic republic, one hundred and thirty exceed that elevation. A general idea of the American forest having thus been given, we will now notice, as largely as our limits will permit, the most remarkable trees.

Oak.――The White Oak is found throughout the United States, though it is by no means equally diffused. It abounds chiefly in the middle states, particularly in that part of Pennsylvania and Virginia which lies between the Alleghanies and the Ohio, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles, where nine tenths of the forests are frequently composed of these trees, whose healthful appearance evinces the favorable nature of the soil. East of the mountains, this tree is found in every exposure, and in every soil which is not extremely dry or subject to long inundations; but the largest stocks grow in humid places. In the western districts, where it composes entire forests, the face of the country is undulated, and the yellow soil, consisting partly of clay with calcareous stones, yields abundant crops of wheat.

The white oak attains the elevation of seventy or eighty feet, with a diameter of six or seven feet; but its proportions vary with the soil and climate. Soon after their unfolding, the leaves are reddish above and white and downy beneath; when fully grown, they are smooth and of a light green on the upper surface. In autumn, they change to a bright violet color, and form an agreeable contrast with the surrounding foliage which has not yet suffered by the frost. This is the only oak on which a few of the dried leaves remain till the circulation is renewed in the spring. By this peculiarity and by the whiteness of the bark, from which it derives its name, it is easily distinguishable in the winter. This tree puts forth flowers in May, which are succeeded by acorns of an oval form, large, very sweet, contained in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and borne singly or in pairs, by peduncles eight or ten lines in length, attached, as in all species of annual fructification, to the shoots of the season. The fruit of the white oak is rarely abundant, and frequently, for several years in succession, a few handfuls of acorns could hardly be collected in a large forest where the tree is multiplied. Some stocks produce acorns of a deep blue color.

Of all the American oaks, this is the best and the most generally used, being strong, durable, and of large dimensions. It is less employed than formerly in building, only because it is scarcer and more costly. Among the uses of this wood, the most important is in ship-building. In all the dock yards of the northern and middle states, except Maine, it is almost exclusively employed for the keel, and always for the lower part of the frame and the sides: it is preferred for the knees, when sticks of a proper form can be found. In the smaller ports south of New York, the upper part of the frame is also made of white oak; but such vessels are less esteemed than those constructed of more durable wood. The medicinal properties of oak bark depend on its astringency, and that again on its tannin. The inner bark of the small branches is the strongest, the middle bark next, and the outer bark is almost useless.

The Gray Oak, Water Oak, Bear Oak, Upland, Willow Oak, and Bartram Oak are interesting varieties. The Laurel Oak is a stranger north of Philadelphia, and is rare in the more southern states. It is most abundant in the open savannas of Illinois. Rising to the height of forty or fifty feet, clad in a smooth bark, and for three fourths of its height laden with branches, it presents an uncouth appearance when bared by the winter blasts, but in the summer with its thick tufted foliage is really beautiful. The Black Oak is found throughout the country, with the exception of the northern part of New England. It is one of the loftiest of the American forest trees, rising to the height of eighty or ninety feet, with a diameter of four or five feet. The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, with empty pores, but is esteemed for strength and durability. It furnishes excellent fuel, and the bark is largely used for tanning. Other varieties of the oak are numerous.

Walnut.――The Black Walnut is met with in large numbers in the forests in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and with the exception of the lower parts of the southern states, where the soil is too sandy, or too wet as in the swamps, it is met with to the banks of the Mississippi throughout an extent of two thousand miles. East of the Alleghanies in Virginia, and in the upper parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, it is chiefly confined to the valleys where the soil is deep and fertile, and which are watered by creeks and rivers. On the banks of the Ohio and on the islands of this beautiful river, the black walnut attains the elevation of sixty or seventy feet, with a diameter of three to seven feet. Its powerful vegetation clearly points out this, as one of the largest trees of America. When it stands insulated, its branches, extending themselves horizontally to a great distance, spread into a spacious head, which gives it a very majestic appearance. The bark is thick, blackish, and on old trees deeply furrowed. The leaves when bruised emit a strong aromatic odor.

When the wood of this tree is freshly cut, the sap is white and the heart of a violet color, which, after a short exposure to the air, assumes an intenser shade, and becomes nearly black: hence probably is derived the name Black Walnut. There are several qualities for which its wood is principally esteemed: it remains sound for a long time, even when exposed to the influences of heat and moisture; but this observation is only applicable to the heart, the sap speedily decays: it is very strong and very tenacious: when thoroughly seasoned, it is not liable to warp and split; and its grain is sufficiently fine and compact to admit of a beautiful polish. It possesses, in addition to these advantages, that of being secure from worms. On account of these excellencies, it is preferred and successfully employed in many kinds of work. East of the Alleghanies, its timber is not extensively used in building houses, but, in some parts of Kentucky and Ohio, it is split into shingles which serve to cover them: sometimes also this timber enters into the composition of the frame. But it is chiefly in cabinet-making, that this wood is employed wherever it abounds.

There are several other species of the walnut. The Shell-bark Hickory sometimes grows to the height of eighty or ninety feet, with a diameter of less than two feet; the trunk is destitute of branches, regularly shaped, and almost of a uniform size for three fourths of its length. The Butternut is found in all the New England states, and in the middle states.

Maple.――The Sugar Maple, called also rock maple, has leaves five-parted, and yellowish green flowers, and is one of the loftiest trees in our forests. Its trunk is usually straight and entire, to the height of from forty to eighty feet, where it suddenly unfolds into a dense top, crowded with rich foliage. The bark of the older trees is gray, and marked with numerous deep clefts. The wood is firm and heavy, though not durable. It is much used by cabinet-makers, and when cut at the right season forms excellent fuel. Michaux says, that it grows in its greatest perfection, between the forty-third and forty-sixth degrees of north latitude.

The White Maple, sometimes called silver maple, is distinguished by having its leaves five-parted, and white beneath; its flowers reddish yellow, without flower-stalks. The trunk frequently divides near the ground, so as to appear like several trunks close together. These divisions diverge a little as they rise, and often at the height of from eight to twenty feet the top commences. This is generally larger in proportion to the trunk, than the top of any other tree. It blossoms earlier than the sugar maple. The fruit is larger than that of any other species: it advances with great rapidity towards perfection, ripens and falls about June in Georgia, and May in Pennsylvania. The fruit of the sugar maple does not ripen until October. The white maple is principally found on the banks of rivers, and on the banks of such only as have a clean gravelly bottom and clear water. It is most luxuriant on flats which are subject to annual inundations, and is usually the first settler on alluvial deposits. ‘The banks of the Sandy river, in Maine,’ says Michaux, ‘and those of the Connecticut in Windsor, Vermont, are the most northerly points at which I have seen the white maple. It is found more or less on all the rivers of the United States, flowing from the mountains to the Atlantic, but becomes scarce in South Carolina and Georgia. In no part of the United States is it more multiplied than in the western country, and no where is its vegetation more luxuriant than on the banks of the Ohio, and of the great rivers that empty into it. There, sometimes alone, and sometimes mingled with the willow, which is found all along these waters, it contributes singularly by its magnificent foliage to the embellishment of the scene. The brilliant white of the leaves beneath, forms a striking contrast with the bright green above, and the alternate reflection of these two surfaces in the water, heightens the beauty of this wonderful moving mirror, and aids in forming an enchanting picture, which during my long excursions in a canoe, in these regions of solitude and silence, I contemplated with unwearied admiration.’

The Red-flowering Maple is a beautiful tree, and in the swamps of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, it is found to the height of sixty or seventy feet, with a diameter of three or four. It blossoms earlier in the spring than any other tree, and flowers from the middle to the last of April. The blossoms, of a beautiful purple or deep red, unfold more than a fortnight before the leaves. This tree furnishes wood adapted to a variety of purposes; it is much used in making domestic wares and agricultural implements. Furniture of great richness and lustre is also made of it. It is not good fuel. The Mountain, Striped and Ash-leaved Maples are all beautiful trees.

Birch.――The Black Birch abounds in New England and the middle states; farther south it is confined to the summits of the Alleghanies. It often exceeds seventy feet in height. At the close of winter, the leaves, during a fortnight after their birth, are covered with a thick, silvery down, which soon after disappears. When bruised, the leaves and bark diffuse a very agreeable odor, and as they retain this property when dried and carefully preserved, they afford a pleasant infusion, with the addition of a little sugar and cream. The wood is applied to a variety of useful purposes; it is of a rosy hue, which deepens on exposure to the light. The Yellow, Canoe, White, and Red Birch are found in various localities throughout the country.

Pines.――The pines constitute a large and interesting class of American forest trees. The most valuable species is that which is known in England and the West Indies as the Georgia Pitch Pine; and which, in the United States, is variously called yellow pine, pitch pine, broom pine, southern pine, red pine, and long-leaved pine, a name which is adopted by Michaux. Towards the north, the long-leaved pine makes its appearance near Norfolk, in Virginia, where the pine-barrens begin. It seems to be especially assigned to dry sandy soils; and it is found, almost without interruption, in the lower part of Carolinas, Georgia, and the Floridas, over a tract more than six hundred miles long, from north-east to south-west, and more than a hundred miles broad, from the sea towards the mountains. Immediately beyond Raleigh, it holds almost exclusive possession of the soil, and is seen in company with other pines only on the edges of swamps, enclosed in the barrens; even there not more than one stock in a hundred is of another species, and with this exception, the long-leaved pine forms the unbroken mass of woods which covers this extensive country.

The mean stature of the long-leaved pine is sixty or seventy feet, with a uniform diameter of fifteen or sixteen inches for two thirds of this height. Some stocks, favored by local circumstances, attain much larger dimensions, particularly in East Florida. The timber is very valuable, being stronger, more compact, and more durable, than that of all the other species of pine: it is besides fine grained, and susceptible of high polish. Its uses are diversified, and its consumption great. But the value of the long-leaved pine does not reside exclusively in its wood; it supplies nearly all the resinous matter used in the United States in ship-building, with a large residue for exportation; and in this view, its place can be supplied by no other species, those which afford the same product being dispersed through the woods, or collected in inaccessible places. In the northern states, the lands, which at the commencement of their settlements were covered with pitch pine, were exhausted in twenty-five or thirty years, and for more than half a century have ceased to furnish tar. The pine-barrens are of vast extent, and are covered with trees of the forest growth; but they cannot all be rendered profitable, from the difficulty of communicating with the sea.

Among the varieties which we can only enumerate, without an attempt at description, are the New Jersey, Table Mountain, Gray, Pond, and White Pine.

Spruces.――The American Silver Fir is found in the colder regions of the states; towards the south, it is found only on the tops of the Alleghanies. It flourishes best in a moist, sandy loam. Its height rarely exceeds forty feet, with a diameter of twelve or fifteen inches. The trunk tapers from a foot in diameter at the surface of the ground to seven or eight inches at the height of six feet. When standing alone and developing itself naturally, its branches, which are numerous and thickly garnished with leaves, diminish in length in proportion to their height, and form a pyramid of perfect regularity. The bark is smooth and delicate. The leaves are six or eight lines long, and are inserted singly on the sides and on the top of the branches; they are narrow, rigid and flat, of a bright green above, and a silvery white beneath; whence probably is derived the name of the tree. The flowers appear in May, and are followed by cones of a fragrant odor, nearly cylindrical, four or five inches long, an inch in diameter, and always directed upwards. The seeds are ripe in autumn, and if permitted to hang late will fall apart and scatter themselves. The wood of the silver fir is light and slightly resinous, and the heart is yellowish.

The Hemlock Spruce inhabits a similar tract of country, though moist ground appears not to be the most favorable to its growth. It arrives at the height of seventy or eighty feet, with a circumference of six or nine feet, and is uniform for two thirds of its length. The White and Black Spruce are varieties of this genus.

Cypresses.――The Cypress is a very interesting tree, from its extraordinary dimensions, and the varied application of its wood. Its northern boundary is Indian river, in Delaware, in latitude about thirty-nine degrees. In proceeding southward, it becomes more abundant in the swamps, and in Louisiana those parts of the marshes where the cypress grows almost alone are called cypress swamps, and they sometimes occupy thousands of acres. In the swamps of the southern states and the Floridas, on whose deep, miry soil a new layer of vegetable mould is every year deposited by floods, the cypress attains its utmost developement. The largest stocks are one hundred and twenty feet in height, and from twenty-five to forty feet in circumference, above the conical base, which at the surface of the earth is three or four times as large as the continued diameter of the trunk: in felling them, the negroes are obliged to raise themselves upon scaffolds five or six feet from the ground. The base is usually hollow for three fourths of its bulk.

Amidst the pine forests and savannas of the Floridas is seen here and there a bog filled with cypresses, whose squalid appearance, when they exceed eighteen or twenty feet in height, proves how much they are affected by the barrenness of a soil which differs from the surrounding only by a layer of vegetable mould, a little thicker upon the quartzous sand. The summit of the cypress is not pyramidical like that of the spruce, but is widely spread and even depressed upon old trees. The foliage is open, light, and of a fresh agreeable tint; each leaf is four or five inches long, and consists of two parallel rows of leaflets upon a common stem. The leaflets are small, fine, and somewhat arching, with the convex side outwards. In autumn they change from a light green to a dull red, and are shed soon after. This tree blooms in Carolina about the first of February.

Among the resinous trees of the United States, the White Cedar is one of the most interesting for the varied utility of its wood. North of the river Connecticut, it is rare and little employed in the arts. In the southern states, it is not met with beyond the river Santee, but it is found, though not abundantly, on the Savannah: it is multiplied only within these limits and to the distance of fifty miles from the ocean. The white cedar is seventy or eighty feet high, and sometimes more than three feet in diameter. When the trees are close and compressed, the trunk is straight, perpendicular and destitute of branches to the height of fifty or sixty feet. When cut, a yellow transparent resin of an agreeable odor exudes, of which a few ounces could hardly be collected in a summer from a tree of three feet in circumference. The foliage is evergreen: each leaf is a little branch numerously subdivided, and composed of small, acute, imbricated scales.

The White Ash is one of the most interesting among the American species for the qualities of its wood, and the most remarkable for the rapidity of its growth and for the beauty of its foliage. A cold climate seems most congenial to its nature. It is everywhere called White Ash, probably from the color of its bark, by which it is easily distinguished. The situations most favorable to this tree are the banks of rivers and the edges and surrounding acclivities of swamps. The white ash sometimes attains the height of eighty feet, with a diameter of three feet, and is one of the largest trees of the United States. The trunk is perfectly straight and often undivided to the height of more than forty feet. On large stocks the bark is deeply furrowed, and divided into small squares from one to three inches in diameter. The leaves are twelve or fourteen inches long, opposite and composed of three or four pair of leaflets surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets are three or four inches long, about two inches broad, of a delicate texture and an undulated surface. Early in the spring they are covered with a light down, which gradually disappears, and at the approach of summer they are perfectly smooth, of a light green color above and whitish beneath. It puts forth white or greenish flowers in the month of May, which are succeeded by seeds that are eighteen lines long, cylindrical near the base, and gradually flattened into a wing, the extremity of which is slightly notched. They are united in bunches four or five inches long, and are ripe in the beginning of autumn. The shoots of the two preceding years are of a bluish gray color and perfectly smooth: the distance between their buds sufficiently proves the vigor of their growth.

Elm.――The White Elm inhabits an extensive tract of the states, being found from Nova Scotia to the extremity of Georgia. It is also found on the banks of the western rivers; growing in low, moist and substantial soils. In the middle states, this tree stretches to a great height, but does not approach the magnificence of vegetation which it displays in the countries peculiarly adapted to its growth. In clearing the primitive forests, a few stocks are sometimes left standing; insulated in this manner, it appears in all its majesty, towering to the height of eighty or one hundred feet, with a trunk four or five feet in diameter, regularly shaped, naked, and insensibly diminishing to the height of sixty or seventy feet, where it divides itself into two or three primary branches. This species differs from the red and European elm in its flowers and seeds; it blooms in the month of April, previous to the unfolding of the leaves; the flowers are very small, of a purple color, supported by short, slender footstalks, and united in bunches at the extremity of the branches. The Wahoo and the Red Elm are interesting species.

The American Chesnut sometimes attains the height of seventy or eighty feet, with a circumference of fifteen or sixteen feet. Though this tree nearly resembles that of Europe in its general appearance, its foliage, its fruit and the properties of its wood, it is treated by botanists as a distinct species. Its leaves are six or seven inches long, one and a half broad, coarsely toothed, of an elongated oval form, of a fine, brilliant color and of a firm texture, with prominent parallel nerves beneath. It flowers in June. The fruit is spherical, covered with fine prickles, and stored with two dark brown seeds or nuts, about as large as the end of the finger. They are smaller and sweeter than the wild chesnuts of Europe. They are ripe about the middle of October. The wood is strong, elastic and capable of enduring the succession of dryness and moisture.

Buttonwood or Sycamore.――Among trees with deciduous leaves, none in the temperate zones, either in the old or new continent, equal the dimensions of the planes. The species which we are about to describe is not less remarkable for its amplitude, and for its magnificent appearance, than the plane of Asia, whose majestic form and extraordinary size were so much celebrated by the ancients. In the Atlantic states, this tree is commonly known by the name of Buttonwood, and sometimes in Virginia, by that of Water Beach. On the banks of the Ohio, and in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, it is most frequently called Sycamore, and by some persons Plane Tree. This tree, in no part of the United States, is more abundant and vigorous than along the rivers of Pennsylvania and Virginia; though in the more fertile valleys of the west, its vegetation is still more luxuriant, especially on the banks of the Ohio and of the rivers that flow into it.

On the margin of the great rivers of the west, the buttonwood is constantly found to be the loftiest and largest tree of the United States. Often with a trunk of several feet in diameter, it begins to ramify at the height of sixty or seventy feet, near the summit of other trees; and often the base divides itself into several trunks, equally vigorous and superior in diameter to any of the surrounding trees. On a little island in the Ohio, fifteen miles above the mouth of the Muskingum, Michaux mentions a buttonwood which, at five feet above the ground, was forty feet and four inches in circumference, and consequently more than thirteen feet in diameter. The American species is generally thought, in Europe, to possess a richer foliage, and to afford a deeper shade than the Asiatic plane: its leaves are of a beautiful green, alternate, from five to fifteen inches broad, and formed with more open angles than those of the plane of the eastern continent.

Beech.――The species of Red Beech is almost exclusively confined to the north-eastern parts of the United States. In the state of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, it is so abundant as often to constitute extensive forests, the finest of which grow on fertile, level or gently sloping lands which are proper for the culture of corn. The red beech equals the white species in diameter, but not in height; and as it ramifies nearer the earth and is more numerously divided, it has a more massy summit and the appearance of more tufted foliage. Its leaves are equally brilliant, a little larger and thicker, and have longer teeth. Its fruit is of the same form, but is only half as large, and is garnished with firmer and less numerous points.

The White Beech is one of the tallest and most majestic trees of the American forests. It grows the most abundantly in the middle and western states. On the banks of the Ohio, the white beech attains the height of more than one hundred feet, with a circumference of eight to eleven feet. In the forests, where these trees vegetate in a deep and fertile soil, their roots sometimes extend to a great distance even with the surface, and being entangled so as to cover the ground, they embarrass the steps of the traveller and render the land peculiarly difficult to clear. This tree is more slender and less branchy than the red beech; but its foliage is superb, and its general appearance magnificent.

Poplar or Tulip Tree.――This tree, which surpasses most others of North America in height and in the beauty of its foliage and of its flowers, is one of the most interesting from the numerous and useful applications of its wood.

In the Atlantic states, especially at a considerable distance from the sea, tulip trees are often seen seventy, eighty and one hundred feet in height, with a diameter of eighteen inches to three feet. But the western states appear to be the natural soil of this magnificent tree, and here it displays its most powerful vegetation. M. Michaux mentions a tulip tree, near Louisville, on the Ohio, which at five feet from the ground was twenty-two feet six inches in circumference, and whose elevation he judged to be from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and forty feet. The flowers bloom in June or July. They are large, brilliant, and on detached trees very numerous, variegated with different colors: they have an agreeable odor, and produce a fine effect. The fruit is composed of a great number of thin, narrow scales, attached to a common axis, and forming a cone two or three inches in length. Each cone consists of sixty or seventy seeds, of which never more than a third part are productive. For ten years before the tree begins to yield fruit, almost all the seeds are unproductive, and on large trees, those from the highest branches are the best.

Catalpa.――In the Atlantic states, the Catalpa begins to be found in the forests, on the banks of the river Savannah, and west of the Alleghanies, on those of the Cumberland, between the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth degrees of latitude. Farther south it is more common, and abounds near the borders of all the rivers which empty into the Mississippi, or which water West Florida. In the regions where it grows most abundantly, it frequently exceeds fifty feet in height, with a diameter from eighteen to twenty-four inches. It is easily recognised by its bark, which is of a silver-gray color, and but slightly furrowed, by its ample leaves, and by its wide-spreading summit, disproportioned in size to the diameter of its trunk. It differs from other trees also by the fewness of its branches. The flowers which are collected in large bunches at the extremity of the branches, are white, with violet and yellow spots, and are beautiful and showy.

Magnolia Grandiflora.――‘Bartram and others,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘by overrating the beauty of this tree, have caused, that when strangers first behold it, their estimation of it falls too low. It has been described, as a very large tree. We have seen it in Florida, where Bartram saw it. We have seen it in its more congenial position for full developement, the rich alluvions of Louisiana; and we have never seen it compare with the sycamore, the cotton wood, or even the ash, in point of size. It is sometimes a tall tree; often graceful in form; but ordinarily a tree of fourth or fifth rate in point of comparative size in the forest, where it grows. Its bark is smooth, whitish, very thick, and something resembles that of the beech. The wood is soft, and for aught we know, useless. The leaves strongly resemble those of the orange tree, except in being larger, thicker, and having a hoary yellowish down upon the under side. The upper side has a perfect verdure, and a feel of smoothness, as if it was oiled. The flowers are large, of a pure white, nearest resembling the northern pond lily, though not so beautiful; and are, ordinarily, about twice the size. The fragrance is indeed, powerful, but to us rather sickly and offensive. We have felt, and we have heard others complain of feeling a sensation of faintness, in going into a room, where the chimney place was filled with these flowers. The tree continues to put forth flowers for two months in succession, and seldom displays many at a time.

‘We think, few have been in habits of examining flowering trees more attentively than ourselves, and we contemplated this tree for years in the season of flowers. Instead of displaying, as has been represented, a cone of flowers, we have seldom seen a tree in flower, which did not require some attention and closeness of inspection, to discover where the flowers were situated among the leaves. We have not been led to believe, that others possessed the sense of smell more acutely, than ourselves. In advancing from points, where these trees were not, to the pine forest, on the water courses of which they are abundant, we have been warned of our approach to them by the sense of smell, at a distance of something more than half a mile; and we question, if any one ever perceived the fragrance much farther, except by the imagination. The magnolia is a striking tree, and an observer, who saw it for the first time, would remark it, as such. But we have been unable to conceive whence the extravagant misconceptions, respecting the size, number, fragrance and beauty of its flowers, had their origin.

‘There are six or seven varieties among the laurels of the magnolia tribe, some of which have smaller flowers than those of the grandiflora, but much more delicate, and agreeably fragrant. A beautiful evergreen of this class is covered in autumn with berries of an intense blackness, and we remarked them in great numbers about St. Francisville. The holly is a well-known and beautiful tree of this class. But that one, which has struck us, as being the handsomest of the family, is the laurel almond. It is not a large tree. Its leaves strongly resemble those of the peach; and it preserves a most pleasing green through the winter. Its flowers yield a delicious perfume. It grows in families of ten or fifteen trees in a cluster. Planters of taste in the valley of Red river, where it is common, select the place of their dwelling amidst a cluster of these trees.’

The Bow Wood is a very striking tree, found about the upper courses of the Washita, the middle regions of Arkansas, and occasionally on the northern limits of Louisiana. Its leaves are large and beautiful, and its fruit, which somewhat resembles a large orange, is of a most inviting appearance, but is ‘the apple of Sodom to the taste.’ It is considered by many the most splendid of all forest trees.

The China Tree is much cultivated in the south-western region of the states, as an ornamental shade tree. Its leaves are long and spiked, set in correspondence on each side of the stem. The verdure is deep and brilliant. When in full flower, the top is one tuft of blossoms. The tree is of most rapid growth, and its beautiful color imparts delightful freshness to the landscape. After the fall of its leaves, a profusion of reddish berries remain, and give at a little distance the appearance of continuing in flower. This berry is a narcotic, and stupefies the birds that eat of it.

The Papaw is seldom found north of the river Schuylkill, and is extremely rare in the low, maritime parts of the southern states. It is not uncommon in the bottoms which stretch along the rivers of the middle states; but it is most abundant in the rich valleys intersected by the western waters, where at intervals, it forms thickets exclusively occupying several acres. In Kentucky and in the western part of Tennessee, it is sometimes seen also in forests where the soil is luxuriantly fertile; of which its presence is an infallible proof.

It seldom exceeds thirty feet in height, and a diameter of six or eight inches, though it generally stops short at half this elevation. The trunk is covered with a silver-gray bark, which is smooth and finely polished. The leaves are alternate, five or six inches in length, and of an elongated form, widening from the base to the summit. They are of a fine texture, and the superior surface is smooth and brilliant. The flowers are pendent, and of a purple hue. When the fruit is ripe, which takes place towards the beginning of August, it is about three inches long, one and a half thick, of a yellowish color, and of an oval form, irregular and swelling into inequalities. Its pulp is soft, and of an insipid taste, and it contains several large, triangular stones.

Persimon.――The banks of the river Connecticut, below the forty-second degree of latitude, may be uniformly considered as the northern limit of this tree; but it is rendered rare in these parts by the severity of the winter, while in New Jersey it is common, and still more so in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the southern states; it abounds, also, in the western forests. The persimon varies surprisingly in size in different soils and climates. In New Jersey it is not more than half as large as in the more southern states, where, in favorable situations, it is sometimes sixty feet in height, and eighteen or twenty inches in diameter. The trunk of a full-grown tree is covered with a deeply-furrowed blackish bark, from which a greenish gum exudes, without taste or smell. The leaves are from four to six inches in length, oblong, entire, of a fine green above; in autumn they are often variegated with black spots. This tree belongs to the class of vegetables whose sexes are confined to different stocks. Both the barren and fertile flowers are greenish and not strikingly apparent. They put forth in June or July. The ripe fruit is about as large as the thumb, of a reddish complexion, round, fleshy, and furnished with six or eight semi-oval stones, slightly swollen at the sides, and of a dark purple color. It is not eatable till it has been touched with frost, by which the skin is shrivelled, and the pulp, which before was hard and extremely harsh to the taste, is softened and rendered palatable. The fruit is so abundant in the southern states, that a tree often yields several bushels. In the south, it adheres to the branches long after the shedding of the leaf, and when it falls, it is eagerly devoured by wild and domestic animals.

Dogwood and Red Bud.――These are plants between shrubs and trees. The former has a heart-shaped leaf, and an umbrella-shaped top. In spring, it adorns itself with brilliant, white flowers, and in autumn with fine scarlet berries. The latter is the first blossoming shrub on the Ohio; and its blossoms there resemble those of the peach tree. They are scattered every where through the wood, and impart a charm to the whole descent of the ‘beautiful river.’ The two are the most common, as they are the most beautiful shrubs of the great western valley.

Mountain Laurel.――This is a large shrub, which indifferently bears the name of Mountain Laurel, Laurel, Ivy, and Calico Tree. It abounds in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Proceeding thence south-west, it is found along the steep banks of all the rivers which rise in the Alleghanies; but it is observed to become less common in following these streams from their source, towards the Ohio and Mississippi on one side, and towards the ocean on the other. It is rare in Kentucky and in West Tennessee, and in the southern states it disappears entirely when the rivers enter the low country, where the pine-barrens commence.

In favorable situations, this shrub grows to the height of eighteen or twenty feet, with a diameter of three inches. The flowers put forth from May to July, are destitute of odor, and disposed in clusters at the extremity of the branches: in general they are of a beautiful rose color, and sometimes of a pure white. They are always numerous, and their brilliant effect is heightened by the richness of the surrounding foliage.

The Palmetto inhabits the southern states, as far north as Cape Hatteras. It is from forty to fifty feet in height, crowned with a tufted summit, which gives it a beautiful and majestic appearance. The Coral Tree is a brilliant and gaudy shrub, native of the open forests of the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida; it grows to the height of two or three feet. The Snow Berry is an ornamental shrub, inhabiting the banks of the upper Missouri. In the autumn, when the large bunches of ivory or wax-like berries are matured, the appearance is said to be extremely beautiful.

Fruit Trees.――The Chickasaw Plum is common from thirty-four degrees north latitude, to the gulf of Mexico. It is found in great abundance. Prairie plums are found in great quantities on the hazel prairies of Illinois and Missouri. When cultivated under favorable circumstances, the Osage plum is delicious. Crab apple shrubs are found in great quantities in the middle regions of the central valley. Their blossoms resemble those of the cultivated apple tree, and the tree is useful as a stock in which the cultivated apple and pear may be grafted. The Mulberry is rare in the Atlantic states, but abounds in every part of the Mississippi valley. Its wood is valuable, and scarcely less durable than that of the locust.

Vine.――The common grape vine is diffused through all the climates. It frequently happens that we see, in the rich lands, vines of the size of a man’s body, perpendicularly attached at the top to branches sixty or eighty feet from the ground, and at great lateral distance from the trunk of the tree. It is common to puzzle a man first brought into these woods, by asking him to account for the manner in which a vine of prodigious size has been able to rear itself to such a height. There can be no doubt that the vine in this case is coeval with the tree; that the tree, as it grew, supported the vine; and that the vine was carried from the trunk with the projection of the lateral branch, until, in the lapse of years, this singular appearance is the result. In many bottoms, half the trees are covered with these vines. In the deep forest, on the hills, in the barrens, in the hazel prairies, and in the pine woods, every form and size of the grape are found.

Of the plants of the winter grape, which so generally clings to the trees in the alluvial forests, probably not one in fifty bears any fruit at all. The fruit when produced is a small circular berry not unlike the wild black cherry. It is austere, sour, and unpleasant, until it has been softened by the winter frosts; but it is said, when fermented by those who have experience in the practice, to make a tolerable wine. The summer grape is found on the rolling barrens and the hazel prairies. It is more than twice the size of the winter grape, is ripe in the first month in autumn, and, when matured under the full influence of the sun, is a pleasant fruit. It grows in the greatest abundance, but is too dry a grape to be pressed for wine. The muscadine grape is seldom seen north of thirty-four degrees. More southerly, it becomes abundant, and is found in the deep alluvial forests, clinging to tall trees. The fruit grows in more scanty clusters than that of other grapes. Like other fruits, they fall as they ripen, and furnish a rich treat to bears and other animals that feed on them; they are of the size of a plum, of a fine purple black, with a thick tough skin, tasting not unlike the rind of an orange; the pulp is deliciously sweet, but is reputed unwholesome. The pine woods grape has a slender, bluish purple vine, that runs on the ground among the grass. It ripens in the month of June; is large, cone-shaped, transparent, with four seeds, reddish purple, and is fine fruit for eating.

Cane.――The Cane grows to the height of twenty or thirty feet on the lower courses of the Mississippi, Arkansas and Red rivers. Its leaves are dagger-shaped, long and narrow, and of a beautiful green. It grows in masses so compact that the smallest sparrow would find it difficult to fly in the intervals. A man could not make his way through a cane brake, at a rate more rapid than three miles a day.

Flax.――A species of flax was found by Lewis and Clarke growing in the valleys of the Rocky mountains, and on the banks of the Missouri. The bark possesses the same kind of tough fibres as the common flax, and the Indians are in the habit of making lint and gun-waddings of it.

Berries.――The gooseberry is indigenous to the United States, and in the western parts grows to great size. The red raspberry is also indigenous. Whortleberries, and blackberries high and creeping, are found in prodigious abundance; many of the prairies are red with strawberries. The cranberry is a native of the country, growing in morasses and rich bottom through its whole extent. Large cranberry swamps occur in New Jersey.

Other Plants.――There are many annual and evergreen creepers in the United States, of various kinds, form and foliage. The grasses are various and luxuriant. In the prairies they are rank and coarse; the Atlantic country is covered with a fine sward. The rush is a useful herbaceous plant, which grows on bottoms of an elevation between that of the cane brakes and the deeply-flooded lands. The pea-vine covers the richer soil of the forest lands; it is small and fibrous. The wild rice is a plant of great importance, found on the marshy margins of the northern lakes, and in the shallow waters of the upper courses of the Mississippi. One of the most striking of the forest productions is the wax-plant, which is nearly entirely of a snow-white, and resembles the most delicate wax preparation. It grows in rich shady woods, and is much prized.

The common kinds of water-plants are found in the marshy grounds and ponds; particularly a very beautiful and fragrant lily. This closely resembles the European water-lily. One of this genus is said to be unrivalled for size and beauty. Dr. Barton considers it to be the same as the sacred bean of Judea, and mentions it as abundant in Philadelphia, but rare otherwise, and refusing propagation. Mr. Flint found it in the southern states, and says that it attains great splendor on the lakes and stagnant waters of the Arkansas. There is a large variety of parasitic plants in the states, the most remarkable of which is the long moss.

It will be observed that in these chapters on the natural history of the United States, we have only intended to describe the most conspicuous objects, without reference to scientific arrangement. A mere scientific catalogue of the natural productions of our country would occupy all the space we have devoted to the subject, and possess no interest or attraction for the general reader.

GENERAL REMARKS ON BOTANY.

Botany, the science of plants, is generally divided into two branches, one of which describes their internal structure and organic action, and the other their external appearance. At the revival of learning, hardly fifteen hundred plants were known from the descriptions of the ancients. More than fifty thousand, at a reasonable estimate, have been described. Linnæus founded his system exclusively on the sexual relations of plants; dividing them all into two general divisions, one of which has, and the other has not, visible sexual parts. This division is generally adopted as the basis of elementary instruction, but many objections have been brought against it.

The second general division of this science begins with the anatomy of plants, or an investigation of their internal structure. This study has been recently cultivated to a great extent, particularly by the Germans. With this division is connected chemical botany, which investigates the constituent parts, the various changes, and the different combinations of the liquid and solid parts of plants. From these we rise to the laws of vegetable life, which are generally the same with those of animal life; the physiology of plants and of animals is thus of course intimately connected.

Of the two general divisions of botany, the physiological, or philosophical is the elder. It was created by Theophrastus of Eresus. Historical botany was founded by the Germans. In the seventeenth century, the foundation of botanical anatomy was laid by Grew and Malpighi; botanical chemistry was founded by Homberg, Dodart, and Mariotte: and the difference of sex was discovered by Grew, Morland and Camerarius.

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XVI. ――ANIMALS…

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XVI. ――ANIMALS

XVII. ――BOTANY