A Book of the United States. VariousЧитать онлайн книгу.
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.
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.
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.
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
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