Fauna.— For several generations the Rocky Mountains have been the world's °sportmen's One of the most interesting and unique of the fauna of this great mountain range is the Rocky Mountain goat, or white goat (Oream nus niontanus), of the family .Bovidx. Its white color (tinged with yellow) is its distinc tion, being like no other ruminant (except Alaskan wild sheep), remaining entirely white the year round. Its hair is long and pendent in winter, becoming comparatively short in sum mer; muzzle is hairy, tail short. Its rather short black horns are ringed in basal portion and they taper sharply. A strange huge hump is on the withers where it attains a height of three feet. While at a height of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet above sea-level the region is very arid and affords chiefly desert and alpine forms and the different zones otherwise have their characteristic species. These ranges of habitat are not sufficiently defined to permit their special allocations here.
Greatest and most formidable of the ferocious beasts of the Rockies is the grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis), but indigenous also are the "silvertip," the black bear (Ursus americanus), the brown and the cinnamon. Here are the prong-horned antelope (Antilo capra), the mountain goat (Aplocerus), the Rocky Mountain sheep or "bighorns" (Ovis montana) with their great spiral horns; they are the only American wild sheep. To the mammalia belong the lynx, coyote, wolverine, muskrat and marten, the porcupine, red squirrel with bushy tail and bright striped coat, the gopher. The "whistling" marmot (Arctomys) and the prairie-dog (Cynomys), a rodent, make themselves audible here and the pikas or "calling" hares (Lagomys princeps). Other rodents are the lemming mouse (Synap tomys cooperi) and the jumping mouse (Zapus kudsonius). Better known to the public are the raccoon (Procyon), flying squirrel (Sciurop tents), ground squirrel (Tamias). The pouched marmot (Spermophilus) and the glut ton (Gulo) are found here.
There are many migratory birds, but of those resident there are a dipper (Sinc4us); Salpinctus, one of the wrens; Poospisa, Cala mospiza, genera of finches, including the gros-, beak; Rocky Mountain thrush, Hylocichla gut tata audoboni; Piccicorvus and Gymnokitta, genera of the crow family; Centrocercus and Pediocales, genera of the grouse (the grouse are locally termed ; blue-bird Sialis-arctica; Creeper, Certkia montana, downy woodchuck, bryobates pubesectis; garrot, Clan gula islantica; hairy woodpecker, Dryobates monticola; jay, Cyahocitta canadensis, locally termed °whiskey John'. or °whiskey Jack' from the Indian word ouit-cachon; pine, grosbeak or pine bullfinch, Pina enucleator montana; the screech-owl, Megascops americana maxwellier. Of winter immigrants from the north are Leucosticte and Plectrophanes, genera of finches; Perisoreus, genus of crow family;. Picoides, arctic woodpecker; Lagopus leucurus, or white-tailed ptarmigan. Summer migrants are Oreoscoptes, genus of thrushes; Campy lorhynchus and Catherpes, Paroides; one of the tits; Phzenopepla, allied to the.wax wing; Embernagra and Spermophila, genera of finches ; Pyrocephalus, one of the tyrant shrikes; Callipepla and Cyrtorryx, American partridges; also Harporkynchus, Lophophanes, Carpodacus,.
Spleen°. Two kinds of humming birds occur :
the Atthis and Selasphorus.
Reptiles, Amphibia and Fishes.—A number of snakes and lizards. Of lizards there are lgua niche. Geckotidce, Svincidce and Zonuridcr. Of snakes there are Calamariidce, Calubride and Crotalidce. Among amphibia are Siredon (sal amander); one of the Proteider is peculiar. Abundance of fish is found in the glacial streams and lakes, largely rainbow trout (Salmo purpuratus) weighing as high as six pounds and fine eating.
History.— The natural history of a region is told by the geology and physical geography. This region is not as old as the Appalachian. The form of the peaks and the irregular sur face of the slopes differ. The missionary ex plorers visited the mountainous sections of Mexico and the southwestern part of the United States in the 17th century, but the (Relations of the Franciscans> have as yet (1904) been only partially translated. A large part of our knowledge of this section came first from the reports of the government explorations made by Lewis and Clark in 1804. Other explorations were made by Hermann, Long, Schoolcraft, Bonneville, Nicollet, and Fremont (q.v.). Since 1844 more than 20 expeditions hive been en gaged in exploring these wild regions, nearly all of them for the United States government. Since the bill and appropriations of March 1853 the object of most of them has been the determination of the most practicable route for a railroad from the valley of the Mississippi to the Pacific. The history of the railroads across these mountains is largely a history of this region. The story of the strange, weird people called Cliff Dwellers (q.v.) is a most interest ing chapter in the history of the efforts of man to use this region for a home. At present the population of this whole section is small. A large portion has less than two inhabitants to the square mile. About one-tenth of the whole Rocky Mountain area in the United States has from two to six inhabitants to the square mile; in some places in California, Oregon and Wash ington there are from six to eight; near the cities from 18 to 45, and in the San Francisco section from 45 to 90.
Bibliography.— Reports by the United States Geological Survey; Bulletin No. 213 by the United States Geological Survey on 'Placer Gold Mining in Alaska in 19132> ; 'Mineral De posits of Bitter Root Range and Clearwater Mountains' of Montana); 'Ore Deposits of Butte, Montana) ; 'Wonderland,' an annual issued by the Northern Pacific Railroad; De Nadailla, 'Prehistoric Americans,' for Cliff Dwellers; Lumholtz, 'Unknown Mexico' (1903) ; Day, 'Mineral Resources of the United States' ; Dana, 'Geology' ; Thwaites, 'A Brief History of Rocky Mountain Exploration' (New York 1904) ; Burpee, L. J., 'Among the Canadian Alps' (New York 1914) ; Harsh berger, "Phytogeographic Survey of North America> (lb. 1911) •, Grant, M., 'The Rocky Mountain Goat' (in Ninth Annual Report New York Zoological Society, New York, 1905) ; Hornaday, W. T., 'Camp-Fires in the Canadian Rockies> (ib. 19(16) ; Outram, Tames, 'In the Heart of the Canadian Rockies' (New York 1905); Shaler, N. S., 'Nature and Man in (ib. 1892); United States Geo graphical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountains (Washington 1868 et seq.).