Page:All Over Oregon and Washington.djvu/310

304 It is almost too contemptible to be considered game, and is given over to strychnine.

There are two or three species of lynx, or wild cat; also troublesome to settlers near the forest, carrying off young pigs, and such small farm stock. When not stealing from the farmer they subsist themselves upon young fawns, hares, squirrels, and game birds. These are numerous in the woods of the Lower Columbia. We have seen several good specimens depending from the limbs of trees, where they had been hung after shooting.

Of foxes, there are the red, silver gray, black, and gray varieties. It is thought that the black fox is a distinct species; as is also the gray, which is smaller. But the silver gray is said by the Indians to be the male of the red species; the female only being of a reddish color. This species, in all its varieties, is very common on the eastern side of the Cascades, near the Columbia; and the smaller gray is most abundant in the. Klamath Lake region, in the southern part of Oregon. Their skins, though not as handsome as the silver gray, are still very fine. The gray is the "medicine fox" of the Indians, a meeting with which brings misfortune.

Elk are found both in the Cascade and Coast mountains; but are most abundant in the latter. In summer they keep pretty high up, generally; but when snow falls in the mountains, descend to the plains and river-bottoms. They travel in well-beaten trails, and in large droves, which makes them easy game. When quite wild they show considerable curiosity, stopping to look at the hunter, thus offering a fair shot. When wounded and in close quarters they are formidable antagonists, from their great size, heavy head, and large