The principal quadrupeds that had been seen by the colonists in their
various expeditions were the stag, fallow deer, hart, black and grizzly
bear, antelope, ahsahta or bighorn, beaver, sea and river otter,
muskrat, fox, wolf, and panther, the latter extremely rare. The only
domestic animals among the natives were horses and dogs.
The country abounded with aquatic and land birds, such as swans, wild
geese, brant, ducks of almost every description, pelicans, herons,
gulls, snipes, curlews, eagles, vultures, crows, ravens, magpies,
woodpeckers, pigeons, partridges, pheasants, grouse, and a great variety
of singing birds.
There were few reptiles; the only dangerous kinds were the rattlesnake,
and one striped with black, yellow, and white, about four feet long.
Among the lizard kind was one about nine or ten inches in length,
exclusive of the tall, and three inches in circumference. The tail was
round, and of the same length as the body. The head was triangular,
covered with small square scales. The upper part of the body was
likewise covered with small scales, green, yellow, black, and blue. Each
foot had five toes, furnished with strong nails, probably to aid it in
burrowing, as it usually lived under ground on the plains.
A remarkable fact, characteristic of the country west of the Rocky
Mountains, is the mildness and equability of the climate.
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