|
[p.17] PART II.-THE MAMMALS
OF NORTH DAKOTA
INTRODUCTION
Present and Former Abundance
In the economy of the area now known as North Dakota
the mammalian fauna has played an important part, not
only since the separate State was created in 1889, and
when it was a Territory with South Dakota in 1868, or
a part of Nebraska in 1854, or of the Louisiana Territory
in 1804, but still earlier, before the Louisiana Purchase
added it to the United States. The fur-bearing animals
first attracted white men to take up shifting residence
within what are now the borders of North Dakota, where
abundance of game insured their support and lured them
on to new fields of profit and adventure. The rich soil
and the luxuriant vegetation of the region originally
supported vast numbers of the most important large game
animals of the country, and these naturally attracted
many predatory species. The rivers, streams, and lakes
teemed with beavers and muskrats, and the limited forest
areas supported many other valuable fur-bearing animals.
The region was exceptionally
rich in the number of individuals, if not in the species,
of large game. Of the abundance of small animals before
the settlement of the region, there is little record,
but probably in most cases there has been comparatively
slight change. Many of the larger species have entirely
disappeared, or have become very scarce or local in
their distribution, owing to the change from a limited
Indian population with crude weapons to the occupation
of the country by hunters, trappers, and traders, and
later by a well-armed, well-equipped, energetic, and
sport-loving people. Before any thought of game protection
or conservation influenced the destructive methods of
the early settlers, much of the game had disappeared.
Only in comparatively recent years have wise and effective
laws been enacted for the protection of the game that
remains, and there are not enough protected areas to
insure the maintenance of this remnant. Some of the
vanished species are being reintroduced in areas of
little value for other purposes, and it is hoped that
still others that are no longer found within the State
may thus be preserved for the interest of future generations.
In many cases the disappearance
of the game before the settlement of the country was
necessary and can be regretted only on the ground that
the methods employed were wasteful and the rate of depletion
was unnecessarily rapid. With better control the buffalo,
elk, deer, antelope, and mountain sheep would have lasted
much longer, and could have been of value to great numbers
of people for several generations, instead of being
largely squandered by a few skin hunters. It is futile
to waste time in regrets over what can no [p.18]
longer be helped, but future loss to the State can be
prevented by a fuller knowledge of the species which
should be preserved and those which can well be spared.
Useful and Harmful Species
At the present time the mammals of the State may be
divided into two groups, the useful and the harmful.
The clearly useful species may be grouped under game
animals, fur-bearing animals, certain rodent destroyers
and insectivorous animals. The harmful species may be
classed broadly as predatory animals and rodent pests.
Each of these groups has an important place in the economy
of the State, but without a thorough knowledge of the
abundance, distribution, and habits of each it is impossible
to employ intelligently successful methods of protection,
propagation, control, or destruction of a species or
a group of species. To supply the needed information,
the present report has been prepared, the information
being based on facts gathered in field work of the Biological
Survey, supplemented by data from all available reliable
sources.
Indian Names of Mammals
The Indian names given for many of the mammals have
been collected for the sake of perpetuating those longest
in use for the species, and in the hope that in cases
where other names are not available or well established,
some may be generally adopted. Names of many of the
conspicuous species from several different tribes are
found in the reports of Maximilian and other ethnologists,
but most of those used have been contributed by Melvin
R. Gilmore, formerly curator of the State Historical
Society, at Bismarck, now of the Museum of the American
Indian, New York City, who has obtained them directly
from the Indians through his own knowledge of their
language or by showing skins of the species with which
they are familiar. Many of the Mandan names have been
supplied by George F. Will, of Bismarck, in cooperation
with Doctor Gilmore.
The following phonetic
key is used except in names from Maximilian, where the
German spelling is retained:
a,
as a in father.
e, as e in they.
i, as i in marine.
o, as o in go.
u, as u in rule.
|
c,
as ch in chin (k and s are
used for the ordinary sounds of c).
ch, as guttural ch in German ich,
ach.
zk, as z in azure.
n (elevated) nasalizes
the preceding vowel.
|
Measurements and Weights
In most cases the usual three measurements are given:
Total length--from tip of nose to tip of tail
vertebrae in a straight line; length of tail--from
base at right angle with back to tip of skin at end
of tail; and hind foot--from point of heel to
tip of longest claw. Most of the measurements are, as
originally taken, in millimeters.(1)
Weights are given, when available, in grams for the
smaller and in pounds for the larger animals.
1 For the convenience
of those not familiar with the metric scale it may be
stated that 25 millimeters make approximately 1 inch,
and 304.8 millimeters are equivalent to 1 foot.
Scanned and formatted by Kathryn
Thomas
North Dakota State University Libraries
June 3, 2002
|
Last Updated: October 12, 2002