Having neither leisure nor ability to do justice to the different
departments of such a work, without assistance, I have gladly availed
myself of the aid of several kind friends and able naturalists,—the
First Part, relating to the Q u a d r u p e d s , being the only one for which
I am solely accountable. William Swainson, Esq., the able illustrator
of the Ornithology of the Brasils, undertook to arrange and make
drawings of the B ir d s , elucidate the Synonyms, furnish Remarks on
the natural groups, and, in fact, to charge himself with the principal
part of the Ornithology. The Reverend Mr. Kirby agreed to arrange
and describe the I n s e c t s ; and Dr. Hooker, Professor of Botany at
Glasgow, relieved me entirely from the charge of describing the
P l a n t s . The number of specimens of these requiring that Dr.
Hooker’s part should extend to about two volumes of letter-press,
it has been judged better to publish the Zoology and Botany in
separate works,—the latter edited solely by Dr. Hooker, and as
similar to the former in paper and type as possible*. The following
introductory remarks are, therefore, drawn up principally with a view
to the Zoological specimens.
First, with regard to the geographical limits of the country, whose
ferine inhabitants are to be described.
The Expedition landed at New York, proceeded up the Hudson to
Albany; from thence westward by the ridge-road to Niagara; then,
after a short visit to the stupendous falls on that river, it crossed Lake
Ontario to York, the capital of Upper Canada; and, passing by Lake
Sirncoe and the river Nattawasaga, it arrived at Penetanguishene,
on the north-east arm of Lake Huron, in the beginning of April. Up
to this place, owing to the early period of the year, and the mode of
travelling, which was, for the greater part of our route, in carriages at
a rapid rate, our collections were small, consisting, in Zoology, only
of a few insects and serpents, and in Botany, principally of lichens
* Dr. Hooter is far advanced with his work, which will come out in parts; and Mr.
Drummond has already, under his inspection, published two volumes of dried American,
mosses, containing two hundred and eighty-six species, collected by the Expedition.
and mosses. With these slight exceptions, the specimens brought to
England were entirely collected to the north of the Great Canada
Lakes, beyond the settled parts of Upper Canada, and, in fact, in a
widely extended territory, wherein the scattered trading posts of the
Hudson’s Bay Company furnish the only vestiges of civilisation. The
following work may, therefore, be termed a Fauna; or, more properly.
Contributions to a Fauna of the British American Fur Countries ; or
it may be considered, in a general view, as comprising what is known
of the Zoology of that part of America, which lies to the north of the
49th parallel of latitude, and which, to the east of the Rocky Mountains,
at least, is exclusively British. I have, however, included in it
descriptions of a few specimens obtained a degree or two to the southward
of that latitude on Lake Huron and on the River Columbia, in
both of which quarters there are several fur-posts of the Hudson’s
Bay Company. After having travelled through the Fur Countries
lying to the eastward of the Rocky Mountains, for seven summers,
and passed five winters at widely distant posts, it will scarcely be
thought that I arrogate too much in saying, that almost all the
quadrupeds that are objects of chase or interest to the natives, and a
very great proportion of the birds, either came within the scope of my
own observation, or were mentioned in the many conversations I had
with the white residents and native hunters, on the natural productions
of the country. But, although my opportunities of ascertaining
the number of species actually inhabiting the northern parts of
America were so great, I must confess, that a journey like ours, in
which natural history was only a subordinate object, and at many
periods of which the shortest delay beyond that absolutely necessary
for refreshment and repose, was inadmissible, did not afford much
opportunity for studying the manners and habits of the animals with
the attention I could have wished to have devoted to that subject.
The present work, therefore, though fuller than any preceding one,
is to be considered only in the light of a sketch, in which many omissions
remain to be supplied and inaccuracies to be corrected by future
observers. To render the list as complete as possible, I have included