HABITS OF THE BADGER. 281 



on the fingers of either hand. Most of the individuals I have 

 laid eyes on were in sight bat a few moments, as they hurried 

 into the nearest hole. On one occasion, however, a Badger, 

 crouching at the mouth of its burrowin fancied security, allowed 

 me to approach and kill it with a shot ; but I should add that 

 this imprudent individual was but half-grown, and probably 

 had never seen a man before. 



I have found Badgers in countless numbers nearly through- 

 out the region of the Upper Missouri Elver and its tributaries. 

 I do not see how they could well be more numerous anywhere. 

 In some favorite stretches of sandy, sterile soil, their burrows 

 are everywhere^ together with those of Kit Foxes, Prairie-dogs, 

 and Spermophiles, and, as already said, these holes are a source 

 of annoyance and even danger to the traveller. In ordinary jour- 

 neying, one has to keep constant lookout lest his horse suddenly 

 goes down under him, with a fore leg deep in a Badger-hole; 

 and part of the training of the western horse is to make him 

 look out for and avoid these pitfalls. In the Buffalo country 

 particularly. Badgers live in extraordinary numbers, attracted 

 and retained by the surety of abundant food-supply; and there 

 are places where the chase of the Buffalo on horseback is abso- 

 lutely impracticable, except at a risk to life or limb which few 

 are willing to run. 



The burrows of the Badger are known from those of the 

 Prairie-dog and other Spermophiles by their greater dimensions; 

 besides, they differ from the former in never being built up 

 around the entrance into the regular mound or circular buttress 

 which usually surmounts the well-kept domicile of the Cynomys. 

 From the holes of Kit Foxes and Coyotes, they are not dis- 

 tinguishable with any certainty ; in fact, it is probable that these 

 animals frequently or almost habitually occupy deserted bur- 

 rows of the Badger, remodelled, if need be, to suit their con- 

 venience. But it must not be supposed that all of the innumer- 

 able Badger-diggings are the residences of these animals. The 

 Badger, too slow of foot to capture the nimble Eodents which 

 form its principal food, perpetually seeks them in their own 

 retreats ; and it is the work of a few minutes for this vigorous 

 miner to so far enlarge their burrows that it can enter and reach 

 the deepest recesses. In places where the Badgers and Spermo- 

 philes most abound, the continual excavation of the soil by 

 these animals fairly undermines and honeycombs the ground. 

 The Badgers, though not migratory, are sometimes attracted 



