ZOOLOGY. 



125 



the same mountains. The Indians trap them, and value their flesh highly as food. The Yakima 

 Indians call it SquallaJi. Its range in the Territory is quite extensive, from high mountain 

 elevations to near the salt water. 



Colonel Simmons, one of the earliest settlers in Washington Territory, confirms the statement 

 of the Indians that the show'tl, like the prairie dog, lives in companies. He has frequently 

 seen them sitting at the entrances of their burrows early in the morning, and whistling some- 

 thing in the manner of the prairie dog. 



Lewis and Clark say that this animal "mounts a tree andburi'ows like a squirrel." The state- 

 ment that it "mounts a tree" is probably an error. — G. 



In 1856 I obtained at Fort Steilacoom four specimens of the show'tl, of which three were 

 adults. The other half-grown individual was caught June 25. It is probable that the Aplodontia, 

 like many other rodents, has several litters of young during the season. 



The Nisqually Indians, in their mythological traditions and obscure stories concerning the 

 creation, say that the show'tl was i\iQ first animal created tvith life. I cannot find out whether 

 they undergo a regular torpid hybernation. The natives saj- that they move about a little 

 during the winter, but do not become decidedly active until late in the spring. They live in bur- 

 rows, in small companies of a dozen or more, and subsist on roots, berries, <fcc. The Indians 

 say that the show'tl of the Cowlitz river has a ivhitehresist and belly. Those at Nisqually, having 

 the under parts dark, are said to retain the same coloration throughout the year, of which the 

 specimens bearing the private marks 92, 93, and 94, are good examples. 



They are considered by the Indians to possess high gastronomic excellencies. To ascertain 

 this I had one roasted secundum artem. I found it excellent; tasting much like chicken, or 

 perhaps more like a well-roasted sandhill crane; far superior to woodchuck, neotoma, raccoon, 

 or beaver — "de gustihus non est disputandum." 



Measurements of specimens. 



Hind feet of all the sjjecimens very destitute of hair; fore feet more hairy. Tongue fleshy. 

 Ej'es small, (about .3G of an inch in diameter.) Cheeks and lips very thick and fleshy. Teeth 



