ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. 71 



twenty miles from any water upon the surface of the ground, 

 and where it did not seem probable that it could be obtained 

 by excavation ; and as there is seldom any rain or dew upon 

 these elevated mesas during the summer months, and as they 

 do not wander far from their burrows, I think I am warranted 

 in coming to the conclusion that they require no other 

 aqueous sustenance than that which they receive from the 

 short grass which constitutes their food. Their burrows are 

 generally placed about fifteen yards apart, and each consti- 

 tutes the abode of five or six occupants. 



" The towns vary much in magnitude, some only covering 

 the space of a few acres, while others are spread over a 

 surface of many miles. I passed through one upon the head 

 waters of Red River, which was twenty-five miles in length. 

 Supposing it to have been of the same length in other direc- 

 tions, it would cover an area of 625 square miles. 



" They appear to delight in sporting with each other about 

 the entrances of their holes, and may always be seen in 

 pleasant weather, frolicking, running, and barking throughout 

 the whole town ; but at the slightest sound, or the least 

 approach of danger, they make a precipitate retreat to their 

 burrows, dropping themselves partly in with their heads above 

 the ground, and their eyes intently fixed in the direction of 

 the intruder, at the same time flourishing their tails from side 

 to side, with nervous jerks, and keeping up an incessant 

 barking until the danger approaches too close, when they 

 suddenly disappear beneath the ground, and the town, from 

 ringing with their music, becomes in an instant as silent as 

 the grave. 



" That these animals hybernate and pass a portion of the 

 winter in a lethargic or torpid state, is evident from the fact 

 that they do not, like the squirrel, lay up sustenance. When 

 they first feel the approach of the sleeping season, (generally 

 about the last days of November,) they carefully close all 

 the passages to their dormitories to exclude the cold. 



