464 SPOUTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



home for itself in so short a time as the showtl ; and it is 

 well for it that it possesses this quality, else its life would 

 be of short duration; for it has numerous foes, and no 

 means of defending itself against their attacks except re- 

 treating to its subterranean domicile. Its powers of loco- 

 motion are exceedingly limited, owing to the peculiar con- 

 formation of the feet; and this great disadvantage leaves 

 it completely at the mercy of its enemies when once out- 

 side its burrow. Its usual gait is an awkward, shambling 

 run; and that is so slow that any animal of greater speed 

 than the porcupine could readily overtake it, even when 

 pressed to its best pace by fear. 



Its fur is thick, and tolerably fine. Its outer tinge is a 

 reddish-brown, but the inner approaches a bluish-gray at 

 the base. The density of its coating made it at one time 

 an object of pursuit by the Indians; but since the intro- 

 duction of civilization and cotton goods they capture it 

 mainly for its flesh, which they consider to possess high 

 gastronomic qualities. The robe made of its fur gave the 

 animal the name by which it is now known to the majority 

 of the hunters and the coast Indians of the North -west. 

 Lewis and Clarke, who were sent out by the American 

 Government in 1804 to explore the country between the 

 Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, heard of it from 

 the Clatsop Indians, and in their work they mentioned that 

 " it could burrow in the ground, and climb a tree like a 

 squirrel." As they had not seen it, in all probability, they 

 took their statements from the Chinooks ; and Indian as- 

 sertions in matters appertaining to natural history are not 

 always famous for their correctness. This tribe used a 

 robe made of its fur, which they called " she-wel-el ;" and 

 the explorers applied this name to the animal itself, al- 

 though it was not the one used by the red man. The 

 Nisqually Indians of Washington Territory call it the 

 " showtl ;" hence the application of both names in its de- 

 nomination. The male and female are exact copies of each 

 other, except that the latter is a little the smaller. She 

 produces two litters a year, the first appearing in spring, 



