rrn AMMALS. 465 



the other in autumn, and the number of young at a birth 

 is usually from four to six. The nest in which they are 

 nurtured resembles that of the rabbit in form, and is usu- 

 ally placed in the darkest part of the burrow. The first 

 family is cared for by the parents until the second appears; 

 but, according to Indian tales, the members are expected 

 to set up house-keeping for themselves after that time. 



The showtl is quite social in character; and though not 

 so gregarious as the prairie-dog, yet it seems very much 

 attached to its kindred in the colony. This colony gen- 

 erally consists of from a dozen to a hundred families, and 

 they, apparently, live together in the most perfect harmony. 

 They seem moved by one common impulse, and that, as a 

 rule, is to dig up the ground as rapidly as possible. The 

 result is that the region adjoining their village is honey- 

 combed in every direction, and is covered with a mass of 

 dead vegetation ; for they do not spare the root or bark of 

 anything green that they can devour or destroy. They are 

 persistent seekers after food, and such articles as they do 

 not immediately dispose of they store away in their laby- 

 rinthine cellars. This acquisitive talent causes them to up- 

 root a large tract of country in a short time, and when they 

 exhaust the resources .of one section they move to another. 

 According to Indian tales, they migrate only at night, and, 

 in a few minutes after having chosen an encampment, they 

 have their houses ready for occupation. They first dig a 

 shallow passage, then come to the surface, and work down 

 again. This system of mining is evidently intended to re- 

 lieve them of the necessity of forcing or carrying the exca- 

 vated dirt out of the burrow, so that they seem to have a 

 good idea of the economy of labor. All their movements 

 being, as a rule, performed underground, a study of their 

 habits is rather difficult, unless a large amount of time and 

 patience is wasted. They are so cautious about moving 

 out of their burrows, that it is only after they have care- 

 fully reconnoitred their surroundings that they even pre- 

 sume to drink from the rivulet near their village. 



Their mode of felling shrubs and trees is to cut away at 

 20* 



