466 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



the roots; and when the object of their attention is pros- 

 trate, all work with a keen activity, as the share of each is 

 only limited by its power to carry it away. The camass 

 (Camassia esculenta), which grows extensively on the prai- 

 ries, and is used as an article of food by the Indians, seems 

 to possess great attractions for the showtl, and it is conse- 

 quently looked on by the red men as an impertinent rival. 

 The result of this enmity or rivalry is apt to be prejudicial 

 to the longevity of the rodent ; for the Indian considers a 

 dinner of roast camass bulbs and showtl meat a feast fit for 

 a Cresar, and he takes every opportunity of enjoying it. 



This little animal seems to be indifferent to the topo- 

 graphical conformation of a country, judging by my own 

 experience, as I have found it from the table-like prairies 

 of the forest to the snow-line of the rugged Cascade Range. 

 It must, I infer, partially hibernate during the winter on the 

 higher mountains; but in the valleys, where frosts even are 

 not severe, it remains in an active condition throughout 

 the year. It may be seen out on the Cascade Range as 

 early as March, especially if the weather is fine ; but murky 

 days cause it to keep close to its burrow, no matter wheth- 

 er its habitat is on hill, plain, or plateau. Its fiercest ene- 

 my east of the Cascade Range is the pugnacious badger, 

 which pursues it with the greatest pertinacity, notwith- 

 standing the fact that ground-squirrels are exceedingly 

 numerous, and much more easily obtained. The Taxidea, 

 like the red man, is, however, an epicure in its own way, 

 and both these products of the American continent evi- 

 dently consider the flesh of the showtl superior to that of 

 any other animal. The meat is certainly tender, and much 

 less rank in taste than that of the wood hare, while it is 

 more succulent than that of the squirrel. 



Whenever a badger gets among a colony, it plays sad 

 havoc with its members, and destroys them in the very 

 wantonness of its fury, much the same as a terrier would 

 a lot of rats. The result is, that it soon deprives itself of a 

 most savory bonne bouche, and it has then to content itself 

 with spermophiles and field-mice. The coyotes, or prairie- 



