RACCOON, OPOSSUM, AND SQUIRREL FAMILIES. 441 



are used for food in some portions of the West by the 

 whites, and are seldom absent from the bill of fare of game 

 dinners given by sporting-clubs, and even by private per- 

 sons. I have eaten squirrels frequently, and I can say that 

 they are much better eating than persons give them credit 

 for. The ground-squirrels are such nuisances in some 

 places that the farmers have been compelled to resort to 

 every means to get rid of them ; but now, fortunately, some 

 enterprising men have discovered a poison so subtle and 

 cheap that it only costs ten cents to clear them off an acre 

 of land, while the poisoners realize a handsome sum from 

 the skins, these being their perquisites. 



