462 SrOIiTlXO ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



direction through Eastern Oregon and Washington Terri- 

 tory* The probability of its being an inhabitant of any- 

 other section of the continent except where it has been al- 

 ready discovered is strongly in the negative, as the soil and 

 climate elsewhere do not seem adapted to its comfortable 

 existence. Its favorite haunts are the small sandy prairies 

 adjacent to the rivers that run through the dense forests 

 of Western Oregon and Washington Territory, for it can 

 obtain an abundance of food and water in such localities 

 at all seasons of the year; and it is comparatively safe 

 from enemies, especially those which are the most untiring 

 in its pursuit and destruction — the badger and the coyote, 

 or prairie wolf, whose habitat is the Eastern plateaux. The 

 showtl being an inveterate miner, the soft sandy soil ena- 

 bles it to dig a home for itself in a very short lime; and 

 this, and the profusion of vegetation, combined with the 

 equable climate of the Western divisions, are the very ex- 

 cellent motives that decide it in selecting the prairies for 

 its home. 



Being the only species of its genus yet discovered, it 

 possesses much interest for the scientific naturalist, and 

 not a little for the amateur who speculates on Nature's 

 laws. In its isolation it stands as an example in the ani- 

 mal kingdom ; so the question now to be settled is, what 

 purpose is it intended to fulfil in the economy of Nature? 

 It was at one time supposed to be a member of the Spter- 

 mophiles ; but Sir John Richardson, after a careful ana- 

 tomical investigation, proved it to be not only a new spe- 

 cies, but also a new genus, of the sub -family Castorince, 

 and to differ widely from the squirrel family, especially in 

 its dental formation. The molar teeth being devoid of 

 roots, he named it generically and specifically Aplodontia 

 leporina, from aplos, simple, and odons, a tooth. Its special 

 purpose, therefore, so far as may be conjectured, seems to 

 be to unite the squirrel and beaver families; for while it 

 is distinct from both in many particulars, yet it greatly 

 resembles one of the Spermophiles— the prairie-dog — in its 

 range of food, domiciliary architecture, and social relations. 



