468 STORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



that he checked all attempts at argument by steadfastly- 

 adhering to the red man's sole code of ethics — expediency. 

 I wanted to prove to him that he was a cannibal if he ate 

 his remote ancestor, and he answered me promptly by 

 stating that his ancestor was good eating, and should there- 

 fore be utilized in the only way in which it was practica- 

 ble to do so; but, besides that fact, he reminded me that 

 the human race had progressed so far from their original 

 source that both could not now be considered kindred by 

 any system of logic, and he therefore could not be consid- 

 ered a cannibal. I yielded the point at once, much to his 

 satisfaction, as soon as I had proved to myself the main- 

 spring of Indian action. 



The showtl furnishes good sport to those who wish for 

 exercise with the bow and arrow. It may be brought out 

 of its hole by chirping for a little while, and the moment 

 it appears it affords an excellent target for a shaft. Even 

 when running toward its burrow, it moves so slowly that 

 it can be easily killed or wounded with an arrow, if one is 

 at all an adept in the use of the bow. I have shot some in 

 that way, and found it interesting sport, besides enjoying 

 a pleasant bonne boache when hungry. 



I examined several specimens captured in this manner, 

 with the aid of a surgical friend, and found that they dif- 

 fered from their kindred, the ground-squirrels, in many par- 

 ticulars, but especially in being devoid of the post-orbital 

 process, and having rootless molars. This latter character- 

 istic allied them to the beaver; so the inference would seem 

 to be that the showtl is the connecting link between the 

 squirrels and the beavers. But why Nature should have 

 produced, in opposition to all her general rules, only one 

 genus and one species of this interesting creature — should 

 have rendered it so defenceless, made it so scarce, and con- 

 fined its range to such narrow limits — is a question to puz- 

 zle the minds of those unacquainted with her great arcana. 



The number of fur animals shot or trapped in America 

 each year seems almost incredible ; yet, by glancing at the 

 list of fur skins sold in London and Leipsic during parts 



