ON THE PRAlRll. 53 



far out on the prairie or among the Bad 

 Lands, a long distance from any water. In- 

 deed, so dry are some of the localities in 

 which they exist, that it is a marvel how they 

 can live at all ; yet they seem invariably 

 plump and in good condition. They are ex- 

 ceedingly destructive to grass, eating away 

 every thing round their burrows, and thus 

 each town is always extending at the bor- 

 ders, while the holes in the middle are de- 

 serted; in many districts they have become 

 a perfect bane to the cattle-men, for the in- 

 coming of man has been the means of caus- 

 ing a great falling off in the ranks of their 

 four-footed foes, and this main check to their 

 increase being gone, they multiply at a rate 

 that threatens to make them a serious pest in 

 the future. They are among the few plains 

 animals who are benefited instead of being 

 injured by the presence of man; and it 

 most difficult to exterminate them or to keep 

 their number in any way under, as they are 

 prolific to a most extraordinary degree ; and 

 the quantity of good feed they destroy is 



