54 HUNTING TRIPS 



very great, and as they eat up the roots of 

 the grass it is a long time before it grows 

 again. Already in many districts the stock- 

 men are seriously considering the best way in 

 which to take steps against them. Prairie- 

 dogs wherever they exist are sure to attract 

 attention, all the more so because, unlike 

 most other rodents, they are diurnal and not 

 nocturnal, offering therein a curious case of 

 parallelism to their fellow denizen of the 

 dry plains, the antelope, which is also a creat- 

 ure loving to be up and stirring in the bright 

 daylight, unlike its relatives, the dusk-loving 

 deer. They are very noisy, their shrill yelp- 

 ing resounding on all sides whenever a man 

 rides through a town. None go far from 

 their homes, always keeping close enough to 

 be able to skulk into them at once; and as 

 soon as a foe appears they take refuge on 

 the hillocks beside their burrows, yelping 

 continuously, and accompanying each yelp 

 by a spasmodic jerking of the tail and body. 

 When the man comes a little nearer they dis- 

 appear inside and then thrust their heads out, 



