THE PRAIRIE DOG. 193 



The length of the Hackee is about eleven inches, the tail being about 

 four and a half inches long. It is, however, slightly variable in dimen- 

 sions as well as in color. 



The Hackee is one of the liveliest and briskest of quadrupeds, and 

 by reason of its quick and rapid movements has been not inaptly com- 

 pared with the wren. It is chiefly seen among brushwood and small 

 timber ; and as it whisks about the branches or shoots through their 

 interstices with its peculiar quick, jerking movements, and its odd, 

 quaint, little clucking cry, like the chip-chipping of newly-hatched 

 chickens, the analogy between itself and the bird is very apparent. 

 As it is found in such plenty, and is a bold little creature, it is much 

 persecuted by small boys, who, although they are not big or wise 

 enough to be entrusted with guns wherewith to work the destruction 

 of larger game, arm themselves with long sticks, and by dexterous 

 management knock down many a Hackee as it tries to escape from its 

 pursuers by running along the rail fences. Among boys the popular 

 name of the Hackee is the " Chipmuck." 



It is a burrowing animal, miking its little tunnels in various retired 

 spots, but generally preferring an old tree, or the earth which is shel- 

 tered by a wall, a fence, or a bank. The burrows are rather compli- 

 cated, and, as they run to some length, the task of digging the animal 

 out of its retreat is no easy one. 



The well-known Prairie Dog, as it is called, is not a dog at all, but 

 belongs to the Marmots. It is found in very great plenty along the 

 coast of the Missouri and its tributaries, and also near the river Platte. 

 It congregates together in vast numbers in certain spots where the soil 

 is favorable to its subterranean habits of life, and the vegetation is suf- 

 ficiently luxuriant to afford it nourishment. The color of this animal 

 is reddish brown upon the back, mixed with gray and black in a rather 

 vague manner. The abdomen and throat are grayish white, and the 

 short tail is clothed for the first half of its length with hair of the same 

 tint as that of the body, and for the remaining half is covered with 

 deep blackish-brown hair, forming a kind of brush. The cheek- 

 pouches are rather small, and the incisor teeth are large and protrud- 

 ing from the mouth. The length of the animal rather exceeds sixteen 

 inches, the tail being a little more than three inches long. The cheek- 

 pouches are about three-quarters of an inch in depth, and are half that 

 measurement in diameter. 



The Prairie Dog is a burrowing animal, and, as it is very gregarious 

 in its habits, the spot on which it congregates is literally honeycombed 

 with its tunnsls. There is, however, a kind of order observed in the 

 "dog towns," as these warrens are popularly called, for the animals 

 always leave certain roads or streets in which no burrow is made. The 

 affairs of the community seem to be regulated by a single leader, called 



17 ivr 



