THE COMMON MARMOT. 



195 



do not emerge again until they hear the shrill whistle which tells them 

 that the danger is past. 



The burrows of the Prairie Dogs are generally made at an angle of 

 forty degrees, and after being sunk for some little distance run hor- 

 izontally, or even rise toward the surface of the earth. It is well 

 known that these burrows are not only inhabited by the legitimate 

 owners and excavators, but are shared by the burrowing owl and the 

 rattlesnake. According to popular belief, the three creatures live very 

 harmoniously together; but careful observations have shown that the 

 snake and the owl are interlopers, living in the burrows because the 

 poor owners cannot turn them out, and finding an easy subsistence on 

 the young Prairie Dogs. A rattlesnake has been killed near a bur- 

 row, and when the reptile was dissected a Prairie Dog was found in 

 its stomach. 



The Common Marmot is about the size of an ordinary rabbit, and 

 not very unlike that animal in color. The general tint of the fur is 



THfc Marmot (At dnmys Maimotta). 



grayish yellow upon the back and flanks, deepening into black-gray on 

 the top of the head, and into black on the extremity of the tail. It is 

 very common in all the mountainous districts of Northern Europe, 

 where it associates in small societies. The Marmot is an expert ex- 

 cavator, and digs very large and rather complicated burrows, always 

 appearing to reserve one chamber as a storehouse for the heap of dried 

 grasses and other similar substances which it amasses for the purpose 

 of sustaining life during the winter. The chamber in which the animal 

 lives and sleeps is considerably larger than the storehouse, measuring, 

 in some cases, as much as seven feet in diameter. The tunnel which 



