162 PEPACTON 



not twice as far to run as the chuck, threw all 

 stealthiness aside and rushed directly for the hole. 

 At that moment the woodchuck discovered his dan- 

 ger, and, seeing that it was a race for life, leaped as 

 I never saw marmot leap before. But he was two 

 seconds too late, his retreat was cut off, and the pow- 

 erful jaws of the old dog closed upon him. 



The next season Cuff tried the same tactics again 

 with like success, but when the third woodchuck 

 had taken up his abode at the fatal hole, the old 

 churner's wits and strength had begun to fail him, 

 and he was baffled in each attempt to capture the 

 animal. 



The woodchuck always burrows on a sidehill. 

 This enables him to guard against being drowned 

 out, by making the termination of the hole higher 

 than the entrance. He digs in slantingly for about 

 two or three feet, then makes a sharp upward turn 

 and keeps nearly parallel with the surface of the 

 ground for a distance of eight or ten feet farther, 

 according to the grade. Here he makes his nest 

 and passes the winter, holing up in October or No- 

 vember and coming out again in April. This is 

 a long sleep, and is rendered possible only by the 

 amount of fat with which the system has become 

 stored during the summer. The fire of life still 

 burns, but very faintly and slowly, as with the 

 draughts all closed and the ashes heaped up. Ees- 

 piration is continued, but at longer intervals, and 

 all the vital processes are nearly at a standstill. 

 Dig one out during hibernation (Audubon did so), 



