96 ■ NOTES BY THE WAY. 



rectly for the hole. At that moment the woodchuck 

 discovers his danger, and, seeing that it is a race for 

 life, leaps as I never saw marmot leap before. But 

 he is two seconds too late, his retreat is cut off, and 

 the powerful jaws of the old dog close 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 side-hill. 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 gi-ade. 

 Here he makes his nest and passes the winter, holing 

 up in October or November 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. Res- 

 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), and you 

 find it a mere inanimate ball, that suffers itself to be 

 moved and rolled about without showing signs of 

 awakening. But bring it in by the fire, and it pres- 

 ently unrolls and opens its eyes, and crawls feebly 

 about, and if left to itself will seek some dark hole or 

 corner, roll itself up again, and resume its former con- 

 dition. 



D. H. HILL LIBRARY 

 North Carolina State College 



