2 4 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



alone. But there were five conies at work in one 

 field. One of these haymakers was lame in the 

 left hind foot. Each hay cutter carried his load off 

 to his stack. One stack was thirty steps from 

 the field; the one of the lame fellow, fortunately, 

 was only eight steps. 



The cony is a relative of the rabbit, the 

 squirrel, the beaver, and the prairie dog. Al- 

 though he has a home underground, he spends 

 most of his waking hours outdoors. Above 

 ground on a rock he sits in the sunshine, in 

 cloud, and even in the rain. 



Except during harvest, or when seeking a new 

 home, he works but little. Much of the time 

 he simply sits. On a rock that rises two feet 

 or more above the surrounding level he sits 

 by the hours, apparently dreaming. 



By the entrance of Rocky's den lay a large, 

 flat slab of granite, several feet long. This was 

 raised upon boulders. He stacked his hay be- 

 neath the edge of this outreaching slab and 

 upon the slab he spent hours each day, except 

 in busy haymaking time. 



With back against his rock, without a move 

 for an hour or longer, he would sit in one 

 spot near his den. Now and then he sent forth 

 a call as though asking a question, and then 

 gravely listened to the responses of far-off 

 conies. Occasionally he appeared to repeat a 



