366 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



than yield, it will allow itself to be beaten to pieces with a stick. 

 If it seizes a man's hand, it must be killed before it will quit its 

 hold. The magnitude of the horse terrifies it as little as the 

 address of the dog, which last is fond of hunting it. When a 

 harvester perceives a dog at a distance, it begins by emptying 

 its cheek-pouches, if they happen to be filled with grain ; it then 

 blows them up so prodigiously, that the size of the head and 

 neck greatly exceeds that of the rest of the body. It rears itself 

 upon its hind legs, and thus darts upon the enemy. If it catches 

 hold, it never quits it but with the loss of its life ; but the dog 

 generally seizes it behind, and strangles it. This ferocious dis- 

 position prevents it from being at peace with any animal what- 

 ever. It even makes war against its own species. When two 

 harvesters meet, they never fail to attack each other, and the 

 stronger always devours the weaker. A combat between a 

 male and a female commonly lasts longer than between two 

 males. They begin by pursuing and biting each other, then 

 each of them retires aside, as if to take breath. After a short 

 interval they renew the combat, and continue to fight till one of 

 them falls. The vanquished uniformly serves as a repast to the 

 conqueror. 



If we contrast the fearless disposition of the harvester 

 with the timidity of the hare or rabbit, we observe that in 

 respect of emotions, no less than in that of intelligence,, 

 the order Eodentia comprises the utmost extremes. 



The so-called ' prairie-dog ' is a kind of small rodent,, 

 which makes burrows in the ground, and a slight eleva- 

 tion above it. The animals being social in their habits, 

 their warrens are called ' dog-towns.' Prof. Jillson, Ph.D., 

 kept a pair in confinement (see 'American Naturalist,' 

 vol. v., pp. 24-29), and found them to be intelligent and 

 highly affectionate animals. These burrows he found to 

 contain a ' granary,' or chambers set apart for the reception 

 of stored food. With regard to the association said to 

 exist between this animal and the owl and tattle-snake, 

 Prof. Jillson says, 'I have seen many dog-towns, with 

 owls and dogs standing on contiguous, and in some cases 

 on the same mound, but never saw a snake in the vicinity.' 

 The popular notion that the owl acts the part of sentry to 

 the dog requires, to say the least, confirmation. 



