IN THE FAR WEST. 403 



the greatest avidity. This barbaric bit of the Darwinian 

 philosophy I once turned to account to test the extent of an 

 Indian's reasoning- power; but I found that he checked all at- 

 tempts at argument by steadfastly adhering to the red man's 

 sole code of ethics expediency. I wanted to prove to him 

 that he was a cannibal if he ate his remote ancestor, and he 

 answered me promptly by stating that his ancestor was good 

 eating, and should therefore be utilised in the only way in which 

 it was practicable to do so; but, besides that fact, he reminded 

 me that the human race had progressed so far from their original 

 source that both could not now be considered kindred by any 

 system of logic, and he, therefore, could not be considered a 

 cannibal. I yielded the point at once, much to his satisfaction, as 

 soon as I had proved to myself the mainspring of Indian action. 



The showtl furnishes good sport to those who wish for exer- 

 cise with the bow and arrow. It may be brought out of its 

 hole by chirping for a little while, and the moment it appears 

 it affords an excellent target for a shaft. Even when running 

 toward its burrow it moves so slowly that it can be easily 

 killed or wounded with an arrow, if one is at all an adept in 

 the use of the bow. I have shot some in that way and found 

 it interesting sport, besides enjoying a pleasant bonne louche 

 when hungry. 



I examined several specimens captured in this manner, with 

 the aid of a surgical friend, and found that they differed from 

 their kindred, the ground squirrels, in many particulars, but 

 specially in being devoid of the post-orbital process, and having 

 rootless molars. This latter characteristic allied them to the 

 beaver ; so the inference would seem to be that the showtl is 

 the connecting link between the squirrels and the beavers. 

 But why Nature should have produced, in opposition to all 

 her general rules, only one genus and one species of this 

 interesting creature should have rendered it so defenceless, 

 made it so scarce, and confined its range to such narrow 

 limits is a question to puzzle the minds of those unacquainted 

 with her great arcana. 



The number of fur animals shot or trapped in America each 

 year seems almost incredible, yet by glancing at the list of fur 



