MARMOTS. 83 



" these animals foi-rn large companies, like those on the Missouri, occupying with 

 their burrows sometimes two hundred acres of land. The burrows are separate, 

 and each possesses perhaps ten or twelve of these inhabitants. There is a little 

 mound in front of the hole, formed of the earth thrown out of the burrow : and 

 frequently there are three or four distinct holes, forming one burrow, with their 

 entrances around the base of these little mounds. These mounds, sometimes about 

 two feet in height and four in diameter, are occupied as watch-towers by the 

 inhabitants of these little communities. The marmots, one or more, are irregularly 

 distributed on the tract they thus occupy, at the distance of ten, twenty, or some- 

 times from thirty to forty yards. When anyone approaches they make a shrill 

 whistling sound, somewhat resembling tweet, tweet, tweet, the signal for their 

 party to take the alarm and to retire into their intrenchments. They feed mi 

 the roots of grass, etc." In Kansas the common prairie -marmot appears only 

 to retire for a few days at a time during the most inclement portion of the 

 winter, having been observed in January as active as in summer. Farther to 

 the north these animals doubtless, however, retire to their burrows for longer 

 periods. 



Some of the burrows of the eastern species are commonly tenanted by a small 

 kind of owl, while others are occupied by rattlesnakes; and it is a common popular 

 error that all these three animals live together in mutual association and harmony. 

 This, however, is far from being the true state of the case. The owls, indeed, take 

 up their abode in some of the deserted burrows, and do no harm to their former 

 owners, their food consisting mainly of insects and crayfish. On the other hand, 

 the rattlesnakes resort to the colony for the purpose of feeding upon the young 

 marmots ; and although they usually dwell in one burrow, from which they have 

 expelled the rightful occupants, they enter others in search of food. 



The True Marmots. 



Genus Arctomys. 



All who have travelled in the higher Alps or Himalaya, are familiar with the 

 shrill, piercing, whistle-like screams of the marmots, uttered when they first catch 

 sight of an intruder on their lonely domains, and preparatory to taking refuge in 

 the security of their burrows. The true marmots, which are the largest members 

 of the present group, are distinguished from prairie-marmots by their still stouter 

 build, the absence of pouches in the cheeks, and the rudimentary condition of the 

 first toe of the fore-foot, which has only a flattened nail in lieu of a claw. Their 

 skulls are, moreover, still broader, with the two rows of upper molar teeth nearly 

 parallel, and each molar tooth marked only by a pair of transverse grooves. The 

 ears are small, like those of the prairie-marmots ; and the tail is generally short, 

 although occasionally equal to half the length of the head and body. In size 

 marmots vary from about 15 to 25 inches in length, exclusive of the tail ; the 

 measurements of the latter ranging from 3 to about 12 inches. In general appear- 

 ance, the stoutness of their bodies and the shortness of their limbs are their most 

 obvious features. The head is wide and short, the small ears are more or less 



