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464 



AUDUBON 



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bring spades, and to dig for the animals with the hope I 

 might procure one alive. All hands went to work with 

 alacrity, in the presence of Dr. Trudeau of St. Louis, my 

 friends the father and son Chouteau, and myself. We 

 observed that the " Muloe " ^ (the name given these animals 

 by the Creoles of this country) had worked in two or more 

 opposite directions, and that the main gallery was about a 

 foot beneath the surface of the ground, except where it 

 had crossed the walks, when the burrow was sunk a few 

 inches deeper. The work led the negroes across a large 

 square and two of the walks, on one side of which we 

 found large bunches of carnations, from which the roots 

 had been cut off obliquely, close to the surface of the 

 ground, thereby killing the plants. The roots measured 

 \ of an inch, and immediately next to them was a rose- 

 bush, where ended the burrow. The other side was now 

 followed, and ended amidst the roots of a fine large peach- 

 tree ; these roots were more or less gashed and lacerated, 

 but no animal was there, and on returning on our tracks, 

 we found that several galleries, probably leading outside 

 the garden, existed, and we gave up the chase. 



This species throws up the earth in mounds rarely higher 

 than twelve to fifteen inches, and these mounds are thrown 

 up at extremely irregular distances, being at times near 

 to each other, and elsewhere ten to twenty, or even thirty, 

 paces apart, yet generally leading to particular spots, well 

 covered with grapes or vegetables of different kinds. 

 This species remains under ground during the whole 

 winter, inactive, and probably dormant, as they never 

 raise or work the earth at this time. The earth thrown 

 up is as if pulverized, and as soon as the animal has 

 finished his labors, which are for no other purpose than to 

 convey him securely from one spot to another, he closes 

 the aperture, which is sometimes on the top, though more 

 usually on the side towards the sun, leaving a kind of ring 

 1 From the French " Mulcts," field-mice. 



