110 ANIMAL COMPETITORS: 
is light sand-color over the upper parts and 
pure white below. The tail is white along the 
sides and for an inch at the tip. The fur-lined 
cheek-pouches are large enough to admit the tip 
of the little finger. 
These, and the smaller kangaroo-rats, are 
common over the drier parts of the valley coun- 
try, especially in thé mellowest and sandiest 
soil; and Ernest Thompson Seton has made 
them the subject of one of his most accurate 
and charming descriptions of animal life. They 
are strictly nocturnal and are rarely seen alive, 
but their round burrows are conspicuous, and 
the paired tracks of their long hind feet may- be 
seen every morning on the naked sands. The 
manner of traveling is by hops, or long leaps 
on the hind feet, while the tail serves as a 
balance and rudder, the tiny front paws being ° 
used only as hands. The burrows usually en- 
ter the side of a sandy hillock, dune, or embank- 
ment, and often extend 10 or 20 feet. They do 
not go deep into the ground, but if started at 
the base of an embankment they may penetrate 
through it below the water-level and’ tap the 
ditches,—mischief wholly accidental. Usually 
