THE SQUIRRELS— MARMOT. 



3ir 



account of its barking voice; but the most superficial 

 comparison cowdd not find a point of resemblance 

 between this animal and a Dog in external appear- 

 ance. 

 The Prairie Dog The Pjairie Dogs' extensive settle- 

 Towns of the ments, which are called " Dog-towns" 

 West. on account oi their great size, are, as 



a rule, found on some- 

 what low lying prairies, 

 ■where the grass makes a 

 beautiful natural lawn 

 and at the same time 

 affords the animals con- 

 venient food. "The al- 

 most incredible propor- 

 tions which the settle- 

 ments of these peaceful 

 inhabitants assume," 

 says Baldwin Moellhau- 

 sen, "can best be real- 

 ized by a person who 

 journeys continuously 

 for days among little 

 hillocks of which every 

 one represents the res- 

 idence of two or more 

 of these animals. These 

 dwellfngs are usually 

 from five to six yards 

 apart, and each little 

 mound rising in front 

 of their entrances may 

 contain a good cart load 

 of earth, which has been 

 gradually conveyed 

 from the subterranean 

 passages to the surface 

 by these inhabitants. 

 Some have a single en- 

 trance, some have two. 

 A well trodden path 

 leads from one dwelling 

 to another, and fully 

 justifies the inference 

 that close friendship 

 prevails among the live- 

 ly, little animals. The 

 selection of a site for 

 their "towns" seems to 

 be determined by prox- 

 imity to short, crisp 

 grass, which generally 

 grows on high plains, 

 and which, besides one 

 species of root, forms 

 the only food of the lit- 

 tle animals. Even on 

 the high plateaux of 

 New Mexico, where not 

 a drop of water is to be 

 found for miles around, 

 there are very densely 

 populated communities 

 of this sort, and as there 



is no rain for months, and it is necessary to dig to a 

 depth of one hundred feet in order to reach a water 

 vein, there is good reason to believe that Prairie 

 Dogs need but very little water, and content them- 

 selves with the moisture which a heavy dew tem- 

 porarily leaves on the slender grass blades. When 

 the Prairie Dog feels the approach of the time for 



hibernation, usually in the last days of October, it 

 closes all the entrances to its burrow to protect 

 itself from the cold and, as the season advances, it 

 becomes torpid, not emerging from its hole until the 

 warm days of spring awaken it to new, gladsome 

 life. According to the accounts. of the Indians, it 

 sometimes opens the doors of its habitation while 



THE BOBAC. Very similar in appearance and habits to the American Prairie Dog is its Old World relative, 



the Bobac. In the steppes and valleys of central Asia it throws up mounds at the entrance to its burrows, living in 

 large " towns" with others of its kind, for like the Prprie Dog it is of very sociable disposition. [Arctomys iobac.) 



the days are still cold. This is regarded as a sure 



sign of the near advent of warm weather. 



Appearance of a "Such a settlement affords a remark- 



Prairie Dog able sight, if one is only lucky 



Village. enough to approach it unperceive'd 



by the sentinels. As far as the eye can reach, a 



busy activity prevails: on nearly every mound the 



