Photographing the Smaller Mammals 129 



from six thousand to nine thousand feet, his home 

 is buried under from ten to fifty feet of snow and 

 he does not make liis appearance until June or 

 July. When he first comes out, he is rather lazy 

 and likes to sit and sun himself. Later on he is 

 seldom quiet for any length of time excepting in 

 the early morning. He has many household duties 

 and begins early in August to gather in his sup- 

 ply of winter hay, for the snow and frosts come 

 early up where he lives. If you are watching by 

 a pile of rocks, you will see him pop suddenly out 

 of some crevasse, look hurriedly around to see 

 that the coast is clear of any prowling weasel or 

 hawk, and, after uttering his peculiar little cry, he 

 will scamper over the broken masses of rock with 

 incredible swiftness to his favorite ' hayfield,' 

 where he gathers a larw mouthful and hurries 

 back to arrange a little haycock where his grass 

 will dry protected from the winds. He works 

 incessantly and, should a storm threaten, he will 

 work all night, if necessary, to gather in his hay- 

 cocks to one of the common storehouses under 

 the rocks. In photographing him the camera was 

 focussed on his favorite sunning place, partially 

 hidden by leaves and weeds, while I sat fifty feet 

 away and waited his appearance. I worked on 

 and off for over a month before I got his picture." 

 This evidences an amount of patience and per- 

 severance that was deserving of the reward that 



K 



