94 



ORDERS OF MAMMALS— GNAWING ANIMALS 



embracing Iowa, — which is its centre of distri- 

 bution, — Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minne- 

 sota, and the eastern parts of the Dakotas, Ne- 

 braska and Kansas. Its length is about 7A + 3 

 inches. The young are either two or three in 

 number, and there is only one litter each year. 



The enemies of the Gopher are the weasel 

 and the gopher snake. 1 Because of the damage 

 done by Gophers, farmers generally wage war 

 upon them with traps, strychnine, and poisoned 

 grain. In Iowa, Minnesota and other states, 

 many thousands of dollars have been paid out by 

 county treasurers in bounties on Gopher scalps 

 and tails. No animal in the West is more uni- 

 versally disliked, nor more diligently destroyed. 



My acquaintance with the Gopher Family be- 

 gan when I was a farmer boy, in Iowa, the 

 storm centre of Ge'o-mys bur-sa'ri-us. Having 



EED POCKET GOPHER. 



trapped a few, I made the mistake of supposing 

 that I knew more about the habits of those creat- 

 ures than did my elders, who had not. In an 

 evil moment, I announced that any strong boy 

 could catch a Gopher by digging it out of its 

 burrow, and my large brother offered me twenty- 

 five cents if I could prove that claim within a 

 week. 



That evening, with mattock and spade, I re- 

 paired to my father's corn-field, into which 

 strange Gophers were rapidly migrating and set- 

 tling; and finding a fresh hole with the owner in- 

 side, I began to dig. My shepherd dog, Rover, 

 assisted me all he could, chiefly by keeping me 

 company, but also by digging when I rested. 



We dug into the twilight, and later on we dug 

 into the night ; but the Gopher kept well ahead of 

 us. Whenever we paused to listen, we could 

 1 Pituophis. 



hear him digging hard, and to our dismay we 

 found that he knew a thing or two about getting 

 on in the world. With the descent of black dark- 

 ness, our hopes of overtaking that Gopher de- 

 scended also; and then pride, not hope of re- 

 ward, was all that spurred us on. Would we 

 have to give up beaten, by an ugly, pig-eyed old 

 Gopher? 



When for about the thirtieth time I paused to 

 wipe the accumulation of perspiration and prai- 

 rie loam from my brow, Rover suddenly rushed 

 off into the darkness. In the corn-rows thirty 

 yards away, he seized something, shook it vig- 

 orously, and a moment later came trotting back 

 to me, carrying in his mouth a large Gopher! 

 The beast had been migrating into the corn-field, 

 and Rover simply caught him on the fly. 



Digging operations ceased abruptly at that 

 point. Thanking Rover for his timely assistance, 

 I accepted his contribution, and we marched 

 home together. When I exhibited to my brother 

 the Gopher that we had secured "by digging," 

 he was profoundly surprised, but promptly paid 

 the money. Rover looked on smilingly, and said 

 not a word; but we both knew then that in catch- 

 ing Gophers, steel traps are better than spades. 



THE PORCUPINE FAMILY. 



Erethizontidae. 



The Porcupine is at home either in tree-tops 

 or on the ground, but it is always a slow-moving 

 and dull-witted animal. It is easily captured or 

 killed by man, but not so readily overcome by 

 wild animals. In the woods, it loves to prowl 

 around camps, and eat every scrap of leather 

 or greasy board that it can find. It is fond of the 

 bark of hemlock, beech and Cottonwood, and 

 often a Porcupine will remain in a good tree until 

 he entirely strips it of its bark. 



The Canada Porcupine, 2 which is black, 

 with a gray-tipped storm-coat, is found in New 

 England, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and 

 thence northward and northwestward to Fort 

 Churchill on Hudson Bay. The West and North- 

 west is the home of another species, known as the 

 Yellow-Haired Porcupine. 3 Large specimens 

 weigh from 25 to 30 pounds. The flesh is not 

 palatable to white men, but is eaten by Indians. 



The Canada Porcupine never should be called 



2 Er-e-thi'zon dor-sa'tus. 3 E. cp-i-xan'thus. 



