32 CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



they brandish, or the devoted courage that leads them 

 to face inevitable death in defense of their homes and 

 kindred. The author of death and destruction thrusts 

 his slimy tongue among them, which, having once 

 touched, they, adliere, and draws whole armies into 

 his mouth at a time. None can escape; the wonder- 

 ful communal dwelling, with all its busy multitudes, 

 is left a desolate and empty ruin, a hiding place for 

 the jackal, a den of serpents, or a ready-made grave 

 for a dead native. 



DOGS THAT ARE NOT DOGS. 



HOW THEY LIVE. 



The prairie dog does not in the least look like a 

 dog, act as a dog acts, or eat what a dog eats. In 

 fact, the prairie dog is not a dog at all, but a little 

 animal that looks like a small woodchuck, belonging 

 to the squirrel or marmot family. He is probably 

 called a dog because of his sharp, barking cry. Prairie 

 dogs build villages, towns, and sometimes what may 

 be called large cities, since one may sometimes travel 

 for hours through their long streets or pathways be- 

 fore reaching the end of the space inhabited by them. 

 " The hillocks everywhere," says Professor Gill, in the 

 admirable description he gives of prairie dog towns, 

 " has each its tenant half upright at the mouth of his 

 hole, with his paws folded down, vociferating his cu- 

 riosity or displeasure, and, on too near approach, duck- 



