34 CURIOUS HOMES AND THEIR TENANTS. 



ing down like an automaton on springs, witli a saucy 

 ' good-by — I have business ' flirt of the taiL These 

 sharp cries are incessant. As each note is emitted 

 the body shakes, the tail jerks, the whole performance 

 being ludicrously hke that of a toy barking dog, which . 

 squeaks and drops its jaw as you press the bellows." * 



Bushels of earth are thrown out at the mouth of 

 every burrow and heaped into mounds two or three 

 feet in diameter and about two feet high. These are to 

 serve as posts of observation, as well as to prevent the 

 nests being filled with water in stormy weather. Be- 

 fore and after a shower the little citizens may be seen 

 gathering and inspecting the banks about their homes 

 to see that everything is in a proper shape, and scratch- 

 ing up and patting down parts that need repairing. 



Although no notices of " rooms to let " appear, 

 the owners of many of the burrows are obliged, much 

 against their will probably, to entertain lodgers who, 

 instead of paying rent, exact cruel tribute of their 

 hosts. These objectionable intruders consist of rat- 

 tlesnakes and burrowing owls, the latter scarcely as 

 large as a quail, who live with, and also live on, their 

 poor little prairie dog hosts, devouring both them and 

 their children. In the rattlesnake, especiallj", the 

 prairie dogs have a deadly foe, for neither by day or 

 at night are they secure from his attack. Their deep 

 nests softly bedded with dry, warm grass, are admi- 

 rably adapted to his ease and comfort, and with his bed 

 is furnished delicate food, the flesh of the baby dogs. 



* standard Natural History. 



