260 FOUR-FOOTED AMERICANS 



tesy as I passed, after a fashion of its own. Perhaps I 

 woukl see a sand-colored rattlesnake disappear in one 

 of the mounds, probably to make a meal and a visit at 

 the same time. 



" As I drew near every eye was upon me. If I raised 

 my arms or stick, amid a cliorus of yelps, down the 

 Prairie Dogs would go into their holes, only to bob up 

 the next moment Jack-in-the-box fashion. It does not 

 seem to matter how they enter the holes. They can 

 turn a somersault down the slope that leads from the 

 door to the first gallery, and disappear backward, star- 

 ing all the while. 



" Curiosity is often as fatal to them as to big game. 

 Coyote knows this failing and avails himself of it in 

 hunting them. You remember how the great Gray 

 Timber Wolves hunt in couples or in packs. Coyote 

 also follows this family habit. Two start out from a 

 den or lounging spot in the side of a butte or coulie." 



" What is a butte ? " asked Dodo. 



" A butte is a sort of cliff of sandstone, that rises 

 sharply from level ground. They are the landmarks 

 of the plains and often take beautiful or fantastic 

 shapes, like church spires or castles. Some buttes are 

 bare and arid, some are dotted with clusters of pine 

 trees. A coulie is a cut made by creek or river. 



"As I said before," continued the Doctor, "two 

 Coj-otes start out to see what they can pick up, sniffing 

 about here and there like the vagabond wild dogs they 

 are. If they find the carcass of some large animal, left 

 by Wolves or human hunters, they will gorge them- 

 selves contentedly upon it, for they are the Jackals of 

 our country and revel in carrion. If, however, they 



