366 
VERTEBRATA. 
affectionate, preserving all its native love of gaiety and frolic. It feeds standing on its hind-legs, 
like a squirrel, using its paws as hands. It will eat grasses, grain, fruits, and cooked food generally. 
It has a sort of human nature about it, for, when threatened, it chatters, grits its teeth, and he- 
comes furious ; but, if fed and caressed, it is speedily restored to its good-natured and pleasant 
ways. It makes a nest of tow, or other soft materials, and is fond of burying itself in it, even in 
warm weather. It sleeps luxuriously, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on its back, occasion- 
ally yawning and stretching like a lazy boy. 
This species is common in Mexico, Avliere it is called Urion — a term, however, applied to some 
other burrowing animals. It is also met with in Texas and California. It inhabits wooded dis- 
tricts, but is a frequent pet on the plantations. The Mexican women fondle it, and permit it to 
I'uu over their shoulders and nestle in their bosoms. 
The Long-tailed Spermophile, 8. macrourus, is thirteen inches long, and the tail, with the 
hair, ten inches. The fur is coarse, and mottled with black and grayish-white along the back and 
sides ; the feet and under parts are light gray, with dusky freckles. The tail is moderately bushy. 
It is a very lively species, climbs trees with facility when it has need, and feeds on grain, grasses, 
nuts, and roots. It is found in Northern Mexico, and in some parts is abundant. There appears 
to be a standing grxidge between the woodpeckers and this spermophile, the former often combining 
to the number of half-a-dozen in an attack upon him. They dart at him, aud snap their long 
sharp bills around his head, and, doubtless, often give him a pungent tweak. The cause of this 
hereditary quarrel may be, that the spermophile often takes possession of the hole which the 
woodpecker has chiseled out of a dvj trunk or limb of a tree, unscrupulously appropriating the 
premises, and all the hereditaments, to his own use and behoof. 
Harris's Marmot Squirrel, S. Harrisii, is of the size of the chipping-squirrel. It has a 
narrow white stripe running along on each side of the back, the ground being y ello wish -gray ; 
the under surface is ashy-white. The length of the body is a trifle less than six inches ; the 
tail, with the hair, four and a half inches. Its habits are little known. It is found on the west- 
ern slope of the Rocky Mountains, within the verge of Oregon. 
Townsend's Spermophile, or the American Souslik, S. Townsendii, is of the size of the 
common red squirrel. The upper surface is brownish-gray, sprinkled with white ; beneath it is 
yellowish-gray; length, eight to nine inches ; tail, with the hair, one inch and a half. It greatly 
resembles the souslik of Europe and Asia, the spots on the skin, however, being finer and more 
numerous and irregular. It is found in Oregon, and, iu summer, is numerous along the banks of 
the Walla- AV alia ; it gets very fat, and is devoured by the Indians. It appears to retreat to its 
holes early in the autumn, where it lives in families. After its hibernation, it comes forth in the 
spring greatly emaciated. 
Douglass' Spermophile, S. Douglassii, has a short head and long ears, the body being pale 
brown, with faint transverse bands of brown and white. It has in general a squirrel-like appear- 
ance, but its coarser fur and cheek-pouches mark it as a true spermophile. The length of the 
body is about fourteen inches; the tail, with the hair, nine inches. It is found on the banks of 
the Columbia River. 
Beechey's Spermophile, S. Beecheyi^ resembles the preceding, and is found in California. 
The Tawny American Marmot, or Richardson's Spermophile, S . Richardsonii,\^ yellowish- 
gray on the back; beneath, pale grayish-orange. The ears are very short; the body short and 
thick, being only nine inches and a quarter long; the eyes are large, the legs short, the tail 
bushy. It resembles the squirrels, but is less active in its movements and less elegant in its atti- 
tudes. It inhabits the sandy prairies along the branches of the Saskatchewan river, and the 
Rocky Mountains from latitude 45° to 38°. The burrows are usually situated on some sandy hum- 
mock; the earth scooped out is formed into a little mound, on which the animal sits, so that he 
may overlook the surrounding group and reconnoiter before he ventures to make an excursion. 
Four or five live in a burrow; they appear to hibernate. They feed on young buds in spring, and 
tender herbaceous plants in summer, and in winter on leguminous plants and the seeds of grasses. 
This little remote, harmless creature, like most of its kind — indeed, like almost every other 
wild animal under the sun — nay, like man himself — seems to live in the midst of fear and danger. 
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