77 
THE PRAIRIE-DOG VILLAGE. 
They are found in enormous numbers over the expanse of open 
country between the Missouri river and the Rocky moun- 
tains — the villages formed by them sometimes occupying miles 
of country, which is completely honey-combed with their bur- 
rows ; they dig to a considerable depth, those in the Garden 
having burrowed under a wall fourteen feet deep ; they were 
overcrowded, however, and in a state of nature, with room to 
stretch out their villages on every side, it is not probable that 
they dig so deeply. The Dogs are found in close association 
with the burrowing owl and the rattlesnake, which has given 
rise to the supposition that they all live together on terms of 
intimacy and friendship. This is far from being the case, how- 
ever, the evidence going to prove that the snake invades the 
home of the Dog for the purpose of feeding upon the young, 
while the owl — to save itself the trouble of digging its own 
habitation — takes possession of the deserted burrows which 
are left in the gradual change of location which is continually 
going on among the Dogs. Strong evidence was given of a 
natural enmity existing between the two, by the introduction 
of a pair of the owls into the enclosure of the Dogs at the 
Garden, — they were instantly attacked by the latter, and as 
their wings had been clipped, they were unable to get away, 
and although they fought desperately were finally killed. 
