PRAUUE DOG. 
323 
page 67, vol. 1. They poured five barrels of water into one of their holes 
without filling it, but dislodged and caught the owner. They further say that 
after digging down another of the holes for six feet, they found on running, 
a pole into it that they had not yet dug half-way to the bottom ; they dis- 
covered two frogs in the hole, and near it killed a dark rattlesnake, 
which had swallowed one of the Prairie Dogs. 
Our Iriend Dr., now Sir Joiix Richardson, (in the Fauna Boreali Ameri- 
cana,) has well elucidated the notices of this and other species described in 
Lewis and Clark’s ‘‘ Expedition,” but, appears not to be certain whether this 
animal has cheek-pouches or not, and is puz7;led apparentl5'b}'^ the following : 
“the jaw is furnished with Pi pouch to contain his food, but not so large as 
that of the common squirrel.” The Dr. in a note says — “ It is not easy 
to divine what the “ common squirrel is which has ample cheek-pouches.” 
We presume that this passage can be made plain by inserting the word 
ground so that “ common groM/id-squirrel” be the reading. The “ com- 
mon ground-squirrel” was doubtless well known to Lewis and Clark, and 
has ample cheek-pouches (see our account of Tamias Lysterii, vol. 1, p. 65.) 
This explanation would not be volunteered by us but for our respect for 
the knowledge and accuracy of Lewis and Clark, both of whom we had 
ihe pleasure of personally knowing many j'ears ago. 
For an amusing account of a large village of these marmots, we extract 
the following from Kendall’s Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, 
vol. 1, p. 189. “ We had proceeded but a short distance, after reaching 
this beautiful prairie, before we came upon the outskirts of the common- 
wealth, a few scattering dogs were seen scampering in, their short, sharp 
yelps giving a general alarm to the whole community. The first brief cry 
of danger from the outskirts was soon taken up in the centre of the 
city, and now nothing was to be heard or seen in any direction but a 
barking, dashing, and scampering of the mercurial and excitable denizens 
ol'the place, each to his burrow. 
Far as the eye could reach the city extended, and all over it the scene 
was the same. We rode leisurely along until we had reached the more 
thickly settled portion of the place. Here we halted, and after taking 
the bridles from our horses to allow them to graze, we prepared for a 
regular attack upon the inhabitants. The burrows were not more than 
ten or fifteen yards apart, with wmll trodden paths leading in different 
directions, and I even fancied I could discover something like regularity 
in the laying out of the .streets. 
We sat down upon a bank under the shade of a musquit, and leisurely 
surveyed the scene before us. Our approach had driven every one to his 
home in our immediate vicinity, but at the distance of some hundred yards 
