ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. 
71 
twenty miles from any water upon the surface of the ground, 
and where it did not seem probable that it could be obtained 
by excavation ; and as there is seldom any rain or dew upon 
these elevated mesas during the summer months, and as they 
do not wander far from their burrows, I think I am warranted 
in coming to the conclusion that they require no other 
aqueous sustenance than that which they receive from the 
short grass which constitutes their food. Their burrows are 
generally placed about fifteen yards apart, and each consti- 
tutes the abode of five or six occupants. 
“ The towns vary much in magnitude, some only covering 
the space of a few acres, while others are spread over a 
surface of many miles. I passed through one upon the head 
waters of Red River, which was twenty-five miles in length. 
Supposing it to have been of the same length in other direc- 
tions, it would cover an area of 625 square miles. 
“ They appear to delight in sporting with each other about 
the entrances of their holes, and may always be seen in 
pleasant weather, frolicking, running, and barking throughout 
the whole town; but at the slightest sound, or the least 
approach of danger, they make a precipitate retreat to their 
burrows, dropping themselves partly in with their heads above 
the ground, and their eyes intently fixed in the direction of 
the intruder, at the same time flourishing their tails from side 
to side, with nervous jerks, and keeping up an incessant 
barking until the danger approaches too close, when they 
suddenly disappear beneath the ground, and the town, from 
ringing with their music, becomes in an instant as silent as 
the grave. 
“ That these animals hybernate and pass a portion of the 
winter in a lethargic or torpid state, is evident from the fact 
that they do not, like the squirrel, lay up sustenance. When 
they first feel the approach of the sleeping season, (generally 
about the last days of November,) they carefully close all 
the passages to their dormitories to exclude the cold. 
