78 
NATURE'S CRAFTSMEN 
“ Prairie dogs are clever at surveying. Never 
by any chance do two burrows run together un¬ 
derground. Usually their mounds are thrown up 
about eighteen feet apart, and their towns are 
laid out carefully with reference to streets, alleys, 
and playgrounds. Moreover, these little citizens 
have officers which correspond to our city and 
town officials. The sentinels are the policemen, 
and there is always a ‘mayor’ or ‘ Big Dog,’ 
who looks after the general affairs of the place. 
I’ve watched him many a time sitting before his 
door in august state, passing out orders which 
were obeyed with a truly refreshing promptness 
and dispatch. No sentinels are more trustworthy 
than the pickets of ‘ dog town.’ It is difficult to 
get near enough to a colony to shoot one of the 
little citizens. Nor does an enemy of any kind 
ever manage to get in unawares. 
“ The badger, the black-footed ferret, and the 
rattlesnake are his worst enemies. Against the 
two former there is no redress, as the badger can 
easily dig into a burrow and eat up the helpless 
family; while the ferret, of course, can go any¬ 
where the dogs can. When a rattlesnake ap¬ 
pears, the sentinels sound a general call to arms. 
The little dogs approach warily, and if the crea¬ 
ture is seen to go down a hole, they pitch in with 
a will and shovel dirt into the entrance, packing it 
solidly with their noses, and thereby often en- 
