"prairie-dogs." On first beholding them Crusoe uttered
a sort of half growl, half bark of surprise, cocked his
tail and ears, and instantly prepared to charge; but he
glanced up at his master first for permission. Observing
that his finger and his look commanded "silence," he
dropped his tail at once and stepped to the rear. He
did not, however, cease to regard the prairie-dogs with
intense curiosity.
These remarkable little creatures have been egregiously
misnamed by the hunters of the west, for they