The chipmunk lives in burrows which it digs in the ground, and very wonderful little burrows they are, seldom less than eight or nine feet long, with a large sleeping-chamber at the end, filled with moss and grass and dry leaves. Then on either side of the main burrow are several shorter ones which are used as larders, and in which large stores of provisions are packed away. From one chipmunk's nest have been taken nearly a peck of acorns, together with about a quart of beechnuts, two quarts of buckwheat, a few grains of corn, and a quantity of grass-seeds! Only three squirrels were found in this burrow; so that they were in no danger of starving during the winter, were they?
The beechnuts have very sharp points, and the chipmunk bites these carefully off before it attempts to pack the nuts away in its mouth. It carries four nuts to its burrow at a time, putting one into each of its odd cheek-pouches, which are very much like those of certain monkeys, and one into the mouth itself, while the fourth is held between the teeth.
The chipmunk is a very active little creature, and its quick, jerky movements as it darts in and out among the herbage have often been compared to those of the wren.
Prairie-Dogs
The prairie-dog, which is so called because it lives on the prairies of North America, and utters an odd little yelping cry which is something like the bark of a very small dog, has several other names as well, for sometimes it is known as the prairie-marmot, and sometimes as the wishtonwish. It is quite a small animal, being seldom more than twelve inches in length without counting the tail, and is reddish brown or brownish gray above, and yellowish or brownish white beneath. The tail is about four inches long.
In the great prairie-lands which lie to the east of the Rocky Mountains, this quaint little animal is exceedingly plentiful. It lives in underground burrows, and the earth which it digs out in making them is always piled up just outside the entrance in the form of a mound about two feet high, on the top of which it likes to sit upright, squatting on its hind quarters as a dog does when "begging." At the slightest alarm it utters its queer little yelping cry, throws a sort of half-somersault, and dives into its burrow, to reappear a few minutes later when it thinks the danger has passed away.
A large number of prairie-dogs always live together, like rabbits in a warren, and sometimes the prairie, as far as one can see, is dotted all over with their mounds. Usually the animals are steadily moving eastward. They increase as ranching and farming spread over the plains; for the cultivation of hay and grain and the destruction of their natural enemies favor them. In parts of Texas and northward they are so destructive that united means of destroying them by poison have been adopted.
It was formerly thought that prairie-dogs took in lodgers, so to speak, for small owls, known as burrowing owls, are often found in their tunnels, together with rattlesnakes; and it was supposed that all three lived peaceably together. But now we know that this is not the case, for the owls are nearly always found in deserted burrows, while the rattlesnakes undoubtedly enter the homes of the prairie-dogs for the purpose of feeding upon their young.
Marmots
Not unlike a rather big prairie-dog is the common marmot, which is found in considerable numbers in the mountainous parts of Northern Europe and America. Here it is named whistler or siffleur. More familiarly known is the American woodchuck, or groundhog, which burrows deeply in the fields of almost every farm in the country. These marmots are famous for their winter sleep. During the summer months they are very active and busy. From about the middle of autumn till the beginning of spring, however, they are fast asleep in their burrows, not waking up at all for at least six months! Before entering upon this long slumber they pack their sleeping-chamber full of dry grass, and in these warm beds survive the winter by the slow absorption of their fat, so that when they come out they are very lean.