CHIPMUNKS 1i3

showing his teeth, on the identical bough where he
had sat before. Away flew all the wildfowl, and my
sport was completely marred. My gun went involun-
tarily to my shoulder to shoot the squirrel ; but I felt
I was about to commit an act of sheer revenge on a
courageous little animal which deserved a better fate.
As if aware of my hesitation, he nodded his head with
rage and stamped his fore paws on the tree, while in
his chirruping there was an intonation of sound which
seemed like contempt. What business had I there,
trespassing on his domain and frightening his wife and
little family, for whom he was ready to lay down his
life? There he would sit in spite of me, and make my
ears ring with the sound of his woo-whoop till the
spring of life should cease to bubble in his little heart.’

The ground-squirrels, or chipmunks, belong to
another genus, Tamdas, represented in both Siberia
and North America. They are generally found on
the ground, but occasionally take to the trees, where,
however, they never leap from branch to branch. The
sousliks, or gophers, belonging to the genus Spermo-
philus, may be looked upon as marmots with large
cheek-pouches. In America they have long tails, and
bear some resemblance to the chipmunks ; in Europe
and Asia they have all, with one exception, short tails.
Closely allied to them are the North American prairie-
marmots, prairie-dogs, or barking squirrels, who live
in great groups of burrows called ‘dog-towns,’ with
a granary for the storage of food and a good-sized
mound thrown up here and there which they use as
a watch tower. These belong to the genus Cynomiys,
The true marmots (A rctomys) are of somewhat similar

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