The Sun.
London, England, 1835-03-02 00:00:00

A REPUBLIC OF PRAIRIE DOGS.

The following account of a canine republic is from a
little volume by Washington Irving, just publishod
" On returning from our expedition in quest of the young
Count, I hiarned that a great burrow, or village, as it is
termed, of prairie dogs, had been discovered on the level
summit of a bill, about a mile from the camp. Late in the
afternoon I set out with a companion to visit it. The
prairie dog is a little animal of the coney kind, about the
size of a rabbit, of a sprightly nature, quick, sensitive, mer-
curial, and somewhat petulant. He is very gregarious,
hying in large communities, sometimes of several acres in
extent, where the well-beaten tracks show the constant mo-
bility and restlessness of the inhabitants. They seem, in
feet, continually full of sport, business, and public affairs ;
whisking about hither and thither, as if on visits to each
other's holes ; congregating in the open air, and gambolling
together in the cool evening after showers. Sometimes they
pass half the night in revelry, barking and yelping with
weak tones, like very young puppies ; but on the least
alarm they all vanish into their cells, and the village remains
blank and silent. Should they be surprised, and have no
means of escape, they assume a pugnacious air and a most
whimsical look
.of impotant wrath and defiance.
" The prairie dogs are not, however, the sole inhabitants
of these villages. Owls and rattlesnakes are- said to take
up their abodes with them, but whether invited guests or
unwelcome intruders is a matter of some controversy. The
owls are of a peculiar kind, more alert in their locks, till on
their legs, and rapid in flight, than the ordinary species, and
a bird that sallies forth in broad day. Some say they only
inhabit the rninous habitations of the prairie dogs, which
the latter have deserted, in consequence of the death of
some relative ; for it would seem that the sensibilities of
these very singular little dogs will not permit them to re-
main in a dwelling in which they have lost a friend.
Others affirm that the owl is, a kind of housekeeper to the
prairie dog ; and, from having a note very similar, it is,
even insinuated that it teaches the young litter to bark
being employed as a family preceptor!
"As to the rattlesnake, nothing satisfactory has been
learned of the part he takes in the domestic economy of
this most interesting household. Some insinuate that he
is a mere sycophant and sharper, and takes in the honest,
credulous, 'little prairie dogs most sadly ; certain it is,
that, from being now and then detected with one of the
young ones in his maw, he evidently solaces himself in
private with more than the usual perquisites of a toad-eater.
" The accounts -I bad received of these very social and
politic little animals made me approach the village with
great interest. Unfortunately, it bad been visited in the
course of the day by sonic of the rangers, who had even
shot two or three of the citizens. The whole community,
therefore, was outraged and incensed : sentinels seemed to
have been posted on the outskirts ; on our approach there
appeared to be a scampering in one of the picket-guards to
give the alarm ; whereupon the wary citizens, who were
seated at the entrances to their holes, gave each a short
velp or bark, and dived into the earth, his heels twinkling
in the air as he descended, as if he bad thrown a summerset.

" trill erred the whole village, which covered an
area of about 80 acres. Not a single inhabitant was to
be seen. • There were innumerable holes, each having a
small hillock of earth about it, thrown out by the little
animal in burrowing : these holes were empty as far
as we could probe them with the ramrods of our 'rifles ;
mit- could we unearth either dog, or owl, or rattlesnake.
Moving off quietly to a little distance, we lay down upon
the grOund, and watched for a long time silent and mo-
tionless. By- degrees some cautious old citizen, near at
bane, would slowly put .forth the cud of his nose, but in-
stantly withdrew it. Others, farther off, would emerge en-
tirely, but, catching a glance of us, wosild throw a sinnerset
and dive back into their holes. At length the inhabitants
of the opposite side of the village, taking courage from the
continued stillness, world steal forth and hurry off to a dis-
tant hole, as if to the residence of some relatiVe or gossip-
ing friend, where they might compare notes on the late oc-
currences. Others, still more bold, assembled in little knots
in the streets and public places to discuss the recent
outrages offered to the commonwealth, and the atrocious
murders of their fellow-citizens. We rose from the. ground'
and moved forward softly, to reconnoitre them more dis-
tinctly, when yelp'. yelp ! yelp ! passed from mouth to
month. There was a sudden dispersal. We caught
.glimpses of twinkling f.'ct in every direction, and in an in-
stant all had vanished into the earth.

" The dusk of the el ening put an end to our oberl
tions ; but late in the night, after our return to the camp,
we could hear a faint damou'. from the distant villas-e, as if
the inhabitants were lamenting in general assemblage some
great personage that had fallen in their commonwealth."