Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1892-03-05

cept when Il rains on do They dig 100 lest
Tor it7 We might remark here that dews
are infrsquent and light in western Kan
sas.
That the latter hypothesis il the COR
rect one seems almost incredible for sew
eral reasons. In the first place itoccurs
to Us that q prairie dog, without any OF
tho modern inventions or appliances for
that kind Of labor. would become weary
and discouraged long before it had gone
100 feet. Again, the life Of prairie dog
il only about five years, .snd working
steadily ten hours a day Sundays and
legal holidays inolude0 for five years it
could not possibly dig to that depth even
If rocks and shale were not encountered
We have no statistics nor estimates at
hand but when you consider that all the
dirt must be brought to the surface. q
very small portion at time and from q
great depth, you viii, We think, agree
with rs that this theory partakes some
what of the Munchausen style. And
when We again consider the amount OF
dirt that would be brought to the surface
from hole 100 feet deep and Of sufi-
cient dimensions to permit of the ingress
and egress Of q prairie dog, We would
expect muchmore of showing than is
made. The mounds at the entrance to
their Manifestations are small. There
is still another circumstance that tends
to antagonize this theory. It is not q
difficult matter, usually, to drown them
out of their holes. We have personal
knowledge upon this point. In the
spring of 1886 there was q deep fall of
snow in Trego county followed by rain
and warm weather. About 10 miles
south Of Wa-Keeney was q prairie dog
town, located on the aide of q hill, and
the water in that locality could not be
obtained at less than 125 feet and in some
instances it was found to be even deeper.
When the snow melted the water ran
down the road in small streams. A resi-
dent Of that neighborhood was struck
with an idea. By means of spade, he
diverted the water from the road into the
dwellings of the prairie dogs and when
their habitations became full they would
come out for air and were killed. Great
numbers were thus disposed of and the
man who did the killing says tiat it did
not take much water to fill up the holes.
Taking the view that prairie dogs can
and do live without water would be the
easiest way to dispose of this question.
But there are difficulties in advocating
this theory. We know of our own
knowledge that prairie dogs do drink
water. A couple of pets kept in our
town drank a great deal of water and
when, for experiment, water was kept
from them for whole day, they became
almost frantic in their efforts to obtain it
and when it was finally given them they
drank large quantities and in very
greedy manner. A prairie dog that was
kept from water for two days died, and
there is every reason for believing that
want of water was the cause of its death.
Some, and we believe nearly all who
have considered the matter, think that
in every village there is one large passage
leading to water "a sort of town welD and
from which the inhabitants obtain their
water supply.
Numerous conjectures are made and SO
far as we know there has been no salts
factory solution of this question. There
seems to be diversity of opinion among
those who have closely watched their
habits for years. This is certainly
matter of interest for the curious and
particularly to those who live in the vi
cinity Of prairie dog villages. Dear
reader, what Ia your theory?