Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/279

262 OWLS, SNAKES AND PRAIRTE DOGS. erous other named snakes; and their most original and useful friend is the owl. Bight here you protest and exclaim, "Cease whip- ping the devil around these towns, and come to the point!" Well, here you are: It is a fact that the prai- rie dog towns are very numerous; they, like the other natives, cannot abide or live with the new people, so there are not so many of these towns as formerly; it is a fact that they make their abodes isolated from each other, and from appearances it would seem as though each family had its little home, for the mounds or roofs of their houses are very numerous. At every town there are a laj-ge number of small owls; their faces and eyes in every way resemble the screech owl, except they are smaller, being about one- half the size of an ordinary owl, and they mostly perch upon a;mound, and it is reasonable to presume are on good terms with the dogs. And further, the snakes of the prairies make their dens in the holes with the prairie dogs. Citing 0. A. Murray's "Trav- els in North America," which is a nice description: "Their number is incredible, and their cities, for they deserve no less a name, fuU of activity and bustle. As soon as the hand is raised to a gun they pop into their holes with amazing rapidity." They are about the size of squirrels, and somewhat resemble them. They have a kind of bark like a dog. Not only did the party see dog towns, but game and game. There were not as many buSalo right here; the herds were small; but elk, deer, turkeys, prairie chickens, not considering the carniverous wolves, bears, wild cats, opossums and badgers >rere