Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/827

 PRAIRIE DOG the tail 4 in. more ; the color above is reddish or ^ cinnamon brown, with lighter tips to the hairs and a few black ones intermixed; be- neath, brownish white or yellow ; tail like the PRAIRIE SQUIRREL 803 Prairie Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus) back, with a black tip ; in winter the color above is more grayish ; the hind soles have a hairy patch. This woodchuck in miniature is abundant on the plains west of the Missouri river, extending as far north as the limits of the United States, and south to lat. 30 N. ; it is confined to the prairies, and feeds on plants and occasionally on insects. Prairie dogs live in society, hundreds in the same district, their numerous burrows placed close together, and sometimes extending over a space of miles, meriting the common* name of dog towns or villages; around the mouth of the burrows the earth is heaped up to a height of about 18 in., from the top of which the occupants can survey what is going on in the community; their burrows are so deep and extensive, that riding among them is often dangerous to horses' limbs; fond of standing erect at the mouth of their burrow, and rarely going a great distance from it, they retreat in a comi- cal tumbling manner at the least sign of dan- ger, after a short time peeping out again. They feed chiefly at night, are very shy, and when shot, unless killed outright, almost al- ways manage to get into their holes ; they are active, playful, very prolific, and from their habitat as yet not injurious to vegetation; their flesh is tender, fat, and juicy. In the northern districts they hibernate. The prairie dog was probably so named from the sharp tone of its chatter, somewhat resembling the yelp of a small dog, as it bears no external resemblance to the dog ; it is the petit cfiien of the French Canadians and the wishtonwish of the western Indians. Burrowing owls and rattlesnakes occupy the burrows with the prairie dogs. In regard to the snakes, Mr. Kendall, in his narrative of the Santa F6 ex- pedition, says that the prairie dogs are " com- pelled to let them pass in and out without mo- lestation." A smaller species (0. Columbians, Ord), with a shorter tail, is found on the plains near the Columbia river; it is reddish above with the tail edged and tipped with white PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, a town and the capital of Crawford co., Wisconsin, on the Mississippi river, 2 m. above the mouth of the Wisconsin river, and on the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St Paul railroad, 87 m. W. of Madison ; pop. in 1870, 2,700. It is beautifully situated on a prairie 9 m. long and 1 m. wide, bordered on the east by high bluffs. It has steamboat com- munication with St. Paul and other points on the Mississippi, and contains three wagon fac- tories, two plough factories, a chair factory, a planing mill, a saw mill, three cabinet shops, two machine shops, five boot and shoe shops, a flour mill, a brewery, a grain elevator, two large hotels, St. John's college and St. Mary's female institute under the control of the Roman Catholics, two weekly newspapers, and six churches. St. John's college was organized in 1865, and in 1873-'4 had 16 instructors, 120 preparatory and 95 collegiate students, and a library of 3,800 volumes. The French are said to have formed a settlement here in 1755, but Capt. Carver, who visited the place in 1766, makes no mention of any white inhabitants. Americans began to settle here about 1835. PRAIRIE HEN. See GEOUSE, vol. viii., p. 271. PRAIRIE SQUIRREL, the common name of the North American rodents of the genus sper- mophilus (Cuv.), most of them coming under Brandt's subgenus otospermophilua ; they be- long to the marmot family, and seem to con- nect these with the ground squirrels. The ears are moderate but generally distinct, the tail long and squirrel-like, and the cheek pouches well developed ; the soles behind the toes are hairy in winter, naked in summer; the claw of the thumb is very small, or is replaced by a flat nail; the body more slender than in the marmot or woodchuck. These animals take the place of the tree squirrels in the west, and are fitted for terrestrial life on the grassy prairies, feeding on the roots and seeds of prairie plants ; the body is rather thick-set, and the legs and toes are short, with straight nails for digging ; they pass the winter in a torpid state in the cold regions, carefully stopping up the mouths of their holes; they are diurnal and gregarious, though to a less extent than the prairie dogs. The California prairie squir- rel (8. Beecheyi, F. Cuv.) is about 11 in. long, with a tail about 8 in. ; the general color above is an indistinct mottling of black, yellowish brown, and brown ; below pale yellow ; a broad hoary white patch on the sides of neck and shoulders, extending back a short distance on the sides ; ears acute and prominent, black on the inside ; tail flattened and well covered with hairs ; body slender, and the head acute, with long whiskers ; fur short, thin, and coarse. This species cause much damage to the farmer