they do not make
their dwellings there. Many of the species are very prolific, the
females bringing forth eight, and even ten young at a birth.

"The marmots are extremely shy and watchful creatures. Before going to
feed, they usually reconnoitre the ground from the tops of their little
mounds. Some species do not have such mounds, and for this purpose
ascend any little hillock that may be near. Nearly all have the curious
habit of placing sentries to watch while the rest are feeding. These
sentries station themselves on some commanding point, and when they see
an enemy approaching give warning to the others by a peculiar cry. In
several of the species this cry resembles the syllables `seek-seek'
repeated with a hiss. Others bark like `toy-dogs,' while still other
kinds utter a whistling noise, from which one species derives its
trivial name of `whistler' among the traders, and is the `siffleur' of
the Canadian voyageurs.

"The `whistler's' call of alarm can be heard at a great distance; and
when uttered by the sentinel is repeated by all the others as far as the
troop extends.

"The marmots are eaten both by Indians and white hunters. Sometimes
they are captured by pouring water into their burrows; but this method
only succeeds in early spring, when the animals awake out of their
torpid state, and the ground is still frozen hard enough to prevent the
water from filtering away. They are sometimes shot with guns; but,
unless killed upon the spot, they will escape to their burrows, and
tumble in before the hunter can lay his hands upon them."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

THE BLAIREAU, THE "TAWNIES," AND THE "LEOPARDS."

Perhaps Lucien would have carried his account of the marmots still
farther--for he had not told half what he knew of their habits--but he
was at that moment interrupted by the marmots themselves. Several of
them appeared at the mouths of their holes; and, after looking out and
reconnoitring for some moments, became bolder, and ran up to the tops of
their mounds, and began to scatter along the little beaten paths that
led from one to the other. In a short while as many as a dozen could be
seen moving about, jerking their tails, and at intervals uttering their
"seek-seek."

Our voyageurs saw that there were two kinds of them, entirely different
in colour, size, and other respects. The larger ones were of a greyish
yellow above, with an orange tint upon the throat and belly. These were
the "