r them from
killing as many as they please? They can enter the burrows with as much
ease as the marmots themselves!"

"That is true," replied Lucien, "but not half so nimbly; and perhaps the
latter can even escape them within. The rattle-snake is a very slow
crawler; and, besides, only strikes his prey when coiled up. Perhaps,
in these subterranean galleries, he is still less able to capture it;
and the old marmots may, after all, have some mode of defending both
themselves and their young from his venomous attacks. As yet very
little is known of these creatures. The remote regions in which they
are found place them beyond the observation of naturalists; and such of
these, as have visited their towns, have been only allowed time to make
a hurried examination of them. They are very shy; rarely letting you
get within range of a gun. They are, therefore, seldom shot at.
Moreover, it takes great trouble to capture them by digging--on account
of the depth of their burrows--and as their skins are not very valuable,
and their flesh but a bite at best, they are not often molested by the
hunter."

"But are they eatable?" inquired Francois.

"Yes," answered Lucien; "the Indians are very fond of their flesh, and
eat it whenever they can conveniently get it; but, indeed, they will do
the same for almost every living creature."

"What do marmots feed upon in winter, when there is no grass for them?"
inquired Francois.

"They then lie torpid. They have nests in their subterranean chambers,
and curious nests these are. They are constructed of grass and roots,
are as round as a globe, and so firmly woven together, that one of them
might be kicked over the prairie like a foot-ball. The nest is within,
with a small hole leading into it, just large enough to admit your
finger--for when the marmot goes inside, he closes all up, except this
little hole, through which he gets all the air he requires. In these
snug beds they lie asleep during the cold season, and at that time are
rarely seen outside their burrows."

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

A NIGHT IN THE DESERT.

Conversing in this way, the young hunters rode on, keeping as far from
the edges of the mounds as possible, lest the hoofs of their horses
might sink in the excavated ground. They had ridden full five miles,
and still the marmot village stretched before them! still the dogs on
all sides uttered their "Choo-choo"--still the owls flapped silently up,
and the ra