No less than nine were obtained by the party.

One circumstance I will mention as singular in the extreme, and which shows the social relationship which exists among these animals, as well as the regard they have one for another.
One of them had perched himself directly upon the pile of earth in front of his hole, sitting up, and offering a fair mark, while a companion's head, too timid, perhaps, to expose himself farther, was seen poking out of the entrance.

A well-directed shot carried away the entire top of the head of the first dog, and knocked him some two or three feet from his post, perfectly dead.

While reloading, the other daringly came out, seized his companion by one of his legs, and before we could arrive at the hole, had drawn him completely out of reach, although we tried to twist him out with a ramrod.
There was a feeling in this act--a something human, which raised the animals in my estimation; and never after did I attempt to kill one of them, except when driven by extreme hunger.
The prairie dog is about the size of a rabbit, heavier, perhaps, more compact, and with much shorter legs.

In appearance, it resembles the ground hog of the north, although a trifle smaller than that animal.