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Updated: May 12, 2025
The manners and customs, the political and domestic economy of these little marmots is worthy of closer attention than one is able to give when pushing by forced marches through their country, with his thoughts engrossed by objects of greater moment.
Perhaps, altogether, there are not less than twenty different kinds of marmots in North America. As only one or two species are found in the settled territories of the United States, it was supposed, until lately, that there were no others.
This unearthly glimmer, faint as it was, helped us much, indeed but for it we must have been overtaken, for here the ground was very rough, full of holes also made by burrowing marmots.
For two whole days the little party was too weary even to attempt a move. They had some provisions with them, and Tumbu, as good as his word, brought in more and more marmots; for being unaccustomed to dogs, they were easily caught.
As we trudged along, the shrill cries of alarm of the whistling marmots were heard, and the little fellows could be seen in all directions scampering for their holes. Ptarmigan were also frequently met with, but not in such great numbers as one would have supposed in a region where they had never been hunted.
Each of them was about a foot in height, and of the form of a truncated cone that is, a cone with its top cut off, or beaten down. "What are they?" inquired François. "I fancy," answered Lucien, "they are marmot-houses." "They are," affirmed Norman; "there are plenty of them in this country." "Oh! marmots!" said François. "Prairie-dogs, you mean? the same we met with on the Southern prairies?"
She was amusing herself by watching the marmots as they barked, or watched, or peeped at her, according to their distance from her. The sight of Alfred was not welcome, for he frightened the marmots. When he saw Miss Caldwell, Alfred grew bashful again. He sidled his horse up to her and blushed. "I'll show you th' way back, miss," he said, diffidently.
One might camp on the rugged shores of these bright fountains for weeks, without meeting any animal larger than the marmots that burrow beneath glacier boulders along the edges of the meadows. The highest and youngest of all the lakes lie nestled in glacier wombs.
Some of the bolder dogs though in fact they are no dogs at all, but little marmots rather smaller than a rabbit would sit yelping at us on the top of their mounds, jerking their tails emphatically with every shrill cry they uttered. As the danger grew nearer they would wheel about, toss their heels into the air, and dive in a twinkling down into their burrows.
[Footnote 63: [Greek: kakorrugcha paidia]. Another reading is [Greek: kokorugcha], which M. Martha renders, "Marmots
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