We were also informed, though we never witnessed the fact, that a sort
of lizard and a snake live habitually with these animals. The
petit chien are justly named, as they resemble a small dog in some
particulars, although they have also some points of similarity to the
squirrel. The head resembles the squirrel in every respect, except that
the ear is shorter; the tail like that of the ground squirrel; the toe
nails are long, the fur is fine, and the long hair is gray."

Great confusion has been caused in the minds of readers on account of
there being another burrowing animal, called by Lewis and Clark "the
burrowing squirrel," which resembles the petit chien in some respects.
But the little animal described here is now well known as the
prairie-dog,--an unfortunate and misleading name. It is in no sense a
species of dog. The creature commonly weighs about three pounds, and its
note resembles that of a toy-dog. It is a species of marmot; it subsists
on grass roots and other vegetable products; its flesh is delicate and,
when fat, of good flavor. The writer of these lines, when crossing the
great plains, in early times, found the "prairie-dogs" excellent eating,
but difficult to kill; they are expert at diving into their holes at the
slightest signal of danger.

The following days they saw large herds of buffalo, and the copses of
timber appeared to contain elk and deer, "just below Cedar Island,"
adds the journal, "on a hill to the south, is the backbone of a fish,
forty-five feet long, tapering towards the tail, and in a perfect
state of petrifaction, fragments of which were collected and sent to
Washington." This was not a fish, but the fossil remains of a reptile of
one of the earliest geological periods. Here, too, the party saw immense
herds of buffalo, thousands in number, some of which they killed for
their meat and skins. They also saw elk, deer, turkeys, grouse, beaver,