[48.] 2? A rctomys? pruinosus. (Pennant.) The Whistler.
The hoary marmot. Pennant, Hist. Quadr., vol. ii. p. 130 ; Arct. Zool., vol. i. p. 112.
Ground hog. Mackenzie, Voy., p. 315..
Whistler. Harmon’s Journ., p. 427*
Arctomys ? pruinosus. Richardson, Zool. Journ., No. 12, p. 518, March, 1828.
Quisquis-su. Cree Indians. Deh-dehie. Chepewyans.
Skwey-kwey. At nah Indians. Thidnu. Nagailers.
Souffleur or Mountain Badger. Fur-traders.
A. (prttinosus) vellere corporis anticè rudi canesoenH posticè fusoescenti, caudd pilosissimd badid nigrdgue.
Hoary Marmot, with long coarse fur, particularly on the chest and shoulders, where it is hoary ; hind parts dull
yellowish-brown ; tail blackish-brown, bushy.
D E S C R I P T IO N .
“ Tip of the nose black; ears short and oval; cheeks whitish; crown dusky and tawny;
hair, on all parts rude and long; on the back, sides and belly cinereous at the bottom, black
in the middle, and tipped with white, so as to spread a hoariness over the whole ; legs black ;
claws dusky; tail full of hair, black and ferruginous. Size of the Maryland Marmot.”^-ril
The above is Pennant’s description of a specimen which was preserved in the
Leverian Museum, and said to have been brought from Hudson’s Bay. That
specimen is now lost, and the species does not appear to have come under the notice
of any other naturalist. If I am correct in considering it as the same with the
Whistler of Harmon, we may soon hope to know more of it, for the traders who
annually cross the Rocky Mountains from Hudson’s Bay to the Columbia and New
Caledonia, are well acquainted with it. I failed in obtaining a specimen, as I did
not visit the Rocky Mountains myself; and one which was procured for me by a
gentleman was so much injured, that he did not think it fit to be sent.
The Whistler inhabits the Rocky Mountains from latitude 45° to 62°, and
probably further both ways;—it is not found in the lower parts of the country.
I t burrows in sandy soil, generally on the sides of grassy hills, and may be frequently
seen cutting hay in the autumn; but whether for the purpose of laying it
up for food or merely for lining its burrows, I did not learn. While a party of
them are thus occupied, they have a sentinel on the look out upon an eminence,
who gives the alarm on the approach of an enemy by a shrill whistle, which may
be heard at a great distance. The signal of alarm is repeated from one to another
as far as their habitations extend. According to Mr. Harmon, they feed on roots
and herbs, produce two young at a time, and sit upon their hind-feet when they
give their young suck. They do not come abroad in the winter.
Mr. Macpherson describes one killed in the month of May on the south branch
of the Mackenzie as follows :—“ It was 27£ inches long, of which the head 2J,
and the tail 8J-. It is, I think, of the same genus with the Quebec Marmot. In
the fore-teeth, and in the shape of the head and body, it resembles a beaver.
The hair, especially about the neck and shoulders, is rough and strong. The
breast and shoulders, down to the middle of the body, is of a silver-gray colour;
the rest of the body, and the brush, are of a dirty yellowish or brown. The head
and legs are small and short in proportion to the body.”
Mr. Harmon represents them as about the size of a badger, covered with a
beautiful long silver-gray hair, and having long bushy tails. Mr. Drummond says
they resemble the badger of the plains (Meles Labradoria) in colour, but are
of a rather smaller size. The Indians take the Whistlers in traps set at the mouths
of their holes, consider their flesh as delicious food, and by sewing a number of
their skins together, make good blankets.
[49.] 3. A r c t o m y s b r a c h y u r u s . (Harlan.) Short-tailed Marmot.
Burrowing squirrel. L ewis and Clark, vol. iii. p. 35. (but not of vol. i.)
Anisonyx brachyura. Rafinesgue-Smaltz, Am. Month. Mag., 1817, p. 45. Desmarest, M a m m p. 329.
Arctomys brachyura. Harlan, Fauna, p. 304.
A. (brachyurus) auriculis obtusiusculis, corpore super xerampelino rubro tincto et sub-maculato, naso ventre pedibusque
lateritiis, caudd depressd ellipticd fulvd albo marginatd ; subter grised.
Short-tailed Marmot, with short obtusely pointed ‘ears, the head and body above of a brownish-gray colour, tinged
with red, and speckled with a lighter colour; nose, feet, and under surface of the body, brick-red; a flat
oblong oval tail, fox-red above, with a white margin, and iron-gray colour on the under surface.
This animal inhabits the plains of the Columbia. It is known to us only by the
description quoted below from the narrative of Captains Lewis and Clark. M.
Rafinesque, evidently from a misapprehension of the account of its feet, has constituted
for its reception the genus Anisonyx, the characters of which are fictitious * j
* The Sewettel, which is also provisionally referred to Anisonyx, by M. Rafinesque, belongs to a distinct genus to be
hereafter described under the name of Aplodontia.