Prairie Dog Colony
Archives and Special Collections, Mansfield Library, University of Montana, Missoula.
This is first published photograph of prairie dog town, taken by Allen G. Wallihan in 1893 on the west slope of the Rockies, in the northwest corner of Colorado. In the foreground, the animal on the left is not a prairie dog, but a burrowing owl.
Few of the wild creatures previously unknown to EuroAmerican naturalists drew more intense interest from the expedition’s captains than the rodent that Lewis and Clark studiously classed as a “burrowing squirrel of the prairies,” but is still commonly known by the less ponderous double-barreled nickname, “prairie dog.” Few of their discoveries seized more interest, curiosity, even controversy from the American public before they were ever viewed, either in illustrations or in the flesh. And certainly no others demanded more care than the six live specimens—including one prairie dog—that endured a four-month, 4,000-mile cage-bound odyssey from their wilderness precincts to the prefectures of American civilization, Washington City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Lewis and Clark certainly knew what a squirrel looked like. They were familiar with the eastern gray squirrel, the fox squirrel, and the red squirrel, all tree-nesters. So, on 7 September 1804, when they chanced upon an unfamiliar species of rodent at the foot of a prominent elevation they called a “high Nole” or “Cupola,”[1]As an architectural term, cupola denotes a dome-like structure atop the large roof or dome of a building. It came from a Latin word denoting the shape of an upside-down cup. Sgt. Ordway referred to … Continue reading they seriously thought about what to call the nervous, noisy little critters. “In descending this Cupola,” Clark wrote, he and Lewis:
discovered a Village of Small animals that burrow in the grown (those animals are Called by the French Pitite Chien) Killed one & Cought one a live by poreing a great quantity of water in his hole we attempted to dig to the beds of one of thos animals, after diging 6 feet, found by running a pole down that we were not half way to his Lodges, we found 2 frogs in the hole, and killed a Dark rattle Snake near with a Ground rat in him, (those rats are numerous) the Village of those animals Covs. about 4 acrs of Ground on a Gradual decent of a hill and Contains great numbers of holes on the top of which those little animals Set erect make a Whistleing noise and whin allarmed Slip into their hole— we por’d into one of the holes 5 barrels of water without filling it, Thos Animals are about the Size of a Small Squrel . . . & thicker, the head much resembling a Squirel in every respect, except the ears which is Shorter, his tail like a ground Squirel which thy Shake & whistle when allarmd. the toe nails long, they have fine fur & the longer hair is gray,
Prairie Dogs, Two Views
Cynomys ludovicianus Ord [2]The animal was first technically named in 1815, by John Ord, who called it Arctomys ludoviciana (ARC-toh-mees LOO-do-vee-see-AH-nah; “bear-mouse of Louisiana”) Constantine Rafinesque soon … Continue reading.
© 2003 Steve Sherman, Lone Wolf Photography.
Prairie dogs are classified by zoologists in the order Rodentia (ro-DEN-ti-ah, rodents) and the family Sciuridae (skee-YOU-rid-eye, squirrels). Rodentia comes from the Latin verb rodere (RO-dehr-ray), meaning “to gnaw.” The Sciuridae—Latin again, meaning “shade-tail”—include tree and ground squirrels, the chipmunk, woodchuck, marmot, flying squirrel, and prairie dog. As you can tell from the photograph above, however, the prairie dog ‘s tail scarcely casts any shadow at all. Since its bearer spends 90% of its time in its underground burrow, it doesn’t need the shade.
The most conspicuous physical feature—which has endeared all Sciuridae to all cartoonists with anthropomorphic tendencies—is their possession of two upper and two lower, chisel-like teeth, front and center, which enable them to gnaw rather than merely chew. Moreover, since those incisors grow continuously like human fingernails, good health and a long life require their owners to keep them trimmed by gnawing hard foods, mainly seeds, virtually non-stop throughout their three- to four-year life span.
Prairie dogs prefer to dig their burrows on gentle, well-drained open slopes. They scrape the diggings to the surface around each of the two usual entrances to each burrow and compact it into sturdy cones by hammering it with their noses. The cones prevent rainwater from flowing into the burrows, and provide the residents with elevated lookout stations. The colonists work together to keep the surrounding grass clipped short so that sentries can scan their surroundings for potential predators.
On 5 June 1805, the second day of his reconnaissance up Maria’s River, Lewis recorded the remarkable discovery that prairie dogs can get along with little or no water: “[F]rom one to nine miles from the river or any water, we saw the largest collection of the burrowing or barking squirrels that we had ever yet seen; we passed through a skirt of the territory of this community for about 7 miles.” They secure moisture from the grasses and animals they eat. Golf courses and airports are especially attractive to them.
Burrowing Owl
Athene cunicularia
© Brian E. Small/VIREO.
Also known as the “howdy” owl, from its little bouncing bow,[3]The Zuni Indians of the American southwest are said to have called it “the priest of the prairie dogs.” and as the “Billy owl” for some unknown reason. from its habit of nesting in abandoned burrows of the little quadruped, and posing with its expectant yellow-eyed gaze beside the rodents’ doorways. It is also known as the “prairie dog owl,” but that association was never brought up in the journals, so we may assume that none of the Corps ever saw one. Nor did any of them hear its tremulous chatter, its “rattlesnake rasp” of alarm, or its spooky cooing at night.
The scientific generic name, Athene, comes from Greek mythology, Pallas Athene (ah-THEEN-ee), the see-all, know-all goddess of wisdom, whom Zeus, the god of all gods, made into a shape-shifting spirit-guide to aid Telemachus in his quest for his long-lost father, Odysseus. Athene’s sacred symbol and mascot was the owl. By the means of her supernatural power, Athene imbued her bird with the wisdom she herself embodied.
The specific epithet, cunicularia (coo-nik-yoo-LAH-ree-ah), is Latin for “rabbit-like.”
The Great Plains race of the burrowing owl family was first observed on the prairies of western Nebraska in 1820 by Stephen Long and his explorers. While a sub-species still thrives in some parts of Florida, the rapidly declining avian is already “a species of special concern” in all states west of the Dakotas, as well as in far-off Florida. And in most cases it’s dire fate is largely tied to consequences of the prairie dog’s nuisance factor—digging burrows and building towers that damage farm equipment, each colony keeping as many as 200 acres from productive cultivation.
Another predator that depends on prairie dogs for its own survival is the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) Not mentioned by Lewis or Clark, the black-footed ferret was not discovered and described scientifically for another half-century, but by 1900 it had already been practically extirpated from most of the Great Plains. It was one of the first species native to the plains to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.[4]Paul A. Johnsgard, Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), 35.
Two Prairie Dog Tales
At Old Baldy, Clark’s “Cupola,” the life of at least two prairie dogs was forever changed. As Clark notes, “we put in 5 barrels of water without driveing them out, we caught one by the water forceing him out.” The captured critter became a live scientific specimen, traveling with the Expedition north to Fort Mandan. After spending the 1804-05 winter with the Corps, this “pleasing little Animal” would travel down the Mississippi, sail to Baltimore, visit President Thomas Jefferson, and be a museum attraction in Philadelphia—a journey of over 4000 miles.
Among the specimens shipped to President Jefferson from Fort Mandan via the returning barge, was one “burrowing Squirel of the praries.” After a river journey of approximately 1600 miles, the specimens arrived safely in St. Louis where they became the charge of Pierre Chouteau. In a letter to William Claiborne[5]William Claiborne (1774-1817), of Virginia, was appointed by Thomas Jefferson to serve as the first governor of the Mississippi Territory, and in 1804 Territorial Governor of Louisiana. Having earned … Continue reading dated 15 June 1805, Chouteau states that the prairie dog was placed under the care of Henry K. Mullin, a sergeant in Amos Stoddard‘s company.[6]Jackson, 1:248-49.
From St. Louis, our prairie dog, along with the other live specimens, were shipped 1000 miles down the Mississippi River to New Orleans where William Claiborne would arrange transporting them to Washington City. The prairie dog did not arrive in good health. Claiborne wrote to Jefferson from New Orleans, 6 July 1805: “I have this day received from on Board a Barge . . . one Cage with four Birds, and a small living animal somewhat resembling our common Grey Squirrel . . . . The little Animal seems to be sick & I fear will not live. The Birds are well, and have excellent appetites; I shall be vary careful of them, and propose forwarding the whole to Baltimore by the Ship Comet that will probably sail for that Port in fifteen days.”[7]Jackson, 1:250-51. On 8 July, Claiborne wrote to Jefferson with better news: “The little animal mentioned in my Letter of the 6th is now much better in health, & I hope will live.”[8]Jackson, 1:252.
Our prairie dog sailed from New Orleans to Baltimore, and by 12 August 1805, was in possession of Jefferson’s maitre d’hotel or “purveyor of the household,” Etienne Lemaire. It lived with Thomas Jefferson between 4 and 21 October 1805 before being sent Charles Willson Peale‘s Museum (see Peale’s Museum). There, it and other Lewis and Clark artifacts were visited by the public and notable naturalists. Peale wrote to Thomas Jefferson on 5 April 1806: “It is a pleasing little Animal, and not in the least dangerous to handle like our Ground Hog.”[9]Jackson, 1:302.
Regarding this particular prairie dog, Paul Russell Cutwright summarizes: “[It] had travelled in excess of 4,000 miles, had experienced wide and sudden shifts in temperature, had been attended by at least half a dozen different caretakers, and had been provided with an unknown variety of foods. Only the hardiest of animals could have withstood the multiple abuses inherent in such a journey.”[10]Paul Russell Cutwright, Lewis & Clark: Pioneering Naturalists (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1969), 378. We do not know when this well-traveled prairie dog died.
As for the story of the second prairie dog, Ordway records the tale: “Shields killed a prarie dog, which was cooked for the Capts dinner.—” Neither prairie dog was given a personal name.[11]For more about the well-traveled prairie dog, see Clay S. Jenkinson, “The Voyage of the Prairie Dog,” We Proceeded On, vol. 44 No. 4 (2018), 27–30.
Common Name
The Captains used several different names for the species eventually calling it “the burrowing squirel of the praries.” Many naturalists following the Expedition’s discoveries took exception to calling it a squirrel or a dog. Never-the-less, prairie dog persists in small part because of a letter sent from by Clark to William Henry Harrison just before leaving Fort Mandan in April 1805.
To choose a name, it was Clark who sorted out some of the possibilities, and jotted them down in his notebook. “Ground rat” sprang to his mind. But the Frenchmen in the company called them “Pitite Chiens,” their pronunciation sounding something like petty-shanz, meaning “Little Dogs.” Clark knew that the French noun meant “dog.” And he was familiar with the settlement called Prairie du Chien on the east bank of the Mississippi River that French traders had established in the 1790s, but he might not have known that the settlement was named after a Fox Indian chief whose name was Alim, meaning, in the Meswaki language “dog,” and that the place name wasn’t “prairie dog but “Dog’s prairie.”[12]According to Wikipedia, s.v. “Prairie du Chien,”some modern citizens of the city pronounce it “prairie doo sheen,” but that is an American parochial slant on the name that … Continue reading
A unique dialect known as Missouri French developed along the Lamine (lâ-MEEN) River Boonville, Arrow Rock, in Upper Louisiana during the 18th century, which was distinguishable from both Louisiana French and the various forms of Canadian French, such as Acadian. It continued to be heard in parts of the Midwest, particularly in eastern Missouri, through much of the 1900s, but was nearly extinct at the beginning of the present century.
But the “French” didn’t call it a prairie dog; they called it a petit dog—a little dog.
Considering what they looked like, and how they lived, and hearing their “note,” to Lewis and Clark they literally were “burrowing or barking squirrels.” In the other draft of that day’s journal entry Clark claimed that the French called them “prarie dogs.” Could he have misunderstood their French informants’ pronunciation of petty? Or was it his own invention? On that same day he concluded that “ther eyes like a dog.” Sgt. Ordway also called them prairie dogs, and contributed some impressions of his own to the discussion: “they are a curious animal about the Size of a litle dog, . . . resembles them nearly except the tail which is like a Ground Squirrel.”
Clark called it a prairie dog in a letter to William Henry Harrison (1773-1841) written 2 April 1805: “In Clark’s words, “this country abounds in a great variety of wild animals . . . such as . . . the ground prairie dog, (burrows in the ground).”[13]Jackson, Letters, 1;227. Harrison was a politician who ultimately became the 14th president of the United States, Harrison was appointed governor of the District of Louisiana, serving from 1 October … Continue reading Clark’s letter was eventually published in the Baltimore Telegraph and Daily Advertiser on 25 July 1805 and reprinted in Thwaites, Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 7:314-16. Clark’s letter was sent via the returning barge and arrived St. Louis at same time as the specimen.
Claiborne contributed to the name “prairie dog” in his letter to Lemaire referring to the live specimen as “the wild dog of the Prairie.” The popular press also used Claiborne’s wording.”[14]The Evening Fire-Side; or, Literary Miscellany, Philadelphia, vol. 1, no. 32 (20 July 1805), 256; American Periodicals Series Online.
Lewis’s Description
At Travelers’ Rest on 1 July 1806, Lewis wrote his final reports on the “large gray squirrel, “small gray squirrel,” “burrowing-squirrel,” “small brown squirrel,” and the “ground squirrel.” Then he combined and condensed all of his and Clark’s observations up to that time. The result, with paragraphing introduced to make reading easier, reads as follows:
The little animal found in the plains of the Missouri which I have called the barking squirrel weighs from 3 to 3½ pounds. it’s form is that of the squirrel. the whole length is one foot five inches from the extremity of the nose to that of the tail of which the tail occupyes 4 inches. it is nearly double the size of the whistleing squirrel of the Columbia. it’s colour is an uniform light brick red grey, the red reather predominating. the under side of the neck and bely are lighter coloured than the other parts of the body the legs are short, and it is wide across the breast and sholders in proportion to it’s size, appears strongly formed in that part; the head is also bony muscular and stout, reather more blontly terminated wider and flatter than the common squirrel. the upper lip is split or divided to the nose. the ears are short and lie close to the head, having the appearance of being cut off, in this particular they resemble the guinea pig. the teeth are like those of the squrrel rat &c. they have a false jaw or pocket between the skin and the mustle of the jaw like that of the common ground squrrel but not so large in proportion to their size.
they have large and full whiskers on each side of the nose, a few long hairs of the same kind on each jaw and over the eyes. the eye is small and black. they have five toes on each foot of which the two outer toes on each foot are much sho[r]ter than those in the center particularly the two inner toes of the fore feet, the toes of the fore feet are remarkably long and hind feet are neither as long or sharp as the former; the nails are black. the hair of this animal is about as long and equally as course as that of the common grey squrrel of our country, and the hair of the tail is not longer than that of the body except immediately at the extremity where it is somewhat longer and frequently of a dark brown colour.
the part of generation in the female is placed on the lower region of the belly between the hinder legs so far forward that she must lie on her back to copolate.
these squirrels burrow in the ground in the open plains usually at a considerable distance from the water yet are never seen at any distance from their burrows. six or eight usually reside in one burrow to which there is never more than one entrance. these burrows are of great debth. I once dug and pursued a burrow to the debth of ten feet and did not reach it’s greatest debth. they generally associate in large societies placing their burrows near each other and frequently occupy in this manner several hundred acres of land. when at rest above ground their position is generally erect on their hinder feet and rump; thus they will set and bark at you as you approach them, their note being much that of the little toy dogs, their yelps are in quick succession and at each they a motion to their tails upwards.
they feed on the grass and weeds within the limits of their village which they never appear to exceed on any occasion. as they are usually numerous they keep the grass and weeds within their district very closely graized and as clean as if it had been swept. the earth which they throw out of their burrows is usually formed into a conic mound around the entrance. this little animal is frequently very fat and it’s flesh is not unpleasant. as soon as the hard frosts commence it shuts up it’s burrow and continues within untill spring. it will eat grain or meat.
Biddle’s Paraphrase
At the risk of straining the reader’s patience, for the sake of comparison, let us now look over Nicholas Biddle‘s paraphrase of Lewis’s remarks on the “prairie dog” as they appeared in his paraphrase of the journals of Lewis and Clark.
There is still another species, denominated by Captain Lewis the barking-squirrel, found in the plains of the Missouri. This animal commonly weighs three pounds; the color is a uniform bright brick-red and gray, the former predominating; the under sides of the neck and belly are lighter than the other parts of the body; the legs are short, and the breast and shoulders wide; the head is stout and muscular, terminating more bluntly, wider and flatter than that of the common squirrel; the ears are short, and have the appearance of amputation; the jaw is furnished with a pouch to contain food, not so large as that of the common squirrel; the nose is armed with whiskers on each side; a few long hairs are inserted on each jaw, and directly over the eyes; the eye is small and black.
Each foot has five toes; the two outer ones are much shorter than those in the center. The two inner toes of the forefeet are long, sharp, and well adapted to digging and scratching. From the extremity of the nose to the end of the tail this animal measures one foot and five inches, of which the tail occupies four inches. Notwithstanding the clumsiness of his form, he is remarkably active, and burrows in the ground with great rapidity. These animals burrow and reside in their little subterraneous villages like the burrowing-squirrel. To these apartments, though six or eight usually associate together, there is but one entrance. They are of great depth; Captain Lewis once pursued one to the depth of ten feet, but did not reach the end of the burrow. They occupy in this manner several hundred acres of ground; when at rest their position is generally erect on their hinder feet and rump; they sit with much confidence, and bark at the intruder as he approaches, with a fretful and harmless intrepidity.
The note resembles that of the little toy-dog; the yelps are in quick and angry succession, attended by rapid and conviulsive motions, as if they were determined to sally forth in defense of their freehold. They feed on the grass of their village, the limits of which they never venture to exceed. As soon as the fronst commences, they shut themselves up in their caverns, and cont inue until the spring opens. The flesh of this animal is not unpleasant to the taste.
Notes
| ↑1 | As an architectural term, cupola denotes a dome-like structure atop the large roof or dome of a building. It came from a Latin word denoting the shape of an upside-down cup. Sgt. Ordway referred to this landmark as “the Steeple of the round knob.” It is a somewhat conspicuous landmark on the south side of the Missouri River about 4 miles west-northwest from the site of the present-day ghost town, Greenwood, South Dakota. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | The animal was first technically named in 1815, by John Ord, who called it Arctomys ludoviciana (ARC-toh-mees LOO-do-vee-see-AH-nah; “bear-mouse of Louisiana”) Constantine Rafinesque soon after instituted the genus Cynomys, and called it C. socialis and C. grisea, mamaking two species of one. Then, in 1820, it was named Arctomys missouriensis by an anonymous author in Warden’s Description of the US., 5:627, and in 1825 another name, Arctomys latrans, was bestowed by the American zoologist, Richard Harlan (1796–1843). Richard Harlan, Fauna Americana (Philadelphia: Finley, 1825), 306. |
| ↑3 | The Zuni Indians of the American southwest are said to have called it “the priest of the prairie dogs.” |
| ↑4 | Paul A. Johnsgard, Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2003), 35. |
| ↑5 | William Claiborne (1774-1817), of Virginia, was appointed by Thomas Jefferson to serve as the first governor of the Mississippi Territory, and in 1804 Territorial Governor of Louisiana. Having earned the respect and support of native Creoles and Cajuns by requiring that all official business was to be carried on in both French and English. He was elected the first governor of the State of Louisiana, largely on the grounds of his compassionate treatment of refugees from Santo Domingo in 1809, and because his wife was a Creole. |
| ↑6 | Jackson, 1:248-49. |
| ↑7 | Jackson, 1:250-51. |
| ↑8 | Jackson, 1:252. |
| ↑9 | Jackson, 1:302. |
| ↑10 | Paul Russell Cutwright, Lewis & Clark: Pioneering Naturalists (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1969), 378. |
| ↑11 | For more about the well-traveled prairie dog, see Clay S. Jenkinson, “The Voyage of the Prairie Dog,” We Proceeded On, vol. 44 No. 4 (2018), 27–30. |
| ↑12 | According to Wikipedia, s.v. “Prairie du Chien,”some modern citizens of the city pronounce it “prairie doo sheen,” but that is an American parochial slant on the name that would amuse French Canadians, and infuriate Parisians by the turn of the 19th century. Clark wrote the name three times in his journal entry for 31 August 1804, and consistently spelled it Chain(e), so we know he pronounced it “chain” — nearly the same sound that I learned as a boy in the old American Bottom: “shain.” |
| ↑13 | Jackson, Letters, 1;227. Harrison was a politician who ultimately became the 14th president of the United States, Harrison was appointed governor of the District of Louisiana, serving from 1 October 1804 until 4 July 1805; concurrently he was the first governor of Indiana Territory from 1801 until 1812. |
| ↑14 | The Evening Fire-Side; or, Literary Miscellany, Philadelphia, vol. 1, no. 32 (20 July 1805), 256; American Periodicals Series Online. |
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).