The burrows are of considerable dimensions, and evidently run to no small depth, as one of them has been known to absorb five barrels of water without being filled.
They are dug in a sloping direction, forming and angle of about forty-five degrees with the horizon, and after descending for five or six feet, they take a sudden turn and rise gradually upward.

The prairie dog has not the privilege of possessing a home exclusively devoted to its own use, for the Burrowing Owl, and the terrible rattlesnake, take forcible possession of the burrows, and devour the inmates, thus procuring board and lodging at very easy rates.