The name of gopher, according to Brehm, is applied in some American
localities to various other widely variant rodents. The zoölogists, who
first described the animal, obtained their specimens from Indians, who
had amused themselves by cramming both cheek pouches full of earth,
distending them to such a degree that if the animal had walked the
pouches would have trailed on the earth. These artificially distended
pouches obtained for the gopher its name; the taxidermists who prepared
the dead specimens endeavored to give them what was supposed to be
a life-like appearance by following the practice of the Indians in
distending the cheek pouches, and the artists who delineated the animal
followed the models which were accessible to them, but too truly in
their drawings. Owing to these circumstances, the pictures of gophers
of even recent date represent really monstrous animals, when they
honestly intend to familiarize us with the gopher.
The gopher may be found east of the Rocky Mountains and to the west
of the Mississippi river, between the thirty-fourth and fifty-second
parallel of north latitude. It leads an underground life, digging
tunnels in various directions. Tunnels, of old standing, says Brehm,
are packed hard and firm from constant use. Lateral passages branch
off at intervals. The main chamber is situated under the roots of a
tree at a depth of about four and one-half feet; the entrance tunnel
is sunk down to it with a spiral direction. This chamber is large, is
lined with soft grass, and serves for a nesting and sleeping-place.
The nest in which the young, numbering from five to seven, are born
about the beginning of April, is lined with the hair of the mother. It
is surrounded with circular passages from which the tunnels radiate.
Gesner found that a passage leads from the nest to a larger hole, the
storeroom, which is usually filled with roots, potatoes, nuts, and
seeds. When throwing up the earth the gopher exposes itself to view
as little as possible and immediately after accomplishing its purpose
plunges back into its hole. According to Audubon it appears above
ground to bask in the sun. We have seen it sit at the entrance to its
den with an air of bold indifference to the approach of danger and then
suddenly vanish under ground. Its acute sense of hearing and great
power of scent protect it from surprises.
Audubon kept several gophers in captivity for months, feeding them on
potatoes. Their appetites were voracious, but they would drink neither
water nor milk. They made incessant efforts to regain their liberty
by gnawing through boxes and doors. They constantly dragged clothing
and other similar objects together, utilizing them as bedding, first
gnawing them to pieces. One of them, straying into a boot, instead
of turning back, simply gnawed its way through the tip. The habit of
gnawing was unendurable and Audubon incontinently got rid of them.
The gopher is very destructive to valuable trees and plants, for which
reason man is its most dangerous enemy, the only other foes it has to
fear being water and snakes.
This pretty little rodent is often found in populous neighborhoods.
A few years ago the writer saw one rush into a hole under the root
of a large osage orange bush in Woodlawn, Chicago. Curiosity led him
to watch for the reappearance of the animal, which soon put its head
cautiously above the entrance and eyed the intruder with as much
interest as a weasel will often show under like circumstances. For
several weeks the gopher was visible in the morning hours. We pointed
it out to several persons, each of whom declared it to be a ground
squirrel. There is a great difference in these small animals, but they
are frequently confounded.
The name of gopher is applied in some American localities to various
other rodents.