THE VISCACHA. 131 



la Punta is more or less burrowed by an animal between 

 a rabbit and a badger, called the biscacho, which renders 

 travelling dangerous, particularly by night, their holes 

 being so large and deep that a horse is almost sure to 

 fall it' he steps into one of them. The biscacho never 

 ventures far from its retreat, and is seldom seen till the 

 evening, when it comes out to feed, and hundreds may 

 be observed sporting round their holes, and making a 

 noise very similar to the grunting of pigs. Their flesh 

 is much liked by the people, and they are remarkably 

 fat, and on that account, when caught at any distance 

 from their holes, are easily run down ; they will, how- 

 ever, defend themselves from a dog a considerable time. 

 The holes of these animals are also inhabited by vast 

 numbers of small owls, which sit, during the day, gazing 

 at the passing travellers, and making a very ludicrous ap- 

 pearance. The parts of the road most frequented by the 

 biscacho are generally overrun by a species of small wild 

 melon, bitter to the taste ; whether it thrives particularly 

 on the manure of the animal, or whether the biscacho 

 chooses its hole near this running plant, does not seem 

 to have been ascertained." 



The viscacha of the Pampas of Buenos Ayres and 

 Paraguay is, when fully grown, as large as our common 

 badger. Above it is of a blackish gray, beneath white. 

 The head is large and obtuse, and a whitish band begin- 

 ning on the nose passes across the face beneath each eye 

 to the root of the ear, producing a sort of crescent- 

 shaped mask when the face is viewed in front. The 

 sides of the lips are furnished with a tuft of thickly-set 

 whiskers, composed of long black bristles ; and from the 

 angles of the mouth across the cheeks, below the white 

 band, extends a brush of black bristles, stouter than those 

 of the whiskers, but shorter, the lowermost being sharply 

 pointed. This brush reaches the angle of the jaw, form- 

 ing a beard : it does not, however, end here abruptly, 

 but may be traced by bristly hairs intermingled with the 

 fur across the shoulders as far as the middle of the back. 

 The ears are moderate and rounded ; the fore-legs are 

 rather slender and short ; the hind-legs are long, and the 



