1029 



CHINCHILLID.E. 



CHINCHILLID^. 



1030 



the length of the body, for the most part of a dusky brown-blackish 

 colour, and clothed with long hairs on the upper surface. 





Skeleton of Marmot Diana (Lagottomtu trichoditctytiu). 



a. Upper jaw ; b, lower jaw ; c, crown of the second molar tooth of the left 

 Hide of the lower jaw ; </, crown of the last molar tooth of the right side of the 

 upper jaw. 



This animal appears to be the Viscacha described by so many 

 travellers as colonising the vast plains eastward of the great chain of 

 the Andes. Dobrizhoffer, Jolis, D'Azara, Proctor, Head, Miere, and 

 Haigh, all mention it. Captain (now Sir Francis) Head gives a picture 

 of these animals, sitting solemnly at the entrance of their burrows, 

 quite in his peculiar style. Biscacho is the name he assigns to them, 

 and according to his account, the Biacachueras, or Biscacho burrows, 

 which perforate the plains, are terrible traps for the unwary 

 horsemen. 



The following extracts are from the accounts of two foreign travel- 

 lers (whose works are not in the hands of every one) of the habits of 

 this species : " The Biscacha, called by the Abipones Neheldterek," 

 ayn Dobrizhoffer in his curious ' Historia de Abiponibus' (Vienna, 

 1784), " digs its burrows in the more elevated parts of the plains with 

 o much art, that no aperture is left by which the rain can penetrate ; 

 and these burrows are divided into distinct settlements, numerous 

 families inhabiting the same locality. On the surface of the ground 

 are several entrances to the burrows, at which, towards sunset, they 

 are seen seated in crowds, diligently listening for the sound of any 

 person approaching. If everything remains quiet, they seek their 

 food in the obscurity of the night, and commit grievous devastation 

 on the neighbouring fields, devouring both wheat and Indian corn 

 with extreme avidity, and when either is to be had despising grass. 

 For this reason the stations of the BiscSchas are rarely to be seen in 

 the desert plains, but indicate with certainty the near neighbourhood 

 of the Spanish settlements. I have often wondered never to have 

 seen the Biscacha in the territories either of the Abipones or the 

 Ouaranis, although well supplied with all kinds of crops. They daily 

 heap up, at the entrances of their burrow, dry bones, chips of wood, 

 or whatever other refuse they may meet with, but for what purpose 

 they collect such things it is impossible even to conjecture. The 

 Spanish colonists amuse themselves with hunting them ; pouring 

 many buckets of water into their subterraneous retreats, until, to 

 avoid drowning, the animals come forth into the plain, where, no 

 means of escape being afforded them, they are killed with sticks. 

 Tlirir flesh, unless when very old, is not considered despicable even 

 by the Spaniards." 



The Abbd Jolis dwelt for twelve years in South America, and made 

 three journeys into the remote districts of the interior. His work, 

 ' Saggio sulla Storia Naturale della Provincia del Oranchaco' (Faenza, 

 1789), is so little known, and his description in some particulars differs 

 o much from that of Dobrizhoffer, that we give Mr. Bennett's trans- 

 lation of it : " The Biscachas live in society in burrows under- 

 ground, which they form for themselves, excavating in all directions 



to the extent of a mile in circumference, with various exits and 

 separate retreats, in which the old live distinct from the younger. 

 The soil in which these are usually made is that which is hard and 

 barren, and destitute of everything, but with bushes (boscaglie) at no 

 great distance, and pasture of tender grass, roofs, and the bark of 

 trees. They collect around their retreats bones, dried leaves, and 

 whatever they find in the neighbourhood : if anything is nlissiug in 

 their districts, it is to be found with certainty piled up in these 

 situations the following day. As they are animals that avoid the 

 light, having little power of vision, they are not to be seen in the 

 day-time, unless at dawn, or towards evening after sunset. The night, 

 and especially when the moon shines, is the proper time for seeking 

 their food. Those among the Biscachas which are called Chinchillas, 

 and which may be said to belong to the first species, inhabit only the 

 mountains and cold situations ; in size they are like a rabbit, and are 

 clothed with a fine long fur. Their agility is surprising ; they are 

 seen leaping from rock to rock as if they had the faculty of flight. 

 The others, indicated above, inhabit the level country in warm situa- 

 tions. . . . Fierce and courageous, they defend themselves with 

 all their might against the dogs, and sometimes even attack the legs 

 of the hunters. I shall speak in my travels, as a fitter place, of the 

 three curious modes in which they are driven out of their retreats ; 

 that is to say, with water, with fire, and by rubbing sticks together." 



But neither of those authors mentions the somewhat anoma- 

 lous companions with which the Biscachoes are associated, and we 

 select from the travels of Proctor, Head, Miers, and Haigh, the 

 account of the first-named traveller, which, as Mr. Bennett observes, 

 gives nearly all the particulars which are to be found in the rest. 

 " The whole country, from Buenos Ayres to San Luis de 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 if 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 however defend themselves from a dog a considerable 

 time. The boles of these animals are also inhabited by vast numbers 

 of small owls, which sit during the day gazing at the passing travel- 

 lers, and making a very ludicrous appearance. The parts of the road 

 most frequented by the Biseacho 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 his 

 hole nearer this running plant, does not seem to have been ascer- 

 tained." 



The following account of the habits of this creature, from Mr. 

 Darwin's interesting journal, is one of the most recent contributions 

 published on this subject : " The Viscacha is well known to form a 

 prominent feature in the zoology of the Pampas. It is found as far 

 south as the Rio Negro, in lat. 41, but not beyond. It cannot, like 

 the Agouti (Dolachotis Patachonica), subsist on the gravelly and desert 

 plains of Patagonia, but prefers a clayey or sandy soil, which pro- 

 duces a different and more abundant vegetation. Near Mendoza, at 

 the foot of the Cordillera, it occurs in close neighbourhood with the 

 allied alpine species. It is a very curious circumstance in its geo- 

 graphical distribution that it has never been seen, fortunately for the 

 inhabitants, in Banda Oriental, to the eastward of the river Uruguay ; 

 yet in that province there are plains which appear admirably adapted 

 to its habits. That river has formed an insuperable obstacle to its 

 migration, although the broader barrier of the Parana has been 

 passed ; and the Viscacha is common in Entre Rios (the province 

 between the two rivers), directly on the opposite shore of the Uruguay. 

 Near Buenos Ayres these animals are exceedingly common. Their 

 most favourite resort appears to be those parts of the plain which, 

 during one-half of the year, are covered with great thistles to the 

 exclusion of other plants. The Guachos affirm that it lives on roots, 

 which, from the great strength of its gnawing teeth and the kind of 

 localities frequented by it, seems probable. As in the case of the 

 rabbit, a few holes are commonly placed together. In the evening 

 the Viscachas come out in numbers, and there quietly sit on their 

 haunches. They are at such times very tame, and a man on horse- 

 back passing by seems only to present an object for their grave 

 contemplation. They do not wander far from their burrows. They 

 run very awkwardly, and when hurrying out of danger, from their 

 elevated tails and short front legs, much resemble great rats. Their 

 flesh when cooked is very white and good, but it is seldom used. 

 The Viscacha has one very singular habit, namely, dragging every 

 hard object to the mouth of its burrow. Around each group of 

 holes many bones of cattle, stones, thistle-stalks, hard clumps of 

 earth, dry dung, &c., are collected into a heap, which frequently 

 amounts to as much as a wheelbarrow would contain. I was credibly 

 informed that a gentleman, when riding in a dark night, dropped his 

 watch; he returned in the morning, and by searching in the neigh- 

 bourhood of every Viscacha hole on the line of road, as he expected, 

 soon found it. This habit of picking up whatever may be lying on 

 the ground anywhere near its habitation must cost much trouble. 



