THE HOMES OF THE VIZCAGHAS 111 



well till the young ones are able to leave their cells, 

 when the foxes throw off their masks and seize them for 

 dinner, even fighting the old ones first. 



For a long while, the vizcachas, being of no use to 

 mankind, were let quite alone, but of late they have grown 

 so very numerous, and the land has been thrown so much 

 more into cultivation, that it has become necessary to 

 destroy them. Efforts have been made to stop up some 

 of their burrows, but their friends learn in some wonder- 

 ful way of the danger of their comrades, and will come 

 even from great distances to dig them out. Their 

 wonderful powers of endurance enable them to stand 

 a long siege, and they can live without food for as 

 long as fourteen days. If they are allowed to die a 

 natural death in their own inner chamber, the dead 

 vizcacha is left to lie in state, for a few days, after which 

 he is carried out by his relatives, and placed solemnly 

 on the side of the mound. 



