VIZCACHA-HUNTING AND GIANT SNAKES 401 



around stretched the cheerless waste of sandy desert. That 

 there could be any considerable amount of wild life in the 

 region seemed impossible; but, as we soon discovered to 

 our unbounded delight, it was only one of the instances 

 where first impressions are deceptive. 



Our first care was to find a place where we could put up 

 as we had come prepared to remain a week; so we inquired 

 of the station agent if there was a posada in town. He 

 promptly said that there was none. Then we called on 

 the judge, to whom we had a letter of introduction. He 

 took us to the home of a kind-hearted old woman who imme- 

 diately agreed to give us a room and board; and here let 

 me insert that in no place in all South America were we 

 treated with more courtesy and consideration than in the 

 home of this venerable old woman, during the entire month 

 we finally remained. Learning of our mission, her three 

 daughters became very enthusiastic and plied us with in- 

 formation about the country, and the vast numbers of 

 animals to be found within a short distance of their very 

 doors. They told us that the country was teeming with 

 vizcachas — large rodents that weigh up to twenty-five 

 pounds and come out of their burrows only at night. We 

 wanted to go out and hunt them at once but, unfortunately, 

 there was no moonlight during the first part of our stay, 

 so it was impossible to go in quest of them. We therefore 

 devoted our time looking for other things. 



Investigation showed that the country was not quite 

 so barren as it had at first appeared. A short walk took 

 us into a region where there was a dense growth of cacti 

 and thorny shrubbery — so thick in fact that it was almost 

 impossible to get through ; many of the former plants were 

 in bloom, the spiny columns being covered with large white, 

 waxy flowers. Here and there a native hut adorned the 

 top of a small rise in the landscape, and near by we were 

 sure to see the inevitable flock of goats nibbling on the leaves 

 of acacia and mimosa, and guarded by bad-tempered dogs. 

 A little distance away from each hovel was a pond of con- 



