402 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



siderable size; these fill up during the short rainy season 

 and their contents are used to water the stock and to irrigate 

 the small patches of corn and potatoes. 



Everywhere we came across evidences of the animals 

 about which we had heard so much. The country was 

 dotted with huge mounds out of which large tunnels opened. 

 From the mouths of the burrows lead deeply worn paths 

 and in these the ground had been trampled into dust 

 six inches deep. The mounds are built up by the vizcachas, 

 of the earth thrown out of the tunnels, and they take ad- 

 vantage of the hillocks thus created by using them as ob- 

 servation-posts before going far away from their homes. 

 The tops are often strewn with skulls and bones of the 

 large rodents that have died in the burrows and which 

 have been thrown out by the survivors. Burrowing owls 

 sat on the mounds, and swallows flitted in and out of the 

 openings below. There were also the telltale little foot- 

 prints of numerous small animals which appropriated the 

 vizcacha's dwelling for their own use and apparently lived 

 on peaceful terms with it. We wondered how far the tun- 

 nels ran underground, and how many species of animals 

 occupied them, but there was nothing to give us a clue to 

 the answer of either conjecture. As the time flew by, 

 however, we learned many things, and one at least was of 

 a startling character. 



The days were cold and the sun shone at infrequent in- 

 tervals. Desirous of taking some photographs, we selected 

 one of the brightest days, and, armed with guns and 

 cameras, we sallied forth. After a time we found a viz- 

 cacha mound which was conveniently situated, and walked 

 around it a few times in order to find the best spot from 

 which to take the picture. We noticed nothing unusual 

 about it, and finally set up the camera and began to focus. 

 While thus engaged, with my head under the black cloth, 

 I was suddenly startled by a wild yell from my companion 

 and looked just in time to see him make a long jump to 

 one side. The reason was apparent. There, not three feet 



