VIZCACHA-HUNTING AND GIANT SNAKES 397 



cleared of the indigenous growth and planted in corn, which 

 thrived; water was supplied by irrigation. However, the 

 people, who lived in widely separated huts, seemed to sub- 

 sist mainly on their flocks of sheep, goats, and the limited 

 number of cattle. There were so many dogs in the neigh- 

 borhood that they were a plague. Each night numbers 

 prowled about camp, barking, fighting, and trying to tear 

 open bags of provisions. We did not know how to get rid 

 of them without killing them, and this we did not wish to 

 do; but our boy found a way. One night we heard series 

 after series of yelps followed by frantic rushes to distant 

 parts. Next morning we discovered that Antonio had set 

 a dozen large, powerful "rat-killers" around the tent, baited 

 with tempting morsels of meat. When a dog attempted to 

 take the food it received a terrific blow across the nose 

 hence the yelps. We of course stopped the practice, but 

 the dogs did not return in sufficient numbers to be trouble- 

 some. 



The water of the Rio Salido is brackish and unfit for 

 drinking. There were few fish catfish and a species of 

 pacu. We had no time for angling, but occasionally saw 

 a string caught by some villager. 



About the first bird to attract our attention was a species 

 of wood-hewer with a curved bill three or four inches long. 

 They were always seen in pairs or small flocks, often in 

 company with the very common woodpecker (Chrysoptilus) . 

 Occasionally there were half a dozen of the former and 

 twenty or more of the latter in a single party, on the ground, 

 feeding on insects and larvae that lived in the litter of bark 

 and leaves under the giant cactus plants. They formed a 

 noisy group, especially if alarmed, when they took to the 

 trees or cacti and kept up a continuous chirping. They 

 tried to keep on the far side of the trunks and branches, 

 but curiosity prompted them to peep around the edges 

 frequently to see what was going on. The giant wood- 

 hewer (Xiphocolaptes major), as large as a mourning-dove 

 and with a long, powerful beak, was far less common. An- 



