238 IN THE WILDS OF SOUTH AMERICA 



first and are the fighters, they must be on the alert and 

 ready to face danger without an instant's delay; were they 

 encumbered with the family impedimenta the delay oc- 

 casioned in ridding themselves of it before being able to 

 use their weapons might be fatal to the whole family. 



We found' an interesting little animal called cururii 

 (Ctenomys) at a place named Jos6 Bonifacio, reached Feb- 

 ruary 23. It is of gopher-like appearance and habits, and 

 is said never to come out of the groimd. It throws up 

 mounds of earth at irregular intervals of from a few feet 

 to ten yards apart, and some of them are very large — three 

 feet across and eighteen inches high. We were very de- 

 sirous of securing one of these animals, but as there were 

 no traps available for the purpose, six Nhambiquaras were 

 induced to dig open one of the burrows. At first the In- 

 dians, guided by the mounds and aided by a sharpened 

 stick, followed the galleries, which were about a foot be- 

 neath the surface, and at intervals of ten yards blocked 

 them by stamping down the earth into the hole. We re- 

 turned a half-hour later and found that the plug between 

 two of these sections had been opened, so knew just where 

 the creature was bottled up. 



The Indians now opened the entire section of the gallery 

 and found a hole going almost straight down, which, they 

 explained, led to the nest. A soldier was now called with 

 a hoe, and the work of excavation was begun. In order 

 that the hole might not be filled up, a long, pliable stick 

 was inserted, and this served as a guide. The Indians 

 worked with pointed sticks and threw out the loose earth 

 with their hands. Frequently they reheved one another. 

 When near the end of the work the animal could be felt with 

 a stick; they became greatly excited and worked in feverish 

 haste, as a fox-terrier might after a rat, and kept up a con- 

 tinuous yelling. They were covered with earth from head 

 to foot; ears, eyes, nose, and hair were caked with sand 

 and clay, and the naked bodies looked as if they had just 

 emerged from a mud-wallow. Finally one threw away 



