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In some places they are so near together that a person on horseback may count a hundred of them from one point of view. The sites of which the vizcacha invariably makes choice to work on, as well as his manner of burrow-ing, adapt him peculiarly to live and thrive on the open pampas.
In that condition the other members of the community probably cease to look on him as one of their companions who has fallen into a long sleep; he is no more than so much rubbish, which must be cleared out of an old disused burrow. Probably the beaver possesses some rude instinct similar to that of the vizcacha.
The vizcacha, on the contrary, chooses an open level spot, the cleanest he can find to burrow on. The first thing that strikes the observer when viewing the vizcachera closely is the enormous size of the entrance of the burrows, or, at least, of several of the central ones in the mound; for there are usually several smaller outside burrows.
Every tall stalk the vizcacha cuts down, every portable object he finds, must be removed to make the surface clean and smooth; but while encumbered with it he does not proceed further from his burrows, but invariably re-tires towards them, and so deposits it upon the mound.
Several individuals may reside in the compartments of the same burrow; but beyond themselves not even their next-door neighbour is permitted to enter; their hospitality ends where it begins, at the entrance. It is difficult to compel a vizcacha to enter a burrow not his own; even when hotly pursued by dogs they often refuse to do so.
Usually they scratch a hole in the ground to deposit their excrements in. To ascertain whether this be a constant, or only a casual habit, it would be necessary to open up entirely a vast number of vizcacheras. When a vizcacha dies in his burrow the carcass is, after some days, dragged out and left upon the mound. The language of the vizcacha is wonderful for its variety.
It is not possible to tell what induces a vizcacha to be the founder of a new community; for they increase very slowly, and furthermore are extremely fond of each other's society; and it is invariably one individual that leaves his native village to found a new and independent one.
But while birds were more than all other beings to me, mammals too had a great attraction. I have already spoken of rats, opossums, and armadillos; also of the vizcacha, the big burrowing rodent that made his villages all over the plain. One of my early experiences is of the tremendous outcry these animals would make at night when suddenly startled by a very loud noise, as by a clap of thunder.
She becomes pregnant late in April, and brings forth in September; the period of gestation is, I think, rather less than five months. The vizcacha is about two years growing. A full-sized male measures to the root of the tail twenty-two inches, and weighs from fourteen to fifteen pounds; the female is nineteen inches in length, and her greatest weight nine pounds.
Appearance of a green level land Cardoon and giant thistles Villages of the Vizcacha, a large burrowing rodent Groves and plantations seen like islands on the wide level plains Trees planted by the early colonists Decline of the colonists from an agricultural to a pastoral people Houses as part of the landscape Flesh diet of the gauchos Summer change in the aspect of the plain The water-like mirage The giant thistle and a "thistle year" Fear of fires An incident at a fire The pampero, or south-west wind, and the fall of the thistles Thistle-down and thistle-seed as food for animals A great pampero storm Big hailstones Damage caused by hail Zango, an old horse, killed Zango and his master.
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