Vizcacha

“ There is nothing strange, I think, in the mere fact of the vizcacha being unable to work his way out when thus buried alive; for, for all I know to the contrary, other species may, when their burrows are well covered up, perish in the same manner; but it certainly is remarkable that other vizcachas should come from a distance to dig out those that are buried alive. In this good office they are exceedingly zealous; and I have frequently surprised them after sunrise, at a considerable distance from their own burrows, diligently scratching at those that had been covered up. ”

“ The Tehuelcho Indians in Patagonia comb their hair with a brush-comb very much like that on the vizcacha's toe, but in their case it does not properly fulfil its office, or else the savages make little use of it. Vizcachas have a remarkable way of dusting themselves: the animal suddenly throws himself on his back, and, bringing over his hind legs towards his head, depresses them till his feet touch the ground. In this strange posture he scratches up the earth with great1 rapidity, raising a little cloud of dust, then rights himself with a jerk, and, after an interval, repeats the dusting. ”

“ Like the beaver, the vizcacha is a great builder, and his houses are always made on the same plan. He first of all chooses a level spot, where the soil is neither sand nor gravel, and then digs deep trenches or passages which lead into the inner apartments, the front doors being very large and handsome, often as much as four or five feet wide. ”

“ On the grassy pampas the Miners invariably attach themselves to the Vizcacheras—as the groups of great burrows made by the large rodent, the Vizcacha, are called; for there is always a space free from grass surrounding the burrows where the birds can run freely about. ”

“ On viewing a Vizcachera closely, the first thing that strikes the observer is the enormous size of the entrances to the central burrows in the mound; there are usually several smaller outside burrows. The entrance to some of the principal burrows is sometimes four to six feet across the mouth, and sometimes it is deep enough for a tall man to stand in up to the waist.
It is not easy to tell what induces a Vizcacha to found a new community, for they increase very slowly, and are very fond of each other’s society. It is invariably one individual alone who founds the new village. ”

“ 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. Probably it is a long-lived, and certainly it is a very hardy animal. Where it has any green substance to eat it never drinks water; but after a long summer drought, when for months it has subsisted on bits of dried thistle-stalks and old withered grass, if a shower falls it will come out of its burrows even at noonday and drink eagerly from the pools. ”

“ In districts having a different soil and vegetation, as in Patagonia, the vizcachas' curious, unique instincts are of no special advantage, which makes it seem probable that they have been formed on the pampas.
The Desert Pampas. 11
How marvellous a thing it seems that the two species of mammalians--the beaver and the vizcacha--that most nearly simulate men's intelligent actions in their social organizing instincts, and their habitations, which are made to endure, should belong to an order so low down as the Rodents! ”

“ It is amusing to see the sheep-farmer, the greatest sufferer from the vizcachas, regarding them with such indifference as to permit them to swarm on his "run," and burrow within a stone's throw of his dwelling with impunity, and yet going a distance from home to persecute with unreasonable animosity a fox, skunk, or opossum on account of the small annual loss it inflicts on the poultry-yard. That the vizcacha has comparatively no adverse conditions to war with wherever man is settled is evident when we consider
3O2 The Naturalist in La Plata. ”

“ The village, which is called Vizcachera, is composed of a dozen or fifteen burrows or mouths; for one entrance often serves for two or more distinct holes. Often, where the ground is soft, there are twenty or thirty or more burrows in an old vizcachera; but on stony, or "tosca" soil even an old one may have no more than four or five burrows. They are deep wide-mouthed holes, placed very close together, the entire village covering an area
Biography of the Vizcacha. 291
of from one hundred to two hundred square feet of ground. ”

“ The vizcachas are fond of each other's society, and live peaceably together; but their goodwill is not restricted to the members of their own little community; it extends to the whole species, so that as soon as night comes many animals leave their own and go to visit the adjacent villages. ”

“ Birds are not the only beings in this way related to the vizcachas: the fox and the weasel of the pampas live almost altogether in them. Several insects also frequent these burrows that are seldom found anywhere else. ”

“ Moved by these combined considerations, and acting
under an imperial order from Spain, the Viceroy of Mexico fitted out an expedition to sail up the California coast in search of the Strait of Anian, to find a harbor of
refuge for returning galleons, and to search out a point suitable for settlement and colonization. This expedition consisted of two hundred picked men under the command
of Sebastian Vizcaino, a man of rather superior
native ability, who had risen in a few years from a humble pearl fisher to a bold and successful navigator. ”

“ Although Vizcaino was looking for harbors, he yet passed twice outside the Bay of San Francisco, the finest on the coast, without discovering it. After his return to Mexico, Vizcaino endeavored to raise an expedition to found a settlement at Monterey, even going to Spain to press the matter; but other schemes were demanding the king’s attention, and he would give neither thought nor money to affairs in the new world; and so, thoroughly disheartened Vizcaino returned to Mexico. ”

“ He entered with a strong force, and laid claim to all the region beyond the line now dividing Jalisco and Zacatecas from Sinaloa and Durango, applying to it the name of Nueva Vizcaya, a term which soon became confined to the district east of the Sierra Madre range, embracing, for a while, a part of Coahuila. In 1563 he formally established the still existing settlement of Nombre de Dios as a villa, [30] and beyond, in Guadiana Valley, he founded as his capital Durango, known also by the name of the valley. ”

“ After taking possession of the country for the King of Spain, by firing cannons and hoisting standards, the explorer allowed four Franciscan friars to admit such of the natives as were willing to the Holy Catholic Church, the simple people gazing with wondering admiration at the unintelligible ceremonies performed on their behalf. This double conquest made for the State and Church of his sovereign, Viscaino continued his voyage up the north-eastern coast; but a misunderstanding with the natives, and the failure of his provisions, compelled him shortly to return to Mexico. ”

“ None but one of thy royal line—nay, none but thee, oh, Vilcaroya, son of Huayna-Capac, and brother of Huascar, last of the Incas, could have known the secret that thou hast brought with thee from the past into the present. We are thy children and thy slaves, and all the men of the Blood that are left in the Land of the Four Regions shall hail thee lord as we do, and own no other master save thee, Vilcaroya Inca, from now until the hour when their father, the Lord of Life, shall call them back to the Mansions of the Sun. ”

“ Development of Nueva Vizcaya.—Shortly after Ibarra left Sinaloa the Indians of San Juan revolted, drove out the encomenderos, and murdered the friars; the settlement was therefore moved to the Petatlán (Sinaloa) River, and named San Felipe. In the last decade of the century a presidio and an Aztec-Tlascaltec colony were founded at San Felipe, and Jesuit missions were planted in the vicinity. East of the mountains, in Durango and southern Chihuahua, mining, stock raising, and agriculture developed side by side. ”

“ He also asked, on behalf of those who accompanied him, that the countries brought by him into subjection to the crown be given to them encomienda for five lives3; that they be made gentlemen and granted all the favors, exemptions, and liberties that other gentlemen enjoy, not only in the provinces of the Indies but also in Spain. For these and for other favors asked, Vizcaino agreed to sail with five ships, equipped with proper artillery, one hundred and fifty men, arms and ammunition, provisions, etc.—all things necessary for the voyage. ”

“ Vizcaino sought in vain to promote a further exploration of this region, for the interest therein had subsided, but an opportunity presented itself in a different direction. Franciscans had reached Japan, and had succeeded after many tribulations in prevailing on the emperor to admit more missionaries and to send envoys to Spain in order to establish intercourse with the Spanish' people. [4] They arrived at Mexico during the rule of the marqués de Salinas, and brought news also of some islands rich in gold and silver, which a drifting Portuguese vessel was said to have found in Japan waters. ”

“ Meanwhile jealous Hollanders obtained the imperial ear and denounced the Spaniards as seeking to add Japan to their extensive conquests. The result was that Vizcaino's embassy failed at the chief court. He prevailed, however, upon another ruler, called Mazamune, to assist him in fitting out a new vessel, to replace the damaged San Francisco, and to send therein an embassy to New Spain. With this he reached Zacatula in January 1614. During the following years other efforts were made to establish intercourse, and to obtain better treatment for the persecuted missionaries, but without avail. ”

“ Vizcarra, the Comandante, is on the ground—a tall colonel of forty—laced and plumed like a peacock. A lively bachelor is he; and while chatting with padré, cura, or alcalde, his eye wanders to the faces of the pretty poblanas that are passing the spot. These regard his splendid uniform with astonishment, which he, fancying himself “Don Juan Tenorio,” mistakes for admiration, and repays with a bland smile. ”

“ Better known than these to Spanish-speaking people was the voyage of Sebastian Vizcaino, who, in 1602, had coasted along as far as Point Reyes, and had left a full account of his discoveries. The landlocked harbor which Cabrillo had named San Miguel, Vizcaino re-christened in honor of his flag-ship, San Diego de Alcalá. Farther north, Vizcaino found a glorious deep and sheltered bay, "large enough to float all the navies of the world," he said; and this, in honor of the Viceroy of Mexico, he called the Bay of Monterey. ”

“ The old trapper—for such he was—died as he had lived—a blaspheming “heretico;” and there was a general belief in the settlement that his widow held converse with the devil. All this was a scandal to the Church, and the padrés would long since have expelled the güero family, but that, for some reason or other, they were protected by the old Comandante—Vizcarra’s predecessor—who had restrained the zealous priests in their good intention.
“But, caballeros!” said the padré, glancing towards Vizcarra, “such heretics are dangerous citizens. In them lie the seeds of revolution and social disturbance ”

“ The king recounts the results of Vizcaino’s exploration on that coast in 1602, and the advantages of Monterey as such station. It is believed that gold abounds in that region, and that many other advantages would accrue from a settlement there. The king appoints Monterey as [18] a way-station for the Philippine vessels, and Vizcaino as the commander of the expedition to establish it; and directs Acuña to send with him two men from the Philippines to learn all that is necessary about the new station, so that they may command the next galleons from Manila. ”

“ The subsequent history of the Vizagapatam settlement — its seizure from the French by the Rája of Vizianagram in 1758, the expulsion of that nation from the Circars by Colonel Forde's expedition in the next year, the eventual cession of the country to the English in 1765, and the elevation of Vizagapatam from the position of an isolated factory to that of the capital of a district in 1769 — all these events have already been shortly sketched above. ”

“ The looking-glass alone would keep it alive in Vizcarra’s bosom for the rest of his life.
They were together on the azotea of the Presidio, talking the matter between them, and casting over the probabilities of their late suspicion.
“He is fond of the sister,” remarked the Comandante; “and mother too, for that matter, hag as she is! Still, my dear Roblado, a man likes his own life better than anything else. Near is the shirt, etcetera. He knows well that to stay here is to get into our hands some time or other, and he knows what we’ll do with him if he should. ”

“ A foreign sight or sound, a quick movement of his foot, a short, shrill whistle vibrating through the clear, puna air, a flash of golden brown, and the whole flock is lost in the wilderness of rocks, fleeing miles without stopping. It is said that if the male is wounded, the females surround him, allowing themselves to be shot down rather than leave.
The vicuña defies pursuit or capture and disappears at the first glimpse of intruders, driving the young before him. He is no less wild than in the days when he was royal purveyor of softest fabric to the Incas’ wardrobes. ”

“ From that moment the vessel became a furnace of fire. While we were walking the deck, headed shoreward, we could hear the roar of the flames under our feet above the voice of artillery. The Vizcaya's hull bellowed like a blast furnace. Why, men sprang from the red-hot decks straight into the mouths of sharks."
But the Vizcaya lasted longer than the Almirante Oquendo, which followed her out of the harbor. The Vizcaya turned at the mouth of the harbor and went west, the Brooklyn, Oregon, and Texas in hot pursuit, while the Indiana and Iowa attacked the Oquendo. ”