We added few specimens to the collection after leaving Utiarity. Animal life was not abundant, and the rapid pace at which the expedition was compelled to move left no time for collecting. The Nhambiquaras came to our camp almost daily. They usually approached unarmed, having concealed their bows and arrows some distance away; that was a sign of peaceful intentions. One day we passed one of their settlements; it contained a few low, round huts made of poles covered with grass; one small opening served as the doorway. We also encountered a number of them on the march. A solitary man walked first, carrying his bow and arrows only; about fifty yards behind came a woman, heavily burdened with baskets, calabashes, and children. Another man followed, and then a second woman, and so on until the whole band had passed. The reason for this formation is apparent. As the men are 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 occasioned 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 cururú (_Ctenomys_) at a place named José Bonifacio, reached February 23. It is of gopher-like appearance and habits, and is said never to come out of the ground. 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 desirous 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 Indians, guided by the mounds and aided by a sharpened stick, followed the galleries, which were about a foot beneath the surface, and at intervals of ten yards blocked them by stamping down the earth into the hole. We returned 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.