Burrows The Burrows ( rarely referred to as " Coons " ) is a small community , founded in 2101 by FEV - mutated raccoons known as S ' Lanter from the West Tek Research Facility . First signs . Log Date January 12 , 2076 : The above excerpt is from the FEV experiment disk found at the Glow in " Fallout " and is the only remaining in - game reference to the non - existent area . The escape and founding . The four raccoons that escaped the research facility headed north - west until 2101 , when they discovered a small oasis that had , amazingly , avoided a great deal of devastation and had begun to regrow . Once they settled the area their instincts took over and they became skilled hunters as well as becoming more intelligent . They named themselves the Tribe of the S ' Lanter ( S ' Lanter means Kindred ) , having forgotten they were once raccoons . When they escaped from The Glow , they had taken with them many devices and texts . From these they were able to learn English and about the devices and technology behind them . This caused further growth in their intelligence . The first buildings they made resembled human dwellings . However , Neres - Ka ( the ' leader ' of the S ' Lanter ) remembered what the humans had done to them at the Glow and stated that the Burrows would not be human city and they should revel in their animal side . Many of the buildings were then created with branches , sticks and leaves . This building style continued until the events of " Fallout " and presumably beyond . Curiosity and division . Many of the S ' Lanter were curious about the outside world and began sending out small parties to explore the surrounding area . In 2106 , one of these parties met a group of people ; raiders from the Jackal tribe . When the humans spotted them they opened fire , killing and wounding many . The few who made it back to the Burrows caused a stir in the small community . Some wanted to protect themselves against the humans and rigged the area around the Burrows with traps . They then founded the area of the Burrows called the Dens , an underground system of tunnels accessible only by hidden entrances . They quickly became the more animalistic of the two groups and took the role of the hunters . The other group , called the top - dwellers , built their homes around an old oak tree that served as the town hall . The few humans that have entered the Burrows were killed by the Den - Dwellers . Religion . The " old ones " , the original escapees , never told any of the others what had happened at The Glow . All they ever said was that they had originally come from the Glow ( named so because an old one who tried to return could only see a great glow on the horizon and decided to turn back ) . The " old ones " told the others to forget about it ; the Burrows was their home now . But , when Neres - Ka , the last of the old ones died , many of the younger S ' Lanter began to wonder where they came from . They read the journals of the old ones and the texts from the Glow but all they could find out was that the Glow was where they had come from . During the great winter of 2130 , many of S ' Lanter died and had little to fall back on . Minishen , the new leader of the S ' Lanter , devised a new religion , " the religion of the glow " to give them hope . He told everyone that the gods lived at the Glow and that these gods had created them . To prove it , he showed them the journals of the old ones talking about " masters " at the Glow and how these masters " made them " . When the winter ended , Minishen kept the religion as he knew there would be more hard times . His followers believed that the gods had helped them survive . But , in 2150 Minishen died without telling anyone that the religion was false . Nor could anyone disprove it , as all who went to the Glow died . In 2161 , a S ' Lanter went to the Glow and managed to return . Dying from severe radiation poisoning , he said " There are No gods , only death " . This divided the Burrows again , with the Den - dwellers being fanatical believers in the gods while the Top - dwellers are far more skeptical . This division brought the Burrows to the brink of civil war .