166 PORT DESIEE. [chap. viit. 



The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped 

 of the plains of Patagonia ; it is the South American represent- 

 ative of the camel of the Eas It is an elegant animal in a 

 state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. It is 

 very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the con- 

 tinent, as far south as the islands near Cape Horn. It generally 

 lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each ; but 

 on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have 

 contained at least five hundred. 



They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes 

 told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these 

 animals which evidently had been frightened, and were running 

 away at full speed, although their distance was so great that he 

 could not distinguish them with his naked eye. The sportsman 

 frequently receives the first notice of their presence, by hearing 

 from a longdistance their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. 

 If he then looks attentively, he will probably see the herd stand- 

 ing in a line on the side of some distant hill. On approaching 

 nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at an ap- 

 parently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten 

 track to a neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly 

 meets a single animal, or several together, they will generally 

 stand motionless and intently gaze at him ; then perhaps move 

 on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause 

 of this difference in their shyness ? Do they mistake a man in 

 the distance for their chief enemy the puma ? Or does curiosity 

 overcome their timidity ? That they are curious is certain ; for 

 if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as 

 throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach 

 by degrees to reconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was 

 repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had 

 moreover the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, 

 which were all taken as parts of the performance. On the moun- 

 tains of Tierra del Fuego, I have more than once seen a guanaco, 

 on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and 

 leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance 

 as a challenge. These animals are very easily domesticated, and 

 I have seen some thus kept in northern Patagonia near a house, 

 though not under any restraint. They are in this state very 



