440 A VOYAGE TO JBook VI. 



female lays but two egi>s at a time, and those no 

 bigger than peas. They build in trees, and the coarsest 

 materials of their nests are the finest straws they can 

 pick up. 



In the parts of this country, which are neither 

 taken up by mountains nor forests, only tame animals 

 are met with ; M'hence it is probable, that formerly its 

 native species were but very few ; most ofthesehaving 

 been introduced by the Spaniards, except the llama, 

 to M'hich the Indians added the name of runa, to de- 

 note an Indian sheep, that beast being now understood 

 by the runa-llama; though properly llama is a general 

 name importing beast, in opposition to the humait 

 species. This animal, in several particulars, resembles 

 the camel : as in the shape of its neck, head, and 

 some other parts ; but has no bunch, and is much 

 smaller; cloven-footed, and different in colour; for 

 though most of them are brown, some are white, 

 others black, and others of different colours : its 

 pace resembles that of a camel, and its height equal to 

 that of an ass betwixt a year and two old. The In- 

 dians use them as beasts of carriage ; and they an- 

 swer very well for any load under a hundred weight. 

 They chiefly abound in the jurisdiction of lliobamba, 

 there beins: scarce an Indian who has not one for car- 

 lying on his little traffick from one village to another. 

 Anciently the Indians used to eat tlic flesh of them, 

 and still continue to make that use of those wliich are 

 p^st labour. They say there is no difference betwixt 

 it and mutton, except that the former is somethinoj 

 sweeter ; it is a very docile creature, and easily kept. 

 Its whole defence is, to eject from its nostrils some 

 viscosities, which are said to give the itch to any on 

 "which they fall; so that the Indians, who firmly be- 

 lieve this, are very cautious of provoking the llama. 

 In the southern provinces of Peru, namely, in 

 CuBco, La Paz, La Plata, and the adjacent parts, are 

 two other animals, not very different from the llama: 



these 



