136 LLAMA 



however, which has attended these attempts has not been great. The following note 

 from the ' Penny Cyclopaedia,' article ' Llama,' is important : 



' In reference to the wool, we may here state that a herd of thirty-six, including the 

 kinds called llamas, alpacas, and vicunas or vigonias, were sent from Lima (Peru) 

 and Concepcion (Chili) to Buenos Ayres by journeys of two or three leagues. To 

 those who may be inclined to import these animals, it may be necessary to state that 

 they were fed during the journey with potatoes, maize, and hay. As soon, however, 

 as the potatoes were exhausted, constipation came on so obstinately, that medical 

 relief was required. They were shipped as a present from Godoy, the Prince of 

 Peace, to the Empress Josephine, but only eleven arrived at Cadiz in 1808, just as 

 Godoy fell into disgrace. Here two died, and the rest were near being thrown into 

 the sea by the infuriated rabble, in their detestation of the late minister and minion. 

 The poor llamas were however saved from the tender mercies of the populace by the 

 governor of Cadiz, and were consigned to Don Francisco de Theran of Andalusia, 

 who had a fine menagerie at San Lucar de Barrameda. When the French occupied 

 the province, Marshal Soult protected them ; and M. Bury St. Vincent, who was 

 with the army, studied their habits, and executed drawings of them, which were lost 

 at the battle of Vittoria. M. Bury paid great attention to their wool, and some from 

 each kind was sent to the Academy of Sciences at Paris. From the report of the 

 French naturalist and the philosophical Spaniard, it would appear that the fleece of 

 the alpa-vigonia (prodiiced by a cross between a vigonia and an alpaca) has much 

 greater length than any other variety, and is six times heavier.' 



The following is from James's ' History of the "Worsted Manufacture in England,' 

 p. 652 : 



To commence with the earliest mention of the alpaca, we must recur to so early a 

 period as the year 1525, when Pizarro and his ferocious companions invaded Peru. 

 It is related by the Spanish historians, that they found there four varieties of sheep : 

 two, the guanaco and the vicuna, in a wild state, ranging the mountainous tracts 

 of South America ; and the others, the llama, and the pacos, or alpaca, domesti- 

 cated. The former of these domestic animals, partaking somewhat of the nature and 

 size of the Arabian camel, was in like manner employed as a beast of burthen. 

 Though in many features similar to the llama, the alpaca had several clear marks 

 of distinction, and among others was less, and the fleece much longer and softer in 

 fibre. In the sixteenth century, and even from the remotest times, the Peruvians 

 being comparatively (to the other tribes of the great continent of America) a civilised 

 people, and well acquainted with the arts of spinning and weaving, fabricated from 

 alpaca-wool textures of much delicacy and beauty, which were highly prized as 

 articles of dress. And that the use of them had prevailed for centuries is demonstrated 

 by the opening of several very ancient tombs of the Peruvians, in which the dead 

 had been enwrapped in stuffs made from the fleece of the alpaca. 



In general, the alpaca ranges about four feet in height, the size of a full-grown 

 deer, and, like it, is of graceful appearance. Its fleece is superior to the sheep in 

 length and softness, averaging six inches (the length of the staple of the alpaca 

 fleece is on an average much less than formerly, probably from being shorn oftener), 

 and sometimes it has been procured even of an extraordinary length ; a specimen 

 shown at the Great Exhibition, by Messrs. Walter Milligan and Son, reaching to 

 forty-two inches in length. The fleeces, when annually shorn, range from five to six 

 pounds. Contrary to experience in other descriptions of wool, the fibre of the 

 alpaca fleece acquires strength without coarseness; besides, each filament appears 

 straight, well-formed, and free from crispness, and the quality is more uniform 

 throughout the fleece. There is also a transparency, a glittering brightness upon 

 the surface, giving it the glossiness of silk, which is enhanced on its passing through 

 the dye-vat. It is also distinguished by softness and elasticity, essential properties 

 in the manufacture of fine goods, being exempt from spiral, curly, and shaggy defects ; 

 and it spins, when treated properly according to the present improved method, easily, 

 and yields an even, strong, and true thread. With all these remarkable qualities, it 

 was long before the value of alpaca wool was known or appreciated in this country. 



Recurring to the application of the alpaca fleece to manufacturing purposes in 

 England, it was long delayed, though so early as the year 1807, the British troops 

 returning from the attack of Buenos Ayres brought with them a few bags of this wool, 

 which were submitted for inspection in London ; but, observes Walton, in his work 

 on alpaca, ' owing to the difficulty of spinning it, or the prejudice of our manufac- 

 turers, it did not then come into notice,' and for more than twenty years the attempt 

 does not seem to have been renewed ; thus depriving, for that period, the country of 

 the advantage derived from this notable manufacture. 



According to the best authorities, the first person in England who introduced a 

 marketable fabric 'made from this material was Mr. Benjamin Oucram, a scientific 



