The Camel Tribe and the Chevrotains 



309 



He says : " In places where there is no snow the 

 natives want water, and to supply this they fill the 

 skins of sheep with water, and make other living 

 sheep carry them; for, it must be remarked, these 

 sheep of Peru are large enough to serve as beasts 

 of burden. They can carry about 100 Ibs. or more, 

 and the Spaniards used to ride them, and they 

 would go four or five leagues a day. When they 

 are weary, they lie down on the ground; and as 

 there are no means of making them get up, either 

 by beating or assisting them, the load must of 

 necessity be taken off. When there is a man on 

 one of them, if the beast be tired and urged to 

 go on, he turns his head round and discharges his 

 saliva, which has an unpleasant odour, into the rider's 

 face. These animals are of great use and profit to 

 their masters, for their wool is very good and fine 

 . . . and the expense of their food is trifling, as a 

 handful of maize suffices them, and they can go four 

 or five days without water. Their flesh is as good 

 as that of the fat sheep of Castile. There are now 

 public shambles for the sale of their flesh in all parts 

 of Peru, which was not the case when the Spaniards 

 came first." 



The particularly offensive habit of spitting in 

 the face of people who may be obnoxious to it is 

 well known to those who are in the habit of seeing much of this animal. 



Photo by Miss E. J. Beck. 



LLAMA. 



The larger of the two domesticated forms descended from 

 the guanaco. 



THE CHEVEOTAINS. 



MENTION must be made, 

 before passing to the Pig 

 Tribe, of the smallest of hoofed 

 mammals, the Eoyal Antelope 

 excepted the CHEVROTAINS. 

 These little animals are horn- 

 less, and intermediate in 

 character between the Deer, 

 Camels, and Pigs. The males 

 have large canine teeth, like 

 those of>the Musk-deer, with 

 which the Chevrotains have 

 long been confounded. The 

 range of these animals, of 

 which there are five species 

 known, extends from India 

 and Ceylon, through the 

 Malayan countries, as far east 

 as the island of Palawan, in 

 the Philippine group. One 

 species, the largest of the 

 group, occurs on the west 

 coast of Africa. 



Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.] [Aberdeen. 



ALPACA. 

 A domesticated form, bred solely for its wool, which is of a dark brown or black colour. 



