434 



THE LAMA. 



A whole day is often passed before this neces- 

 sary business can be completed, which is spent 

 in growling, quarrelling, and spitting at each 

 other ; they seldom produce above one at a 

 time, and their age never extends above ten or 

 twelve years at farthest. 



Though the lama is no way comparable to 

 the camel, either for size, strength, or perse- 

 verance, yet the Americans find a substitute in 

 it, with which they seem perfectly contented. 

 It appears formed for that indolent race of 

 masters which it is obliged to serve ; it requires 

 no care, nor no expense in the attending or 

 providing for its sustenance ; it is supplied 

 with a warm covering, and therefore does not 

 require to be housed ; satisfied with vegetables 

 and grass, it wants neither corn nor hay to 

 subsist it ; it is not less moderate in what it 

 drinks, and exceeds even the camel in temper- 

 ance. Indeed, of all other creatures, it seems 

 to require water least, as it is supplied by na- 

 ture with saliva in such large quantities, that 

 it spits it out on every occasion : this saliva 

 seems to be the only offensive weapon that the 

 harmless creature has to testify its resentment. 

 When overloaded or fatigued, and driven on 

 by all the torturing acts of its keeper, it falls 

 on its belly, and pours out against him a quan- 

 tity of this fluid ; which, though probably no 

 way hurtful, the Indians are much afraid of. 

 They say, that wherever it falls, it is of such 

 an acrimonious nature, that it will either burn 

 the skin, or cause very dangerous eruptions. 



Such are these animals in their domestic 

 state ; but as they are found wild in very great 

 numbers, they exhibit marks of great force and 

 agility in their state of nature. The stag is 

 scarcely more swift, or the goat or the shamoy 

 a better climber. All its skapes are more deli- 

 cate and strong ; its colour is tawny, and its 



wool is but short ; in their native forests, they 

 are gregarious animals, and are often seen in 

 flocks of two or three hundred at a time. 

 When they perceive a stranger, they regnrd 

 him at first with astonishment, without mark- 

 ing any fear or surprise ; but shortly, as if by 

 common consent, they snuff up the air, some- 

 what like horses, and at once, by a common 

 flight, take refuge on the tops of the moun- 

 tains ; they are fonder of the northern than 

 the southern side of the Andes; they often climb 

 above the snowy tracts of the mountain, and 

 seem vigorous in proportion to the coldness 

 of their situation. The natives hunt the wild 

 lama for the sake of its fleece. If the dogs 

 surprise one upon the plain, they are generally 

 successful ; but if once the lama obtains the 

 rocky precipice of the mountain, the hunters 

 are obliged to desist in their pursuit. 



The lama seems to be the largest of the camel 

 kind in America ; there are others, which are 

 called GUANACOES and PACOES, that are smaller 

 and weaker, but endued with the same nature, 

 and formed pretty much in the same manner. 

 They seem to bear the same proportions to 

 each other, that the horse does to the ass, and 

 are employed with the same degree of subor- 

 dination. The wool, however, of the paco, 

 seems to be the most valuable, and it is formed 

 into stuffs not inferior to silk, either in price or 

 beauty. The natural colour of the paco, is 

 that of a dried rose leaf; the manufacturers 

 seldom give its wool any other dye, but form 

 it into quilts and carpets, which exceed those 

 from the Levant. This manufacture forms a 

 very considerable branch of commerce in 

 South America, and probably, too, might be 

 extended to Europe, were the beauty and the 

 durability of what is thus wrought up sufficient- 

 ly known. 



