352 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



Utility, strength, &c. 



* These useful animals," says the Comte de 

 Buflfon, " are attended with no expence to their 

 masters: as they are cloven footed, they do not 

 require to be shod, and their wool renders saddles 

 unnecessary. Satisfied with a small portion of 

 grass and vegetables, they want neither corn nor 

 hay; and they are still more moderate in what 

 they drink, as their mouths are continually moist- 

 ened with saliva, which they have in a greater 

 quantity than any other animal. 



Peru appears to be the native country of these 

 quadrupeds, and there they are found in prodigious 

 numbers from Potosi to Caracas^ They consti- 

 tute the chief riches of the Indians, and add not 

 a little to the opulence of the Spaniards who 

 rear them. Their wool may be spun into beau- 

 tiful clothing, and they are capable of carrying 

 heavy burthens in the most rugged and danger- 

 ous roads. Some of them have been known to 

 travel with from one hundred and fifty to two 

 hundred and fifty pounds weight on their backs; 

 and they are so sure footed, that they travel 

 safely among the most craggy rocks, where evea 

 men can scarcely accompany them. Their pace 

 i ; short, and they seldom perform a journey of 

 more- than fifteen miles in a day. They com- 

 monly travel five days together, and then they 

 rest of their own accord, for two or three days ; 

 in order to recruit their exhausted strength. 



<J 



They are much employed in carrying the riches 



