90 HUNTING THE VICUNA. 



make no attempt to leap over the ropes, being terrified by 

 the fluttering rags ; and when thus secured, the Indians 

 easily kill them with their holas. 



What is a bola 1 



It consists of three balls, either of lead or stone, of 

 which two are heavier than the third. These are attached 

 to long elastic strings, made of twisted sinews of the 

 vicuna; and the other ends of these strings are all tied 

 together. The Indian takes in his hand the liohtest of the 

 three balls, and swings the others in a wide circle above 

 his head ; then taking aim, at the distance of some fifteen 

 or twenty paces, he lets go the hand-ball, whereupon all 

 three describe a rapid revolution, and cling round the object 

 aimed at. 



The aim is usually directed at the hind-legs of the ani- 

 mal ; and the cords twisting round them, it is unable to 

 move. Great skill and long practice are required to throw 

 the bola dexterously : a novice incurs the risk of danger- 

 ously wounding either himself or his horse, by not giving 

 the balls the proper swing, or by letting go the hand-ball 

 too soon. 



The mammals of South America, it is to be noted, are 

 much inferior in size to those of the Old World. They 

 are not only on a smaller scale, but feebler in frame and 

 gentler of disposition. Many of them — such as the sloths 

 and other edentates — are of anomalous and less perfect 

 structure than the rest of the Animal World ; and the 

 majority of them belong to genera and even to families 

 confined to South America. Five genera and twenty 



