160 ZOOLOGY. 



former are easily captured by the muleteers, who bring down snow, and may frequently be 

 purchased in the streets of Santiago during the months of November and December. At that 

 time they are from two to three months old ; are very gentle ; will follow one about the house 

 within a day or two, and soon learn to drink milk voraciously. Their bleat is not unlike that 

 of the young goat. As they grow older they are less docile ; are very easily displeased, and 

 will strike the oifender with all four feet at once, or eject an acrid saliva at him from a dis- 

 tance of several feet. At this time they are fond of barley, other small grain, bread, and most 

 green food, preferring, however, alfalfa, or the young barley straw. 



"It is difficult to raise them — or at least it is difficult to do so in Santiago — perhaps because 

 of the heat on the plain at the time they are brought from a much colder atmosphere, and the 

 difficulty of properly regulating their food. Four died, notwithstanding the care and atten- 

 tion of our household, aided by the counsels of those who should have been most likely to 

 aflbrd good advice ; one, a full-grown female, which had been raised in captivity and subse- 

 quently came into my possession, became so violent in the rutting season that it was necessary 

 to remove her from the premises of the gentleman who had her in charge. No attacks were 

 ever made on him ; but whenever his wife came near, the Guanaco would spring at her with 

 all four feet drawn together. 



" In a state of nature, one male presides over a herd of females sometimes twenty in num- 

 ber. They are occasionally driven nearly to the jDlain by heavy falls of snow, and then guasos 

 hunt them for their skins. The hunters assemble in a body with a troop of dogs and sur- 

 round the herd, driving it, if possible, into a ravine with very steep walls, and there, by means 

 of lassos or bolos, the animals are quickly taken. Large numbers are often captured in this 

 way, their skins being worth about half a dollar each. lu Patagonia the Indians destroy great 

 numbers of young, whose skins they dress with considerable skill and then sew neatly together, 

 forming soft and pretty robes, which find ready purchasers in the markets both at Buenos 

 Ayres and Valparaiso. The meat was never offered for sale at Santiago." 



The following interesting account of the habits of the Guanaco, from personal observation, 

 has been furnished by Lieutenant Phelps : 



" It affords me pleasure to comply with your request, and give you such points as I observed 

 of the habits of the Guanaco and of their favorite haunts, premising, however, that they will 

 be limited, and dependant entirely upon memory of casual observations. ' 



" I made hunting expeditions of some length into the cordillera in the summer and fall 

 months ; and as the snow-line varies very much during these, the Guanacos were found at 

 quite different elevations, though generally near the snow, and were often seen far above its 

 lower limits. In midsummer they are found considerably below this, though I did not find 

 them near so low as the upper limit of the growth of small trees and bushes that in places 

 cover the slopes of the mountains quite densely. It seemed that they have about the same 

 grounds for their principal ranges, descending temporarily from them, according to the quan- 

 tity and limits of snow. In the south of Chile, and upon the eastern slope of the Andes, they 

 are found low down in valleys, upon the plains, about lakes and streams, &c. ; but in the por- 

 tion of the mountains visited by me, I did not know or hear of their descending from high 

 elevations, except during severe storms, when they go down in great numbers to the plains, 

 but retire to their accustomed haunts immediately after it ceases. 



"It was a matter of sur^jrise how such numbers could thrive where there appeared to be so 

 very little vegetation. In the small and watered valleys, or basins, there is a coarse growth of 

 sedge-grass, and elsewhere mosses, &c. I saw them frequently feeding upon moss-covered 

 knolls cropping out from beds of frozen snow. 



" They are found in herds of hundreds, in small numbers, in pairs, and singly — this last but 

 rarely. When startled, especially if in numbers, they bleat an alarm very singular, and heard 



