MAMMALS. 161 



to a considerable distance. It is a prolonged bleat, and metallic in its tone. This I heard 

 only when they were alarmed. 



" When I first went into the mountains — in company with a haciendado and a number of his 

 peons, who were going up to collect and drive down the cattle that range in summer upon very 

 elevated plains — the men amused themselves very much at the idea of shooting Guanacos, par- 

 ticularly with the little rifle I had with me, because, they said, 'they were very wild, and 

 though they might not see one approaching them, they could smell the hunter a mile off;' 

 but after that expedition I had no difficulty in finding plenty of the same men ready to follow 

 me on a hunt; for with their mules they brought down the flesh so quickly dried in those alti- 

 tudes^ and they frequently met with valuable prizes in the bezoars found in the stomachs of the 

 animals, and which the druggists purchase. 



" The sight of the G-uanaco is marvellously quick and clear, and their sense of smell won- 

 derful. At distances of one, two, and even three miles I have startled droves of them from 

 their feeding-grounds, myself only able to see them upon some distant ridge by the projection 

 of their forms upon the deep blue of the sky as a back-ground. When so seen, with their 

 fronts towards one and head erect, they look like the cactus stalks common upon the nearly 

 barren hills below. At such times they frequently started off upon a fleet gallop, which I soon 

 learned to regard as a sign that it were folly to pursue them. When startled by sudden ap- 

 pearance of danger, the character of which they have discovered by sight or scent, they run at 

 great speed, selecting generally the most inaccessible ways — running with ease along the side 

 of a mountain ridge or ledge where a person exceedingly expert in such footing would find it 

 difficult to walk at all. The earthquakes have caused the spreading out of beds of small and 

 angular stones upon the mountain sides to such an extent as 'to peril the footman's life ; and 

 during the tremors of the earth, these rattle down in a way desirable to witness only at a safe 

 distance. Over such beds, whether up or down, or along the hill-side, the Guanaco runs with 

 ease and speed. When struck by a ball, I observed they invariably sprang over the ledges, or 

 down the precipitous banks of gorges — as it was in such places that I found it jDossible to ap- 

 proach them — and sometimes these leaps were frightful to witness. One shot throxigh the 

 heart went over a rocky wall of six hundred feet in height, as estimated by the party. Firing 

 across a chasm once, my person completely hidden hj rocks, I made three shots before the flock 

 took to flight, and then one, being struck, plunged down into the deep gorge, the others fol- 

 lowing. The report of the rifle appeared to be strange, and to excite the utmost curiosity ; but 

 in general I did not see this trait having the effect to overcome timidity, and found, to my 

 experience, that their instinct of flight overcame the weakness, and sent them at least to the 

 most prominent neighboring height before they stopped to indulge it. In regions rarely visited 

 by man, no doubt they are less timid, and display more of the curiosity I heard attributed to 

 them. The eye, in their wild state, is exceedingly beautiful — large, black, clear, and soft as 

 the Gazelle's. This particularly excited my attention when a drove approached from wind- 

 ward (a strong wind blowing) to within a few feet of me, where they stopped alarmed, and, 

 raising their heads to their utmost height, gazed intently at the rocks among which I had 

 hidden myself, taking care to find a crack through which I could see the trail that I had anti- 

 cipated their taking when disturbed at another point by the men. 



" The affectionate solicitude for a wounded member of the troop that is attributed to them I 

 never witnessed, except in cases where there were but two or three together ; then the com- 

 panions several times were quite reckless of danger. Where there were large numbers, they 

 all invariably made off, regardless of the wounded. Nor did I observe anything like the abso- 

 lute leadership and control of the troop, related as being exercised by a hardy and veteran 

 male, and the battles described as taking place among the males. Contests, involving this sole 

 control and leadership of a large number of females herded together, I never witnessed, nor 

 anything corroborative of it, though it may be entirely true. I have already stated having 

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