THE GUANACO. 525 



earth. The first European invaders everywhere found herds of Llamas 

 in the possession of the Andean mountaineers, and describe the animals 

 in unmistakable terms. Xerez, who wrote of Pizarro's conquest of Peru, 

 says : " Six leagues from Caxamarca, Indians live who have flocks of 

 sheep ; some of them are so large that they are used as beasts of burden." 

 Don Pedro de Cieza, in 1 541 , writes: " In no part of the world are there 

 so many strange sheep as in Peru, Chili, and some provinces of La Plata. 

 They are the most useful creatures that God has created, for the natives 

 could not live without them. They are about the size of an ass, with the 

 neck of a camel, and the look of a sheep. They are very tame and docile. 

 The natives call them Llamas. Another kind is called Guanaco ; these 

 are somewhat larger, and run with great agility. Another variety of 

 these sheep is named Vicunas ; they roam about in the desert ; their wool 

 is finer than that of the Merino sheep. There is also another sort called 

 Paco, with still longer wool. Without these animals, intercourse with 

 Potosi would be impossible." This passage is quoted to show that three 

 hundred years have made no change whatever in the characteristics of 

 these animals, and that therefore there is good reason for making four 

 species of these useful creatures. 



All the Auchcnia dwell on the lofty plateaux of the Cordilleras. 

 They prefer the colder regions, and are only found in the low country at 

 the extreme south of the chain of the Andes in Patagonia. Near the 

 equator they live at a height of four thousand yards above the sea. 

 During the rainy season the wild varieties retire to the highest ridges of 

 the mountains, and in the dry season descend into the valleys. They 

 live in herds, very often of several hundreds, and are hunted with great 

 ardor by the various Indian tribes. 



THE GUANACO. 



The Guanaco, Auchenia guanaco, is about the size of the Vir- 

 ginia deer, standing a little over six feet high. The body is relatively 

 short and compact, the neck thin and curved, the upper lip prominent 

 and deeply cleft; the nostrils are capable of being closed; the ears 

 are about half the length of the head, and very mobile ; the legs are 

 slender and long, the toes cleft to the middle, the soles have rough 

 cushions, but the fore-legs have not the callosities which the other 

 varieties possess, like the camel. A coat of long, rich, but sparse hair 



