166 PORT DESIRE. (cHaA?. VIII. 
The guanaco, or wild Ilama, is the characteristic quadruped 
of the plains of Patagonia; it is the South American represent- 
ative of the camel of the Eas It is an elegant animal ina 
state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. It is 
very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the con- 
tinent, as far south as the islands near Cape Horn. It generally 
lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but 
on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw one herd which must have 
contained at least five hundred. 
They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes 
told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these 
animals which evidently had been frightened, and were running 
away at full speed, although their distance was so great that he 
could not distinguish them with his naked eye. The sportsman 
frequently receives the first notice of their presence, by hearing 
from a long distance their peculiar shrill neighing note of alarm. 
If he then looks attentively, he will probably see the herd stand- 
ing in a line on the side of some distant hill. On approaching 
nearer, a few more squeals are given, and off they set at an ap- 
parently slow, but really quick canter, along some narrow beaten 
track toa neighbouring hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly 
meets a single animal, or several together, they will generally 
stand motionless and intently gaze at him; then perhaps move 
on a few yards, turn round, and look again. What is the cause 
of this difference in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in 
the distance for their chief enemy the puma? Or does curiosity 
overcome their timidity? That they are curious is certain; for 
if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, such as 
throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach 
by degrees to reconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was 
repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had 
moreover the advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, 
which were all taken as parts of the performance. On the moun- 
tains of Tierra del Fuego, I have more than once seen a guanaco, 
on being approached, not only neigh and squeal, but prance and 
leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance 
as a challenge. These animals are very easily domesticated, and 
I have seen some thus kept in northern Patagonia near a house, 
though not under any restraint. They are in this state very 
