20 CHILI. 



domesticated, are very conspicuous and remarkable, as closely 

 allied to the Camels, although their backs are not humped. 

 They are natives of the Andes, easily domesticated, and ex- 

 tensively used as beasts of burden, but they cannot carry 

 heavy loads. If overladen, they kneel on the soil, and will 

 not rise until the load has been lightened. Their wool, 

 especially that of the Alpaca^ is long and fine, and of 

 considerable value for the manufacture of valuable clothes. 

 In a wild state, the llamas keep together in herds, sometimes 

 of one or two hundred. When disturbed, they gallop off with 

 great rapidity. In many of their habits they are like a flock 

 of sheep, and are not difficult to be caught. They have the 

 habit of jumping and kicking with their hind legs. Unfortu- 

 nately, these animals are fast disappearing. 



Next comes several species of Chinchilla or Lagotis, 

 belonging to the Order of RoDENTS, or GNAWING MAMMALS. 

 They are beautiful creatures, about the size of a squirrel, 

 measuring" about nine inches, exclusive of the tail. Thev are 

 remarkable for their fur, which is long, thick, close, somewhat 

 crisped, very soft, and of a pearly grey. An extensive trade 

 is carried on with these skins, which find their employ in the 

 manufacture of muffs, tippets, lining of cloaks, pelisses, etc. 

 They fetch a very good price in Europe. These interesting 

 animals live in holes under ground, are very sociable and very 

 timid. They are found in considerable numbers in the 

 mountainous parts of the country. 



Another remarkable form among the Chilian mammals is 

 the extraordinary Mole-Armadillo (Chlamydophorus trun- 

 catusj J belonging to the family of Dasypodidac, a pigmy, 

 when compared to his gigantic predecessor Glyptodon, a 

 fossil species, which was certainly more than a thousand 

 times larger. Like all the other species of Armadilloes, it 

 leads a subterranean life. It is the smallest and the rarest of 

 the species known, scarcely larger than a mole, hence its 

 name. In structure it differs from the other Armadilloes in 

 having the outer shield attached to the hip bones by a peculiar 

 bony process; meanwhile, in Dasypus, the shield is imbedded 

 in the skin of the body, with the central rings free and the 

 tail exserted. About twenty living species are known, the 

 largest being Priodon maximiis, the Giant Armadillo, measur- 

 ing three feet in length. They walk on the soles of their 

 feet, with the claws expanded, and are able to burrow in the 

 soil with surprising rapidity, either to escape danger or in 

 search of their food, which consists of insects, worms, etc. 



