VICUNAS. 



17 



the llamas. " Richards ride round the mountain ; Jose go with the 

 baggage steadily along the road, while I take up this ravine, and try a 

 shot." We all start. The male gives a whistle, which sounds among 

 the hills like the cry of a wild turkey ; the four females are off. He 

 stands still ; as I near him, he calls louder, and long before I get within 

 ball range, he is away over the mountain brow. The sailor-boy Richards 

 will never give up the chase ; he has run his mule out of breath, and 

 now he takes after them on foot. 



The vicuna is smaller and a much more neatly -formed animal than 

 the llama, with a coat of fine curly wool ; its color resembles that of 

 the smaller deer. In the distribution of animals, as well as I can judge, 

 the vicuiia naturally seeks an atmosphere just below the llama. It is 

 very swift and difficult to capture. The Indians take them by driving 

 them into pens. Now and then a young one may be found tamed, and 

 kept as a pet among the children ; they are never used as beasts of 

 burden. Fine cloths and valuable hats are manufactured from the 

 vicuna. A skin sells in the market for fifty cents, and the meat is better 

 than that of the llama, though Jose expresses rather a disgust at the 

 idea of eating llama meat. 



Our course is to the eastward. The snow-capped mountains are in 

 sight to the west. Temperature of a spring 48° ; air, 44°. Lightning 

 flashes all around us ; as the wind whirls from northeast to southwest, 

 rain and snow-flakes become hail, half the size of peas. Thunder roars 

 and echoes through the mountains ; the mules hang their heads, and 

 travel slowly ; the thinly-clad aboriginal walks shivering as he drives 

 the train ahead ; the dark, cumulus cloud seems to wrap itself around us. 



The first house we met was Molina post ; the men passed the night 

 with their mules in a storm, which beat against our tent all night. The 

 postman, a Spanish Creole, invited us into his house ; I saw his wife, two 

 children, one Indian servant, and five dogs, seated around a fire made 

 of dung, over which the woman was cooking mutton. Their bed was 

 of barley straw, and a miserable old donkey was peeping in the door at 

 it ; so I had the tent pitched. At V in the morning the thermometer 

 was 31° Fahr. This is a barren country, and seems to be inhabited 

 by the wilder animals. We chased a fox among the rocks, and shot 

 two viscachas, which resemble the rabbit in size, color, and head, but 

 the feet and tail are like those of the opossum. The people are very 

 fond of them. The arriero smiled when he saw his supper. Richards 

 cut one of them open to bottle its young, but we had misjudged its 

 appearance. An Indian boy said if the mules ate any of the hair of 

 this animal it would cause instant death. We had no extra mules to 

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