THE WHITE LLAMA. 
285 
eaten, and no less than three hundred thousand were 
employed in the transport of the produce of the mines 
of Potosi alone. The peculiar form of their feet renders 
them more safe than even mules in ascending and de- 
scending the mountain passes, and they consequently 
remain in use up to the present day for this particular 
service. But the excellent breed of horses introduced 
by the Spaniards, which has since multiplied so prodi- 
giously in many parts of South America, has almost 
entirely superseded their use in the open country ; and 
it is only in some remote districts, where the poverty 
of the inhabitants precludes them from keeping the 
more expensive animal, that they are still occasionally 
employed. 
Their chief merit indeed, next to their security of 
footing, is their sobriety, and the trifling expense at 
which they may be maintained. They want," says 
Father Feuillee, " neither bit nor bridle nor saddle ; 
there is no need of oats to feed them ; it is only neces- 
sary to unload them in the evening at the place where 
they are to rest for the night \ they go abroad into the 
country to seek their own food ; and in the morning 
they return to the same place, their baggage is replaced, 
and they continue their route.'' Their principal disad- 
vantages are their comparative weakness, the slow rate 
at which they travel, and the obstinacy of their dispo- 
sition. They are unable to carry more than from a 
hundred to a hundred and fifty pounds, at the rate of 
twelve or fifteen miles a-day ; and if their load is too 
heavy, or the driver has recourse to blows to compel 
them to proceed faster, they lie down and pertinaciously 
refuse to proceed. It is customary on this account 
for each convoy to be followed by a number of spare 
Llamas, to one of which the load is immediately trans- 
