154 
THE LLAMA. 
animals, perceiving the rags waving in the 
wind, are so terrified that they stand stilh 
without attempting to leap over the ropes? 
which they might easily do. The hunters theO 
enter the circle, noose them by the lasso, et 
even take them by hand, and kill them. 
The skins of the vicugnas are tied up by the 
hunters in bales or bundles, and delivered efl' 
tire to the dealers — a precaution which 
necessary to prevent deception in regard to the 
wool. The soft, silky, delicate fleece, is eith®*^ 
of a pale red, like rose-leaves, or grayish. 
can only be usen for fine stuffs, while 
coarser wool of the alpacos is employed 
those of stronger texture, and also for hat^’ 
It is said that eighty thousand of these animal^ 
are thus killed annually for the sake of thei’' 
wool, and yet the species does not appear 
diminish. Gregoire de Bolivar informs 
that in his time the llamas were so numei’O^^ 
that every year four millions were killed 
