THE ALPACA.-NO. 2 . 
217 
colored\cloaks, and also gloves equally ornamental. 
Ponchokor men’s surtouts, are woven in colors, and 
of so de\icate a texture, as to be worth $700 each. 
They art also used throughout Peru as a riding 
dress, by'the wealthiest ladies. 
Pursuing their researches, the Spaniards ascer¬ 
tained that, at the period of their arrival, llama and 
alpaca flodks on the coast were kept as far as the 
fortieth decree of south latitude, and inland as far 
as the territory of the Araucanos, in which space 
they occupied the middle declivities of |he Andes, 
facing the West, wherever population was concen¬ 
trated. Albnso de Ovalle, a Jesuit, and a native of 
Chili, in bis “ Historica Relacion del Reyno de 
Chili” (Rolne, 1646), says that in the capital of 
Santiago, llamas formerly had been used to carry 
wheat, win^, and other articles, and also to bring 
water from the river to the houses. 
Along the extended range above named, the tame 
breeds were left to browse. The sheltered part of 
a hill, the bottom of a dale, or the furzy heath, 
were their favorite haunts. There they picked up 
their scanty and scattered food, under the lower 
boundary of the snow, ascending as it disappeared 
from the surface. Sometimes they fed on the 
mosses which fringe the rocks, and plants growing 
on the hillocks, or -would descend the slopes and 
enter the ichuales (pastures of the ichu plant); 
while in the higher and more secluded regions, 
reaching nearly to the summits of the lofty chain, 
as well as on both sides of the double line which it 
assumes in Peru, there dwelt the vicuna and guana* 
co in a wild state, and far from the abode of man, 
hunted only for their flesh and skins. 
The comparatively small size of Peruvian sheep, 
as well as of the vegetable forms by which they are 
surrounded, clearly indicates that the climate of the 
Andes is not favorable either to animal or vege¬ 
table growth. It has also been remarked, that 
there the human species is subject to the same 
rule; man decreasing in bulk and stature in propor¬ 
tion as he dw r ells near the mountain summits. In 
Peru, the winter sets in towards June, and is se¬ 
verely felt on the highlands, where the snow re¬ 
mains upon the ground six, and in some places 
eight months in the year. 
As soon as the narrow and green strip of land 
bordering upon the Pacific is passed, the traveller 
begins to ascend the slopes; and when he attains 
the first table-land, observes a complete change in 
the climate and the appearance of vegetation. 
Except in the yungas, or hollows, where an allu¬ 
vial soil has been collected, and where the Indian 
plants his sugar-cane, banana, and esculent roots, 
the country wears a naked and barren aspect. 
Here, at an elevation of from 8,000 to 12,000 
feet above the level of the sea, the Peruvian tends 
his alpacas and llamas, allowing them to range at 
the foot of the snowy cliffs called punas, or to 
wander on the paramos, or heaths, where they de¬ 
rive subsistence from the moss and lichens growing 
on the rocks, or crop the strong grasses and tender 
shrubs which spring up upon the flats, favored by 
moisture. On these commons the animals may be 
said to shift for themselves, exposed to all the rigor 
of the elements, and receiving no food from the 
hand of man. The shepherd only visits them occa¬ 
sional ly; yet sucl are their gregarious habits, that 
the members of one flock seldom stray away and 
mix with another, being kept in a good state of dis¬ 
cipline by the old ones, which know their own 
grounds, and become attached to the place of their 
nativity, to which they return at night, evincing an 
astonishing vigilance and sagacity in keeping the 
young ones together, and free from harm. Hence 
there is no need of their being marked; and so 
great is the intelligence of some punteros, or leaders 
of a flock, that a more than ordinary value is, on 
this account, attached to them by the owner, part of 
whose duties they perform. 
The most valuable breeds are said to come from 
the central provinces; and here it may not be irre¬ 
levant to observe that there are two varieties of 
alpacas, differing in size, figure, and fleece. The 
breed called coy as is the most diminutive, and is 
esteemed for the smallness of bone and symmetry 
of form. It is chiefly confined to the Cusco range 
of mountains, more particularly to that part of it 
intervening between the ancient city of the Incas 
and Haumanga. It is thought to be a remnant of 
the old royal flocks, or those once owned by the 
priests of the sun, who are represented as having 
the choicest breeds. That territory was besides the 
principal theatre of agricultural operations, the seat 
of power, and the centre of Peruvian civilisation. 
It was from this breed that the beautiful w r hite and 
brown alpaca (fig. 56) owned by Mr. Cross, late of 
the Surrey Zoological Gardens, was obtained. 
The Alpaca of Mr. Cross.—Fig. 56.' 
This specimen was originally brought from Lima, 
where it had been a pet; and the perforations in its 
ears, in which ornamental rings had been placed, 
were still visible. Its graceful attitudes, gentle 
disposition, and playful manners, were particularly 
attractive. Ladies frequently caressed it as if it had 
been a child. Although kept in the unvyholesome 
atmosphere of a crowded city, pent up in a close 
room, and unavoidably fed on unsuitable diet, it 
nevertheless attained the usual age ; thus affording 
as satisfactory an example of hardihood as could 
be wished. 
