. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. TEE LLAMAS. Jf ami as there wei-e tlieu no Mules or Horses there, these creatures were em[)loyed exclusively as beasts of burden, as well as foi- their flesh, their wool, and hides. Their disposition and their habits also resemble those of the Camel. They have their own peculiar gait and speed, from which they cannot well be made to vary. When irritated they foam at the mouth and spit, sulking and lying down when ovei-loaded. As beasts of draught their important use is to convey the ores from the mines of Potosi and elsewhere in the
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. TEE LLAMAS. Jf ami as there wei-e tlieu no Mules or Horses there, these creatures were em[)loyed exclusively as beasts of burden, as well as foi- their flesh, their wool, and hides. Their disposition and their habits also resemble those of the Camel. They have their own peculiar gait and speed, from which they cannot well be made to vary. When irritated they foam at the mouth and spit, sulking and lying down when ovei-loaded. As beasts of draught their important use is to convey the ores from the mines of Potosi and elsewhere in the Andean range. From the account of Augustiii de Zerate, who was a Peru- vian Spanish Government official in the middle of the century, we learn that " in places where there is no snow the natives ^rant water, and to supply this deficiency they fill the skins of Sheep [Llamas being meant] with water, and make other living Sheep carry them, for it must be remarked that these Sheep of Peru are large enough to serve as beasts of burden. They can cany about one hundred jjouuds or more, and the Spaniards used to ride them, and they would ,§'> four. or five leagues a day. When they are weary they lie down upon the ground, and as there is no means of making them get up, either by beating or assailing them, the load must of necessity be taken off". When tliei-e is a man on one of them, if the beast is tired he turns his head round and discharges his saliva, which has an offensive odour, into the rider's face. These animals are of great use and service to then- masters, for their wool is very good and fine, pai-ticulaiiy that of the breed called Pacas, which have very long fleeces; and the expense of their food is trifling, as a handful of maize suffices them, and they can go four or five days without water. Their flesh is as good as that of the fat Sheep of ; It is somewhat difficult to decide exactly the relations of the wild to the domesticated spe
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