PASTURE LANDS OF THE PLATEAU—THE ALPACA AND THE VICUÑA OF PUNO
[Illustration: A NATIVE FAMILY OF THE PUNA.]
The extension of railways in Peru is destined to aid greatly in the
development of one of the most promising industries of the country, the
raising of cattle, sheep, alpacas, and other live stock. On the high
tablelands of Cajamarca, Junín, Ayacucho, and Puno, and in the upper
valleys of Cuzco, the climate and pasturage are particularly adapted to
cattle-farming and to the production of a hardy kind of sheep, easily
cared for and capable of great improvement under scientific culture. The
difficulties of transportation formerly interfered with success in
cattle-raising; but, with the building of new railways that furnish
facilities in shipping the cattle, hides, and wool from the interior,
this industry has received great encouragement and is now in a more
thriving condition than ever before. Some of the large ranges of the
plateau cover an area of more than a hundred square miles and afford
pasturage for twenty-five thousand head of cattle. On the plains of
Puno, thousands of cattle, sheep, and alpaca are pastured, the wool
industry receiving especial attention in this department, which may be
called the “wool-growing state” of Peru.
The cattle of Cajamarca, La Libertad, Ancash, Junín, Lima, and Arequipa
are the best, as in these regions there is abundance of lucerne, grass,
sorghum, and other good pasturage. In these departments, also, the
native stock has been improved by crossing with foreign varieties,
imported for the purpose. The criollo cattle, the result of
cross-breeding, are a fine race, and good for dairy purposes, cows
giving as much as three or four gallons of milk daily. The imported
cattle usually belong to well-known European stock, chiefly the
Holstein, Brown Swiss, Ayrshire, Devon, and Jersey varieties. The
Sociedad Ganadera de Junín is doing much to raise the standard of cattle
culture in that department, and is establishing dairies for the
manufacture of butter, cheese, and other products, which are now largely
imported from Europe. On some of the sheep farms the ewe’s milk is used
in making a very fine quality of cheese, and it is believed that this
industry may be so developed as to compete with the famous Roquefort
cheese.
[Illustration: THE PRINCIPAL PLAZA OF PUNO.]
Nearly all the native live stock of Peru is of Spanish origin, the first
horses, cattle, and sheep having been imported at the time of the
Conquest. The llama, alpaca, and vicuña are, of course, of Andean
origin. The Peruvian horses are descendants of the Arab stock, the best
specimens being reared on the coast, though there is ample opportunity
for increasing both the quality and the number of good horses in the
inter-Andean region, and, especially, on the higher slopes of the
Montaña. The government is devoting considerable attention to the
improvement of the live stock of the country, the National Society of
Agriculture stimulating endeavor in this direction by competitive
exhibitions.
The live stock farms show the effects of progressive enterprise. The
Atocsaico hacienda, covering eighteen square leagues on the plateau of
Junín, has fourteen leagues enclosed in wire fences, and is provided
with many modern conveniences. The administration house is a commodious
dwelling built of wood and lined with zinc, besides which there are
outhouses, storerooms, and stables, and a small hydraulic press. The
hacienda also has corrals and a bathing place for the sheep, built
according to the Australian system, a tank of concrete for the water and
iron apparatus arranged over an oven for heating water and preparing the
bath. Ten Scotch shepherds are employed, and they are well paid, having
houses provided for them, with some of their food supplies, besides good
monthly wages. The Scotch collie accompanies his master, and, in
addition to ten of these dogs, three Scotch greyhounds are kept; all the
dogs are provided with comfortable kennels. Another farm of the same
region, the Castaneda hacienda, has a fine dairy and a tannery
completely equipped for the treatment of all kinds of skins. There is a
large field in Peru for the tanning industry, which is still in the
infancy of development.
The native sheep of the plateau are of small stature, long-legged,
thick-skinned, and have a rough and scanty fleece; but when this _puna_
variety is crossed with the imported merino sheep, the criollo offspring
are larger, not so thick-skinned and have abundant wool of a much
curlier and finer quality. The shearing takes place annually, the
production being from five to eight pounds of wool per head, according
to the age of the sheep and the kind of pasture. The most important
wool-growing industry is that of the plateaus on which the llama, alpaca
and vicuña have their haunts.
[Illustration: SHEEP ON THE PASTURES OF ANCASH.]
The Department of Puno is particularly noted for its alpacas, which have
remarkably heavy fleeces of great length. The alpaca is sheared every
two years and gives from six to nine pounds of wool, the best quality
being that of the fleece taken from the animal when three or four years
old. The wool of the llama is much coarser, and that of the vicuña a
great deal finer, than the alpaca’s wool. The llama, sometimes called
the “camel of the Andes,” is chiefly valued as a beast of burden, while
neither the alpaca nor the vicuña is employed in this way. The alpaca, a
smaller animal than the llama, and more stockily built, is usually brown
or black in color, has shorter legs and carries itself with less stately
dignity than the prouder llama, which seldom curves its long neck,
holding its head high and turning it from side to side with a leisurely
movement, as it strides along with slow, measured tread. The llama,
alpaca, and vicuña are best understood and most easily managed by native
Indian shepherds, who seldom have any trouble in leading them wherever
they will. The Indian never treats his pastoral charge with cruelty, and
his methods are distinguished by that nonchalance and abundant leisure
which seem to be his most marked characteristics. The vicuña produces
less wool than either the llama or the alpaca, but its fleece is of a
much finer quality, which brings better prices in the European market.
Peru exports annually about four million pounds of wool.
[Illustration: LLAMAS GRAZING ON THE PUNA.]
The culture of vicuña wool deserves especial attention as it is one of
the most lucrative industries of the country, and, with intelligent and
persevering devotion to its interests, may be developed far beyond its
present condition. The existence of the vicuña in Peru dates back to
pre-Columbian times, when it was a favorite offering of the Incas in
sacrifice to the God of the Sun at the great feast of Raymi. The
Spaniards gave it the name of “carneiro de tierra,” or land sheep; and
naturalists who travelled in Peru during the time of the viceroyalty
classified it as belonging to the camel family.
The vicuña stands from three to four feet in height and has a long
slender neck on which is set a small, rather delicately-shaped head with
narrow pointed ears that stand upright; the body is about three or four
feet in length, and the legs are long and very slender, the hind legs
being longer than those in front, which is an advantage to the animal in
its mountain climbing. The fleece is a delicate light tan color, darker
on the back than elsewhere, the coat showing light under the body and on
the inside of the legs, where it is almost white. The vicuña has no
horns and its chief defense is the same as that of the llama, which
shows displeasure by spitting at the offending object. Almost as soon as
born, at least within a few hours after making its entrance into the
world, this remarkable little animal is ready to follow its mother on a
long and tiring run, and by the second day it will show wonderful
strength and velocity in keeping up with the older one, especially if
they are fleeing from pursuers.
[Illustration: ARCHED GATEWAY OF PUNO.]
Only in a very limited region of the Andes is the vicuña to be found,
chiefly in Peru and Bolivia, where it seeks the highest parts of the
sierra at an altitude of from ten thousand to fifteen thousand feet
above sea level, in a region where the temperature is below freezing
point. An interesting description of the vicuña’s habits is given by a
Peruvian writer, Señor G. Gutierrez Madueno, who has made a careful
study of this animal. He says that as soon as a family of young vicuñas
are full grown,—that is, when ten months or a year old,—the females make
such an onslaught on their brothers, kicking and biting them, that the
latter are forced to leave the maternal shelter and go elsewhere, either
to form their own ménage in an Adam’s paradise, or to seek mates in
other homes and establish new relations. In any case, not more than one
male is permitted in a herd, which used to number as many as fifty
females, though few are now seen to have more than twenty. The chosen
male always leads the herd, keeping a certain distance ahead so as to
warn them of any approaching danger; this he does by making a curious
sound, at which his followers retreat to a safe distance, usually up the
cliffs, from which they can look down on the intruder and satisfy their
curiosity. If a hunter kills the male, the entire herd surrounds the
dead body in an effort to resuscitate it, manifesting every sign of
grief; if, on the contrary, one of the females is killed, it is left to
its fate, while the survivors make all speed to a place of safety.
On the high plains and sierras of Puno the hunting of the alpaca and the
vicuña for their wool has been active ever since colonial days, though
it is only within recent years that the necessity for protecting this
important source of wealth has occupied the attention of the
authorities. The government is now thoroughly awakened to the danger
threatened by a constant and reckless destruction of these valuable
wool-bearing animals, and laws have been adopted looking to their
preservation. The city of Puno, founded by the Viceroy the Count of
Lemos in the seventeenth century, is the central market and shipping
point for the alpaca and vicuña wool of a large territory, and in the
museum of the city are to be seen some rare specimens of beautiful
textiles woven from these products.
The city of Puno lies on the border of Lake Titicaca, overlooking that
picturesque body of water more than twelve thousand five hundred feet
above the sea. It is an interesting town, with its great central plaza,
its fine old churches, and the handsome stone arch gateway that was
built under the viceroyalty. A statue in the plaza honors the memory of
a brave patriot who exchanged his judicial robes for the uniform of a
soldier and fell fighting for his country in the last war. The hospital
and orphanage of San Juan de Dios, founded more than thirty years ago by
the Benevolent Society, looks like a haven of comfort, surrounded by
pretty flower gardens and directed by sweet-faced Sisters of Charity.
The national college of San Carlos represents the city’s advancement in
educational matters, its curriculum embracing practical as well as
theoretical instruction. Puno has archæological interests also as it
lies in the centre of a district in which are found stone monuments of
great antiquity. Sallustani is the most famous of these ruins, with a
round tower of unknown origin.
[Illustration: LLAMAS—SHOWING ONE RECENTLY SHEARED.]
[Illustration: CUZCO, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE INCAS’ EMPIRE.]