There are examples in every language, of two different names being
applied to the same animal, one of which has a relation to its wild
state, and the other to its domestic. The wild boar and the hog are the
same animal, under two names, no ways relative to any difference in
their natures, but to the condition of the species; one part of which
is under the power of man and the other independent. It is the same
with respect to the lamas and the pacos, which were the only domestic
animals of the ancient Americans: these names belonged to them in their
domestic state. The wild lama was called huanacus, or guanaco; and the
wild pacos, vicuna, or vigogne.[AJ] I conceived this remark necessary
to avoid the confusion of names. These animals are to be found only in
he New World: they seem even to belong to some particular parts, beyond
the limits of which they are never to be seen. They appear confined
to that chain of mountains which stretches from New Spain to Terra
Magellanica: they inhabit the highest regions of the globe, and seem to
require a purer and more refined air than that of our highest mountains.
[AJ] The Peruvians yet call the lama by the name of _runa_, which
signifies sheep. _Lama_ is a generic word signifying _animal_, _brute_,
and at this day they understand by the word _runa llasna_, an Indian
sheep. A modern traveller observes, that the _guanaco_, and the
_chillebueque_ are animals quite distinct from the _lama_. It is
therefore improperly that these names are found among these cited by
Buffon as applied to the _lama_.
It is singular, that although the lama and the pacos are domestic in
Peru, Mexico, and Chili, like the horses in Europe, or the camels
in Arabia, we scarcely know any thing of them; and notwithstanding
the Spaniards have had possession of those vast countries for above
centuries, not one of their authors have given us complete histories,
nor an exact description of these animals, which they are using every
day! It is pretended indeed, that they cannot be transported into
Europe, nor even be brought from their heights, without, at least,
risking their lives in a short time; but at Quito, Lima, and many other
towns, where persons of literature reside, they might have designed,
described, and dissected these animals. Herrera says but very little
about them, and Garcilassa only speaks from other authors. Acosta
and Gregoire de Bolivar have made the greatest collections of facts
relative to the natural dispositions of lamas, and the advantages to
be derived from them; but they have left us in the dark as to their
interior conformation, and of the length of time they go with young;
whether the lama and the pacos are two species absolutely separate
from each other; whether they mix together, or whether there are any
intermediate breed, and a number of other facts necessary to render
their history complete.
Although it is pretended these animals die if they are removed from
their native country, yet it is certain that after the conquest of
Peru, and for a long time after, some of them were transported into
Europe. The animal spoken of by Gesner, by the name of _allocamelus_,
and of which he has given a figure, is a lama, which was brought alive
from Peru to Holland in 1558. It is the same with that Matthiolus
mentions by the name of _elaphocamelus_, the description of which he
has given with great care and accuracy. The pacos, and, perhaps, also
the lamas, have been often transported into Spain, to endeavour to
naturalize them. We ought, therefore, to be better informed of the
nature of these animals, which might prove very useful to us; for,
probably, they would thrive as well upon the Pyrenean and Alpine
mountains as on the Cordeliers.
Peru, according to Gregoire de Bolivar, is the native country of the
lamas: they have indeed been conducted into other provinces, as New
Spain, &c. but this is rather from curiosity than utility. But in
Peru, from Potosi to Caracas, these animals are in great numbers; they
constitute the chief riches of the Indians, and add not a little to the
wealth of the Spaniards, who rear them. Their flesh is excellent food;
their wool may be spun into beautiful cloathing; and they are capable
of carrying heavy loads in the most rugged and dangerous ways. The
strongest of them will travel with from one hundred and fifty, to two
hundred and fifty pounds weight on their backs; their pace is but slow,
and their journey is seldom above fifteen miles a day; but, then, they
are sure-footed, descend precipices, and travel safely among the most
craggy rocks, where even men can scarce accompany them. They commonly
travel for five days together, and then they are obliged to rest, which
they do of their own accord for two or three days before they resume
their journey. They are much employed in carrying the riches dug out
of the mines of Potosi. Bolivar affirms, that in his time about three
hundred thousand of these animals were thus kept in actual employ.
The growth of the lama is very quick, and its life is but of short
duration. This animal couples at three years of age, and remains strong
and vigorous till twelve, after which it begins to decline, and becomes
entirely useless at fifteen.[AK] Their nature appears to be modelled
on that of the Americans; they are gentle and phlegmatic, and do every
thing with the greatest leisure and caution. When they stop on their
journeys to rest, they bend their knees very cautiously, in order to
lower their bodies without disordering their load; and as soon as they
hear their driver whistle, they rise up again with the same precaution,
and proceed on their journey. They feed as they go along, whenever
they can find grass; but they never eat in the night, even though they
have fasted all day; they employ that time to ruminate. When they sleep
or ruminate, they rest with their feet folded under their bellies. When
overloaded, or fatigued, they sink down, and will not rise again though
the driver strikes him with his utmost force. His last resource to urge
them forward by means of anguish, is to compress their testicles; this
often is of no effect, and if the driver continues his torments the
animal grows desperate, and kills himself by violently beating his head
against the earth: they do not make any defence either with their feet
or teeth, and it may be said, they have no other arms than those of
indignation. When persecuted they spit in the face of those who oppress
them; and the Indians say, that this saliva is of such an acrimonious
nature, as to cause very dangerous eruptions on the skin.
[AK] At Chili, according to Molina, they consider thirty years as the
ordinary term of the life of a lama; and it is certain that these
animals begin to propagate at the age of three years.
The lama is about four feet high; its body, comprehending the neck
and head[AL], is five or six feet long. The head is small and well
proportioned; the eyes large, the nose somewhat long, the lips thick,
the upper one being divided, and the under a little pendulous. He has
neither incisive nor canine teeth in the upper jaw. His ears are four
inches long, which he moves with great agility. His tail is seldom
above eight inches long; small, straight, and a little turned up at
the end. He is cloven footed, like the ox, but he has a kind of spur
behind, which assists the animal to support himself over precipices
and rugged ways. His back, crupper, and tail, are cloathed with a
short wool, but it is very long on the belly and sides. These animals
differ in colour; some are white, others black, but most of them a
mixed brown. The dung of the lamas is like that of the goat. The
genital members in the male are slender and turned back, so that it
passes its water backwards; they are much inclined to venery, although
they copulate with difficulty. The female has a very small aperture;
she prostrates herself to receive the male, whom she invites with her
sighs; but a whole day is sometimes passed before they can accomplish
their purpose; and all this time is spent in growling, quarrelling,
and spitting at each other; and as these long preludes fatigue them,
the Indians assist them to commence the operation. They seldom produce
more than one at a time. The mother has but two teats, and the young
one follows her as soon as it is brought forth. The flesh of the young
lamas is excellent food, but that of the old ones is dry and tough. In
general, both the flesh and wool of the domestic lamas is preferable
to that of the wild: their skin is firm: the Indians make their shoes
of it, and the Spaniards use it for harness. These useful, and even
necessary, animals in the countries they inhabit, are attended with no
expence to their masters; as they are cloven-footed they do not require
to be shod, and their wool renders saddles unnecessary. Satisfied with
a small portion of vegetables and grass they want neither corn nor hay;
and they are still more moderate in what they drink, as their mouths
are continually moistened with saliva, which they have in greater
quantity than any other animal.
[AL] Their necks are as long as those of the camel, to which animal
they have a great resemblance, excepting the bunch on the back.
The huanacus, or wild lamas, are stronger, brisker, and swifter, than
the domestic ones; they run like a stag, and climb over the most craggy
precipices like the goat: their wool is shorter, and their colour
tawny. These animals, even when in a state of freedom, assemble in
herds, sometimes to the number of two or three hundred. When they see
any of the human species, they regard him at first with astonishment,
without marking any fear or surprise; but shortly, as if by common
consent, they blow through their nostrils, neigh somewhat like horses,
and then by a general flight, take refuge on the tops of the mountains.
They are fonder of the north than the south side of the hills. They
climb, and often remain above the snowy tracts of the mountains; and
when travelling on the ice covered with hoar-frost, they seem in the
best condition, and appear vigorous in proportion to the coldness of
their situation. The natives hunt the wild lama for the sake of its
fleece: the dogs have much trouble to follow them; and if they once
gain the rocks, both hunters and dogs are obliged to desist from the
pursuit. They are very numerous all along the chain of the Cordeliers
which are full 3000 fathoms above the level of the sea at Peru, and
preserve that elevation from Chili, to the straits of Magellan; but on
the coast of New Spain, where the mountains sink in height, none of
these animals are to be found.
The pacos are a subordinate kind to the lamas, much in the same
proportion as the ass is to the horse: they are smaller, and not so
serviceable, but their fleeces are more useful. Their wool is fine and
long, and it constitutes a sort of merchandize, as dear and valuable
as silk. When in a domestic state they are called _alpaques_; they
are then sometimes black, or brown mixed with yellow, but the natural
colour of the pacos is that of a dried rose-leaf, which is so fixed,
that it undergoes no alteration under the hands of the manufacturer.
They not only make good gloves and stockings of this wool, but also
form it into quilts and carpets, which sell at a very high price, and
form a valuable part of the Spanish commerce.
The pacos possesses many things in common with the lamas; they belong
to the same country, are of the same dispositions, manners, and nearly
the same temperament; they also resemble the lamas in their figure;
being however smaller, their legs shorter, and their muzzles thicker
and closer: they have no horns; they inhabit and pasture on the highest
parts of the mountains. Snow and ice seem rather to refresh than to
disagree with them: they keep together in flocks, and run very swift;
they are very timid, and as soon as they perceive any person they take
flight, driving their young before them. The ancient monarchs of Peru
rigorously prohibited the hunting of them, because they multiply so
slowly; and since the arrival of the Spaniards in those parts their
number is greatly decreased. The flesh of these animals is not so good
as that of the huanacus, and they are only sought after for their
fleece, and the bezoars they produce. The method of taking them, proves
their extreme timidity, or rather their weakness. The hunters drive a
flock of them into a narrow passage, across which they have stretched
cords about four feet from the ground, with a number of pieces of
linen or woollen cloth hanging to them. The animals are so intimidated
at these rags, agitated by the wind, that they stop, and crowding
together in a heap, great numbers of them are killed with the greatest
ease. But if there happen to be any hunacus among the flock, as they
are less timid than the pacos, they leap over the cords; the example
is immediately followed by the whole group, and then they escape from
their pursuers.
In respect to the domestic pacos; they are employed to carry burdens,
like the lamas; but they carry a much less weight even in proportion
to their size. They are likewise of a more stubborn nature, and when
once they lie down with their load, they will suffer themselves to
be cut to pieces sooner than rise. The Indians never make use of the
milk of these animals, because they have scarcely enough to supply
their own young. The great profit derived from their wool, induced the
Spaniards to endeavour to naturalize them in Europe: they transported
numbers of them into Spain, but the climate was so inimical to their
nature that they every one perished: nevertheless, I am persuaded, as
I have already observed, that these animals, more valuable than the
lamas, might live and procreate upon our mountains, especially upon the
Pyrennees. Those who brought them into Spain, did not consider that
they cannot exist even in Peru, but in the cold regions, that is on the
tops of the highest mountains; that they are never to be found in the
valleys, and die if brought into warm countries. That on the contrary,
they are still very numerous in the neighbourhood of the Straits of
Magellan, where the cold is much greater than in the south of Europe;
and that, consequently, in order to preserve them, they should be
landed, not in Spain, but in Scotland, or even in Norway; or probably
with greater certainty at the foot of the Pyrenean, Alpine, or other
mountains, where they might climb to the region that most agrees with
their nature. I have dwelt the more on this subject, because I imagine
these animals would prove an excellent acquisition to Europe, and would
produce more real advantage than all the metals of the New World,
which only load us with a useless weight; for before the discovery of
those mines, a pennyweight of gold or silver was of as much value as an
ounce is at this present time.
Animals which feed upon vegetables, and live on the high mountains of
Asia and Africa, produce the oriental bezoar, the virtues of which
are so highly extolled. The animals of the mountains of Europe, where
the qualities of the plants are more temperate, only produce the
_ægagropili;_ and in South America those animals which dwell upon the
mountains of the torrid zone, afford another kind of bezoar, called
_occidental_, more solid, and perhaps possessing greater virtues than
the _oriental_. The wild pacos produces it in great quantities, as do
the huanacus; and it is also extracted from the stags or roe-bucks
of New Spain. The lamas and the pacos afford the best bezoar when in
their natural or wild state: those produced in their state of slavery
are small, black, and of but little or no virtue. The best bezoars
are those of a dark green colour, which commonly proceed from the
wild pacos, especially those which feed in the snow on the tops of
the mountains. Of these, both the male and female produce bezoars;
and these Peruvian bezoars are the next in rank to the oriental, and
are much more esteemed than those of New Spain, which are produced by
stags, and are the least efficacious of any.