shoulder, took aim, and sent the contents of the second barrel through
the ribs of the miserable brute. His kicking ended almost instantly,
and he lay dead in the bottom of the boat.

"I dropped my gun and flew to the oars: it was a close `shave;' the
skiff was already in white water, and dancing like a feather; but with a
few strokes I succeeded in backing her out, and then heading her away
from the breakers, I pulled in a direct line for the shore.

"I thought not of my canvas-backs--they had floated by this time, I
neither knew nor cared whither: the sharks might have them for me. My
only care was to get away from the scene as quickly as possible,
determined never again to go duck-shooting with a cur for my companion."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

HUNTING THE VICUNA.

During our next day's march the only incident that befel us was the
breaking of our waggon-tongue, which delayed our journey. There was
plenty of good hickory-wood near the place, and Jake, with a little help
from Redwood and Ike and Lanty, soon spliced it again, making it
stronger than ever. Of course it shortened our journey for the day, and
we encamped at the end of a ten miles' march. Strange to say, on the
whole ten miles we did not meet with a single animal to give us a little
sport, or to form the subject of our camp talk.

We were not without a subject, however, as our English friend proposed
giving us an account of the mode of hunting the vicuna, and the details
of a week's hunting he had enjoyed upon the high table-lands of the
Peruvian Andes. He also imparted to our camp-fire circle much
information about the different species of that celebrated animal the
llama or "camel-sheep" of Peru, which proved extremely interesting, not
only to the old hunter-naturalist, but to the "mountain-men," to whom
this species of game, as well as the mode of hunting it, was something
new.

Thompson began his narrative as follows:--"When Pizarro and his
Spaniards first climbed the Peruvian Andes, they were astonished at
seeing a new and singular species of quadrupeds, the camel-sheep, so
called from their resemblance to these two kinds of animals. They saw
the `llama' domesticated and trained to carrying burdens, and the
`alpaca,' a smaller species, reared on account of its valuable fleece.

"But there were still two other species of these odd animals only
observed in a wild state, and in the more desolate and uninhabited parts
of the Cordilleras.