ey. This fox was the _Canis Azara_, a most troublesome
species, found all through South America. He is the great pest of the
Puna shepherds, as he is a fierce hunter, and kills many of the young
lambs and alpacos. The vaquero was sorry he had not his dogs with him,
as, from the route the fox had taken, he would have been certain to have
captured him, and that would have been worth something, for the great
sheep-owners give their shepherds a sheep for every old fox that they
can kill, and for every young one a lamb. But the dogs, on this
occasion, had been left behind, lest they should have bitten Leon, and
the vaquero was compelled to let "Renard" go his way. It was night when
they returned to the hut, and then, after Leon had related the details
of their excursion, all retired to rest.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

LLAMAS, ALPACOS, VICUNAS, AND GUANACOS.

Our travellers were stirring by early break of day. As they issued from
the hut, a singular and interesting scene presented itself to their
eyes. At one view--one _coup d'oeil_--they beheld the whole four
species of the celebrated camel-sheep of the Andes; for there are four
of them,--llama, guanaco, alpaco, and vicuna! This was a rare sight,
indeed. They were all browsing upon the open plain: first, the llamas,
near the hut; then a flock of tame alpacos, out upon the plain; thirdly,
a herd of seven guanacos farther off; and still more distant, a larger
herd of the shy vicunas. The guanacos and vicunas were of uniform
colours,--that is, in each flock the colour of the individuals was the
same; while among the llamas and alpacos there were many varieties of
colour. The latter two kinds were tame,--in fact, they were under the
charge of Guapo's friend the shepherd; whereas the herds of vicunas and
guanacos consisted of wild animals.

Perhaps no animal of South America has attracted so much attention as
the llama, as it was the only beast of burden the Indians had trained to
their use on the arrival of Europeans in that country. So many strange
stories were told by the earlier Spanish travellers regarding this
"camel-sheep," that it was natural that great interest should attach to
it. These reported that the llama was used for riding. Such, however,
is not the case. It is only trained to carry burdens; although an
Indian boy may be sometimes seen on the back of a llama for mischief, or
when crossing a stream and the lad does not wish to get his feet wet.

The