llama is three feet high from hoof to shoulder, though his long neck
makes him look taller. His colour is generally brown, with black and
yellow shades, sometimes speckled or spotted; and there are black and
white llamas, but these are rare. His wool is long and coarse, though
the females, which are smaller, have a finer and better wool. The
latter are never used to carry burdens, but only kept for breeding.
They are fed in flocks upon the Puna heights, and it was a flock of
these that our travellers saw near the hut.

The males are trained to carry burdens at the age of four years. A
pack-saddle, called _yergua_, woven out of coarse wool, is fastened on
the back, and upon this the goods are placed. The burden never exceeds
120 or 130 pounds. Should a heavier one be put on, the llama, like the
camel, quite understands that he is "over-weighted," and neither coaxing
nor beating will induce him to move a step. He will lie down, or, if
much vexed, spit angrily at his driver, and this spittle has a highly
acrid property, and will cause blisters on the skin where it touches.
Sometimes a llama, over vexed by ill-treatment, has been known, in
despair, to dash his brains out against a rock.

The llamas are used much in the mines of Peru, for carrying the ore.
They frequently serve better than either asses or mules, as they can
pass up and down declivities where neither ass nor mule can travel.
They are sometimes taken in long trains from the mountains down to the
coast region for salt and other goods; but on such occasions many of
them die, as they cannot bear the warm climate of the lowlands. Their
proper and native place is on the higher plains of the Andes.

A string of llamas, when on a journey, is a very interesting spectacle.
One of the largest is usually the leader. The rest follow in single
file, at a slow, measured pace, their heads ornamented tastefully with
ribands, while small bells, hanging around their necks, tinkle as they
go. They throw their high heads from side to side, gazing around them,
and when frightened at anything, will "break ranks," and scamper out of
their path, to be collected again with some trouble. When resting, they
utter a low, humming noise, which has been compared to the sound of an
Eolian harp. They crouch down on their breast--where there is a
callosity--when about to receive their burdens, and also sleep resting
in the same attitude. A halt during the day is necessary, in ord