Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-11-01
ALPACA FARMING.

desolate table lands of the Peruvian
Andes, that [ first saw a Iudicrously I'M
calmly beast pop up from behind q
rock, rs the tumbling feet of my mule
sent some loose stones rolling noisiIv
down precipice. The brute surveyed
me for an instant, then shook his hairy
head, gave loud snort, and vanished.
The echoes Of the lonely pass bore to
my ears q singular noise, rs if an army
Of barefOoted men was flying down the
mountain. | had startled herd of
grazing Alpacas, and their sentry had
warned them of my approach. The
noise was the beating OF their huge,
cartilage padded feet on the rocky
ground. As | rode on, | saw fiOcks
from time to time, grubhing the sparse
grass from the rock-sprinkled levels
and the steep declivtics, which are
such peculiar feature of the heart of
the Andes There was always one bio
fellow perched on rock, or at some
other point Of vantage, and ut his snort
the whole herd would torn tail and
take to flight. Often ! would see the
sentry, without seeing his comrades,
balanced far above me on some splin-
tered pinnacle of stone, with his bio,
soft eyes fixed on me, ready to give the
signal, rs soon as he considered my
proximity dangerous. 1t was singu-
lar sensation, the meeting with this
alert brute, the only living thing but
myself and mule and an occasional
condor, among these desolate noun
talns, whose peaks pierced the SKY in a
line Of savage teeth, like Il huge saw
That evening, on a rOck-strewn plateau,
without 4 bush and almost without a
blade Of grass around it, | halted at
drearv, stone built house, with roof
made of bundles of straw, held down
with planIs and stout saplings. Skulls
and skeletons Of horned cattle and
other animals were scattered all around.
From the wall Of the house projected a
couple OF big bulls horns, apparently
cemented in the masonry for Orna-
mental purposes. As | drew rein, u
terrific snorting and scrambling broke
out in i paddock, fenced with stout
poles, behind the house. This was an
Alpaca farm.
The Alpaca. which many people con-
fuse with the Llama, though very close
liz allied to it in form and characters
ties, is the gold mine" of the Indians
of the Andes, especially those of Peru,
Bolivia and Chill. 1t is an eXlraordi-
nary animal, in more senses than one
Its appearance, with its full coat of
wool, is supremacy ridiculous. 1t is as
large rs Il big sheep, with Il neck like u
small giraffe; Il mere bundle of hair
carried around on four LEGS, terminated
with feet resembling those of m os-
trich. is Ices are powerful. and map
propr.atcly @racetu III comparison with
the bo1y they support and the feet in
which they terminate.
III the Aipucp IS absurdiy ugly with
its Hair ON, It is n positive bs:rie-que af
ter it has been fully SHARED 1t is
sheared like Il sheep, only its head is
left covered. 1t IS sometimes sheared
once year. yielding six TO eight-inch
fleece, but the more proyident Alpaca
farmers only shear once in two or three
years. when they Get wool from fifteen
to thirty inches long. The wool is
found ranging in color from white
through gray, yellow and brown to
black. The animal looks black, how
ever, as the fleece exudes an oil, and
mats with the dust Of the mountain
pastures in which it roams at large.
The fleece is very fine in texture, metal |
lie in lustre when clean, and the fibre is
far stronger than any sleeps wool
which | know.
The Alpaca IS allowed to Craze at
random, only being rounded in" to
be sheared. 1t can only be domesticat- !
ed when young. An old Alpaca, separ-
ated from its flock, will lie down and
die OF pure Stubbornness and grief.
A hrIx Il
paddocks, and become as familiar.
quiet, and impudent as dogs.
They are gentle brutes, unlike their
cousins the Llamas, which are often
full OF yiciousness. The Alpaca never
gets over its shy and timorous wild
habits, and though it seems to know
and not fear the farmer and his men,
the mere sight of 4 stranger in the dis
lance will stampede it. The age to
which an Alpaca will produce valuable
wool none of the farmers seem to know.
When it ceases to be worth snearino
they kill and eat it.
The Alpaca farmer leads 4 life little
better than that Of the brute he lives on.
His home is desolation itself His only
amusement is eating and sleeping. He
scarcely knows even the vice of drunk
enneSS. Except chance traveller he
never sees a soul from years end to
Years end but the priest, commonly an
Indian like himself, who strays up now
and then from his home in the lower
regions TO collect his mass money. and
his train OF pack animals. Most o. the
trading IS half barter and half money.
Inc visit OF the trader is great occa-
sion. Then the old iron scales are
brought out and hung on the bulls
horn at the door, and the years harvest
raked down from the loft of the house
where it has been stored. 1t is a curl
Gus fact that the Alpaca farmer will
never let a trader use any other scales.
He is afraid of being cheated But he
lets the trader weigh the wool with his
own weights, and | fancy the trader is
satisfied with the bargain
During the solitary portion of the